Harp: Tennis Tourney Doesn’t Stiff City On Cop Protection

'Host City'????

What a bunch of nonsense!! We created this self-perpetuating monster! It is a parasite!!!!

There is not a municipality in the world that would take up this underperforming, manufactured white elephant of a sporting event! The NH Open has a hard enough time finding a viable 'sponsor', let alone a some other non-existent 'host city'!

Maybe the City can put 'ownership rights' out to bid and pass the savings on to the tax-base!
(but then the Open may have to Open their books...)

The biggest 'tell' in this article is where the Mayor wrote 'Connection' when she meant 'Connecticut'.....

Bill Saunders,

How much did it cost the taxpayers in police and court time to deal with your antics?

https://www.newhavenindependent.org/index.php/archives/entry/cop_on_stand_we_never_got_that_far/

Lets be real just what is spent on FIRE and Police would decrease their over time budgets significantly, it would also allow for NON profits to have little more in grant money to host tennis camps etc The VAST majority of NEW HAVENERS have NEVER been to the tennis tournament. This is an event that caters to everyone but newhaveners. THe only thing it does is tell peole that there are a few days in which they should feel safe to get off the highway travel 1.6 miles in a straight line with one right turn and one left turn and arrive at the venue. Those who live here are inconvenienced as our city streets are shut down and the use of the fields are limited because no one wants to see all the minorities playing soccer on the BLVD. You even see an increase police presence at the flea market the weekend of the tournament as to not scare the visitors from Southern CT and NY. If New Haven is a host then allow us to vote on a referendum, as the tax payers whose money is being used to decide if this is something we want to continue subsidizing for these wealthy corporations that OWN the event! FOr the amount of money we are spending and giving /donating maybe we could have an additional $40 off our taxes! OR we could uses it to spend on athletic programs right here for our own residents to participate in ...

In other words - taxpayers are subsidizing the enjoyment of mostly suburban people, just like Tweed. In addition to the tens of thousands of dollars in overtime for police and fire - a virtual monster payday extravaganza at taxpayer expense - the city stupidly also paid last year - $200,000 - and another $100K this year.

Mayor Harp - take off your rose colored glasses - you are running a $30 million deficit. You cannot have unlimited overtime in the fire and police departments, you cannot throw away taxpayer money on this event every single year. You can't afford it. If the "region" wants to support the tennis tournament - let it. In the meantime, just say no.

By the way - let's see that operating agreement. Not that I don't believe you or anything but you just pulled a fast one on $500,000 in raises for all your pets - and were deceitful in doing so. Therefore, I'd like to the see this agreement. Publish it here along with the one for last year.

Hey Lifer,

The City of New Haven never asked Ideat Village to cough money up for 'police protection'.
We were always a peaceful event that went through a legitimate permit process....which the Police and surrounding Neighborhood was 'noticed' about.... Sometimes we were asked for a $500 Deposit, sometimes not.... that is the definition of 'arbitrary', which has no place in 'governance'. Either way, that 'deposit' was always re-funded!

You can try and disparage me all you want -- you wind up disparaging a community of local artists as well... If this is your misconstrued 'angle', your rant is going to get tired very quickly..... in fact, I should have called you out the last time you tried to make yourself looking like a self-important insider with this same 'argument'...

Methinks you are the problem here, anonymous sir, madam, or whatever you want to call yourself....
Their are many words I could use to describe you that I will leave to the imagination of the commenting public! It's just more 'fun' that way!

Lifer: Assuming, arguendo, that Bill's antics did cause unnecessary cost to the city, how is that at all relevant to the subject of subsidy to the Tennis Tournament? Can you engage on the benefits to New Haven from the tournament, rather than change the subject to make a personal attacks on those who criticize those subsidies? The Tournament does contribute to youth tennis in New Haven, but how much? Do its contributions outweigh the direct $100K subsidy plus the overtime costs New Haven incurs? How different are hotel occupancy rates during the Tournament versus non-Tournament times? Restaurant sales? Reading Harp's letter, I wonder if she has Hooptie Syndrome: putting a $2,000 rims on a $500 car. (My wife keeps telling me to stop putting money into my 20 year-old Volkswagen, while I obsess about cracked seat covers in a car w/o functioning heat or a/c.)