Scooper,
I'm not sure in New Haven. I know that in other towns they do.
I found this form on the city's website by searching for the word pothole: www.cityofnewhaven.com/TownClerk/pdfs/CityClerkCLAIMS.pdf

Here's how the claim reads:

CITY OF NEW HAVEN
PROPERTY DAMAGE CLAIMS INSTRUCTIONS
Pursuant to an order of the New Haven Board of Alderman dated April 7, 1993,
effective April 8, 1993, the Office of the Corporation Council has adopted the
following claims instructions for property damage claims filed against the City of New
Haven. Claims must be submitted to the City/Town Clerk pursuant to these
instructions. Thereafter, said claims will be forwarded to the Office of the
Corporation Counsel for review, approval or denial.
1. Any claimant seeking to make a property damage claim against the
City of New Haven must submit the attached “Claims Form” to:
The City/Town Clerk, Room 204, Mitchell Hall of Records, 200
Orange, New Haven, Connecticut 06510 as follows:
A. Within ninety (90) days from the date of the incident
for claims alleging property damage resulting from
the defective highway or sidewalk, and
B. Within six (6) months of the day of the incident for
all other claims alleging property damage.
2. All claim forms must be fully completed, signed, and notarized.
Failure to do may result in the denial of your claim. If a partner
question is inapplicable, claimant must indicate such inapplicability
by placing “N/A in the space provided.
3. All relevant estimates, receipts and insurance statements must be
submitted with the claim form. Failure to do so may result in denial
of your claim. Claimants who dispose of the property or have
repairs done, do so at their own risk.
4. Two (2) repair estimates and copies of any public record report
filed with relevant City departments (such as police reports) are
required for all property damage claims.
5. Claims alleging defective street conditions and claims alleging
defective City sidewalks, sewers, trees, or facilities must be
reported to relevant Cit y department (e.g., Police public Traffic,
WPCA, Parks, etc.) within twenty-four (24) hours of the incident.
Failure to file such incident may result in denial of your claim. Such
reports shall include, but are not limited to, the exact date and
approximate time of incident, a detailed description of the incident
and the location, (e.g., street name and address, nearest
intersecting street(s) and landmarks, (if any).
6. All insurance payments must be reported promptly in writing to the
Office of the Corporation Counsel. All such correspondence should
reference claimant’s name and the date of the incident. Claimant
must attach a statement of applicable coverage for the damaged
property from an insurance company. Additionally, claimant must a
letter from the insurance carrier when said carrier denies coverage
for the property damage, which is the subject of this claim. If the
damaged property is not insured, claimants must so state in the
appropriate section of the Claim Form.
7. Claimants should pursue redress in other arenas for the following
claims, as the Office of the Corporation Counsel will not review or
approve the same through the procedures established herein:
A. Claims involving personal injury;
B. Claims for trash can damage, vehicle rentals, or
damages or other losses resulting from vehicle tows;
C. Claims due to a defect on the state highway or other
property the maintenance of which, by law or
contact, is not the City’s responsibility;
D. Claims involving Acts of God (hurricane, tornadoes,
blizzards, ice storms, etc.);
E. Claims by City employees or officials losses at work,
including but not limited to, personal property or
cash lost, stolen, or damaged, except as specified
under the appropriate collective bargaining
agreement;
F. Claims which are the subject of a Notice of intent to
File a Lawsuit, a Lawsuit or an Administrative
proceeding;
G. Claims for damage done by mobs;
H. Claims previously submitted and approved or denied
by the Office of the Corporation Counsel;
I. Claims for damage caused by sewer problems (must
be forwarded directly to the Water Pollution Control
Authority);
J. Claims involving property damage caused by the
Police Department acting pursuant to a valid and
lawfully executed search warrant;
K. Claims involving property damage caused by the Fire
Department acting pursuant to its fire suppression,
fire prevention and arson investigation functions.
8. Claimants may be required to agree to a visit by a City appraiser to
determine actual monetary loss. The appraiser will report his/her findings
to the Office of the Corporation Counsel. If a claimant refuses to

Ben, is this the pothole (see picture)? Some work has been done digging up the street and sidewalk this summer, and then oily asphalt was gently laid down over the strips of torn out road and sidewalk. This pothole is right between lanes on State Street heading in the direction of East Rock, and is getting bigger by the day. If this is not the one that did damage to your rims, then we've got another hole in the same area with the same dangerous potential for damage!

That's the one!

This got some new oily asphalt tamped in it yesterday, which does eliminate the pothole for now but not permanently. I'll leave it up to Ben to close this clicket. They also did more digging up of sidewalk yesterday and I had to sink my heels into the oily mess just to reach the crosswalk button. I hope there's a permanent solution on the way before winter. Anyone have the scoop on the plan/scope/timing of this work?

Was patched quickly. See photo

Fixed thanks.