Last Saturday night, we held a block party to celebrate the installation of the first ever solar lights in New Haven. We began just about a year ago, after a rash of crime that was happening in the dark spots just over the bridge on the way to Wooster Square. Ben Berkowitz attended a block watch meeting and introduced us to SCF and we were off. I sent the link to our list of nearly 300 block watch members and through our commenting and posting, we kept the issue of the Court Street Bridge needs lights as number one in the city for weeks. I went to a Mayor's Night In with print outs of the best comments on SCF. Together with other passionate members of our neighborhood, we made our case of the need for lights to Mayor DeStefano. He pledged right there and then to light the Court Street Bridge. From there Chief Administrative Officer, Rob Smuts and Seb Asadourian, the head of lighting for the city attended more than one block watch meeting with proposals for lighting the bridge. Over the next 9 months, they kept us informed on every step of the project that was funded with stimulus money.
In August, the lights were installed and now, from my apartment on Court and Olive Street, I can see all the way to State Street at night. Neighbors who work down town have all chimed in to say how grateful they are for the lights on the bridge. Now that the sun is setting earlier and earlier, more and more neighbors will reap the benefits of the Court Street Bridge Lights.
What an achievement! What a partnership for Wooster Square Watch, SeeClickFix and the City of New Haven. This is how you make something happen!
