The longstanding unrest between Quinnipiac students and the town of Hamden culminated into a written petition on change.org.
“It is part of growing up. Maybe because Hamden is such a small city and wants to remain small, residents may be less tolerant of the youthful behavior which is going on here no matter if we like it or not,” said Akanji Bola, a resident of Hamden.
Three weeks ago, Tony Pereira of Hamden wrote the petition that demands Mayor Curt Leng create reasonable regulations for student housing in residential neighborhoods. Although Pereira’s first motivation is a better quality of life for Hamden residents who are affected by student housing, his secondary motive is protecting taxpayers.
“Students are a little rowdy to say the least,” Hamden native John Wilonski said.
“They are loud with parties and all that crap. Most of them park all over their lawns and could care less.”
Pereira seeks 500 signatures on the petition, which details Hamden residents’ struggles and gripes over the ever changing climate in residential neighborhoods. Some changes that Pereira suggests include limiting housing permits and student housing locations and enforcing stricter rules with student residents in terms of speed limit, house parties, vandalization and pollution.
“Absolutely, no question about it, beyond a shadow of a doubt,” Wilonski said, when asked if student housing is devaluing hamden.
Pereira also asks that house owners regulate parking and provide sufficient and legitimate parking spots for students because street parking is obstructive and unsightly.
289 people have signed the petition as of Thursday, Dec. 6.
“College is the first time they are out of the home. Students are trying to experience college life and experience life in full. I do not have an experience but I have heard it been said around town in many cases,” Bola said.
Pereira ended the petition by writing, “Student rental housing should supplement the high tax bourdon [sp] on residents with diminished quality of life as a result of student neighbors.”
In the comments section of the listed petition, some residents detailed exactly why they signed this petition.
The town of Hamden is home to around 61,000 people, but during the school year, Quinnipiac University adds about 10,000 more to the population of Hamden.
Many of the vehicles owned by Quinnipiac students are registered out of state, causing Hamden to take a loss on motor vehicle taxes.
Connecticut Conference of Municipalities has noticed that many out-of-state vehicles are not registered within towns and has been a problem throughout the state. Towns such as Waterbury, Bridgeport, Danbury, New Haven and Stafford have also tried contacting companies to help track down tax invaders.
A study done by the city of Waterbury in 2016 uncovered more than 4,000 vehicles registered out of the city. The study estimated that the cost of those lost registrations approached nearly $450,000.
Chief Assessor, John Gelati, said the tax is being put in effect to have equalization in the town of Hamden and it will include students who live off campus and drive cars with out-of-state plates.
“This is a part of a comprehensive revenue initiative that we are launching which includes an audit of personal property and real estate as well,” said Gelati.
The assessor’s office is currently selecting a request for proposal to implement car registration in Hamden under the law. The assessor’s office is hoping that this will be done at the end of the month and hopefully be put in effect for this coming year. Gelati believes the implementation of this tax will be a slow process but hopes that everyone will be in compliance with it
Gelati said the tax will not affect any specific motor vehicles in particular, regarding students in the Quinnipiac community, it requires notification to the vehicles insurance. Gelati said that the process would be much easier if everyone contacts their vehicle insurance company to register their car in Hamden.
Not only out of state cars will be taxed but students that reside in a different part of Connecticut will also need to register their car with Hamden.
If a car is seen in the same area for a couple of months, that car will need to be registered in Hamden. The assessor office will be monitoring theses cars that are out of state and are seen on a lawn or driveway for a few months.
“The tax will affect students who reside in Hamden or have moved here after college and have not yet registered their car in the town,” said Gelati.
Depending on how long the car stays in Hamden will determine whether or not the car needs to be registered. Those who are here for a visit will not be taxed but for students living in off-campus housing, this may create a problem.
The town and assessor’s office have an obligation to discover taxable property in the town. They are allowed to scan license plates over a period of time if they suspect a person to be living in Hamden with an unregistered vehicle.
Gelati said that he has received positive feedback from residents of Hamden and believes that this might even bridge the gap of Quinnipiac students and Hamden residents. He believes that it is a positive move for the university and the students to be in compliance and pay their appropriate taxes.
Gelati is not sure how this would affect on-campus residents because Quinnipiac is private property but he is sure that students living in off-campus housing will be affected.
“I would like to add that, should the university students want to have more information about this process we would be more than happy to attend a meeting and help students learn more about the process to register their cars in Hamden,” said Gelati.
Gelati understands that the process of registering a car can be quite intimidating and is happy to speak with the school and students to makes the process easier for all.
Six months after the Hamden tornado severely damaged the roof of the Dickerman House, restoration is underway.
During a Hamden Legislative Council meeting last month, the council waived a $2,707 permit fee in cooperation with community efforts to restore damage left from by devastating tornado on May 15. The storm knocked over trees which demolished building structures throughout Connecticut, including several houses in the northern Hamden area.
The Dickerman House was no exception. A fallen tree in the front yard tore through the middle of the roof, punching a gap in the structure and creating residual damages along the siding.
The roof structure was shattered in multiple different places, so roofer and longtime Historical Society member Bob Zoni is being paid to restore the roof by substituting a few wood beams as possible in order to to maintain the house’s historical distinction.
Roofer Bob Zoni gathers his tools underneath a tarp where the house’s roof once was.
Zoni conceived the restoration plan that passed by the Legislative Council two weeks ago. In his plan, Zoni said that he will repair the roof’s head beam section, the rafters, and the overhang using timber frame joinery and splicing techniques. Other minor repairs were also included in the plan.
“It’s something I’ll be proud of in the end, but it’s very stressful,” said Zoni. “It’s almost like it’s my own house.
In the driveway are stacks of lumber that Zoni plans on using to hold up recycled roof slates. He works under a tarp he propped-up, himself, as well as a lights that hang on a piece of wood in place of a roof beam.
The main struggle of restoring the house, according to Zoni, is something out of his control.
“The weather has been killing me. I can’t get anything done,” Zoni said. “This might be the rainiest year I can remember. Every month I say, ‘well, maybe the weather pattern will change,’ and it doesn’t. “
The exterior damage of the Cider Mill Barn.
The Cider Mill Barn, which sits beside the house on the property, is also damaged. During the tornado, one of the barn’s sides detached from the rest of the structure, creating a massive gap. Wood beams keep the barn from completely toppling during high winds, but Zoni said that another heavy snowfall could cause the barely-standing structure to implode.
Interior damage of the barn.
“People who work outside live and die by the weather,” Zoni said. To his gratitude, forecasts for the remainder of this week show little signs of any substantial precipitation.
The last time that Zoni said he saw a storm as disastrous was during the 1989 Northeastern US tornado outbreak, when 200 homes in Hamden took the brunt of the tornado’s impact. The New York Times reported that cars and industrial cranes were tossed through the air, and rows of houses, as well as an industrial park, were flattened.
The Hamden Historical Society avoided damage during the 1989 tornado, but wasn’t as lucky this past May.
“The Hamden Historical Society is attempting to restore these reminders of our town’s heritage, but to do so it needs to raise $25,000,” says the main page on the society’s website.
Yet, the total cost of the restoration of both the house and the barn may be much greater, according to Zoni. He said that the entire restoration process may cost up to $200,000.
The house dates back to the 18th century. Jonathan Dickerman built the farmhouse for his wife in 1792 and it became state property before the Great Depression. Ownership was then passed on to the Hamden Historical Society in 1961.
The society remodeled the house to resemble as it did in the 18th century, which is a testament to the sound techniques of historical carpentry, according to Zoni.
Had the Dickerman House been a modern, stick-framed house rather than a timber frame structure, the damages would have been more severe, according to Zoni. To a person unfamiliar with historic structures, the damage appears much worse than it actually is. It can be repaired by qualified people.
On the building permit fees waiver for the Dickerman House, Mayor Curt Leng said, “The Town and the Hamden Historical Society have maintained a mutually beneficial relationship that supports the value Hamden’s historic properties bring to our community and quality of life.”
A ladder leans on a wall beside an upstairs hallway window that peeks out unto Mount Carmel Ave. Zoni’s ladder and other work tools take up some of the space upstairs during construction.
HAMDEN, Conn. — South of Quinnipiac University, Whitney Avenue is lined with restaurants and shops and is considered Hamden’s central hub.
Green areas are connected to the sewer. On the map on the right, the area north of “Mill River” is all on septic.
Drive north, past Quinnipiac and Sleeping Giant State Park, and sidewalks disappear a few miles out. Businesses become scarce, and the spaces between buildings start to resemble football fields.
Charles Hague, a business owner on that stretch of road, thinks sewers, of all things may play a role in creating those stark differences. Specifically, the fact that there aren’t any.
His restaurant and bar, Aunt Chilada’s, has been there 25 years. It’s a popular spot among Quinnipiac students and like almost every other business and home in northern Hamden, it has a septic tank.
data-animation-override> “It’s an extra burden and an extra cost”
— Charles Hague
“It’s an extra burden and an extra cost,” Hague said.
Cement lids of Aunt Chilada’s septic tank.
Buried underneath Aunt Chilada’s front lawn, the septic tank doesn’t look like much above ground, just nine cement disks in a row. Hague calls it ugly. For a restaurant owner, he knows an awful lot about how septic tanks work. He needs to.
Septic tanks are domestic wastewater treatment systems, built underground and usually made of concrete, fiberglass or plastic. The tank collects both liquid and solid waste and filters the water to the surface.
The water moves through a pipe and into to a leaching field where it disperses. The solid waste is pumped out periodically and transported to a treatment facility. The diagram below shows the basic functionality of a septic tank.
Septic systems differ from the more common sanitary sewer, which is an interconnected system of underground pipes that carry sewage directly to a wastewater treatment facility.
Sewers are generally publicly owned, while individual septic tanks belong entirely to the property owner, and — as a result — he or she is forced to face the entire cost of maintenance and repairs.
“It’s costly, and you basically put people that are not in the sewer business in the sewer business,” said Tom Sgroi, the director of engineering at Greater New Haven Water Pollution Control Authority (GNHWPCA), the wastewater treatment facility that has served Hamden since 2005.
It’s a predicament that could be unattractive to potential new business owners, especially those who want to open restaurants, which produce a lot of waste.
A standard septic tank for a three-bedroom home holds about 1,000 gallons and the solid waste needs to be pumped every three to five years, according to EPA recommendations. Hague’s tank holds 5,000 gallons and it gets pumped four times a year by different private companies.
Hague said it costs him thousands of dollars annually, but he would not be specific.
By comparison, pumping a standard 1,000-gallon tank generally costs between $150 and $300. In the case of complete system failure, the cost to replace the tank also falls entirely on the owner, which could be anywhere between $3,000 and $7,000 or sometimes even more, depending on a wide variety of factors.
While the cost of the septic tank didn’t deter him from opening Aunt Chilada’s on Whitney Avenue, Hague said most businesses would rather not have to take the risk.
Brad Macdowall, a district representative in Hamden, is concerned about the town’s ability to recruit new businesses, especially considering its current economic situation.
A 2018 report by the Yankee Institute for Public Policy, a conservative think tank, found Hamden to be in the worst financial condition of all Connecticut towns.
Macdowall acknowledged Hamden’s struggles, but made sure to point out the partisan nature of the organization. He also stressed the importance of turning Hamden into a place that could sustain business growth.
“We’re not going to see the kind of new business expansion that we need to see if we’re not offering the kind of infrastructure that those kinds of businesses need,” Macdowall said. “Why would a business expand there if they can go elsewhere with the sort of infrastructure that they’re looking for?”
Apart from the lack of sewers, the location — just minutes away from Quinnipiac — which has grown tremendously in the past couple of decades, couldn’t be better for business.
Despite that, the area remains largely underdeveloped — much to Hague’s surprise.
That section of Whitney Avenue hasn’t changed much since Hague has been there. He has begun to believe it will not change.
Aunt Chilada’s exterior and interior.
Hamden resident Paul Ferraro feels similarly and thinks new businesses could liven up the town.
“Businesses have been in and out, which is strange considering the amount of traffic from the school,” Ferraro said. “I’d like to see more come to stay.”
Macdowall wants more business in this area. To do so, he believes the Town of Hamden must expand the sewer system to cover at least Whitney Avenue all the way north to Cheshire.
The expansion is part of Macdowall’s vision to reduce the long-term financial burden on business owners and residents and allow them to forget about their sewage.
However, it’s a lot more complicated than Hamden just signing off on new infrastructure development since the GNHWPCA owns the sewers and would have final say on any new additions to the existing system.
Right now, Hamden is having early discussions about putting together a plan, according to Mark Austin, the town engineer.
“I heard some chatter going on about it recently,” Austin said, but chose not to elaborate.
Macdowall confirmed that the Town of Hamden administrators are taking some of the first steps.
“We’re doing the research and we’re doing our due diligence so that we can show the water authority why this would be beneficial,” Macdowall said.
According to Section 4 of the GNHWPCA’s Sewer Ordinance, the governing body of the municipality has to approve the project before proposing the expansion.
Sgroi calls it a “chicken and egg” situation, because the GNHWPCA generally doesn’t care if a town wants to connect or add to its sewer system as long as it has the capacity at the plant, everything works properly and it doesn’t impact any of the existing system or its existing customers.
This puts the pressure back on Hamden, which, though it does not own the sewers, would have to ensure any new infrastructure meets the requirements of the treatment facility.
The uneven terrain makes matters more difficult. Running into rock, for example, presents a real risk and, Austin said, “that gets really expensive really quick.”
Hamden is already deep in debt, and while Austin said the Town of Hamden would have to pay the initial cost for installation, Macdowall is confident Hamden wouldn’t end up paying for anything. In reality, he said, the cost would show up in residents’ water bills.
Austin added, “As people connect to the new sewers, they pay their portion of the cost to put it in. So ultimately, the cost goes to the user.”
In the long run, connecting to the sewage system could still be cheaper.
Hague, for one, would welcome the change.
For him, it would mean no longer having to worry about the upkeep of a septic tank, and he would appreciate not shouldering that burden as, he said, business owners do prefer sanitary sewers.
Macdowall doesn’t think projects with the potential to stimulate the economy can wait, either.
“Quite frankly, I think we can’t afford not to do it,” Macdowall said. “If we keep using initial cost as a reason to not continue to develop, then we’re going to stay behind. We’re going to continue to fall behind and stay behind.”
Juvenile justice reform is a job that will never be completely done. But thanks to activists, advocates and lawmakers, the state of Connecticut has seen some progress in recent times. Better knowledge in trends and statistics turns into better implemented practices in the fight to reduce crime and incarceration rates among the state’s youth.
It’s a known fact that some kids are born into circumstances that leave them at a disadvantage compared to others. With the help of lawmakers and advocates molding equity into an innately inequitable system, the state’s most troubled youth have a support system working in their best interest.
Hear the experiences of those affected by juvenile justice reform, from those who pass laws, to the ones who were incarcerated as children.
These are the voices of juvenile justice in Connecticut.
Following the incriminating video of a Quinnipiac University finance professor who appears to be looking to have sexual relations with a 14-year-old boy, an online sting operation has been brought to light.
The sting netted Dr. Thomas Coe, an associate professor and chair of the finance department.
Coe, who has been suspended pending an investigation, but not arrested, began teaching at Quinnipiac in 1999.
After extended online conversations posing as a minor, the head of an organization known as “PopSquad (Prey on Predators Squad),” who goes by “Incognito,” lured Coe into meeting up with what he believed to be an underage boy, only to greet Coe with a camera upon his arrival.
Leading up to the interaction, he had canceled his classes after November 1 due to travel and out of town conferences.
Above: An e-mail Coe sent announcing his travels.
He sent out an e-mail hours before his interaction with “PopSquad” as well.
Above: An e-mail Coe sent before his confrontation with “PopSquad”.
“PopSquad” is dedicated to luring and exposing child predators in Connecticut, in an effort to help protect children and “raise community awareness around the issue in hopes of toughening laws and legislation” according to the “PopSquad” website.
The videos taken of unsuspecting predators, including the one featuring Coe, are then posted to the “PopSquad” website, where they join the ranks of the other 129 individuals that Incognito has caught on camera.
Incognito told Fox 61 that the mission of “PopSquad” is to change Connecticut legislation regarding how the state handles sex offenders.
“Technology has outgrown our laws and that’s a huge loophole that a lot of the guys I catch get,” Incognito said. “If they go online and they talk to your child and they don’t say anything sexual, they technically aren’t breaking a law,”
HQ Press reached out to Incognito regarding “PopSquad”, who says he has stopped talking to news outlets because he feels as though they are also part of the problem, but did not elaborate on the issue.
“PopSquad’s” Instagram direct message to HQ Press
The “PopSquad” method of exposing sexual offenders bares a resemblance to Dateline NBC’s “To Catch a Predator,” a program aired from 2004 to 2007 that used similar means of convincing offenders to meet up with underage boys and girls through online chat rooms.
However, those who were caught by the operation would leave in handcuffs after the executors of the sting were temporarily deputized by the local police department throughout the length of the sting.
Despite not having an affiliation with law enforcement, the efforts of “PopSquad” have gained plenty of traction online, tallying thousands of views and leading to 14 arrests, nine pending trials and five convictions throughout its two-year history.
However, questions still remain about the future of the 104 other predators caught in the “PopSquad” sting.
Above: Timeline of the events surrounding Thomas Coe.
On Monday evening, Jorge Cabrera, Democratic candidate for Connecticut’s 17th state senate district, stood on the steps of Ansonia City Hall and spoke anxiously to a few dozen supporters, calling for more integrity and transparency in the voting system.
Last Wednesday morning, Cabrera found out that he won the state senate race. He spent the rest of that day into Thursday night celebrating with his friends and extended family. It was at the celebration luncheon on Thursday, however, that he learned something had gone wrong.
“Immediately, we didn’t know what had happened,” Cabrera said at the rally. “We knew that the city of Ansonia had resubmitted the numbers and all of us were left scratching our heads.”
Officials are currently recounting votes after a mistake was made. What the mistake is specifically, officials don’t know for certain.
“It appears it was a mistake made in reporting from the Registrar’s office to the Secretary of the State,” Ansonia City Attorney John Marini told WTNH News 8’s George Colli. “Essentially, from what we’re being told, it was a data entry mistake.”
The latest count has Incumbent Republican George Logan earning 18,513 votes compared to Cabrera’s 18,448 votes, according to Connecticut Secretary of State Denise Merrill. The slim 65-vote margin calls for a recount, but the reporting error further complicates the situation.
“There’s something bigger at stake here. It’s not about the candidates, and it’s not about a political party. It’s the principle of making sure that every single vote counts; making sure that every single person that took the time to vote on Election Day knows that their vote was counted,” Cabrera said. “Nothing lessens the integrity of our election system than what we’re looking for.”
State Senate Majority Leader Bob Duff, who stood next to Cabrera during the rally, said that the voting system loses integrity when numbers are misreported.
“When you have confusion in the electoral system, like what we’ve seen on Thursday, that takes people’s confidence away from the electoral process,” said Duff. “We’re actually seeing that throughout this nation right now.”
In Florida, the results of the U.S. Senate race between Governor Rick Scott (R) and incumbent U.S. Senator Bill Nelson (D) are being recounted. Brenda Snipes, Broward County Supervisor of Elections, has come under fire from republicans since Election Day. Some republicans claim that the delays in the counting process may suggest Snipes’s office was part of an election fraud scheme. Former Florida Republican Gov. Jeb Bush on Monday called for Snipes to be removed from her position in office, while President Donald Trump said last week that Snipes has a “horrible history.”
“An honest vote count is no longer possible-ballots massively infected. Must go with Election Night!” Trump tweeted.
Connecticut and Hamden saw a lot of big wins for Democrats last night. After a tight gubernatorial race, Ned Lamont (D) narrowly beat Bob Stefanowski (R). Incumbent Representative Rosa DeLauro (D) bested challenger Angel Cadena (R). DeLauro is now entering her 15th term representing Connecticut’s 3rd district in Congress. Incumbent Senator Chris Murphy (D) beat Matthew Corey (R) and now enters his second term in the Senate.
The deadline to register to vote in Connecticut has passed, but Quinnipiac University students who haven’t yet are not out of options.
According to the Hamden Department of Registrars and Elections, all students, even those registered in another state, can register to vote in Connecticut on election day, Tuesday, Nov. 6 by bringing their student identification to the Registrar’s office at 2750 Dixwell Ave. If they are off-campus students, please be advised you are required to also bring a proof of residency.
For Hamden residents, polls are open from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. at 10 locations. To find your polling station, visit vote.org.
Hamden sample ballot. Click to see the full size image.
Here is a simple guide to learn more about the candidates.
