Cleanup targets litter in downtown; city, Moby Dick’s partnering Oct. 15

WEST HAVEN, Sept. 29, 2022 — The city and Moby Dick’s, a new “raw bar cafe” at 560 Campbell Ave., are planning a downtown cleanup from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Oct. 15.

The public-private partnership is aimed at cleaning up litter along Campbell Avenue from Elm to Court streets, said organizer Doug Ruickoldt, who owns Moby Dick’s with Evan Mink on West Haven’s main thoroughfare.

Anyone who wants to volunteer for the cleanup can call Ruickoldt at 203-415-2470.

The Department of Public Works will supply volunteers with bags, gloves and pokers, and Moby Dick’s will provide water.

“We’re hoping to get the city more involved in enforcing regulations on the books and do what we can to help the cause,” Ruickoldt said.

Public Works Commissioner Tom J. McCarthy said the cleanup is also aimed at ensuring that business owners maintain the public spaces in front of their properties.

A public space is defined as the area from a business’s front door to the street. The area also includes the sidewalk and the tree belt, a strip of ground lying between the sidewalk and curb lines.

“All merchants are responsible for keeping the sidewalk in front of their business premise free of litter,” McCarthy said. “They are also responsible for maintaining their dumpster.”

Violations of the “Littering” ordinance under Chapter 142 of the West Haven Code carry a $150 fine per offense per day.

The ordinance is enforced by the city’s property maintenance/zoning enforcement officer and police.

West Haven Mayor Nancy R. Rossi, left, announces downtown business owner Elsie Encarnacion as the city’s Hispanic American of the Year on Tuesday. Rossi and the West Haven Hispanic Heritage Committee will honor Encarnacion, a State Farm agent who owns Encarnacion Insurance & Financial Services Inc. at 487A Campbell Ave., on the steps of City Hall at noon Friday. (City Photo/Michael P. Walsh)

Elsie Encarnacion named city’s Hispanic of the Year

WEST HAVEN, Sept. 29, 2022 — Elsie Encarnacion, a longtime downtown business owner, will receive the city’s Hispanic American of the Year award at the fourth annual Hispanic Heritage Celebration, Mayor Nancy R. Rossi announced.

Rossi and the West Haven Hispanic Heritage Committee will fete Encarnacion, whose grandparents hailed from Puerto Rico, at noon Friday at City Hall, 355 Main St.

The committee bestows the award annually on a Hispanic resident who epitomizes service in the city’s thriving Hispanic American community.

“I wasn’t expecting this (award) at all, and I’m very grateful,” said Encarnacion, a State Farm agent who has owned Encarnacion Insurance & Financial Services Inc. for 14 years at 487A Campbell Ave., opposite City Hall across from the Green.

Encarnacion, 50, will honor her Puerto Rican ancestry with dozens of friends and loved ones, along with an array of dignitaries and descendants of folks from Puerto Rico and Latin America.

Committee members and West Haven officials led by Rossi will escort Encarnacion to the steps of City Hall for her special recognition. A Latin-flavored lunch will follow.

West Haven’s diversity is its strength, Rossi said, and Encarnacion is a testament to the American dream.

“Elsie Encarnacion is an outstanding business professional, and it is a privilege to recognize her as our Hispanic American of the Year,” Rossi said. “She is both a local business owner and an active member of our community who is known for being charitable and always willing to volunteer.”

In observance of National Hispanic Heritage Month, which runs through Oct. 15, West Haven recognizes the important legacy of Hispanic Americans and the inspiring contributions they have made to the culture and history of the United States.

Hispanics have had a profound and positive influence on the civic and cultural life of America through their strong commitment to faith and family, hard work and public service. They have enhanced and shaped the national character with centuries-old traditions that reflect the multiethnic and multicultural customs of their community.

Hispanic Heritage Month, which traces its roots to 1968, begins each year on Sept. 15, the anniversary of independence of five Latin American countries: Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua. Mexico and Chile also celebrate their independence days during that period.

The term Hispanic refers to Puerto Rican, South American or Central American, and other Spanish cultures or origins regardless of race. On the 2020 census form, people of Spanish, Hispanic or Latino origins could identify themselves as Mexican, Mexican American, Chicano, Puerto Rican, Cuban, or “another Hispanic, Latino or Spanish origin.”

Rossi said Encarnacion personifies the noble qualities of serving her vibrant community and carrying on the proud traditions of Puerto Rico.

Rossi praised the public-spirited Encarnacion, whom she called a woman of faith and service, for her devotion to the city and its robust Hispanic American community.

Encarnacion, a member of Vertical Church, is widely known for her volunteerism at the Meloy Road church, where she helped deliver meals to needy residents during the height of the coronavirus pandemic.

At the City Hall event, Rossi will present her with a Puerto Rican flag and a mayoral citation for her civic-minded good works.

Encarnacion will also receive an embroidered “Hispanic American of the Year” jacket from Rossi and a General Assembly citation from Rep. Treneé McGee, D-West Haven, on behalf of the city’s delegation.

The cultural event will include remarks by Rossi and her executive assistant, Louis P. Esposito Jr., the master of ceremonies. It will also include the singings of “The Star-Spangled Banner” and the Puerto Rican national anthem, “La Borinqueña.”

The former Elsie Velasquez was born and raised in Christiansted, the largest town on St. Croix of the Virgin Islands, where she graduated from St. Croix Central High School in 1990.

Five years later, she received a bachelor’s degree in business from the Interamerican University of Puerto Rico, where she met her husband, Emilio Encarnacion.

After the couple moved to West Haven in 1996, she received a master’s degree in business management from Albertus Magnus College.

She and her husband of 26 years live with their Chihuahuas, Chilly and Princess, on Sanford Street in Allingtown.

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Support groups resuming meetings at West Haven Senior Center

WEST HAVEN, Sept. 29, 2022 — West Haven Youth and Family Services’ new Bereavement Support Group for Grieving Parents will hold its inaugural meeting and open house from 6-7:30 p.m. Oct. 19 at the West Haven Senior Center on the upper floor of the Johnson Community Center, 201 Noble St.

The group, facilitated by Marianne Gambardella and Cate Saxton, will meet monthly on the first and third Wednesdays from 6-7:30 p.m. at the senior center.

The Bereavement Support Group of West Haven for widows, widowers and partners meets monthly on the second and fourth Wednesdays from 6-7:30 p.m. at the senior center.

The West Haven Interagency Network for Children’s support groups for parents and guardians of children with autism and other disabilities will resume meetings in October from 6-7:30 p.m. at the senior center.

The Parent Support Group, facilitated by Viola Waldo, will resume Oct. 17 and meet the second Monday of each month.

The Spanish-speaking Parent Support Group, facilitated by Gricel Aguilar-Cobos, will resume Oct. 10 and meet the second Tuesday of each month.

Youth and Family Services has intended to offer on-site child care so people can attend support group meetings, but the respite service has been suspended until further notice. Anyone needing the service to attend a meeting must contact Youth and Family Services Director Diane Dietman at least a day before the meeting at [email protected].

Those attending support group meetings must follow all national, state and local COVID-19 safety protocols. Face masks are recommended but not required.

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