When Raquel Denbowski suggested they move out of Reading, her late husband, Frank B. Denbowski, refused.
“He said, ‘No, this is where I need to be. This is my place. This is where I belong. I need to help the people of Reading,’” Raquel Denbowski said. “And that’s exactly what he did.”
The widow spoke Monday morning at the dedication of the Reading Parking Authority’s newly opened surface lot at 625 McKnight St.
The 82-space parking lot was named in memory of Denbowski, the former interim city managing director who died last year.
Raquel Denbowski and their son, Francisco, 17, a junior at Reading High School, joined the group of city and parking authority officials in cutting the ribbon, officially opening the lot.
Their daughter Nicolette, 19, a sophomore at Lebanon Valley College, Annville, Lebanon County, was unable to attend.
Frank Denbowski spent more than 20 years of his professional career working in various city departments and positions, including Mayor Eddie Moran’s chief of staff.
He also served as a member of the parking authority’s board of directors.
The authority board unanimously voted in February 2023 to name the McKnight Street lot in his memory.
Rafael Batista, authority executive director, welcomed the assembly before turning the program over to authority employee Melinda Speas for the invocation.
The prayer was followed by several speakers, who recalled Denbowski’s devotion to the city.
Patricia Vasquez, an authority board member, said the dedication is only a small statement of the regard held for Denbowski.
“It’s only a little bit of our love and gratitude expressed to him and his family for his dedication,” Vasquez said.
Frank Denbowski’s dedication to the city also was remembered by Council President Donna Reed.
“In the many years that I covered City Hall (as a reporter) and I’ve been a part of city government, there have been very few people that reached the kind of excellence in public service that we saw in Frank,” Reed said. “Frank was just the best. There’s just no other way to say it.”
Finding a more dedicated public servant than Denbowski would have been difficult, Moran said, noting Denbowski was a friend of the community and an amazing individual, husband and father.
The mayor thanked Batista and the authority’s board of directors for honoring Denbowski’s memory and for their continued commitment to citywide parking relief, or CPR.
Denbowski was an advocate for the initiative that provides additional parking options for residents in neighborhoods outside the downtown area by purchasing reasonably priced parcels that can be converted to off-street parking.
“I’m proud of being his wife and of all that he has accomplished,” Raquel Denbowski said.
All 82 spaces on the lot are already rented, authority representatives said.
For information on the waiting list or availability in other lots or garages, call 610-655-6166.
