Comments (0) It has been reported that a sharp increase in crime is the reason for the controversial discussions about possible security measures at Trinity College .
Statistics provided by the Hartford Police Department suggest a slight increase — rather than spike — in crime for the district this campus is in:
Lack of imagination is what creates limitations for people. We observe this in folks who see cities as mere expanses of concrete and asphalt. These are the ones who have trouble viewing anything as a success if it lacks the structure of the standard suburban shopping mall surrounded by a sea of parking spaces; predictably, this vision, this type of American Dream, is held onto most tightly by those who spend very little time in cities.They are also the ones who are surprised, if not in out-and-out denial, by the news that urban dwellers can garden. Some people have backyards that can compete with most in West Hartford, Wethersfield, or Newington. Others, like myself, have smaller yards. I like to think of mine as comparable to the “fun size” candy bars– enough to satisfy, but not so much that I feel gross when I’m done with it. Some only have windowsills or balconies to work from, though a way around this is to rent space for something like $25 per year in a community garden. At $25, without needing to fork over anything for property tax or water bills, this is a bargain. After establishing what space one will have, the next step is to plan for how it should look and where you will get your plants from. Phase one and two should probably take up most of your time, but if you are new to an area or just new to gardening, you might be just as lost about phase three (phase four, of course, is planting the goods and then maintaining them). Here is a review of some places in the area to obtain materials for the garden/yard/windowsill.
The Criteria:
The Contenders: Continue reading 'A Guide to Getting What You Need for Growing Your Own'»
On Monday we looked at what residents are concerned about in the Upper Albany, Clay Arsenal, North East, Blue Hills, West End, and Parkville neighborhoods; yesterday, we examined the data from Downtown, and from South Green, Sheldon/Charter Oak, South Meadows, South End, and South West neighborhoods. Today, we’re going to look at the rest: Behind the Rocks, Barry Square, Frog Hollow, and Asylum Hill.
Behind the Rocks’ three most frequent 311 cases are related to pesky trees, graffiti, and housing concerns. Housing concerns were the major cause of complaint for folks in Barry Square — almost three times as many as the next highest item of concern, trees. The top two issues for Frog Hollow right now are housing complaints and bedbugs. There are 28 cases related to housing in Asylum Hill; all other 311 cases in that neighborhood currently total in at 28. Continue reading 'The 311 Data Dump: What Do Hartfordians Worry About? (part 3/3)'»
Asylum Hill, Barry Square, Behind the Rocks, Blue Hills, Clay Arsenal, Frog Hollow, Hartford, North East, North Meadows, Parkville, Sheldon/Charter Oak, South End, South Meadows, South West, Upper Albany, West End, access, blight, commentary, community, downtown, neighborhoods, quality of life, south green
Yesterday, we looked at 311 data for most of the city’s North neighborhoods. Today, we’re going to look at two separate sets of data: Downtown; South End, South West, South Meadows, South Green, and Sheldon/Charter Oak neighborhoods.
Downtown is a creature unto itself. There are only 31 active 311 cases for downtown, and many were issued by the same person. What’s interesting about the downtown data is what’s not on the list: parking. Since there are items listed as “active” that were submitted months ago, one would expect that something that is discussed daily as a problem would have appeared on the complaint registry at some point.
The complaints get more diversified and interesting when one adds more people to the mix. In the South End, someone was irritated by a person parking his/her vehicle on the front lawn. Continue reading 'The 311 Data Dump: What Do Hartfordians Worry About? (part 2/3)'»
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
Last week Cinema City closed at its Brainard Road location and reopened as a wing inside of the Palace 17 & Odyssey Theater complex on New Park Avenue. When Bow Tie was opening in Blue Back Square, they promised to play art films and backed out of that promise, sticking to mainstream blockbusters. There has been concern that something similar will occur to Cinema City at its new site, that the art films its known for will be phased out in favor of popular moneymakers. Most of us know this part of the story.
Homefront provides another perspective about what has been lost by the decision to close the Brainard Road cinema, as well as some photos taken on the last night it was open.
Daily
Hartford Regional Market on 101 Reserve Road
5 a.m. to 9 a.m.
Monday
Park Street Farmers’ Market at corner of Park and Washington
9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.
July 5-October 25
Old State House Farmers’ Market
10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Capitol Avenue Farmers’ Market at 156 Capitol Avenue
10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
July 5 - October 25th
Tuesday
West End Farmers’ Market at corner of Farmington Avenue and South Whitney
4 p.m. to 7 p.m.
June 8th through September (hours change in October)
Wednesday
North End Farmers’ Market at 80 Coventry Street
10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
July 7 - November 3rd
Old State House Farmers’ Market
10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
July through October
Thursday
Billings Forge Farmers’ Market at 539 Broad Street
11 a.m. - 2 p.m.
Friday
Old State House Farmers’ Market
10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
West End Farmers’ Market at corner of Farmington Avenue and South Whitney
4 p.m. to 7 p.m.
If there are others that I have neglected to mention, please let me know.
Admission to State Parks and Forests will be free on May 22nd and 23rd, which is great if you want to be around hundreds of other people taking advantage of a time sensitive offer. Who can be blamed for wanting to visit the beach for free, rather than shell out $14 for parking during the season?
Still, we have many consistently free or low-cost recreation options that do not involve long drives. The Riverfront is one of them.
The paved and unpaved trails along the Connecticut River are among my favorite places to walk and bike because they are typically not crowded, except for days when major events are happening there. The unpaved trails are fine for walking, though my point of comparison is always the trails that I walked on during an adventure course in college. These were places in Eastern Connecticut that barely qualified as trails, were big on root structure (as in, roots leaping out of the ground), and were suddenly intersected by spring flood rivers. I don’t remember signing a waiver, though today, I’m quite sure I would have to do so before each and every class. Anyway, the Riverfront trails are cakewalk, or shall I say, Sculpture Walk. Continue reading 'Down by the Riverside'»
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