(Matt Drzik/Beaver County Radio)

“Stuff had kinda stopped, but right now we’re getting back on track.”

Tom Albanese Sr., mayor of the borough of New Brighton, made that statement to Matt Drzik on the April 18 edition of A.M. Beaver County. The statement was made in reference the stoppage of progress due to the pandemic, and the resurgence towards “as normal as normal is” with activities coming back on a regular basis. Albanese has been the mayor of New Brighton since 2017 and has served in different roles in the borough prior to that.

The mayor spoke about the consistent growth of businesses, including seven new ones in the last year alone. “If you go through town, 3rd Avenue’s pretty much looking the same,” he said, “but 5th Avenue is starting to just build business up.” Along with that are the many different festivals and events coming up over the spring and summer, along with the traditional events like Fall Fest and the annual Halloween Parade returning once again to the schedule.

The flipside of the recreational and business side of New Brighton is what goes on up top; and while the relationship between mayor and council is strong, the police department is going through struggles that many other municipalities are facing. “Over the years, when you wanted a policeman coming in, you’d have 20 applicants,” Albanese said “That’s not the case now. Now the case is that you have fewer applicants, and everyone’s jockeying to get someone out of the academies.”

Still, Albanese recognizes the leaps and bounds taken by the police department as the introduction of body cams have helped officers learn on the fly, and that the fire department remains solidly staffed despite similar number drops in other boroughs. To reach out to the borough for more information, you can find contact info by going to their website.

To see the full interview with Mayor Albanese, click on the Facebook feed below!