Superior Court Judge Theodore Tyma has ruled for the city’s Planning & Zoning Commission that denied a second extension of time for a proposed 120-bed halfway house by Community Solutions Inc. at Norman Street and Railroad Avenue. The proposal has been the subject of several heated zoning and neighborhood meetings.
The property for the rejected proposal is controlled by city developer Sal DiNardo. No word yet if Community Solutions Inc. www.csi-online.org will try to reapply for a new application. Read the judge’s decision here.
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‘Bout time someone stood up for the residents and taxpayers in Bridgeport.
lisawhite,
when you say “’bout time someone stood up for the residents and taxpayers of Bridgeport,” I hope you mean the West Side NRZ members who fought it originally at the P&Z, The NRZ Citywide leaders who voted against it, the P&Z who voted against it, the neighbors who came out to fight it while others were home comfortably, the people who put up their own money to pay lawyers, the good lawyers like Michael Voytek who went above and beyond for the taxpayer, the City of Bridgeport lawyers who fought it in court, the city which eventually came around, the Republican party that made large donations to help pay for legal representation and the courts who made the right decision. If that’s what you mean when you say “’bout time” then yeah ’bout time there were those who fought it while others sat home and complained. Hopefully next time all of Bridgeport will get up and fight!
The West Side residents are someone, aren’t they? I applaud anyone and everyone who fight against getting these things shoved down our throats.
Just another thought–you are very lucky the judge ruled in favor of the neighborhood residents. Many years ago–when a Stop and Shop was being considered for the Dewhirst property on Madison Ave in the North End–quite a few of the residents banded together to fight putting the Stop and Shop there. Matter of fact, Tom White was sued for leading the opposition. Needless to say, Stop and Shop and the developers won and no one from anywhere else in the city cared …
Kitty, thank you for remembering a good part of the story. The citywide NRZs were present on the occasions of showing community opposition to locating yet another halfway house in Bridgeport. And community funds, Republican, independent and from Democrats too funded legal expense. If memory serves me, Bridgeport returnees from the prison system equal about 40% of the community population but Bridgeport, the City, currently houses all but one of the halfway houses and serves some 83% of the returnee population. Enough seemed enough and though many of the general as well as the religious community wish to support returnees, the idea is we are already above and beyond in such fair sharing of responsibility.
Many are to be thanked for the resistance presented. The courts are serving notice community concerns are vindicated. We must stay vigilant, especially when the money for housing returnees is so significant that “special deals” are offered to a community organization to get it to turn 180 degrees around from its initial opposition. But that is another story. Not a thankful one. Time will tell.
Oh happy day! Oh happy day!
That’s fine for this NRZ. What about the remainder of the City and the effectiveness of the NRZs there? What about Reverend McCluster, WENRZ President who tried to sell out to the highest bidder? Are NRZs just a ploy by the City to neutralize neighborhood activism and squish true community-based organizations? NRZs are staffed by people in City Hall who don’t live in Bridgeport. What have they done to lobby for Block Grant funding for neighborhood projects as opposed to having so much CDBG going to the politically connected and City staff administration? What about the areas of the City without NRZs? How many thousands of hours have been wasted by neighborhood residents attending NRZ meetings? For what? Neighborhood-based grassroots organizations truly are not beholding to the City. We need them. They are for the most part gone and oh, by the way Mayor, next time you are bemoaning lack of reporting and vigilance on the part of neighbors, remember, if they had true neighborhood organizations, it would make them less afraid to come forward, for it would be not them as individuals targeted for retribution but they would have the shield of a community group.
The NRZ concept is a good one based on CT statutes I believe, and initiated in the City during the Fabrizi administration. Planning with professional guidance for local neighborhoods, mainly those covering census tracks eligible for HUD CDBG funding, formed the way for “implementation” and recognition by the City Council.
What did not follow was funding for projects. So if you look today you see local groups who have spent many hours working with OPED staff and having little to show for the “grassroots” effort. But they have found common cause to come together on a regular basis to share their experiences.
The questions you raise on block grant funding are excellent. Take a look at the process in the City. Were the Feds happy with the way things were handled a half-dozen years ago? What is the true role of Citizens Union representation for these grants (people handpicked by their CC representative to review grant submissions)? And what impact do Citizen Union decisions in the past two years have when presented to the City Council, and subsequently countermanded? That would be some interesting research.
In a sense funds trickle down to the NRZs. And that trickle is often only used to flesh out plans from the top that would have been done anyway in my opinion. Who are liaison from City Hall today? And close work with City personnel has created a broad negative impression regarding competence and communication skills. There is no one who is encouraged to strengthen local vision and activity and provided with resources to assist NRZ or other local groups. So if a neighborhood has no NRZ currently and/or has no census tracks qualifying for HUD-CDBG funding, they ought to come to one of the regular “City-wide NRZ” ad hoc meetings. We have no power, other than the sharing of information across “zone lines.” We have no money source as a group either. And there is no formal group. But there is a recognition a non-political grassroots effort is important for neighborhoods at this time at a minimum to give voice to the conditions common to neighborhoods all around the community. There is a growing respect among those assembled for a community wide view from those who are active in the community, but not necessarily elected, appointed, employed or otherwise affiliated with any current administration. Community view and voice are critical. Time will tell.
Hooray for the judge’s decision and the diligent work by the NRZ and the neighborhood for speaking against this project. But we must watch for this applicant to reapply for a new application to go ahead in the future, which is their right. The neighborhood has changed for the better and we certainly do not need some undesirables wandering about in the area …
Yes … it is about time someone (the judge) to stand up for Bridgeport.
*** Bridgeporteur, Rev. McCluster is the NRZ president of the South End, not the West End. Also the effectiveness of the NRZs in general could be much more if neighborhood residents and businesses would attend the monthly meetings and got more involved, along with “all” the NRZs being on the same sheet of music by having the same general NRZ charter rules and following them instead of bending certain rules to suit their personal purpose. Maybe a bit of local advertizing to inform the public about the NRZs and what there function is would be helpful in getting the word out for more support. But remember, Bpt is not called Zombieland for nothing, no? *** HERE WE GO! ***
Kudos! To all who opposed the proposed halfway house. Yes, Miss Pat, we must be watchful! They will try to come back. On the East Side there is a particular individual who opened up a club in a residential area. Fights and loud music disrupted people’s lives in the area. Judge closed it down. And pop! All of a sudden a new interested party wants to reopen under a new name with so-called family-oriented festivities only to take place. I say take it somewhere else!
“Also the effectiveness of the NRZs in general could be much more if neighborhood residents and businesses would attend the monthly meetings and got more involved, along with “all” the NRZs being on the same sheet of music by having the same general NRZ charter rules and following them instead of bending certain rules to suit their personal purpose.”
Mojo! Well said!
The NRZ meeting notices comes to some of our homes a day before the meeting. Sometimes. And little is done to inform the community of said meetings.
The word is CONTROL!
Hey! When DiNardo offered The Most Reverend Charles McCluster a $50,000 bribe, that’s when The Most Reverend Charles McCluster changed his mind and supported DiNardo’s halfway house.
Who knows, maybe McCluster is tired of shaking down the government, homeless and vets.
The NRZ is a goldmine.
God help the South End!
The Most Reverend Charles McCluster-fuck!
New Haven just announced Achillion, a billion-dollar pharmaceutical company, is relocating their corporate headquarters from Cheshire to downtown New Haven where they will house 900+ employees. Two men of Italian extraction put that deal together. They are Mayor John DeStefano and Chamber of Commerce President Anthony Rescigno.
We have two men of Italian extraction in Bridgeport. They are Mario Testa and Paul Timpanelli. Frustrating, isn’t it?
Whoops. The pharma company I mentioned should be Alexion. Achillion has already established a presence in New Haven with 500+ employees. They focus on infectious diseases. Maybe we can get them to invent a drug that will cure the infectious diseases we have in the DTC.
Eighty percent of the South-end NRZ is made up of nonresidents, people who do not live in the South End. That includes the most Rev. McCluster who lives in Shelton.
The stakeholders of the South End NRZ are outnumbered by a nonresident vote.
McCluster and his band of thieves control the SENRZ.
The State should step in and stop SENRZ from applying for 501c3, and disband this SENRZ.
Give Timpanelli a monkey and a hat, he can play some kind of tune, because he can’t bring anything to Bpt. He gets paid for what???
All are welcome at West Side NRZ meetings. 4th Tuesday of every month behind St. John’s church on Park and Fairfield at 6:30 PM. It is true NRZs need zombies to awaken and join up. Power in numbers. Yes the NRZs are representatives of the City but the independent spirit is alive with them.
These NRZs have been meeting for years and virtually nothing good has come from them. They are staffed by City Hall after all. I don’t blame the people for not coming out. I also don’t buy the idea a neighborhood cannot form an advocacy group through the NRZ just because more than 50% happen to be above Area Median Income. Another control ploy by the City.
A real victory for Bridgeport! I hope we can use this as a springboard in sending the message that Bridgeport will no longer be the point of least resistance or a dumping ground for every initiative the surrounding suburbs don’t want to see in their neighborhoods. Thanks to the W.E. NRZ, attorney Voytek, The Republican Town Committee, P&Z and all the residents who showed up in opposition.