Newmarket Business Improvement District

Transit and transportation programin july, 2022 we set a very ambitious goal of having our bid shuttle system up and running by the beginning of september, and the 3 new shuttles went on-line on september 6th, the day after labor day. Our 1st shuttle, the south bay shuttle, had already been running since october 2020.each shuttle has its own defined route and the system is designed to provide service to the greatest area of Newmarket possible. The shuttles are broken out in this way:1. The south bay shuttle makes a continuous loop from andrew station on the red line to stops in south bay center and on mass. Ave near columbia road. This shuttle runs from 10:30am-1am, 7 days a week.2. The albany shuttle runs a continuous loop m-f, from 6am-10am and from 4pm-10 pm between the 610 albany street garage and the 710 albany street garage. This shuttle is primarily for those working or visiting the bmc hospital, the bu school of medicine, and other local businesses. 3. The andrews shuttle provides a continuous loop of service from andrews station on the red line through Newmarket and back to andrews station from 5am-midnight, m-f. This shuttle also provides service to the fairmount commuter line.4. The ruggles shuttle provides a continuous loop of service from ruggles station on the orange line through Newmarket and back to ruggles station from 5am-midnight, m-f. This shuttle also provides access to the fairmount commuter line.

Safety and security programa priority for the bid is the safety and wellbeing of all those living, working, and visiting the District. In june 2022, new england security became our partners and provides 24/7 supplemental security throughout the area.while boston police and ems do a tremendous job in our area, our safety team provides another set of eyes and "an added layer of protection." Our team is able to reduce the number of potential 911 calls by providing rapid response in the District to a wide range of lower-level infractions. On average, 911 calls were down approximately 13% and our bid security officers have developed strong relationships with the police, Business owners and residents and have earned the respect and trust of those living on the streets.

Back2work programin 2018, the Newmarket Business association, now the Newmarket Business Improvement District (bid), promoted a workforce development program for the homeless to the city, and while it was well received at the time, boston did not have the ability to assist in funding it. In early 2021, Newmarket began funding the program ourselves and for the past year and a half, the Newmarket Business Improvement District has managed the program focused on providing low-threshold same-day work for individuals experiencing shelter instability, homelessness and/or a substance use disorder. This effort acknowledges the barriers that these individuals face in both applying for jobs, as well as maintaining their employment, and creates a lower barrier approach to suit their needs.as a result of our early success, the boston department of public health has assisted us with funding over the past 8 months which has led to a significant expansion of the program.through this initiative, the Newmarket bid employs homeless and housing challenged individuals in the mass and cass area to provide supplemental services in cleaning and beautifying the area by providing day jobs including landscape beautification, trash removal, power washing, graffiti removal and similar.we work in close cooperation with the mayor's office, and recovery, shelter & engagement center staff to identify/hire those individuals that have a likelihood of success in this program. We believe that we are the first step toward changing their lives and the sos program provides the next step in the process. Participants of this program are reimbursed through cash stipends and/or gift cards, all of which can be used for work clothes, apartment needs, medical needs, or anything else that the person may need. Of course, as you can imagine, these stipends only go so far and we many times end up providing "advances or "extra money" for necessities including boots, shoes, goggles, clean clothes, snacks etc.participants work every day alongside program staff and peer support specialists, who engage them in professional development activities and support their connection to social services, such as housing supports, benefits access, and physical, mental, and behavioral health providers. It is an important component to the program that, while we do not require that individuals are clean when they come into the program, they have to be willing to work toward sobriety/recovery during their first several weeks working with us. We are very proud of the fact that the majority of our workers are currently in recovery/sobriety and all of the others, while not there yet, are in a much better place than they were previously. In addition, it is also an important part of the program that we find more stable housing for our workers and while the vast majority were living in tents or on the street, they are now living in low threshold, supportive housing or in sro's or apartments.the end goal of this initiative is to provide our workers with the opportunity to be hired by local companies in part-time or full-time positions. We have placed more than 50 individuals into jobs in the past year and expect to increase that number in 2024.

Jobs initiative programthe Newmarket Business association launched its jobs initiative in early 2020 to better pipeline residents in the roxbury, dorchester, and mattapan neighborhoods, which have an average unemployment rate of 16.8%, into well-paying jobs in the Newmarket industrial District. Even through the worst period of the covid-19 driven recession, we placed several dozen individuals into full-time jobs. The work of the initiative was transferred to the Newmarket Business Improvement District in 2022 and we have successfully placed dozens of residents into employment since then.the unemployment rate in roxbury, dorchester, and mattapan for residents of color is many times that of the overall city. Meanwhile, over 50 of our top businesses are eager to hire from the surrounding neighborhoods and many have done so already. For these businesses, their top two job vacancies are commercial driver's licenses (cdls) and additional workforce certifications (such as forklift, and hoisting). Therefore, we began offering cdl driver training classes in 2020 and, since then, we have trained 32 individuals who have gone on to receive their cdl licenses and attained employment. The jobs available with these licenses range from $22. Per hour to $80,000.+ per year.each graduate who obtains the cdl class b license is offered full- time employment with at least one of our employer partners at a salary starting at a minimum of $22. Per hour.in addition to our cdl training classes, we maintain a jobs database of approx. 50-100 local jobs and we work closely with 15-20 area non-profit organizations in the dorchester, roxbury, mattapan area who provide us with a number of local residents looking for work. We then work with these residents to pair them with the job postings we have available and assist them through the process, including resume writing and career coaching.storage of homeless belongings programsince early 2022, at the request of, and paid for by, the city of boston public health department, the Newmarket Business Improvement District (Newmarket bid) collects and safely stores personal belongings for unsheltered individuals for up to 60 days. The belongings are stored in a storage facility close to the 112 southampton shelter. The facility is clean, dry and accessible.the Newmarket bid provides for the transportation of these belongings to the storage facility. The Newmarket bid employs a storage manager and a storage assistant who respond to requests from boston public health officials for pick-up of the belongings monday-friday, between the hours of 8am and 4pm. One of our representatives is normally on scene for pick-up within 1/2 hour/hour of being requested by the department of public health.the collection of personal belongings is limited roughly to 2-3 (50 gallon) storage buckets and/or limited additional other closed containers as requested by the department of public health. Storage may also include bicycles and other similar items as requested.the owners of the personal belongings packs the items for storage and the storage manager signs for those items once collected. No items of significant value can be stored and this is stipulated on the signed agreement.the Newmarket bid makes the belongings available for retrieval between 9am and 1pm, monday through friday, except on holidays or during similar timing as agreed upon with the city of boston dept. Of public health. Those individuals whose belongings are in storage can reach out to an outreach worker at the 112 shelter or the atkinson street engagement center to request retrieval. The designated person then contacts the storage manager employed by the Newmarket bid and the belongings are returned to their owner within one half hour. The individuals can also call the bid office directly in order to request retrieval.the Newmarket bid provides regular reports, as requested, to the department of public health that contain up-to-date data indicating the owners' names, belonging details and storage details currently in storage under this program. The reports also indicate the names and belonging details of each individual who retrieved their belongings. At the end of the 60 day storage period of an individual's belongings, or any time after that date, the Newmarket bid is free to dispose of those belongings after notifying the boston department of public health of their intent to do so. Generally, every effort is made to contact the individual before any disposal is initiated.bid assessmentsassessments collected from property owners within the district.advocacy programthe primary goal of the bid advocacy program is to:-provide advocacy to support the development goals of the District and maintain Newmarket as the jobs center of the city. -provide a voice for District stakeholders on issues impacting the Newmarket area. -promote Business and residential activities. -reach out to elected officials and decision-makers to advocate for a better quality of life for the stakeholders of the district.-work as the primary advocate and voice of its membership for the betterment of the Newmarket district.-improve the quality of life of all who live, work, and visit the Newmarket District.