Alders Accept State $ For Parks Upgrades

I am happy that money is allocated to improve drainage conditions along Forest Road between Chapel Street and Edgewood Way. It's been a long time problem. I remember once taking Forest Road to the Post Road, only to see a lot of cars turning around in front of a gushing river of water. So I turned around too! Since I've been without a car since 2007, that was 15 years ago a problem.

The idea of having to vote on millions of dollars in free money is pretty amusing by itself. While I'm glad these "long awaited improvements" will finally get done and residents and our kids will see a direct benefit - let's be very clear about why this vote needed to happen and why it took so long. City leaders, including the last several mayors, the BOA past and present have annually failed to invest and protect these facilities.

The city's general fund budget this year is $633 million, the highest spending ever. The debt service is nearly the highest at more than $65 million dollars, dwarfed fractionally by three other years in 2015, 2016 and 2017. This year's debt payment will consume more than 10% of the city's general fund budget.

City leaders have repeatedly failed to reign in spending and debt and instead have chosen ever more expensive union wages and benefits; added new departments, more employees, more irrational school funding and construction; the Great Escape debacle and a cadre of foolishness with regard to smaller financial transgressions.

What city leaders have done is ignore facility maintenance and management. That's why Walker Rink had to be re-built at great expense, why some schools have become obsolete before their time and why even new schools have maintenance issues. The parks have not been maintained nor have playing facilities at these schools. The city's been cheating the routine work in order to pay for the political capital other spending generates.

Now they want attaboy awards for taking free money which they don't deserve to do work they should have done and should have been doing for years but haven't, which now means, we need to spend large sums of money all at once, which we don't have. So they beg, They vote. We finally benefit. Just don't give any of them any credit.

By the way - stop comparing us to the suburbs. The public votes on the budget, the tax increases and they choose to maintain their public facilities.

I hope they also fix the sidewalk that is next to the new bike lane. It's down to bare dirt at some point and most likely impossible to use by someone with mobility issues, between the lack of a smooth surface and numerous trip hazards.

Well, how about just saving Kensington Street Park, the only one in the Dwight neighborhood, that the President of the Board of Alders along with the complicit Mayor, are trying to sell to the worst taxpayer-funded slum lord with the worst documented record of neglect, crimes and abuse of its tenants - The Community Builders, or TCB as it is known, for the sum of $1. The net gain is supposed to be 7 affordable apartments. The loss will be devastating to hundreds of low-income residents nearby, including elders and toddlers who have no place else to sit outside. All our parks need to be preserved, protected, and cared for.

LaRubia - because Elicker needs the support from BOA President Walker-Myers. Frankly I'm kind of shocked that the BOA voted to accept money to support parks in more affluent neighborhoods, while neglecting the poorer neighborhoods like Dwight. How did this pass the equity council?

Many thanks to state rep. Pat Dillon for listening to concerns about decades of flooding, unsafe street conditions, and property damage in the Forest Road flood zone--and for making something happen. Brava!

While I agree these improvements are much needed at a most used locations, we should also invest in parks in some of our poorest neighborhoods who don’t often have access to transportation to these parks that are better cared for and advocated for. Kensington Park was neglected and abandoned and sold off to a questionable landlord when neighbors complained about broken park play equipment and infrastructure, in one of the sections of the city with the highest asthma rates. West Rock, West Hills, Dwight, The Hill, Dixwell, Newhallville, Beaver Hills and Fair Haven, Quinnipiac Meadows and the East Shore all deserve safe and clean parks with playground equipment and trees and other recreational infrastructure to give everyone in this city a nice place to enjoy recreation outdoors in their neighborhoods.