Recently, our colleagues at NYC’s Department of Small Business Services highlighted the NoHo BID’s own Director of Operations and Community Engagement, Chandler Forsythe, as a capacity building success story. The capacity building team at SBS works with community organizations across the Five Boroughs to support their work, grow skills, and help staff grow in their organizations.
Read the story below as it appeared in the Small Business Services newsletter.
Chandler Forsythe, Director of Operations & Community Engagement at NoHo Business Improvement District
2022 Neighborhood Leadership Program + 2026 Corridor Connection Participant
From the outside looking in, New York City is “the city that never sleeps.” A space that’s constantly moving, booming in activity. This title is rightfully earned when you think of retail cornerstones like SoHo or globally known parks like Union Square. However, right between these central neighborhoods, you’ll find NoHo. A middle ground where people can gather. Some would say it’s a secret place that only certain people know about. Who would have thought a Texas native would find his way there and become interwoven into the social fabric of the community?
Chandler, the NoHo Business Improvement District (BID)’s current Director of Operations and Community Engagement, has seen many shifts in this small but mighty community. The space that provides a home for NYU students. Or gives fitness gurus a chance to stretch their legs. Packed with diverse businesses, where on the same block you can get your favorite kicks, a smoothie, and Botox. “I don’t think people really realize the level of community here. It’s amazing!”
Chandler’s knowledge was earned through years of building and strengthening connections with small business owners and residents in the area. Before his time in New York, he dedicated years to developing a diverse background in civic engagement and local economic development. At the start of his tenure at the BID, most of his work focused on maintaining the corridor and building interpersonal relationships within the district. This included hosting a series of mixers to engage directly with merchants, in hopes of gaining instant feedback on the BID’s contributions to the area and potentially reaching businesses who weren’t as engaged in the BID’s day-to-day operations.
However, the BID’s focus shifted with the onset of COVID-19. The team had to think quickly on their feet about how to serve the community in times of distress. Ironically, this became an ideal situation for the BID’s ultimate goal in broadening their impact across lower Manhattan. Soon this 2-person team was in constant communication with residents and business owners, not only as a resource, sharing information on services and grants, but as a safe space to confide in. When protest emerged, they served as first responders to the aftermath of the damage. In partnership with the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, they conducted free store-to-store COVID testing, sometimes testing up to 250 people a day. Additionally, they provided personal protective equipment, offering free supplies of masks, hand sanitizer, and wipes — as public distributors, they served those beyond the district, outside the NoHo barriers.
As the world started to transition following the pandemic, so did Chandler’s focus in his position at NoHo. At the ideal time, he was offered the opportunity to participate in the Neighborhood Leadership program. With so much change happening, he believed the program would offer opportunities to connect with others who may be struggling with the constant shifts COVID has brought. “I am a big believer in community convening…It was just the perfect timing to sort of step in and find a cohort of other people who are figuring things out as well.” Through programs like Neighborhood Leadership and the Corridor Connection — a professional development program for front-facing employees at place-based organizations — Chandler not only gained technical insight from his fellow BID colleagues but also had the chance to build community and long-lasting connections. Today, he still produces creative and intentional means to sustain the integrity of NoHo, on and off the corridor.
To some, success is often defined as something you can measure. A sliding scale of the highs and the lows. To Chandler, success is centered within the connections he’s made. Success is seeing the same faces he’s seen within his district since 2018. Success is being adaptable to the changes, whether big or small. “I would say that the biggest one for me is… not just knowing when to ask for help but knowing who to ask for help.”
