To the editor:
Re. “Exposing the dirty facts behind the Soho BID plan” (Talking Point by Peter Davies, July 28)
As a residential condominium owner at 40 Mercer St. and also a member of the Broadway Soho Business Improvement District Steering Committee, I support the BID as the best way to make Soho a more livable neighborhood. A BID allows residents like me, businesses and others to work together to address community issues and to provide services, such as sidewalk cleaning, which Broadway desperately needs.
By law, the BID board of directors must represent each property-owner group, as well as resident and commercial tenants, along with government and community board representatives providing oversight. As one of the 146 residential condo owners living on Broadway between Houston and Canal Sts., I look forward to ensuring that the residential perspective is always strongly considered during the decision-making process.
I and the other resident condo owners each pay $1 per year in BID assessments — one dollar. And each of the 14 residential co-operative properties will pay that same $1 per year.
We, the residents of the Broadway Soho BID, have participated in the BID-forming process, and the BID Steering Committee has responded to the concerns of residents — so why do opponents say this is a takeover by big real estate developers?
The BID proposal is good for residents. While the commercial property owners would be paying almost 100 percent of the BID’s proposed $550,000 budget, I am confident that residents will benefit. Let’s examine the facts. Let’s stop living in the past and decide to address Broadway the way it is today — and make it better for tomorrow.
Let’s support the Broadway Soho BID.
Alan Ballinger
