UPDATE: Leave it to city resident Jim “Sonny” Fox to add a little excitement to a community meeting.
A proposed “Community Benefits Agreement” between the developer of a controversial 120-bed halfway house for male offenders and the South End Neighborhood Revitalization Zone was debated Tuesday night at the University of Bridgeport. The benefits agreement guarantees a $50,000 charitable contribution if the project is approved. For background see here.
Attorney Chuck Willinger on behalf of Community Solutions Inc., operator of halfway houses for transitional offenders, made his pitch to several dozen neighbors why they should embrace the halfway house project and the benefits agreement. Willinger was backed by Carl McCluster, chairman of the South End NRZ, who is also pastor of Shiloh Baptist Church in the South End. That’s when Fox, a candidate for City Council last year, says he went “berserk.”
“McCluster rallied people against this project and now he’s supporting it because a checkbook was opened,” Fox says he told the crowd. “This was the worst one-sided meeting I’ve ever attended. The fix is in. They’re looking for the cash. The poor moms and pops attending the meeting didn’t even know what was going on.”
CSI is appealing in Superior Court the Planning & Zoning Commission’s rejection of the development. CSI is trying to resurrect the project by building neighborhood support.
A vote by the South End NRZ Tuesday night apparently did not go the way chairman McCluster had hoped, according to several residents who attended the meeting. McCluster wants a mulligan so another vote will take place in March. OIB poster “kitty” provides some insight. Read the complete observation in the comments section. Here’s a portion:
As for last night’s meeting, more than 20 from the public spoke against it and one spoke for it before Carl McCluster chairman spoke for what seemed to be an eternity in favor of the project. When the vote was finally called 5 voted in favor. That was apparently not good enough so he called for the vote a second time and after coaxing another board member to vote in favor he got the vote # to 6. He apparently wasn’t happy about that so he had them raise their hands a third time but the vote remained at 6. Unfortunately for him the against number was 7. This morning I understand he has since called the vote invalid and is planning another meeting in March.
*** Where does the West Side NRZ stand on this since Norman St. borders alongside the West Side? Let both NRZ residents decide what’s best for their neighborhood, no? Or will the Zoning decision be based on a “legal technicality” thus leaving the NRZ’s jockeying for some type of money and compromise from CSI? *** FACTS NEEDED ***
The Citywide NRZ leadership committee needs to convene and help figure this out. That is what a leadership committee is supposed to do … lead.
countdown: Figure what out? This is an out-and-out bribe and nothing more. The people in the district where this hellhole will be have already voiced their opposition to it. This item is working its way through the court system.
Stop trying to be politically correct. This is a damn bribe, pure and simple. BTW what’s a church leader doing heading this committee?
How can Rev. McCluster be the chairman of the SENRZ when he resides in Shelton CT?
How can he be a stakeholder, he pays no taxes?
What’s wrong with this picture?
Can we bring a lawsuit against McCluster and the SENRZ?
I think so.
Cork is one lucky guy!
Talking about ‘blowing,’ Lennie! Did you find out what McCluster blew the Park City Hospital funds on?
Joel, you sparked an old memory … seems to me there was an investigation involving Rev. McCluster and grant funds … was it for a veterans program? Were the funds used for personal use? Does anyone else remember that story? Front-page news in the Post many moons ago.
Was Mayor Finch at the hearing? Oh no, I forgot, he doesn’t go to the University of Bridgeport. There are too many moonies there.
chs, notice it appears McCluster didn’t inform the Post about the meeting. I wonder why!
CSI is trying to resurrect the project by buying, not building, neighborhood support.
Just what we need: another acronym.
CSI = crime scene investigation
CSI = community solutions, inc.
How about these?
CSI = casually senseless invasions–they invade random houses for money and glory.
CSI = consumer sentiment indicator–it tracks purchases
CSI = counter sweep inside–it’s a football play used in a recent super bowl
CSI = common sense indigestion–when normality is overcome by reality and you need an antacid …
CSI = company-sanctioned investigation–when the s&p500 comes looking for you!
CSI = can’t stop investigating. In medical schools it’s called the Lennie Grimaldi complex.
Once again McCluster shows his true color.
GREEN!
Let’s stick to the facts …
The West Side NRZ has voted against the 120 Bed Transitional facility on numerous occasions and paid to be a part of the legal defense. The Citywide NRZ voted unanimously against it with one abstention (guess who).
The issue has been clouded by those who support it. They talk about the need to help inmates. That has never been the issue. The sole issue for us is Bridgeport houses over 80% and generates 40% of the population in question putting an overburden on city taxpayers and neighborhoods.
Greenwich, New Caanan, Darien, Stamford, Westport, Fairfield, Easton, Redding and Trumbull house 0%. The only important point is All must do their part. Bridgeport cannot be the only community saddled with the inmate transitional facilities and the effects on the community upon their releases. The state MUST revisit how they administer this program to provide justice.
We support the need for transition and services if they were shared equally in Fairfield County.
Last night’s meeting was a travesty for those South End residents who attended and those who stayed home. Their NRZ is run by a chairman who, after hearing about a financial gift to his NRZ, had a miraculous change of heart and has decided to champion bringing the 120-bed facility to the SE. If I lived in the South End (who has received this offer), I would ask the chairman (who apparently doesn’t live in the South End) for the Bylaws and minutes that show who exactly is legally able to vote.
I would also make certain I call every legal voting member and share my point of view with them. Support those who seemed to have the best interest of the city in mind.
Keep in mind the purpose of the SE vote is to get their support so the developers of the project can go back to zoning boards to try and get support.
As for last night’s meeting, more than 20 from the public spoke against it and one spoke for it before Carl McCluster chairman spoke for what seemed to be an eternity in favor of the project. When the vote was finally called 5 voted in favor. That was apparently not good enough so he called for the vote a second time and after coaxing another board member to vote in favor he got the vote # to 6. He apparently wasn’t happy about that so he had them raise their hands a third time but the vote remained at 6. Unfortunately for him the against number was 7. This morning I understand he has since called the vote invalid and is planning another meeting in March.
SOUTH END RESIDENTS … Wake up and take back your NRZ! You have a month to do so.
Good Luck and GODSPEED
McCluster a man of the cloth, my ass. kitty, you said it all. A vote is a vote. If this man does not reside in the South End, what the hell is he doing on the NRZ? Bridgeport has become the center for rehabs, halfway houses; you name it we have it. It is time for the other cities and towns to do their civic duty. kitty, great post.
Rumors of a big BOE finance meeting next Monday, and the boom gets lowered with BOE principals and administrators on Tuesday–maybe something like 180 days a year to save $$$.
Is this meeting open to the public? And if so, where is this meeting?
Stepping back for a moment from what has occurred in the past two weeks or so in which:
** the Citywide NRZ representatives unanimously voted down the proposal by Reverend McCluster who spoke in favor of it for about three minutes before a rep from another NRZ asked for a vote;
** last night was a routine meeting of the South End NRZ which I did not attend as I am a member of another NRZ that is opposed to the additional Halfway House proposal. They need to go through their democratic process and come up with their answers. I guess they did, but some were unhappy so they will have a re-do at their next meeting.
** many people on this blog are very excited and ready to damn the NRZ organizations without understanding the bigger picture; neighborhoods have dreams and plans the NRZs endeavor to implement. That takes money and up until this year the funds have been small from the City process and confusingly distributed. Frustration can occur and a source of major funds would appear to be most welcome.
However, while the bidding for support has gone from $10,000 to $60,000 and under the current agreement potentially generates $125,000, there apparently has been no change in the CSI proposal. So, green or gold, whichever is your favorite color, are clearly colors that would move some in leadership positions.
What each person must balance is the percentage of exiting incarcerated from Bridgeport in the region (40%) relative to the beds in the region already present in Bridgeport (83%). Only one program exists outside Bridgeport and that is in Norwalk. What I was told today is the region in question is not Fairfield County as I have previously said, but extends along the Long Island shoreline to and including New Haven. Understanding this, I have to ask why Stamford and New Haven which are two of the four largest cities in the State have no beds of this type. It would make sense, wouldn’t it? Those communities generate populations that require halfway houses closer to home, don’t they? Perhaps the fact is the current property owner does not own property in these other cities? Perhaps those cities see negative effects from a concentration of too many service programs? I don’t know, but it is time for our community to be willing to stand up for sharing the social burdens as we have for years but to stay standing to move towards creating a safer and more hospitable appearance to encourage those firms that are willing to consider moving to the City. This will help to support the expense of government with our tax rate. Time will tell.
“… Perhaps the fact is the current property owner does not own property in these other cities? Perhaps those cities see negative effects from a concentration of too many service programs? I don’t know, but it is time for our community to be willing to stand up for sharing the social burdens as we have for years but to stay standing to move towards creating a safer and more hospitable appearance to encourage those firms that are willing to consider moving to the City …”
www .mylife.com/c-465761770 Cached
You +1’d this publicly. Undo
Find Carl McCluster and other friends and colleagues from Derby, CT. Reconnect with them at MyLife™.
How about starting with the leadership of the NRZ?
Based on the number of Cities and Towns McCluster has lived in, I can say other communities have stood up and shared some of our social burdens.
Here’s Sue The Bleeding Heart again. You ever think about why East Side kids don’t enjoy the beauty of Seaside Park–smell the wonders of the low tide and salt marshes? Ever think about why those on the other side of the city can’t throw a pole into Beardsley Park’s pond to catch a few fish? Because their gangs don’t let them cross to an alternate territory, guys.
What say some of the older gang members be trained to become responsible community members who could be supported to use their skills and knowledge overcome this mentality and coordinate the younger members of the existing (and leaderless) teens as mentors?
(But wait–isn’t the anniversary of Boobie–and you know how people just can’t let that go.)
www .youtube.com/watch?v=2yLytOfMGEs
Another murderous February.
By the way, Justin Thompson was already deeply imbedded in gang culture years before he was shot. It’s up to Bridgeport to help teens find another way, with positive role models.
WHO WAS JUSTIN THOMPSON?
Justin Thompson was born Aug. 17, 1997, the fourth in a line of brothers.
When he was 3, the police raided his family’s home, seizing a small amount of packaged marijuana, scales, packing material, a safe containing $5,000 and a small amount of cocaine. His father went to jail; his parents split up.
Read more: www .ctpost.com/local/article/Teen-s-death-rattles-hardened-Bridgeport-2533567.php