2023 Annual Meeting

The BID and its board of directors cordially invite you to our 2023 Annual Meeting

Learn about the progress of our projects and updates of what we have accomplished this past year and meet our new Executive Director, Daniel Bernstein!

If you are a Commercial Property Owner, Property Manager, Property Representative, Commercial Tenant or Resident within the BID boundaries of West 96th -West 110th Street along Amsterdam and Columbus Avenues, please make sure to register to become a BID Member. Those who are not registered will not be able to vote.

Board Members Running For ReElection

Class A (Property Owner):

Isabel Cruz
Hostelling International, NYC Hostel (exp 6/2025)

Isabel Cruz holds the position of General Manager at Hostelling International New York. In this role, she oversees a team of over 60 employees dedicated to welcoming and accommodating guests from around the globe. With over 25 years of experience in the hospitality industry, for nationwide brands like Hyatt and Holiday Inn. 

She is passionate about serving others and is committed to empowering her team members to enhance their skills and talents. Her dedication to leadership and fostering camaraderie earned her The Robert B. Johnson Award, recognizing her embodiment of HIUSA's principles of Leadership: Friendship and Understanding. 

As a proud native New Yorker, Isabel thrives on providing guests with exceptional and unforgettable local experiences, ensuring each visitor leaves with cherished memories of their stay.

Robin Baez has served as the Executive Director of Manhattan Valley Development Corporation (MVDC) and Manhattan Valley Management Company, Inc. since 2015. Since its founding in 1968, MVDC has developed over 1300 units of affordable housing in the Manhattan Valley community, and MVMC currently manages nearly 800 units of that affordable housing in the Manhattan Valley community. Prior to coming to MVDC, Robin was a Paralegal for MVDC’s attorney, Martin McCarthy, for 22 years before he retired in 2015. Robin grew up on the Upper West Side and resided in the Manhattan Valley community for 21 years before relocating to New Jersey. She has served on the BID’s Board of Directors since 2015.

Class C (Resident):

Bruce James
200 West 108th Street (exp 6/2025)

Bruce James was born in Boulder Colorado in the mid 1940’s. He received his Bachelor's and Master’s 7 Fine Arts (Painting) from the University of Colorado. 

Bruce moved to Los Angeles in 1973 and pursued a career in art, worked as a bar manager and as an artist assistant.  He worked with artist lead to curate a large Native American Art collection which entailed a lot of travel to New York City where he met his wife. Bruce joined a partnership in a set building business serving the advertising industry and left the partnership and operated his own until 2002. In 1989, he purchased a co-op apartment on 108th Street and Amsterdam Avenue in which he currently lives.   

With the neighborhood’s high crime rate, Bruce got involved in community organizing of as well as the President of his Block Association which led to training and becoming an organizer for the Industrial Areas Foundation. Working in the neighborhood brought him into contact with Peter Arndtsen and the BID. They shared a passion for street trees with Bruce earning a Citizen Pruner Certificate and later becoming an instructor of the program. Bruce continues to study Trees and the Urban Forest at the New York Botanical Gardens. 

Bruce joined the Board of Directors of the BID many years ago.  He recently led the Succession Committee in the process of finding Daniel Bernstein our new Executive Director and preparing for the retirement of Peter Arndtsen (former BID Director) 

Bruce is the Interim Chair of the BID Board and hopes to keep the good work for the neighborhood going with support from the BID’s past Chair, Robin Baez.