March 20, 2012, 11 a.m., 19 Mott Street
At a press conference organized by the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund, Chinatown shopkeepers protest against fees they've been asked to pay to a controversial new Business Improvement District.
BIDs are funded by fees assessed on local businesses through the property tax system. The Chinatown BID's leaders say it's been performing services for are merchants for months, and so merchants have been charged for work over the 2011-2012 fiscal year. But critics note that the BID only formally launched in January.
BIDs are a major part of the Bloomberg administration's business development strategy. Read more on their pros and cons here.
Photo by Adi Talwar
