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This is a place where you can feel free to discuss things that don't specifically have to do with the urban issues we focus on here at UP. Also new members who feel they don't really have something specific to contribute can introduce themselves here, or ask questions if they don't feel like they have enough to start a new thread about.

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This is a place where you can feel free to discuss things that don't specifically have to do with the urban issues we focus on here at UP. Also new members who feel they don't really have something specific to contribute can introduce themselves here, or ask questions if they don't feel like they have enough to start a new thread about.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Thanks for the off topic lounge. We appreciate it. I'm HartfordTycoon. I was born and raised in the "dreaded" North End where I still live on a quiet, safe, tree-lined street with 3 story houses with decks and patios in back yards and where children are safe to play. That may be shocker to those unfamiliar with the North End outside of the sensationalist media reports of poverty and violence. We do have work to do on my side of town, but progress is being made. I am very active in my community and obviously not affraid of the so-called bad parts of the city. I'm an insurance professional and political activist who will make a difference in this city.

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Hi there Tycoon. I'm one of your recruits from SSP. ;)

I was born in Hartford, raised in West Hartford, Farmington, and Avon. I currently live on Long Island, about 35 minutes east of NYC. I've been living down here for about 2 years, mainly because of school. However, I plan on returning to the Hartford area, more specifically downtown Hartford, within the next 5 years.

Even in communities like Avon and Farmington where Hartford is a 4 letter word, I've noticed people's attitudes changing about Hartford and it's future. My parents are a great example, especially my father. He is a doctor at St. Francis and he see's gun shot victims that come in from the nearby Albany Avenue area from time to time. So, for as long as I can remember, he's had bad feelings about Hartford. But about 2 years ago I started taking them downtown (whenever i'm home visiting) to eat, sightsee, etc. They now love the variety of restaurants downtown, and are actually excited about all the new construction. So the word is slowly spreading. :)

I wanted to ask you, how is the situation in the North End these days? Is it getting better/worse/about the same? Are any of those anti-violence gatherings and marches (like the org headed by Rev. Cornell Lewis) having an effect on the neighborhood?

Edited by SOCOM
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My name is Eric, grew up 25 miles east of Hartford in Windham. From growing up in a place like Windham, I can relate to what Hartford is going through. Windham/Willimantic to many is a town people would never think visit or live in. Like Hartford it is has gone through its share of bad times. Not too long ago Willimantic, along with Hartford were 2 of the great cities in New England. I hope to one day change that in Willimantic and hope in the years to come Hartford can once again be a place to go on a weeknight or weekend and not have such a bad rep it does now. Many don't know what is in Hartford, and if they knew they would be regulars. There is so much potential downtown.

I am currently in Tempe, Arizona going to school. I love Arizona and Phoenix area, but in the end I will end up back in Connecticut. There is no substitute for the 4 seasons and the ocean which we don't have here in Phoenix.

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Great post, I agree wholeheatedly. Also good to hear that the police are having a positive effect. I think the police are a huge piece of the puzzle. If they really get to know the community and treat the people with respect, rather than bullying them, that will make a bif difference in the crime rate IMO. Police are only an asset if the community can trust them.

Edited by SOCOM
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I was born and raised on Long Island and I am now a Sophomore at Trinity College in Hartford. Like most Trinity freshmen, I was at first terrified of the city (they eat babies dontcha kno? :P ) but as I stopped talking to the preppie guys from Westchester and started talking to locals who worked at the school I stopped fearing the city less and started to enjoy it. I've recently taken an interest in the city and if all goes well I'm taking a class on its history next semester. I'm really disappointed that people in the burbs as well as at Trinity view Hartford as a nothing but a hellhole, most Trinity students are too afraid to walk to the supermarket on New Britain Ave. (a block away) and im considered to be somewhat of a nut among my friends because I walked from Trinity to Downtown. I think that once West Hartfordites etc. stop fearing Hartford and once the surrounding communities start talking to each other and acting regionally (God willing), I hope the city will improve.

Edited by LItoCT
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Hartford Tycoon I noticed you mentioned education as an extremly important thread and on that note I personally think it is great how (1) the regions private and pariochial schools have stepped up the amount of aid they will be offering to bring inner city kids into these exclusive private schools even in Hartford (lets not forget Watkinson School) and in many of the Hartford suburbs such as Kingswood Oxford and Northwest Catholic in West Hartford, Avon Old Farms in Avon, Miss Porters and Westminster in Simsbury and Loomis Chaffee in Windsor.

(2) a recent poll from Hartford Magazine ranked the top 20 high schools in the area and allthough Hartford's public high schools were not on there it was made note of the fact that they are in fact improving and also on the list of these schools were East Hartford High School and Bloomfield High School.

It is definitly true that many suburbinites have a fear of the city that is put into them at a young age. I have lived in Wethersfield for four years and previously lived in Hebron before then (Exit 13 off Route 2) and am a senior at Watkinson School in Hartford. My mother was raised in Hartford by her two immigrant parents from Floridia, Sicily in Italy. She first lived in a rooming house her parents bought in the North End on Albany Avenue then in another rooming house they bought on Ann Street, then in apartment building on Farmington Avenue in the West End before she finally went to college at Saint Josephs College and Trinity College and so she was not afraid of the city and this has been passed on to me. Although my grandparents beleived in a strong education and so none of their three children ever went to Hartford public schools. They saved their money so they could go to Saint Patrick's School and Northwest Catholic High School.

There are many students I go to school with who will not even step a foot farther into the city then they already are (keep in mind the school is on the Hartford-West Hartford line) There are many who will go the long about way to get home to the suburbs just so they dont have to go through the city and I am happy to say if it is 5:00 I am going to go down Albany Avenue till it reaches downtown and pick I-91S by the G.Fox building if it will save me time.

There is a bad image that is instilled at times by the parents that needs to be changed as Hartford is changing.

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Hartford Tycoon I noticed you mentioned education as an extremly important thread and on that note I personally think it is great how (1) the regions private and pariochial schools have stepped up the amount of aid they will be offering to bring inner city kids into these exclusive private schools even in Hartford (lets not forget Watkinson School) and in many of the Hartford suburbs such as Kingswood Oxford and Northwest Catholic in West Hartford, Avon Old Farms in Avon, Miss Porters and Westminster in Simsbury and Loomis Chaffee in Windsor.

(2) a recent poll from Hartford Magazine ranked the top 20 high schools in the area and allthough Hartford's public high schools were not on there it was made note of the fact that they are in fact improving and also on the list of these schools were East Hartford High School and Bloomfield High School.

It is definitly true that many suburbinites have a fear of the city that is put into them at a young age. I have lived in Wethersfield for four years and previously lived in Hebron before then (Exit 13 off Route 2) and am a senior at Watkinson School in Hartford. My mother was raised in Hartford by her two immigrant parents from Floridia, Sicily in Italy. She first lived in a rooming house her parents bought in the North End on Albany Avenue then in another rooming house they bought on Ann Street, then in apartment building on Farmington Avenue in the West End before she finally went to college at Saint Josephs College and Trinity College and so she was not afraid of the city and this has been passed on to me. Although my grandparents beleived in a strong education and so none of their three children ever went to Hartford public schools. They saved their money so they could go to Saint Patrick's School and Northwest Catholic High School.

There are many students I go to school with who will not even step a foot farther into the city then they already are (keep in mind the school is on the Hartford-West Hartford line) There are many who will go the long about way to get home to the suburbs just so they dont have to go through the city and I am happy to say if it is 5:00 I am going to go down Albany Avenue till it reaches downtown and pick I-91S by the G.Fox building if it will save me time.

There is a bad image that is instilled at times by the parents that needs to be changed as Hartford is changing.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

That is true. I just want to point out that 2 of Hartford's Public Magnet schools did make the list: The Sports and Medical Scences Academy and The Classical Magnet School(My Alma Mater). With plans for a college prep High School at Capitol and University Magnet High School at U of Hartford, good things are happening in the Hartford Public School system. :)

TWO HARTFORD SCHOOLS MAKE TOP 20 LIST

(HARTFORD, July 20, 2005)

Edited by HartfordTycoon
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Hello everyone, this is my first time here, glad to be on board...

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Hey there SSP brethren. What do you think about this board? Other than the Hartford/Providence bickering of course. :D I'm starting to like this more than SSP...I like how we have our own section here. I'll probably continue posting at both boards though, because we still have a bunch of good guys over there.

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I like it alot.  It's more wearing over here, everyone wants to beat down everyone elses city, which is ridiculous to begin with, but whatever....

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

It is annoying. But it shows us that people really believe we are a contender, and some are even jealous of Hartford's advantages (skyline, economic might, etc), otherwise they wouldn't waste their time bashing Hartford.

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What other board are you talking about? I would love to support Hartford in more than one board. In fact, there is a great Whalers site that has a message board which needs some more love. I posted the site under the Hartford sports topic. Check it out!

MadVlad- I hope you don't mind I stole your avatar.

Edited by uconn99
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What other board are you talking about?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Skyscraperpage.com

There are another 6 or 7 Hartford members over there that regularly post. I'm starting to think we should have a Hartford meet soon. :) We could plan to meet downtown somewhere, grab coffee or a bite to eat, talk about the city and its future, and check out whats happening in and around downtown together. Would anyone be interested in something like that?

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Hi. I'm Mike D. I haven't posted on here in quite a while. I've been busy with my graduate school courses and sending out resumes for jobs. When I first started posting here, the Hartford section was really quiet and the most active threads in the Northeast section of UP were Providence and Norfolk/Hampton Roads, VA. I posted a lot on both of those threads because I was very interested in all the good things that are happening in Providence and Norfolk and they are on the list of places I am considering moving to (I currently live in Boston). I'm glad to see the Hartford section has come alive in the past few months.

Hartford is also an area that I like very much and would consider living in. I attended UConn from 1998 to 2001. Around that time, the Adriaen's Landing projects and the possible relocation of the Patriots were the biggest things in the news. I felt that Hartford should be more than what it was in 1998, that it should be a city that can hold its own and not be completely eclipsed by NYC and Boston, because it's halfway between both of them. Between NYC and Washington, DC, there's Philadelphia, which certainly holds its own economically and socially without being completely overshadowed by both of them. Then there's Baltimore. While near DC, it does have an economic and cultual base of its own. Both are large cities of over 600,000 with sizable surrounding metro areas. I believe Hartford, as well as Providence, should be able to play the same roles north of NYC that Philly and Bmore play south of it. I'm not saying Hartford has to gain 1.5 million people and be exactly like Philly, but it should be a large, attractive, economically and culturally strong urban area that plugs the big gap between Boston and NYC, the way Philly does between NYC and DC. With the upcoming residence towers, the Convention Center and the new Science Center, Hartford is moving in the right direction.

Edited by Mike D
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Hi. I'm Mike D. I haven't posted on here in quite a while. I've been busy with my graduate school courses and sending out resumes for jobs. When I first started posting here, the Hartford section was really quiet and the most active threads in the Northeast section of UP were Providence and Norfolk/Hampton Roads, VA. I posted a lot on both of those threads because I was very interested in all the good things that are happening in Providence and Norfolk and they are on the list of places I am considering moving to (I currently live in Boston). I'm glad to see the Hartford section has come alive in the past few months.

Hartford is also an area that I like very much and would consider living in. I attended UConn from 1998 to 2001. Around that time, the Adriaen's Landing projects and the possible relocation of the Patriots were the biggest things in the news. I felt that Hartford should be more than what it was in 1998, that it should be a city that can hold its own and not be completely eclipsed by NYC and Boston, because it's halfway between both of them. Between NYC and Washington, DC, there's Philadelphia, which certainly holds its own economically and socially without being completely overshadowed by both of them. Then there's Baltimore. While near DC, it does have an economic and cultual base of its own. Both are large cities of over 600,000 with sizable surrounding metro areas. I believe Hartford, as well as Providence, should be able to play the same roles north of NYC that Philly and Bmore play south of it. I'm not saying Hartford has to gain 1.5 million people and be exactly like Philly, but it should be a large, attractive, economically and culturally strong urban area that plugs the big gap between Boston and NYC, the way Philly does between NYC and DC. With the upcoming residence towers, the Convention Center and the new Science Center, Hartford is moving in the right direction.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Very cool Mike D., its great to get some prespective from someone outside of Hartford. I have to admit I thought I would never run into a Bostonian who had anything positive to say about Hartford. This is a very exciting time for Hartford, I do believe in a couple years (we are already seeing minor, but drastic changes in today's Hartford) Hartford will be on the ground running. Nice to have you here. ^_^

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Very cool Mike D., its great to get some prespective from someone outside of Hartford.  I have to admit I thought I would never run into a Bostonian who had anything positive to say about Hartford.  This is a very exciting time for Hartford, I do believe in a couple years (we are already seeing minor, but drastic changes in today's Hartford) Hartford will be on the ground running.  Nice to have you here.  ^_^

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Thanks for the welcome, SOCOM, although actually I'm not a Bostonian. I'm a native New Yorker. I'm up here because I attended graduate school at Suffolk for the past two years. Now that I'm finished with graduate school, I'm looking to leave Boston because it is just too expensive to live here and the job market isn't all that good.

I've always had a special place for Hartford because it is the closest large city to UConn and I feel that the university should be well-connected to the city. I also felt the Adriaen's Landing plans were a way for Hartford to revitalize itself and fill that big gap between NYC and Boston. Clearly that won't happen over night, but if the people and the government remain focused and keep their eyes on the prize, it can happen.

As for Bostonians not having anything nice to say about Hartford, truth is - they don't seem to have anything nice to say about any city other than Boston :rofl:

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Hi, my name is Dave. I live in the last remaining residence on Fraser Place. I moved here specifically for the view of downtown. I've lived in various parts of the city - West End, Asylum Hill, Parkville and now here (in a 20 yr time span). Ultimately I want to live downtown, which certainly looks more possible with all the development happening. I was happy to find this site where there are other people who are excited about the buildings going up. I was wondering, does anyone have any details about the conversion of the office building on Spring St, overlooking 84? I know they've applied for a varience for parking and are planning on making it residences but that's all I know. Thanks, Dave

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