MEDIA ADVISORY / REQUEST FOR ONSITE COVERAGE

Media Contact: David Perry & Associates: (415) 693-0583 / cell: (415) 676-7007 / news@davidperry.com

WHO: Union Square Business Improvement District (BID)

Takes Part In and Institutes its “Code Adam” program for

WHAT: The Annual Chinese New Year Parade

WHEN: Saturday, March 3

Parade starts: 5:30pm, rain-or-shine

WHERE: Start: 2nd & Market Streets // End: Columbus Avenue at Kearny

WEBSITE www.unionsquarebid.com and www.chineseparade.com

DETAIL: It's the “Year of the Pig” and on Saturday, March 3 the Union Square BID welcomes the annual Lunar / Chinese New Years Parade. As part of its mission to keep the Union Square area “Clean & Safe” the BID will have in place its popular “Code Adam” program during the parade to help parents keep track of their children amidst the bustle.

“Our ambassadors and sweepers will be on hand throughout the parade to help tourists with directions and make sure that any lost young ones are quickly and safely re-united with their loved ones,” said Leigh Ann Baughman, Union Square BID Executive Director. “Our mission is to keep the Union Square area clean and safe. During the parade with so much hustle and bustle, we want to make sure that visitors to the area keep especially tight watch over their personal belongings, purchases, and their young children who might become separated in large crowds. Our 'Code Adam' program -- which operates all year long -- is an intense, immediate and highly successful program to match lost children with their parents. If a BID Ambassador spots a child that is alone, the child is approached to get a description of their guardian or parent. While police and other Ambassadors are alerted about the situation, the Ambassador stays with the child until their guardians are located. It also works in reverse as sometimes Ambassadors are approached by parents who have become separated from their little ones.”

With 600,000 firecrackers, a 201 foot long dragon and thousands of revelers, the annual event is the largest celebration of its kind outside of Asia. The parade will start at 2nd & Market Streets and then wind its way through downtown, ending at Columbus Avenue and Kearny. This year, the Reviewing Stand / Bleachers ($ 30 per ticket available online at www.chineseparade.com) will be in place at Union Square on Geary Street in front of Macy's main entrance.

The Union Square Business Improvement District (BID) is a 10-block area where property owners assess themselves to make their community cleaner, safer and more vibrant. The BID assessment is used to purchase services that supplement those provided by the City. The Union Square BID contains 91 properties and is roughly bounded by Sutter Street to the North, Stockton and Grant Streets to the East, Market Street to the South and Cyril Magnin to the West. In 1994, California joined most states in the country and passed enabling legislation for property based business improvement districts (PBIDS). There are currently over 1,000 BIDS in the United States and Canada.

A unique program of the Union Square BID are the BID“Ambassadors” -- a visible presence for safety and maintenance in the BID’s ten-square-block borders. Easily identifiable by their red and blue uniforms, the Ambassadors provide visitors and tourists with a variety of services including directions, transportation information, emergency response, and even help elderly shoppers with their bags as they cross San Francisco’s busy streets. Also part of the Union Square BID’s success are the “TAGGers.” “TAGGers” (an acronym for Take Away Graffiti and Grime ) are the primary caretakers for Union Square and the whole BID district. Every morning they sweep the sidewalks, pick-up and dispose of trash and debris, and remove graffiti from storefronts, buildings, area light poles and street furniture. Sidewalks are steam cleaned twice a month. For more information on the Union Square Business Improvement District, access their website at www.unionsquarebid.com, or call (415) 421-3135.