Christmas in the Bronx cont'd

The Bronx Central Council for Economic Development (BCCED) is proud to announce its second annual Christmas in the Bronx. The goal of this program is to bring Santa Clause to different neighborhoods in the Bronx and deliver toys to children under 12years of age who live in these neighborhoods. At the same time, we are supporting the merchants that reside in these neighborhoods by having them participate in a discount program that encourages the community to shop locally.

   Last year we had over 50 Merchants in the Morris Park, Williamsbridge Road, Allerton Avenue, Bainbridge Avenue, and White Plains Road sections of the Bronx participated in this program and it was a great success. Several Merchants decorated their stores so that Santa could sit and take pictures and hand out toys to the kids.

This year we are expanding the program to include Fordham Road and Lydig ave. On Decmber 5,2008, we will be sponsoring the "Sparkling the Heart of Fordham" tree lighting ceremony. On December 6,2008, we are going to kick off this year’s "Christmas in the Bronx" at the SANZ Catering hall where we will have breakfast with Santa. The breakfast will be sponsored by IHOP. After breakfast, Santa willbe visiting the other businessdistricts in the 80th Assembly district.

In an effort to support the local businesses, we launched the Shop With Us campaign. This program was launched in 2006. Since its inception, we have provided several new services to the set business districts. As we continue to expand our relationships with the small business owners and other members of the community, we are confident that the Shop With Us campaign will play a key role in helping to revitalize our Bronx Communities.

Graffiti Removal Program

The overall goal of the program is to eradicate
graffiti and create graffiti-free shopping
districts. Currently, BCCED is implementing a
pilot project using a contractor—City Solve  to
conduct graffiti removal with 3 major shopping
districts:

1) White Plains Road between Brady
Avenue and Pelham Parkway South, 2)Lydig Avenue
between Bronx Park East and Colden Avenue and
3)Allerton Avenue between Bronx Park East and
Eastchester Road. In early 2008, BCCED will
purchase and retrofit a truck as a state-of-the-
art paint spraying and power-washing system and
will launch a full-time graffiti removal program
within the 80th Assembly District.