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DEAR EDITOR:
My wife and I, against advice of many, invested in downtown Warren 11 years ago when we renovated and moved into The Defiance Building on Courthouse Square. We had not been the first to commit to downtown Warren. Saratoga Restaurant, All American Cards and Comics, Thom Duma Jewelers, Howards, Phillips Sekanic, Fowler & Goodman, J.P. Morgan, Thumms, Hippodrome, Mocha House, Rossi Agency and others preceded us. To many Warren citizens' credit, more strides were made since our arrival. Restaurants like West & Main, The Underground, Nova Coffee, Beautiful Whirl'd, Bushwick, Downtown 124, Urban Tap Distillery and Rally's opened.
The Darlene Lounge, Modern Methods Brewery and CharBenay Winery had ribbon cuttings. Others including The Box Gallery, Brite, Downtown Grooming Lounge, 717 Bank, 5 Grands Fashion Boutique, Fatty Cakes Soap, B's Holistic Hive, Donahue State Farm Insurance, Raymond J. Wean Foundation and Coleman Services also opened. Thom Duma Jewelers and Trumbull Art Gallery expanded operations.
A wedding / event venue opened at the former Chase Bank building; Park Hotel was renovated; luxury apartments and condominiums were built and the renovated spectacular Robins Theatre opened. Light Up the Square Foundation and Economos family install Christmas lights on Courthouse Square. Trumbull 100 and the John Taylor family hang flowers and wreaths yearly.
This impressive list represents a huge increase in quality of life in Warren, not to mention tens of millions of dollars invested in the beloved city. But now, love and money are threatened.
My wife and I always felt safe living in downtown Warren, but we were shaken by recent events at the African American Achievers Festival and near the Horseshoe Bar. If statistics are correct (no one seems to dispute them), city leaders must make more investments in Warren safety services.
Last year I received a city questionnaire asking what new projects city leaders should focus on. My response was simple, "Let's fix everything that is broken first and see what is left." Since then, I've heard rumors about crazy proposals for pet projects on what appears to be political gain rather than community benefit, including making a large portion of Perkins Park into a parking lot or police officers patrolling downtown on gators. I don't know what rumors are true.
I truly hope city leaders publicly respond to this letter with a lengthy list of things they have recently done to protect Warren citizens and tens of millions invested in downtown along with a complete list of where other city monies will be spent to further gains made.
That response would go far in making those hesitant to venture into downtown Warren realize what I already know, downtown Warren is a great place to invest and live, a place I am proud to call home. It is time for City Hall to step up and protect those investments and gains.
PAUL CLOUSER
Warren