Laura Glesby Photo
New Haven & New Jersey firefighters at work.
Firefighters from New Haven and New Jersey collaborated to take apart a condemned Newhallville playground, piece by piece — so that safe, new play equipment can rise in its place in honor of a local “angel.”
Where Angels Play, a New Jersey-based organization that gathers current and retired firefighters to build playgrounds across the country and abroad, arrived in New Haven to demolish — and, eventually, rebuild — the playground behind the homeless services organization Christian Community Action at 660 Winchester Ave. on Friday morning,
Where Angels Play is no stranger to Connecticut. The group specializes in building playgrounds to memorialize lives that have been lost, and took on an early project in honor of the children murdered in the Sandy Hook mass shooting. On Friday, it began work on a playground to honor Kathy Carroll, a longtime addiction researcher and philanthropist at Christian Community Action who passed away suddenly in 2020.
“It’s a cathartic thing to not only go to tragedies,” said Where Angels Play founder Bill Lavin. “It’s the firehouse without the fires.”
Where Angels Play volunteer Ricky Testa saws off a climbing deck.
The organization collects donations to fund every playground it constructs. Carroll’s playground (read more about the project here) will cost about $250,000, Lavin estimated. Carroll’s loved ones and sponsors like Jersey Mike’s Subs have already contributed a significant portion of that funding.
New Haven Fire Chief John Alston, who knew Lavin personally, reached out to the group upon hearing of an interest among Carroll’s family members in building a playground in her honor. Alston connected Lavin with IAFF Local 825, the New Haven firefighters union, to gather local volunteers for the project. The City Department of Public Works is also contributing.
“Anytime someone comes to a firefighter,” said fire union President Patrick Cannon, “we always answer.”
Alston, Lavin, and Cannon in a nonprofit-union-administration partnership.
New Haven firefighter Justin Bialecki removes a slide.
A dozen New Haven firefighters joined Where Angels Play volunteers to remove the faded playground at 660 Winchester, where Christian Community Action recently revived a transitional housing program called New H.O.P.E. The playground had grown too rusty, and the ground surrounding it too jagged, to be safely used by local kids.
In the spring, the group of volunteers hopes to install a new playground with colors and designs inspired by Carroll’s life — perhaps with swimming and literary imagery, suggested Charla Nich, a friend and mentee of Carroll’s.
Charla Nich.
Nich, a statistician at Yale who worked with Carroll, wore Carroll’s necklace as she watched the demolition begin. Nich described her friend and former boss as “the wind beneath the wings for so many people,” including kids at Christian Community Action.
“She was a goofball, too,” Nich added as the sounds of saws rang from the abandoned park. “The playground is fitting.”
Friday morning's volunteers.
The last framing poles of a former playground.
I'm so proud of these firefighters. Though I'm in awe of them and the tough work they do every day, its efforts like this that put them over the top. Great job!