BID B-DAY

the columbus avenue business improvement district (bid) celebrated the start of its 10th year at a luncheon last month.

the bid, created in january 2000, is contained within the central park west historic district, and covers columbus avenue from west 67th to 82nd streets. in addition to promoting local businesses, the bid provides maintenance, sanitation and security services to the area. it is one of 64 bids in the city.

"columbus avenue has long had all the ingredients of a thriving corridor: it's an historic district with great cultural institutions, right next to one of the world's most famous parks. but for too long, it didn't live up to its potential," said mayor michael r. bloomberg during a june 23 celebration at isabella's, on columbus avenue. "building strong, attractive neighborhoods is one of the pillars of our administration's five-borough economic opportunity plan-our strategy for leading the city out of the national recession as quickly as possible."

earlier this year, the bid hosted the second annual new taste of the upper west side event, attracting more than 1,700 attendees and raising additional funds for beautification initiatives.