First he cleaned up New York, now business improvement district pioneer Dan Biederman is over here to advise urban landlords and occupiers how they can clean up too. Amber Rose met a man called “an obsessive”
American politics is about dishing the dirt – as the Gore-Bush slanging match for presidential office is showing in spades. Dan Biederman, New York’s business improvement district guru knows just how dirty politics can get.
When Biederman turned the area around Grand Central Station into a vibrant and affluent place, Major Rudolph Gulliani – architect of the zero tolerance to crime policy – was annoyed that Biederman was getting the plaudits. Not only that, but Biederman was also running two other BIDs with great success: 34th Street and Bryant Park.
“Biederman embarrassed the hell out of Gulliani,” recalls one source. “So Gulliani passed a law that said you could only run two BIDs at a time.” Gulliani swept in and took Grand Central Station from under Biederman. The seeds were sown for a very bitter and public vendetta.
Foundation of the Grand Central BID
Gulliani took over the Grand Central Partnership, which was founded in 1985 by Biederman with Peter Malkin, a property lawyer, backed by a coalition of city officials, property owners and corporate tenants, including Chase Manhattan Bank, the Grand Hyatt Hotel and Philip Morris Companies. It covers 7m m2 (76m sq ft). The streets were cleaner and safer and hailed as models of urban renaissance across the US.
Biederman would not discuss the Gulliani row. But his experience of public intervention has him emphasising that there is “no public sector money in my BIDs”. “Initially, it was more trouble than it was worth and if there is ever a change in political forces then they will torment you,” he says.
Strolling down Oxford Street, Biederman, who still runs Bryant Park and 34th Street, fires off ideas about what should be done with Britain’s premier high street. He ticks off bad lighting, chewing gum and sanitation – his favourite word. He appears immaculate from his tailored suit down to what look like manicured nails. But then, Biederman is famous for his perfectionism. Paddington’s urban strategist Jacqueline Sadek met him two years ago in New York, and recalls him rubbing the marble at Grand Central station to pull off the dirt.
Attention to detail
“He runs a very tight estate management system,” says Sadek, “and pays attention to detail. Such methods have brought results, and the landlords love him for the hike in their property values.” Bryant Park has made $500m in equity since the BID’s inception.
Tony Blair and John Prescott have seen his work in New York, and are said to have liked what they saw. The launch of his own BID consultancy two years ago was therefore a natural move to capitalise on his expertise, and come to the UK.
But he has already suffered a setback, being turned down for the contract to run the Oxford Street BID, New West End Partnership. Although he doesn’t say it, he is clearly disappointed by NWEP’s decision to appoint retail specialist Helen Robinson.
He says he does not know why he did not get the job, but the rumour is that the partnership wanted somebody who would give the task their full attention. “I have a philosophy of coping with apparent short- term setbacks in the efforts to sell my services here,” he comments.
Despite the setback, Robinson has had meetings with Biederman to discuss Oxford Street – so Biederman can console himself with his fees of $5,000 a day.
And the invitations keep rolling in. Biederman has been approached by property owners in Liverpool, Leeds and Middlesbrough. Back in the US he is consulting on BIDs in Miami, Baltimore and Boston.
In London he has had discussions with Burford, which owns the Trocadero, about the Coventry Street area and plans to set up a Covent Garden BID. He is striking up relationships with retailers like Boots. And he has been in meetings with the Greater London Authority’s deputy mayor Nicky Gavron and Westminster council’s head of planning Carl Powell.
Brilliant – but not cheap
Burford director Mark Boyes says he has got Biederman’s telephone number engraved on his brain. “Two years ago Dan took me round New York and showed me his work. He was brilliant, even if he wasn’t cheap. It was like going to a psychiatrist – he made you feel better.”
What Boyes saw in New York was the metamorphosis of Bryant Park, Grand Central Station and 34th Street. Once home to drug dealers and homeless people, and dominated by graffiti and the stench of urine, these areas have been revitalised beyond recognition. The late-night visitors are back, the tourists are back, and money is rolling in to the local businesses.
Biederman’s BIDs have employees to pick up the litter, scrub graffiti from phone boxes and hand out tourist information. Flower planters line the streets; specially designed street signs sparkle, and white lights instead of ugly fluorescent yellow illuminate the area.
But despite their success, New York’s BIDs have been criticised for using draconian tactics. London School of Economics professor Tony Travers, who has researched the BID system, warns that heavily regulated BIDs would not work in the UK.
“I’ve seen Biederman go over to people sleeping rough in his areas and tell them to get out. In some areas of the US drinking is not allowed in public spaces. My fear is how far you can go in a British context and how much the British people would tolerate.”
But Biederman says he is ready to adopt new policies to tackle the UK scene. “I’m very aggressive and I often tell a client ‘No we are not doing it that way’. I won’t give them a wrong answer even though they want me to. But I’ve been told that sometimes I have to say ‘Yes, you have a very good idea’ – even if I don’t think they do’. But my normal approach is to dive to the right answer and say ‘This is what we are going to do… After all, you hired me for my expertise.’”
Biederman makes a point of walking his beat every day. “We have crews cleaning the kerbs and the sidewalks between five and eight times a day,” he explains. “There’s no visual clutter, because that’s when individuals feel they can commit crime, when they sense there is no-one taking care of the neighbourhood.”
He is also well aware that a successful BID operation in Britain needs a positive relationship with the public sector. “The private property companies in New York had no use for city government. It didn’t perform on any level. Here the government has done a better job. Even the local councils like Westminster that have had problems are doing a better job.”
He adds that he is impressed by Ken Livingstone. “The more I hear about him the more I think he is not as radical as some people think. He is making a lot of good decisions. We have had meetings with Nicky Gavron about helping with Parliament Square and Trafalgar Square.”
But Biederman still feels undervalued. “What I hate about my job is I don’t own any real estate. The most rewarding thing is to receive equity from the increase in value from the efforts I have brought to these neighbourhoods. I don’t have a personal fortune. I’d love to be in a position like Jerry Speyer or Ian Henderson. If I had equity in Bryant Park I’d have made a lot of money.”
Biederman is waiting for his discussions to come to fruition. He is proud that his fellow New Yorker and friend, Robert Kiley, has landed the job to head the GLA’s Transport for London. And he is optimistic that with the launch of BIDs in the UK somebody will have the wisdom to use his abilities.
|
What is a BID? |
|
A bid is a private/public partnership where partipants raise money to pay for improvements to their area. The difference between US BIDs and UK schemes is that in the US the law allows local businesses to raise levies from local businesses for the private company to spend as it sees fit. For example, every landlord in the Grand Central Partnership BID has to tax itself at between $1.61 and $2.47 per m2. The levy, compulsory once the majority have opted in, is collected by the city authorities and then given to the BID’s management team. But UKschemes are progressing. Central London Partnership – a public/private action group set up to improve central London has set up a task force to encourage BIDs within its patch. CLP calls them “local improvement partnerships”. Mayor for London Ken Livingstone announced in July that £6.4m of funding would be used to set up five BIDs in central London. These include schemes in Holborn and Regent Street, and one in Piccadilly Circus, which is being promoted by Burford, CLS and LandSec. September’s local government finance green paper also proposed to permit US-style tax incremental finance for regeneration. Midtown, p143 |
|
Dan Biederman |
|
Age 47. Father ran a textiles company in Boston. Mother from New York. Background is Jewish-Russian and Polish Education Princeton undergraduate – magna cum laude graduate. Read politics, history and sociology at Harvard University. MBA with distinction 1977-80 IT systems consultant for American Management Systems 1980 Co-founded the BIDs, Grand Central Partnership, 34th Street Partnership and Bryant Park Restoration Corporation Lifestyle Married with two children. His hobbies are rock climbing, ice climbing in the Alps, bird watching and long-distance running |
|
BID pros and cons |
|
Supporters say BIDs work because, as privately funded, independent, single-issue bodies, they can concentrate on their objectives instead of being side-tracked by politics and competition for resources. BID opponents argue that the concentration of power in private hands is undemocratic. Also there are complaints from landlords that they are effectively paying twice for services that should be financed by the state. Critics also argue that BIDs highlight the difference between wealthy areas, where residents can afford to pay extra taxes, and poorer areas, which rely on the government. Some say extra taxes could even threaten the fiscal health of the businesses involved – an argument that big UK retailers have embraced. |
|
How industry views Dan Biederman |
|
He is a maniac. He is obsessive about everything. He is an entrepreneur and believes in freedom of speech. He will go up to people in his parks and say: ‘I don’t want you here. Get lost.’” Burford director Mark Boyes “I’ve seen Dan squirming in his seat when he hears how much added value the property owners get from his work. He doesn’t want to be a bit on the side – he wants to be a player” Paddington regeneration partnership director Jacqueline Sadek “He is articulate, creative, courageous and proud. New York owes him a terrific debt. He turned Bryant Park into a jewel. People say he is arrogant – but nobody is perfect” Times Square BID president Brendan Sexton “If Ken Livingstone had the wisdom to bring Bob Kiley from New York to London then he should also involve Dan, since he essentially invented BIDs” Scott Malkin, head of Retail Value “Dan is hard talking, high achieving, adrenaline pumping, doesn’t care whether you like him or not type” Professor Tony Travers, London School of Economics |
