| From left to right: FCBID
Chairman and President, George Kaufman; Executive Director, Barbara
Blair Randall; and Finance Committee Chair, Martin Meyer. |
On Tuesday, May 15th, the FCBID hosted its Annual Meeting in its new
offices at 209 West 38th Street. Tours were offered of the new facility
as 100 guests enjoyed cocktails and other refreshments before the
meeting.
George S. Kaufman, Chairman and President of the Fashion Center
BID, called the meeting to order with a brief overview of how
the district
is evolving and the ways in which the FCBID continues to work toward
facilitating positive change.
| Far left: Josh Mazess of
the NYC Comptroller's Office with the FCBID's Bill Daly. Left:
Dusica Kirjakovic and Sei Kim of the Lower East Side Pring Shop
with Christine Helm of the FIT Enterprise Center. |
FCBID Board Member Martin Meyer,
Chairman of the Finance Committee, then gave the organization’s
financial report, which indicated that the BID was again on budget
for the past fiscal year. He also
presented the budget for Fiscal Year 2007-2008 and noted that the new
$5,000,000 budget represents an assessment increase, the first increase
the FCBID has had in three years. This budget was approved by the Board
of Directors and has been presented to the City.
| Left: Courtney Redding of
Infomat with FCBID Deputy Director Jerry Scupp. Right: Paulo Davis
of Salazar Davis Architects. |
Executive Director Barbara Blair
Randall then described the many positive changes in the district that
can be seen in the form of new tenants,
ranging from hot new eateries like Metro Marche to prestigious arts
organizations like the New Dance Group. In addition, she pointed to
the many new hotels and the new New York Times headquarters that are
slated to open on the district’s northwestern border, all of
which should have a very positive impact on the Fashion District. Ms.
Randall then gave a detailed reporting of the BID’s achievements
from the past year, including:
•
More than 80 attended the summer brokers’ luncheon, the latest
in s series of such events designed to draw the attention of the brokers’ community
to the opportunities for restaurants and retailers in the Fashion District.
• More than 2000 people attended October’s second annual Fashion
Arts Festival & Kite flying event, promoting the district’s important
new arts sector.
•
The Mayor’s Operation Scorecard
honored the FCBID sanitation department by rating district sidewalks
an impressive 98.4% clean and
streets 97% clean in 200.
•
FCBID public safety efforts yielded impressive results in 2006, as
crime declined by 9% in the district this year, representing an overall
decine of 70% since the BID began its public safety services.
•
The New York City Council, at the
behest of Council Speaker Christine Quinn, allocated $417, 000 for
the continuation of the FCBID’s
side street bishop’s crook lighting. NCDOT hopes to begin
installations later this year.
•
As a result of FCBID outreach and intervention, three formerly homeless
individuals were able to attain permanent housing last year, and another
individual returned home to his family in another state.
•
Nine loading docks have already been
painted, free of charge, as part of the FCBID’s new Brightin
Up Your Loading Dock program.
•
The FCBID Website and Information Kiosk were bothe retooled this past
year to reflect the district’s new tenant categories and the
public’s growing desire for broader district information.
• A new infrastructure
tracking system was instituted to allow the FCBID to more efficiently
identify and resolve streetscape and infrastructure
issues.
Ms. Randall concluded her remarks b y promising that programming
for the 2007-2008 fiscal year will continue to focus on the types
of initiatives that support new tenant uses, strengthen the fashion
industry and help prepare the district to capture the opportunities
the future will afford. A full accounting of the BID’s activities
to date and its plans for the future may be found in its 2006-2007
Annual Report, available online at www.fashioncenter.com or by
contacting the FCBID at 212-764-9600.
TOP
|
