By TAYLOR HARTZ
STAFF WRITER
The City Council passed a resolution on Feb. 9, in support of spending $68,000 to repair sidewalks on Summer St.
The funds were reallocated by the council, who supported an amendment to the Community Development Block Grant annual action plan for the 2015-2016 year.
The council voted unanimously to fund the repairs in the low-income neighborhood, which has some of the lowest rated sidewalks in the city.
Some residents raised concerns that the project would benefit landlords who did not take responsibility for the repairs.
“If you really want to improve Summer Street, keep cracking down on the bad landlords,” said Tom Doyle of High Street, before the council voted.
Doyle said if landlords were not required to contribute to the costs of the repairs, “it looks like the town is favoring absentee landlords over homeowners.”
The city currently has a sidewalk repair program that applies to residential houses with less than five units, offering an opportunity for a 50-percent grant or loan from the city.
Although the city can order sidewalk repairs, there are currently no programs that would apply to large apartment buildings.
David Haberfeld, the largest property owner on Summer Street, said he supported the project in order to continue improving the Summer Street neighborhood.
“Our neighborhood has significantly recovered,” said Haberfeld, “It is no longer a weight around our downtown.”
Haberfeld said he and other property owners in the area would commit to repaving the parking lots adjacent to the units at 17 to 25 Summer St., when the sidewalk project is completed.
“Fixing neighborhoods like lower Summer Street requires the cooperation of everyone, landlords, neighbors, investors, tenants, police, and the city,” said Haberfeld.
The $68,000 will be used to fix and install paved sidewalks and ensure that curbs are handicap accessible.
Councilor Mary Fortier, a member of the city’s Commission for Persons with Disabilities, said the commission discusses problems with sidewalks at nearly every meeting.
“It’s extremely difficult for them [disabled residents] to get around downtown, the West End and the Federal Hill area when the sidewalks are in disrepair,” said Fortier.
Fortier said that these repairs are very important in order to make these areas more accessible for disabled residents.
Information provided by a video uploaded by the Bristol CT Open Govern-ment Project (www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y6TdoKmkvvc)