Much of the outrage was focused on BAK’s outreach effort and attempt to build a consensus among property owners. Bill Hutton, who owns three properties in the proposed district, said that he had canvassed three blocks on Broadway and not found a single business owner who supported the plan. Others, like Merle Borenstein, owner of the Armadillo Restaurant, said that they were shocked to learn that their off-Broadway businesses were included in a district that they had been led to believe only included the main thoroughfare. Joe Deegan, who owns two properties in the district and has extensive commercial holdings around the city, said that he was offended by a process which required a majority of stakeholders (either in absolute numbers or assessed value) to affirmatively reject the plan via a letter filed with the city clerk.
“This might have some merit, but the way it was done was heavy-handed,” said Deegan, who added that he was unaware of the BID plan until he received a letter in the mail from BAK late last month. “This thing was passed first, and we’re told, ‘Here’s a law, if you want to overturn it go get 248 signatures.’ I find that offensive.”
Common Council Minority Leader and Realtor Andi Turco-Levin had been a supporter of the BID but, she said, she felt “hoodwinked” by alterations in the final plan especially the expansion of the district’s borders — which she said was done to bring down individual assessments by pulling in more properties.
“This is how the City of Kingston constantly does things,” said Turco-Levin, who blasted BAK’s outreach effort. “They say, ‘Yeah, yeah we’re going to do it,’ then they have no idea how to do it and it’s fucked up from day one.”
We tried, says Donskoj
Donskoj defended the outreach effort, pointing to nearly 18 months worth of web updates a weekly e-mail newsletter, mailings, focus groups and community meetings.
