Sustainability Day set for farmers market Saturday

WEST HAVEN, Sept. 14, 2022 — The Tony Inzero Farmers Market will celebrate Sustainability Day on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

The special event, held in the Oak Street Beach parking lot off Captain Thomas Boulevard, will include representatives from ArtsWest CT and PosiGen Solar.

ArtsWest will feature choreographer Zaneta Nicholson & Friends, who will perform and give free mini-lessons for National Dance Day. Visual artist David Katz will demonstrate his process for using found objects to create assemblages and have small works for sale.

PosiGen will have an informational booth promoting the Solar for All program.

For the next five weeks, the market will run every Thursday and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. and include farm-fresh fruits and vegetables from an assortment of Connecticut Grown vendors.

Harvest Day is Oct. 15 and will celebrate the market’s last day of the season. Details are forthcoming.

West Haven Fire/Police Service, Public Safety & Health Exposition scheduled for Oct. 15 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

WEST HAVEN, Sept. 13, 2022 — West Haven’s three fire departments and the city will salute National Fire Prevention Week with an exposition of all things fire, police, public safety and health.

The second annual West Haven Fire/Police Service, Public Safety & Health Expo is scheduled from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Oct. 15 at Old Grove Park and Palace Street. The rain date is Oct. 16. Free parking is available in the lots off Captain Thomas Boulevard.

West Haven’s collective fire services include the independent West Haven Fire Department, which serves the First Fire Taxation, or Center, District, and the independent West Shore Fire Department, which serves the Shore’s 2nd District. It also includes the 3rd District’s formerly independent Allingtown Fire Department, which was taken over by the city in July 2012 and is now known as the City of West Haven Fire Department Allingtown.

Together, the departments have been in operation for 350 years — West Haven since 1888, Allingtown since 1907 and West Shore since 1918.

West Haven Chief James P. O’Brien, West Shore Chief Stephen Scafariello and Allingtown Chief Michael R. Terenzio are organizing the large public exhibition, which will feature fire engine and firetruck displays, including antique fire apparatus, and a fire service exhibit at Old Grove Park and Palace Street.

The expo will include Mack firetruck rides, a hazmat trailer, food trucks, the departments’ rescue boats and fire merchandise vendors, as well as live music by Tre Paul and an appearance by Sparky the Fire Dog, said organizer Beth A. Sabo, the Expo Committee’s chairwoman.

It will also include educational demonstrations on smoke and carbon monoxide detectors, drone technology, home sprinkler systems, first aid, and fire code and investigation.

West Haven firefighters will demonstrate the department’s 35-foot smoke trailer and show children what to do in the event of a fire.

West Haven Professional Firefighters Local 1198 will collect donations for its annual Muscular Dystrophy Association charity event.

Allingtown firefighters will perform a certified inspection or installation of child safety car seats for the public free of charge. They will also show how to ensure that the portable seats have been properly fastened for securing small children.

Fire apparatus dealers and members of the University of New Haven’s Fire Science and EMS/Paramedic clubs will have resource tables with information on products and programs.

Jennifer A. Amendola, the director of West Haven’s 911 Emergency Communications Center, which operates out of police headquarters at 200 Sawmill Road, will educate the public on the structure of the city’s Emergency Reporting System and what the dispatchers do.

Amendola and other ERS dispatchers will demonstrate how to make a “real” phone call to 911 while showing people what the dispatcher on the other end of the call would be doing. For example, dispatchers will show the public the premade, established card sets that consist of a series of questions they must ask when receiving certain types of medical emergencies to give the callers an idea of why the questions need to be asked and why.

Dispatchers will show how to “TEXT 911” if people cannot place a phone call in an emergency. There will also be a display of what the dispatcher workstations look like, along with some of the equipment they use, such as headsets and portables.

“West Haven 911 will be happy to educate the public on any questions they may have about the system, how it works, what to do,” Amendola said. “We want to make sure people know when to call and reassure them that there will always be a voice on the other end to help them.”

ERS dispatchers will also distribute educational materials and pass out goodies to people of all ages to remind them that 911 should be called for any police, fire or medical emergency, Amendola said.

The West Haven Department of Emergency Management will have information on the city’s Community Emergency Response Team, storm preparation, post-storm recovery, and natural and human-made disasters.

Emergency Management Director Joseph Soto said the CERT program, which needs volunteers, educates volunteers on disaster preparedness for hazards that could impact their area and trains them in basic disaster response skills, such as fire safety, light search and rescue, team organization and disaster medical operations.

Soto will sign up residents for West Haven’s emergency notification system to receive alerts. The Citizen Notification System enables the city to quickly provide residents with critical information in a variety of situations, such as severe weather, unexpected road closures, missing persons, and building or neighborhood evacuations, he said.

The system is operated in partnership with Everbridge Inc. of Burlington, Massachusetts, the world’s leader in incident notification systems.

Once registered in Everbridge’s secure database, the site will send subscribers time-sensitive messages via cell, home or business phones or email or text messages. The notifications are broadcast through the city’s Emergency Operations Center.

Members of the West Haven Health Department will give doses of the COVID-19 vaccine to those 18 and older and have information on the coronavirus, food sanitation and the flu.

Local health care agencies, including Bridges, will present their programs.

The West Haven Police Department will hold a K-9 demonstration and have information on public safety, crime prevention and law enforcement programs.

The call to “save the date” for vendors and fire, police, public safety and health organizations to participate is underway.

“Save the Date”

Saturday, Oct. 15, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Bulk trash pickup underway; e-waste drop-off Saturday

WEST HAVEN, Sept. 13, 2022 — The final bulk trash pickup week of 2022 is this week and underway.

West Haven residents are reminded to separate metals, recyclables and regular trash from bulk trash and put them out no more than 24 hours before pickup. Violations carry a $100 fine per daily offense, Public Works Commissioner Tom J. McCarthy said.

Residents are also reminded to “Put a Lid on It!” and use lids on all trash cans. Rain-soaked trash costs West Haven 10 times more at the dump, said McCarthy, adding that using trash can lids will save the city money by reducing the weight of trash and cost of tipping fees.

Bulk items include couches, chairs, tables, carpeting, padding and fencing, which may not exceed 6 feet in length. No building materials, tires, mattresses, propane tanks or hazardous waste are accepted.

Options for disposing of building materials include renting a dumpster or bringing the materials to a disposal facility for a fee.

Tires can be brought to Town Fair Tire, 63 Boston Post Road, Orange, for a fee of $2.75 per tire.

Mattresses can be disposed of for free in a container at the city’s highway maintenance garage, 1 Collis St. Mattresses must be dry.

Hazardous waste can be dropped off for free at HazWaste Central, 90 Sargent Drive, New Haven. HazWaste is open Saturday mornings through October.

Propane tanks can be brought to Taylor Rental, 304 Boston Post Road, Orange, for a fee of $10.60 per tank.

The amount of bulk trash per collection is limited to 6 cubic yards, which is equal to a pile of trash about 6 feet long, 6 feet wide and 4 ½ feet high.

Homeowners are required to rent a dumpster or hire a junk removal service at their expense if trash exceeds 6 cubic yards. Otherwise, trash exceeding 6 cubic yards will be left at the curb, and a $100 fine per daily offense will be imposed, McCarthy said.

To prevent a potential fine, property owners should familiarize themselves with the city’s trash guidelines at Public Works.

Bulk trash must be generated by the customer at the residential unit where it is collected. Trash will not be collected if it is generated by anyone other than the resident of the home.

Bulk items must be separated and orderly. Do not place them next to a mailbox or utility pole or close to a fence, McCarthy said.

Also, do not place bulk items in front of a vacant lot or home — they will not be collected, he said.

Details at Bulk Trash Pickup.

In addition to bulk trash, the city picks up metals, including household appliances, also known as white goods, and toilets. To schedule a pickup on their curbside collection day, residents must call the Highway Department at 203-937-3644 or 203-937-3585. Appliance doors must be removed.

Grass bags are picked up until Nov. 18, and leaf bags are picked up from Oct. 1-Dec. 31. The bags are picked up on residents’ weekly collection days. Grass clippings and leaves must be in separate biodegradable paper bags and will not be accepted if they are in plastic bags.

The city also picks up brush that is cut into 3-to-6-foot lengths and tied in small bundles, no more than 70 pounds. Logs and stumps are prohibited.

Residents can bring grass clippings as well as bagged leaves and untied brush to the compost site, 1 Kimberly Ave., from 6:30 a.m.-2 p.m. weekdays and 6:30-11:30 a.m. Saturdays. The first cubic yard of compost is free with proof of residence. Additional compost costs $25 per cubic yard. Residents must bring buckets and shovels.

For a $50 fee, the Department of Public Works will deliver up to 2 cubic yards of compost to homes in West Haven.

For electronic items, including TVs, the final e-waste drop-off day of the year is Sept. 17.

Residents can drop off electronic recyclables — typically anything that contains a circuit board or needs a battery — from 8 a.m.-noon at the highway maintenance garage.

The city is partnering with Take 2 Inc. of Waterbury, a state-approved recycler and collector of universal e-waste devices, to collect residential electronic items on a quarterly basis.

The collection is free for residents who have such items as computers, monitors, printers, keyboards, modems, computer mice, tablet computers, TVs, VCRs, DVD players, photocopiers, fax machines, scanners, video game machines, digital media players, personal digital assistants, stereo equipment, telephones, cellphones, cameras, microwaves and other small appliances.

Anything that has refrigerant, including air conditioners and dehumidifiers, is not accepted. Those items are considered white goods, and residents are asked to schedule a pickup on their curbside collection day by calling the Highway Department.

Details at E-waste Drop-off.

For the e-waste drop-off, residents are asked to heed the following guidelines:

—    Stay in your vehicle.

—    Vehicles will be spaced out. Event workers will remove electronics from your vehicle. There should be no interaction between residents and workers.

—    No mattresses or box springs will be disposed of at the moment.

—    No smoke detectors, ballasts or hazardous waste — lighter fluid, liquids, paint — will be accepted.

—    Electronic items left curbside will be tagged with information on the e-waste schedule and must be removed, or face a potential fine.

For the latest news and information, subscribe to the city’s Facebook page at West Haven City Hall.

DeLauro, Rossi herald $105M in funding for I-95 bridges

WEST HAVEN, Sept. 9, 2022 — U.S. Rep. Rosa L. DeLauro joined state Transportation Deputy Commissioner Mark Rolfe and Mayor Nancy R. Rossi on Thursday to announce $105 million in federal infrastructure funding for building new Interstate 95 southbound and northbound bridges in West Haven.

“The widening of these structures will allow for the full realization of the I-95 improvements and achieve a combined five-minute travel time savings per vehicle over this half-mile project area,” said DeLauro, who chairs the House Appropriations Committee.

“When you multiply that five minutes by the total vehicle miles traveled, you end up saving 891 hours of vehicle hours traveled in one half-hour period, a significant travel reduction,” said DeLauro, D-3.

DeLauro, Rolfe and Rossi heralded the money, funded by the $1 trillion infrastructure legislation that passed last year, during a late-morning news conference in a commuter parking lot on First Avenue, just off I-95’s Exit 43.

“I’m very excited to announce the I-95 West Haven bridge project, which is an important investment into our infrastructure, our time, our air quality and the safety of our drivers,” said Rossi, who thanked the public safety-minded DeLauro for making the project a reality.

The I-95 West Haven Safety Improvement Project will encompass two bridges: one carrying I-95 southbound on three 12-foot travel lanes over the Metro-North Railroad line, and one carrying I-95 northbound on three 12-foot travel lanes over Route 122, First Avenue.

As part of the project, the acceleration lane along I-95 southbound from Exit 44 in New Haven will be extended as an operational lane and transition to a deceleration lane for Exit 43. A 12-foot acceleration lane on I-95 northbound will also be lengthened, Rolfe said.

“Not only will these structures be replaced, but they will also be widened to create operational lanes and standard shoulders,” Rossi said. “These changes will facilitate congestion relief in our area.”

According to Rolfe, the bridge replacement will allow for safer motor vehicle travel, “meaning fewer dangerous merges and crashes and less time being stuck in traffic due to minor fender benders.”

Rolfe said the project will also yield better traffic flow operations on First Avenue.

The federal government is funding 90% of the $115 million project, which is expected to begin in fall 2023 and end in summer 2027, according to the Department of Transportation.

Constructed in 1956, the bridges over the Metro-North line and First Avenue were last rehabilitated in 1988 and 1990, respectively.

Moby Dick’s ‘raw bar cafe’ opens on Campbell Ave.

WEST HAVEN, Sept. 6, 2022 — Mayor Nancy R. Rossi cut a blue ribbon with Moby Dick’s owners Doug “the Rake” Ruickoldt and Evan Mink on Sept. 3 to celebrate the grand opening of the “raw bar cafe” at 560 Campbell Ave.

The quaint, 630-square-foot cafe offers “cold beer, cocktails, oysters and clam chowder” and is nestled in a plaza of small businesses near Center Street — in the former home of the original Moby Dick’s Cafe, which operated from July 1985 until owner Dick Turner’s death in October 1989.

The remodeled Campbell Avenue location, in the heart of the city’s bustling downtown business district, most recently housed Sonny’s Cafe, in addition to other bar-restaurant establishments since the late ’80s.

Marking the afternoon event with Rossi and the owners were Ruickoldt’s wife, Kelly, and sons, Nicholas and Douglas; Nicholas Ruickoldt’s girlfriend, Julie Hutchinson; Moby Dick’s manager Gina Calabrese; state Rep. Dorinda Borer, D-West Haven; City Council Chairman Peter V. Massaro, D-6, and council members Gary Donovan, D-at large, and Colleen O’Connor, R-at large; City Clerk Patricia C. Horvath; city Tax Collector Dorothy Chambrelli; and Simon McDonald, the director of membership and marketing for the Milford Regional Chamber of Commerce.

Moby Dick’s modern barroom is bedecked with nautical-inspired knickknacks and complemented by a raw bar, featuring freshly shucked oysters and other “upscale raw” seafood dishes prepared by executive chef Jeff Lamberti. The space is further accentuated by black-and-white art deco tile floors, oyster white-painted walls and white subway tile walls, and walnut wooden beams, moldings and shelves.

The magnificent woodwork in the ship-themed pub is enhanced by brass porthole windows, dark brown leather bar chairs and dark brown wooden high-top tables.

The tavern’s signature cocktail, along with a line of local craft beers, is the Captain Campbell Collins, an iced drink made with gin or vodka and mixed with club soda, lemon juice and simple syrup.

The cocktail is named in honor of William Campbell, the British adjutant who spared the life of the Rev. Noah Williston of the First Congregational Church of West Haven and later died in Allingtown as part of the British Invasion of New Haven on July 5, 1779. Residents cherished Campbell’s merciful deed so much they christened West Haven’s main thoroughfare as Campbell Avenue.

Moby Dick’s is open for lunch and dinner daily starting at noon.

City Council unanimously approves 60-year NEBCO lease

WEST HAVEN, Sept. 2, 2022 — The City Council on Aug. 31 unanimously approved a lease agreement between the city and Rock Street Brewery LLC that would relocate New England Brewing Co. to the former Savin Rock Conference Center site at 6 Rock St., Mayor Nancy R. Rossi announced.

“NEBCO will be an invaluable addition to our community, and I am grateful for the City Council’s unanimous approval of the project,” Rossi said. “This sends a clear signal to developers that West Haven is not only ripe for development but is eager to embrace it!”

The 60-year ground lease allows for the city to maintain ownership of the 4-acre property while allowing developer Doug Gray, the principal of the Delaware-based limited liability company, to demolish the existing conference center and construct a 46,165-square-foot building that would include a brewery, a taproom and event space.

Within its footprint, the new building would incorporate the Savin Rock Museum, which occupies the conference center’s basement, and preserve the museum’s artifacts from the 20th-century amusement park.

According to the agreement, Gray will pay the city rent and serve as the brewery’s landlord at its “forever home” on the Savin Rock shoreline overlooking Long Island Sound.

On Nov. 1, 2021, the Woodbridge craft brewery announced a tentative lease agreement with the city in front of the conference center, where Marty Juliano, NEBCO’s director of business development, heralded the news with city and state officials, including Rossi, Sen. James J. Maroney, D-Milford, and Rep. Charles J. Ferraro, R-West Haven.

Juliano, a native of West Haven, was joined by Connecticut Brewers Guild Executive Director Phil Pappas and NEBCO founder Rob Leonard, Director of Operations John Dieli, Director of Brewing Operations Greg Radawich and Director of Sales and Marketing Jamal Robinson.

NEBCO, founded by Leonard in Woodbridge in 2002, brews Sea Hag and other popular India pale ales.

Gray said he hopes to complete the more than $23 million brewery project within a year.

In its first year, the project is estimated to generate $500,000 in lease payments and permit fees for the city.

The lease agreement calls for an annual rent of $106,000 per year for the first five years before increasing over the next 50 years.

Rossi praised the agreement and thanked NEBCO for choosing the prime West Haven site to brew its craft beer line, including Sea Hag, the No. 1-selling craft IPA in Connecticut.

The mayor said she always supported a long-term lease for the waterfront location and never entertained selling “one of the most beautiful pieces of property” in the city.

The brewery’s move from 175 Amity Road in Woodbridge to a larger site at 6 Rock St. is expected to create up to 100 jobs, Juliano said.

According to city records, the Savin Rock Conference Center opened in April 1997 and closed for renovations in February 2019. The building, constructed in 1971, previously housed The Casino and Harbour Mist restaurants and originally Phyllis’ Restaurant.