Brian Slattery Photo
Maybe it was the cold, or the snow finally getting to the Elm City. Maybe it was the parking situation. Whatever it was, Friday’s On9 — produced monthly by the Town Green District in cooperation with the businesses in the area — seemed quiet.
In the window of Reynolds Fine Art, artist Robert Reynolds (pictured above) kept visitors coming through his gallery to watch him paint, and add a few lines to his painting, if they wished.
Italian restaurant Skappo, on Crown Street, was packed full enough to fog up the front window.
Miso likewise drew its usual healthy crowd. As 8 p.m. approached, a visible flow of people hurried along Chapel Street so as not to be late for the New Haven Theater Company’s production of Doubt at English Building Markets.
But at 7:30 — the On9 events ran from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. — many restaurants were virtually empty. Artspace was quiet. Most of the tables in the beleaguered 9th Note were unoccupied. There was no one on the street.
The atmosphere in Fletcher Cameron Design, however, was warm and upbeat, as Mayor Toni Harp, Town Green Executive Director Win Davis, Economic Development Administrator Matthew Nemerson, and many others welcomed the new business to the neighborhood.
They helped Christine Ingraham and Gregory Spiggle, the principals in Fletcher Cameron’s design team, cut the ribbon to officially open business.
“Now everyone get your kitchen remodeled!” someone in the crowd said, to laughs.
The Town Green’s Public Space Initiatives Manager Matthew Griswold returned the giant ribbon-cutting scissors to their official case.
Ingraham said that moving Fletcher Cameron Design to New Haven from Guilford, where they’d been for a decade, was “one of the coolest things we’ve done yet.” The move happened quickly, when acquaintance Fred Giampietro told them he was moving his gallery from Ninth Square to Chapel Street and wanted to see if they were interested in the location.
“We jumped at the chance,” Ingraham said. “We loved the idea of being in Ninth Square. New Haven is a pretty prime spot right now for development.” She mentioned that Fletcher Cameron does both individual kitchens and modular kitchens for apartment buildings, like those slated to go up in the area. But she was mostly interested in being in a more artistically vibrant place.
“There’s just a lot of creativity going on here,” she said.
She’s right. Except, perhaps, at the end of a very snowy month. Here’s to a quick — but not too quick — spring thaw.
Landlords, businesses and people interested in a city identity outside of Yale are ready for Ninth Square to be the hub of activity many so often claim it is. There are creative and unique entrepreneurial endeavors taking place, so it's unfortunate to hear of a low turnout for any event in the area.
The reality is until the 3 or 4 housing developments expected to be built and completed around the Ninth Square, there won't be any concrete foot traffic. I think it's only a matter of time until the area hits a precipice, but until then fans should spread word. This neighborhood is going to be one of the last in the city center that isn't bombarded with Yale Properties and their strict demands.
Support the underdogs and help build up what is also an important connector between the downtown and historic Wooster Square/Little Italy.