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.

Whatever happened to that Fat Cat Pie that was supposed to open downtown? I forgot they ended up with a Bridgeport yeast infection and couldn’t rise to the occasion.

Did that Miami trip violate any FOI Laws, or consitute a ethics violation for ex parte discussions?