The Myrtle Avenue Revitalization Project (MARP):
A Brief Timeline of Bringing A Community Together
It takes the collective power of neighbors to successfully steward a neighborhood. For well over 100 years, there are records of Myrtle Avenue business owners and neighbors working together to make this a great place to live.
In 1999, these longstanding community efforts, which ebb and flow over the decades, resulted in the creation of a new non-profit called the Myrtle Avenue Revitalization Project LDC, also known as “MARP.” After 20+ years, MARP formally ended its operations and passed the torch to stewarding Myrtle Avenue to the Myrtle Avenue BID, its partner organization which it helped to originally create.
Below is a brief lookback at the many efforts and successes MARP had over its 23-year life, all of which can be attributed to hundreds of Fort Greene and Clinton Hill neighbors who worked together in partnership in caring for Myrtle Avenue.
1999 - 2000
MARP Founded
Early MARP board meeting, convening on milk crates in an empty storefront. Born from previous merchant associations and active organizing from community members, the Myrtle Avenue Revitalization Project LDC was founded in 1999 as a new non-profit that focused on the revitalization of Fort Greene & Clinton Hill’s “Main Street.
Filling Vacant Storefronts
With nearly 1 in 3 storefronts on Myrtle Avenue vacant in the late 1990s, attracting new businesses to the corridor was a top priority. Through events like “Rolling Up the Gates” and building relationships with prospective business owners, property owners, and commercial brokers, MARP was able to cut the vacancy rate by more than half over the next decade.
Cleaning Up
Beautifying Myrtle Avenue was an equal crucial first-step in the new organization’s work. MARP organized neighbors to roll up our sleeves to begin the first steps in removing graffiti and tending to street tree pits and planting seasonal flowers. Eventually, these efforts grew to providing supplemental sanitation and beautification work seven-days a week, year-round all along Myrtle Avenue.
2001 - 2006
Retaining Business
Keeping existing businesses open on Myrtle Avenue was just as important as attracting new ones to the area. In 2001, Duncan’s Quality Fish Market moved into a new storefront on Myrtle Avenue with assistance from MARP in support their efforts to purchase a building and to support renovations to the new storefront.
Formation of the Business Improvement District (BID)
MARP began efforts to create a Business Improvement District (BID) along Myrtle Avenue in Brooklyn, creating a new organization that would formally work with the City and local property owners to sustainably invest in Myrtle Avenue’s commercial district.
Storefront Improvement
In 2005, MARP received it’s first of four awards from the New York Main Street program, which over the next decade would invest over $1,000,000 in Myrtle Avenue’s built environment, providing grants to local business and property owners to restore and improve storefronts and facades.
2007 - 2014
Youth Employment
In the summer of 2007, MARP launched its first cohort of the Young Entrepreneur & Mentorship program, pairing local high schoolers with summer job opportunities on Myrtle Avenue and a chance to learn about entrepreneurship from local merchant mentors.
Gathering People
Within its first decade, MARP worked with neighbors to host free community events on Myrtle Avenue, bringing foot traffic to businesses and opportunities for cultural and arts programming in the district. These early initiatives including the AfroPunk, Myrtle Windows Gallery art series, public art installations, and the Move on Myrtle summer series.
Improving Food Access
In 2009, MARP launched its first Community Food Assessment which identified food access challenges for local residents, along with proposed solutions. That report launched the creation of a Community Food Council which spearheaded several projects over the next decade, including Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) projects, youth-led farm stands, food pantries, community gardens at local NYCHA campuses, and others.
2015 - 2022
Age-Friendly Myrtle
In 2015, Myrtle Avenue was designated an Age-Friendly District by NYC, launching new programming that created a new Senior Advisory Council who worked with MARP to organize events, resources, and advocacy opportunities for local seniors to improve the ability for neighbors to age in place.
Planning For The Future
With the neighborhood significantly changed since its inception, MARP and it’s partner organization, the Myrtle Avenue BID, undertook a forward-looking strategic planning process in 2017. This process began to pave the way for the BID to continue on the work of the dual organizations and streamlining of back-end operations, by consolidating work into a single entity.
MARP Sunsets
After two decades full of many successes, MARP officially dissolved as an organization in 2022, transferring remaining assets and program operations to the Myrtle Avenue Business Improvement District (BID). To learn more about the BID’s work, board membership, staff and budget, please visit our About Us page.
