From Mary-Jane Foster’s Facebook page:
Black Rock residents came out in force today (Friday) to protest the senseless cutting down of six honey locust trees along Fairfield Avenue. The developer of Popeye’s came out to speak with us and we have been working on a solution this afternoon with his attorney. The site plan has been approved and will stay as is, but the developer has agreed to plant six or seven trees in the border of his property that will provide a look and feel as consistent as possible with what was cut down. We have made it clear that we are looking for something more significant than a sapling. There are landscape architects looking at various options now. I will have more information for you on Monday. There is power when we come together!
Where is Mayor Green Jeans when it actually matters?
A requirement site plan review must include an environmental statement of minuses and offsetting pluses should not be difficult to require unless businesses don’t want that and when push comes to shove we know Tax Bill is a pushover for business.
Enough already … Serious investment. Tax rolls increase. Haven’t heard there was a tax abatement, etc.
I know it is the political silly season but this seems ridiculous.
What are you talking about, so you have a problem with improvements and where is this tree-hugging mayor?
To be perfectly silly, I must ask a question. Will Popeye’s be cooking with Olive Oyl?
Rumor Mill: Last night after writing his post, Up On Bridgeport was captured by pirates and by daybreak was swabbing the deck of a pirate ship under the watchful eye of his new “crewmates.”
Pirates are the original tree-huggers (too much time at sea makes a man crazy). Trees have no voice so they sail the seven seas protecting them. After all, trees are what their boats are made of, right?
MJF pounds the table and wants more than a sapling but the trees have been chopped down and the unity that comes from togetherness is powerless to change that.
Rumor Mill: What Rahman Hashimi is saying is, “I have the rule of law on my side. Besides, you have no credibility when standing next to a man wearing a funny hat.”
Paul (aka “Local” to Trumbull, with “Eyes” in need of a prescription adjustment),
1. Mary-Jane Foster has a lot of credibility among those of us who vote in Bridgeport.
2. The “man wearing a funny hat” is Bridgeport Councilman Robert Halstead, who’s a person of integrity and a recognized expert in urban planning, restoration, and gardening.
From the CT Community Gardening Association, on whose board Mr. Halstead serves:
Robert Halstead worked 28 years in housing & community development and real estate in Bridgeport, and founded its community garden program, previously was a Peace Corps Volunteer and currently work for Habitat for Humanity and is president of the Bridgeport Community Land Trust. He has an MS in City Planning from Pratt Institute and a Master Gardener’s Certificate from UConn.
Thank you, Peter Spain. One correction of note to my resume is I stopped working for Habitat a few years ago and now run a historic preservation consulting business. And if there were more shade trees in Bridgeport, I would not have to wear that funny hat.
Black Rock CT USA is part of my digital DNA and I have a copyright to prove it.
Rumor mill:
Local Eyes exposed as a blithering dumbass who wets the bed.
Is anyone still reading this thread? If yes, let me know because I have an update from the tree negotiations.
Yes, Bob Halstead. Still reading this thread. 🙂
Apparently the negotiation team, including myself, but absent Enrique (he handed over his proxy to me) agreed to six trees, pin oaks, 3-1/2″ caliper, 2-1/2′ inside the 3-1/2’H black fence interspersed with boxwood shrubs, with a mulching of red crushed stone. This will allow placement of the larger root balls from the bigger caliper trees that were negotiated. The caliper is significantly larger than standard plantings but not the 6″ initially suggested at the protest. That large a caliper would have a slow growth rate unlike what is now being planted. The new trees would be Pin Oaks, as one of the suggested trees of David Barbour. These trees will provide the same canopy eventually as the Honey Locusts that were removed. New slabs will be placed where the sidewalk is now heaved and the tree pits will be filled with brick pavers. In addition, the caliper of all the other trees throughout the development will be increased to 3-1/2″ for the sake of conformity and consistency.
This is a significant upgrade from what would have taken place if not for the activism precipitated by Laz, led by Torres and supported by the other officials and candidates with the encouraging participation of the community. No deciduous trees were called for in the plan at all, only Arborvitaes and yews. I still believe the whole thing was unnecessary and it was not necessary to remove the original trees, of course, but three-quarters of a loaf is better than no loaf.