IN THE NEWS: DOWNTOWN VITALITY ACT TOWN HALL

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*Picture features Elissa Paquette of Downtown New Bedford, Inc. and owner of Calico, behind a podium. Background is decorative.*

NEW BEDFORD (11/10/23) - On Thursday, November 9, 2023, the MASSCreative Action Network hosted a town hall with Representative Tony Cabral, House Chair of the Gateway Cities Legislative Caucus, at the Co-Creative Center New Bedford on H.228/S.130, An Act to promote downtown vitality, known as the Downtown Vitality Act.

The town hall preceded New Bedford’s monthly AHA! night and featured a variety of speakers who spoke to the importance of the bill for downtowns, including Representative Tony Cabral, House Chair of the Gateway Cities Legislative Caucus, New Bedford Mayor Jon Mitchell, Andre Leroux, Director of the Gateway Hubs Project at MassINC, Elissa Paquette of Downtown New Bedford, Inc. and owner of Calico, Ashley Occhino, Executive Director of Fall River Arts & Culture Coalition, and Jennifer Zanolli, Director of Museum Experience and Community Engagement at the New Bedford Whaling Museum. The Town Hall was moderated by MASSCreative’s Executive Director, Emily Ruddock.

“The second Thursday of the month is always an exciting night in New Bedford because it’s AHA! Night. We all play our part in supporting our cultural districts, from dining out at great restaurants and shopping locally, to seeing incredible live performances at the Z. These are great institutions, and they’re critical to the success of our downtowns and cultural districts, so I’m excited that through this bill, we’ll be able to secure some more funding for them to continue to grow and thrive. People want to live, work, and visit places that are accessible, beautiful, and offer diverse attractions. This is why I am proud to lead the charge for the state to dedicate more resources to cultural districts in cities like New Bedford and Fall River.”

— State Representative Tony Cabral, 13th Bristol District

Co-filed with the Senate Chair of the Gateway Cities Legislative Caucus, Sen. John Cronin, the Downtown Vitality Act would reinvest 5% of online retailer tax revenues back into our main streets and downtowns to support staffing and operations of cultural districts, business improvement districts, main street associations, and parking benefit districts in Gateway Cities and other low-income communities.

“Across the Commonwealth, cultural districts are hubs for community connection, creative expression, and economic vitality. In Springfield, for every person who attends an arts or cultural event downtown, $31 is spent on local retail and restaurants. However, that revenue generation doesn’t happen without resources to organize events and market the district. That’s why MASSCreative and its members strongly support the Downtown Vitality Act, which would direct public investments to these important economic and civic entities.”

— Emily Ruddock, Executive Director of MASSCreative

The Downtown Vitality Act is endorsed by more than 80 individuals and cultural organizations throughout Massachusetts, including the Mass Cultural Council, MassINC, Metropolitan Area Planning Council, New Bedford Whaling Museum, New Bedford Art Museum, Springfield Cultural Partnership, Fall River Arts and Culture Coalition, and Downtown Worcester Business Improvement District. Both House and Senate bills are currently before the Joint Committee on Community Development and Small Businesses and had a public hearing at the State House on Monday, October 30, 2023.

“As House Chair of the Gateway Cities Legislative Caucus, I’m fortunate to work with partners like Andre Leroux and Ben Forman at MassINC and Emily Ruddock at MASSCreative to fight for this important bill that I know will greatly assist the downtown creative economies in Gateway Cities across the Commonwealth. I’d also like to also acknowledge the many individuals who have made tonight possible, especially Margo Saulnier at New Bedford Creative and Dena Hayden of the Co-Creative Center.”

— State Representative Tony Cabral, 13th Bristol District

Gateway Cities like New Bedford are rich in history, arts, and culture, which play a significant role in their community and economic development, and the funding provided by the Downtown Vitality Act would move their downtowns from surviving to thriving.

Visit our 2023-2024 Creative Sector Legislative Agenda page for additional information about the Downtown Vitality Act and the MASSCreative Action Network’s policy priorities.

Sign up your organization to endorse the bill and read about other ways to advocate by visiting our How You Can Support the Downtown Vitality Act page.