Stamford Downtown Special Services District and the Franchising of Civic Culture

(submitted to Fairfield Weekly, September 30, 2009)


Dear Editor,

That chain businesses are taking notice of a growing consumer consciousness that prizes buying locally is gratifying, but only up to a point ("The Local Lie", Fairfield Weekly, September 13-23, page 15). As was the case with the push to weaken organic food standards in the 1990s, big business is reacting now as it did then, by attempting to change perceptions of what the public wants, rather than changing what it offers.

Of course, expecting name retailers like Wal-Mart to become localized is as reasonable as expecting the proverbial lion to lie down with the lamb. They would no longer be what they are if they tried. But there is another form of false localism that is more subtle and pervasive.

In the name of promoting the city's economy, Stamford's Downtown Special Services District--in partnership with UBS and Heineken, among other PR-hungry multinationals--channels city taxes to its activities, limiting the full potential by which dollars spent in Stamford can actually benefit Stamford, because so much of the funding for DSSD programs leaves town.

The current estimated expenses of DSSD operations for Stamford residents is $195,000 (Fiscal Year 2009/2010 Mayor's Operating Budget Request). While it has not changed from 2008, much could be saved by localizing the events, themselves, and keeping more money circulating in town, while cultivating social bonds and culture.

No one can contest how the DSSD has revitalized the Bedford Street/Broad Street area since its inception in 1993. It has dramatically pulled people to member shops and restaurants through a year-round series of activities, ranging from September Arts & Crafts on Bedford, the Alive @ Five concert series, as well as the (forthcoming) cumbersomely-titled SAC Capital Advisors, LP Giant Balloon Inflation Party. Still, can such franchised event management really equate with the fostering of authentic vitality for any city?

Contrary to DSSD Director of Retail Development Jacqueline Wetenhall's stated goal, there is more to robust commerce than having young professionals dine downtown "to leave with shopping bags full of retail offerings.” Truly independent commerce has as much to do with mutual ties of familiarity and good will as it does with the provenance of the goods and services being exchanged--not to mention a more democratic determination of WHAT is being exchanged.

For example, why can't the majority of Alive @ Five performers be drawn from an area pool of up-and-coming talent, rather than relying so heavily on name acts, like Blues Traveler or Sugar Ray? September Arts & Crafts on Bedford could do more to welcome artists and exhibits representing the high schools, UConn and the Loft Artists Association, right here in town, while being more accommodating to younger children's active participation. In addition to face-painting and the Stamford Museum & Nature Center's Petting Zoo, what about something like, say, a sidewalk chalk art competition? Over the years, some Stamfordites have acquired notoriety for the elaborate Halloween displays they put up on their lawns each year. It would have been fun and timely to have included them, or have their input on a how-to presentation.

Publicly-mediated community events have been done elsewhere with enthusiastic success. Cash-strapped Willimantic introduced do-it-yourself parades in recent years, where residents improvised with boom boxes to create an event with its own spontaneous character. Because no significant expenses are involved, something like this could be duplicated in different sections of Stamford--not just in pre-designated development zones, where even benefiting merchants must pay a membership fee.

Maybe the ultimate means of invigorating regional economic health is reconsidering what instrument of negotiation people rely upon. With the only thing keeping the U.S. dollar afloat is the willingness of credit-bearing nations to continue to support U.S. debt, as cited by Julian Robertson of Tiger Management, the introduction of local currency helps residents better support one another, while cushioning the impact of a major economic shock. Thread City Bread is alternative money used to sustain independent businesses in Willimantic. New Haven's more intimate approach takes the axiom "time is money" to a literal extreme, wherein participating neighbors trade one hour out of their day with one another to teach new skills, cook meals, walk pets, repair fences and so on. Because time is the one commodity everyone possesses, the SHARE Haven Time Bank is immune from inflationary or deflationary influences.

The only thing false about the creativity, conviviality and economy of such alternative ways of building local commerce, is that, in fact, they are about building community.

Rolf Maurer
Stamford Mayoral Candidate,
Green Party