About to go down. Hamden buddies (left to right) Jeffrey Grant, Cody Seasterand and Tom Sullivan with Grant's mother, Linda, at far fight on a Paradise Avenue hill.

Rich Hart of Hamden pulls his daughters Emma, 4, and Megan, 3, around Brooksvale Park on their toboggans.

The Grant group on its way back up the Paradise Avenue hill.

By Sharon Bass

It’s still unclear when the state will disclose its final remediation plan for the Newhall neighborhood. The one it presented last summer residents resoundingly turned down, and the project itself has been at the center of emotional and scientific controversy.

However, it might be a little clearer where the dough will come from. In Gov. Jodi Rell’s proposed ’07-’09 budget, there is a $35 million bond item for Superfund (contaminated) sites. The Department of Environmental Protection says most of that money will go into cleaning up the polluted soil and rehabbing and replacing homes that have been badly bruised by the shifting old landfill beneath them, in Newhall.

“A large majority of these funds would be earmarked for the Newhall cleanup, that is the intent of this recommendation,” said DEP’s Dennis Schain. The Legislature approves the final budget.

He said the governor and the DEP know more money will be needed to meet the state’s responsibility of $30 million to $40 million of the total tab. That figure represents half the cost of the residential portion of the cleanup, with Olin Corporation picking up the other half. A 2003 consent decree named Olin, the state, the town of Hamden and the Regional Water Authority responsible for funding what would be Connecticut’s largest residential remediation. The old middle school and the two parks are also included in the cleanup.
 
“We do know, however, that this represents a strong commitment to this project and that it will provide funding for the initial steps required,” said Schain.

Asked where additional funding might come from, he said, “We will work closely with the administration to make sure this funding vehicle remains available -- and in a timely fashion -- for any additional dollars needed.”

Schain said the DEP is not rushing the final product. The department, he said, is currently devoting a “great deal of time to assessing public comments and alternative plans submitted. We received suggestions and recommendations worthy of serious review and consideration as we move toward a final plan.

“Once the final plan is released and funding is secured, this project will be ready to move forward.”

By Peter Haller

"There is a fascinating story of coming full-circle imbedded in the 100th anniversary of the Whitneyville Civic Association which is being celebrated during 2007. The story of Whitneyville is in many regards the story of Hamden itself, as it was transformed from rural town to 'first-ring' suburban city at the turn of the 20th century. While the physical setting has changed, the 'new' families of the middle class who filled the freshly-opened housing subdivisions beginning in 1907, were not that different from the families that today call Whitneyville home. They were from the managerial class with young families and moved from the city to find that piece of the dream. Common to yesterday and today, they came then and still arrive for the natural setting, pleasant streetscapes, modest but distinct houses, a sense of strong community and the close location to the urban bustle of New Haven.

"At the turn of the 20th century, Whitneyville and the landscape which today is filled with residential neighborhoods and a commercial village center was farmland, orchards and scattered houses. The population was less than 300 people and its lifeblood stemmed from the lakes and the nearby industry the Mill River had fostered. Community life was centered around the Whitneyville parish of our landmark church, a small brick schoolhouse and a rural setting and pace hard to imagine today.

Whitneyville Congregational Church.

"As American cities expanded outward, Whitneyville was positioned to absorb the growing need for housing and industry. Located along the 'turnpike road', its plenty of land and among its residents, key 'movers and shakers', who saw the future and transformed the landscape into a new suburban ideal for family living. The Whitneyville Civic Improvement Association came into being in 1907 under the leadership of businessmen such as Henry W. Munson, T. Whitney Blake, Morris Steinert and Frederick Graves.

"As in many of the expanding metropolitan areas, technology would transform where we lived and how we lived. Electrical utility companies would soon replace the 19th century gas lighting along the streets, introduce the common use of electric lighting in our houses and power trolleys at the dependable rate of over five miles an hour.

"Transportation and cheap land began the story. Beginning in the 1896, The Connecticut Company, in partnership with electric utilities, petitioned the Town of Hamden to allow electrification of the Whitney Avenue line. This dramatic improvement in transportation allowed workers to reach the factories and businesses in downtown New Haven. The accessibility of cheap land led to speculation in Whitneyville, and several family farms passed from father to son, opening hundreds of house lots.

"Over the following decade, the Whitneyville Civic Improvement Association would spearhead petitioning the Town Selectmen for electrified trolleys, telephone service, street lighting, sewers, roads and bridges and new school buildings.

The Cedars.

"By 1917, individuals among the leadership of the WCIA were instrumental in the formation of the Hamden Civic Association, a town-wide group which spread the call for improved city planning in all of the new neighborhoods booming throughout the town. With the outbreak of World War I, as with many civic groups, the WCIA organization turned its attention to the war effort and fell into a slumber. Bridges and roads standards were written into state laws and economic aid came from the state to deal with the impacts of growth and the automobile. Throughout the 1920 and 30’s, housing was built at a rapid pace filling today’s neighborhoods such as 'The Cedars' (bounded by Putnam, Mather, Whitney and Clifford) and the Blake Road and Augur Street areas. In 1924 the Town created a Planning Board and passed new zoning, building and plumbing codes and began to staff these key positions within the government, fundamentally changing the role of our organization from pioneering, front-line advocacy to partners with local government.

"After World War II, as local governments grew and many of the former roles played by civic organizations were codified as public responsibilities, civic energy reappeared in the form of three different organizations; the Whitneyville Community Club, the Whitneyville Ladies Club and the Whitneyville Garden Club. In the 1940’s and 50’s many social connections like dances, plays and special speakers brought folks together.

The Eli Whitney Barn.

"Today, we know the successor organization as the Whitneyville Civic Association. Our mission includes preserving the character and sense of place built during these earlier days. Dozens of WCA volunteers are involved a diverse range of activities all aimed at bettering the quality of life for neighborhood residents. Recent accomplishments have included nominating a historic district, re-building streetscape in the commercial area, planting new trees and improving open spaces and parks, lobbying for a strong local library and pressing for long overdue re-investment in the decaying street infrastructure.

"Most importantly, what develops from our collective energy within the Whitneyville Civic Association is an essential sense of community and mutual responsibility for carrying on the heritage of the past century. We are a diverse neighborhood with an incredible array of talents and interests. Just as the group who came together in 1907, to realize the challenges of the next century, we will need energy, persistence and vision. This year, as we celebrate one hundred years of community action, the Whitneyville Civic Association looks forward to building membership and outreach so that our collective voice remains strong in the interest of preserving the social and physical heritage of our truly special Hamden neighborhood.

"On behalf of all the members and active neighbors of Whitneyville, I invite all who call our village home to become engaged and stay informed by attending our regularly-scheduled meetings, using our website at www.whitneyville.org and by finding your spot on one of our committees. The next meeting is Wednesday, March 14th at 7:00 pm at the BOE building at 60 Putnam Avenue. Good work, everyone! Happy 100th!"

Peter Haller is president of the Whitneyville Civic Association.

Whose Town is it Anyway?

Town-gown committee members Bob Westervelt, Mike Germano, Matt Fitch. File photos

By Sharon Bass

Much of the anger and bitterness lingers, but those who live among university students are beginning to take the next step: acceptance. Beginning to.

In response to an avalanche of neighborhood complaints about the ill behavior of some students who live on their streets, committee Chair Mike Germano told folks that Quinnipiac is building enough dorms to ensure every undergrad student a bed.

“They finally listened to the students,” said Germano. There are currently no dorms for seniors and Germano, a recent Quinnipiac graduate, said seniors don’t want to move off campus.

“If anything, we should be thrilled the students are going to be out of the greater neighborhood,” said association member Peter Schwartz. “Is there going to be more traffic? Of course.”

Residents' focus has now somewhat shifted to what will happen to northern Whitney Avenue -- where many student houses are located -- once the dorms are up. What will their end of town look like?

Homes in good shape would likely be sold to families, possibly placing a burden on the school system and other municipal services, said committee member Matt Fitch. But other houses are in “terrible shape,” he said, and would probably be razed and become retail and commercial spaces, putting much-needed tax dollars into the municipal coffers. (Quinnipiac-owned student houses are not taxed; those owned by private investors are.)

“We know in 10 years it’s going to look very different,” said Fitch. “Like it or not, Whitney is going to become more commercial. We want to make sure it’s done right. We definitely have to have a plan of our own.”

“We have to be proactive,” said Bob Westervelt, the third member of the town-gown committee, urging people to show up at land-use commission meetings when development plans are being discussed. “It does no good to go to your council people and state reps after plans are passed.”

State Rep. Brendan Sharkey (D-Hamden) was in the audience of about 35 at Mt. Carmel Congregational Church. He, too, stressed that people should take the reins in deciding the future of northern Hamden.

“We tend to react more to Quinnipiac's plans,” said Sharkey. “And their plans seem to be off the cuff.”

“It’s [the committee’s] job to make sure Quinnipiac is doing everything they’re saying,” said Germano.

Dobie talked about the impact of the university’s new York Hill Campus, where the TD Banknorth sports complex is. Graduate classroom buildings were to be built there, but last week the university made an unexpected announcement that it bought the Anthem North Haven site to house most graduate programs. (Dobie said the project would take 10 years to complete.)

That led Schwartz and others to question whether the school would increase its undergrad enrollment, which would mean more traffic on the already-congested Whitney Avenue.

Dobie said Quinnipiac officials have told him “more than once” that won’t happen. “But I tell you I wouldn’t put a nickel on it at this point,” he said.

Folks also didn't like that the school applied for a liquor license for the so-called presidential section of the sports complex for VIP types. Liquor would not be sold anywhere else, said Dobie.

“Do we as a town have the right to say no to booze?” asked Schwartz.

“Anyone has the right to respond to the [liquor application],” said Sharkey.

“It is true that Quinnipiac is acting more responsibly,” said Fitch, attributing that to “the progress the new administration” has made with university officials.

Ethical Development

The town-gown threesome brought another piece of news. An ethics ordinance is being drafted by Town Planner Leslie Creane and Planning & Zoning Chair Joe McDonagh, both of whom attended Monday evening’s meeting.

Fitch explained.

Under the proposal, commission members and elected officials who work for or have another business relationship with an applicant -- private developers such as Quinnipiac -- would have to recuse themselves from discussing and voting on those projects. Those who violate the local law could be removed from office.

“This is not revolutionary stuff,” said Fitch. “This is stuff that should be self-evident but spelled out.” He said the proposed ordinance should be on the Jan. 29 Legislative Council committees agenda, and the following Monday public input will be heard and a vote would likely be taken.