Joe Marfuggi
Like the Mighty Mississip’ — or, perhaps more aptly, the Scenic Connecticut — Joe Marfuggi just keeps rolling along.
Happily ensconced in a non-profit initiative that reeks of politics and government along with doses of urban planning and social service, the 69-year-old Marfuggi has experienced success and longevity in a complex environment that promises neither.
Marfuggi was happily plugging away as a development fundraising kind of guy at the University of Connecticut Health Center when he was recruited for the speculative challenge of maintaining the momentum of the five-year-old Riverfront Recapture organization — created to, quite literally, “recapture” the Connecticut River from neglect and nonchalance in the Hartford metro area.
In 25 years, Joseph Marfuggi, president and CEO of Riverfront Recapture, has not only recaptured the river, but also captured the hearts and minds and imagination of opinion leaders, donors whose checks don’t bounce, and the general population from hundreds of miles around Hartford — city, suburban and ex-urban folks who now see the river as a recreational and environmental jewel.
The Connecticut River and Joe Marfuggi are so as one at this point that it can be complicated to separate the personalities.
When Oz Griebel, CEO of the MetroHartford Alliance, refers to Marfuggi as “one of the region’s most important assets,” he could just as easily be describing the river that Joe champions, as well. The two are intertwined.
Travel back in time to the mid-1800s, of course, and the city saw the river as a source of noisy, lucrative commerce and industry, with 26 wharfs, and a reputation as a significant New England destination for cargo and passengers. Scenic? Perhaps not. But it worked.
As the industrial/commercial enthusiasm subsided, and the horrific storms and hurricanes of the 1930s caused the river to rise up in devastating floods, the affection for the river disappeared. As Marfuggi puts it, “there’s not a lot of romance to a river when it’s up to your second-floor window.”
Dikes were constructed; interstate highway construction and design discouraged and inhibited even a quick stare at the river, let alone recreational access. The jewel was buried in mom’s dresser drawer, occasionally referred to, but never available to show off.
The magic of Marfuggi was to break up a grand vision into digestible parts; to slowly and carefully introduce ideas that would liberate the river from its bondage, that would make it desirable, that would engage the communities in the region; that would, of course, goose up Riverfront Recapture with enough clout to get the job done.
“We’ve done everything incrementally,” Marfuggi explains. “We’re always planning for another piece.”
It’s not only the planning that required piece-by-piece construction, of course, but also the coalition building among a diverse group of political, governmental and civic institutions.
“What I’ve always admired about Joe is his ability to paint a vision with his simple eloquence,” explains Ted Carroll, president of Leadership Greater Hartford, the area’s non-profit, community leadership training organization. “He can build collaborations like no one I’ve ever met before.”
Mike McGarry, Hartford’s Republican town chairman, former city councilman, and long-time city activist, agrees that Marfuggi works his magic without stepping on too many political or ideological toes.
“Even though he’s a Democrat,” jokes McGarry, “he’s been great. We don’t have many people who buy in and stick it out. He’s hung in there for all these years; it’s made a huge difference.”
One of the most basic, least interesting, and yet, most important complexities for Marfuggi was the low-key, understandable lack of enthusiasm among some folks at the state Department of Transportation for “improving” the areas around the river, including highway redesign and location juggling. The problem? It’s a floodplain, dummy. And if the land is improved, where, exactly, is the water runoff going to go?
The engineering magic was applied, Marfuggi says; he credits DOT as one of his most valuable allies in not only gaining access to the river, but also making it worth the trip.
“DOT didn’t jump into this eagerly,” says Marfuggi, “but without DOT, none of this would have happened.”
To be sure, the most concrete (so to speak) changes that people became aware of over the years were the I-84/I-91 interchange redesign/shuffle, to provide important visual and physical access to the river and its parks; and the riverfront plaza and elevated walkways that take you hither and yon from downtown to scenic river views.
In recent years, Riverfront Recapture has unleashed a barrage of programming and marketing to make the river and its environs a sexy, fun place to visit and play at.
Marfuggi has proven himself the masterful, non-profit entrepreneur, with festivals, concerts, banquet facilities, regattas, boat races, rowing classes — and, with an appreciation for “leverage’ and “continuity” — contracts to manage city parks in Harford and East Hartford that abut the river.
Marfuggi is that rare non-profit character who can blend social service and revenue enhancements without losing a moment’s sleep. Through one of his initiatives, any kid in Hartford and East Hartford can take rowing classes for free — and, oh, by the way, you suburban kids can participate, too…for a price.
Marfuggi is particularly enthusiastic about the cooperation among Riverfront Recapture, Hartford and East Hartford, to create integrated park resources that will draw and entertain the teeming masses.
“Parks were an intimate part of the master plan,” he says. “There has to be something to do, once you get there.”
There is speculation that Marfuggi is being considered to head up the United Nations. With his encouragement, every imaginable ethnic group that knows how to sing, play music and cook has been invited to the river, for festivals. Be they Indian, Celtic, “Latin,” Puerto Rican, West Indian or the strange cult known as “powerboat racers,” Riverfront Recapture has enticed them all down to the water to play — and invited the rest of us to join in.
To Marfuggi, it’s all part of a relatively simple, personal master plan: “Use the river, enjoy the parks, see the smiles.”
Snapshot: Joe Marfuggi
The Basics
Name of organization: Riverfront Recapture, Inc.
Title: President & CEO
Size of organization: $2.1 million operating budget; 16 full-time employees; 860,000 parks visitors in 2009
Education: BA, UConn (English); MA, Stanford (Communications)
Previous job(s): Various writing and political jobs; assistant director of development, UConn Health Center prior to joining Riverfront Recapture in 1986
On the job
Guiding business principle: Stay focused on the organization’s mission
Best way to keep your competitive edge: Stay enthusiastic about what you are doing
Proudest accomplishment: Working with ConnDOT to drop I-91 to ground level, making way for landscaped plaza over the highway to reunite downtown with the river
Goal yet to be achieved: Completing riverwalk connection from downtown to Charter Oak Landing
Favorite part of the job: Seeing people enjoy Riverfront activity
Least favorite part of the job: Personnel issues
Most influential business book: The Ten Commandments
Personal touch in your office: Commemorative basketball from UConn’s 1999 men’s national championship
Judgment calls:
Best business decision: Entering into parks management agreements with Metropolitan District Commission, City of Hartford, and Town of East Hartford
Worst business decision: Thinking a rubber-duck race was a good idea
Biggest missed opportunity: Buying stock in Google
Best place to network: Riverfront events
Best way to spot trends: Listening to the 20-year-olds in the office
Next big thing: Rediscovering the value of face-to-face communication (we can only hope…)
Your pet peeve: Too much e-mail (I don’t text or tweet)
Personal side:
City of residence: Hartford
Favorite way to relax: Watching sports — live or on TV
Last vacation: July 2010 at the beach in Rhode Island
Favorite movie: Singing in the Rain
The car you drive: Sable
Favorite communication device: Telephone
Currently reading: Two Coots in a Canoe
Favorite cause: Riverfront Recapture
Second choice career: Novelist
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