Recent issues in the Ward

Dear All:

I would like to update the ward regarding reported gunfire on Moreland Road & Ellsworth Avenue and High School Students wandering through the neighborhood. I have been working with the Mayor’s Office, the Police Department and the Board of Education to try to come up with a proactive, viable solution.

The issues as I see them are as follows:

Teenagers stashing their bikes in the backyards of our neighbors on Norton Parkway.
This is a trespass and a violation of ones right to not have your home invaded.
The trespassers’ are now targeting the homes where they are hiding their bikes for further criminal activity.
The gunfire that happened over the past week on Moreland and Ellsworth.

With regard to issue 1; there was a meeting on Tuesday 10/30/07 attended by Asst. Chief Redding; Sergeant Steve Shea (our District Manager); Principal of Hillhouse, Dr. Lonnie Garris and a Resource Officer from Hillhouse (similar to a in house police officer). The result of the meeting is that the students will be able to park their bikes at the school now and the BOE will be providing two additional outdoor bike racks along with indoor space for bikes. No student will have the excuse that they don’t have a safe place to park their bike. An announcement was made over the Hillhouse PA system that there will be patrols in the streets, alleys and backyards surrounding the school and that any bikes found will be confiscated by the police.
I am working with the above group to get a contact name and number at the school for residents to call directly if there is a student going through the yards or roaming the streets during school hours. When I get that name and number I will inform the neighborhood.

With regard to issue number 2; in my conversations with the police it became apparent that this is a much more difficult problem to solve. Shell casings were removed from the scene and we don’t know if they match any gun on record. I know that this is not the answer we want and I feel that a proactive approach will help us. I would like to outline a few ideas that can assist in this regard:

I have asked for more patrols in the area and a greater police presences in general.
It is of the utmost importance to make sure that each time there is a crime; you file a report and ask for the case number so you know that it has been filed.
Each time you hear gunfire immediately inform the police, regardless if you think it is from the range or not.

Please note that our police are a data driven force and they will respond only when we can show them that we are in need of greater police service.

As always I may be contacted via
Email – ward28@snet.net
Voicemail – 203-772-1805
Snail Mail – 195 Colony Road, New Haven, CT 06511

Yours truly,

131 Colony Road Update 11/1/07

Hi All:

I would like to give the group an update on what is happening with 131 Colony. Andy Rizzo - the head of the building department went down and personally checked out the property and found the following:

Height of house - well within regulation
Front porch - illegal must be modified or removed. The builder has a right to apply for a variance or must cut back the porch.
Setback from 123 Colony (the old Ginsburg house) - close at this stage - because construction is ongoing there is going to be what is know as a "As Build" inspection prior to the CoO being issued to ensure that the house is within the proper set back.
Construction debris - builder said that the debris would be cleared prior to the weekend.

If there are any other questions or concerns about a particular facet of the construction or home please contact me and I will look after it. I may be reached at ward28@snet.net or 772-1805 (voice mail).

Yours truly,

Cautiously Optimistic Update on 131 Colony Road…

Dear All:

I have some news to share with everyone. Once again we were able to get the building permit on 131 Colony Road issued to Daniel Stein rescinded.

The reason I am cautiously optimistic is because he was able to work his way out of this in the past. But the order was issued August 8th and he did not get out of it yet so you never know.

Please inform me ASAP if you see ANY work being done on the property.

A big thanks to all the folks in the various offices in the City that were able to turn this around so quickly.

Thanks,

Update on 131 Colony

I just got an update on 131 Colony Road.

The Modular is going to becoming in within the next 4 weeks.

I asked about fencing and was not able to force them to put anything up.

Yours,

How the meeting went

Dear All:

I believe that we had a good meeting on Tuesday about 131 Colony & what is a Historic Commission. It was covered by both the Register & the Independent. I think that they covered most of the issues but I would like to add what I posted on the comment section of the Independent.

I would like to thank Andy Rizzo and Elaine Brafman of LCI, Robert Grzywacz from the Historic District Commission & David Barone of City Plan for coming out and laying out the facts and helping to clarify what we can do to protect our neighborhood and at what price.

I really hope that we don't stop here and ask that all that are able to come to the WEB Management Team meeting held at the Whalley sub station on the corner of Norton 5/15/07 at 7pm.

Yours,

This is what I posted at the New Haven Independent

In response to Dana B & Jonathon Hart’s concern of the “prohibitively expensive” cost of living in a Historic District, that exact issue was brought up. A neighbor asked a hypothetical question: The family has a slate roof on their beautiful Tudor home. If & when the roof needs to be replaced would the commission force him to put a new slate roof on? A full slate roof can cost over $100,000. The answer was that the Historic Commission would probably have the homeowner do the part of the roof that is visible from the “public right of way” in Slate or Faux Slate (which is cheaper but not as cheap as asphalt) and perhaps allow the balance be done in asphalt.

This then lead into a discussion of the fact that yes we will be giving up some of our property rights and to an organization that we only we one seat on as well as the fact that this will force us to put more money into our homes then we may have done without the designation.

I believe that the folks of Beaver Hill that attended understand the consequences of their actions. This process is not one that we can rush into blindly this must be and will be a deliberative thoughtful process.

To Cedarhill & All other interested parties – Please come to our next WEB Management Team Meeting this Tuesday May 15th, 7pm at the Whalley Avenue (corner of Norton) Police Sub-Station. The Historic District will be discussed and your input would be greatly appreciated.

Historical Neighborhood

Dear All:

With regard to the building going up on 131 Colony Road, I have been asked why didn't City Plan review the plans and reject it? Or at least give us a forum to express our feelings & concerns.
The answer is that the City has a no site review for projects as long as there are no zoning variances. The only way that City Plan can look this over if the builder is requesting a variance or the area is a Historic District Neighborhood.

This brings me to my question to you - Do we want to turn our Beaver Hills Neighborhood into a Historical District Neighborhood?

On the positive side it will make sure that the character of the area is preserved and give us a say in what happens here.

On the other hand it will restrict the individual homeowner from making exterior changes to their home with out permission from the Historic District board.

There are many more details that I need to find out and will share them here with you over the next few weeks but in the meantime let me know what you think about this all. You can leave a comment or email me at ward28@snet.net.

Yours,

Update on 123 / 131 Colony Road

Hi Everyone:

Just to give an update on the building going on at the lot at 131 Colony Road (corner of Dyer & Colony).

The owner of the lot has met all of the zoning and building requirements. He has a legal right to build on his property and he is. The city has no mechanism to stop this or review the plans as long as he follows the law.

A building inspector came down yesterday to check out the project and to make sure that they are within the parameters of the law - they are. The building department is on top of this and will be coming out for visits though out the project.

I would like to personally thank Andy Rizzo & Elaine Brafman of LCI for all the their work and quick turnaround on this project.

All the best,