Mayor Bill Finch isn’t going out like a lion or a lamb. More like a tiger. Bridgeport’s federal congressional delegation and Governor Dan Malloy announced Monday the city has received $10 million in federal Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) funds for the construction of Barnum Station, Finch’s vision for a new commuter rail station along Metro North on the East Side.
Finch says the station complements the Steel Point redevelopment area of the East Side featuring Bass Pro Shops as the anchor tenant scheduled to open next month. City development chief David Kooris stated at an announcement in the summer of 2014 that a fully functional train station would cost $50 million, but other estimates are higher. Malloy on that day visited the city to announce $2.75 million for engineering, design and environmental permitting in support of Barnum Station at the site of the former Remington Arms factory on Barnum Avenue, an initiative proposed by Finch and then-State Senator Andres Ayala, now the state commissioner of the Department of Motor Vehicles. Kooris added DuPont, which had once owned the property years ago, has agreed to cover remediation costs.
“This is great news for our city and its future,” said Finch in a statement Monday. “Bridgeport’s new Barnum Train Station–the second rail stop in the state’s largest city–will serve as a much-needed catalyst for job creation and economic growth. With these TIGER Grant funds, we’ll be able to move this game-changing, job creating project forward. Thanks to Sen. Blumenthal, Sen. Murphy, Congressman Himes, and Gov. Malloy for their tireless work in helping our city with this project and others–making Bridgeport better every day.”
Statement from Congressman Jim Himes:
“The ongoing rejuvenation of Bridgeport is critical to its citizens and to the economic health of our region. Barnum station will eventually host retail stores, housing and critical transportation options. It will transform a bleak and neglected neighborhood into a vibrant source of opportunity for the people of Bridgeport. I am proud of the work that my office did, in conjunction with local and state leaders and Senators Blumenthal and Murphy, to help secure this TIGER grant.
Statement from U.S. Senator Chris Murphy:
“The new Barnum train station could really be ground-breaking for Bridgeport, and I’m thrilled that we are able to deliver this sizable grant to help make this station a reality. This project will give travelers more options, but more importantly, help revitalize the eastern section of the city. I was proud to work with city leaders to advocate for this support from Washington. Connecting our communities is a critical step in growing Connecticut’s economy, and this is exactly the kind of federal-state partnership we need to make our state a more accessible, appealing place for students, residents, and businesses.”
“Congratulations to Commissioner Ayala, Mayor Finch, Governor Malloy, and the rest of the Bridgeport delegation for showing what can happen when you can collaborate and are trusted by people at the state level,” said mayoral candidate Mary-Jane Foster in a statement. “I look forward to working with partners at the state and in the private sector to bring the type of development surrounding this transit hub, which will grow our tax rolls and provide jobs to Bridgeport residents. I am confident that I am the only candidate who has the trust and the plan to make this happen.”
In a statement former Mayor Joe Ganim, also seeking election next week, said he supports the train station. “Encouraged that funding was received for this important project.”
Comment from Republican mayoral candidate Rick Torres:
“I am passionate about redeveloping the East Side. I talk about it a lot. Maybe it’s because of the enormity of the potential in this area, or maybe it’s due to the tragedy that nothing has been done to tap that potential for decades. A train station is a good thing. If managed by the correct Mayor, this grant could be helpful in the redevelopment of the East Side, a portion of the city that has been neglected for decades and one that my administration will focus intently on redeveloping. If managed by the wrong Mayor, 10 Million can and will go pretty quickly. Many past grants that have come into Bridgeport have been savaged by politically connected contractors and operatives.
“But let’s get to the meat of this. A train station alone will do nothing to revitalize the East Side. My opponents have publicly stated that they will NOT go through with the 2016 revaluation which will further cripple a community that has been overtaxed for the last 8 years to the tune of 2-7 what they should be taxed. A train station will NOT fix that problem. There is no chance for organic redevelopment of the East Side until taxes are brought back down to earth in that community.”
More on the station here.
Just so we understand the current and past news bites, may we ask: Do the words “awarded” and “received” have the same meaning? Has $10 Million been sent to the City and in one of its accounts today? Is it an operating account that can be tracked in the operating budget and by the CC? Or is it in a Capital Account no one gets to see? Is it a Grant that also is not subject to any current reporting to the public or the taxpayer? Who is a Watchdog for such funding? Is the City bothering to post a timeframe for action on this project funded with Federal taxpayer money? Time will tell.
JML makes a good point. Solving this problem is within the grasp of John Marshall Lee. Vote for him and Tyisha Toms in the 130th district next week. Bridgeport needs their voice on Bridgeport’s City Council.
Generally speaking, federal transportation grants have to be segregated from other funds.
Please explain how a train station will “transform a bleak and neglected neighborhood into a vibrant source of opportunity for the people of Bridgeport.” Because I don’t see it.
No kidding! Maybe a business and housing thinks a train station is beneficial. Maybe people who live in the suburbs wish they had a train station. Maybe that’s why you support Ganim, because you don’t get it. Public Transportation is one of the most important components of economic development. People want to live near trains and businesses see it as crucial for their workforce as well as pumping money into the local economy. Green spaces are also key for economic development opportunities. Mayor Finch has done a great job there. Now with a week to go, will Finch and Foster take the good news to the people? This is a real opportunity.
Congratulations Mayor Finch. This will transform the neighborhood. Joe takes credit on his radio ad. That should piss a few thousand Finch supporters off. Remember, he is still the Mayor and he is not leaving disgraced. This should energize his supporters into supporting Mary-Jane Foster.
smoker, a train “station” (with all the ingredients i.e. shops/restaurants etc.), but what we will get will be a “stop” that will not benefit anyone who lives adjacent to it. A ten million dollar grant to help renovate the surrounding area would have really been a benefit.
Poor Hector, it is so sad. Maybe Joe will plant 1000 trees, will that improve the area? Just so sad. Keeping Bridgeport in the dark like a third-world country.
Trees? They have trees, a lot of trees on the East Side, but unless you could plant a coffee shop, what good will the trees do?
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Hector, I agree with you, this is a hit and leave, people will arrive and get the train and go to work then return and drive home. There is no need for them to be in that area because there is nothing to keep them there to spend money. This is a hard community trying to make the best for their families but no money is going into that area to build it up, nothing but a train station with a parking lot.
This will generate thousands of jobs for the out-of-town union members who endorsed Mary-Jane Finch.
It’s not at all clear this particular station will, in fact, generate substantial economic development benefits.
I think the train station is way overpriced. I don’t see why they couldn’t have just done a low-key platform like you see in the valley. It would have been a lot cheaper. And rather than making a ginormous parking lot, make a parking garage so some of that land could be taxable property. I also think there needs to be more focus on connecting Bridgeport neighborhoods internally. There needs to also be more express bus shuttles so people could commute to the train without having to drive on Route 8.
BptPorter,
Good points. Perhaps about the size of the one in Stratford since I think the overflow from that station. Also, there are likely people who commute from that area who may not have to take a bus once they get off the train downtown. I used to and this would have been convenient. Shuttle service to BPT Hospital for workers and out-of-town visitors.
i have spoken to city officials, there is no money to build a station, the money is for studies and plans. NO money for construction. Good for architects and planners. Why not help the East End with streets, lighting, store front improvement. CONGRESS AVE BRIDGE!!!
This is crazy. CT is broke and they want to put in a station where no one will get off or on a train.
Who is driving this train? Trouble ahead and trouble behind, folks.
This train is driven by progress and if the thunder don’t get you then the lightning will. Faith must precede knowledge. Investors follow the train. Where the train stops, investment gets off. That’s when songs will fill the air.
Agreed. The Fairfield/Black Rock development was going to turn around Black Rock and make it a city center. There isn’t even a station house. Nor are there bathrooms, even handicapped, which we thought were part and parcel to any new construction. We agree with Torres, the East Side train station idea is trouble. Dumb.
This seems more political than beneficial to the city. Now that the ferry will be moving, why not use that property and the money to upgrade/expand the existing station?
One of the reasons that makes the southern part of I95 so dangerous in CT is our exits are too close together (i.e. Exit 38).
Adding another station so close will cause more delays and slow travel.
Another concern I have is this funding will take DiNardo off the hook for the millions in back taxes he owes the city. $10 million is not a lot of money for this size project, I’m afraid that’s what it will take for the contamination clean up. Again taking DiNardo off the hook.
Let’s be careful not to jump at things in “shinny packages” until we know the details.
The lame duck is trying to score points so he has a legacy other than having lost a primary to a convicted felon.
in fairness, this project would have been in the works long before the primary. Torres for the people first. Train stations are fine. Get the money into the neighborhoods to re-vitalize them, so people have a reason to travel here, or to leave here to bring more business back to their neighborhoods. People first is a clear focus in development planning. Credit to Finch for things done. But not for high taxes, sheriffs driving around town scanning your license plate and immobilizing your car for $100 owed, when huge tax-free deals are made to deep-pocketed corporations. The WPCA has been ruthless in foreclosures for as little as several thousand dollars owed, which became several thousand dollars with their fines and interest added to ensure the takeover. This is not people-first government and that is the philosophy of the difference. Torres. Open, honest, people-first government.
www .torresforbpt.com
This is a tough crowd. Throwing in the towel.
Take a week off, Steven.
Park City too, I should!
Steve don’t give up. We all need to be like JML and take back our government’s finances. Our city, our state, our country is in deep financial trouble. We need to hold our officials accountable and not just let them spend our money for their political future. Putting that money towards our existing station would bring relatively immediate results, not something 15 to 20 years from now.
Remember at one time, not to long ago, between GE, Remington and Carpenter Steel there were about 15,000+ jobs on one street (Seaview Ave.) If a train station wasn’t necessary then what makes us think it would be beneficial now?
Those 15,000 people lived in Bridgeport. We were the arsenal of democracy. Those days are long gone!
Remember when downtown was thriving when Ganim was the Mayor? Remember how he rehabbed the Poli and Majestic theater, making them a real source of pride? Remember the quaint Dewhirst Dairy where hundreds of North Enders spent winter days ice skating that was replaced against the neighborhood will to build a Stop & Shop that has been vacant for 10 years? He helped his developer friend Al Lenoci who spent time in jail as part of Ganim’s corruption scandal. Those good old days just make me think about the good old Ganim days that destroyed the North End neighborhoods by building huge Sacred Heart dormitories. Sometimes looking back is not so pleasing. Remember, Ganim was Mario Testa’s puppet much like he is now. Remember, he was the man who gave out the jobs. Remember how Joe doubled his salary in just one term? But I digress, the train station is a great benefit for the community. Those who disagree, great! If Joe Ganim could pull that off he’d be a hero, but a Ganim administration would find a cold shoulder in Hartford. Just the facts, folks.
I especially remember the Dewhirst family historical home that was torched on a Sunday evening about fifteen minutes after I left work. We rented the Dewhirst Dairy facility for two and a half years before the infamous zoning hearing that allowed the Super Stop & Shop to be built on what was previously only zoned for residential or farm use. Everyone was shocked the zoning board could allow such a blatantly corrupt misuse of this property. As they say; “Only in Bridgeport.”
Doug, you are the first to bring up the Dewhirst property and the manipulation of zoning officials by the Ganim administration. His favored developer was involved (The Lenocis) and they were convicted along with Ganim. Oh, and they sued (SLAPP suit) the president of the North End Association to retaliate against the community for opposing the illegal zoning action.
Stafstrom has a new sock puppet, right out of Central Casting!
Steve, it’s been three years, not 10. Why exaggerate so much?
Touché.
This is a highly positive development, and Mayor Finch deserves accolades. These days when I take the train, more people get on and off at Fairfield Metro than any other station. This, from a station that did not exist a few years ago. (And which is adjacent to Bridgeport.) Transit-oriented development is a proven winner. It’s one of the reasons why downtown Bridgeport has about 1,500 residents and will have hundreds more within 18 months and thousands more in a few years (including Steelpointe as well as downtown proper.) The Barnum Station almost cannot help but be a catalyst. Transit-oriented development has transformed neighborhoods around stations in Boston and Chicago and other places. Have faith. Learn about what works and rejoice when we pull together to replicate it.
I like your optimistic frame of reference. Thank you. Currently, the week is about the next Mayor. This project has little to do with that.
Eight years into his administration and he is finally starting to begin to design a station. There was talk of this station before birdbrain was elected. Give him accolades for what he has accomplished, a cup of Starbucks Coffee off 95 and some rain barrels SHU kids use for jungle juice.
Pretty funny, Claude Balls!!! Rain barrels for jungle juice. Sad part is I’m sure it’s true.
Tom, I have mentioned Dewhirst many times and am amazed how people conveniently forget. The North End were the recipients of the Stop & Shop now vacant and the dorms on Park Avenue, destroying the rustic nature of the residential neighborhood by Winthrop school. Oh yeah “Ganim is the Best!” I can hear the North End residents chanting that now …. shhhhhhhhh.
Probably did not endear Foster to voters in this area when she said she thought low to moderate income housing would be good use of this land on News 12 debate.
It did not, but was quickly forgotten as a brain fart!
Nice to see all three candidates agree. Sadly, they are all wrong.
Will the Manny Moutinho/Greenwood lawsuit currently making its way through the courts trigger an investigation into the Finch Administration and be the final nail in the coffin for Mary-Jane Finch? Time will tell.
Don’t you think Mary-Jane Foster’s ship has sailed or perhaps sunk already? I think this is a race between Ganlm and Torres, and of course I am on team Torres and I hope some of the Finch-Foster people will come on board. All are welcome and guaranteed an honest hard-working proactive thoughtful mayor who is beholden to no one but willing to work with everyone. Come on come on! Join the good guys!
$10M for Barnum Station? Uncle Sal must be doing cartwheels along with Project Manager Ruben Felipe. Looks like someone landed himself a job with the next administration.
The State of Connecticut was besieged with an alarming number of corruption investigations in the early 2000s, to include those of mayors, the governor, the state treasurer, a city manager, a state senator, along with members of administrations and associates.
Of the officials who used their positions for personal gain, Joseph Ganim was the “Poster Boy,” having the distinction of the longest prison sentence ever given a public official for corruption in the state, and in the top tier nationally. Ganim’s nine-year sentence for racketeering, bribery, extortion, mail fraud and other violations underscores the severity of his criminal behavior during his 12-year tenure in office. The duration and extent of Ganim’s wrongdoing demonstrates a systemic pattern of criminal activity, not an isolated indiscretion.
As a matter of public record, Ganim received scores of valuables and benefits, to include but not limited to diamonds, home improvements, a $1 million life insurance policy that he would have kept after leaving office, expensive clothing and wines, as well as large sums of cash. Additionally, Ganim was to be the benefactor in a “pay to play” scheme for which he would have received $1 for each square foot of property developed from a crony developer in return for the city awarding that developer contracts.
In the end, the City of Bridgeport was the victim, ultimately losing millions of dollars from Ganim’s criminal acts, all at the expense of the taxpayers. He was found guilty of 16 criminal counts, and 10 other defendants pled guilty to other crimes, where they colluded directly or indirectly with Ganim to fleece the city and the people he was elected to serve.
Post Ganim, Bridgeport was freed from the chokehold of corruption with the opportunity to prosper under new administrations managed by those driven to serve the best interests of the people and the community. While no administration is without flaw, honesty and integrity are non-negotiable for good and effective government. A number of news articles have inaccurately portrayed former FBI Agent Edward Adams as the lead investigator in the Ganim case. There was also speculation that Adams may be in consideration, in some capacity, for a “public integrity” role in the Ganim administration, in an apparent effort to allay public concerns that Ganim would return to his corrupt ways should he be elected.
To correct the record, Adams was a line investigator who assisted in the investigation, along with a number of others. He was not the lead investigator and did not bear responsibility for making strategic case decisions, and as such, heading a “public integrity” initiative may be better served with someone else.
The possibility that the city may revert to harmful practices of old is most troubling. As a serial bank robber, convicted and sentenced for crimes would never be employed by the financial institution he robbed, a mayor who swindled a city he was entrusted to govern, should not be given the opportunity to do it again.
Many investigators and attorneys who worked tirelessly on the Ganim case and subsequent prosecution are appalled and dismayed that he may again have the opportunity to victimize the city and its people.
While proponents of forgiveness may want to give Ganim another chance in his pursuit of a career; common sense dictates that it should not be in politics. The judge at his sentencing took great exception to his repeated lies under oath, 22 in one day alone, clearly demonstrating an arrogant disregard for honesty and integrity.
This, coupled with an extensive record of corrupt acts that defrauded the city and enriched himself, are attributes unfitting of an honorable mayor and catastrophic for Bridgeport. Insanity has been defined by some as repeating the same actions over and again and expecting a different result. That said, after turning the corner on a positive path to recovery, it would be most unfortunate to return to poisonous practices of the past that prevented the city from realizing its true potential.
Michael Wolf
I’m just curious. How is the train station going to help the enormous crime rate in the East Side?
Maybe, new homes, a nice shopping center, hey another park. Isn’t there still a bunch of undeveloped land from Father Panik???
No, that land has been given to Finch’s favorite builder along with a 35-year tax break.
Foster’s, actually, but thanks for underscoring the point.
There could be as much as 53% of Bridgeport properties paying little or no tax. Torres wants to reverse this and stop the giveaways, he has a resolution in the council to put a moratorium on them. Do the tax reval, give the people immediate relief and access these larger deals fairly to offset the proper giveback to the people. Torres please, to set the record straight and open up the books.
More transit-oriented development/workforce housing so Bridgeport can continue to serve the role of bastard stepchild serving Stamford (the Gold Coast), “oldest son” (the “heir apparent” to having the “lock” on Connecticut wealth and power).
The Seaview Avenue Corridor Connector, which will go through, perhaps, 300-400 acres of taxable, potentially very-high-value industrial property, will take hundreds of acres of taxable land off the tax rolls (forever) in order to provide access to the new train station for westbound commuters from the suburbs, and for low-wage workers from surrounding Bridgeport, workforce housing.
Many Bridgeport, Stratford, and Trumbull neighborhoods will be destroyed by this “Seaview Avenue Porkway” which will link I-95 and Route 8 and provide a direct, no-Bridgeport-stops-to-shop for suburban commuters. It will go through the GE industrial site, past the new “polluted ground” Harding High School, and through the Remington Woods. It will destroy the quality of life of much of the East Side, Upper East Side, and nearby Stratford and Trumbull neighborhoods in the Broadbridge Avenue area.
This is not any sort of win for Bridgeport. It is more non-taxable infrastructure to serve Stamford. Look who’s pushing it. None other than the “Greenwich Gang.”
This project will help seal Bridgeport’s fate as the forever-armpit of New England. The people of Bridgeport should not drink the Kool-Aid on this one!
Jeff, it is not going to happen. They don’t want to spend the $75Million it would cost to replace the bridge at Crescent and Seaview Ave.
Maybe Mary-Jane Finch and Stafstrom can arrange for McClutchy to develop the area with a 50-year tax break. What great news for Mary-Jane Finch’s bonding counsel and her “co-pilot.” Lots of cash to be made. That will help Johnny Stafstrom keep his $30k of street money flowing to his people.
Torres. You hear none of this thrown at him, or coming from him.
Nothing is free! The contributor, i.e. taxpayer gets hosed again!