An article in yesterday’s New Haven Independent, by Melissa Bailey, chronicles a "confab" yesterday monring at the New Haven Chamber of Commerce about regionalism and "smart growth," joining state-office candidates in a forum hosted by the non-profit 1,000 Friends of Connecticut. From the article:
[Heidi Green, 1,000 Friends President] gave a powerpoint on [the non-profit’s] goals: Less reliance on the property tax. Better public transit to reduce gridlock. Instead of sprawl and car-dominated transit, public transit and growth that respects open space. "Reclaim our downtowns," "remagnatize our communities."
The conversation began about what Connecticut could do to attract more jobs.
John Cirello, a Republican attorney who was so frustrated with Q Bridge traffic that he decided to run for state rep in the 97th district, suggested highway gridlock was losing Connecticut jobs.
Just look at New Jersey, he said. South of Manhattan, you have a six-lane highway each way. A similar distance away from Manhattan in Connecticut, "you’re lucky to get three lanes each way." To make the state more attractive, Connecticut needs "wider highways like they have in New Jersey," said Cirello, who’s from the Garden State. …
Democratic Hamden State Rep. J. Brendan Sharkey, who also grew up in Northern N.J., [said,] "What draws people to Connecticut is that we’re not northern Jersey." …
[Green Party campaign manager for Cliff Thornton] Ken Krayeske …jumped in. …"We’re wasting money on a runaway war on drugs," said Krayeske. If we want to revitalize our cities—as everyone in the room agreed they’d like to do—we need to tackle drugs, Krayeske said. "Nobody’s going to move back to our cities until we deal with crime and violence."
According to the piece, "the Greens crashed the party and forced a touchy issue they say underlies the barriers to rebuilding cities," namely, the war on drugs. Krayeske went on to say that the problem could be solved by "bringing drugs within the law," and wants people on bicycles instead of in cars.
Suggestions for solutions like these may be on the fringe, and therefore untenable in the near future, but I have to agree with the underlying assessment of the problem: crime, and its perception, is huge when it comes to convincing people that the city is worthy of residency. Leaders and researchers can talk in-fill and anti-sprawl rhetoric until they’re blue in the face, but if crime is a persistent factor, the ideals are so much flotsam.
On that note, a story in today’s Springfield Republican has Police Commissioner Ed Flynn announcing that crime is down. From the article, by Patrick Johnson:
Overall, crime declined 2 percent this year, [Flynn] said. He cited the 3 percent drop in total crime and 7 percent decline in violent crime in the summer months. He attributed it to increased foot patrols and a geographical policing plan where the city was divided into four zones and each zone assigned a lieutenant to oversee patrols.
Street robberies are often an indicator of the police presence, he said. When more police are seen on the streets, street-level criminals have fewer opportunities to commit crimes, he said.
In August alone, robberies dropped 40 percent and gun robberies by 45 from August 2005, he said.
Johnson goes on to quote two community leaders present at the City Council committee meeting where the announcement was made, Arelys Diaz and Omega Johnson. The statements of the two women reveal a sliver of the attitude that results from residents having to settle for so little stewardship from the city when it comes to public safety in the last several years (or is it decades?). Diaz said, "It makes a difference in the community when they see it bringing hope." Johnson said, "A step in the right direction is better than no steps at all."
Change is possible. It makes a huge difference (40 to 45 percent improvement, for example) when effort and expertise are applied.
In other news, Matt S. of Western Mass Politics and Insight gives the Finance Control Board (which hired Flynn) a "C," adding that eight months from now, the entity "is destined to die." He continues, "The consensus is that [the FCB’s] term should be extended. I don’t disagree, but the time frame for the [interest-free state] loan repayment should be extended equally. Any such extension should be incremental and never end on a municipal election year."
