Borer, Fontana lead West Haven hurricane exercise

WEST HAVEN, Aug. 1, 2024 — (Pictured): Emergency Management Director Rick Fontana, joined by Mayor Dorinda Borer, right, and chief of staff Rick Spreyer, leads a hurricane readiness exercise for city and public safety officials in the Emergency Operations Center at City Hall on Wednesday.

Fontana, using new Promethean interactive weather map displays, provided a comprehensive update on West Haven’s readiness as the city enters the Atlantic hurricane season.

Although the season begins June 1, it is more likely that as the waters get warmer in August, the likelihood of a hurricane increases, and West Haven will ready its forces as a coastal community, Borer said.

Chiefs of West Haven’s Police Department and three fire departments participated in the hourlong training exercise, along with officials of the Department of Public Works and other city departments, including Health, Economic Development, Elderly Services, Parks and Recreation, and Youth and Family Services.

A representative of United Illuminating, the Orange-based utility, also took part.

Officials tested their readiness “to ensure that the highest level of public safety remains first and foremost,” Borer said.

To safeguard motorists from flood-prone railroad underpasses, Fontana said the city is installing “Danger Flooding” gates at the Campbell Avenue and Washington Avenue underpasses. Authorities will close the gates during rainstorms to prevent vehicles from driving through the low-lying areas, he said.

The last hurricane to hit West Haven was Gloria in September 1985. The city, however, has weathered powerful storms since then, including Tropical Storm Irene in August 2011 and Superstorm Sandy in October 2012.

(City Photo/Michael P. Walsh)

Boys summer basketball champions

WEST HAVEN, Aug. 1, 2024 — (Yellow Team Pictured): The 11-0 Yellow Team, the 7-to-10-year-old champions of the Department of Parks and Recreation’s boys summer basketball league, show their medals at the Veterans Memorial Park courts on Bull Hill Lane on Monday.

Front row, from left: Keegan Conte, Trevor Griffin, Sterling Masterson, Trevor Davis, Chase Conte and Noah Patterson. Back row, from left: Coach Levi Jordan, Dominik Schmitt, Desmond “D.J.” Lymon Jr., Ahkeem Bowens, Nasir Santiago, Levi Jordan and coach Ahkeem Bowens Sr.

(Black Team Pictured): The 10-1 Black Team, the 11-to-14-year-old champs of Park-Rec’s boys summer basketball league, show their medals at the Veterans Memorial Park courts Monday.

Front row, from left: Lonnie Bunch, Marquie Brooks, Justin Perez and Jackson Gabriel. Back row, from left: Coach Don Simmons, J’Mir Aranjo, Jade Avery, Lucio Lara, Tristan Crawford, Dwayne Sample and Logan Pascarella.

The league, supervised by Park-Rec program coordinator Brian Hayden, just capped its 24th season.

(City Photos/Brian Hayden)

All Funk’d Up bringing funk hits to Grove on Aug. 9

WEST HAVEN, Aug. 1, 2024 — The city's Summer Concert Series will continue at 7 p.m. Aug. 9 in Old Grove Park, 1 Palace St., with funk and R&B hits performed by All Funk’d Up.

The two-hour concert is free and presented by the Department of Parks and Recreation. The rain date is Aug. 12.

To check if a concert has been rescheduled because of rain, go to Park-Rec’s website.

Join us Aug. 9!

Broadway star and “American Idol” winner Nick Fradiani headlines Day 2 of the Savin Rock Festival in West Haven’s Old Grove Park on Saturday. Fradiani, a Guilford native and former city resident, played to one of the largest crowds in festival history, performing original songs, classic covers and Neil Diamond gems while sharing stories of “American Idol” and living on the West Haven shoreline — on Ocean Avenue near Woody Crest — during his “Idol” run and subsequent win on Season 14 in 2015. (City Photo/Michael P. Walsh)

The sea of people gathered for the Nick Fradiani concert in the Grove. (City Photo/Michael P. Walsh)

Nick Fradiani plays festival celebrating Savin Rock’s amusement park days; 4,000 sing, dance in the Grove

WEST HAVEN, July 29, 2024 — The Savin Rock Festival shined once again thanks to Broadway star and “American Idol” winner Nick Fradiani, who took the musical entertainment to a new height by performing a 90-minute show for the ages.

The festival’s 2024 edition, held in historic Old Grove Park, paid tribute to West Haven’s storied amusement park heritage with two days of great food, rides and music, of course — especially on Saturday night.

After a spirited introduction by Mayor Dorinda Borer welcoming Fradiani “from Broadway to West Haven,” the Guilford native and former city resident played to one of the largest crowds in festival history, performing original songs, including “Beautiful Life” and “Coming Your Way,” and Neil Diamond gems, including “America” and “Sweet Caroline.”

Fradiani and his five-piece band kept the party going with a Tom Petty medley, including “The Waiting” and “American Girl,” before slowing things down with an acoustic duet of Marc Cohn’s “Walking in Memphis” with his father, singer/keyboardist Nick Fradiani Sr.

With an estimated 4,000 people lounging on blankets and lawn chairs in the Grove and dozens dancing and singing along in front of the stage, Fradiani entertained the masses with an energetic set while sharing stories of “American Idol” and living on the West Haven shoreline — on Ocean Avenue near Woody Crest — during his “Idol” run and subsequent win on Season 14 in 2015.

Fradiani just finished starring as Diamond in the production of “A Beautiful Noise: The Neil Diamond Musical,” which ended its Broadway run on June 30.

Read the full story and see the photo gallery at 2024 Savin Rock Festival.

West Haven requesting bid proposals for former Savin Rock Conference Center site

City requesting bid proposals for Savin Rock Conference Center site

WEST HAVEN, July 25, 2024 — The city will go out to bid and request proposals to develop the vacant former Savin Rock Conference Center on the West Haven shoreline, Mayor Dorinda Borer announced.

The city-owned site at 6 Rock St. had been proposed for a taproom for Woodbridge craft brewery New England Brewing Co., but a lengthy appeals process initiated by the owners of Jimmies of Savin Rock restaurant was one of the major obstacles in derailing the multimillion-dollar project.

“It is unfortunate that after many meetings and correspondence with the owners of Jimmies, there was no reasonable resolution, and NEBCO has indicated that the lengthy legal journey ahead does not fit into their timeline, nor does changing the footprint, which would eliminate the production component,” Borer said.

The mayor also indicated that while she connected NEBCO to developers interested in buying the 26-acre waterfront site formerly known as The Haven, the brewery indicated that building a brand-new facility does not work into their business model.

“We can no longer allow this dilapidated, vacant, eyesore conference center to sit on our beautiful shoreline when we know this site is a jewel waiting to be polished,” Borer said. “With its bountiful opportunity and incredible views, I’m confident this site will come back to life, but at the same time, we need to capitalize on the location to drive revenue to our bottom line.”

The mayor said she’s excited to see the various developers’ official proposals for the conference center building, as she has been inundated with interest in recent months.

The city will start requesting bid proposals from interested developers this month and “will work with any successful bidder from Day 1 to ensure the proposal does not run into similar challenges,” Borer said.

To enhance the redevelopment of the 22,000-square-foot conference center building, the mayor said she’s looking to expand parking for the site and has commissioned a traffic feasibility study for parking on Captain Thomas Boulevard, which also was a challenge for previous proposals.

According to city records, the building was originally constructed in 1971 next to the prominent Savin Rock landmark and previously housed The Casino and Harbour Mist restaurants and originally Phyllis’ Restaurant.

It was eventually closed and sat vacant for a number of years until then-Mayor H. Richard Borer Jr. secured three grants — two federal and one state totaling $946,000 — in 1994 to purchase and renovate the building, which reopened in April 1997 as a city-owned banquet and meeting facility.

Through the years, the Savin Rock Conference Center was host to weddings, showers, birthday parties, professional conferences, charitable benefits, plays, concerts and more.

The administration of former Mayor Nancy R. Rossi closed the building in February 2019.

‘Discover West Haven’ video series launched

WEST HAVEN, July 18, 2024 — “Discover West Haven,” the city’s new video series, showcases all that West Haven has to offer, Mayor Dorinda Borer announced.

West Haven: “Miles of Shore and So Much More!”

Check out the video.