Look at These Two Parts of Brookfield, It’s Hard to Believe They are the Same Town

One of my ecosystems is Brookfield, CT. I’ve worked at I-95, in Brookfield for 22 years.

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While there have been many changes, not all of them have been positive. If I honestly assess those 22 years, I’d say Brookfield has had losses and gains but it’s pretty even on my side of town.

You're on Federal Road heading towards New Milford and you pass Union Savings Bank, the bowling alley and the liquor store. Next, you blink and you are on a different planet, a dark and barren planet. When I look at the four corners revitalization, I say, this is wonderful, but just down the road in the section of Brookfield I work in, that is not so pretty or wonderful.

There is this

Then, there is this

There is civilization,

Then there is isolation.

And these two locations are separated by 1 mile. It doesn’t seem even at all.

The edge of Brookfield on Federal Road is the land of the lost and forgotten and I think there are a multitude of contributing factors. This area became an afterthought when Super 7 was extended some years back. Instead of people having to commute to and from New Milford using Federal Road, they cruise down 7.

COVID-19 played a role in the death of this section of town and the nature of the businesses on the road have been part of why this edge of Brookfield is a no-fly zone. The coronavirus killed the Motel just down the road and now all that is left is us, the Golden Leaf (I don’t know how), Imperial Electronics, and a few other mystery warehouses.

There is nothing here, it’s dark and very few people even have a need to be down here.  Just a mile down the road, there is a ton of effort, new construction and pretty lights. Maybe every town needs an area like this. I’ve found one in every town I’ve lived in.

Maybe they are necessary evils but it’s a bucket of yuck at 3:45 AM in freezing temps. God forbid my car breaks down. I’ll get eaten alive by hill people, scary mutants with sinister agendas who feed off the blood of jokey A-holes like myself. I think about that every day, every, single, day.

Look, I’m not pointing fingers. I’m pointing out how drastically different this section of town is compared to the rest and asking if it’s necessary?

P.S. The Golden Leaf is a seriously underrated experience if you are a fun person who is realistic with their expectations. Go there, spend money and sing songs with Al.

P.S. 2 - I know most of you don't care because there is zero reason for you to be in that section of town, noted.