Dear Governor Bryan,
I am writing you this letter to commend you and joyfully applaud your refreshing vision of launching a territory-wide plan for cleaning up and rehabilitating our towns by improving and getting rid of the ugly eyesores in our communities. This transformative initiative is long overdue. I wish you the utmost success in quickly getting all the necessary legislation, resources, and administrative tools to make your vision a reality.
I also hope the private sector, especially developers and investors, join you in this massive socio-economic development effort to restore our towns and make the Virgin Islands a paradise again. Everyone must be involved.
Rehabilitating and restoring our towns, building by building, block by block, and street by street, can transform our towns into magnificent, beautiful neighborhoods and vibrant centers that offer a high quality of life and are magnets for redevelopment, business, job creation, and economic and housing diversity.
Many of us who travel have seen countless urban transformations elsewhere, and we have quietly said to ourselves — this, too, can be done in our island hometowns. So, let’s do it!
Again, congratulations and much success in this bold and refreshing community development effort.
Respectfully,
Carmelo Rivera
— Carmelo Rivera is a graduate and former instructor at the University of the Virgin Islands. He served as a former USVI Labor commissioner and acting DPNR commissioner. He currently resides in Orlando, Florida, and lives part of the year on St. Croix. He is a public relations and Human Resources operations consultant.
