Lincoln Square BID celebrates two decades

Monica Blum became involved with the Lincoln Square Business Improvement District (BID) before the organization had even come to life. Blum was brought on as president of the BID in 1996, six months prior to its official launch, so when the group of now 250 businesses celebrated its 20th anniversary last week they were also celebrating her. “I thought, ‘I can’t do this,’” Blum said of her mindset at the time. “‘I’ve never run a non-profit. What am I going to do?’ But I learned over time.”

Since it was named the city’s 39th BID, Lincoln Square has represented residents, business owners and visitors to a section of the neighborhood between West 58th and West 70th Streets, bordered by Amsterdam Avenue and Central Park West. Blum and her staff of six have overseen efforts to clean up and revitalize the area’s green spaces. Among the projects Blum listed as crowning achievements were the beautification of Dante Park, at Columbus Avenue and West 63rd Street, which transformed the small green space from a trash-laden area to an inviting spot with tables and chairs, and the BID’s annual Winter’s Eve festival, which launched in 2000 and has become the largest holiday festival in the city. Goddard Riverside Community Center has partnered with the BID throughout its existence, providing several formerly homeless people to the organization’s Clean Team, which empties garbage cans and shovels snow, among other things.

The biggest challenge, Blum said, has been devising a plan for the traffic tangle known as “the bowtie,” where Broadway, Columbus Avenue and West 65th Street intersect at the northeast corner of the Lincoln Center complex. “[It] has taken 20 years, and it’s still not great,” she said. “It’s better ... I think it’s always been a challenge with Lincoln Center. Lincoln Center is the elephant in the room.” That intersection was one of the main reasons for the BID’s original formation, along with concerns about park maintenance and public safety.

According to Blum, the key to the BID’s success has been in building relationships with the community. “When the BID was being discussed, there was some concern on the Upper West Side ... that it was going to change the neighborhood too dramatically,” she said. “I think we [now] have the best relationship with our community boards, other non-profits. The other secret, or key is having relationships with government.”

At the 20th annual meeting and celebration last Thursday, elected officials including Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer, State Senator Brad Hoylman and Assemblymembers Linda Rosenthal and Richard Gottfried showed up to attest to that fact. “You’ve accomplished a great deal,” Brewer said, citing the BID’s efforts to combat homelessness. Hoylman and Rosenthal each presented Blum with proclamations honoring the organization’s contributions to the neighborhood.

Gottfried, who was in the legislature when BIDs were first introduced, praised the Lincoln Square outfit for setting the bar so high. “There was a lot of question about whether BIDs would essentially result in focusing resources like sanitation,” he said. “I think, happily ... that BIDs have been a terrific way to enhance parts of the city.”

Madeleine Thompson can be reached at newsreporter@strausnews.com