Greetings!
Your January 2023 issue of the Asylum Hill Neighborhood Association 'News & Views' has arrived! Each article is listed below with a short quote from the article. Click on the article title to view the complete article. Continue scrolling to find event announcements and job opportunities. Please have a look.
to stay connected and see all the neighborhood events and updates.
Thank you for being part of Asylum Hill.
From your friends at the Asylum Hill Neighborhood Association
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Upcoming Events
Public Informational Meeting on the Asylum Avenue Road Diet Design, Last chance for input on the proposed changes to Asylum Ave.
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By Caroline Austin
CT-RTC is an example of the right-to-counsel movement. Unlike a criminal case, a person with a civil legal issue (like a tenant facing eviction) has no constitutional right to a lawyer if they cannot afford one. This is true even if the court case has high stakes, like a family’s potential loss of their housing. Laws and court processes are complex, and people experience better outcomes overall when they have legal representation, especially if the landlord has a lawyer.
The right-to-counsel movement aims to expand the right to free legal representation in civil cases such as evictions, domestic violence, and child custody cases for those who cannot afford it, usually through the passage of state or local legislation. As of 2021, three states provide a right to counsel for tenants, as well as twelve cities. For more information go to: https://www.evictionhelpct.org ...
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by Caroline Austin
Five days into the new year marks the third vandalism attack within one month that took place at the Mark Twain House, home of Samuel Clemens also known as Mark Twain, publisher, author and progressive civil rights thought leader among other titles. The Twain House, a very important part of Asylum Hill history, standing right next to the Harriet Beecher Stowe Center, preserves the legacy of former family home turned museum of Mark Twain. Although there seems to be no known motive, the attacks have been what seems, a steady onslaught with rocks, bricks and asphalt breaking several windows, and damaging the hand of a statue causing upwards of $20,000 dollars in repairs. The last attacks on the museum were in 2015, where multiple buildings on Farmington Avenue were also targeted, however none of the damage has been this consistent or to this magnitude. This is an ongoing investigation, one that will hopefully be met with a positive resolution.
Thankfully, due to the generosity of supporters across the country, the Twain House raised more than $26,000 in donations to aid in repairs and additional security measures being added. Far surpassing their goal, things are looking up for the Mark Twain House. Instead of seeing this as an opportunity to separate themselves from the community, Executive Director Pieter Roos see this as a chance to draw closer. When asked if he could consider fencing off the Twains House, his response was “Absolutely not!”. Pieter gave three reasons for not putting up a fence. One being that there has never historically been a fence around the home. Another, that it would look terrible and the third in his words “because we want to be a part of the community not separate from it. We do not want to segregate ourselves.” ...
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By Rep. Matt Ritter
Good news for jobseekers. Connecticut's highly successful workforce development and job placement program CareerConneCT is expanding.
CareerConneCT provides underemployed and unemployed Connecticut residents with the resources and training necessary for the pursuit of a well-paying, high-quality career path. The program offers free job training, case management, supportive services, and employment assistance.
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From The Executive Director
David MacDonald
Happy New Year to all!
2023 will be an exciting year for Asylum Hill. AHNA has several goals for 2023 and I’m looking forward to working with everyone to accomplish many great things this year for Asylum Hill. While last year was AHNA’s 25th Anniversary, we will be celebrating this year, so stay tuned for upcoming celebrations.
I’m pleased to report we exceeded our End-of-year fundraising goal and ended our 2022 fundraising strong. During the summer AHNA successfully applied to the state's Community Investment Fund for $1.2 million to begin the renovation of the Aetna/Comet Diner. Last week we applied for the remaining $1.8 million needed to complete the Diner renovation. AHNA also applied for a planning grant to plan the design of the Farmington Avenue Streetscape project in Asylum Hill. Finishing the Diner, along with NINA’s rehab of 278 and 285 Farmington Ave. into home ownership opportunities, the redevelopment of 85 Sigourney and the coming streetscape project will completely upgrade Farmington Ave. over the next few years from Sigourney to South Marshall Street. These are our top economic development initiatives for 2023. We hope you will join us in our efforts to revitalize Asylum Hill.
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Events, & Additional Resources |
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