The final community listening session for the Planning & Zoning Commission will be Tuesday evening at Rawson School. So far, there have been sessions at the Pope Park Rec Center, United Methodist Church, and Metzner Rec Center. Each session has focused on proposed land use for nearby neighborhoods.
Continue reading 'Proposed Land Use for Hartford’s Neighborhoods'»
Asylum Hill, Barry Square, Behind the Rocks, Blue Hills, Clay Arsenal, Economics, Environment, Frog Hollow, Hartford, POCD, Parkville, South End, Urban Renewal, West End, architecture/design, blight, class, commentary, community, downtown, housing, library, neighborhoods, north end, parks, photos, quality of life, south green, tax money in action, transportation
On Saturday, January 23rd, a performance of Handel’s Messiah (part I and the Hallelujah chorus) will take place at Our Lady of Sorrows on New Park Avenue at 6pm. This concert is a benefit for the Immaculate Conception Shelter, which operates two no-freeze shelters — one on Park Street and one on Lafayette Street.
Admission is free, but they welcome donations, including the non-monetary kind: men’s winter coats and clothing, blankets, men’s toiletries, and food.
After a few days away, I returned to find obnoxious (but fairly routine) comments littering the Topix forum that one is routed to from the online Hartford Courant.
On my trip, I was thinking about civic pride and the need for community and cooperation between neighboring towns. I am not talking about these qualities on a political level, but on a personal level. There is community here, within the city, but it’s not something that gets much press. Crime and corruption are made public. Poverty and illiteracy are treated as mascots for my city.
What does not make the news are the minutiae.
One Friday night I gathered with a half dozen women to eat local pizza in the host’s dining room. We wolfed down three pizzas and laughed. Nobody got shot or stabbed.
Last week, I ventured with a friend and two of her children to Colt Park. We were hoping to catch a women’s rugby game. Though it seemed to be canceled, we picked up some delicious goodies from Modern Pastry, watched runners cross the finish line at the Hartford Marathon in Bushnell Park, and then headed to La Paloma Sabanera for an actual lunch. At the coffee house, we ran into more friends. Again, nobody got shot or stabbed.
Continue reading 'Words vs. Pictures'»
Asylum Hill, Barry Square, Behind the Rocks, Clay Arsenal, Frog Hollow, Hartford, Parkville, Regionalism, South End, West End, community, downtown, food, fun, myth busting, north end, not Hartford, parks, perception bias, photos, quality of life, south green, transportation
I don’t know how to not be snarky about this. It’s well-intended. It’s an area in dire need to love and care. Yet, I have my doubts about how thorough this section will be shined up, and how this effort will be maintained. After all, the small bank that had been “cleaned” a few weeks ago already contains litter; this visible spot with bright yellow flowers seems the easiest to maintain, but it’s openly neglected. It’s below a banner that declares “Hartford Cares.”
This area along Capitol Avenue has been one that has long caused me to bristle with resentment toward the mostly unhelpful 311 service, the irresponsible State of Connecticut, and various folks in the City of Hartford who are ready to pass the blame. Why should anyone want to address an area that reeks of urine and is so neglected that an abandoned sofa sat in plain view on the sidewalk for nearly two weeks before being moved, not to mention the numerous tires and other large trashed items that remain — for years — dumped behind a fence that is in remarkable disrepair? Why should anyone want to address a stretch of road that contains no street lighting, so that anyone trying to walk it at night has legitimate reason to worry? After writing about the iQuilt presentation, I find this matter even more infuriating. Bushnell Park is well-lit at night. An area of town that would be used more by residents than by visitors is dangerously dark, and seemingly not a priority to address. And I should know because I’ve often stumbled along the sidewalk here, unable to see what was underfoot, nevermind if someone was hanging out under the bridge. True, I could use Park Street instead, but I don’t think I’m being unreasonable by expecting a major thoroughfare to be usable after sunset. Continue reading 'Hope They Remove the Toilet'»
Over the last few days, a series of white poles have popped up on a hill in Pope Park. From a distance, they do not look like anything other than stakes hammered into the ground. The clotheslines actually form a labyrinth which allegedly “addresses the migratory voyages of the residents who reside in the neighborhood.” The artist, Satch Hoyt, is one of four who have public art projects sponsored by Real Art Ways.
Continue reading 'Public Art in Parkville and Frog Hollow'»
If someone can review gas station chicken, then it’s not too self-indulgent to blog about trying to find the best sangria in Hartford.
I’m not a wine aficionado, and I really am not much of a drinker either. But when I find something that I like, I get fixated on wanting to know where the best one (that I can afford of whatever it is) can be found. I’m like this with mocha, falafel, pizza, burritos, etc. I’m not so fixated on this one thing, though, that I necessarily can overlook everything else about an establishment. Here’s my work-in-progress list:
Continue reading 'Searching for Sangria'»
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