The director of the Ithaca Downtown Partnership, Gary Ferguson, writes in this week's Ithaca Times, "There 's a generation of people, many in their 20s and 30s, who grew up without a downtown in their lives."
We're fortunate, having one here. It's filled with great shops and restaurants, surrounded by ample parking structures, and centered by a pedestrian mall which frequently hosts entertainment and community events.
Ferguson describes Ithaca's downtown as a rarity in our region, and the envy of other cities. He notes that "Out-of-area visitors are the fastest-growing segment of the downtown marketplace. People from greater Rochester and the Binghamton areas are coming to Ithaca with increasing frequency. Why? It is not because they seek traditional national retailers. They have plenty of those. Rather, they seek the experiential shopping and unique quality that our Ithaca shops have to offer."
At a time when even venerable locales such as Times Square and Harlem are losing their identities to national corporate businesses, Ithaca is still Ithaca. Help keep it intact, with your presence and support.
Stephen Burke
for Ithaca Blog
No comments:
Post a Comment