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Publication: Crain's New York Business

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Help from Verizon

The New York Software Industry Association is expected to announce an agreement this week with Verizon Communications that will create an ombudsman position within Verizon to help expedite service requests by local Internet and high-tech companies. The deal would cover voice and data service from the phone giant, except for digital subscriber line service. NYSIA is a nonprofit group comprising more than 480 software and information technology companies in the metro area. NYSIA President Bruce Bernstein declined to disclose details of the agreement but said that it would ``significantly improve installation and service times for Silicon Alley companies.''

BID fees

New York City's business improvement districts are reeling after hearing that the mayor's budget proposal calls for imposing fees on BIDs for the first time. The city would slap the groups with $1.1 million in annual fees, to be divided among the city's 41 BIDs, to cover administrative costs. ``This comes as a shock,'' says...

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