City Councilman Marcus Brown Tuesday night received the Democratic endorsement over incumbent Jack Hennessy to represent Connecticut’s 127th State House District covering the North End and portion of the West Side.
Hennessy, the senior member of the city’s legislative delegation, will seek petition signatures to wage an August primary to keep his seat.
“I am incredibly humbled by the support that I received this evening from the majority of the delegates at tonight’s convention,” Brown stated in a news release. “I am committed to the issues that are important to the North End and to Bridgeporters generally, including securing more money for education, bringing more funding for our city, and improving public safety. I look forward to bringing that message to the voters in the weeks to come.”
Steven Auerbach, a delegate who nominated Brown for the seat stated, “Marcus brings a new perspective and vision for Bridgeport. His energy and his ability to work well with others demonstrates that he is ready and qualified to be our next State Representative.”
Both Brown and Hennessy are participating in Connecticut’s Citizens Election Program of publicly funded races.
This race, along with the contest to choose a Democratic nominee for the State Senate seat occupied by Dennis Bradley, hold the most interest for the primary season. Most of the city’s legislative delegation will go unchallenged.
While Brown is party-endorsed, Hennessy is not without high-profile pols supporting his reelection such as former state representative and two-time mayoral contender Chris Caruso and City Councilwoman Maria Pereira, both seasoned campaigners.
Attention all Black Rock residents:
Paging Carmen Lopez.
The revised plans for 3115 Fairfield Ave were submitted to P & Z yesterday just minutes before the noon deadline. SBBR was there waiting for the plans to arrive. We noticed one important change that was not mentioned in the BR NRZ vote to support the plan:
There is now only one entrance/exit and it is onto Courtland. In addition, they now have a lift bar across the entrance, which could create traffic back up onto Fairfield Avenue, a state highway. This needs to be emphasized and a traffic study should be requested by all of us!
On street parking remains a key issue due to insufficient parking spaces for tenants and safety due to the potential for greater vehicle and pedestrian collisions due to the congested intersection at Courtland and Fairfield Ave.
Many Zoom attendees were shocked to learn that the Black Rock NRZ approved the developer’s plan PRIOR to seeing the revised submission to P & Z. The revised plans were submitted yesterday just before noon and the BR NRZ voted in favor of the plans on May 12th at their unannounced Board Meeting.
Many people have asked how to contact the Black Rock NRZ to express their concerns about their approval of the 3115 Fairfield Ave project. You can email, Scott Burns, President of the BR NRZ at:
blackrock.bpt.nrz@gmail.com
It’s still too BIG (one block wide) and still too TALL (4 stories instead of the limit the current zoning restriction to 3 stories). In addition to size and scale, these plans call for using two residential lots for parking – lots that are not zoned for parking. If the P&Z were to deny these parking lots for legal reasons, then it would be reasonable to expect a building of this size to increase the need for on street parking to increase proportionally — 52 or more vehicles.
Of great concern to SBBR is the revised plan just filed includes a lift gate into the single entrance/exit for the apartment complex. This has the potential to cause a back up of vehicles vehicles waiting to enter. Cars waiting for access to the onsite parking could be expected to add to the traffic backing up onto Fairfield Ave.
TRAFFIC, SAFETY, and PARKING issues that have not been addressed by the developer or the Black Rock NRZ who endorsed this proposal.
P&Z views the Black Rock NRZ as representing the community’s interests. That’s why we need to show up in force on May 31st. We had a previous P&Z member on the Zoom meeting who said that showing up in large numbers is the ONLY thing that matters. It is MORE important than the legal arguments or even the zoning requirements.
Contact Sue Cadwell if you need a ride to the P&Z meeting or can offer a ride. Call your neighbors, friends, and family! We need a large number of people from the community to overcome the endorsement by the Black Rock NRZ. Contact Sue at suecadwell60@aol.com
SHOW UP IN FORCE at the next P&Z Meeting on Tuesday, May 31st at 6:00 PM at City Hall, 45 Lyons Terrace (free parking in lot across street)
The P&Z meeting starts at 6:30 PM, but we plan to rally in front of City Hall with our signs for a press conference. We need you to be there at 6 PM for the press! Thank you.
What has this have to do with a primary for a state representative race?
What does either post have to do with you? YOU DON’T LIVE IN BRIDGEPORT. Had it not been for Black Rock voters, you would not have a Senator’s ass to kiss.
Want to make yourself somewhat useful? Get off your Senator’s behind. Look at her in the eyes and tell her to get involved, informed, and active with the 3115 Fairfield Avenue P&Z issue; don’t hide and take a position.
P&Z are municipal issues. If the Senator wants to be involved as a Bridgeport resident, that is her business. She was elected to represent my district in Hartford. As such my communication urging to to take action involves the state legislature, not municipal government.
I suggest you push your elected Council members. Unfortunately, the Councilman representing our taxed property address in Bridgeport, is the subject of the article. The man who didn’t keep his word to support the incumbent. The incumbent who supported the usurper in his FAILED attempt to unseat Senator Moore. The one who is a lackey for JG2 and his administration-Mr. Brown.
Joel, you fool
We own property and pay taxes in Bridgeport, so it does affect us.
Your city paycheck comes from tax dollars we pay directly to the city and also tax dollars we pay to the state.
It affects your tenants, not you. Taxes or sewer fee go up, owner raises rent. I could imagine what you charge for rent and deposit.
Okay Mr. Marshall, you’ve made it clear that you prefer Fed Ex service. The question is: What can “Brown” do for you?
@Joel
Brown can’t do anything for me and has done nothing for his district during his time in office.
He is a lackey for JG2 and Testa, interested only in collecting another paycheck from the public.
BTW>>>>Brown chairs the Council committee on Ordinances and has never proposed one.
The Black Rock NRZ approved the developer’s plan PRIOR to seeing the revised submission to P & Z , are you kidding me!
Who gave the NRZ permission to speak for the people of Black Rock on any Zoning matter Burns?
Scott Burns has been an Albatross on the Ass of Black Rock for many years now!
Keep up the good work Joel!
It’s not just Burns. McCarthy is quiet on this matter. Both Councilmen had been working on the City budget during most the time period (April and May) as well keeping tabs (i’m assuming here) on the 3115 matter. On top of the fact that both have jobs/personal business to run and family matter/responsibilities to deal with, raises the question: Are they taking on more than they can chew? The State Rep. and Senator representing Black Rock need to get involved. Joel, it’s a P&Z matter. Bullshit, there is an issue with safety on Fairfield Avenue, a State road. I suggest the folks in Black Rock put their sate and municipal representative’s feet to the fire regarding this matter.
Those damn white boys!
3+
Had the NRZ been committed to involving the community’s residents early on in reviewing plans for development of the 3115 Fairfield Ave. Project, we might not be having this pitched battle of us vs them. The leaders of the NRZ did not actively seek out the involvement of residents in the neighborhoods most directly affected by this decision. They voted to approve plans for a block-long 4 story apartment building on Fairfield Avenue with one entrance/exit to the 44 residential and 1 retail unit on Courtland in a meeting that was not properly noticed. “Not properly noticed” is a nice way of saying no one from the Scale Back Black Rock grassroots organization got an email about the meeting, it was not posted on the BR NRZ’s web or Facebook pages either. The NRZ could have ensured that the concerns and issues of people with a stake in the decisions it makes are identified and addressed, but that would mean talking to people who are not on the NRZ Board or its committees. Early and ongoing public involvement could have prevented what we have now in terms of anger and mistrust. At the end of this day I feel that the NRZ has lost the trust of the Black Rock community. (Again)