'Harbor renewal' can't come fast enough

James Tarantino is absolutely “right on”. Change is coming to Gloucester’s waterfront and the reality is, it can’t come fast enough! Since the 1960s we have witnessed our waterfront’s steady decline. For decades we’ve been assured of a coming resurgence in the fishing industry. Politicians, wives’ associations, and activists have lobbied positively for the industry over the years. Today our fishermen for the most part have been driven out of business. Our federal government has successfully imposed regulations and schemes by promoting a general mind-set of allegedly depleting resources; adopting ridiculous 800 lb. species quotas; limiting days at sea; instituting catch-share programs; and closing plentiful fishing areas, thus bringing about the current state of our local industry. To Mr. Tarantino, I say, the “fix is in”; no longer can we hope for fish-related harbor buildup and fleet renewal, the likes of the ‘40s and ‘50s. The world’s fishing industry has changed; the consumer has changed; the work force has changed; and Gloucester citizens must change their antiquated harbor attitudes also.

“Jim” Davis does have a plan for Gloucester’s premier harbor industrial park. Davis is a business man and a local (summer) homeowner, who is well aware of the economic free-fall that Gloucester’s waterfront has been experiencing for decades. He is stepping up, investing in our faltering waterfront. This isn’t a Chicago bank holding paper; this is a local resident with economic resources and a vision.
Mr. Tarantino asserts that Mr. Davis and other interested investors are taking business risks for personal gain! Isn’t that what private investing is all about? Return on investment is only one incentive; along the way our harbor will come alive, properties will rise in value, employment and tax revenues will increase. As the old saying goes, “a rising tide lifts all boats”.

“Jimmy T.” is “right again”. The Fort is a linchpin. I see the Fort as a jumbo economic egg about to crack wide open. A few non-resident Fort activists and even fewer Fort home owners should no longer influence the economic future of Gloucester’s entire taxpayer base.

For too long the anemic Fort area has gone unnoticed, out of the way, subsidized by the city’s taxpayers. This waterfront economic downward trend must be reversed. Properties have gone undeveloped, owners denied the right to invest because of regulations – zoning restrctions, D.P.A. restrictions, etc. This has to change. For too long the former Producers’ Fish Co., now city owned; Cape Ann Fisheries Co. property; and the former O’Donnell Usen Fish Co. parcel (all prime harbor front real estate); have been allowed to languish in economic limbo. This was brought about by a mix of federal and state regulations, coupled with declining fish landings, resulting in an absence of previous investor interest. The city’s economic development arm must intervene and work positively with these owners.

It’s interesting that Mr. “T” mentions the Cripple Cove area – that’s “Capt. Joe’s” property, formerly Gorton’s East Gloucester flake yard,skinning loft, smokehouse, and redfish wharf complex. When I was a kid, this property was meticulously maintained and employed 200 of my Ward II neighbors. Today, and for decades, this multi-acre property has been wasting away and currently employing only its two owners, handling one product, lobsters. Small boats tie to decrepit pilings on the periphery of this unimproved property; it’s a prominent, visible reminder of a bygone era, a decadent inactive waterfront, crying out for renewal.

Selected prime waterfront properties from Rocky Neck to Harbor Cove are presently undergoing ownership/development changes. Finally, harbor renewal is on the horizon!

Recent changes in our city council makeup, renewed awareness, and reenergized leadership from our proven forward-thinking mayor now promises monumental, beneficial change for our city.

No one cares more about Gloucester, its harbor, and our anchor industry’s heritage than I do. I wrote a book attempting to preserve a portion of our illustrious history. No one can reminisce more than this writer. I love the “old days”, but the reality is we have many books, first-class museums, and excellent city archives that do the remembering. The fact is, Gloucester must move forward and recognize this new wave of private investment as an opportunity. Gloucester is entering an exciting era

Development is Fort Solution, Not Problem

Finally, "Sam" Parisi, a Commercial Street resident, is speaking out.

A Fort waterfront property owner, businessman, and former fisherman, Parisi, is telling it like it is (Letters, the Times, June 28), and in a few short paragraphs to the Times, Parisi lays out the dire plight of his industry and the neighborhood he resides in.

The day after his 1960 G.H.S. graduation he was on the deck of his family's dragger, F/V St. Rosalie. He brings to the table eight generations of Parisi family involvement in the fishing industry.

In my lifetime, the Parisi's have built, skippered, invested, and crewed at least a dozen large commercial vessels. They have owned several waterfront properties, hired hundreds of fellow crewmen, and landed millions of pounds of fish over these years. "Sam", his brother "Mike" and their wives, continue to eke out a living on the waterfront while our own federal government commit felonies, break into our fish auction, and routinely fine and regulate our harbor out of existence….that's the reality.

Entering Commercial Street and the Fort area, we are greeted with a "For Lease" sign on the upper floor of the Chamber of Commerce building. Across the street is a new wharf and building, for years begging for a tenant. The Birdseye plant and acreage cries out for development. The Amero property (formerly Cape Ann Fisheries) languishes, while the former Producer's wharf property is now owned by the city for $78,000 in back taxes, and is reduced to storing lobster traps, for free!

Parisi's property offers 33,000 square feet of class A building space but only 20% is rented! Because of increasingly more stringent government regulations, Parisi has lost three of his four tenants years ago and they haven't been replaced. Contrary to frequent activist "spin", business investors are not lining up for Parisi's waterfront space, even at a reduced rate!

In 1964, "Tony" Parco and partner "Ed" McCollum opened Ocean Crest Seafood. At the Open House festivities, I counted no less than 32 floral tributes sent by fishing vessel owners, soon to be their suppliers.

Now, all those boats are gone and have not been replaced. The founder's siblings labor on. The company has reinvented itself. They have representatives sitting daily at the fish auction and have established a successful fertilizer division, Neptune's Harvest. They continue streamlining their operation. Yet Ocean Crest Seafood survives while struggling with diminished product availability as more and more fish is processed out of town and away from the local waterfront.

Next door at Cape Pond Ice Co., management has rewritten its business plan. Their boat customers are few, they now market bagged ice cubes, create specialty ice products, and actively promote and sell Perfect Storm inspired "T" shirts, etc. The ice company has reinvented itself with new products and creative merchandising. They, too, are hanging on!

The Fort business community has changed. Companies once totally water dependent are now only water related!

Finally, "Sam" Parisi, a Commercial Street resident, is speaking out.

A Fort waterfront property owner, businessman, and former fisherman, Parisi, is telling it like it is (Letters, the Times, June 28). And in a few short paragraphs to the Times, Parisi lays out the dire plight of his industry and the neighborhood he resides in.

The day after his 1960 G.H.S. graduation he was on the deck of his family's dragger, F/V St. Rosalie. He brings to the table eight generations of Parisi family involvement in the fishing industry.

In my lifetime, the Parisi's have built, skippered, invested, and crewed at least a dozen large commercial vessels. They have owned several waterfront properties, hired hundreds of fellow crewmen, and landed millions of pounds of fish over these years. "Sam", his brother "Mike" and their wives, continue to eke out a living on the waterfront while our own federal government commit felonies, break into our fish auction, and routinely fine and regulate our harbor out of existence….that's the reality.

Entering Commercial Street and the Fort area, we are greeted with a "For Lease" sign on the upper floor of the Chamber of Commerce building. Across the street is a new wharf and building, for years begging for a tenant. The Birdseye plant and acreage cries out for development. The Amero property (formerly Cape Ann Fisheries) languishes, while the former Producer's wharf property is now owned by the city for $78,000 in back taxes, and is reduced to storing lobster traps, for free!

Parisi's property offers 33,000 square feet of class A building space but only 20% is rented! Because of increasingly more stringent government regulations, Parisi has lost three of his four tenants years ago and they haven't been replaced. Contrary to frequent activist "spin", business investors are not lining up for Parisi's waterfront space, even at a reduced rate!

In 1964, "Tony" Parco and partner "Ed" McCollum opened Ocean Crest Seafood. At the Open House festivities, I counted no less than 32 floral tributes sent by fishing vessel owners, soon to be their suppliers.

Now, all those boats are gone and have not been replaced. The founder's siblings labor on. The company has reinvented itself. They have representatives sitting daily at the fish auction and have established a successful fertilizer division, Neptune's Harvest. They continue streamlining their operation. Yet Ocean Crest Seafood survives while struggling with diminished product availability as more and more fish is processed out of town and away from the local waterfront.

Next door at Cape Pond Ice Co., management has rewritten its business plan. Their boat customers are few, they now market bagged ice cubes, create specialty ice products, and actively promote and sell Perfect Storm inspired "T" shirts, etc. The ice company has reinvented itself with new products and creative merchandising. They, too, are hanging on!

The Fort business community has changed. Companies once totally water dependent are now only water related!

Good Harbor Fillet, the area's largest fish plant, has relocated "inland" to Blackburn Industrial Park.

This is not a rosy picture, especially when the neighborhood's City Councilor Ann Mulcahey continues to bash and outright reject any positive area renewal.

I would remind Councilor Mulcahey that new development, whether hotel, clustered residential or direct waterfront related business, is not the problem at the Fort, it is the SOLUTION! In fact, it is the answer to Gloucester's economic survival!

City Councilor Mulcahey states publicly that she has the votes on the council to deny any future hotel proposaI. I ask, "Who are these harbor anti-development councilors?" Gloucester taxpayers deserve to know before our next city election!

Ron Gilson, Gloucester

Taxpayers For Harbor Economic Renewal

Condos Get Bad Rap When it Comes to Land Use

Condominiums Get a Bad Rap

As the Fort neighborhood (Birdseye) zoning discussions move forward, the anti-condominium crowd once again advances its agenda of smoke and mirror scare tactics. This fiery political rhetoric is really warmed over political spin. As a two-time condo owner over the past ten years, I take exception to their persistent, false assertions.

Not long after returning from the service in 1961, I had the pleasure of meeting and conversing with our own famous Gloucester economist, Roger Babson. This question was asked: what advice would you have for a young man like me who wants to live and raise his family in Gloucester? Babson’s answer: there is only so much waterfront property; it is Gloucester’s most important asset. Whenever one has a chance to buy waterfront land, he should make every effort to do so. Cape Ann is in general a granite rock pile with large tracts of interior unbuildable acreage. Shoreside residential development is essential to Gloucester’s future as a growing vibrant community. Babson’s advice in 1963!

At a social gathering some years ago, a prominent local business man said this: The City of Gloucester should award John McNiff a medal for what he has given the city. McNiff took an antiquated piggery and dairy farm, sited on a challenging hilly, rocky acreage and transformed it into a national award-winning condominium community with an ocean view. Nugent Farm condominium complex is a no-maintenance “cash cow” for Gloucester..... that keeps on giving!

Hawthorne Point, Thorwald and Rockaway condominiums are other successful examples of cost effective multi-unit housing development, all quietly returning big dividends to city coffers.

These are the facts:

1. Condos generate higher real estate tax dollar volume on minimal land area, demanding fewer city services.

2. Condo housing takes advantage of excellent locations and smaller land areas, capitalizing on economies realized through clustered townhouse/condo designs.

3. Condos are often owned by older “empty nesters”, frequently vacant during the calendar year, eliminating any school demands and reducing the need for full city services.

4. Condo owners are responsible for the maintenance of their internal infrastructure, common area roads, snow plowing, landscape services, trash removal, etc. .....at no cost to the city.

5. The condo concept has made prime location waterfront living affordable to a larger tax-paying population.

6. Condo ownership is not for everyone; it is a sensible and efficient lifestyle that fits a perceived need by a diverse group of housing consumers.

As Roger Babson observed, shelter is a basic need. Cape Ann’s available residential land mass is minimal. We must be constantly vigilant, seeking out opportunities to increase the housing tax base. In an era of unfunded federal and state mandates, requiring city-wide sewer and water infrastructure improvements, schools, and expanded city services, demanding millions of dollars in added municipal investments, etc.; I ask, where is the increased tax revenue coming from?

The Fort’s residential and commercial community is a unique geographical area in our city. It will always be. Obsolete industrial buildings and undeveloped prime waterfront land presently disrupts and impedes this neighborhood. There has never been any intention to change its character. Fish, fertilizer, ice, lobsters, and retail entrepreneurial activity make this mixed area distinctly Gloucester. Because of its allure, nestled in a seaside location, it provides a special “step back in time” living experience, reminiscent of another romantic era. For decades the Fort residents have recognized and guarded this magnetism. Anyone moving there seeks the area for this very uniqueness. That allure is the attraction! In the final analysis, we are all custodians of this land that we live on. It only makes common sense that the area’s potential be fully realized.

Ron Gilson