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June 27, 2013- File this under “Told you so”. DowntownTV has been the only local news source to accurately comment on the waning support for the NID-tax. Today, it was reported in “Capital new York” that the chief proponent, Douglas Durst, has backed away from the tax idea, 
and the steering committee is being disbanded, “”We’ve been working on the NID for five years,” said Durst on Wednesday afternoon. “We got very close. And as we got closer, we ran into more opposition. We think we were going to be able to overcome it, but having this out there is just gonna make the opposition so much stronger.”….By “this,” Durst was referring to legislation that allows, among other things, for the city-and-state controlled Hudson River Park Trust, which manages the park, to sell its air rights to help fund the beleaguered park.”
Scott Lewin, a hedge fund executive and Chairman of the Friends of HRP, emailed this comment, “A Neighborhood Improvement District remains a primary goal for the Hudson River Park and the NID’s establishment will be driven by the leadership of the Friends of Hudson River Park. The NID and the recent new legislation are both vital and separate components in guaranteeing a sustainable future for Hudson River Park. Friends will continue to conduct outreach in the community and gather support from residents, businesses, and property owners. The new legislation creates new options to generate capital funds while the NID will bring much-needed revenue for operations and maintenance.”
Recall, as recently as this Tuesday, Michael Levine said at the CB1 meeting that the NID-tax was alive. We reported that he seemed to be in denial.