Are BIDs Good for Business? The Impact of BIDs on Neighborhood Retailers in New York City

Abstract

The business improvement district (BID) model has been widely adopted as a place-based strategy for commercial renewal and sustainability. This study uses the National Establishment Time-Series (NETS) Database to estimate the impact of New York City BIDs on change in retail sales and change employment between 2000 and 2008. Since the self-financing mechanism of BIDs becomes a compulsory tax on retail tenants, this study examines whether the model improves retail performance relative to comparable areas of the city that never adopted BIDs. Although effects vary by BID size, retail sales and employment are depressed by small community BIDs.