To the editor:
Re: “Revised BID prop still hot” (news article by Aline Reynolds, Aug. 3)
I have a unique perspective of the BID since I have been a Soho resident for nearly a decade and am the vice president of a company that has significant investments in the neighborhood. I am writing you this letter on behalf of myself, all of my Soho residential neighbors and the businesses throughout the neighborhood, since we all need the Soho BID.
Our company, Aurora Capital, owns and manages several of the largest retail spaces on Broadway, including the stores occupied by Armani Exchange, Forever 21, Hollister and Victoria’s Secret, which are all located within the proposed Broadway Soho BID. Our building at 568 Broadway, located at the northeast corner of Prince St., is one of the largest office buildings in the neighborhood. While collectively we will pay the highest annual BID assessments, we support this worthwhile opportunity for owners, businesses and residents alike, to work together for a better neighborhood.
As one of the 280 property owners working on Broadway between Houston and Canal Sts., I am aware that I and other commercial owners will fund almost 100 percent of the BID budget to provide services and improvements to the BID area. The 146 residential condo owners and the 14 residential co-op buildings along Broadway will each pay $1 per year in BID assessments. Regardless of who pays what, we all benefit from the BID plan.
With ACE absent from the street, I worry about the trickle-down effect of the dirty sidewalks on Soho’s Broadway and its future. How long will the thousands of workers, visitors, shoppers and residents tolerate an unattractive environment? This coming together of so much activity gives the street energy and provides the financial support for each and every Broadway property (commercial and residential). At the same time, it must be managed to everyone’s benefit; it cannot be left to unravel on its own to the detriment of all within and beyond the BID area boundaries.
The BID is where we begin as a diverse group of neighbors who need to be acquainted with one another, to stay informed and to be actively involved with our neighborhood.
We should all support the Broadway Soho BID.
Jared Epstein
Epstein is vice president, Aurora Capital Associates
