Roles: Marketing Coordinator, Deputy Director, Interim Executive Director
Myrtle Avenue Business Improvement District
Among the many artists to have memorialized Brooklyn in verse or rhyme, poet Anne Sexton wrote, "Poor thing. To die and never see Brooklyn." I count myself lucky to have seen Brooklyn and to have worked for, and lived in, the communities of Fort Greene and Clinton Hill. It has been one of the richest experiences of my personal and professional lives.
The Myrtle Avenue Brooklyn Business Improvement District covers 15 blocks across the neighborhoods of Fort Green and Clinton Hill. Within these storied neighborhoods is a diverse community of residents, businesses, property owners, workers, and visitors. Myrtle Avenue’s year-round free programming, with signature events like the Myrtle Monster Mash, Holiday Tree Lighting, and Summer Night’s series (see below), are some of the highlights among many events I have managed within the BID.
Through expanded roles I have activated the corridor, including Myrtle Avenue Plaza, while leading and managing all programming aspects and logistics. Closely collaborating with the BID’s sanitation team, Block By Block, helped ensure each activation area was clean, safe, and well managed.
Supporting Myrtle Avenue businesses is always top of mind, especially during the Summer Night's series when 500 - 600 people regularly turn up to enjoy the avenue. A-frame signs, seen here, placed throughout the district create an excellent opportunity to drive foot traffic into businesses with outdoor dining or happy hour specials. Other business activations that are promoted through event marketing include free knife sharpening, free books, curbside wine tastings and discounts on purchases made during the Summer Night's hours of 5pm-8pm.
Myrtle Avenue's Summer Nights Series kicked off in the Myrtle Avenue Plaza in the summer of 2019 during one Friday night each month from May to September. With all activities set in the 24k sq.ft. plaza, there was plenty of space for music, dancing, children's activities, and free food samples from local restaurants. Benny Lopez and his Latin Jazz Ensemble (above) have long been a staple on Myrtle Avenue and combine great Latin music with good neighbors, setting the scene for fun-filled dance party in the Plaza.
Games are always a good place to start when programming a public space because they provide interactive entertainment that appeal to any age. Corn hole, giant Jenga, oversized Connect 4 boards, hula hoops, and chalk easily engage people while being flexible and easy to set up and take down within the space.
Myrtle Avenue Plaza provides a great "stage" to invite performers out for the evening. Here we collaborated with It's Showtime NYC, a mission-based organization that "provides performance and professional development opportunities to street and subway dancers", to create an interactive dance competition that included audience members. The turn out was only topped by the electric energy filling the plaza as these dancers performed for hundreds of people.
Collaborating with local artists and vendors helps to reinforce the community feel of events. As often as possible I bring in community members that help create activations along the avenue, drawing attendees across the district. Here we see people lined up to get their tarot cards read by Amanda (@the.oracle_sona). Amanda lives in the community, works at a local school and we love partnering with her on tarot readings and seasonal art installations that she paints in storefront windows.
Creating strong partnerships with different city agencies helps us leverage relationships into sponsorship opportunities. An ardent supporter of our programs, the NYC Ferry has helped sponsor Summer Night's, year after year. Every sponsor gets logo placement on all marketing materials, shout outs on social media and in newsletters, and are always invited to able at events. Anika, pictured above, informs this resident on the latest Ferry happenings, while engaging her in a raffle to win a free month-long Ferry pass.
Creating marketing and communication campaigns is crucial to keeping events visible and attendance high. This can be done creatively by placing ad's in bus shelters (above) or posters in storefronts. At Myrtle is was also done strategically by communicating to over 25k combined social media followers, regular placement in our newsletters, working with businesses to be promoted through their own channels, placement in local news sites and blogs.
The Myrtle Avenue BID runs along Myrtle Avenue, from Flatbush Extension to Classon Avenue, through the communities of Fort Greene and Clinton Hill.