New Haven Independent

Posted by: Jim | October 1, 2009 9:27 AM

YES !!! Now I don't have to go all the way to the Hamden Plaza when I need paint!! I think this is a great store for this site!

Posted by: JR | October 1, 2009 12:39 PM

Message to the rest of us: if you don't have your own washer/dryer, you're not wanted around here!

Posted by: robn | October 1, 2009 12:58 PM

In either case, what is the hardship that has to exist for the BZA to consider granting a variance for fewer parking spaces? If the owner of the site built too big a building and can't fit the req'd amount of spaces, that not a hardship.

Posted by: Bob | October 1, 2009 2:27 PM

So are the Greers now going to be including Washers and Dryers in their apartments??

Posted by: Norton Street | October 1, 2009 3:05 PM

JR, if you live around here and don't have a washer and dryer in your apartment you can go to the laudromat that is located midblock between Norton and Winthrop, you can go to the one located next to Shaw's, or you can go to the one on the corner of Hobart.

This fight was a little misguided. The business really isn't the issue here. The problem is the design of the site. The building does not come out to the sidewalk, thus destroying the relationship between shopping and pedestrian. The gap is occupied by a parking lot which further alienates pedestrians and only serves cars. The structure also does not have housing above which would provide affordable housing for people as well as bring activity to the area which right now is completely dead.

This is what we should be fighting for:
http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~iapage/towns/clarinda/gifiles/SQ-1965-NORTH.JPG

http://hazardkentucky.com/new3/sherwin.jpg

But this is what we're going to get:
http://www.passongroup.com/current3/115%5CSherwinWilliamsPic.jpg

A laundromat doesn't attract drug dealers and prostitutes, holes in the urban fabric created by parking lots does, conditions that attract cars rather than pedestrians does, and lack of eyes on the street does. Dunkin Donuts, and Walgreens have destroyed the scale of the neighborhood and eroded the traditional charm that Whalley once had. A laudromat with apartments above has an automatic self-policing system built in; if the residents who live there see unwanted activity they tell those people to leave, if they refuse they call the cops. But with no apartments above the stores, then theres no one to watch out, therefore making the cops job that much harder.

Posted by: JSJ | October 1, 2009 3:30 PM

Speaking as an Edgewood neighborhood resident, I'd like to offer that there's more to this story than was presented.

For years, this block of Whalley Ave. was a run-down stretch that attracted abandoned vehicles, litter, panhandlers and people who sat in their cars in the parking lot long after dark and occasionally rolled down the window to chat with pedestrians (draw your own conclusions).

Walgreens rebuilt a new store and demolished most of the old one. Now the litter and the abandoned cars are gone, although the parking lot still manages to attract a few drunks, drug addicts and panhandlers (some of whom are quite aggressive). But for the most part, things have quieted down and the area is less crime-ridden, overall.

The issue with the laundromat (as I see it) is that much of its business would be done at night- providing a plausible reason for people to come and hang out- whether they're there to wash their clothes or not. The location is set considerably set back from Whalley Ave., so any activity- legal or otherwise- would be go on largely unseen from the street. Businesses on that corner- the fried chicken shop, Dunkin' Donuts, which are not set far back from the street- are routinely held up, often by an armed perpetrator. Do we need more potential hold up bait? The neighborhood says "NO".

People always have and always will find a way to wash their clothes. This is not about who gets to wear clean clothes.

Posted by: Norton Street | October 1, 2009 3:31 PM

P.S. Hamden Plaza isnt a plaza, its a giant asphalt piece of crap.
This is a plaza:
http://www.sevilla5.com/activities/seasonal/plaza-nueva-xmas.jpg

http://www.sevilla5.com/activities/seasonal/plaza-nueva-xmas2.jpg

http://www.sevilla5.com/activities/seasonal/plaza-nueva-xmas3.jpg

http://www.sevilla5.com/activities/seasonal/plaza-nueva-xmas9.jpg

http://www.sevilla5.com/activities/seasonal/plaza-nueva-xmas10.jpg

And no this isn't disney world, real people live here who have jobs and chidlren. This is what we can get if we care about the public realm.

Posted by: Jennifer | October 1, 2009 3:33 PM

Wonderful news! Thanks so much to all the people working to make sure Whalley is moving towards revitalization. A paint store on Whalley is a great idea.

Posted by: Nan Bartow | October 1, 2009 4:15 PM

We, the residents who live near Upper and Middle Whalley, are very lucky to land the opportunity of having a Sherwin-Williams Paint Store come to the Walgreen's Plaza. This section of Whalley Avenue serves a diverse population and needs a diversity of useful stores. The Walgreen's Plaza is much improved by its new Walgreen's store and its attractive landscaping. If the paint store moves in,it will address an important need. Whalley Avenue has too many convenience stores, dollar stores, laundromats, and fast food restaurants. We look forward to more useful stores moving to this section of Whalley Avenue in the future.

Posted by: The Professor | October 1, 2009 4:30 PM

I don't know, these reasons for wanting a paint store rather than a laundromat seem pretty thin. You could pretty much pick out any store type that isn't already in the Whalley area and say, we need X store, so our residents won't have to trek out to Y town to get that product. What makes paint so much more important to the community than any other class of goods?

Furthermore, what will a chain paint store contribute to the community that a smaller scale chain laundromat won't? I don't want to throw accusations, but these seem like some fairly weak reasons--I could be wrong, can someone help me out here?

Posted by: strangerthanfiction | October 1, 2009 8:57 PM

I also don't quite get the argument for battling to keep a laundromat out in favor of a chain paint store. Is this a cause that people like Greer were willing to fight a year for and chase away the laundromat tenant? Was this a victory for the neighborhood?

Posted by: Sunday | October 2, 2009 7:53 AM

Job well done Whalley-Edgewood-Beaver Hill Web. Whalley Avenue is looking good.

Posted by: James | October 2, 2009 9:40 AM

When is this city going to learn what urban planning actually means? Either the current planning department is completely incompetent or they're not given any real power to do anything. Whalley looks like crap and is emblematic of a lack of planning and vision. It's also an endless string of barber shops, fast food joints, and check-cashing/pawn shops. I don't believe that planning in this town goes beyond simple zoning, which it doesn't do particularly well, either. Ideally, somebody would come up with a decent plan for this area, invest some time and effort into it, and make it a place where people actually want to be. Barring that, at least these people are trying. Either lend a hand or get the hell out of the way.

Posted by: terrapin | October 2, 2009 6:20 PM

A)Since when was waiting for your laundry to dry loitering? In addition to having to schlep your laundry down to a laundromat, you have to wait for a machine to open up at one of our overcrowded laundromats? Exactly what would the motivation be for opening a new laundromat if there were no need for one?

B)Unless the S-W paint store is a locally owned franchise, the dollars will be leaving the area just the same as if they were spent at Lowes.

C)This fight was just more classist nonsense. We just don't want the sort of people who rent attracted to out lovely neighborhood.

Posted by: angeloreyes | October 3, 2009 10:25 PM

jr your comments have a "you people" taste to it.no need for that.

Posted by: angeloreyes | October 4, 2009 10:51 PM

jr,misread your comments, my bad. peoples laundromat has free pick-up and drop-off service.
(996-1883) open 6am till 9pm 7 days a week.

Posted by: 339394900034 | October 6, 2009 12:45 AM

There is a certain hyperbolic hilarity in framing a battle against a laundromat in historical terms. I think Greer might find himself on the wrong side of history if Sherwin Williams decides to sell spray paint, though wasn't Basquiat even fond of using house paint for graffiti?