Update, 1:40 a.m. Wednesday, video added. Includes Cesar Ramirez, Bruce Morris, Carleton Giles, Mike Mushak and Leonard Dancy.
NORWALK, Conn. – Arguments pro and con were made Monday night, with a $30 million federal grant hanging in the balance, during a Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) public hearing regarding the Norwalk Housing Authority’s plan to rebuild Washington Village in its area of South Norwalk, which is known to flood.
The hearing, held in the full South Norwalk Community Center multipurpose room, featured members of Mount Zion Baptist Church protesting that the flood mitigation efforts planned for the proposed $106 million housing development, partly funded with a large chunk of public money, would send any flood waters their way, endangering their property. Others pointed out that DEEP was not told of the covenants that restrict Ryan Park to recreational uses, while city officials talked of the public good that would come from the development’s construction and attempted to refute some of the accusations or suspicions coming from those who requested the public hearing.
The issue is the Connecticut Department of Housing’s request for an exemption in DEEP’s flood management regulations for the project. DEEP was prepared to issue the exemption without a public hearing, but Friends of Ryan Park President Ganga Duleep submitted a petition that nixed that intention, as state statutes require a hearing in that event.
Duleep is largely focused on the part of the application that outlines dry egress for the project, which was requested by DEEP. The application specifies a raised path, about 5 feet high, that would cut through the park and be suitable for emergency vehicles.
Duleep said drivers would see this path as an easy shortcut, making the park unsafe for children. But Redevelopment Agency Executive Director Tim Sheehan said the plan laid out in the application is “but one example,” as that is what DEEP had requested – an example.
“Ultimately I would anticipate that we are going to hear a variety of options and I think that at the end of the day there will be a recommended option that will be incorporated in that plan that will be presented, again, to the city,” Sheehan said. Sheehan explained that whatever master plan is developed by the committee entrusted to that task would then go through the Recreation, Parks and Cultural Affairs Committee and then the full Common Council.
Not only that, but “There has been a lot of discussion that this has become a private developer’s park. That is completely inaccurate. It is a city park and it will remain a city park,” he said.
The project must meet specific criteria to be approved for an exemption, hearing officer Janice Deshais said. It must serve the public good and must not cause injury nor damage to property, she said.
Engineer Joseph Canas said that not building the development would likely cause injury, as the first floor of Washington Village is now at 8 feet above sea level and the 500-year flood plain, which is the standard at play, is 15 feet. The first floor of the new development would be at 16 feet above sea level, so everyone would be safer, he said.
Right now there is no dry egress, he said. The effort to create dry egress could take a number of routes, he said.
The idea, DEEP civil engineer Sharon Yurasevecz said, is to show that dry egress can be done.
“We know there has to be some development in flood plains. We can’t just say it can never happen. But we want to make sure that when there is development in a flood plain that there is no harm to life or property,” she said.
But others said the proposal to raise the intersection of Day and Raymond streets is a problem. These concerns were expressed most colorfully by the Rev. Carleton Giles, a former Norwalk Police community officer now serving as minister of transition for Mount Zion.
“We are very concerned that any raising of the intersection would cause flooding to occur on our property and maybe even into our church, not only 96 South Main, but also 8 Raymond St., where we also own a building. In our religious tradition we have baptism by immersion. We have a pool in our church that we fill with water when we want to baptize. We want to make sure that we can only do it when we want to do it, not when we don’t want to do it,” he said.
More poignant were the comments from Linca Jefferson.
“When were letters sent out to any of the neighbors or any of the people who live in this area? ” he asked. “… It’s like we don’t exist. There’s water going to come onto Mount Zion’s property no matter what is said and we all know it. When the project is finished they’re going to say it’s your problem, Mount Zion, to get rid of the water.”
But Daisy Franklin, a member of the Fair Rent Commission and resident of the neighborhood, said there had been plenty of community involvement in the project from its inception.
“I put fliers in the mailbox at Mount Zion. I don’t know what happened if they didn’t get it but I put it in the parsonage,” she said.
Franklin said she is in favor of the project even if she has looked out her window and seen Ryan Park looking like a river.
Although NHA Deputy Director Candace Mayer said community input had been solicited, Duleep said that was only partially correct.
“When people come here and say that 98 percent of the residents here approve of anything that was planned or done we say that maybe that 98 percent of the residents of Washington Village may have done that but nobody else who lives in this neighborhood had any clue as to what was happening here,” Duleep said.
Martha Dumas said she had stopped to offer her opinion at one community outreach event and there had been very few South Norwalk residents around.
Susan Carlson of the Friends of Ryan Park presented photos of children playing in Ryan Park. The kids had learned about gardening and yoga in the park as part of a summer camp, she said.
“It was interesting when they played Wiffleball because they didn’t know how to take turns. That basketball court got used like crazy. This is not available anyplace out in the neighborhood. Green grass. Badminton. When did they ever learn about badminton before?” she said.
“Although some seem to think that Ryan Park is just used for the drugs and the dealers, and young men that just want to hang out, it is not, as you have seen with the pictures. … Legally, we can’t have a soccer field or a baseball Little League field, but the kids still enjoy hitting the bat or kicking the soccer ball,” Dumas said.
SuAnn Marshall said she grew up in the neighborhood and brings her nieces and nephews to the park to play. “There isn’t even a bathroom there. That’s a public park. Where are the kids going to the bathroom?” she said. “… Whatever you do for the city, do it with the community in mind. I am all for anything, but you talk about it but you don’t do anything about it.”
Second Taxing District General Manager John Hiscock delivered a message.
“The Second Taxing District cannot support any plan which utilizes any part of the new Ryan Park for a use which is incompatible with the restrictive covenant requiring that the park be used exclusively for recreational purposes only,” he said.
Concerns for property included the cars of future residents, as they would be parked on the flood level. Chris Potts of the Friends of Ryan Park said the idea that’s been circulated to tell residents to put their vehicles in the Maritime Garage is ill-conceived, as they would take up more than a third of the space there.
“We talked to the head of the Norwalk Parking Authority; he was surprised to hear of this plan because he hasn’t been informed of it yet. I don’t think everything has been taken into account when you hve been told plans are in place,” Potts said.
State Rep. Bruce Morris (D-140) called the project a once in a lifetime opportunity to do something for the neighborhood children who are at risk, as the Choice Neighborhoods grant funds far more than construction. That includes greater educational opportunities for the children, he said.
Mayor Harry Rilling attended the hearing for about an hour, but left to attend a Traffic Commission meeting before the opportunity to speak came. Morris said he was asked to deliver a message – Rilling supports the project, he said.
Former Zoning Commissioner Mike Mushak offered a rebuttal to some of the comments. While he has been concerned about gentrification, the Redevelopment Agency is working to keep residents where they are with infill development, he said. The project is designed to New York City flood resilient standards.
“Resiliency is the key word,“ he said. “This project could bounce back very quickly. I think it’s smart. I 100 percent support this project as designed. I think a lot of thought went into it.”
Opponents suggest that the plan be flip-flopped, to put the park along Water Street and the buildings where the park is.
“HUD Choice Neighborhood grants target distressed housing developments in neighborhoods. Sites outside the neighborhood would not meet these criteria,” Mayer said. “While other sites were researched, there were not enough urban core sites with comparable amenities available and there wasn’t enough publicly owned land. Assembling land would have cost substantially more than elevating the buildings out of the flood plain. Norwalk would most likely lose the incredible $30 million grant if the project was moved outside of the neighborhood. A private developer would happily and promptly do market rate housing on this site and gentrify the neighborhood for generations.”
The hearing will continue Friday in Hartford, as DEEP questions those who testified Monday and studies the evidence provided by Duleep.
Written comments can be submitted by Jan. 2 to deep.adjudications@ct.gov
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