For the past 26 years the BID of Great Neck Plaza which stands for “Business Improvement District” has graced the streets of Great Neck with its annual AutoFest.
Basically their job as a committee that receives money from our taxes, is to …be innovative and promote better business in Great Neck.
Obviously the entire country has been effected by the economic crises around the world, however if you take a walk down the streets of Great Neck, it is obvious to any educated person that this BID does not, and has not done its job in the best interest of the town.
In fact most of the money that is spent and derived from our taxes has gone to serve the best personal interest of people on the committee such as Jay Corn, vice president of this so called BID and owner of the property where The Handbag Gallery once was, a Great Neck staple that actually drew in a clientele who shopped and supported the town to further thrive . That store has since been empty for over five years…
The question of whether or not to keep the AutoFest was brought up, and over 56 merchants signed a petition to do away with it.
The point was to take the $12,000 or more allocated to hold the “festival” and invest that into an event that would actually bring in a clientele of shoppers from surrounding areas that no longer shop in Great Neck, mainly because of the horrific parking perception, and show case the town in a more innovative way to let people know that we still want them as clients.
That was the point!!!
It has since turned into a controversy of words, and many news articles, that state I said “the people the attend the auto fest are a bunch of hicks from g-d knows where.”
I stand by my statement, which was said, yet taken out of context, and appreciate all the support from the store owners that attended the meeting and understand my point.
To Jean Pierce who is a self-promoting hick, before you write a letter to a newspaper and have an “opinion,” first go a learn how to spell and write an educated sentence. There was no need for you tell us you are a hick, clearly it is evident by your lack of education.
Steven Dann
Great Neck
