New Haven Independent

Posted by: cedarhillresident | January 17, 2008 12:47 PM

hmmm ok this is the same old same old. Cruz gave hope that community policing was going to happen. But has we in Cedar Hill have seen over the past half a decade. They give you a community cop for a few weeks and either pull he or he goes on vacation or the department has officers out for other reason ect ect. And then you go a a few months without one.. complain and then it starts all over again.

We were told that this officer was suppose to patrol Cedar Hill as well...hmmmmm

Posted by: walt bradley | January 17, 2008 12:52 PM

How did Avery get past Mayorga to speak with the public? Perhaps when she finds out he spoke to the media without her there, he'll be the one walking the beat.
I'm quickly becoming a big fan of Mr. Lemar. Give 'em hell Rollie!

Posted by: East Rock Resident | January 17, 2008 2:38 PM

Cedar Hill - Sad but true, the PD loves to ignore East Rock/State Street area. They would rather wait till this neighborhood decays before doing anything.

Walt Bradley- Your right, given his affection for DeStefano, I expected Roland Lemar to be one of the rubber stampers on the BOA, but in his one year in office, he has turned out to be the best alderman we've had in my 40 years in the neighborhood, despite the fact that he just about threw up on my new shoes last week when I ran into him at the Doctor's office! LOL Roland, hope your feeling better and keep up the great work in our humble little 'hood!

Posted by: Don't toot his horn | January 17, 2008 2:46 PM

Walt - Most of State Street is in Wards 8 and 10, not even Lemar's district - he should mind his own business and stay out of other neighborhood's affairs.

Posted by: Fedupwithliberals | January 17, 2008 4:20 PM

Told you so!

Posted by: Janna | January 17, 2008 4:44 PM

Perhaps Alderman Lemar is involved in State Street issues in Ward 8 because the current Alderman isn't. Lemar's involvement seems to come from a true desire to make the city better even if it isn't within his fiefdom. Come on people. We should celebrate politicians who transcend politics and neighborhood and work on behalf of us all.

Posted by: cedarhillresident | January 17, 2008 4:53 PM

Don't toot his horn

It may not be his ward but ya know what... if anyone is in need or help Lemar trys his best to help. That makes him a great Alderman and a good person. Where is the rule that says an alder can not fight for people in a different ward.

Not sure if he is a rubber stamper or not my self. I like alot of what he does and stands for but sometimes I wonder why he voted on some things. I think he just plays nice with the other kids in the playground.

Posted by: State Street | January 17, 2008 5:03 PM

Don't Toot His Horn:
Do you see the ward 8 and 10 Alders sticking up for Upper State Street?
Lemar's commitment to neighborhoods beyond his own shows true civic engagement.
You should be asking the 8 and 10 Alders why they aren't paying attention to the crime problems on State Street...or are you one of them? If so, get to work.

Posted by: Its the taxes, stupid | January 17, 2008 5:40 PM

For the amount of taxes we pay, East Rock deserves the attention of the Mayor and the administration - we have been neglected for decades. Lemar is really good at sticking up for our neighborhood and making sure we get some attention - he's also really good at organizing people and being incredibly responsive to our concerns and fighting for additional resources. BUT he had no problem voting to raise my taxes last year and I'm sure he'll vote to raise them again this year. The guy is smart as hell, works harder than any other alderman I've known, does a great job for our neighborhood and genuinely cares about the people in it and works hard for them (cedar hill, I finally agree with you on something), BUT he is awful for my wallet and given our local economy, that means more to me than anything else. He's smart enough and talented enough to do something positive about our budget woes, but he wastes his time on recycling and sustainability issues, pushing health care reform, hiring needless police officers, supporting school construction and a 311 line. All these things just cost us more money. For the sake of our fiscal well-being, we need to convinve him to spend his energy lowering our taxes!

Posted by: Josiah Brown | January 17, 2008 7:53 PM

Roland Lemar is in public service for the right reasons, and I believe that he personally lives by State Street. Why shouldn't he, working with other alderpeople and concerned citizens, be taking an interest in policing of the neighborhood? New Haven is a small city, and there's an arbitrary quality to ward boundaries. We need less parochialism, not more. (For the record, I was until recently a Ward 9 resident still happy to have Alderman Lemar working on behalf of community needs now that I'm in Ward 10. He listens to constituents' views, has an open mind and, as all of us should be, is always learning.)
The larger interests of our whole city (and state and even nation) often relate to what happens on a given block or in a given neighborhood. Crime and post-prison re-entry, education, housing, transportation, mental health, child care, economic development, energy and the environment--such issues have to be approached in both macro and micro ways.

Posted by: DAFeder | January 17, 2008 10:15 PM

How freakin' hard is it for someone at the NHPD to pick up the phone and tell our alderman that they're pulling the patrol? I bet even IT'S THE TAXES STUPID would pony up a shiny dime for the phone call.
- David

Posted by: Geography Lesson | January 17, 2008 10:17 PM

Half of State Street between Trumbull and Pearl and all of State Street between Bishop and Willow/Blatchley is Ward 9. (Not that I'm endorsing this crazy idea that our local officials ought to be interested only in their tiny fiefdoms, particularly in a town of 130,000 that is totally illogically split into 30 such fiefdoms.)

Posted by: Fedupwithliberals | January 17, 2008 10:21 PM

Roland Lemar may be a hard working public servant, but he does not represent the wishes and desires of the East Rock homeowners. He is a classic big spending liberal who pushes his own agenda on this ward as though he were mayor and does not care about representing what is, for all intents and purposes, a rather wealthy and conservative sector of the city. Instead of trying to live within our means, he supports the administration's ceaseless pandering to the underclass and dependent population without restraint. It doesn't work no matter where it has been tried. Also doesn't help when only 1% of the population vote and agree with this travesty through apathy. Doesn't mean that they agree with it. People do not like spending more on taxes and getting less services which are relevant to their own lives and not that of illegal immigrants and section 8 recipients. At some point in time, you say "what the hell am I doing here?". Wait till the next round of tax hikes!

Posted by: write&wrong | January 19, 2008 12:52 PM

lets merge wards 8, 9 & 10 and elect Mr. Lemar... or even better...Mayor Lemar. Keep up the good work. People are watching and noticing your good work!

Posted by: king james v | January 19, 2008 2:17 PM

Don't toot- of all the wards in our city, the 8th, 9th and 10th are the most connected both geographically and mentally. state street is the spine that connects all three, and along with orange st. is the feeder streets for the 9th's residents. perhaps you should get more involved in what is going on in our wards before you scold someone.
i advise you check out the aldermanic ward maps on the city's website.
www.cityofnewhaven.com, perhaps you will better understand the shared importance of the state st. corridor to all three wards. i hope it changes your outlook on this matter.