Harp: “It’s really all of you who make a difference for our city.”
A Dwight community management team meeting Tuesday night filled the air with gratitude — and pizza.
In honor of its 25th anniversary, the management team has been handing out “You Make a Difference” awards to donors, volunteers and residents.
As part of the introduction of community policing, the city set up management teams in each of the 10 policing districts to enable neighbors to interact monthly with cops and other government representatives. Dwight’s has been a particularly active one.
During a meeting Monday night, the team presented Mayor Toni Harp with her own certificate, alongside the following donors, volunteers and residents: Kate Walton, David Kyle, Karen King, Alder Frank Douglass and William Celentano.
“Now if you have something to say, pop up like lilies and say what you would like to say,” said Florita Gillespie, chair of the management team.
“Well, I’m not quite a lily but — “ Harp began.
“A rose!” Gillespie suggested.
Harp extended her gratitude, making it clear that the award was about Dwight, not herself.
“This is the community that I started out in in New Haven. I lived here in this community for 35 years, and it has always been an activist community,” she said. “In many respects it’s the kind of neighborhood that really makes you understand that it is the people that create the community.”
Catalbasoglu: anticipating an abundance of pizza.
Ward 2 Alder Frank Douglass also presented Brick Oven Pizza owner Kadir Catalbasoglu with an aldermanic citation for his distinguished service, loyalty and devotion to the Dwight, Edgewood and West River neighborhoods.
Gillespie joked that when she had asked Catalbasoglu to provide an event with 20 boxes of pizza, he showed up with 45 instead.
Then, the meeting paused — for several boxes of pies provided by Catalbasoglu for the occasion.