Former Mayor Joe Ganim says if you bring him back to City Hall, he’ll launch a “Broken Sidewalk Program” promising to invest $1 million towards beautification that will also limit lawsuits that cost taxpayers money.
“Homeowners have seen their sidewalks neglected in Bridgeport with no tangible response from the current administration,” says Gaim in a news release. “When elected mayor, I’m ready to tackle these problems head-on with this new sidewalk initiative.”
Ganim’s plan promises:
• $1 million from the Local Capital Improvement Funds (LOCIP) towards sidewalk beautification.
• Up to $2000 per home will be paid by the city, for homeowner sidewalk repairs, with exceptions for the biggest of safety issues.
• Curbing future liabilities for injury; preventing future lawsuits.
“Not only will this plan allow for us to potentially create jobs, but it also will ensure that Bridgeport’s children can ride their bicycle, scooter or roller blade without fear or risk of injury,” Ganim said.
Ganim’s release included a statement from former Bridgeport Assistant City Attorney Christopher Meyer, a Ganim supporter from Black Rock, who addressed liability concerns.
“Joe’s plan will surely save the city countless of dollars in lawsuits. This initiative is a no-brainer.”
Unless, of course, you slip on the sidewalk and crack your brain.
Now Joe, there you go again. Spending our money left and right, with no comprehensive plan to account for it.
$1,000,000 from LOCIP means $1,000,000 less in street-paving money. Is Joe suggesting Finch did such a good job with street paving we don’t need that money any more?
And if you take $1,000,000 divided by his $2,000 per house, that is 500 homes or 50 per City Council district. That is not a lot at all. So how many millions more is he promising to come up with?
Joe has already promised to bring on board 100 more cops ASAP. That’s a couple of million not in the budget. And the Police Union endorsement has to be costing us something significant.
He is promising to spend the MBR with real cash. That’s another $5-$6 million.
And he will put off the reval.
Joe, it don’t add up.
So either we are going to see a huge tax increase or just more lies from Mayor Ganim.
Numbers do not lie. Quotes for my 35-foot new sidewalk ranged from $6,500 to $5,200. The $2,000 rebate would have been nice!
Hey Bubba, while I realize it’s been a very long time since you’ve walked neighborhood streets, try doing so before you start on your number tirade. I’ve been walking the residential streets in my district (132nd) and I was shocked to see the condition of not only sidewalks, but tree stumps that look as if they’ve been there for at least ten years. These poor people are painting the slabs of the sidewalks with orange paint so they don’t fall up or down while walking. I left the council in ’03, that’s about 12 years ago; what in hell have you and the rest of the replacements been doing all that time? If I’m elected, I have a lot of work to do, the old-fashioned way, looking out for the overtaxed homeowners who deserve the basics of ownership.
Lisa,
I am not disputing any of that. But the bottom line is the bottom line. Joe is making promises that are easily into the $10,000,000 dollar range while promising not to raise taxes. It simply cannot add up. Something’s got to give.
I agree with you. There are two candidates running whom I believe will attempt to address the everyday problems constituents live with. You know this is one of them; I remember you and me trying to figure out a solution to that issue and many others that frustrated them because they had pride of ownership and wanted to maintain their investments. It’s an idea that could maybe amount to some relief.
Bob, I can think of a few layoffs that will save us money that can be used on infrastructure. I’m sure there are many positions especially those promised by the Mayor for support during the DTC convention.
Bob,
I posted two days ago about the June 2015 DRAFT budget report. There is a $16 Million difference between the way surplus variances are usually calculated and the way the Finance Director presented. Don’t you want to know what the Mayor tells us when he sits with Sherwood and Kelly-Lenz, discovers that the B&A did not even look at these numbers on Monday night at their meeting and perhaps no one showed him the report? $16 Million if true? Why did they tax us so much more last year? If not true, Why put out phony reports? When we do not trust, where do we verify? Time will tell.
Rumors of the truth: while some people think this initiative is a no-brainer, others think the initiator has no brain.
Everything Finch does, Ganim does better. My elderly neighbor fell because of a cracked sidewalk about 5 years ago. She fractured her leg and she tried to sue the city. Think about it, even if the city settles it can still be 20 to 50 thousand dollars. With that money you can just fix the sidewalks and prevent the problem to begin with. Finch is reactive but Ganim prevents problems from happening. Steve once slipped on one of Finch’s broken sidewalks, that is why he says the things he says. So be nice to him everyone, he means well.
This is all fine and good but it’s also just more of the same bullshit being doled out by the incumbent. Bill Finch has been touting new parks and a strip mall that took 20 fucking years to build; Joe Ganim is talking about sidewalk beautification. To his credit there are more than a few broken and crooked sidewalks in Bridgeport; walking is a dangerous proposition. “Not only will this plan allow for us to potentially create jobs, but it also will ensure that Bridgeport’s children can ride their bicycle, scooter or roller blade without fear or risk of injury,” Ganim said. How about addressing all the polluted and contaminated soil and water within city limits, Jethro?
The tax evaluation system needs to be overhauled, pronto. A revaluation is coming up, put off and put off by the mayor and the governor so the former could have a chance at another four years of job security. 50% of the property is not taxable because the city owns it. What the city doesn’t own is deeded to the State of Connecticut or the United States of America. The city receives PILOT money for those. That helps out; half of Bridgeport’s annual budget comes from the State of Connecticut. The city can’t earn enough to pay its bills because of all the abatements that have been issued over the years. Time to call in all of these more-than-generous abatements. If the corporate owners don’t like it they can go fish. The city needs the money.
If City Hall could pull its collective head out of its ass the powers that be would see owning vacant and abandoned properties in low-income neighborhoods only creates more blight. Sell them off; the cash infusion is sorely needed in a city with so limited a tax base. The new owners would have to pay property taxes. This is a small exercise in creating a budgetary surplus but no one in Finch’s cabal of clowns is interested in anything but how to enrich themselves at the taxpayers’ expense.
Some properties, former industrial sites, are so polluted they make Love Canal look like a slice of heaven. The harbor, contaminated by industrial toxins dumped into the Housatonic River by factories upstream, has needed dredging for decades. The city could afford to dredge the harbor but couldn’t find the bucks to dispose of the silt. So one of the state’s three deep-water ports, a potential source of THOUSANDS of jobs, lies fallow. The mayor’s office couldn’t find the money or the inclination to do anything about it: “Can’t dump it in New Haven? Fuck it; let’s go to Testo’s for some scungilli.” Finch is not the only mayor who has offered too-generous tax abatements to corporate interests; Ganim did the same thing, as did just about every mayor before him. Now the chickens have come home to roost.
Joe: The two tribes, Pequots and Mohegans, will be permitted to build anywhere in the State. Would you request they build in Bridgeport?
Will there be a contractor involved? Joe loves doing business with contractors. Everybody makes money when Joe does business with contractors. Well, the taxpayers don’t but Joe and the contractor do. I wonder what a $million dollar$ contract is worth?
Neither of the pseudo-altruistic egomaniacs seeking the Democratic nomination for mayor of Munchkin City in the merry old Land of Oz has said a word about serious, important stuff. New sidewalks? Big fucking deal. Certainly got the liability issue taken care of. New parks? So what. No one goes out at night in those neighborhoods because they are afraid of being robbed, raped or hit by a stray bullet. New strip mall with an upscale move theater, a sporting goods store and a Starbucks? God my God, you must be joking. Most of the people living in Bridgeport rent movies from Red Box or Netflix or buy them from the Chinese peddler who makes the rounds of the bars, liquor stores and street corners, selling bootleg videos out of a gym bag.
BOE SPY is on the money: which contractors will be on the receiving end of these contracts? Will they be local businesses, employing local residents who want to fix up the town they live in, or will it be a Gold Coast firm or two from Stamford, Norwalk or Greenwich?
BK–the answer is very simple. The contractor who will grease Ganim’s palm will get the contract. Finch has been criticized for stating he would give taxpayers a $600 tax rebate, and yes, Ganim does it better–he’s promising $2000 for a new sidewalk! A chicken in every pot!
No mystery whose sidewalks get fixed first. The answer is in the FOG. Friends of Ganim.
Bridgeport Kid, when you fall and injure yourself on these “sidewalks,” then say it’s no f****** deal.
At least in Black Rock the rising sidewalk plates are marked with brightly colored tape.
Bridgeport Kid, the sidewalks I walked were marked with orange paint.
All the years I have been around I NEVER heard a mayor or a mayoral candidate promise to fix the sidewalks. I will say this is nothing more than dressed-up bullshit. The sidewalks are to be maintained by the building owners. Does this mean we have to hire more Ganim friends as sidewalk inspectors? Joe, please STOP MAKING PROMISES YOU CAN’T KEEP. Joe, you made promises when you were mayor last time and did not keep them.
I hope Bridgeport residents don’t fall for this new nonsense from Ganim proposing new sidewalks. The million he’ll use will come out of their tax dollars. My bad, did I say a million? By the time he gets his sticky fingers on the money, the contractors’ friends he hires will be required to grease his palm in order to get the job. This leopard is not going to change his spots.
Well well Andy, you’ve been around a long time, please name one mayor who has kept all their promises. This suggestion is long overdue, at least it’s being acknowledged. At this point, let’s see who the mayor will be, and if it’s Joe, then go after him for breaking his promise to try to find a solution if that becomes the case. Money will always be an issue in Bridgeport, but this is a homeowners’ nightmare and should be addressed. And BTW, more homeowners than not are struggling to pay taxes and keep their homes; you think maybe they just can’t afford to make an outside repair while they’re budgeting to pay taxes and put food on their tables?
Well Lisa, I don’t find it acceptable to lie to the public. You know as well as I do, much of what Joe is putting out is stuff he thinks people want to hear. If Joe goes through with this plan he will hurt the very people you describe in your post. I am sorry Lisa, but I try to live my life by being truthful. Being truthful sometimes hurts and sometimes makes you an outsider but you don’t have to remember what lie you told.
I defer to your honesty and practicality, you have a lot of both. At this point it’s an attempt, an idea that might have some merit. Why call him lying to the public? Let’s wait and see.
Come on, Lisa.
Candidates can promise ANYTHING to get elected and we cannot hold them responsible until AFTER they are elected if the optimists are pure BS???
What have you promised your constituents today?
Bob, again I agree to a point, but it’s what they’re promising, and there’s a big difference. Addressing an issue that has plagued homeowners for so long is called trying, not promising. Your anger issues should be abating by now, you have so much to be grateful for. Share the love.
Call me crazy, but I want to see everyone happy and succeeding.
The city does pay out a lot of $$$ for slip and fall lawsuits from our sidewalks. I have had many discussions with Chris Meyer, former part-time city attorney about the cost to taxpayers for this issue. Yes, property owners are responsible for maintaining their sidewalks, but the city is liable for damages from injuries. I would be in favor of our esteemed blight officer issuing 30 days to fix sidewalks, or face a $$$ amount per day after 30 days of non repair. Investing in real estate in Bridgeport comes with responsibility, and I think it is time to hold business owners and homeowners responsible for the agreement they entered into when they purchased in the city. When Governor Malloy walked Black Rock to discuss Auden Grogins’ $500 grant and the Ash Creek pedestrian bridge, it was a sight to watch him avoid tripping on Fairfield Avenue over the buckled sidewalks. That would have been a very interesting lawsuit if he had suffered injury.
Why oh why do we spend so much time on this blog focused on the public posturing of two congenital liars? OIB.
The kids on my street love the broken sidewalks, they’ve been holding their own X Games all summer long. 🙁
Whoop-de-doo–the two major, congenital liar candidates, dueling over sidewalks, parks, crime, and school construction. How about a candidate who is dedicated to growing the tax base and thus realistically keeping property taxes as low as possible? Let’s go for an honest choice for change. Let’s get serious, Bpt.
This campaign promise may not be doable, but it shows Ganim knows how to appeal to likely voters, homeowners.
At one time, the City would issue notices sidewalks needed to be replaced and if the property owner did not comply, would have them replaced and bill the property owner. This practice was stopped as it was often challenged in court.
Some large cities have introduced programs to get lower costs for homeowners through the public purchases process.
I have 200 feet of public sidewalk of which I replaced 40 feet some years ago. Much of the balance needs to be replaced. I am philosophically opposed to Ganim’s candidacy, but I’m listening.
In my cash-strapped Indiana hometown, the homeowner pays for the materials and the city provides the labor–city employees–that seems like a pretty nice bang for the tax bucks.
It does, Jennifer. So why is there such a fuss over the situation here? That sounds like an excellent suggestion.
As usual Tom White, you explain things very well. Thanks!
I would have to agree with both Bob Walsh and Tom White. First, Ganim is appealing to likely and ignorant voters, and there is a huge city in need of paving. George Garcia is doing a tremendous job. I think it is a vain attempt to take attention away from Steelpointe and Downtown, a new train station and magnificent parks. I also have to agree with the guitarist from Black Rock, this city is huge with some very serious issues. Mayor Finch has made incredible strides and it is up to Ganim and Foster to come up with a great vision to take the throne! Fixing sidewalks seems so absolutely sophomoric from a Mayor who has been in office for 10 years. It really is laughable. Let’s stick to the roads and slowly replace sidewalks and curbs.
Jennifer Buchanan, it sounds like a brilliant idea what happened in your home town in Indiana. Brilliant!
Sidebar: I took my Mother to the Pantanel restaurant on Frank Street in the Hollow. Always excellent! One of my favorite Brazilian restaurants. When we left at 8 pm the new amazing park at Columbus School had to have at least 200-plus kids enjoying the field and playground. This is a huge quality of life issue. You could feel the energy of people outdoors enjoying the Hollow more now than they have in the past 50 years. The new parks in the city are total fluff but honestly, watching them being enjoyed by such a diverse community is priceless. It would have been commendable no matter which Mayor initiated it. But Mayor Finch in an effort to reclaim our Park City emblem has done a great job!
I walked two specific streets in Thomas Hooker that were completely deplorable. As I spoke with homeowners about the condition of their sidewalks, I was repeatedly told they could not afford to fix them because the taxes were strangling them. I took a few minutes to share Joe’s plan for repairing their sidewalks and it was well received.
There wasn’t a single negative comment.
I went out for three hours tonight and hit it out of the park. I got 11 ones, one two, and registered two new voters. I did not have even the slightest resistance in obtaining support for Joe tonight.
It was a very productive three hours.
Maria, great job. It is definitely apparent every day Finch gets an endorsement he becomes less likely to win. I suppose when the Post endorses him it will be over. Joe Ganim is lucky to have such a loyal and committed individual. You are his biggest fan. I hope you are never disappointed, for Joe’s sake. 🙂 Reading your posts, Foster and Finch may as well concede the Thomas Hooker area. However, the phone banks tell a different story. Foster has just recently been making noise in your area and Finch’s army hasn’t even started. Maria, you know what’s amazing? None of these people questioned Joe’s past with concern. Do you think the voters don’t care about Joe’s past? Either way, it feels good when your candidate is getting a tidal wave of support in the 138th. You have to ask yourself, are they really voting for Joe?
I agree with you 100%, Steve. Both Mayor Finch and Joe Ganim should concede Thomas Hooker.
Steve, the phone banks don’t show a different story. The vast majority of Thomas Hooker voters do not have accurate numbers in CT Van or Nation Builder. However I know the individual who has 90 to 95% of consistent TH voters numbers, and it definitely isn’t anyone aligned with Finch.
Steve, Finch’s “army” has already passed my street five times. They have walked other sections three times. They can send their uninformed canvassers up here as many times as they would like because it will not change the outcome.
No Steve, I don’t have to ask the question of whether they will vote for Joe, you and Mayor Finch do.
Lol. Joe grasping for straws here, fixing sidewalks??? Like rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic, beautiful new sidewalks in front of foreclosed homes. Joe, we need jobs, we need real jobs, not minimum-wage ones.
Harvey, we should also feel safe walking. So you feel in the whole scheme of things this is minor? I want you to tell me it was minor if you take a fall, and then I want to see the amount of your lawsuit against the City.
Come on Lisa, you are beating a dead horse. Most people walk no further than where their car is parked. The city can’t afford to fix sidewalks.
The squeaky wheel gets the oil!
Cracking the Ganim code: A Broken Promises Program is the correct response to a broken sidewalk program. Fixing Bridgeport sidewalks would cost more than any lawsuit. You see, it’s all about priorities. When Joe Ganim talks about public safety, he’s really talking about private victory.
What all of this looks like to my eyes, my cynical eyes, is Ganim and Finch playing to the cheap seats. Finch comes across with “I’ve created thousands of jobs!” Then he goes on about the strip mall, the overpriced movie theater, the refurbishing of Theodore Roosevelt School and the new parks and playgrounds. All the while smirking his ass off. He never talks about reforming the tax code, never talks about environmental issues, never talks about anything substantive. He behaves more like John Boehner or Marco Rubio than a registered Democrat. Oh, right. He’s a member of the so-called “Jobs Creation Party.”
Now Joe Ganim, who has been absolved by the Lord God Almighty, absolved of all past sins, is proposing an office of ethics. (Accountability is needed more.) Now he’s riding to the rescue like the Lone Ranger: “Here I am to save the day! I’m gonna fix the sidewalks.”
Both of them are full of shit, engaging in lowball tactics. Finch thinks everyone is as retarded as he is.
Several people talked about needing help with sidewalks when I was petitioning for my run for Council. I have long had sympathy especially for older folks on a fixed income who just cannot afford new sidewalks. A 50-50 match would be brilliant! Trees and sidewalks always come up as things folks need help with. A tree falling on property after the storms we’ve had costs big money. Tree roots heaving up sidewalks are an issue as well. Also tree roots clogging sewer systems.
This is a “roll up his sleeves” approach the other candidates must envy but it is what is needed. Creative solutions that make economic sense.
Subsequent to the horrendous tree removal last week on the Avenue in Black Rock, Joe spontaneously brought up sidewalks as a policy issue, after hearing the sidewalk problem as an excuse for removing mature trees and observations of heaved sidewalks on his morning jogs in my neighborhood.
Years ago Block Grant money was used to give depressed areas a 50-50 grant from Neighborhood Housing Services. This would be a great use of Block Grant money. Imagine stressed-out taxpayers actually getting something for their tax dollars.
My conversations with merchants in the West End Association also brought up sidewalks as an issue. Many sidewalks along this commercial strip are decrepit with no barrier-free corners and hazardous in spite of what I’m told by them there had been State money earmarked for their replacement as well. What is the hold-up? A vital connection is needed between Black Rock and Downtown and trees would be fine too. YES to LOCIP funding this initiative!
More campaign bullshit. I suppose we will be mowing lawns for those who don’t want to mow their lawns. The list could go on and on. Pretty soon the government will have you report to a bath house to get your city paid for weekly bath. Pure BS.
Andy, you should really bathe more than once a week. You would have more friends.
SPY, I can’t. I need the water to water my grass, after all I don’t have a rain barrel and if I did I could not afford the mosquito killer you put in standing water.
🙁 Poor Andy. Figuratively and literally.
Andy, that was funny.
Andy, strapped senior citizens should also pave the roads in front of their houses or be subject to fines. I’m sorry, I cannot see your comparison of mowing lawns to installing sidewalks. Jim Holloway does not have to give you permission to mow your lawn.
You’re right, Bob!!! Halstead, I mean.
Bob, it was a joke. I don’t have any sidewalks where I live. It’s just another way the government spends our money, strapped seniors do pay to have their roads paved every 20-25 years.
I have changed my stance. I am now joining the Keystone community in supporting Ganim. Everyone in BPT should vote for Ganim. People can be trusted after serving their time. A dog never bites you twice. Other good choices would be to invest your retirement money with Bernie Madoff, go to a church run by Pastor Gerald Payne, work at Worldcom and buy your electricity from Enron. If we are going to go stupid, why only go half way?
Sidewalk repair is the problem of the property owner but a fine is not a good solution. A good solution would be: 1- The city puts a lien on the house to fix the sidewalk. That way the sidewalks would have to be fixed before selling the property. 2- If you get a lien the city will offer/hold an interest-free loan in your name to get the sidewalk fixed. When you can afford to pay the loan you can claim the loan. Once the loan is paid off the lien goes away.
This way as each homeowner gets their walks fixed the city can loan the money to the next guy (no cost to the city). The new walk increases the value (curb appeal) of the property. Depending on where you live you can have a number of sidewalk options to choose from; cement, pavers, brick, etc. BPT gets new sidewalks. If anyone fails to repay the loan the city still holds the lien on the property. A $6K loan @ 0% would cost you about $100/mo. spread over 5 years; $50/mo. over 10 yrs., etc. Make the term what the homeowner can afford. No one owns a house forever. Sooner or later the city will get its money back.
This is the kind of solution-based claim we should hear from a mayoral candidate.
That’s a bloody good idea. Why didn’t any one of the candidates think of that? I know, it makes too much sense.
They did. Ganim will think of it as soon as Maria reads the post.
Hahahahaha, ah-hahahahaaa.
Q: How many DTC members does it take to change a lightbulb?
A: 41 or 49, depending on whose lightbulb it is.
This may even absolve the city from liability because they are taking steps to resolve the problem. The liability may be transferred from the city to the property owners’ insurance company because the property owner did not complete their part of the solution. If the property owner does not have insurance no lawyer will take the case because it is too difficult to get the money.
Thx Kid. You could take Ganim’s $1,000,000 and loan it to about 167 homeowners (landlords or owner/occupiers). When they pay the money back the next guy gets the loan. But the city is getting 167 payments a month. 167 $100 payments means the city will get $16,700 a month. That means the city can make 2-3 new loans a month. If you keep the program going in a revolving fashion, the money never runs out and no area has all the sidewalks crumble at the same time. By the time the last person in town gets his walk fixed the first guy will be ready to do it again.
Jennifer’s idea was better!
Fines are not going to fix any sidewalks. Someone who already does not have the money to fix the walk is not going to have the money after paying a fine. Once the fines build up to a certain level the city takes the house. Even if the city provides the labor, the landowner still has to come up with $3K (labor usually being 1/2 the cost of a project). Even with the landowner paying 50%, you would still only be able to fix 334 walks with your $1,000,000. With my system you can fix every walk in town and still have the million. The landowner may have to finance their $3K part of the $6K. Many people in the city are barely hanging on as seen by all the foreclosures. With the 0% interest loan on $6K over five years you pay $100/mo. and end up paying back $6K. If you have to borrow from the builder at 12% on $3K over five years you pay $66.73/mo. and end up paying $4004 for the walk but the city can only fix 334 walks with their million dollars.
Thanks Lisa, I think SPY has a great solution also, perhaps homeowners could be given the option of paying for materials with city labor, or the finance option. Fines are punitive and do hurt those most in need–and if the homeowner does not have the cash, a lien with a 0 interest loan is very attractive.
This is great, let’s create another city department and staff it with sidewalk professionals like the homeless.
That’s an option to think about!
TBK, who’s had total control of this city for the past 30+ years? Oh that’s right; the Democrats!
They are not Democrats, not in the Biblical or literal sense. The Finch administration does not represent true blue Democratic principles.
The two strongest candidates for reform are Mary-Jane Foster and Enrique Torres. Ganim and Finch are fighting for supremacy within the DTC. The others are in the game for other reasons.
TBK, it’s refreshing to see someone sees the difference. Unfortunately, both parties, especially nationally, have strayed so far from their core values, it has made the common folk just useful idiots for their personal gain. I think you and I could have a very meaningful conversation. I’d like to set it up some time in the future.
My last comment was to Jennifer, not Andy.
The sidewalk improvement project could easily be added to existing public works, it is a pretty simple computer program to use and execute.