by | Sep 21, 2021 12:24 pm | Comments (5)
Photo Courtesy Ghislane Palumbo
A new photography exhibit in Westville weaves together the harrowing and the mundane, humor and hard work, to celebrate life, family, and the strength that can come from connections to the past.
by | Sep 21, 2021 8:16 am | Comments (13)
Thomas Breen photos
Demolition underway at 276 Howard Ave…
… fire-damaged homes at 25 and 21 Sheffield Ave…
… and a partially collapsed rear wall at 133 Hamilton St.
A Howard Avenue barbershop has been reduced to a dusty pile of wood and bricks.
Two fire-damaged Sheffield Avenue homes are boarded up and awaiting repairs.
And the old clock factory on Hamilton Street has a collapsed rear wall, 20 leaking oil drums, a corner apron of fallen bricks — and no construction workers in sight.
City building inspectors have their eyes on those derelict properties and more, according to a half dozen newly issued “unsafe structure” notices filed by the Building Department on the city land records database.
by | Sep 17, 2021 9:26 am | Comments (5)
Thomas Breen photo
Former convent at 349-351 McKinley.
A local landlord purchased Saints Aedan & Brendan Church’s former convent building on McKinley Avenue for $375,000, and affiliates of the local megalandlord Mandy Management pulled more than $12.2 million worth of mortgages from a California-based commercial lender.
Continue reading ‘Latest Property Transactions: Ex-Convent Sells For $375K’
by | Sep 10, 2021 7:53 am | Comments (0)
Marjorie Wolfe
Pavilion.
It’s a seaside pavilion, framing an island off the Connecticut coast. But the way the image is cast, it doesn’t allow for simple idyll. It’s peaceful, sure, but also lonely. There’s the tranquility of isolation, but also a sense of insecurity. It is, said photographer Marjorie Gillette Wolfe, “evocative of what I went through” during the depths of the Covid-19 shutdown, as she found herself alone and outside in “protective spaces, but in another sense, not protective at all.”
Continue reading ‘Two Artists Find Inspiration In Isolation’
by | Sep 9, 2021 2:28 pm | Comments (6)
Thomas Breen photo
A pothole on Seneca Road.
Old potholes are plaguing Seneca Road. New bike lanes are popping up on Yale Avenue. Persistent wood smoke is clouding over Cleveland Road. And gunfire is rattling South Genesee Street.
That street-level snapshot of life in Westville and West Hills came into focus during the latest monthly meeting of the neighborhoods’ community management team.
by | Aug 19, 2021 3:40 pm | Comments (0)
The New Yorker has a new 20-minute documentary out about celebrated Westville-based Syrian artist Mohammad Hafez (who also owns the Pistachio coffee shop).
Continue reading ‘Documentary Features Mohammed Hafez’s Story’
by | Aug 13, 2021 8:58 am | Comments (0)
Lisa Toto
Can’t Sleep.
Lisa Toto’s Can’t Sleep is a portrait of insomnia familiar to anyone who has suffered from it. Its multiple exposures detail what it can be like — first being in bed unable to lose consciousness, then getting up, because why not, you’re up anyway, then thinking better of it and getting back into bed. It also captures the way time seems to split in the depths of sleeplessness, the sense that every second is passing with unbearable slowness, and at the same time, the unpleasant realization, upon looking at the clock, that it’s far too late to get a good night’s sleep. The subject is rendered more poignant by its sense of privacy. Should we even be looking? But that’s also the moment that we connect with the subject, through shared understanding.
by | Aug 12, 2021 12:59 pm | Comments (11)
Maya McFadden Photos
Rapper G Herbo performs for fans at Westville Bowl Wednesday night.
The Chicago rapper known as G Herbo used to come to New Haven as a teen to kick start his music career. He returned to town as the headliner for a free full-capacity hip-hop show for pandemic-weary city youth, a summer celebration of community at the Westville Bowl.
by | Aug 10, 2021 7:08 pm | Comments (0)
Lisa Reisman Photo
Rocky Lawrence channels Robert Johnson at Monday night’s Hi-Fi Pie.
He bowed his head, closed his eyes, and clutched the neck of his guitar. His faded leather shoes pounded the ground. His voice broke. His guitar moaned.
Continue reading ‘Bluesman, Pie Champ Reveal Secret Ingredients’
by | Aug 6, 2021 12:14 pm | Comments (55)
Contributed photo
Lifelong Upper Westville residents Jacob Schonberger and Zoe Schulman sledding this winter at the golf course.
Thomas Breen photo
The Yale Golf Course: Only deer and golfers allowed?
Fifty Upper Westville neighbors gathered in a green minipark on a cool summer night and turned their thoughts to winter — and to Yale’s decision to end, for now, their generations-long access to sledding, cross-country skiing, and day-time hiking at the university’s golf course.
by | Aug 3, 2021 9:12 pm | Comments (11)
Paul Bass Photo
One of 50 crashes in recent years at Chapel and Yale.
City of New Haven
Planned new design for Yale Avenue by Edgewood School
A plan to remake a crash-prone stretch of Yale Avenue between West Rock and Edgewood Avenues has won final approval, with the aim of making the road safer for cyclists, pedestrians, and drivers.
Continue reading ‘Yale Avenue Traffic-Calming Plans Get The Green Light’
by | Aug 1, 2021 9:50 pm | Comments (4)
Paul Bass Photos
Firefighters prepare to enter 200 Fountain St. apartment.
Firefighter Taurese Washington escorts Carol Wilkerson to safety.
A larger-than-usual contingent of firefighters responded to a one-alarm call on Fountain Street, to ensure elderly tenants didn’t get stuck in a dangerous spot.
by | Jul 27, 2021 9:34 am | Comments (0)
Natalie Kainz
The Nields in Westville on Monday.
Sending folk harmonies and bluegrass tunes out onto the grassy slope behind Mitchell Branch Library, folk-rock band The Nields became a part of the Westville community on Monday afternoon.
by | Jul 27, 2021 8:25 am | Comments (6)
Natalie Kainz Photo
Rawan Oudeh, Ayman Saloumi, and Mazen Saloumi at Westville Emesa Pizza.
Nearly a decade after losing his family’s former pizza restaurant to a bombing in Syria, refugee and culinary entrepreneur Mazen Saloumi has opened a new Middle Eastern pizza restaurant in Westville.
by | Jul 23, 2021 9:45 am | Comments (7)
Thomas Breen photo
Cyclists, get ready. A protected bike track is on the way.
The long-delayed Edgewood Cycletrack spun a wheel or two closer to fruition, as city staffers and cycling advocates gathered to celebrate the construction underway on the new 2.1‑mile protected bike path.
by | Jul 21, 2021 12:07 pm | Comments (9)
Brian Slattery Photo
Tuesday night’s Salsa session on Central Avenue’s one-block “patio.”
Jason Ramos of Baila Con Gusto moved fluidly between English and Spanish as he stood before a group of about 20 students Tuesday evening on the newly closed-to-traffic Central Avenue Patio between Whalley Avenue and Fountain Street.
“This class is para todos,” he said.
by | Jul 20, 2021 9:45 am | Comments (1)
Natalie Kainz Photo
Some came for the tunes, some came for the pies, and others just came for the vibes.
Continue reading ‘As R&B Fills The Air, Mexican Sweet Corn Pie Takes The Prize’
by | Jul 20, 2021 9:44 am | Comments (8)
A domestic dispute preceded a fire, allegedly started by a 38-year-old man, that left 10 people homeless — and the man allegedly ended up injuring people in three separate car crashes as he fled from police.
Continue reading ‘Domestic Dispute, 3 Crashes Tied To Arson’
by | Jul 13, 2021 9:29 am | Comments (2)
Karen Ponzio Photos
Vercillo and LaPiano.
Where does one find Snoopy keeping company with NSYNC and the Sweathogs? In Westville, and more specifically, at Lower Forms, the new vintage and resale clothing store located on 16 Fountain St.
The store celebrated its grand opening this past Saturday with an onslaught of happy shoppers combing through the racks for T‑shirts, jeans, and more.
Continue reading ‘Lower Forms Raises the Bar With New Vintage Clothes Outlet’
by | Jul 10, 2021 11:00 am | Comments (8)
Joseph Shilon is plunking millions into New Haven real estate.
by | Jul 8, 2021 6:11 pm | Comments (3)
Natalie Kainz Photo
Alisha Crutchfield-McLean cuts the ceremonial ribbon.
Sending the aroma of essential oils, flowers, and bath products out into the surrounded Westville neighborhood, Alisha Crutchfield-McLean officially opened the doors to her new store BLOOM on Thursday.
The lifestyle boutique, marketplace and community center at 794 Edgewood Ave. celebrated its opening with a ribbon-cutting ceremony attended by 50 city and state officials, staff, and Westville residents. The community gathered to sample an array of health products, get to know one another, and ponder the role of BLOOM in their city.
Continue reading ‘Lifestyle Boutique Springs To Life In Westville’
by | Jul 6, 2021 3:14 pm | Comments (7)
Contributed Photo
David Burgess at work.
Natalie Kainz Photo
David Burgess in the park Tuesday with citation from the Connecticut General Assembly.
David Burgess has worked five days a week since the days of the first George Bush Administration to clean debris out of New Haven’s waterways, sweep up trash in Edgewood Park, and plant shrubs around the city — and people noticed.
by | Jul 5, 2021 9:27 am | Comments (0)
Kate Henderson
Mitochondrial Eve.
Kate Henderson’s Mitochondrial Eve stands in Kehler Liddell Gallery like an altar, a place to make an offering to art, science, and perhaps a higher power all at the same time. The figure in the middle, holding aloft a shape that evokes an egg, partakes of past representations of religious figures and fertility goddesses. The plants growing up around her suggest fecundity. But the letters floating around her give it away; it’s the protein sequence of DNA, the building blocks of life, that turn a double helix into a celebration of life.
by | Jul 2, 2021 1:03 pm | Comments (10)
Natalie Kainz Photo
Alisha Crutchfield-McLean at her new lifestyle boutique.
A “community oasis” is blossoming on the corner of Edgewood and Central Avenue — where handmade birdhouses hang from the ceiling, flowers spring from shelves, and a garden sprouts lavender.
by | Jun 28, 2021 9:57 am | Comments (29)
Brackeen and Elicker at joint campaign event Sunday in Westville.
Isaac Yu Photos
DuBois-Walton, at right, at Saturday’s house party.
Should mayors get two years or four years before having to run for reelection?
That question echoed in Westville over the weekend as two campaigners for the position — the incumbent and his top challenger — fished for votes.