Atlantic Avenue’s Unseen Architects of Change

Behind the thoroughfare’s renaissance are two women doing work that benefits locals and tourists alike.

Atlantic Avenue. Illustration by Tim Le

Atlantic Avenue has been a popular Brooklyn shopping strip since the late 1800s, but in recent years, it has leveled up. The streets are cleaner; the crosswalks are safer; there are fewer empty storefronts now than before the pandemic; and the area has become a nursery for specialty retail. These kinds of improvements don’t just happen. Rather, they’ve been carefully orchestrated by two women behind the Atlantic Avenue Business Improvement District.

If you haven’t heard of a Business Improvement District, or BID, before, think of it as a neighborhood’s glam squad-slash-operations team. BIDs are non-profit organizations, contracted through the City of New York, that work to promote and grow commercially active areas. New York City has 76 BIDs that range in size and funding levels. The Times Square BID, for example, is responsible for the New Year’s Eve Ball Drop, while the Fifth Avenue BID helps maintain the avenue’s reputation as a luxury retail destination.

Atlantic Avenue’s BID was formed in 2012 with one mission: to keep the corridor’s charm intact while making it feel alive for everyone, from longtime locals to weekend wanderers. It is run by Kelly Carroll, who joined as executive director in 2022, and Layla Passman, community engagement coordinator. Under Carroll’s leadership, the BID has installed mid-block crosswalks to increase pedestrian safety; improved sanitation by picking up 55,000 pounds of trash every month, incremental to what the city already collects; and commissioned a mural on the two supporting walls of the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway underpass.