Paul Bass photo
WASSD board members hear out Carol Martin at annual meeting.
Still vacant after all these years: the Whalley-Winthrop lot.
Build on prime property that has stubbornly remained fenced-in dirt for 20 years? Not so simple.
Get rid of panhandlers, double-parkers, burglars, not to mention smoke shops? Not so simple.
Revive struggling Whalley Avenue, New Haven’s main west-to-downtown commercial corridor? That was the overall question. The answer was … not so simple, but worth the effort of pulling together, piece by piece, lot by lot.
Mayor Elicker (pictured above) responds to Whalley neighbors at annual special district meeting (shown in video at top of story).
That was the upshot of a community meeting held Wednesday at a conference room at the Courtyard Marriott at Whalley’s eastern edge.
Officially it was the annual meeting of the Whalley Avenue Special Services District (WASSD), which collects taxes mandated fees from property owners in order to spend $100,000 a year on street improvements and lately, extra cop coverage.
In practice it was a prime-time gripe and problem-solving session. Seven city officials, from the mayor to police and anti-blight and small-business decision-makers, showed up to field questions and pitch progress ideas with the two dozen Whalleyers in attendance.
Like: What about that lot at the corner of Winthrop and Whalley, which has sat vacant and trashy since the beginning of the century under a succession of owners?
City's Steve Fontana (left) and Beaver Hills Alder Tom Ficklin at meeting.
A neighbor asked city Deputy Economic Development Administrator Steve Fontana about that.
A New Yorker owned that property, Fontana reported. Then he died. “His daughter sold it to two local people here in New Haven. We tried to reach them. We have not spoken to them about their plans.”
Vail: "We don't want to rush."
It turned out one of those local people was sitting in the room: Abe Vail. He spoke about the plans of a nonprofit he controls called Congregation BH Inc. that owns the land.
“I originally wanted to build a synagogue there” combined with a community center for the neighborhood’s burgeoning Chasidic community, Vail said.
Then “influential” community leaders walked by the property on several nights. Their typical reaction: “How can I expect my wife to walk to synagogue on that block?” Too dangerous.
So much for the community center.
Then a fast-food chain inquired about building an outlet there. That deal never came to fruition.
Ever-empty lot at prime Winthrop-Whalley intersection.
Beaver Hills Alder Tom Ficklin asked Vail if the community can help draw up a plan to upgrade the lot.
At this point the group aims to pursue a commercial use for the property, Vail said. But at the moment, “building costs are rising. Interest rates are up.” So it’s a tough time to make new construction happen. “It’s a prime property. We want to make sure it’s used in the right way.” Bottom line: “We don’t want to rush into anything.”
In the meantime, he said, “We do landscaping. We pay for plowing. People dump there; we clean it up.”
Can you also clean up trash outside the fence? a neighbor asked. Vail agreed to look into that.
"Quality" of Life
WASSD's McCollum: Pay to park.
Underlying much of the concern was a deterioration in quality-of-life factors.
People drinking and panhandling, for instance. The Supreme Court won’t allow the city to arrest people for asking for money unless they’re “aggressive,” city Small Business Development Officer Clay Williams informed one questioner.
Attendees also spoke up about double parkers and drive-way blockers. One member suggested eliminating street parking. WASSD Executive Director Allen McCollum said the group is speaking with the city about installing parking meters.
Which gave Carmel Street homeowner Carol Martin pause. “I want to get my Chinese food, I don’t know …” she said.
“It might cost you 50 cents,” McCollum replied.
“Felafel House delivers!’ called out Eddie Eckhaus, who plans to open a restaurant across from Edge of the Woods Plaza in mid-April.
Frustration over crime coursed through the two-hour discussion. (Click here to read a recent story about glass-smashing burglaries on the Avenue. Watch some of it in the above video.)
Loreen Cuiman: Why aren't cops at the substation?
“That substation,” Loreen Cuiman pressed Mayor Justin Elicker, “it’s not doing anything. There are three gas stations on Whalley. All three of the gas stations unbelievable. And you’re right there. I felt like when I call the police, what’s going to happen when I do call them? I watched them kill a man in his car right by the Mobil station. He was killed right in front of the store. I’m so grateful I didn’t have my baby with me that night.
“Why have a substation there if all you’re going to do is go over old reports? If you’re not doing anything there?”
Paul Bass Photo
Where Michael Wint was shot near the Mobil station and police substation.
Elicker brought up the police department’s staff shortage.
“If you have one cop, do you want him in the substation or do you want him on the street? I want the cop on the street,” he said.
“The substation I think is an important place for community meetings. But I want the police on the street.”
Click on the video at the top of the story to watch the full exchange.
Amos Smith: We need all to work together.
City Deputy Economic Development Administrator Cathy Graves pitched business owners on applying for newly available $8,000 grants. Community Management Team leader Rebecca Cramer pitched neighbors on lobbying together to add new language to the city’s zoning ordinance to regulate smoke shops and liquor stores.
“It’s clear you feel there are services” the neighborhood needs and is not getting from the city, board President Amos Smith stated as the meeting wrapped up.
“We want the Whalley community to be clean, friendly and safe. We have to make it that way. We have to push our elected officials to do it too.”
Maybe Yale could use the lot (or another part of Whalley closer to campus) to build more faculty and staff housing. They have raised another $10 billion lately, and are currently hiring for hundreds of high-paid positions, but meanwhile they are providing zero new housing for all of those people. And on top of that, you have a huge increase in the Yale graduate student population recently.
This increase in housing demand is probably a big reason why rents in New Haven are going up by hundreds of dollars every year. Private developers are helping — but not building new apartment buildings fast enough, in part because neighbors in wealthy places like East Rock are blocking the new construction.