Wall Street Neighborhood Association on the Rise - New President and Board of Directors Announced
NORWALK, Conn., Oct. 5, 2022 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Preparing for its seventh year of operations, the Wall Street Neighborhood Association (WSNA) has elected a new President, and appointed new members of its Board of Directors. The organization is composed of local stakeholders, business owners, property owners, residents, civic leaders, and "Friends of Wall Street." Wall Street is a neighborhood centrally located in the historical downtown of Norwalk, CT. Wall Street Neighborhood Association is a 501c3 non-profit corporation.
The Wall Street Neighborhood Association, a non-profit community organization based in the historical Wall Street section of Norwalk, CT, has announced its new President and Board of Directors. The group, comprised of local stakeholders, business owners, property owners, civic leaders, and residents of the area, is preparing for its seventh year of operations.
NORWALK, Conn., Oct. 5, 2022 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Preparing for its seventh year of operations, the Wall Street Neighborhood Association (WSNA) has elected a new President, and appointed new members of its Board of Directors. The organization is composed of local stakeholders, business owners, property owners, residents, civic leaders, and "Friends of Wall Street." Wall Street is a neighborhood centrally located in the historical downtown of Norwalk, CT. Wall Street Neighborhood Association is a 501c3 non-profit corporation.
The mission statement of the Wall Street Neighborhood Association is "to create and sustain a clean, friendly, inviting neighborhood that attracts residents, businesses, and visitors. We believe that 'it takes a village to raise a neighborhood,' and that together we can create a vibrant future for the community we love."
The new President of WSNA is Marc Alan, Director of Marketing of Factory Underground Studio / Factory Underground Tech, Production Manager of the Wall Street Theater, and Chairman of the Norwalk Arts Commission. Alan is a founding member of the group.
New members of the Board of Directors include BJ Lawless, owner of the BJ Ryan'sBanC Houseand BJ Ryan's restaurants, Chris McMahon of McMahon Ford, and local attorney Marc Grenier, managing partner of DePanfilis & Vallerie, LLC, a law firm based in the Wall Street area. Jason Milligan of Milligan Realty, another founding member, remains on the board. The association is planning to add other board members in the next year.
"I am honored to have been appointed President of this fine organization, which I am proud to see still growing after six years. It seems like only yesterday that we formed over coffee at Cafe Aroma: myself, Nancy McGuire, her husband Michael, Jason and a handful of passionate friends and neighbors. We came together from a common desire of returning our beloved Wall Street to its former glory as the heart of Norwalk. We are the historical city center of Norwalk. The Mayor of Norwalk used to have his office on Wall Street," said Alan.
BJ Lawless adds: "After being in the Wall Street area for over 15 years it was an honor and privilege to join the WSNA. Our part of Norwalk has been overlooked by the city for too many years. I feel for the first time that we have a group devoted to growing the Wall Street area and making it a better place to live and own a business. I look forward to the future of our area and the development of our historic part of the city."
About forming the community group, Alan said: "What I found in the Wall Street Neighborhood Association was a group of likeminded people who were as passionate as I was about seeing Wall Street reemerge as a thriving commercial center, and become a true neighborhood that we could all be proud of. Many were simply fed up with waiting for the City of Norwalk to shift its developmental focus from South Norwalk back to Wall Street. We needed an advocate at City Hall, and that's what we became for ourselves.
"I'm very proud of what we've been able to accomplish as an organization and how long we've been able to sustain our activity. We built a website, established a presence on social media, and began publishing a newsletter that has gone out weekly for the past four years, sharing local news and events happening throughout the area. We have met monthly since the very beginning, even during the pandemic, and our meetings have brought us closer together as a community.
"We see our meetings now being attended not only by local stakeholders, business owners, and residents of the area, but by city agency staffers, and elected officials from various levels of city government. They are listening to our concerns," said Alan.
One such city staffer with his finger on the pulse of Wall Street is Jim Travers, Director of the Department of Director Transportation, Mobility and Parking, whose team recently announced a major streetscape improvement to happen in the area. Included in this will be addressing overall traffic flow, parking, widening sidewalks, and more, with the overall plan to make Wall Street not only aesthetically more attractive, but pedestrian friendly.
Along with improvements to the streetscapes, local residents can also look forward to functional and aesthetic improvements being made to the Yankee Doodle Garage on River Street and Burnell Boulevard. The improvements will make it safer, better lit, and more visually attractive.
"What we loved about Travers' approach is that he began the project with a massive public outreach. He attended WSNA meetings, and met with local stakeholders. He conducted a thorough survey with 475 replies from local individuals. His team monitored some 3000+ written comments through social media, and invited members of the public to a kick off event at the Wall Street Theater. He even monitored public concerns for the color choice of the Yankee Doodle Garage redesign that is also in the works. This is exactly the type of public collaboration that we feel is the key to community progress and equitable neighborhood development," said Alan.
With over forty new businesses that have opened in the Wall Street area since 2017, including several restaurants, coffee shops, and cultural destinations, along with prominent creative, arts, music, dance, and media production businesses such as Factory Underground Studio, The Spot Just Dance Studio, Juice Creative Group, and the new Norwalk Conservatory of the Arts, one thing that's clear to many is that Wall Street is a neighborhood on the rise.
"From the time WSNA formed until now, the Wall Street area has made a total transformation. The volume of new businesses and residents that call Wall Street home is amazing. Everything from high end sneakers, to smoothies, to a performing arts college, have come to the area, which only compliments the creative vibe we have going on. I very much look forward to seeing how much additional progress we are able to make," said Jason Milligan.
The Wall Street Neighborhood Association will hold its Fall Meeting on October 6, 2022 at 5:30 pm, at Juice Creative/Space 67, 67 Wall Street, Norwalk, CT 06850. The event is open to all friends of Wall Street.
Media Contact
Marc Alan, Factory Underground Media, 1 203-275-8672 Ext: 107, [email protected]
SOURCE Wall Street Neighborhood Association
