City Makes Waterfront Pitch To Feds

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by Jeremy Lent | Jun 7, 2010 6:41 am

(16) Comments | Commenting has been closed | E-mail the Author

Posted to: Fair Haven

Jeremy Lent Photo River Street is finding its groove, but it still needs some outside help. A top official from D.C. heard the pitch and got a firsthand look.

U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro of New Haven made the pitch in Fair Haven Friday to Willie Taylor, the federal Economic Development Administration’s (EDA) regional director.

DeLauro took Taylor out to the River Street area to show him some recent improvements—part of the city’s Municipal Development Plan—and to ask for federal money to keep the improvements coming.

In particular, the city hopes to get about $650,000 from the EDA to help fund a “shoreline stabilization” project. That project would involve replacing the crumbling wooden bulkheads that now line the Quinnipiac River shore (in above photo) with steel bulkheads, to prevent erosion and allow safe construction on some of the currently vacated waterfront property.

The project would augment the progress the city has made over the past decade in reviving River Street, gradually transforming abandoned factory properties into new businesses.

“If you’re going to build a building, you want to make sure that it won’t be undermined by big storms in the future,” noted Jeanine Armstrong Gouin, a Connecticut engineer who helped design the shoreline project.

The city has yet to formally submit a grant proposal to the EDA, which has a 120-day review period for funding requests. Taylor, the EDA director, stayed mostly silent as DeLauro and New Haven Mayor John DeStefano, Jr. showed off the River Street improvements. (The three are pictured above.)

Taylor did briefly remind his hosts that the city must go through the EDA’s competitive funding process. Then he added, with a smile, “We’re on board [with your project].”

The bulkhead project is only step one for the shoreline, according to Gouin, who was on hand for Taylor’s visit. She’s also been involved with the city’s plans for a 50 foot-wide landscaped boardwalk along the same part of the shoreline where the new bulkheads will go—between Criscuolo Park and Front Street Park., about a half mile stretch. Right now, much of that area is an industrial no-man’s-land. However, as Gouin pointed out, there are many potential boardwalk walkers at Criscuolo Park every weekend, and plenty of fishermen who brave the eroding shores.

“It’s not like, ‘If you build it, they will come,’” said Gouin. “They’re already here. But we want people to be able to sit, fish and enjoy the river. They can’t do that right now.”

Alfonso Clarke is one of those who currently can’t enjoy the river as much as he’d like to. Clarke has been working at the Von Roll insulation material factory on Blatchley Avenue and River Street for 30 years. He was quick to mention that the area is much-improved since he started working, when River Street looked like “a battleground—some part of Iraq.” In fact, one of the city’s recent projects, in 2009, was to repave the part of Blatchley Avenue around Von Roll and to add some sidewalks.

Clarke was grateful for those improvements, but he has a grander vision for the area.

“I’d like to see a cruise ship port. In most states with a waterfront like this, there would be a mall and tourist attractions,” Clarke said. “But for now, nobody wants to go to Fair Haven. I hope people will get over the fear factor and come take a look.”

Diminishing the River Street area’s “fear factor” is a welcome proposition for Kerry Triffin and Elizabeth Orsini, the husband and wife co-owners of Fairhaven Furniture. They’ve had their store in its current location, on Blatchley right across from Von Roll, for 27 years. In that time they’ve evolved from a wood-furniture shop into a gorgeously overflowing retail outfit, like an entire issue of Architectural Digest stuffed into half of a two-story warehouse.

One problem with doing retail near River Street, though, is getting customers. Other than the 200 or so workers at neighboring warehouses, the blocks around Fairhaven Furniture are mostly silent.

“Certainly, if we were in a more commercial area, we wouldn’t have to do as much advertising,” Orsini admits. But like Clarke, she thinks the area has potential.

“Why not have restaurants, artists’ lofts, more retail?” Orsini said. “I would love to be able to walk out of our door and go to a coffee shop. For now, when customers ask where to go eat, I have to direct them downtown.”

That may change in the next few years, if New Haven can get the money to build new bulkheads and a boardwalk. Orsini was skeptical about the shoreline improvements, even after being told about the city’s latest overture to the EDA.

“They’ve been talking about it for a long time. We’ll believe it when we see it.”

Comments

posted by: Mike on June 7, 2010 7:37am

As one drives over the Q bridge or down Chapel in Fair Haven one sees a nice park on the edge of the water, Quinnipiac park. What a nice place for the city to have EXCEPT if anyone has been there on a weekend you would know it is overrun with ... people that think it is the place to park and have a street party. These same people think it is also their personal garbage dump, place to ride their scooters all over the park and just trash the place in general. The city should work on places like this before inviting the Feds to hand out money IMHO.

posted by: Neighbor on June 7, 2010 8:51am

Mike, you’re spot-on!

Unfortunately it’s not the city’s job to babysit otherwise mature adults. There needs to be a sense of empowerment in the locals and those who use the area- instead of littering for the fun of it, or drinking in their cars, or clogging a recreational park with drugs & prostitution, what is needed is a sense of “this is my park, I pay for it in my taxes, and I have a responsibility to keep it clean.”

The boardwalk that’s ALREADY in Criscuolo Park needs urgent repair- massive erosion now reaches the sidewalk that rings the soccer fields- high tide is threatening that structure NOW.

Also, the boardwalk would be a great idea- but only if it’s lighted at night, attractive for use (wood decks will rot and can be carved), and safe. Will the bicycle cops be patrolling regularly?

River Street sorely needs attention. It’s a beautiful area (no, really!) and the potential for recreation + commerce is encouraging! What other waterfront area in New Haven can be developed?!

posted by: Ned on June 7, 2010 9:56am

It seems that the city is using public money to subsidize private interests. For instance, 24 River St. (from what I can glean from the Tax Assessor’s database) generates $18,781.78 in real estate and personal property taxes. River Street Storage Corporation was billed for a whopping total of $8.86 personal property tax. The business owners live in Guilford, Cheshire and Madison. The story gets worse as one examines the tax records of other properties on this block that are not paying anything. Big deal, some old, contaminated factory building gets “saved”, (has anyone taken a look at this dump lately? - looks pretty much the same to me as it has for the past ten years), the city goes bankrupt and residential tax payers get hosed. This stinks worse than New Haven harbor.

posted by: L on June 7, 2010 10:54am

I see the point of the other commentors, but there’s a lot that can be done to psychologically make people take better care of a place, like the kind of amenities you have, and the general atmosphere. This whole area is just a waste right now, w/ MS13 graffiti on old factory bldgs. It’s a no-man’s land. An early step in this process needs to be getting community involvement, so we need to write to Rosa and to the local EDC (<info@edcnewhaven.com>) and Mayor about what we want here. I am also thinking specifically about artists. I have
seen, over and over again, that artists will come in to a desolate
neighborhood for cheap studio and living spaces and also an edgy
background/environment for their lives, and then the next thing you know, a
formerly dodgy or empty neighborhood becomes gentrified and the next big
thing. The height of the hipness or coolness may reach a boiling point, but
then the neighborhood doesn’t crash back down to where it was; the cool
factor comes down a bit for the artists, and the regular, young people w/ a
bit more money come in and stay for the restaurants, cafes and shops.
I lived in NYC, and saw this happen in Soho and Chelsea, then in
Williamsburg-Greenpoint, and then in Dumbo. I lived in Williamsburg, and saw
it 1st and over a period of 15 years. Dumbo happened much more quickly, as
it was not organic and unplanned. The developers planned it that way - they
took a big warehouse, called it artist studios, let the artists move in, the
cool factor followed, and then they made the artists move out and gutted the
building for condos. This was the plan all along, and it worked. Dumbo went
from being desolate and industrial w/ just a couple specks of light to being
jam-packed with galleries, shops and young moms pushing strollers. I
couldn’t believe my eyes. I know NH is not NYC, but the same thing happened
in Baltimore (last Fall’s NYT’s:
http://travel.nytimes.com/2009/10/04/travel/04hours.html) and to a smaller
degree happened a bit right here in NH w/ Westville and a few spots in Fair
Haven, like Erector Square and along the waterfront on Front St. You already
have artists and curators living here, plus Fair Haven Furniture. Also,
what’s great is that with the area in discussion, you wouldn’t be displacing
residents, as far as I know. It’s a win-win. Chapel St. along that area, as
it is cut off from Wooster Sq./downtown by a row of scrapyards and a kind of
industrial wasteland, would follow and be brought up eventually. Done right,
you could help merge the artists w/ the middle class with the Latino
community in FH - where people communicate and intersect is with art and
music and food. You can bring all of that together here.
So, here are a few things that could be great out there:
-Artists’ studios, galleries- reach out to Westville artists and also the
Yale School of Art - the Dean is very into bridging the gap between the art
world and the community
-Do 1st Friday events w/ open studios and live music and performances
-A food festival annually
-Add a shuttle route to downtown and the train station
-Parking, a beach, a fishing area/dock, ice cream kiosk, snacks, taco trucks,
outdoor festivals/performances, a sports area for soccer or beach volleyball
or a skate park.
-Bring back Fair Haven’s oyster festival from the 80s
-Allow some watersports, like windsurfing
The possibilities are endless.

posted by: R on June 7, 2010 11:02am

To respond to some of the commenting afraid of more littering, etc… If there is an aesthetically- nicer place provided, people will be less likely to litter. Also, more non-littering types would want to come down there. the kind of people who pick UP trash won’t really go down there now w/o a boardwalk and safe public access.

posted by: Henry Fernandez on June 7, 2010 11:36am

Mike and Neighbor,

I was struck by your comments and appreciate your concerns, but your experiences do not reflect what I have seen at Criscuolo Park in recent years. I live a few blocks away.

The biggest concern in the area has been drag racing. Since the City added speed bumps on Chapel and River Streets, that has been heavily curtailed. There are still too many kids showboating on motorcycles but that’s true all over the city and these young people don’t seem to have any connection to the park users, other than they are seeking an audience as they drive by.

The park is heavily used—as it should be. Every weekend the two playgrounds are full with kids and parents. We bring our son from time to time, though there are two city playgrounds a bit closer to us. The softball leagues fill up the diamonds with players and fans. Similarly, the soccer field is filled by a growing league and its supporters.

It’s not Edgewood or Edgerton or East Rock or even Quinnipiac River Park which exist more for communing with nature and walking. It’s a recreation space with athletic fields, basketball courts, fishing and play grounds; as well as some pretty cool views.

Do adults drink beer after the leagues play? Sure. They do so at all of the city’s parks where adult league sports are played. But I have not seen this result in any particular problems at Criscuolo. This does not appear to be an all day long debauchery but friends and teammates having a beer after a game. There is very much a community feel to the space. Generally, by the early evening, as the games end, everyone has gone home.

The Parks Department seems to do a pretty good job keeping the park clean, the grass cut and the space looking decent. And the city has done great work repairing the roads, getting rid of junkyards nearby and putting in sidewalks. The whole neighborhood around the park, and thus the park itself, is clearly on an historic upswing. Comparing Criscuolo today to the same park and neighborhood 10 years ago is night and day.

Given the high usage, could there be more parking so that people don’t have to pull up on the sidewalks? Yup. But I don’t know where you would put it. This park, like all others in New Haven, was designed when most people were just walking to the park and not driving to it.

Have city budget cuts effected the appearance of the park given its heavy usage? Probably so. I’d like all of our parks to be cleaner.

I would encourage folks to stop by the park to visit. There are hundreds of people there on the weekend, using the park as it should be used. They originate from all over New Haven, the State, the country and the world. It’s a pretty unique place where people from very different backgrounds and all age groups recreate together.

The park speaks to New Haven and America’s past and future. There is an amazing memorial to African-American civil war soldiers of the 29th Regiment who were once garrisoned in the same location. There is also a massive clean energy wind mill abutting the park. There are striking views of the Long Island Sound and of I-95.

Maybe we just see different things, but I thought I would share what I see when I stop by Criscuolo park.

posted by: robn on June 7, 2010 11:50am

Half of hr sites used by Open Studios have been redeveloped…case in point…Smoothie.

posted by: Brian Tang on June 7, 2010 11:51am

Portland’s Pearl District used to be an equally unpleasant abandonned industrial area, but then the streetcar came in and along with it the lofts and wine shops, and fancy restaurants, and the regional HQ of the US Green Building Council, and now the district brings in MILLIONS of dollars in tax revenue. Get the infrastructure in place and development will follow.

I hope the boardwalk will be the long-awaited Fair Haven Greenway http://cityofnewhaven.com/trafficparking/bikeplanning.asp

posted by: Mr. Genius on June 7, 2010 12:19pm

The city should build a massive amusement part on that property. It will be like what Savin Rock was a 100 years ago. Fair Haven certainly has the land for it, and the shoreline for the people to go swimming. The entertainment jobs will help curtail unemployment in the city. It’s a win-win for everybody.

posted by: Jonathan Hopkins on June 7, 2010 1:12pm

Lots of good ideas already posted. This land should definitely be put to better use.
I’d like to see it become a mixed use area with housing of several kinds-single family houses, multifamily houses, small apartments buildings, 3-4 story walk-ups, lofts, rentals and owner-occupied units-and for varying income brackets all mixed together. It would also be important to have jobs for many skill levels and education levels available from manufacturing to office work. Retail could be dispersed throughout the couple of blocks to be incorporated into the ground floors of houses, walk-ups, apartment buildings of office buildings and the flat roof buildings should all have large roof structures to support growing space for diverse crops.
A boardwalk would be nice along the water with shops and some small hotels and bed and breakfast’s lining it.
It would also be great to see a trolley line established on Chapel to run from Brewery Square out to the intersection of Forest and Derby, which could be developed into a neighborhood or town center with a reformed zoning code.

posted by: Fernando Lage on June 7, 2010 2:10pm

How about a new boat ramp!

posted by: Hmmm... on June 7, 2010 4:39pm

Remember what this land use history for these lots. There is probably so much contamination out there that it would cost tons to clean up enough for residential. Not saying it ain’t possible but is it worth the money? Is it worth YOUR money? I’m just saying…

posted by: Lee Cruz on June 7, 2010 6:18pm

River Street has come a long way since I moved to New Haven in the early 80. This is due to a series of collaborations between the City and local businesses—Phoenix Press and Fair Haven Furniture to mention just two. With funding from EDA to stabilize the shoreline the city could make a reasonable argument for continued private investment; the key to a sustainable city. We can not argue that the shoreline is public space for public use and not invest public dollar to repair and maintain it. Will private businesses in the area benefit, absolutely and so will the residents of New Haven. The area is beautiful and investment, private and public just makes sense.

posted by: Ned on June 7, 2010 7:01pm

Which artists are going to gentrify River St. and subject themselves to the abusive tax policies of the city of New Haven? There’s lots of talk about Fair Haven Furniture, but the Mayor’s office wouldn’t even buy an armoire from them - Sounds like Henry Fernandez’ comments - lot’s of hot air and wishing.Will the city be foreclosing on Griffith Energy Services, 24 River St.? They currently owe $1,655.78…The “boardwalk” has already been chopped in half to benefit Colony Hardware, more feel good lip service from city hall.

posted by: Jamara Newell on June 8, 2010 1:59am

I live in that area and agree there is plenty potential. I am rather new so I don’t really know how bad the crime is, but I’ve never felt threatened personally.
There is also some rather attractive real estate along the river if they clean the river up get some more retail it can become a up and coming neighborhood.

posted by: Voytec on June 9, 2010 8:42pm

As a Fair Haven resident and webmaster for the Chatham Square Neighborhood Association I have linked and commented the article on our site : http://chathamsquare.ning.com/profiles/blogs/for-now-nobody-wants-to-go-to

I have moved from West River to Fair Haven 3 years ago, and many people were asking me if I am crazy… I have never felt threatened or unsafe in Fair Haven. I have met many very dedicated neighbors and friends - people who really want to change the reputation of the neighborhood. Everyday when I go for a walk along the Quinnipiac river or launch my kayak I am reinforcing my opinion that I have bought a property in a neighborhood with a best potential to become a gem of New Haven. Conquer your irrational fears on a sunny day and come to the shore of Quinnipiac River… What about having lunch at Jennelle’s?

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