New UNH police officer takes oath of office

WEST HAVEN, Nov. 13, 2019 — New University of New Haven police Officer James Baker, center, is joined by UNH Police Chief James T. Gilman, left, and Assistant Chief Donald F. Parker after being sworn in by city Corporation Counsel Lee Tiernan on...

Veterans honored, 13th phase of Brick Campaign launched

WEST HAVEN, Nov. 12, 2019 — Sean P. Ronan, senior vice commander of Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 9422, gives the invocation in honor of Veterans Day on Monday, Nov. 11, in Bradley Point Park. Looking on are, from front left, mayoral Executive A...

City honored with Sustainable CT’s Bronze certification

WEST HAVEN, Nov. 1, 2019 — West Haven was among the Connecticut municipalities recognized at the New Britain Museum of American Art on Wednesday, Oct. 30, for achieving certification as a Sustainable CT community.

The city met high standards in a...

Collins sworn in to police commission for 3rd term

WEST HAVEN, Oct. 31, 2019 — Mayor Nancy R. Rossi swears in Chairman Raymond V. Collins III to the Board of Police Commissioners for a third five-year term on Thursday, Oct. 31, at City Hall.

Collins, a former Republican Board of Education member ...

WHHS solar array will save city $1M in electrical costs

PHOTO — Mayor Nancy R. Rossi on Monday, Oct. 28, announces a rooftop solar array for the underway reconstruction of West Haven High School that will generate power for the school once it is installed and save the city more than $1 million in ele...

Committee gives $34K to YNHH for breast cancer program

WEST HAVEN, Oct. 22, 2019 — From left, Janine Hoffmann, senior administrative assistant to Dr. Brigid Killelea, the interim director of the Smilow Breast Program at Yale New Haven Hospital; Bethany Larkin, assistant patient services manager at the Smilow ...

Bysiewicz, Rossi tour pair of businesses in Allingtown

PHOTO — Sabatino Tartufi CEO Federico Balestra, left, discusses his family’s 108-year-old business with, from right, Lt. Gov. Susan Bysiewicz, Mayor Nancy R. Rossi, state Rep. Michael A. DiMassa, D-West Haven, and Bysiewicz’s...

Tree planting commemorates centennial of ‘Arborist Law’

PHOTO — West Haven officials, including Mayor Nancy R. Rossi, second from left, and Tree Commission members are joined by residents in the ceremonial planting of an American white oak at the main entrance of Painter Park on Saturday, Oct. 19, to...

Aniello Cappetta feted as West Haven’s Italian of the Year

PHOTO — Aniello Cappetta receives an embroidered “Italian American of the Year” jacket from Mayor Nancy R. Rossi at the city’s 21st annual Columbus Day Celebration on the steps of City Hall on Friday, Oct. 11. (City...

Iris Milagros Diaz honored as city’s Hispanic of the Year

PHOTO — Mayor Nancy R. Rossi presents Iris Milagros Diaz with a black “Hispanic American of the Year” jacket at the city’s second annual Hispanic Heritage Celebration on the steps of City Hall on Friday, Oct. 4. (Ci...

Revaluation underway for West Haven homeowners

WEST HAVEN, Oct. 3, 2019 — West Haven has hired the appraisal company Vision Government Solutions Inc. of Hudson, Massachusetts, to perform the city’s state-mandated 2020 revaluation.

Data mailers are being sent to residential property ...

Helping others

WEST HAVEN, Oct. 3, 2019 — Mayor Nancy R. Rossi joins President Omer Kizilcik of the Wellspring Community Center, formerly known as the Turkish Cultural Center of Connecticut, on Thursday, Oct. 3, at City Hall to announce the center’s ...

Energy assistance offered in West Haven

WEST HAVEN, Sept. 26, 2019 — The city will begin accepting applications for the federally financed Connecticut Energy Assistance Program in the Department of Human Resources on the second floor of City Hall, 355 Main St.

Appointments for all heat...

Way to Go!

WEST HAVEN, Sept. 24, 2019 — West Haven High School social worker Skylar Drayder, left, and special education teacher Mary Moore receive the Way to Go award Thursday, Sept. 19, from city Youth and Family Services Director Robert S. Morton and sophomore La...

Roundabout upgrade slated for Jones Hill Rd., Ocean Ave.

PHOTO — An aerial rendering from the state Department of Transportation showing the soon-to-be upgraded Oyster River roundabout at Jones Hill Road and Ocean Avenue in the city’s Baybrook section. (CTDOT)

WEST HAVEN, Sept. 24, 2019 &...

‘Boot’ program resumes

WEST HAVEN, Sept. 18, 2019 — City residents who are delinquent on their taxes are urged to pay their overdue taxes as soon as possible.

The “boot” program resumed on Monday, Sept. 16, and those who are delinquent on their moto...

All-American cheerleaders

WEST HAVEN, Sept. 6, 2019 — West Haven High School varsity cheerleaders, holding citations from left, sophomore Tianna Greene, senior Destiny Barnett and junior Carly Cambino receive a General Assembly citation from state Rep. Charles J. Ferraro, R-West H...

Building Department extends early opening twice a week

WEST HAVEN, Sept. 4, 2019 — The Building Department will continue to accept building permit applications on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 8-11:30 a.m., Mayor Nancy R. Rossi announced.

The overwhelming success of the new hours has prompted city offi...

Rossi welcomes students at West Haven High School

PHOTO — Mayor Nancy R. Rossi cuts the ceremonial ribbon Tuesday, Aug. 27, with, from left, City Council Minority Leader Richard DePalma, R-at large, Superintendent of Schools Neil C. Cavallaro, Principal Dana Paredes, paraprofessional Patricia C...

City’s first rain garden installed at Pagels School

WEST HAVEN, Aug. 21, 2019 — The city’s first rain garden has been installed at Pagels Elementary School.

The 270-square-foot garden, constructed just off the school bus drop-off and pickup lane by Benham Hill Road, can treat more than 4...

Regulations adopted for short-term rentals, outdoor dining

WEST HAVEN, Aug. 20, 2019 — The Planning and Zoning Commission has adopted regulations to guide “Short Term Rentals” in the city and “Outdoor Dining” at restaurants, P&Z Chairwoman Kathleen Hendricks announced.

“Both of these issues had come to the att...

Storm drain stenciling effort underway

WEST HAVEN, Aug. 20, 2019 — Resident Stacey Giaquinto participates in the city’s new Storm Drain Marking Project on Sunday, Aug. 18, at Campbell Avenue and Leete Street.

The project, which began a day earlier with a workshop offered by ...

Barr named West Haven’s first troubadour

WEST HAVEN, Aug. 19, 2019 — William “Railroad Bill” Barr, with his wife, Nancy, left, receives a citation from Mayor Nancy R. Rossi for being appointed the honorary position of troubadour of West Haven during a ceremony Monda...

JR’s Place celebrates downtown opening

WEST HAVEN, Aug. 8, 2019 — Mayor Nancy R. Rossi cuts the ceremonial ribbon Thursday, Aug. 8, with JR’s Place owner Russell Rivera, center, to celebrate the restaurant’s grand opening at 555 Campbell Ave., formerly The Spot Bar and Grill.

Also marking the e...

Health organization makes a difference in West Haven

PHOTO — Before and after photos of the new planters on Main Street done by the Bridges Healthcare “Garden Together” team. (Bridges Photo/John Ciambriello)

WEST HAVEN, Aug. 7, 2019 — Bridges Healthcare includes as par...

Moody’s upgrades city’s bond rating outlook to ‘stable’

WEST HAVEN, July 31, 2019 — Moody’s Investors Service on Tuesday, July 30, affirmed West Haven’s credit rating at Baa3 while upgrading its outlook on the city to “stable” from “negative,&rdqu...

Meet West Haven’s Audubon WildLife Guards

WEST HAVEN, July 25, 2019 — Starting in 2017, a group of eight West Haven High School students has helped monitor and protect the beach-nesting birds at the Sandy Point Beach & Bird Sanctuary.

Thanks to a grant from Audubon Connecticut, students in the...

State Farm opens Allingtown insurance office

WEST HAVEN, July 23, 2019 — Mayor Nancy R. Rossi, holding oversize scissors, cuts the ribbon Tuesday, July 23, with State Farm agent Derwin A. Griffith, third from right, to celebrate the ceremonial opening of the insurance company’s n...

New sidewalks for Savin Rock Conference Center

WEST HAVEN, July 19, 2019 — From left, Mayor Nancy R. Rossi, Public Works Commissioner Tom McCarthy and Rossi’s executive assistant, Lou Esposito, look on as a crew from the city’s sidewalk contractor, Elm City Materials Inc....

Blumenthal urges passage of 9/11 victim fund

PHOTO — During a news conference Monday, July 15, at West Haven Fire Department headquarters, U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., calls on the Senate to pass legislation that would make permanent the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund an...

Rossi applauds new BOE operating budget

WEST HAVEN, June 27, 2019 — Mayor Nancy R. Rossi this week applauded the operating budget recently adopted by the Board of Education.

The school board’s 2019-20 budget will see an increase of nearly $1.6 million as a result of additiona...

Rossi announces Savin Rock Festival’s return in 2020

WEST HAVEN, June 20, 2019 — The Savin Rock Festival will return to the West Haven shoreline in 2020 after the city clears the cumulative deficit in the Savin Rock Festival Fund, Mayor Nancy R. Rossi announced.

After running consecutive deficits, the festiv...

Free CCM prescription discount cards available

WEST HAVEN, June 19, 2019 — The City of West Haven Prescription Discount Card is available for residents and their pets, Mayor Nancy R. Rossi announced.

Rossi said the free card, which reduces prescription medication costs, is provided by the city through ...

Rossi announces another budget surplus

WEST HAVEN, June 11, 2019 — Mayor Nancy R. Rossi announced that the city will close fiscal year 2019, which ends June 30, with an estimated $3.5 million general fund operating budget surplus.

The surplus represents the second consecutive fiscal y...

Statement from Mayor Nancy Rossi on shoreline initiatives

WEST HAVEN, June 6, 2019 — “The Beach Street project, which excludes the former Debonair Motel, is a complex construction project consisting of three phases. It is and has always been a top priority of my administration.

We received funding for phase one, ...

Rossi leads developer on pre-construction site tour

WEST HAVEN, May 30, 2019 — Mayor Nancy R. Rossi leads development officials on a pre-construction site tour of the former Edgar C. Stiles Elementary School on Tuesday, May 28.

Pictured are, from left, Peter Wood, principal of Collaborative Develo...

Grass clippings now accepted at compost site

WEST HAVEN, May 21, 2019 — The city has obtained a permit from the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection to start accepting grass clippings at the municipal compost site, Mayor Nancy R. Rossi and Public Works Commissioner Tom M...

New UNH police chief takes oath of office

WEST HAVEN, May 3, 2019 — Mayor Nancy R. Rossi swears in new University of New Haven Police Chief James T. Gilman on Friday, May 3, at City Hall.

Attending the ceremony were Gilman’s wife, Deanna, and daughter, Kate Hall; former UNH Pol...

Cellini Place closed for construction starting May 6

WEST HAVEN, April 30, 2019 — In the interest of public safety, Cellini Place, from Boston Post Road to Forest Road, will be closed for construction by the state until further notice starting Monday, May 6.

Sidewalks on Cellini Place will also be ...

Fusco named West Haven’s first poet laureate

WEST HAVEN, April 29, 2019 — Tony Fusco, holding a mayoral proclamation observing National Poetry Month, is appointed the honorary position of poet laureate of West Haven by Mayor Nancy R. Rossi during a ceremony Monday, April 29, at City Hall.

A...

Tree planting at City Hall marks Arbor Day celebration

PHOTO — Newly appointed Tree Commission member Rosemary Beloin, left, and Mayor Nancy R. Rossi throw ceremonial shovels of dirt to dedicate the planting of an eastern redbud on the east lawn of City Hall in observance of West Haven’s Arbor Day celebration...

Rossi revives Tree Commission with appointments

WEST HAVEN, April 24, 2019 — Mayor Nancy R. Rossi reactivated the Tree Commission by appointing four new members at the City Council meeting Monday night, April 22. The commission has not met since 2016.

The members appointed had served on the commission i...

Nick’s Luncheonette relocates, reopens on Sawmill Rd.

WEST HAVEN, April 8, 2019 — Nick’s Luncheonette owner Nick Milas, third from front left, helps Mayor Nancy R. Rossi cut the ceremonial ribbon Monday, April 8, to mark the relocation and reopening of the popular breakfast and lunch rest...

Rte. 1 Dunkin’ Donuts reopens as next-generation Dunkin’

WEST HAVEN, April 3, 2019 — Accompanied by members of the West Haven High School Band, Mayor Nancy R. Rossi cuts the ceremonial ribbon Wednesday, April 3, with city officials and the owners of the Dunkin’ Donuts franchise at 985 Boston...

Rossi gives 1-year extension for resident beach stickers

WEST HAVEN, March 29, 2019 — For the second year, Mayor Nancy R. Rossi has extended the city’s 2016-18 beach parking permits, this time through June 30, 2020.

The two-year stickers, which are dark blue, were originally set to expire June 30, 2018, but were...

West Haven Seahawks cheerleading squads honored

WEST HAVEN, March 26, 2019 — Mayor Nancy R. Rossi, back center, and City Council members, including Chairman Ronald M. Quagliani, back center, congratulate cheerleaders and coaches of the Ray Tellier Midget Football League’s West Haven...

Watch St. Patrick’s Day 2019 on city’s YouTube channel

WEST HAVEN, March 26, 2019 — Watch West Haven’s 28th annual St. Patrick’s Day Celebration honoring Irishwoman of the Year Joan Downing Connor on the city’s official YouTube channel.

Watch the video on West Haven YouT...

West Haven toasts Joan D. Connor as Irishwoman of the Year

PHOTO — Joined by Mayor Nancy R. Rossi, Irishwoman of the Year Joan Downing Connor pulls off the shroud revealing the Kelly green street sign designating the Campbell Avenue side of City Hall “Joan D. Connor Square” for the n...

Black Balloon Day calls attention to opioid addiction

PHOTO — City and state officials bow their heads as the Rev. Phillip Krakowiak Sr., pastor of the First Evangelical Lutheran Church of West Haven, far right, leads a prayer service Wednesday, March 6, on the steps of City Hall for West Haven res...

American flags donated

WEST HAVEN, March 6, 2019 — From left, Toniko Cox, secretary of New Haven Chapter 120 of WoodmenLife, and Kathleen Parker, the chapter’s vice president of membership, donate 12 American flags to Public Works Commissioner Tom McCarthy o...

Rossi announces 2018 surplus of over $3M

WEST HAVEN, Feb. 28, 2019 — The City of West Haven has produced its first budget surplus in many years and has a positive fund balance for the first time in well over a decade, Mayor Nancy R. Rossi announced.

Rossi has released the audit report c...

City’s first ramen restaurant opens on Captain Thomas Blvd.

WEST HAVEN, Feb. 25, 2019 — Mayor Nancy R. Rossi, center, cuts the ribbon Monday, Feb. 25, with Iishin Ramen Bar chef and co-owner Johnny Chen, second from left, and co-owner Penny Gao, third from left, to mark the ceremonial opening of the city...

Developer hires security company to monitor The Haven site

WEST HAVEN, Feb. 22, 2019 — Mayor Nancy R. Rossi announced that The Haven Group LLC has engaged a security company to monitor The Haven. The company will provide security at the development site as a result of the recent fires.

For the past four nights and...

Cultural event celebrates West Haven’s black heritage

PHOTO — African-American Citizens of the Year Millicent Huff Corbett, second from left, and Patricia Donaldson Turner receive citations from Mayor Nancy R. Rossi and West Haven Black Heritage Committee Chairman Steven R. Mullins during the 23rd ...

Rossi appoints high school student to citizen advisory panel

WEST HAVEN, Feb. 7, 2019 — Mayor Nancy R. Rossi has appointed 19-year-old resident Roman Khondker to the West Haven Community Development Administration’s Citizen Advisory Committee.

Khondker, who is halfway through his senior year at T...

Rossi announces grand list growth of nearly $30M

WEST HAVEN, Feb. 7, 2019 — Mayor Nancy R. Rossi announced that the city’s grand list of taxable property has grown by $29.7 million, or 1.11 percent, for fiscal year 2018 over the 2017 valuation. The net grand list for 2018 is $2,683,1...

175 ‘plungers’ brave icy L.I. Sound to aid breast cancer fight

PHOTO — About 175 participants charge in and out of the 35-degree water of Long Island Sound during the 19th annual Icy Plunge for the Cure on Saturday morning, Feb. 2, at Savin Rock Beach. The breast cancer benefit celebrated the 20th anniversa...

Bulk trash pickup, e-waste drop-off schedule announced

WEST HAVEN, Jan. 8, 2019 — The 2019 pickup schedule for bulk trash is April 8-12 and Sept. 9-13.

Residents are reminded to separate metals and recyclables from regular trash and to put out trash no more than 24 hours before pickup. Violations car...

Reminders about Christmas trees, leaf bags

WEST HAVEN, Jan. 8, 2019 — The city reminds residents not to put Christmas trees in plastic bags or stands for curbside pickup.

Lights must also be removed from Christmas trees. Plastic bags and other items can become tangled in the machine that grinds the...

Blue Ribbon School

WEST HAVEN, Dec. 14, 2018 — Forest Elementary School Principal Thomas J. Hunt on Friday afternoon, Dec. 14, receives a citation from Mayor Nancy R. Rossi recognizing Forest as a National Blue Ribbon School.

Before presenting Hunt with the citatio...

Rossi urges women 40 and older to get a mammogram

WEST HAVEN, Dec. 5, 2018 — From left, Yale New Haven Hospital mammography technologists Elizabeth Sorensen and Coretha Thomas give Mayor Nancy R. Rossi, Health Department intern Paulina Lopez and Health Director Maureen B. Lillis a tour of the Y...

Sale of waterfront park brings The Haven a step closer

PHOTO — Mayor Nancy R. Rossi heralds the sale of the city-owned Bayview Park property to The Haven Group LLC by presenting a $257,500 check on behalf of the developer to Finance Director Ronald Cicatelli on Friday, Nov. 9, at City Hall.

Joining t...

Blumenthal, Rossi discuss federal aid for city beaches

PHOTO — During a news conference Monday, Oct. 15, at the Savin Rock gazebo, U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., and Mayor Nancy R. Rossi discuss key victories for West Haven’s beaches in the recently approved America’s Wat...

‘Topping off’ completes steel framework for new high school

WEST HAVEN, Oct. 11, 2018 — City and state leaders sign a white-painted I-beam before it is erected on Thursday, Oct. 11, to mark the ceremonial “topping off,” or completion, of the steel framework for the addition of the $13...

$5M grant awarded to reconstruct Elm St. for The Haven

PHOTO — Mayor Nancy R. Rossi, right, on Thursday, Sept. 20, announces $5 million in state funding with state Rep. Dorinda Borer, D-West Haven, left, for the reconstruction of Elm Street — the future entrance of The Haven, a $200 millio...

Rossi issues warning about illegal dumping

PHOTO — The site of the alleged illegal dumping incident behind the former Nick’s Luncheonette at 423 First Ave. on Wednesday, Aug. 1. Police later arrested and charged an employee of a West Haven landscaping company with two counts of...

Digital copy of The Haven site plan now available

WEST HAVEN, May 23, 2018 — A digital copy of the site plan for The Haven development is available for public review.

View the Site Plan.

Simon and The Haven Group LLC commence entitlement process for The Haven luxury outlet center

WEST HAVEN, May 22, 2018 — Simon Property Group and The Haven Group LLC applied on Monday evening, May 21, for site plan approval before the Department of Planning and Development at City Hall, the first entitlement step toward building The Have...

West Haven Christmas tree lighting on Green set for Saturday, Nov. 30

PHOTO — With the West Haven Christmas tree aglow in the background, The John C. Ireland Bandstand on the snow-covered Green is bedecked with huge electric snowflakes as Victorian-era streetlamps decorated with angels blowing on trumpets illumina...

West Haven Vets Council plans Pearl Harbor observance Saturday, Dec. 7

WEST HAVEN, Oct. 8, 2019 — The West Haven Veterans Council will hold an observance of Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day at 10:30 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 7, at the William A. Soderman Memorial Flagpole on the Veterans Walk of Honor in Bradley Point Park.

A...

Dedication of brick Walk of Honor set for Saturday, May 23, at Bradley Point

PHOTO — The brick Veterans Walk of Honor in Bradley Point Park. (City Photo/Michael P. Walsh, File)

WEST HAVEN, Nov. 4, 2019 — Members of the West Haven Veterans Council and city officials will dedicate the 13th phase of the brick Veterans Walk of Honor at...