The title says it all - someone left a tire on our curb-strip. If this is your tire, please remove it. Alternatively, if anyone needs a spare, this one is yours for the taking, although I have no idea what condition it is in.

I will take it to the dump if its not gone by Saturday, but I find it incredibly disrespectful that someone would do this. This is above and beyond the litter that usually accumulates in the street. Why should your bulk trash become my/ our problem? Residents of West River are working hard to improve the quality of our neighborhood, and I find this behavior extremely frustrating and disappointing.

Be 1 of 500 neighbors to Donate $20 or more to help make this project happen: http://bit.ly/OoT9YG

This a project for Be The Change in NHV. In our project, we will build on what we have accomplished over the last four years in Monitor Square. The first component of our project aims to improve accessibility to Monitor Square. Currently there is only a single entrance to the park, and it is a narrow gap in the railing at Chapel and Winthrop (see photo).

We feel that a single, small entrance discourages people from using the park. We would like to double the width of this entrance and to create a second entrance at Derby and Winthrop. We will also create a transition from the sidewalk to the grass by installing a bed of pavers at each entrance. These three changes—doubling the width of the existing entrance, adding a second entrance, and installing the transitions—will make the park more enticing and encourage people to use it. Whereas the current entrance, narrow and unadorned, works to keep people out of the park, the new, welcoming entrances will invite people to cross the street and enter into and enjoy the park. The resulting increased use of this public space will make the neighborhood safer and more vibrant.

The other component of our project focuses on the centerpiece of Monitor Square, a monument topped by a statue of an eagle. This eagle is dramatic to behold, with wings spread, talons raised, and head staring down (see photos). (We think it is the most amazing sculpture in any park in New Haven, but we may be slightly biased.)

At nighttime, this great New Haven asset loses its value because it is all but invisible in the unlit park, and we would like to correct this by lighting the sculpture up from below. The site of the eagle lit up against the nighttime sky will be eye-catching for both pedestrians in the neighborhood and drivers heading west on Chapel or Derby.

Background

Monitor Square is a nicely scaled public space, about one-third of an acre, situated on thoroughfares that connect downtown with the western side of the city. It sits at the intersection of three neighborhoods—West River, Edgewood, and Dwight—and is bordered by Chapel Street, Derby Avenue, and Winthrop Avenue (see photo).

The story of our work in Monitor Square is part of the larger story of our work to improve the West River neighborhood. In 2008 the Community Foundation chose West River as a site for its Neighborhood of Choice program, and under the guidance of Kevin Ewing, ordinary residents began to come together, get to know one another, and explore ways to improve the neighborhood. At the very start of this effort, Monitor Square was the site of a tragic murder. On the evening of Sunday, June 29, shortly after midnight, 53-year-old Antoinette Joyner was struck and killed by a stray bullet as she sat on a porch overlooking Monitor Square petting a cat. This was one of the key reasons we decided that improving Monitor Square should be part of our efforts to improve West River.

In 2009 we successfully applied to have Monitor Square designated a Community Greenspace site by Urban Resources Initiative. We have just completed our fourth season as a Community Greenspace site, and over the course of those four summers we have transformed Monitor Square. We have built two flowerbeds, one at the corner of Chapel and Derby and the other around the monument in the center of the park. We have planted seven trees within Monitor Square and another seven on the curb strip around it. In the past two years, our efforts have spilled out to the surrounding blocks. There are ten new trees on curb strips across the street from Monitor Square, and last year we built a flowerbed in front of an adjoining apartment building. We’ve even extended our efforts to a site three blocks away, at the corner of Derby Avenue and Ella T. Grasso Boulevard. There we removed a huge stand of weeds, planted five trees, and built a flowerbed around a sign that welcomes people to New Haven.

This project is looking to raise $10,000 in 60 days from 500 neighbors: http://bit.ly/OoT9YG

If you would like to be thanked on facebook for your donation and let your friends know about the cause like us here: http://www.facebook.com/seeclickfund

I have live in my home for over TEN years now and i have been complaining abut the sidewalk needing to be repaved because of the city trees and their roots uplifting the concrete and it has been ignored.... I know its time for election let see what changes come from this is a long time coming all the street in our neighbor hood have been redone but ours is a big problem. If someone falls on my property I will ask them to take it up with your MAYOR and the city, it's not my problem to fix its the cities

We watched as the contractor who removed snow from building next to condemned aparment house used payloader to dump it on the sidewalk in front of Fountainwood and on the road. The contractor should return to remove and be fined! NHPD was called but unable to respondl

A washing machine at 58-60 Ellsworth Avenue drains out the side of the house and onto a concrete walk. The water runs down the walk and out onto the sidewalk. This has produced ice on the sidewalk. See photo.

Bicycling along Marginal Drive is a great way to enjoy the West River Memorial Park, but it is practically impossible to get there from the south. A bike path connecting Marginal Dr to the Davenport Ave Bike Route would solve this problem. The land is already publicly owned. The difficult thing will just be to find space on the bridge over the West River. The sidewalk might be wide enough to support two-way bicycle traffic, but I’m not sure.

Last summer and this past winter, several "light the night" installations were made, increasing light on George St and Day St. The trees alongside the property on the corner of George and Day are blocking this light and keeping the sidewalk and property in the dark. There has been a recent string of incidents, including vandalism and theft and more lights are being installed. If the trees block the light, then their light goes to waste. Also, old branches are falling into the sidewalk during inclement weather and large branches are intertwining with the wires. These trees need to be trimmed to allow light to pass, and prevent a branch from falling or taking down a powerline.

The tree branch is cracked off the trunk, and is hanging on lines from the house while other lines are on the ground. The branch is blocking the sidewalk, needs to be removed and the lines need to be safely reconnected.

Walking down Derby Avenue along the Yale fields on an otherwise beautiful morning, I was appalled by the amount of litter, trash, and tree debris along the sidewalk and fence base for the full length of the Yale fields from the Forest Street end, past Central Avenue. Yale, the City or DOT (I believe this is a State road) need to get together and maintain this unsightly mess. Someone responsible for this are is being negligent and a very poor neighbor.

a maroon van is parked on the sidewalk 1 house north of intersection of Irving and Boulevard every single day, totally blocking the sidewalk and sticking partly into the road.

The sidewalks in front of 542/544/550 George St and alongside 542 George and Day St are in poor condition, with tree roots sticking up creating an uneven and potentially dangerous situation. There are holes that are a tripping hazard as well. The sidewalks on the neighboring three corners are in good/excellent condition, but this corner looks very out of place. These sidewalks need replaced and repaired.