By DAVID CRUZ

On a recent afternoon in May, a prospective business owner toured the Westchester Square Business Improvement District, one of nine Bronx business corridors where special property taxes finance cleaning and marketing services at the behest of merchants.

The gentleman, a chef by trade, spent three hours strolling up and down the cone-shaped strip, home to some 160 establishments. The streets were bustling, graffiti was scant and the vibe showed signs the neighborhood was a kind of a new frontier, a place for the business owner to grow.

“He said ‘I spent three hours in the neighborhood that I knew nothing about and I see how it’s up and coming, and I want to move in before it gets to that point,’” recalled Lisa Sorin, the BID’s executive director. “So it’s exciting that somebody else is seeing what the team and the Board of Directors saw way before I got here.”

It’s that kind of exchange Sorin hopes can elevate the borough’s youngest BID as one of the more happening corridors. This past year appears to have laid the groundwork towards that goal.

A Borough Main Street
Framed as the Main Street of the Bronx, the Westchester Square BID mixes mom and pop ventures such as One Westchester Square Florist and Pinky Nails with regional outlets, creating an intimate feel that’s tangible to the working class neighborhood that overlaps it. One minute a customer can grab some Latin fare at El Bohio Restaurant, the next they can upgrade their eyeglasses at MetroOptics.

“In my eyes, in my vision, I see a tree-lined street, I see cafes, I see bookstores, I see art stores,” said Sorin. “So there’s a theme that accidentally, intentionally has happened for Westchester Square, and it’s fitting really nicely.”

Sorin has essentially been a virtual one-woman show, mirroring a small business merchant who’s understaffed but driven. The past year, she was able to notch a few successes, juggling tasks that included pedestrian safety as part of the city’s Vision Zero initiative, small business education workshops and the undertaking of an upcoming, yearly street festival showcasing the BID’s offerings. These larger tasks coincide with small-scale projects such as calendars and cards that market the BID.

Of course, there is the day to day. One of those responsibilities is Sorin’s daily walk around the BID, a ritual that includes chatting with clerks, spotting any issues city agencies should be aware of, or even stopping by as a customer. Yes, Sorin is not only an executive director, but she’s also a customer, frequenting ABC Super Store, for some knickknacks.

Foot traffic fuels Westchester Square’s business corridor, doubling as a transit hub (eight buses and one subway) to thousands of commuters who cross the BID. A chunk of the foot traffic comes largely from students at Herbert H. Lehman High School, and employees at the Hutchinson Metro Center, an office campus that’s home to Mercy College, Montefiore Medical Center and a recently opened Marriott Residence Inn.

Geography certainly plays a part in a BID. For Westchester Square, the area encircles some family-friendly attractions that include Owen Dolen Park and the Huntington Library which will be complemented with a new 12,000-square-foot library.

Because of constant foot traffic, Sorin placed pedestrian safety high on her agenda. This past year, she collaborated with the New York City Department of Transportation to create crosswalks and medians near Lane Avenue, a five-point intersection running parallel to East Tremont Avenue and Williamsbridge Road. The street that’s deemed something of a gateway to the BID was once a risky roadway for pedestrians, who gambled each time they crossed the street. This created little business flow for retailers who relied on pedestrians to frequent their establishments. With street improvements, Sorin has noticed an uptick in business.

Another added layer of safety was the installation of high-tech surveillance cameras funded through Assemblyman Michael Benedetto, who earmarked capital monies in 2009 for the project that’ll see a total of 14 cameras across the BID. The installation is seen by Sorin as an effective marketing tool, creating a sense of security business owners seek.

She recently hosted The Department of Small Business Services, a New York City agency that oversees BIDs, for an announcement that aids small businesses in avoiding heavy regulatory fines.

A Fair to Remember

Of course, the BID not only works hard, it plays hard. On June 20, the BID will hold its seventh annual Fair @ The Square, a bazaar-like event complete with BID merchants, street food and outdoor activities.

“There’s something for everyone,” said Sorin.

Owen Dolen Park will be seen as the main stage for a rotation of musical headliners that include the bands Just Nutz and FDR Drive, and singers Sierra Nelson, Damian King and Brenda K. Starr.

Securing Its Identity

The long search for its identity continues amid economic changes for the borough, where the commercial makeup has shifted to a growing number of major malls that have opened within the last year. On the outskirts of neighboring Throggs Neck is the Target Mall, which was initially viewed to have endangered the BID’s business. But Sorin soon noticed any conflict was nil, realizing the BID’s ambitions veered away from attracting big box retailers, opting instead for a hub of small businesses.

“Westchester Square is the type of place where you go when you need that item,” said Sorin. “Big stores come and go. Your small shops, your mom and pop shops, your downtown districts, your walk the sidewalk and window shop is what we have here.”

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Welcome to the Norwood News, a bi-weekly community newspaper that primarily serves the northwest Bronx communities of Norwood, Bedford Park, Fordham and University Heights. Through our Breaking Bronx blog, we focus on news and information for those neighborhoods, but aim to cover as much Bronx-related news as possible. Founded in 1988 by Mosholu Preservation Corporation, a not-for-profit affiliate of Montefiore Medical Center, the Norwood News began as a monthly and grew to a bi-weekly in 1994. In September 2003 the paper expanded to cover University Heights and now covers all the neighborhoods of Community District 7. The Norwood News exists to foster communication among citizens and organizations and to be a tool for neighborhood development efforts. The Norwood News runs the Bronx Youth Journalism Heard, a journalism training program for Bronx high school students. As you navigate this website, please let us know if you discover any glitches or if you have any suggestions. We’d love to hear from you. You can send e-mails to norwoodnews@norwoodnews.org or call us anytime (718) 324-4998.