Thomas Breen file photo
Now-retired ex-public works head Jeff Pescosolido.
Long-time city servant and public works director Jeff Pescosolido has stepped down, leaving Deputy Chief Administrative Officer Rebecca Bombero to fill his post until the Elicker administration finds a permanent replacement.
Pescosolido’s last day on the job as director of the city’s Department of Parks & Public Works was Friday, May 19, according to city spokesperson Lenny Speiller. He’s now working as the director of public works for the town of Stonington, as reported in The Day.
He spent more than two decades working in New Haven public works, including the final eight as leader of the department.
Pescosolido was appointed as the director of public works by former Mayor Toni Harp in 2015. In 2020, his oversight responsibilities grew when Mayor Justin Elicker and the Board of Alders split up the former “Parks, Recreation and Trees” department such that public works, and Pescosolido, assumed responsibility for New Haven’s parks and trees as well as sidewalks and roads.
Read about that departmental merger, which spurred criticism from open space advocates, here and here.
Speiller said that Bombero, another longtime city employee who currently serves as deputy CAO and who previously helmed the city’s parks department, is assuming all of Pescosolido’s responsibilities until a permanent replacement is found.
I liked Joe … he was a good guy, from a resident homeowner perspective. He always returned my phone calls and was always very responsive to my requests. When I was new to my neighborhood I called him and asked could he stop by so we could walk the street I live one and I could show him where we could use some response by Public Works. He said yes, and that he would bring a few people with him. He showed up with LCI, Traffic & Parking, City Engineer Zinn, Parks, NHPD, NHFD … we walked the entire 4 blocks of Truman - both sides, went into some back yards, talked to some neighbors. As a result we got a lot of stuff done on Truman - not everything - but LOT!!! Street lights brighter, sidewalk repairs, trees trimmed, blight addressed … a lot!
We’ll miss Joe!