West Haven menorah lighting marks 2nd day of Hanukkah

WEST HAVEN, Dec. 20, 2022 — Rabbi Schneur Wilhelm of Chabad of Milford-Hebrew Congregation of Woodmont was joined on the West Haven Green by Mayor Nancy R. Rossi to celebrate the second night of Hanukkah on Monday.

Wilhelm led an assembly of West Haven leaders and residents in a blessing before lighting the menorah with Rossi on the Main Street side of the downtown park.

The lighting marked day two of the eight-day Jewish Festival of Lights, a commemoration of rededication of the Temple by the Maccabees after their victory over the Syrians.

The annual ceremony featured lively performances of Jewish folk music by Nu Haven Kapelye. The popular local klezmer band — New England’s largest — is composed of violin, clarinet, mandolin, accordion, double bass, trombone and saxophone players and an accompanying Yiddish vocalist.

Wilhelm’s wife, Chanie, gave out light-up menorah necklaces, and members of ArtsWest CT gave out chocolate coins wrapped in gold foil, known as Hanukkah gelt.

Also attending the event were state Rep. Treneé McGee, D-West Haven; City Council members Robbin Watt Hamilton, D-5, and Victor M. Borras, D-8; City Clerk Patricia C. Horvath; and city Planning and Zoning Commissioner Steven R. Mullins.

Happy 100th birthday!

WEST HAVEN, Dec. 20, 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.”

DPW notice for leaf bags, mattresses

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.

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.

City issues snow rules for parking

WEST HAVEN, Dec. 16, 2022 — To help crews expedite snow removal, Public Works Commissioner Tom J. McCarthy is reminding residents and businesses to observe parking regulations during and after storms.

Per the “Severe Weather” parking ordinance under Chapter 188 of the West Haven Code, police will ticket and tow vehicles violating the ordinance at the owner’s expense. Violators will receive a $100 fine.

Once snow begins to fall, a parking ban is in effect on the even-numbered side of most roads, unless one is posted with a “No Parking” sign on the odd side.

The ban is in effect for 36 hours after a storm. Residents are urged to park in driveways or designated private lots.

However, during an official snow emergency declared by Mayor Nancy R. Rossi, a parking ban will run from 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. on both sides of Campbell and Savin avenues, Morgan Lane, Elm Street, Meloy Road, Second Avenue from Elm to Beach streets, and Main Street from Savin to Washington avenues.

McCarthy is also reminding residents and businesses to shovel their sidewalks within 24 hours after a storm or face a $25 fine “for each day that the violation persists.”

According to the “Removal of Snow and Ice” ordinance under Chapter 195 of the West Haven Code, people are given 24 hours to remove snow from sidewalks on and bordering their properties. Violators are subject to the $25-per-day fine, which is enforced by the Police Department, the ordinance states.

To report a complaint, call the department’s nonemergency line at 203-937-3900. Complaints are kept confidential.

McCarthy also pointed out that plowing or blowing snow into city streets is prohibited and violators are subject to a $60 fine for each offense, per the ordinance.

Also, residents and businesses with mailboxes damaged by snow thrown from a plow are the responsibility of the property owner. The city will only repair mailboxes damaged by the striking of a plow blade if there is visible evidence, such as paint or tire tracks.

Snow removal around mailboxes is the property owner’s responsibility.

Residents are also urged to help firefighters keep hydrants clear of snow.

For more information, call the Highway Department at 203-937-3644.

UI resumes tree care program in city

United Illuminating has begun the latest phase of its tree care program to reduce the amount of vegetation that UI says threatens power lines during storms.

Over the next three months, UI’s tree service contractor will increase the distance between vegetation and power lines by targeting trees and limbs on Donna and Island lanes, Callegari and Country Hill drives, and Meloy Road, said city Tree Warden Leo Kelly, who reviewed and approved the project.

Kelly said UI may contact city homeowners about permitting pruning and tree removal on their properties.

The contractor, Asplundh Tree Expert LLC, will focus work on UI’s “Utility Protection Zone,” which extends 15 feet above, 8 feet below and 10 feet to the side of power lines, he said.

According to UI, the Orange-based utility will designate trees for pruning or removal if they pose a threat to power lines or risk falling into or encroaching on the Utility Protection Zone, causing damage to the electrical system or outages due to their height and growth pattern.

People can direct questions to Kelly at [email protected].

West Haven heralds launch of state’s largest food-to-clean-energy program

WEST HAVEN, Nov. 14, 2022 — West Haven is the first city in the state to offer a citywide curbside food scrap diversion option to all single-family residents, Mayor Nancy R. Rossi announced.

Rossi said the program allows all single-family homes — one, two and three families — to easily separate food scraps and have them collected at the curb in the same container now used for residents’ trash collection.

The city has received a $1.3 million Sustainable Materials Management grant from the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection to develop and launch a food-to-clean-energy program.

Grant Coordinator Doug Colter, who secured the funding for the city, said the state is facing a solid waste disposal crisis, as traditional options for disposing of municipal solid waste are diminishing or becoming more expensive. With fewer and rapidly aging disposal options in Connecticut, residents and municipal leaders can expect disposal costs to increase at the remaining waste incineration facilities “as well as out-of-state landfilling,” Colter said.

On Nov. 7, the West Haven Food to Clean Energy program launched a nine-month pilot project for curbside food scrap diversion. Participation in the program comes at no cost to the 16,000 eligible households.

Colter said the funding covers the purchase of special color-coded bags for trash and for food scrap separation for the nine-month pilot. It also covers the cost of educational materials — mailers, a website and a Connect mobile app — along with personnel to sort the bags and the shipment of food scraps to Quantum Biopower in Southington, where the food will be converted into clean electricity, he said.

More details at Food Scrap Recycling.

Informational Materials

The Downsizing Donation Guide: A Resource for Residents of New Haven County (PDF)
What’s In? What’s Out? A Guide to Recycling (PDF)