Q. Along with the Hartford Public Library, you’re hosting a program, “Summer in the City: Quality of Life in Hartford” this Thursday at 5:30 p.m. What made you want to hold this program?
A. One of the most frequently asked questions from the public (both community residents and businesses) is “What can the public and city do to better address quality of life issues?” The HartfordInfo Today program on July 8 is intended to bring together a wide variety of stakeholders to discuss strategies and increase public awareness on how to most effectively address such issues. We’ll also be announcing and distributing a new Neighborhood Standards document developed by Hartford 2000 (the umbrella organization for Hartford’s 13 Neighborhood Revitalization Zones) with input from the Police Department and others (this document is available on HartfordInfo.org – www.hartfordinfo.org). While it is clear that significant quality of life issues exist, there are also very positive strides that the City has taken to effectively address these concerns. We hope that by highlighting the issues, as well as the progress, we will increase awareness and community response, enhance effective strategies and build further community/city resolve to address these issues. We hope the end result will be to increase the quality of life in all neighborhoods and downtown throughout the summer and year round.
Q. You’re on the city council. How do you respond when people ask you
about the quality of life in Hartford?
A. I reinforce that our city vision is to assure a high quality of life, adequately providing public safety for all citizens/businesses, removing public nuisances such as inappropriate noise; assuring clean streets/neighborhoods; graffiti reduction; eliminating inappropriate traffic hazards such as ATV’s, speeding vehicles, pocket-bikes; eliminating loitering and public drinking/narcotics trafficking and appropriately addressing other quality of life issues (deteriorated properties, etc.).
We recognize further that many of these issues need ongoing attention and are not presently meeting the appropriate standards. As such we have been strengthening local ordinances, enhancing strategies, and increasing city or state enforcement to more effectively improve the city’s quality of life.
In addition, we stress that everyone must be involved in this vision, and everyone has a role. The community must follow quality of life ordinances and uphold community standards. The city must have the Hartford Police Department and other departments (Public Works, Licenses and Inspection, Health Department, etc) appropriately responding to community concerns and/or quality of life violations.
Q. Some of the things mentioned in promoting the material are public
safety, crime, and violence. How do you see those three areas affecting
the business community in Hartford?
A. Most often a preponderance of quality of life issues, as simple as the ‘broken window’ theory, can lead to a perception of lawlessness — decreasing the number of residents and visitors accessing business in areas where an abundance of quality of life issues might be apparent. This has a cascading effect where ‘there are less feet on the street,’ creating a worsening perception and decreasing business overall. This leads to greater insurance and transactional costs to business and disincentives for business to stay in or move to Hartford. In addition, given the close proximity of other communities (outside of Hartford) with higher quality of life conditions — this draws more customers to business outside of Hartford. Given Hartford’s need to retain and attract business, special attention needs to continue to be given to enhancing quality of life standards and improve public safety and enforcement in Hartford.
Q. What are some things that can be done to improve the business quality
of life in your view?
A. In recent years a significant amount of progress has been made on addressing quality of life issues. Police Chief Daryl Roberts has prioritizied law enforcement strategies targeting convenience stores with chronic quality of life issues; requiring businesses with repeat violent incidents to hire extra security; and detailing specific policing operations and community policing to address quality of life issues such as reduction in noise violations, speeeding vehicles and more. The Mayor and City Council have enhanced ordinances relative to noise violations, convenience store regulations, anti-blight enforcement and other procedures. A community court was established a decade ago to respond more expeditiously to quality of life issues. And neighborhood standards have been communicated and upheld by a number of community and business organizations around the City, particularly Hartford 2000’s new Neighborhood Standards document mentioned above.
Q. In your view, what continues to be the biggest hurdle to getting more suburbanites to live in Hartford? It appears to be a grocery store in the city center, but what about other parts of the city?
A. As referred to earlier, quality of life issues indeed need more attention and an action plan — as well as greater coordination. At the same time, one of the needs is to also further communicate the progress that has been made on a number of quality of life issues in the city. Indeed for the most part the perception is different than the reality where the quality of life has improved in many ways throughout the city over the past decade. While such amenities as grocery store(s) and book store(s) and other civic/cultural/entertainment might enhance more interest in moving to Hartford, the major issue is that indeed significant progress in Hartford has been made in the past decade (downtown and community revitalization, improved education, new initiatives such as IQuilt, etc….) and there must be further marketing and communication of such efforts. In the years ahead enhanced mass transit and a new public safety complex just north of downtown will further improve the quality of life and attraction that Hartford already offers.
