Port Authority: New Fashion Hub?

The Times Square Alliance and the Fashion Center Business Improvement District are holding court in the Port Authority transportation hub starting May 1st, Crain's reports, and they're inviting you to join them. The duo will lease 2,500-square-feet of ground-floor retail space, that has been vacant for 5 years, to emerging fashion designers and artists. Their talented tenants will have to cover some costs, of course, including electric and air conditioning, but the BID will cover the rent, which is just $1. The lease will last 6 months, but it's expected to be extended for a few years, and the BID president is hoping to eventually "bring in a local designer from TV’s Project Runway" (Kenley Penley?!). Tim Tompkins, president of the Times Square Alliance, says they "want people who haven’t thought about Eighth Avenue in a long time to take a fresh look at it and to recognize that there’s all this potential business."