(WTNH) — The City of Milford has been in the news lately for a brawl at a beach and there are also questions about the future of one of its most prominent companies.
On Memorial Day, the city made headlines when a fight broke out at Walnut Beach. Several were arrested in that case in which some unruly people knocked down police officers and ripped off their body cameras.
“Again, it went way out of control. We needed to make sure that we locked it down. It was a bad incident and we responded accordingly. You have to monitor. You have to make sure that you enforce,” Blake said. “Again, we have lots of public beaches. We’ve had one that has had some issues and we have done everything that we needed to do to make sure that we have control of the situation, from making sure that the perimeter is secured to making sure that we have the right personnel with the right places.”
Blake also told News 8 there have been plenty of positive developments in town. He said during the pandemic, many moved to the city, especially millennials.
“We’ve always been a destination for people to come to, and especially in the warm weather months. We have such great amenities, from our green parks, to our beautiful beaches, to our harbor that funnels right into the downtown,” Blake said. “We are a train destination as well. So people come downtown for the harbor and for the restaurants and the shops and they stay here.”
Milford also has some big employers but one of its more well-known companies may leave. Subway put the city on the map in many ways, but now they are saying they want to move.
“Well, we don’t have a definitive yes or no yet, but they did say that they are looking. A couple of months ago, they were looking to do an expansion of their main headquarters,” Blake said. “So right now, I think they’re still making the determination whether to expand those headquarters or move somewhere local, whether it’s Milford or another town. But the good thing is that the employees should be safe.”
Blake grew up in the city he is now mayor of.
“I want to make sure that Milford continues to be the Milford that I knew growing up, the Milford we know today, and the Milford that we know we can realize tomorrow.”
Watch the full interview with Mayor Ben Blake in the player above.