On Tuesday, May 23, 2017, Marilyn Risi (7 from the right), Executive Director of Upper Albany Main Street participated in a ‘Step Up To The Plate’ celebration hosted by the MetroHartford Alliance.  As part of their 2017 Annual Celebration, members from the Hartford Community were invited to the new Yard Goats Stadium in Hartford, CT to partake in a luncheon and networking event.

Upper Albany Merchants Association (UAMA) is honored to congratulate Terry Waller, owner of TNT Barber Shop, located at 130 Homestead Avenue, on their grand opening.  With help from a student in the University of Hartford’s Micro Business (MBI) program, the business is now on track as a provider of hair styling and other beauty treatments to men and boys within the Hartford community and its surrounding towns.

“Whenever social justice issues are debated, one question always comes up:  Is there any hope?” says Director & Visionary, Faithlyn Johnson, also an Upper Albany Merchants Association member.  “This show motivates us to reject the many excuses to give up, when everyone is pushing you to accept ‘what’s done is done.  If we don’t, who will?”

This broadway style production will leave the audience mesmerized and motivated to make a STAND!  STAND the musical, will explore social-justice subjects pulled from today’s culture and headlines!  We STAND with Hartford Youth… where do you STAND?

Not to be missed, this case brings high energy and a rawness that is hard and rare to capture on stage.  The ausnace will laugh, cry and dance but most importantly, they will wrestle with the human struggle in all of us to do the right thing.  Despite adversity, we must STAND!  The majority of the case is from the local Hartford community and uses ActUp Theater as a safe haven and place to grow.

A $30 million facelift to the Albany Avenue corridor will get underway next month, capping decades of stops and starts on the project.

The overhaul, which will run from Homestead Avenue near the West Hartford line to Bedford Street, includes updates to 20 traffic signals, the addition of curb extensions, and landscaping and lighting improvements.  It’s expected to take about two years.

“My first thought was, I’m so glad I’m still alive to see it,” said Denise Best, chair of the Upper Albany Revitalization Zone. “It’s been a long time.”

While early stages of planning date to 16 years ago, Best said the idea for the streetscape improvements goes back to the late 1970s. State projects in other towns, staff turnover and struggles with funding delayed the upgrades.

Albany Avenue will be redesigned to include a through lane and a turn lane in each direction, and some of its cross streets will be realigned. Ten bus shelters, 430 trees and 330 streetlights will be added. Work is expected to begin near the intersection with Homestead and travel east.

About 80 percent of the cost is covered by federal funding, officials said. The remainder was contributed by the state. Hartford also contributed about $1 million for engineering and design expenses.

“This project is a long time coming,” Mayor Luke Bronin said Wednesday. “We need to have a vibrant city center, a vibrant downtown, but equally important is having vibrant and strong neighborhoods.”

Gov. Dannel P. Malloy called the street “a traffic accident magnet” and said the renovations are necessary.

Department of Transportation Commissioner James Redeker has echoed that, telling The Courant in January that 500 crashes occurred on the road between 2008 and 2010, and 700 more happened between 2012 and 2016.

In advance of the groundbreaking, an informational session on the project is scheduled for May 18 at the Chrysalis Center. A job fair, hosted by DOT, will be held on May 24 from 2 to 6 p.m. at the Artists Collective.

Article taken from the Hartford Courant.  To read the whole article on the Hartford Courant website, click here.

It is no surprise that restaurants need to find niches through the internet to survive in today’s competitive market.  Upper Albany Merchant, Top Taste Bakery & Grill has done just that.  Diana Christopher, owner of Top Taste has partnered with Uber Eats, Grubhub and Eat24 to provide delivery service to customers looking for a tasty caribbean meal.  Customers simply log onto one of the three websites, choose Top Taste Bakery & Grill as their restaurant of choice, and select from an interactive menu.  When a customer places their order online, the order is directly sent to the restaurant for processing.   This new method of food delivery has proven successful in many restaurants and has now become a favorite in the Upper Albany neighborhood.  You can visit Top Taste Bakery & Grill at 677 Albany Avenue, Hartford, CT.

To have Top Taste Caribbean Bakery & Grill deliver food to your home, click here.

On Wednesday, May 3, 2017, State of Connecticut Department of Transportation and Governor Dan Malloy hosted a press conference on the front lawn of the Hartford Public Library, 1250 Albany Avenue, Hartford, CT at 10:00am to kick off the Route 44 Safety Improvement Project.  Governor Malloy spoke on current issues within the community including, pedestrian safety concerns, auto accidents and current road conditions.  In addition, Council President, T.J. Clarke and City of Hartford Mayor, Luke Bronin spoke about community involvement from several neighboring organizations including Upper Albany Main Street, Upper Albany NRZ and the Neighborhood Collaborative.  Upper Albany Main Street would like to thank the CT DOT and Governor Dan Malloy for taking the time to address the community as a whole.

To see photos from the event, please click here.

Read a letter from State Representative Matt Ritter

HARTFORD, MAY 2, 2017 – Three Connecticut communities in the Connecticut Main Street network have achieved accreditation for meeting the commercial district revitalization performance standards set by Main Street America, a subsidiary of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. Each year, Main Street America (f/k/a the National Main Street Center) and its partners announce the list of accredited Main Street programs, which have demonstrated exemplary commitment to historic preservation and community revitalization through the Main Street Four Point Approach®. The Connecticut Main Street programs that earned accreditation for their 2016 performance are Simsbury Main Street Partnership, Upper Albany Main Street (Hartford), and Main Street Waterbury. The accreditation was announced yesterday at the 2017 Main Street Now Conference in Pittsburgh.

“Connecticut’s Main Street America Accredited programs, Simsbury Main Street Partnership, Upper Albany Main Street (Hartford), and Main Street Waterbury, are well-established Main Street management organizations with histories of strong and dynamic leadership. Each has developed and maintained outstanding programs that increase the economic value of their districts while improving the quality of life for area residents,” said Kimberley Parsons-Whitaker, Associate Director of Connecticut Main Street Center. “Main Street revitalization is sustainable when the professional management organization is committed to engaging local stakeholders (business and property owners, anchor institutions, local government, and local residents) in envisioning a vibrant Main Street, and developing strong partnerships that result in action-oriented steps that bring the Main Street neighborhood back to life.”

Working in partnership with Main Street America, Connecticut Main Street Center evaluates each of the state’s Designated Main Street Programs annually to identify those programs that meet ten performance standards. These standards set the benchmarks for measuring an individual Main Street program’s application of the Main Street Four Point Approach® to commercial district revitalization. Evaluation criteria determine the communities that are building comprehensive and sustainable revitalization efforts and include standards such as fostering strong public-private partnerships, securing an operating budget, tracking programmatic progress and actively preserving historic buildings. More information is available at  Main Street America Accreditation.