4 West Haven beaches closed due to ‘high bacteria levels’

4 West Haven beaches closed because of ‘high bacteria levels’

WEST HAVEN, July 12, 2023 — Health Director Maureen B. Lillis has closed four city beaches because of high bacteria levels.

Lillis said the following West Haven beaches have been closed to swimming and fishing until further notice: South Street, Lake Street, Seaview and Sea Bluff.

Water samples were taken Monday and processed at a state Department of Public Health lab in Rocky Hill.

A city sanitarian is retesting the beaches’ water today.

Lillis said the city will notify the public once the closure is lifted.

Tony Inzero Farmers Market opens season July 6

Farmers market open Thursdays and Saturdays

WEST HAVEN, July 12, 2023 — The Tony Inzero Farmers Market has opened its 2023 season next to the Oak Street Beach parking lot off Captain Thomas Boulevard.

The market, nestled on the right side of the beach lot, includes state farmers selling homegrown fruits and vegetables and crafters selling wares from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Thursdays and Saturdays through Oct. 14.

It features artisan breads by Hoffman Unlimited LLC, sauces and jams by Chile King LLC, and salts, oils and vinegars by Dash N’ Drizzle.

The farmers market is partnering with ArtsWest CT this season to showcase a variety of entertainment, such as live performances and unique demonstrations, at the Saturday markets.

The market also includes more than 20 different vendors, crafters, organizations and food trucks during the season.

The Thursday markets feature What the Truck?! BBQ, in addition to ice cream at both markets.

Parking is available in the Oak Street municipal lot and on Palace Street. Oak Street is on the senior shuttle route and the CTtransit route. In addition, a van will run from the West Haven Senior Center, 201 Noble St., to Oak Street at 10:30 a.m. Thursdays.

The Department of Elderly Services will start distributing reusable farmers market cards to eligible city residents around the second week of July. Residents 60 and older who meet income requirements are eligible for $24 vouchers in the form of electronic cards. For information on the Seniors Farmers Market Nutrition Program, call the department at 203-937-3507.

The farmers market is sponsored by the city and has operated since 2000. It was dedicated in 2010 in memory of Anthony F. “Tony” Inzero, a leader in the downtown business community who co-owned Flower Affair on Campbell Avenue for many years and was a founding member and longtime president of the West Haven Business Association.

To participate in the farmers market or for information, contact Killian Gruber, the market’s manager, at kgruber@westhaven-ct.gov or 203-937-3510.

For the latest news on the market, go to West Haven Farmers Market.

Downtown 6 plays Old Grove Park at 7 p.m. Thursday

WEST HAVEN, July 12, 2023 — The West Haven Summer Concert Series will continue at 7 p.m. Thursday in Old Grove Park on Palace Street with Downtown 6, “Connecticut’s premier dance cover band.”

The “Thursday Night Live!” concert is free and presented by the Milford Regional Chamber of Commerce and the West Haven Department of Parks and Recreation.

West Haven Senior Center sets Mystic Seaport trip Sept. 27

West Haven Senior Center sets Mystic Seaport trip on Sept. 27

WEST HAVEN, July 12, 2023 — The West Haven Senior Center is offering a bus trip to Mystic Seaport on Sept. 27.

The trip includes the seaport’s flagship attractions, such as the largest maritime museum in the U.S., ship tours and a half-hour cruise on the Mystic River aboard the Sabino, the nation’s oldest wooden, coal-burning steamboat.

The cost is $130 and includes transportation, gratuities, admission to the seaport, the Sabino cruise and lunch at Scotch Plains Tavern in Essex. Lunch selection is made at the time of reservation.

Payment is due Aug. 18.

The bus departs at 9 a.m. from the Veterans Memorial Park parking lot at 91 Bull Hill Lane, the former Nike site, and leaves around 3:30 p.m. from Essex.

Non-senior center members and nonresidents are welcome. To make a reservation, call the center at 203-937-3507.

Rockets explode over West Haven’s Bradley Point in a shower of red, white and blue sparks at the Savin Rock Fireworks Spectacular on July 5. The half-hour pyrotechnic show, presented by the Savin Rock Fireworks Committee, was postponed from Monday because of thunderstorms. (City Drone Photo/Andrew Kosarko, Courtesy of Jow Films LLC)

Savin Rock Fireworks light up West Haven shoreline

WEST HAVEN, July 6, 2023 — West Haven Youth Soccer League President John Vinci flipped a light switch to launch the Savin Rock Fireworks Spectacular on July 5.

The moment Vinci flipped the switch, fireworks blasted off Bradley Point and exploded over Long Island Sound, dazzling thousands of patriotic revelers along West Haven’s 3 miles of public beaches with a display of brilliant lighting and booming sound effects.

The half-hour pyrotechnic show, presented by the Savin Rock Fireworks Committee, was postponed from Monday because of thunderstorms.

Vinci, the city’s 2022 Italian American of the Year and an ardent fireworks supporter, was joined onstage in front of West Haven’s prominent Savin Rock landmark by master of ceremonies Brian Hayden.

Hayden, a program coordinator at the Department of Parks and Recreation, greeted the Savin Rock crowd and thanked city departments and committee members, including co-Chairwomen Sandy McCauley and Marianne Drapeau, for helping to organize the large-scale event.

He then led the crowd in a spirited countdown — “5, 4, 3, 2, 1!” — before Vinci flipped the switch and triggered an assortment of rockets that flew and burst over Bradley Point in a shower of colored sparks.

Just offstage, Vinci’s family — wife Joanne, son Chris, daughter-in-law Colleen and grandson Christian — looked on as the fireworks went off with a bang.

Before the display, families and friends danced to horn-powered party hits performed by Rubber City on the Savin Rock stage.

During the afternoon, people enjoyed a craft fair on the east side of the Rock while bands — five in all — from West Haven’s Rock House School of Music performed onstage.

As the music played, a fleet of food and dessert trucks lined the westbound lane of Captain Thomas Boulevard, near Dyke Street, and dished up burgers, hot dogs, pizza, fried dough and tacos, as well as ice cream and kettle corn.

Police closed Captain Thomas Boulevard and Ocean Avenue, from Kelsey Avenue to South Street, for several hours to give the festivities a block party feel.

The city has not hosted the fireworks on July 3 since 2019 and will try again next July 3, organizers said.

The display is the city’s largest one-day event, attracting tens of thousands of residents and visitors to the West Haven shoreline each year.

See the photo gallery at Savin Rock Fireworks Spectacular.

West Haven Senior Center sets Aqua Turf trip Sept. 12

WHSC sets Aqua Turf trip Sept. 12

WEST HAVEN, June 27, 2023 — The West Haven Senior Center is offering a bus trip to the Aqua Turf Club in Southington on Sept. 12 for an afternoon of ’60s and ’70s classics performed by Rainere Martin as Donna Summer and The Brass Attack Band.

The trip costs $120 and includes transportation, driver gratuity and a family-style lunch. It also includes a glass of beer or wine, coffee and doughnuts, as well as door prizes.

Payment is due Aug. 11.

The bus departs at 9:45 a.m. from the Veterans Memorial Park parking lot at 91 Bull Hill Lane, the former Nike site, and leaves at 3:45 p.m. from Aqua Turf.

Senior center membership is not required to attend. Nonresidents are also welcome.

To make a reservation, call the center at 203-937-3507.

Bowling program offered to West Haven residents ages 13 to 17

WEST HAVEN, June 23, 2023 — West Haven’s Youth and Family Services and Department of Parks and Recreation are teaming up to provide an alternative enrichment bowling league for residents ages 13-17.

The 10-pin league is for West Haven residents and will take place at the Bowlero Milford bowling alley, 1717 Boston Post Road, from 4-6 p.m. Tuesdays through Aug. 1.

The four-week program costs $25 per child. The fee includes two weekly games of bowling, a shoe rental, a pizza slice and soda, as well as a $7 arcade card each week.

Bus transportation is provided for those enrolled in the program. Participants must ride the bus — no drop-offs at Bowlero.

Bus pickup sites and times are: Carrigan Intermediate School, 2 Tetlow St., 3:15 p.m., and Bailey Middle School, 106 Morgan Lane, 3:30 p.m.

The bus will depart at the designated time and will not wait for those who are late.

Register for the program at Park-Rec .

Anyone with questions can email Youth and Family Services Director Diane Dietman at dietman@westhaven-ct.gov.

Beach parking information

WEST HAVEN, June 21, 2023 — Nonresidents must pay to park in all shoreline lots in West Haven by using a “Pay for Parking” smartphone app.

Nonresidents can pay to park by scanning the QR code on the Premium Parking sign in each lot or texting the lot code to 504504. Both options will connect them to the Premium Parking website to complete the transaction. Nonresidents can also download the Premium Parking app on the Apple or Google app stores.

The daily parking fee for nonresidents is $5 per hour, or $30 per day, payable by credit card only. A nonresident seasonal parking pass for $250 is also available.

Parking is free for residents, provided their vehicles, including motorcycles and new, leased or military-exempt vehicles, are registered in West Haven and they are not delinquent on their motor vehicle taxes. A “new” vehicle means it was registered in West Haven after Oct. 1, 2022.

Taxpayers can check if they owe back taxes and make a payment at My Tax Bill.

The city is transitioning from using beach stickers to license plate numbers for proving that vehicles are registered in West Haven. Residents’ license plate numbers are registered in a tax office database. Each parking lot is equipped with a license plate scanner.

Beach parking lots are for use by both residents and nonresidents on a first-come, first-served basis. The lots are: Oyster River, South Street Upper, South Street Lower, Dawson Avenue, Sea Bluff, Bradley Point, Rock Street, Oak Street, Palace Street, Altschuler Boulevard and Sandy Point, as well as the April Street boat launch.

Parking violators will receive an invoice of at least $100 — a $100 citation, plus a fee for the amount of time they were parked — from Premium Parking, the New Orleans-based company contracted with helping West Haven develop a digitally driven paid parking program along the shoreline.

West Haven Vietnam vets sought for new section of memorial ‘wall’

WEST HAVEN, June 9, 2023 — Current and former city residents who served in the Vietnam War are sought by the West Haven Vietnam Memorial Inc. Committee to have their names inscribed on a new section of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Bradley Point Park.

To qualify for name recognition on the memorial “wall,” Vietnam veterans must apply and meet the following requirements:

— Applicants must live or have lived in West Haven. Veterans living in West Haven must provide proof of residence, such as a utility bill.

— Applicants must have served in-country during the Vietnam War.

— Applicants must have been honorably discharged from military service. A DD214 form (Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty) is required.

— Applicants must share potential costs, if any.

The committee does not have a formal application. Veterans must mail all documents, which are due Oct. 1, to West Haven Vietnam Veterans, City Hall, lower level, 355 Main St., West Haven, CT 06516.

Those with questions can call Bill at 203-521-2356, Steve at 475-655-2993 or Paul at 203-500-2159.

The Vietnam Veterans Memorial includes a black granite wall inscribed with the names of those from West Haven who served or gave their lives in Vietnam from 1959 to 1975, along with three white flagpoles draped with the American, Connecticut and prisoner-of-war flags.

The memorial, dedicated Nov. 12, 2003, also includes a black granite map of the four battle districts of Vietnam bearing the inscription “All Gave Some, Some Gave All,” as well as five bronze insignia markers atop black granite posts representing each branch of the U.S. armed forces.

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)