Well, I have decided I agree. The six owners in the Isaac B. Davis Condominium Association at 362-364 Laurel Street grew tired of all the nonsense in the backyard - miscreants used our property for prostitution, car theft, drug deals, u-turns, cut-thrus and even to stash drugs and guns.

We took matters into our hands, threw together $800 and contracted an iron-worker to build us a wrought-iron gate for our south driveway.

After three weeks of having the fence up, I am pleased that the daily percentage of shenanigans has been cut by nearly 90 percent.

The only problems are now in our front yard, where inconsiderate neighbors play their stereos too loud and block the driveway. But that will change, too, once we call in the surgical airstrikes.

I never thought a fence could so much for peace of mind. I think it is good for the entire neighborhood, because it adds some stability, and takes away a potential spot for mischief. Yet like a bubble on a bumper sticker, people will just go elsewhere to do their things, but, as they say, not in my backyard.

Down the street, at the corner of Farmington and Laurel, where Brenda McCumber's garden volunteers grow flowers so pretty, a new tenant, the healthcare company Homemakers and Companions will be moving into the old Army-National Guard space owned by landlord Tom Shelto.

So Brenda has had to pick up stakes for the Laurel Corner Association. She removed all the photos from the windows, and the storefront looks naked without the paper-dolls and the word "Community" spread across it like a rainbow. It is kind of bittersweet, I will miss getting my butt kicked in chess by Frankie, the local grandmaster from Bosnia.

But at the same time, I am pleased that our neighborhood will be welcoming a health care facility. This business won't generate litter from junk food, nor will it sell drugs like alcohol, tobacco or high-fructose corn syrup. We can never have too much health-care infrastructure, and I hope that Homemakers and Companions are good neighbors.

A flyer on the door explains who they are:

"Companions and Homemakers, Inc. was founded in 1990 with the goal of helping older adults remain safe, comfortable and independent in their own homes," the sign read.

Then it makes some claims which are crying for more thorough investigation which I cannot do right now:

"Thanks to the efforts of our caregivers and staff, companions and homemakers enjoys a reputation as Connecticut's most trusted provider of homecare for the elderly. Unlike many other providers, Companions and Homemakers directly employs its caregivers and is responsible for withholding of taxes required by state and federal law. Because they are our employees, caregivers are protected by Workers' and Unemployment Compensation insurance as well."

Brenda had a final fling on the corner on Saturday with the drummers from Ajali, but she is looking for new space. I think it will be hard to find a similar space, but I'm rooting for her.

It can only be good that a 9-to-5 business will be moving in there. I can't help but think that Brenda's magnificent flower garden contributed to the company's interest in moving there.

I also hope that the company will bring a stabilizing influence to the corner, and keep drug dealers and other miscreants away. While we know they will move somewhere else, improving this neighborhood is a start. Between this, the Connecticut Culinary Institute and the fence, maybe some new people will consider moving onto the street.

Because on one other sad Laurel Street note, a really good friend of the 40-Year Plan who lived in the Willoughby has bought a house in New Haven, mainly because of the crime and bullcrap garbage that went on in the Willoughby. Hartford can't keep losing residents. Three really good friends of mine have moved out of Hartford in the past four months, and it makes me sad, and it makes me wonder what we must do to keep talent here.

8/04/06

Email this to a friend.

A View of Laurel Street from the Wrought-Iron Fence.

Laurel Street from behind the fence.

Index Pages

Topics

Archives

Laurel St. Report:

Fences and Neighbors