I too have left posts on clickfix to no avail. I see police cars sitting in the lot of Candee garage almost daily- sometimes 2 or 3 cars. Can these cars simply move to Grand Ave? If so it would help a lot.

We are good citizens entitled to safe streets in a great, hard fought-for neighborhood.

Grand Ave needs redevelopment. The city supposedly has cited 887 but an abandoned car remains parked in that lot and no work has been done on this property for over a year- this, in addition to the other problems, continues to drag our neighborhood down and offers no hope for the future.

And yet our taxes appear to be going up yet again. How about leaving our taxes frozen until the City assumes its responsibilities to our neighborhood and offers the services (e.g., safety, law enforcement, development support) others receive.

Original Poster here: Thank you both for your responses. It is good to know others have at least tried to reach out about this area. There is a need for more drastic changes in the future, but right now I just want the police to take notice of this where, like Lyon Resident said, the police cars can just be stationed at Grand Ave in any lot instead and make a huge difference.

I consider myself pretty hard to shake with these things but I've been worn down for over a year by constant harassment right outside my front door and I do plan on moving as soon as I can. Having to ready myself to walk to work and keep my eyes down the whole time (which doesn't even work) is not what I need.

I do hope this will get some official attention as Grand Ave is home to not only residents, but multiple nonprofits (some catering to children), and school children who walk through it as well. If I cannot get a response here, any suggestions on contacting police officials who could work towards making Grand Ave a watch point would be appreciated.

Thanks again, guys.

^ Elected officials take note. The failure to clean up a small-but-critical stretch of road is going to result in the loss of a resident from what is historically one of, if not the most, desirable residential neighborhoods in New Haven.

Have no lessons been learned from the mass exodus of individuals from the city in the 70's-90's?

New Haven is on the cusp of something great. But its these lingering, unaddressed issues like Grand Ave that keep the full potential from being realized. In the context of most urban areas, the stretch of road we are talking about is minuscule in size, and bounded by some of the most desirable real estate in the city. Really should not be such a challenge to make it a safe place to walk.

This situation should not be tolerated. If there needs to be a pair of police officers standing outside this store until either they arrest the perpetrators in the act or have them choose another liquor store, so be it. I know this stretch of road (though I don't often use it), and it is indeed a strange scary blight sandwiched among some of the city's loveliest neighborhoods - Wooster Square, Downtown, Upper State, etc.

Yes! Really too bad the lack of attention to our part of the neighborhood (North Wooster Square) is causing urban flight again while all attention, studies, action seems to be aimed at Wooster Square proper. The recent grant-funded study actually stopped at Grand and Olive and completely disregarded N Olive and all of Grand Ave! Does this make any sense to anyone when those areas feed Olive Street and the highways....

I'm actually south of Grand (Saint John) but outside the historic district. I can see & smell Lucibellos from my house (awesome) but that also means I have the sights & sounds of all rest of the craziness just beyond my backyard.

I nearly got peed on through my fence while landscaping because the individual doing his business in the back of a commercial lot on Grand didn't know I was there. Posted that on SCF too, no city feedback.

Call the police district manager and the alderperson.

SeeClickFix is to report issues and have them addressed by the City. This issue is not closed.

What's up here? I posted a comment several hours ago, got a message it was being reviewed, then never appeared. Hello? This thing on?

Hi - I walk to work from Wooster Sq area everyday as well - not as bad as Grand Ave, but I feel your pain. Here are some excerpts from recent emails regarding police actions in our part of town. There is more of a police presence lately. Perhaps you may want to call Sgt. Maher directly to relay your concerns and see if the walking beat officers can include Grand Ave at a certain time of day? Keep walking...

"Hello Downtown and Wooster Square Community,

Thanks to everyone who was able to join our April meeting. Below is an update on what was discussed. We look forward to seeing folks at our next meeting on Tuesday, May 16, at 6:00 pm in Meeting Room 2 at City Hall.

April meeting update:

NHPD:
• Four officers added to Downtown-WS on April 2, enabling increased traffic enforcement while maintaining walking / biking beats.

• 3 car break-ins and 3 property break-ins (including of Halal Guys, likely to lead to an arrest), but violent crime almost nonexistent

• NHPD will help monitor increased aggressive panhandling at Orange and Trumbull Streets (will coordinate with police district 9, which covers the north side of Trumbull and the State Police, which covers the highway, if need be)

SECURITY:
We attended the weekly all-security-and-service organizations meeting, CompStat, hosted by and at the New Haven Police Department, and share the following information:
From our excellent District One (Downtown/Wooster Square) District Manager, Sgt. Sean Maher –
• Burglary/Breaking and Entering: 190 Wooster Street
• Motor Vehicle Theft: Orange Street, between Chapel and Elm
• On-Site Arrest of a male attempting to break into a vehicle, the Green:
• Mr. Luis M. Torres, APT Foundation client, in custody.

Sgt. Maher has assigned a two-Officer bike unit, an extra crime-suppression cruiser, a two-Officer walking beat, and our own Beat Cop extraordinaire, Officer Ralph Consiglio to patrol our Wooster Square Neighborhood, as well as Downtown.
We are often up and out at odd hours, taking the air, thinking great thoughts, and have encountered these Officers just about everywhere: rest easier, knowing that even if you do not see them, the malefactors do, and the Officers are out there, rain, darkness, or shine.
With warmer weather, and later light, more people will be out, and some of them may be people who steal, rob, assault and harass: Sgt. Maher asks us to be extra vigilant when out walking late, and to avoid texting/talking unawares as we travel.
We had an alarming run of phone thefts in prior warm seasons, and do not want the return of those times."

Get a pitbull they will love him or her at your work place.

I just walked by with my wife and dog 30 minutes after the first post in this thread. It was pretty amazing. Right in front of us, in the parking lot we clearly saw a drug exhange. Broad daylight, nothing furtive about it. We continued walking west on Grand under the bridge and on the other side, in the dirt vacant lot, there was a police cruiser but they were not aware of what what was going on just a block away. We drive down Grand everyday and the liquor store is always a place that we see people hanging out who are frequently looking to cause trouble. Its scary!

I did not mean to close this it but you should know not all city departments monitor this site so this issue may go unnoticed. You should call the police district manager or the alderperson if you want this issue to be addressed. Please note this was first posted over 6 hours ago and it has yet to be acknowledged.

People if you just post the problems in this area it may make you feel better but for things to change you are going to have to start using the phone.

XYZ, you say this same thing on many posts. People know this. If you see something illegal going on, call the police. This discussion is far deeper, and requires political & financial will to resolve. Having a cop sit at the end of a block or occasionally take a walk is a band-aid, and an expensive one. City police are busy.

I know I may not get a direct answer from the Police Dept. on here, however leaving this open allows new info to come in such as TJoy's comment which provides me with a direct name to contact or WoosterSq.HomeOwner's where at least know that others are experiencing this and seeing what goes on.

I'm a little disappointed that, if I'm reading the police email right, that police walk Wooster Sq.and downtown to combat traffic and panhandling but neglect to visit the nearby street with dark alleys, warehouses, and seemingly an influx of those looking to cause trouble...

The only solution I see until I move or this gets addressed by those who can change it is keeping my phone charged for the walk home and hoping whoever decides to yell at me on the street next doesn't follow through with whatever they're threatening.

(Jim, if my landlord allowed pets trust me I'd get 9 pitbulls!)

NHVer,
Are there any specific locations (address #, parking lot next to X building) that you find particularly problematic?
A couple off the top of my head:
- In front of Hollywood Package
- The parking lots on both sides of Youth Continuum, especially the large one to the left that is used by multiple businesses in the large brick building.

NHVCyclist , you wrote."Having a cop sit at the end of a block or occasionally take a walk is a band-aid, and an expensive one. City police are busy". This is exactly what has to be done on an ongoing basis to stop this. It is the police's job to protect the public. Again the first things that have to be done is to contact the police district manager and the alderperson. After this people can post.

I would also like to add when you post on this site there is a good chance the city department who can help does not monitor this site. As you can see these posts have not yet been acknowledged by the city.

The police department does monitor seeclickfix.

An officer may on his own but as a general rule they don't. If you don't believe me call 203 946-6316 and ask. People you really have to learn how this site works.

Yes the Police and other city departments do monitor this site. It would be interesting to learn exactly how it works , and perhaps just for whom it works for, if it works at all.. Maybe they ignore certain posts while over killing another one ? Maybe I/we would be surprised as to how much it has worked in the past..Does one feel a political correctness about it ? ..moving on , would cleaning up Grand Ave. just send the crowd to Wooster Park or add to the fun of downtown New Haven ? Moving on ,

At minimum, SCF is allowing us to understand what our neighbors are thinking. From there, it is up to city representatives to pick up the ball. Arguing about SCF vs. phone calls vs. whatever just clogs the discussion thread.

On topic: Like I said in my own post on this topic, there is no need to re-invent the wheel here. Look at what was done on Howe St. Way worse situation than Grand, completely turned around. Why not apply the proven formula to another problematic block?

NHVCyclist,

Yes, 100% those areas you mentioned are hot spots.The Youth Continuum lot is always littered with trash too along with most of Grand.

I will share a few incidents over my year and a half walking Grand:
- Olive & Grand corner in daylight (waiting to cross, men in a car pulled over to me, ignored them but they wouldn't leave so gave them an unfriendly "go away", they got beeped and made a left stopping next to the firehouse, driver GOT OUT of his car, walked at me yelling things, then had to get back in the car and drove away)
- Bus stop near corner of Olive & Grand after work (on the phone with my dad I pass a man at the stop, 5ft past him he screams "yeah keep walking stupid @#$% why do I even bother, dumb @#$%", I didn't respond)
- Front of the flooring store at night (man on a bike speaks at me, I ignore it, I look back and hes turned around following me as I walk down, he stops 50ft away and watches me enter my building)
- Dentist parking lot next to CitySeed (a man spinning in a circle staring at the sky yelling at 1am taking breaks to pee on the lot and the buildings around it multiple times)
- Across from the liquor store where the bushes and trees are to the right of the flooring store (yelled at constantly by liquor store patrons who are sitting and drinking)
- etc., etc.

My experiences are mostly between the bridge and the firehouse, that stretch, But my trips to Ferraro's beyond the bridge obviously aren't amazing either.

It's possible that the police department didn't see this, since it wasn't labeled a policing issue. I added a new post referring back to this one: https://seeclickfix.com/issues/3372306

The problems spill over to Lyon and St John Streets- women pushing baby carriages followed and then asked for money and followed to their homes. The following of people extends to all types of folks creating a very insecure feeling. Trespassing on our properties to use them as a bathroom.The list goes on and on.

^ You are correct. I experience it on Saint John St. Constant trespassing, and I'm not even home most days from 7am-8pm. I can only imagine what happens during working hours...
Aggressive panhandling to the point of having to pay someone to let me out of my own car in front of my house. The $1 is worth avoiding physical confrontation.
I'm a busy person, I don't have time to sit in my car and wait for police to arrive, nor deal with retaliation (vandalism) to my street-parked cars.

All concerns should be addressed directly to the District One (Downtown/Wooster Square) District Manager, NHPD Sgt. Sean Maher, smaher@newhavenct.gov. He is energetic and responsive, and with the (limited) resources at his disposal, he does much. He has a two-Officer Walking Beat available, a two-Officer bicycle unit, and 2 cruisers: he needs to know where to deploy them to apply pressure and presence to hot-spots. You could also attend the Downtown/Wooster Square Community Management Team public meeting, every third Tuesday, Meeting Room #2, City Hall, 6:00-7:00PM and speak directly to the CMT Board and Sgt. Maher, in person. You can also join the Wooster Square Watch, a block-watch with over 500 members and direct your concerns directly to the Block Watch captain: WoosterSqWatch@gmail.com. The more we engage our security providers they more security they can provide. Let us be pro-active.

Sounds like one is describing Fort Apache the Bronx, Escape from New York

Thanks, HoundEyes. I sent him a brief note with a link to this thread.

Josephxh88
The police for the most part do not monitor this site, if you do not believe me call 203 946-6316 and ask

It has been like this for as long as I can remember , and I am going on 70. If you don't like the area for the reasons you listed MOVE

For results call the police district manager,if it makes you feel better to just complain keep posting.

For the most part they do not, call 203 946-6316 if you do not believe me.

This issue was first reported on April 27th and as you can see the city has yet to acknowledge and probably never seen it. This is why I posted that you have to contact the city the old fashion way, the phone for best results. You can then post to get others involved. Is someone going to call?

XYZ You keep saying the same thing over & over - apparently without actually reading the thread. I did contact the police (using the information provided by HoundEyes) and the sergeant already had read this post and initiated a response. Just because it wasn't acknowledged on the site doesn't mean it didn't happen. And maybe the person answering the non-emergency phone number doesn't know what's being done elsewhere in the department. But since then you've made four more posts complaining about how people should not use seeclickfix. Why?

I made these posts because by calling you are assured that someone is actually aware of the problem. I think many people think that just because if you post something on this site the proper city department will read the post, this is not the case. An example of this is animal control does not even have internet access. In the case of the problem on Grand Ave did the police district manager become aware of this problem by this site or did someone call him? I answered your post please answer mine.

I would like to add I know your post stated he read the post but are you sure it wasn't a phone call that prompt him to read the post? Also I have seen posts reporting natural gas odors and fires. I hope we can agree these should have been reported as soon as possible by phone. I feel the same should be done when someone is being harassed when just walking to work. You can then post to alert others and to decide what else should be done.

He indicated that he already had been on top of it.

I quite agree that police matters should be reported directly to the police. Though you can't just call to make a complaint after the fact; they want you to visit and fill out a report at the station. Seeclickfix is a very good place to share information, though, and also puts the city on notice that an issue is being discussed & that people care. Something all too easy to miss (or even ignore) when it's all individual phone calls.

We still do not know if he became aware of this problem because of a phone call or he checks out this site on a daily basis which I do not think he does.
I don't think that you have to go to the station to fill out a report, they will come to you. Also you don't have to fill out one if you care not to but the police will still come to investigate the area. My post did state after calling. you can then post to alert others and to decide what else should be done, see last sentence of my most recent post.

XYZ, please leave people alone on this site, you are making everything worse. Thanks!

You shouldn't speak for others

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You may want to attend/get involved in this group:

May 16 Meeting Agenda

Hello Downtown and Wooster Square Community,

We hope you can join our next DWSCMT Meeting on Tuesday, May 16, at 6:00 pm in Meeting Room 2 at City Hall. Encourage others to join you!

Below is our agenda:
1. Monthly reports:
o NHPD
o Town Green
o LCI
o New Haven Free Public Library
o Alders
o Yale

2. NPIP Funds: Vote on spending the money on traffic safety measures in Wooster Square (radar speed sign on Olive Street / 5 in-street pedestrians signs / 1 planter)

3. June 13 Alder Committee Hearing #2 on the voting process

4. Request for aldermanic hearing to create an adjudicatory process for public space violations (not shoveling, leaving out bulk trash, etc.)

5. Civilian Review Board letter

6. Traffic safety plans around the Spinnaker project at Orange & Audubon Streets: Doug Hausladen / Giovanni Zinn

7. Vision Trail: Brief update

8. 433 Chapel Street project presentation: Peter Chapman

9. CT Open: Jean Walker

10. Outreach to recruit more people to join the DWSCMT / June Executive Board election
Details about the plan for spending the NPIP funds and about the 433 Chapel Street Project are on the DWSCMT Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/DowntownWoosterSquare/. By Monday morning, the draft letter request for an aldermanic hearing to create an adjudicatory process for public space violations also will be posted on our FB page.

Finally, we want to highlight this recent article in the New Haven Independent about books for a June 5 book give away for kids being destroyed by a leak: http://www.newhavenindependent.org/index.php/archives/entry/sewage_leak_/. The article contains details about how to donate a book or money to New Haven Reads if that is of interest.

Again, hope to see you at our May meeting!

DWSCMT Executive Board

The homeless shelter and the churches are killing that street, not the liquor store. Facade improvement grants and a few trees would help.

@WoosterBoy , don't forget The Farnam Court Projects, maybe it's the combination of all 3 , well the shelter is mostly 50 something year old castaways ...

Do you really think fixing facades will make an impact- that's like putting a bandaid on stab in the heart.

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I'm actually seeing this complaint for the first time. It was posted as a Police Issue so it never came to my attention.

I want you to know that I have been working with Lt. Maher regarding all the policing issues mentioned above. Before Lt. Maher, I worked very closely with Lt. O'Neill, who is still interested in this area given that his Police District begins on Franklin Street. When he gets back from his leave of absence I plan on calling him.

You all are absolutely right and on point regarding the many issues dragging and keeping Grand Avenue Commercial Corridor undesirable and depressed. I make requests to other City officials regarding this area all the time. Thankfully, they are all concerned and want to help reverse this situation/trend.

City Plan is now working on this issue as well in their "Rezoning Program", and Economic Development, who have also been concerned about this area, has launched its Commercial Corridor Program which includes Grand Avenue. The Grand Avenue Merchants Association desperately wants change and will support initiatives that increase the number of businesses in the area, keep Grand Avenue Commercial Corridor clean and green, increases customer volume, and redesigns/"renovates" the public rights of way in the Corridor.

Additionally, your Neighborhood Specialist, (me), is very, very passionate about this Corridor and Wooster Square Neighborhood in general. I want to keep you all informed about this area, especially since you all care about this issue enough to write in about it. I also want to be able to put forth and advance any of your ideas and suggestions on how to make Grand Avenue Commercial Corridor a great and amazing place to visit. Please do not hesitate to call me at 203-410-6527. I look forward to hearing form you soon. (Please do call. I want to hear from you.)

Finally, I'd like to keep in touch with all of you. Any suggestions? Do you want to stay in touch? Maybe we can form a " legitimate" residents group/association around the issues of Grand Avenue? Let me know. I like to help.

I'm 100% in support of a formal neighborhood organization as long as it doesn't mean more revenue out of our pocket and into the city coffers. We already pay our very high taxes.
Thanks LCI neighborhood rep...

Carry a gun {If you have a permit, if not bring your pit bull {no pit bull go to the New Haven Dog Pound the have a lot looking for a good home on Grand Ave}}. Or carry a pocket full of Fireball!!!!!!!!!!

so what did you not like about my post?
Will try again.
Get a pit bull the New Haven Pound is full of them.
My content that was blocked>
Is this more to your liking?

I think it is........

Thank you for your response Another Lyon Resident. I really do sympathize with you regarding fees, charges, taxes and the like. This group however would be free to join and would only meet perhaps for an hour or an hour and a 1/2 once a month. What time do you think we should meet? What day of the month do you think we should meet?

We are closing this request due to its historic nature. If this concern still requires attention and you still believe SeeClickFix is a viable tool for its resolution the best way for it to be addressed is for you to create a new request including a current description of what is occurring and what solution you hope to see regarding this matter, citing/linking this request in the details. Thank you for your dedication to improving the quality of life in our community.