The new look of Bergenline Avenue is just the beginning of what the city’s Urban Enterprise Zone has in store for the town’s shopping districts in the next five years.
The Urban Enterprise Zone, established in West New York in 1996, allows businesses to charge only a 3 percent sales tax, which goes directly into the UEZ budget to bolster the town’s business districts.
According to the UEZ state program, it is necessary to develop a five-year zone development plan. This plan outlines the projects that the town hopes to complete with the UEZ funds.
“The goal is to keep improving West New York,” said Mayor Albio Sires, who was instrumental in putting the town’s plan together.
West New York approved their five-year development plan at last month’s Board of Commissioners meeting. The plan’s objectives are increasing employment, strengthening existing businesses and attracting new business to utilize the UEZ program.
“[This project will] attract more businesses and create more jobs,” said West New York Urban Enterprise Zone Coordinator Oscar Miqueli last week. “That is what the UEZ is all about.”
While most of the funding will be coming from the UEZ funds, the Board of Commissioners voted at their Nov. 20 meeting to ask the State UEZ Department for $300,000 to help supplement the funding for some of the programs listed in this plan.
According to Sires, the county will provide the rest of the money needed.
Already in the works
West New York’s UEZ didn’t wait until the plan was approved to begin improving the town’s shopping districts. Over the past year, the town has already worked on two of the projects listed in the development plan.
The Bergenline Avenue Streetscape Project, which included new sidewalks and banners along the avenue, is just about complete.
“It is about 99 percent done,” said Miqueli, referring to the half a block between 60th and 59th streets where the Trust Company Bank had a scaffold that prohibited the renovations.
Through the UEZ Police Hire Program, 10 police officers were hired to patrol within the zone.
These police officers are paid by UEZ funds each year, and not by the regular municipal budget.
“These officers patrol the areas within the zone,” said Miqueli, who said this program has been in place for the past three years. “In the case of an emergency, they will go somewhere else, but they usually patrol with in the zone.”
The zone includes all of Bergenline Avenue and Kennedy Boulevard, 60th Street from Park Avenue to Kennedy Boulevard, and parts of Broadway.
“[The zone includes] 30 percent of the land in West New York,” said Miqueli.
In the near future
With the success of the Bergenline Avenue Streetscape project, the town is looking to expand the project to include Park Avenue, the other major shopping district in West New York.
“Now we are moving on to other sections in the town,” said Sires.
The plans for Park Avenue’s Streetscape Project include redoing the sidewalks using cement and also adding a new parking lot to make it more convenient for people to shop there.
“We want to make Park Avenue more attractive,” said Miqueli. “It is part of the new business district we are trying to create in West New York.”
Planning ahead
While the plan calls for many small and large projects, Miqueli said that there is only a loose time frame for the completion of these projects.
“We depend on sales,” said Miqueli, who hopes to attract more businesses with the plan. “We are trying to make West New York more attractive.”
“We have been able to attract people to West New York through the UEZ,” said Sires, pointing to the Walgreen’s and P.C. Richard and Sons that will be opening on Kennedy Boulevard and will be a part of the UEZ.
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