Mayor Mark Boughton On Reopening Danbury + Candlewood Lake

Danbury Mayor Mark Boughton made an appearance on the Ethan and Lou show this morning (April 28) and discussed plans to gradually reopen Danbury once we've flattened the curve.

The Mayor reiterated something he has said in the past, that it "won't be like flipping a switch and everything goes back to normal" when the time does come to reopen. He thinks that it could take until the end of the year before bars and restaurants can open at full capacity.

Boughton also acknowledged that it would be a long climb back economically, and expects unemployment in the area to hover at around 20 percent for a significant amount of time. "It's going to be really painful," he said. "First thing is the indignity and the horror of this virus, and the next thing is going to be people struggling to find jobs and pay the bills."

Boughton expects businesses like light manufacturing to open up first, with service industry businesses coming later. He said that once the Governor has announced the first round of openings, some of Danbury's parks would be reopened as long as social distancing continues to be followed. He did say that Danbury Town Park would remain closed for a "significant amount of time" due to the large crowds that the beach attracts.

As far as Candlewood Lake goes, he expects that regular boating will be allowed and that the Candlewood Lake Authority will be working to make sure there are no flotillas of several boats being tied up.

You can hear the entire interview embedded below. Mayor Mark appears on the Ethan and Lou show most Tuesday and Thursday mornings.