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Chinatown BID To Return Four Months’ Fees To Small Property Owners
NY1 News – Some small property owners in Chinatown are calling themselves winners, after the city says it will return fees paid to the local business improvement district.
The Chinatown BID charged small businesses for the months between October 2011 and January 2012, but the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund says the BID wasn’t actually up and running yet, so local merchants should not have paid anything.
The City’s Department of Small Business Services agreed, saying anyone who already paid will get a four-month credit on their bill that can be applied toward next year’s BID fees.
The Chinatown BID maintains the charges were legitimate, based on when Mayor Michael Bloomberg signed off on the BID in the end of September.
The fees being reimbursed total just under $400,000.
By Rebecca Spitz