Transcript: Mayor Adams Signs Legislation to Create New Business Improvement District in East Harlem

June 22, 2025

Marlyn Rogers: Good afternoon, everyone, my name is Marlyn Rogers. I'm here to welcome you today to my restaurant Sisters. I am honored to have our Mayor Eric Adams, our distinguished guests. 

In the summer of 1995, 30 years ago, I established Sisters. Being an immigrant, I wanted to blend the rich taste of Caribbean cooking with soul food. This fusion has earned Sisters Cuisine national and international reputation of the best cook, the best cuisine in Harlem. 

I truly, I truly, I truly, I truly appreciate the support of the community for giving the family the opportunity to share our food with love. We are proud, we are proud to promote Harlem and the richness of the African diaspora. And we love being here and serving the community seven days a week, 12 and 15 hours a day. And during COVID, we made it through because of the support of the community. We made it through and we thank you again. We thank you.

Mayor Eric Adams: Thank you. We can't do this without our partners in government. And just really happy to have Senator Cordell Cleare that's here, Councilman Yusef Salaam. And I want to bring on right now, the sponsor of this bill, Councilwoman Ayala. 

City Councilwoman Diana Ayala: Thank you. I wasn't prepared to make remarks, I thought it was going to be just you, but thank you all for being here. This is really a testament of how hard this community has worked to get us here today. 

It was not easy. We have been at this for many, many years, but I think that this is the beginning of a beautiful chapter for this community and for the small businesses that make it home. 

I really want to thank Carrie King and the rest of the team. I always tell everybody, if Carrie wanted an ovary, I would give it to her because she has earned it. She has earned that and more. If I had more children, I would name one after her, but I'm not having any more. 

But she has worked so tirelessly, not only on the BID, but also on the cleanup and dealing with all things on 125th Street while also still creating opportunities and memories for this community in safe and fun, family-friendly activities. 

So, I really want to just say thank you because all of this, I just signed the bills and I listened to my community and I want to thank all of you for being at the table and thank you for signing this here in East Harlem. Thank you.

Mayor Adams: Thank you. And senator, why don't you come on up. Senator, can't say Harlem without you.

State Senator Cordell Cleare: Alright now. Yeah, this is Harlem. I'm proud of what's happening here today because to me, it is a fulfillment of a promise that our mayor made when he came to 125th Street on the East side and we met that rainy day, cold rainy day. 

And he took a tour and he took the time to see the conditions that people were talking about and the cry for us to have our businesses supported on the East side of Harlem. 

And I'm just happy today. I thank Carrie for her leadership. Thank you for all you've done. I thank my councilmembers, Diana Ayala and Yusef Salaam, who have come together and fallen in line to make this happen for East Harlem. It's long overdue. Thank you, Mr. Mayor. We really appreciate you listening to us. Thank you.

Mayor Adams: Thank you very much. And our amazing councilman, his investment in Harlem means so much to all of us. Why don't you come up, councilman? 

City Councilmember Yusef Salaam: Thank you sir, appreciate it.

Mayor Adams: Sharp suit, brother

[Crosstalk].

City Councilmember Salaam: Hey, listen, I was able to vote early and voted today and I voted in my workout attire. So, it's funny. I came in and folks said, they looked twice and said, “Oh yeah, that's him.”

 But it's truly an honor to be here. Good afternoon, everyone. May the peace, mercy, and blessings from the owner of all peace, mercy, and blessings be upon you and your families. Safety along this corridor has long been a concern of ours. Just this week, we held a meeting where safety on the streets, including the BID, was a major, major, major topic. 

We hear your concerns. We're working hard to do something about it. This is why we are here. It's a beautiful day, too. It was raining just earlier, but now the sun is out. 

The establishment of the East Harlem 125th Street BID will provide the tools and resources necessary to enhance safety and to improve sanitation in our community. And I'm delighted to welcome the BID to my district, even though it's only part of it. 

But here with Councilwoman Ayala, so glad to be here with you to support this issue. Now we get the opportunity to really have coverage from east to west and west to east. Yes, indeed. 

And lastly, I just want to applaud and recognize everyone who made this initiative possible. You know, we have great people here with us to celebrate and to make sure that as we move forward, it's just going to be a beautiful thing. Harlem needed the change. We're seeing the change. And now we're going to have it, finally. Thank you.

Mayor Adams: Thanks so much. Oftentimes, you know, we look at the initiatives and the accomplishments of the administration without really acknowledging what local electeds bring to it, their vision, their thoughts, knowing what's needed on the ground, and all three of these elected are representative of that. And I just wanted to just highlight them and give them an opportunity to talk about how they understood how important this was. 

And the senator is right. I remember walking the streets with her. It was raining that day. It was windy. It was cloudy. And we walked all the way through and we saw just the impact of what was happening to our businesses, the closed storefront on 125th Street and Lexington. The first stops from Randall's Island, the shelters would drop right there without having any other place to go. 

We spent a lot of time late at night at the 125th Street and Lexington Avenue train station. And we just saw the deplorable conditions that were just festering. The work that was being done on the streets, the trash and garbage that were being left there. People injected themselves with drugs right in front of places. The fight to make sure there was not an overproliferation of cannabis shops that were opening. 

And just the location was just screaming out for help. And you know, first with Commissioner Kim, and then now with our amazing commissioner, Commissioner Gross, we wanted to continue. Come on in, come on in. We wanted to make sure we continue that success and that's what we've done. And we were really focused on this BID. 

People say it's the business improvement district, I like to call it the PID, the people improvement district. When you improve businesses in a corridor where you can have good, solid businesses, particularly small businesses, you are going to turn around a community. 

Because when you go to shop, when you go to eat, when you go to buy your local supplies, they hire locally and they give you an opportunity just to cross-pollinate with the people that's in your community. 

So, intro 2019 will establish the East Harlem 125th Street Business Improvement District or BID in Manhattan, which will support local businesses, coordinate with city government and stakeholders, host community events and advocate for the neighborhood on so many different levels. 

And we all know that this corridor is yelling to be revitalized and we want to play a role in that. So, the announcement will bring the total number of BIDs to 77 in the city and it builds on the $3.2 million that we have invested in East Harlem since the start of the administration. That includes $300,000 we have invested towards an East Harlem business attraction program in partnership with Union Settlement to bring new businesses to the area.

This BID is important, it will bolster our efforts attracting entrepreneurs, investments and economic opportunity and I'm really pleased with the success of this and just want to thank our commissioner for just a continuing commitment and rolling out these BIDs in a real way. And so, I want to turn it over to Commissioner Gross.

Commissioner Dynishal Gross, Department of Small Business Services: Thank you so much. Good afternoon, everyone. It's so wonderful to be here. Today is the fulfillment of so much hard work. 

You know, people say public servants, some folks are gluttons for punishment, but really we're gluttons for responsibility and we're gluttons for impact. And it's not just those of us in government, it's the amazing partners on the ground. So, congratulations Carrie, the whole Uptown Grand Central team, our local electeds. This is the culmination of so much incredible work. 

We're at the start of a heat wave, but we are undeterred because not only are we announcing the establishment of this BID today, but we are also celebrating the release of new grants for fiscal year ‘26. 

Since the start of 2022, the Adams administration through the Department of Small Business Services has committed more than $44 million to support and expand neighborhood revitalization citywide. 

And that support includes grants like our public realm grants, which are bringing color and new life to commercial corridors through public art and murals, creative lighting projects and innovative wayfinding and placemaking projects. It's not just a number on a piece of paper. It's an investment in the people and communities and businesses that make this the greatest city in the world. 

And that investment is part of why we've seen so much progress in our city over the past three years. We're putting money into the hands of the people and the organizations that know their neighborhoods best. These are the types of upstream solutions that this administration champions. 

And it's one reason we've seen record drops in crime citywide, including here in East Harlem. It's why we've seen a reduction in shootings year over year. It's because we understand that healthy, strong, connected communities rely on responsive government and that public safety goes hand in hand with livability, affordability and prosperity. 

And so that's why I'm so pleased to announce that in addition to welcoming the East Harlem 125th Street Business Improvement District as the city's 77th BID or PID, we are also awarding more than $4.4 million in new grants to community-based development organizations across the five boroughs. 

Over the past few years, we've seen the Neighborhood 360 Grants, Avenue NYC Grants, Merchant Organizing and Public Realm Grants make real positive change in commercial corridors. And they are responsible for hundreds of community events that have drawn 116,000 people, attendees to our commercial corridors. 

They have funded more than 40,000 hours of supplemental sanitation services and collected tens of thousands of bags of garbage and supported public lighting projects that increase streetscape luminosity by 188 percent on the corridors where those projects took place. 

Through place-based expertise, stable funding, strong governance, community-based organizations and business improvement districts improve the appearance and functioning of commercial districts and corridors, ensuring they're vibrant places where commerce and community can thrive. 

So, thank you, Mayor Adams, for your commitment to neighborhood revitalization expressed through this budget allocation and your tireless advocacy for small businesses and their champions citywide. Thank you, Marlyn, for hosting us here today.

And congratulations once again to Melody and everyone in the East Harlem 125th Street BID Steering Committee and Uptown Grand Central for this tremendous accomplishment, our city's 77th BID. We look forward to all you will accomplish and to many years of work together in partnership because government cannot do it alone. 

And with that, I would like to introduce Melody Capote and welcome her to the microphone. She is the executive director of the Caribbean Cultural Center and African Diaspora Institute.

Melody Capote, Executive Director, Caribbean Cultural Center and African Diaspora Institute: I've already been told my remarks are too long. Buenas tardes. We speak about East Harlem, which we know as El Barrio, Spanish Harlem, so I welcome you in Spanish. Buenas tardes. 

My name is Melody Capote, I'm the executive director of the Caribbean Cultural Center African Diaspora Institute, known to many as CCCADI, located here in the neighborhood at East 125th Street in the renovated firehouse right off of Lexington Avenue. I also serve as co-chair of the East Harlem 125th Street BID Formation effort along Jordan Barowitz. 

CCCADI is an arts, culture, education and media organization that advances cultural equity, racial and social justice for African descendant communities. The goals of CCCADI very strongly correlate to why I have been part of this BID formation effort. The majority of the small businesses along 125th Street are owned by people of color and women, all using their talents and products to serve our community. 

We have amazing restaurants ranging from the Caribbean and soul food here at Sister's Cuisine to the vegan menu at Uptown Veg, to Puerto Rican roast pork that we know as lechon at La Lechonera and the African coffee bar at Ginjan Cafe. 

We also have fashion, beauty and skin care at the Brownstone Boutique, Omo Sade Skincare and the businesses such as Rama Beauty that provides 24-hour hair braiding. All this is happening on East 125th Street. 

Yet for decades, East Harlem has remained the only community district in Manhattan without a business improvement district to invest resources into the neighborhood for important services such as street cleaning, safety and small business support. 

As most of you know, for decades, East 125th Street has been redlined in many ways that make it challenging to attract new foot traffic and customers to the area. One of our first goals, in forming a BID committee was articulating a vision for the neighborhood and I'm going to read them for you here. 

We declare that East Harlem is a transit hub, a business and cultural destination that has potential to attract more visitors, more residents from New York City and beyond. Through the services of the BID, we are committed to, one, creating a safe, clean and thriving commercial and cultural destination. 

Two, fostering innovative and culturally responsible development and businesses. Three, promoting safety and security, beautification and cleanliness. It all goes hand in hand. Four, continuing to gain support and engagement from our public officials. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. 

And making the district—number five, making the district a vibrant neighborhood that serves as a destination for everyone. It is important to recognize the community warriors who have brought us to this place and time. 

The BID formation would not have been possible but for the work over the past decade or more of the New Harlem East Merchants Association and Uptown Grand. Thank you, Diane Collier, board chair of the Uptown Grand. Thank you to Carrie, who has her boots on the ground all of the time. Thank you, Carrie. 

Here's why they told me my remarks were too long because I was actually going to name individuals that's probably a page and a half long. But I will tell you why I did that. Because in addition to recognizing the names and the faces we see all the time in the media, we see on the news, we see in social media, we have to remember that this is work that community members are doing together. 

It took us three years to get to this place. It took us three years to trust each other. I'm going to say it again. It took us three years to build a trust that said this was for real. 

And so, I speak to you as an Afro-Latina, Afro-Puerto Rican woman on the East side of the 125th Street corridor, representing an organization that looks at the common thread we share as people of African descent. I don't know why they wanted me to be co-chair, but here I am. 

And the one thing I do know is from the very beginning, it was important to build a community among us first, because otherwise electeds were not going to listen to us. And so, while I can't name y'all, I did it, you told me to cut it, while I can't name y'all, I thank you. I thank everyone in this community who has trusted us to move this agenda forward. Thank you. 

Mayor Adams: So, the noise you hear, the grumbling is not the train tracks, it's my stomach. This food smells good. So, we're going to sign this bill, then I'm going to get inside and grab me something to eat. Is that a plan?

###