The Last Townie

A GREAT article in the New York Times on urban planning and how to revive a dying town.

Greg O’Connell, retired from the NYPD has an impressive track record, he was in large part responsible for Red Hook's revival.
"He has confirmed his status as one of America’s best-known progressive developers."
Where most people saw derelict conditions, he saw an opportunity.

From the article on renovating a small town:
"O’Connell charges these businesses as little as $100 a month in rent, but he asks for things in return.
He’s a longtime admirer of Jane Jacobs — he used to carry her classic book, “The Death and Life of Great American Cities,” around like a talisman — and he learned from her and other urban planners.
O’Connell’s leases require businesses to leave their lights on at night, to change their window displays at least four times a year and to stay open one evening a week. “If this place is going to make it,” he says, “it’s going to be a community effort.”

LOVE THAT!!
The article also notes that he is a buy and hold type of guy, something I wish I could do more of!

See whole article HERE