Temporary road closures
In effect in ‘Haven’ area
By Michael P Walsh
Special to the Voice
The city temporarily closed Richards Place and Center Street between First Avenue and Water Street on Monday to help curb illegal dumping and vagrancy in the area, Mayor Nancy R. Rossi said.
Most of the residential neighborhood is now owned by The Haven Group LLC, a Dallas-based development company that is preparing to build “America’s first upscale waterfront outlet mall” in the 24-acre Water Street project area.
Rossi said she is informing residents and businesses of the road closures so they can plan ahead, adding that she will notify the public of any updates to the traffic plans.
The Board of Police Commissioners approved the city’s request for the temporary closures on Dec. 19.
In a letter to the police commission, the Department of Planning and Development recommended that Richards Place and Center Street be “shut to traffic at the intersection of First Avenue and Richards Place and First Avenue and Center Street.”
To coincide with the closures, acting Public Works Commissioner Louis P. Esposito Jr. said the city is working with the state Department of Transportation to re-time the neighborhood’s traffic lights on First Avenue.
Esposito said the city also plans to permanently close Water Street from Main to Elm streets tentatively on Feb. 5.