Description
These cars are unsightly and need to be removed permanently.
From the NH Independent:
Cars Remain
Some six months ago, parked cars started showing up in the federal plaza behind City Hall, which is under the jurisdiction of the federal General Services Administration (GSA).
Cathy Menzies, a spokeswoman for the GSA, said at the time that parking was permitted in the plaza on a temporary basis only, while garage repairs displaced federal employees.
A recent visit to the plaza found about a dozen cars still parked in the plaza.
In an email on Monday, Menzies offered the following statement: “The Giaimo garage has been reopened but there are still a couple of contractors working on the plaza as part of the garage repair project that should be completed within the next couple of weeks.
“Limited parking behind the courthouse for U.S. Courts and U.S. Marshals’ vehicles has always been permitted.”
29 Comments
juli (Registered User)
it was a mistake to ever permit cars into this pedestrian plaza in the first place. there are at least 35 garages and several other lots in this city.
Edward Anderson (Registered User)
Sick and tired of suburbanites disrespecting our city.
You know, when I go to the suburbs, I don't drive like an a**-hole, and I don't park my car where it doesn't belong.
It'd be nice if Ms. Menzies' federal employees could show us the same respect!
CT Livable Streets Campaign (Registered User)
This isn't acceptable, and it is also potentially dangerous to the many children who walk through the area (especially since many parked vehicles are actually light trucks / SUVs that can kill a person even when traveling at very low speeds).
Please post photos showing how unsightly this is.
John Q. Public (Guest)
Tony Bialecki (Guest)
The GSA bureacrats have no shame - let's see most other people who work downtown park in garages and parking lots - oh and they have to pay and walk half a block or so. Time to move this complaint up the food chain since the local folks just watching out for themselves and don't even care how ridiculous they sound justifying parking there.
Tony B.
CT Livable Streets Campaign (Registered User)
Tony,
Has the City submitted an official complaint to Rosa DeLauro's office?
John Q. Public (Guest)
It is so unfair that the people who work for a living must pay over $100 a month to park and the GSA gets to park for free where ever they want AND take up street parking that would yield the City income.
Uncle Egg (Guest)
Mark: I have been working in the Connecticut Financial Center (directly adjacent to the plaza) for nearly five years now. I don't recall ever -- not even once -- seeing a child walk through the plaza.
The sad fact is, this plaza is a great example of one of New Haven's shamefully underutilized public spaces. Like the Green, it's a walk-through at best for all but a few days of the year, and it's no wonder the Feds see a parking lot as the highest and best use for this space.
Why not open it up to commerce, turn it into a marketplace and line it with cafes during the summertime? Maybe then people will give a damn if the feds want to commandeer it.
BB (Registered User)
juli (Registered User)
uncle egg:
that's funny, because on my walks to and from work, i see children either with parents or just out of school walking there all the time. you must be too buried in your work to see it.
but, i will say that i have thought the same thing about an open air market of sorts at this location. the farmers market? some food carts? the city could sell discounted vendor rates to local artists for the weekends?
the opportunities are endless. thanks for mentioning it!
CT Livable Streets Campaign (Registered User)
CT Livable Streets Campaign (Registered User)
such a farce (Guest)
juli (Registered User)
it is simply a public plaza. it is not a parking lot. new haven has far too many lots and garages for these workers to need to park in a public plaza.
people (and yes, children) constantly walk through here. why should we dart around vehicles in a public plaza?
Uncle Egg (Guest)
If we don't use it as a public space, we might as well use it for a parking lot. And let's be clear: We don't use it as a public space -- we park an ugly sculpture there (sorry) and use it as a cut-through.
I'm sorry, but if we don't figure out how to make better use of our public spaces, then we might as well not keep them as public spaces.
Our Green, frankly, is an utter waste of space -- it gets put to good use a couple of nights a year, but that's about it. (Compare that with any plaza in Barcelona, just to pick out a random example.)
such a farse (Guest)
reality (Guest)
CT Livable Streets Campaign (Registered User)
Uncle Egg (Guest)
Why not use it as a parking lot? As a public space, this plaza is an abject failure. Except for the two or three days a year it's actually used for an event, it's nothing more than a cut-through and a place to hide an ugly sculpture. Kids don't play there. Adults don't congregate there after work. Skateboarders occasionally pay it a visit, but they'd be just as happy if it were officially designated a parking lot.
New Haven's public spaces, starting with the Green, are utterly wasted. Until we take a cue from other cities elsewhere in the world that know how to use public spaces in ways that people enjoy -- and that generate tax revenue -- I'm fine with parking cars in them.
pro park (Guest)
Anstress Farwell (Guest)
The City of New Haven, Alderman Doug Hausladen, the Management Team, neighboring property owners have all been working to resolve this issue. We meet with General Services Administration on Friday, who said that parking would be reduce to about 3 cars for disabled people working in the Courthouse, and some parking by Federal Marshals dropping-off prisoners. While this would be an improvement and a step forward, it would still interfere with the public's fair use of the space, and the enhancement of downtown property values. It would also cause continuing damage to the waterproofing membrane that protects the underground garage. The membrane has been damaged by the parking (it was not a use that was planned for the area) and it will need to be repaired this summer. So while this has provided free parking for court workers, the public is paying the price in major repairs, and in the loss of the fair use of a public place.
Just Friday PM, two women in a white four-door sedan flew over the sidewalk, completely disregarding the pedestrians there (including me).
Here are the recent news articles:
The New Haven Register
Officials confer on parking in New Haven's Federal Plaza
http://www.nhregister.com/articles/2012/02/10/news/new_haven/doc4f35dbcbb9398276186234.txt
Friday, February 10, 2012 PM
The New Haven Register
Parking on Federal Plaza in New Haven a thorny issue; Meeting planned Friday over dispute
http://www.nhregister.com/articles/2012/02/09/news/new_haven/doc4f3486f509bba531097506.txt
Friday, February 10, 2012 AM
abg (Guest)
Bret (Guest)
This sends not only a bad image message, but kids and families walk though there on a regular basis and it is unsafe and NOT ZONED a parking lot.
Let alone the grease stains and tire marks.
This ally way is used for public movie nights and other outdoor activities.
Any thoughts on how we can reclaim a beautiful break area from officials abuse?
CT Livable Streets Campaign (Registered User)
abgoode (Registered User)
CT Livable Streets Campaign (Registered User)
Thank you for the update, abgoode. It's a good idea for people to contact GSA and their representatives directly about this serious issue.
See also this news story from this week:
http://www.newhavenindependent.org/index.php/archives/entry/politician_sneaks_onto_roof/
juli (Registered User)
thanks for sticking with this issue, everyone!
it really has been a problem for far too long. such a misuse of space.
Stängt Rob Smuts (Registered User)
GSA is constructing improvements to the plaza, and will restrict parking to a small area with no more than 4-6 vehicles - primarily for ADA access. See the NHI's coverage: www.newhavenindependent.org/index.php/archives/entry/plaza_parking/
Construction should be completed in the fall.
Hickok (Guest)
Not only that the cars that parked there the last couple years damaged the bricks which now are ALL being reset???
Let's stop big goverment from not abiding by the rules they set shall we???
Use public parking or a lot like everyone else.