Sacred Heart University students are back and some North End residents are getting their backs up. The city of Bridgeport has a unique relationship with Sacred Heart that began as a commuter school in 1963 founded by the Diocese of Bridgeport, but has emerged as a thriving campus and all sorts of growing pains including resident students populating the city’s North End. Campus proper is located in Fairfield, but most of the student residents occupy dorms in the city directly across from the university on Park Avenue as well as a number of residential homes. Some students don’t make for friendly neighbors.
Jeff Kohut, a 2011 mayoral candidate who serves as block watch and safety committee chair for the Lake Forest Association, has written a letter to Sacred Heart Dean of Students Larry Wielk “in the hopes of obtaining relief for the people of this quiet, residential area (one of the last, family-friendly residential havens in the City of Bridgeport) from the dangerous, disruptive, immature antics of students under the auspices of Sacred Heart University that have taken up residence in our neighborhood.”
City Council President Tom McCarthy and council members AmyMarie Vizzo-Paniccia and Michelle Lyons have had numerous meetings with SHU officials throughout the years imploring university intervention. An excerpt from Kohut’s letter below highlights the measures urged by North End residents.
… To cut to the chase, SHU has not maintained its promise to patrol affected neighborhoods, respond to neighborhood complaints, and appropriately discipline students not complying with SHU off-campus policy. This has led to the steady, deep erosion of the quality of life in many Bridgeport neighborhoods, including Lake Forest.
This situation will not be tolerated by the Lake Forest Association/Lake Forest neighborhood.
In terms of specific problems/situations that require definitive remediation, the house at 732 Lakeside Drive, occupied by several Sacred Heart students for the past two years, has been the site of numerous, loud, late-night gatherings over the past 9 months–including two outrageous situations in January 2012 and, most recently, on September 2, 2012, in which, literally, hundreds of drunken “guests”–many of them under the legal drinking age, and many of them Sacred Heart students–attended late-night parties hosted by the student residents of 732 Lakeside.
The behavior at these parties was dangerous, disruptive, and illegal. Hundreds of guests, many underage, trespassed on neighboring properties, urinating, vandalizing, yelling, and screaming, causing homeowners–many elderly–to be awakened during the wee hours of the morning by the frightening, alarming presence of drunken, wild young invaders on their property and in the street. (An “after party” was held at another SHU house on Old Town Road following the January, Lakeside Drive party, during which a female student was raped by an SHU male athlete.)
In both cases, the Bridgeport police were called and terminated the parties, but unfortunately, none of the student miscreants were arrested, despite the many laws violated and the threat to public safety presented by all of the drunken drivers sent out onto the streets from the abbreviated festivities.
As a result of these and other disruptive gatherings at SHU student-occupied houses in Lake Forest and adjacent neighborhoods in recent months, The Lake Forest Association and Lake Forest Block Watch will be in contact with the City of Bridgeport, the Bridgeport Police Department, and Lake Forest Association legal representation to seek relief from disruptive SHU houses in our neighborhood by all legal means at our disposal. In this regard, we will hold Sacred Heart University, the Diocese of Bridgeport/Bishop’s Office (per the Bishop’s seat on the SHU Board of Trustees), the City of Bridgeport, the Bridgeport Police Department, and the owners of the involved properties, responsible for any and all legal infractions and threats to the peace and safety of our neighborhood presented by the occupancy of homes in the Lake Forest area by students associated with Sacred Heart University. All affected parties will be sent a copy of this letter.
It should be noted that a new state law will go into effect on October 1, 2012, which stipulates liability for those persons/parties associated with the control of any premises, such that they will be held legally responsible for the alcohol-related behavior of minors who acquire alcohol at such premises. This would apply to home owners/renters and others that could be considered to be in positions of some level of oversight of alcohol-dispensing situations at premises under their auspices (See Public Act 12-199, An Act Prohibiting Certain Persons From Allowing Minors To Possess Alcoholic Liquor In Dwelling Units And On Private Property).
Also, please note the adoption of a new policy by Yale University that requires Yale students hosting off-campus parties to register such parties with the university well in advance of the event.
We sincerely hope that Sacred Heart University will take the lead in securing permanent, future relief from the threats presented by Sacred Heart students to the peace and safety of the people of Lake Forest (and, indeed, all of the people of Bridgeport).
Nothing is going to happen until one of the geniuses from that diploma factory manages to get themselves killed. Then the university will blame the city.
Ain’t it amazin’ virtually none of the dorms or shared houses are in Fairfield, where the school actually is?
Hey! McCarthy votes for the SHU dorms, and now he has a problem with the student parties?
What’s next, a SHU/City curfew?
I live in the North End, we have to vote McCarthy out! He does nothing for us.
Anti, SHU dorms were approved way before McCarthy was on the council. That was a zoning decision.
Lennie, that may be true but McCarthy and the other council people have not held the mayor’s feet to the fire on this issue.
But he did vote for tax exemption for the SHU dorms.
Mayor Finch and Chief Gaudett have basically turned a blind eye to the quality of life issues the people of this city are going through because of these out-of-control students. Time after time we hear about meetings with the SHU people who are in charge of the university and time after time nothing is resolved.
I live a good distance from SHU and we have one house that is occupied by SHU students. Last year there were 4 students as reported by council person Paoletto who did check on this situation. This year we have 8 cars parked in the driveway and on the grass so I assume there are more than 4 students.
Because of lack of enforcement the city is sitting on a liability powderkeg. One fire and one death from this fire in an illegal one-family residence occupied by SHU students and we will get our asses sued off. Let me say this, I HOPE IT NEVER HAPPENS. But it will.
To the mayor, don’t forget we have another university you never read negative press about and that’s UB. They have a graduate student murdered and not a word of condolence from this mayor. Nothing from Gaudett.
Damn it, people have the right to live in peace and quiet. Finch and Gaudett, do your freaking job.
I pretty much agree with Andy on this as well. However, what can the mayor or the chief of police do other than react when something happens?
I think it is really up to the neighbors to speak up and be heard. If your neighbor is being rude than speak to them one on one first. If that doesn’t work then the neighbors should make the effort to contact the university, the police and most especially the (absentee) homeowner.
Mr. Fardy–
Automobiles parked on the lawn is a Zoning violation. The number of students renting and living in that house may be a violation as well. I believe there’s a reg on the books that limits the number of individuals that can live in a rented dwelling who are not related. The fact that Mrs. Fardy is a past Zoning Commissioner, you may know this already. I can understand if you are just sick and tired of the BS. However, I urge you to report these infractions to the appropriate authorities. Inundate the Mayor’s Office, Zoning and Police departments with letters, phone calls, and your presence at City Council meetings with this issue. Thank you.
I have not written any letters about the problems in my neighborhood and in the North End. I have attended meetings held at the North End library and have spoken at those meetings. I have spoken directly with Chief Gaudett about this problem and the potential liability the city faces. I also spoke directly to Mayor Fnich about the problem and the liability the city faces. All of this has fallen on deaf ears.
I have outlined a process for correcting this situation to both the mayor and the chief. This is not rocket science.
I told the chief a task force comprised of a police officer, housing enforcement, zoning enforcement and a Fire Marshal and city attorney should be put together.
Generally the PD is called to a location for a loud party or loud noises. They can take the names of the residents and if they exceed 4 in number turn that address over to the task force for enforcement. They can do the same thing when neighbors telephone a complaint or a tip on illegal housing.
It is not worth the life of one student to ignore this problem.
*** Good Neighbor Policy Is Needed At SHU! Time for City Hall to Earn the Trust of the Public and the Students, no? ***
What do you expect from kids whose parents are willing to shell out $40K a year for such a crappy education … SHU has to be the most overpriced, overrated college in the nation.
SHU has been a detriment to this community ever since they started building dorms. It is a crappy school that caters to spoiled brats. We would be better off without them.