NEWARK -- The city will create a business improvement district along two major commercial corridors in the North and Central wards that will levy a special tax on property owners in exchange for additional services and improvements.

Newark's newest business improvement district -- approved by the City Council last week -- includes businesses along Bloomfield Avenue in the North Ward and Lower Broadway in the Central Ward. A business improvement district already exits along Mt. Prospect Avenue.

"The improvement districts are a good thing, they're all over the city," Mayor Ras Baraka said. "They help the businesses, they help the residents. No one makes demands on you, the improvement decides on their own ... The city has no say so whatsoever. It is not an imposition, it is an opportunity for us to organize."

Some longtime business owners, however, said they weren't notified of the plan to bring the BID to Bloomfield Avenue and said they did not want to pay extra to fix other buildings when they kept their storefronts well-maintained. Others complained about police response times to the area and garbage pick-up.

"Whose going to come around and say to us what we need to be done in our building and whose going to pay for it?" one Bloomfield business owner asked the council. "Why do we have to foot the bill for this when my building is kept up well?"

North Ward Councilman Anibal Ramos said several community meetings were held regarding the BID and that any decision in the area would be made by the members of the BID, not the city.

"This is a neighborhood driven process," Ramos said, adding that business owners expressed an interest in wanting to form a BID in their neighborhood several years ago.

"You will see an increase in the cleanliness and the services that you're saying have fallen off. You'll have to see it," Central Ward Councilwoman Gayle Chaneyfield-Jenkins added.

The BID will be run by an independent board that will make decisions on how to spend the assessment money. Commercial and industrial properties in the area, and apartments with more than four units will pay the special assessment. Residential property with less than four units are excluded from paying.

"It's an assessment on the amount of taxes you already pay," Ramos said. "This isn't a lifetime guarantee; they've got to come every single year before this body to justify us approving that budget."

The special improvement district includes:

Bloomfield Avenue from Bloomfield Place to the Belleville border at Belmont Avenue

Broadway from Broad Street to Gouveneur Street

Broad Street from Grant Street to Bloomfield Place

Clay Street from Broadway/Broad Street to the Harrison Street Bridge

Clark Street from Broadway/Broad Street to the Harrison Street Bridge

The BID will help rehabilitate properties, provide sanitation and security services, and revitalize the area with exterior improvements.

"Bloomfield Avenue is a gateway to our city," Ramos said. "It has tremendous potential to become a thriving commercial corridor that can provide jobs and new housing options for our residents."

Karen Yi may be reached at kyi@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter at @karen_yi or on Facebook.