Despite that sentiment, the city's home rule petition toestablish a BID has failed in past years to make it through theMassachusetts Legislature, and the just-concluded session is nodifferent. After early momentum, the measure stalled in committeeand never made it to the floor for a vote.In killing the bill,opponents such as State Rep. Marie Parente (D-Milford) questionedthe need for a BID vehicle in one of the region's strongestshopping districts, while the Boston Police Patrolmen's Associationcriticized the plan by claiming the private security force wouldactually compromise safety.

Druker dismisses those arguments, noting that BIDs have beenestablished in thousands of other cities and towns nationally andhave been credited with reinvigorating many of those urban shoppingareas. The BID is often cited as a linchpin in the rebirth of NewYork City's Times Square, for example, while a BID in Springfieldhas reportedly helped stabilize that Western Massachusettscommunity.

One ally in Druker's efforts has been Boston Mayor Thomas M.Menino, who first promoted the BID concept in 1996 and has sincebeen coaxing it through the legislative maze. Mayoral spokesmanHoward Leibowitz acknowledges the administration's disappointmentin the latest defeat, but adds that, "we're going to try to keep itmoving along."