Politics & Government

Finizio Development Discussion Looks To Downtown, Fort Trumbull

Mayoral candidate holds fourth in series of public forums

Daryl Finizio, one of six hopefuls for the mayor’s position in this year’s election, said Wednesday that planning and development initiatives must be seen as long-term projects.

“You do not see immediate return from revitalization work,” he said. “It takes 10 years, 15 years.”

In his fourth public forum, held at the , Finizio looked to the topic of improvements to the city’s layout and infrastructure. He focused on ideas for downtown revitalization as well as development at Fort Trumbull. Regarding downtown development, he said one idea would be to put land value taxation into effect in the city business district. Finizio said some downtown properties are used by out-of-state owners as tax write-offs, and that there is no incentive for improvement since it leads to higher taxes. He said land value taxation evaluates the tax based on the land only, and has been used as a pilot program elsewhere.

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“We remove the economic disincentive for people to do this on their own,” he said. “It has worked in other jurisdictions. I think it can work here.”

Finizio said the zone would exclude waterfront areas, noting that he has encountered opposition from some businesses there. He also said he wants to see incentives to get small businesses into downtown storefronts, opposes the use of storefronts for residential use, and supports increased police foot patrols and surveillance cameras to improve public safety in the downtown area.

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Regarding Fort Trumbull, Finizio was critical of a plan to on four lots in the peninsula. He said he believes the housing there should be owner-occupied, but that there is little incentive to purchase housing there at the moment. He proposed that one idea would be to invest in green technology and environmental business for Fort Trumbull, marketing the area as a self-sustaining neighborhood. Finizio said there is a need to shift toward green jobs and energy sustainability, and that this use would contribute to that goal.

“Right now we are tied to an economy of the last century: submarines, heavy industry, large corporations,” he said.

Finizio said that while he is not supportive of the New London Development Corporation, he feels it is linked “too legally intertwined with everything that is going on at Fort Trumbull.” He said that if a mayor moves to dissolve the NLDC, the matter will be tied up in court and stall any redevelopment on the peninsula. He said he would like to cooperate with NLDC to transition control of the peninsula’s future to the city and then phase out the corporation.

Finizio said he also supports the creation of a priority list for repairs to roads in sidewalks, and said short-term beautification efforts such as the use of planters and trees will also improve the image of the city. He said there should also be an effort to revitalize Hodges Square, describing it as a neighborhood which links northern New London with the rest of the city as well as an area which travelers from I-95 see when they enter the city. Finizio also supported the idea of a municipal trolley system and water taxi to improve connecting different parts of the city for visitors.

“If we’re willing to invest in them, the return for the city will be tremendous,” he said.


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