New Haven Independent

Rosenberg, the city economic development official behind the revival of the River Street area, and Sturgis-Pascale, a Fair Haven alderwoman, were envisioning the riverfront future Monday night at a public information meeting at the John Martinez School. The meeting concerned plans for public access to the water near the emerging River Street light-industrial district.

The city’s planning a beautiful walkway along the waterfront linking Criscuolo Park to Quinnipiac River Park, complete with cantilevered fishing pier, a kayak launch, and even a section that straddles a pocket of preserved wetland, and even if it’s beautifully landscaped and full of nautical and historical signage. The question under consideration Monday night: Will people come down to utilize it?

Rosenberg and the city-hired design firm for the River Street Municipal Plan presented their preliminary ideas and sketches for a project that embraces some of the city’s most historic waterfront, from Chapel Street down to the water, from James Street to Quinnipiac River Park.

“We’ve finished phase one,” Rosenberg announced. That phase included buying properties, lots of environmental remediation, and finally the paving of River Street. A number of the properties have been leased for future use, one by Suraci Metals and a second by Capasso Restoration. There has been some recent interest in the Hess and Bigelow properties too, which will be moving along in the months ahead, she announced optimistically.

“Now phase two is going to feature the repaving of Poplar, Lloyd, and Blatchley, and the riverfront walkway.”

Rosenberg said the city does not have in hand all the funds necessary for this work, including the expensive stabilization and/or replacement of 1,400 feet of river bulkhead, only 200 feet of which is reclaimable. But the city has enough money to get started. “We have $1.5 million from the federal government, and another $1.5 million from the state, and we hope the state is going to move ahead on the bonding of another $5 million.” The entire project is about $23 million, in which the city has already invested $10 million.

The city has retained Milone & MacBroom, Inc, of Cheshire as architects and designers of the project. Three staffers (left to right) Mark Arigoni, Jeanine Armstrong Bonin, and Steven D. George engaged about 25 well-informed and vocal participants, such as architecture activist Chris Ozyck.

An initial concept they presented featured the long walkway or park with three or four “nodes,” or focuses of activity.

One node would be a hammer-head shaped park area at the base of James Street where it abuts the water; now people climb over a fence to fish there. If a small pocket of tidal wetland in this area can be preserved, the walkway might bridge it.

The second node would be a kind of launch for car-top boats, such as kayaks and canoes, at the base of Lloyd Street.

The third would be a pier, perhaps cantilevered, for observation at the wide base of Blatchley Street, complete with nautical and historical signage; and a fourth would be a fishing pier at the end of Poplar Street behind the Suraci Metal properties.

These preliminary ideas were met with both enthusiasm and preliminary caution. In addition to being concerned with the racing down River Street, Sturgis-Pascale and others feared that unless some residential elements were part of the plan, people would simply not use the walkway.

Mike Piscitelli, the city’s transportation chief, suggested that with regard to the racing down River Street, speed bumps would not work. “There are too many trucks, and the violators in general are not your garden-variety speeders, but rogue racers, kids. We have to deal with that, but in a different way.”

Regarding the possibility of residents moving into the area south of River Street, he said that the rezoning of the historic area of the district, including the Bigelow building, would support features such as artists’ lofts.

“The main idea, however,” said Rosenberg, “is to create jobs. We hope some 300. People eat lunch down there, and we hope they might come back in the evening. And some of the businesses have night shifts too.”

A certain amount of skepticism remained as to how to connect the residents of Fair Haven above Chapel Street and east near Quinnipiac River Park with the new area and its landscaped walkway.

“If you’re going to build a walkway down by the water,” said Fernando Pastor, an architect (with two kids at the nearby Cold Spring School), consider the potential to get kids from Cold Spring and from the new Columbus Academy (he’s designing that school) up on Grand Avenue at Blatchley. “That’s a thousand kids. They’d like to use the park, too. But you’ll need a pavilion, and bathrooms.”

A theme of the evening was competiton between needs of the light industrial businesses being attracted to the area and those of the visiting, recreating public.

Lynn Mathison, a principal with the Phoenix Press on James Street and a leader with the River-James Street block watches, said that her company often let kids use the bathrooms. Because there’s so much vandalism in Criscuolo Park, the city has locked up the bathrooms there. (Officials bring portable johns in when there are big baseball games or other events).

And (on the left, below) Mary Lou Aleskie, executive director of the International Festival of Arts and Ideas, fantasized about Louis Kahn’s music barge anchoring in the area. And then what? “Without some restaurants and residences,” added Heather Findlay, it’s just not going to work.” (Click here and here for past stories on the barge.)

Another local resident, Ian Christman (in background of photo), said he’s been documenting the river via kayak and with camera in hand. He asked: What people will look at from the walkway?

“It’s a kind of industrial wasteland out there,” he said, referring to the much ignored properties across the river in property owned by the Port Authority. Piscitelli said that while some owners there were finally roofing their buildings and getting them in shape, a kayak launched from the new walkway would not have the Port Authority as a destination point.

“There are some pockets of wetland out there,” Chris Ozyck added. Then he gave the designers a laundry list of other issues to think about as they move from preliminary drawings to a plan to be submitted to the city: “Emphasize fishing,” he said, “and do stuff in keeping with the oystering history of the area. Any way you can help us bring back sea lions to Fair Haven? The area was called Dragon,” he explained, “in their honor.”

He urged the designers to keep in mind the recreating patterns of the many Latinos in the neighborhood. “They are not, by and large, kayakers. It’s a real city. You’ve got to be culturally sensitive. Also, if we get a world-class new bridge replacing the Q Bridge, maybe people will come down there to check it out. Also consider using gravel on the walkway. Kids love to crunch it, and maybe having grades and declines to give different kinds of water views from the trail. Above all, we need to have the walkway connect not only with Front Street but to downtown, via Wooster Square.”

Bonin took a lot of notes. Even in the best of all possible worlds, with permits required for riverine work from the Army Corps of Engineers and the state Department of Environmental Protection, to say nothing of city commissions and agencies, work on the park might begin some time next year, and take at least two years

“But it’s important we begin the walkway,” Rosenberg added, “so potential developers can see the whole package, the park that anchors the area.”

Rosenberg said that a potential developer for the Bigelow complex could be before the city plan commission as early as next month. She also revealed that, at the far, eastern end of the River Street Municipal Development area, the Seaboard Oil Company is considering its own marina and residential units. If so, the walkway instead of sticking the entire distance to the water might have to make a right turn, and come back up to River Street before rejoining the water — ideally — as it runs under the restored Ferry Street Bridge.

“Yes,” said Sturgis-Pascale, “but let’s not forget how much additional traffic is going to be coming off that bridge as well.”

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