City holding Hanukkah menorah lighting on Green at 4:30 p.m.

WEST HAVEN, Dec. 19, 2022 — The city is holding a Hanukkah menorah lighting on the Green later today.

Although this year’s Jewish holiday begins at sundown Sunday, West Haven’s annual lighting of the menorah will celebrate the second day of Hanukkah at 4:30 p.m.

The lighting will mark the Jewish Festival of Lights, an eight-day commemoration of rededication of the Temple by the Maccabees after their victory over the Syrians.

The ceremony, led by Mayor Nancy R. Rossi, will include a blessing by Rabbi Schneur Wilhelm of Chabad of Milford-Hebrew Congregation of Woodmont. The public is invited.

Singing group Nu Haven Kapelye will perform. ArtsWest CT will provide coffee, water and chocolate coins wrapped in gold foil, known as Hanukkah gelt.

Happy 100th birthday!

WEST HAVEN, Dec. 19, 2022 — (Pictured): West Haven resident Elizabeth Petrushonis receives a citation in honor of her 100th birthday from Mayor Nancy R. Rossi during a celebration with friends at Seacrest Retirement Center at 588 Ocean Ave. on Monday.

Rossi recognized Petrushonis for her “contributions to our great city.”

Reading the citation, Rossi said, “Over the course of a century, you have made extraordinary memories and have woven your own unique story into the narrative of West Haven.”

(City Photo/Michael P. Walsh)

Boardwalk Eco-Restoration Project concepts unveiled

WEST HAVEN, Dec. 16, 2022 — Four concepts have been developed for the West Haven Boardwalk Resilience and Eco-Restoration Project, the West Haven Shoreline Restoration Committee announced.

The public is invited to give feedback on the different alternatives via the project website. The deadline is Jan. 14.

Since July, the committee has been collaborating with SLR International Corp. and the West Haven community to restore a 1.5-acre area of public shoreline adjacent to Old Grove Park, with the goal of becoming a model for coastal ecosystem exploration with an educational component.

To identify opportunities and constraints associated with potential improvements, SLR has prepared four conceptual alternatives depicting nature-based coastal solutions and potential amenity space improvements. The concepts include key ideas that help define how the space can be used and what visitors will see and learn when immersed in the space.

“Ongoing community involvement is a vital component of this project,” said committee co-leads Marilyn Wilkes, the vice president of the Land Trust of West Haven, and Mark E. Paine Jr., the director of the city Department of Parks and Recreation. “These four concepts were developed with the data we collected from the on-site community engagement event and online survey.”

“Now we are asking the public to weigh in on the four designs and let us know what elements within each concept they like or dislike,” Wilkes and Paine said. “The team will use that feedback to create the final plan.”

Once the data is analyzed from the concepts’ online survey, SLR will prepare a final Nature-Based Coastal Resilience Plan and then create a preliminary engineering plan to 30% design. The plan will show enough detail to identify temporary and permanent impacts and develop a preliminary engineer’s opinion of probable construction costs.

It will also indicate existing structures, topography, utilities, vegetation removals, and sediment and erosion controls.

The committee is expected to share the plan with the public by March 2023.

See the Concepts.

DPW notice for leaf bags, mattresses

WEST HAVEN, Dec. 16, 2022 — The city’s leaf bag pickup has ended for 2022.

The curbside service will resume the week of April 15 on residents’ weekly collection days.

Until then, residents are required to bring all leaf bags — paper, no plastic — to the compost site, 1 Kimberly Ave., from 6:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Friday. Proof of residence is required.

Residents are asked to put leaves and grass clippings in separate biodegradable paper bags. Plastic bags are prohibited.

The 2023 pickup schedule for leaf bags is April 15-June 1 and Oct. 1-Dec. 15.

Also, mattress drop-off at the city garage, 1 Collis St., has been suspended until April 3 because of safety concerns during the colder months.

Mattress bags for curbside pickup are available for $25 by calling the Department of Public Works at 203-937-3585 or visiting the department on the third floor of City Hall, 355 Main St. The bags are picked up on residents’ weekly collection days.

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