Parks Deputy Hired From Park City Post

A veteran of Bridgeport’s parks and rec department is now New Haven’s top parks official, after stepping into the role of deputy director in the city’s Department of Parks & Public Works.

That new Elicker Administration almost-department-head is Stephen Hladun.

Hladun started his job as New Haven’s deputy director of parks and public works on Jan. 30, at an annual salary of $101,715.

At Wednesday’s latest online monthly meeting of the city’s Board of Park Commissioners, Hladun introduced himself to roughly three dozen board members and public attendees, describing his professional background in the Park City — and receiving a warm welcome from a group eager to have a parks-focused deputy director back on staff at City Hall.

Hladun told the parks commission that he’s spent his first roughly two weeks on the job meeting city parks and public works staff, who have been ​“overwhelmingly welcoming to this position.”

“I came from the Parks and Rec department in the City of Bridgeport, where I was the special projects coordinator for about 20 years,” Hladun said. ​“I’m just very excited to start” in his new New Haven role, and ​“am looking forward to meeting each and every one of you, and also visiting each and every one of our beautiful parks in New Haven.”

“We welcome you, Stephen,” Parks Commission Chair David Belowsky said. ​“We were without a deputy director for at least a year, and it wasn’t really that comfortable for the parks commissioners.” (City personnel reports show that Hladun’s predecessor in the parks and public works deputy position, Bill Carone, resigned in late July 2022. The merged parks-public works department is overseen by longtime public works director Jeff Pescosolido.)

During the ​“director’s report” section of Wednesday’s meeting, Hladun told the commissioners that city parks staffers are ​“actively prepping for our spring season” and that ​“litter control and leaf cleanups are ongoing in all the parks citywide.” He said the city agency also plans quite a bit of tree ​“stump grinding” this spring. 

Hladun steps into his role at a time when a growing number of citywide parks advocates are calling for the Elicker Administration to up its care for public greenspaces — including by reinstating a stand-alone department for parks and trees.

The Independent followed up with Hladun by email to learn a bit more about his goals now that he’s in the city’s parks deputy job, as well as about the challenges he seeks the city’s parks system facing.

“First and foremost, I want to provide help and support to all Parks and Public Works staff in the work they do on a daily basis,” Hladun replied. ​“The City of New Haven has an amazing abundance of parks and public spaces that serve a vital purpose to the community and its residents; to maintain the daily upkeep and ensure improvements are achieved requires an intense focus on safety, personnel training, and an unwavering commitment to public service. I am looking forward to working closely with the Administration, the Board of Alders, all City Departments, the Parks Commission, partner agencies, educational institutions and non-profit organizations including parks friends groups, including all residents and visitors; to celebrate, enhance, enjoy, protect, and promote New Haven as a whole and particularly its parks, urban tree canopy, and its vibrant streetscapes, local businesses, diversity and culture.”

And what are the biggest needs and challenges he sees the city’s parks network having at this time?

“I am still in the process of identifying where the biggest needs are for the network of parks however to briefly touch on this I have to say that in my first few weeks working here I am amazed at the history and beauty in every single park I’ve visited, from the range of larger parks to smaller neighborhood parks, and seeing people of all ages utilizing these parks in all types of fun, creative and productive ways (especially with the unseasonably mild winter we’ve been experiencing!); it has been tremendously encouraging, heartwarming and positive. Couple that with the City’s extensive program of planned improvements including upgrades to playgrounds, fields, community recreation centers, trails, infrastructure while increasing the connectivity to each; to name just a few– it is quite remarkable and certainly a challenging task for the City to execute on such a widespread scale. 

“I feel strong communication on all levels with all stakeholders is key to implementing these improvements and maintaining to the best extent possible the parks system, especially when being mindful of a limited number of resources; therefore, developing a strategy to lay the groundwork for and take the initial first steps and strides in meeting these goals is of the utmost importance. I have always been an advocate for a team-based approach and am greatly appreciative of this opportunity to tackle these challenges with as much dedication, effort, and tenacity as it may require for success.”