Lunch carts fill the corner of Cedar and York every working day. Should they fill the Green, too?
That was one of the suggestions offered at a “place-making workshop” convened by the city and the Proprietors of the Green Wednesday night. In the run-up to the 375th anniversary of New Haven in the spring of next year, the mayor and Proprietors have created a committee and hired consultants, Project for Public Spaces (PPS) to plan much needed renovation and innovation on the Green.
Architecture writer Dickinson said he’d like to see more varied landscaping, especially larger trees along the Green’s border.
Their approach is first to to solicit the community’s visions for a long-range plan based on them. The aim is to turn the historic and civic landmark into more of a true destination for the whole range of New Haveners.
Allan Appel Photo
Chris Canna fills out his place-making survey.
Chris Canna was one of two dozen people who attended the workshop at the community room in 200 Orange St. Then they journeyed out beneath a wet sky accompanied by PPS’s Fred Kent. Their job: to fill out a questionnaire on the comfort, accessibility, and amenities of five different areas of the Green.
Canna is a project manager with the city’s Economic Development Department, but he was filling out the questionnaire as John Q. Public, he said. At the corner of Church and Elm, Canna’s designated area for the exercise, he paused. This northeast quadrant of the Green might be a good place to permit vendors, he suggested, especially if there were tables and chairs where people could enjoy their lunch.
“You’d have some takers,” he said, adding that this particular corner of the Green might become as busy as Cedar and York, which is thronged by food carts and hungry hospital staff at lunch time.
Historically the Proprietors have frowned at the idea of commerce on the Green, and there is none permitted today. Canna’s notion elicited some skepticism from one of the Proprietors, Anne Calabresi, who accompanied the group.
Canna persisted. He said there is already commerce but it is illicit: people selling drugs at Chapel and Church and other locations on the Green. If some legit business exchanges were permitted in a re-conceived Green, “That would allow the Proprietors to fund some improvements,” Canna added.
Other ideas that surfaced at the meeting included architect Duo Dickinson’s suggestion to plant older and larger trees to enhance the alle’ effect along the perimeter; an open microphone area for kids to express themselves; a carousel; a kiosk offering instant tutoring to walk-in students, and a gathering place, with Olympic style flags flying and music playing that would be welcoming to the growing international population of the city.
Deputy Director of Parks Christy Hass said the Green of 1812 is not the Green needed for 2012. Her personal notion: “I’d like it to be that people need to go to the Green, not just for an event.”
PPS President Kent reported from last week’s first place-making workshop a special concern “for the lack of children coming to this place. When they come, [there is] so little [for them] to do.”
“We need to get the Green to go up five notches,” he said.
Calabresi agreed, but added, “It would be tragic if it became less beautiful.”
The discussion is ongoing and all ideas are wanted at this stage, said Hass.
Another workshop is planned for late August or early September. In the meantime you can send all dreams and schemes directly to Hass .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address). She then passes them along to the PPS staff and the New Haven Green Restoration Committee.
The proprietors need to wise up and get with the times. I know a lot of people who NEVER go to the green, because for a large part of the time, it is dominated by homeless people. It looks great from afar, but if you want to sit on a bench and enjoy it, you'll have to wake someone up first.
Clean it up.
I would much rather see food carts and people enjoying their lunch, than derelicts and drug use.