New UNH police officer sworn in

WEST HAVEN, May 2, 2023 — (Pictured): Mayor Nancy R. Rossi shakes hands with University of New Haven police Officer Michael J. Gallagher after swearing in the new officer at City Hall on Monday.

Gallagher, a former East Haven police officer, was accompanied at the ceremony by his parents, UNH police Officer Thomas P. Gallagher and Deborah Gallagher, and his sister, Kelly M. Gallagher.

Also attending were UNH Police Chief Adam Brown and Deputy Chief Brett Mahoney, along with Christopher J. Reed, UNH’s executive director of fire, environmental and workplace safety.

(City Photo/Matt Piscatelli)

Marchers sought for West Haven Memorial Day parade

Marchers sought for Memorial Day parade on May 29

WEST HAVEN, May 2, 2023 — The city and the West Haven Veterans Council are seeking veterans, civic groups, fraternal organizations, service clubs and marching bands to participate in the annual Memorial Day parade, which steps off at 10:30 a.m. May 29.

Participants must register and list required special accommodations for the procession, which has no rain date.

The city will provide transportation for veterans who are unable to walk the 1 ½-mile parade route, which follows Campbell Avenue from Captain Thomas Boulevard to Center Street. To make arrangements, call the mayor’s office at 203-937-3510.

The parade grand marshal is Mark Levine, a Vietnam Army veteran.

Download a Participation Form.

Forms are also available for pickup in the mayor’s office at City Hall, 355 Main St., where they are due Monday.

Completed forms must be faxed to 203-937-3705 or mailed to the West Haven Memorial Day Parade, Office of the Mayor, 355 Main St., West Haven, CT 06516.

Youth programs offered

WEST HAVEN, May 2, 2023 — West Haven’s Youth and Family Services and Parks and Recreation are teaming up to offer two special evenings for residents ages 13-17 at Bailey Middle School and ages 7-12 at Savin Rock Community School.

The events, for West Haven residents only, are scheduled for May 18 at Savin Rock and June 8 at Bailey.

The Westies V.I.P. Night events include:

— A video game trailer with nine gaming stations for up to 22 players at a time or an RC NASCAR racetrack. Bailey will have the video trailer; Savin Rock will have the racetrack.

— An interactive Krazy Konez game and a photo booth.

— Pizza by Franco’s Fried Dough-Licious.

In addition, Picasso's Paint Party will do face painting and tattoos. There will be music and other city departments on hand to create a special night for young people who attend.

The fee is $10 per child — a $5 sibling discount is applied for two or more children.

Register at Park-Rec.

Make Music Day set for Old Grove Park from 5-8:30 p.m. June 21

WEST HAVEN, May 2, 2023 — Make Music Day will return for a second year and celebrate the first day of summer with live music at the beach.

The free event, presented by ArtsWestCT and the West Haven Early Childhood Council, is scheduled from 5-8:30 p.m. June 21 in Old Grove Park on Palace Street.

Food trucks will be on-site, and community groups will have tables with educational information and helpful resources.

Attendees are encouraged to bring their musical instruments, or they can use one of a limited number made from repurposed materials and offered by ArtsWestCT for community use.

Sign up for the ArtsWestCT Newsletter to receive updates.

Mattress drop-off discontinued because of safety concerns

WEST HAVEN, April 28, 2023 — Effective immediately, mattress drop-off at the city garage on Collis Street has been discontinued because of public safety concerns, Public Works Commissioner Tom J. McCarthy announced.

To dispose of mattresses moving forward, McCarthy said West Haven residents must buy mattress bags from the Department of Public Works and put them out for pickup on their weekly curbside collection day.

The bags cost $10 each, payable by cash or check, and are available in the public works office on the third floor of City Hall, 355 Main St.

“As a courtesy to our residents, we have reduced the cost of the bags from $25 to $10,” McCarthy said. “We look forward to continuing our mattress collection service using the much-safer mattress bags.”

Phase 2 of Beach Street raising set

WEST HAVEN, April 26, 2023 — Phase 2 of the long-anticipated raising of Beach Street is set to begin in May, Mayor Nancy R. Rossi announced.

Rossi said the project will raise a section of Beach Street up to 11 feet above sea level to protect the area’s flood-prone neighborhoods.

The project will also help ignite economic development on the Beach Street corridor, she said.

“I am ecstatic for the final phase of the raising of Beach Street,” Rossi said. “The road raising will absolutely spur economic activity on Beach Street and the surrounding area.”

The mayor added, “I have been fighting for this project since I originally requested it be put first on the city of West Haven’s state bonding list, and I am grateful for the project to pass the final approval point.”

In May 2020, Rep. Dorinda Borer, D-West Haven, announced $5.2 million in state funding for Phase 2 of the road raising. The money joined $3.5 million in federal and local funding for Phase 1, including $2.94 million from the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery program and $560,000 from the city.

The two-phase project consists of raising an approximately 3,900-foot stretch of First Avenue and Beach Street from Monahan Place, near the Water Pollution Control Plant, to Morse Avenue, near the former Chick’s Drive-in restaurant.

Phase 1 was completed two years ago and raised the road up to 7 feet from Monahan Place to the wastewater treatment plant.

Just over a decade ago, the area was 5 feet underwater during Superstorm Sandy, City Engineer Abdul Quadir said.

Phase 2 had been delayed since 2021 because of a protected species of grass that had been discovered by officials from the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection during the permitting process.

“I want to thank City Engineer Abdul Quadir for his assistance in guiding the project through each delay,” Rossi said.

Quadir said Phase 2 will raise Beach Street from the treatment plant to Morse Avenue and should take about eight months to complete.

The project, like its counterpart, will include new sidewalks and a two-way bike lane on the beach side of the road, he said.

On Oct. 29, 2012, the Water Pollution Control Plant at 2 Beach St. was inaccessible to staff members and emergency vehicles for nearly 12 hours due to extensive flooding from Sandy.

Thanks to federal and state funding to help Connecticut municipalities mitigate flooding in the wake of the superstorm, the city has taken steps to make its shoreline more resilient to tidal flooding and coastal storms, including dredging the Old Field Creek salt marsh off Beach Street and installing a new tide gate system on the Cove River.

Applications available May 1-26 for summer youth jobs in city

WEST HAVEN, April 20, 2023 — Applications for the Summer Youth Employment Program will be available from May 1-26 in the athletic director’s office at West Haven High School and the main office at Bailey Middle School.

Applications are also available on the city website. Download an Application.

The six-week summer program, which begins July 10, is aimed at funding positions for low-income city residents ages 14-21.

Students must return applications with all required documents to West Haven High from 7-9 a.m. Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays and to Bailey from 8-10 a.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays.

No applications will be accepted after May 26.

Students must also include copies of information, such as a birth certificate and Social Security card, as well as documentation of household income.

Family income is based on the number of people per household and is required to be within 185% of state poverty income levels.

Incomplete applications will not be processed. Applicants will be notified by mail or phone if more information is needed.

Food scrap bags sold at retail sites

WEST HAVEN, Feb. 24, 2023 — Residents who need more green and orange food scrap bags can buy them at the following retail locations ($1.05 for five green bags and $1.55 for five orange bags):

• Krauszer’s Food Store, 10 Jones Hill Road (Babybrook Shopping Center, corner of Ocean Avenue)

• Krauszer’s Food Store, 911 Campbell Ave. (corner of Spring Street)

• Krauszer’s Food Store, 377 Campbell Ave. (corner of Brown Street)

• Krauszer’s Food Store, 191 Platt Ave. (near the WHHS entrance)

• Nazar Halal Meat & Market, 39 Elm St. (West River Plaza)

• Greatway Food Store, 502 Sawmill Road (across from Walmart)

• Best Gas & Food Mart, 161 Boston Post Road (near the Allington Green)

• Noble Gas Station, 941 Boston Post Road (corner of Farwell Street)

City touts 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)