Downtown Substation OK'd; North End Station Still Closed

Downtown Substation OK'd; North End Station Still Closed

" The substation, which would be housed in a former newspaper kiosk, would help address "a recent increase" in violence in the area, Segarra said. The council approved the request the same day" - JENNA CARLESSO, The Hartford Courant.

I mean...I don't get it? These people claim that skirmishes and flash mobs have been a recent growing trend and something is needed to be done in increase security within the area, which is true. However, a couple neighborhoods over have had the same problems for the past couple of years and little has been done to curb crime, the sale of narcotics and gang activities. There have been to date 22 homicides which are 22 deaths toooooo many and who knows how many more before years end! People are dieing, yet the Mayor et al reached the conclusion that a substation around the downtown area is much more vital than in the neighborhoods that truly need them? Seriously? What's going on? We, the Velvet Rebellion, implore the people of Hartford to wake up from this and snap outta this nightmare and help us take action braking away from accepting this as a norm from our society.

"You'd think if they were going to put police any place it would be a high-crime area. You have to start where the problem needs to be taken care of" Rev. Henry Brown.

Mayor Segarra says: The police presence [in the ok'd area] will also prove beneficial for people visiting the city noting that at least six "major conventions" are coming up in Hartford. But Mayor, those of us who continue to live and work in OUR city have had a myriad of thefts, vandalism, heard gun fire time and time again only to have our HPD's finest answering the call anywhere from one to a couple hours later! That is as big and fruitless for that matter of a joke as your implementation of that gunshot-detecting sensors We're the ones living, working and spending our hard earned cash in our city. In case you've been paying any attention there were three assaults and by the heavens above no one lost their lives. We depend upon their (the police force) protection and you, Mayor on our cooperation. Open the North End station and have other substations amongst other Hartford neighborhoods. We need police officers out of their patrol cars and physically strolling our streets within their assigned zones like the good ol' days. We need an efficient viable plan to not just repair the North End community but the South End et al not just for the short term like the current task force but rather for the long term. Start by adding a STRONGER police force above all to address the understaffing of our police department. A lot of us entrusted you to make these changes possible sooner rather than...never. That is of course if you want to keep serving as our Mayor. - V.R.