Connecticut Local Politics

This is a story that I have a lot of interest in. At some point in the near future (hopefully), a train station will come to the downtown section of Enfield, which is an old mill village called Thompsonville, and that’s leading some people to seek a change there.

Right now, there’s a perception in Enfield of Thompsonville as a dirty, crime-ridden, run-down place. I think that’s unfair. My wife and I lived in T-ville for a couple of years when we first moved to Enfield, and though there were a lot of buildings in disrepair, I never found the place to be especially dangerous. It was a maze of interesting old buildings, narrow streets and unique specialty shops. At that time, U.S. Rep. Rob Simmons had an office on Pearl St. (since changed to something else). I miss walking around that old neighborhood since moving away from it.

But the perception persists. And maybe there are some good reasons for it. What happened was that when the carpet mill closed in the 1970s and the Enfield Square mall was built, businesses and families left for the more suburban area of Enfield. The town embarked on a disastrous “urban redevelopment” scheme, much like those in cities around the country, which basically destroyed most of the old downtown–to replace it with nothing but ruins and a few condos. Enfield lost its train station, and the bridge across the Connecticut River, which had originally been a two-lane span from Thompsonville’s Main St. to Suffield, was destroyed in favor of the new four-lane bridge a mile or so south. Thompsonville became a cul-de-sac on the wrong side of the highway from most of the new commercial development. The results, that no one went to Thompsonville anymore, shouldn’t surprise anyone.

There were many attempts to revitalize Thompsonville in the past. One, a revitalization strategy committee that I served on for a few years during the early part of this decade, did a lot of good work encouraging businesses and homeowners, preserving the village’s historic character, and laying some of the groundwork for the eventual train station. But now a new group, spearheaded by Rep. Kathy Tallarita (D-Enfield), is looking to do even more.

Voices for Thompsonville, a community group formed to change the perception of the Thomsponville section of town, is gaining momentum.

The group, started by Rep. Kathleen M. Tallarita, D-Enfield, and residents Sue Read and Kelly Hemmeler in June, has more than doubled its participation since its first meeting, going from 25 to 45 people for its second meeting on Thursday.
[…]
The group, which will meet on the third Thursday of every month at the AmVets Hall, is trying to organize itself before formally speaking with the Town Council or revitalization committee about its ideas on how to change Thompsonville.

In spite of the group’s plans to formalize before speaking about broader goals to town officials, four members of the council —Republicans William F. Lee and Jason Jones and Democrats Patrick Joseph Crowley and William J. “Red” Edgar Jr. — were in attendance at Thursday’s meeting. (Silliman)

The topic of the meeting was crime, and how to combat it. The police chief encouraged residents to call the police when there’s trouble:

“You need to call us. It’s not the community versus the police versus the drug dealers — it’s the community and the police versus the drug dealers,” Sferrazza said. “We’re all on the same team.”

I would love to see Thompsonville become more than it is, and it’s good to see that there’s more than just a passing interest in town in doing something positive there. Police and community working together is a great start. A new commuter rail station will also be a big help–it’ll give people a reason to go downtown (and, more importantly, live downtown), and could be the start of something good for the whole area.

I look forward to seeing what ideas this group comes up with.

Source
Silliman, Stacey. “‘We’re all on the same team’ Enfield police chief address issue of crime in Thompsonville as community group gains momentum.” Journal-Inquirer 18 July, 2008.

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