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New Leadership For Town Green
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Business New Haven
1/22/2001
By: Priscilla Searles
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Scott Healy was recently named director of New Haven's Town Green Special Services District. Healy, who has been acting director since last June when Jane Snaider left, joined the organization in 1998 as business manager. The Town Green board conducted a national search and received 90 résumés for the position. A 1996 Yale University graduate with a major in ethics, politics and economics with a sub-specialization in urban and environmental studies, Healy was previously interim coordinator of the Neighbor Partnerships Network.
What do you think is the biggest success of the Town Green Special Services District?
The most tangible success is the cleaning of downtown and giving it a facelift, making it look neat and tidy, setting the stage for development. Keeping New Haven clean, picking up litter and getting rid of graffiti within 24 hours has a positive effect - in fact it helps prevent graffiti from happening in the first place. The strength of this program has been in its public and private partnership: private individuals, companies, property owners working together to make New Haven more appealing.
What kind of feedback do you get about the presence of the hospitality officers from merchants and visitors?
Generally positive feedback. They are operating as a liaison with the restaurant and retail community. But the program needs to be strengthened and Town Green needs to begin working to ensure that all downtown front line workers - from cab drivers to concierges to cashiers - understand that New Haven is vibrant and can share a welcoming word or two with new visitors and with people who already come downtown every day. We will use the hospitality officers to boost the friendliness of New Haven.
How does the creation of Market New Haven Inc. change your mission?
It doesn't - they are our strongest partner in bringing New Haven's success stories to a broader community, broader than anything Town Green could reach on its own. For example, we postponed the entertainment that we provided [for part of] last summer because of budget considerations; it had nothing to do with Market New Haven. However, when and if Market New Haven starts to provide a similar entertainment schedule as we did in the past it will mean that entertainment will be taken on by a non-profit entity with the financial and human resources to sponsor a greater number of high-quality events than we were able to do on our own. I don't believe that Town Green was established to create new programs downtown other than the hospitality and enhanced cleaning, and even those programs are not a new idea but rather a security enhancement. Market New Haven is just new piece of the puzzle, linking downtown New Haven and its more positive image to a greater audience.
What is your annual budget now, and is it the same since Market New Haven was launched?
Our budget is $695,000, it wasn't changed because of Market New Haven. We have, however, made a financial commitment to Market New Haven for $25,000 for the first year. We receive $140,000 yearly from city voluntary contributions as a Class D board member. We answer to taxpayers the same way the city does but we have more flexibility to work on certain issues than city does. Yale University and SNET each contribute $100,000 yearly.
Property-owners within the 27 square blocks surrounding the Green pay an additional half a mill in property taxes and of the 389 owners in the district, 324 voted [on whether to renew Town Green] in November, with 90 percent in favor of continuing the district.
How are the retailers dealing with the death of the Long Wharf mall? Has it changed their objectives?
The proposed mall was perceived as a competitor for downtown merchants. In reality, downtown serves a much more diverse clientele than a mall does. The most positive thing that came out of it was galvanizing the merchant community.
Do you think New Haven retailers still have trouble selling downtown New Haven to suburbanites?
Connecticut is the most suburbanized state in America. People are accustomed to malls, strip malls, and Connecticut is overrun with them. They are convenient. You park and you go in. Downtowns don't work that way. But when people complain that they can't find street parking, it means people are coming downtown. And recent major improvements in parking garages will help. I think perceptions are changing. Downtown New Haven sells itself - beautiful architecture, historic and cultural attractions. It has a lot to offer, more than any asphalt and concrete strip can.
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