Roughly 50 neighborhood activists and city officials gathered at the Wheeler Fountain near Park Avenue Tuesday night to protest a proposed 120-bed halfway house for the West End. The opposition hopes to attract a larger crowd Monday night when the Planning and Zoning Commission is scheduled take up the issue in City Council Chambers on Lyon Terrace. This meeting could get noisy. Several officials including Mayor Bill Finch and City Council President Tom McCarthy oppose the proposal. Mary-Jane Foster, who has formed an exploratory committee for mayor, was among the gathering at the fountain Tuesday. She says the Connecticut Legislature should pass a law to correct an imbalance that forces the region’s social problems on Bridgeport. From Foster:
Bridgeport businesswoman and social action advocate Mary-Jane Foster, who is exploring a run for office, issued the following statement today:
“Over the course of my career, I have been an active proponent of reentry programs, having both hired and worked with individuals committed to transitioning from incarceration to civilian life. I applaud organizations such as Community Solutions for delivering programs that help people successfully get their lives back on track. While there is undoubtedly a need for these programs and services, it is clear that Bridgeport has borne far more than its fair share of the responsibility for not just Fairfield County, but the entire state of Connecticut. I cannot support locating one more bed in Bridgeport, nor can this be a battle Bridgeport fights building-by-building, neighborhood-by-neighborhood. We need a statewide solution to this problem and I call upon the State legislature to review the issue and pass a law that fixes this gross imbalance. It is time for the rest of the state to step up and be a part of a true community solution.”
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