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PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Jordan Barowitz, Co-Chair of East Harlem 125th St BID Steering Committee on East Harlem 125th Street Business Improvement District
0:14:30
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118 sec
Jordan Barowitz, Co-Chair of the East Harlem 125th St BID Steering Committee and representative of the Durst Organization, testified in favor of Introduction 1219 to form the East 125th Street Business Improvement District. He highlighted the unique challenges of the area and the need for a larger budget to address these issues.
- The BID's budget is relatively large due to the high concentration of substance abuse and mental health facilities in the area, requiring twice the normal street cleaning budget.
- The BID formation process was community-led, inclusive, and focused on shared responsibility and sacrifice.
- Barowitz emphasized the potential for the BID to improve the lives of everyone who lives, works, shops, and visits East 125th Street.
Jordan Barowitz
0:14:30
Thank you.
0:14:31
George?
0:14:31
Thank you for the opportunity to test ify in favor of intro 12/19, the formation of the East 120 Fifth Street Business Improvement District.
0:14:41
My name is Jordan Barowitz.
0:14:43
I'm the co chair of the steering committee, and I represent the Durst Organization who owns 1800 Park Avenue.
0:14:50
We greatly appreciate the work of our colleagues at SBS who have been invaluable guides through this process and thank you to the council staff for their work on this issue.
0:15:01
You may have noticed that our budget is relatively large for the size and nature of our catch scenario.
0:15:07
As my colleagues have mentioned, we are more than just a busy commercial and transit corridor.
0:15:12
We have the highest concentration of substance abuse and mental health facilities in New York, and the wear and tear on our streets is immense.
0:15:21
From the inception of this process, we understood that for the bid to be successful, we needed a street cleaning budget twice what is normal.
0:15:30
This required a significant investment from some of our property owners, and I thank them for their trust in the process and commitment to the community.
0:15:40
I also want to highlight our process in forming the bid.
0:15:43
We worked diligently to include the diversity of voices, viewpoints, and experiences on our steering committee.
0:15:50
We were community led and we cultivated a culture of shared responsibility and sacrifice.
0:15:57
The consensus we formed at the steering committee, excuse me, was essential to our success when we entered the public outreach phase of the process.
0:16:07
We have worked hard on this because we believe this bid will improve the lives of everyone who lives, works, shops, and visits East 120 Fifth Street.
0:16:17
Finally, thank you to council member Salam and especially to deputy, Majority Leader Ayala.
0:16:24
We would not be here without your support.
0:16:26
You've been with us from the beginning.
0:16:28
Thank you.