Press Conference Announcing the Formal Organization of the Danbury Downtown Council Aug 19, 1980 (Still Image)

Press Conference Announcing the Formal Organization of the Danbury Downtown Council Aug 19, 1980

8/19/1980

Danbury (Conn.)--History

MS052 Box: 53 Folder: 53/5

PRESS CONFERENCE A NNOUNCING THE FO
^ '^"DOWNTOWN COUNfflL AUGUST 19, 1930^
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OOD M ORNING L ADIES AND G ENTLEMEN, M EMBERS OF THE M EDIA,
SOMfiWittS-Veft Y - EXCITtWTTr'HAPPENTNG "rN^POWNTQWriaNBeRY,

/fait IS MY PLEASURE AND P RIVILEGE TO A NNOUNCE THE FORMAL
(-^ORGANIZATION OF THE "DANBURY DOWNTOWN COUNCIL," THIS
ORGANIZATION WAS FORMED THROUGH THE J OINT I NITIATIVE OF
BUSINESS, LOCAL G OVERNMENT, THE P RESERVATION TRUST AND THE - / '-^
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GREATER DANBURY CHAMBER OF COMMERCE, AND HAS AS ITS M ISSION
Qy(jW;WVlTHE E CONOMIC PHYSICAL AND C ULTURAL R EVITILIZATION OF D ANBURY'S
CENTRAL BUSINESS DISTRICT, A G ROUP OF T HIS NATURE is
CV
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NECESSARY TO FOCUS ATTENTION AND R ESOURCES ON THE D OWNTOWN
BECAUSE T HE V ITALITY O F THE E NTIRE COMMUNITY DEPENDS UPON
THE S TRENGTH O F THE C ENTRAL BUSINESS DISTRICT WHICH ALSO
SERVES AS THE HUB OF THE R EGION,

THE DOWNTOWN SERVES TO

REFLECT T HE I MAGE O F THE E NTIRE COMMUNITY, A ND A DOWNTOWN
THAT I S W EAK BOTH ECONOMICALLY A ND C ULTURALLY C AN P RESENT A
POOR IMAGE OF THE C OMMUNITY AS A WHOLE,
AS WE ARE ALL A WARE, T HE P RESSURES O N A G ROWING CITY A RE
ENORMOUS, AND TO E NSURE THAT SUCH GROWTH WORKS FOR US R ATHER
THAN AGAINST U S, CLOSE C OOPERATION A ND P ERSONAL COMMITMENT
ARE E SSENTIAL,

I H AVE MADE SUCH A C OMMITMENT TO D OWNTOWN

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REVITILIZATION, A ND W ILL WORK PERSONALLY WITH T HE D OWNTOWN
COUNCIL AS A M EMBER OF ITS BOARD OF D IRECTORS, TO SEE TO I
THAT THE FULL POTENTIAL OF THE DOWNTOWN LS R EALIZED,
I WOULD NOW L IKE TO CALL UPON

Lj TO G IVE SOME DETAILS ON THE STRUCTURE AND F UNCTION
OF THIS NEW O RGANIZATION:
THANK YOU, flAYOR D YER, THIS is NOT THE F IRST ATTEMPT TO
BREATHE N EW L IFE INTO O UR D OWNTOWN,

S EVERAL P RIOR ATTEMPTS

HAVE FAILED D UE MOSTLY T O THE LACK O F C OORDINATION A ND O NGOING
COMMITMENT,
CONSTITUTED

T HE D ANBURY DOWNTOWN COUNCIL I S THE F IRST LEGALLY
ORGANIZATION WITH T HE A BILITY T O CONDUCT P ROGRAMS,

COLLECT F UNDS A ND T AKE A N A CTIVE PART I N D EVELOPMENT A ND
REHABILITATION E FFORTS,

ANOTHER UNIQUE ASPECT O F T HIS O RGANIZATION i s T HE BROAD REPRESENTATION ON ITS BOARD OF D IRECTORS, THE BOARD PRESENTLY HAS
17 MEMBERS, AND A CCORDING TO OUR BY-LAWS MAY H AVE AS M ANY AS
25, IT WAS AGREED THAT THE BOARD REPRESENT SEVERAL KEY ELEMENTS
OF THE DOWNTOWN, IT WAS FELT THAT THE CITY OF D ANBURY SHOULD
BE REPRESENTED, AS WELL AS DOWNTOWN RETAILERS AND P ROFESSIONALS,
BANKERS, HISTORIC PRESERVATION, AND THE CHAMBER OF C OMMERCE,

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I WOULD NOW L IKE TO INTRODUCE SOME OF THE M EMBERS WHO ARE
HERE TODAY: OF COURSE YOU ALL KNOW MAYOR DYER, ALSO REPRESENTING THE CITY OF DANBURY WILL BE THE DIRECTOR OF THE DANBURY
REDEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY, JERRY LOMBARDu R EPRESENTING DOWNTOWN
RETAIL, JOHN ADDESSI OF ADDESSI JEWELERS; CHARLES BARDO OF
BARDO PLATT I NC,; F RANK CAPPIELLO OF CAPPIELLO JEWELERS,- AND
ABE F EINSON OF FEINSON'S M ENS STORE, REPRESENTING THE DOWNTOWN
PROFESSIONAL C OMMUNITY I S W AYNE AMBER O F M AIN, HURDMAN A ND
CRANSTOUN CPA's; A TTORNEY A , PETER D AMIA, WHOSE LAW F IRM
RECENTLY R ELOCATED T O M AIN STREET A ND R OBERT GOODFELLOW O F
GOODFELLOW ASHMORE,

T HE B ANKING COMMUNITY I S ALSO WELL R EPRESENT-

ED, B ECAUSE A NY D OWNTOWN R EVITILIZATION E FFORT TAKES MONEY, A ND
THE E XPERTISE O F OUR B ANKING R EPRESENTATIVES W ILL B E MOST
VALUABLE,

W E H AVE YERBURY B URNHAM, V lCE PRESIDENT U NION TRUST

COMPANY; EDWARD FARRELL, PRESIDENT U NION SAVINGS BANK; DREW
PAINTER, VICE PRESIDENT STATE NATIONAL BANK; AND DUNHAM SMITH,
VICE P RESIDENT OF CITY TRUST,
IN O RGANIZING T HIS COUNCIL, WE ALSO FELT THAT THE CORPORATE
SECTOR D ESERVEAREPRESENTATION,

I N E XAMINING R EVITILIZATION

EFFORTS AROUND THE C OUNTRY WE F OUND THAT CORPORATE CITIZENS HAVE
BEEN INSTRUMENTAL IN THE R EVITILIZATION PROCESS, NOT JUST W ITH
THEIR DOLLARS, B UT W ITH THEIR IDEAS, THEIR COMMITMENT A ND T HEIR
INVESTMENT I N THE C OMMUNITY,

O UR C ORPORATE DIRECTORS

INCLUDE

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VIRGINIA BEKASSY, VICE PRESIDENT OF GROLIER, INC; ROY YOUNG
OF F AIRFIELD PROCESSING
ALSO IN OUR E XAMINATION OF OTHER SUCCESSFUL DOWNTOWN R EVITILIZATION EFFORTS, WE FOUND THE I NFLUENCE OF HISTORIC PRESERVATION TO BE IMPORTANT^BECAUSE WE WAN T TO E NSURE A PROPER
BLEND IN OUR DOWNTOWN "BETWEEN THE OLD AND THE N EW, REPRESENTING THE D ANBURY PRESERVATION TRUST i s ITS P RESIDENT DR, HERBERT
JANICK, THE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE HAS ALSO RECOGNIZED THE IMPORTANCE OF T HIS EFFORT AND W ILL BE REPRESENTED BY JAMES BOCKELMAN
THE CHAMBER PRESIDENT, AND IN ORDER TO PROVIDE ONGOING DAY TO DAY
CONTINUITY OF THE O RGANIZATION THE CHAMBER WILL ASSIGN A MEMBER
OF ITS STAFF TO SERVE AS STAFF COORDINATOR FOR THIS EFFORT, THE
COUNCIL HAS BEEN ORGANIZED AROUND 5 MAJOR LONG RANGE GOALS,
THE F IRST GOAL IS TO ASSURE THAT LAND IN THE CBD IS PUT TO
MAXIMUM E FFECTIVE USE, CONSISTENT WITH A C OMPREHENSIVE PLAN
FOR STRATEGY FOR DEVELOPMENT, K(E KNOW THAT THE MAYOR HAS
REORGANIZED THE P LANNING PROCESS OF THE ClTY, AND WE RECOGNIZE
THE NEED FOR AN OVERALL COMPREHENSIVE APPROACH TO DOWNTOWN
REVITILIZATION, OUR SECOND GOAL IS TO DEVELOP AND EMPLOY
CREATIVE FINANCING METHODS TO STIMULATE INVESTMENT IN THE DOWNTOWN, OUR THIRD GOAL IS TO M AKE THE DOWTOWN MORE ATTRACTIVE

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TO PEOPLE OF ALL E CONOMIC AND S OCIAL BACKGROUNDS,

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OUR F OURTH

GOAL IS TO W ORK TOWARD INFRASTRUCTURE IMPROVEMENTS TO C OMPLIMENT
CENTRAL BUSINESS DISTRICT DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITIES, BY I NFRASTRUCTURE WE M EAN THE P HYSICAL FACILITIES OF G OVERNMENT, SUCH
AS ROADS, U TILITIES AND OTHER CAPITAL ITEMS, WHICH FORM A
FRAMEWORK /OR F OUNDATION UPON WHICH DEVELOPMENT TAKES PLACE,
AND OUR F IFTH GOAL IS TO I MPROVE THE AESTHETIC, CULTURAL AND
MARKETING I MAGE A"k^ THE D OWNTOWN. IN A WAY E ACH OF THESE 5
OF
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GOALS HAVE AS WERf BASIS, TO B RING PEOPLE DOWNTOWN, FOR PEOPLE
ARE T HE KEY TO R EVITILIZATION,

THIS WILL BE A W ORKING BOARD, AT LEAST ONE M EETING WILL BE
HELD PER WEEK, WHETHER A COMMITTEE OR FULL MEMBERSHIP OF THE
BOARD, COMMITTEES WILL BE O RGANIZED AROUND THE MAJOR.ASPECTS
OF T HIS GOAL PROGRAM, FOR A TIME, THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE WILL
SERVE AS THE O VERALL PLANNING COMMITTEE OF THE BOARD AND WILL
BE R ESPONSIBLE FOR C OORDINATING THE DEVELOPMENT OF A COMPREHENSIVE STRATEGY FOR THE DOWNTOWN, WE W ILL ALSO HAVE A COMMITTEE
ON PROMOTION AND ONE ON R EHABILITATION, WE E NCOURAGE ANYONE
WHO IS INTERESTED IN THE DOWNTOWN, AND ESPECIALLY DOWNTOWN
BUSINESS PEOPLE, TO TAKE AN A CTIVE PART IN OUR COMMITTEE STRUCTURE,
SO THAT WE CAN GET THE BROADEST P ARTICIPATION POSSIBLE, THE
PARTICIPATION OF DOWNTOWN BUSINESS PEOPLE, MERCHANTS, AND PROPERTY
-rpven-"
OWNERS IS C RUCIAL TO THE SUCCESS OF T HIS EFFORT, «*£«£ P ARTICIPATION IN THE COMMITTEES WILL FORM THE BASIS FOR ALL POLICY ACTIONS,

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THE TASK AHEAD W ILL NOT BE AN EASY ONE, AND IT IS PROBABLE THAT
MANY D IFFERING V IEWPOINTS WILL B E A IRED I N OUR D ISCUSSION,

B UT

THAT IS P RECISELY WHY WE H AVE CHOSEN TO FORM THIS ORGANIZATION,
SO THAT THROUGH DIALOGUE WE MAY ALL A CHIEVE A BETTER U NDERSTANDING
OF THE N EEDS OF OUR D OWNTOWN AS AN U RBAN CENTER, AND

C OOPERATIVELY,

IN P ARTNERSHIP WITH G OVERNMENT D ETERMINE THE BEST POSSIBLE
SOLUTION A ND S TIMULATE ACTION RATHER THAN REACTION,
ARE T HERE A NY Q UESTIONS?