By Aram Ayalon
As the Sanchez administration finishing its first year in New Britain and cleaning up the mess the Stewart administration left behind, it’s time to set a new vision for New Britain. After 12 years of serving the city six on school board (2007-2013) and six on the Common Council (2017-2023) and also running for state representative for District 26 (2025); I have met many constituents, listened to numerous participants in public hearings, been involved in many budget negotiations, and toured many of the city’s facilities; I believe I have some valuable insights about what could be done to get the city of New Britain moving forward.
Since the 1950s New Britain experienced a substantial economic decline – Industries moving out of the city as well as the devastating impact of the highway construction (as documented by alderman Nate Simpson and his partners) left the city with fewer people, fewer jobs, and empty industrial buildings. New initiatives by the father and daughter Stewart administration focusing on new downtown buildings, beautifying city parks, and more public bus transportation (initiated by Tim O’Brien Democratic administration), did not change the situation. The city needs new thinking starting with its existing assets. Here are some initial ideas:
• Capitalizing on the foundations of knowledge at Central Connecticut State University in multiple area such as literature, education, the arts, healthcare, and manufacturing. The university expertise and student body provides opportunities to host conferences, think tanks, and the like that could make the city a destiny for science, education, and culture.
• Capitalizing on the arts assets provided by the New Britain Museum of American Art, a world-recognized institution which received in 2025 the highest national recognition by the accreditation agency. The museum could serve as a hub in developing an art district with music, drama, and other arts which could attract restaurants, cafes, galleries and the like.
• Capitalizing on the city’s history as a world industrial leader by expanding its industrial museum to attract local and international tourists and by converting old industrial buildings that remained intact as community and art centers instead of destroying them as Stanley Company was allowed to do by the Stewart administration.
I welcome other ideas from the readers. It’s time to establish a city-wide conversation on how the city of New Britain could move forward, attract new and younger population while providing an inviting location for the elderly population.
