Markeshia Ricks photo
With just a small lone watermelon left over in one of its raised beds, English Street Community Garden, mostly dormant for the coming winter, may have seemed an odd place to talk about how the seeds of the state Community Investment Act have borne fruit.
But the garden turned out to tell the story just fine about what the act means to New Haven, particularly when it comes to reclaiming vacant lots and providing food security.
City and state officials, along with community activists, gathered at the garden in Fair Haven Wednesday morning to celebrate the $122.5 million that the Community Investment Act has pumped into Connecticut over the last eight years, and to talk about the seeds that need to be sown when the Connecticut General Assembly resumes meeting in 2015.
Garden coordinator Zoe Keller (pictured above) said she’s been working with the garden for the last three or four seasons, during which time it has grown to nine regular gardeners. The addition of a new shed gives the gardeners a place to store a donated mower that will be used to beat back weeds and generally help with the upkeep of the garden space.
New Haven Land Trust Executive Director Justin Elicker shows off the English Street Community Garden’s new tool shed.
Before the shed, Keller said gardeners had to coordinate with the New Haven Land Trust to borrow tools, which “was a lot of coordination.Having the shed and the mower makes us very happy, and it will make the neighbors happy as well.”
The English Street garden is just 1 of 20 community gardens that the New Haven Land Trust has been able to provide funds to to install raised beds, put down fabric and wood chips for weed control and build a shed. The project is funded by $34,454 in grant money generated through the Community Investment Act, and $19,092 in matching funds from The Community Foundation of Greater New Haven, the City of New Haven and individual donors.
Mayor Toni Harp said when she co-chaired the state legislature’s Appropriations Committee, she was tempted to raid the money generated by the act in lean times, but often had her hand smacked by former Senate President Pro Tem Don Williams, who didn’t seek reelection this year.
“He would say ‘You can’t do that,’” she said with a laugh. “And he was right.”
New Haven has nonetheless received more than $3.6 million from the act, and those investments have helped the city address issues of affordable housing, historic preservation, open space and even agriculture. For a breakdown of New Haven projects that have received investments click here.
Incoming State Senate President Martin Looney (pictured above with Harp) reminded those gathered in the garden that each budget year is a new one, and the competition for money is always a tough one. He said it helps that the Community Investment Act has sent money to 159 of the 169 towns.
Looney called what has been done so far with the funds “a great success,” but said supporters cannot rest on their laurels. “People need to be reminded,” he said about the value of directing the funds to the types of projects that have sprung up in New Haven.
Amy Paterson, executive director of the Connecticut Land Conservation Council (pictured), said that the Community Investment Act is a critical component of state and local efforts to protect and enhance the natural, historic and cultural resources that are essential to the quality of life and economic well being of communities in the state.
She called the investments a “wildly successful” venture that has benefited nearly every town in the state. “But the work doesn’t end with the numbers,” she said. “That’s where it starts.”
