New Washington Elementary School opens, ushering in ‘A New Beginning’

WEST HAVEN, Aug. 20, 2025 — With hundreds of students, parents and teachers witnessing history in the making, Board of Education Chairwoman Cebi Waterfield, Superintendent of Schools Neil C. Cavallaro and Mayor Dorinda Borer led city and state leaders in a ribbon-cutting to celebrate the official opening of West Haven’s new $44.28 million, 61,770-square-foot Washington Elementary School on Tuesday.

The late-afternoon ceremony, dubbed “A New Beginning,” took place outside the school’s side entrance at 369 Washington Ave. before moving inside the gymnasium for the speaking portion to mark “the next great chapter in West Haven Public Schools.”

To commemorate the momentous occasion, Borer, Cavallaro and Lt. Gov. Susan Bysiewicz delivered remarks congratulating and praising Washington Elementary School, which has proudly served the neighborhood and honored the nation’s first president, George Washington, since 1909.

“Thanks to its rebirth today as a new state-of-the-art facility, this spirited school will continue to provide a rich tradition of academic excellence for our students who deserve that opportunity,” the mayor told the assembled crowd.

Cavallaro said the school was built on the site of the former school and will provide a state-of-the-art learning environment for a diverse community of students in prekindergarten through fourth grade.

“Mayor Dorinda Borer has been a strong advocate for this project since her days with the state Legislature,” said the superintendent, who served as the master of ceremonies. “She assisted with the necessary approvals and, more importantly, secured the most funding that we were allowed by law. She did a wonderful job. As mayor, her commitment has never wavered.”

In 2021, Washington, the city’s oldest elementary school at the time, was named on the state’s priority list for a new school.

Two years later, Borer, then a West Haven state representative, secured the state bond funding to push the school building project across the finish line.

“I am very grateful to Neil Cavallaro, who has been a strong champion for this school district and always advocating for funding, resources and leading a great team,” Borer said. “He stressed the need for this project to happen for our students to be on time and within budget — and it was.”

West Haven Building Committee Chairman Ken Carney said the $45.48 million project was completed $1.2 million under budget.

“This achievement reflects not only the careful planning of the Building Committee but also the strong partnership between city leaders, the Board of Education and the state,” Carney said.

Borer thanked the committee for shepherding the project from conception to completion, “always keeping in mind the needs of our students.”

Borer also thanked former Mayor Nancy R. Rossi, who was in attendance, for initiating the school building project and working with her to get it off the ground.

Other attendees included state Rep. Bill Heffernan, D-West Haven, and Board of Education and City Council members.

Cavallaro said students will “reach for the stars” inside the dynamic new building, which is equipped with energy-efficient systems and modern technology, including school security tools and resources, to help West Haven’s children thrive.

“You are standing in one of the most modern, smart schools in the state of Connecticut,” Borer said. “This very room you’re standing in, the gym, will actually detect the body heat in the number of bodies in the room when the children are playing and pump the air based on that.”

“We’re very proud to have (this school) here in the city West Haven,” said the mayor, giving a shoutout to the “winning team” of Principal Alicia Limosani and her faculty and staff.

The hourlong ceremony also featured remarks by Waterfield and Limosani.

“Washington Elementary School has stood as a cornerstone of this community for generations,” Waterfield said. “The values, spirit and sense of central community that have defined this school for over a century will continue to live on.”

Limosani said: “Our students will have the best in all areas to learn and grow socially and emotionally. I am most excited to see my students’ faces light up when they see their new school and to see my teachers take their teaching to another level with the technology they now have. This will be a warm, loving and supportive place where all students can and will learn.”

The ceremony included the Pledge of Allegiance led by Washington fourth grader Ryan Remigio and “The Star-Spangled Banner” performed by the West Haven High School Band. It also included musical selections by the band.

The pomp and circumstance followed with a tour of the new two-story school.

Carney said the new school, with 26 classrooms serving an estimated 436 students, is compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act, complete with an elevator, cameras and energy-efficient lavatories.

Other features include air conditioning, energy-saving fixtures and wireless internet. They are complemented by a state-of-the-art playground, media center and kitchen.

Carney said the school was built by Gilbane Building Co. of Glastonbury and took 18 months to complete.

The school was designed by Bridgeport-based Antinozzi Associates, which he said went to great pains to ensure the new building reflects the architecture and spirit of the surrounding neighborhood, even incorporating a sloping roof to maintain the neighborhood’s aesthetic.

Park-Rec crowns girls summer basketball champions

WEST HAVEN, Aug. 20, 2025 — (Pictured): The Gray Team, the champions of the Department of Parks and Recreation’s Girls Summer Fun Basketball League, show their trophies at the Veterans Memorial Park courts on Bull Hill Lane on Aug. 7.

Front row, from left: Abigail Campbell, Laurelle George, Nanni Mitchell and Kavia Henry. Back row, from left: Reina Dormevil, Aria Cannon-Perry, coach Jaelynn Mitchell, Jaylie Dupree, Leia Santana and Jaearrah Mitchell.

The league just capped its 25th season and is overseen by Park-Rec program coordinator Margaret Longo and court supervisor Gaelle Frazer.

(City Photo/Margaret Longo)

Imani Community Garden on Terrace Ave. dedicated in memory of 6-year-old

WEST HAVEN, Aug. 14, 2025 — Mayor Dorinda Borer and state Rep. Treneé McGee were joined by neighbors, city officials and volunteers to dedicate the Imani Community Garden on Aug. 13.

The flower, fruit and vegetable garden is located on city-owned property at the end of Terrace Avenue, past Glade Street next to West Haven Center for Nursing & Rehabilitation.

With dozens of residents looking on, the afternoon ceremony featured a ribbon-cutting and included remarks by Borer, McGee and 5th District Councilman Mackie McMillian, who served as the master of ceremonies.

It was attended by 4th District Councilman Gary Donovan, Planning and Zoning Commission Chairman Christopher M. Suggs, City Engineer Abdul Quadir and former 5th District Councilwoman Robbin Watt Hamilton.

The dedication included opening and closing prayers by McGee’s mother, the Rev. Denya C. McGee, the pastor of Abba’s House International Fellowship in North Branford.

It also included remarks by Damon Davis, who talked about the garden bearing his late sister’s name. His mother, Samuella Marlow, also spoke.

On June 4, 1991, 6-year-old Imani Davis-Marlow was struck and killed by a motor vehicle, just a stone’s throw from the site of the new garden.

Since that difficult time, Davis has had a dream to honor his sister’s name in a way that would leave a legacy and impact the community.

Now, 34 years later, tragedy has turned into joy as the West Haven community dedicates the garden in Imani’s memory.

“This garden is great for the community,” said Davis, who thanked Borer and Ernie Chiarelli, the city’s project coordinator, for shepherding the garden from conception to completion.

“Everybody, come on out, enjoy!” Davis said. “We have an opportunity to do something for ourselves. Let’s build this family and build this community!”

Marlow, choking back tears, then spoke about Imani, saying: “My daughter absolutely loved flowers, so the garden, to me, represents life. Thank you all for your support.”

McMillian said Davis had a vision “to create a nurturing space where the community in which Imani lived can come together and fellowship in a healthy place of healing.”

“The Imani garden is also a place where community members can interact as well as grow healthy, sustainable food that is both nutritious and life-giving,” said McMillian, whose district includes the garden.

During her remarks, Borer thanked Chiarelli for overseeing the garden’s construction and crews from the Department of Public Works for clearing the site and helping to cultivate the area for planting.

The mayor also thanked everyone who played a role in bringing the garden to fruition, including employees of West Haven Center, whose parent company, Essential Healthcare, donated $10,000 to the project.

Borer then presented Davis with a gold-plated shovel with “Imani” in black lettering, which the mayor said she personally created for her love of community gardening and to thank Davis for sharing his story and dream with the city.

“It truly does take a village,” Borer said. “It was an individual with a dream, but everybody in the community came together to make that dream a reality because so many people are going to be benefiting from this community garden for years to come.”

McGee, D-West Haven, presented Davis and his mom with a General Assembly citation dedicating the garden.

“A garden brings the community together,” McGee said. “Statistics show us that it brings people together, that it helps the community revitalize, especially in urban, inner-city communities where people don’t have access to planting, to farming, to agricultural lifestyles.

“It also brings spiritual, emotional and nutritional health to our community.”

Chiarelli said the project started last fall. Work included running a waterline from the street, backfilling the garden with a bed of wood chips and building a shed for gardening tools, he said.

The garden’s centerpiece is the raised corrugated plastic garden beds, which house fresh-grown flowers, fruits and vegetables.

Chiarelli said the monthslong project also included new fencing, lighting and millings for parking.

Applications for garden plots are expected in March 2026 on the Department of Parks and Recreation website at https://westhavenct.myrec.com/info/default.aspx.

Park-Rec lifeguard cited for ‘extraordinary heroism in action’ during water rescue off Sea Bluff Beach

WEST HAVEN, Aug. 13, 2025 — Jack Miklos, the Department of Parks and Recreation’s head lifeguard, received a citation from Mayor Dorinda Borer on Aug. 12 for his recent rescue of a young male swimmer in distress off Sea Bluff Beach.

Miklos, who is entering his junior year at Stonehill College, was recognized by Borer and other city officials during a ceremony at a pair of lifeguard chairs on Oak Street Beach.

He was accompanied by his parents, John and Marybeth Miklos, and his grandmothers, Mary Lou Miklos and Patricia Reardon.

“I join the members of the West Haven Department of Parks and Recreation and the residents of our great city in commending your vital role in safeguarding the lives of swimmers on the West Haven shoreline,” said Borer, reading the citation to Miklos, who was flanked by several lifeguard staff members and Pool and Waterfront Coordinator Margaret Ruggiero, who supervises Park-Rec’s lifeguards.

Borer continued her praise of Miklos, saying, “You are an inspiration to the Park-Rec Lifeguard Training program and a true ambassador of our community.”

According to Miklos’ account of the rescue, which occurred at 2 p.m. Tuesday, July 29, the distressed swimmer chased a beach ball into the water at high tide near the pedestrian bridge on Sea Bluff Beach, where the Cove River flows into Long Island Sound.

Perched on a nearby lifeguard chair, Miklos said the current took the swimmer under the bridge where he could no longer touch the bottom. Once he spotted the swimmer’s arms flailing, he immediately jumped into action and swam out to save him.

Borer said Miklos’ “prompt response and extraordinary heroism in action prevented a tragedy.”

The ceremony was also attended by Councilman Gary Donovan, D-4.

Tony Inzero Farmers Market open through Oct. 11

WEST HAVEN, Aug. 13, 2025 — The 2025 season of the Tony Inzero Farmers Market is in full swing.

The farmers market is scheduled from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. every Thursday on the Green, at Campbell Avenue and Main Street, and every Saturday next to the Oak Street Beach parking lot, off Captain Thomas Boulevard.

The market will feature homegrown fruits and vegetables, baked goods and homemade crafts through Oct. 11.

Parking is available on Campbell Avenue and in the City Hall municipal lot, 355 Main St., as well as in the Oak Street municipal lot and on Palace Street. Oak Street is on the senior shuttle route and the CTtransit route.

The farmers market 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 with Betty DelVecchio for many years. Inzero was a founding member and longtime president of the West Haven Business Association who spearheaded a variety of events and programs to drum up business for fellow merchants, including the first farmers market in 2000.

Inzero, who lived in Hamden, died in 2009 at age 59.

Program supports kids with siblings with disabilities

WEST HAVEN, April 25, 2025 — West Haven Youth and Family Services is excited to launch a new program at WHINC in collaboration with Southern Connecticut SIBshop at Southern Connecticut State University.

The program, SIBshop, is designed to support children in West Haven who have siblings with disabilities.

SIBshops provide a unique space where children can connect with peers, enjoy recreational activities and build emotional resilience. While many children express positive experiences growing up alongside a sibling with a disability, they often face unique challenges, such as emotional stress, a heightened sense of responsibility or a drive to “compensate” through high achievement.

While the primary focus is on Spanish-speaking families, all are welcome. The program is limited to eight spots.

For more information, contact youth services coordinator Coraly Colon at 203-943-8802 or ccolon@westhaven-ct.gov.