Comments (11)

By Kerri Provost, June 15, 2011 2:10 pm

At the halfway point of the planning stage for the Bushnell Park Restoration Plan and GreenWalk, the iQuilters held another public forum on Tuesday evening; the skepticism that had subsided during the last session has reemerged.

In March, there was a lengthy public discussion about ways to improve Bushnell Park. (You can read all about that here, here, and here. ) A few participants wondered if those steering this plan were perhaps steering a bit too hard. Upon the release of the Programming and Pre-Design Report and the recent so-called public forum, this question might be asked even louder. One might also ask whose interests are being served by this plan.

For the time being, let’s set aside the factual inaccuracies that can be found in the report– we will get to some of that later. First, let’s do a compare/contrast between what people (the public, of that public forum) thought were great ideas and what the iQuilters have decided to run with, even if these concepts were not popular during the meeting.

On page 13 of the plan,  they list  “Possibly Recommended Uses” for Bushnell Park: volleyball, ping pong, basketball, bocce/petanque, horse-drawn carriage rides around the park, biking, skateboarding, farmers markets, book loaning/book carts, weather station, puppet theater, barbecuing, and a Christmas market. It seems as if planners are pushing these ideas, even when the public at the March workshops had not gravitated much toward any of these. Skateboarding, for instance, is silly to promote as a possible activity when the City is currently hashing out funding for a skate park in an already established skating area of north Downtown. Nobody even knew what a weather station was at this previous meeting and only one person seemed to be fascinated by the book loan idea, which would again be redundant, as the library is in very close proximity to the park. None of the ideas on that aforementioned list really resonated at the March public workshop. Reading the Programming and Pre-Design Report before attending Tuesday evening’s public forum was a warning of what was to come.

In that document, it is stated “all agreed that the park has sporadic use during the weekdays, some use during the weekends, and little to no evening activity” (13). There is no indication as to who was in this group of “all,” and as someone who travels through Bushnell Park on weekdays, weekends, and evenings, I find it to be inaccurate. The characterization, for instance, of the western side of the park as getting little use except for during concerts is false. During the school year, gym classes have regularly used that side for major parts of the day during the week. This inaccuracy was not the only one presented in the iQuilt documents and presentations. The Programming and Pre-Design Report erroneously states:

Bushnell Park Café, which is open only in the summer months, occupies the building’s southern wing, and offers drinks and dining on an outdoor patio. (15)

This establishment has not been in operation for several years. Though it is expected that designers and planners from out of town might make this error, it is astounding that nobody has corrected this mistake during their dozens of meetings. Continue reading 'Whose Quilt?'»

Comments (0)

By Kerri Provost, June 12, 2011 7:01 pm

Upon commenting that I almost never receive political phone calls, I, of course, received one two today. The first one was a national poll that lasted all of ten seconds:

CALLER: “May I speak with the youngest male registered to vote in your household?”

ME: “No, we don’t got no males here.”

CALLER: “Thank you.”

These types of calls raise so many questions. Why would this poll only be interested in males? Why would they not have questions prepared for the females? If the purpose is to find out something about the attitudes, beliefs, or intentions of male voters, would they not want something to compare that to?

When all but one of the current mayoral candidates are male, and when all but one of the current City Council members are also male, this type of call, regardless of its intent, seems to echo the local trend: women don’t matter at the polls and we certainly don’t belong in positions of power. Continue reading 'Stop Playin’ on My Phone!'»

Comments (16)

By Kerri Provost, May 23, 2011 9:08 am

“Question: Isn’t street harassment the price you pay for living in a city?
Answer: No, local taxes are the price you pay for living in a city.” Continue reading 'Show Some Respect!'»

Comments (0)

By Kerri Provost, January 12, 2011 10:46 pm

Can we have a new superintendent now? And some news writers who are willing to use their critical thinking abilities? The Courant has published — in the past two days — two articles that show the need for both of those things. Continue reading 'Who Needs to Get Schooled?'»

Comments (1)

By Kerri Provost, January 7, 2011 1:35 pm

When I think of winter in New England, what comes to mind first are the lyrics to “Little Plastic Castle” by Ani Difranco:

i pick up a magazine
which is every magazine
and read a story then forgot it right away

they say goldfish have no memory
i guess their lives are much like mine
the little plastic castle
is a surprise every time

Except you can replace the first person references with something like “people living in Connecticut.” It snows every year. It seems that people have to relearn this fact and everything associated with it. Driving in snow means going slowly and not slamming on the brakes. It means remembering that when there are snow-related parking bans, we can all move our vehicles to public school lots so that we do not create huge piles of ice in the street by having our illegally parked cars interfere with the ability of plows to adequately clear snow.

And it means having to reeducate the powers that be that not everyone chooses to travel by motor vehicle. In this case, the powers that be are those in control of the plows and shovels. These photos, taken about two weeks apart, show the same stretch of sidewalk in Bushnell Park. If you travel through this area, you could not have ignored the way that snow was not removed. One segment of the sidewalk would be cleared, and then whomever was in charge of this job just stopped. No way through. And, a walk through the park this morning showed that the situation was never corrected. For some, this is an interruption of a leisurely walk in the park. For others, it’s a roadblock on the way to work; Continue reading 'Scenes from the Sidewalk: Installment Nineteen'»

Comments (7)

By Kerri Provost, December 9, 2010 5:13 pm

Weeks ago, the City’s Director of Communications sent a flurry of emails regarding the Festival of Light. Short attention spans combined with a scheduling disaster and misinformation resulted in outrage from visitors who wanted more for the price of free. Now, the press releases about the next phase of the Festival of Light seem to be only slightly more tempered. Already, there has been one update to the schedule and details. The most recent is below, and if you want to keep up with any additional changes, visit the City of Hartford website: Continue reading 'Faith in Lights on Thin Ice'»

Comments (2)

By Kerri Provost, November 3, 2010 3:38 pm

After voting, I felt dirty. Continue reading 'Learnings (and some unanswered questions) from the 2010 Election'»

Comments (6)

By Kerri Provost, September 28, 2010 9:22 am

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'»

Comments (10)

By Kerri Provost, July 24, 2010 1:30 pm

Tianna Glass uses the term Jazzmania 2010 on her blog, so I’m borrowing it here to refer to both the Jazz festival last weekend as well as to the free Monday night Jazz. If you have not read her blog, Things Black People Do in Hartford, you best get over there and check it out. And before freaking out about how that sounds so racist, I’ll offer this thought: almost all of the mainstream organizations and media give plenty of coverage to events and venues that already appeal to a particular audience as a whole. If a person is not feeling especially represented by that coverage, what harm is there in creating a new outlet? I mean, that is basically why this blog got started. I did not feel that most of the news in the local mainstream (and I include so-called “alternative” weeklies in this) represented my experience as a Hartford resident, and the experience of someone who is neither in abject poverty nor living in a mansion on the edge of town is somewhat needed if one is to “get” what it is like to live here. So, we welcome yet another perspective to the mix.

Last night as you probably have heard, offered up a free concert in Bushnell Park. The critiques will come below the fold, be sure, but for now, I will say that artist Janelle Monáe, the feature performer, definitely surpassed all of the hype that was permeating the cultural air space in the previous few weeks. Because of the hype, combined with underwhelming video clips online, I had gone to the show more excited for the other acts. I had never heard of her before recently, and as someone who has a radio show on a community station that receives oodles of independent, unique, and out there albums, I thought it strange that Monáe was off my radar. Usually if I do not hear of someone, it is because she is a lackluster, musically talentless pop star.

It’s safe to say that I became a Monáe fan last night.

Her show was theatrical, but not to the point of losing focus of what mattered– the music. Think of a collision between Ziggy Stardust, Freddie Mercury, Grace Jones, Jimi Hendrix, Lauryn Hill, Gwen Stefani, and Annie Lennox. Since I have seen none of them live in concert, this pleased me. There were costumes, a lot of movement on the stage, and a surprising vocal range. The guitarist wailed and made it seem effortless. This made the walk downtown worthwhile.

But, Monáe deserved a better venue and a better audience.
Continue reading 'Still Wavy versus Jazzmania 2010'»

Comments (14)

By Kerri Provost, May 27, 2010 8:03 am

This has been the question posed, but the definition of caring is one that I reject. The Courant has framed the issue as follows: Hartford residents do or do not care about the city based on political corruption and/or low voter turnout.

As if those were the only indicators of caring!

Don’t Blame Me for Perez
I have voted in every election. Because I am not able to see the world through rose-colored glasses, I know that people can be corrupt, evil, or just plain stupid, regardless of party affiliation; thus, I do not vote along any party line. Although I do not despise him as many do, I have never voted for Perez. And guess what? Many others in Hartford did not vote for him either. Citing as proof that Hartford residents do not care because Mayor Perez was reelected is like saying Americans did not care because GWB was elected twice. I do not understand why some would cast their votes in favor of certain candidates, but they do.

Low voter turnout is a problem, but it is not a problem unique to Hartford. Even in presidential elections, Americans do not take part as they could. Do we blame voters for not participating in a system that they view as broken or unable to be affected by the people? I don’t. I’ll admit to not always believing that my vote matters, but I do it anyway…in the same way that I wear a seatbelt or a bike helmet. It might be futile, but then, it might not, and it does not hurt me to do so.

Instead of framing the outcome of an election as a sign that Hartford residents do not care, why do we not ask instead why better candidates are not running for political office?

I do not care about Perez
Sure, I care about him as a human being. He’s never been unpleasant in my very few interactions with him. But I do not care about his trial. There. I said it.

The media cares about the Perez trial because it is scandalous (low grade scandal is what I would call it) and scandal sells papers, gets viewers, and allows “reporters” to sit in a court room tweeting inane, irrelevant observations, passing that off as news.

It’s not that I am a supporter of corruption. If the Mayor did in fact do something illegal, he should be punished appropriately for it. But — here’s a shocker — his fancy counter tops do not affect my everyday life. They are not the first thing I think of in the morning and the last thing before I go to sleep. No, the last thing I think about when going to bed is how the “noise ordinance with teeth” is more like one with dentures, in that when residents call for enforcement, the teeth have been removed. I care about the need for stronger enforcement of leash laws. There are people who let their pit bulls roam, which causes problems when they tangle with other dogs; there are some in my neighborhood who are afraid they will be bitten. Another thing I care about is how lackadaisical traffic law enforcement is. The police only need to park themselves at the corner of Broad and Capitol to meet any ticket quotas they might have. Every single time I am at this intersection I see people running red lights, speeding through the intersection, and doing other amazingly idiotic things, like texting while turning. Sit by the highway on and off ramps. I would feel safer standing in the middle of a driving school parking lot. I care about low literacy, bullying in schools, and the lack of employment for residents. I care that in certain neighborhoods where there are high rates of diabetes, obesity, and high blood pressure, I see prominent billboards advertising alcohol and fast food. I care about the way downtown landlords price out low income residents or new small businesses, how the city demolishes buildings they own rather than maintain them so that they can be used, how the parks are not maintained as they should be, and how a minority of violent thugs make life unbearable in small sections of the city.

When I do not have so many other things to care about, then maybe I will have room in my brain for caring about a rather minor accusation made of a politician, who, by the way, has not gotten us into a war (or two), permitted torture, or wrecked the economy. Let’s prioritize our outrage. If Perez acted illegally, then he should be punished, but there is no need to sensationalize the trial, as this is not worthy of sensationalism.