Quakers Seek A Land Trade

A group of New Haven Quakers gathered in a civic, not religious, meetinghouse, to offer New Haven’s parks commissioners a deal: a moneyless land swap.

“If the parks department is willing, we would trade this little piece of land,” Frank B. Cochran told the commissioners at a meeting Wednesday night at the Pardee Green House in East Rock Park. ​“It really could be a win-win situation.”

New Haven Friends, a Quaker group based in Fair Haven Heights, is looking to expand their existing daycare facility, currently based in the basement of their Friends Center. Six Friends showed up Wednesday night to appeal to the parks board.

The group hopes to trade a dogleg of land stretching in front of the center on East Grand Avenue and along its side all the way to Russell Street, for a piece of property in Quarry Park (directly behind the Center and currently owned by the city).

Commissioners raised concerns about the proposal after hearing the Friends describe it. City parks chief Robert Levine questioned whether the parks department should be in the business of land-swapping. They put off holding a vote until their February meeting.

Growing

“We have space for 16 kids right now” in the day care center, Michael Anderson, a Friend and preparator for the Peabody Museum, told the commissioners. ​“But we’d like to expand to 60.”

And The Friends, said Cochran, are prepared to move forward with the project. They have plans to build a new, larger facility to house the daycare center. They’re seeking grants and other money for the plan. And they have zoning board approval to do so, using that adjoining dogleg of land at 225 East Grand Ave.

Then they came across a more appealing option: swapping with the city for a more favorable section behind the building.

“As I’m sure you all know, Quarry Park is not a heavily developed or heavily used park in the area next to the railroad tunnel,” said Cochran, ​“except for one little dogleg which belongs to the Friends.”

The Friends want to give that little dogleg, which runs along an existing Amtrak tunnel, to the parks department. It’s about 10,000 square feet, according Cochran, while the piece they want is about 7,000. 

Cochran and others were inspecting the property with an architect a few months ago. ​“I just happened to say, ​‘Wouldn’t it be easier to have the site plan work if we had a little more land in the back?’ And indeed, the architect said it would.”

If the Friends were able to use that piece of the park for the new daycare center building, Cochran said, they would be able to expand their parking lot by two places. And it would make building a playground much easier.

“It’s safer for the kids, in general, to be behind the building instead of near the street,” Cochran said. ​“And the neighbors would probably be happier if that big facility was built further back from the residential street.”

The Friends have had the dogleg since the previous owner purchased it from Amtrak about 20 years ago. ​“But it’s not of any particular use to us,” Cochran said. 

That bit of the park is forested, according to the Friends, mostly with second growth. It was quarried in the early 20th century, so its topography is slightly irregular. And there are two or three large dead trees the Friends would remove. Cochran suggested the parks department could potentially use the end at Russell Street for off-street parking.

Ideally, the deal would be done as a mutual quit-claim, in which no money changes hand. ​“We don’t think that a monetary exchange is appropriate because the parcels would be appraised essentially as empty forest land,” Cochran said. ​“And the size of the parcel is really an advantage to New Haven.”

Parks Commissioner Michael Tucker admitted he doesn’t know much about the park. ​“I’d love to be able to compare the two pieces of land,” he said.

“We’ll be happy to take you out there!” Cochran responded, nodding enthusiastically.

It’s an interesting park, he continued. It was indeed quarried, but there’s no huge, typical hole – rock was taken out of several places in small amounts.

“We have a small ​‘Friends of Quarry Park’ group who have been trying to do some maintenance,” said Tracy Blanford, a Friend and neighbor. Historically, neighbors have had to pitch in the clean up the park. But the dogleg area is pretty much overgrown, said Blanford. And part of it is a rocky ledge; it sat outside the area that was blasted for the train tunnel.

A Place for Children

The Friends are hoping to open their new, larger daycare center by 2013. ​“But we’ll probably have to ask the board of zoning for and extension on the time to build because it’s a tough fundraising climate,” said Anderson.

The friends would be very happy with the land swap even if the building doesn’t come through, he said, ​“because it is right adjacent to the present parking, and the dogleg is not useful to us.”

“Why do you want to do this?” asked Commissioner Migdalia Castro.

“I think it’s fair to say that there’s a considerable need in the neighborhood,” said Cochran. ​“There are some friends who use it but by no means is it a Quaker-only facility. There aren’t many other options for people in the neighborhood.”

The largest need for daycare in the area, Anderson explained, is from the age of 3 months to 3 years old. ​“And our center is unusual in that we accept kids from that early age.”

The daycare, set up as a cooperative, runs on a sliding scale income based payment program, also offering scholarships to families in need.

“We’ve consulted neighbors at each stage of this,” said Jane Coppock, another Friend and neighbor. ​“They’e been invited to come and talk at the Friends meetings, and so far apparently it’s very, very successful. The parents love it and the kids love it.”

“And that’s s the vision as it expands – to provide non-religious Quaker daycare for poor kids because there’s such a big need,” she said. ​“The people who’ve developed it have been completely committed to the daycare, and the neighborhood, for seven to eight years now.”

Preserve, Protect & Enhance

Discussing the proposal after the Friends departed, commissioners put to question the role of the parks department.

“In the history of the parks, we’re here to preserve, protect and enhance,” said Bob Levine, director of the Department of Parks, Recreation and Trees, ​“not necessarily to allow others to just build what they want to build.”

He wouldn’t encourage trading property and giving property away, he told the other board members.

Fair Haven Heights Alderwoman Maureen O’Sullivan-Best expressed concern about the parks’ responsibility. ​“Right now, that dog-leg is a buffer between where the park ends and Amtrak begins,” she said. Amtrak has been expanding its rail lines through the park, and it hasn’t always gone smoothly. 

Tucker lent a sole note of support to the proposal. ​“I think they’re a great organization, and I think their goals are great too.”

Running out of time, commissioners tabled the vote until the next meeting, to be held Feb. 16. Levine left its members with one last, rhetorical question.

“Is the park really here to help others do their good deeds?” Levine asked. ​“That’s the issue.”