By Amanda Webster
A packed Bellin A and B Gallery hosted the Town Gown meeting on Monday evening so CCSU representatives could discuss issues regarding student activity with residents in the surrounding CCSU area.
Mayor Timothy O’Brien, President Jack Miller, and Interim Police Chief James Wardwell were just a few of the people present to listen and discuss the issues that face homeowners in the Beldevere neighborhood.
Tensions were high between residents of New Britain as concerns over the social activities of students were brought to the committees attention. Many residents came to complain about student life on weekends and express their frustrations about student drinking during the very early hours of the morning.
Many of the residents had similar stories to share about their experiences about disrespectful students on a weekly basis. Complaints of shouting, loud music, vandalism, and even public urination were thrown at the council in attempts to urge the members to find a solution. One elderly resident was so angry that she said the student body needed to be rid of altogether.
Jenna Casorio, CCSU student and off-campus resident said that she could understand where the other residents were coming from because she has dealt with similar problems.
“I’m not 21, I don’t drink,” said Casorio. “I’ve had my trash cans knocked over by students and I don’t like it either, but it’s those kind of generalizations that say all students are just crazy drunk, druggies, that frustrate students.”
One of the major complaints from New Britain residents was that absentee landlords were to blame for student rowdiness off-campus and that when the landlords are made aware of the disturbances they could “care less” about how their tenets treat the property.
John Zipadelli, a landlord for many off-campus houses around Central said that it was an unfair assumption to say that all landlords were negligent.
“I am at my houses every day checking things out,” said Zipadelli. “The kids that rent are for the most part good kids and if anyone has a complaint I would love to hear from you.”
O’Brien addressed the room and tried to appease the concerns of residents by bringing up the proposed noise ordinance. According to O’Brien the “hot spot” ordinance will hopefully deter students from excessive rowdy behavior and help show that the city is taking the complaints of residents seriously.
“The issue is we’re not trying to generalize all college students here,” said O’Brien. “The students who are in fact being the problem are self-selecting this problem. The city is going to take very strong action to deal with that.”
O’Brien said that the city will enforce the ordinances in place and if property owners cannot get their property under control or they will be fined. Failure to pay the fines could result in foreclosure said O’Brien.
Wardwell explained that the Police Department is taking a more proactive stance this year when dealing with student partying.
“We’re trying to be more visible in the neighborhood,” said Wardwell.
“We’re dead serious about ending this as a problem,” continued O’Brien.
SGA President Eric Bergenn said to the attendees that there are student representatives who want to work with the community to help find a solution to help what is becoming a prevalent problem between Central and the surrounding communities.
At the end of the meeting both sides wanted better communication. Students and city residents said that they would appreciate a way to work together in order to create a more harmonious environment for everyone involved.