It’s Not Us, It’s Hartford

The big news of the day is Hartford Police Chief Daryl K. Roberts shirking police responsibility and basically blaming the citizens of Hartford for the never-ending wave of crime we seem to be wading under in the city.

Some of the more sensational incidents among the dozens piling up is the savage beating of former Deputy Mayor Nick Carbone at Capitol Avenue on his way to breakfast on Monday, and the hit and run of Angel Arce Torres last Friday on Park Street while witnesses stood around, gawking and pointing without actually helping the man. No one called 911, and the man is paralyzed. Roberts stated:

“There was a time they would have helped that man across the street. Now they mug and assault him,” he said. “That’s not a police problem. We no longer have a moral compass. Anything goes.”

Colin McEnroe has two excellent pieces expounding the outrage over Roberts’ comments, as well as the ad nauseous “miserable, ass-covering, loutish approach to law enforcement” and politicking of Mayor Eddie Perez.

Update [6/6/08]: Apparently, the first report by the Courant was wrong–people did call 911 and the website has audio clips.

Update [6/8/08]: Link to the video: “Hartford Police Release Video of Hit and Run“

Hartford Blight: It’s Official

As first discussed (with pictures!) in Hartford Blight, Hartford Mayor Eddie Perez took his plans to combat the “blanks” on our urban landscape beyond conversation with Dennis House on WFSB to an editorial in the Hartford Courant today. 

I don’t have anything snarky to add beyond humming a few bars of Naked Eyes’ “You made me… promises, promises (bah bah bum buh buh), you knew you couldn’t keep…”

Hartford Blight

WFSB’s Dennis House did an interesting interview with Mayor Eddie Perez last Sunday, March 2, on urban blight in Hartford. I like House. He lives downtown (or used to), married well, and genuinely seems to care about Hartford while he waits to get a gig in a bigger market.

Eddie told House that he had City Council approval to take $50M of “his” capital fund (money, he said, that was normally used for schools and libraries) and reallocate it towards resolving blight in three target areas downtown and one in each of the Franklin Avenue, North Hartford and Frog Hollow neighborhoods. Through use of eminent domain and his war chest, he predicted he’d be able to wrestle under used property from negligent owners and hand them over to developers.

House and Eddie then reviewed plans for dilapidated and empty property (including major parking lots) in the downtown area.

Here are some of the interview highlights, but go watch the full thing since I had to set my universal translator to “WHAT-THE-HELL-IS-HE-MUMBLING” in order to understand Eddie.

Capitol West BuildingPerez says that the building’s owner is very cooperative and even replaced the broken windows. He wants “worker’s housing” owing to the “pent up demand for entry level worker housing in downtown near the insurance companies and union station.” It looks like Garth Marenghi’s Darkplace Hospital.

111 Pearl StreetIt’s been empty for 20 years, but a local firm was selected to develop. Perez would like to see a mixture of retail and housing (he didn’t sound too sure about what the plan was) and expects it to move forward in 6-8 months. I’m thinking Barney’s Warehouse or a (Way) Off-Saks outlet.

Maharishi Hotel on Constitution PlazaI always liken Constitution Plaza to the one-day movie set for Logan’s Run 2: Get Out of Town Before the Crystal in Your Hand Starts Blinking. Think about the big boom it would add to the downtown economy. Anyway, this is one of Perez’s target areas. He will retake it by the Force of Eminent Domain (FoED) if it comes to that. Which would be cool to watch.

410 Asylum StreetThis is where I like to go when I’m lonely to party with pretend friends. Kind of like that scene in Home Alone, but more A-lonlier. Perez wants affordable housing. State’s on board. Should move forward next year.

Main/Trumbull StreetPerez said former councilman Bob Painter coined the “Butt Ugly Building” moniker for the site. Scary Bunny #4 says the GHAC’s Ken Kahn said it first. Either way, Perez will use his FoED to retake the land after highly paid advisers figure out what to do with it.

Former YMCALuxury condos next year, bitches.

Asylum & Main Parking Lot“It is providing parking downtown, which is very much needed.”

Tiny Bubbles

For you. From us. At the end of a long day.

● Jacklin leaves the DeStefano campaign:

“Former Hartford Courant columnist Michele Jacklin and Democratic gubernatorial contender John DeStefano Jr. have parted ways - just four months after Jacklin was named a high-ranking campaign aide.Both sides declined to discuss details of the separation, offering only polite comments about each other.” …

● Shonshay from the Mirror Boiyz has a cool new hip hop blog, It’s the Money Shot!! –run it, bitches.

● If you build it, they will come.

VIP store undergoes renovations; set to open this fall“MANCHESTER - Renovations to a former furniture store on Oakland Street have begun as owners of a sexually oriented business make plans to move into the space later this year.

The exterior of the former Huffman Koos store at 480 Oakland St. will include façade work and new signage for VIP, also known as Very Intimate Pleasures, according to information from the town’s Building Department.

Town Planning and Economic Development Director Mark Pellegrini wrote in a short report to the Board of Directors late last month that building permits have been issued to VIP and work on the building is expected to wrap up in September.” …

He Said, She Said

It should go something like this:

“But, Eddie, I wanna be in the show!”

“Jo-deee, how many times do I haf to ’splain it to you? You can’t be in the choh!”

“Waaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhh!”

From today’s Hartford Courant: Rell, Perez Trade Shots

After 16 people were shot in five days in Hartford, Mayor Eddie A. Perez and Gov. M. Jodi Rell fired accusations at one another Wednesday in a high-profile clash of public letters over how to stop the bloodshed on the city’s streets.Rell claimed Perez had turned away the state’s helping hand. Perez said no such thing was even close to true. As the day continued, much ink was spilled by the two political rivals as each lobbed explosive letters at one another. …