Caroline Tanbee Smith serves as an alder for New Haven’s Ward 9. She speaks for portions of the East Rock and Fair Haven communities in the city.
She is suggesting a plan to construct a quiet community area underneath the Interstate 91 underpass on State Street.
According to Tanbee Smith, there is a noticeable physical separation between East Rock and Fair Haven as well as across the city. This underpass and this location caught my attention about a year ago, and I began to think, “Okay, so what if we were to take this area and reimagine it into an area that connects them back together?”
She started the project at the beginning of this year, around the same time when New Haven’s campaign to reconnect neighborhoods earned $2 million. The goal of the initiative is to restore areas of the city that were damaged during the 1960s highway building.
At the height of the urban renewal movement in the mid-1900s, New Haven was given $120 million by the federal government to revitalize the old industrial city and remove urban blight. It was intended to serve as a model for other American communities.
The outcome was disastrous. Communities were split apart by the construction of I-91, which led to an even greater influx of people into the suburbs.
Smith hopes that New Haven can serve as a model for other cities looking to make up for past transgressions.
The concept of asking, “If that was part of our story, can New Haven now be a leader in reconnecting communities?” is, in my opinion, what’s really intriguing. “I said,” she said.
AARP donated more than $17,000 to Smith’s project, which will help make the area accessible to locals over 50. It is intended to be an intergenerational project, meaning that people of all ages can use it.
However, Smith also has young people in mind. She took a group of local high school students on a walking tour of the area earlier this year while leading a drafting session.
The concept of constructing a tiny skate park is the most ambitious of all, and Smith and her group of community planners have considered it. She has been speaking with Alexis Sablone, a professional skateboarder who participated in the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games and was formerly a resident of Old Saybrook.
Smith sees the space as a hub for artistic endeavors as well. She claims to be a member of the New Haven Sketchers, an artistic collective that draws various Elm City locales. Additionally, she is looking at the possibilities of live music in the venue.
The planning phase of the project is currently ongoing. Smith is holding a community planning meeting on-site, outside the Ralph Walker Ice Rink, on August 6 at 6 p.m. Attendance is open to all inhabitants of New Haven.
