by | Feb 25, 2025 9:12 am | Comments (9)
Thomas Breen photo
No more Bigelow, hello "Bigelow Square"?
A vacant, contaminated waterfront industrial property in Fair Haven took a big step towards becoming a new 12,000 square-foot commercial/industrial building — thanks to a suite of City Plan Commission approvals for the redevelopment of the site of the now-demolished former Bigelow factory complex.
by | Feb 21, 2025 9:29 am | Comments (4)
Maya McFadden photos
Student leaders bring the first new recycling bin to math teacher Julia Pisani.
New bins!
When Scandinavian assemble-your-own furniture retail giant IKEA dropped off 30 new recycling bins at John S. Martinez School in Fair Haven, student council President Christian Ayapantecatl and Vice President Geovanelys Morales were ready to receive them, excited to build on all the progress the school has already made in sustainability.
Continue reading ‘Martinez Keeps Going Green, With IKEA's Help’
by | Feb 18, 2025 4:05 pm | Comments (4)
Paul Bass Photos
Fatima Rojas, Yenimar Cortes, Ambar Santiago-Rojas, and Jacqueline Gonzalez at WNHH FM.
Don’t freak out. Do pull out the red card.
Continue reading ‘New ICE Age Response Team: Prepare, Don't Panic’
by | Feb 17, 2025 10:21 am | Comments (0)
Chris Randall Photo
Guitarist and composer Hiroya Tsukamoto played an amazing show at Fair Haven Furniture, turning the cozy, intimately-lit space into a personal mini-concert hall. His mix of detailed fingerpicking and heartfelt storytelling made for a captivating night, with every note filling the unique setting with warmth and emotion.
Continue reading ‘Guitar Wizard Lights Furniture Haven On Fire’
by | Feb 6, 2025 10:15 am | Comments (7)
Chris Randall Photos
The main dish.
While some customers wary of ICE raids stayed home, Alexis Ramirez was as usual marinating sliced pork shoulder in a blend of dried chiles, achiote, pineapple juice, and spices.
by | Feb 5, 2025 9:16 am | Comments (5)
Allan Appel Photos
J&J staple, arroz con gandules and maduro.
Jiminian: "I've just got to keep going" as ICE-raid fears keep customers home.
First sauté the peppers, garlic, and onions. Add your basic Caribbean spice mix, Adobo, then bring the pot of water to a boil. Pop in the gandules, or pigeon peas, add the arroz, the rice, cover, and cook on low heat for about an hour. And voila!, as they say in Spanish: arroz con gandules.
by | Feb 3, 2025 8:30 pm | Comments (12)
Contributed photo
A partially cleared lot at Fair Haven School Monday.
A heavier than expected snowfall — and a late-starting snow removal contractor — left more than 20 city public schools to start their days Monday morning with snow partially plowed or not plowed at all.
by | Feb 3, 2025 8:08 am | Comments (3)
Students dance alongside DeLauro, Elicker, and Paolillo.
Maya McFadden Photos
P.E. teacher Sharon Arnold gets her flowers, literally, for hosting Snowball event for the past 16 years.
Sixteen years after Fair Haven School gym teacher Sharon Arnold first came up with the idea to combine fitness with college and career readiness, she received her flowers for helping to inspire the post-high school dreams of dozens of Fair Haven students.
by | Jan 22, 2025 4:34 pm | Comments (4)
Nathaniel Rosenberg photo
Pearson's family, including his mom Anita Davies (right), gathered Wednesday to mourn their loved one, who would have turned 31 in less than a month.
Standing on the asphalt at the corner of Grand Avenue and East Pearl Street, Shaquille Pearson made a fatal decision.
Pearson’s friend “Willie G” was arguing with the occupants of a silver Honda CRV, including an 18-year-old who went by “Bizz” — as documented in a recently released arrest warrant for the teenage suspect in Pearson’s 2023 homicide.
Bizz, sporting a cast from a recent bullet wound, was upset because Willie G had allegedly sold him a fake gun a few days before. Pearson, according to police, went over to join the argument and protect his friend, boosting Bizz’s anger.
Continue reading ‘Warrant: Friend's Death Followed Fight Over Gun’
by | Jan 22, 2025 12:36 pm | Comments (4)
Thomas Breen file photo
Frank Redente, Jr. (right), with Lombard's Ruben Mallma, on the 2023 campaign trial: "Still a lot to do."
Frankie Redente just turned 50, he just bought a house two blocks from his grandma’s old apartment, and he just filed to run for a second two-year term as Fair Haven alder — with a promised focus on keeping neighborhood parks clean.
Continue reading ‘Fair Haven Alder First To File For Reelection’
by | Jan 20, 2025 1:16 pm | Comments (0)
Arthur Delot-Vilain photo
Johnny Kraszewski, king for the day.
Ruling over the taps and the raffle tickets: King John “Johnny” Kraszewski.
by | Jan 20, 2025 9:07 am | Comments (2)
Maya McFadden Photo
Dayana and Samaner spell out "wig" together.
“Wig,” said Fair Haven School eighth grader Dayana.
First grader Samaner sounded out the word, as Dayana helped her place a “w” to finish spelling it out.
by | Jan 17, 2025 7:19 pm | Comments (39)
Nathaniel Rosenberg photo
Chief Jacobson: "We want you to call the police no matter what your immigration status is."
New Haven will protect immigrants, regardless of legal status, during a second Trump administration.
More than two dozen city officials, alders and immigrant rights advocates gathered in Fair Haven Friday afternoon to send that message — as they highlighted the city’s newly updated resource guide for new residents, which includes sections on the legal rights available to undocumented New Haveners.
by | Jan 16, 2025 1:16 pm | Comments (8)
Thomas Breen photos
Thursday's presser at DISTRICT.
Bracing for Trump II tariffs and protectionism, the Lamont administration has launched a $25 million effort to try to build out “strategic supply chains” closer to home — in an effort to get ahead of potentially higher prices for imported goods.
by | Jan 13, 2025 10:09 am | Comments (14)
Arthur Delot-Vilain photo
Local investor Roberts: Wanted to buy, but didn't have enough $ for auction deposit.
A Fair Haven foreclosure auction brought out no new bidders — leaving the property to fall into the hands of the federal government, and the current tenant bracing to find a new place to live.
Continue reading ‘Feds Prevail At Quiet Foreclosure Auction’
by | Jan 9, 2025 10:07 am | Comments (11)
Brian Slattery File Photo
Signs of community life beneath the Front Street I-91 underpass.
It’s official: the city has received $2 million to stitch up the neighborhoods sliced apart by highways.
Continue reading ‘Feds Grant $2M For Local Urban Un-Renewal Effort’
by | Jan 7, 2025 9:29 am | Comments (3)
Laura Glesby Photo
Gisleidy Rodríguez and her nieces, Nathalie and baby Aaliyah, pose for a photo with a volunteer trio of Three Kings.
According to 12-year-old Gisleidy Rodríguez, the meaning of Three Kings Day was “presents.”
But as she skipped around the room with her younger nieces and told the story of the milk she left under her bed for the Three Kings to drink, she gave a different kind of gift to the adults in the room — adults determined to pass on dearly-held traditions to the next generation.
by | Jan 3, 2025 3:50 pm | Comments (15)
Thomas Breen file photo
Eggshells and lemons and peels, oh my ...
Zachary Groz photo
... can now be thrown out in city compost bins, including on Crown St.
It’s a great time to be a banana peel in New Haven — as the city has installed three new public composting bins as part of a pilot program to help divert food scraps from the landfill.
by | Dec 23, 2024 4:10 pm | Comments (1)
The Fresh Starts team, including Marcus Harvin, Diamond Harvin, Talia Cardoba, Bradley Woodworth, Axel Woodworth, Adam Rawlings, and Big Don McDaniel.
On a bone-chilling night, Talia Cardoba spooned spicy chicken onto a heaping plate and handed it to an elf who scurried out of the kitchen.
“Careful, it’s hot,” she said, as the conversation of 16 mothers and their children floated in from the dining room of Life Haven, a 40-bed Ferry Street facility that provides temporary shelter to homeless pregnant women and women with young children.
The occasion was the second iteration of “Dinner & A Movie” hosted by Best Video and Newhallville’s Fresh Starts, a nonprofit founded on the belief that the first step toward helping someone realize their aspirations is nutritional sustenance.
Continue reading ‘Dinner & A Movie Return To Fair Haven Shelter’
by | Dec 20, 2024 10:01 am | Comments (2)
Brian Slattery photo
A true New Haven circuit board melds music and apizza.
Donato Biceglia of Dual Stage Amplification has been making and repairing amplifiers, guitar pickups, pedals, and other music gear for years out of his Erector Square space. He’s expanding his business now by rolling out a couple new pedals, among them a compressor and a phaser, all embedded with New Haven-specific messages burned right onto the circuit boards he uses for his gear.
by | Dec 13, 2024 1:57 pm | Comments (9)
Allan Appel photo
Erick Gonzalez, with Angel and Armondo Villa: Bright lights, clean city.
Christmas wreathes and solar-powered holiday lights are coming to Grand Avenue, as a neighborhood crew worked early Friday morning to brighten up the busy business corridor — as part of a neighborhood-wide cleanup effort.
Continue reading ‘Grand's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Xmas’
by | Dec 10, 2024 2:41 pm | Comments (14)
Can the city help bring this vision to life?
Oh, that's an alameda. Cool!
Imagine an alameda — a long shady tree-lined walkway — running down the middle of Blatchley Avenue all the way from Grand Avenue to the Quinnipiac River.
And how about building up underused lots into lots more housing on East Street and on Wolcott?
Those were a few of the neighborhood-changing ideas that emerged Monday night at 162 James St., CitySeed’s new building, where city economic development officials convened a second public meeting for citizen input to envision a now-and-future identity for the Mill River District.
Continue reading ‘Alameda Animates Mill River District Visioning’
by | Nov 26, 2024 9:46 am | Comments (12)
Allan Appel photo
Francine Advincula, with Eneida Arroyo: Music's great, camaraderie's better.
A menu of pollo asado, arroz con gandules, and tres leches for dessert was the centerpiece of a joyous afternoon of gratitude, service, and community love in Fair Haven.
by | Nov 20, 2024 8:31 am | Comments (34)
Paul Bass photo
Alder — and now homeowner — Jose Crespo...
Laura Glesby photo
... and his new James Street house.
One of Alder Jose Crespo’s constituents wants her security deposit back — from a landlord who happens to be Alder Crespo.
Continue reading ‘Alder, Constituent Spar Over Security Deposit’
by | Nov 15, 2024 9:52 am | Comments (8)
Thomas Breen photo
Where once was warehouse, now stands rubble.
A fenced-off pile of bricks, wood, metal, and other debris now stands beneath the open sky at the site of a partially demolished, fire-ravaged Fair Haven warehouse.
Continue reading ‘Fire-Wrecked Warehouse Partially Demolished’