Why a BID in SoHo New York City?
The dramatic change in retail tenancy and overall development along the Broadway corridor in New York City’s SoHo has brought new challenges to the neighborhood. Property owners, tenants and residents have experienced a greater increase in pedestrian traffic due to the concentration of brand name retail tenants and the influx of visitors to New York City. Vehicular traffic, particularly the Broome Street “feeder” to the Holland Tunnel, continues to be a concern for public safety.
With the heavy pedestrian traffic, municipal sanitation services have had a hard time keeping up, particularly on the weekends. Henry Buhl, a long time SoHo resident and founder of ACE (Assn. of Community Employment Programs for the Homeless), has serviced the Broadway corridor for years and can no longer do so as of July 2011.
Street vending has also increased along Broadway where jurisdiction by the NYPD is split with the east side of Broadway under NYPD Precinct 5 and the west side assigned to NYPD Precinct 1.
Bringing attention to the disrepair of streetlights, crosswalks, and other streetscape elements is clearly needed, as well as consideration of possible green spaces within the district.
Overall, the establishment of a BID would provide district members an opportunity to work together, formulate a unified voice and effective advocacy for the district, and generate revenue to support a wide range of services and improvements.
In short, SoHo’s Broadway Needs a BID Now!
The illustrations below document the current conditions along the Broadway corridor.
A BID for SoHo’s Broadway can do better in working towards a mixed-use livable neighborhood. See photo gallery…
