Contributed photo
At the scene of Wednesday's car crash on Peck St.
The following opinion piece was submitted by Petisia Adger, a Peck Street resident, retired former New Haven assistant police chief, and founder of Urban Grants 4 Us, Inc.
To no avail, since the purchase of our homes on Peck Street in 1995, the Colon family and I have been petitioning various alderpersons and filed several forms requesting that the City of New Haven:
1. Place a regular traffic light with a full traffic signal at the intersection of Peck Street/Blatchley Avenue, and;
2. Install speed bumps on Peck Street to reduce the speeding and serious motor vehicle accidents that occur at least twice a month at this named intersection.
Today, at approximately 2:10 p.m., another driver had to be extricated from his vehicle after crashing into a pick-up truck at this same intersection.
Over the last few years, our Peck Street neighborhood has become a prime example of how neglect of quality-of-life issues deteriorate the fabric of a thriving community.
We have been subjected to noise pollution and environmental contamination through the incessant boisterous barking of dogs emanating throughout our homes and at street level from the Paw Haven dog boarding facility across the railroad tracks.
We have, on our own, approached and photographed drug dealers and drug users parked on Peck Street in order to drive them away from doing business in front of our homes, where our children play.
And we have been unable to get relief from the excessive speed of vehicular traffic recklessly traveling down Peck Street.
All of these above negative influences are attributable to some of our owner-occupied homes being sold to corporations, as our long-time residents migrate to environmentally healthy and safe neighborhoods outside the City of New Haven.
Several more owner-occupied Peck Street residents are prepping to also sell their homes in the near future.
For approximately 28 years, I have enjoyed the friendships, comradery, and community celebrated among my Peck Street neighbors, but alas, living under these extreme environmental unhealthy polluted conditions, has caused a great level anxiety, migraines, loss of sleep, exhaustion, and use of medication, that is clearly behind my control.
In the end, my Peck Street neighborhood has become a quintessential example of inequitable historic land use decisions that diminishes the health of a community. One thing that I have learned from this experience is that, if land use decisions don’t happen with the residents’ input, these decisions will happen to them.
More aptly put, if the decisions don’t happen with you, they will happen to you.
Hence, the only other alternative remaining that would keep my family safe, would be to leave my home of 28 years, and this city, where I have lived and worked for 61 years.
Editor’s note: In a Wednesday evening email press release, New Haven Police Department spokesperson Capt. Rose Dell wrote that video surveillance at the scene showed a Subaru driving through a stop sign and colliding with a Dodge Ram as it traveled west on Blatchley through the intersection with Peck. The Subaru then veered sideways and struck a tree. Firefighters used the jaws of life to extricate the driver of the Subaru from his car. “He was transported to the hospital for treatment,” Dell wrote about the Subaru’s driver. “His injuries are considered serious and may be life-threatening.”
Anyone who witnessed this crash or who may have information valuable to the investigators
is urged to contact police via phone at 203 – 946-6304 or through the Department’s
anonymous tip-line at 866 – 888-TIPS (8477).
Petisia, thank you for writing this article. These same quality of life issues are happening all over the city. It has never been this bad. I have owned my home for 43 years and am very involved and love my neighborhood. But the city has virtually abandoned us. The attitude of the city employees is deplorable. They have an appalling attitude and seem to take no pride in anything they are responsible for. The Mayor has proven to be useless and unconcerned and ineffective. The most essential things are left undone. We need a new energetic person at the helm who will grab the bull by the horns and get a handle on this stuff. It is not rocket science.