By Blox Content Management
To the editor: I was recently divorced and had moved to Kent Avenue in Pittsfield.
The sirens, gunshots, and shooting I saw on North Street in broad daylight is not the Pittsfield I grew up in. Understandably, times change, economics change and political climate changes. There is one movie theater in Pittsfield, not four. Our family businesses and big box stores are gone. Most if not all my friends or work colleagues have left the area years ago.
We have one hospital, one cable provider, no attractions such as the Pittsfield Suns and, well, that’s it. General Electric is gone. Unemployment and homelessness are on the rise consistently year after year. We have enough cannabis stores and barber shops. We have leaders in our school system corrupted by either power or stupidity.
Would you want to raise your family here? In Pittsfield or other communities in the county, you will see a lack of commerce, few employment opportunities and a community lacking identity.
Berkshire County doesn’t have competition for medical care, recreation or internet providers. This competition would bring jobs and choice to the Berkshires — something we lost and are sorely lacking. We are not the center holding the other county cities together; we are the lifeless city held together with duct tape and oxygen. Big business and competition is sorely needed before we are a ghost town and not a thriving hub.
Gregory Martin, Pittsfield