Find your polling place; Election Day polls open until 8 p.m. today
WEST HAVEN, Nov. 3, 2020 — Today is Election Day, and city election officials have residents covered.
Residents can find their polling place at Voter Registration Lookup. (The 2020 presidential election is categorized as a state election.)
Residents who have absentee ballots must deposit them in the ballot drop boxes at the Main Street and Savin Avenue entrances of City Hall by 8 p.m. They can also deposit them in the drop boxes at the John Prete public housing complex at 1187 Campbell Ave. and the Surfside complex at 200 Oak St.
Same-day voter registration is available until 8 p.m. at the window outside the registrar of voters office of City Hall, 355 Main St.
At the polls, residents must wear face masks and maintain social distancing at all times, including staying at least 6 feet away from others.
Polling places are open until 8 p.m. in the following districts:
— 1st District, Elks Lodge 1537, 265 Main St.
— 2nd District, Savin Rock School, 50 Park St.
— 3rd District, Washington School, 369 Washington Ave.
— 4th District, University of New Haven Student Hall, Formerly St. Paul Church, 41 Alling St.
— 5th District, Simchat Yisrael, 870 First Ave.
— 6th District, Forest School, 95 Burwell Road.
— 7th District, Molloy School, 255 Meloy Road.
— 8th District, Mackrille School, 806 Jones Hill Road.
— 9th District, Haley School, 148 South St.
— 10th District, Pagels School, 26 Benham Hill Road.
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 Sabatino Tartufi owner and CEO Federico Balestra, third from left, and Mayor Nancy R. Rossi, fourth from left, are joined by city and state officials Friday to announce that the world’s largest truffle company is expanding its global headquarters at 135 First Ave. in West Haven. From left, Councilwoman Colleen O’Connor, R-at large; Louis P. Esposito Jr., Rossi’s executive assistant; Councilmen Gary Donovan, D-at large, and Mitchell L. Gallignano, D-4; and state Rep. Michael A. DiMassa, D-West Haven. (City Photo/Marcin J. Stankevitch)
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West Haven truffle company expanding headquarters
WEST HAVEN, Nov. 3, 2020 — World-renowned truffle company Sabatino Tartufi is expanding its Front Avenue headquarters in West Haven’s thriving Allingtown business district, owner and CEO Federico Balestra and Mayor Nancy R. Rossi announced Friday.
Balestra, whose family-owned business has been cultivating and distributing high-quality truffles for over a century, heralded the expansion with Rossi and her executive assistant, Louis P. Esposito Jr., inside the company’s global headquarters at 135 Front Ave.
Rossi said that thanks to Esposito, the world’s largest manufacturer, importer and distributor of fresh and preserved truffles is able to stay in West Haven and expand into space next to its existing plant.
According to Rossi, Esposito helped an adjacent business owner relocate to a more suitable site, allowing Balestra to buy the property to accommodate the company’s growth.
“I am thrilled that Sabatino Tartufi can stay and expand operations in West Haven,” Rossi said. “Lou Esposito has done a very good job working with both business owners to create a scenario where they can both be happy and successful.”
Also attending the morning announcement and plant tour were state Rep. Michael A. DiMassa, D-West Haven, and City Council members Mitchell L. Gallignano, D-4, Gary Donovan, D-at large, and Colleen O’Connor, R-at large.
Truffles, which grow beneath trees, are edible, potato-shaped fungi regarded as a delicacy, of which more than 200 species exist. Balestra’s “diamonds of the earth” are grown in Italy, Spain, France and Australia.
According to Balestra, the three-phase, 100,000-square-foot expansion will include new office space, loading and receiving docks, parking and an automated storage system to maximize space. The multimillion-dollar project is aimed at creating an expanded area for shipping and storage to free up the existing location for increased production, he said.
Balestra said the expansion, slated for construction on the adjacent parcel next year, is expected to create up to 25 jobs.
Balestra, who lives in Greenwich, relocated his plant from the Bronx, New York, to West Haven in 2012. The 60,000-square-foot site on Front Avenue, formerly Matlaw’s Food Products Inc., was redesigned to accommodate Italian-made machines and the largest kitchen in the U.S. to taste truffle honey and truffle butter.
Balestra told city and state officials that he likes West Haven because of its proximity to Interstate 95 and regional hubs.
“The location is fantastic,” he said. “It offers the right location next to I-95 and is not too far from New York City and Boston.”
Balestra continued: “It is easy to work with the city as well. They do their best to make projects like this work.”
Sabatino Tartufi was established in 1911 by Balestra’s grandparents, Sabatino and Giuseppina Balestra, in Umbria, Italy, where they opened their first store and started distributing baked goods, olive oil and vinegar.
The third-generation company makes over 270 configurations of truffle products, including oils, seasonings, sauces, spreads, syrups and vinegars, at its Front Avenue production site and distribution center, which serves North America and processes up to 35 tons of truffles yearly, Balestra said.
The company, which has 60 employees in West Haven and 140 worldwide, also has a manufacturing plant and distribution center in Umbria. The two centers export truffles to more than 70 nations, Balestra said.
Sabatino has offices in New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Las Vegas and Miami, as well as in Toronto, Tokyo and Hong Kong.
During a walk-through of Sabatino as part of an Allingtown business tour in October 2019, Lt. Gov. Susan Bysiewicz praised Balestra and his company for driving economic growth in West Haven and statewide, saying, “We love that you’re a global company in West Haven, Connecticut.”
Rossi, who led last year’s tour with DiMassa, also said at the time: “I’m very glad you chose West Haven. I couldn’t be happier.” |
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 Balestra leads officials on a tour of the truffle plant. (City Photo/Marcin J. Stankevitch)
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 An employee of Sabatino Tartufi holds a fresh white truffle that costs between $2,000 and $3,000 per pound. (City Photo/Marcin J. Stankevitch)
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 Balestra pauses with Esposito and Mayor Rossi. (City Photo/Marcin J. Stankevitch)
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Halloween Drive-thru ‘spooktacular’
WEST HAVEN, Oct. 29, 2020 — (Pictured): Mayor Nancy R. Rossi, third from left, joins costumed city officials and volunteers at the Department of Parks and Recreation’s Halloween Drive-thru in Painter Park on Oct. 27.
A total of 500 trick-or-treaters from West Haven participated in the free event and received candy bags.
(City Photo/Tom J. McCarthy) |
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 (Park-Rec Photos)
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 City, state and UI officials celebrate West Haven’s $10,000 tree grant award from United Illuminating by dedicating the planting of a lacebark elm at Campbell Avenue and Center Street in observance of the city’s Arbor Day celebration Oct. 27. From left, City Council Chairman Ronald M. Quagliani, D-at large; state Rep. Dorinda Borer, D-West Haven; Albert Carbone Jr., UI’s manager of government and community relations; mayoral Executive Assistant Louis P. Esposito Jr.; city Tree Warden Leo Kelly; state Rep. Michael A. DiMassa, D-West Haven; Mayor Nancy R. Rossi; Councilman Barry Lee Cohen, R-10; and city Tree Commission member Rosemary Beloin. (City Photo/Michael P. Walsh)
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City receives UI tree grant at Arbor Day celebration
WEST HAVEN, Oct. 28, 2020 — The city received a $10,000 grant from United Illuminating to plant new trees and fittingly marked the special occasion at a downtown Arbor Day celebration Oct. 27.
Mayor Nancy R. Rossi, Tree Warden Leo Kelly, Tree Commission member Rosemary Beloin, and Democratic West Haven state Reps. Dorinda Borer and Michael A. DiMassa accepted the grant award from Albert Carbone Jr., UI’s manager of government and community relations, while dedicating the planting of a lacebark elm at Campbell Avenue and Center Street, opposite Jerri’s Luncheonette.
Also attending the brief ceremony were City Council Chairman Ronald M. Quagliani, D-at large; Councilman Barry Lee Cohen, R-10; and Louis P. Esposito Jr., Rossi’s executive assistant.
According to Rossi, Borer was instrumental in securing the UI grant, which will support West Haven’s Tree Management Plan.
Rossi is working with Kelly and the Tree Commission to improve the city’s tree inventory process and implement a sustainable and safe treescape in the heart of downtown.
During the morning dedication, Rossi read a mayoral proclamation declaring Arbor Day in West Haven. The event was postponed from April 24 due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Reading the proclamation, Rossi said the lacebark elm, native to eastern Asia, “is a tough landscape tree, hardy enough for use in harsh planting situations, such as parking lots, small planters along streets, and plazas or patios.
“Introduced to the United States in 1794, the tree is also an ornamental — arguably the most ubiquitous of the elms around the globe — and is found in botanical gardens and arboreta.”
Rossi added, “Trees reduce the erosion of topsoil by wind and water, cut heating and cooling costs, moderate the temperature, clean the air, produce life-giving oxygen and provide habitat for life.”
Arbor Day was founded in 1872 by Julius Sterling Morton in Nebraska City, Nebraska.
By the 1920s, each state had enacted public laws mandating an Arbor Day observance. The customary observance is to plant a tree.
On the first Arbor Day, April 10, 1872, more than 1 million trees were planted. |
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 Mayor Rossi reads a proclamation declaring Arbor Day in West Haven as city, state and UI officials look on. (City Photo/Michael P. Walsh)
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