New Haven Independent

Posted by: Cedar Hill Resident | January 4, 2007 9:29 AM

If King posted bond then the charges were not drop like someone stated in the last artical.
I can see once maybe the tenant was a problem tenant and they got the best of him but 2 times, 3 times if you count what ever got the rest. order agaist him.

It just makes me wonder.

Posted by: Insider | January 4, 2007 12:22 PM

Elect an entirely new Board of Alderman – Here is How-

As an ex- insider, I know quite a bit about the internal workings of City Hall and New Haven Politics – so I have some fairly well-developed thoughts on this and I will offer a seat by seat guide to defeating these people

To be fair, I think some of the alderman are of good to very good quality and shouldn’t be removed, but my opinion is just that, and if people want them removed, here is how.

BTW – These are the alders I think we should keep because they are either very intelligent, very committed or offer viewpoints and experiences that are diverse and of importance to having a good, meaningful debate on the Board.

The decent alders are, by ward, 4- Andrea Jackson-Brooks, 5- Jorge Perez, 7- Bitsie Clark, 9- Roland Lemar, 10 – Ed Mattison, 13- Alex Rhodeen, 17 – Al Paolillo, 18 – Arlene DePino, 23- Yusef Shah, 25- Ina Silverman, 26- Sergio Rodriquez, 28- Sandman, 29- Goldfield.

That is 13 out of 30. You could run against these people, but you would actually be defeating high-quality additions to our City Government. Here is Wards 1-10

To run in Ward 1, you need to be a Yale student, progressive ideology, without any idea about how City government works, you need to appeal to a bunch of kids who care more about the plight of Africans and Central Americans than they do about balancing budgets and providing services. You need the unions and the lefty students and that is about it. Beating Shalek should be easy, but he actually might develop into a good alder if given time. He will work harder than his competitor and be better qualified to help the City of New Haven, but he is likely to be replaced by a student who appeals to the lefty people rather than someone who can actually provide the intellect and ability that Shalek does. That is just the nature of this Ward.

Ward 2 – Beating Joyce Chen appears harder than it is – a good, smart and energetic campaigner, ideally African American, would win this ward in a heartbeat. Chen is a 5 year incumbent who has survived tough campaigns, but they have been against weak opponents. You must appeal to disinterested grad students, an increasing number of white homeowners moving back to the city and a working class African American community that struggles with crime, low education standards and lack of access to city power. Work hard, knock on doors and run against City Hall and you will win.

Ward 3 – Jackie James is a loud mouth who doesn’t work particularly hard, but she knows everyone and rumors swirl of her being in the pockets of all the right people. She is anti- City Hall, but not effective at it. Run as someone anti- City Hall, anti- hospital and anti- white people, and as someone who can deliver city services and investment to the neighborhood and you can win this ward – it should only take 350 votes to run away with it in this poor, neglected section of New Haven.

Ward 4 – Jackson- Brooks is an ex- State Rep with great name recognition and terrific institutional knowledge of the city and her neighborhood. This ward suffers from low turnout and disillusionment. Register new voters, run as a “new voice� for progress and knock on the doors on the disinclined to vote and you might steal this one. It would be a shame to lose her though, she is good anti- Destefano pol who could conceivably run for higher office someday.

Ward 5 – Jorge Perez – ex President of the Board, strong name recognition, known for delivering city services and being very well connected. Good Luck trying to beat him, he knows everyone and everything about his neighborhood and the city. Smart and committed, but has run afoul of Destefano and has seen his power shrink over the last few years. This is a interestingly mixed Hispanic/black ward where racial politics is always prevalent. Run on creating jobs and improving neighborhood institutions, creating youth services and getting money out of YNHH. Capitalize on racial tension in area by catering to African-americans and you might give him a scare. Might be too focused on regaining the BOA Presideny or running for mayor in 2009.

Ward 6 – Dolores Colon is easy to beat. City Point neighborhood and Church Street South and elderly complexs dominate her ward. Most of the votes are in City Point who doesn’t like her and in elderly complex where a good campaigner would clean her clock. This is probably the easiest seat to win in the city. Colon has union support and maybe a little city hall support, but not much.

Ward 7 – Bitsie Clark is just about unbeatable. Retired and committed to downtown, she knows everyone and everyone loves her. If you work hard, you can give her a run, it is easy to campaign in this ward as it is defined by new voters who don’t know Bitsie and they are all located in large apartment buildings. She will have support of everyone if you challenge her.

Ward 8 – Wooster Square vs. Farnam Courts. Micheal Smart can turn out Farnam Courts and some portions of Wooster Square, if you can turn out the rest of Wooster Square and make just small inroads into Farnam Courts, you can win. He will someday run for Mayor, but will be trounced – get rid of him now.

Ward 9 – Although just elected in a special election, Roland Lemar will be tough to beat in November. Ward 9 is odd - ¼ grad students, ¼ yale affiliated professionals, ½ wealthy, ½ working class and retirees. Filled with highly intelligent people, no one message will win it here. You need to be mildly – pro city hall, mildly- green party and very smart. Or, exactly what Lemar already is. Disarmingly charismatic while also capable of wiping the floor with you in a debate (ask Alex Marathas) Lemar will be able to raise a ton of money and given his intellect and political ideology, he will likely find a way of nailing the holy trinity of New Haven support - unions, city hall and Yale affiliated voters. The good news, no one really knows him yet so he has virtually no name recognition. With his job and as a single father, likely won’t have the time or desire to run in a tough campaign. He also has a penchant for saying exactly what he thinks, regardless of what his audience might prefer to hear. I think he should stay in office, but if you don’t, you better run against him this year because he is about 10 minutes away from being completely unbeatable. A hard worker can give him a run by knocking on every door, registering the Yale grad students and staying as far away from a debate with him as possible. He’ll beat you if he wants to, but I doubt that he wants it all that much. Only 30 years old, if he remains in office, he is likely to develop into a State Rep in the next 5-10 years and as a Mayoral candidate within the next 15.

Ward 10 – Ed Mattison appears unbeatable, but it is an illusion. Has never had to work hard for this seat, likely wouldn’t work hard if challenged. Has strong support of his ward committee and a stable group of voters, but might retire if the race seems too difficult and the challenger is someone that he likes. Very liberal, a more conservative homeowner who is mildly- anti city hall might be the best option to run against him. Run on taxes and lack of city services and you will find a very receptive audience. Raise money though, and talk with him before you start, you might just get lucky and have him give it to you.

Posted by: THREEFIFTHS | January 4, 2007 1:47 PM

Hey Insider The Best Way To Remove Them Is Term Limits!!!!

Posted by: Insider | January 4, 2007 2:24 PM

Here is the guide to Wards 11- 20

Ward 11 – Should be easy to win. Robert Lee is neither the sharpest knife in the drawer, nor the hardest worker. In fact, he adds little to anything to the board in any regard. Should be replaced by just about anyone. The ward is defined by public housing and elderly complexes, this is an easy place to campaign with the right supporters should be available to someone who really wants it and works for it. The problem is – no one really lives out there who would be a good replacement. Easy pick-up, just need someone to go for it.

Ward 12 - Antunes is an ex-cop with plenty of time on his hands and beat a popular city-hall, naacp backed incumbent last term. He might be tough to beat unless an already established person runs against him. Ellis-West lost this seat because she didn’t work hard for it, maybe she could win it back, but she wasn’t all that useful to begin with. Antunes is a smart and likeable guy, might become a good alder if given time, if you want him gone, you should run against him now. Run against city hall on an anti- crime and taxes flank, but stay positive and hit the condos and Q-terrace. This seat is certainly winable

Ward 13- Alex will be tough to beat. He is a hard worker, intelligent and committed, beat a long-time incumbent who was backed by the unions last time out. He has a lot of support from al the old-timers and some of the new people. You need to hit the condos and cater to the minorities in the ward. Try to get the liberals on your side, appeal to the Chris Ozycks and Tom Holhans of the world and pray that the unions back you. Alex is one of the more conservative members of the board and will likely have a lot of business support. He is likely to emerge as a candidate for higher office one day, likely torun for Mayor within 15 years or so ( I ‘ll go out on a limb and say that he and Lemar run against each other in a nasty primary campaign for Mayor in 2019. If they are the only two in the race, Lemar will carry the union support, the ultra liberals and the minority populations, Rhodeen will grab the conservatives, most of the moderates and the high turnout “white people� areas of Westville and the East Shore. Odds are though that a number of people would run against these two.

Ward 14- Pascale is a relative unknown who just won in a special election. A white woman in a strong latino ward, she beat a Latina who had union backing by a signifigant margin. She relied on City Hall support to win, but has done little since that time. Needs to win the primary to be a contender. Run against city hall, appeal to minority community and as someone who has a proven history in New Haven. Should be relatively easy to pick- up this seat for the right person.

Ward 15- Reyes Rivera is the occupant, but the seat belongs to city hall supporters Frank Redente and Angelo Reyes. Maria is just the place holder. She used to work and be an effective alder but has recently become a non-existant and refuses to be available to her constituents. Smart and attractive, if she wants to continue to be an alderperson, she could be tough to beat. The challenger should be Puerto Rican to stand a chance, should embrace the social service agencies that work in the area, advocate for greater home ownership and investment and job creation. You will face strong support from the Mayor for Maria if you choose to run.

Ward 16- Migdalia Castro is the least intellectually based alder on the board. But you can’t beat her. She knows everyone and represents them well. She should be replaced due to incompetence and lack of IQ, but she walks her ward and talks to everyone. You have to have City hall’s support to win out here, but that shouldn’t be too difficult as they are opposed to Castro. She will likely have the unions on her side though.

Ward 17- Paolillo is a well known name out here, good luck running against it. Maybe a Republican could do well here. Al is smart and his father is well-known and respected in these parts. For some unknown reason, he is aligned with Jorge Perez and is anti- city hall. He works hard and is involved in all the right areas, you would have to run a populist campaign, and knock on every door and put up with people telling you how great he is. He deliveers services and is a good guy, personally I thinkhe should stay on the board and run for Mayor one day (interesting to see if he would be on the same schedule as Lemar, Smart and Rhodeen, I would think that of those four, that it would end up being Smart and the best of the other three going against each other. Lets hope that they all do some growing in the next decade though.)

Ward 18- Arlene is the only republican on the board, and she has the support of many democrats in her district. Very likable and competent woman, very tough to beat. Bea Democrat who is moderate to conservative and talk about how you are better able to deliver services that a republican can. Destefano has an odd relationship with the DePinos’, he won’t be able to support them, but we won’t work hard to support you either.

Ward 19- Alfreda Edwards. All I know is that she takes great pride in representing exactly half of her ward. On one side she has the Newhallville community, on the other she has the most affluent section of new Haven. She chooses to only care about NewHallville. Someone from the Edgehill-Ronan neighborhood could win here.

Ward 20 – Alderman sidewalk – Blango is known for delievering services and nothing else. This makes him wildly popular with those who pay attention, but low turnout makes this ward a possible pick-up. Blango is not particularly tied to either a pro or anti city hall viewpoint, he onbly cares about getting the graft that falls to him. Hard to compete against that.

Posted by: Cedar Hill Resident | January 4, 2007 2:53 PM

I know of Bitsie Clark and all good things and of course Jorge Perez and Sergio Rodriquez other good ones. I have to say I never heard of King till now (not a good first impression because this is all I will remember about him now.)

I'm from Ed Madison's ward, he comes to block watch meetings, he helped with improvements on our side of the ward. We are starting to be include in East Rock things (which is what part of town Cedar Hill is in) he even got funds to take kids in the community ice skateing a half a basketball court so the kids did not need to play in the street. Although my present argument with him is that our side of East Rock is being taxed like his side. We can not get the rents that his side gets we can not sell our properties for the same as that side gets but yet the city is making us pay the same taxes. We had 3 drug related shootings this week. And as an alderman I think he should represent this for us.
But all and all he is a good alderman. I have heard some other group talk about there alderman not representing there community right. And I know they are voted in. But If people are having problem with there alderman not doing a proper job they can always complain to the Chief adm. or the Board of Alderman.

Posted by: pinkbicycle | January 4, 2007 5:08 PM

Insider,
WOW! I was thoroughly intrigued and impressed by your analysis and I am awaiting your analysis of the remaining BOA Wards 21-29. This was good stuff. One of the most intelligent things posted in a long time! You actually offered an idea...now to get folks to take you up on your observations! You should offere this type of analysis on a regular basis. It sure beats the rantings of the stupid.

Posted by: Jay | January 5, 2007 12:17 PM

Dear Mr. Insider:
I read your comment on our cities Alderman and I was wondering if you can given a similar take on New Havens Delegation.

Posted by: Bruce | January 5, 2007 12:26 PM

Insider,

Thank you for this thorough and interesting assessment of the board. However, I think you must suffer from short term memory loss in the case of Andrea Jackson Brooks. As Destefano's Executive Assistant, Jackson Brooks illegally pilfered $60,000 of federal funds earmarked for low-income families (she didn't qualify). This kicked off an extensive FBI investigation of LCI's handling of federal money. She became an anti-Destefano politician after he fired her in a house cleaning resulting from this scandal.

Are you really advocating that she move to a higher position? She can't be trusted and I don't understand how she got into an elected position at all given her past.

Posted by: Insider | January 5, 2007 3:50 PM

Wards 21-30

Your right abouth Brooks - forgot all about that. I'll dothe delegation next week - unless I get found out before then. Everyone around here is getiing a little crazy about this, hard to keep this anonymous.
21- Difficult to say bad things about Katrinia Jones as she is a good alderwomen who works hard and represents her people well. But she works for the city government which makes it too easy for John DeStefano to get his hands on her and influence her votes. Katrinia would be on my list of those who should remain if only she didn’t work for the City. She has become a leader on the board and is emerging as one of the City’s more powerful women of color. If she got a different job, she would be worth supporting 100%. To win here is somewhat easy in that you just need to convince people to vote. Low turnout here means anyone who knows some people and is willing to work has a chance to win. Knock on doors and be willing to listen to those who think that the government is not worth their effort, convince them that you have the right stuff and you will win.
22- Too easy - not worth going into Drew King’s vulnerabilities. This ward has some of Yale and a lot of Dixwell in it. You can win with either/or approach. It will be difficult to find a candidate who can appeal to both, so hope that you can really appeal to one subset of the voters and go for broke expecting City Hall to find someone to go after the half that you don’t attack. It would be interesting to see if this becomes a Yale student ward now that King has been in troublw eith the law.
23- Yusef Shah is smart, opinionated and has somehow remained unsmoothered by either the pro-city hall, anti-cityhall or pro-union or anti- union factions. Potential future President of The Boa, maybe a decent State rep or mayoral candidate fairly soon. Committed and passionate about his work servicing those afflicted with aids, he has also become well-informed and more active on the Board over the last few years. If he is willing to continue that development, he will be an exceptional alder. One of the few people who genuinely seems to take his role on the board seriously, he remains a good example of someone people should strive to be like. I like him and he should stay, but beating him may be fairly easy. A very diverse ward with a lot of outspoken, attention seeking residents, it is easy to find someone willing to back you against Mr. Shah. He won’t campaign that hard, but he will know more and be more sincere in his approach. You can beat him by portraying him as city hall supporter who is not concerned enough about protecting poor-peoples values and needs. He will be very vulnerable to this attack and you will find a receptive audience willing to hear it in this low turnout type of ward. You could steal this seat, but it would be a shame. Unions and city hall would like show up to support Yusef.
24- Liz McCormick used to be a superstar. Over the last few years, it appears as if her interest has lessened as her power and influence has diminished. A smart and loyal woman with decent political acumen, if she forced into a tough campaign, she might call it quits or it may reinvigorate her. Either option would be good. When liz was on her game, she was great and worth keeping. She lost her husband a few years ago and I think that really affected her a lot. I’d like to see her remerge a power-player on the board, but only time will tell. This ward is a mixed black/white ward, ½ poor, ½ upper middle class. It is easy to run against Liz and do well, but it might not be easy to win. She has a stranglehold on the longterm residents and white people. If you could cut I nto that support and run the table in the black neighborhoods, you will win. She knows a lot though, and has great knowledge of the city, in a debate, you will lose, in a name recognition battle, you will lose, raising money, you will lose. You must knock on doors and be willing to play the race card a little.
25- Ina Silverman may be impossible to beat. Maybe the smartest person on the board in terms of available IQ. Should be the Board President or should replace Pat Dillon as a State Rep. Running against her is a waste of time unless it is just a vainity exercise. She is one of the few alders who can debate anyone who shows up to testify regardless of the topic at hand. She works hard and is in constant contact with her residents. She seems like the nicest woman in the world, but she is more than capable of skewering you if you cross her. I think she could emerge as a Mayoral candidate in the very near future. Slightly more conservative than the other liberals on the board, she may not have the right support of unions or the business community. But City Hall loves her and if this race becomes tough, they will send everything they have to protect her. Westville is a tough ward to replace an incumbent in as it is filled with longterm homeowners who always vote. They know Ina, they know that she is great, and they will come out in droves to support her. I don’t know how to beat her and I don’t think anyone should. She is my pick as the best of all the alders.
26- Sergio is emerging as a real player on the scene. Strong union support, newly found city hall support, keen political mind and an ability to make everyone like him. He beat a popular incumbant in 2003 and has never looked back. Also a possibility to replace Pat Dillon or run for Board president or Mayor in the very near future. Unlike other alders whose ambition is hidden well beneath the service ( or appears non-existant in the cases of Lemar, Shah, and Silverman), Sergio’s ambition is clearly there. And he is willing to go for it. Formerly part of the Jorge Perez crew, now seemingly aligned with the Goldfield group, perhaps he is making his own behind the scenes play for board presidency? That would really be great and would add some drama to the next year’s vote. Running in this Westville ward is easy enough, stable homeowners, good voter turnout and large swaths od disinclined voters reay for the picking. Sergio has the ability and intellect to get those voters though, so yopu will face a tough uphill climb. Be opposed to city hall (except when you are knocking on the Mayors door) and complain about taxes. You’ll give him a run, but Sergio will benefit us all.
27- Tom Lehtonon is a great guy, impossible not to like. But he is a union supporter in all circumstances, regardless of their legitimacy. Smart and charismatic, sel-effacing and willing to stand behind what he thinks, he could be tough to run against despite being a new member of the board. This ward should be easy to run n though. Always tough to campaign out there, most still think Phil Voight is the alder. If you can knock on every door and talk about increase in crime, promise improvement to Whalley avenue and Westville center, be mildly opposed to City Hall but mildly supportive of the unions, you can win against the somewhat unknown Lehtonen. In time, he may become difficult to beat and a more polished politician, run against him now.
28- Modi Sandman – no one knows who this guy is, came out of nowhere last month to win a special election. Seems intelligent and committed, built his own business and is bringing that experience and intellect to the board. The board needs it. Of the 3 new alders, he will be the most interesting to see who he aligns with in the long term. (Pascale was dependant on City Hall and Goldfield group to get elected and will likely side with them, Lemar, an unabashed Destefano supporter, should be a natural fit in the Glodfield group, but is more ideologically aligned with the Perez group and is very critical of City Hall once the conversation swings away from how great he thinks Destefano is, Sandman is the guy who hard to judge, many claim that he is a republican in a democrats clothing.) Likely to be similar to Rhodeen, Paolillo, Antunes, Depino and McCormink in how they deal with City Hall. (at an arms length, but generally supportive) Keeping him wil be great for the board as he brings an entirely new set of experiences and viewpoints to the table.
29- Goldfield has always been a terrific and mindful alder. He is just over his head as the President. Maybe it grows on him. He, along with Silverman, is one of the more intellectual alders, and like Perez and Brooks, has leagues of institutional knowledge. No question that he should stay on the board and no question that he should remain one of the more respected voices for the City. But Board president isn’t a natural fit at this time. He hasthe support of the Mayor, but he has lost 4 key supporters on the board this year (Jolly, Addonizio,Ivy, King) and while Lemar and Sandman are likely to support him this year, only Pascale is a guarantee. Goldfield is the guy who is better suited to be the resource to turn to when you need help or support or to bounce ideas off of, less of the guy who expects to lead a team forward or be tough on dissenters. Too nice of a guy. If you run against him, it will be tough but you find a lot of helpers. Perez backers, unions and a few others who lost poer when he took over may be on your side, and this ward can be difficult to hold regardless as many are SCSU students who could care less who wins. Goldfield is smart and will crush you in a debate, he will have the smartest people in the city on his side, he will have everything the mayor will give him, and he will have the fact that he should win behind him as he takes you on. He is a great alder, but not a natural aldermanic president.
30- See Katrinia Jones. All the potential in the world, Michelle is smart and unconstrained by her supporters, could emerge as a real leader in the next few years. On the City payroll however and a little too easy to influence because of it. She will become a true leader on the board soon enough as she is both smart and a hard worker who is committed to being an alderperson. Hard not to like, doesn’t come across as arrogant despite being really smart. Ward 30 is a tough place to run. Hard to find voters who care and who aren’t completely disillusioned. Michelle is good fit for her ward, but if you want to beat her and ensure that she can’t be influenced by her status as a City employee, run against her in the projects as an anti- government reformer and in the middle –class areas as a job-growth cut the budget, tax reformer.

Posted by: pinkbicycle | January 5, 2007 8:58 PM

Thanks Insider, I truly enjoyed this--I can't wait to read what you have to say about the new Haven delegation. Be careful, don't get caught--your insights are like a breath of fresh air! Now back to my view of the sea!

Posted by: Lovebabz | January 5, 2007 9:05 PM

Hey sugar Insider,

I happened to check the site today and caught your posting. As a scandalous and infamous former BOA member I think you did a fab job of laying out the make-up of the BOA. I personally think they all are admirable people for taking the time to be concerned about NH and I know that whatever their ambitions they love serving this city--all 30 of them. Mr. Sandman is my Alderman and I must say he is a very kind and concerned neighbor, I think he is learning very quickly the game of politics and I know he will be just fine.

Posted by: THREEFIFTHS | January 5, 2007 10:18 PM

Hey Insider You Have Stated How To Entirely Elect A New Board Of Alderman, How Would You Elect A New
Mayor?

Posted by: Edward_H | January 6, 2007 12:58 PM

Insider
Excellent post. You confimed many of my own speculations about certain board members. The Independent should offer you a column.

Posted by: AS | January 6, 2007 1:50 PM

Hi Insider,
I've enjoyed your posts and look forward to hearing more from you. From my admittedly outsider perspective, I'd say you're right only about 60% of the time, but you are certainly entertaining. (In this sense, reading your posts is somewhat akin to reading Us, In Touch, or, when I'm feeling slightly more intellectual, People magazine.) I do find it somewhat disturbing, however, how willing and eager you are comment on the personal lives of people you do not know terribly well. The most egregious example is your comment on Ward 24 but that's certainly not the only example. Some of your comments are uncalled for and, while they might be appropriate if you had the balls to post under your real name, they're hardly appropriate when made anonymously.

Posted by: THREEFIFTHS | January 6, 2007 10:14 PM

May Be Insider Is Real King John, After All This
Is A Election Year?

Posted by: pinkbicycle | January 7, 2007 1:51 PM

And AS is somehow your God-give name? So what if Insider post as is. I think it is great that INsider offered an analysis. What do we know of anybody anyway and what does it matter if we do or don't. The BOA is a public elected group. Who is trying to have dinner and drinks with them? This ain't personal--atleast it doesn't seem so to me. hey more people reader people magazine than the NYTimes and who say the NY Times is the leading example of good anaylsis in journalism? They take a page quite often from the tabloids! If your feeling hurt or you are offended then perhaps you need to find a more kinder and gentler site--say on Sesame Street!

Posted by: AS | January 7, 2007 10:06 PM

PINKBICYCLE,

So long as I post anonymously, I'll refrain from commenting on, say, the death of your spouse, your personal motivations for serving in public office, or whether your intellect is better-suited to reading this site or one tailored to the minds of four-year-olds, whatever my personal opinions on those matters might be.

Posted by: pinkbicycle | January 8, 2007 11:28 PM

So why post at all. If you don't want to respect others opinions don't post. But don't get bent out of shape because other folks may say something about someone you find unflattering, distateful, or just plain wrong. Hey opinions are like assholes...everyone has one. Shoot defend the honor of your friends and countrymen, just know there are those who will have a different take and will say so--especially here. Do you really care what people say here. I mean its entertainment. This ain't MotherJones for heaven sake.

Posted by: Willie Williams Jr | February 20, 2007 3:26 PM

Dixwel Avenue and It's Male Personnel Have Been At War With Other Blacks and Gangs Since The 1960's...Heroine Came To Town. I Never Lived On That Side of Town or Go To The Q House. I Had Lots of Cousins On Ashmon Street...They Fought All The Time...Over Nothing. The Few Times I Was Challenged To A Fight, I Asked Them To Come To The "Congo" Congress Avenue or "Six"(6) Corners"...I Will Fight ALL of You One By One A Fair Fight...They Did Not Want To Stand and Fist Fight Like That, They Would Gang Up On You and Kick You and Stomp You...A Mob! That's Their "Creed", They Did NOT! Want To Fight The "LaBelles" and "The Black Eagles" On The "Congo", But Was Raised In St. Matthew Freewill Baptist Church From Age 1-17. My Grand Ma Did Not Want Me To Fight, She Wanted Me To Become A Minister. I Wanted To Became A Soldier Like My Father. Dixwell Has A Social Dinamic: Pholosophy and Doctrine, They Seem To Want To Own, Control and Posess Women and Neighborhoods. When The Ashmon Street Projects and The "Sound Track" Were Open...They Were O.K.. But! When The "Sound Track" Closed Things Got Bad In That Area. Mr. Williams His Wife and Daughter Were The Real Anchors of Dixwell. I Guess Thats Another Reason Why Outside Blacks Didn't Go To The Q House...They Had To Fight Dixwell Avenue Males All The Time.