THE DUMBO IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT IS A 501C-3 NON PROFIT ORGANIZATION HERE TO MAKE DUMBO SHINE. WE ARE GOVERNED BY A BOARD OF DIRECTORS MADE UP OF NEIGHBORHOOD STAKEHOLDERS, AND ARE MANAGED DAY TO DAY BY A SMALL TEAM OF CAN-DO THINKERS AND NIMBLE OPERATORS.
BOARD MEMBERS
FY23 BOARD MEMBERSHIP
OFFICERS
Sayar Lonial, Chair
–NYU Tandon, School of Engineering
Peter Forman, Vice Chair
–Forman Realty Management, LLC
Bruce Silverglade, Treasurer
–Gleason’s Gym
David Lombino, Secretary
–Two Trees Management Co., LLC
COMMERCIAL PROPERTY OWNERS
Peter Benedetto–
Dom Ben Realty Corp./Chambers
Jack Guttman
–Pearl Realty Management, LLC
Johari Jenkins
–Con Edison
Salvatore Leonardi–
Front Street Pizza
Jed Walentas–
Two Trees Management Co., LLC
Tom Montvel-Cohen–
100 Jay LLC
Jack Cayre–
Empire Stores
Charlie Cara
–Cara Construction
Asher Abshera–
DUMBO Heights
RESIDENTIAL REPRESENTATION
Ray Levin
Ayana Champagne
COMMERCIAL TENANTS
Laura Roumanos
–United Photo Industries
Tanya Rynd–
Superfine
GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS
Kevin D. Kim–Commissioner, NYC Department of Small Business Services
Scott Stringer
–Comptroller, City of new York
Antonio Reynoso–Brooklyn Borough President
Lincoln Restler–Councilmember, 33rd Council District, Brooklyn
NON-VOTING DIRECTORS
Althea Erickson
–Etsy
Susan Feldman–
St. Ann’s Warehouse
Taya Muller
–Representative, Community Board 2
Lindsay Stuart
–Glam Expressway
STAFF MEMBERS
PRESIDENT
Alexandria Sica
Alexandria works closely with the Board of Directors to set the agenda and steer the ship. In her tenure at the BID, she has successfully advocated for more than $100 million in public investment, the emergence of Dumbo into Brooklyn’s premier commercial district, a must visit tourist destination and growing residential community. Under Alexandria’s leadership, the BID has realized the addition of thousands of square feet of public space, installed dozens of public art works, hosted hundreds of events, supported hundreds of artists and small businesses, and weathered one super storm, one global pandemic and many, many rounds of construction.
SENIOR VICE-PRESIDENT, PROGRAMS
Clara Inés Schuhmacher
Clara curates the BID’s cultural + community programs, supports Dumbo’s ecosystem with marketing and small biz resources, and runs point on neighborhood comms. Since joining the team in 2015, she has launched a dozen cultural programs, presented thousands of performing & visual artists on the Dumbo’s public & projected stages (many of them Dumbonians!), helped install dozens of public artworks, built the #DUMBOVIP program, parachuted toy elephants onto Washington Street, held a million conversations with small businesses, created dozens of gift guides, sent more eblasts than she can count, and told the countless stories of Dumbo’s businesses, artists, companies and more on social media.
DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS
Kalvis Mikelsteins
Kalvis manages all things public space related in the neighborhood- construction, horticulture, sanitation, lighting, you name it! Kalvis also handles BID contracts, Public Space agreements, and is a resource for local businesses regarding policy and rule changes in the city. He advocates for neighborhood and city-wide planning initiatives as part of the Mayor’s Commercial Corridor Recovery Task Force, the BQE Community Visioning Council, and BID working groups, and is always in search of the perfect Holiday Tree.
FIELD OPERATIONS MANAGER
Naseem Shad
Naseem is the BID’s in-the-field manager, overseeing daily neighborhood supplemental sanitation services, public realm maintenance and Open Streets management. Naseem is our chief 311 officer, our go-to-graffiti expert, and the fixer of so many things.