It's been a while, because some tough decisions have been made, and some shame has come from being a business owner who cannot fulfill all of his financial obligations at this time. I take responsibility for much of that, but I truly cannot be responsible for the struggles that have been placed on top of the first year struggles due to the town, construction, redevelopment, and legal nonsense.
It has been just over a year now, and it may have to come to an end. This is hard and tragic. I spoke to the parking authority individual today who came into my store last week and bought a very successful present she said. She is lovely, and she is struggling too. She came on board with Bloomfield to work with the parking complex / deck that was to be built, and is now doing something far different, waiting in limbo as well, she says.
The people here on the street are have such different experiences, I wonder how a mayor or the council in such a small town can be oblivious to that. Obviously dollar signs are blinding in this town, as all you have to do is walk down Washington Street and ask three random people, and you will have three very different, very interesting experiences, all of which conflict with what the town says and does.
The parking meters are not getting covered for the holidays this year, it was a huge majority vote that shot that down. Why I wonder? Every other town does it to
encourage shopping in the area. With such a dying area, I understand many of the spaces will be occupied by people other than shoppers (trust me, I understand that, and hope to change that too!) but if it even attracts a dozen shoppers in the week before Christmas, you are providing a dozen more customers to the local businesses. This in turn revitalizes them, sustains them, and constructs a cycle of giving back to the community, and there is where redevelopment comes in. I am not living in a fantasy world where redevelopment is easy, simple, and idealistic. I do, however, believe that little things like the parking meters show the upper crust's lack of consideration for the people actually living, working, and dealing with this area.
There is no push for it to work.
Yesterday I went into a local restaurant and discovered they had a holiday brochure published by Bloomfield with a map of this area and its businesses. I am listed, but had no idea. This is something I would love to see sent out to people. I would love to have it available in my store - to create a community, to guide people into the area. Sadly, I found one copy at one restaurant, and that was the extent of Bloomfield's marketing campaign.
The holidays are torment. They should be busy, but the malls may have stolen much of the traffic. Yet the malls have been around for years, and do not change year to year. If anything, the feedback I get from people is that shopping at major stores is a headache, and they want local, community stores. They want to support their community, purchase unique goods you can't find anywhere else, and shop with people who know them and care.
They want this. People are willing to do this. The town, on the other hand, has no idea how to pay attention to this and what this means. For this reason, Bloomfield, at least for the foreseeable future, will not have this. They will be denied a community of culture, reciprocity, and mom and pop shops. As I watch my neighbors who have been here for years having the same struggles I have as a new business, I have to wonder why. There are so many reasons, but the bottom line is, no one cares. If they did, it would be different. If those with power were in touch with those without it, this place might be slightly different. I would advocate redevelopment if I was not harassed, strong armed, pressured, manipulated, and damaged by this situation from the get-go. This is where the failure will come from - because people do not go silently, people do not ignore this, and I have hope that people will prevail.
Sadly, victory from the bottom up always take much longer.
