Out with the Bad, In with the Good

Upper Albany-Clay Hill to Receive Almost $1 million in Weed & Seed Funds.

April 12 - 19, 2006
By The Hartford News

Federal, State and City officials are crediting a committee of local residents for securing some much sought after “Weed and Seed” anti-crime funding for Hartford’s Upper Albany and Clay-Arsenal neighborhoods. The announcement was made at a press conference last Thursday morning., April 6, by United States Attorney Kevin  O’Connor, Hartford Mayor Eddie A. Perez and Hartford Police Chief Patrick J. Harnett.

 “The Department of Justice is pleased to announce this substantial amount of funding to the Upper Albany and Clay-Arsenal Neighborhoods Weed and Seed site,”  said O’Connor.  “I want to commend the efforts of the Steering Committee for their work since the beginning of 2004, from application to official recognition and now, to funding.  It is our hope and expectation that the relationships between law enforcement, the community and service providers that have formed and will continue to form will last far beyond the next five years, which is the ultimate goal of Weed and Seed.”

The UACA site will immediately receive $175,000 for 2006, and could receive additional funding in the amount of $200,000 annually for the next four years. If the UACA site applies for annual funding and meets the requirements of the application process, it may receive $975,000 throughout the term of its Official Recognition.

The UACA Neighborhoods of Hartford have a combined population of more than 11,000 and is bordered on the east by Ann Street, on the south by Homestead Avenue, on the west by Homestead Avenue and Westbourne Parkway, and on the north by Westbourne Parkway, Greenfield Street and Mahl Avenue.

The U.S. Department of Justice’s Weed and Seed program is a two-pronged strategy that aims to prevent, control, and reduce violent crime and drug abuse in targeted neighborhoods across the country.  The strategy incorporates law enforcement agencies and prosecutors who cooperate in “weeding out”criminal activity from the community and then “seeding” the community by bringing human services to the area that encompass prevention, intervention, treatment, and neighborhood revitalization.

The law enforcement, or “weeding,” focus of the UACA site will be the reduction of gun violence and the narcotics trade, which is often the cause of the gun violence.  An element of the weeding strategy will be community policing in order to create a safer, more attractive community for residents, businesses, customers, and visitors.  Citizens will be mobilized to take control of their home neighborhoods through a concentrated effort to increase citizen training.

“Seeding” of the UACA site will include partnering with several social service organizations to target the many root causes of crime, and to stimulate neighborhood restoration and beautification in order to improve the quality of life.