Brian Slattery Photo
Night Market in the 9th Sq. in May.
Downtown streets will ditch cars for arts for parts of October, thanks to two different sets of road closures approved by the Board of Alders.
Local legislators gave those approvals Tuesday night during the latest bimonthly meeting of the full Board of Alders, which was held in the Aldermanic Chamber on the second floor of City Hall.
The alders voted unanimously in support of an order closing Trumbull Street from Whitney Avenue to Orange Street on Sunday, Oct. 2 from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. for a “free community arts celebration open house/block party.”
They also voted unanimously in support of an order closing Chapel Street from College Street to High Street to York Street on Friday, Oct. 14 from 8:30 a.m. to midnight for the Town Green District’s next “New Haven Night Market.”
Thomas Breen photo
Tuesday night's Board of Alders meeting.
According to a special event permit application submitted on Aug. 4 to the Department of Public Works by Debbie Hesse, the Oct. 2 Trumbull Street closure is for an event called “The Ely Center Block Party.”
That’s in reference to the Ely Center of Contemporary Art, housed out of a 10,000-plus square-foot Elizabethan mansion at 51 Trumbull St. that a local art gallery nonprofit recently purchased after the previous owner, the regional arts education organization ACES, had planned on selling the property to a residential developer.
“We are planning a free community arts celebration on the afternoon of Sunday, October 2nd that will take the form of an open house and block party,” Hesse wrote in her application to the city. “There will be family friendly art activities and tours both inside and out.”
Set up time for the event will start at 1 p.m. The event itself will begin at 2 and go through 5.
According to an Aug. 16 letter submitted by Town Green District Director of Marketing & Events Francesa Vignola to Board of Alders President Tyisha Walker-Myers, the Oct. 14 Crown Street closure is for the “October 2022 New Haven Night Market street festival event.”
“The New Haven Night Market is a bi-annual celebration of all things New Haven – art, music,
shopping, dining, activities, nonprofits & more!” Vignola wrote. “The event is about bringing out folks who reside, visit, work and learn here out for an evening of experiences, connections, fun, and most importantly community.”
She wrote that the Town Green District has already hosted five Night Markets in the past: four of which took place in the Ninth Square along Orange Street between Chapel and George Streets, and one of which was held on College Street between Elm and Chapel Streets. “As we bring the event back to its regular, bi-annual schedule, we hope to return to the Chapel Street Historic District but in a location that more directly supports commerce and businesses located along Chapel and College Streets.”
The event itself will go from 5 to 10 p.m. on Oct. 4, “with a full stage of live music performing on the hour, every hour, ongoing free activities for people of all ages, special art gallery hours, dining & shopping pop-ups and promotions, a vast selection of free-to-play games, and much more.”
Road closures will begin at 8:30 a.m. along Chapel Street from College to High Streets. Access to Chapel from Crown and High will remain open to traffic until 1 p.m., at which point High will be closed to allow for equipment set up on Chapel from High to York.
Why are the Alders involved in this decision?
The two times I closed off Orange Street for Ideat Village (2009/2010), it required a visit to 200 Orange Street, a simple application, and a $50 fee....no muss, no fuss, and a quick approval!