Hartford residents lead community projects to help beautify the city

HARTFORD, CT (WFSB) - In Hartford neighbors are helping beautify the city.

That includes improvements to parks, cleaning up vacant spaces, and planting gardens.

These are community projects lead by residents, and 26 new projects are set to take place in Hartford.

“There was just trash everywhere. There was hopelessness everywhere,” said Delene Falcon of Hartford.

Falcon remembers very well what this part of Wolcott Street used to look like.

The once blighted property is now home to a playground that’s easily accessible to children in the neighborhood.

“What they’ve done is give hope to a community that a lot of people counted out and thought there was nothing good to come to here,” Falcon said.

Children came together to paint a mural and recycled tires were turned into a playground.

“A lot of love that went into this. A lot of sweat and a lot of commitment,” said Logan Singerman, Director of Community Partnerships, SINA.

Those changes were made with the help of the “Love Your Block” project, neighborhood improvement projects led by residents in the city.

“This is an act of civic engagement. This is an act of residents coming together to care for and demand and improve the quality of life, right where they live work and play,” said Janice Castle, Director of Community Engagement for the City of Hartford.

Love Your Block allows residents to turn ideas on how to improve the city into action.

Neighbors submitted 80 different ideas to the city this year and a total of 26 projects were selected.

“Love Your Block is all about giving our community the tools and resources so that they can have the chance to make the changes they want to see,” said Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin.

The 26 projects are spread across all 12 of Hartford’s neighborhoods.

A total of $224,000 in grant money will go towards the neighborhood improvements with the help of the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving.

“All the projects contribute to beautification of neighborhoods, growth and social cohesion,” said Damion Baker with the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving.

This is the fifth year of Love Your Block projects.

The new round of projects will start soon around the city.

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