In Tower's Shadow, Sylvan Avenue Gets A Shine

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In Tower’s Shadow, Sylvan Avenue Gets A Shine

by Paul Bass | Jul 19, 2011 11:54 am

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

Posted to: The Hill

Paul Bass Photo Hill neighbors wanted to rescue a former Black Panther house from the wrecking ball. Instead, they got something better: new sidewalks, fences, roofs, flowers—a transformation of a hardscrabble street where a senior housing tower has landed.

That transformation is taking place right now on Sylvan Avenue, near Yale-New Haven Hospital,.

It’s happening as builders complete the new senior housing tower on Sylvan Avenue.

Those two facts are related. Integrally related.

A developer named Trinity Financial is completing the $36 million,104-apartment tower at Sylvan and Ward right behind Hill Regional Career High School. Public-housing seniors who live around the block are expected to move in this September, a month early. The building also includes market-rate apartments aimed at medical workers. The seniors used to live at the William T. Rowe apartments at 904 Howard, a crumbling tower that will come down, with the land underneath going to Yale-New Haven Hospital for unspecified future use. (Read about the swap and the plan here.)

Jackie James represents the neighborhood on the Board of Aldermen. She also grew up in a house less than a block from the site; her mom still lives there.

James led a neighborhood fight for more public input into the plan. The fight included a quest to save houses that were being torn down, including one that the Black Panthers inhabited during the tumultuous early 1970s. James wanted it preserved as a community center.

The houses did come down. But the neighborhood, Trinity, and Yale-New Haven came up with a deal, a “community benefits agreement.” The new tower includes a community space, where James hopes that seniors will be able to become more involved in neighborhood events. And Trinity and Yale-New Haven coughed up $110,000 for a neighborhood-led committee to use to bring a shine to Sylvan, long a popular cut-through for drivers—and drug-buyers—heading west from the medical area.

Now that committee has gotten to work.

James (at right in photo) enlisted the help of Matt Martino (at left), a contractor whose Xtreme Home Improvement already does lots of work. They figured out how to stretch the $110,000 like Silly Putty (in part by convincing subcontractors to offer discounts)—and how to entice neighbors to help clean up their neighborhood in the process.

Fifteen houses along four blocks of Sylvan are getting home improvements ranging from fences to new roofs to driveways.

Each morning Martino and a crew including previously unemployed neighbors and young people from New Haven’s Youth@Work summer jobs program and the New Haven Family Alliance spend an hour cleaning up trash in the neighborhood.

They’ve also been helping neighbors clear out old junk for an upcoming neighborhood bulk trash pick-up day coordinated with the city.

After the morning clean-up, the crew gets to work helping the professionals associated with Martino on home improvement projects.

Lawrence Marjan (pictured) and Marisol Rosario are getting their roof fixed, their foundation repainted and dry-locked, as well much-needed new gutters installed.

Next door, Mozel and Bertie White, who have lived on the street for decades, are receiving a new driveway and roof, upper windows and siding. They’ve agreed to pay for some of the work not covered by the project; James and Martino have been talking to neighbors about city programs they can leverage to get help in, say, fixing sidewalks. Part of the point of the project is to motivate homeowners to take on their own improvements, James said.

At two Habitat for Humanity-built houses, the crew has put up posts in preparation for new fences.

Years of old junk have come to the sidewalk, awaiting bulk pick-up, in front of the house where Peter Nestir grew up. Nestir’s mother Eufrozyna, who’s 80, still lives in the house. Martino’s crew removed overgrown trees and bushes from her property last week, opening up a dangerously dark corner property. Next they’re paving a driveway and replacing the fence.

Peter (pictured above) now lives next door to his mom and planning his own improvements.

Lena Largie’s deck is scheduled to be painted. “This is money that we fought for. We’ve been working at this for a long time,” said Largie, who chairs the neighborhood management team. “I feel good about it. We’re just waiting to see the end results.”

The summer teen crew plans to paint the porch and powerwash the house at 30 Sylvan.

Eunice Chambers always wanted a white picket fence. She couldn’t afford one. She’s getting one now—along with a yard clean-up and a swingset for her grandkids. Another elderly homeowner, Mary Clark, feels uncomfortable about people passing through her backyard at night; she’ll get a new fence, too, along with siding and new outdoor lights. “It’s a blessing,” said Clark, who’s 77 and has lived in the house since 1979. She has raised 13 grandchildren in the house, she said. “It’s going to be beautiful. I’m going to enjoy looking at it.”

Loretta Ellis (pictured at the top of the story), who has lived on the block for 22 years, will have an overgrown bush removed from the front of her home. She’ll also get a new fence and windows.

James struck a deal with Eddie Rodriguez: He’d pay for a new roof and interior siding at his Eddie’s Market, while the project delivers him a new awning, front door and sign. “We want to lighten up this corner” so the seniors moving to the new tower feel comfortable visiting the store, said James (pictured outside it).

“When Jackie came and told me about this, I said if you help me [with the outside], I’ll fix the store inside,” said Rodriguez, who has run his shop for over three decades.

A big challenge for the neighborhood crew has involved picking up all the trash that accumulates along the street each day, James and Martino said. They’re trying to figure out where most of it’s coming from so the street can remain clean after all the improvements.

As they spoke about the trash, a man threw a banana peel out the window as he drove his truck through the neighborhood.

“That pisses me off,” Martino said, as a member of his work crew, Derek Teel, picked it up.

Teel (pictured), who’s 48, got a paying gig for the summer with the crew. He lives around the corner. “It’s well overdue,” he said of the Sylvan clean-up and spiff-up drive. “This neighborhood’s neglected a lot. Any way to get the neighborhood improved, I’m all for it.”

Once completed next month, the Sylvan effort could provide a model for how neighborhoods can use development projects as a spark to make their streets cleaner and safer.

“We were pleased to work with the city and Alderwoman James to support sidewalk improvements in the Hill neighborhood. We recognize the importance of this kind of activity,” said Yale-New Haven Hospital spokesman Vin Petrini. “That is why we have partnered with the city to sustain affordable housing through the land swap that allowed for the timely construction of the new Rowe [senior housing] development. We have also partnered with Habitat for Humanity to construct new homes on Sylvan Avenue and have promoted our HOME buying program for our employees to purchase their first homes in New Haven.”

“This was once probably one of the worst streets in the city. It’s easy to get off the highway, buy your drugs and get back on the highway,” James said. “This project has motivated people to fix up their properties. We didn’t get the Panther house. But we were able to revitalize the street. People are beginning to feel safe and part of the community.”

The neighborhood plans to celebrate the project’s completion with a festival the last Saturday of August.

Then, James said, it’s on to surrounding streets to spark similar clean-ups.

Comments

posted by: anon on July 19, 2011 12:21pm

The “land swap” was done so that YNHH can build another enormous parking garage next door, that contributes car exhaust and higher death/sickness rates to the neighborhood—correct?

posted by: Demo by Neglect? on July 19, 2011 12:49pm

The full story would include an investigation into how the William Rowe Tower is ready for the wrecking ball after only 35 years.

http://www.emporis.com/application/?nav=building&id=williamroweapartments-newhavenuen-ct-usa

That’s right, just 35 years of use, and now about to be razed.

Where is the investigation into the Housing Authority’s gross mis-management of 175 housing units? Or is the builder to be blamed? In any case, what a horrible waste of taxpayer money.

Unless there is a sub-plot, with a deal having been cut between the hospital and the city…

posted by: Vinny G on July 19, 2011 1:29pm

The Yale land swap also placed housing for patients families undergoing medical procedures and retail space along Howe st.

posted by: Real Community Benefits on July 19, 2011 4:13pm

This is a great example of how residents, community leaders, businesses, developers, and elected city leaders working together can balance the needs of neighborhoods, our struggling communities, and the “bottom line.” Great work, Jackie James!

That said, it’s clear the Community Benefits Agreement needs to be revisited because the hospital has clearly not abided by many provisions, such as the local hiring of 100 Hill or NH residents per year. Maybe if we get more folks like Jackie elected to the Board we’d actually have the power to enforce these things. With the constant construction and development going on it’s unconscionable that as many as 1 in 4 New Havenites are Un- or under-employed.

posted by: anon on July 19, 2011 4:58pm

Community Benefits, New Haven has plenty of jobs but 80% to 90% of them go to folks who don’t live here. Since the jobs all go to suburbanites, people who live here are left with pollution and streets that are too busy to cross, which pretty much kills any chance of local business growth. Community benefits can help balance things out a bit.

We should start with a benefits agreement with the city government, though (such as residency incentives), seeing that the vast majority of our taxpayer dollars are exported to pay for the salaries and benefits of suburban workers. Yale University already provides a ton of benefits to its local workers so should be a model for the other big employers in town, like the City and YNHH.

posted by: Icarus on July 19, 2011 6:39pm

Anon,

Why do you believe employers hire people based on region and not competency or skill? You realize YNHH provides healthcare right? Who cares where they come from as long as the result is better healthcare for the residents of New Haven…

posted by: MonJah on July 20, 2011 1:46am

Why does it always seem that many low income housing is razed so quickly? Wonder how long eastern circle will remain as is.

posted by: Darnell on July 20, 2011 8:49am

Great work Jackie!

posted by: anon on July 20, 2011 2:39pm

“Who cares where they come from as long as the result is better healthcare.”

As long as we continue to think that way, the surrounding areas will continue to get worse.

The existing situation, in which tens of thousands of people drive into the suburbs and pollute the city (and people living in the city have no jobs or opportunities to start businesses in part because of that fact), actually results in much worse healthcare, not better healthcare.

Perhaps since the Federal government pays for much of that care, and the people stuck with lower-quality communities aren’t the same people who our lawmakers hang out with every day, our leaders don’t seem to pay attention to this problem.

posted by: Icarus on July 20, 2011 7:25pm

Anon,

I agree that it would be nice to reduce pollution. However, I find several of your comments confusing. You realize many local New Haven residents do work at YNHH and Yale U. However, are you suggesting the hospital staff with a greater percentage of New Haven residents without regard to their clinical background or education and that this would improve healthcare? I find that hard to believe considering the skills necessary to provide adequate care for all types of patients.

Also, I am unsure why you are so hostile towards the suburbs. You seem to forget that many in the suburbs contribute in many ways to New Haven. I for one (I live in West Haven), volunteer in New Haven and contribute to local businesses by making many of my purchases within the city. Also note, YNHH provides a housing subsidy (for employees)to first time home buyers for homes purchased in New Haven…

Blaming New Haven’s problems on the suburbs is misinformed and only seeks to divide CT. It is a global world AND region. I hope you will reign in your aggravation towards to suburbs and realize they are not as bad as you think.

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