The city has a plan for changing the character and appearance of the Whalley Avenue strip from the Boulevard to Sherman Avenue. Neighbors offered their reactions Tuesday night.
Mike Piscitelli of the New Haven City Plan Department presented the first step in the proposal at the meeting. Citing a high demand for commercial space along this stretch, the city has contracted with Planimetrics, represented at the meeting by Bruce Hoban, to create a “Zoning Overlay District” which would provide a special layer of zoning rules to be applied “on top of” the existing rules for the area.
Piscitelli and Hoban described this as “tinkering” with the regulations in order to preserve the character of the neighborhood and adding new standards to “correct things that don’t work.” To illustrate his point, they listed several currently permissible uses that the new amendments would eliminate or further restrict, such as poultry markets which slaughter on premises, pawn shops, auto racing clubs and dance halls.
Their plan also proposes not allowing drive-in services, motels and other businesses which would negatively impact the residential component of the district.
Piscitelli stressed that these changes are currently in the proposal stage and that he is now seeking input from the Whalley Avenue Special Services District, local neighborhood management teams and residents. A revised draft would then be submitted to the Board of Alderman, probably in October, and a public hearing on all proposals would likely be held in late November.
Neighbors have been clamoring for the strip to look nicer. (See “No More Wal-Trash”?)
Meeting attendees Tuesday night were receptive to these ideas, but were also concerned about existing business establishments, with one woman in the room commenting that this plan would leave “one half looking nice, the other half looking crappy.” Piscitelli explained that this process is multiphase, to which the woman replied, “the phase is, —Àúwe got stuck with it.’”
There was an overall consensus in the room to prohibit more liquor and convenience stores from popping up, leading Elaine Braffman of the city’s Livable City Initiative to propose a moratorium on these types of businesses, which those at the meeting unanimously agreed are “nasty.” Piscitelli cited the weak regulations that had caused the blight and other issues plaguing the district. He called them the results of operating under the “good neighbor” theory, whereby business owners are trusted to keep up their establishments because it’s the right thing to do. He stressed that this plan would have the overall effect of bringing up an area that has been in decline and urged neighbors to bring their ideas to the neighborhood management team, which would then submit an official letter to the City Plan Department.
“These Kids are Followers”
Approximately 30 people attended the management team meeting, which also featured a discussion of crime and kids on bikes.
Officer Shea opened the meeting on a somber note with a report on the latest neighborhood crime statistics. He stated that this has been a “quiet summer,” with burglary on the decline compared to this time last year, although a spate of robberies has indicated that this type of crime is on the upturn, with six incidents reported so far in September in this district alone.
Shea noted that several of these cases have involved youths on bicycles. (Click here for related story.) The New Haven police have recently been cracking down on groups of kids on bikes who commit various violations ranging from riding irresponsibly in heavy traffic to street robbery. Shea’s concern is that they’re getting into increasingly serious trouble.
“These kids are followers,” he explained, going on to say that it’s not in anyone’s interest to haul them down to the station. But efforts to inform and educate their parents fall on deaf ears.
Alderwoman Babz Rawls-Ivy echoed his frustration: “What these mothers are telling me is, —ÀúWhy you going after my kid? He’s just riding his bike. Look, they’re dealing drugs on the corner; why aren’t you going after them?’”
Officer Shea added that there’s no indication that these groups are anything more than casual gatherings, “not organized, with no apparent leaders,” and are therefore more difficult to pursue.
Also of concern to the district is a recent rash of shootings, some occurring during daylight hours. Officer Shea indicated that the police have been busy recovering weapons, many from juveniles. He assured those attending the meeting that the police are “making a lot of good quality arrests” in many of these cases.
The Edgewood Neighborhood Management Team meets at 7 pm on the third Tuesday of each month at the Police Substation on the corner of Whalley Avenue and Norton Street.