Sunday morning, when I read about the volunteer crossing guard who was threatened with arrest for keeping children safe, my heart sank. I read the article a few more times, trying to find a hidden clue that would make this story make sense. In a nutshell, a grandfather, who happens to be a disabled Vietnam Vet, decided to contribute to society by helping children safely get across the street to the Achievement First Academy in the Blue Hills neighborhood. He began this back in September. He had been honored by the school in the school newsletter and by being given a vest and stop sign. That sounds like his actions had been more than merely approved of by those he was interacting with directly.

Why threaten a man with arrest for helping society? The article explains:

Jay Mihalko, the school’s dean of students, also intervened when a few parents complained about what Vail was doing or got into disagreements with him.

Little imagination is needed to read between the lines on this one. Who would be angry about what a crossing guard was doing? My guess, from what I have witnessed in several school zones, is that self-centered people who are either in a rush, completely apathetic about safety, or both, got annoyed because someone dared to tell them (or signal to them) to change their reckless behavior. I have heard that on a street near me, the crossing guard at one end is a bit lax, and sometimes will not argue with drivers to not enter (it becomes a one-way street during arrival and departure hours); they are greeted by a guard down the block who is more hardcore about following rules, who will refuse to let them continue on the wrong way. Again, it takes little imagination to hear the whining that must have been going on to trigger an intervention by the law. It probably sounds something like this: “There’s this rude man who made me stop. I was already late for work/hair appointment/going to the gym and he had no right to hold me up like that. None of the other guards do this. I want him fired.” Throw a few expletives in. If it were not a weak school official and weak police department caving in to the bullying by a group of loudmouthed parents, then what cause existed? The article indicates that Raymond Vail, the unpaid crossing guard, had been previously applauded for his efforts by the school and the police. Why so fickle?

Here are my observations:

Are lawmakers’ lives more valuable than children’s lives? Are frantic parents with the inability to manage their time and leave early for work/whatever more important than enforcing common sense rules? Will we let our fear of lawsuits interfere with our will to do what is right?

Suggestion: leave Vail alone. Use law enforcement to go after people who are creating clear safety hazards, like those who speed through school zones, ride dirtbikes down sidewalks, and fail to stop at red lights.

Months ago I read some review that said the decor was reminiscent of bondage.That was not really my impression, though it definitely felt industrial inside. There are chains hanging from the ceiling. There’s a water feature. Near the time we were getting ready to leave it sounded like karaoke had started on the other side of the restaurant. I don’t see karaoke listed on their website, so it may have just been a cover band.

To drink, I had sangria. You can not tell from the photo, but it was essentially a keg-sized glass. The menu described it as being made of Sprite and other unorthodox ingredients, but the waiter assured me that it was going to be made traditionally because people did not like it the other way. Barca and O’Porto are still at the top of the sangria list, as far as I’m concerned, but I was not disappointed in the version made at Dish.

I sampled an Irish Coffee, which was good, and which I have nothing to compare it to. They used green food dye on the top — something I find tacky even on St. Patrick’s Day. Unless it adds flavor, save the food dyes for the children’s menu.

We heard that the appetizers were the thing to get here, and since we are both vegetarians  the appetizer menu had the best options. We split The Kitchen Sink (salad with beans and tortillas, among the regular salad ingredients), the Crispy Garlic Mashed Potatoes, and Roasted Asparagus in Hollandaise sauce. No contest. It was the best asparagus I’ve had.

After eating all of that, I did not feel overstuffed; I was no longer hungry, though, and really should have stopped while I was ahead. But I heard they had amazing desserts, and well, it’s rare for me to still have the capacity for more eating after a meal. I ordered the Boston Cream Pie. Normally, when one places an order for pie or cake, the expectation is that a slice of it will arrive. At Dish, it was basically half of a pie. If I had just ordered that and a drink, I would have been more than set. Somehow, I crammed the entire wedge down my throat. The memory of walking home from there is spotty, but that might have more to do with the check than with the pie.

A week later, I’m still mildly traumatized by the cost of the meal. Would I go back? Absolutely, but it would have to be for a very special occasion rather than just “it’s Friday night and I am hungry.”

On Saturday I got to see the animated short films that have been either nominated or given praise. I don’t remember the last time I’ve seen the Real Art Ways theatre this full. Having kids in the audience (quite the change from the typical demographic there) was fun. During Matter of Loaf and Death there is a reference to Ghost, which everyone was laughing at, but the child behind me blurted out, loudly, ‘What is so funny? Why’s everyone laughin’?” which provoked more laughter, since there were amazingly people on the planet whose brains were not wired to associate a pottery wheel and “Unchained Melody” with anything. Only one of the films, the last, was dubbed to be not child-friendly, and I feel for the loss of the parents who missed out on the experience due to having to shuffle their innocent progeny out the door before obscenity could rain upon the little ones’ ears.

Logorama, filled with violence and non-delicate words, is what one should expect from animated films geared toward adults. The message of it seems to be that our corporation-coddling, logo-loving style is unsustainable. But rather than deliver this sentiment straight up, the creators drop the viewer into a world in which all are owned or represented by one company or another; here, the police are nearly identical incarnations of the Michelinman who seem to be riffing off Pulp Fiction dialog early on, before chasing down the bad guy, Ronald. Besides the entertainment factor, this film gives the finger to a lawsuit-crazy society by infringing on just about every corporate logo ever created.

Matter of Loaf and Death, the longest of the shorts, was fun, without many surprises. It’s loaded with puns, references, and spoofs. The extended morning routine scene reminded me of Pee-wee’s Big Adventure. The scene in which Wallace rescues the damsel in distress is priceless.

La dama y la muerte begins sad and sentimental, but quickly becomes something else. In this film, death is treated with neither the seriousness nor glibness that most American films infuse the subject with.

There were a number of other shorts shown, but these were my favorites. The animated and live action shorts will be playing at Real Art Ways through Wednesday. For the detailed schedule, go to Real Art Ways.

These are just some pictures I took while walking to work yesterday morning during the storm that was supposed to happen a week ago today.

On Thursday evening, community members showed concern about quality of life issues, land access, and the birds that commune in certain sections of the city. Someone sitting nearby passed me a note about his proposed bird control plan: “Pilot Bird Population Control Program: Snap-Grackle-Pop! Urban hunting FTW.” I suggested he email the thought to oneplan@hartford.gov where someone will be compiling residents’ thoughts on this whole planning process.

A few residents inquired about the land behind and around the Charter Oak Marketplace; Mayor Perez was present to respond about the nature of this property. The area nearby has been used as an illegal dumping site, problematic on its own, but amplified by the particular location of the dumping — alongside (and in) the Park River.

Some residents suggested a visitor center in Barnard Park and historic markers be added to sites in South Green.

The discussion of “South Downtown” seemed disproportionate, given the size of the area and number of residents. One audience member who works downtown, had a lot to say about the ubiquitous parking lots. There was some discussion over what to do about this; David Panagore, Hartford’s Chief Operating Officer, attempted to explain the section of the iQuilt proposal that would allow for a mixed use parking lot near the Bushnell.

Another resident requested that a movie theater or roller rink be considered for downtown. She threw the suggestions out just as ideas for family-oriented development. The lack of family-downtown-planning was evident, as her ideas or similar ones were not on the official list. This oversight became even more obvious during the discussion of the plan to add 4500 new housing units (over ten years) to downtown. This segment of discussion was filled with head-spinning catchphrases, like “workforce units” to describe what would generally be called “affordable housing” in “Downtown North.” For those who need it spelled out for them, Downtown North is the segment of downtown that is North of the highway. As always, issues of class, in a city with enormous class divisions, get swept aside. When asked, essentially, “What the heck are you thinking? Existing housing downtown is not filled or affordable” nobody wanted to meet the issue head-on. Panagore admitted the the market was “soft” right now, which was a nod, but could have more directly answered that with people leaving, rather than moving, downtown, the market sucks. It’s okay to just say it sometimes. Which goes back to the lack of family-oriented-for-residents-of-downtown. There is Bushnell Park, and though the two places that I know of where families seem more welcome — The Hollander and ArtSpace — are very close, this also requires children to cross either the I-84 on/off ramp or to get across Asylum Street. Having wheeled a child in a stroller through this area in the past, I can affirm that this feels a lot like playing Frogger. And motorists, as a whole, are not nicer to pedestrians with strollers. So, if we are going to talk about housing at all, we need to acknowledge that those filling the units may not all have the same needs. Grocery stores are important, on a weekly or biweekly basis, but other matters, like safely getting one’s young children across the street, are more of a daily concern, and seemed wholly ignored in the talk.

Speaking of grocery stores, this discussion happened, as it constantly does these days. Nobody in the room seemed aware that The Hollander is pursuing this option quite actively, or that there was a recent meeting for that building’s residents on the topic. City planning types need to get themselves Twitter accounts and follow the right people; I have yet to step foot in that building, but I know more about it than I should for someone who does not live in downtown nor has any interest of doing so.

What else are downtown residents complaining about? Apparently the Pearl Street fire station is too noisy. When I hear sirens, I am reminded that someone is potentially in a life-threatening situation and that help is being sent. You will never hear me complain about noise produced by ambulance, firetruck, or police sirens.

Here are highlights from the proposed land use as broken down for each neighborhood. This information came from the POCD website and from the listening session, basically word-for-word. Parts in italics are my own commentary:

Frog Hollow

• traffic calming to Capitol Avenue, Babcock, Lawrence, Putnam, Putnam Heights, and Mortson. Two of those streets feature elementary schools, as well as speed limits that are not remotely obeyed. It is rare to see a vehicle drive slower than 40mph on those streets. Often, vehicles drive the wrong way down other streets marked one-way.
  
• though not named in the One City, One Plan draft, the accompanying map for Neighborhood Plan Improvements shows street closure plans in the Russ Street - Park Terrace intersection.
• streetscape and traffic circulation improvements — sidewalk repairs, lighting improvements, addition of trash receptacles, and planting of trees in traffic island.
• improved streetlights
• promotion of homeownership, publicization & utilization of Housing Preservation Loan Fund & the Facade Improvement Program, utilization of the Anti-Blight Ordinance to gain control of vacant buildings & market them to new owners, demolition of structurally unsound buildings, and encouragement of owners to rehabilitate their buildings.
• creation of a Merchants Association This item received some criticism. One person in the audience posed a rhetorical question — Don’t we already have the Spanish American Merchants Association? The point is somewhat valid; however, not every merchant or potential business owner in Frog Hollow is Hispanic. It was noted that this Merchants Association would be for those along Capitol Avenue.
  
• establishment of a new Community Center. It was unclear where this planned community center would go.
  
• deeding of undersized lots to adjacent properties. What this could mean is that vacant lots that are sitting as nuisances could be divided up among the neighboring properties. I could conceivably have a bit more backyard.
  
• enforcing of the Historic Preservation Ordinance
• rezoning the stretch of Capitol Avenue between Babcock and Lawrence

Parkville

• street and streetscape improvements in multiple locations including New Park Ave, Park Street, Pope Park Highway, and extending Bartholomew Avenue. Right now Bartholomew deadends at Olive Street, where illegal dumping is bountiful. This area is technically in Behind the Rocks but falls within the Parkville NRZ. The other end of the street, with Barca, The Design Center, apartments, and yoga studio, is quite alive. One day, while out with a friend and our cameras, we witnessed several cars, in broad daylight, drive back from the “intersection” of Bartholomew and Olive. When we stood at the illegal dumping site with our cameras visible, a few cars that came to the end paused for a minute and then decided to turn around. If all it takes to stop the daytime dumping is to have a small presence, then area businesses would do well to support such a measure.
  
• creation of Bartholomew Business Park and a BID (business improvement district) would address some of the aforementioned concerns. The downtown BID deals with litter, graffiti, and the like, giving the false impression that other areas of the city are innately dirtier than downtown. They aren’t. They just don’t have a reliable cleanup crew.
• improvements at Pope Park West and Day Park.
• creation of an Historic District
• implementation of the Parkville Municipal Development Plan, which was adopted by the City in 2009.

1. expansion of public/private parking
2. support existing businesses
3. acquire specific parcels at Southern end of Bartholomew (near Olive, Rose, and Belmont Streets) which are currently blighted properties
4. and/or encourage private revitalization and rehabilitation of these properties
5. visually unify Bartholomew Ave corridor (no chain link fences, etc.)
6. convey safe & secure environment
7. attract more private investment
8. provide aesthetically appealing and environmentally sustainable infrastructure to support new businesses

West End

• complete the Farmington Avenue streetscape to Prospect. The plan says Prospect Street, but I think they mean Prospect Avenue, since Farmington never intersects with the former.
  
• improvements to Elizabeth Park and recreation fields; preservation, enhancement, and protection of quality of Elizabeth Park.
• develop more effective use behind Sisson Avenue firehouse and/or relocate the uses. There is an unrecognized park behind the firehouse which has received some attention in the past few months as locals seek to have it established. The entrance to the park is somewhat hidden.
• development of a dog park
• create design guidelines for West End Commercial Districts; establish a new building line on Farmington Ave; establish a new parking strategy in conjunction with a new Farmington Ave design district; develop revised zoning regulations to prohibit the use of large residential structures to institutional use
• encourage conversion of institutional uses on residential streets to private residential uses
• support North Branch of Park River Watershed Management Plan and North Branch of Park River Greenway
• Preserve and protect the historic character of the West End; improve and enforce residential parking, building, and zoning standards; limit upward conversions; allow Accessory Dwelling Units north of Farmington Avenue

Blue Hills

• construct new rec center at Tower and Lebanon Streets. Lebanon Street runs parallel to Blue Hills Ave and Coventry Street.
• traffic calming at Rawson and Achievement First, Cornwall and Holcomb, and on Ridgefield Avenue. Can we just plan to calm traffic around all city schools? There are few, if any, that I can recall feeling like the streets were safe enough for children to be crossing, with or without crossing guards. I would like to see more visible crosswalks and school zone markings, as well as speed bumps and other physical traffic calming measures around a number of schools. If we want our children to grow up respecting themselves and others, it could not hurt to send the message early that we give a damn about them.
  
• improvements to crosswalks on Lyme
• redevelopment of parcels at Cornwall and Granby, and Garfield and Granby
• strategy for dealing with maintenance and traffic issues regarding churches
• creation of a tree ordinance
• redevelopment of Westbrook Village and Bowles Park public housing both of which border railroad tracks

North East

• extension of the Main Street streetscape
• rezoning along Main Street
• renovation of bus depot site at Terry Square along with redevelopment of Terry Square. Terry Square is where Windsor and Main Streets meet
  
• redevelopment of Barbour Street and the Nelton Court public housing
• resolve issues between entertainment and residential districts. Residents have posed numerous complaints about out of control noise and parking that is created by area nightclubs.

North Meadows

• long-term use of the music center
• adaptive reuse of the police station and landfill
• development of north meadows area
• protection of dikes

Upper Albany

• implementation of Town Center Redevelopment Plan at intersection of Albany and Woodland
• construction of Albany Avenue Library; renovation of old North West School (to be used as John E. Rogers African American museum); build new facility for Martin Luther King School and reuse existing facility for housing. The MLK School was recently reported as be slated to close.
  
• completion of redevelopment planning and implementation for Homestead Avenue and Sigourney-Homestead.
• completion of Route 44 Streetscape project. This subject has come up repeatedly in conversation, as progress with it seems to be happening at indiscernible levels.

Clay Arsenal

• human development. One can only guess from afar what this jargon refers to. After my guess resulted in a brainstorm of thoughts going back to a scary natural birth video shown in health class during high school, I consulted Wikipedia, something I never do, which should demonstrate how fully scarred that video left me. Instead of encouraging growth of fetuses in Clay Arsenal, I imagine human development must be related to the other definition provided. Wikipedia says:
  

  It is about creating an environment in which people can develop their full potential and lead productive, creative lives in accordance with their needs and interests, thus bringing the focus back onto people. People are the real wealth of nations. Development is thus about expanding the choices people have, to lead lives that they value and improving the human condition so that people will get the chance to lead full lives.^[1] And it is thus about much more than economic growth, which is only a means —if a very important one —of enlarging people’s choices.^[2]

Fundamental to enlarging these choices is building human capabilities —the range of things that people can do or be in life. Human development disperses the concentration of the distribution of goods and services that underprivileged people need and center its ideas on human decisions.^[3].By investing in people, we enable growth and empower people thus developing human capabilities.^[4] The most basic capabilities for human development are to lead long and healthy lives, to be knowledgeable, to have access to the resources and social services, needed for a decent standard of living and to be able to participate in the life of the community. Without these, many choices are simply not available, and many opportunities in life remain inaccessible.^[5]

Preach on! But having a goal like “human development” does not in itself say a whole lot about what kind of legwork this will take. In the actual Clay Arsenal plan of action, I’m certain this is more detailed, but as delivered in the One City, One Plan presentation, the lack of tangible planning does not inspire much confidence that anything will change.

• commercial development through enhancing the appearance and vitality of Main Street and Albany Avenue. This point, while not as concrete as “install new signs and plant tulips,” gives a better sense as to what people plan to do.
  
• residential area development through increasing homeownership rates and improving the appearance and livability of streets and homes
• historic preservation by preserving salvageable buildings and conforming to neighborhood design guidelines There are a number of butt ugly buildings in Hartford, many of which are not mangled piles of blight. They are just designed horribly. The church on the corner of Sigourney and Albany is one example. The building that houses a church near the UHaul on Capitol Avenue is another. What is heartening is hearing planners and regular nonplanners both insisting that we not continue to repeat the sins of our development ancestors by permitting construction free-for-alls. When considering major purchases like homes, cars, or suits, I think our decisions ought to be informed by selecting style over fashion. Chanel is classic for a reason. When people want to build in Hartford, they should have to prove that their structure’s design will be classic, as opposed to vomit-inducing.

Asylum Hill

• safe [buzzword alert] multimodal access to downtown
• improved streetscape, mixed uses, and neighborhood-friendly businesses on Farmington Avenue
• expanded housing options
• improvements to West Middle Elementary School
• new New Britain-Hartford Busway station This is proposed for the block between Capitol, Hawthorn, Laurel, and Sigourney.
  
• expansion of St. Francis Hospital and creation of a new library
• incentives for rehabilitating properties
• evaluation of traffic plans
• addressing quality of life issues
• limitation of restrictive housing
• creation of economic incentives for historic preservation
• rezoning portions of neighborhood to encourage lower-density owner-occupied homes.
• limitation of upward conversion

Downtown [in this section I am including North Downtown, South Downtown, Middle Earth, and any other bizarro version created for the area designated as Downtown]

• protect historic nature of the area
• encourage the conversion of surface parking lots to mixed use development
• increase number of housing units
• foster a sense of community
• facilitate creation of 24/7 activity
• implement Capitol Ave Streetscape between Washington and Main (i.e. continue the Capitol Avenue Streetscape beyond Frog Hollow)
  
• eliminate most one-way streets
• develop a comprehensive parking strategy
• implement a commuter rail and bus service

South Green

• improve the intersection of Jefferson, Main, Retreat, Maple, and Wyllys, which I believe someone in the audience described as having been designed by a person in the throes of DTs.
• improve Barnard Park
• reduce number of homeless shelters in area

Sheldon-Charter Oak [the following is from the CSS/CON strategic plan created in 2007 and adopted in early 2008. As you can see, a number of these goals have already been met]

• restore Colt factory
• construct Sports & Medical Sciences Academy High School
• renovate Kinsella as an arts magnet school
• support more use of Dillon Stadium
• support a National Historic Park This has been shot down, but it seems that people behind this are as diehard as Whalers fans, so I would not expect this issue to go away any time soon.
  
• support high-density economic development projects in specific locations
• improve entrance to the CT River & Riverfront Recapture Park Right now, to get onto the trail, you have to know someone who knows somebody who’ll give you the treasure map that will lead you to the entrance. I found it on my own because I am known to wander aimlessly; there are no signs indicating the entrance.
  
• construct Streetscape around Colt complex
• reconnect Stonington to Maseek and Hendricksen
• extend Star Shuttle service This is an excellent idea! Right now, the Star Shuttle loop is so small that it feels shameful to hop on the bus.
• turn rail line into asset
• develop a botanical garden in/near Colt Park
• encourage residential rehabilitation
• support new construction that respects existing historic buildings
• rezone south side of Wawarme Avenue
• implement park vision plan
• assign traffic calming resources to Wawarme Ave
• redevelopment of Dutch Point
• redevelop vacant properties
• renovate Capewell factory into condominiums
• construct a boutique hotel on Capewell
• preserve Charter Oak Place
• resdesign Main Street
• redesign Monument Park
• traffic calming on Wyllys and Charter Oak Avenue
• improve Groton Street sidewalks

Props to CSS/CON for being thorough.

South Meadows

• improve traffic conditions on Airport Road
• conduct study on reuse of Brainard Airport
• eliminate incompatible uses such as adult entertainment, and environmentally sensitive uses This is interesting because nothing was stated about the elimination of adult entertainment in the North Meadows, which is a similar type of area.

South End [The South End, a rather sizeable area, is apparently near-perfect. They only have two items listed in the plan]

• Wethersfield Avenue Streetscape Plan
• Redevelopment of 990 & 1000 Wethersfield Avenue These sites are located deep in the South End, spitting distance from the town of Wethersfield.

Barry Square

• complete the Maple Avenue Streetscape
• foster new small businesses along Maple and New Britain Avenues
• work with City to redevelop Mega Foods site and Maple/Benton/Webster triangle

South West

• preserve the housing stock and encourage reinvestment. This neighborhood is primarily single and two-family homes.
  
• maintain neighborhood business corridor on New Britain Avenue

Behind the Rocks

• re-use Housing Authority land that is located behind Wal-Mart
• study impact of extension of Bartholomew Avenue. This street currently begins in Parkville; the section that is blighted is in Behind the Rocks. If extended, it would transcend I-84 and run parallel to New Park Avenue.
  
• develop trails along Park River
• institute traffic calming
• enforce Anti-Blight Ordinance around Zion Street and Noise Ordinance throughout
• encourage better property maintenance
• participate in Safe Routes to School program

So, if you are a Hartford resident and you have ideas about how the next ten years should go, send them to oneplan@hartford.gov . Don’t be another one of those people who take no action and reserve all of their complaining for after the fact.

The small markets in Hartford get a bad rap for not carrying nutritious foods. Much of the time, this reputation is deserved; however, El Mercado’s shelves and bins were stocked with plenty of nutritious choices. Sure, the food court area is predictably meat-centric, but I did not see greasy hamburgers and fries among options.

St. Anne’s, on the corner of Putnam and Park, has masses in French, Spanish, and English (last is more Spanglish than English).

The church pictured above is being used as a no-freeze shelter. It’s within sight of the Children’s Hospital, State Library, and the Bushnell, and is located at the Lafayette/Russ intersection. When I walked by, there were no homeless people loitering outside or causing any of the problems that some feared would exist if the shelter had been located on Gold Street. Actually, the only people I saw “loitering” in the area were directly in front of the courthouse, dressed for what I would assume would be court appearances, and pacing anxiously, as one is wont to do before making said appearance. They also were not creating any nuisance.

This sculpture is near the court house. I don’t know what it’s supposed to be. Maybe a person carrying his guilt around?

This is a view of Putnam Heights during our recent snow storm. I think all the snow melted away about twenty seconds after I snapped this picture.

A farmers’ market runs during the winter months inside The Studio at Billings Forge. In addition to bikes, bird decor, and suit jackets, they have goat cheese, ciabatta and French bread, salad greens, garlic, kiwi, meat and eggs. Someone regularly has coffee for sale, and recently I have seen an artist selling his work. During warmer months the market is set up in between the Studio and the Firebox.

Bright Star Vision has been helping the village of Dalive in Ghana. They have built water filters, a library, and a kindergarten. Additionally, they have donated books, clothing, and medical supplies.