Michael Raymond

  • 16-26 North Division Street Ansonia, Connecticut - Ansonia

    Hi, I know the town crew is very busy and there is lots of do. However, in recent weeks myself and others have begun using the river walk more again. As we know, the Shelton side has limited "official" parking as does Ansonia. I believe three spots and one is handicapped.

    That said, the older "commuter lot" (not sure what to call it because it predates the river walk and had to have been build for a reason) is now becoming Ansonia river walk parking. There are often a half dozen cars there on nice days. They simply park there where the other lots are full and walk over.

    It's great this is available but it seems to not be on the "radar" as far as being maintained and cleaned. As this photo shows there is a lot of trash piling up around the edges and in the lot itself. The lot could use some sprucing up due to use and location but I'm not asking that.

    Since this lot has no real other purpose now but to be overflow river walk parking can be be checked and cleaned weekly during Spring - Fall? Yes, it could use a few trees and some repaving but all I ask is clean up. Even if you don't have to park there everyone on the river walk looks over and see trash all over this lot and grass. I'm sure this was just overlooked. Thanks!

  • 50 Platt Street Ansonia, Connecticut - Ansonia

    I wanted to post this morning as an example of why taxpayers get so frustrated with city governments. In this case, Ansonia and its lack of road/sidewalk maintenance in some neighborhoods it seems to have left behind.

    This photo I was able to snap yesterday morning. It is a stretch of sidewalk I drive by sometimes when picking a friend up to head to work together. It’s on Platt Street. I wasn’t going to go into location but how can I expect someone to step up and fix this if I don’t say where it is?

    I wasn’t going to mention location because it’s not the point. THIS is how the City of Ansonia has left sidewalks in some neighborhoods this summer? Forget the condition of the sidewalk itself, there is a garden of weeds growing that is so unsightly the city should give itself a citation for blight.

    I am certain, once upon a time, the city would spray for weeds on sidewalks. I clearly recall seeing the sidewalks wet and then weeds dying off and unless it was someone who worked for Home Depot and had 1,000 gallons of roundup handy and was going a community service, the city had to have been doing the spraying. No more.

    How does this make the city look? There are actually homes for sale on this street. When potential buyers come to look at them THIS is the impression Ansonia wants to make on them? “Please invest in Ansonia so you can watch roads and sidewalks decay while your tax dollars go…. “

    While I do enjoy lively debate, please let’s not have a chorus of “the sidewalks are the responsibility of the property owner” because clearly the property owners are not aware the sidewalks belong to them or lack the resources to make proper repairs and maintenance. That leaves them like this forever and solves nothing.

    This means the city had to either notify all homeowners of their responsibility and hold them accountable (heck, do it neighborhood by neighborhood) or simply take control and fix the sidewalks in these neighborhoods realizing it for the good of the city that they be maintained.

    Hopefully, this post will get conversation and action taken.

  • 65-85 Main Street Ansonia, Connecticut - Ansonia

    If you drive by the Ansonia Opera House (Crave area) there are now signs in the windows of the building which I BELIEVE say "Coming Soon Ansonia 100".

    I hope I got the "100" right, I am normally driving when I spot these and can't really stop with causing an accident.

    In any event, it is clear from the several signs in the windows and a drawing displayed that there is some plan to remodel/restore the entire block of buildings from Crave to the Ansonia Housing Authority. That seems to be what this display is announcing and it went up a few weeks ago.

    I can't find a single word about this online or on the City's web site. Current money received for demolition, etc. by the city dos not mention this block of buildings. One would think such a project would get some media coverage but it's not even mentioned by the Valley Indy.

    I did my best to show a photo but you can't get it all in one. This would be the restoration of SEVEN large buildings along Main Street. Certainly a project that would easily cost millions if done properly.

    Anyone had any idea why they are promoting this with window signs but no further info?

  • 75 Division Street Ansonia, Connecticut - Derby

    I put the address for this as close to the problem as I could.

    As we all know, more and more development is coming to both Pershing Drive and Division Street. A new Cumberland Farms will be joined by a new plaza where Xpect was, a new Walgreens then ALDI, Panera and others.

    Division, Pershing and other nearly streets are already starting to show strain from increased traffic flow. During evening hours Division is backing up past Atwater with traffic that has to get off Route 8 at Exit 17 when traveling South to get to Division Street. While that road between what was Cherney Pontiac and Cumberland was rebuilt over a decade ago, it can not handle today's traffic. Heck, it should never have been expected to handle all the traffic off 8 South to begin with.

    Further, cars are backing up on both sides of the intersection where Pershing meets Division more than ever and passing Stop & Shop's area is getting worse and worse as cars suddenly stop to turn into that plaza, Webster, Auto Zone, McDonald's, etc. and others weave back and forth from lane to lane to get around them.

    We are also now seeing traffic flowing from the Target/Big Y area backing up nearly 10-20 cars deep near Shell wanting to turn right into Division because Main was not designed to handle the vehicle count those shopping centers downtown now create.

    The state seems to have no plan (still!) to fix the exit and on ramps in the Pershing/Division area of Route 8 after nearly two decades of "study" meaning a highway solution that will re-route traffic off side streets is a long ways away.

    What can be done to clear this up? Are proposals in the works? Has the state been contacted since many of the affected roads are owned by the state?

    It's wonderful to see new retailers want to come to Ansonia and Derby but the infrastructure is not designed to handle it and I see no signs of improvement on the horizon.

  • Columbia Street Ansonia, Connecticut - Ansonia

    I am hoping we can open a dialogue about Columbia Street. Myself and some friends have traveled down it recently and found even ATTEMPING to enter Main heading towards Shell to be dangerous at best.

    1. Since the opening of Target and other retailers downtown, the traffic on Main heading towards Division has gotten much heavier while the road remains only one lane each way. If you are exiting Columbia you have to somehow find an often rare spot to shoot out onto Main when no one is coming from Division and no one is flying down from Big Y. This invites an accident.

    2. There is not a good view down Main towards Big Y unless you pull further out than is wise and the speed cars travel from Big Y to Division means you best move quickly when you find an opening.

    3. Traffic uses Platt/Columbia as a way to avoid having to travel through the busy intersection of Main and Division where Shell is. One day I counted 10 cars in 15 minutes who did not live in the neighborhood. They came down Platt from Pulaski and instead of continuing down 243 to Division, came racing (yes racing) down Platt to the stop sign and then turned left onto Columbia.

    Yes, this is probably faster than waiting at the light at Division and Main but there are plenty of small children on Platt and Columbia and the roads were not designed to be a short cut to Main for anyone wanting to save a minute.

    I understand Columbia was two way once upon a time and can see why that stopped but having it a one-way exiting into Main is also dangerous.

    Ansonia needs to:

    1. Come up with some SAFE way for people to have right of way leaving Columbia so they can enter Main without having to play "chicken" with Main Street traffic.

    2. Close Columbia where it meets Main for good. Redirect Columbia so it's one-way towards Platt and force vehicles to reach main via 243 or Hodge... roads designed to handle more traffic which both lead to Main Street via much safer routes.

  • 108 Division Street Ansonia, Connecticut - Ansonia

    I see so many posts here about blight. Ansonia is not alone with it's problems but when you spot something that seems to be blight and expect the city to be all over the problem, no one can quite tell what "blight" is. You can't let homes and business remain rundown and not maintained. It destroys the image of the community, reduces property values, etc.

    The blight officer in Ansonia SHOULD be the busiest person in City Hall from what I can tell. Not that other towns don't have the same problem.

    I wanted to post a PERFECT example. This is a house on Division Street. I don't know who owns it or care. However, it is sitting on the hill that leads to our main commercial district at Pershing and Division where many new projects are underway and improve the area and bring in more shoppers to the Derby/Ansonia area.

    However, due to the odd exit/entrance design of Route 8 anyone coming down north, as we know, has to get off at Seymour Avenue and travel down this portion of Division to get to the stores. THIS mile or so trip from 8 through a residential area is their first impression of the area.

    Not only that, the signal at the corner of Pershing and Division near Cumberland Farms is not the best. Traffic backs up right in front of the area of this house causing visitors (and residents) to have to view it in slow motion like a billboard that says "Welcome to Ansonia".

    This home not only has a plywood window, it has a darn tree growing out of the roof! I am unsure how the blight regulation is written but if people don't consider THIS residence a perfect example of "blight" then something in the regulations needs revision.

    Each time I pass this area I cringe that the house is left in this condition in such a high profile area. Can nothing be done?

  • 530 Main Street Ansonia, Connecticut - Ansonia

    I think I saw something posted about this building many months ago. Yesterday, after a long time since I had been to downtown Ansonia, I passed it and actually had to pull over I couldn't believe my eyes.

    I consider this the "old Ansonia diner building", YEARS ago there was a fire and the building sat burned out and boarded up forever. It was a eyesore. Then, I saw someone ask about it here. I was so relieved.

    Now, it seems someone THINKS they have improved the structure, but have only made it worse. All the siding (much of which seemed to be hiding fire damage) has been torn off, it looks like the interior has been gutted and the plywood "windows" have been replaced by new real ones.
    (That is what the owner poured money into? New windows for a burned out building?!)

    Now we have a sign that says "New Space Available". NEW?! Don't they mean "Old Charred Space Available"?! Who would lease space in a clearly burned out building that has no siding and marks from a fire all over it's exterior?

    I can't believe City officials don't consider this blight. As you enter Ansonia THIS burned out building is the first thing you spot on the side of the road.

    Who is going to lease this space? What business owner would want to be seen here? Can't the city do anything to either get this building torn down or get the owner to complete the repairs if he/she is so certain new tenants can be attracted. What is there now is horrid!