Sounds like my neighborhood in New Haven, too - Fair haven Heights....

I can't believe the police even showed up. Usually they only show for shootings.

Traffic enforcement is non existent unlees your DWB . No joke. SCSC uses Valley St as their personal shortcut. Ever see Valley and Pond Lily around 4pm ?

The Police claim they can't enforce the "No Thru Traffic signs".
Even though theres an ordinance against the bass boomers this is ignored also.
The sub-station is like a lounge area for cops. I've seen people fly thru at 50 plus only to see an officer sitting in his car facing the speed indicator sign as they go by.

Wasted enough time in Management Team Meetings too know better.

Only suggestion I can give besides clean out the PD and begin again is if you can't beat em join em or move

In addition, we have lived here less than a month and in that time: a man in a pickup was ready to steal our lawn mower just as my husband came around the house to finish mowing; a 5x8 oriental rug 'disappeared' while we were unloading items into our new house; and my husband's bmw was dented in by someone stomping the side in (their shoe prints were still visible). Where is the police presence here? I never would have moved to this neighborhood if I realized that it was so riddled with wrongdoers, thieves, thugs, speeders & people who don't care about the children of the neighborhood or the peace and quiet the residents deserve instead of bass pounding all day & night from cars. We love our house but have had to arm it to the nth degree with security features because I do not feel safe here.

Getting to know your neighboors is your best defense. Don't leave anything unattended ANYWHERE in New Haven. If you don't want it to walk away then lock it up.

I've lived in this hood for 7 years and what you are describing happens in EVERY NEIGHBOORHOOD IN NEW HAVEN. In Wooster square they would have stolen ur BMW, not kicked it. In Newhalville they would have taken your whole moving truck, not just a few items and if u live downtown you would have twice as many bass boomers and loud motorcycles at all hours of the day and night.

WELCOME TO NEW HAVEN !!!

The police have a program to help neighbors set up block watches. Block watches are effective if people remain committed-that is usually the problem - they are set up in times of crisis and then when things calm down they tend to get moribund.

It is also important to report everything. It may seem as if they are not paying attention but it does influence the allocation of police resources.

You can also join the police management team which meets on the 3d Tuesday of every month at 7:00 p.m. at the police substation corner of Whalley and Norton-across from Edge of the Woods. Our District Manager reports on where crime is happening and takes info. Beaver Hills is not being shortchanged however the demand on police time is high. You can influence police coverage by making your voice heard.

Carl Goldfield
Alder Ward 29
203-787-9222

The police management team is a good suggestion. I went there once, but should make an effort to go more frequently.

Welcome to the neighborhood, Rebecca! I mean that sincerely and ironically. Unfortunately it's not the neighborhood. It's New Haven. Beaver Hills is actually one of the better neighborhoods as indicated by the nature of the crimes you've had to endure: theft and vandalism. Do check out the management meetings.

I disagree with Carl that Beaver Hills is not being shortchanged; demand on police time is high. Which is why it tends to go towards areas where violent crime is more rampant. Quality-of-life law enforcement is all but non-existent in this city, and that is the nature of crime in our neighborhood.

I agree with J. Hart. I wouldn't put too much effort into Management Team as it usually falls on deaf ears. From Experience. But it never hurts to voice your complaints. Setting up a block watch, having done several, is also a no go. Communications drops all issues as minor and followthru is days later. Joe Avery is about as helpful as any civil servant- he does his job, but is understaffed and unable to follow thru consistantly.

The Police are good about Felonies, gun dealers and large drug dealers, but everything else your on your own.

I am thinking of creating a Citizen Brigrade to patrol our own neighboorhoods as the Police can't do it. any takers ?

We could easily have moved to a quiet boring suburb, but being from Atlanta we are used to more big-city events, restaurants, etc. We were apparently pretty naieve about the area. We bought our house from 2 Yale doctors & I would not have guessed they were willing to raise their young boys here if it wasn't a nice place. I really stupidly assumed that New Haven govt would do everything they could to attract urbane professionals by ensuring that a historic area was well patrolled and well kept, even if it is close to Whalley. It dumbfounds me that the city cares so little about this historic gem of a neighborhood. I was putting a lot of faith in people... I've never lived in such a diverse area, but I assumed that people of all kinds want to live in a nice safe place & it is certainly not as if we bought a former crack house or anything! I seriously adore this house & we have already put a ton of money into fixing it up with plans for more because we see the amazing potential this lovely neighborhood has to be a really attractive place for professionals who work in New Haven to live. Clearly some of the residents care about their property more than others, but we hope with our renovation efforts to encourage others to do the same. I think "trafffic calming" measures like speed bumps would deter a lot of the cut throughs. (As a super loud bike goes by outside....and I can still here it.... yep still....and still). It would be a start anyway. How do we make that happen?

Oh, and for irony, the car vandalism happened about 10 feet away from a Neighborhood Watch sign... in the middle of the afternoon. ...

I know it seems incredible but speed bumps expose the City to liability if a speeder goes airborne and hurts him/herself or others. They also present a problem in Winter because the plows hit them.
That being said, at my urging the City did purchase a small number of portable speed bumps. Where exactly do you live? If it is in my Ward I can see if we can get it installed on your street. The hope is that nutty drivers will become accustomed to stop using the street. Of course it may just send them down your neighbors' street.

Something should be installed on Dyer near Stimson. The cars coming up Dyer from Fitch are frequently speeding at night. The scary thing is that they'll run the light at Blvd and go all the way to Crescent before stopping.

Rebecca-dont become discouraged. It is a nice neighboorhood with only a few bad elements. THINGS WILL CHANGE WHEN DESTEFANO IS DEFEATED OR JAILED WHICHEVER COMES FIRST. Its the politics that kills this town. Change is soon.

I hear that same organ donor, uh motorcycle- you can hear it from blake street comin up valley every night at the same time. Police Hello- set your watch.

Give it a chance- I too dumped a good amount of money into a fixer-upper. Well worth it except for the taxes. Try not to dwell on the negative annoyances and focus on the positive. I don't have drug dealers next store, I don't get awoken by motorcycles and fire engines like downtown and theres not a gunfight evrey week. No roving gangs, no rampant theft etc.. The bass boom is karma from youth. lol

Something really needs to be done about the SCSC cut through now that Whalley is almost done with the widening project. Completion date September 1.
Carl or Darnell any thoughts on the thru traffic situation?

I agree that speeding and ignoring signals is a major issue here. These streets, as well as all other residential side streets throughout New Haven, should be posted at 15 or 20 miles per hour. Within residential sections of other Connecticut towns and cities, posted speeds of 15 or 20, and sometimes even 10, are common. Speeds of more than 15 or 20 are unacceptable in residential areas because they create noise and lead to numerous pedestrian injuries, and sometimes fatalities of young children. Are New Haven's children worth less than the children of other towns and cities in the state? Although some improvements have been made to street design policies lately, our approach is still very far from adequate; some of the recent road projects completed around New Haven are quite frankly an embarrassment to the city.

In the medium-term, narrowing the street down by deploying changes to the physical condition and/or the visual perception of it, would be far more effective at creating a more "livable" street than speed bumps or posted signage. There are dozens of options for doing this, ranging from more costly to less costly:
-New curbs, bump outs, chicanes, physically narrow streets
-Raised crosswalks at intersections, like the one shown here
-Alternative Painting and striping techniques, additional speed limit indications
-Many types of so-called "temporary" (in reality, semi-permanent) traffic calming measures that the city has largely ignored up to this date, even though they cost almost nothing to install and are extremely effective.

Have you considered working with your local Aldermen & neighbors to submit a "Complete Streets Request Form"? They are available at http://www.cityofnewhaven.com/Engineering/completestreets.asp.

New Haven's Complete Streets manual has been widely recognized as one of the best in the country, but requires ongoing public pressure -- I believe that getting these types of public requests on the official record, alongside similar requests from the many other neighborhoods within New Haven, will help provide an impetus for the city improve the safety of roadways over time. The requests will be documented in annual reports and implementation (or lack of) can be tracked each year.

If you need help completing the form itself you may want to contact your local alderperson, some of the folks at New Haven Safe Streets at newhavensafestreets at gmail.com or folks at Elm City Cycling, a bike/pedestrian advocacy group at elmcitycycling.org.

Great info- Thanks Mark!

Resident 2- Your comments gave me a smile. You are right- the cut through on Glen is a constant stream of traffic. And the other day my husband was leaving for work, having stopped at the stop sign at the end of the street, and turned left onto Norton and was nearly T-boned by a car that completely ran the stop sign at Norton and Glen (not even a rolling stop). ... I make myself sound like a granny when I'm in my thirties, grew up listening to all kinds of music & even rap & really like to rock out in my own car (but with no souped up bass, and I always turn the volume down at stop lights because I realize not everyone has my taste in music & they don't care to hear what I'm listening to). I guess I just don't get it- is it a status thing to be able to afford to put subwoofers in a 1993 Oldsmobile? You are right, it's mostly annoyances. Yet can someone tell me where my tax money goes? The police won't even come out to do a report when your car gets vandalized- you have to fill out the report, make photocopies, take it to the station in person to file it, and then call 3 days later for a case #. They do nothing. I very seriously believe that this is 25% cost savings for them but 75% a deterrent for citizens to file police reports for petty crime since New Haven doesn't exactly have comforting crime statistics. My exorbitant tax bill doesn't even buy me 10 minutes of a civil servant's time. Would LOVE some insight into that.

Closing although this is still an issue. Hopefully with the new Police Chief and rumors of DeStefano retiring after this term, it will change.