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September 8, 2002, Sunday
THE CITY WEEKLY DESK NEIGHBORHOOD REPORT: CHINATOWN/LOWER EAST SIDE; Few Kind Words Are Heard for a Proposed Economic Zone By KELLY CROW (NYT) 557 words On Aug. 28, the city's Department of Business Services mailed to the office of Gov. George E. Pataki 470 pages of reasons why the state should create an Empire Zone out of an 18-block-wide patch of Chinatown and the Lower East Side. Few may be surprised at that heft. The area was hit hard by Sept. 11; unemployment there is 25 percent now, according to Asian Americans for Equality, a watchdog group. The wisdom of an Empire Zone, a designation that offers tax credits and lower utility rates for businesses, may seem clear. But the proposed zone, which would extend from Broadway east to Clinton Street and from Houston south to South Street, has in fact sparked tensions, and not just because the state will choose only 6 of the 26 bids filed statewide. For one, Councilwoman Margarita Lopéz and Community Board 3, which includes the proposed zone, have complained about the timing of the application. The state, they say, called for bids in June, but set the deadline for applications on Aug. 30. The City Council voted to approve the Chinatown application on Aug. 15, only hours after it held its only public hearing on the matter. ''The extremely short time period for outreach to and comment by the public is completely unacceptable for a program that could have such far-reaching effects on the future of these neighborhoods,'' wrote Harvey Epstein, the chairman of Board 3, in an Aug. 21 letter to the city. ''It appears to many in the community that the fast track this designation has been placed on is influenced more by election-year politics than by the economic condition of the Lower East Side and Chinatown.'' Moreover, Ms. Lopéz said, the proposed zone omits several needy patches of the Lower East Side, including Montgomery Street near the Vladeck Houses and several blocks north of the Williamsburg Bridge. All suffered greatly after Sept. 11, said Rosie Mendez, the legislative aide to Ms. Lopéz. ''Chinatown needs help, but when you looks at this zone, there are glaring omissions,'' Ms. Mendez added. ''And the thing that really upsets us is that for years we've been trying to get these incentives, and now a lot of struggling areas are being left out.'' But the borders can be expanded later, said Mark Newhouse, assistant commissioner of the Department of Business Services. The current borders were simply dictated by assessing potential for business development, he said, and too much of the area east of the proposed zone was residential. But he said the city will consider stretching the boundaries to the east and north upon approval by the state, which is scheduled to decide on the bids next month. ''Getting the application to the state is like getting our foot in the door,'' he said. ''We can always go back and try to open it up a bit farther.'' KELLY CROW ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Copyright 2002 The New York Times Company |
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