by | Nov 15, 2013 3:02 pm | Comments (9)
The city could have done better. The tenants could have done better. Now we’re going to throw down to fix it.
Erik Johnson made that promise to 27 survivors of a New Haven housing tragedy. He has 11 weeks to make good on it.
by | Nov 8, 2013 3:29 pm | Comments (17)
Claire Simonich (pictured), a first-year law student at Yale, sent in this essay about voting on Tuesday for the first time in New Haven.
by | Oct 14, 2013 2:53 pm | Comments (3)
Paul Bass Photo
Barber Cotten: Dwight already has enough liquor stores.
“If I am not for myself, who will be for me?”
—Hillel the Elder, c.110 B.C. – 10 A.D.
In her bid for a variance to sell beer at a grocery store on the corner of Edgewood and Orchard, Bethzaida Davila would have done well to heed Hillel’s famous directive to be one’s own advocate.
by | Oct 11, 2013 3:10 pm | Comments (0)
Paul Bass Photo
Current state of “repairs” Friday morning, with no crews in sight.
Thomas MacMillan Photo
Johnson: Waiting on the feds.
Yet another bureaucratic hurdle has blocked New Haven’s efforts to recapture control of a troubled housing complex before winter sets in: the federal government shutdown.
Continue reading ‘Fed Shutdown Stalls Dwight Gardens Rescue’
by | Sep 27, 2013 8:20 am | Comments (15)
Melissa Bailey Photo
After spending three years building a principal training program, Katie Poynter has jumped into the principal’s seat herself, leading an effort to raise morale and dipping test scores at Amistad Academy Middle School.
Continue reading ‘New Principal Tapped To Reboot Flagship Charter’
by | Sep 20, 2013 12:55 pm | Comments (4)
Allan Appel Photo
The city moved forward this week on a plan to acquire the troubled Dwight Garden Co-op and work with tenants to find someone to repair the ailing housing development — ideally before winter sets in.
by | Sep 3, 2013 8:20 am | Comments (4)
Thomas MacMIllan Photo
“Your current alderman voted to sell streets to Yale,” Greg Smith told a Dwight neighbor during a front-porch aldermanic election pitch. He vowed to bring “healthy debate” to the Board of Aldermen, to push back against the labor-backed super-majority that sold off High and Wall streets to plug a budget hole.
His opponent, incumbent Alderman Frank Douglass, said he’s part of a team that has brought needed voices to local government.
Continue reading ‘Dwight Face-Off Centers On Labor Majority’s Role’
by | Aug 22, 2013 2:31 pm | Comments (3)
Paul Bass Photo
Just as New Haven was ready to start fixing the mess a developer made of a longtime housing co-op, a judge has halted a crucial tax foreclosure sale — and may have postponed any further action for at least three more months.
by | Aug 5, 2013 8:13 am | Comments (8)
Thomas MacMillan Photo
LCI’s Johnson: Failed developer won’t get a dime from city.
A tax auction? Or a sale to a developer chosen by weary tenants?
Erik Johnson is weighing those two options for rescuing a battered housing co-op — and prized piece of New Haven property — now that city talks have broken down with a failed developer.
Continue reading ‘Dwight Gardens Rescue Effort Takes New Turn’
by | Jun 28, 2013 3:04 pm | Comments (0)
Paul Bass Photo
Aaron Brown didn’t walk down an aisle to become a graduate Friday. He walked three long city blocks on two little feet.
Continue reading ‘City’s Smallest Graduates Take Big Steps Forward’
by | Jun 17, 2013 8:18 am | Comments (4)
Allan Appel Photo
Aldermanic musketeers Walker, Douglass, Hamilton.
Their wards overlap. They can practically signal to each other from their houses, which are not more than five blocks apart. Their issues overlap too: public safety, jobs, and youth opportunities.
So the three first-term Democrat aldermen — West River’s Tyisha Walker, Dwight’s Frank Douglass, and Beaver Hills’ Evette Hamilton — decided to join hands Friday afternoon to announce the kick-off of their reelection campaigns. As a team.
Continue reading ‘Walker, Douglass, Hamilton Announce Reelection Campaigns’
by | Jun 14, 2013 2:32 pm | Comments (3)
Paul Bass Photo
Rain pelted down in the darkness as Milton DeJesus wrestled in a puddle with a felon who refused to let go of his loaded gun.
DeJesus wasn’t in East Haven anymore. Boy was he glad.
by | Jun 11, 2013 4:44 pm | Comments (19)
Thomas MacMillan Photo
Paul Bass Photo
Tenant Ballard said she sees better days ahead.
A high-stakes competition has broken out among developers — one of whom has teamed up with a just-retired city official, another with the son of a mayoral candidate — for the chance to redevelop the Dwight Gardens townhouses on Edgewood Avenue.
by | Jun 11, 2013 3:24 pm | Comments (5)
Paul Bass Photo
After 25 years serving the city, Lt. Marty Tchakirides is handing in his stripes — and making way for a new top cop in Westville and West Hills.
by | Jun 10, 2013 3:21 pm | Comments (3)
Ava Kofman Photo
An eagerly awaited new basketball court was already in full use Saturday when a time-out was called — so it could be officially dedicated.
by | May 20, 2013 2:11 pm | Comments (4)
Allan Appel Photo
The Chabad House.
They already have wisdom, understanding, and knowledge. Soon they will also have membership in the Chapel West Special Services District (CWSSD).
by | May 13, 2013 8:09 am | Comments (18)
Melissa Bailey Photo
Thomas MacMillan Photo
Chapel West developer Randy Salvatore beat the Korean government in a battle for an empty lot — and pledged to follow through on a promise to save a historic home from destruction.
Continue reading ‘Developer Wins Lot, Vows To Move Historic Home’
by | May 7, 2013 8:10 am | Comments (22)
Melissa Bailey Photo
A zone change aimed at making neighborhoods denser on the edges of downtown won final approval from city lawmakers Monday night.
by | Apr 5, 2013 1:47 pm | Comments (2)
Racing to the scene of a teenagers’ brawl, new city cop Ryan Kajtor kept a piece of advice in mind: Don’t act like a robot.
by | Mar 20, 2013 1:44 pm | Comments (18)
Paul Bass Photo
Stop & Shop offered customers a holiday-season gift wrapped in plastic — only to discover it may have misled Jews into violating religious law.
Continue reading ‘Passover Promotion Prompts Boycott Threat’
by | Mar 18, 2013 7:57 am | Comments (8)
Thomas MacMillan Photo
LCI’s Johnson: Take 2.
The city has asked local developers to bid on buying a troubled Dwight housing complex that a previous developer promised to save — and instead let slip further into disrepair.
by | Mar 7, 2013 4:06 pm | Comments (0)
Peter Reynolds got up early on a Saturday, drove to New Haven’s Edgewood Avenue from his home in Stamford, and watched a muted bidding war that lasted less than five minutes.
Continue reading
‘Bank Outbids City
For Slumlords' Detritus’
by | Mar 7, 2013 12:17 pm | Comments (6)
Richard Davis’ landlord “fixed” the pipe that had been leaking water into his basement for three months — and created a new problem in the process. The owner now has 14 days to correct other violations, before the city pursues a warrant for his arrest.
Continue reading ‘City Turns Up Heat On Dwight Co-Op Landlord’
by | Feb 21, 2013 9:55 am | Comments (14)
Allan Appel File Photo
Marchand and Mattison: 2 views on politics & zoning.
The City Plan Commissioners voted 3 – 1 (with one abstention) to approve a controversial new zoning plan to make neighborhoods on the edges of downtown denser..
The plan now moves to the Legislation Committee of the Board of Aldermen for further debate.
by | Feb 18, 2013 9:17 pm | Comments (5)
Paul Bass Photo
Seventy-five young people and their adult supporters marched through downtown rush-hour traffic to demand jobs and safer streets — then brought their parade to the porch of a 16-month-old boy named Tramire who almost died from a random bullet.