Community Updates

[WoosterSqWatch]

Greetings Neighbors!  A few neighborhood updates as we enjoy the spring weather this week!  🌸 50th Anniversary Cherry Blossom Celebration! 🌸 Our beautiful Cherry Blossoms are about to pop around Wooster Square Park! The Wooster Square community will celebrate the blossoms on Sunday April 16 from 12noon to 4:30pm! There will be no parking along Academy Street and Wooster Place between 8am-5pm that day. Please look for no parking reminders on those streets - and please move your cars as early as possible. You can park on other streets in the neighborhood and at the Conte West Hills School parking lot at 511 Chapel Street across from Franklin Street.  Mayor's Final Town Hall on the City Budget: Tonight, April 4 from 6-8pm - join the Mayor for a discussion of the proposed 2023-24 City Budget at the Conte West Hills School, 511 Chapel Street. Wooster Square Farmers' Market Open for Spring Season: The Wooster Square Farmers' Market is open once again for its outdoor spring season at its location at the Conte West Hills School parking lot on Saturdays from 9am-1pm. Panel Discussion: Local Responses to Climate Change: On Monday, April 17, 5:30-6:45pm at the Albertus Magnus College (Behan Community Room of the Hubert Campus Center, 831 Winchester Ave, New Haven, CT) and Live Streamed (RSVP below to receive the link). Although climate change is a global problem, facing it will require local solutions and creative adaptations. In this panel, government officials and non-profit leaders will discuss responses to climate change in New Haven. Sponsored by Albertus' Laudato Si' Action Team. Panelists will include: Steve Winter, Executive Director of Climate and Sustainability, City of New Haven; Lee Osorio, Executive Director, New Haven Coalition for Active Transportation; Christian Vick, Community Entrepreneurship Manager, Gather New Haven; Chris Schweitzer, Program Director, New Haven Climate Movement; and Molly Johnson, Master's of Environmental Management Candidate, Yale School of the Environment. RSVP here. Enjoy the warm weather and blossoming blossoms 🌸🌸🌸 Sarah Sarah B. Greenblatt Wooster Square Watch http://woostersquarewatch.com Wooster Square Watch brings together Wooster Square neighbors through sharing information to enhance public safety, address quality of life issues, and promote rewarding, neighborly relationships. Numbers to Keep Handy: City of New Haven Health Dept. COVID-19 Info Line - 203-946-4949 NON-EMERGENCY Police Service – 203-946-6316 NON-EMERGENCY Fire Department – 203-946-6990 ANONYMOUS TIPS - 866-888-TIPS (8477) or 203-946-6296 New Haven Police/Downtown/Wooster Square District Manager -  Lt. Brendan Borer -  bborer@newhavenct.gov City of New Haven Snow Information Line: 203-946-7669 City of New Haven Emergency Operations:  203-946-8221 CAR TOWED? Call City Non-Emergency Police Service - 203-946-6316 Public Works & Parks – 203-946-7700 (Pothole Repair, Recycling, Bulk Trash or Appliance Pick-Up; Park needs) Traffic & Parking - 203-946-8055 Livable City Initiative (LCI) – 203-946-7090 - Neighborhood Specialists to assist with anti-blight, property management concerns,  graffiti (Downtown/Wooster Sq)  New Haven Public Schools/Choice & Enrollment – 475-220-1431 Tree Trimming –  203-946-8004 Connection to Social Services: dial "211" from any phone http://www.211ct.org/ Elderly Services – 203-946-7854 Historic Wooster Square Association - www.historicwoostersquare.org

[WoosterSqWatch]

Greetings on these summer-like days! Here are a few community updates as we head into the week-end! 

🌸 50th Anniversary Cherry Blossom Celebration! 🌸 This Sunday, April 16, 2023 🌸 Our beautiful Cherry Blossoms are popping all around Wooster Square Park! The Wooster Square community will celebrate the blossoms on Sunday April 16 from 12noon to 4:30pm! There will be a diverse array of food trucks and live music playing all afternoon. Bring your chairs or blankets and enjoy a picnic in the Park! To prepare for the Cherry Blossom Celebration, there will be no parking along Academy Street and Wooster Place between 8am-5pm this SUNDAY, April 16. Please look for no parking reminders on those streets - and please move your cars as early as possible. You can park on other streets in the neighborhood and at the Conte West Hills School parking lot at 511 Chapel Street across from Franklin Street.

     🌸 Public Safety  🌸

At last week's Compstat Meeting, our District Manager, LT Borer reported that there has been a spike in motor vehicle thefts in the WS and DT neighborhoods  - with 5 out of 6 vehicles being Hyundai's or KIAs - and they were mostly taken from garages.

In Wooster Square on March 22 at 1am, patrol officers were called to Lyon Street regarding a group of individuals tampering with motor vehicles. The group broke the window in a KIA and attempted to steal it, but were scared off by the owner. They attempted to steal a second vehicle and were interrupted by the Officers who apprehended a 14-year old youth after a foot pursuit. Officers located one of the youth's belongings inside the attempted stolen vehicles. He was arrested and charged accordingly. 

Hoping to see you at the 🌸🌸🌸 Celebration on Sunday afternoon! 

Sarah 

Sarah B. Greenblatt

Wooster Square Watch

http://woostersquarewatch.com

City of New Haven COVID-19 Call Line - 203.946.4949

Non-Emergency Police Service - 203.946.6316

New Haven Police District Manager Lt. Brendan Borer - bbo...@newhavenct.gov

[WoosterSqWatch]

Greetings All - 

Here are a few community updates for the coming week. 

Public Safety. 

On Friday April 7 around 11:30pm, a Wooster Square resident was reported robbed at gunpoint on Wooster Street near DePalma Court. A small amount of money was taken, before the perpetrator fled the area. No one was physically hurt. Lt. Borer confirmed police are investigating it and hopefully will provide an update at this week's Compstat Meeting on Thursday morning. He suggests that to maintain safety, try to walk with someone else when walking through the neighborhood late at night, and to be aware of your surroundings. Call 911 if you see anything suspicious. 

Downtown Wooster Square Community Management team: Tuesday, April 18 at 6 pm

Location: On Zoom at this link, password is Mt8vne.

Chapel St Lane Closure

Please be advised that due to the need to create a safe work zone for construction on two new mixed-use residential buildings, Chapel Street between Church Street and Orange Street is now closed to eastbound vehicular traffic. The closure will extend approximately 16 months during construction at 808 and 848 Chapel Street.  Eastbound vehicular traffic will be detoured to Elm Street. Westbound traffic will be maintained. There will be no changes to public bus routes. The sidewalk on the south side of Chapel Street will also be closed, and pedestrians will be detoured to the sidewalk on the north side.

Earth Day in Lenzi Park - SATURDAY, APRIL 22 10am-NOON

(Rain Date: Sunday, April 23 10am-noon)  

Join the Friends of Lenzi Park (located at the corner of St. John and Jefferson Streets) for Spring Cleaning in the Park on Saturday morning, April 22 from 10am-12noon. Come and help complete the aerating/raking of our neighborhood park. It needs your help. Bring a rake if you have one and gloves too! Learn more about Lenzi Park’s evolution. The Friends of Lenzi Park hope to meet you then! 

Safe Streets Coalition Welcomes Public Testimony at the Final Alder Finance Committee Public Hearing - Thursday April 20 at 6pm in City Hall

The final Alder Finance Committee public hearing on the city budget is scheduled for Thursday, April 20 at 6:00 pm in City Hall. The Safe Streets Coalition strongly requests public testimony in support of the new Active Transportation Planner position, responsible for supporting the implementation of the Safe Routes for All active transportation plan. In person testimony is particularly powerful, but written testimony is accepted to publict...@newhavenct.gov. (You may want to copy Al Lucas from Legislative Services, alu...@newhavenct.gov.) The Mayor’s proposed budget includes a new position of Active Transportation Planner. According to the budget (see page 2-148), this role would be responsible for supporting "the implementation of Safe Routes for All active transportation plan. The individual will be responsible for the overall planning and designing of various aspects of streetscape and other place-based efforts."  

The Safe Streets Coalition suggests the following points to consider for including in testimony: 

• The Transportation, Traffic & Parking and Engineering Departments simply do not have bandwidth currently to focus on improving traffic safety citywide, even though every neighborhood has critical traffic safety needs. 
• Too many people are being killed and seriously injured by traffic violence in neighborhoods citywide; many of these people are low-income or from disadvantaged communities. This position will help create safer options for mobility while enhancing social and transportation equity.
• Safe transportation options are critical to accessing jobs, school, and health care. This position will create safer options, and connect our neighborhoods, which will help to enhance economic opportunity for all. 
• The City has adopted a Plan of Conservation and Development that emphasizes the importance of complete streets, as well as a Complete Streets city ordinance; and in 2022 the Board of Alders endorsed the Safe Routes for All Plan. This position is critical to the successful implementation of these already-adopted ordinances and plans.
• There are currently billions of dollars in state and federal funds available for active transportation projects, including Safe Streets and Roads For All (SS4A, $5 billion over 5 years) and Transportation Alternatives (~$1.4 billion a year) funding. This position would enable the city to seek and obtain more grant funding meaning that the position will likely be revenue-positive. 

Office Hours with Alder Cupo

Alder Ellen Cupo has new Office hours - every other Sunday from 10am-12noon at Kaiyden's Coffee Shop on Chapel Street. The next few dates are: Sunday April 30, May 14, May 28. 

International Festival of Arts & Ideas: Walking Tour in Fair Haven - June 10, 11:00am

INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL OF ARTS & IDEAS: WALKING TOUR Fair Haven: From Maritime Village to City Neighborhood Saturday, June 10, 11:00 a.m. The Fair Haven neighborhood was once a small village whose residents depended upon the tidal river nearby — the Quinnipiac — for their livelihood as oystermen, coastal traders, sailors, and shipbuilders. Over time, Fair Haven became ever more closely integrated into the city of New Haven, but even today, many of the historic homes and other buildings along the river recall the area’s maritime heritage. This walking tour will be led by Bruce Clouette, longtime Connecticut historian and historic preservationist. New Haven Preservation Trust is pleased to present this walking tour in collaboration with the International Festival of Arts & Ideas. Free; reservations are required. Space is limited. Find out more and sign up on the International Festival of Arts & Ideas website.

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Stay well and enjoy the spring weather 🌷🌷🌷