NEW CITY AMERICA has thorough knowledge
of the following as they relate to Business Improvement Districts,
Neighborhood Improvement Districts, Special Service Areas and Community
Benefit Districts, having formed 54 districts in the state of California
since 1996:
- Familiar with all aspects of organizing a drive to create Property Business Improvement Districts and Community Benefit Districts, as well as operating a dynamic business association including, but not limited to organizing, marketing, business promotion, community relations, organizational development, crime prevention programs, budget development and personnel relations.
- Special skills in devising cost effective public spaces in the public rights of way, coupled with assessment districts which provide funding to maintain those spaces;
- New City America has formed the largest district ever formed in the US. In December 2008, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors adopted the San Francisco Tourism Improvement District, an initiative of the San Francisco Convention and Visitors Bureau and established by New City America. The first year revenues of the SF TID are estimated to be $27,000,000 in 2009
- New City America is the only company in the country to have carried out assessment district campaigns in many languages. New City America literature has been translated into Spanish, Vietnamese, Japanese, Chinese and Korean, to facilitate the work of the contracts.
- New City America has established BIDs and set them up on the Main Street organizational structure to facilitate communication among various district management corporations. New City America is extremely familiar with all aspects of Main Street organizational structures and has also developed post-Main Street organizational structures to respond to the more advanced needs of the district management corporations;
- New City America President Marco Li Mandri has been a guest speaker, panelist or moderator for the following national organizations: International Downtown Association, National Main Street Trust, Destination Marketing International Association, Illinois Main Street, Pennsylvania Downtown Center, National League of Cities, California League of Cities, California Main Street Center, California Downtown Association and has been a guest writer for the Downtown Idea Exchange.
- Special skills in developing the significant arts and cultural district in the Little Italy district of Downtown San Diego;
- Special skills in adapting to various business communities' needs through developing strategies to organize in historic, ethnic, arts and culture, institutional, transit-oriented, blighted, rural or urban as well as exclusive commercial districts.
- NEW CITY AMERICA is the only consulting group nationwide, which specializes in assessment district formation, development and assessment district administration, thus having full experience on pre-formation as well as management skills.
- NEW CITY AMERICA has excelled in writing local legislation to accommodate special needs of property based maintenance districts. NEW CITY AMERICA authored the ordinance allowing greater flexibility in establishing property assessment districts that has been adopted by the cities of San Diego, Oakland, Los Angeles, Berkeley, and San Francisco. The new ordinances conform to provisions of Proposition 218 as well as provide features more receptive to property owners relative to current statewide legislation. The new ordinance is modeled after state of New York, New Jersey and Maryland state laws.
- New City America has created the majority of property based Community Benefit Districts in San Diego, 1/3 of the PBIDs in Los Angeles, nine of the nine districts functioning in Oakland and seven of the seven Community Benefit District formed in San Francisco.
Click
here to view letter of recommendation.
Since 1990, Marco Li Mandri and New City America have worked for and advised
the following groups in the consideration of formation of 54 special assessment
districts, BIDs, PBIDs, Neighborhood Improvement Districts, Special Service Areas
or Community Benefit Districts.
Thorough familiarity with all aspects of forming a BID as well as serving as consultant/staff/executive director to Management Corporation.
A) B.I.D., COMMUNITY BENEFIT DISTRICT AND NEIGHBORHOOD IMPROVEMENT
DISTRICT FORMATION
Since 1994, New City America has worked for and advised the following groups in the successful formation of special assessment districts.
City of West Hollywood
Entered into contract with City of West Hollywood in March 1994 to create
first of five potential BIDs within City limits. Contract was entered
into with City and administered through West Hollywood Chamber of Commerce.
BID efforts concentrated on "Avenues of Art and Design" around Pacific
Design Center.
Public meeting held, public hearing
held on December 4, 1995 with BID established by majority vote of City
Council.
Chinatown/Los Angeles:
New City America was awarded the contract in March 2000, to lead the formation
of the Chinatown Property Business Improvement District. NCA entered into
a 17-week contract with the LA Chinatown Business Council to form this
property-based district based upon a new ordinance written by Marco Li
Mandri and adopted by the City of Los Angeles. The Alpha BID ordinance
of Los Angeles creates a more reasonable petition threshold to trigger
a property owner vote and allows for formation of the district for up
to 10 years, based upon the district's categorization of a "special economic
incentive area". Weighted 218 vote supported district formation, approved
unanimously by LA City Council on August 15, 2000.
First
10 year PBID in the state. First property BID formed in any Chinatown
in North America.
Chinatown Expansion/2008:
In 2007, the Chinatown BID Management Corporation approached New City
America about expanding the district to its peripheral areas. After a
very lengthy process of review, it was determined that the entire district
would have to be put to a vote of the expansion area and current BID property
owners.
On July 29th, 2008, the Chinatown expansion
and existing property owners voted by a 70% margin to expand the district.
Encino Property Business Improvement District/Los
Angeles
NEW CITY AMERICA awarded contract to complete final phase of petition
drive for bring Property Business Improvement District to vote in Fall
1999.
Weighted 218 vote support district formation,
approved unanimously by LA City council on August 15, 2000.
Lincoln Heights Industrial Zone/Los Angeles
Marco Li Mandri, in working with Council District 1 Office, and the Los
Angeles Mayor's office worked to create a hybrid "Security/Assessment
District" for the historic industrial zone in Lincoln Heights. Fifty four
acres of land are included in the industrial zone.
Weighted
218 supported district established, approved unanimously by LA City Council
on August 15th, 2000.
Leimert Park/Los Angeles
Leimert Park is a predominantly African American residential community
in the Baldwin Hills/Crenshaw District of Los Angeles. Leimert Park has
the distinction of having the highest income African American residential
community in the U.S. as well as being one of the first planned residential
and commercial districts in the U.S. Built as a "neo-traditional" community,
Leimert Park Village business district serves as the focal point of the
overall community.
New City America was awarded
a contract in July 2001 to establish a PBID in the district. Approved
overwhelmingly by property owner 218 vote in December 2002.
Lincoln Heights/Los Angeles
Worked with Councilman Mike Hernandez and staff (District 1) on formulating
BID for Lincoln Heights north of Downtown.
Lincoln
Heights was the first and only BID operating under "BID Free Zone" concept
in which business receive credit from gross receipts tax in the amount
paid into the District. Approved in Feb. 1997.
Lincoln Heights Community Benefit District:
After four years of work led by New City America, a new Lincoln Heights
Community Benefit District was formed by vote of the property owners.
Lincoln Heights one of the original suburbs of the City of Los Angles,
and home to the first nighttime lit commercial district in Los Angeles
.
On July 29th, by a two to one margin, Lincoln Heights property owners
voted to establish a new property business improvement district.
Highland Park/Los Angeles
New City America was awarded a contract to investigate the establishment
of a property based BID for the historic Highland Park commercial district
along Figueroa Street between Pasadena and Downtown Los Angeles. The Highland
Park district is one of many "historic preservation overlay zones in the
City of Los Angeles. The area is distinguished by its tremendous architecture,
rich history and current predominantly Latino population.
District
approved by overwhelming support of property owners in 218 vote in September
2001.
Byzantine Latino Quarter -Pico Blvd./Los
Angeles
New City America was hired by major property owners representing the historic
religious institutions along Pico Boulevard. This is the first faith based
PBID in North America.
Approved overwhelmingly
by property owners in the Proposition 218 mail balloting procedure and
adopted by the LA City Council on July 30th, 2003.
Chatsworth/Los Angeles
New City America was awarded a contract to investigate the establishment
of a Property Based or Business Based BID for the Chatsworth business
community in the City of Los Angeles.
District
was approved unanimously by LA City Council on September 7, 1999 with
no public opposition.
Brentwood/Los Angeles
New City America was awarded the contract to establish the first property
owner BID in Berkeley west of Interstate 405.
This
west LA Property BID received overwhelming support of the property owners
in its 218 vote in September 2002.
Historic Downtown Los Angeles:
New City America was awarded the contract to renew the Historic Core now
the Historic Downtown Los Angeles PBID in September 2002. Approved overwhelmingly
by property owners in the Proposition 218 mail balloting procedure.
Ordinance forming district adopted unanimously by the LA City Council
on July 30th, 2003.
New City America was retained by the Historic Core Property owners and successfully completed a renewal of the existing district with 82% support of the property owners on August 8th 2008.
Reseda/Los Angeles
New City America was awarded the contract to re-establish the Reseda BID
due to its impending sunset clause.
The district
was approved unanimously by the LA City Council for the public hearing
in September 2002.
South Park Community Benefit District:
Formed around the Staples Center, the LA Convention Center, the LA Live
and Nokia Center, New City America worked with the South Park Stakeholders
group to form the first of many "Community Benefit Districts" in the City
of Los Angeles. South Park represents perhaps one of the most dynamic
entertainment districts under construction in the world today.
The
South Park CBD was approved by nearly a 9 to 1 margin by area property
owners and approved by the LA City Council on August 15th, 2007.
Thousand Oaks Boulevard/Thousand Oaks:
New City America was hired to form the first PBID in Thousand Oaks centering on Thousand Oaks Blvd. District successfully passed with majority vote of property owners on January 11th, 2005.
San Francisco Tourism Improvement District:
New City America, working with the San Francisco Convention and Visitors Bureau and the San Francisco Hotel Council, successfully established the largest district of its kind in the history of North America. On December 16th, 2008, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors unanimously voted to support the creation of the new San Francisco TID. The vote of the Supervisors followed a mail ballot in which 95% of the affected hotel room supported establishment of the district. This is truly a national milestone and will serve as a model for self-managed visitor promotional districts nationwide.
Fisherman's Wharf:
New City America was awarded a contract to investigate the formation of
a new Community Benefit District in the historic Fisherman's Wharf District
of San Francisco in October 2004.
The Fisherman's
Wharf CBD was approved overwhelmingly by a mail ballot voting margin of
9 to 1 by the Fisherman's Wharf property owners on July 26th, 2005. Such
a level of support is unprecedented in the state of California.
Noe Valley:
New City America was awarded a contract to investigate the formation of
a new Community Benefit District in the 24th Street corridor/Noe Valley
Retail District of San Francisco in October 2004.
The Noe Valley CBD was approved with an overwhelming vote of the weighted
property owners on August 2nd, 2005.
Castro District:
New City America was awarded a contract to investigate the formation of
a new Community Benefit District in the Castro District of San Francisco
in August 2004. The Castro District is internationally known for its concentration
of Gay/Lesbian/Bi-sexual and Transgender businesses.
The
new Castro CBD was approved by a 2 to 1 vote of the property owners on
August 2nd 2005. It is the first district of its kind in North America.
Tenderloin:
New City America was awarded a contract to investigate the formation of
a new Community Benefit District in the Tenderloin/North of Market community
of San Francisco in August 2004. This community is more impacted by homeless
issues than any other district in the country. Yet it contains some of
the greatest mix of buildings and people to be found anywhere in the country.
The Tenderloin/North of Market CBD, against all odds, was overwhelmingly
approved by the property owners in a mail ballot on August 2nd, 2005.
The Tenderloin district will be known nationwide
as a model of community based special benefit district organizing, pulling
together a vast array of businesses, tenant groups, homeless advocates
and institutions around a common goal to clean up their neighborhood.
Fillmore Jazz District:
New City America was awarded a contract by the San Francisco Redevelopment
Agency in 2004 to investigate the formation of a new Community Benefit
District in the historic Fillmore Jazz District of San Francisco.
District established by an 8 to 1 ratio of support of voting property
owners, August 15th, 2006.
Central Market Street:
New City America was hired by the Market Street Association in 2005 to
form a new Community Benefit district in the core of the historic Market
Street district in San Francisco.
The Central
Market CBD district was approved by over a 2 to 1 majority of the voting
property owners on October 31, 2006.
Portside Community Benefit District:
As the second component of the Fisherman's Wharf CBD, New City America
was hired to create a very complicated "business license based district"
which was related to Port tenants gross receipts reported to the Port
of San Francisco. This Portside CBD would complement the Fishermans' Wharf
CBD and allow both the land side and Port side to be assessed, albeit
on different variables. The Portside CBD was approved with a 94% ballot
support of the affected business owners, an amount not matched in any
other formation process in California.
The district
was approved unanimously by the San Francisco Board of Supervisors on
December 12th, 2006.
Yerba Buena Gardens:
New City America, working with the Yerba Buena Alliance, successfully
established a new 2. 4 million dollar Community Benefit District in the
City of San Francisco. Yerba Buena is home to the world famous Yerba Buena
Gardens, the Moscone Convention Center and a large cluster of museums
in the City of San Francisco. After 3 years of work, the Yerba Buena CBD
was approved overwhelmingly by area property owners and established by
the San Francisco Board of Supervisors.
This
the 8th Community Benefit District formed by New City America since 2005
in the City of San Francisco.
San Francisco Tourism Improvement District:
In early 2008, the San Francisco Convention and Visitors Bureau hired New City America to put together a new “Tourism Improvement District”. After 8 months of work, a new TID plan was put together by the Hotel industry and approved by 95% of the voting hotels. The new San Francisco TID is the largest district ever formed in the history of North America. Its projected $27,000,000 in revenues, generated by a surcharge on each occupied hotel room, will fund the operations and marketing programs of the SF Convention and Visitors Bureau and will match the City’s contribution to upgrade and expand the Moscone Convention Center.
This is the 9th district formed by New City America in the City of San Francisco.
Downtown Oakland Community Benefit District/Oakland
New City America successfully formed a new Community Benefit District
in the Downtown Oakland district. Downtown Oakland is home to tremendous
architectural buildings, is the County seat and is perhaps the best location
for regional transportation and employment in the east Bay Area.
Property
owners voted by a weighted margin of 77% to support formation of this
new CBD on July 15th, 2008.
Lake Merritt-Uptown Community Benefit District/Oakland
New City America successfully formed a new Community Benefit District
in the Lake Merritt/Uptown district of Oakland. Home to tens of thousands
employees, Lake Merritt/Uptown is the a critical area in the Oakland economy
- as well as an area with tremendous natural assets.
Property owner voted by a weighted margin of 85% to support this new CBD
on July 15, 2008.
Koreatown-Northgate Community Benefit District/Oakland:
New City America successfully formed the first Korean-American Community
Benefit District/BID in North America. On July 17th, 2007, the Korean-American
and other property owners voted overwhelmingly to support formation of
this district. The Oakland City Council voted unanimously to adopt this
new district during a public hearing.
This represents
the seventh district formed by New City America in the City of Oakland.
Rockridge Business District/Oakland
In December 1999, NEW CITY AMERICA was awarded the first contract ever
issued for the formation of a BID under the City of Oakland's Neighborhood
Commercial Revitalization BID Grant Program. BID election held in August
and numerical and weighted votes supported BID formation by large margin.
BID approved unanimously by Oakland City Council
on November 28, 2000.
Montclair BID/Oakland
New City America was hired by the Montclair Business Association to establish
a BID in this mountain business district of Oakland.
District approved with overwhelming support of business community and
ordinance creating the district was unanimously approved by the Oakland
City Council in November 2001.
Lakeshore Drive PBID/Oakland:
New City America was awarded the contract to renew the Lakeshore Property
Business Improvement District. The new district was expanded and formed
under the new enabling ordinance allowing for 10-year districts, written
by Marco Li Mandri and adopted by the Oakland City Council in 1999.
The
district was approved by 75% of the property owners in the 218 balloting
in July 2002.
Temescal/Oakland:
New City America was awarded a contract from the City of Oakland to investigate
and form a new Property Business Improvement District along Telegraph
Avenue in the Temescal section of town.
Passed
overwhelmingly by vote of the property owners and adopted by Oakland City
Council on July 20th, 2004.
Laurel District/Oakland:
New City America was awarded a contract to investigate and establish a
new Property Business Improvement District for MacArthur Blvd. in the
Laurel District of Oakland.
Approved by an overwhelming
vote of the property owners on July 19th, 2005.
Fruitvale District/Oakland:
New City America successfully established the renewed Fruitvale Property
Business Improvement District. Working in conjunction with the Fruitvale
Unity Council, property owners increased their special benefits services
budget and approved the renewal of the district by nearly a two to one
margin. The district was approved by property owners on July 18th, 2006.
This represents New City America's sixth district
formed out of sixth total districts in the City of Oakland.
North Shattuck Avenue/Berkeley
New City America was retained by the North Shattuck property owners in
the summer of 2000 to investigate the formation of a Property Business
Improvement District.
Proposition 218 vote was
approved by property owners in July 2001 at public hearing and unanimously
approved by Berkeley City Council.
Willow Glen Community Benefit Improvement District/San Jose:
New City America successfully formed the first district, based upon the newly adopted Community Benefit Improvement District, in the City of San Jose. On December 16th, 2008, the affected Willow Glen property owners voted by a weighted majority to establish this first new CBID in the City of San Jose. The City Council, lead by Councilman Pierluigi Oliverio and Mayor Chuck Reed brought the issue to a final vote of support of the City Council.
Tracy California
New City America successfully formed its first district in the growing Central Valley of California. On December 15th, 2009, by a margin of almost 8 to 1, Downtown Tracy property owners voted to establish a new Community Benefit District (PBID). The orientation of this new CBD will be toward branding the district and business attraction to its great Downtown setting.
Little Italy/City of San Diego
San Diego's Little Italy is the only Italian American business district
in North America to operate with a Business Improvement District in place.
The "Little Italy" business district on India Street in San Diego is the
premier functioning historical neighborhood commercial district in Downtown
San Diego. It was the point of entry for Italian immigrants in San Diego
and to the international tuna fishing industry. The Little Italy Association
is a successful 501(c)(3) tax-exempt corporation which administers various
revenue streams and assessment districts to improve the Little Italy neighborhood.
The district has been managed by New City America staff since the adoption
of the small BID in 1996.
The original BID was
approved without any public opposition by San Diego City Council on December
10, 1996.
Little Italy Property Assessment District/San
Diego
New City America currently administers the Little Italy BID and was awarded the contract for the formation of a new Community Benefit District in San Diego’s historic Little Italy area. District plan was overwhelmingly approved by majority of property owners in 218 vote and approved unanimously by San Diego City Council on August 8, 2000. This represents the first property based assessment district for any Little Italy in North America.
The Community Benefit District was re-balloted for new services including nightly security and district identity in summer of 2004. New district included “condo overlay assessment” to fund daily services in the public rights of way. Approved with three to one level of support on July 27th, 2004.
Central Commercial Business District Maintenance Assessment District/San
Diego
New City America was awarded a contract to form a property assessment
district in August 1999 for the business community in the historic Sherman
Heights area of San Diego. District to be directly impacted by new ballpark
scheduled for Downtown San Diego.
District plan
was overwhelmingly approved by majority of property owners in 218 vote
and approved unanimously by San Diego City Council on August 8, 2000.
Diamond BID/San Diego
Diamond District was the first predominantly African American BID formed
in the state of California. The area has the highest concentration of
African American owned businesses in San Diego County.
The district was established unanimously by City Council action without
any business community opposition on February 6, 1996.
San Ysidro/San Diego
New City America was selected to investigate establishment of a Business
Improvement District for the San Ysidro business district. San Ysidro
has more annual border crossings than any community in the world. This
was the first BID in San Diego to be promoted with bilingual campaign.
Election held among business owners in May 1998.
The
BID was approved by weighted vote of 4 to 1 over opposition. Approved
unanimously by San Diego City Council on December 11, 1998.
North Bay Business Improvement District/San
Diego
New City America was awarded contract to establish BID in the Midway Business
district. The district has over 600 businesses and is perhaps the largest
street-based regional big-box center in San Diego County.
The North Bay BID was approved unanimously by San Diego City Council,
without any public opposition, on July 18, 2000.
College Heights Property Owners/San Diego
The City of San Diego hired New City America to investigate and form a
property based assessment district under the new enabling ordinance in
the business district adjacent to San Diego State University.
The
district was overwhelmingly approved by a 75% weighted vote of support
of the property owners on April 27, 2004.
Downtown National City:
New City America was hired in March 2004 to investigate and form a PBID
for Downtown National City within 4 months.
The
formation task was approved by a 2 to 1 vote of property owners on August
3, 2004.
City of Imperial Beach/San Diego County
New City America was retained by the City of Imperial Beach in July 1995
to review the general business community in Imperial Beach. A BID was
recommended by the business community and New City America was awarded
a contract to form the district.
The Imperial
Beach BID was approved unanimously by City Council and without any formal
opposition on December 20, 1996.
Downtown El Cajon/San Diego County
New City America was hired by the Downtown El Cajon Inc., in the Fall
of 2000 to run their PBID re-certification campaign. During the process
of the effort, the district was increased to nearly double its size and
the budget was increased by nearly 60%. The Proposition 218 vote was approved
by property owners by 2 to 1 margin in June 2001 and approved unanimously
by the El Cajon City Council.
Received contract
to renew district and this was overwhelmingly approved by property owners
in June 2006.
Mile of Cars Association - National City/San Diego County
The historic auto row in San Diego County is run by the Mile of Cars Association
based in National City. The MOCA hired New City America in the summer
of 2000 to create a BID based upon new car dealers. The district raises
over $1,000,000 per year to promote the auto row.
The
Mile of Cars BID was approved unanimously by the auto dealers and National
City City Council in November 2001.
Auto Park Way BID/Chula Vista – San Diego County
New City America has successfully established its second auto dealer related Business Improvement District, this time in Chula Vista California. The new Auto Row BID was unanimously approved by all affected Auto dealers and the Chula Vista City Council on February 17th, 2009.
Downtown Main Street/El Centro – Imperial County
New City America established a small Business Improvement District in the historic Main Street District of El Centro California. The BID was initiated and supported by the Downtown El Centro Association and has served to fund minor improvements and staff since its establishment in 2002.
- New City America East awarded a contract to investigate formation of a new Community Benefit District in Easton Pennsylvania;
- Management of the Downtown Oakland Community Benefit District;
- Management of the Lake Merritt/Uptown Community Benefit District in Oakland California;
- Formation of a new Orange County (Anaheim and Garden Grove) Tourism Improvement District, hired by Orange County Visitors and Convention Bureau;
- Formation of the West San Carlos CBID, San Jose California;
- Renewal of the Historic Chinatown Business Improvement District in Downtown Los Angeles;
- East Liberty/Pittsburgh Pennsylvania, Neighborhood Improvement District formation;
- Investigation of two new Neighborhood Improvement Districts in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania;
- Investigation of possible Tourism Improvement District and business district marketing study for Coronado California;
- Investigation of a new Downtown BID for El Centro, California;
- Consulting contract for creation of a new District Management Corporation for the recently established Downtown Tracy CBD;
PERSONAL AND PROFESSIONAL
REFERENCES FOR
MARCO LI MANDRI AND NEW CITY AMERICA, INC.
|
| 1. |
Steve Galasso
President, Little Italy Association of San Diego
(619) 233-3898 |
| |
|
| 2. |
Mr. Joe D’Allesandro
CEO, San Francisco Convention and Visitors Bureau
(415) 446-9680 |
| |
|
| 3. |
Mr. Jose Gardea
Chief of Staff, Councilman Ed Reyes/District 1, Los Angeles
(213) 485-3451 |
| |
|
| 4. |
Ms. Jeanne Myerson
CEO, Swig Company (Headquartered in San Francisco)
(415) 291-1137 |
| |
|
| 5. |
Mr. Tom Noonan
CEO, Visit Baltimore (Convention and Visitors Bureau)
(410) 659-7130 |
| |
|
| 6. |
Mr. Rich Hillis
Mayor Gavin Newsom Office of Economic Development
(415) 554-6936 |
| |
|
| 7. |
Honorable John Russo
City Attorney of Oakland, California
c/o Chief of Staff, Alex Nguyen,
(510) 238-6628 |
| |
|
| 8. |
Mr. Lou Palestini
Treasurer
Little Italy Property Owners Committee
(619) 280-8500 |
| |
|
| 9. |
Mr. Rodney Fong
San
Francisco Port Commissioner
Chairman, San Francisco Convention and Visitors Bureau
(415) 307-6106 |
| |
|
| 10. |
Mr. Charles Ahlers
CEO Anaheim Convention and Visitors Bureau
(714) 765-8840 |
| |
|
| 11. |
Ms. Lori Moran
East Liberty (Pittsburgh) Neighborhood Improvement District contract
(412) 566-1993 |
BIOGRAPHICAL SUMMARY ON
MARCO LI MANDRI,
PRESIDENT, NEW CITY AMERICA, INC. – DECEMBER 2009
|
Marco Li Mandri has been involved in business district revitalization efforts since 1988. As a former President of a (BID), Marco entered the Business Improvement District arena as a stakeholder first, and later as a professional consultant. In 1992, Marco formed the Marco Group, a business dedicated to the formation and administration of Business Improvements Districts in Southern California. In 1997, the Marco Group evolved into New City America, Inc. and established itself as the premier company dedicated to business district revitalization throughout the country.
Since 1996, New City America has established 55 BIDs and Community Benefit Districts. New City America is currently under contract to manage or form 20 districts in the cities of San Francisco, Oakland, Los Angeles, San Diego, Berkeley, San Jose, Wheatridge Colorado as well as Pittsburgh Pennsylvania, Bethlehem Pennsylvania, Baltimore Maryland and multiple contracts pending on the east coast.
New City America has established the first assessment district in any Little Italy or Italian district, in North America (San Diego), the first in any Chinatown in North America, (Los Angeles) the first Korean American business district in North America (Oakland); and the first ecumenically based district in North America, (Los Angeles). We have created at least 4 districts in primarily Latino business districts and completed the formation process with bilingual newsletters. In 2002, New City America formed the first predominantly African America PBID in the state of California, (Leimert Part Village/Crenshaw in Los Angeles) and later the Fillmore Jazz District in San Francisco. New City America’s work has included running multi-lingual campaigns in Spanish, Chinese, Japanese, Korean and Vietnamese; no other business district revitalization company in North America can make such a claim.
In addition, New City America formed the first Gay and Lesbian Community Benefit District in North America by successfully creating the Castro/Upper Market CBD in San Francisco in the summer of 2005.
Marco and his wife Laura live in San Diego with two of their five children in the San Diego community of Kensington. Marco has been interviewed numerous times by major network television affiliates in San Diego, as well as the following newspapers:
- the Urban Land Institute
- the LA Times,
- the LA Business Journal,
- the Chicago Sun Times,
- the Chicago Gazette;
- the Chicago Fra Noi,
- the Oregonian Newspaper (Portland Oregon),
- the National Downtown Idea Exchange,
- the San Francisco Chronicle,
- the San Francisco Independent,
- the San Francisco Examiner,
- the San Francisco Sentinel,
- the San Francisco Business Times,
- the East Bay Business Times,
- the Downtown Idea Exchange;
- the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette,
- the San Diego Union-Tribune,
- the San Diego Business Journal,
- San Diego Magazine,
- the San Diego Daily Transcript,
- the Santa Monican
- the Tracy Press;
Marco is frequently called upon to discuss business district revitalization efforts with the local NPR affiliate in San Diego - KPBS public radio, Public Radio in Los Angeles and KPFK in the Bay Area. Marco has been interviewed by National Public Radio/Washington, KCBS in San Francisco and appears frequently on all major TV news channels in San Diego.
Marco has spoken at national conferences including panel presentations at the National League of Cities, the Destination Marketing International Association, the National Main Street Annual Conferences, the International Downtown Association, National LISC Urban Forum, the International Economic Development Council, the California Downtown Association and the California League of Cities.
For more information on the many services offered to cities, City Redevelopment Agencies, BIDs, Community Benefit Districts, property owners associations, or district management corporations, please call (888) 356-2726. We can also be reached by e-mail at mail@newcityamerica.com or at our website: www.newcityamerica.com.