Markeshia Ricks Photo
Candelaria at the Capitol.
Juan Candelaria is bringing New Haven’s quest to control Union Station to the state’s capitol.
The New Haven state representative has introduced a bill to transfer ownership of the train station to the city.
The bill is scheduled for a hearing Monday before the state legislature’s Government, Administration, and Election Committee.
“The city has been trying to negotiate in good faith with DOT [the state Department of Transportation]. DOT has not been responsive,” Candelaria said. “Why should we bid it out when the city has been running it for 30 years? Thirty years ago, they wanted to tear it down.”
“Look where we are today,” Candelaria continued. “We have built infrastructure. We have the free bus service going downtown. We have done improvements to make it work,” Candelaria added that, in his opinion, the city has a better vision for integrating the station into the neighborhood.
The city and the state have been divided over the question over future control of the station. (Read a full story about that here.) The state owns the property. The city’s parking authority has run it — well enough to generate surpluses to plow back into the station’s maintenance — under a 35-year lease that expires this year.
The state is seeking a three-year extension of that lease, which would keep responsibility for managing the station with the city. The state also is seeking to build a $40 million-to-$60 million, 1,000-space, seven-level parking garage on a current 260-space surface lot next to the perpetually full existing garage. After three years, according to the DOT, the plan is to bid out various aspects of the management to potential new contractors.
The Harp administration wants perpetual control — and preferably ownership — of the station because of its central role in the city’s plans for “transit-oriented” economic development that would focus on a mix of retail, office, and housing. Both the city and local activists have blasted the state’s design of the second garage.
The proposed new garage at Union Station.
The argument over the design of the garage has centered in part over whether to connect it more to the neighborhood and include retail. Candelaria said he believes the city has a better approach than the state to making the station part of a broader urban development strategy.
A Harp administration summary memo supporting Candelaria’s bill argues calls it a good “investment in our future, not just for the City of New Haven, but for the entire state.”
“We think that control of our station should stay local, that any new buildings on the site should be designed for our residents and the local community, and that any money made at our station or in its parking garages should be reinvested back into improvements at our station,” a statement the Harp administration distributed to citizens who have expressed interest in the future of the train station.
Members of the public can submit testimony electronically to the committee about Candelaria’s bill by emailing it .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).
Following is a status report on bills of particular interest to New Haven before the state legislature this session:
The 2017 Agenda
| Bill # | Status | Summary | Sponsors |
|---|---|---|---|
| SB11/ HB5539 | Committee Denied | Would legalize, tax recreational use of marijuana. | Candelaria Dillon Lemar Walker Porter et al |
| SB 17 | Committee Approved | Would make certain undocumented immigrant students (DREAMers) eligible for state college financial aid. | Looney |
| HB 5434 | Committee Approved | Would have CT join with other states to elect the President based on popular, rather than Electoral College, vote. | Winfield, Porter Albis Elliott D’Agostino et al. |
| HB 5458, HB 6058 | Committee Approved | Would establish electronic tolls on state highways. | Genga |
| HB 5575/HB 7126 | Passed Senate | Would regulate companies such as Uber and Lyft. | Scanlon |
| HB 5589 | Passed House | Would expand disclosure requirements for contributions to campaign funds. | Dillon Lemar D’Agostino Elliott et al. |
| HB 5591 | Passed House | Would require equal pay for employees doing comparable work. | Dillon Walker Lemar Albis D’Agostino Elliott et al. |
| HB 5703 | Committee Denied | Would have CT enter into an agreement with other states to limit “poaching” of each other’s businesses. | Lemar |
| HJ 13/HJr 95 | Passed House | Would amend the state constitution to permit early voting. | Lemar |
| HJ 16 | In Commitee | Would amend the state constitution to permit absentee voting for all voters. | Lemar |
| SB 1/HB 6212 | Committee Approved | Would require employers to provide paid family and medical leave for their employees. | Looney |
| SB 2 | Committee Approved | Would make the education funding formula more equitable. | Duff |
| SB 8 | Committee Denied | Would allow municipalities to adopt a 0.5% sales tax. | Looney |
| SB 10/HB 5743 | Passed Senate | Would strengthen hate crime laws. | Winfield |
| SB 13/HB 6208/HB 6456 | Committee Approved | Would increase the minimum wage. | Looney Winfield et al. Albis Candelaria D’Agostino Elliott Lemar Paolillo Porter Walker |
| SB 137 | Committee Denied | Would expand birth-to-three and provide universal pre-school, among other things. | Gerratana |
| SJ 5/HJ 1 | Passed House | Would amend the state constitution to create a “lock-box” for transportation funding. | Duff |
| HB 5588 | Committee Denied | Would limit certain bond allocations. | Dillon Lemar Albis Walker Elliott et al. |
| HB 5912HB 6127 | Committee Denied | Would establish a 1‑cent/ounce tax on sugared beverages. | Lemar Elliott et al. |
| HB 6554 | Committee Denied | Would tax carried interest as ordinary income. | Porter Albis Lemar Elliott Winfield Candelaria Dillon D’Agostino et al. |
| HB 5831 | Committee Denied | Would provide bonding for transitional housing for NH female ex- offenders. | Porter Candelaria Lemar Winfield Looney Paolillo |
| SB 631 | Committee Denied | Would provide bonding to make structural improvements to the Shubert Theatre. | Winfield Looney Walker Porter Lemar Candelaria Paolillo |
| HB 6863 | Committee Denied | Would authorize bonds for renovating the Barbell Club as a youth/ community center. | Canelaria Porter Paolillo Lemar Winfield |
| SB 649 | Committee Approved | Would allow local building officials to impose fines for building w/o a permit. | Looney Winfield Walker Candelaria Lemar Porter Paolillo Et al. |
| SB 590/591 | Committee Denied | Would limit police ccoperation w/Immigration and Customs Enforcement (590); establish an immigrant’s bill of rights | Winfield |
| SB 20 | Committee Denied | Would require affordability to be considered in reviewing proposed health insurance rate hikes. | Looney |
| HB 6352 | Committee Approved | Would establish a deposit system for car tires. | Ritter Gresko McCrory |
| HB 6901 | Committee Denied | Would impose a surtax on large employers that pay an average wage less than $15/hour. | Elliott |
| HB 7278 | Passed Senate | Would convey various parcels to New Haven, among other things. | Gov’t Administration and Elections |
This should be a huge concern to anyone who uses the iconic New Haven Train Station. In the past few years, Park New Haven has operated Union Station and the parking garage there as the most user-friendly customer-service focused quasi-governmental operation in the city, if not the state. The union employees are local folks who work hard under dedicated leadership to maintain a facility that is clean, well-run and responsive. While holding parking rates down, PNH has introduced a number of initiatives to make parking and commuting through the Station worry-free. As a customer, I appreciate the Pre-payment option to speed exiting, the clean, well-lit facility with its obvious security presence, and innovations like the valet parking option have saved my day when I've been late for a train. PNH uses social media to keep me informed and responds to my questions. Show me a state-run facility that operates like that--anywhere! If the city loses this control to the state DOT you will watch our Station deteriorate before our eyes. TO THE GOVERNOR AND DOT: Fight another battle and leave Union Station to city operation. I'll take Doug Hausladen's leadership any day!