Main Street Now – Boston, Massachusetts (2023)
The following are my recollections from the Main Street Now conference in Boston, Massachusetts. This was written 15 months after the conference itself.
We drove from New Jersey to Boston, crossing the Hudson River on the still relatively new Mario Cuomo bridge. Joining me on the trip this year was my wife Chrissy. As we passed through Connecticut we admired the bridges on the Anne Hutchinson Parkway. When Chrissy and I met on Long Island in 2008, one of our close friends was a descendant of Hutchinson. That added some further significance to our route. Our arrival in Boston was a bit of an understatement, entering the city through a tunnel, though the Big Dig managed to create major improvements to public spaces above ground.
Chrissy and I caught a quick dinner in Little Italy. Then we went to the first and only gathering for Main Street America Revitalization Professionals was held that I had ever been invited to. Approximately 50 people nationally held this certification at the time. Around the table were many colleagues and friends including Mary Wirth, the state coordinator in Alabama, and my friend Kathy La Plante who encouraged and guided me on my way in Main Street.
After a long night of anticipation the Opening Plenary began the following morning. I woke around 2am and was so exhausted that I fell asleep a second time, only to wake up with less than an hour before the Opening Plenary started. Walking to the conference floor I encountered so many colleagues and friends. We took our place close to the front, though I managed to connect with the delegations from NY, NJ, and MI – states I had the closest connection with.
As is the custom at Main Street Now, things were started off by Irvin Henderson. Recognition of sponsors followed. One of the trends I’ve followed with greatest interest is how the corporate and foundation support has strengthened every subsequent year. There were many familiar names and some new ones for this edition of Main Street Now.
National leaders next took the stage. Jay Clemens, Interim President of the National Trust for Historic Preservation had some very conciliatory words about the important role of Main Street America. Hannah White, Interim President of Main Street America shared some of the accomplishments of the network. Collective impact stats followed:
- 6.25 billion worth of reinvestment
- 7,657 net gain in businesses
- 29,174 net gain in jobs
- 10,688 historic buildings rehabilitated
- Over 1,528,535 million volunteer hours
Particularly exciting was an announcement about the work on equitable entrepreneurial ecosystems with the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation.
Mayor Michelle Wu instantly developed a connection with the thousands of people in the room. She used her experience as a small business owner to help relate with others, including having to get SERV Safe certification. Then she talked about the important of small businesses, Main Street, and what her administration was working on in Boston. Afterwards I commented to someone how she had a Kennedy-esque ability to connect with people at a personal level.
Porsha Olayiwola, Poet Laureate of Boston was next up. She gave a live reading of “When we say Boston…” The poem was commissioned for the Main Street Now Conference. We quote it in its entirety:
The Title Of This Poem Is A Land Acknowledgement. Boston Resides On The Unceded Land Of The Massachusett People and the neighboring Wampanoag Nation. We Acknowledge The Genocide Of Indigenous People Occurred Alongside The Enslavement Of Africans. We State This In Attempt To Undo The Erasure Of Settler Colonialism when we say | the city of boston comes from old english | we don’t mean england | we mean the word boston is derivative | of the word | hamlet | hamlet meaning | small | town | when we say small town | we don’t mean we are a small place | we mean we are intimate | we mean get to know the people when we say | the city of boston what we mean is | city of patriots, city of minutemen | derived from immigrants | city of ‘still here’ home of thinkers | dreamers writers | poe, plath, phillis, frost, when we say | boston | is named after st. botolph | patron saint of travelers | what we mean is we stay on the move | stay moving | stay running dunkin | or | marathon | stay strong| when we say | the city of travelers we mean visit | and stay long sink your toes | into this city when we say | boston | is a walkable city what we mean is invitation | come through | walk thru | the greenway is an emerald necklace | an heirloom the corridor is a lush field | vein | through | city of intent | a lane forged for you to move through | a road for you to carve into your own path when we say beantown | what we mean is We have | good taste | good eats | come for the oysters | and stay for the chowder | pearls in dorchester bobby’s in uphams | jp seafood cafe people who think | in and out | side the ivy walls | small city | big hearts a hospital | a health center | a doctor just up the block | round the corner at the bodega | just past the library everything you need at the turn of the street when we say | boston | is a city of neighborhoods | of main streets | we mean grove hall | We mean rozzie and eastie | mattapan and brighton we mean| get to know us | tight knit city of three-family | homes built by irish immigrants | celtic city when we say | celtic city | when we say | pats nation what we mean is winning | is a part our history and our future | dna to who we are | champion | onto the world | whirlwind city | two hundred years |and still | a beacon up top | the hilly mound | of this country home of | the first park | first public garden first public school | first restaurant | first urban main street | we blueprint city boss-town | follow through when we say | the word boston | what we mean is joy | love | roxbury | the tea party | and the massacre | when we say | boston we mean | revolution | we mean | evolution reaching | changing | growing | shaping a better us | a better you
Anything after that would be a very hard act to beat. Darryl Young, Chair of the Board of Directors welcomed participants. He was followed by Kathy La Plante and the Great American Main Street Award. There were eight semi-finalists and three winners were announced. Among the winners were the Metuchen Downtown Alliance, for which I served as founding director from 2016 to 2022. Each winner had a pre-recorded video of between 3 and 5 minutes that was shared with conference attendees. The experience of being announced, going on stage, and reaching this career milestone was deeply fulfilling. This day was 5,505 since I first started as a Main Street manager on March 1, 2008. I wore my Oyster Bay pin to recognize how far I had come from being a first-time manager.
Afterwards Chrissy and I celebrated by going to a vegetarian restaurant I liked just off of Copley Square. We also went exploring around together to the Public Library. We tried to get in Trinity Church but it was closed given the fact it was a Monday.
Back at the conference I tried to attend as many sessions as possible. Some highlights including hearing Patrice Frey speak about the new Small Deal Initiative which she led after stepping down as CEO of Main Street America. I made a point during Q&A of thanking her for her service. Another session on serving people with disabilities featured an architect from Oakland County Main Street in Michigan and a disability advocate. I was very moved by their presentation and particularly enjoyed the quote: “With determination you create opportunity where others see misfortune.” Several important stats were highlighted including the total disposable income for U.S. adults with disabilities is around $490 billion, and discretionary income of working-age people with disabilities of $21 billion, is greater than that of African-American and Hispanic market segments, combined.
After sessions concluded for the day Chrissy surprised me with some festivities on the Boston Common. We were joined by a friendly Canadian Goose. Lobster tails and champagne were the perfect way to mark the accomplishment of the day.
Following our festivities we ducked into a cafe a few blocks away before heading to the New Jersey state dinner. I was intrigued by the layered urbanism that I saw with buildings of varying sizes – all combining into a greater unified whole.
The state dinner provides an opportunity for everyone in the same state to gather together at the conference for a few hours. Usually it is at a distinctive venue and involves a meal and plenty of socializing. For the last few years the New Jersey delegation has grown larger and larger at Main Street Now. That was certainly true at this state dinner. Gina Fischetti from the Department of Community Affairs (that houses the Main Street New Jersey program) was on hand to welcome participants and share a few words.
The following morning Chrissy headed home to New Jersey. I stayed around and went to several more sessions. Norma Ramierez de Meiss spoke about the Main Street Approach. This was an excellent continuation of her work on Strong Leadership Teams from the Main Street America Institute. A member of the Vermont state staff spoke about their efforts to create 30 minute neighborhoods. The presenter gave the quote: “The places we live determine our wealth, health and happiness more than anything else.” Out of curiosity I attended the session of GAMSA award winners to hear about the application process. At one point a question was raised if Metuchen won on the first application and no one seemed to know the answer so I spoke up and said “yes.” Metuchen had applied in a prior year but did not advance to be a semifinalist. So, technically, Metuchen won on the first application in 2023.
Whenever Kennedy Smith speaks at the conference I make a point of attending her session. Her session was profound as ever speaking about how retail space had been built out to an extreme degree and consolidation occurring within sectors such as pharmacies where three companies control 80% of the market.
One perk of winning the GAMSA was getting invited to the Founders reception. There were so many people I admired in the room. My only regret was this probably being the only time I made it to this reception so I tried to make the most of it. Highlights include meeting the author who wrote The Past and Future City with Stephanie Meeks and that my work in Kentucky was written about.
I took some moment for myself in the morning on the last full day of the conference to get centered and to prepare for the workshop “Affordability on Main Street” that I moderated. Joining me were colleagues from EDENS in Boston and LRK in Princeton. We had a good-sized crowd in attendance. After formal presentations we opened the room up to discussion and had a vibrant exchange.
Just before the Closing Plenary started my friend and Main Street founder Mary Means was kind enough to inscribe for me the book she wrote – Main Street’s Comeback. I was so touched a year prior when Mary sought me out to speak in Richmond, Virginia. We had a wonderful conversation then that shed much light for me into the origins of Main Street. It’s an honor to have Mary as a friend and someone in my professional network.
The closing plenary had comments from Matt Wagner who has been doing important work around entrepreneurial ecosystems. William Murray of Dominion Energy gave some brief remarks. Then Mary Means took the stage for giving an award with her name on it to John Bry with Oakland County Main Street. The closing keynote was from Liz Ogbu, a designer, urbanist and spatial justice activist. She presented a very clearly laid out construct for health, wealth, and belonging.
The final part of the Closing Plenary was the conferring of the Main Street America Revitalization Professional certification to the most recent graduates, of which I was included. This surpassed the Great American Main Street Award in significance, because this work was entirely the result of my own effort – taking classes and passing the final exam. It was gratified to be among the 50 or so other people to earn that ward. Following the closing plenary I jumped on a webinar with my former advisor from Cornell Unviersity, Dr. Ken Reardon. From there I headed to the Big Bash at the Boston Aquarium. While an incredible space, it was not well suited for the Big Bash because there were not large open spaces to gather or dance – two of the highlights of the Big Bash – in addition to ample food stations. Driving on the bus back to the conference hotel I sat by my friend Kathy La Plante. It was a full circle moment as she provided so much support to me along the way through my Main Street journey. She taught me what a retail promotion was. And we did much good work together in New Jersey.
As I prepared to embark on a train for the ride home I ran across the sculpture of A. Phillip Randolph. Because I gave myself some time to prepare before the train took off, that gave me an opportunity to read all of the information plaques. The Pullman Porters were of African American descent. Historian Robert A. Hayden wrote, “The black railroad worker represented a traveling aid society for black people. When black parents came North to look for jobs, they would send for their children. Most children traveled by train under the care of the black railroad worker.” In this capacity the porters were first hand witnesses and participants in the Great Migration.
One panel in particular caught my attention. It was of Paul Robeson who was born in Princeton where I manage the revitalization program. Robeson played a Pullman porter in the film Emperor Jones. Pullman porters helped to travel through the segregated South and break the color line of segregation in the north. Culturally, historically, socially, and economically this put them in a crucially important role.
One quote from A. Phillip Randolph that stood out is “Salvation for a race, nation or class must come from within. Freedom is never granted; it is won. Justice is never given; it is exacted. Freedom and justice must be struggled for by the oppressed… and the struggle must be continuous.”
I took the train from Boston back to Princeton where I had an event that afternoon. Along the way I admired the infrastructure and buildings in Kingston, New London, Singer, New York City, and through New Jersey. Having gone through an extraordinary journey of recognition, education, and discovery, it was as if I was reintroduced and enter the world renewed from my experience at Main Street Now.
