A Safe Neighborhood–Our neighborhood is safer than most–for the most part–depending on what part of it you live in. But it could still be better. Black Rock has become somewhat of the red light district of the city, with one strip club and four massage parlors. And when was the last time you were coming home at night and stopped at the gas station off Exit 25, or at Krauszers, and got approached by a drug addict asking for change or, if you’re a guy, by a prostitute? If you live in P.T. Barnum Apartments, do you feel you have to have eyes in the back of your head when you go out at night? If you’re one of the seniors or disabled people in Twin Towers, do you think twice about going outside at night because of the illicit activity going on there by people who either don’t live there or are living there illegally? What has the state of our city come to when the elderly or the handicapped have to be shut in their homes?

The city should establish in what areas of the city adult entertainment venues can operate. Such establishments should only be allowed to operate in nonresidential areas of the city. If you go out with your spouse or significant other to one of the restaurants or bars on Fairfield Ave., you shouldn’t have to think about where and worry about seeing some illicit activity going on. Black Rock is a family-oriented neighborhood and it should be free of adult-oriented activity.

Along these lines, the Police should specifically target certain areas that are conducive to panhandling and prostitution–gas stations, convenience stores, places with payphones, etc. No one who is getting home late from an extra-long day at work should have to think twice before stopping off to fill up their gas tank or pick up a carton of milk because it’s 11:00 at night and they might get accosted by someone who’s just hanging around.

In terms of public housing, the City’s Housing Authority should have its own Police Department, dedicated to securing the safety of the City’s public housing resources. Just because a resident’s economic circumstances force them to live in public housing should not mean that they have to feel unsafe or limited in terms of what times of day they can venture outside. Having regular police assigned to each complex, who get to know the residents, will cut down on the degree of crime in these complexes and force out the people who are living there but shouldn’t be.

Christoph is cherry-picking this deal for the Marina value, and if he can’t perform, he will slip out of town in the middle of the night, like the Greek Shipping Maggot did 27 years ago with the Ferry Boat Junction.

Based on Past Performances in our city, we should go up to Shoreline Star and grab a racing form to handicap this race. Too bad it’s “past posted”. The Fix is in.

No one doubts that the complexity of the project demands smart and thorough due diligence. But as in most business decisions, there’s diminishing marginal utility to collecting data just for the sake of collecting data.

Frankly, the bigger concern should be that those conducting the due diligence have the brains, judgment and analytical skills to correctly interpret the “facts” … and then to decide what provides the maximum benefit (long-term) to the City of Bridgeport.

The emphasis here should be on the QUALITY of thinking that goes into the decision, rather than the simple QUANTITY of data … some might think they need to collect.

So what was the point?

A number of Bridgeport City Council members were scheduled to take a trip to Miami this weekend to get a firsthand look at some of the Steel Point developer’s completed projects. A fine idea in the abstract, but for a perpetually cash-strapped city, it was an unnecessary extravagance.

It was far from a luxury junket — the one-day trip was to include more travel time than anything else, and little time to waste. Still, the information to be gained was nebulous from the start.

“Photos are one thing,” said council member Robert Curwen. “I want to see some of the tangible things. For a billion-dollar deal, I think it’s important.”

It is important. But, really, did the council think the developer’s buildings were simply made up? Part of some scheme to soak the Bridgeport taxpayer with fictional tales of waterfront condos?

Simple research, from home, could have easily proven or disproven everything the developer has said.

And with the one-day turnaround, there was little hope of gaining much insight. “We are going to have the ability to talk to anybody we want to,” council President Thomas McCarthy said. Another way to accomplish that goal? A telephone.

The City Council made a similar trip just three years ago, and did not need the negative publicity that goes along with this kind of fact-finding mission. It wasn’t necessary.