Downey as a ‘Commercial Ghost Town’

As a lifetime resident of the City of Downey, I am saddened and offended at the newest attempt of the “purveyors of negativism” to again short-circuit Downey’s economic prosperity: the two-pronged attack on the Krikorian theater project, the lawsuit and the referendum.

Those interested in Downey’s future, those who have worked so hard to create and preserve what we have, and those who just enjoy living here should be just as upset at their recent efforts of propaganda and fear. Attempting to thwart the thousands of hours spent to negotiate the agreements with Krikorian, to discourage this man’s private investment of $9.5 million into the commercial ghost town we used to call Downey’s downtown, is unconscionable.

While surrounding cities like Long Beach, Cerritos and Montebello are welcoming their 12-to-16-screen theater projects with fanfare and jubilation (and a 35% increase in retail sales in Long Beach since its opening just weeks ago), we have to again fight a small group of people who think they know better just to try to move forward. The last time we had to fight this negative element, they sabotaged our Firestone area redevelopment.

This is a crucial time for Downey. We need the Krikorian theater project as a catalyst to attract the restaurants and retail enterprises that grace the cities around us. The recent experience with Alhambra’s 10-plex and Long Beach’s 16-screen multiplex is proof positive that this will work! We do not need to spend $50,000 on a special election, or hundreds of thousands of dollars on attorneys’ fees, to fight groups that are not interested in channeling their energies in a positive direction.

The theater project is overwhelmingly supported by the Chamber of Commerce, the Downey PTA, members of the school board and YMCA, Citizens for Downey, our local newspapers, and the hundreds of business owners and citizens who voiced their concerns and provided their input during the public hearings.

For the most part, our residents are taking care of themselves. However, our community must fight the years of neglect and misuse of property development in its commercial areas to become competitive with the cities around us.

Downey has things to offer (such as location, schools, safety and reputation) that other cities just dream of. Yet the physical appearance of cities around us look far superior to ours, and they are taking our businesses and our future with them.

It is time to catch up and move forward.

We need to keep our tax dollars, our businesses, our children and our families here, in town.

The Krikorian theater project is essential, exciting and critical to Downey’s future, and the economic revitalization that this city so desperately needs.

BRIAN F. GASDIA

Downey