in the news: Karin Flood to head Union Square Business Improvement District

Friday, August 17, 2012

Karin Flood to head Union Square Business Improvement District

Karin Flood has been hired as executive director of the Union Square Business Improvement District in San Francisco.

In her new role, Flood is in charge of overseeing all administrative duties, programs and services for the organization, which seeks to improve the quality of life in the 27 blocks surrounding Union Square Park.

She will be taking the reins from Linda Mjellem, who is retiring after 16 years of serving as executive director of the BID.

Flood has a longtime history of improving San Francisco?s neighborhoods, including two-year stint working under Mayor Willie Brown on the Adopt-A-Street program. She was most recently the vice president of MJM Management Group, a private property and facilities management company that has worked on improving several districts around the city, including Yerba Buena Gardens and Union Square.

?As a fifth generation San Francisco resident and partial owner of the Flood Building, my interested in improving the area extends beyond my job,? Flood said.

She added that there are many plans in the works to maintain Union Square as the city?s prime shopping district and tourist destination. Addressing homelessness, renovating Holiday Plaza and covering up construction of the central subway are the main issues on the BID?s radar for the rest of the year.

The Union Square BID was formed in 1999 and modeled after other districts across the country. The organization aims to improve the overall quality of life for residents and visitors to the area through maintenance, advocacy, beautification and capital improvements.

?It?s all about taking ownership of your neighborhood and providing extra service beyond what the city is able to do,? Flood said.