by Thomas Breen
With many mature trees removed, expect less absorbent soil — and more flooding, as in the above area by carousel building.
Lighthouse Point Park will reopen to the public on Friday — more than a month after an “unforecasted straight-line downburst” brought 105 mile-per-hour winds, toppling 95 trees and causing significant damage to the historic carousel building.
Mayor Justin Elicker, city Parks Department Director Max Webster, and a host of elected officials and city employees gathered at the Morris Cove waterfront park on Wednesday morning to make that announcement.
Elicker and Webster said that the park — minus the carousel building — will reopen to the public at 7 a.m. on Friday, and will be open each day after that through sunset. The park stays open year-round.
The park has been closed since Aug. 13, when a sudden overnight storm caused such wreckage. Webster said that the downburst caused the worst storm-related damage at Lighthouse Park since the hurricane of 1938.
To have the park reopened to the public in just over a month, he said, is “really remarkable,” and a testament to the hard work of Parks Department staffers.
Elicker said that much of the work over the past month has included cleaning up glass and debris blown out from the carousel building; replacing sand at the nearby playground; removing and pruning damaged trees; removing and fixing damaged park furniture like benches and tables; and filling in the “enormous craters left in the ground” by the storm-toppled trees.
City Engineer Giovanni Zinn said that the carousel building, first constructed in 1905, has been stabilized — but is still very much off limits to the public. The city is working on a plan to preserve the historic building while also talking with an insurance carrier about what work will be covered by the city’s existing policy on the building.
Please “be considerate of that work,” Webster urged the public in regards to the ongoing construction and preservation work at the carousel building. Now is not the time to sneak a peek at the work in progress at the fenced-off site.
Miraculously enough, the carousel’s flying horses and the carousel itself were largely spared any damage by the storm. Those historic fixtures have been removed to an off-site location as the city figures out what to do now with the building.
Elicker said that a total of 27 “special events,” including 11 weddings, that had been scheduled for the carousel building had to be rescheduled and relocated because of the storm. That said, the city is now issuing permits again for special events to be held at Lighthouse Park — if not at the carousel building itself.
City Tree Warden Annie Mixsell added that “the landscape is very changed here,” with so many trees downed. “We lost a tremendous amount of trees.”
Webster said that, because of the removal of so many mature trees, the soil at the park is less absorbent. That means there likely will be more flooding and more pools of water across the park. The city is currently working on a tree replanting plan for the park.
What’s the city’s latest estimate for how much the storm cleanup at the park will cost?
“It’s ongoing,” city Chief Administrative Officer Justin McCarthy said. Elicker and McCarthy said that the cleanup costs will not, however, rise to the level of qualifying for reimbursement from the federal government. The costs should instead be covered by a mix of city, state, bonding, and donated funds.
“To the people of New Haven,” Webster said, “we’re excited and proud to give you your park back,” even as there’s more work to be done to restore the carousel building and adapt to a new landscape wrought by the storm.
Same park, fewer trees.
City officials at Wednesday’s presser, including Alder Sal Punzo, CAO Justin McCarthy, City Engineer Giovanni Zinn, and state rep Democratic nominee Wildaliz Bermudez.