Washington, D.C., June 19, 2008…At its second annual meeting, the NoMa (North of Massachusetts Avenue) Business Improvement District (BID) of Washington, D.C. honored Mayor Adrian M. Fenty and four other partners who have significantly contributed to the quality of the life in the fast-growing BID:

• Mayor Fenty received accolades for his leadership and his support of NoMa, in particular the City’s efforts to retain NPR in the District.
• D.C. Council Members Harry “Tommy” Thomas (D-Ward 5) and Tommy Wells (D-Ward 6) were both honored for their ongoing support of the NoMa BID, which is part of both Wards.
• Polinger, Shannon & Luchs, owner of the Capitol Plaza I building at 1200 First Street, N.E., received an award for hosting the 2008 Artomatic arts festival, which was “a phenomenal success attracting over 50,000 people to the neighborhood,” said BID President Elizabeth Price.
• Covenant House Washington, a nonprofit organization with an outreach center at 7 New York Avenue, N.E., received praise for its work with homeless and runaway youth. Covenant House is the largest privately funded, nonprofit childcare agency in the United States providing food, shelter, emergency and support services to at-risk, homeless, throwaway and runaway youth. Said Executive Director Judith Dobbins: “We are so excited that young people are represented in the development of NoMa, and we are proud of the 143 young people who are ‘graduating’ from our program this year to go to college, take jobs, and otherwise move on with their lives.”

All five of this year’s NoMa BID honorees received wooden boxes hand-carved by participants in Covenant House’s Off the Block program, which teaches woodworking skills to at-risk youth.

BID members elected five members for three-year terms on the BID’s Board of Directors: Bob Elliott of The JBG Companies; Jim Evans of Tishman Speyer; John Gordon of Polinger, Shannon & Luchs; Dennis Paul of Paul’s Wholesale Florist Company; and Fred Rothmeijer of MRP Realty.

About the NoMa BID:
NoMa is an emerging mixed-use neighborhood north of the U.S. Capitol and Union Station in Washington DC. Private developers have invested approximately $1.5 billion to date with plans to develop over 20 million square feet of office, residential, hotel, and retail space in the area covered by the NoMa BID over the next 10 years. The BID provides daily street and sidewalk cleaning, safety ambassadors, marketing, events, and other services to make NoMa a clean, safe, and vibrant neighborhood for businesses, residents, and visitors. For more information about the BID, including an interactive development map, see the BID Website at http://nomabid.wpengine.com.