UNDERSTANDING THE BALLOT
This outreach process can be confusing at times, and with so much language flying about — “ballots,” “voting,” “statement of support,” “legislation”— it can be hard to tell what is actually going on. We have listed some important facts below, as well as a section breakdown of the ballot itself.
THERE’S ONLY ONE BALLOT!
Whether e-signed online, sent in the mail, or emailed to the Steering Committee or the Department of Small Business Services (SBS) directly, your signature will end up in the same place, being tracked by SBS. You can submit in whatever way you feel most comfortable with, or send it in all three ways! Just remember that the latest signature that SBS receives from a specific stakeholder will be the only one counted.
MORE LIKE A PETITION, LESS LIKE AN ELECTION.
In an election, votes in favor are weighed against opposition votes, and the result is determined by whoever is in the majority. In a petition, signatures are collected over an indefinite period of time and are used to demonstrate support of a cause to some authority.
While the terms “ballot” and “vote” seem to imply the former, this process is functionally the latter. The authority here is the NYC Department of Small Business Services, who are looking for broad-based support from all types of stakeholders in the district.
This is why the ballot, despite having the option to sign both for and against, is titled “Statement of Support.” It is like a petition with the option of signing against the cause as well.
NO TIMELINE, NO DEADLINE, NO ELECTION DAY.
By extension, our petition-like ballot does not have a strict timeline or deadline before which votes need to be collected. We are tasked simply with collecting signatures until we have demonstrated enough support. NYC Department of Small Business Services will not allow a BID formation effort to move forward if it lacks robust support from property owners and tenants.
The way that the process is set up ensures that there is no incentive for us to stop the spread of information: the more people with access to accurate information, the faster we can get through this phase and into the next one!
WHAT’S REQUIRED: MASS MAILINGS AND PUBLIC MEETINGS.
The strict legal requirements of the outreach phase are:
Mailing the ballot to every address in the district and the addresses of everyone who owns property in the district.
Holding two official public meetings.
Mailing invitations to these public meetings to the aforementioned addresses.
Currently, none of these requirements have been met; we will be mailing the ballot to all addresses in the coming months, and hope to host our first public meeting slightly later on. SBS requires we reach a total response rate of approximately 20% before setting the date of the official public meetings. We hope to have them in the near future!
All other events and initiatives we hold are purely self-organized to spread the word around the neighborhood! If we haven’t reached you yet, we’re sorry! It’s a big district and we’re trying our best. We encourage you to contact us if you would like to help us hold an event for a specific local population which you are a part of.
THE MOST “LEGAL” STEP IS THE NEXT ONE
Aside from the required mailings and meetings, the outreach phase is governed by SBS policy (remember, petition not election). It involves rigorous community engagement and gathering of support, but it is not the only democratic part of this process!
After the outreach phase comes the legislative phase. During the legislative phase, public hearings are held before the Community Board, Borough President, City Planning Commission, and ultimately the City Council.
Combined, the outreach and legislative phases ensure that the BID proposal receives support from the ground level, from local elected officials, and from City-wide elected officials as well.
