Crowley does more than complain

By Josh LaBella

Voice Reporter

As the city goes through a financial crisis, some people stand by and watch and others take action. Rosella Abate Crowley formed the group West Haven United to help keep the city clean and give people activities to attend.

Abate Crowley said she has ten children, twelve grandchildren, a great grandson and a great granddaughter due at the end of the month. She said between her family and her job she is kept quite busy.

“I’ve been a nurse for 38 years,“ said Abate Crowley. “I retired from the State Health Department shortly after my husband died because I wasn’t allowed to moonlight.”

Abate Crowley said she was not allowed to moonlight because for her job as a regulator for the health department she oversaw every hospital and nursing home in the State of Connecticut.

“I ended up leaving and working in the private sector,” said Abate Crowley, “which paid more than the state. So right now, I’m doing consulting for nursing homes.”

Her involvement with the city started with the Bathroom Crisis of 2018, when the city had to lock the bathrooms at the beach on the weekends. She said people posting on the Facebook page “West Haven – The Way It Is” were using the issue to say negative things about the city.

“It just went on and on and on over some stupid bathrooms,” said Abate Crowley. “I’ve lived here almost 62 years. I remember what it used to be like. Back when I was a kid this was not a clean place. The beaches were filthy. The remnants of Savin Rock were still open. But I remember garbage everywhere, trash all over the streets.”

Abate Crowley said she did not understand the tone people had about West Haven. She invited people to come down the beach with her. She said they found the area in good condition with trash bins empty and the grass mowed. She said she posted pictures to the page of what they found and within a few weeks she was kicked off the page.

The organizer said, little by little, the group began to grow. They raised money privately in order to have the city put cell-phone application activated locks on the bathrooms by the beach.

“We set another meeting,” said Abate Crowley. “People actually brought their chairs and we were sitting down around the bathhouse just talking about what we could do to help while the city is in trouble.”

Abate Crowley said one of the main issues they wanted to tackle was the lack of programming and events. They also wanted to help make the city cleaner.

“We started with a clean and green committee and an activities committee,” she said. “So, we worked with the city last year. They had a few dollars – not a lot. We did two movies and three bands. So, we helped with that.”

According to Abate Crowley, they “nickel and dime” their funding, selling drinks and snacks at events. She said West Haven United is having trouble getting businesses in town to donate.

So far, the group has gathered volunteers and worked with public works to clean up different areas of the city. They have also hosted Halloween on the Green and hosted movies on the green throughout the summer. The city also asked them to help with the Christmas tree lighting.

“That [the tree lighting] had kind of faded into nothing but, ‘One, two, three – flip the switch – hooray,”’ said Abate Crowley. “It used to be a big deal years ago. We came up with a different way of doing things. We had activities for the kids. We had tables where they could make things to take home. They wrote cards to the veterans at the VA. They wrote card for military members overseas. They wrote letters to Santa and Mrs. Klaus.”

Rosella said they also had food trucks, music and free photos. She said the event was well received and gave them “the fuel to keep going.” She said they have teamed up with the city to save costs. They are also in the process of trying to get their nonprofit status – something Abate Crowley hopes will help the group get more sponsors.

She said this year West Haven United is hosting Halloween on the Green again as well as a “much bigger” tree lighting.

Abate Crowley said they have about 20 consistent volunteers but are working on getting more people involved. She says she understands it’s not easy to dedicate time but the goal is worth it.

“This is where I was born and raised,” said Abate Crowley. “I want to see it improve.”