Veterans Day marked, 15th phase of Brick Campaign launched

Amid light rain, veterans, dignitaries and guests bow their heads as West Haven Fire Department paramedic Mike Alfano rings the department’s chrome bell 11 times at 11 a.m. in observance of Veterans Day in West Haven’s Bradley Point Park on Friday. Veterans Day, formerly Armistice Day, is celebrated on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month, marking the anniversary of the armistice that ended World War I in 1918. (City Photo/Michael P. Walsh)

Veterans Day marked, 2023 Brick Campaign launched

WEST HAVEN, Nov. 14, 2022 — A legion of veterans and their families from near and afar, together with city and state leaders and members of West Haven’s Veterans Council and Surfside Veterans, descended on the Veterans Walk of Honor to pay tribute to Veterans Day on Friday.

City Council Chairman Peter V. Massaro, standing on the Walk of Honor in the heart of Bradley Point Park, delivered prepared remarks on behalf of Mayor Nancy R. Rossi to the patriotic crowd of mostly veterans, many wearing black baseball caps referencing their military assignments in gold lettering.

Read the full story and see the photo spread at Veterans Day 2022.

Rossi holding Nov. 29 town hall in person, on Facebook Live

WEST HAVEN, Nov. 14, 2022 — Mayor Nancy R. Rossi is inviting residents to participate in a town hall meeting in person at City Hall or virtually on Facebook Live at 6 p.m. Nov. 29.

The community event is aimed at fostering communication and transparency between City Hall and West Haven residents.

Residents can attend the town hall in the Harriet C. North Community Room of City Hall, 355 Main St., or they can participate in the meeting on the Facebook Live page called UNH Mayor’s Advisory Commission. Face masks are recommended for City Hall attendees.

The town hall is sponsored by the mayor’s office and the University of New Haven Mayor’s Advisory Commission, a collaborative, student-driven task force founded in 2015 to strengthen town-gown relations.

The UNH commission is led by Christyllis A. Douglas, a junior studying psychology, and adviser Chris Haynes, an associate professor of political science and national security.

All members of the community are encouraged to participate in the town hall and ask questions. The moderators are Haynes and commission member Brian Cao.

Participants can send questions before the meeting by email to bcao1@unh.newhaven.edu or chaynes@newhaven.edu. They can also submit questions during the meeting in the “Comment” section on Facebook Live.

Participants are allowed one question with a one-minute time limit. At the beginning of the question, they must state their name and the subject of their question, with all comments related to the city or government of West Haven.

Participants must keep all dialogue courteous and respectful.

For more information, call the mayor’s office at 203-937-3510, or email bcao1@unh.newhaven.edu or chaynes@newhaven.edu.

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)

Castro Oasis opens high-end car wash on Prindle Road

WEST HAVEN, Nov. 10, 2022 — (Pictured): Mayor Nancy R. Rossi cuts the ribbon with brothers Jonnathan Castro, left, and Luis Castro, the owners of Castro Oasis, to celebrate the high-end car wash’s grand opening at 80 Prindle Road on Oct. 31.

Marking the event are, from left, Councilwoman Colleen O’Connor, R-at large; Louis P. Esposito Jr., Rossi’s executive assistant; and Councilman Gary Donovan, D-at large.

Boasting “an unparalleled full-service auto care experience,” the 12,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art hand car wash offers such services as vehicle customization, film protection, window tinting, interior and exterior auto detailing, and paint correction.

The new West Shore business sits atop Prindle Hill, opposite Latella Farm on the Orange line.

The family-owned car wash and auto salon is open from 9:30 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday-Saturday and 7-11 a.m. Sunday.

(Contributed Photo/Castro Oasis)

West Haven Mayor Nancy R. Rossi, center, cuts the ribbon to mark the grand opening of New England’s first 7-Eleven restaurant complex at 480 Sawmill Road in West Haven on Oct. 27. With Rossi are, from left, city Planning and Zoning Commissioner Steven R. Mullins, developer Jed Hayes, 7-Eleven Area Leader Vipin Sachdeva, Store Leader Keith Callahan, Restaurant Leader Dawn Maclulo, Executive Assistant to the Mayor Louis P. Esposito Jr., state Rep. Treneé McGee, Councilman Gary Donovan, city Economic Development Commission Chairwoman Christine Gallo and Councilwoman Colleen O’Connor. The 5,635-square-foot complex has a gas station and two counter-service restaurants. (Contributed Photo/Milford Regional Chamber of Commerce)

7-Eleven opens Northeast’s 1st restaurant complex in city

WEST HAVEN, Nov. 1, 2022 — Mayor Nancy R. Rossi cut a red ribbon Oct. 27 to mark the grand opening of New England’s first 7-Eleven restaurant complex in West Haven.

Rossi, sporting a pair of oversize scissors, was accompanied by a delegation of 7-Eleven developers and managers and city and state leaders to celebrate the new 5,635-square-foot complex, anchored by a gas station and two counter-service restaurants, on West Haven’s bustling Sawmill Road retail corridor, just off Interstate 95’s Exit 42.

Rossi, standing in front of the complex’s main entrance with developer Jed Hayes of project co-developer and landlord SullivanHayes of Farmington, issued a mayoral citation welcoming the 7-Eleven restaurant concept to 480 Sawmill Road, the former site of a Staples office supply store.

“We are delighted that 7-Eleven has selected West Haven’s Sawmill Road for its flagship dual-restaurant concept store,” said Rossi, reading the citation to the gathering of officials, moments before snipping the ribbon. “Our city’s business community continues to thrive and lead because we have great businesses and great owners.”

Hayes said, “We are so excited to open this first 7-Eleven dual-restaurant concept store in New England and are delighted to bring it to West Haven.”

The Staples site, formerly owned by West Haven Mall LLV, was demolished in 2021 after sitting vacant since 2006. The 3-acre property was purchased by Saw Mill WH LLC for $3.6 million in June 2021.

SullivanHayes chose West Haven’s Sawmill Road for a 7-Eleven development because of the area’s dense population and high visibility from I-95.

“Overall, the site really makes for the perfect convenience store location,” Hayes said. “It sits right along I-95 at an off-ramp with visibility to over 125,000 vehicles per day.”

Home to the Slurpee brand of carbonated slushies, the 24-hour convenience store has 20 pumps that dispense 7-Eleven-brand fuel and two in-store restaurants that are owned and operated by 7-Eleven Inc. of Dallas: Laredo Taco Co., an authentic Mexican quick-service eatery, and Raise the Roost Chicken & Biscuits.

“This evolution store is the first location of its kind in the country to have both new restaurant concepts in a single location,” Hayes said.

The restaurants, offering made-to-order and grab-and-go options, are open from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily and have seating for 36 customers.

Hayes said the complex has a 38-space parking lot and more than 40 employees.

The Sawmill Road 7-Eleven joins a long-standing 7-Eleven store at 1089 Campbell Ave.

Among the state and city leaders accompanying Rossi and speaking were Rep. Treneé McGee, D-West Haven, and Economic Development Commission Chairwoman Christine Gallo.

They were joined by Rossi Executive Assistant Louis P. Esposito Jr., city Planning and Zoning Commissioner Steven R. Mullins, and City Council members Victor M. Borras, D-8, Robert Bruneau, D-9, Gary Donovan, D-at large, and Colleen O’Connor, R-at large.

They were also joined by a contingent of area business officials, including Michael Moses, the president of the Milford Regional Chamber of Commerce, and Simon McDonald, the chamber’s director of membership and marketing.