Waterbury City Guide 2021

The Waterbury Observer | P.O. Box 910, Waterbury, CT 06720 | 203.754.4238 | waterburyobserver@gmail.com

FREE Take One

The Waterbury Observer’s

City Guide

2021 Edition

WATERBURY Photograph By John Murray

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The Waterbury Observer’s City Guide 2021 www.waterburyobserver.org

The Waterbury Observer | P.O. Box 910, Waterbury, CT 06720 | 203.754.4238 | waterburyobserver@gmail.com

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The Waterbury Observer’s City Guide 2021 www.waterburyobserver.org

The Waterbury Observer | P.O. Box 910, Waterbury, CT 06720 | 203.754.4238 | waterburyobserver@gmail.com

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The Waterbury Observer’s City Guide 2021 www.waterburyobserver.org

Welcome To Waterbury

A view of downtown Waterbury from atop Holy Land USA.

The city of Waterbury, with a population of 109,679 and acreage of 28.96 square miles, is the largest city in the Central Naugatuck Valley Region, the fifth largest city in the state and the ninth largest in New England. Located in the region’s geographic center, the city offers a variety of regional retail, commercial, health, education and social services. The city is also located along the Naugatuck River, Interstate 84 (Yankee Expressway) and Route 8, and has a Metro-North railroad station with connections to Grand Central Terminal and is situated 77 miles (about 90 minutes) away from New York City. Waterbury lies in the humid continental climate zone, and normally sees cold, snowy winters and warm, humid summers. Waterbury was once known as the “Brass City” because of its long history as the center of the nation’s brass industry and it is now home to citizens of diverse ethnic, cultural and religious backgrounds.

Today Waterbury is taking steps to build a sustainable future that makes the links between transportation, housing and the environment so that neighborhoods are livable and walkable. With the presence of a skilled and educated regional

workforce, affordable real estate, and the convenience and culture of city life balanced by the nearby rural beauty of the country and riverside, Waterbury continues to be known for its advanced technology capabilities, historic architecture and facades, and most importantly, its strong communities, culture and neighborhoods.

Downtown Revitalization

Waterbury offers affordability and one-of-a-kind urban planning. With well over 150 businesses located within its boundaries, which include professional offices, restaurants, entertainment venues, educational facilities, and retail establishments. The central business district offers elegantly refurbished brownstones and turn-of-the-century architecture with affordable housing opportunities, retail and office space.

Main Street Waterbury

The National Main Street Center has recognized Main Street Waterbury as a National Main Street Community by granting

The Waterbury Observer | P.O. Box 910, Waterbury, CT 06720 | 203.754.4238 | waterburyobserver@gmail.com

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Program Accreditation for “outstanding accomplishments toward the goal of downtown revitalization.” This recognition is presented based on the results of work done and progress made in the preceding year.

Mission Statement: Advocate, educate, and collaborate for downtown revitalization to enhance downtown through the Main Street four point program focus on economic restructuring, promotion, organization and design.

Vision Statement: Easily accessible regional center and downtown neighborhood to learn, live, work and play.

Connecticut residents, many of whom have distinguished themselves in the fields of community service, business, education, law and politics. Today, the campus is located in a modern, state-of-the art facility in the heart of downtown Waterbury.

University of Connecticut at Waterbury 99 East Main Street Waterbury, CT 06702 Phone 203-236-9800 www.waterbury.uconn.edu

Main Street Waterbury 83 Bank Street Waterbury, CT 06721 Contact: Carl Rosa, Executive Director Phone: 203-757-0701 ext.302 www.mainstreetwaterbury.com www.vibesafterfive.com www.brasscitybrewfest.com

Western Connecticut State University

Waterbury Development Corporation

The Waterbury Development Corporation is the premier economic development agency servicing the City of Waterbury. WDC provides direct business financing as well as recommends technical assistance providers, financial counseling and site selection information.

Waterbury Development Corporation 24 Leavenworth Street Waterbury, CT 06702 Phone: 203-346-2607

Downtown Merchants Association

The Downtown Merchants Association is a free forum for all merchants in Waterbury’s central business district to share ideas and work together to improve our mercantile area.

The association strives to unite the Waterbury community through updates on upcoming events and opportunities to participate in making downtown a cleaner, safer, and more lucrative place to be!

Downtown Merchants Association 158 Grand Street Waterbury, CT 06702 Phone: 203-757-2279

Education

In addition to the public school system Waterbury also has a number of non-public, private, and parochial K-12 schools as well as five institutions of higher education.

UConn Waterbury

The University of Connecticut’s Waterbury campus serves more than 1,000 students annually. In its sixty years of operation, UConn Waterbury has opened the doors to educational access and excellence to thousands of

Waterbury is located on the campus of Naugatuck Valley Community College. It offers a convenient location for students in the Greater Waterbury area to take the same academic programs for a Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) in management or a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN). The same classes are offered n Waterbury as those in Danbury, so Western students may take classes at both locations. All courses are conveniently scheduled to accommodate working students, and are taught by Western’s faculty members.

Western Connecticut State University 750 Chase Parkway, Ekstrom Hall 627 Waterbury, CT 06708 Phone: 203-596-8777 www.wcsu.edu/waterbury

Naugatuck Valley Community College

At Naugatuck Valley Community College, students learn in technologically advanced classrooms amid beautiful, safe surroundings that are conveniently located at exit 18 off of I-84 in Waterbury. The College offers more than 100 accredited programs leading to associate degrees or professional certification and more than 100 non-credit courses to sharpen proficiencies and improve employable skills.

As a member of the Connecticut State Colleges and Universities (ConnSCU), NVCC offers its students the most affordable prices in higher education and the opportunity to complete their first two years of college right here in Waterbury. Plus, NVCC students receive free unlimited rides on city buses, which makes it easy to get to class day or night. For students looking to complete a bachelor’s degree or beyond, NVCC also offers full credit transfer to Connecticut State Universities, Charter Oak and more.

NVCC is the only Connecticut community college to offer associate degree programs in aviation science, horticulture, and visual and performing arts (dance option). The campus is also home to unique facilities including two theaters, a freestanding greenhouse, an observatory, many teaching and learning gardens and the new Advanced Manufacturing Technology Center. All students have access to the Academic Center for Excellence (ACE ) for tutoring seven days a week, computer use, English as a Second Language help, research assistance, a specialized Math lab and writing center.

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The Soldiers Monument at the western edge of the Green, and St. John’s Episcopal Church in downtown Waterbury. Photograph by John Murray

Through NVCC’s Bridge to College programs, the College provides early intervention, mentoring programs and academic support services to at-risk students, ensuring the completion of high school, matriculation and college graduation. We are proud to be the first Connecticut community college to grant more than 1,200 associate degrees and certificates at commencement in May 2014.

NVCC alumni become productive employees, raising families and helping to make the Waterbury community economically stronger to live, work and thrive in. Our students find work through the Job Placement Center where they learn how to write a resume, practice their interview skills, attend job fairs and connect with employers who are actively hiring interns or employees. They continue to give back to their College and their community through volunteerism, civic action and annual giving. To learn more about attending your community college, visit www.nv.edu or call us for a tour.

Naugatuck Valley Community College 750 Chase Parkway, Waterbury, CT 06708 Phone: 203 575-8000 www.nv.edu

Post University

Celebrating its 125th anniversary in 2015, Post University provides students with the knowledge, personal skills and experience required to be leaders in their chosen fields.

Located on a 58 acre campus in Waterbury, Post University offers a wide array of undergraduate and graduate degree programs for on-campus and online students of all ages, and is known for its quality, career-driven academic programs, small classes, and competitive NCAA Division II athletics.

The University’s full- and part-time resident, commuter, and online students come from the United States and abroad, and are supported by faculty whose mission is to prepare students to compete and succeed in today’s global workplace. To learn more about Post University, call 800.345.2562, or visit www.Post.edu or http://blog.post. edu.

Post University 800 Country Club Road Waterbury, CT 06723 Phone: (800) 345-2562 www.Post.edu

The Waterbury Observer | P.O. Box 910, Waterbury, CT 06720 | 203.754.4238 | waterburyobserver@gmail.com

Waterbury

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Registrars of Voters

Hours of Operation: 8:50 a.m. to 4:50 p.m.

Democratic Registrar, Teresa Begnal (TBegnal@waterburyct.org)

Republican Registrar, Timothy De Carlo (tdecarlo@waterburyct.org)

The polling places for November 2nd, 2021 wil be Local Districts

Mission Statement The Registrars of Voters are responsible for conducting elections, primaries and special elections and maintaining accurate voter records. Other activities include redistricting, canvassing and registering voters, having special voting sessions and conducting registration sessions at high schools.

Registration Requirements U.S. Citizen | Waterbury Resident | At least 18 years old on or before the next election

Waterbury Polling Places 1-1 Kennedy High School, 422 Highland Ave. 1-2 Gilmartin School, 94 Spring Lake Rd. 1-3 Tinker School, 655 Congress Ave. 2-1 Mount Olive AME Zion Church, 82 Pearl St. 2-2 Jonathan Reed School, 33 Griggs St. 2-3 Woodrow Wilson School, 235 Birch St. 2-4 Regan School, 2780 North Main St. 2-5 Edward D. Bergin Apartments, 70 Lakewood Rd. 3-1 Carrington School, 24 Kenmore Ave. 3-2 West Side Middle School, 483 Chase Parkway

3-3 Kingsbury School, 220 Columbia Blvd.

3-4 Sprague School, 1443 Thomaston Ave. 4-1 Chase School, 40 Woodtick Rd. 4-2 Crosby High School, 300 Pierpont Rd. 4-3 Our Lady of Lebanon, 8 East Mountain Road 5-1 Willow Plaza Community Center, 60 Elmwood Ave. 5-2 Washington Park Community House, 283 Sylvan Ave. 5-3 Maloney School. 233 South Elm St 5-4 St. Francis Xavier Church Hall, 625 Baldwin Street 5-5 St. Peter and Paul School Gym

*Due to redistricting polling places may change for the 2021 elections

Voter Registration Forms: Register to vote in Connecticut | Change your name and/or address on current registration Enroll in a political party or change party enrollment

236 Grand Street, 1st Floor, Waterbury, CT 06702 Phone (203) 574-6751 Fax (203) 346-3533

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Waterbury Public Schools

Approximately 17,445 children attend the Waterbury Public Schools which consists of 19 elementary schools, two Interdistrict magnet schools, three middle schools, three high schools, one alternative education school and one learning center.

Waterbury Public Schools Superintendent’s Office 236 Grand Street Waterbury, CT 203-574-8000 www.waterbury.k12.ct.us Non-public, private, and parochial K-12 schools can be viewed through the City of Waterbury’s web site - www. waterbury-ct.gov Al Yaqeen Academy, Alpha&Omega Christian Academy , Blessed Sacrament Catholic Day School, Chase Collegiate School, Childrens Community School, School Of Norwalk/ waterbury Site, Holy Cross High School, Lighthouse Christian Academy, Our Lady Of Mount Carmel School, Sacred Heart High School, St Peter & Paul School, St Mary School, St. Francis Xavier School, Stepping Stones School, Waterbury Christian Academy, Wee Care Nursery & Day Care, and Yeshiva K’tana Of Waterbury.

Quality of Life

Waterbury is conveniently located at the crossroads of Interstate 84 and Route 8 in one of the most historic and beautiful areas of the country. Approximately one-third of the nation’s total population is within a 500-mile radius.

Known as the “Brass City” because of its long history as the center of the nation’s brass industry, With a population of over 110,000 people Waterbury is the metropolitan center of a thirteen-town region known as the Central Naugatuck Valley Region (CNVR).

Centrally located, this Southern New England City is less than two hours away from New York City, Boston and Providence. The region is widely recognized for its abundant and affordable housing and the city’s neighborhoods offer a wide variety of style and price. Housing costs are competitive and currently below the state average. With comfortable two-bedroom condominiums and three-bedroom homes available in a family neighborhood setting, you’re sure to find accommodations to meet your needs.

For more information, the National Association of Realtors maintains a website known as realtor.com at: www.realtor. com - a comprehensive source for realtors and homes in Connecticut.

One of the unique and interesting aspects of life in Waterbury is its strong sense of community. Waterbury counts as its strengths its ethnic diversity and strong neighborhood associations. Waterbury is proud of the

Where health care is a right, not a privilege.

Offering: • Medical • Behavioral Health • Dental • Telehealth

www.chc1.com

The Waterbury Observer | P.O. Box 910, Waterbury, CT 06720 | 203.754.4238 | waterburyobserver@gmail.com

Mission Statement

The mission of the Town Clerk’s Office is to preserve and protect official city records and provide a wide range of public services professionally and efficiently.

OFFICE OF THE TOWN CLERK Core Functions

• Record and Index City Land Records • Issue and Record all Vital Records including Birth, Death and Marriage Certificates • Issue Marriage Licenses • Issue Burial and Cremation Permits • Issue and Maintain List of all City Dog Licenses • Record and Issue Military Discharge Papers • Record and Certify Notary Public Certificates • Record and Maintain List of Justices of the Peace • Record and Maintain Landlord Registrations • Maintain City Liquor Permits • Enforce Campaign Finance Filings and Make Available to the Public • Various Elections Duties including Issuing Absentee Ballots • Maintain Permanent Records of Elected Officials and Election Results • Provide Graphic Design, Printing and Mail Services to All City Departments

Town Clerk

Antoinette “Chick” Spinelli aspinelli@waterburyct.org Town Clerk aspinelli@waterburyct.org

Hours of Operation Mon-Fri 8:30AM-4:30PM City Hall - 235 Grand St., Waterbury, CT - 1st Floor Town Clerk (203)574-6806 | Vital Statistics (203)574-6800

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Waterbury adult Beacon Falls Continuing eduCation Prospect

Wolcott Beacon Falls • Prospect

Learning is Lifelong...

Registration by Appointment Only Call us at 203.574.8038

Learning is Lifelong…

WATERB WATERBURY ADULT CONTINUING EDUCATION 11 Draher Street Waterbury, Connecticut 06708 Telephone: (203) 574-8038 Fax: (203) 597-3438

Wolcott

11 Draher Street • Waterbury, CT 06708 Telephone: 203-574-8038 Fax: 203-597-3438 Learning is Lifelong... wae@waterbury.k12.ct.us

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The Waterbury Observer | P.O. Box 910, Waterbury, CT 06720 | 203.754.4238 | waterburyobserver@gmail.com

Waterbury Public Schools To inspire and prepare every student to be successful in and beyond school

Award-Winning Schools

Academic Excellence Portrait of a Graduate College and Career Pathways Academic Academy: Grades 4-8 Early College High School New Wendell Cross School in 2021 Follow Us: Us Dr. Verna D. Ruffin Waterbury Public Schools Superintendent of Schools @WaterburySchool

236 Grand Street · (203) 574-8000 · www.waterbury.k12.ct.us

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What is BRASS?

“BRASS is a collaboration of organizations working together to engage Waterbury residents ages 60+, by offering a range of opportunities and programs to help our city become a great place to grow old!”

Programming. Advocacy. Resources.

Bonnie Flannery- BRASS Program Coordinator Are you interested in participating in programs such as wellness, fitness, arts, music, and technology classes for free?

Join BRASS! Danessa Marshall- Waterbury Municipal Agent for the Elderly and Waterbury Senior Center Director.

Do you need an advocate to help voice your concerns?

Join BRASS!

Paola Vargas - BRASS Information and Benefits Specialist.

Are you having difficulty accessing important resources on health insurance?

Join BRASS!

“Being a BRASS Member means being part of a growing family, and having access to senior services, programs, support, friendship and member discounts at no cost. All you need to do is register!”

For more information please call 203-574-6746.

The Waterbury Observer | P.O. Box 910, Waterbury, CT 06720 | 203.754.4238 | waterburyobserver@gmail.com

Office of the City Clerk Mission Statement The Office of the City Clerk of the City of Waterbury is committed to providing accurate records of all Municipal Board and Commission meetings of the City of Waterbury in a friendly and expedient manner.

Michael J. Dalton, Core Functions • Receive correspondence and keep records for municipal boards and commissions • Provide public access to records of all municipal boards and commissions • Oversee the creation of agendas for municipal boards and commissions • Post and advertise meeting notices and agendas • Schedule, staff and record various meetings of municipal boards and commissions • Oversee and assist the Board of Aldermen in the legislative process, from introduction of proposed legislation to final approval and publication • File, maintain and store all legislation, minutes and other recorded documents related to the operation of city government • Provide copies of ordinances, meeting notices and minutes, and other matters of public information to members of the public • Serve as a document and resource center for the Mayor, Board of Aldermen, City departments and members of the public • Assist in the research of requested information and/or documents • Serve as a direct contact for City departments, outside agencies, and the general public on behalf of municipal boards and commissions • Accept and process claims and suits filed against the City

City Clerk mdalton@waterburyct.org The following is a list of the current fees as charged by the Office of the City Clerk: Charter Operating Budget Capital Budget Three Year Financial Plan Digital Copy of Charter Labor Contracts Copies per page

$30.00 $20.00 $10.00 $10.00 $15.00 $10.00 $0.50

For any documents that exceed $10 in cost, payment will be required prior to the duplication of the documents.

Hours of operation: Mon-Fri, 8:50 a.m.-4:50 p.m.

City Hall- 235 Grand Street, Waterbury, CT 06702 203-574-6741|Fax: 203-574-6745

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Questions? Report an Issue?

Citizens Service Center Monday-Friday 8:30 AM - 4:30 PM (203)597-3444

citizenservicecenter@waterburyct.org www.waterburyct.org

@mayoroleary

City Hall, 2nd Floor • 235 Grand Street • Waterbury, CT 06702 • (203)574-6712

The Waterbury Observer | P.O. Box 910, Waterbury, CT 06720 | 203.754.4238 | waterburyobserver@gmail.com

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Several thousand Waterbury students annually dash a mile through downtown Waterbury in late May to complete 26.2 miles of training for the Mayor’s Kids Marathon. The international running fitness and nutrition program was launched a decade ago by New Zealand’s Rod Dixon, an Olympic runner, and the winner of the 1983 NYC Marathon. With the guidance of City Clerk Michael Dalton, YMCA director Jim O’Rourke and Waterbury, Mayor Neil O’Leary, the city now runs one of the most successful programs in America. The Mayor’s Kids Marathon is one of the most positive events in the city every year and will resume when the COVID pandemic allows. Photograph by John Murray

many neighborhood-based community groups that actively promote quality of life for their residents. This type of enthusiasm creates a positive atmosphere in which to live, work and raise a family. Senior Resources are also listed for your reference. Other community resources that provide activities and programs for local families and youths are available below.

Senior Resources East End Senior Center 117 Southmayd Road Waterbury, CT 06705 Phone: 203.757.1307 Meals on Wheels is the most recognized name brand of senior nutrition programs. But other senior meal programs by various names are in many communities in the U.S. and around the world and often go by names other than Meals on Wheels (a generic term generally reserved for home delivered meal programs). While Meals on Wheels programs are delivered to the home, seniors may also find congregate meal programs at local senior centers, churches, or community centers.

Meals on Wheels 232 North Elm Street Waterbury, CT 06704 Phone: 203-756-5261

South Waterbury Senior Citizens South Congregational Church 160 Piedmont Street Waterbury, CT 06706 Phone: 203-754-8154 Transportation provided for Waterbury senior citizens for medical visits, shopping and recreation. Door-to-door service is offered at no additional cost. Van is lift-equipped for seniors who are disabled. The shuttle transports Waterbury seniors to all Waterbury doctors and medical services, including medical buildings in Prospect and Middlebury.

Waterbury Senior Shuttle Phone: 203-757-5355 Hours: Reservations: M-F: 9am-12noon Fees: Donation requested Eligibility Requirements: Resident of Waterbury; Ages 60+; Call in advance New Opportunities’ Elder Services Division offers older citizens a variety of supportive programs which provide everything from affordable household help on a sliding scale, nutrition services including Meals On Wheels, fuel assistance, subsidized volunteer opportunities and more.

Age requirements vary from 55 and above to 65 plus, depending on the individual program.

Animeals, BRASS (Bringing Resources to Action to Serve Seniors), CHORE, Comprehensive Outreach Project for

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The Waterbury Observer’s City Guide 2021 www.waterburyobserver.org

Want a flexible fuel that gives you year-round comfort?

We offer automatic delivery of high-quality propane, installation, maintenance services, plus a full array of equipment including propane heaters and fireplace inserts, stoves, space heaters and pool heaters. So if you need propane, call us. We’ll help you stay comfortable all year long.

Licenses: B1-306393, S3-385748 S7-308682, HOD-192

860.274.3284 baribaultfuel.com

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600 Main Street Oakville, CT 06779

Voted Best Fuel Oil Company

Oil, Diesel, Propane, AC, Installation and 24-Hour Service GREATER

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Thank you Waterbury!

Oil, Diesel, Propane, AC, Installation and 24-Hour Service

The Waterbury Observer | P.O. Box 910, Waterbury, CT 06720 | 203.754.4238 | waterburyobserver@gmail.com

Thapa’s Convenience Store Dean Thapa made his way to Waterbury from the Himalayan Mountains in Nepal. He now owns and operates his own convenience store and is thrilled to be living the American Dream. Stop in for your lotto or scratch tickets, to say hello, or to buy what Dean said is......

“The Coldest Beer In Town” 704 Watertown Ave, Waterbury (Next to Carvel & Frankies) Visit our website at: www.rosachiropractic.com What Is Chiropractic?

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Chiropractic is based on applying scientific fact to stimulating your body’s own remarkable resources. These important self-regulating and self-healing functions are controlled by your brain, spinal cord, and nerves.

When the nervous system is impaired through illness, injury or stress it can cause tissues and organs throughout the body to function poorly.

Doctors call this degenerative chain reaction the vertebral subluxation complex. It is an underling cause of many health problems.

With chiropractic’s hands-on, drug-free health care approach, millions have found a healthier lifestyle through diet, exercise and maintaining proper spinal function.

Voted Best Chiropractor 25 Years

Voted Greater Waterbury’s Best Chiropractor WATERBURY for 22 Years B

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203-573-0011 | 715 LAKEWOOD RD WATERBURY

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Joan V. Hartley The Waterbury Observer’s City Guide 2021 www.waterburyobserver.org

State Senator 15th District

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Best Legislator Most Powerful Woman

Representing Waterbury, Middlebury & Naugatuck

Deputy President Pro Tempore Chair: Commerce

Vice-Chair: Appropriations;Insurance and Real Estate Member: Executive & Legislative Nominations; Legislative Management

Contact Senator Hartley at...

Legislative Office Building, Room 2101, Hartford, CT 06106-1591 Web: www.SenatorHartley.cga.ct.gov

What’s happening at the State Capitol and around the state? Find me on Facebook and find out. It’s paperless, informative and immediate. www.facebook.com — Search: “Senator Joan Hartley”

Joan.Hartley@cga.ct.gov 1-860-240-0006

The Waterbury Observer | P.O. Box 910, Waterbury, CT 06720 | 203.754.4238 | waterburyobserver@gmail.com

many neighborhood-based community groups that actively promote quality of life for their residents. This type of enthusiasm creates a positive atmosphere in which to live, work and raise a family. Senior Resources are also listed for your reference. Other community resources that provide activities and programs for local families and youths are available below.

Senior Resources East End Senior Center 117 Southmayd Road Waterbury, CT 06705 Phone: 203.757.1307 Meals on Wheels is the most recognized name brand of senior nutrition programs. But other senior meal programs by various names are in many communities in the U.S. and around the world and often go by names other than Meals on Wheels (a generic term generally reserved for home delivered meal programs). While Meals on Wheels programs are delivered to the home, seniors may also find congregate meal programs at local senior centers, churches, or community centers.

Meals on Wheels 232 North Elm Street Waterbury, CT 06704 Phone: 203-756-5261

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South Waterbury Senior Citizens South Congregational Church 160 Piedmont Street Waterbury, CT 06706 Phone: 203-754-8154 Transportation provided for Waterbury senior citizens for medical visits, shopping and recreation. Door-to-door service is offered at no additional cost. Van is lift-equipped for seniors who are disabled. The shuttle transports Waterbury seniors to all Waterbury doctors and medical services, including medical buildings in Prospect and Middlebury.

Waterbury Senior Shuttle Phone: 203-757-5355 Hours: Reservations: M-F: 9am-12noon Fees: Donation requested Eligibility Requirements: Resident of Waterbury; Ages 60+; Call in advance New Opportunities’ Elder Services Division offers older citizens a variety of supportive programs which provide everything from affordable household help on a sliding scale, nutrition services including Meals On Wheels, fuel assistance, subsidized volunteer opportunities and more.

Age requirements vary from 55 and above to 65 plus, depending on the individual program.

Animeals, BRASS (Bringing Resources to Action to Serve Seniors), CHORE, Comprehensive Outreach Project for

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The Waterbury Observer’s City Guide 2021 www.waterburyobserver.org Bill Pierpont leads the Mattatuck Drum Band in the annual St. patrick’s day Parade through the South End of Waterbury. Formed in 1767, the band is the oldest active musical organization in the United States of America.

Photograph by John Murray

Elders (COPE), Emergency Response System - VoiceCare, Foster Grandparents Program, InHome Services, Meals On Wheels, MedSmart, Money Management Program, RSVP, Senior Cafe, Senior Companions, Senior Dine, Senior Nutrition Hotline, Tribury Friendly Visitors NOI Elder Services 232 North Elm St., 3rd Floor Waterbury, CT 06702 T: 203-575-4268 Elder@NewOppInc.org

Community Resources

The Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Waterbury is one of the oldest Clubs in America, Established in 1888, the Club has been serving Waterbury youth for 125 years. The Club’s goals stem from our Mission and the goals are for all youth to have a positive self-identity, community involvement, health & well-being, a well-rounded moral compass and educational, employment, social, emotional and cultural competencies by the age of eighteen. The Club does this by promoting the development of young people by instilling a sense of competence, a sense of usefulness, a sense of

belonging and a sense of power or influence.

Boys and Girls Club of Greater Waterbury 1037 East Main Street Waterbury, CT, 06705 Phone: 203-756-8104 www.bgcgwater.org Girls Inc. provide girls with strategies to overcome social, intellectual, and economic challenges while helping empower them to be the change agents for the coming generations. Open six days a week during the school year, Girls Inc. of SWCT offers both summer and after school programs in safe, girl-only empowerment zones.

Each girl can learn, explore, create, and interact with their peers and overcome any challenges. Service area spans from the Greater Greenwich to Greater Waterbury area, including cities such as Stamford, Greater Norwalk, Weston, Bridgeport, Watertown, Prospect and Beacon Falls.

Girls Incorporated of Greater Waterbury 35 Park Place Waterbury, CT 06702 Phone: 203-756-4639 www.girlsincswct.com

The Waterbury Observer | P.O. Box 910, Waterbury, CT 06720 | 203.754.4238 | waterburyobserver@gmail.com

Waterbury Youth Service System, Inc. is a private, nonprofit organization committed to providing services that promote the overall wellbeing of children, youth and families who reside in Waterbury Connecticut and the 11 surrounding towns.

Waterbury Youth Service has grown to include a wide range of programming and services for children, youth and families and has a diverse client base representative of the demographic makeup of the area. Many services target at risk youth; extensive programming that is non-targeted and open to any youth who desires to participate. Programming and services for children, youth and parents treat the family as a whole.

Waterbury Youth Service System, Inc. 83 Prospect Street, Waterbury CT 06702 Contact: Kathi Crowe, Executive Director Phone: 203-573-0264 www.waterburyyouthservices.org The YMCA is a membership organization open to all people; it welcomes women and men, girls and boys of all ages, races, ethnicities, religions, abilities and financial circumstances. YMCA programs and branches embrace diversity, reflecting the needs and composition of the community and embody a commitment to nurturing the

James H. Gatling, ph.d – President / CEO

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Rachel Perez – Board Chairperson

JAMES H. GATLING , POpportunities, H.D. – PRESIDENT New Inc./CEO 232 North Elm RACHEL PEREZ – BStreet OARD –CWaterbury, HAIRPERSONCT 06702 203.575.9799 www.NewOppInc.org

New Opportunities of Greater NEW OMeriden PPORTUNITIES, INew NC. Opportunities of Torrington rd Floor 55 West232 Main Street, 3 Field Street NORTH ELM STREET - WATERBURY, CT59 06702 Meriden, CT 06450 203.575.9799 Torrington, CT 06790 203.639.5060 860.482.9749

NEW OPPORTUNITIES OF GREATER EW OPPORTUNITIES OF GREATER SERVICESNINCLUDE: MERIDEN TORRINGTON v Self Sufficiency Center v BRASS v Elder Nutrition 55 WEST MAIN STREET 3RD FLOOR 59 FIELD STREET - TORRINGTON , CT 06790 v RSVP v Meals on Wheels v COPE MERIDEN, CT 06450 860.482.9749 v VITA v Senior Companions v Energy Assistance 203-639-5060 v Foster Grandparents v Assurance 16 v Animeal v Operation v CARES

Fuel

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Rehousing

WWW .NEWOFoster PPINCCare .ORG v Therapeutic

v Weatherization

v Fatherhood & Referral v Goal Planning & Case Management v Money Management & Budgeting v Housing Information & Referral v CT Manufacturing Assistance Center v Freedom Walk v Assistance with DSS Application Process NOTE: Not all programs are available at all locations v Information

SERVICES INCLUDE:

 Self Sufficiency Center

 BRASS

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potential of kids, promoting healthy living and fostering responsibility.

YMCA 136 West Main Street Waterbury, CT. 06702 Phone: 203-754-2181 Fax: 203-754-9095 www.waterburyymca.org

Healing

Greater Waterbury has two major teaching hospitals, The Waterbury Hospital and St. Mary’s Hospital, with a total of over 600 beds. Both are equipped with Level II trauma centers, have emergency helicopter pads and both are affiliated with Yale University School of Medicine.

The Harold Leever Regional Cancer Center, a partnership between St. Mary’s Hospital and Waterbury Hospital, is home to a collaboration of the outpatient cancer services and resources of both hospitals including: outpatient radiation and chemotherapy treatments, oncology consultations and patient and family support services. Services include: education programs, nutrition counseling and pastoral care.

Most recently both hospitals formed their second partnership to create The Heart Center, an advanced cardiac care program, offering patients at St. Mary’s and Waterbury Hospital immediate access to a complete range of cardiac

services, including angioplasty and open heart surgery.

Approximately 400 licensed physicians in all major health fields serve the region’s hospitals and clinics. Multiple ambulance services with trained paramedical personnel provide emergency services.

Today, more than 3,700 of your neighbors and friends are hard at work caring for you, your family and our community.

Both hospitals continue to expand their network of services, forging alliances with other key health care providers and exploring new ways to comfort and cure. The Orthopedics Center for Joint Reconstruction at Waterbury Hospital ranks in the top 5% for orthopedic care, garnering five star ratings for kip and knee replacement, back and neck surgery, including spinal fusion and overall orthopedic care.

St. Mary’s has combined wellness and convenience through a wellness outpatient facility. The 5,500 sq. foot building is the new home of St. Mary’s Outpatient Physical Therapy Center and includes Sleep Disorder Laboratories.

In addition, the Waterbury Region has numerous licensed residential care homes, nursing centers, assisted living facilities and retirement communities.

St. Mary’s Hospital 56 Franklin Street Waterbury, CT 06706 Phone: 203-709-6000 Waterbury Hospital

The Waterbury Observer | P.O. Box 910, Waterbury, CT 06720 | 203.754.4238 | waterburyobserver@gmail.com 25 64 Robbins Street main hall, an intimate dining space that can accommodate Waterbury, CT 06708 up to 80 for dinner, a grand staircase, and several ornate Phone: 203-573-6000 lobby spaces, this presenting theater offers the national tours www.waterburyhospital.org of Broadway shows, headline acts and emerging new talent in music and comedy, family and education entertainment.

The Harold Leever Regional Cancer Center The Palace has become one of the area’s most desirable 1075 Chase Parkway venues offering outstanding entertainment choices and a Waterbury, CT. 06708 unique backdrop for all your special events and receptions.

Phone: 203-575-5555 Palace Theater www.leevercancercenter.org 100 East Main Street Waterbury, CT 06702 Heart Center of Greater Waterbury Hospital Phone: 203-346.2000 1075 Chase Parkway www.palacetheaterct.org Waterbury, CT 06708 Phone: 203-575-1992 The Seven Angels Theatre produces a Main stage www.heartcentergw.org series of quality professional plays and musicals from fall through spring. Seven Angels also presents a summer theatre Entertainment series, children’s theatre and cabaret concerts. In addition, The Palace Theater is a majestic, landmark theater that Seven Angels Theatre runs the Stage II Community Theatre, first opened in 1922. After hosting all the greatest names in the Seven Angels Youth Company, a Summer Theatre Camp, entertainment history for almost sixty years, it closed in the and a summer program for “at risk” inner city youths. Also late 1980s, following the fate of many similar theaters of its offered are workshops, classes and apprenticeships. day.

Seven Angels Theatre It was saved from the wrecking ball and reopened in 2005 1 Plank Road, Hamilton Park amid great fanfare after undergoing an extensive $30 million P.O. Box 3358, Waterbury, CT 06705 restoration transforming it into a state-of- the-art performing Box Office: 203-757-4676 arts facility. Boasting a 5,000 square foot stage, a 2,600-seat

Voted Best Butcher Shop in greater Waterbury

485 Main St • Watertown • 860.945.MEAT (6328) • www.watertownmeatcenter.org

Locally Owned and Operated

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Waterbury Mayor Neil O’Leary has made the revitalization of downtown a focus of his decade at the helm inside City Hall.

O’Leary capped off his announcement that he was going to run for mayor in 2011 with a lively rendition of “Downtown” by Petula Clark. After winning a fourth term in office in 2019, O’Leary again sang “Downtown”. Photograph by John Murray The Waterbury Symphony Orchestra (WSO) founded in May 1938 under the direction of Maestro Mario DiCecco, has spent the past several decades promoting the understanding, appreciation and enjoyment of symphonic and orchestral music. Originally incorporated as the Waterbury Civic Orchestra (1940), the Symphony and its mission have grown in both vision and artistic merit, expanding from a community orchestra to the Waterbury Symphony Orchestra (1956). By the early 1970s, it became the only fully-professional symphony in Connecticut. The WSO is now led by Leif Bjaland, Musical Director and Conductor since 1994.

The Symphony draws over 100 talented musicians from across New England to perform in our concert series at the Naugatuck Valley Community College Fine Arts Center in Waterbury and various locations throughout Litchfield County.

Waterbury Symphony Orchestra 110 Bank Street, Waterbury, CT 06720 Phone: 203-574-4283 www.waterburysymphony.org

The Mattatuck Museum, located on the Green in downtown Waterbury, is a treasure house of collections focusing on over three centuries of the heritage of the region and the master artists of Connecticut. The museum houses a 300-seat performing arts center, an art studio classroom, and a research library. The Mattatuck Museum was established as the Mattatuck Historical Society in 1877 to preserve the history of that part of Connecticut “anciently known as Mattatuck” - roughly the ten town region surrounding present-day Waterbury. The Mattatuck Museum collects, preserves, studies, and exhibits American art and history with a focus on the art and cultural history of Connecticut.

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O’Leary envisions a new downtown area developing along the Freight Street corridor.

For more than two decades the Mattatuck Museum has been identified as a leader in youth educational programs, services, and outreach, receiving regional recognition and state awards. It also offers an extensive and varied calendar of Gallery Talks, Lectures, Programs, Tours, Trips, and Events.

Mattatuck Museum 144 West Main Street, Waterbury, CT 06702 Phone: 203-753-0381 www.mattatuckmuseum.org

The Waterbury Chorale brings outstanding choral music to the Greater Waterbury area, while providing an opportunity for amateur and semi-professional singers to enjoy the performance of great musical literature. The Chorale, now in its 45th year, performs a wide range of repertoire, from established masterworks to varied programs of contemporary music and music from other cultures.

The Waterbury Chorale Post Office Box 36 Middlebury, CT 06762 Phone: (860) 274-0577 www.waterburychorale.org

Shakesperience is a professional theater company located in Connecticut that reaches a Northeast audience of adults and students alike with outdoor and in-studio performances, Saturday and private acting classes, school & camp tours, and residencies. Shakesperience was founded in 1996 by Emily Mattina and Jeffrey Lapham, with a mission to educate and inspire students, families, and theater professionals through the arts. The non-profit organization is headquartered on Bank Street in the heart of downtown Waterbury.

Shakesperience Productions 117 Bank Street Waterbury, CT 06702 Phone: 203-754-2531 Waterbury Movie Theaters: Regal Cinemas Brass Mill Center Mall 495 Union Street Waterbury, CT 06706

Phone: 203-757-2244 Apple Cinemas 920 Wolcott Street, Waterbury, CT 06705

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Waterbury Parks Dept: 203-574-6793 Children’s Programs: 203-574-8292 • Bunker Hill Park, 265 Bunker Hill Avenue • Bucks Hill Park, Montoe Road • Fulton Park, Cooke Street • Hamilton Park, East Main • Lakewood Park, Lakewood Road • Murray Park, Leone Street • Town Plot Park, Rosemont Avenue • Washington Park, 283 Sylvan Avenue • Waterville Park, 1443 Thomaston Avenue •Woodtick Recreation Area, Nichols Road, Wolcott • Municipal Stadium Chase Park, 150 Sunnyside Avenue •Waterbury East Mountain Park, Route 69

FREE MUFFLER INSPECTION (at Major Muffler)

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Waterbury has a wide variety of outdoor recreational opportunities for you to enjoy. A number of parks, golf courses and other recreation facilities are sure to satisfy even the most discriminating person’s needs.

It’s also recognized as a regional destination for shopping.

From the “Magical Retail Mile” on Wolcott Street/Lakewood Road to the first rate Brass Mill Center Mall and Commons to our bustling downtown district you’re sure to find a variety of activities to suit your fancy.

Waterbury is also known for its top quality dining establishments. Whether looking for a quiet dinner for two or family style restaurant you’re sure to satisfy your culinary desires.

For information on entertainment and tourism destinations contact the Northwest Connecticut Convention & Visitors Bureau located by web at www.northwestct.com, by phone at 203-597-9527.

Approximately 902 acres of municipal park property are located in Waterbury. Included in the many parks and

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playgrounds are 42 tennis courts, 35 softball and baseball fields, and a public lake with a swimming beach. The City of Waterbury’s Municipal Stadium is the perfect venue to take in a variety of High School, College and professional sporting events.

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Phone: 203-295-7777 www.applecinemas.com Affordable matinee and evening tickets for adults and kids.

Interesting film options.

SERVE

Any Complete Exhaust System MAJOR MUFFLER

2098 South Main Street, Waterbury, 754-1662 • Expires 12/31/2021

Voted Best Muffler Shop Years

Never Make Fun Of Someone Who Speaks Broken English.

It Means They Know Another Language.

The Waterbury Observer | P.O. Box 910, Waterbury, CT 06720 | 203.754.4238 | waterburyobserver@gmail.com

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The Hispanic Coalition of Greater Waterbury, Inc. has been in existence since 1988.

The Coalition has three decades of social services experience in the greater Waterbury area and is a principal leader for bilingual services, advocacy, collaboration, education, and policy development in the Latino community.

During the COVID pandemic the Case Management Program and La Casa Bienvenida are being managed by appointments and virtually. This year the Three Kings Day gifts were personally delivered to the homes of needy families. Currently other programs are on hold.

Annual 3 Kings Day Celebration

Case Management Program - provides

assistance with obtaining essential vital records, i.e.; birth certificates, divorce paperwork, identification cards, etc. Also Community advocacy, Family crisis intervention, Translation of documents, Medical Transportation and Immigration Services.

La Casa Bienvenida - Our Adult Day Center ensures that the elders within the Hispanic Community have the necessary nutritional supplements and that their social and medical needs are met. Transportation is provided to and from the Center daily.

Cultural Arts Program - provides middle

and high school students with after-school programming to help advance their knowledge of the Latino Culture through art, music and dance.

L.A.C.E. Youth Development - program seeks to promote youth development via four components: Leadership, Athletics, Community and Education.

Executive Director Victor Lopez

135 East Liberty Street, Waterbury CT 06706

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WATR is greater Waterburyʼs #1 local radio station.

WATR is a part of the fabric of the community.

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Tune in at 1320am or on line at WATR.com for News, Talk and Entertainment, 24 hours a day.

Local News | Local Sports | Local Issues like no other radio station can do it!

Join us!

Steve Noxon

STREAMING LIVE AT WATR.COM AND TUNEIN RADIO

WATR’s personalities include: Tom Chute - Barbara Davitt - Steve Noxon -

Chris Fortier - Bob Sagendorf - Jay Crawford - Suzi Banda - Tom Graves - Joe Costa Larry Rifkin, Nathaniel Zembruski , Tom Hill - Fox News - Tom Shillue - Todd Starnes

The Waterbury Observer | P.O. Box 910, Waterbury, CT 06720 | 203.754.4238 | waterburyobserver@gmail.com

Serving the Greater Waterbury Area since 1972 StayWell provides the full spectrum of outpatient

services needed in the locations that are most convenient.

Quality is a way of life at StayWell that ensures we are always focused on the highest standards of care, the outcomes they produce and the satisfaction of our patients. A thriving Greater Waterbury community requires its members are physically and emotionally well, with reliable medical,

dental and behavioral health services.

Services found at StayWell Health Center Adult Behavioral Health, Adult Primary Care, Dental Services, HIV Care, Pediatrics, School-Based Health Centers, Specialty Care, Substance Abuse & Women’s Health Covid-19 Testing at 1309 South Main Street, Waterbury Monday and Friday from 8am—10:30am Locations 80 Phoenix Avenue 1302 & 1309 South Main Street 160 Robbins Street 30 Church Street, Naugatuck

203-756-8021 www.staywellhealth.org

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There are two 18-hole municipal courses and a private course located in Waterbury.

Municipal course with 18 holes: Western Hills Golf Course Park Road, Waterbury 203-756-1211 East Mountain Golf Course 171 East Mountain Road, 203-753-1425 Private Golf Course Country Club of Waterbury Oronoke Road Waterbury, CT 067202

203-756-6644

Recreation Centers:

Chase Park House Debra Damicis – Assistant Director of Recreation James M. Geary – Recreation Leader 150 Sunnyside Avenue Waterbury, CT 06708 203-574-8292 ddamicis@waterburyct.org jmgeary@waterburyct.org North End Recreation Center Maria E. Torres-Padua – Director of Recreation

Darius Butler – Recreation Leader Dwayne Clements – Recreation Leader 262 North Main Street Waterbury, CT 06702 203-574-8294 mtorres@waterburyct.org River Baldwin Recreation Center Victor Cuevas – Director of Recreation Jessica Donahue-DiBattista – Recreation Leader 135 East Liberty Street Waterbury, CT 06706 203-574-8342 vcuevas@waterburyct.org jdonahue@waterburyct.org Washington Park House Joyce Hotchkiss-Dubicki – Recreation Leader 283 Sylvan Avenue Waterbury, CT 06706 203-574-8297 jhotchkiss@waterburyct.org Waterville Recreation Center Debra Damicis – Assistant Director of Recreation 1433 Thomaston Avenue Waterbury, CT 06704 203-574-8352 ddamicis@waterburyct.org

Celebrating

43 Years of Business!

You may buy Cheaper, but you will Never buy Better

The Waterbury Observer | P.O. Box 910, Waterbury, CT 06720 | 203.754.4238 | waterburyobserver@gmail.com

Waterbury Senior Center

“Let the Waterbury Senior Center be your first call for all your senior needs” The Waterbury Senior Center is a “one stop shop” for Waterbury residents 60 and over.

The Senior Center hosts programs like:       

nutrition and wellness seminars fitness classes plus a fitness room weekly blood pressure screenings arts, crafts, and music lessons a pool hall a weekly lunch program and much more!

Participation in these programs and services can help you feel empowered, while improving your mind, body, and spirit. We aim to keep you informed and involved in your community. We can also provide you and your family with information about local agencies and services. The Waterbury Senior Center staff invites you to visit and explore all that the senior center has to offer. If you need transportation to the Center, please call us. We hope to see you soon!

Danessa Marshall Director/Municipal Agent

Waterbury Senior Center 1985 East Main Street St., Waterbury, CT 06705 203-574-6746 www.waterburyct.org/seniorservices

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The Waterbury Observer | P.O. Box 910, Waterbury, CT 06720 | 203.754.4238 | waterburyobserver@gmail.com

Rail

Metro-North Railroad provides rail service from Waterbury to Grand Central Station and New Haven as well as other locations.

Phone: 800-638-7646 www.mta.nyc.ny.us

“I’d love to hear from you.”

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Madre Latina Inc.

www.madre-latian.com Madre Latina Inc., is a 501(c) 3 non profit organization based in Waterbury, Connecticut and surrounding areas. We were founded in November 2011 and attained nonprofit status in 2013.

We initially began as a support group for Latina Mothers quickly turned into a philanthropic group. We offer many opportunities to our participants to connect through various networking mixers, professional development workshops, group mentoring activities, health and wellness and much more.

Madre Latina Inc., help Latinas banish insecurities and break barriers. Madre Latina educates, connects and empowers Latinas to rise to their full potential.

Our programs and meetings are held monthly, quarterly and yearly, in person and virtually, offering our community the opportunity to build a Network for Latinas.

For more information visit: www.madre-latina.com/ office: 475235-2044 •

ldWine & Liquor e fi r i Fa

Committee Assignments Commerce Public Safety Veterans

State Representative 74th District (D)

Michael DiGiovancarlo

Office - 860-240-8788 Cell - 203-509-4049 Michael.DiGiovancarlo@cga.ct.gov

Near Key Food MarKet iN towN Plot 296 FairField ave • waterbury 203.755.0058

HOURS Mon-Sat. 9am-9pm Sunday 10am-6pm

Wide array of wines & liquors ~ including your favorite local wines

We Welcome Special Orders of any size... Call Now for your Celebrations!

Delightful Customer Service ~ Visit us once & we are confident you will return ~ Ample off-street parking ~ Great prices!

HUGE Selection of Local Craft Beers ~ Most items priced at State minimum pricing

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The Waterbury Observer | P.O. Box 910, Waterbury, CT 06720 | 203.754.4238 | waterburyobserver@gmail.com

City of Waterbury DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS 526 Huntingdon Ave (203) 574-6851

185 South Main St (203) 574-6851

Bureau of Refuse

Bureau of Engineering (203) 574-6857

(203) 574-6851 Bart Startup, Supervisor

Paul Bellagamba, City Engineer

Central Vehicle Maintenance

Bureau of Public Buildings (203) 574-6965

(203) 574-6860 Mario Ferrucci, Acting Supervisor

Bureau of Streets

Bureau of Recreation (203) 574-8261

(203) 574-6793 Brian O’Donnell, Supervisor

Victor Cuevas, Acting Supervisor

Bureau of Parks & Golf Courses (203) 574-6860 John Egan, Acting Supervisor John Kollar, Supervisor Chris Mauro, Golf Course Superintendent

Director of Public Works Deputy Director of Public Works Deputy Director of Public Works

David B. Simpson Mark Lombardo Pat Mulvehill

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Library Park, Waterbury When It’s Safe To Celebrate Again waterburygathering@gmail.com

The Waterbury Observer | P.O. Box 910, Waterbury, CT 06720 | 203.754.4238 | waterburyobserver@gmail.com

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BPRC meeting during a legislative session in Hartford.

Black & Puerto Rican Caucus Column By State Rep. Geraldo Reyes Jr.

Being a chairman of a caucus at the State Legislature can be an influential and important position, but most people back in my district have little understanding of what a caucus is, or how it might impact their lives. Let me try to explain.

A caucus is a group of members of a legislative body who belong to a particular party or faction. There is a Republican Caucus and a Democrat Caucus where members of a single political party go behind closed doors to discuss legislative agendas and strategy. Additionally there is a womans caucus, conservative caucus, progressive caucus, tourism caucus, sportsmen’s caucus energy caucus and manufacturing caucus.

For the 2021 and 2022 legislative process I have been elected to be the chairman of the Black and Puerto Rican Caucus (BPRC), a group tasked with championing minority concerns in all legislative actions. The Connecticut Legislative Black and Puerto Rican Caucus was formed in 1976 and its first chairman was Representative Clyde Billington, Jr. of Hartford.

The Caucus was formed to promote and assist minorities in becoming more actively involved in the political process; and in attaining political office; and to raise the economic potential for minorities and empowerment of the minority community in the state.

The 2021 membership is comprised of 32 total members of Black, Puerto Rican and Latino members of the Connecticut General Assembly; twenty-six Representatives and six Senators, 25% of the Caucus are women. I’m the new chairman and the vice chairman is Rep. Bobby Gibson of Bloomfield.

The BPRC members carry on a tradition of representing minority constituents to the best of their abilities, as well as, working towards the common good of all citizens and residents of Connecticut.

I’m excited to lead and work with this large talented group of individuals of many different backgrounds who bring a wide variety of life experiences to the table. I’ve been a member for almost 5 years and have learned from the past chairmen, Representaive Brandon McGee of Hartford and Representative Chris Rosario of Bridgeport about navigating legislation through the process. A key is getting the bill before the the right audience, and simply working across aisle to negotiate compromise.

The Waterbury Observer | P.O. Box 910, Waterbury, CT 06720 | 203.754.4238 | waterburyobserver@gmail.com

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The 32-members of the BPRC now meet on Zoom calls several times a week to discuss their legislative agenda.

I’m fortunate to work with fellow BPRC member, Representative Larry Butler, and we will continue to advocate for needs our communities and have a seat at the table of power to get things done. I’m excited to continue to represent the underrepresented, and the voiceless, on many of our citywide issues. The BPRC equity agenda is my reason to stay focused and continue this important work. Waterbury is a diverse community with a variety of challenges and a strong upside to becoming a greater city, I want to lend myself to that process and continue to advocate and work hard for 75th District, the City of Waterbury, and State of Connecticut.

The BPRC is prioritizing building equity into 2021-22 State Budget, built into these 7 Pillars: COVID-19 reform, voting expansion, housing equity, education equity reform, transportation, environmental justice, and police accountability.

• We will advocate for more Covid 19 testing, vaccination sites, and personal protective equipment for those on the pandemic’s frontlines, as we look into our communities and make sure all needs are addressed, that the most vulnerable are taken care of.

• The voting situation is clearly one of power, it has been a struggle to get and keep people interested in the process, our goal is to continue to make it easier for everyone to cast their vote. As we continue to expand our right to vote and look at the possibilities of what that could look like in the future.

• The housing situation is one of great concern. We’re anticipating a large problem in Spring 2021 as evictions continue, and to be fair, it’s been a huge problem for landlords.

The need for assistance and expanding “no-strings-attached homeownership” opportunities and what that may look like

is crucial and a keen focus for BPRC. • Education needs in serving our communities with the closing opportunity and resource gaps for children living in under-resourced school districts, addressing equal and balanced administration and teachers proportionally to the student bodies they serve. It’s time for municipalities to get their fair share, and in many cases increase funding to serve our children. The COVID-19 Pandemic highlighted the inequity in the playing field when it came to computers, Wi-Fi and high speed internet. We believe a large percentage of our children were left further behind during the pandemic and question the progress of those that moved on.

• Transportation is crucial as the pandemic highlighted the essential workers and their need to get to work, it is a dire situation for many who count on mass transit. During the pandemic the ridership on the Waterbury Rail Line was the highest in the State, showing the need of our workers still getting to work through trains and buses because services were still timely.

• The BPRC will legislate to continue updating environmental laws to account for the disproportionate impacts of poor air quality, water issues, soil contaminations in our neighborhoods and industrial pollution on communities of color, especially important and magnified in the COVID-19 era.

• The need for police accountability was magnified to the world, clearly visible during the “George Floyd” incident which was abuse and murder. It certainly brings a huge spotlight to a need to continue to address bad actors, especially those with a badge and a gun who endanger the public and their own colleagues. Our reforms in policing must

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Reyes will lead the BPRC for the next two years. continue to address these underperforming bad actors and their behaviors, understanding the unions will fight to not put in terminating language and harsher discipline. I say the world has seen enough, it’s past time to act.

We as state policymakers are dealing with the economic crisis that hit communities of color particularly hard this past year, the focus for the 2021 legislative session poses opportunities for unique approaches to policy solutions. We will propose updating environmental laws to account for the disproportionate impacts of poor air quality and industrial pollution on communities of color, especially important in the COVID-19 era. The revised EJ Law represents the latest effort in a fight for environmental justice that dates to at least 1997 and revised in 2020. The 1997 effort was to oppose a power plant after it was found Blacks and Hispanics living near waste treatment sites were suffering from higher rates of asthma. Since then, not that much has changed. A 2020 Connecticut Health Foundation study found that Black children and teenagers are nearly five and a half times more likely than whites to go to the emergency room because of asthma, and their Hispanic peers are four and a half times more likely.

Historically biased tax policies coupled with sharp declines in revenue promise challenges for black, brown, indigenous and immigrant communities. We want to be clear that we cannot balance the budget for the State on the backs of the already underfunded cities and the working poor.

What lawmakers do in response will have implications for decades to come and ensuring a recovery that extends to everyone will require intentional efforts to undo historic and ongoing harms. We need a recovery plan that highlights the

root of state and local tax policies, how they have shaped the moment we find ourselves in today, and the imperative to follow models that work for an antiracist, equitable economic recovery for all.

The BPRC is poised for great and important legislative work and is excited to continue moving the agenda forward for communities who have been disproportionately left behind, and purposely targeted. Vice Chair Bobby Gibson and I are excited about our new leadership roles and have been diligently working to organize, strategize and implement our plans into action during the pandemic. As our session begins we will work closely with our BPRC team and family.

Rep. Brandon McGee completed his two-year service as Chairman of the BPRC in January. As chairman, Rep. McGee ensured that the BPRC be at the forefront of many discussions throughout the pandemic, including countless virtual town halls, summer-long protests, passage of the police accountability bill, and social justice advocacy.

“It has been an honor to serve with Rep. Reyes on the BPRC.” McGee said. “I know Rep. Reyes and Rep. Gibson will excel as a team in advancing the mission of the BPRC.” My vice-chairman at the BPRC told the sttewide media, “I could not be more pleased to have an opportunity to work alongside Geraldo Reyes as part of a caucus we both care so deeply about it. I believe Representative Reyes understands his role and is ready for the challenge of expanding the mission of the BPRC. I will do my best in assisting him advancing the mission.”

And I want to give my sincere thanks and gratitude to past Chair Brandon McGee for his leadership during the past two years. He navigated us through the COVID-19 pandemic and kept the caucus together while managing the BPRC through impressive legislation passed, and mastering the Zoom world. I am excited to be able to lead the prestigious BPRC, it’s one of the most important challenges in my lengthy professional career. I get the opportunity to work with some of the brightest and energetic legislators in CT. I know I stand on the shoulders of great patriots who came before me, and I will do my best to grow and develop our team and advance our mission.

As the new year rolls slowly in, with the pandemic still in place, the 2021 Legislative session has started. It’s different - meeting on Zoom instead of face to face - but we will perserver, and the BPRC is up for the challenge. The BPRC continues to meet on Tuesday evenings and we have already met with elected officials, commissioners, constituents, organizations and agencies. This practice will continue.

I’m excited as the 2021 legislative session is underway. Our goals are lofty, but we’re in all the conversations and have more than a seat at the table, The BPRC is at the forefront of many issues covered above in our agenda. The bar has been high and we intend to continue to advocate and lead for social, economic and environmental justice for the communities that we have been elected to advocate for. On a personal note, it’s a privilege and honor to lead this prestigious caucus, and I’m counting on all 32 associates to pull together for the greater good and advocate for the communities we represent.

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The Waterbury Observer | P.O. Box 910, Waterbury, CT 06720 | 203.754.4238 | waterburyobserver@gmail.com

God Provides Ministries International

“Uplifting People For A Better Life.”

Clothes • Furntiture Food • Spiritual Support Job Support Donate or Volunteer 203-204-6234

www.godpmi.org ministry@godpmi.org

Executive Director Joseph Ochieng

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The Waterbury Neil O’Leary’s Quest To Re-Brand The City Story By John Murray

Wherever he travelled in the past decade people would inevitably ask Mayor Neil O’Leary how Waterbury was doing, and whether the city was still struggling.

“This happened everywhere,” O’Leary said. “In D.C., in Dallas, wherever I went there was a negative perception of Waterbury. Things have changed dramatically - for the better - and we needed to tell our story.”

The challenge was finding the best way to change the narrative about Waterbury, and O’Leary decided to launch a public-private marketing campaign to re-brand the city.

“We have an amazing story to tell. We were once the Brass Capitol of the World,” O’Leary said, “and although brass left, manufacturing continues to be the backbone of the

economy. And the workforce has gotten better.”

Through a collaboration with successful private businesses - Post University, Drew Marine, Waterbury Hospital and Saint Mary’s Hospital - the City of Waterbury hired WORX, a marketing company in Prospect, to re-imagine the city brand for the next three years.

The news of a marketing campaign costing nearly $700,000 was met with a large collective groan across social media platforms. Forget the marketing investment and fill in the potholes - city residents complained - plow the snow, fix playscapes and take care of basic necessities before worrying about the brand of the city. Those are interesting points, but the mission of the marketing and re-branding campaign is not to fix the city infrastructure, but to spark economic development by showcasing the opportunity for businesses to move to the city, which would increase the Grand List, and

The Waterbury Observer | P.O. Box 910, Waterbury, CT 06720 | 203.754.4238 | waterburyobserver@gmail.com

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lower the tax burden for city residents.

Grant Copeland is the President of WORX and says he understands the

Grant Copeland of WORX

skepticism from the citizenry, “for all the reasons you could write a book”, but marketing is focused on positive at-

tributes to try and attract new customers. Copeland said the economic initiative is focused on getting to the root of the opportunity for businesses to come to Waterbury, and to re-educate through the power of positive stories.

The first steps for WORX was extensive research, online and in focus groups. “We needed to find out what we have here,” Copeland said, “and to discover what work needed to be done.”

The city has a unique infrastructure, is located at the intersection of Route 8 and I-84, two hospitals, and has a skilled workforce and several options for higher education. Mayor O’Leary said the city’s financial health is solid, its bond rating is now AA, the grand list is growing, and a Zillow/Yelp survey just rated Waterbury the #1 most affordable suburb in America with a city feel.

The Waterbury Observer | P.O. Box 910, Waterbury, CT 06720 | 203.754.4238 | waterburyobserver@gmail.com Some interesting facts popped out of the research done by WORX - for example; Waterbury is ranked in the top 3% of the most diverse places to live in America. And the results of an online survey revealed that 34% of respondents had a positive impression of the city, 23% were neutral, and 43% were negative.

O’Leary knows it’s an uphill climb to change the perception of Waterbury, but he is determined to begin the process right now.

“We’re going in a great direction and the story needs to be told,” O’Leary said. “Despite the pandemic we’ve managed to keep the city moving forward.”

Copeland said two thirds of the marketing campaign is being financed by private money - successful local stakeholders that want to tell their story in an attempt to attract more businesses and companies to the city. During initial research for the project Copeland said extensive online searches about Waterbury produced negative sentiment and black eyes, but very little to be proud of.

“One of the things we are working on is to develop positive content about Waterbury that will pop up on search engines,” Copeland said. “We’re not trying to come up with a clever tag line, but to use the human stories of success and share why they have decided Waterbury is where they want to be.”

WORX launched a colorful, informative and interactive website at thewaterbury.com, and begins with the basic question - Why Waterbury? The answer they provide is visionary people, municipal stability, central location, growth initiatives, healthcare excellence, educational depth, manufacturing expertise, a connected workforce, year-round recreation, rich arts and culture, dining options, attractive real estate and the most affordable sub-

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Holy Land USA is an iconic symbol of Waterbury seen by hundreds of thousands of motorists every year. urb in the United States. Each of these categories breaks out into detail with graphs and maps and information for prospective customers.

Commercial properties are listed for potential investors, job opportunities are listed, as are homes for sale and local events.

The website offers up an explanation of “The Waterbury” name. “It is a reference to the brass and clock-making industries of Waterbury’s past. When the two industries converged – with brass becoming a central component in locally-produced watches – Waterbury gained notoriety across the country, and around the world.

At one point, nearly fifteen hundred of a certain pocket watch were being produced each day, a product which became univer-

sally known as a symbol of reliability. Its name? The Waterbury.”

Traffic on thewaterbury.com is growing and both Copeland and O’Leary said that potential business opportunities are already developing as a result of the marketing campaign.

‘Things are going really well with the campaign,” O’Leary said in mid-January. “I’m thrilled.”

And to those who believe that this is not the time to showcase the city, Grant Copeland strongly disagrees.

“The opportunity is right now,” Copeland said. “Great things are already happening here, and by showcasing our successes we can have even more success, and move the city forward.”

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Father Jim Sullivan from the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception blessed 19 restored WWI headstones in the New Pine Grove Cemetary on November 8th, 2020. The headstones had been neglected until Michael Dalton launched a restoration project.

Father Sullivan used water from the Jordan River for the blessing.

Honor Their Sacrifice Story and Photographs By John Murray

Vietnam Veteran Michael Dalton is the City Veteran’s Representative, and City Clerk.

Michael Dalton used to run along the roads through the New Pine Grove Cemetary when he noticed a negelected headstone of a WWI veteran. A veteran himself, Dalton was appalled, and decided to try and restore the tombstone.

“One led to 19 restored WWI headstones,” Dalton said, “and now we’re going to continue this work every year across the city.”

Dalton raised money from his friends and family to restore the 19 headstones this year, and he is hoping to raise $5000 a year to restore 50-60 tombstones every year in Waterbury.

“These men were forgotton,” Dalton told the Observer, “and that’s not acceptable.”

During his comments at the World War I Veteran’s Tombstone Restoration Prjoect, Dalton said, “Our flag does not fly because the wind moves it. It flies with the last breath of each soldier who died protecting it. Their sacrifice will echo in eternity.”

Anyone wishing to help Dalton with his ongoing tombstone restoration project can reach him at 203-217-4781.

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The Waterbury Observer | P.O. Box 910, Waterbury, CT 06720 | 203.754.4238 | waterburyobserver@gmail.com Many of the WWI veterans in the New Pine Grove Cemetary died at a young age due to exposure to mustard gas and other chemicals used in trench warfare.

Waterbury police officer Justin Devaull performed Amazing Grace on a bagpipe.

Seven-year-old Makenzie Watkis read a salute to her Great-Great Grandfather who was a WWI veteran.

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Column By Mike Kaneb New England Peace Center “If peace means keeping my mouth shut in the midst of injustice and evil, I don’t want it.

If peace means being complacently adjusted to a deadening status quo, I don’t want peace.

If peace means a willingness to be exploited economically, dominated politically, humiliated and segregated, I don’t want peace.”

– Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. We can’t avoid difficult conversations forever. Futile efforts to “keep the peace” while ignoring the conflicts before us and neglecting to see them through is the opposite of true peace; it makes the conflict and suffering worse for everyone. There are situations when conflicts need to be dealt with deliberately and decisively. This includes having difficult conversations from time to time with the people we encounter in our lives.

With skill and knowledge, we can avoid toxic arguments and dead-end disagreements. With a bit of mindfulness and courage, we can be masters of conflict. We can navigate difficult conversations with such skill that everyone involved benefits from the conflict and its outcomes.

As Dr. King reminds us, there is too much on the line for us to keep silent. Recall the famous quote from Archbishop Desmond Tutu: “If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor.” There are fierce ideological conflicts raging right now in America, and the world at large, that need to be addressed with urgency and sincerity.

Cultural and ideological conflicts are what underlies the wars, oppression, violence and aggression, that plague our human family all around the globe.

The longer we try to avoid the difficult conversations which come from these

underlying conflicts in our society, the more serious and difficult to manage these conflicts will become.

Know When Not To Engage

Yes, difficult conversations need to be had. Conflict is something we need to face. But that doesn’t mean every situation is appropriate for a difficult conversation. The first step in any conflict is to assess the situation. Work out a unique strategy according to the unique conditions. Get a reading of the person you’re trying to communicate with. What signals are they sending you? What are your options?

Sometimes, the situation isn’t right for a difficult conversation. In these situations, we can use evasive and covering strategies to deflect and defuse our opponent’s advances. We can confuse their approaches and thereby delay the conflict, to wait for a more favorable

The Waterbury Observer | P.O. Box 910, Waterbury, CT 06720 | 203.754.4238 | waterburyobserver@gmail.com opportunity to engage. In The Art of War, Sun Tzu tells his audience to pay careful attention to the subtleties of the weather, the landscape, the time of day, and every observable factor influencing the present situation. Learn to read the signs, and you’ll know when not to engage. This is half the battle.

Prepare, Then Engage When The Time Is Right

Take this valuable time to better develop your strategy for achieving the most beneficial outcome. Consider what times and places might be more advantageous to engage in this difficult conversation with the person you need to communicate with. Sun Tzu warns his readers not to get stuck in protracted, drawn-out conflicts, or else we will burn out our resources and reserves. Make haste to secure victory as quickly as possible, while expending as little energy as possible.

Beware. Difficult conversations can quickly derail and devolve into dysfunction. Conflicts can quickly exhaust our energy. Tread lightly on dangerous ground. Don’t get caught in a disadvantageous situation – make your

point quickly and directly, and always think of your endgame and exit strategy.

Be Victorious, Live Victoriously

Sun Tzu says: “The victorious army seeks victory first and battle later. The defeated army seeks battle first and victory later.”

Even in difficult situations, victories of life, liberty and happiness are possible for us and the people we love. Understanding this reality is called having hope. When the odds are against us, hope can deliver us from the depths of defeat. Throughout history there have been examples of hope and courage that show human beings’ ability to manifest a victorious spirit.

Difficult conversations can be handled with more than just words. You can express yourself simply by being yourself. Strengthen your own position. Show the person you need to communicate with who you are by your actions, and use words only if absolutely necessary. Our goal is to live victoriously; to know who we are, to feel secure in our identity, to practice humility, letting go of our attachments

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and flowing in rhythm with nature.

From this kind of position, a position of quiet, natural strength, we manifest victoriousness in our every action and non-action. Being able to feel victory even when the prospects seem grim is the essential quality of a hero, a champion. To manifest such self-confidence requires uncommon skill and fortitude.

Yet through history there are innumerable stories of people rising to the occasion, sharing their energy of victorious hope and happiness with others.

We can all be heroes, even just in little ways.

Look Deeply, Beyond The Present Suffering

“Being angry in the historical dimension I close my eyes and look deeply: Three hundred years from now Where will you be and where will I be?”

–Thich Nhat Hanh, “How To Fight” In three hundred years our bodies will be disintegrated, and the present forms of suffering we are experiencing will be long over. But we don’t need to wait to die to “rest in peace.” We can live in peace, victoriously, even when suffering is happening. Our lives are interconnected with our fellow human beings and creatures; we can draw strength from the life force of all the beings around us who continue to share this mysterious life journey with us.

If you are facing a difficult situation with someone and need to have a difficult conversation with them, think about the immensity of time, and your place in it. Gather yourself before you make your next move. Come back to yourself and the simple awareness of being. Seek out sources of hope in the world around you. Lean on the strength of your community and the living beings in our environment. This difficult conversation you are facing is only a moment in time. Arrive in the present moment with everything you have. With the right preparation, positioning and use of skillful means, you can use this unique encounter to achieve beneficial outcomes for yourself and others. As John Lennon says: “There’s nothing you can do that can’t be done...”

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Carrying On Community Celebrates and Honors Bertie

Terrence “Bertie” Sanders had been a community anchor in the North End for years, with a tradition of compassion and generosity in the community. Bertie, lower right, passed in 2020, but his friends and family (Bertie’s daughter Kenya Ferguson, lower left) continued the annual Community Give Back at Bertie’s Restaurant at 928 North main Street in Waterbury.

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Volunteers working on a mural inspired by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in Rochester, New York. Photograph by Quajay Donnell

PUBLIC ART MATTERS

By Quajay Donnell

Quajay Donnell has spent the last three years photographing and sharing public art in Rochester, New York. His 12-year-old son captured him last Summer photographing this Justin Suarez piece at Cobbs Hill Park. Photograph by Christopher Donnell

Slumped on my couch with a remote in my hand, I stared blankly at the television, mindlessly clicking through Netflix for something to watch. It felt like an eternity that I sat there scrolling and scrolling, searching for something that would catch my interest as a faint reflection of my sluggish disposition on that brown sofa gazed back at me from the screen. Finally giving up, I rose from the sunken cushion my limp body had created to look out the window. The sun was shining, so I decided maybe some fresh air and a ride would be the best remedy for that meh mood I had fallen into.

I grabbed my keys, jumped in the car and 20 minutes later found myself cruising around downtown Rochester,

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Waterbury Mayor Neil O’Leary during the unveiling of Cool Waters (inset) in 2012. The 900-square-foot mosaic was designed by Bruce and Joanne Hunter, and assembled by hundreds of volunteers. Photograph by John Murray New York. On that Sunday afternoon in 2018, after turning onto Scio Street in the East End of town, I stopped cold at City Blue Imaging. Just under their awning was a Shawn Dunwoody mural. The vivid and multi-colored letters stood out against the baby blue backdrop, accentuated by the red brick facade. Along with Black and White hands joining in the shape of a heart, the mural simply said, “I Heart Rochester, How ‘Bout You?” That was the day I fell in love with public art in Rochester.

Rochester has been home for 14 years. After a stint in DC, I left Connecticut to move to upstate New York. I’m now living closer to Canada than where I grew up in Waterbury. Readers might remember me from my work with The Waterbury Observer over the last two decades on and off, including as a columnist while in high school. Over a few different summers I worked closely with Observer publisher John Murray running and coordinating a series of youth journalism programs producing a youth newspaper in partnership with Waterbury Youth Services. I still have a very strong connection to Waterbury – my mother and siblings live just north of the city. I’m in the state a few times a year visiting them, as well as cousins, nieces, nephews and friends. And while I’ve been gone for a while, it’s still home.

Rochester is my wife’s hometown, and it’s where we chose to settle and raise our son. It would be in Rochester that I

would discover that public art had a way of influencing, inspiring, and lifting a community.

“Public art hits you when you don’t expect it,” said Aprille Roelle, a Rochester resident and admirer of public art. “It also has the capability of striking a deeper chord because it can be unexpected.”

The true beauty in public art is the accessibility. It’s outdoors, and essentially once completed by an artist, it belongs to everyone. There’s no admission fee, you don’t have to have a membership and in so many cases it’s always open.

“So much of what we consider prized and sacred is behind closed doors with what can amount to restricted access,” said Karen Faris, an artist and writer in Rochester. “Art in museums and galleries can have a certain amount of elitism to it, but public art is on the outside, and for all, and speaks to our need to engage with our surroundings.”

Dennis O’Brien, a lifelong Rochesterian, agrees that without what can often be perceived as intimidating spaces to enter, and restricted hours of viewing in indoor spaces, it makes public art for everyone.

“It is out for all to enjoy, discover, and share with others,” O’Brien said. “Public art can teach and inspire us at greater rates.”

Because the art is in public doesn’t mean it should be taken for granted. It deserves a great deal of respect. With

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Shawn Dunwoody (above) sits up on a ladder to get a view of the progress and to encourage volunteers while working on Composers Crossing in 2019. Erich Lehman, co-curator of WALL\THERAPY, during a walking tour in front of the Jeff Soto and Maxx242 mural in the Public Market. Photographs by Quajay Donnell

my camera in hand, I’ve spent the last three years trekking around the city documenting these colorful, inspiring, thought provoking and absolutely stunning pieces that fill so much space in our community. Whether you call it graffiti, street or public art, one thing is for sure, it’s not something exclusive or unique to Rochester — many cities

across the country have a dynamic art scene with incredibly talented artists creating year-round, some with very robust infrastructures to ensure the longevity of the art in their area. Boldly creating in these public spaces, it can be the heart and spirit of their communities.

Waterbury does have a 15-member

Public Art Committee and they have had some success in the past decade with Cool Waters (on South Main Street), Greetings From Waterbury (on Field Street), Origami (in front of the Silas Bronson Library) and the Calderinspired sculptures donated by Italian artists that are in Library Park, in front of the Health Department on South Main Street and in front of the YMCA. The committee is appointed by Waterbury Mayor Neil O’Leary and has made steps forward, but there is a lot more work that could be done. There are blank canvases all across the city waiting for color and life and art.

Here is the mission statement of the Waterbury Public Art Committee; to enhance the economic and community revitalization of Waterbury through integrated arts and performing arts projects that compliment the city’s long-range plan for beautification and development. WPAC provides opportunities for artists to be represented in local public art and the performing arts and for community residents to have access to and participate in the process of implementing public art in their community and neighborhoods.

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Mural of John Lewis by Darius Dennis, Jared Diaz, Ephraim Gebre and Daniel Harrington. Photograph by Quajay Donnell Bravo. Now let’s fully embrace that mission statement and liven up the city.

I don’t recall really seeing any public art when I was growing up in Waterbury, living in the city from elementary school through my mid-twenties. Maybe I wasn’t paying attention during those formative years, but in Rochester it seems endless, and there are so many reasons why it’s so important to the public.

“It adds beauty, meaning, and individuality to a city. Public art reinvents public spaces and encourages creativity,” said Tate DeCaro, a Rochester resident and long-time supporter of public art. “It opens lines of communication between people that wouldn’t otherwise interact.”

For DeCaro, she believes that it gives voices to artists and subject matter that can prompt important conversations in a community. There’s also the sense of place and pride it may bring to your hometown.

“Whenever my niece is visiting from Alabama she says, ‘I always know I’m in Rochester when I see beautiful murals everywhere,’” DeCaro added.

I know what it’s like to want to show off Rochester when someone is visiting. When my 86-year-old grandmother, Lois, visited in December 2019, I drove her around to some of my favorite murals, crisscrossing the city along the way.

Her eyes lit up as we approached the Eastman Theater and she could see Composer Crossing, the painted four-waycrosswalk of piano keys with the city seal in the middle of the intersection that had been completed a few months be-

fore. She recognized it from the national attention the crosswalk had received.

Composers Crossing is an example of public art bringing a community together. Dunwoody, who is known for his large-scale community art projects, led a small army of volunteers, many novices, on a weekend afternoon during the yearly Rochester Jazz Festival. Those volunteers – whose ages ranged from 3 to 80 years old – would paint the keys under his direction in just a few hours.

“I don’t care if the lines are straight, it’s about the community coming together,” Dunwoody said at the time. “There’s no pressure, and it lets people have fun.”

There’s a great deal of power and joy that comes from being a part of the public art created in your community.

Every time I share a photograph of art from Rochester, I get a message or a comment on the post from someone sharing a story about what that piece means to them personally.

They’ll recall meeting the artist, grabbing lunch for them, taking a photograph themselves, going to get some extra paint from the store or some other personal anecdote that makes the work deeply personal to those in the community.

That personal connection also creates pride and protection of the work.

“For me, great public art has the potential to spark unexpected moments of joy, contemplation, empathy, curiosity, intrigue, and more,” said Kate Meyers Emery, a Digital Engagement Manager in Rochester. “It adds to an understand-

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Five Italian artists came to Waterbury in 2018 to create metal sculptures inspired by famed artist Alexander Calder. The five pieces were then donated to the city. ing of community values and history.”

In Rochester, the entire city serves as a canvas. Beneath parts of downtown in the long-abandoned subway you’ll find vivid and brilliant work in those dark tunnels. Then tucked away at the highest point in Cobbs Hill Park are the abandoned water towers that many street artists use as a personal playground to share their craft. There are many other hidden areas, and along with the very public spaces, they’re all important and make up the fabric of public art in Rochester.

But how does a community do it?

How does a community create space and opportunities for public art to blossom in their parks, the streets, and walls? Rochester doesn’t have a central group or public art commission, but it does have chutzpah.

For Rochester, it’s all been grassroots.

It starts with having or inviting world class artists to your community to create. Rochester is lucky to have artists like Sarah Rutherford, Dellarious, Justin Suarez, Brittany Williams, Olivia Kim, and Dunwoody, among others, who call Greater Rochester home.

There’s also a few City-run programs like Roc Paint Division and Peculiar Asphalt, that work with young artists.

In Rochester, you can’t talk about street and public art without recog-

nizing the contribution of the graffiti crew FUA (From Up Above), and their long-standing legacy in the city. Over the last 30 years, their art has filled the streets and their reach has spread well beyond home base as members have created work all over the world.

Then there’s WALL\THERAPY, responsible for roughly 140 murals over the course of their 10-year history.

WALL\THERAPY, the brainchild of Dr. Ian Wilson, uses public murals as a means to transform the urban landscape, inspire and build community.

Ian, along with Erich Lehman (co-curator), and a crew of volunteers, have been bringing art to the streets through a yearly festival and other programs.

In WALL\THERAPY there are lessons for how to navigate and bring art to a community.

“We’ve been fortunate,” said Lehman, who admits there can be challenges to putting artwork out into the public sphere when it’s not part of a city-sanctioned program.

How do they make it happen? The answer is simple yet complex – permission (and sheer will).

“If the artwork we’re installing and facilitating in the Rochester area isn’t expressly advertising, we’ve been able to proceed with the permission of the building owners,” Lehman said.

“We obviously want any businesses located in the buildings to buy in as well, but typically they can’t grant permission to paint on a building; it’s always the best for our work if the final okay comes from the building owner,” added Lehman, who has often had to navigate and negotiate getting those permissions as the lead organizer for the group.

Getting that buy-in from the owner and the resident businesses or at least most of the residents in the building is important.

“They’ll be living with that artwork on a day-to-day basis,” Lehman said.

“We want them to be excited to talk about the artwork and be champions for both the mural and the work we’re doing.”

In moving forward for any community, figuring out the zoning regulations that would apply is an important step.

This could regulate what can or can’t go into an area more explicitly Lehman said.

“Where strict zoning regulations are in place this could then move a mural more into a “design by committee” scenario,” Lehman said. “There’s a risk in diluting the artist’s intentions for the work and can often result in something a bit less impactful than what might have been possible.”

Lehman said it’s also important to note that there are two types of mural interactions. The first is when an artist has a very specific message or vision for their mural. The other is a more interactive approach driven by the community and guided by the artist. For the latter, he said those projects often take much longer, and are often best suited for resident artists.

“Be it those who live in the city they are working or those who have a residency opportunity to be able to do more workshops with the community,” Lehman said. “Both are wonderful additions to a community and the visual environment, but both are very different workflows.”

Then there’s the funding, because public art does cost money. It would be unfair to put a dollar amount here, because there’s a lot of factors that go into the costs associated. Sure, there are people who paint to paint, but the

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One of thirteen statues of Frederick Douglass in Rochester, New York by sculptor Olivia Kim. Photograph by Quajay Donnell benchmarks are all over the place. Supplies, lifts, scaffolding, ladders, travel, lodging and food are all things to consider. Then there’s the prep work that goes into the process, sketches, etc.

“You can even get into the cost of marketing, promotion, documentation of the process too, not to mention production managers and other staffing if it’s a bigger project “ Lehman added.

“It all adds up if you were to actually pay for everything.”

Make no mistake, public art in Rochester has been successful because of the scrappy can-do attitudes and shoestring budgeting of the artists, and organizations like WALL\THERAPY. You’d be surprised what a community is willing to do for public art. Last Fall when Darius Dennis, Jared Diaz, Ephraim Gebre and Daniel Harrington wanted to paint a 3,000-square-foot photo-realistic mural in Rochester of the late Rep. John Lewis, based on a 1963 photograph by civil rights chronicler Danny Lyon, they turned

to the community to help raise funds.

Through crowdfunding, they were able to raise over $20,000 for the project.

Community members even signed up to bring the crew lunch daily, and on cold days people would show up with coffee, tea or hot cocoa. Many came out to just stand in the parking lot in awe of the work they were creating.

“We feel so privileged to receive these opportunities to create engaging work for all to interact with,” Dennis said about the mural located on State Street in Rochester. It’s the third installment of the I AM Series – with a mural in Chicago and one in Louisville by the group.

“When the museums are closed, the streets will always be open,” Dennis added.

That’s the power of public art. It adds to the aesthetic and culture of a community, and has the ability to brighten a neighborhood, inspire its residents, educate, raise awareness, and can ultimately bring communities together.

Connecticut was home for a long time, and there will always be a special place in my heart for Waterbury. During the most recent visit, I stood under the ‘Greetings from Waterbury’ mural and remember thinking to myself, this city needs more of this. More bright walls. More vivid art. More public pieces. More opportunities to embrace public art.

So, what do you think Waterbury?

Are you up for the challenge? Are you willing to look beyond the bricks and blank walls and transform those canvases, giving space for creatives to create? Are you willing to further engage the community through the wonders and power of public art?

I believe every fully functioning and healthy community needs space for public art, because it’s about quality of life.

Well Waterbury, are you ready? I think it’s time for my hometown to fully join the party.

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A Civics Lesson Observations From An Outsider

(Editor’s note - Fernando Cerdeña spent a year in Waterbury collecting Census data and helping engage the Hispanic vote in the 2020 municipal election. Fernando met a lot of people in 2020, and here are a few of his observations of Waterbury civic life.)

Column By Fernando Cerdeña The idea of writing this Waterbury article is to be able to share what I have lived in this city in 2020. What I’ve seen, what I’ve tasted, liked, and what I’ve heard, to see if my experiences

catch the attention of a resident who has no idea what the census is, or the duty to cast their vote, or the importance of being a citizen who respects the rules and laws of the city. I have met dear people, as well as people that are not so dear.

I moved to Hamden Connecticut in December 2019. The first time I arrived in Waterbury was to buy insurance for our car. We were referred to a company in this important city. I remember that after buying the insurance, we looked for a place to eat and our eyes lit up when we saw chicharrones (pork rinds) through the window of a Latino restaurant. What a delight; they say that love enters through the stomach!

It seemed like an ancient city, I was impressed by its churches and cemeteries, but I also did not like its complicated areas, so to speak - slumurized, abandoned, dirty and in a bad state.

I started working on the 2020 Census project at Waterbury in the last week of February. I was hired as a marketing consultant to try to raise the counting figures that in the last censuses were not the best. The city was one of the worst Connecticut cities in the counting figures.

We had a plan for this job, but boom, came the pandemic; therefore, the closure of the whole city. We had to reinvent ourselves; we could not go to the churches to promote the census because there were no churches with service, schools even less, impossible to have informative briefings - but we had to do the work for which I had been hired.

Even more important, trying to get all the residents to be counted. I think this fact made me get to know the city differently. For two months I drove a van with a sound system on top of the vehicle, with audios promoting the cen-

The Waterbury Observer | P.O. Box 910, Waterbury, CT 06720 | 203.754.4238 | waterburyobserver@gmail.com 65 sus. Street by street, neighborhood by A South End clean-up is neighborhood, area by area, I recorded positive civic engagement. more than 260 hours of travel.

We also used the only option we had left to talk directly to people, the use of supermarkets, where I calculate I spoke to more than 1,000 residents of this city. Where I saw that Waterbury is a melting pot of races, of nationalities, but also of a lot of people who had no idea what the census was and that shocked me. How were they born in the United States and do not know what the census is? That is the state we are in. Therefore, I think I have the clearest view of this city so I can speak about Waterbury.

I protected myself a lot. I took great care to do this job, but I also faced people who did not want to use social distancing and the mouth coverings thing achieved was that Waterbury state gave them all the facilities to vote, even less, - “it’s unconstitutional, the had the highest urban census count fol- they did not need to go to the precincts, covid-19 is not real, no one gives me lowed by New Haven, Bridgeport and they could vote by mail, yet many WaHartford. Bravo. terbury residents did not vote. “I won’t orders to wear the mask”, etc.

At the end of the census, I took part vote because I don’t believe in governSir, did you fill out the census? I ask a Latino man in his 70s, in a supermar- in a political project to help two Demo- ment,” “I don’t believe in both parties,” ket. “No, that doesn’t give me money,” cratic candidates of Waterbury with the “We’re still slaves, that’s why I don’t “besides, what does the government Latino vote. An experience very simi- vote,” “why am I going to vote if the want my information for, I’m sure it’s lar to the census, this time it was more police are after us,” “I don’t believe in for something else,” he replied. This intense. Talking to as many people as politics,” “I don’t believe in mail votgentleman finishes buying, goes to the possible to explain the candidates’ pro- ing, but I’m afraid of getting infected so cashier and pays with EBT. Now imag- grams and the importance of casting I won’t vote, although I think I’m travine this individual is not counted in the their vote, we visited several buildings eling to Puerto Rico,” “I believe in BLM census, which means that he does not and apartment complexes. We spoke not in government, that’s why I won’t exist; however, he uses a government face-to-face with hundreds of people vote”, were some of the things people who live in Waterbury told me. program that he should not use. He who were registered to vote.

Just as with the census, many did The world has changed because of the does not exist in the city because he is not counted. But he uses a benefit that not vote for lack of education, lack of pandemic, it has made us vulnerable, another resident who, if counted in interest or as a way to protest against it has put us in situations never imagthe census and there were not enough the system – although the system is ined, jobs have changed. We saw that funds for him, could not use. Why did protecting, caring, funding them– and if we are not present and help the systhe one who was not counted use them, I set this example: in the 75th district tem, the system will take us out. I firmof Waterbury, in a building of 165 ly believe that if we all help to educate unfair, right?

Waterbury, a city made up mostly of apartments with protected rent, 137 and to better understand the system in middle-class people, with a large La- residents could vote, only 71 residents this city, Waterbury will be a better city. tino population. A city that was once voted. Prior to Election Day we toured Why not clean the front of your house? an emporium of companies that gave this building door by door. In the 74th Why not help keep the street we live on work to thousands of people, but with district, in the previous election, only clean? Why not make Waterbury a betthe different crises and technology, will about 300 Latinos voted, in this elec- ter city?

In order to produce an important no longer be generating an exodus of tion we took more than 1,700 Latinos to residents in search of new opportuni- vote, our candidate won by 471 votes. I change in the city, we need to work ties that the city has not been able to must be honest, many Latinos wanted extremely hard at educating the comto go out and vote to get Trump and the munity, in all areas, starting now with generate.

The numbers we searched for in the Republicans out because of their nega- a civic education program. Only 58% of census were not achieved, many were tive campaign, more so than for the the residents were counted in the cennot censored out of lack of knowledge. Democratic campaign, especially with sus, only 49.18% voted in the elections.

Educate them to enter the system, we Others as a rejection of the system; the the Latino vote.

These last elections were different, the are late, we need to start yesterday. • undocumented out of fear. The only

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UnaY Observaciónes Lección Cívica De Un Foraneo

(Nota del editor: Fernando Cerdeña pasó un año en Waterbury recopilando datos del censo y ayudando a involucrar al voto hispano en las elecciones del 2020. Fernando conoció a mucha gente en 2020, y aquí están algunas de sus observaciones de la vida cívica de Waterbury.)

Column By Fernando Cerdeña La idea de escribir este artículo de Waterbury es para poder compartir lo que he vivido en esta ciudad en el 2020,

lo que he visto, lo que he saboreado, o que me ha gustado, lo que he escuchado, para ver si mis experiencias llaman la atención de algún residente que no tiene ni idea de lo que es el censo o el deber de emitir su voto o la importancia de ser un ciudadano que respete las reglas y leyes de la ciudad, he conocido gente muy querida, como también gente no muy agradable.

Me mude a Hamden Connecticut en diciembre del 2019, la primera vez que llegue a Waterbury era para comprar el seguro para nuestro auto, nos refirieron una compañía de esta importante ciudad, recuerdo que después de comprar el seguro, buscamos donde comer y se nos iluminaron los ojos al ver por la ventana de un restaurant latino chicarrones, que delicia, dicen que el amor entra por el estómago.

Me pareció una ciudad antigua, me impresionaron sus iglesias y sus

cementerios, pero también no me gustaron sus áreas complicadas, por decirlo de una manera -tugurizadas, abandonadas, sucias y en mal estado.

Comienzo a trabajar en el proyecto del Censo 2020 en Waterbury la última semana de febrero, fui contratado como asesor de marketing para tratar de subir las cifras de conteo que en los últimos censos no eran las mejores, la ciudad era una de las peores ciudades de Connecticut en las cifras de conteo.

Teníamos un plan para este trabajo, pero ¡zas! llego la pandemia y por lo tanto el cierre de toda la ciudad, tuvimos que reinventarnos, -no se podía ir a las iglesias a promover el censo, porque no había iglesias con servicio, las escuelas menos, hacer reuniones informativas imposible – pero había que hacer el trabajo para el cual había sido contratado, pero más importante tratar de que todos los residentes sean conta-

The Waterbury Observer | P.O. Box 910, Waterbury, CT 06720 | 203.754.4238 | waterburyobserver@gmail.com un rechazo al sistema, los indocumentados por miedo, lo único que se logro que Waterbury sea líder de las ciudades con mas bajo conteo, nos siguieron New Haven, Bridgeport y Hartford, ¡bravo!

Terminado el censo, participe en un proyecto político para ayudar a dos candidatos demócratas de Waterbury con el voto latino, experiencia muy parecida al censo, esta vez fue más intensa, hablar con la mayor cantidad de gente para explicarles el programa de los candidatos, la importancia de emitir su voto, visitamos varios edificios y complejos de apartamentos hable cara a cara con cientos de personas que estaban registradas para votar.

Al igual que el censo muchos no votaron por falta de educación, falta de interés o como una manera de protestar contra el sistema – aunque el sistema los esta protegiendo, cuidando, financiando- y les pongo un ejemplo: en el distrito 75 de Waterbury, en un edifico de 165 apartamentos con renta protegida, 137 residentes podían votar, solo votaron 71 residentes, previo al día de elecciones recorrimos este edifico puerta por puerta. En el distrito 74 en las elecciones previas solo votaron cerca de 300 latinos, en esta elección sacamos a votar a más de 1,700 latinos, nuestro candidato gano por 471 votos, tengo que ser honesto que muchos latinos querían salir a votar para sacar a Trump y los republicanos por su campaña negativa, que por la campaña de los demócratas sobre todo con el voto latino.

Estas ultimas elecciones fueron dife-

rentes, el estado les daba todas las facilidades para votar, no necesitaban ir a los precintos, podían votar por correo, sin embargo muchos residentes de Waterbury no votaron, “no votare porque no creo en el gobierno”, “no creo en los dos partidos”, “todavía seguimos siendo esclavos, por eso no voto”, “porque voy a votar si la policía nos persigue”, “no creo en la política”, “no creo en el voto por correo, pero tengo miedo de contagiarme por eso no votare, aunque creo que viajare a Puerto Rico”, “Creo en BLM no en el gobierno, por eso no votare” fueron algunas de las cosas que me dijeron las personas que viven en Waterbury.

El mundo ha cambiado por la pandemia, nos ha hecho vulnerables, nos ha puesto en situaciones nunca imaginadas, los trabajos han cambiado, ya vimos que, si no estamos y ayudamos al sistema, el sistema nos sacara, creo firmemente que si todos ayudamos a educar a entender mejor el sistema en esta ciudad Waterbury será una ciudad mejor, ¿Por qué no limpiar la frentera de su casa?, ¿Por qué no ayudar a que la calle donde vivimos se mantenga limpia? ¿Por qué no hacer de Waterbury una mejor ciudad?

Para que se produzca un cambio importante en la ciudad se necesita trabaja muy duro en educar a la comunidad, en todas las áreas, comenzar desde ya con un programa de educación cívica, solo el 58% de los residentes se contaron en el censo, solo el 49.18% votaron en las elecciones, educarlos a entrar en el sistema, estamos ya tarde, se debe comenzar ayer.

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dos. Creo que este hecho hizo que conociera la cuidad de otra manera, por 2 meses maneje una van con un sistema de sonido encima del carro con audios promocionando el censo, calle por calle, barrio por barrio, área por área, grabe mas de 260 horas de recorrido.

También usamos la única opción que nos quedaba para hablar directamente con las personas y usamos los supermercados, donde calculo que hablé con más de 1,000 residentes de esta ciudad donde vi que Waterbury es un crisol de razas, de nacionalidades, pero también mucha gente que no tenia ni idea que era el censo y eso me impresiono ¿Cómo que nacido en EEUU y no sabe que es el censo? así estamos. Por eso creo tener la visión más clara de esta ciudad para poder hablar de Waterbury.

Me protegí mucho, me cuide mucho para hacer este trabajo, pero también me enfrente con personas que no querían usar la distancia social y menos el cubre bocas, - “es anticonstitucional, el covi-19 no es real, nadie me da ordenes de usar la mascarilla”, etc. ¿Señor lleno el censo? Pregunto a un hombre latino de unos 70 años, en un supermercado. “No, eso no me da chavos”, “además para que el gobierno quiere mi información, seguro es para otra cosa” me respondió. Este señor termina de comprar va a la caja y paga con EBT. Ahora imagínense este individuo no se conto en el censo eso quiere decir que no existe, sin embargo, usa un programa del gobierno que no debería usar, -el no existe en la ciudad, no está contado-. Pero usa un beneficio que otro residente que, si se contó en el censo y no hubo fondos para él, porqué el que no se contó los uso, injusto ¿verdad?

Waterbury, cuidad compuesta en su mayoría por gente de clase media, con una gran población latina, una ciudad que antes era un emporio de empresas que daban trabajo a miles de personas, pero con las diferentes crisis y la tecnología ya no estarán más, generando un éxodo de residentes en busca de nuevas oportunidades que la ciudad no ha sabido generar.

No se logró los números que buscamos en el censo muchos no se censaron por desconocimiento, otros como

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The annual 4th of July fireworks are now set off from atop Holy Land USA in Waterbury. Photograph by Jennifer Rose

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Secretary of the Navy Kenneth Braithwaite, left, and Waterbury Mayor Neil O’Leary prepare to enter the awards ceremony.

An Inspiration

Waterbury Native, Lt. Thomas Conway Awarded Navy Cross Story and Photographs

By John Murray Some might wonder why community leaders gathered together 75 years after a man has died to award him a medal, the Navy Cross, the highest medal awarded by the United States Navy. The answer is two fold.

First, the Secretary of the U.S. Navy, Kenneth Braithwaite, came to Waterbury to award the honor, and to apologize that Lt. (Rev.) Thomas Conway hadn’t been decorated 75 years ago. Braithwaite recounted Conway’s heorics in the South Pacific at the end of WWII when the USS Indianapolis was torpedoed and 900 sailors had been hurled into the ocean.

The ship had been on a top secret mission to deliver the detonator of the atomic bomb when it sank. Conway was a Navy Chaplin and spent the next three and half days swimming to groups of men floating in the ocean. Conway performed baptisms and gave last rights and did what he could do to buoy the spirits of men floating on the edge of death.

Hundreds of the sailors were attacked by sharks and when they were rescued there were 300 men left.

“It was his finest hour,” Braithwaite said. “And his actions will inspire others to follow their heart and do their duty.”

Lt. (Rev.) Thomas Conway

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The U.S. Navy Color Guard (top) stood at rapt attention during the awards ceremony. On the left Waterbury Mayor Neil O’Leary paid homage to Conway, and above, Braithwaite presented he Navy Cross to Monsignor John Bevins, a former Navy Chapilin himself, who launched the movement to honor Lt. Thomas Conway.

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A monument to Lt. Thomas Conway sits at the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception in downtown Waterbury

Conway, exhuasted from no food or water for three days, died hours before being rescued.

“Lt. Thomas Conway’s actions were never more relevant than they were earlier this week (the ceremony was held three days after an insurrection in Washington D.C. on January 6th).

“Navy men do their duty rather than what they could do for themselves,” Braithwaite said.

Waterbury Mayor Neil O’Leary also heralded Conway’s actions and said, “we must do all we can to inspire hope in those around us.”

O’Leary cited the physical and emotional test of the COVID pandemic as a challenge, and cited Conway’s sacrifice as a searing example of man’s ability to express compassion.

It took an extraordinary effort from Monsignor John Bevins, Bob Dorr of the Waterbury Veterans Memorial Committee, Dr. Kristaps Keggi, Waterbury Mayor Neil O’Leary and two Secretaries of the Navy to make the moment a reality.

“Father Conway was a beacon of service above self. something that means everything to me,” Braithwaite said. “His actions will inspire others in dark and challenging moments to follow their hearts and do their duty.” •

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Mustapha Heron Skills Academy Fighting Gun Violence

The Mustapha Heron Skills Academy was formed as a way to keep the youth off the streets and away from gun violence through basketball, a game that was also a safe haven for the founder Mustapha Heron.

“It’s just pretty much, my community is in dire need of somebody to step up and try to better the community. I focus on trying to end gun violence because it’s huge in my community and in a lot of inner cities around the country. We have to try and come together and end it because it’s ripping apart homes and families,” said Heron about the purpose behind the Mustapha Heron Skills Academy.

For the past two and a half years the MHSA has initiated various tournaments and basketball showcases. The MHSA also provides basketball skills training that includes dribbling drills, shooting drills, defense drills, agility work and much more. The sessions serve girls and boys ages 10 +.

For more information please contact Bryan Heron (203) 887-5932 and/or Victor Cuevas (203) 592-8025.

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The nation is on edge after shootings in Minnesota, Louisiana and Texas have taken the lives of black civilians and police officers. As advocates for Black Lives Matter, Blue Lives Matter, and All Lives Matter are engaged in raucous debate, members of the Waterbury Police Department organized a community forum with black clergy and role played a routine traffic stop for the audience at Mount Olive A.M.E. Zion Church. The police went through three scenarios to give the public safety tips, and stirred a controversy with a handout about “surviving” a police stop. Photograph by John Murray

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Home Run Waterbury’s Maryam Moaken graduated from Crosby High School in June and recently received a $1000 Connecticut Red Sox Service Scholarship presented on the field at Fenway Park in Boston.

Photograph by Vanessa Cook

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Having A Baby In A Pandemic

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Column By Chelsea Murray Kaneb

For as long as I can remember, I’ve had a crippling fear of heights, and of giving birth. I’m still working on the whole fear of heights thing, but I had to tackle the other one head on in 2020 when I found out my husband, Michael, and I were expecting a baby last August.

I thought I would be brimming with anxiety the entire pregnancy, but quite the opposite happened. Once I boarded the train, I realized there was nothing I could do but embrace what was to come.

I armed myself with books, podcasts, followed tons of pages on social media and tapped into my mindfulness training to help stay in the moment. My biggest concern as a people pleaser with chronic boundary issues was tuning out people’s opinions and advice, as well as grounding our lives to prepare for parenthood since I love to travel.

Those concerns were oddly taken out my control when the entire world tipped upside down in mid-March 2020 as the COVID-19 pandemic began to rage. We were forced to close down our café, and lock down at home since The Center for Disease Control and Prevention identified pregnant women as a vulnerable population during the pandemic. If infected, pregnant women faced a higher risk of hospitalization, ventilation and pre-term births, and there wasn’t much data about how it would impact unborn babies. We weren’t going to take any chances, we had to be vigilant. We quarantined at home, and I was able to continue selling ads at The Waterbury Observer without meeting anyone face to face.

COVID changed everything in our pregnancy, some of it unfortunate, but some of it a blessing in disguise. The pandemic made us appreciate the moment and take everything one day at a time.

Most in-person doctor’s appointments were switched to virtual check-ins, and my husband couldn’t attend any physical appointments with me, including the ultrasounds where I got to lay eyes on our baby for the first time, and hear her heart beating strongly. The ultrasound that would eventually reveal the gender of our child was scheduled on my Granny’s birthday in March 2020. My grandmother had passed away 15 years earlier, and it helped put my nerves at ease to pretend that she was sitting there with me along with the cheerful technician. But that didn’t take the sting away that I couldn’t share that moment with Michael. We made the best of it though, enjoying looking at the alien images together after the appointment, trying to decipher what body parts we were looking at.

I wanted to find out our baby’s gender together, so I had the technician write it down on a piece of paper and stick it in an envelope and we opened it together in the car outside

A mother’s fears were intensified during the COVID pandemic with quarantine, virtual doctor’s visits and uncertainty. of the Waterbury Post Office. We thought about opening it over a nice dinner, but we couldn’t wait a moment longer.

On my Granny’s birthday, in an idling truck on Grand Street in downtown Waterbury, we found out that we were expecting a little girl.

Due to COVID concerns there was a brief period where it was up in the air if Michael would even be able to attend the birth, but thankfully by August that wasn’t an issue. We had hired a doula (a labor and birthing coach) that would be on hand to assist both of us during the labor, but only one support person was able to attend the birth (COVID protocol), so we had to prepare as much as we could with the doula prior to labor.

We took a virtual hypno-birthing course together and got on the same page about breathing techniques and the role Michael would play during the birth as the labor and hydration coach. We even toyed around with the idea of a home birth thinking that we would be safer from the virus, but eventually decided the mixture of a hospital birth led by midwives was the right choice for us, and my potential anxieties. Ultimately, the most important thing was to go into the experience with an open mind to the process, try to stay calm, and trust that the baby would come when and how she wanted to.

The Waterbury Observer | P.O. Box 910, Waterbury, CT 06720 | 203.754.4238 | waterburyobserver@gmail.com Our due date was August 20th, but we had been cautioned by our midwives and family members that first time-mothers often go into labor 10-14 days after their due date. We wanted to prepare for the unexpected, so we rented an Airbnb a few minutes from Yale New Haven Hospital for two weeks and planned to take a pre-birth adventure quarantined there pigging out on New Haven pizza until the baby arrived. On August 16th we took our fur baby, Tashi, on a few mile hike to spend our last moments with her without a baby, and then took our pets to my Dad’s while we would be away.

That night we’d decided to enjoy a celebratory meal of baked stuffed lobsters at my father’s house, but something wasn’t quite sitting well with me. I couldn’t get comfortable and needed to keep moving around. We went for a stroll up on the hill behind my Dad’s house, a place I’d explored for countless hours growing up, and the hill where Michael and I had been married almost five years before. We eventually headed back to our house as I started to feel a bit more uncomfortable. We needed to pack and get everything ready to head to the Airbnb the next morning. I was convinced I was having Braxton Hicks contractions, the warm ups preparing the body for labor, but they were happening at a consistent rate and I was having trouble feeling the baby move. We decided to call our midwives, and out of an abundance of caution they encouraged us to make the trip down to the hospital to get checked out.

It was getting close to midnight as we packed up the car and drove through the quiet darkness and empty roads to Yale New Haven. We stayed in the moment during the car ride, breathing, laughing, and feeling an almost energetic force from the eerily still summer night. After checking in, we were quickly placed in a triage room and a monitor was hooked up to check the baby’s movements. Our midwife came in to check the progress and we were floored to find out I was 7 cm dilated, and was in active labor.

The midwife said she was wildly impressed with how calm I was, and quite frankly, so was I. I had been preparing mentally and physically to the best of my ability for labor, but I couldn’t talk myself out of the anxiety I had about getting a COVID-19 test during labor. The probe went so far up my nose it felt like I was both drowning and getting my brain tickled at the same time. We were then moved into a delivery room where I needed to be masked until the COVID results came back. It felt like years to get the results, but when the tests were negative, the mask came off. Michael, however, had to keep his mask on unless we were alone in the room.

After 16 hours of laboring with nurses in face masks and shields, incredible midwives, a rockstar husband by my side, and on my side, Zoe Elizabeth Kaneb came into the world at 4:56 pm (the same time we had planned to check into our Airbnb). Zoe joined us airside a few days early with her eyes wide open to the world, and with a peaceful look on her face telling us this wasn’t her first rodeo.

During normal times we would have been flooded with family visitors and smothered in love, but due to COVID-19 safety protocols, we weren’t allowed any visitors. It was a

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A celebratory lobster dinner turned dramatic when discomfort turned out to be full-blown labor, and 20 hours later, Zoe Elizabeth Kaneb made her way airside at Yale New Haven Hospital.

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bummer not to have family there for that quintessential first hospital visit, but it gave us a chance to bond as a family with limited distractions. We piled back into our car two days later with our new precious cargo fresh out of the oven, without a manual. We were advised to have all grandparents and family test and/or quarantine before they could meet the baby. Once we were back home in our bubble, friends stopped by with gifts, food, and to meet Zoe through the window or from a safe social distance.

Zoe became accustomed to Zoom calls practically right out of the womb, visiting with aunts, uncles, grandparents and friends, and she even had the opportunity to meet and watch her great-grandfather eat oysters to celebrate his 98th birthday.

It’s been hard not physically sharing this magical little being with loved ones, but chatting virtually, sharing loads of pictures via text, and on social media, has made it easier.

Zoe has been on long hikes in the woods and daily walks around the neighborhood. She is the cute bait we needed to meet and get to know many of our neighbors from a safe social distance. Zoe has visited her grandparents in New Hampshire, and her grandparents in Morris, Zoe has no idea that she entered into the world during the worst health and Waterbury, and has received socially crisis in the past 100 years. She, like all human beings, simply wants love distanced visits from aunts, uncles and and security. She’ll learn about the pandemic later.... close family and friends.

Zoe has been to the zoo, to a beach, to doctor’s appointments, and to an outdoor, socially distanced we were bringing a baby, especially a girl, into this dumpconcert at South Farms in Morris, but at five months old she ster fire of a world. What an odd thing to say to someone as has yet to go inside any store or restaurant or supermarket they’re having a baby, but I understood where they’re comor inside any friend’s home. The long-term impact of CO- ing from. This has been the wildest and most confusing time VID-19 remains unknown and we are determined to try our in modern history, but becoming a parent during all of this best to keep Zoe safe through these uncertain times. Quar- has made me embrace the moment, and look to the future antine life can have its difficult moments when we can’t visit with a hopeful heart. Has it been hard at times? Absolutely, with friends, get help from family members, go to a baby and I expect it to continue to be challenging as it’s not all gogroup, go on a Target run, or even see family without masks. ing to be gummy baby smiles.

What sustains me is that Zoe is a blank slate, with a future Michael and I wish we could pop out for a date night, dinfi lled with hope. We will do everything we can to raise her to ing in a restaurant, get a cocktail at a bar, or go see a movie be a respectful, curious, compassionate, rebel, who is aware at a theater, but we prioritize our daughter’s safety and stay of her own personal power and will understand and use her home. Some new parents may be essential workers, teachability to change the world around her. I believe everything ers, nurses or medical professionals on the frontlines. It is happens for a reason and the universe chose this time in hisnot lost on me that we are immensely privileged to be able tory to make us parents, and to welcome Zoe into the world. to create this safe zone for our family, so obviously we can The name Zoe comes from the Greek word for life, and deal with the stresses and inconveniences of isolation, and becoming her mother has lit a spark in me during a time of the potential mental health issues that come with our choice. uncertainty and chaos.

If 2020 had been a movie, I would Zoe came into a world embroiled in the worst public have thought it was ridiculously over the top about halfway health crisis in the past 100 years, and into a nation fighting through.

I’m thankful for Zoe for helping me overcome one an uncivil war about politics, racial justice, masks, COVID of my greatest fears, and truly showing me that we can all and conspiracy theories. People sent me messages throughdo hard things.

• out my pregnancy about how sorry they were for us that

The Waterbury Observer | P.O. Box 910, Waterbury, CT 06720 | 203.754.4238 | waterburyobserver@gmail.com

WIFFLE Ball

Summer Is Time To Play.........

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Online Only

The Connecticut Store

“Wiffle Ball is played

“Wiffle Ball is played in Waterbury, in the deserts of Saudi in Waterbury, in the Arabia, on the ice in Canada, and under the ice in Antartica.”

deserts of Saudi Arabia, on the ice in Canada, and under the ice in Antarctic.”

Wiffle Ball was invented in David A. Mullaney’s backyard in Fairfield, Connecticut, in 1953. The neighborhood kids used a plastic golf ball and a broom stick handle to keep the action intense, and confined to the Mullaney’s backyard. David’s father, David N. Mullaney, watched the games with curiousity and thought if they could come up with a plastic baseball that curved the kids might like the game even better. Three nights of trial and error resulted in the invention of the original wiffle ball, which is the same design used to this day.

“It took three nights of screwing around with stuff and we got it. After we got the ball designed it was like, viola! It was like Holy Cow!” The balls are all still made in Connecticut and are sold over the internet throughout the world. Hank Paine, the owner of The Connecticut Store, located in downtown Waterbury, is the man who fulfills most of the Wiffle Ball orders on the internet. Wiffle Ball is the biggest seller at The Connecticut Store.

“We have shipped Connecticut made Wiffle Balls to 52 countries and all fifty states,” Paine said. “We’ve packaged and shipped them to China and Vietnam.”

“Wiffle Ball is played in Waterbury, in the deserts of Saudi Arabia, on the ice in Canada, and under the ice in Antartica.”

www.theconnecticutstore.com The Connecticut Store .

116 Bank Street • Waterbury, CT • 203-753-4121

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There are more than 100 cultures represented at The Gathering, which starts with a masive ethnic-themed parade through downtown, and then continies with an afternoon of music, food and dance from around the world along Grand Street.

THE GATHERING

The COVID-19 pandemic derailed The Gathering in 2020 and has cast a long shadow over the possibilities of staging Waterbury’s annual celebration of global culture and diversity in 2021.

The Gathering is a collaboration between The Waterbury Observer and the City of Waterbury, and during a recent meeting between Mayor Neil O’Leary and Observer publisher John Murray, they agreed that it was too early to decide the fate of the 2021 festival.

For starters, in order for the festival to happen Governor Ned Lamont would have to lift the ban on large public gatherings (no pun intended). In the summer of 2020 there were outdoor concerts staged in Connecticut, but the capacity was 500 people, and concert-goers had to be socially distanced. The Gathering draws 10,000 to 15,000 people onto Grand Street, and into Library Park, and with dancing and singing and marching there is literally no social space at the festival - which is the point - to bring people from culturally different backgrounds into an area to mingle.

COVID vaccines will be administered throughout the summer, so it might be extreme wishful thinking to believe that the dark pandemic cloud will have lifted enough by midSeptember to allow the festival to be staged.

It’s important to bring the community together - perhaps more importantly now than ever - but not until it’s safe to do so. Stay tuned.

The Waterbury Observer | P.O. Box 910, Waterbury, CT 06720 | 203.754.4238 | waterburyobserver@gmail.com

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“We all came from somewhere, now it’s time to come together.”

In seven years The Gathering has become the most culturally diverse festival in New England, and gives Waterbury a chance to showcase one of its greatest strengths - diversity.

Kelvia has performed Middle Eastern belly dance six times at The Gathering

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Jeff Henderson Jeff Henderson Expert Mechanic

• • • • •

1-203-592-2215

Great Car Repair Shop Any Brand Tire Any Size Tire Available Same Day New & Used Tires

The business name has changed, but Jeff is still there to help.

1284 Thomaston Avenue. Waterbury, CT

The Waterbury Observer | P.O. Box 910, Waterbury, CT 06720 | 203.754.4238 | waterburyobserver@gmail.com

RADIO SHOW; MORNINGS “AMANECER EN MI TIERRA’ con Felix Viera from 6:00 am to 9:00 am EL CAFECITO DINAMICO con Dra. Lenny Mejia From 9:00 am to 12:00 pm DE TODO UN POCO

con Felipe Esteban,Sabados from 7:00 am to 11:00 am Our online page is WWW.DINAMICAAM.COM TEL: 860-505-8243/860-308-6864

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Snagging An Interview With Joe Biden The Waterbury Observer’s City Guide 2021 www.waterburyobserver.org

Column By David Howard When Joe Biden’s voice came out of my phone, I wasn’t thinking much about how he sounded, or how surreal it was that I was about to start talking with the soon-to-be leader of the free world from a desk in the corner of my living room.

I was just trying to draw a breath and say something coherent.

It was the early evening of November 24, and I was working on a story about Biden for Delaware Today, a monthly magazine. The assignment was to write a kind of hometown-hero piece that spanned Biden’s career up to the present tense. The former senator and vice president from Delaware winning the White House was a very big moment for a tiny state. The piece was supposed to be at least as personal as it was political, and for that reason, I didn’t expect it to be a particularly challenging interview.

But still, I had to ask good questions, and I was cranked up. In three decades as a journalist, I’d interviewed mayors, governors, members of Congress, professional athletes, a few celebrities. The best political stories always came out of Waterbury. When I was just getting started, my old friend John Murray hired me to cover Andy Michaud’s pivotal independent run for mayor in the Observer’s second issue, in 1993.

I worked at the Republican-American during the height of the Edward D. Bergin Jr. era—a colorful time ripe with intrigue—before bouncing to The Waterbury Observer as part of my plan to become a magazine writer. John and I teamed up some of the most memorable stories of my life in those days—narratives that tugged at the tightly woven threads connecting the city’s populace and police to its body politic. Even when I moved from Waterbury to New York City, I never fully left. My first book, Lost Rights, co-starred disgraced former Waterbury developer Bob Matthews and his exploits as a politician buyer—one of the key figures in the collapse of Governor John Rowland (yet another Waterbury connection).

But Biden—this was my first president (if he was still only a president-elect at the time). It was a different scale of experience. He had been one of two people seemingly at the front of the entire world’s minds for the past six months.

I’d painstakingly prepared my questions—writing them out, then rewriting them, then rewriting the rewrites. I told my son, Vaughn, 16, that he would have to disappear at the appointed time, so I could focus and avoid any distraction.

He said he planned to be home then, but promised to stay invisible. He is more interested in politics than I was at his age.

Then the moment arrived. My phone buzzed, and I answered it. Biden’s press secretary said, “I have the presidentelect on the line.”

We exchanged a brief greeting and I launched in. Awkwardly. I began with a long-winded question about how the pandemic had made for a weird election year. But I was too rushed, and I felt like I was pelting him with words—as if I’d just run a mile at top speed while trying to eat a piece of beef jerky.

The gist of the question was this: Was there any benefit to being stuck at home for so much of the campaign? Any kind of home cooking? Cringing inwardly, I pressed onward.

The Waterbury Observer | P.O. Box 910, Waterbury, CT 06720 | 203.754.4238 | waterburyobserver@gmail.com After I finished, there was a brief silence, during which my mind raced to fill the void. Was Biden thrown by the question? Had he considered this before? Did it even make any sense?

What finally came out of his mouth surprised me.

That I was even on the phone with the soon-to-be 46th president of the United States felt like a small miracle.

The journey had begun that summer, when a friend and longtime editorial collaborator, Ashley Breeding, had inquired whether I was interested in writing a Biden story. As the top editor at Delaware Today, she’d been thinking through the magazine’s election coverage since Biden had emerged as the likely winner of the Democratic nomination. Delaware is a small state, and he’s a towering figure that the magazine had been covering since his first Senate run in 1972.

I told her that I was interested in whatever kind of story she had in mind, then we checked in over the summer as the campaign plowed forward. By October, we began to spitball ideas. Biden had a lead in the polls, but planning an election story before anyone actually votes is a tricky thing.

Biden would either reach the pinnacle of his life and career, or he would go down in devastating defeat to a polarizing incumbent.

Regardless of what happened, one thing was certain: We wanted an interview. Biden had spoken to the magazine many times over his 48 years in office, including during his previous two runs for president, in 1988 and 2008. Ashley anticipated that this time would be no different. We asked for an in-person interview—a wish that was unlikely to be granted during the pandemic, but worth the ask.

My first request went to the Biden campaign on October 5, five weeks and a day before the election. The reply was not encouraging: “Honestly—I am not sure when we are able to do (an interview) before the election,” an aide wrote.

What happened over the subsequent eight weeks was predictable enough. The world zeroed in on the campaign. The Cleveland debate debacle happened, the pandemic raged

on. Then there was the contested election result. Through it all, I kept up a stream of polite requests, at the same time understanding the extraordinary circumstances. I knew why it hadn’t happened, and I knew that it might not happen, ever.

I filled in the blanks by interviewing other Delaware politicians and some of Biden’s friends and acquaintances. I would write what I had. I had a deadline of November 25, the day before Thanksgiving.

Then on Monday morning, November 23,I received a call from Delaware Today. Someone connected to the magazine knew someone in the Biden family. Word had been passed up the line, and Biden—loyal to all things Delaware—wanted to participate.

Be ready tomorrow, Ashley Breeding said. You’re getting 10 minutes.

It was shaping up to be the most fraught 10 minutes of my life.

That day I drafted questions, sent them to Ashley for feedback, went for a walk in the woods, came back, retooled the questions. That night I dreamed about the interview, a kind of elevatedstress REM visitation. The next morning I rewrote the rewritten queries. The interview was set for 5:45 p.m. It would be an audio call on Google Meet. The invitation included six names—mostly Biden’s handlers—and I worried about a too-many-chefs-stirring-the-pot sce-

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nario, everyone trying to talk or facilitate all at once. But it wasn’t like I had much choice.

In the afternoon, Biden’s press secretary called to interview me about my interview. She warned me that I had a “hard” 10 minutes. I was hoping for the soft 10, but again—I had to take what I could get.

At 4:45, with an hour to go, I tested both my digital recorders, deleting files to ensure they had enough space to record a 10-minute conversation. I put in fresh batteries. I printed out my questions and then instantly began to doubt them: Were they in the right order?

Would they draw him out? Provide any insights? I crossed out passages and scribbled in the margins.

As I spun my wheels, my phone buzzed at 5:06 with a text. Another of Biden’s calls was being moved; could I be on standby for 5:15? Of course I could. I stared at my ink-scribbled page of questions, fully aware that I now had nine minutes to settle on them. I reminded Vaughn to become invisible and stay off the internet to avoid any Wifi glitches. He offered a few words of encouragement, an intense look on his face, before heading upstairs. I’d explained to him what I do and how I do it many times, but it was always hard to know what landed. This time seemed, of course, different.

The next 25 minutes passed as a centi-

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pede might traverse an expanse of quick-drying cement. At 5:36, a new text: Biden’s press person was now going to call me directly—no Google Meet.

Good thing we made all those plans.

He sounded tired.

That was what hit me when I heard the first few words of his first answer, about being rooted in Delaware.

“Well, it’s not a great deal,” he started, his voice sounding distant and weary. “I was worried that it would dislocate some Delawareans, that there was a lot of attention. But it turned out that I think it, uh, it also helped the economy.”

He chuckled, probably picturing all the Fox News and CNN guys hunkered around tables every afternoon at the Charcoal Pit, a renowned ‘50s-theme Wilmington diner, waiting for lunch.

It made sense that he’d be wiped out. He had undoubtedly already had a long day. I could only guess at the mental obstacle course of his 17th day as president-elect: The hard decisions to be made, cabinet appointments, calls from foreign leaders, and who knew what else—not to mention the friction coming from his vanquished but unyielding foe.

Feeling more grounded, I was poised to ask my next question, but before I could, Biden launched into a story. He described an incident from 1972, the first time he ran for the Senate, where he mistakenly insulted a cousin of his hosts after attending church with them.

It was everything I’d been told to expect of him: a little drifty, self-deprecating, a raconteur who slathered details over his anecdotes. After what seemed like some time, I asked whether what he called the Delaware Way—shorthand for bipartisanship—could translate to a divided country.

“Yes,” he said. “And by the way, I’m going to say something both self-damning and self-serving at the same time: When I was in the Senate, and as vice president, I had a reputation of being able to bring people together, Democrats and Republicans in the Senate. And I think I learned a significant part of that from just being in Delaware, the Senator from Delaware. It was the way we’ve always worked together.”

And off he went. He told a funnier story. More verbal jazz solos.

I worked in another question, and soon Biden’s press aide interjected with an apology that we were out of time. But before she could finish, Biden cut her off—“Look, I know we’re running late,” he said. “A couple more quick questions and then I’ll let you go.”

So we continued. And as he talked about his bone-deep connection to his home state, he gained energy, seemed more animated. He read out loud part of a congratulatory letter sent to him by an unnamed Republican. He apologized for getting too sentimental, then he talked about his children, especially his son, Beau, who had been Delaware’s attorney general and on a career trajectory similar to his father’s before tragically dying of a brain tumor at 46.

Before our time ran out, he told me a last story. Whenever he came off stage after speaking at national events, Beau would always be waiting. He would grab the elder Biden by the lapels and say, “Remember, Dad, home base. Home base,

Dad. Remember who you are, Dad. The rest doesn’t matter.”

This was moving, knowing what would come later for the family, knowing the tragedy they endured. A powerful moment. Biden’s voice had been rising.

When we hung up, and I spun my chair and took a breath.

Vaughn instantly emerged from the stairway behind me, where he’d been listening. “Well, that’s one to check off your bucket list,” he said.

We talked a bit about the interview—Vaughn also noticed that Biden had sounded tired at the start but had become energized by the topic.

Only later did it hit me: Of course Vaughn wanted to stick around. He’s growing up in a time where politics take up more of the oxygen than they ever did early in my life. He’s paying attention. He cares. It seemed fitting that the Biden story, in the end, was largely a story of a father and his son, and what they were able to do together in the time they had.

The course of my life is mostly set, but Vaughn’s is just beginning, and he’s shown an interest in travel, international relations, politics, writing, philosophy and environmental science. Vaughn will have to narrow his focus later, but for now his lens is wide open. Who can say what hearing a president-elect’s voice in his own house might inspire? Maybe it’ll mean more to his future than any magazine article means for mine.

Home base, Dad. Remember who you are, Dad. I won’t forget. Vaughn won’t let me. • (David Howard is a freelance writer living in Portland, Maine.

Howard has written for The New York Times, was an editor at Backpacker Magazine, Bicycling Magazine and Popular Mechanics, and has written two books; Lost Rights, and Chasing Phil)

Dave and Vaughn Howard

The Waterbury Observer | P.O. Box 910, Waterbury, CT 06720 | 203.754.4238 | waterburyobserver@gmail.com

Over 35 years experience

Licensed in CT and NY

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Commercial & Residential

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Naugatuck River Revival Group Nothing Is Impossible Just Act

It’s beeen a busy few years for the Naugatuck River Revival Group (NRRG) as the watershed has been battered by sewage and oil spills. After millions of gallons of raw sewage was dumped into the Naugatuck River in 2017, it was the NRRG led by Kevin and Sondra Zak that became the voice of the Naugatuck River. The Zak’s hiked through the damage to document the enviromental disaster, and did so again in January 2018 when thousands of gallons of oil spilled into the river. Despite the environmental impact on the watershed, Kevin Zak was bolstered by the public outcry from the spills. “Thirty years ago no one would have cared,” Zak said, “now it’s statewide news. This is progress and I believe the river will heal itself.”

Kevin Zak at (203) 530-7850 e-mail kznrrg@sbcglobal.net

The mission of the NRRG is to increase awareness of one of the great environmental comeback stories in New England.

For two centuries industrial giants used the Naugatuck River as a glorified toilet to wash away toxins, dyes and garbage. Bald Eagles and Great Blue Herons have returned. The factories are gone, but they left behind chunks of iron, steel and brass in the river. Inconsiderate city residents continue to deposit tires, shopping carts and mattresses in the river. In response, the NRRG has declared war on trash in and along the river. NRRG has organized clean-ups with local schools, sponsored Annual River Day celebrations, and is committed to winning the war on trash.

If you’d like to get involved cleaning the Naugatuck River please consider contacting the group. It doesn’t matter if it’s for a few hours, or a few days....your help is appreciated.

The Waterbury Observer | P.O. Box 910, Waterbury, CT 06720 | 203.754.4238 | waterburyobserver@gmail.com

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State Representative Geraldo Reyes Jr. Reyes is Deputy Speaker in the State Legislature and serves on four committees. He represents the 75th District (Downtown, Hillside, Brooklyn East Main Street, Lower Walnut Street and the South End)

• Helped pass Police Accountability Law • Passed Environmental Justice Law • Chairman Black & Puerto Rican Caucus • Led COVID testing in 75th District • Championing fight for Roberto Clemente Sports Complex at 313 Mill Street • Led 2020 Census count in 75th

• Co-organizer of The Gathering • President of South End Neighborhood Association

Organized food distribution during pandemic

Fighting To Open Up The Process For Everybody

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THE POWER OF

Working together, the organizations of Waterbury HEALTH are providing comprehensive, high quality care to our community. From primary and specialty medical care to acute and emergency healthcare services to home health and rehab services, Waterbury HEALTH offers a vast network of services to help keep you healthy and well and take care of you when you are sick or injured. That’s the Power of WE.

The Greater Waterbury Health Network is now...