New Haven Independent

Two sets of plans for Dunkin’ Donuts shops were proposed at a Board of Zoning Appeals meeting Tuesday night “” one on Derby Avenue in West River and another on Kimberly Avenue in the Hill.

Boulade Akintolayo and Jacqueline Harris (pictured above, in middle and at right) live at the Berger Apartments, an elderly housing complex across the street from where a developer wants to build a drive-thru Dunkin Donuts.

The bulky concrete structure in question, at the intersection of Derby Avenue, Norton Avenue and George Street, has been reinvented over the years from a bank into a church. Now it lies empty, and owner Joseph Sessions wants to turn 105 Derby Ave. into a quick stop for donut and coffee cravers.

Akintolayo, who had been waiting at a rather long zoning meeting at the Hall of Records Tuesday, jumped up when her turn arose to speak.

“We are probably two of the most able-bodied, fastest walking people in the building,” she said.

“I can see that,” quipped BZA Chair Eddie Perez.

Akintolayo said she was worried the drive-thru would worsen an already treacherous crosswalk that residents rely on for trips to the corner mart.

“Even people who can run don’t like to run from vehicular traffic,” she said. And many of her housemates move slower, using wheelchairs or canes. “I think it would create a danger for people who are not athletes.”

Akintolayo said many residents in her building could not make it to the BZA but are similarly concerned.

State Rep. Pat Dillon testified to that. She sent a missive to the BZA denouncing the drive-thru plans.

“The elderly residents at this facility already find it difficult to cross this intersection and the additional traffic will greatly increase at certain times during the day making it nearly impossible for residents to cross the street,” wrote Dillon.

Dillon said while she realized the area is zoned BA, allowing businesses such as Dunkin Donuts, “the drive-thru would, in my opinion, cause added problems for these residents.”

“I understand their concerns, but people are not going to go out of their way to get to Dunkin Donuts” when there’s another one just two miles away, countered Angelo Moutoudis of the donut franchise.

“I think we’re going to enhance the traffic,” he countered, noting that many cars use the vacant lot as a cut-through to avoid the traffic light.

A nearby laundromat owner, however, welcomed the prospect of having the business next door.

The Hill

Down the river over in the Hill, developers propose modifying a gas station and convenience store at 14-18 Kimberly Ave. to include a small-scale express Dunkin’ Donuts inside.

Hill Alderman Jorge Perez, who lives a block away from the site, took the mike on the BZA floor and told board members to more closely examine the photos they’d snapped of the site. He pointed out cars strewn around in illegal parking spots. The parking mayhem would only be made worse by the allure of Dunkin’ Donuts coffee and glazed treats, he argued.

“If you believe that a Dunkin’ Donuts is going to come into town and not bring any other traffic “¦ then you still believe in Santa Claus,” said the alderman. He said parking spots are sometimes impossible to find when he passes by to pick up milk.

John Dye, chair of a Hill management team, agreed parking is a “critical issue in that spot.”

Michael Cronin, general contractor for the proposed development, argued traffic would not increase. “Half a mile away there’s a drive thru [Dunkin’ Donuts], so it won’t bring a lot of [extra] traffic.”

A Google search turned up 16 Dunkin’ Donuts in the city already.

East Rock

Meanwhile in East Rock, the owner of Lulu’s European Café, the neighborhood hub known for potent coffee brews, is asking BZA permission to build a small addition to seat more people inside.