Thursday, October 1, 2026
The Cedarhurst Business Improvement District has been since overseeing the shopping and dining scene in the Village of Cedarhurst, since 1993.
The BID was born out of the Cedarhurst Business Association, a long-standing association of local merchants whose goal was to make business better in the community.
“We figured out one of the problems with the CBA was that we relied on collecting voluntary dues from storekeepers,” said Bob Block, owner of the Jewelry Showroom. “This was a very difficult task because no one wanted to cough up even a little amount so we were restrained from doing things as a group.”
Block has been in business for 50 years and is the secretary for the BID.
They took inspiration from other BID’s across the state and with the efforts of Steven Schneider, a lawyer from Woodmere, the BID was created in collaboration with the Village of Cedarhurst and New York State.
“The main benefit of the BID is that landlords can charge a common bid fee as part of the rent price,” Block said. “It’s a tax that the landlord has to collect for the Village of Cedarhurst for the BID.”
From this tax, the BID gets a yearly budget from the village to use for events.
Two of the biggest events the BID hosts every year are the Sidewalk Sale and Midnight Madness. They also use the budget for family movie nights, group advertising, banners and newspaper ads.
“Money from the budget goes to beautification, marketing and events,” he added. “Our family movie nights are a thank you to the community for shopping in Cedarhurst.”
As a longstanding business owner and BID member, Block said he loves when events are full of people and the streets are brought to life.
“When the sidewalk sale brings people from all over Brooklyn, West Hempstead and other part of Long Island, our efforts show results and my fellow storekeepers do well, that’s when I’m proud of the BID,” Block said.
Vice President Jeff Beja has been in business for 40 years with Central Galleries. He said that all members of the board work collectively and the titles are just a name.
“We’re all involved in the promotion and advertising and work directly with Pam who os the executive director,” Beja said.
He said that the BID’s goal is to attract people of like-mindedness to the various stores in Cedarhurst and to bring in new customers.
“Everything is very transparent and we would like more participation from more merchants and everybody is welcome to the meetings we have,” he added. “Whether their on the board or not, we listen to all of our members.”
Pamela Berger, executive director owns PJ Sterling and has been in business for 30 years. She has been through changes in the community and wants to keep Cedarhurst vibrant.
“Shopping here used to be a lot different, people used to spend the day and evening walking on the streets and that’s what we’re trying to bring back,” Berger said. “We want people to really enjoy town.”
She is currently working on updating their website, ShopCedarhurst.com to showcase their members.
“We’re trying to make it a more cohesive shopping experience,” she said. “My favorite part is seeing the community grow. It’s a nice place to live and shop, everything is on one block.”
For more information or to join the BID, email cedarhurstbusiness@gmail.com.
