The following letter, titled "A Forgotten Neighborhood -- Stevens Street, New Haven," was sent to Public Works Director John Prokop, Mayor John DeStefano Jr., other city officials and the news media. It is reprinted here with permission:

Dear Mr. Prokop,

For two weeks my and my neighbor's trash hasn't been picked up. I called your office yesterday and was assured it would be picked up. It wasn't. I called this morning and was assured it would be picked up. It hasn't been. It is the hottest day of the year and this is a hazard to all of the kids on our street. There are maggots and flies all around and the garbage is now spilling over. Would you please advise as to your plans? Also, if you have no plans to pick it up, who shall I send the invoice to so I can have it picked up by a company since your workers aren't doing their job? I won't be paying for this twice. Again, this is beyond disgusting and a hazard to the children.

This neighborhood has been forgotten about. Just this past weekend a 19 year old boy was struck down by a speeding car going in the wrong direction. There are drug deals going on. There are children out past midnight running up and down the street. There are nothing but children on our street and I won't let mine out because its simply not safe. Now, its not safe because even the air they breathe could be damaging because of the piling up of garbage and infestation that I was assured would be removed yesterday and then AGAIN, today. Further, I don't understand the escalation process for any of the departments in this city. When you don't receive an answer to a question or a problem, you're left to continue speaking with the same people who don't have the answers. In my experience that only comes from bad management. I'm not accusing, but will say that if you had properly trained individuals either addressing the issue or referring you to someone who can address it, my frustration wouldn't be at this level and quite possibly - just maybe - the issue would have been resolved. That comes from the top - down.

I believe in accountability. I will do my job as a citizen and you must do yours as an official. I ask you to reply all and advise of your plan.

Respectfully,
Catherine Lawson

Catherine Lawson can be reached at mrs.catherinelawson@yahoo.com.


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The Sickle Cell Disease Association of America, Southern Connecticut, invite everyone who has been touched by Sickle Cell disease and those who want to learn more about the illness to attend  a World Sickle Cell Day event starting at 5 tonight, 545 Whalley Ave, New Haven.

Sickle Cell is a genetic disease that affects all races, especially people with an ancestor from Africa, India, Central and South America, the Middle East, the Caribbean and Mediterranean nations such as Italy, Greece, France and Turkey.

The guest speaker is Genice Nelson, APRN, who attended the first World Sickle Cell Day in New York in 2009.  Ginger Davis, who helped organize the inaugural celebration in New York, also will attend the New Haven event.

For more information, call 1-888-745-2327 or 203-385-2253.

"Urban Dreams" Cast and Crew - High School in the Community, New Haven, Conn.

Upcoming Performance: "Urban Dreams"

Location: Hight School in the Community, 175  Water St., New Haven, Conn.

Date: 6 p.m. Monday, June 18

The Urban Dreams production will address "the everyday issues  that teenagers face inside & outside the classrooms. Through a story of explosive Rap & Hip-Hop lyrics, soulful singing, live music & spoken word, these teens will confront issues such as violence, relationships, media, teacher student conflicts, faith and more; dealing with harsh realities of growing up in environments that feel more like warzones, these teens strive to re-define Urban Dreams," says director Frank E. Brady.

From the minds of the talented students of High School In the Community comes   “Urban Dreams,” a cutting edge play created by teenagers in New Haven that combines comedic outlooks, gripping performances and spell binding  monologues.

For more information on the production,contact Frank E. Brady at Frank.E.Brady@gmail.com.

About The Director:

Frank E. Brady is a nationally known entertainer, educator and motivational

speaker who also currently teaches in the New Haven, Connecticut public

school system. He has appeared on networks such as BET, CNN and NBC. He

conducts workshop on personal development through cultural performance and

has been an invited facilitator, speaker and performer at events such as the

2011 World Youth Peace Summit and the 2011 Congressional Black Caucus

Foundations Annual Legislative Conference where President Barack Obama was

the keynote speaker. “Urban Dreams” will be Frank’s directorial debut.

Contact us with any questions or feedback at voices@nhregister.com or on Twitter @nhrvoices.

Surely, special times are upon us.

A Youth Movement:

"I choose to march at this event because I feel that to get a job in New Haven is complicated and unfair for all youth. I march for equality for all of us. Being an inner-city high school honor student, it's definitely hard.. We all deserve at least a chance."  -- Mahogany Mathis, Higher Heights Youth Empowerment Program

Starting at noon on Saturday, a coalition of youth groups will march in New Haven from the Dixwell Community House building at 197 Dixwell Ave. to the steps at City Hall.

Their message? "YES to jobs. NO to violence."

Once the marchers arrive at City Hall, 165 Church St. they will reveal the findings of a door-to-door survey on the issues of jobs, education, public safety and neighborhood concerns.

Then, it's on to Criscuolo Park, at the corner of Chapel and James streets, for a Peace Party, featuring youth performers.

These events are the first in a series of actions young people will be taking out of concern for the future for them and society as a whole.

If you go, please Tweet your pictures to an online photo gallery using the hashtag #NHVYouth or email them to us via yourpics@nhregister.com.

Father's Day:

For this gallery, the Twitter hashtag changes #ctdads2012 but the email remains yourpics@nhregister.com.

We wish everyone a Happy Father's Day and hope you will share photos of the memories your family creates on Sunday.

We also welcome pictures of dads who are deceased but forever remembered.

Graduations:
Tis the season.

From kindergarten through 12th grade, our children are advancing to new stages of living and learning.
If your family is celebrating a graduation that has already occurred or is coming up, please share your pictures.

The Twitter hashtag for graduations is #ctgrads2012, and again, the email for sending them to us is yourpics@nhregister.com.

 Once your images start coming in, all of these galleries - and existing ones - may be viewed at yourpics.nhregister.com.

 

"Humanity Ascending: A New Way Through Together" is "a cutting-edge documentary that provides a message of hope for a worried world," according to the producers. It will be shown at 7 p.m. Thursday at The Grove, 71 Orange St., New Haven, with hosts Melissa Waldron and Rachel Heerema.

Barbara Marx Hubbard narrates "Humanity Ascending: A New Way Through Together."

The narrator of the film, futurist Barbara Marx Hubbard, has been a leading voice for innovative change in the world for the past 40 years, and has been called the "intellectual heir" of R. Buckminster Fuller, according to a release.

As a visionary, author, speaker, social architect and co-founder and president of the Foundation for Conscious Evolution, she believes that humanity now, as never before, is on the threshold of a quantum leap. If we are able to integrate newly emergent scientific, social, and spiritual capacities, we could transform ourselves to move beyond our current global crises to a magnificent future equal to our vast new potential, the release stated.

"Conversations with God" author Neale Donald Walsch says, "at a time of increasing confusion and rising concern about our planet's future, the Humanity Ascending Series unravels the mystery of our collective experience in an extraordinary overview that is breathtaking in its scope, startling in its clarity, and gloriously hopeful in its thoughts about tomorrow, demonstrating once again why Barbara Marx Hubbard is considered a global treasure and one of the greatest visionaries of our time."

For more information on the film, visit the Humanity Ascending website. Melissa Waldron, a writer, consultant and local food systems advocate, writes the blog Fertile Ground USA and is a member of the New Haven Register's Community Media Lab.