Unfortunately, due to my divided attention, I wasn't sure how the subject came up, but Mr. McEnroe and the callers turned the theme into “how New Haven is totally a cool city and place, and sadly Hartford isn't, and that's just the way it goes” (or that was my interpretation). For the record, this really wasn't a case of bashing one town, but just praising the other. Which, I think, is fine. We here in the Hartbeat are all used to that by this point. And thanks to Connecticut's lack of a true regional system, every neighboring town seems to bash its neighbor instead of working together to improve the region. But that's a topic for a different post. New Haven is a great city, with some wonderful offerings. Yes, it has a few more things at times than Hartford (I'm extremely envious of IKEA, but perhaps that's a good thing or I'd be spending too much money there). Do I think it's a better city with better offerings than Hartford, though, the way Mr. McEnroe was making it sound? There was a quote from a New Haven area resident that suggested that by having some of the cultural institutions that it has, there were consolations that New Haven gave to the community over the perceived urban blight that is as tangible there as it is in Hartford. The difference as suggested by Mr. McEnroe was that Hartford just doesn't have the consolatory offerings that New Haven has. Again, another matter of opinion. And perhaps the thing to do is what I try to do, let's see what we as individuals and a community can do to make our city and region better.
Real Art Ways is indeed one of those great places within Hartford that make the city a destination. Which is why that poorly termed description struck such a chord with both Heather Brandon and myself as we conveyed via our twitter feeds. Real Art Ways is truly unique, everyone knows that. But does that make it a 'very New Haven place'? If anything, Real Art Ways has always had a very Hartford feel. It was one of the places that made me proud to be back in Hartford when I moved back in the '90's. Just knowing RAW exists in Hartford, makes it all that much cooler. Saying it's a 'very New Haven place' just takes away some of the specialness of Real Art Ways (or any of Hartford's many cultural institutions). As if, such a place is only unique to a city like New Haven, and therefore what a shock that it exists in our little cowpoke city.
On her blog, Urban Compass, Heather Brandon posted a really fine examination of the thought process 10 years ago of attempting to place a stadium in Hartford to improve it's standing and make it “something to say Hartford is No. 1”. Ever since I could remember, attending community meetings with my parents when I was younger, to participating in them now, there has been some great plan to revive Hartford or to make it 'New England's Rising Star'. Can we all not take a lesson from the two most obvious urban renewal projects that helped bring Hartford to it's current state; the scarring highways slicing up Hartford and community displacing Constitution Plaza? It seems that there's always someone trying to find a way to make money pretending to fix Hartford and make it comparable to other cities and places. Just recently, I listened to a lecture that both taught me a new appreciation for Bushnell Park, while offering the disillusioning promise to make it better. While it was an amazing gem at one point, Bushnell Park did lose some of its splendor (thank you ignorant Army Corp of Engineers and to the city leaders who tore down buildings along the park). Yet, why don't we just do small things to embrace Bushnell Park? Like spend time with our friends there? Listen to the live jazz concerts? Have a picnic? Create events to just gather people there. Perhaps then, the powers that be will remember to take some time to celebrate it.
In closing, no, Hartford is not nor should it strive to be New Haven or any other city. As residents, we need to stop allowing people to dictate how to identify our city. Hey, I'm always saying, it'd be great to have this or that in Hartford (another blog post, another time). I have the places I go that make me remember why I do love this city: La Paloma Sabanera for coffee & conversation, Red Rock Tavern for beer and bar food and trivia, Asylum Café for damn good pizza, Tangiers for the best falafel and lentil soup, O'Camelo for Portuguese food (don't tell my mama), Ragin Cajun for a taste of New Orleans, Modern Pastry for Italian espresso; live theater offerings from 3 stages downtown. Let's not be blind to the fact that there is a whole lot of things that do not need to be fixed, just like any municipality, and that the only way to do that is to work at it. We can't just wait for some outsiders to come in with a plan to tell us what needs to be fixed and how to pay them to fix our city; we need to step up to the plate and work at fixing things like our education system, our tax base, our political parties. Hartford residents need to work as a community, support our community, and build our community. Mr. McEnroe, thank you for once again causing me to pause and think about what needs to be done. I'll pardon the comparison to New Haven... this time!
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