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Plan for SoHo BID Downscaled in Response to Concerns

The proposed Broadway SoHo BID has been downscaled.
The proposed Broadway SoHo BID has been downscaled.
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Flickr/beigeinside

SOHO — The committee behind the proposed Broadway SoHo Business Improvement District has downscaled its proposal in response to community opposition, the group announced Thursday.

The revised plan cuts the BID's first-year budget by more than 20 percent, from $700,000 to $550,000.

Brian Steinwurtzel, the chair of the Broadway SoHo BID Steering Committee, said his group met with 10 co-op boards and other neighborhood associations to discuss the proposed district on Broadway between Houston and Canal streets.

"Our action to modify the plan was in response to them," said Steinwurtzel.

The BID committee says their plan will keep sidewalks cleaner, remove graffiti, reduce crowding, help businesses in the area cooperate and provide a forum for addressing any issues.

An organization that deals exclusively with Broadway will be able handle concerns more effectively than Community Board 2, which covers a much larger area, said Steinwurtzel.

Opponents of the BID, however, contend that the organization is undemocratic, unnecessary and will transfer control from the community to developers.

"Why does SoHo, one of the most successful retail stretches in the city — in the country, maybe — need a Business Improvement District?" asked Sean Sweeney, a member of Community Board 2's Land Use and Development Committee and the head of the SoHo Alliance.

Sweeney said he thinks the true purpose of the BID is to hand control of the neighborhood over to developers.

"The only people who want this BID are the mega real estate companies which head up the BID committee," he said.

Several members of the BID committee work in real estate, including Steinwurtzel.

Peter Davies, the administrator of the website SoHo NO BID, said he fears that if approved, the BID committee will increase its annual fee, which is based on property value and size.

"What the BID proposal is now leaves a lot of questions unanswered and creates a lot of uncertainty for long-time property owners in SoHo," he said.

Community Board 2 unanimously rejected the proposal because "it was so badly presented and they responded so inadequately to our questions," Sweeney said.

District 1 City Council Member Margaret Chin wrote in an editorial in The Villager published Thursday that she supports the SoHo BID.

“It is time for SoHo residents to manage and direct the changes in their neighborhood, not be victimized by them. The BID will create an organization, commitment, and a unified voice. Without this, we will be unable to safeguard the unique character and history of SoHo,” Chin wrote.

According to the BID committee, more than 80 percent of Broadway SoHo property owners who responded to a survey about the plan said they supported the plan and would pay the annual charges.

Both Sweeney and Davies questioned the group's methodology.

"We've seen no indication of broad support for this plan," Sweeney said.

Once a City Council resolution or summary on the BID is published in the City Record, it is subject to a 30-day comment period, after which it goes to a full vote before City Council and needs to be signed by the mayor. It is then reviewed by state authorities.

Steinwurtzel said his aim is for the BID to be created by January, in time for fees to be included on businesses' January tax bills.