Who was that character in Greek mythology who rolls a rock up a hill, only to watch it roll back down to eternity? I pick up stuff too as I cross the Green, but it's a thankless task. I read recently that people who violate bike and scooter laws will be assigned community service. This would be a perfect assignment.

4th request to get graffiti removed from under I-95 underpass near Jordan's furniture!

donna, that request probably won'[t get noticed at all by anyone significant, on this thread. You need to make a new thread.. do you know how to do that?

RE the trash on the Green.. I was passing through it yesterday, and an Ambassador was passing me, and I stopped him and asked. He had a broom and dust pan and I said I was glad he was going to clean it and he said 'no'. I was dismayed and he said their instructions are to clean around the Green but not inside on the Green!!! WTF! That's the problem,, plus there are more err questionable looking characters hanging out near the fountain lately. So we need to address these two issues. It's beginning to look like the Waterbury Green now.. that also used to be very nice but has turned into the street people's hangout.

The Green will not get better, cleaner, or become any less of a filthy sad hangout for homeless alcoholics, drug users, and the mentally ill. It's all theirs now and the will does not exist here for that to change. The design of New Haven society today ensures that it only can worsen.
I hope I'm proved wrong.

To KenCT, the creature was Sisyphus. He's somewhere still rolling a rock up a mountain.

And to think, herhonor Harp looks out on this every day.. Welcome to Mayor Harp's New Haven.

The problem is particularly bad on Sunday afternoons, after the Trinity Church soup kitchen, which typically attracts between 50 to 100 people. It would be nice if the parishioners that serve the food stay around and clean after their "clients". Upper Green is usually an embarrassment from late Sunday afternoons through Monday morning. Trashed scatterred everywhere.

I will suggest that to them,, that part of the volunteering includes cleanup. Still the Ambassadors are on duty and get paid,, this one did have his broom and dustpan, but refused to do it.

The Green is quasi-private property held in trust by the "The Committee of the Proprietors of Common and Undivided Lands at New Haven." I don't know to whom one appeals for these sorts of issues. There are also numerous lights and benches that have been removed along the paths, but I think they just received a grant to do fix-up work. Perhaps they could start by providing daily maintenance and cleaning. It doesn't matter if a lot of homeless people congregate there, it should still be maintained on a regular basis.

Thanks, Valerie,, that's helpful information. I think we can find a contact person by asking that as a reference question at the library.

and I agree that it doesn't matter whether the people on the Green are tourists, homeless, business people on lunch, or church people.. the Green needs regular maintenance.

The ambassadors are not allowed to clean the Green. They are responsible for the rest of downtown. They are employed by a Special Services District which is funded by downtown building owners. Although the Green is "owned" so to speak by the Proprietors, maintenance is performed by the City's Parks Department. Unfortunately they do not work on Sundays so the Park stays littered until late Monday morning. The grant the the city just received is for infrastructure work to upgrade electric service and other utility work. It will not pay for maintenance and numerous other repairs such as broken fences, rusting and deteriorating bus shelters, broken pavement and the replacement of the dirty plastic trashcans.

Do you honestly mean to tell me that with all this talk of a "second chance society" which I wholeheartedly agree with, the city cannot get community service volunteers to clean up the green on Sundays? As a teacher I recently contacted the the city about community service opportunities for young people. After chasing them because they didn't reply, I went down there only to tell me their weren't any opportunities. Or, maybe all the churches on the green on Sunday could do a public service? I live on the green and every Monday morning it is a litter explosion. Worse, with the winds of January, Feb and March, the litter gets picked up and lodges in the trees - some has been there for three years now. When the leaves fall off the trees, all one sees is a park full of plastic bags in the trees canopy.

Teddy's comment is spot on. It should be printed and sent to the mayor, and posted on social media. No opportunities for community service? Unbelievable!

It was all cleaned up when I walked across this Tuesday morning. I don't know whether to leave this issue open or closed because the issue is the frequency with which maintenance is done (or not done).

I aqree. forbes avenue gets cleaned twice a year but should be at least monthly.
We pay high taxes. And graffiti is not readily removed. It must be if we do not want a ghetto look leaving vandalism!

A community service opportunity is a great idea!

Valerie, if it is a weekly problem that is not resolved then please leave it open until it is resolved and we have a commitment from somebody.

donna , we do have a ghetto look already. Broken sidewalks and streets, trash, unconscious people laying around.. Welcome to Tony Harrp's New Haven.

How do we change this?
Can wee.click.fix have a voice?

We do have a voice, yes,, but we have to back up the voice with some action. Call the mayor's office, Call the Parks Department. Call "The Committee of the Proprietors of Common and Undivided Lands at New Haven." which contact number can be obtained throught the library and the mayor's office. Attend a Town Meeting and put it on the agenda. We can change it. Are you serious about changing it?

Yes. A half dozen of us should plan a meeting at a downtown cafe and put s plan together.

The issue has been resolved. If you need to report a new issue please do so in See Click Fix or call the Department of Parks, Recreation and Trees at (203) 946 - 8004. Thank you.

How is it resolved? Are you going to make sure it gets cleaned up on sundays?

Thanks for logging your concerns.

The Parks Department is charged with the day to day maintenance and permitting of the green and we work collaboratively with the Proprietors on planning. They are the ultimate decision making authority for the Green.

We do have staff assigned to the green full time during the work day. You should see them there from around 7:30 to about 3pm (with some breaks for coffee and lunch). There is one individual assigned for the full day, and others who split time with other parks. We have 23 full time caretakers for 2,200 acres in the city. We would like to be everywhere all the time but for the most staff works hard when they are there. Please continue to post your concerns and if you have specific staff related concerns please email me at rbombero@newhavenct.gov.

As to the capital grant - lighting upgrades will be the first thing you notice - expect to see them before spring!

Please feel free to comment

The "fix" I would like to see is the one Teddy and Mahfouz address above. The Union Street Dog Park seems better maintained than the Green, thanks to the efforts of a dedicated group of volunteers. Why can't residents operate similarly on the Green? Do the "Proprietors" actually do anything? And the fact that volunteer community service opportunities don't exist here is simply unbelievable.

Ken, the dog park in your neighborhood is used by a few people in the neighborhood. The Green Is used by all of New Haven and tourists. There is a big difference. If you would like to be a volunteer then you are very welcome to sign up and schedule some time to do it. A dog park is of little interest to the majority of people. The Green is an historic landmark that was created in 1638, which is why there is an historical group of 'proprietors' that takes special interest in it. Nobody would miss your dog park if that patch of land was converted to some other use, but if the Green was turned into something else then it would have major effect on the tourist attraction of Downtown New Haven. Our mayor does not seem to be aware of that, or care, but it is true.

Thank you Captain Obvious. I understand all that. My point, perhaps clumsily stated, is that if a group of residents can get together to help maintain a public space, why can't that happen with the Green? For a variety of reasons, health wise and otherwise, I'm not up to organizing such a group, but would be happy to participate if one were formed.

There is a "Friends of the New Haven Green" group. I don't like posting private citizen's contact information here but if you send me an email at rbombero@newhavenct.gov I can connect you with the group. During better weather they meet every other Saturday morning.

Thanks, Ms Bombero.. that's the info we need. I hope people follow up on this as you suggest

This thread is over a year old. I hope you have noticed some improvements on the green. If you have new or persistent concerns please open a new thread so we can better manage the system, comments here will get lost at this point.