“These make us look like the Village People,” Mayor Segarra commented while he and other officials donned construction helmets before digging with their ceremonial shovels at Friday afternoon’s groundbreaking for the “Capewell Townhomes.”
Future site of the Capewell Townhomes
Although plans had been announced months ago for the development of townhouses on the vacant parcel of land between Wyllys Street and Popieluszco Court, some details have changed. Continue reading 'Groundbreaking Ceremony for Capewell Townhouses'»
This pig lives at Holcomb Farm, a farm that provides produce to Foodshare
It’s not accurate to describe Hartford as being a food desert. This term implies that food is unavailable. The obesity rate says otherwise.
Instead, we should be calling it what it is — a food swamp. Prof. Molly Anderson used this phrase during her presentation at a recent forum held at the Lyceum. Rather than a lack of food being the problem, it’s that there is, in these areas, “far too much of the wrong kind of food,” she argued.
Food security was the topic of discussion at the “IForum” in late June. Anderson, the keynote speaker, delivered her presentation, “A Home’s Not Just a House: Why Food Security Must Be Part of a Strong, Affordable Community”; a response panel comprised of Julia Pon, Margaret Williams, and Martha Page followed. Continue reading 'The Great Food Swamp'»
Activism, Economics, Environment, Frog Hollow, Gender & Sexuality, Hartford, North East, Race & Ethnicity, Regionalism, Youth, access, class, food, global issues, housing, neighborhoods, not Hartford, photos, privilege, quality of life
Last Saturday, about 25 people took part in a free walking tour through parts of the Frog Hollow neighborhood. The purpose of this was mainly to highlight the remainder of the Lyric Theater, but also to show some of the other interesting historical and cultural aspects of the area. For those who missed it, here’s how it went.
The group met up at La Paloma Sabanera and headed up Babcock Street to the Park Branch of the Hartford Public Library.
Continue reading 'Frog, Walked.'»
Art, Education, Frog Hollow, Hartford, History & Politics, Race & Ethnicity, Youth, architecture/design, blight, community, film, fun, housing, library, myth busting, nothing to do, perception bias, photos
A potential mayoral candidate — who has yet to say what he stands for — flings more mud at the current mayor. Without blinking an eye, all of the media outlets jump on it. Initially, this happens without an explanation for why the State Representative would care at all about this “issue.”
It’s simply not news. I had known that the Mayor’s husband owns investment properties and collected Section 8 from some of them well before Roldán dropped his press release, and I’m not someone who spends any time filing FOIA requests or getting information for gossiping city council aides who could spend their time better by actually working. The property assessment data for the City of Hartford is online. It’s searchable by address and by name. According to this data, Ortiz has purchased (investment) properties and an office between 2003-2007. I am not sure what need there is to “investigate” when this is spelled out clearly. There are no secrets in Hartford; at any point in the past five years Roldán could have formally expressed his concern about a possible conflict of interest, yet he waited until exploring a mayoral campaign.
In a city where approximately 30% of residents live in poverty and thousands are on the waiting list to receive Section 8 subsidized housing, it’s not all that shocking that someone who owns an investment property would be collecting federal subsidies. While there may be a conflict of interest in here somewhere, as a resident, I am much more concerned that Ortiz is behaving as a responsible landlord. There are so many absentee landlords who do not maintain their properties and who turn a blind eye to tenants who engage in routine criminal activities. Those landlords who permit the erosion of quality of life in Hartford concern me far more than those who collect Section 8 for two tenants and do so while being married to the Mayor.
This is not about muckraking, it’s about having an agenda. Continue reading 'Scandals That Aren’t'»
The grassy area with stairs which leads to the walkway along the Connecticut River is one of the most pleasant spots Downtown to relax with a book or have lunch. If you walk to the bottom of the stairs and look under them, there is evidence that this spot is used as outdoor housing. All along the river, if you take the time to look, you will see pieces of clothing that are intentionally left in spaces staked out by people living outdoors.
Nine families were displaced by Wednesday evening’s fire on Putnam Heights. Some of these families are from a neighboring house that firefighters “borrowed” to attack the flames from an angle they could not reach with their ladders; they are expected to return once their house is dry. The American Red Cross has been assisting these families by providing financial assistance for food and clothing, along with a personal care kit; residents are being given short-term shelter at a local motel.
The destroyed building’s landlord is reimbursing security deposits to allow smoother transitions as people locate new apartments. Some have already begun the process.
For information about how to donate or volunteer with the local Red Cross, see their website.
In his book Homeless Souls, Jake Anderson explores who the homeless are. His perception of this population changed from beginning to end of the project, which involved pairing photographs with statements, poems, and artwork created by the subjects. He says that after immersing himself in this work, he “began to see individuals simply existing.”
Anderson’s “Homeless Souls” exhibit of photographs, poetry, and prose — an extension of his book — will be on display at the Hartford Public Library from January 23rd through March 6, 2011. Continue reading 'Homeless Souls at Hartford Public Library'»
Crime & Justice, Economics, Hartford, North East, Suburbs, Urban Renewal, architecture/design, blight, class, housing, quality of life
Wired Magazine’s article “What a Hundred Million Calls to 311 Reveal About New York” describes how that city’s 311 service has actually solved some larger mysteries, like the source of an odd odor in part of NYC. Sure, their center has over one hundred employees, but New York is also many, many times more populated than Hartford. One would expect that sifting through Hartford’s available data would be simple.
In the next few days, we’ll be looking at what active 311 cases tell us about Hartford. In other words, what is it that Hartfordites worry about?
Today, we will look at the issues in the North Meadows, North East, Clay Arsenal, Upper Albany, Blue Hills, West End, and Parkville neighborhoods. Parkville’s largest concern, by and large, is graffiti. Almost every complaint entered for that neighborhood fits this category. Blue Hills has a major tree problem. Clay Arsenal, North East, and Upper Albany have a large number of housing complaints, both of the urgent and non-urgent varieties.
Below is a chart of data representing active (unresolved) 311 cases in the aforementioned neighborhoods.
Continue reading 'The 311 Data Dump: What Do Hartfordians Worry About? (part 1/3)'»
Activism, Environment, Hartford, access, blight, commentary, community, housing, parks, quality of life, tax money in action
Nobody argued when David Panagore announced that “We are the epitome of the Eisenhower Interstate system.” Those with an interest in downtowns would be hard-pressed to justify any continuation of advocacy for the poor designs that have dissected cities, sucking the life force out of them. Today, we are given the task of recreating a vibrant downtown, which means addressing issues like walkability.
Hartford’s Chief Operating Officer, David Panagore, participated on Monday evening in a HYPE (Hartford Young Professionals and Entrepreneurs) sponsored discussion regarding the direction of development in downtown. The MetroHartford Alliance Conference Room on Pratt Street was filled, allowing for a fairly intimate conversation between about two dozen individuals who had some interest — they live, work, or recreate — in downtown.
Panagore explained how the “Six Pillars” were a fine goal to have at one point, but now, to complete the economic development, these pieces (Connecticut Convention Center, Capital Community College moving into former G.Fox building, etc.) must be connected. Continue reading 'Developing Connective Tissue in Downtown'»
Art, Crime & Justice, Economics, Education, Environment, Frog Hollow, Hartford, History & Politics, POCD, Raving Diva Post, South Meadows, Suburbs, The Mayor, Urban Renewal, access, architecture/design, blight, class, commentary, community, downtown, food, fun, housing, hpd, library, myth busting, parks, perception bias, photos, privilege, quality of life, shopping, south green, tax money in action, transportation
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