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March 3, 2013 By Steven E. Greer, MD
The NY Times printed a lengthy article about the Pier 40 debate and the Thursday, February 28th Town Hall. However, in the article, just as with the meeting, there is no mention of the NID tax being supported by Assemblywoman Glick, developer Douglas Durst, and other elected sate and city officials.
It was only at the February 26 CB1 meeting where the NID was discussed at a sophisticated level by outraged Tribeca citizens of CB1 (see map). The residents of CB2 (see map) and CB4 (see map) have very little awareness of this impending new tax burden (see our previous story).
Based on our interviews with members of both major development plans, representing “Champions” sports leagues on one side and the Durst corporation on the other, as well as with the HRPT and elected officials, the NID tax seems most associated with Durst and the elected officials. The opposing plan that would build residential buildings on Pier are not wedded to the tax. In fact, it was Mr. Durst who first proposed the NID tax when he ran the fund raising “Friends of HRPT”.
The NYT article wrote, “Ms. Glick repeated her opposition to “major high-rise development” and proffered a grab bag of revenue possibilities: diverting a percentage of the existing hotel tax, imposing fees on Circle Line tickets and bolstering city and state support. Many applauded her, but many others left deflated. “She keeps talking about other money that’s going to come,” said Jennifer Economou, a mother of two boys who play sports at the pier. “But where is it?”
The answer to that question is the NID Tax. The main goal of the elected officials and Durst is to raise revenue for Pier 40 via a new residential tax, and they want as few people as possible to know about it.
Related
NID tax on Tribeca barely discussed at Pier 40 Town Hall
Opposition to the Hudson River Park NID tax