Downtown Crossing/Financial District | Discussion

If you think that cities like that are a thing of the past and nobody wants to live in a place like that, you need to get out more.
 
Meadowhawk said:
So what you're saying is the leveling of the entire West End of Boston to put up what is there now is better? The destruction of a major swath of Boston to build the old Expressway was better because of progress? You may be stuck in New Hampshire as you say, but I've been all over Europe and cities like Paris and Amsterdam are fascinating because they are modern, yet have kept their architecture intact. Yes, it is very tragic to me that the destruction of beautiful old architecture, superior to the crap that replaced it, was, and is still so reckless in the city of Boston. You need to travel more. Instead of saving your money for a move to Boston, take a nice long tour of Europe.
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Thanks, but i already have been to Europe multiple times, London, Paris, Edinburough, Amsterdam, Rome, Brussles, etc, and it is pretty obvious that i am not advocating the destruction of historic buildings. All i am saying is that this board is full of nostalgia for a time that will not happen again in Boston or many other cities across the country. I'm not saying that any specific thing was good or bad, just that instead of decrying the loss of overcrowding and streetcars and a heavy urbanity, we should be thinking of ideas and ways to smartly add to the current fabric of boston.

Also, thanks for the personal attacks and talking down to me... it really makes me respect your opinion more.
 
gooseberry said:
If you think that cities like that are a thing of the past and nobody wants to live in a place like that, you need to get out more.
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I've been out in the world plenty, but thanks for the tip. Been around four continents, some developed, some less so. I challenge you to show me a city in the developed world with a population in the 4-6 million metro range that has that kind of crowding on the streets at all times.

It doesn't exist. For starters, we no longer need to be overcrowded like that, and yes, that's what that is. Places like the North End were fantastically overcrowded. Nowadays, we have transit that allows places like Cambridge and Jamaica Plain to be easily accessible to the entire region. In 1903, transit was in existence, but still not as reliable and widespread as it was by the time World War II came around.

Frankly, that kind of crowding is not my idea of a good time. You can have a vibrant, living city with an active streetscape and still be able to walk down the sidewalk without bumping into 5,000 other people along the way (I know I avoid the extremely busy streets and squares in my city when possible for the simple fact that it's not an efficient use of my time to try and use them when they're not my destination). Again, there is a healthy balance to be struck and places like Amsterdam, Munich or Berlin are examples to be followed; cities of comparable size to Boston that have achieved and equilibrium of a busy streetscape and vibrant urbanity but not overcrowded.
 
Home /Business
Downtown Crossing effort hits $1m snag
Big properties reject improvement group fees
By Casey Ross
Globe Staff / November 8, 2010

Some of the largest property owners in Boston?s Downtown Crossing are refusing to help fund a new organization created to improve the downtrodden shopping district, erasing about 25 percent of its budget for stepped-up maintenance, aesthetic upgrades, and public festivals.

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Yahoo! Buzz ShareThis .The organization, known as a business improvement district, was approved by the City Council in August after dozens of business owners asked for permission to join together and pay extra taxes to help revitalize their neighborhood.

While more than 80 percent of the area?s property owners have signed onto the effort, the few holdouts own many of Downtown Crossing?s largest buildings and were expected to provide about $1 million in annual funding. Instead, they have notified the city that they will not participate, punching a large hole in the budget and angering Mayor Thomas M. Menino.

?It?s a little selfish,?? said Menino, who has made revitalizing the historic shop ping district one of his top priorities. ?To me, it?s not being a good neighbor.??

The property owners declining to participate include Equity Office Properties, which owns five large buildings in the neighborhood, and Tishman Speyer, the New York real estate giant that owns One Federal Street, one of the area?s tallest office towers. Also refusing to join are three McDonald?s restaurants in the district and entrepreneur Steve Belkin, who owns an office building at 133 Federal St. and previously proposed construction of a 1,000-foot tower there.

Their refusals highlight a major snag in the effort to create the city?s first improvement district and to replicate it in other neighborhoods around the city. Unlike other states with such organizations, Massachusetts allows businesses within the district to opt out of paying the fees to support it. While those firms can still benefit from the improvements the organization provides, they do not have to share the financial burden.

?We?re the only state that does it this way,?? said Rosemarie Sansone, executive director of the Downtown Crossing Partnership, a business association that has been organizing the effort. ?I don?t think it?s fair that some people can opt out and others still meet their obligations and take responsibility for providing these resources.??

The state?s law was passed during the administration of former governor William Weld. A spokeswoman for the Equity Office declined to comment, as did a representative of Tishman Speyer. Belkin did not respond to phone messages. Attempts to reach the Napoli Group, a franchisee who operates two of the district?s McDonalds, were unsuccessful.

Downtown Crossing supporters have been particularly motivated to spruce up the area. The district, already suffering from years of declining activity, is pockmarked with empty storefronts that have invited petty crime and graffiti, discouraging new companies from locating there.

The stalled redevelopment of the Filene?s building has also hurt, leaving a massive construction crater in the heart of the district as well as the prolonged closure of Filene?s Basement, which had made the area a destination for shoppers and tourists.

Sansone and other supporters of the Downtown Crossing organization said they are not yet sure how they will compensate for the loss in funding, which will cut the annual budget to about $3 million from an anticipated $4 million. Several small businesses have also balked at paying extra for the improvement district.

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Yahoo! Buzz ShareThis .Organizers are trying to pay for an array of enhancements, including daily cleaning crews, stepped-up graffiti removal, and uniformed ?ambassadors?? to help direct tourists. The new group would also publish promotional materials, plan music and arts festivals, and devise standard lighting, landscaping, and other design elements to improve the area?s appearance.

The work is scheduled to get underway next spring. It will be paid for through an annual fee levied on commercial property owners within the boundaries of the district, which covers a large grid of streets from City Hall to Chinatown and stretches east to Congress Street. Property owners will pay $1.10 per thousand dollars on the first $70 million in assessed value of their holdings in the district and 50 cents per thousand dollars beyond that limit. Residential owners are exempt.

?We?re looking at the budget right now in terms of what services we?ll be able to deliver,?? Sansone said. ?It?s important to have as many property owners as possible engaged in what we?re doing.??

She and others said Equity Office Properties, by far the largest of the holdouts, has shown interest but has questioned whether the firm should be included in the improvement district because many of its buildings are on the fringes of Downtown Crossing.

Many other large companies have already agreed to pay the fee and are helping to manage the improvement district. Among them are Bank of America, State Street Corp., Fidelity Investments, Macy?s, and the Druker Co., a real estate firm that owns several buildings in the area. A multitude of smaller businesses are also participating, from hair salons to cafes to jewelry stores.

Many business owners and city officials said the improvement district is a way to take matters into their own hands.

?I personally believe this is the beginning of the resurgence of Downtown Crossing,?? said City Councilor Bill Linehan, chairman of the council?s economic development committee. ?Once people see this work begin, I think it will only encourage others to participate.??

Casey Ross can be reached at cross@globe.com.

http://www.boston.com/business/arti...n_crossing_improvement_plans_hit_snag/?page=2
 
I doubt it. Don't BIDs often result in such conflicts between property owners who want to participate and those who don't?
 
This line is a classic.

?It?s a little selfish,?? said Menino, who has made revitalizing the historic shop ping district one of his top priorities. ?To me, it?s not being a good neighbor.??

It's like the Mob making collections on everybody now.
Taxes
BID
Non-Profit better start coughing up money.

Here comes FAT TONY.
 
^ Yeah, Chauncy Street and Arch Street should define the southern border.
 
gooseberry said:
If you think that cities like that are a thing of the past and nobody wants to live in a place like that, you need to get out more.
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I went to the Tenement Museum in New York this weekend - I highly recommend their tours of a tenement "restored' to its former decrepitude.

It really makes you reconsider street life.

Let's forget cars for a second. First of all, density was much higher, so there were more people living ON the street, not just in the street. The reasons were multiple, ranging from poverty to (then) highly labor-intensive cottage industries like garment manufacturing. Second, in the not too distant past, nobody had refridgerators. They needed to go outside and purchase daily perishables. This also meant a role for your local pushcarts. Third, the street was the place for commerce - not just buying and selling of consumer goods, but actually the place where fabrics were sold to micro-sweatshops, where finished dresses were handed to a "runner" who would take it to Macy's, and so forth. Cottage industries are inhenerntly decentralized, making the steet a primary place of exchange.

None of this is true anymore in the US. But, this reminds me a lot of what I've seen in India over the last few years.
 
The tenement museum is well worth the trip. Really a fascinating peak at life in a different era.
 
looks great,I still have most of that furniture in my home right now includeing that stove lol!
 
Can't you people move on? I didn't think it was worth draging out since TheRifleman posted some new information about the BID, but I was really just refering to the physical scale and variety of the street scape. I never advocated over crowding and slum conditions and actually I said Boston has good street life as it is right now. I should have been clearer the first time, now get over it. Thanks.
 
Wocket said:
Check out how conspicuously the district's boarders droop into the Financial District. No wonder they don't wish to pay.


http://www.downtowncrossing.org/about/business_improvement_district.php
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Those expanded borders make it clear that the city is simply trying to get additional funds on top of taxes to fix up a streetscape which it has been neglecting since the 1930s. The condition of many sidewalks and streetscapes downtown are embarrassing and it appears this is a big money grab. I'm in favor of a BID specifically for the shopping district, but this really does look like a swipe for a slush fund.
 
The most awesome part of the Globe story is the news that Steve Belkin isn't contributing to the BID (nor should he; for one reason, his building is about 1/2 a mile away ...).

Guess he isn't that enthusiastic about "Tommy's Tower" anymore.
 
gooseberry said:
Can't you people move on? I didn't think it was worth draging out since TheRifleman posted some new information about the BID, but I was really just refering to the physical scale and variety of the street scape. I never advocated over crowding and slum conditions and actually I said Boston has good street life as it is right now. I should have been clearer the first time, now get over it. Thanks.
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Tee hee hee. I like the irony of your opening question.
 
Where the BID is and where it should be ... if I were emperor.

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