Although New Haven's Beaver Ponds Park was created at the turn of the century, as recently as a year ago, some of the homeowners in the neighboring Newhallville, Beaver Hills and Dixwell areas didn't even know it existed. But now the 97-acre recreation area is undergoing a rebirth.
Developed in the early 1900s by the company of Frederick Law Olmstead, which created New York's Central Park, Beaver Pond Park is bordered by Sherman Parkway on the east, Crescent Street on the west, Southern Connecticut State University on the north and Hillhouse High School on the south. For decades, the park served as a meeting place, where area families could enjoy such recreational activities as fishing, swimming and sports events. Beginning in the 1960s, however, the area fell into decline, eventually becoming so overgrown that it became almost invisible from the road.
Today, the City of New Haven has made Beaver Pond Park one of the priority projects in its "Clean and Green" initiative. Early in April, a group of more than 100 students, residents and city workers removed several decades' worth of trash and brush from the park. A new little league field will be completed in May, and this summer, as part of Yale's Urban Resources Initiative, students from the School of Forestry and Environmental Studies will work with neighborhood residents on an intensive restoration project.
The park's revival will be commemorated in a two-day celebration: a community clean-up 9 a.m.-1 p.m. on Saturday, May 10, and a Fun Festival 10 a.m.-4 p.m. on Sunday, May 11. The latter will feature food, music, kite flying, educational activities and programs on ecology and the environment -- all dedicated to the theme "Restoring Our Parks -- Rebuilding Our Neighborhoods." It will be held on the park's new little league field on Munson Street between Crescent Street and Sherman Avenue. The events are sponsored by the New Haven Preservation Trust, the city's Department of Parks and Recreation, the School of Forestry and Environmental Studies and the Yale Office of New Haven Affairs.
For more information about the community cleanup and Fun Festival, call Robert Forbes at 782-9101. For further information about the natural resource restoration projects throughout New Haven being undertaken by the Urban Resources Initiative, contact Colleen Murphy-Dunning, program director, at 432-6570.
Homebuyer Program is having an impact on the Beaver Ponds Park neighborhood
The Yale Homebuyer Program is having an effect on the neighborhoods surrounding Beaver Ponds Park, including Beaver Hills, Dixwell and Newhallville.
In the past 15 months, 22 homes in these neighborhoods have been purchased by Yale employees through the University's Homebuyer Program. "The Yale program is helping people to buy homes at a time when you can get some great values in these neighborhoods," says Bruce McClenning, alderman in the city's 28th ward.
The rate of home sales has significantly increased under the second phase of the program, which is targeted for a cluster of city neighborhoods. During the first, city-wide phase of the Homebuyer Program, 14 homes were purchased in these neighborhoods in a two- year period. Overall, the Homebuyer Program has helped 262 Yale employees purchase homes in New Haven. For an application, visit the Benefits Office at 155 Whitney Ave. or call William Carney, manager of the Homebuyer Program, at 432-5535.