Christopher Schaefer 4 Congress.Com

an old broken TV has been dumped on the sidewalk along the rail road wall, across the street from No. 296 Hallock AVENUE.

Drivers turning left from the Church St. Ext. bridge (over the railroad yard) onto Union Ave. have a left turn light before oncoming traffic heading south on Church St. So. has a green light. Therefore there needs to be a "No Right On Red" sign for traffic heading south on Church St. So. @ intersection of Union Ave. (This is standard for such a signal configuration, but I don't recall that such a sign ever was included here.)

Every problem on your street: Here's your chance to report, gripe, complain, offer suggestions/solutions, etc. Hill South Community Mangagment Team meeting, This Wednesday, Sept. 21, 6:00 PM at the Hill South police substation, 410 Howard Ave. Parking available in the rear.

In anticipation of today's street cleaning, I shoveled c. 6" of dirt off of the grate over the catch basin on Hallock AVENUE @ First St. [which has been nonfunctional for years]. However, the rear opening under the curbstone is completely packed with dirt and roots. A crew needs to remove the grate and shovel out this opening.

Now that the owners of 375[-381] Greenwich Ave. [Clement & Helen Eneh of Stratford 203-526-7045] have begun to allow tenants to park in the rear yard, with typically 4-5 vehicles parked there in the evening, this property is in violation of the city’s zoning ordinance, to wit:
ZONING ORDINANCE, City of New Haven, Connecticut: ARTICLE IV. RESIDENCE DISTRICTS: General Provisions Section 29. PARKING (d) In the case of any use in a residence district for which THREE OR MORE PARKING SPACES [emphasis mine] are required, all parking spaces not within a building shall be provided with a suitable fence, wall or evergreen planting AT LEAST FIVE FEET IN HEIGHT [emphasis mine], designed to screen noise, odors, VISIBILITY [emphasis mine] and headlight glare, and located between such parking spaces and any other lot in a residence district that abuts directly OR ACROSS A STREET [emphasis mine] or alley. (e)All artificial lighting used to illuminate any parking space or spaces shall be so arranged that all direct rays from such lighting fall entirely within such parking space or spaces. http://library.municode.com/index.aspx?clientId=19969&stateId=7&stateName=Connecticut
A less expensive alternative to erecting a five-foot screen would be for the owners to prohibit tenants from parking in the rear yard—as had been the case until recently.

So here's how YOU can keep the New Haven food truck going. Go here:
http://foodtrucks.teamdigital.com/?t=11671 and register to "vote" for the New Haven Food Truck. Vote every day and help the program win $10,000. You can read about the Food Truck here: http://newhavenregister.com/articles/2011/08/05/news/new_haven/doc4e3b3d88588a0388683470.txt?viewmode=fullstory

So your neighbors & friends are doing something about it!
THE GREENWICH AVE. LABOR DAY OLYMPICS & BLOCK PARTY!
Monday, September 5, 2011, 11:00 AM to 2:00 PM at Galvin Park playground (corner of Greenwich & First St.). Greenwich Ave. between First & Second Streets will be closed by the city for our party. So come enjoy bike races, wheelie contests, food, arts & crafts, prizes. Meet your peace-loving neighbors! Bring friends & neighbors, kids & adults!
If you’d like to bring food or help with the games or just want more information contact Leslie: leslieblatteau@hotmail.com

April 10 a clip was emptied along side 382 Greenwich [reference address = 91 Second]; Wed. Aug. 3 automatic weapons were fired in front of 158 Howard; shortly after midnight Sunday Aug 7, 2011 a clip from a high-powered weapon was sprayed across the side of a vehicle parked in front of 382 Greenwich Ave--an increasingly problematic property. This has been happening all over the city for far too long. Based on what I saw at 382 Greenwich early this morning, it would seem that these gunshots are not random--and that the criminals have much more powerful, more sophisticated weaponry than the police. The following data is disturbing:
http://www.newhavencrimelog.org/cl/types/167/firearms-unlawful-discharge/ (My apologies for posting this shortly before the city's Democratic primary...)

Street light is burned out in front of 196 Hallock AVENUE, pole number 8455

Street light is burned out in front of 190 Hallock AVENUE, pole number 8454 (Note to residents when reporting a street light that's out: the pole number is the vertical number about 6 feet up. It's read from top to bottom. You need this number to make a report of a street light not working.)

This vacant lot, belonging to Kenneth Barclay [also owner of abutting 235 Howard Ave.], has become an overgrown jungle and is attracting illegal dumping. Owner needs to be ordered to completely clear the lot--and to keep it that way.

2 tires have been dumped on Howard Ave., near the intersection of Second St.

There has been a pile of discarded furniture, etc. in front of 222 Hallock AVE for about a week.

Several car bumpers have been dumped on the sidewalk at the intersection of Hallock Ave. and First St., in the City Point neighborhood.

One of New Haven’s newest Greenspace groups begins its second year!
WHAT WE DO: plant trees, shrubs, flowers in the tree strip [curb strip] in front of your home or apartment: the area between the sidewalk and curb. (This particular Greenspace group does NOT do front yards or parks/public spaces.) Plants are FREE!
WHERE: the area bounded by and including Hallock Ave., Greenwich Ave., and South Water St., including Howard Ave. from Lamberton St. to South Water St., and the cross streets in this area: First through Sixth Streets & Sea St.
WHEN: June through July. Days of week & times to be determined by group members. So join now and we’ll accommodate your schedule! Also, if you join now you can help us determine which locations on the aforementioned streets we’ll tackle this season.
HOW TO JOIN: Call me, Chris Schaefer, at 203-668-6348. If no answer, PLEASE LEAVE A MESSAGE and I’ll return your call. OR email me: schaeferchristopher@yahoo.com
“As neighbors work together to beautify their homes, they begin to identify other problems of concern: trash, crime, abandonment, etc. Before you know it, a tree planting project creates common ground which helps solve a variety of problems…” Community Greenspace Manual: Urban Resources Initiative
For more info about this program go to
http://environment.yale.edu/uri/programs/

Tree in front of 401 Greenwich Ave.--in the City Point Neighborhood--is dead and needs to be removed.

Street light in front of 262 Greenwich Ave., in the City Point neighborhood, is working only intermittently.

There's a junk pile of old tires, car hood, old kitchen countertop, etc. in rear yard of this property. Tenants keep adding to it. Neighbors shouldn't have to look at this junk until owners (Clement & Helen Eneh of Stratford 203-526-7045) finally get around to ordering a bulk pickup.

There are 4 old tires on sidewalk, along rail road yard wall, near intersection of Lamberton & Cedar Streets. Also a lot of trash on this section of sidewalk.