The news has been full of town-line tensions between New Haven and Hamden. On Cherry Ann Street in Newhallville, Connie Vereene has shown how neighbors can work across borders.
Eighty-three kids live on two blocks of Cherry Ann Street. Connie Vereene has made it her business to know all of them.
Fifteen years ago, when she bought her 105 Cherry Ann house — the scene of a very lively “double block watch” party Saturday, Aug. 27 — she said she thought she had moved out of New Haven and into Hamden. But she was only half right. Her side of the street, with the odd numbers, is Hamden. Just across the asphalt where the even numbers are, it’s New Haven. Instead of moaning and groaning, Vereene turned her little neighborhood into a big family that looks out for each other day and night.
And according to anybody who knows the vivacious, gregarious woman, Vereene has done a damn good job.
Her block was on fire during Saturday’s shindig with dancing and live music — thanks to DJ Trife Good. Politicians and police also dropped in.
Crime has plummeted 75 percent since Vereene came on the scene, according to the Hamden cops.
New Haven Alderman Charles A. Blango visited for a spell. (His ward includes the even-numbered homes on Cherry Ann Street.) Asked what brought him to the party, he had just one word, “Connie.”
Vereene’s watch includes eight captains: Vereene and three others from the Hamden side and four from New Haven.
“Connie got me involved,” said Odessa Fortes, a Hamden captain. Fortes was there with six of her 13 grandkids. “There are no drug sales, no house break-ins” anymore, she said. The only thing missing is a playground, but political will, said Fortes, especially from New Haven, is just as absent.
“The Hamden mayor has been very, very helpful, but the New Haven mayor, John DeStefano, no help at all,” said Fortes. “Connie has put her heart and soul into this block watch. If it wasn’t for her, this wouldn’t have happened. She loves the kids, the neighbors.”
Belinda Hannon, a New Haven captain, concurred. “It’s like a big family. We know all the kids. We involve the children and make them junior block watch captains.”
When Vereene, who works for Chubb insurance, moved to Cherry Ann Street, her kids were already grown. Still, she said, she wanted to do something to curb the street crime.
“We had drugs on the street and all of that kind of stuff,” she said, catching her breath for a moment . She seems to rarely slow down, and as the party host, she was in full swing.
“My baby is 36. I’m giving back to the community,” said Vereene. She said she pitched in $700 of her own money for the party to buy 48 pounds of hot dogs and equal poundage of hamburgers, 10 cases of soft drinks, 24 bottles of spring water and lots of sweet goodies. She said she got some contributions from neighbors and Stop & Shop.
“I just love kids. I don’t want them going in the wrong direction,” said the block watch guru.
This story originally ran in the Hamden Daily News.
A related story about a New Haven man making a difference in his neighborhood: “On Patrol with Mr. Greg.”