Thomas Breen File Photo
Nadine Horton with Steve Fontana: Helping businesses find solutions.
Two Whalley Avenue restaurant owners have noticed a lot of business taking place outside their new storefront. Unfortunately, it’s not the kind of business they had hoped for.
During a bimonthly Whalley Avenue Main Streets Committee (MSC) meeting Thursday evening via Zoom, the husband-wife business duo discussed witnessing panhandling in their restaurant, and drug deals and drug overdoses right outside of their shop on a daily basis.
The Whalley Avenue MSC is made up of city staffers, residents, and local business owners working together to revitalize commercial corridors like Whalley Avenue. During regular meetings the committee members provide updates on redevelopment plans and issues that business owners face with discussion on possible solutions in order to keep the corridor business friendly.
The duo own a restaurant on the 300 block of Whalley Avenue. The couple asked the committee for solutions to the restaurant’s daily concerns like drug use and public urination in front of the store front window.
“It happens pretty much all day,” said the husband.
Whalley MSC Chair Nadine Horton said she has been giving business owners the phone numbers of other city government contacts for dealing issues besides the police. Contacts include the Livable City Initiative’s neighborhood specialist.
“We can’t police our way out of this issue,” she said.
Lt. John Healy addresses neighbors.
Lt. John Healy, the area’s top cop (aka district manager), agreed that a police presence isn’t always the only possible response. He pushed the committee and owners to work to provide residents with help for their substance abuse rather than seeking to have police arrest them for minor charges and releasing them the same day with a fine.
“Is there something else that we could possibly do instead of calling the police?” asked the wife.
Horton said she plans to work on building connections with local groups that work with substance abuse like the Community Action Agency of New Haven to arrange a walkthrough in the area.
The couple also suggested the city cut some of the overgrown trees in front of the business that often obscure the street lights at night.
“I think that adding light is definitely going to be a very good contributing factor to deter whatever is going on,” said the husband.
City Deputy Economic Development Director Steve Fontana and Horton said they are in the process of collecting pole numbers in the area to submit to the city to get tree-trimming orders in place. The shaded area in front of the couple’s restaurant was added to the to-do list Thursday.
During the past two days, Horton said, she has heard similar concerns in meetings with other business owners in the area, like Island Spice and Paramount Liquor Store.
Horton is getting help arranging meetings and building connections with business owners from Whalley Avenue Special Services District’s (WASSD) director Allen McCollum. The owners who deal with other issues like loitering, parking access, and littering agreed to work with the committee on proactive measures like camera use and parking signage.
During sit-downs, Horton reminded owners that they and have support from the community and are not alone.
“What benefits you benefits us,” Horton said.
Thomas Breen Photo
Vacant lot at Whalley and Winthrop.
Horton reported she would like to sit down with the owners of the large lot on the corner of Winthrop and Whalley Avenue, New York-based Mast Equities LLC. to push them to build on it. She said Mast Equities, which bought the property in 2000, said the construction of a synagogue is under consideration. (Mast has since sold the property to new owners in April. Read about that here.)
The couple expressed support for the idea, saying the growing Jewish community in the area could use more space for congregants to worship.
Participants in Thursday night’s meeting agreed that the recent demolition of the former Newt’s Cafe has reinvigorated the committee to continue the process of investing to improve Whalley Avenue. Fontana describes Newt’s as the “central thorn on the side of the Corridor,” holding up progress.
Newt’s was “the one huge domino that had to fall,” said Horton. “The dam broke for everything.”