Graham, Donna
From: Gary Wingate Qe
Sent: Wednesday, February 16, 2022 3:04 PM
To: Board of Aldermen
Ce: Graham, Donna; Cummings, Tim
Subject: Downtown barriers
CAUTION: This email came from outside of the organization. Do not click links/open attachments if source is unknown.
My name is Gary Wingate from Wingate’s Pharmacy at 129 Main St., Nashua. | have worked there since 1984, and am
part of a family business which has been an intrinsic part of the Nashua community since its beginning on January 1st,
1900, which was started by my great grandfather, Frank Homer Wingate, 122 years ago.
The purpose of my letter is to express:
1) tam in favor of outdoor dining with the tables and chairs directly in front of the restaurant’s boundaries, with enough
room for pedestrian traffic, made easier with the expanded sidewalk project.
2) | am against the “extended” outdoor dining which eliminates our parking spaces, both regular and handicapped, and
is “crowded out” by Jersey barriers and filled with tables and chairs, therefore “taking” our customer and freight
parking.
3) 1am also against the two lane traffic, which causes chaotic traffic flows, and unsafe travel lanes for emergency
vehicles, as mentioned by Fire Chief Rhades and Police Chief Rourke at the Infrastructure meeting on December 8th, and
from the former chair of the Nashua Fire Commission, and former co-director of Emergency Management for the city of
Nashua, Ed Lecius.
We have formed a very concerned group of business owners, which we will call the “Block”. It consists of a common
message and sentiments as listed above. They include the Print Factory, Wingates Pharmacy, Cardin’s Jewelers, Chucks
Barber Shop, Avard’s, Corriveau Insurance, Alphagraphics, Subzero Ice Cream, and Darrell’s Music Hall.
We have politely showed up and spoken at public comments four or five times at Aldermanic meetings, Infrastructure
meetings and parking survey meetings. As fellow downtown business owners, we like and are friends with the
restaurant owners. We often eat there and do take out, and supported them with the “extended” emergency dining
situation in 2020, legitimized by the uncertainty of the Covid virus. However, we were taken by surprise and did not
support the barriers being up for 2021, and even the consideration of having them for 2022.
We are often told by some of the city decision makers at these meetings that we are “in the minority” and have
“contaminated language”. So, the Block decided to take action and explore the sentiments of the business owners by
visiting stores from Sky Market to PRG Rugs. It’s was unanimous that owners, employees and customers were not only
against the “extended dining” and the barriers, but strongly against it.
We brought a petition with us, and fifty business owners were against the barriers and extended dining and two lanes of
traffic, and any thoughts of extending this for this upcoming 2022 season. Many have shared their sentiments and there
letters are in your package.
There were many new businesses like Elitonde at Sky Market, Rita at Subzero, Ruth Boland at NH Craftsman, Gloria at
Glorious Possibilities, Colleen at Bella Boutique, and many more that want their parking back. They expected when they
lease their property the city wouldn’t “take “ their parking spots with barriers and most often empty tables and chairs.
Some long time practicing lawyers with offices in Nashua like Morgan Hollis, Bob Shephard, Peter Tamposi, Tyler
McAfee, Mark Kanakis, Martha O'Neill, just to name a few, want to return ONLY to a downtown as it was before Covid.
We have Julia at Charron Medical who has a fleet of drivers that deliver medical supplies and Bill at Soprano’s who has
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