Too Much Snow

Before I launch into my complaints, I will say that I recognize the limits of what can be done when there is a record-setting amount of snow in one month. I've tried to be fair for weeks, allowing that this is an unusual circumstance. But I believe that certain criticisms are justified. My primary criticism is that the city has made a bad situation worse by failing to enforce the law and failing to send the plow crews out to fully clear the roads when they had the chance.

Way back on January 12, we had over two feet of fresh snow on the ground. On January 13, the roads were a mess. I had hoped the city would send the plows out again during the night of the 13th to finish their job, to widen roads where they hadn't cleared the lanes fully. If they had done so, we would currently have wider roads and we wouldn't have so many lanes lost to what  is now hard-packed snow. The city management probably assumed this would be a normal winter, and the roads would clear up on their own in a few days, as soon as the weather warmed up.

As we know, this is not a normal winter. If the city had fully plowed the roads on January 13, the plows would have been able to do a much better job during the storms that followed.

How bad are the roads? If you're not in Waterbury, here's a sample. There was no one behind me, so I stopped my car to let a pedestrian across the road and got this shot of Oak Street while I waited:

The city has also failed to enforce parking bans during snow storms. Waterbury makes it a habit to never enforce the parking ban (just like they never enforce the speed limit), and everyone knows it. As a result, the ban on parking on the even-numbered sides of the streets is completely ignored (might as well ignore the law if the law is never enforced, right?).

The Rep-Am ran a hilarious article on January 28 titled "Mayor talks tough about cars parked in streets." First point of hilarity: by January 28, the streets were full of cars that hadn't been moved in over a month--those cars, like the one opposite my driveway in the photo below, are buried in hard-packed snow and can't be towed unless they are dug out. Mayor Jarjura is "talking tough" a month too late.

Second point of hilarity: the "tough talk" is pretty darn weak. Jarjura is quoted saying that he isn't going to fully enforce the parking bans because of the recession. Supposedly the city was going to tow cars from major roadways, but only after creating a painfully bureaucratic process of making lists and going to excessive lengths to find the owner of the car first.  Seriously? Too little, too late. By January 28, the roadways were blocked by snow that was too hard-packed to plow. By January 28, the only way to clear the roads was with a front loader and dump truck.

This winter has given us yet another example of how the Jarjura administration fails at managing quality of life issues for Waterbury.

The problem with the narrowing of the streets has become very personal for me. There is an abandoned car opposite my driveway (the photo above). Because the car is abandoned, it hasn't been shoveled out. Every time it snows, the hard-packed snow pile gets larger and the plows are less and less able to fully clear the road. I can no longer back out as far into the street when I pull out of my driveway. This means I need to cut to the right much sooner in order to navigate the mountains of snow on either side of my driveway.

When I left for work yesterday morning (the photo above is from today, after the road cleared up thanks to warmth and drizzle), I had no trouble getting out my driveway. I was briefly happy as I backed out as far as I could, cutting to the right as far as I could. Then, because the road was covered in a three-inch deep layer of sandy ice and snow, my car slid sideways down the road. I was wedged between two giant piles of sandy snow and ice.

I tried going backwards. I tried going forwards. Sometimes I felt my car rotate a few degrees on the icy road, but this only wedged me in further. I felt rushed, because I was completely blocking the road during the morning rush hour and school bus time. I got out of the car and got a dirt shovel (better than a snow shovel for breaking hard-packed snow) from my garage. I tried digging down the snowbank behind me. I tried digging down the snow pile in front of me. Finally a woman from down the street suggested I put my floor mats under the wheels for traction. Success! I was finally able to get my car pointed the right way. Sadly, I left part of my car on the ice and snow.

I'm a little cranky about the hole in my front bumper. If the city had done its job and enforced parking bans from the beginning, this never would have happened.

Tomorrow is supposed to be sunny and above freezing. I'll head out with my ice breaker and dirt shovel late in the afternoon. Hopefully I'll be able to open up a wider path for my car.

I can't do anything about the other road hazards. I've been impressed by the way most drivers are being more courteous than usual to one another. But there are some places where you just feel doomed. Like when I get down to the end of my street and have to turn left on Walnut Street with zero visibility of the oncoming traffic from the left. The photo below shows the view to the left when I stop as far forward as I can without being in the way of the cars coming from the left. I'm worried that if I pull forward far enough to see if anyone is coming, I'll get hit.

I know the plows have to put the snow somewhere, but is it really necessary to make a dangerous intersection (several fatalities over the years) more dangerous?

Metro-North Does It Again

If it wasn't clear before, it is now: the Waterbury line is Metro-North's and Connecticut's lowest priority. They've run out of trains due to weather-related problems, so train service to Waterbury is discontinued. They've put us back on buses. At least they are running express as well as local, but that doesn't do much good if the roads are icy or traffic is jammed.

Governor Malloy's Press Release, boasting about taking trains away from Waterbury for the main line:

(Hartford, CT) - Governor Dannel P. Malloy moved today to add much-needed rail cars to the beleaguered New Haven Line – announcing that buses will be used on the Waterbury Branch commuter rail line beginning Saturday, freeing up two 7-car, diesel-powered trains that can be put into service on the New Haven Line. With each car carrying about 100 people, the action will make about 1,400 additional seats available.

 

“This brutal and punishing winter has meant unprecedented breakdowns on the New Haven Line and anything we can do to supplement service, we will do,” Governor Malloy said. “We are happy to use existing resources to help our partners at Metro-North.”

 

“Furthermore, this is an important step toward maintaining commerce during this difficult winter season,” the Governor added. “People need to get to work. If they can’t, their companies suffer and, ultimately, our overall economy suffers.”

 

The branch line runs from Waterbury to Bridgeport, where it connects with the New Haven Line. There are stops in between at Naugatuck, Beacon Falls, Seymour, Ansonia and Derby/Shelton.

 

Because of the weather-related rail car breakdowns, Metro-North has announced a reduced train schedule beginning Monday, February 7 and continuing through Friday, March 4, 2011. The Waterbury bus schedule will be posted on the Metro-North website – www.mta.info. Customers may also call 212 532-4900.

 

The buses will come from CTTransit, which operates bus service around the state, under the auspices of the Connecticut Department of Transportation (DOT). The busing plan will be essentially the same plan that was operated successfully and reliably in the summer of 2009 when there was a major track-upgrade program on the rail line.  Generally, buses will leave Waterbury heading for Bridgeport about 15 minutes earlier than the regular train times.  A combination of express and local buses will be operated.  For the return trip, buses will connect with trains at Bridgeport.  Express and local buses will also operate for that service.

 

Metro-North operates the New Haven Line and its three branches – Waterbury, Danbury and New Canaan – under a contract with the DOT. It has 37 million passenger trips annually, consistently making it the busiest or second-busiest in the country.

 

Revised weekend bus service will begin Saturday, February 5, 2011.

 

###

 

For Immediate Release: February 4, 2011

Another Storm, Another Creature

The latest creation at MD Auto. This time they went neon.

Winter Wonderland

As in, I wonder where my fence is?  and, I wonder where I'm going to put all this snow?

Some of the folks across the street started shoveling at 7 a.m. I didn't. I crawled back in bed, read the news about the Governor asking everyone to stay off the roads, and decided I would probably not be able to do everything I had planned for today.

Eventually I tried going outside. The sun was shining, which was great.

By the time I finally got my boots and coat on, the guys next door had shoveled a path to the street along my sidewalk and through my driveway. After I started shoveling, one of the guys came out to help.

This is the path from the driveway to the front porch. Earlier this winter, I tried shoveling all the way down to the dirt. I gave up on that about three storms ago.

The view down Wood Street. The good thing about all this snow is that neighbors are being even more neighborly than usual. There's a "we're all in this together" attitude.

The impressive thing about the snow in my front yard is that it faces south, so you would think the sun would have melted it down a little. Nope.

My driveway. Just barely wide enough to get my car out. Barely.

There was some hostility expressed when the city plow driver refused requests to plow the common area in back of the row houses, which is understandable since our lives are at risk if the fire engines can't get into the common area because there's so much snow, and it's way too big an area to shovel.

Also, quite frankly, there is absolutely nowhere left for us to pile up the snow. We desperately need the city to bring the heavy equipment and haul away some of the snow piles.

This is the moment I've been waiting for all month. The snow in the back yard is now the same height as the fence!

Snow Pig

The latest creation at MD Auto on North Main Street.

Previous snow sculptures included the New Year's monster and an old-fashioned car (which I didn't get a photo of).

The N-Word

The latest controversy in the Waterbury schools (I say "latest" because it seems like there's a new controversy almost every week) involves the use of the n-word in a play which will be performed at the Waterbury Arts Magnet School. The controversy has reached the notice of The New York Times, which wrote about it in the ArtsBeat blog.

The play in question is August Wilson's "Joe Turner's Come and Gone," the second installment in The Pittsburgh Cycle, which the Pulitzer Prize winning author wrote to chronicle the African-American experience decade by decade. When it opened at the Yale Repertory in 1987 and again on Broadway in 1988, the cast included Angela Bassett, L. Scott Caldwell and Delroy Lindo (who earned a Tony nomination).

Wilson's play uses the language of the early 20th century, because it is a historical drama. Unlike the pop culture stars of today's world, Wilson uses the n-word to remind us (and for kids, to teach them) why this word is so unpleasant and disturbing. Wilson grew up in Pittsburgh and, according to a short biography, he had full experience of being called a nigger by racists who used the word to intimidate and demean him. That racism led him to drop out of high school, choosing instead to study on his own. His use of the n-word in this play is necessary for both historic accuracy and to convey the racism that was rampant at the time.

The average teenager today hears the n-word constantly, in music and in everyday speech. I have overheard young children calling each other niggers, and referring to themselves as niggers. I have heard it used by adults wanting to sound "cool". This is the youth culture today.

I'd much rather have the kids at the Arts Magnet School learn about the history of the word through this play than to continue to use it blindly in everyday speech.

The controversy that has arisen will potentially have some benefit. The kids performing the play are now acutely aware of what a powerfully negative word it is. And they are probably learning a thing or two about censorship in a country that constitutionally protects freedom of speech.

Tryphena McNeil and Some of Waterbury's Gypsies

I've started watching The Riches on Netflix, and one of my first reactions was surprise at the concept of Irish Travelers (similar to Gypsies) in the United States. Then, by coincidence, I came across a reference to Tryphena McNeil, "Queen of the Gypsies," who died in Waterbury in 1915. Two random pieces of information inspired me to do some research, unveiling an often-overlooked part of Waterbury's history.

Tryphena McNeil's daughter, also named Tryphena, was baptized in the Holy Trinity Episcopal Church at South River, near New Brunswick, New Jersey in 1901. Then seven years old, Tryphena was conjectured to be the "first gypsy ever baptized in the Episcopal Church" by The New York Times (18 July 1901). Although referred to historically as gypsies, their surname suggests they were travelers. There seems to be ongoing debate among scholars, Travelers and Gypsies as to whether or not their tribes are interconnected in this country.

Tryphena McNeil died at Waterbury Hospital in late April, 1915. Accounts in several newspapers said the McNeils were camped at the Simonsville section of town, while others said the queen died during or after stomach surgery. The Hartford Courant reported on April 28 that all her belongings, including her wagon and silk dresses, were burned in a traditional ceremony in Waterbury. McNeil was buried in Guttenberg, NJ on Memorial Day. She was survived by her husband, King Samuel McNeil, and four daughters. The election of her successor took place in Waterbury.

A funeral service was conducted for Queen Tryphena in Waterbury by Rev. J. N. Lewis, Jr., rector of St. John's Episcopal Church, with about 150 people in attendance. At the close of the service, the "representatives of the different tribes placed beads, combs, brushes, hair pins, jewels, etc. in the coffin" along with two hats.  The Hartford Courant (29 April 1915) described this as a "Romany gypsy" custom allowing the deceased to travel the river Styx in comfort.

The Courant ran a photograph of the funeral, with the coffin open, on May 3. In attendance was Nellie Palmer, aspiring to be the next queen; Sister We-Ha-Ka, representing a tribe of Cherokee affiliated with the McNeil tribe; Tryphena's sons John and Samuel, daughter Tryphena, husband King Samuel McNeil; and chief John Buckland.

On May 9, the Hartford Courant reported that the McNeils spent a lot of time in Waterbury. Their camp "was pitched on the old rye lots in the southern section" of Waterbury. Despite their nomadic life, the McNeils were not poor. Tryphena's estate was said to be valued at $50,000 and included a tract of land in Providence, Rhode Island. She had an estimated $30,000 in cash, which she kept in a guarded chest, not trusting banks (according to the newspaper article). After her death, King Samuel deposited a valise of money at the Waterbury Trust Company (the article claims the bills were so old and worn they had to be exchanged by the U.S. Treasury).

The McNeils were not the only travelers or gypsies to spend time in Waterbury and surrounding towns. Dan DeLuca's book about The Old Leather Man has a great photograph of a "gypsy camp" in Thomaston as well as an excerpt from the Waterbury Daily American (1 March 1877) reporting that "there are gypsies camped in a bend below us" in Woodbury.

The New York Times reported on May 31, 1879 that "For several weeks past a band of gypsies have been hanging about Ansonia, doing an apparently thriving business in horse-trading, fortune-telling, &c." After a complaint was made about a theft that was cleverly woven into a fortune-telling, the goods stolen were returned and "the chief of the gypsy gang paid a round sum to have legal proceedings stopped." The group decamped and set up a new camp a little further south.

In 1922, a gypsy named Mrs. Annie Marino, a resident of Waterbury formerly of Charlestown, Massachusetts, was reportedly robbed of cash, jewelry and gold coins by three men, one of whom, John Arestos, was the godfather of her youngest child (Hartford Courant, 4 Aug 1922). Marino lived at 10 Chatfield Avenue and may have originally come from Portugal (Hartford Courant, 6 Aug 1922).

Also in 1922, on August 5, Waterbury's Health Officer Thomas J. Kilmartin and the Superintendent of Police George M. Beach launched a campaign to ban nomadic gypsies from Waterbury (Hartford Courant, 6 August 1922). Kilmartin and Beach were responding to "numerous complaints" of thefts related to caravans passing through and cited "unsanitary conditions" of stores rented as fortune-telling parlors, the tendency of "ten or fifteen gypsies crowding into one small tenement" and the "lack of proper facilities." Health officials appear to have issued repeated appeals to property owners, asking them to refuse to rent storefronts for use by fortune tellers. The article went on to detail some of the thefts. Frank Denners of New Haven "was stopped on the Middletown road and robbed of $5" by a young woman. James Hanlon, a local grocer, complained that gypsies stole $15 cash from his register and $20 in groceries, canned goods and jellies. The gypsies disappeared into the woods toward Southington. (The Waterbury city directory for 1922 lists a James Hanlan who owned a delicatessen at 370 West Main Street.)

The city's crusade against gypsies continued into November. Frank Martinoff, said to be the "presiding chief" (Hartford Courant, 6 Nov 1922), was given nine hours to leave Waterbury or spend 30 days in jail. Martinoff was "found guilty" of renting a store at 654 South Main Street under false pretenses, claiming that he was going to open a tinware and crockery shop. The landlord paid a visit and "found it swarming with gypsies. Mattresses, blankets, cook stoves, clothing and various other equipment littered the floor." An estimated four families were living in the store. The article quoted Judge William J. Larkin, Jr. as declaring "There'll be no fortune telling in Waterbury. The city has enough detectives to go out and get the necessary evidence and if any complaints are made the entire band will be compelled to leave the city." The Courant estimated that at least 100 gypsies were camping out in stores throughout Waterbury.

Another band of gypsies were warned out of Waterbury in 1923 (Hartford Courant, 19 September 1923). The group numbered about 95 people, traveling in seven cars and two trucks. They were ordered to leave town by Superintendent of Police George Beach after a steward at the Waterbury Country Club complained that he had "almost" lost money to one of the women of the group.

In 1925, Nicholas John, king of some 48 gypsy families throughout the United States, died in the phrenologist parlor he operated at 166 South Riverside Street in Waterbury (Hartford Courant, 6 Feb 1925). John left a will bequeathing an estate worth $10,000 to his wife, Queen Rambunkah, with mention made of his sons George, Wallace and Miller (no mention was made of daughter Tina, Eula and Ruby; the New York Times reported that their mother explained at the reading of the will that daughters never inherit). Funeral ceremonies, attended by representatives from around the country, were held in Waterbury before his burial in Yonkers. The New York Times reported that there were two rival successors, both claiming to be his brothers: Frank Josef, John's second-in-command, and Ritasra Jurka of Yonkers (11 Feb 1925). A third contender, Frank Mitchell of Harlem, claimed to have been duly elected as the new king.

The New York Times followed the story with in-depth analysis on March 15, 1925. According to the Times, a "strong faction of the Serbian tribe" backed Frank Josef to be the new king. A group in Yonkers backed Ritasra Jurka, while Frank Mitchell, "an Americanized gypsy," announced that he had been elected at New York's Palace Casino Theatre. The Times saw the feud between the three would-be kings as a battle between the Old World and the New World. Josef and Jurka were both over 60. They and their followers adhered to the tradition of a three month period of mourning before the new king should be elected. The "Americanized" Mitchell declared himself to have been elected king within days of the old king's death. The final outcome of the dispute does not appear to have been reported in the newspapers, but Mitchell seems to have held onto his title with at least some tribes.

City Hall Re-Dedication

(For photos of what the building looked like before the $32 million restoration and upgrade, see my 2006 blog post. For photos during restoration, see my July 2010 blog post. And if you really have a lot of time to kill, you can click on my City Hall blog label to read all the posts I wrote during the long fight to save this building, and Bryan Baker's blog in November and December 2006 for his efforts during the 2006 struggle.)

Saturday was the re-dedication ceremony and official re-opening of the Municipal Building on Grand Street. Pretty much all the city's political officials attended, including former Mayors Bergin, Santopietro and Caligiuri.

It seemed strange to me for some of the former Mayors, especially Bergin and Santopietro, to be honored at the re-dedication, since it was under their watch that the building was allowed to fall apart. Granted, one cause of the decay was the lack of a proper maintenance plan, which goes back before Bergin. But the building should never have been neglected for so long. I guess it's a symptom of the larger problems. The city suffers from decades of infrastructure neglect, from years of poor management. We're finally moving in the right direction, but I can't help worrying that the building will fall apart again. Waterbury Development Corporation, which did such a magnificent job revitalizing the building, has prepared extensive manuals with instructions on the correct maintenance procedures for the building, but there is no guarantee that future administrations will adhere to the guidelines.

Okay, enough doom and gloom for today. On to the celebration of what has been accomplished!

I missed part of the opening ceremonies, but arrived in time for the flag raising and national anthem.

The ceremony was accompanied by the Fulton American Band.

The crowd filled the entourage (Cass Gilbert's name for the piazza in front of the building), which was created for public gatherings.

The beautiful, painted copper-clad and gilt cupola.

The patriotic and Classical eagles on top of the pilasters on the building's facade.

More of the crowd, listening to the speeches, which included one by Cass Gilbert's great-granddaughter. My favorite part of her speech was her family's motto: "If you're not going to do it right, don't bother."

A few people wandered across the street during the speeches, waiting for their chance to go inside and see the gorgeous building.

Waterbury's visual icon of patriotism, Ziggy, arrived toward the end of the speeches.

It took at least ten minutes for everyone to get through the entrance.

Complimentary cookies, hot cocoa and sandwiches were served by Café B-Muse (open weekdays for lunch at the Mattatuck Museum). The first and second floors were pack with people. It's probably the one time when there will be a line of people eagerly and joyfully waiting to enter the Tax Collectors office.

A few people resting on the railing overlooking the grand staircase.

The Veteran's Memorial Chamber. There is a supply of folding chairs and tables that get set up in this room as needed for various meetings.

The clock and stencils over the entrance to the Veteran's Memorial Chamber.

Mayor Jarjura outside the entrance to the Mayoral suite of offices.

Happy people in the Aldermanic Chamber. Larry Depillo (seen posing with outspoken activist Lisa Lessard) fought the restoration of the building tooth and nail every step of the way. I hope he now puts his energy into ensuring that the building will be properly maintained going forward.

The Chase Building across the street, seen from the original Mayor's Office. It's next in line for a maintenance overhaul, but so far Mayor Jarjura has said its restoration needs to wait indefinitely.

The architecture is so graceful, with so many places that lend themselves to beautiful compositions.

Tom Chute was present, broadcasting the event on WATR 1320.

The entourage without the crowd. The fountain is now, after decades, in working order, but is turned off for the winter.

There is one more celebratory event scheduled, a gala on January 8. You can register for the gala on the special City Hall website, or by calling the Mattatuck Museum (203-753-0381).

Snow Beast

I saw this on my way home tonight, while stopped at the light on North Main and East/West Farm Streets--a giant snow monster, decorated with red spray paint, with "Happy New Year" painted on the side.

Seasonal Images

Here's a batch of festive photos for you. Merry Christmas!

Downtown Waterbury, starting with The Green.

The Lombard Building is decked out this year, with Christmas music playing outside.

The Dunkin' Donuts in the Apothecaries Building always has a nice window painting. The rest of the building, in case you haven't been downtown lately, is being completely renovated for upscale apartments.

A new downtown Bank Street business, Something New, Something Old, did a fantastic window decoration.

Tony's Men's Shop, always elegantly decorated. If only men dressed this well every day!

A few of the trees inside Howland-Hughes.

Lamp post decorations on Bank Street.

There are a lot of houses decked out with lights everywhere in Waterbury. There are a couple of triple-deckers on Wood Street with all three porches decorated. The most spectacular display I've seen is over by Hamilton Park. They had the decorations (on the house and filling the front yard) set up immediately after Halloween.

And, finally, a reminder that the freezing cold temperatures have a purposed--without the cold, we wouldn't have the beauty of frost on windows!

City Hall Building

I volunteered to give a couple of tours of the dazzling newly-restored and updated city hall building today. An older couple on one of my tours came to this country (and Waterbury) many decades ago. Their parting comment to me was to express delight at finally seeing an appreciation of history and historic architecture equal to that of Europe. They know times are hard, and likely to get harder, but seeing such a magnificent building restored to its glory warms their hearts and lifts their spirits.

There is talk about plans to do more tours in the coming months--keep an eye on waterburycityhall.com for notification when that's finalized.

In the meantime, you can get a look at the building at the rededication ceremony at noon on January 1st, and watch a couple of sneak-peeks below thanks to videos made by the Republican-American newspaper.

Aldermanic Vacancy

I've stayed away from this topic until now. I figured it would best be handled by the Republican Town Committee and other Waterbury Republicans, since they are the ones most immediately and directly impacted by this (I'm a Democrat). Republican Bryan Baker has been addressing the issue on Facebook and in a recent blog post. The responses from the Mayor (on Facebook and in today's newspaper) have been disheartening and even repugnant.

It has been more than three months since Alderman Paul V. Ciochetti resigned from the Board of Aldermen, and Mayor Jarjura is in no hurry to name his replacement. The tipping point for me was a Brass Tack in today's Republican American newspaper. Mayor Jarjura was quoted as saying that fourteen aldermen (instead of the full fifteen) is "more than enough" and that only a "few self-interested parties" want a fifteenth alderman. This is outrageous.

The Mayor is the only person with the authority to name a replacement for Alderman Ciochetti. This gives him the full weight of responsibility to the voters and a tremendous amount of power. By dawdling and avoiding his responsibility, he is creating a dangerous precedent and a tremendous amount of animosity and distrust.

If Ciochetti had been a Democrat, a member of the same party as the Mayor, would he have taken this long to replace him? No need to wonder--just look back to 2008. Sandra Ramirez resigned from the Board of Aldermen late in March 2008. The vacancy was filled in June 2008.

Although the newspaper quoted Jarjura in a way that suggests he has no particular intention to appoint a fifteenth alderman, he wrote on his Facebook page (in response to Bryan Baker asking when the seat would be filled) that "I plan to fill the vacancy after the first of the year." No specific time next year, just some time next year, with no reason for the delay given. This is pathetic and disturbingly lackadaisical. If I were a Republican, I would be furious. As an American and a Democrat, I am disturbed and concerned.


Mayor Jarjura is showing a total disregard and a huge amount of disrespect towards the voters. There are a couple of highly qualified young Republicans who would be excellent Aldermen and who would do a good job of representing their constituents. Since our Aldermen are all at large, not by district, their constituents include all the citizens of Waterbury - Republican, Democrat, Independent and Unaffiliated. By not appointing the fifteenth aldermen, Mayor Jarjura is disrespecting all the voters.

We need every single one of our Aldermen, not however many the Mayor has decided we need. He has a sworn duty to uphold the city charter. His comments in today's newspaper display a total disregard for the charter--if he feels like he can snub his nose at the mandated number of aldermen, what other parts of the charter does he feel like he can ignore?


His quote in the newspaper suggests that he doesn't think he needs to appoint a fifteenth alderman because only a "few self-interested parties" have been telling him to do so. That's no way to run a government. How often does anyone tell him to obey the law? Probably very infrequently, but he is still presumably a law-abiding citizen. 

How does he define "self-interested"? As I understand it, the Republican Town Committee gave him several names to choose from.  Does that make them self-interested? It's the Republican Town Committee's duty to make sure they retain their duly-elected representation in the city government. They are also representing the interests of their constituents. Maybe the Mayor has forgotten that he, too, represents the interests of all of Waterbury's citizens, no matter what their party affiliation (or lack thereof).


Mayor Jarjura has a responsibility to appoint a fifteenth aldermen. By shirking his duty, he is presenting an image of himself as an irresponsible and disrespectful leader. Has he considered that there are several reasons why there hasn't been as much of a clamor for a fifteenth alderman? At first, I think most people assumed there was no need to nag him, because he would of course fulfill his obligation to the voters. Then there was an assumption that he was waiting for the elections to pass--Jason Van Stone, as pointed out in Baker's blog, was almost elected to the Board of Aldermen last year, losing by a mere 91 votes. Van Stone is a likely contender for the vacated seat, but he was running for state office this fall. It made sense to assume that Jarjura was waiting to see if Van Stone won that election before appointing him to the Board of Aldermen. The election came and went, and there still was no appointment. Then, sadly, Mayor Jarjura's father passed away. Naturally, no one was going to nag him about the vacant seat on the Board of Aldermen while he was in mourning. Many people figured he should be allowed some breathing room, that he would get back to work and appoint the fifteenth alderman within a couple weeks. Now those couple of weeks and many more have passed without an appointment. Instead, we've been "treated" to disrespect bordering on abuse of power.

I'm left wondering why the Mayor has decided to wait until next year to select a new Alderman. The only conjectured reason I've heard that seems like a possibility is a little bit devious and underhanded. If a Democrat switches parties and becomes a Republican, how long is the waiting period before that new Republican can be appointed as such to the Board of Alderman? I have no idea, but it's one of the suppositions that is floating around town. Since Mayor Jarjura has not bothered to show us a little courtesy and explain the delay (other than he doesn't think it's important to fill the vacancy), we're left with rumor and conjecture.


I've written and said many times that most of the city's elected officials don't care about my neighborhood. Now I begin to see that certain elected officials are so extremely self-interested that they don't care about anyone other than themselves and their yes-men. I hope that Jarjura sticks to what he has promised and does not run for Mayor again--his ego is getting way too big.

City Taxes

While doing some research on Waterbury's industrial history, I came across an interesting tidbit of information in Volume I of Pape's History of Waterbury (1918). In 1905, the widow of Augustus Sabin Chase purchased land to create a park in memory of her husband. She donated the park to the city, which led (somehow, not explained by Pape) to a charter amendment "providing for an annual tax for park purposes of one quarter of a mill passed the General Assembly and became a law operative for 1906."

Furthermore, "The appropriation under the new tax brought about rapid improvements particularly at Hamilton Park. Boats were placed on the lake for the first time. Flower beds were laid out, trees were set out, and work was begun on the swimming pool and on the athletic field."

An abundance of park improvements followed over the next few years. A playground was created at Locust and Walnut Streets, the Green was given new soil and seeded with grass, a marsh at Hamilton Park was turned into a lake and a baseball field and lawn tennis courts were laid out. By 1913, Hamilton Park "had become the great breathing place of the city."

I don't know what happened with the park department budget. I can see that they are woefully underfunded, but I don't know if they are still budgeted for a quarter of a mill.

[UPDATE: Since posting this, I've been informed that a quarter of a mill in Waterbury is currently about $1.25 million and that the Waterbury park department operating budget is about $2.1 million. For comparison, the New York City park department operating budget in 2008 was $340 million, while Central Park alone has an operating budget of about $20 million; Lincoln, Nebraska (with a population of about 251,000) has a park operating budget of $11.35 million for its 6000 acres of parks and open space; Lowell, Massachusetts (population of about 104,000) had a park department budget of $2.7 million in 2009.]

If city taxpayers were told that the mill rate was to be increased by a quarter of a mill in order to pay for improvements to the parks, I think they would be happy about that. In fact, the same is probably true for any city service--when we're told the mill rate is going up in order to maintain the status quo, taxpayers rightfully get upset. We're being asked to pay more without getting more, which is hard to stomach when we're not getting enough as it is. But if we were told that the mill rate is going up in order to pay for desired additional city services (like good sidewalks, better enforcement of anti-blight and anti-litter laws, improved parks), I think most taxpayers would be willing to make that sacrifice (assuming they can afford it!).

Details

There was a bad fire Monday night, reported in today's Rep-Am. Since the fire happened just down the street from me, I'm very aware of the details. Reading the article in today's paper reminded me of just how unreliable a newspaper account can be. I'll start with reprinting the key portion of the article as it ran in the paper, then correct a few details and add a somewhat important angle that was left out.

City firefighters stop blaze from spreading

Row house residents displaced

BY LAURESHA XHIHANI

REPUBLICAN-AMERICAN

WATERBURY — Five peo­ple were displaced after a fire damaged their Wood Street home early Tuesday.

Deputy Fire Chief Rick Hart said the fire, reported at 12:30 a.m., started in the base­ment and spread to the first floor of a row house at 255 Wood St.

[Deleted for copyright reasons]

One man living in the base­ment got out on his own, be­fore firefighters arrived. Another person living in the first floor was not home at the time of the fire.

[Deleted for copyright reasons]

Okay, first of all, the fire was at 225 Wood Street, not 255 Wood Street. I find it interesting that the article states the fire was reported at 12:30 a.m., since the fire engines and police cars arrived at about 11:45 p.m. At 12:15 a.m., I was standing outside watching the firefighters put out the blaze. By 12:30 a.m., the fire was under control and almost completely extinguished.

It's also interesting to see the differences between rumors and official stories (this is getting away from the article). During the fire, word spread quickly that the fire started in the basement (confirmed in this article). By the next day, the word in the community was that the man living in the  basement was smoking crack, fell asleep, and his still-lit crack pipe set his mattress on fire. Today the word in the community is that the fire marshal has determined that the fire was started by a cigarette accidentally starting a mattress fire. So, same basic cause, just a difference in what the guy was smoking.

Now for the important angle that was only barely hinted at in the newspaper article: the Scovill row homes are single-family houses.  225 Wood Street, owned by Anthony and Lucy Karanja, has been illegally subdivided into three apartments, one per floor. This is a typical slumlord sort of thing to do and, indeed, the property has been a source of problems for the community, as you would expect from any property owned by a slumlord. I don't know if the Karanjas were the ones who subdivided the house--they purchased it in 2008 from Susan Stell, who in turn purchased it in 2005 from the estate of Mildred Pinchbeck. Mrs. Pinchbeck is fondly remembered in the neighborhood and took good care of the house, which was her home. It's sad that her home has fallen into the hands of slumlords.

In addition to operating an illegal apartment house (one man rented out the basement, another man rented out the first floor, and a woman with two little children rented out the top floor), the Karanjas appear to be delinquent in paying their taxes on the property and are in the process of selling the house--there is a sale pending realtor sign outside the house.

Another element to the story, which was completely left out of the article, is the functionality of the fire hydrants. According to one witness, the firefighters had trouble getting enough water pressure from the hydrants and may not have been able to use the first hydrant they tried. There is no official report about this, just the eyewitness account. From what I saw (I didn't go outside until about 20-30 minutes after the fire engines arrived), it did seem like it took a while for them to get the hoses running.

In response to the fire, the Scovill Homes Association is going to see if we can get some fire safety information for residents. We're also going to work on creating a fire lane between the houses on Wood and Ives Streets to make it easier for the firefighters to get to the backs of the houses (where they have the best access to the basements).