Long Wharf: empty promise of city renewal

For nearly 70 years, Barrie Ltd. Booters has operated in the middle of downtown New Haven, selling shoes to Yale students, professors, and city residents. But, with the upcoming construction of the new Galleria at Long Wharf, city businesses like Barrie Ltd. Booters fear that a suburban-style mall will have a dramatic impact on their profits and downtown's economic viability. John Isaacs, co-owner of Barrie Ltd. Booters and chair of the anti-mall Connecticut Cities Association, talked to the Herald about the new shopping center and what it means for the future of New Haven.

The Yale Herald: What was New Haven like 25 years ago, before the city's economic turn for the worse?

John Isaacs: New Haven was definitely more vibrant than it is now. The Chapel Square Mall served as a nucleus to draw shoppers into the city solely for the sake of shopping, which is different from what we have today—we're lacking that nucleus, that large anchor store. Small stores in aggregate create a nice urban shopping environment, and downtown New Haven is moving in that direction. Even though Yale hasn't treated my colleagues on Broadway in a manner that I'm happy with, I'm all for a mix of national chains like Urban Outfitters and local mom-and-pop stores—they survive best if they complement each other.

YH: What is your opinion of suburban malls?

JI: I can't say I don't go to malls. But I've never liked the concept of an air-conditioned environment that's supposed to seem like an actual downtown commercial area. I appreciate the mix of activities and cultures that come together in a real city, and nothing—especially not a mall—can replicate that mix.

YH: On Tues., Feb. 22, an independent study said that the new mall will cost downtown businesses tens of millions of dollars in profits. Do you agree with the results of that study?

JI: I can't proclaim the accuracy of the study, but I do know that the mall will hurt retail in downtown New Haven. By [building it], you hurt the feeling of vibrancy within the city. Retail creates the lights and activity in a downtown setting. Offices don't give you that feeling of vibrancy. Museums don't generate that vibrancy. [Yale] doesn't generate that vibrancy. By putting a mall a mile-and-a-half from downtown that competes with the retail that already exists here, you're risking that vibrancy. And when you do that, you're risking the attractiveness of [New Haven] as a place to live, as a place to eat, to go to school, or to go to work. In other words, the downtown area is a retail destination.

YH: What kind of assertion do you think the state is making by subsidizing the construction of the new mall?

JI: The state thinks they're supporting New Haven's urban environment. In actuality, though, the state is putting our city at a great disadvantage. This project is flawed in so many ways. From an economic standpoint, it doesn't support or utilize the urban structure that's already here. Long Wharf is a "big box" building that could be stuck anywhere, at the intersection of any two highways.

YH: What do you think of the proposed trolley system that will link downtown to the mall?

JI: Well, I think the trolley should be taken out of the equation. The trolley gave the city something to talk about as a connection that could bring shoppers to downtown after shopping at Long Wharf. In actuality, though, the reason for the trolley is to give people who live downtown and work for Long Wharf a very direct way of getting to the mall. Camouflaging the trolley as something suburban shoppers will get on after spending time in the mall is just plain unrealistic. And, from a retail standpoint, I think the trolley would be a major disadvantage for us. Instead of just walking a few blocks to go shopping, Yale students would have the option of taking their business elsewhere. I would prefer—from a competition standpoint—if the mall stores were in walking distance of campus. Otherwise, the option of comparison shopping between downtown and the mall is lost.

YH: So, is there any room for compromise? Do you see any sort of solution that would please everybody?

JI: I wouldn't be opposed to a downtown mall, but a modern developer isn't going to do that in New Haven. I want more stores on the street—a real downtown, urban environment. I am fully confident that this mall can and will be stopped. I'm not sure if we'll get the revitalization we need unless we get a new mayor, though. He has said that retail in the downtown area ended 10 or 20 years ago, and he doesn't understand why we would want to recreate that. He just doesn't get it.

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