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Old 03-04-2011, 08:15 AM
 
Location: Connecticut
2,488 posts, read 4,693,457 times
Reputation: 2548

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Quote:
Originally Posted by DouglasK919 View Post
Camden is like a warzone....they lost 168 cops (45% of the police force)!! The odd thing though is that Cherry Hill, NJ which one of the next towns over is incredibly nice and safe. Are most of the troubled areas in CT pretty much confined to its city? Or does is spill over to others?
What you see in Jersey is pretty typical up here, too: The cities are low-income municipalities with the usual social ills while the suburbs, though not perfect, are usually really nice. There's spillover from cities in the suburbs. It's unavoidable but it usually doesn't happen enough to make people feel unsafe.
I've noticed that's oneof the peculiar facts about Jersey: You can be in a town with nice, tree-lined street with nice, well-kept homes and good schools...and the town next door can be truly awful. Example: The Oranges. I found that out when I met up with some friends a few weeks ago at Seton Hall. South Orange is beautiful but it shares a border with some really undesireable places.


Quote:
Originally Posted by DouglasK919
I'm starting to think about a move from NJ up to CT in a year or two. Debating on where to go though because I don't know much about the cities. From what I've been reading on the boards, West Hartford seems really nice. Anyone know if Danbury or Stamford compare? I'm looking for the ideal suburbia outside of NJ! LOL
Danbury and Stamford are both cities. They're distinctively safer than other urban areas like Hartford or Bridgeport but they're also alot more expensive. But if you can afford it and want something closer to the NJ area they might be worth a look. WHartford is becoming a popular spot for NYC transplants. It's safe and it's nice, but it's further away and can be expensive too - not sure if this is what you'd consider an ideal suburb outside of New Jersey.
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Old 03-04-2011, 05:37 PM
 
8,777 posts, read 19,783,911 times
Reputation: 5290
Quote:
Originally Posted by JViello View Post
The "cancer" is spreading, not shrinking.
Quote:
Originally Posted by kidyankee764 View Post
Maybe in the Hartford area, but in New Haven and Bridgeport, it's really confined to a few neighborhoods.
It appears to be spreading around Bridgeport a bit more these days. Not horrendous like it became in the '80's, but not nearly as nice as it was during the Ganim/Fabrizi years.
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Old 03-05-2011, 01:47 AM
 
Location: Springfield, Massachusetts
113 posts, read 373,348 times
Reputation: 124
Quote:
Originally Posted by kidyankee764 View Post
Maybe in the Hartford area, but in New Haven and Bridgeport, it's really confined to a few neighborhoods. Downtown New Haven has recently seen its share of violence, but that's also confined to one club that attracts the clientele who live in the dangerous neighborhoods.
Although I wish I could support what you've written as regards New Haven's crime being "confined to a few neighborhoods," my experience living and reporting in New Haven contradicts it.

Don't get me wrong--I love this city and I'm passionate about wanting to see it improve. The first step toward that, I think, is identifying its problem areas, so that those with the desire to work on them can do so.

Of course, you're right too--there are a handful of safe and wonderful areas to live in New Haven.

These include: Whitney Avenue; Wooster Square; the East Rock neighborhood; Westville (the eastern part Norton Street, off of otherwise sketchy Whalley Avenue, with its concentrated Orthodox Jewish population; and lastly, the area immediately surrounding Yale University (i.e. downtown Chapel St, downtown College St, downtown York St, and downtown Orange St.) Also by Yale, Broadway is safe from the New Haven Green until the Shell station/Popeye's restaurant, where it immediately changes character in a negative way.

Unfortunately, much of New Haven remains impoverished, and (to a degree) blighted. It's also--sad as it is to say--relatively dangerous. I write relatively because statistically, New Haven remains the most violent city of the New Haven-Hartford-Springfield "Knowledge Corridor," where the high speed train will be built. (This past year Hartford was slightly safer than New Haven whereas Springfield was substantially safer.)

Rough areas of New Haven include: Dixwell Avenue and its environs (aka "The 'Ville,") which comprise most of northern New Haven, bordering Hamden; "The Tre," which includes Edgewood Ave, Sherman Ave (south of Whalley Ave,) and the neighborhood surrounding St. Raphael's Hospital, extending as far south as George and Day Streets; "The Hill," which includes Sylvan Street, Cedar Street, and the neighborhood surrounding Yale-New Haven Hospital; Whalley Avenue--from Popeye's (by Yale) to East Westville; The Boulevard, especially the lower section by the flea market, and the neighborhood surrounding Kimberly. Fair Haven, (especially "The G" on Grand Ave, across from Ferraro's Market.) Western Westville by the hourly rate motels, (and the streets behind them and southern Howard Street, by the numbered streets.

Unfortunately, these 'anything-can-happen' locales make up a large portion of the city at the present moment. I've been researching how Springfield and a few other comparable cities are turning around their crime problems and plan to make some suggestions to the neighborhood committees when I notice some strong trends in approaches. (I hope it'll be helpful.)

Like I said, I love New Haven. I want it to reach its potential. Some of it's sublime, but some of it needs work--and now's a good time to get to work.
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Old 03-05-2011, 05:37 AM
 
Location: In a house
5,232 posts, read 8,386,725 times
Reputation: 2583
Quote:
People of New Haven are going to have to start arming themselves, defending themselves and do whatever they can to protect their property and protect themselves," police union president Sgt. Louis Cavaliere said, "because with the mayor out there laying cops off, we will not be able to respond and do the job the way we are supposed to be."
JMHO but this guy & all police should advocate people being proactive ALL the time. Its pretty obvious that even with those officers the people werent safe. Police cant stop crime, just solve them & catch bad guys AFTER the fact, thats their job. If WE dont like crime in our streets WE need to be proactive. I'm not saying to walk around shooting people, just stop tolerating it.

That said theres alot better ways to cut costs than getting rid of necessities such as police officers.
Getting rid of the municipal unions so that guys dont make $150,000 directing traffic & doing paperwork would be a better start. It probably costs the people of New Haven many millions just so the police can have a union. Can the union & hire a dozen more officers would be cost effective.
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Old 03-05-2011, 08:07 AM
 
Location: Carolina
428 posts, read 827,470 times
Reputation: 303
[quote=kidyankee764;17916900]$42k is not underpaid to work in one of the most dangerous cities in the country? Man, you talk the talk, now walk the walk. It's not a pleasant city to work in, as you're risking your life every time you go on a call.
[quote]
Most dangerous for a cop? Likely not, when is the last time you've heard of a police officer being killed in New Haven? Likely not in you or my lifetime. I think they were paid fairly for their level of education but over paid for this economy.
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Old 03-05-2011, 08:22 AM
 
Location: Carolina
428 posts, read 827,470 times
Reputation: 303
Quote:
Originally Posted by JuJu83 View Post
Although I wish I could support what you've written as regards New Haven's crime being "confined to a few neighborhoods," my experience living and reporting in New Haven contradicts it.

Don't get me wrong--I love this city and I'm passionate about wanting to see it improve. The first step toward that, I think, is identifying its problem areas, so that those with the desire to work on them can do so.

Of course, you're right too--there are a handful of safe and wonderful areas to live in New Haven.

These include: Whitney Avenue; Wooster Square; the East Rock neighborhood; Westville (the eastern part Norton Street, off of otherwise sketchy Whalley Avenue, with its concentrated Orthodox Jewish population; and lastly, the area immediately surrounding Yale University (i.e. downtown Chapel St, downtown College St, downtown York St, and downtown Orange St.) Also by Yale, Broadway is safe from the New Haven Green until the Shell station/Popeye's restaurant, where it immediately changes character in a negative way.

Unfortunately, much of New Haven remains impoverished, and (to a degree) blighted. It's also--sad as it is to say--relatively dangerous. I write relatively because statistically, New Haven remains the most violent city of the New Haven-Hartford-Springfield "Knowledge Corridor," where the high speed train will be built. (This past year Hartford was slightly safer than New Haven whereas Springfield was substantially safer.)

Rough areas of New Haven include: Dixwell Avenue and its environs (aka "The 'Ville,") which comprise most of northern New Haven, bordering Hamden; "The Tre," which includes Edgewood Ave, Sherman Ave (south of Whalley Ave,) and the neighborhood surrounding St. Raphael's Hospital, extending as far south as George and Day Streets; "The Hill," which includes Sylvan Street, Cedar Street, and the neighborhood surrounding Yale-New Haven Hospital; Whalley Avenue--from Popeye's (by Yale) to East Westville; The Boulevard, especially the lower section by the flea market, and the neighborhood surrounding Kimberly. Fair Haven, (especially "The G" on Grand Ave, across from Ferraro's Market.) Western Westville by the hourly rate motels, (and the streets behind them and southern Howard Street, by the numbered streets.

Unfortunately, these 'anything-can-happen' locales make up a large portion of the city at the present moment. I've been researching how Springfield and a few other comparable cities are turning around their crime problems and plan to make some suggestions to the neighborhood committees when I notice some strong trends in approaches. (I hope it'll be helpful.)

Like I said, I love New Haven. I want it to reach its potential. Some of it's sublime, but some of it needs work--and now's a good time to get to work.
I don't know about this breakdown. I live in the Heights and it rather safe, I'm not a New Haven native so I'm not 100% sure but the Heights apart of Fair Haven I believe. In generally I think you are mixing up lower upkeep standards with higher crime areas. Sure there is a correlation a lot of the time but certainly not all of the time or even the majority of the time. I've been to some areas in your dangerous break down and seen no crime and definitely didn't feel threatened. I’d concede they are not middle class areas though.
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Old 03-05-2011, 09:58 AM
 
Location: In a house
5,232 posts, read 8,386,725 times
Reputation: 2583
[quote=Jpierpont;18144530][quote=kidyankee764;17916900]$42k is not underpaid to work in one of the most dangerous cities in the country? Man, you talk the talk, now walk the walk. It's not a pleasant city to work in, as you're risking your life every time you go on a call.
Quote:
Most dangerous for a cop? Likely not, when is the last time you've heard of a police officer being killed in New Haven? Likely not in you or my lifetime. I think they were paid fairly for their level of education but over paid for this economy.
Whats education got to do with it?
Though I agree that the danger of being a cop is overblown its irrelevant. The fact is they know of the dangers going in. Pay should reflect either the money you make your boss, or in the case of municipal jobs the money the city can afford to pay. Unless NH is in a different boat than the rest of CT I'd have to say ALL their municipal employees are likely overpaid. Theyre actually lucky their paychecks arent bouncing like they would be in the real world.
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Old 03-05-2011, 09:27 PM
 
Location: Connecticut
34,727 posts, read 56,531,322 times
Reputation: 11168
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tin Knocker View Post
Getting rid of the municipal unions so that guys dont make $150,000 directing traffic & doing paperwork would be a better start.
Most cops do not make $150,000 per year. Those that do get it by working overtime. That overtime is from working on things like road construction or special event crowd control which is mostly reimbursed to the city. Don't begrudge someone that works hard their pay for it. You would want to be paid for working extra time wouldn't you???

What should not be happening is that this overtime be counted toward the calculation of their pension. Usually cops and other public employees will work a lot of overtime their last three years before retirement so that when their pension is calculated, it is based on those high income years. This is a game that employees have played for years and is one of the reasons the pension plans are suffering right now. In addition, the medical insurance is very expensive now and public sector workers pay less and have much better policies that private workers have these days. Also killing them is the 20 years and out plan where all a worker has to do is work 20 years to get their full pension. That pension then has to pay out for the remainder of their life which could easily be 30 to 50 years. Jay
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Old 03-06-2011, 06:41 PM
 
21,565 posts, read 30,996,964 times
Reputation: 9659
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tin Knocker View Post
Getting rid of the municipal unions so that guys dont make $150,000 directing traffic & doing paperwork would be a better start. It probably costs the people of New Haven many millions just so the police can have a union. Can the union & hire a dozen more officers would be cost effective.
First of all, I don't know ANY cop who makes 150k per year, and I know a lot of officers. They top out at 60-70ish in most towns, and if they work their butts off working OT, they're lucky to break 90k. Regarding overtime, you obviously have no clue how they're paid. If AT&T wants to have an officer direct traffic around their guys, THEY pay it. If a bar wants a cop to work private duty on a Saturday night, THEY pay it. The only time taxpayers will foot the bill is when a department is understaffed due to layoffs or budget failures, and officers are forced to work OT.

Quote:
Originally Posted by JayCT View Post
What should not be happening is that this overtime be counted toward the calculation of their pension. Usually cops and other public employees will work a lot of overtime their last three years before retirement so that when their pension is calculated, it is based on those high income years. This is a game that employees have played for years and is one of the reasons the pension plans are suffering right now. In addition, the medical insurance is very expensive now and public sector workers pay less and have much better policies that private workers have these days. Also killing them is the 20 years and out plan where all a worker has to do is work 20 years to get their full pension. That pension then has to pay out for the remainder of their life which could easily be 30 to 50 years. Jay
Many departments have gotten rid of pensions and opted for 401ks, West Haven and Wallingford to name two. Not a bad thing, IMO. Also, most of the towns are 25 years and out.
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Old 03-06-2011, 09:20 PM
 
Location: Springfield, Massachusetts
113 posts, read 373,348 times
Reputation: 124
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jpierpont View Post
I don't know about this breakdown. I live in the Heights and it rather safe, I'm not a New Haven native so I'm not 100% sure but the Heights apart of Fair Haven I believe. In generally I think you are mixing up lower upkeep standards with higher crime areas. Sure there is a correlation a lot of the time but certainly not all of the time or even the majority of the time. I've been to some areas in your dangerous break down and seen no crime and definitely didn't feel threatened. I’d concede they are not middle class areas though.

I'm sorry that I was too vague regarding Fair Haven. In my first post, I was referring specifically to an area in Fair Haven by Ferraro's market--a low-rise apartment complex that many call "The G."

In my time as a journalist in New Haven, I heard of many unfortunate incidents in and around "The G" -- some guns, drugs, murder. (Tragic... If you think about it, it could make you cry.)

That said, "The G" is not a good representation of Fair Haven as a whole. In fact, if I, personally, were to invest in New Haven real estate right now, I would invest in Fair Haven, right by where you live.

Fair Haven did not experience the real estate bubble that many other parts of New Haven did. So now, while New Haven as a city is considered very over-valued (Top 5 in at least one recent list I saw,) Fair Haven still has prices comparable to those before the bubble.

(If you're interested in real estate and have time, you might want to compare New Haven's overall RE prices with those of Springfield, Mass, or Albany, NY--two comparable cities that did not rise with the bubble, or bust when it popped.) Fair Haven's prices are still along the lines of Albany and Springfield.

Anyway, about the other areas I listed in my first post--many feature more "victimless crimes" (e.g. drugs) than more serious offenses.

In other words, you might be right--perhaps they're better than I'm giving them credit for... Honestly though, regarding most of them, I still wouldn't bring my family around at night. (That's my litmus test.)

It's good to hear from someone else who cares about New Haven. I do too. Love this city. Cheers! -J
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