Connecticut
As a CT building decays, a push emerges for a hospital to be better stewards of historic property
HARTFORD — The 1920s apartment building on the edge of Hartford Hospital‘s campus isn’t much to look at these days: forlorn, boarded up and apparently rotten from the inside out.
But the structure, owned by the hospital since 2010, is emerging as a rallying flashpoint in the surrounding Frog Hollow neighborhood. The neighborhood is urging the hospital to take better care of historic buildings on its campus, especially vacant, decaying ones — and find new uses for them.
Hartford Hospital, part of Hartford HealthCare, has pushed to demolish the 4-story apartment building at the corner of Washington and Jefferson streets, pointing to two engineering studies.
The studies concluded that the brick structure was unsafe, its walls crumbling and its interior floors collapsing. Restoring the structure would be tantamount to rebuilding it, according to the studies, a project that couldn’t be justified because it would cost too much.
The hospital also is under pressure from the city to do something with the building, after being cited for safety concerns, deterioration and blight.
Preservationists and neighborhood leaders oppose the demolition. They argue the hospital has no estimates for what saving the structure might cost and, even worse, no firm future plans for what would be done with property after a demolition, other than creating a grassy area.
“We had so many buildings in Hartford that were demolished because they had to come to down for ‘We’re going to make some future development’,” Mary A. Falvey, executive director of the Hartford Preservation Alliance, said. “Building comes down. And in the blink of an eye, the developer is gone, and we’re left with open parking lots.”
The push to demolish comes just days after the approval of a massive parking garage just two blocks away to accommodate a major expansion of the Connecticut Children’s hospital.
While compromises were made — including the relocation of three historic homes — some in the neighborhood are still smarting from a project that will push into one of Frog Hollow’s historic districts and a predominantly residential area.
Cannon Design
A rendering shows the planned Connecticut Children’s parking garage at the corner of Washington and Lincoln streets in Hartford. The parking garage is connected to the hospital with a pedestrian skywalk over Washington Street. (Cannon Design)
The apartment building at 224 Washington St. also is part of an historic district. The Jefferson-Seymour National Historic District dates back to the late 1970s and includes dozens of structures around Hartford Hospital.
Marcus Ordoñez, co-chair of the Frog Hollow Neighborhood Revitalization Zone, said the group, which is involved in planning to promote vibrancy, opposes demolition, considering Frog Hollow’s historic architecture to be among its greatest assets.
“Our first priority is to preserve,” Ordoñez said. “But in the hopefully unlikelihood that it does get taken down, we want to ensure that something does go there, and that it is something that would not only benefit the patients — if that’s what they choose to do — but the neighborhood.”
The tension between saving the past and redeveloping to move ahead is thrown into particularly sharp relief on urban hospital campuses — especially ones with long histories like Hartford Hospital, founded in 1854.
Late last week, the hospital backed off a bit on the Washington Street property after encountering stiff opposition at separate meetings with the NRZ and the historic preservation commission.
The hospital told the commission, which would have to sign off on any demolition, that it would seek out further options.
‘Definitely haven’t’
Hartford Hospital has come under sharp criticism that it created its own problems when it comes the deterioration of its historic structures by not keeping up with maintenance.
When asked about that criticism, Keith Grant, the hospital’s vice president of operations, acknowledged that upkeep has fallen short.
But Grant said that was because Hartford Hospital was making other investments in the local community — particularly during Covid — that came at the expense of the historic structures. Now, in the aftermath of the pandemic, the buildings should become a higher priority.
“And that’s probably what we’re going to need to do,” Grant said.
Grant said an overall campus plan that includes the historic buildings is in the works. But Grant points to changes that are soon to be underway: Tidier landscaping at vacant properties and the replacement of windows that are now boarded up.
One of the bigger investments will be $2 million to restore the exterior if Levi Lincoln Felt House, at 142 Jefferson. The shingled, Queen Anne-style house stands out from the brick and brownstone construction of adjoining properties. The house was singled out as one of the most notable when the Jefferson-Seymour district was formed in 1979.
Felt began his business career at the age of 15 as an office boy for a Hartford start-up with a bright future — Travelers Insurance — and he retired 48 years later as its comptroller.
But his house, acquired by Hartford Hospital in 2010, has not fared as well. Now boarded up, ornamented chimneys — features that contribute to its architectural value — have been removed. Wooden decorative elements are rotting and planks on the front porch are warping.
Grant, walking along Jefferson St. on Friday, said the Felt House could be used for offices. But converting other brownstone and brick structures nearby to clinical space is more challenging because they are not large enough, Grant said.
That is certainly the case with the Washington Street apartment building, Grant said. But a potential solution might rest with the building next to the Felt House, Grant said.
Two Italianate-style homes were demolished but replaced with replicas using some of the original building materials. The new building now houses a community health center that logged 17,000 primary care adult patient visits in fiscal 2022, demonstrating a clear need for the services, according to the hospital.
The idea might make preservationists bristle, but Grant said it could make a stretch of Jefferson Street a central location for an expansion of much-needed community health services.
Nevertheless, the hospital is committed to keeping a historic feel along Jefferson, the heart of the historic district, Grant said.
“So even if demolition is done, I don’t think it’s demolition with the entirety of the building,” Grant said, of 224 Washington St. “It might be a complete strip down or even take it down and use the brick to put the facade back.”
A comprehensive plan for the historic structures is vital to preserving them because vacant buildings are vulnerable, the preservation alliance’s Falvey said.
Falvey is tracking a dozen on the hospital’s campus, but there was a recent casualty.
A short walk away from the Jefferson Street clinic, a fire in an historic apartment building at 134 Seymour St. so compromised the structure, the city ordered that it be razed. A pile of rubble was still seen Friday rising above a sheathed construction fence.
Falvey also noted that visible building deterioration has a broader, harmful effect on perception of the city.
“People don’t realize that Hartford Hospital owns all these buildings,” Falvey said. “And it’s just dragging down Hartford as a whole because people coming in from the suburbs to Hartford Hospital say, ‘Oh well, yeah, this is Hartford.’ ”
Kenneth R. Gosselin can be reached at kgosselin@courant.com.
Warming centers will open their doors across the state amid cold temperatures this weekend and into next week.
Saturday marks the first day of winter, and it will feel like the new season with highs in the 20s and low 30s.
By Sunday morning, the wind chill will fall below 0.
Winds will be gusting up to 25 miles per hour early on Sunday, so conditions will feel a bit bitter. The northwest hill towns will feel the worst of it.
Temperatures will remain low through Christmas Eve on Tuesday.
There is a possibility for some snow and rain showers on Christmas Eve and into early Christmas Day.
Our StormTracker meteorologists are monitoring the timing and temperatures associated with this system.
To see local warming centers near you, click here.
Connecticut
Strange Connecticut laws, such as receiving a $99 fine for selling silly string to a minor
Sometimes, certain laws in a state can make you wonder whether they are fact or fiction.
Some rather bizarre “laws” are nothing more than a myth, where others are clearly defined.
Like every other state, Connecticut has some strange laws.
If you look through any state’s laws, including Connecticut’s, you’re sure to find some confusing ones. (iStock)
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One quite famous strange “law” of Connecticut regards pickles.
Many online articles discuss a law in Connecticut stating that in order for a pickle to be considered a pickle, it must bounce.
The subject was investigated by many sources, including The Connecticut State Library and NBC CT.
Both point to the same article written in the Hartford Courant in 1948 as the source of the myth, where two pickle packers found themselves in legal trouble for selling pickles “unfit for human consumption.”
One strange Connecticut “law,” which is actually a myth, provides that pickles must bounce. (iStock)
When the “putrid” pickles were being tested, the Food and Drug Commissioner of the time, Frederick Holbrook, stated that a good test to tell whether a pickle was good or not was to “drop it one foot” and see if it bounced.
A bouncy pickle makes a good pickle.
When these particular pickles were dropped, they did not bounce and instead splattered, though the test was not the reason for the legal trouble. There were many laboratory tests also conducted.
Even though the pickle law is fictional, there are other strange laws in the state that are real.
Read about a few below.
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- Restrictions on silly string
- Don’t release balloons
- Limitations on arcade games
1. Restrictions on silly string
Minors aren’t trusted with silly string in Meriden, Connecticut.
Silly string is often used in a celebratory fashion, but it can quickly cause a big mess.
In the city of Meriden, silly string cannot be sold to minors unless they are with a parent or legal guardian.
The specifics are laid out in Chapter 175 of Meriden law.
Children of Meriden, Connecticut are not allowed to be sold silly string without a parent. (iStock)
If a store is selling silly string or products similar to it, it must be locked up, held behind the sales counter or “in some other manner which restricts public access to such products.”
The fine for breaking this law is $99.
2. Don’t release balloons
There are many occasions where balloons are purposefully released into the air. Many states have cracked down on this practice and have created laws limiting the release of balloons, or banning the act completely.
To date, there are ten states, including Connecticut, that have some sort of law regarding the release of balloons into the air, according to CBS News. Rhode Island, Virginia, Maryland and Delaware are others.
Connecticut General Statute Section 26-25C details this law.
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The law prevents the release of ten or more “helium or lighter-than-air gas balloons” into the atmosphere during a 24-hour period.
Though the release of balloons may seem harmless, and a law against it could seem rather strange, celebratory balloons could pose a danger to wildlife.
Animals could mistake balloons for food, causing harm or, in certain cases, death, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service notes on its website.
The strings of balloons can also be dangerous for animals, as they could get tangled up in them, the federal agency additionally notes.
Ten or more balloons may not be released into the air in Connecticut. (iStock)
3. Limitations on arcade games
Did you know that Rocky Hill, Connecticut, has a law involving arcade games?
The details are laid out in Chapter 81 of the town’s legislation.
Described in the law is the regulation that no “more than four mechanical amusement devices” are allowed.
As part of the law, individuals, partnerships, corporations, clubs or associations can not “have in any place within a permanent structure open to the general public or occupied by any club or association any mechanical amusement device without first having obtained a license therefor.”
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“Notwithstanding the provisions of Subsection A, no person shall have in any place within a permanent structure open to the general public more than four mechanical amusement devices,” the law also states.
Those who break this law face a fine of $25 for each day of violation.
South Carolina is another state that has a strange arcade law. Its law is specific to pinball. Those under the age of 18 are not allowed to play the popular game.
Connecticut
Drone Flight Ban: New York bans drone flight in New Jersey, Connecticut amid security concerns: What you need to know | World News – Times of India
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on Thursday imposed a temporary drone flight ban across parts of New York state, including Brooklyn, Queens, and two communities on Long Island. The restriction, which is set to last until January 18, is part of a broader effort to secure critical infrastructure sites, including energy facilities and government buildings, as drone sightings continue to spark fears and uncertainty in the region.
“Precautionary action” or real threat?
Gov. Kathy Hochul of New York reassured the public that the ban was precautionary in nature, emphasizing that “there are no threats to these sites.” However, with the restriction affecting critical areas like Far Rockaway in Queens, Ridge, and Garden City on Long Island, many are left wondering if authorities know more than they are letting on.
Meanwhile, the FAA’s move comes after a similar ban was imposed in New Jersey earlier this week, covering a significant portion of the state, including Camden, Elizabeth, and Jersey City. The restrictions, which will last through January 17, are part of a response to rising concerns over drone activity near sensitive infrastructure, such as the Salem Nuclear Generating Station in Lower Alloways Creek.
“This is an extremely important site,” Rep. Jeff Van Drew Says of Nuclear Plant
Rep. Jeff Van Drew, whose district includes Salem County, voiced his concerns over recent reports of drones near the nuclear facility. “This is tactically an extremely important site,” Van Drew explained, highlighting the importance of the facility, which generates nearly half of New Jersey’s power. PSE&G, the operator of Salem Nuclear, confirmed that the company had requested the FAA impose flight restrictions near the facility for safety reasons.
While there has been no direct evidence of a threat, the urgency surrounding the drone sightings has escalated. Van Drew criticized the federal government for not providing more concrete details on the incidents, noting that “what scares people is uncertainty.”
A broader concern spreads across the region
As drone sightings have become more frequent, public concern has intensified. In Connecticut, Republican lawmakers are now calling for similar drone restrictions to protect the state’s critical infrastructure, with a collective question hanging in the air: “What about Connecticut?”
In New Jersey, Rep. Josh Gottheimer expressed frustration over the lack of transparency. “They must brief the public on the reasons for their action,” he stated. He worried that without a clear explanation, the FAA’s broad ban could create even more confusion and panic among residents and businesses in the affected areas.
Confusion and difficulties for pilots
Patrick E. Bradley, an aviation lawyer and pilot based in Princeton, New Jersey, remarked on the unusual nature of the FAA’s decision, pointing out that he has never seen such an extensive set of restrictions in over 40 years of flying. “All of these minuscule, tiny, temporary flight restrictions – I’ve never seen that done before,” Bradley said, adding that the complexity of the bans could lead to confusion for both drone operators and airplane pilots trying to navigate the airspace.
The FAA’s restrictions apply only to drone operators, but consequences for violators are severe. Pilots found flying drones in restricted areas could face federal detention or questioning. Many commercial drones are registered with the FAA, making it easier for authorities to track down violators. However, there is still concern over how hobbyists or recreational drone users may be discovered.
Security concerns or overreaction?
Despite repeated assurances from federal officials that there is no immediate security threat, the uncertainty surrounding the drone sightings continues to fuel speculation. Dana Gallagher, a spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, stated, “We continue to assess there is no public safety threat relating to the reported drone sightings,” while maintaining that the FAA acted out of an abundance of caution.
As drone sightings continue to proliferate, with numerous reports across New Jersey, New York, and other northeastern states, the question remains: Are these drones merely harmless misidentifications of helicopters or planes, or is there something more sinister at play? Only time will tell whether the FAA’s swift actions are a prudent response to potential threats or an overreaction to a growing sense of anxiety.
For now, New Yorkers and New Jerseyans, along with drone operators across the region, will have to adjust to the new temporary restrictions—waiting to see if this is a momentary precaution or the beginning of a broader regulatory crackdown.
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