July 23rd 2010 - Jamie (New Downtown Remodeling)
After purchasing a home on Dewey St. (1613) I have been in close contact with people from the landmarks association but have yet to find funding to fix it! We would be very grateful if you know of resources that could help us restore this gothic revival 150 year old house. Of course, if you want to make it part of the September historic home circuit you are more than welcome!
December 28th 2009 - Pami (New potential downtown resident)
My wish is that you stop smoking in restaurants in NA!
I live in Louisville and came from VA/DC. I waited for so many years to get Louisville free of cigarets in public places. Now my boyfriend lives in NA and wants me to move here (we are in our 50's). If I do move here I won't be able to eat in your restaurants and that would really get in my way of a happy life.
I may have to talk him into my side of the river instead of your side.
Please advise if this will ever be in the works.
November 9th 2009 - Morgan (Louisville Student)
I think there should be new apartments in downtown New Albany. I think it would be cool if they were near YMCA or Wicks. I'm a student at Bellarmine Univeristy. Living in Louisville is really expensive. This would be a great idea for students living in Indiana but going to school in Louisville.
October 23rd 2009 - Donna (NA Resident)
I would suggest a craft co-op. I am a knitter/crafter (of many things) and would love to get together
with others who share my interests or other crafts - jewelry design. painting, etc.
If we could get together and perhaps have a building downtown that we could
meet in, have a little storefront so that we could sell our crafts, and a place to work on our crafts..maybe have lessons?
September 15th 2009 - Sue (fairly new NA Resident)
It would be great if the city could find a way to make banners or signage viewable when crossing the Sherman-Minton bridge. It's great seeing the new amphitheater cover, but it's hard to know when events are coming up - especially with enough notice to plan for it. Also, with so many area people taking classes at IUS, it would be great if we could take advantage of that to get the word out some of the great local events.
I noticed many people discussing the need to improve the cleanliness and landscaping of downtown. If enough like-minded people are out there, I wonder if a periodic volunteer cleanup group could be arranged to spend a day or afternoon helping with these sorts of things? Kind of a local Day of Caring, like the United Way arranges.
Business wise, I'd love it if there was a cafe that did not-quite-so-greasy breakfasts, preferably with outdoor seating. If there's already something that fits the bill, please let me know!
August 6th 2009 - Zach (NA Resident/Student)
Hi, I'm Zach and have lived in New Albany for around 15 years. Though I go to school in Iowa, I would enjoy seeing downtown New Albany flourish and grow. I don't know how willing the city of New Albany would be to do something like this, but I enjoy to scenery and atmosphere of Bardstown Road in Louisville, KY. I like all of the shops and how people just walk around and take in the atmosphere. More specifically, I like a shop called Cafe 360. It's a hookah bar where people young and old can come and visit with each other or just share in company. I think that something like Cafe 360 in Downtown New Albany would draw in many people in the area. This would be nice to drive downtown instead of having to drive all the way to Bardstown Road. I think that it is something that the city should look into. Also, it would promote the shops in downtown New Albany to the people hanging out at the hookah bar.
July 15th 2009 - Lisa (NA Resident)
I agree with the other resident of NA. The place needs to be spiffed up a bit. That is what makes locations such as Madison, Jasper, even Scottsburg so nice to visit. These people take pride in their storefronts and all properties downtown. You see beautiful wreaths handing on doors and planters in front of each business. Everything is neat and clean and looks so much better than NA. I have heard that the city has spent some money to do some landscaping downtown. I understand they are planting annuals and even adding some landscape shrubs/trees with landscape lighting. We need trees! Let's build on this. Let each property owner be responsible for the area in front of their own building but, let the committee choose a color scheme or specify plants each year so the entire downtown area will look cohesive. Maybe even work a deal with a specific garden center for discounted rates on purchases. Say, the same garden center that is awarded the city landscaping job. And also, clean up the alleys if you want people to walk the streets!
February 23rd 2009 - Pam(NA Resident)
I would like to see some type of more 'juried' art/craft fair in New Albany. Something similar to Art in Speed Park or the one that used to be on the
Ursuline campus in Louisville (which has now been cancelled). I think we have a good location for this, but it needs to be quality items. Overall,
the work that is shown at Harvest Homecoming would not be considered'juried' type products. It has it's place there, but wouldn't fit in an
advertised juried show.
December 23rd - Julie (NA Resident)
I would love to see a coffee/dessert shop similar to “Coffee Crossing” downtown. I live downtown on Market St. We drive all the way up to Coffee Crossing every Sunday morning just for a treat. I realize that we have that one which is connected to the tile shop but are they EVER open? I CANNOT WAIT for Toast to open… I’m so excited!
In addition, we need to do something to encourage local businesses to advertise!!! (or find a way to help them fund advertising) I was surprised at the number of people who said they had never heard of The Speak Easy until they saw the story on the news about it being closed. I haven’t seen any advertising for the Windsor or any of the other new places downtown.
October -NA Business Owner
"I think it would be a great idea to consider a marketing effort to Louisville along the lines of a "day get-a-way" destination to New Albany! While it's true the downtown still could use some improvements, and perhaps it would be nice if we had a few more "artist" spots, still it could be done now. We would need a map pinpointing the locations of "visitor interest" spots. Just thought I'd put a bug in your ears!"
July 2008 - NA Resident
"While I was visiting friends in a very small town in Tennessee, I remarked about how clean the downtown was. Turns out it’s a dairy farming region and those guys are really “neat.” Anyway, I noticed there wasn’t a blade of grass or a dandelion or litter or anything on the streets – kinda like Jasper (neat Germans). This morning on my way down Spring Street I was aware of the grass in the cracks of the walks in front of stores. The store owners should take pride and clean their own areas – it would be so pretty if they did. The general driver-through-town doesn’t see Pearl Street, they see Spring first. The cleanest site downtown is the Federal Building property! Why not have a downtown merchants meeting and ask them (invite the Mayor) to “TAKE PRIDE, NEW ALBANY!”
