Larry Wielk, dean of students at Sacred Heart Universty, on Tuesday issued a response to North End resident Jeff Kohut who brought a number of neighborhood issues to the attention of the university involving student partying in residential areas. See Wielk’s correspondence to Kohut followed by the Lake Forest Block Watch leader urging the university implement tighter controls including policies adopted by Yale University for off-campus student parties.
Jeff … Sorry for not getting back to you sooner but I was in a number of meetings yesterday. I have set up a meeting with the guys who live at 732 Lakeside Dr. for later this week. I would hope (expect) that after our meeting there will be no more disturbances out there for the remainder of the year.
Thank you for bringing this to my attention.
Larry Wielk
Dean of Students
Kohut responds:
Larry:
Thanks for getting back to me. But really, there must be a lot more done to address this particular situation, as well as in regard to proactive measures to protect Lake Forest and other neighborhoods from this type of insanity in the future. SHU doesn’t seem to get it! The long-term residents of Lake Forest and other Bridgeport neighborhoods are protecting their homes–we see the threat to our safety and our quality of life in our homes/neighborhoods as something very basic. SHU cannot keep just shrugging us off as they further encroach on the integrity of neighborhoods with their impossible expansion plans.While SHU may have been able to placate/buy-off Bridgeport City Hall, you can bet that the people of Bridgeport won’t be held at bay by this situation. SHU has to effectively deal with extant off-campus problems to the satisfaction of Bridgeport residents, as well as take proactive measures to assure off-campus problems become nothing more than a bad memory–in short order.
SHU might not have any shame, but people protecting their homes are more than willing to shame SHU through any number of legal activities.
I expect to hear from President Petillo, et al., in response to my correspondence concerning this issue.
In the meantime, the following must transpire, forthwith:
1. SHU must establish a policy similar to Yale’s in which students who are planning to host off-campus parties must register in advance with SHU security and the Administration.
2. SHU weekend security patrols of off-campus SHU-residence neighborhoods in Bridgeport must resume immediately.
3. SHU students found to have been involved in disruptive/illegal off-campus activities in Bridgeport must be appropriately disciplined. Such disciplinary measures should be chosen with input from aggrieved parties.
4. SHU security, and other top-level SHU Administration representatives must meet with the Lake Forest Association/Block Watch representatives at an agreed-upon date in the near future to further discuss permanent resolution of the off-campus SHU-student problems in the Lake Forest area.
Kohut for President of Fairfield Beach Rd. Association!
When people start living large and loud, especially when using ‘other people’s money’ or other people’s space, they gain some notoriety and community pushback. While Jeff Kohut and his neighbors are fighting a long-term battle against the student renters who exceed community standards in more than one way, the City Council Ordinance Committee was discussing and passing an ordinance regarding rental property that would change the landscape for owners of rental property significantly. A Certificate of Apartment Occupancy (according to Ordinance 13-11) will require all apartment space to have a CAO ($80) on any changeover from one tenancy to another. This will include current exceptions including property that is owner-occupied. Failure to have a CAO when an inspector appears already presents an opportunity for a citation.
To the extent there are believed to be many “illegal units” throughout the City, violations of health and fire safety hazards present, and residential units occupied by groups in excess of current ordinance allowances for non-family units, the language in the proposed Ordinance is a valuable tool for the City Housing Inspectors. If you have any interest in the matter, it is likely a Public Hearing (a meeting at which you can express an opinion and perhaps even ask a question, with no guarantee of a response) will be held on this matter at 6:00 PM next Monday or Tuesday evening by the Ordinance Committee.
The Committee had six items on their AGENDA last evening. Starting at 6:17 PM they moved through discussing four of them in 90 minutes. They speedily tabled the Proposed Amendment (Chapt 2.06.040 Reimbursement of Council Member’s Expenses (Stipends), the fifth item, with no explanation or comments from any Council members, and went into Executive Session to hear from a City Attorney in preparation for another two hours spent on re-shaping the proposed Ordinance on Sexually Oriented Business. (Mike Mayko reports on that in the CT Post.) Just another session of your City ‘legislature’ at work creating new regulations or laws that are to be followed in order our City serves its residents better. Do they ever check to see what rules are ignored by the Council itself? By the sitting Mayor? Time will tell.
John, there are enough laws in place now to handle these illegal housing units. The problem is the city has chosen not to upset SHU and thus ignores the SHU problem.
The ordinance committee may want to pass a law that puts a $500 fine for underage drinking.
I agree with the first two paragraphs as written by JML … especially regarding the passing of a new ordinance that is sorely needed regarding rental properties. Absentee landlords are a scourge to the city and a direct factor in derelict homes in run-down neighborhoods.
People take a more vested interest in the properties and the neighborhoods when they actually own the home they live in.
I’ve got a rowdy Sacred Heart rental a block from me and there have been major blowouts several times last year with broken bottles in the street and fights and police.
There’s plenty of open space in Trumbull and Easton. Let them go there!
Frankly, I thought Larry’s response was a good first step and quite appropriate. Insults get you nowhere.
SHU ceased being a real university when they started catering to the spoiled brats who became the majority of the student body when SHU became a residential university. What kind of university would put a sleazeball like Linda McMahon on their board anyway, other than she donated a lot of money to the school in return for having a building named after her. And how about those frequent traffic jams on Park Avenue that are now a permanent part of life since the hideous dorms were built on the BPT side. This school contributes very little to this community as it is and they are a terrible neighbor!