Council Approves New Business District in Soho

The City Council approved a measure to establish the SoHo Business Improvement District (BID), a public-private partnership designed to provide better services for businesses down an overcrowded stretch of Broadway. The project, which follows Broadway from Houston Street to Canal Street, has been years in the making. After an initial proposal was met with resistance from Community Board 2 and local residents, concerned that business interests were overrepresented, an amended plan began making its way through the Council in 2011.

After the Finance Committee approved the plan on October 9, the full council followed suit a few hours later. The BID will collect assessments from all commercial property holders along the so-called "Broadway Corridor" to pay for sanitation services, street maintenance, and snow removal. Pedestrian congestion will also be a top priority for the group, which has promised to manage the effects of street vendors along the area's crowded sidewalks. Pending approval from Mayor Bloomberg-whose office submitted a memorandum supporting the plan to the council-the SoHo BID will become the 65th such district in the city.