Read this article originally appeared in TAPInto Newark.

The City Council unanimously approved legislation today to create a business improvement district along Bloomfield Avenue and Lower Broadway in the North and Central wards.

The BID designation will allow the city to impose a special assessment on commercial properties within the district with the goal promoting employment and economic growth as well as better residential property maintenance.

With the designation of Bloomfield Avenue, the North Ward now becomes the only ward in the city with two separate neighborhood BIDs. Mount Prospect Avenue was designated a BID several years ago and is run by the Mount Prospect Partnership, a non-profit organization that collects the special assessment.

“The Mount Prospect Avenue Partnership is proof that a BID can have a positive impact on a business corridor,” said North Ward Councilman Anibal Ramos Jr., who sponsored the legislation and worked closely with businesses and property owners along Bloomfield Avenue to create the BID.

“Bloomfield Avenue is a gateway to our city,” Ramos said. “It has tremendous potential to become a thriving commercial corridor that can provide jobs and new housing options for our residents.”

Lower Broadway, which is in the Central Ward, recently underwent streetscape improvements.

The BID will be run by the Bloomfield Avenue/Lower Broadway Alliance, or BLAB. All commercial properties within the district, including industrial and apartments with more than four units, will pay the special assessment. Residential properties with four units or less are excluded from the special assessment.

The BID will be able to provide a variety of services to help businesses and property owners, including funding the improvement of exterior appearance of properties in the district through grants and loans, funding rehabilitation of properties in the district, providing security, sanitation, and other services in the district.