Columbus Avenue ranked among city's safest shopping districts.

The Columbus Avenue Business Improvement District (BID), which represents merchants and property owners located between 67th and 82nd streets, is among the safest retail districts in the city, boasting some of the lowest crime rates of any New York City neighborhood, according to police records.

Situated in the 20th Police Precinct, the BID kicked off the holiday shopping season with crime rates at an all-time low. For the week ending Nov. 20, robbery rates for the area were down 40 percent from 2004, burglary rates were down 57 percent and grand larceny rates down 10 percent. In comparison, citywide robbery rates for that week were down only 10.7 percent from the previous year, burglary rates down 13.6 percent and grand larceny rates down 5.3 percent.

Barbara Adler, executive director of the Columbus Avenue BID, says she credits some of the BID's recent initiatives with making the family-oriented neighborhood even safer. "One of our most successful projects this year has been installing pedestrian lighting on every lamppost in our district, which is a great deterrent to would-be criminals."

Crime Prevention Officer Caren M. Orange of the 20th Precinct also recently gave merchants advice on protecting their shops from shoplifters and burglaries.