A contest to boycott: Read in amazement as Develop New Albany claims to have revitalized downtown all by itself.

Sighhh: DNA's board ... "leading" again.

Before examining this remarkable exposition of hubris, which purports to explain why you should cast daily ballots for Develop New Albany's bid to win a grant, let's examine the contest.

The goal of the America's Main Streets contest is to help promote the importance and strong economic benefits of these Main Streets and the small businesses that help them thrive. Please help us by nominating and telling us about a deserving Main Street. The winning Main Street will receive $25,000 in cash and related prizes to help revitalize that Main Street (Independent We Stand).

As you're reading DNA's bid, keep these words in mind: "The small businesses that help them (Main Streets) thrive."

DNA gives cursory mention to these indie businesses, but in effect, the board claims credit for the time and money invested by the start-ups, with which DNA has had nothing whatever to do.

It's a safe bet that none of these investments came from a budding entrepreneur thinking "Wow -- let's operate in downtown New Albany because there's a Jingle Walk, and a Taco Walk, and a Farmers Market."

It boggles the mind and staggers the imagination. Compare the tone of DNA's contest entry with that of Jeffersonville's ... and shake your head. Of course, there's an unresolved issue: As long as DNA continues to evade its "Taco Walk" ramifications of stereotyping and cultural appropriation, we'll keep bringing it up.

Now reach for your arrogance sickness bags and endeavor to digest a plate of half-baked tripe.

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NEW ALBANY, IN

http://www.developna.org

Through the efforts of volunteers in our community, the leadership of our Board of Directors and working in partnership with local government officials, Downtown New Albany is alive with new businesses, restaurants and retail stores.

In the past 10 years more than 100 new businesses have moved into downtown New Albany and the vast majority of those businesses being locally owned and operated. In the past, many Downtown businesses have struggled to survive while many Historic Downtown buildings sat empty and some of the businesses migrated out of the downtown area to new locations in the suburbs. Our many historic building facades could provide only a fading glimpse to what was for more than 150 years, a thriving Downtown. Downtown New Albany was an industrial center and Indiana's largest city for a period of more than 30 years during the 1800's. Our Main Street along with the rest of Historic Downtown and Midtown New Albany is on the National Register of Historic Places as an Ohio River Town. This is certainly not an uncommon story across the state and across the country. Historic Downtown areas with diminishing tax bases, boarded up buildings, deteriorating infrastructure and most significantly a general apathy to do anything about it. It's unfortunately all too common. Some of Develop New Albany's Signature Events are the Historic Home Tour, Be Local Business Expo, and JingleWalk/HolidayFest. These events generate financial support for a variety of downtown programs. We have a thriving year round Farmer's Market that had close to 50,000 visitors last year! This grant money would help us continue to help our city thrive! One of our focuses for the next few years is to bring more art to downtown. This grant would go such a long way in achieving that!