Quote:
Originally Posted by IrishInMayfair
Scoats--
I looked at the membership on the website and noticed that none of the undesirable businesses are members (Nail Salons, Check cashing......). Have they been solicited for membership? If so and they did not want to join, these are the types of businesses that need to go. They are here to make a buck without any regard for the community and it shows by the looks of the storefronts which bring down the avenue.
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The membership list is inherited from last year when the CDC was the engine behind the MBA. Every business on Frankford and Cottman Aves was either approached directly and/or received a letter (or four) inviting them to join. The cost is $250/yr. Those businesses you describe as undesirable chose not to join, which really shouldn't surprise anyone.
The current leadership of the MBA relies entirely on email, which sadly does leave a few businesses out of the loop. We are all actively running our businesses. We have no time to address, stuff and mail letters that will be mostly ignored anyway.
The current version of the MBA is first trying to do some things to give businesses a reason to join with us. It's a strategy of being small, focused and active. Next we'll work on getting more businesses on board, a strategy of being bigger, yet still focused, and more active.
Membership dues are coming again in June. We'll make an attempt then to get more members, including the nail salons and other businesses you describe. I accept that some businesses have feel little to no civic responsibility and don't want to waste too much time courting them. Even if they do reluctantly join, they are unlikely to contribute anything positive. I'd rather use the time to do positive things with positive people. And we fortunately have quite a few positive people, and I think we can create more.
There will always be some hopeless cases, but you never know. If we give other businesses a reason to care and be involved, they might.