Mayor Joe Ganim has submitted a draft lease agreement to the City Council regarding a police substation and community center site located at Trumbull Gardens housing units, a flashpoint of the 2015 mayoral election following intense gun violence. The lease agreement will be referred to the Contracts Committee at Monday night’s council meeting. The Ganim administration has not yet released a copy of the proposed lease agreement.
Trumbull Gardens was the scene of dueling police substations last year. In response to the violence Ganim opened a police substation/campaign headquarters that was manned by off-duty cops. Then-Police Chief Joe Gaudett declared department members are prohibited from politicking as police officers. Ganim received the endorsement of the Police Union. Then-Mayor Bill Finch opened a temporary police substation there in an effort to appease voters as Ganim had seized upon public safety as a major issue.
Voters at the Wilbur Cross precinct where Trumbull Gardens votes rewarded Ganim with a large plurality on his way to a tight September primary win over Finch. Ganim advanced to the general election and won that handily.
The council’s Budget and Appropriations Committee is reviewing Ganim’s proposed $560 million budget that flat-funds education, cuts libraries but increases public safety spending.
In March Ganim, with Police Chief AJ Perez, announced a newly reopened police substation near Trumbull Gardens. Ganim established a Community Policing Task Force that includes two sergeants and sixteen officers assigned to Trumbull Gardens, Charles Greene Homes, P.T. Barnum Apartments, Marina Village and Harborview Towers. Officers are deployed over two eight-hours shifts per day. New security cameras in public housing locations will connect to the police monitoring center at 999 Broad Street that Ganim says will produce real-time intelligence in response to public safety.
See council agenda here and addendum here that includes authorizing capital improvements for the Crescent Crossing housing development on the East Side.
Dare I ask how the site was selected and who made the selection?
Go and check out the layout of the area and report back to us with your opinion of where it should have been placed/located. Not many sites to select from.
Phil Smith, anything to report?
Who owns the property and what involvement has this owner had with donations to the mayor’s election?
You have a computer or device, feel free to research. You may have to get off your ass and visit the Town Clerk’s Office to view the Joe Ganim campaign contribution and expenditure reports. You can see how much I contributed and to save you some time don’t bother to see how much I was paid as in addition I volunteered my time.
Ron Mackey, did you get off your ass on this?
A police substation and viable community center have been long indicated in Trumbull Gardens. The police station is about 50 years overdue. An investment in both by the city (actually by HUD/BHA) is highly indicated.
The BHA owns all the property within the Trumbull Gardens housing complex. Of course, as is commonly known, the BHA has done an incredibly poor job in executing its HUD-mandated duties in Trumbull Gardens. The Trumbull Gardens Community Center has been allowed to fall into disrepair and disuse despite a highly indicated demand for a full-service community center in that community (in the face of a protracted, HUD/BHA-ignored community effort to obtain remedial action for the site from HUD and the BHA).
So the creation of a police substation and the commencement of other community serving activities within Trumbull Gardens, especially if it involves the remediation/use of the neglected community center on Trumbull Avenue, are indicated, efficient expenditures in regard to the (HUD-reimbursable) investment of city resources (keeping in mind it is yet another area where the ball has been dropped by the state/federal government in regard to their Bridgeport responsibilities).
Surely, the city should seek speedy reimbursement from the state and federal government, both of which entities are responsible by way of meeting infrastructure needs and facilitation of city efforts for safety and quality of life measures in this BHA-owned and operated housing complex.
In any event, the opening of a police substation and commencement of community activities at a community center in Trumbull Gardens should be seen as a positive by all Bridgeporters. It represents a big step toward the fulfillment of the Ganim Administration promise to address the needs of all Bridgeport neighborhoods.
What a contrast. On Bill Finch’s watch the only cameras installed are located inside the Bridgeport Police Department at 300 Congress Street and more specifically on the ground floor.
Not so sure about that, Joel. Did they ever find that missing money from the evidence room?
The safe where the money is kept is not in the evidence room. It’s in a very visible location where there are cameras. There have always been cameras there for as long as I can remember.
My point is before, during, and after Gaudett installed the last set of cameras, there was like a war on the streets, specifically in the housing projects. Why didn’t Finch order Gaudett to put those cameras where Joe Ganim and AJ Perez are putting them? The shooting and criminal acts were not being committed by police department personnel nor PD civilians. A camera aimed at the Janitor’s little closet-sized office?
Joel,
I do not have a list of all camera locations or the number of cameras in operation in the City, but the subject came up at Public Safety hearings last Thursday night. I am pretty sure police, traffic, school and other cameras total over 1500 in the City at this moment with more on the way. The images are feeding into two centers at the moment I believe. Offer this up to be corrected and updated by better informed. I was surprised by the number itself. Time will tell.
I can’t say there are 1500 cameras or the figure is exaggerated. Having lots of cameras doesn’t mean much if for example there’s poor lighting, improper angle position, bad weather, etc. How many times have we seen videos of crimes release by the BPD asking for assistance in identifying suspects in videos? Suspects wearing hoodies are difficult to positively identify. That’s why I wear my Speedy Gonzalez costume when knocking off liquor stores, gas stations and banks. I’ve installed cameras for a few friends. Cost of equipment and labor are very high if one can’t DIY (do it yourself). I bet the city is paying four times more than I could have done it for. I’m doing my house as it’s faster when implemented in new construction phase.
Then again, you are never sure of anything pertaining to Joe Ganim and his effort to do things correctly.
*** A good start towards hopefully bringing peace to that complex and catching some of the young gang-bangers who hang and cause nothing but trouble and disrespect in that community! The Rec. Center already there needs to open on a part-time basis for some activities, etc. for the young kids in the summer. Taxpayers must realize we must take our city back and it will take some tax money to do so! District by district the city must push with help from city residents to help clean up and take out the trash in Bpt. And I don’t mean paper, “DIG?” *** WHOOP ***
It was claimed 25 years ago the reduction in the density of public housing projects such as Beardsley Terrace would improve living conditions for residents. Now we have ‘Trumbull Gardens’ and the same belligerent behavior exists. Public housing is just the housing component of a failed social welfare system.
That being said, the questions the city council needs to ask are about why the taxpayers of City of Bridgeport should have to pay for any of the expense to police Federally operated public housing projects. Are they ready to ask those questions? Where are Senators Blumenthal and Murphy? Are the city council members ready to call for accountability and funding from the federal government? Or are they just waiting for the invitation to stand in back of Mayor Ganim for the photo op for the ribbon cutting?
Tom White, two things. First you said, “Now we have ‘Trumbull Gardens’ and the same belligerent behavior exists,” what exactly do you mean? Next, you said, “Public housing is just the housing component of a failed social welfare system,” so where do working families live if they are priced out of the housing market, sleep on the streets or in a car or a vacant building?
Yes, the expense to police Federally operated public housing projects is the responsible of the federal government and back in the 1970s when drugs were being sold big-time public housing Superintendent of Police Joe Walsh would not have the Bridgeport Police Department go inside public housing to make drug arrests.
Tom White, why didn’t your associates and supporters burn down or blow up the housing projects like the Wayne Street housing units? Success Village is a huge place and is similar to Father Panic Village the big difference is the way management dealt with issues and problems. The politically connected were given the jobs at the BHA.
Ron,
More important is who owns the property where this new Fire HQ is going to be built. They are already saying somewhere between Seaside and Black Rock. I am guessing it is some polluted property owned by Uncle Sal, D’Addario or someone of that ilk.
Old habits are hard to break.
Bob, is it the Black Rock section of the city or Black Rock Avenue which is off Iranistan Avenue? Could it be where DiNardo wanted to build the Halfway House on Railroad Avenue and Norman Street?
Bob, if the planned location for a new fire house is where I pin-pointed below, rest assured the building will mysteriously catch fire in the near future.
Burn it, collect insurance, and sell land.