Moody PTA Meeting Tues 16th

Moody's PTA will have their school year kick off meeting on Tuesday Sept 16th at 7pm. We strongly encourage North End parents to be involved with the PTA. The more representation we have, the better we can make the school for North End students. If there is interest we will set up a carpool and ride share through NEAT. Please call the NEAT office for more information (346-4845) or email alicia.mcavay@neatmiddletown.org

My Hike to Mount Menadanock By Shawn Grimes

On August 23, 24, and 25, 2008 10 adults 14 kids and 2 young children went to Russell Massachusetts to go hiking at Mount Menadanock. We all stayed in a cabin in a camp called Noble View. The first day we got there everyone helped to unpack all the supplies for our three day stay. We then went hiking to a gorgeous swimming hole where the water was crystal clear and ice cold. There was also a pretty waterfall. We then hiked back to the cabin where we were staying. The next morning every one woke up at 7:00 A.M to get ready go hiking. We all got in the car and made our way up to Mount Menadanock. The hike took five hours and the view was amazing. We went back to our camp and ate supper and played some games. Then on Monday morning we got all packed up and hit the road back for Connecticut. I was really lucky to go because they only choose a limited number of people. So if you get the chance to go on the three day hike you should come because it is really fun.

The NEAT Hiking Club is paid for a grant from the Middlesex County Substance Abuse Prevention Council. Many thanks for their continued support.

MacDonough PTA Meeting Sept 11th

The MacDonugh PTA will be meeting tomorrow, Thursday Sept 11, at 3:30 in the school's library. If you are a MacDonough parent, this a great time to join the PTA and help us make this a great year. We strongly encourage new members to come by and want to get as many parents involved as possible. Please call the NEAT office (346-4845) or MacDonough School (347-8553) with any questions and to find out how you can volunteer with the PTA.

Register to Vote!

We're inching up to the 2008 election and many North End residents are not yet registered to vote. I can't stress enough how important voting is for a neighborhood like ours. So, we're launching a voter registration campaign. Our teen leadership group, the Teen Dreams Society, will be doing voter registration drives and, along with other NEAT members, intend to hold a political forum in October.

In the meantime, are you registered to vote? Are you confused about the registration process? Do you have a criminal record and don't think you can vote? You may be wrong. Please contact the NEAT office if you would like help registering to vote or would like more information about the process.

If you're interesting in helping with NEAT's North End Votes campaign, please email izzi.greenberg@neatmiddletown.org or call the NEAT office at 860-346-4845.

Building Computer Basics

In October, NEAT will be hosting another Building Computer Basics class, this time, with an emphasis on the types of programs that are common for home and office use. If you want to make a family budget, make a resume, write a thank you note, but are unsure how, this is a great class to get you started on using the very common Microsoft Office programs. These classes run Thursdays in October.

All classes will be held at the Green Street Arts Center. These "Art of Living" classes are run in partnership with the Green Street Arts Center, with Support from Liberty Bank and funding from the Bank of America.

All classes are free and open to everyone. Childcare will be provided, but please let us know in advance if you need it. Please call the NEAT office (346-4845) to register or email to neat@neatmiddletown.org

Teen Dreams Update

The Teen Dreams Society held it's second voter registration drive at Macdonough's Back to School Bash and it was a great success. The group has now registered 30 North End residents to vote, getting closer to a goal of at least 60 new North End voters. Don't worry if you missed us, we will be set up all around the North End at different times before the election and will be happy to help you register and get to know more about voting and how it really does matter for you and your family.

If you have any questions about registering to vote, how or where to vote, or just want to register and you're afraid you'll miss us, give Izzi or Alicia a call at the NEAT office at 346-4845 or email neat@middletown.org.

Amazing Grace Food Pantry needs your help

The supply of food at Amazing Grace is very, very low. Late summer is always difficult at the pantry, but the situation this year is dire.

Kathleen Kelly, coordinator at Amazing Grace, is buying many cases of food at local grocery stores just to keep a cross section of nutritious items on the shelves for our shoppers. And she tells us that many more people are coming in asking for help – most talking about how hard they are working trying to make ends meet.

We appreciate all you do to keep the shelves stocked, but if you are able to help out with these specific items, it would be greatly appreciated. Please pass this appeal on to others who might be willing to donate, or distribute it through your e-mail or print networks – friends, co-workers, faith communities, clubs, etc.

Here is what is most in need:
SOUP & PASTA SAUCE top the list
CANNED FRUIT
CANNED BEANS (any kind except baked beans)
CEREAL (any kind except Corn Flakes)
PASTA (any kind except elbows)
SIDE DISHES (boxed potatoes, hamburger helper, rice dishes, etc.)
JUICES
at the bottom of the list is BAKING MIXES (cakes, brownies, etc.)

The usual drop-off times are noon - 4pm, Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays - at the pantry, 139 Main St. Ext., Middletown. Volunteers are often at Amazing Grace at other times, so call 860-347-3222 if you need to arrange another drop-off time.

Home-ownership Workshops

Do you want to take your first steps toward owning a home? Are you interested in improving your credit to prepare for -? NEAT is hosting another round of Credit Counseling and Home-ownership Workshops in September, running every Thursday at 6:00 pm.

Rosa Carrero from Liberty Bank will present four info sessions designed to help people take the first steps toward buying a home. Topics include credit counseling (Session 1), finding the right home (Session 2), the lending process (Session 3) and understanding Legalities (Session 4). Participants in all four will receive A certificate of completion that meets one eligibility requirement for The City Of Middletown grant and down payment assistance, CHFA and CHFA Down payment assistance programs. If you have taken these classes before and want to brush up, or if you missed a class and want to catch up, please give us a call.

All classes are free and open to everyone. Childcare will be provided, but please let us know in advance if you need it. Please call the NEAT office (346-4845) to register or email to neat@neatmiddletown.org

Back-to School Info

Its that time of year again. The first day of school is Thursday, September 4th but there are a few other dates to remember:

Macdonough: Sept 2: 3:30-4:15 Kindergarten open house, 4:15-5:00 pm, grades 1-5 open house, 5:00-7:00 pm back to school bash. Please come!!

Sept 4, First day of School at 9:05! All students meet on the playground to meet your class. The PTA will be sponsoring a welcome breakfast for new families from 9:05-9:30 am in the Cafeteria, but any parents are welcome to come and help welcome new families. There is a back to school celebration assembly 9:30 am. All families and parents are welcome and encouraged to attend

If you have any questions, please call the school at: 860-347-8553
Also, in case you are looking for them, teachers assignment letters were mailed out today.

Moody School: August 28 Kindergarten Open House for parents at 3:00 pm and for students at 5:45 pm. September 3 Meet and Greet for Grades 1-5 4-5pm.
You can call Moody at 860-347-2561

If you aren't sure which elementary school your child will be attending, please call the curriculum office at 638-1440. You can also always call the NEAT office with other questions and we can help you figure it out. 346-4845.

Donovan Park Update

At this week's Board of Education meeting, the board approved the following motion:

“The Board of Education will accept a transfer of a section of the Donovan Park property from the City of Middletown should said transfer be approved by the Common Council.”

This is good news for Macdonough School and for the neighborhood. This transfer will not change the way that people use the park, it will merely give the school the ability to be strict when the playground is being abused. See our earlier blog, Problems In Donovan Park, for more details.

New Website and Blog

NEAT is trying to expand out outreach abilities and get information out to as many people in as many ways possible. To that end, we now have a new, updated website, created by North End resident and web designer, Carole Phelan. While almost everything that we do is a work-in progress, this new website is much more user-friendly and hopefully allows visitors to quickly access information about NEAT's programs and initiatives. NEAT's website is www.neatmiddletown.org.

But, a website doesn't easily lend itself to conversation and narration, so we've created a NEAT blog, the North End News to give people access to the day-to-day goings on of our organization and the North End in general. We are looking for submissions. If you would like to post something about your section of the North End, an update, an event, a history, or even a profile of a North End resident, please email it to me at izzi.greenberg@neatmiddletown.org and write BLOG in the subject line. The more information we can collect, the more interesting it will be. The goal is to have a place to learn about this neighborhood and all of its variety. The blog address is : http://nothendnews.blogspot.com/. You're already here!

Green Street Arts Center and North End Action Team Announce Free Art of Living Classes

Building Computer Basics, First Time Homeowner and Credit Counseling to be Offered

The North End Action Team and the Green Street Arts Center are collaborating on a series of free life-skills classes intended to help attendees discover new opportunities and improve the quality of life. For more information, or to register in advance, call the NEAT office at (860) 346-4845. All classes will take place at the Green Street Arts Center, located at 51 Green Street in downtown Middletown.

Green Street will provide free arts activities for youth during Art of Living Classes. Please be sure to mention whether your child or children will be attending when you register.

The schedule is as follows:

First-Time Homeowner and Credit Counseling
Thursdays, September 4, 11, 18 & 25; 6–8pm

Rosa Carrero from Liberty Bank present four info sessions designed to help people take the first steps toward buying a home. Topics include credit counseling (Session 1), finding the right home (Session 2), the lending process (Session 3) and understanding legalities (Session 4). Participants in all four will receive a certificate of completion that meets one eligibility requirement for The City of Middletown grant and down payment assistance, CHFA and CHFA down payment assistance programs.

Building Computer Basics
Thursdays, October 2, 9, 16, & 23; 6–8pm

The North End Action Team and Green Street teaching artist Shawn Hill present a short, free introduction to computer basics. Learn how to create writing samples in Microsoft Word and explore the possibilities of budgets and lists in Microsoft Excel. By the time you have completed all four sessions, you will have the building blocks needed for adding a new skill to your job application, or for organizing your household bills. Absolute beginners, and people with all levels of computer experience are welcome.

Take NEAT's Survey

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Garden Party A Success!

Erin Street was alive on Thursday night with the sounds of soulful jazz, children playing and good conversation. NEAT hosted its eighth annual garden party in the Erin Street Community Garden in the North End.

Hundreds of people gathered to enjoy the sunshine (thank goodness!) and eat delicious food donated by many generous Middletown restaurants. There was jazz music by The Three Hats, which included North End resident, Bill Carbone on drums. You can hear/see their performance if you watch the video of the party.

Click Here to watch the video of the party (created by North End Resident Dan Nocera)

Click Here to see pictures of the party

NEAT presented its first ever scholarships to three outstanding young NEAT members to help them as they take their next steps toward college and career. Dylan Hansen and Tierra Gaskins have been NEAT kids for the last nine years, involved in everything from the daVinci Club, building the Dream House, making two Documentaries and building a boat, the Amazing Rowing Machine, to singing with the NEAT Notes. Tierra is not only the first person in her family to graduate from high school, but she is beginning college in the fall. Dylan graduated this year and is working as a chef at It's Only Natural Restaurant, fulfilling a dream of his to cook in a restaurant.

Rohanna Powell has worked for NEAT for the last three years, helping out in the office and assisting our kids programs. She is a hard working, kind young woman, admired by all who get to know her. She is beginning at Hampton College in the fall. She will be missed very much!

NEAT wishes all three luck and success and we will keep in touch and keep tabs on them, as we have been doing for many years!

Thank You to everyone who donated to this party, and especially to the following restaurants who donated amazing food:
Empire Pizza,Fiore II Restaurant,Firehouse Steakhouse, Forest City, Fusion , Iguanas Ranas Taqueria, Inn at Middletown, It's Only Natural , Javapalooza , Mega Wraps , Metro Spirits, O'Rourke's Diner, Pattie Palace , Pho Mai, Public, Public Markets, Puerto Vallarta, Sweet Smelling Savour Chocolates , Tandoor-The Clay Oven, Tuscany Grill, Typhoon Asian Garden

This past Thursday, NEAT hosted its 8th annual garden party in the Erin Street Garden. It was a great

NEAT celebrates year with garden party

08/11/2008
By: JENNIFER SPRAGUE , Press staff
MIDDLETOWN - It's a fundraiser, yes - but more importantly, NEAT's eighth annual Garden Party is about celebrating the accomplishments of a neighborhood organization, said Izzi Greenberg.
"The importance of this event is to showcase what NEAT has done the past year," said the North End Action Team executive
director.
About 20 Middletown restaurants have donated food, desserts and drinks for Thursday's affair, which begins at 5:30 p.m. in the Erin Street Community Garden at the corner of High Street in Middletown's North End. With vegetables and herbs harvested from the garden, the planning committee will prepare additional menu items.
"We have a lot of tomatoes and basil, so we will probably be serving dishes with those ingredients," Greenberg said.
Bar tables will be set throughout the garden, and Erin Street will be closed while about 300 guests mingle and enjoy live jazz and hors d'oeuvres passed out by neighborhood kids.
The trio The Three Hats - organist Sammy Myers, guitarist Lance James and drummer Bill Carbone - will perform a mix of original jazz tunes as well as "some funkier jazz," said Carbone, a Pearl Street resident.
"We're part of the North End, so it's more than just a gig," Carbone said. "I live in the North End, and I enjoy the good things about it and suffer from the bad things about it."
Carbone, who also runs Wesleyan University's steel drum band, said "NEAT is a voice" for the people of the North End.
"Lydia Brewster, community organizer for NEAT, and Izzi [Greenberg] serve such an important purpose for people who live in the North End," he said. "There have been a lot of major issues on our block. If you report it to NEAT, they advocate for you. They're so huge. They give me hope for the North End."
Funds from Thursday evening's garden party will benefit NEAT's programs, but more importantly, Greenberg said, it will give people a chance to see "what this neighborhood is all about."
"It's a really special place," she said. "It's important to realize what good neighbors and what incredible beauty can be achieved in a neighborhood."
When NEAT first began working at the Erin Street garden, a collaboration with the city of Middletown, the lot was overgrown and filled with junk cars, Greenberg said. Now there are 20 plots, tended by groups and individuals.
"It's really a testament to the committee that runs this garden," Greenberg said. "They're a force to be reckoned with."
Neighborhood kids, proud of what the garden has become, sometimes give tours during the party, she said.
"That's a really powerful feeling for a neighborhood that's often criticized," Greenberg said.
The garden party is open to anyone. A donation of $20 is suggested for individuals and $35 for families. Donations benefit NEAT's programs.
For more information about the garden party, call (860) 346-4845. For more information about NEAT, visit neatmiddletown.org.
The North End Action Team is a neighborhood organization that began in 1997 to develop grassroots leadership in the North End. NEAT is made up of residents, business leaders, property owners and stakeholder groups. NEAT's mission is to provide neighborhood-based participation and leadership, to identify concerns, define strategies and develop resources to improve the quality of life in the North End.
Jennifer Sprague can be reached at jsprague@middletownpress.com or by calling (860) 347-3331, ext. 222.

Hot Spots: August 6, 2008

Compiled by residents, property owners, retail staff, and stakeholders to inform municipal officials of conditions identified as chronic problems in the North End.

POSITIVE CHANGES:

• Positive collaboration and communication existing between NEAT and police personnel.
• Playground at Green and deKoven is clean and seeded
• City organized a meeting with Wharfside, NEAT and city representatives to begin dialogue
• General improvements to living conditions on lower Grand St.

HOT SPOTS:

• 85 Grand and 281 Pearl (site of recent fire) appear abandoned and overgrown. Trash is accumulating and weeds are becoming a hazard.
• 11 Johnson St. also appears abandoned; neighbors have been keeping the lot clean.
• 47 Ferry St.: suspicious activity behind the building. Possible prostitution, women going to the back for a few minutes, coming out again, possible drug activity.
• Space between 56 Rapallo and 47/49 Rapallo and area behind building: possible drug activity/dealing.
• Vandalism and unsupervised children at the playground behind Wharfside/GSAC. Fence is being taken apart and it is becoming unsafe.
• Continued reports of problems at the intersections of Liberty and Pearl and Frazier and Liberty. A lot of drug activity and presence of loitering all day and night. From High and Liberty all the way down to Main St. Prostitution reported at Frazier and Liberty.
• Possible drug activity at 105 Liberty.
• Continued problem with garbage at 48 Liberty St.: improper storage and litter on ground.
• 40 Ferry St.: repeated noise in late evening hours
• Parking lot/Fire Lane at the top of Ferry Street: people selling out of car trunks, illegal parking (can signs be put up?), noise
• Reports of continued presence of prostitution in Liberty/Frazier area.
• Constant litter outside of Aresco’s Market. Can trash cans be put there?

African Drumming at Erin Sreet

On Wednesday, the final Arts in the Garden workshop took place in the Erin Street Community Garden. It was by far the best of this series that we've ever held. Over 70 people from all over the state gathered in the garden to drum and dance on what turned out to be one of the nicest nights of the summer. The workshop was led by Abdoulaye Sylla, who has a knack with groups of kids. He had people aged from 2-80 drumming in time and sounding good! The kids took turns leading the drum circle, they did the limbo and stuffed themselves with watermelon.

What a wonderful way to cap off the summer series. One woman, who had traveled from Farmington said: "we just don't have anything like this where we live...my kids love this kind of thing." I heard similar sentiments from other participants. It's nice to know that our little garden is unique and welcoming.

If you haven't checked it out, please stop by and sit on a bench or walk around. You'll be amazed at this year's bounty.















To see more pictures from the event, go to: http://picasaweb.google.com/neatmiddletown/AfricanDrumming
Thank you to the Green Street Arts Center from co-sponsoring this series and to the Middletown Commission on the Arts for generously funding it!

Voter Registration

We're inching up to the 2008 election and many North End residents are not yet registered to vote. I can't stress enough how important voting is for a neighborhood like ours. So, we're launching a voter registration campaign. Our teen leadership group, the Teen Dreams Society, will be doing voter registration drives and, along with other NEAT members, intend to hold a political forum in October.

In the meantime, are you registered to vote? Are you confused about the registration process? Do you have a criminal record and don't think you can vote? You may be wrong. Please contact the NEAT office if you would like help registering to vote or would like more information about the process.

If you're interesting in helping with NEAT's North End Votes campaign, please email izzi.greenberg@neatmiddletown.org or call the NEAT office at 860-346-4845.