Photo via Vincent Orange’s office.

A proposed bill aimed at bringing more hotels, retail, entertainment, and incentives for film and TV productions to the New York Avenue NE corridor isn’t being met with as much enthusiasm as the Councilmember who introduced it had hoped.

The bill, “the New York Avenue Gateway Hotel Development and Financial Incentives Act of 2013,” would provide tax abatements and exemptions for the “construction of new medium-priced hotels, incentives for retail, restaurant, entertainment, residential and office facilities, and the construction of three soundstages” for developers looking to build along the New York Avenue corridor.

At a public hearing held by the Committee on Finance & Revenue this morning, Councilmembers Vincent Orange (D-At Large), who introduced the bill, and Jack Evans (D-Ward 2), who chairs the Committee, heard the testimonies of dozens of District residents, many of whom expressed their concern.

“To be honest, I am surprised this bill was even proposed,” said John Boardman, executive secretary-treasurer for the Washington hotel workers union, Unite Here Local 25. “This proposal is devoid of any legitimate incentive policy and is incredibly expensive,” he added. “In short, it’s a boondoggle.”

As part of Orange’s bill, all fees and deposits made by developers seeking to build within the New York Avenue Gateway Development Zone would be waived. Additionally, all taxes, fees, and deposits would be waived in lieu of a flat tax rate of 5 percent, “which shall be imposed on the total gross revenues of existing and new businesses.” The bill would also provide tax subsidies for existing hotels opened in the last decade in the Gateway zone.

In a statement from the DC Fiscal Policy and Unite Here Local 25, the two organizations say that these “blanket subsidies would provide grossly excessive subsidies to most or all hotel projects in the Gateway area,” and “provides no benefit to the District residents or the city’s economy.”

With this bill, Orange wants more tourists to be able to afford to stay in D.C. Both Orange and Evans argued that most tourists opt to stay in Maryland and Virginia when visiting the area because they can’t afford the hotel rates in the District. According to the bill’s introduction, the average nightly rate of a hotel in D.C. $226, while the rate is $139 for a hotel in the Maryland or Virginia suburbs.

“First of all, it’s horrible there. Why would you want to stay there?” Evans quipped about tourists who opt to stay in the Crystal City and Rosslyn areas.

Orange hopes to increase the amount of medium-priced hotels in the city, so that more tourists will choose to stay in D.C., resulting in more spending and thus more tax revenue for the city.

But the bill doesn’t just affect and worry the hotel industry. In his testimony, Jonas Singer, co-founder of local food incubator Union Kitchen, voiced concerns to Orange and Evans, saying that he wants to make sure the bill doesn’t help big companies and developers at the expense of local ones.

Orange defended his bill, saying that it will bring in some much needed tourism to that part of D.C. The New York Avenue Gateway Zone extends along the intersection of New York Avenue NE eastward toward the Maryland border and north along Bladensburg Road NE to South Dakota Avenue NE. He likened the bill to other huge development projects of D.C.’s past. “I believe that you agree that New York Avenue is the gateway into the city and something can be done to change that area,” Orange said. “If it wasn’t for the vision of the Verizon Center, or Nationals Park, nothing would be taking place.”

In addition to incentives for hotels, part of the bill proposes building three soundstages within the New York Avenue Gateway Zone. It’s no secret D.C.’s film and TV tax incentives hardly compare to that of other city’s, which is why numerous D.C.-set movies and TV shows, like House of Cards and Homeland are filmed elsewhere. Under the bill, D.C. will work with private developers to build three soundstages—two at least 7,000 square feet and one at least 20,000 square feet—to help attract film and TV productions to shoot in D.C. While many who testified agreed that D.C. has lost out on a lot of good filming opportunities, like Homeland, House of Cards, and a majority of Captain America: The Winter Soldier (which only shot in D.C. for four days), some wanted to be sure that funds weren’t being diverted from elsewhere to attract big Hollywood productions.

“You are one of the best allies for the Film & TV industry shooting in D.C.,” one witness said about the soundstage part of Orange’s bill. “But we need to make sure we’ve got enough money for education and for the homeless.”