Category Archives: Business

Business in Newburyport, MA

Newburyport, Community

BuyLocal.jpg
(Image used with permission)

I think one of the things that I like so much about www.supportNBPT.org is the emphasis on “community.”

I was also astounded at the figures that local business “pour more than 50 percent of the revenue back into the local economy compared to 14 percent for national chains.” (Newburyport Current, December 21, 2006)

The detailed reports can be found on the www.supportNBPT.org website. These folks have done their homework.

And to quote Gene Volovich from the same Newburyport Current article, “A city like Newburyport, where most of downtown is in the hands of one owner, is particularly vulnerable to ‘manipulation’…”

Yes, that is most definitely the concern.

That locally owned businesses would have the City’s best interest at heart over “large corporations” and “national chains” and that it would be better to promote “community welfare” over “corporate welfare.” (Source www.supportNBPT.org website.)

Works for me.

And I certainly would want our local entrepreneurs to be supported and to flourish.

(Now I’m wondering out loud here, which has gotten me into trouble before, so if there’s any “Mary could be sued” stuff, please let me know, ASAP.)

This is what I wonder. Would the corporate folks at large corporations use our local banks, our local lawyers, our local insurance people?

If a very large landlord (of course I’m thinking of Mr. Karp here) has the choice between a “tried and true” establishment, that is guaranteed to pay the rent and possibly pay more, would the landlord take the “tried and true” business over a lesser-tried local entrepreneur?

If let’s say (and this is absolutely guaranteed hypothetical) a national chain store like a Barnes and Noble went in the yet to be developed Stephen Karp property, would our local (much loved, at least by me) book stores suffer? I would think the answer would be “yes,” but possibly I’ve been watching way too many movies.

Anyway, this new group, founded by Allyson Lawless and Gene Volovich, has created a decal for local business to put in their windows.

BuyLocal.jpg
“Buy Local” decal
(Image used with permission)

And the decals are beginning to pop up all over downtown Newburyport, MA. Obviously there are local business out there in our downtown that would like to remind folks to “Buy Local.”

Mary Eaton
Newburyport

Newburyport, supportNBPT.org, Buy Local

I can’t tell you how pleased I was to read the most excellent article by Ulrika Gerth in the Newburyport Current, December 22, 2006 on “Buy Local, supportNBPT.org.”

And I was a little puzzled by Mayor John Moak’s comments in this Sunday’s Globe North, ‘”Locally owned businesses are the backbone of our community,” Moak said. “But I also believe that larger corporations can be an intricate part of the city as long as they understand the limitations of the city.”‘ (Boston Globe, December 31, 2006 — Kay Lazar.)

Ah, and let me quote from the beautiful website of www.supportNBPT.org (it is also on their most excellent brochure.)

“Community

‘It grows out of people stopping by the bar for a beer, getting advice from the grocer and giving advice to the newsstand man, comparing opinions with other customers at the bakery and nodding hello to the two boys drinking pop on the stoop . . . hearing about a job from the hardware man and borrowing a dollar from the druggist . . .

‘Most of it is ostensibly utterly trivial, but the sum is not trivial at all. The sum of such casual, public contact at the local level. . . most of it fortuitous, most of it associated with errands . . . is a feeling for the public identity of people, a web of public respect and trust, and a resource in time of personal or neighborhood need. The absence of this trust is a disaster to a city street.’

‘The Death and Life of Great American Cities,’ by Jane Jacobs”

What I would beg to differ with Mayor John Moak is that it has been my experience that “large corporations” are an anathema to “community.” And community, I think, is one of the things that so many of us love about Newburyport, MA. Could I possibly be right about this one?

And of course, the elephant in the room here, that I haven’t mentioned so far, is of course Mr. Karp. Our new huge downtown landlord, developer Stephen Karp.

I would imagine that this blogger will be blogging a little bit more about “Buy Local”.

Mary Eaton
Newburyport

Newburyport, A Real Estate Inquiry About the Landfill

Shortly before Christmas I got a phone call. The phone call was from a young lady who was about to buy a house in Newburyport, MA and wanted to know if it was safe to live here because of our Landfill issue.

Why in the world was she calling me?

She had called the Mayor’s office to ask this very question. I felt sorry for Lois, Mayor John Moak’s secretary, who apparently had the pleasure of trying to answer such an inquiry. My caller was not satisfied.

And she was told that our health inspector was “not available,” which he probably wasn’t, because he was probably out inspecting the work being done on the Newburyport Landfill.

So, low and behold, Google gave me up as a source of information on this subject. (There’s lots of information when one Googles “Newburyport Landfill,” not just moi, thank goodness.)

It was assumed that the “Newburyport Blogger” would have some answers for this much panicked individual.

Well, this Newburyport blogger knew that she was no source of reliable or informed information, and gave the young lady in question phone numbers of individuals who she felt would be able to impart educated, knowledgeable and fair insight into whether or not it was safe to live in Newburyport, MA.

Well, I live here, so obviously I think it’s safe.

However, the cautionary tale here is to the realtors in Newburyport, Massachusetts. The Landfill issue apparently appears to be hurting the realtor bottom-line, if people are Googling me for info and “guidance” on this stuff. Good grief.

So, I would suggest that it might be a good idea if the realtors in the region ban together and help the City of Newburyport, MA put additional pressure on the “powers that be” on the state level, so that the Landfill issue can get resolved, really and truly, real quick, and folks wouldn’t wonder if it would be a problem to live here health and real-estate-wise. My.

Mary Eaton
Newburyport

Newburyport, The Importance of the “Ridge”

Why is the “Ridge” important to Newburyport, MA? The Newburyport Daily News has been asking this question, and an excellent question it appears to be.

The “Ridge” is the area on High Street, in the “South End” of the city that runs roughly from State Street to a little beyond Lime Street, down towards the Newbury line, that is on the upper side of the roadway. That’s the geography.

High Street itself has been called, “one of the most scenic streets in all of New England,” by the “Michelin Guide to New England.”

And to quote the High Street website, “The wholly intact nature of the setting allows the High Street of today to impart the same sense of spaciousness, beauty and dignity that it did 100 years ago.”

The Ridge has beautiful and stately mansions (not McMansions but real to goodness, the real thing, mansions.) And what adds to their beauty, their sense of mystery, their stateliness is LAND. In some cases many, many acres of land.

And this of course was true of the Wheelwright House, the back of which Mr. Todd Fremont-Smith is proposing a suburban subdivision. (See all kinds of previous posts. Just put in Wheelwright into the “search” box at the top of the main page of the Newburyport Political Blog, and you will find gobs of stuff.)

Now not to get too grandiose here, but to get grandiose here, think of “Versailles.” Yes, I’m talking about the Versailles in France, a la King Louis XIV. Yes, I realize this is a bit of hyperbole, and that any mansion on High Street, Newburyport, MA is not quite the same thing, but bear with me here, Ok?

Now, no matter how stunning, how beautiful, how tasteful, would anyone want a subdivision built at the back of Versailles? No.

No, because it would be tacky and lack class, and just plain not a good idea.

The same principle applies to any land in back of the High Street mansions on the Ridge in Newburyport, MA.

To build a subdivision of any kind back there would be tacky and lack class.

Now, my one gander at Mr. Todd Fremont-Smith at the last Public Hearing concerning his project to build a subdivision in the back of the Wheelwright property, the young man in question did not strike me as “lacking class” or being “tacky.” Nor did he strike me as lacking a conscience. (This bloggett obviously finds Mr. Fremont-Smith’s proposal completely unconscionable.)

And if Mr. Fremont-Smith goes ahead with his proposed subdivision — “tacky and without class,” what a lousy legacy to be left with. My.

And I would imagine that if he ever thought that the project would gander so much negative publicity, that he might never have taken the project on at all. And I’m afraid for Mr. Fremont-Smith, that things, bad publicity-wise, are just beginning to really rev up. Vroooom, vroooom.

So one and all, this bloggett does not wish the Ridge a tacky and without class legacy. And I know many (vast understatement) out there in Web Land do not wish this for Newburyport, MA either.

Happy New Year…

Mary Eaton
Newburyport

Newburyport, Wheelwright Gardens, Endangered Resources

Obviously I liked the fact that the gardens at the Wheelwright House made Preservation Massachusetts 10 Most Endangered Resource list a lot.

One of the things that I also like is that a realtor was one of the three people who nominated the Wheelwright Gardens.

Why do I find this so enchanting? Let me digress a bit and tell a tale.

I love going to open houses. Always have. Let’s say, it’s hard to remember just how long ago it was, 10-14 years ago I went to an open house that was on a side street very close to downtown Newburyport.

The house had been a one family Federal and had been pretty much gutted and turned into 3 condominiums. The start of a long and enduring trend.

I went in and looked at one of the condominiums. It was an “open” concept with a gas fireplace separating the dinning, living room area from the kitchen. No wood fireplace insight. This was when wood fireplaces were still considered a “good” thing.

All very nice if it was in Tucson, Arizona, but this was Newburyport, Massachusetts.

I asked the realtor how the developer came up with this concept. And the realtor quite happily told me that the realtor had told the developer what people “wanted” and what would sell, and the developer developed the property accordingly. The realtor seemed quite pleased with the contribution that the realtor had made to our historic Newburyport heritage.

And in my experience, this particular realtor was and is not an anomaly.

So that’s why I find the fact that a realtor, of all people, nominated an historic garden as an Endangered Resource endearing.

And I would not be at all surprised if other realtors might not be happy at this audacious act. Much easier to sell a million dollar plus property on historic High Street if one could just pave over that darn garden without a qualm in the world and make it into a nifty parking lot. Good grief, let’s get real.

So the fact that we are losing Newburyport’s historic heritage, short-term profit instead of long-term economic gain, is just downright complicated and downright multi-determined.

Mary Eaton
Newburyport

Newburyport, Discussion About a City Manger

I couldn’t be more delighted that there is already a dialogue going on about the subject of a City Manager for Newburyport, MA.

Here is a question from an astute reader of the Newburyport Political Blog. (It is a question that I have as well):

“I guess I am picturing a situation where the city starts bringing in people from all over the state/country to interview for the job, much like the planning director, and I don’t know if that is a good thing. I think having local people in positions like this is very important, especially in a place like Newburyport. If there is no one in town that has the professional qualifications (how many people in Newburyport are or have been a city manager?), then are we forced to look outside of the city for a candidate? At least a requirement of being a mayor is that you live in town, and the only real chance you have to win is if you are someone that has been around town for a while. As much as I like the idea of having a non-political person running the day to day stuff, I just don’t like the idea of not having locals in charge of their own city…”

And these are some thoughts by another astute reader of the Newburyport Political Blog that I found very interesting.

“By design, a city manager is an apolitical position. It is not necessary for the manager to be a resident or to have insight into what is going on. That is the job of the City Council, who would direct the manager to implement the policies that the Council comes up with.

The Newburyport City Council is in the position to know wishes and concerns of their constituents, and the policies and directions that would come out of the City Council would be the result of debate and compromise.

Under the Mayor/Council system, policies and initiatives usually come out of the Mayor’s office. In other words, one person sets the agenda.

Under the Council/Manager system, 7,9, or 11 people would set the agenda, and then the Manager would implement that agenda. Should the Manager prove to be incompetent or working counter to the agenda set forth by the City Council, he/she would be fired. The locals would still be in charge of the City.

It is my opinion that we would want to look outside of Newburyport for a Manager. The goal would be to hire the most qualified, experienced person for the money that we could afford. If we did hire someone from outside the community, they would not have the loyalties, family ties or outstanding obligations of someone who has been in town for a long time. (Editor’s note: as I understand it, this is what would make it possible for the position to be non-political.)

Another point that is important to remember is that the role of Mayor would not go away. The Mayor would become more of a ceremonial role, and would occupy the position now held by the City Council President. The Mayor would be the “spokesperson” and “ambassador” for the City. And there are two ways in which the Mayor could be chosen — election by the Council, or the person who gets the most popular votes.”

Many thanks to both astute readers of the Newburyport Political Blog.

Mary Eaton
Newburyport

Newburyport, Change to a City Council – City Manager Form of Government

The idea of a City Manager might go against the grain of our rich history of having a mayor run the City of Newburyport, MA.

True, but…

Every mayor has been well intentioned there is no doubt about that. But we are asking your average person to all of a sudden become a CEO of a multi-million dollar municipality. This is not only daunting but when I think about it in those terms, but it also is pretty amazing that we as a City would require that of anyone who is not professionally trained.

And we’ve had a 2 year mayoral turnover for well over a decade.

The Crow Lane Landfill crisis as a good example of what a lack of continuity could do.

From what I understand New Ventures LLC was chosen under one administration. However, when it came to having a contract with New Ventures (the private company that runs the landfill) another administration was in place.

The issue is an extremely complex one. We will never know for sure, but it is certainly possible that with leadership continuity Newburyport, MA might have had a contract with New Ventures LLC that would have been very strict and we would not be in the incredible mess that we are in now.

Or we might have had a different owner than New Ventures LLC altogether, wouldn’t that have been nice.

The 2 year mayoral turnover has been blamed on media scrutiny. But frankly, I don’t find that argument holds any weight at all. The Newburyport City Council has been under an equal amount of scrutiny, sometimes much more, but there is a fair amount of Council continuity.

I’ve lost track of how many years Councilor McCarthy, Councilor O’Brien and Councilor Fowler have been with us. And I’m also beginning to lose count of how long Councilor Earls, Councilor Shanley, Councilor Connell and Councilor Vogel have been with us as well. Basically we have 4 (out of 11) new City Councilors this year.

It could be argued that with the City Council under a council-manager form of government, the Newburyport City Council would by necessity become more focused and more serious and hopefully less “political” in the not so good version of being “political.” And obviously the diversity would serve as a check and balance for our City.

I think psychologically it might be hard to make a transition to a council-manager form of government (don’t forget, we would still have a mayor), but on a purely rational basis it appears to make sense.

And my hope would be that we as a City could begin to have some sort of dialogue about the possibility, because in my opinion our long-term survival may depend on a change of our current way of doing things.

Mary Eaton
Newburyport

Newburyport, Mr. Karp and Flying Rumors

One of the really frustrating things for me is that we still have no word from our biggest landlord in town, Stephen Karp. We may be “small potatoes” to Mr. Karp, but everyone from the mayor on down would like Mr. Karp himself to make a personal visit to Newburyport, MA and give us some idea of what is on his mind for our small seaport city.

When we as residents see a long time and well loved establishment like The Arboretum at 58 Merrimac Street go out of business because of a raise in rent, rumors start to fly all over the place.

One of the wildest rumors that I’ve heard is that L.L.Bean is coming to town and is going to go where the Fitness Factory is now located. (Mr. Karp owns the building)

I usually don’t do much fact checking, but I thought that rumor was so nuts that I actually called the owner of the Fitness Factory, Kate Hudson, and asked what the heck was going on.

Well, absolutely nothing is going on. The Fitness Factory is going to stay put, just where it is, just like it has been for the last 25 years, thank you very much. Well, whew on that one.

But, these crazy rumors have got to stop. And Mr. Steven Karp owes us a visit, because darn it, we deserve to know what the heck is going on in Newburyport, MA. The distrust of Mr. Karp and the general unease is very high in this New England seaport city.

Mary Eaton
Newburyport

Editors note: It has also been confirmed by L.L.Bean that there is absolutely no truth to the rumor that L.L.Bean is coming to town and is moving into the Fitness Factory.

Newburyport, City Manager – Non-Political

In my wanderings around the World Wide Web looking for information on City Managers I came across an article by Bob Greene of “Jewish World Review.”

Mr. Green advises for “cities that have become sick of petty political infighting” to get rid of the idea of having a mayor and instead “hire a city manager.”

“City managers — when the system works as it should — are non-political. They have no politics-driven agendas: They are hired to get a job done:

Make the city work — and make it work efficiently.”

(http://www.jewishworldreview.com/bob/greene112800.asp)

The more I look around the World Wide Web, the more I see that City Managers appear to be the norm, rather than the exception.

One of my questions is “how in the world does a City Manager stay ‘non-political?’”

I’m an artist, so I’m not exactly an expert on this one.

However, in my Internet explorations I came across an article by Brendon Connelly on being non-political or apolitical.

These are some of his thoughts and I thought they were very wise:

“1) Wear no mask.
The guy that walks into your office is the same guy that walks into your colleague or boss’s office. One face, no mask.

2) Be transparent.
All my agendas are clearly visible. You want to know what I think? I’ll tell you. The words I say might make one or both of us uncomfortable, but I’ll do my best to soften them without diluting their truth.

3) Flex and bend.
I strive to be flexible and willing to hear opposing points of view. Defending a lame position for any reason is, well, lame. I don’t assume I’m the smartest person in the room, and I generally take the opinions of others at face value (this is where being apolitical can be painful, but only in the short term).

4) Listen to ‘em.
Learning to really listen is dangerous to my status quo. Truly listening means I’m extending myself beyond my own boundaries, at my risk and for the benefit of the other. It’s hard to do if you’re unwilling to be transformed.

5) Park the ego.
This is a difficult one (and probably is for everyone), but it’s essential for me. When my ego gets wrapped up in the work, it’s too easy to start defending those lame positions…

6) Forget the empire.
I don’t want to be an empire builder. I’ve got my responsibilities and I attend to them. If I acquire an empire, I’ll probably never notice.

7) No gossip.
I fail too often at this one. Unfortunately I slip into gossip mode too often, and I think it’s because I’m so willing to talk things out.

8) Focus on it.
What’s the business issue at hand? Focus on it. The key is to be sure I’m not being myopic about the issue I’m focusing on. Sometimes the issue is broader than my current focus.”

Source:
http://slackermanager.com/2006/04/how-to-avoid-office-politics.html

Mary Eaton
Newburyport

Landfill Agreement, Newburyport, MA — It Stinks

I was very glad to read in the Newburyport Daily News, September 19, 2006 that Mayor John Moak and the Newburyport City Council are as upset about the state’s agreement with New Ventures LLC, (the owner of the Crow Lane Landfill) as residents are.

City Councilor Barry Connell is quoted as saying “The deal the DEP laid out was to have a criminal pollutant bring more pollutants into our landfill…”

There will be a meeting with the City Council, the Mayor and the City Attorney to try and figure out how to help the citizens of Newburyport, MA.

The Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and the Attorney General’s Office (AG) would like to resolve the Crow Lane Landfill issue without a court battle. However, that solution is obviously unacceptable to the citizens of Newburyport, MA.

The DEP and the AG would allow New Ventures to resume dumping construction and demolition debris at the landfill, the very debris that is a cause of the toxic odors in the first place.

So this is what I would like to see–as much media attention on this ridiculous fiasco as possible.

I would like to see Channels 4, 5, 6 and 7 camped in the Crow Lane Landfill neighborhood. I would like to see the residents telling their heartbreaking stories on television as well as to other major media outlets.

It is one way to force the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and New Ventures LLC to do right by the citizens of Newburyport, Massachusetts.

This is as important as any other disaster. The residents of Newburyport, MA have been and still are going through hell.

Major media outlets where are you?

Mary Eaton
Newburyport, MA

Newburyport, The Wheelwright Property

The Wheelwright property that lies between High Street and the Oak Hill Cemetery in Newburyport, MA belonged to Mr. William Wheelwright. Mr. Wheelwright was well known for having built the first railroad in South America among other things.

The Wheelwrights are buried in the Oak Hill Cemetery that is within view of their former property. The Wheelwright’s graves are literally within site of the estate.

I am sure that Mr. William Wheelwright and his wife Martha Bartlet Wheelwright never imagined having a 5 house subdivision (and I’m pretty sure that they will not be 5 dainty houses) right next to their gravesites.

It seems to me to be unbelievably insensitive of the developer to even think about desecrating our historic heritage by contemplating such an act.

It certainly seems like a sacrilege to me.

A reader of the Newburyport Political Blog took these pictures. Many thanks to Ed Mair.

wheelwright.grave.jpg
Edward Gerrish Mair © 2006
This Memorial marks the actual Wheelwright family plot.

wheelwright.1.jpg
Edward Gerrish Mair © 2006

And this photograph is taken by the State Street entrance to the Oak Hill Cemetery and is right by the property that will be developed.

Mary Eaton
Newburyport

Newburyport, MA—A Little Protection

I’m going to say a dirty, dirty, dirt word – Local Historic District (LHD.)

Wow, it’s as if we’ve been brainwashed in this town to think LHDs are evil.

A LHD in Newburyport MA has come to mean “I’m only allowed to paint my house a certain color of purple and the outside doorknob has to be brass surrounded with diamonds.”

Well, I’m exaggerating here, a purple house with a brass and diamond doorknob isn’t exactly New England historic (I don’t know exactly what it is, but it’s not New England historic.)

But you get the idea, people in Newburyport MA have gotten the idea that a LHD means someone is going to dictate what they going to do and it is the equivalent of being in “property ownership jail,” plus they would never be able to sell their house and their property values would drop like crazy.

Well, let’s see. A Local Historic District is the only thing that would completely protect our historic assets. We can create incentives to do right, but given the example of let’s say threatening to turn the Wheelwright House into condominiums, “incentives” to do “right,” may not always work with people who have no intention of doing “right” by Newburyport, MA.

I’m a big advocate of “Local Historic District Light.” Basically creating a Local Historic District or a series of Local Historic Districts that have absolutely the minimum restrictions and see how we all deal with that. A little bit like having a demolition delay that starts with 6 months and seeing how it works.

You can write whatever you want a Local Historic District to be folks…it doesn’t have to be purple houses with diamond doorknockers.

And as for “Local Historic District Light” being a waste of time, well “nuts” to that, some protection is better than no protection at all.

And guess what, properties in Local Historic Districts usually appreciate at rates greater than your general housing market. Well, just look at Newburyport, MA, people want to live here because of our historic structures.

Historic heritage = money.

Worst-case scenario for houses in a Local Historic District is that they would appreciation at rates equivalent to the overall local market. Boy, that’s really bad.

And also for houses in a LHD, there is less volatility when the market goes south. Believe me folks, that’s really terrible.

Hey, this all of this works for me.

Our luck in Newburyport, MA has changed. It’s time to un-brainwash ourselves about LHDs. No, a Local Historic District is not the equivalent of having the Bubonic Plague.

Mary Eaton
Newburyport

Newburyport, Economic Agenda

In today’s Newburyport Daily News, September 7, 2006 there is a brief article on Mayor John Moak’s economic agenda.

“The city is trying to streamline the permitting process for new businesses…” The Mayor also talks about luring business and industry to the City.

Nowhere does Mayor John Moak mention protecting our historic heritage that is the foundation of our economic survival.

And last night the Wheelwright property came before the Newburyport Planning Board. According to the Newburyport Daily News, the Newburyport Planning Board agreed to divide the property. The front parcel can now be sold as a separate entity and the back parcel can now be considered for a “subdivision.” From what I understand, legally, there was not much the Newburyport Planning Board could do to prevent the Wheelwright land from being divided…sigh.

However, the Newburyport Planning Board has been working hard at what I would consider the City’s best interest. They have been working on an amendment to a zoning ordinance that would help protect our historic heritage and local neighborhood character. Whew.

This is the amendment to Section IX (9) of the zoning code or what I call the “Infill Ordinance,” which was on the Newburyport Planning Board agenda last night.

I have seen the “Proposed Revised Version of Section IX” dated August 28, 2006 and it looks good to me.

Basically any non-conforming one and two family homes are allowed additions of 500 square feet. In my mind that’s a good amount of square footage which would allow a responsible addition or alteration—a very nice kitchen, family room, master bedroom, huge spa.

Anything over that would require coming before the City for a dialogue about what would be proposed. This does not mean that something larger than a 500 square foot addition could not be built. It would, however, be a step towards helping to insure that all parties are working together to keep the historic nature and local and neighborhood character of Newburyport, MA.

This amendment to the zoning ordinance will require a vote before the Newburyport City Council. Last year, for reasons I am still unclear about, a similar amendment to the zoning code did not pass.

My hope is that this year we have a different political climate. That the residents and City Council are beginning to see that we are at a turning point of over development and that we are about to or already are losing our economic base. My hope is that the vote on this zoning amendment is a “no-brainer,” and that the Newburyport City Council will do its part in helping to insure our economic survival.

Mary Eaton
Newburyport

Questions About the Newburyport Commuter Rail Station

Hi Mary,

Perhaps you or one of your readers could help me understand the ongoing saga at the Newburyport Commuter Rail Station.

The station seems to have a severe electrical problem which makes it impossible for the operator to keep it open on a consistent basis.

As I understand it, the ball keeps getting tossed back and forth between the Newburyport City Council and the MBTA. And the issues still have not been resolved 13 months after opening.

It is frustrating to have a train station that is unable to stay open consistently, sell food, or otherwise function as a station could.

BTW – Thanks for starting this blog, it is a great source of information.

Thanks for your help

Frank Smietana
Newburyport

Newburyport, The Price of Doing Business

It’s my understanding that unless you are someone like Gram’s Ice Cream (and oh, how so many of us love Gram’s Ice Cream) on State Street in Newburyport, MA, or an eatery on the “main drag,” that festivals and yes, even Yankee Homecoming can be very hard on our local businesses.

In the Newburyport Daily News on August 1, 2006 the Firehouse Center for the Arts basically talks about the fact that they “essentially have to shut down” for the nine days of Yankee Homecoming. Not good for business. And my impression is that the Firehouse is far from alone.

When I peek in stores downtown during these events, the local businesses appear to me to be woefully empty. The local clientele seems to stay home, far away from the maddening crowd. So poof, those customers are gone. And our visitors seem to be intent on buying food or merchandise from folks on the street, they do not seem intent on wandering into our various and sundry local establishments.

It’s my recollection that even the sidewalk sales sometimes can be somewhat of a burden. Extra help is often needed and it is my impression that merchants are often lucky if they are able to break even.

Over the years I’ve gotten to like Yankee Homecoming. I even look forward to it. (I used to moan and want to leave town.) But the celebration does take its toll, so one can hardly blame the Firehouse when they wanted to take advantage of their terrific view of the waterfront stage. It seemed like a good idea to me (no I did not go.)

The fact that our small seaport city has such a remarkable theatre, one would hope, would create a sense of pride. And what a lovely bookend that theater is to the waterfront itself. And its very existence, for me, adds to the whole experience of going to the waterfront concerts, even being down at the waterfront itself.

Mary Eaton
Newburyport

Newburyport, Land Bank, Housing Bank

In a previous post concerning Nantucket and Steven Karp the “editor’s note” was that I did not know what a “Land Bank” was.

Well, Grant Sanders, the host of www.yakon.com, a website which many consider to be the place to find out what is really going on around Nantucket, sent me this information which I think is pretty interesting:

“The Nantucket Island’s Land Bank, the first org of its kind in the country, is a commission which collects a 2% fee from all real estate purchases here and uses those funds to buy, preserve and maintain open space. Currently just under 50% of the island is preserved as open space (by as many as seven or eight separate conservation organizations). Hopefully by the end of this year, that number will jump to 52% with the purchase of a conservation easement on a 270-acre parcel here known as the Linda Loring property.

Nantucket and the Vineyard are also starting a housing bank which would take 1% from the sale of a new home here. The money (around 9 million annually) will go to fund affordable housing initiatives.

You can read about the Land Bank at www.nantucketlandbank.org.”

You know what I really like? I really like the idea of a “housing bank” which would take 1% from the sale of any new construction by a developer and put it towards affordable housing. That works for me.

Mary Eaton
Newburyport

Newburyport, A Note From Nantucket About Stephen Karp

A lot of us are very concerned about Stephen Karp and what he has in mind for Newburyport, MA.

I decided to contact Grant Sanders the host of www.yakon.com, a website which many consider to be the place to find out what is really going on around Nantucket, about his impressions of Stephen Karp.

Mr. Sanders graciously replied to my email, and this is what he had to say:

“Hi, Mary:

I have not had any 1:1 contact with Mr. Karp, but i can tell you what I know. He seems to understand the value of Nantucket. It’s uniqueness. It’s specialness. All that notwithstanding, we don’t trust outsiders here much and passed a chain-store ban here in the historic district and it will most likely be signed by the Attny General later this year.

He has raised rents 15-19% (according to published reports) here since purchasing the former Winthrop holdings (approximately 2/3rds of the commercial property in the historic district here). He has also dumped a few tenants in order to make room for other tenants. Nothing substantial has changed here, however. No Versace. No Gucci. No Mall brands.

The downtown here is changing, however, because of the rising rents. The artsy crafty stores and clothing spots are being squeezed out by real estate companies and galleries — two kinds of businesses that can actually afford the rents due to the high price of the stuff they sell. One friend with a clothing store is suffering.

Still too early to tell what the impact of Karp will be here, but one thing is certain. If there is money to be made you’ll attract him or someone like him. Best protect your community by initiating a chain ban and some controls over your community retail space. We’ve been toying with the idea of a commercial real estate bank along the lines of your Land Bank. Worth looking into.”

(Editor’s note: I have no idea what a “Land Bank” is.)

Mary Eaton
Newburyport

Sponsors and the Newburyport Political Blog

I’m flirting with this idea of maybe having “sponsors” for the Newburyport Political Blog.

Someone told me recently that they thought the blog was “classy.” Now I’ve thought of a lot of adjectives for the Newburyport Political Blog but that one never occurred to me. And I thought, well, if one person thinks the Newburyport Political Blog is “classy,” maybe other people do too.

The blog had 10,000 readers in the month of June. Which might not be a lot for some bloggers, but I was pretty surprised by that number. The readership appears to be mostly local, but has a small but growing national following.

The blog is what it is. I don’t exactly think the banks would be real interested since I keep harping on the fact that the Five Cents Savings Bank demolished an historic building in downtown Newburyport. (Although they appear to be making “restitution” by helping the Newburyport Historical Society rescue the Perkins Mint.)

I imagine local business might be wary, the blog is somewhat controversial and who wants to lose any business at all if you’re a small business owner. Although there is a lot of chit chat about not having chain stores in Newburyport on the Newburyport Political Blog.

Mr. Karp isn’t exactly getting wonderful press here.

Forget developers and realtors who sell their projects. I think those folks are definitely out.

So I’m not exactly sure who’s left for this nifty idea of sponsorship.

But, the blog does champion historic preservation, speaks up against inappropriate infill, appears to be a big fan of open space, champions the Newburyport Master Plan, gives folks a voice who otherwise can’t find one. It does give our mayor a hard time, but on the other hand the editor of the Newburyport Political Blog does not want to see him fail. And the blog does have a certain perspective that might not jive with everyone who is in the political arena, although it does try to be fair and balanced, and may or may not succeed.

So this is what I was thinking.

$10 a week or $30 dollars a month to be a sponsor on the sidebar of the Newburyport political Blog. Chabot Web Design is a good example. It’s their logo, made to fit in with the look of the blog. (And let’s face it, there’s no bigger sponsor than Mary Baker Art, that one was easy.)

$25 a week to have a banner across the main page of the blog, where the Google ads are now. $25 a week to have a banner on all the individual pages that show up in the individual search engines. (And the Newburyport Political Blog appears to show up on the search engines a lot.) I’d work on something classy but effective, Chabot Web Design again being an example.

And for $10 a pop, a sponsor could have a space in an individual post that would then zip out with the RSS feed and appear all over the place. Seems like a pretty good deal to me.

So I’m floating this idea of sponsorship for the Newburyport Political Blog. I think it has to be a pretty good place to let people know that they and their business exist.

Thanks so much,

Mary Baker Eaton
Editor of the Newburyport Political Blog

Introducing the Newburyport Local Business Wiki

Several years ago, my wife and I moved here to Newburyport. The air is clean, the water is clean, it’s a nice place to live. But most of all we enjoyed the fact that Newburyport is a unique place which has a sense of community and local character. We enjoy the parks, the shops, the waterfront, the beach.

Years ago I worked in another “upscale” town, Greenwich, CT. It was a nice place also, but over time, the main street started to look live every other shopping mall – with quaint little storefronts replaced by The Gap, J Crew, Brooks Brothers, and other chain stores. Newburyport, I thought to myself, was different.

Recently, Allyson Lawless, who posts on the Newburyport Political Blog, wrote a summary of why local businesses are a great thing to have in Newburyport (or anywhere else). I thought that this very much reflected what I felt as well, and decided to put up a site where we, as people who care about the character of our town, can all come together and pool resources, put together a list of to-do’s, document what has been done already, and share information both among ourselves, and to anyone who might care to look at it, whether they are local to Newburyport or not.

Instead of putting up a site with some information, I decided that the best thing to do would be to have a *wiki*, and call it the Newburyport Local Business Wiki (I’ll take any suggestions for a catchier name).

The purpose of a wiki is so that we *all* can contribute – I’m just the administrator, and although I put together some preliminary content to jump-start the wiki, and I’m responsible for user administration, I’m not the person “doing” the site – we can all be contributors. Probably you’ve seen wikipedia (wikipedia.org). This is just like that, but focused on the goal of protecting Newburyport from the onslaught of chain stores.

Any wiki, this one included, is a work in progress. It’s constantly changing, and right now, this one is very new and has very little content so far.

This is how wikis work – a community must build around it so that value can be created. The wiki has a link where you can request a username to log on and help us out!

Gene Volovich
Newburyport

(Editor’s note: For those of you out there in web-land who might be like me and had never heard of a “wiki” before, here is a definition:

“A wiki (IPA: [ˈwiː.kiː] or [ˈwɪ.kiː] [1]) is a type of website that allows users easily to add, remove, or otherwise edit and change most available content, sometimes without the need for registration. This ease of interaction and operation makes a wiki an effective tool for collaborative writing.”

This definition is from “Wikipedia,” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wiki, the free encyclopedia.)

(Editor’s note: The new web address is www.supportnbpt.org/wiki, Support Newburyport Wiki.)

Newburyport, Mr. Karp and the “Mall Goes Undercover”

Wow! With a big “thank you” to Allyson Lawless. I got introduced to “The Newburyport Local Business Wiki ” which is administered by Gene Volovich.

This site is really, really brand new, in fact it looks like it is still “under construction.”

However, it has a very interesting link to an article on www.slate.com, by Andrew Blum called “The Mall Goes Undercover, It Now Looks Like A City Street,” posted on April 6, 2005.

Here is an excerpt from the first paragraph of Mr. Blum’s article:

“Like insecure teenagers, malls keep changing their style. They are ripping away their roofs and drywalled corridors; adding open-air plazas, sidewalks, and street-side parking; and rechristening themselves “lifestyle centers.” This new look may remind you of something: a vibrant urban street. Yet, while these new malls may appear to be public space, they’re not public at all—at least if you want to do anything but shop. They represent a bait-and-switch routine on the part of developers, one that exchanges the public realm for the commercial one. They’re also enormously successful—by the most recent count, there are about 130 lifestyle centers scattered around the country.”

I find one of the most unnerving lines in that paragraph is “They represent a bait-and-switch routine on the part of developers, one that exchanges the public realm for the commercial one.”

And if Allyson Lawless and Gene Volovich are right, it does sound exactly the kind of thing that Stephen Karp might have in mind for Newburyport, MA. And I gotta tell you, that makes me feel a little ill.

Mary Eaton
Newburyport