From State Senator Anthony Musto:
Senator Anthony Musto (D-Trumbull) joined with Governor Dannel P. Malloy in announcing an Open Space and Watershed Land Acquisition grant that will support Bridgeport in creating 1.5 acres of attractive community space.
“Preserving open space in Bridgeport is critical to ensuring a healthy, pleasant atmosphere in this urban neighborhood,” said Senator Musto. “This grant will transform an existing eyesore into an attractive park and community maintained garden, making the neighborhood an even better place to live and raise a family.”
The Community Garden will be located at 77-127 Garden Street. This plot of land will be transformed from a vacant barren lot into a neighborhood greenspace with community gardens. The new park will link existing open space parks and natural areas in Bridgeport, creating a connected area that will run through Bridgeport.
“Land conservation is an important investment in our future, and moves us closer to meeting our goal of protecting 21 percent of Connecticut’s land as open space in the next ten years,” said Governor Malloy. “These preservation projects are key to maintaining our high quality of life and making Connecticut a great place to live, work and raise a family.”
This Open Space and Watershed Land Acquisition grant are part of a program administered by the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) that will support 35 communities in purchasing 2,732 acres across Connecticut.
“Bringing Bridgeport residents closer to their natural environment through the expansion of parks, recapturing our waterfront and creating community gardens has been one of the highest priorities for our BGreen 2020 initiative,” said Bridgeport Mayor Bill Finch. “Enhancing this open space with a new community garden will be a great addition to the neighborhood.”
The program assists land purchases by using state bonds and funding from the 2005 Community Investment Act as part of a goal to protect 673,210 acres of land by 2023. Bridgeport will receive a total of $171,500 in Open Space and Watershed Land Acquisition grants.
“Preserving open space in Bridgeport is critical to ensuring a healthy, pleasant atmosphere in this urban neighborhood,” said Senator Musto. “This grant will transform an existing eyesore into an attractive park and community maintained garden, making the neighborhood an even better place to live and raise a family.”
Maybe you would like to move your family there? Right! What bullshit!
Just go away, Sen. Musto.
This is not a great idea? What would you suggest, Mr. Fox? Always give credit where credit is due. It makes your critique more credible. Mr. Musto does not need to move his family here. I would believe those living on Garden Street and in the surrounding area are grateful for this community garden.
When I send someone like Musto to Hartford, I want them to come back with something big.
Is this the only thing Musto can come up with, a Community Garden?
He’s been in office for how many years now?
I WANT MONEY FOR GUN CONTROL, MORE POLICE, SCHOOLS, HEATING OIL, FOOD BANKS, HEALTH CARE, DAY CARE, TAX REBATES, THE LIST GOES ON, MR. MUSTO!
Not crumbs that drop off Malloy’s table!
I say to Musto and the other FOOLS we sent to Hartford, get off your asses and do something!
I’m sure Stamford or Trumbull can use a few Community Gardens, but we lowly serfs in Bridgeport need a little more right now.
And not a JAIL on the East Side.
*** Just what the city needs, another park/community garden to un-keep! *** FORGETABOUTIT ***
They did a great job with the community garden across the street from Bassick High School. The negativity this blog generates is sometimes unbearable .But alas, I respect your opinion. I am glad you are not in a decision-making role. Kudos to Musto.
*** Maybe in the past these community gardens were well taken care of but that time has come and gone for many Bpt neighborhoods. As a community gardens volunteer who tends to five beds at the Burroughs Community Center in the West End, I have seen first hand the “spring” garden fever turn to ice-cold chill in “summer” due to lack of general garden maintenance! Include local vandals and garden produce thieves who are not volunteers, etc. and it ends up in some cases as a complete waste of time, money and local city lots. Of course there are a few positive exceptions in some neighborhoods that have continued to work their gardens into productive fall harvest but few and far between! Check it out this spring from start to finish and see for yourself, no? ***
Mr. Auerbach, Community Gardens are not only a good idea but they are way past that, successfully operating in BPT for the past 32 years!
This DEEP Open Space Fund CIA, PA 228 has been tapped into the past five years although it received no press due to the administration’s non support. No CDBG $ has been allocated to community gardens for years. Some support!
This pot of money is huge and country hamlets in Connecticut have been getting the lion’s share of it for years. East Haddem, Granby, Goshen … etc. Millions to preserve hundreds of acres. This $171,000 is chump change. BPT should be doing something about the open space being dumped on elsewhere all over the City such as the lot owned by Kimball behind Commerce Park, a wetlands that could be a connecting point between Rogers Park and Veterans Park via bike trails.
With the $200,000 Brownfields $ and this DEEP grant, this allocation amounts to $371,000 for only one community garden. Add to this the tremendous overhead from BHA and the City along with their hiring of Fuss and O’Neil as designer and no apparent community involvement in a spot that has no one living around it and you’ve got a good old-fashioned pork-barrel project.
Not to mention, why wasn’t this applied for for Pleasure Beach?
*** THINK GREEN, NO? Besides, the homeless in Bpt will need a place to stay for the summer! *** CLUELESS ***