Columbus Ave. sees 9 new stores in 6 months. (Retail New York).

The Columbus Avenue Business Improvement District announces the recent opening of nine new stores on the avenue within the past six months, representing a diverse group of retailers relocating to Manhattan's Upper West Side on Columbus Avenue between 67th and 82nd Streets, announces Barbara Adler, executive director of the BID.

The nine stores are:

* Cellular Express (189B Columbus Avenue) sells a wide variety of cellular phone models, including world phones. It is one of the first stores in the city to offer a "new phone, same number program;"

* Rooster Flowers (235 Columbus Avenue), a European-style flower shop. The new store is its second Columbus Avenue location;

* Cafe Ronda (247 Columbus Avenue), a Latin/Mediterranean fusion restaurant from the owners of popular Mexican bistro Cafe Frida, located a few blocks north on Columbus Avenue;

* Pelagos Restaurant (103 West 77th Street), a fine-dining Greek restaurant;

* Alexia Crawford Designs (253 Columbus Avenue), a mid-range accessories and jewelry store that sells original jewelry made from gemstones and silver, costume jewelry, handbags and more;

* City Crepe (274 Columbus Avenue), a welcome alternative to fast food that specializes in savory and sweet crepes;

* Really Great Things (300 Columbus Avenue), the high fashion women's clothing, accessories and footwear boutique is currently under construction and expanding to a second location on the avenue. The original location is just south on 284 Columbus Avenue

* Bloch International (304 Columbus Avenue), the famous German dancewear designer's first retail location is scheduled to open fall 2003;

* Cecile Jeanne (311 Columbus Avenue), with six stores in Paris, one on Madison Avenue and another in Soho, the high fashion French jeweler has opened its first west side outpost on Columbus Avenue.

Three and a half years of beautification and marketing programs by the Columbus Avenue BID have been instrumental in keeping the 15-block stretch of streets comprising its purview occupied and thriving, attracting both new customers and local residents to the eclectic retail corridor. Among the BID's first efforts was a clean streets campaign, for which it retained the services of the Doe Fund: Ready, Willing and Able, a non-profit organization that provides jobs and housing to formerly homeless men and women. Moreover, it was the first of the city's BIDs to utilize the Doe Fund's services.