Ward 7 Alder

Ideat Village permits for Pitkin Plaza have been curtailed from having any amplification after 7:45pm, impacting most of our free, outdoor, participatory programming. This decision is arbitrary, and not in the best interests of the public at large. We have diverse, eclectic programming scheduled to go until 10pm, as we have done downtown, in the City of New Haven, for the last 9 years.

If you do not want neighbors to block Yale from building the new School of Management building click "I want this fixed too" here.

The bridge on Court Street between State and Artizan is unbelievably dark. The same bridge on Chapel has 2 lights and yet far more people travel via Court from downtown to get home to Wooster Square. Please fix!

This is a thread to discuss issues related to the ongoing problem of violence in some areas of New Haven and surrounding towns. Please vote here if you want to see this problem addressed and if you agree:

1. Every citizen has the right to freedom from fear: a safe neighborhood and a safe house.

2. No child living in New Haven or anywhere else nearby should have to hear gunshots every week in their neighborhood (I currently do!).

3. A friend recently said "it is easier to get a gun than a quart of milk in my neighborhood." This is obviously not an acceptable situation.

4. A comprehensive community strategy is needed to stop the violence. Elected representatives should be able to explain exactly what they are doing to support the community's strategy.

5. The constant outdoor gunfire at the police training range is not acceptable. People living in Newhallville and Beaver Hills hear constant gunfire from this range and it sends the wrong message.

Please post ideas for community organizing to stop the message, links to relevant pages, etc -- and send the message to everyone that enough is enough!

Related articles:
http://www.newhavenindependent.org/index.php/archives/entry/bike_enthusiast_shot_dead/
http://www.newhavenindependent.org/index.php/archives/entry/murder_in_the_hill/
http://www.newhavenindependent.org/index.php/archives/entry/coffe_crueller_and_a_chair/
http://www.newhavenindependent.org/index.php/archives/entry/murder_on_button_st/
http://www.newhavenindependent.org/index.php/archives/entry/double_homicide_on_front_st/
http://www.newhavenindependent.org/index.php/archives/entry/while_friend_clings_to_life_shooting_/
http://www.newhavenindependent.org/index.php/archives/entry/another_year_no_white_/

When I drive down State St. (which is often) I see this graffiti tag that reads "Supa-Thug". This needs to be removed ASAP, it is an eye sore to the community, especially in downtown New Haven, I don't thing we need to be looking at the words "Thug" when we are around town; it's disgusting that whomever is responsible for the property hasn't fixed this already.

We have a beautiful tree canopy on Upper State Street but unfortunately it makes the busy restaurant corridor very dark at night.

It would be really excellent to have a low level street lighting like other commercial districts in the City.

Pearl Street has a PCI of 55 and is in need of a

*Elizabeth Nearing has given us permission to share her story*

Last night, our friend Elizabeth Nearing was in a car accident on her bike. Despite bruises and a severely bent helmet, she's ok — resting, but okay.

Elizabeth was on her way to present at the Pecha Kucha on her work as Community Engagement Manager at Long Wharf Theatre. Coming from Long Wharf, she turned onto Olive Street from Water Street. It was dark, so she was wearing a reflective raincoat with both front and rear lights. She was also wearing her helmet and riding far to the right of the lane.

As she was passing Wooster Street, a car going 25 mph turned into her. Elizabeth's helmet was severely bent and the car's windshield was cracked.

---

As a friend of Elizabeth, I am extremely grateful that she is safe.
As a citizen, I am extremely concerned.

Olive Street needs be a safer place for all folks — pedestrians, cyclists, and motorists — to travel safely. To start, there are a few core things that could be implemented:

-Better lighting for visibility
-Signage for bicyclists
-A stop sign at Olive and Wooster
-A protected bike lane

Would love to hear others thoughts and continue this conversation.

This is what the street looks like at 9:30AM. Massive excess of road capacity which leads to speeding, combined with poor conditions for pedestrians and cyclists.

A buffered bike lane, which is a standard in NYC and Philadelphia now, would make the street safer for all road users by narrowing it and reducing speed.

This is a very popular bike route and with an actual lane, bike use would triple overnight (based on experiences of other cities that do this). This would free up more parking for local businesses to thrive and hire more staff.

A former comedy club, this Yale-owned storefront at 986 Chapel Street has been empty since before Bruce Alexander came to New Haven in 1998. (Out of fairness to Bruce, Yale didn't take ownership of this piece of the Schiavone portfolio until 1999.)

C'mon Bruce, you're a real estate whiz. I know you and Yale can do better, -- especially given the fact that this is such a great location. Renovate the hideous storefront into something respectable, and then I bet you'll find a good tenant in a hurry.

PS -- It is not okay that next door at 976 Chapel is also a permanently dead storefront. I understand that it is such a big space that it's tough to rent. However, lower the rent if you have to! This is prime real estate, and the neighborhood deserves another lively retail tenant.

Bruce's bio here:
http://www.yale.edu/about/alexander.html

email Bruce, (politely please), at bruce.alexander@yale.edu

This is where you cross Route 34 with no pedestrian crossing signals to guide you. A life or death situation every time. Due to be fixed eventually, but it would be nice if it happened sooner.

makes court street very dark