June 24, 2011
DIVERSE GROUPS JOIN FORCES TO PLANT TREES AT JEWISH CEMETERIES
IN NEW HAVEN'S WESTVILLE SECTION
By Abbe Smith, New Haven Register
NEW HAVEN — When Rabbi Eliezer Greer asked for new sidewalks along the Jewish cemeteries on Jewell Street in Westville, he was skeptical that Mayor John DeStefano Jr. could make good on his word to get it done when the snow melted.
“Well the snow thawed, a little bit later than we wanted it to, and the trees and the sidewalks were done earlier than anyone expected,” Greer said Thursday.
Greer and DeStefano gathered with other community leaders on Jewell Street Thursday to celebrate not only new trees and sidewalks, but the work that made the project possible.
“I thought it was just a wonderful collaboration at the intersection of a very diverse community, a wonderful program to green the city with re-entry population and partners,” DeStefano said.
Also on hand for the event were state Rep. Patricia Dillon, D-New Haven, and Stephen Saltzman of the Jewish Foundation of Greater New Haven.
The city oversaw construction of the sidewalks and then reached out to Yale University’s Urban Resource Initiative to coordinate the tree planting. URI runs a program that uses the prison re-entry population to plant trees all over the city. For the Jewell Street plantings, re-entry workers trained students from the Cooperative Arts and Humanities High School on planting trees.
“They feel like they’re giving back to the community, maybe for the fist time in their lives,” said Chris Ozyck, URI green space manager.
The 40 or 50 trees that were planted are mostly crab apples and oaks.
While the street beautification and improvements benefit the whole community, Greer said the project goes hand-in-hand with a companion initiative to restore the Jewish cemeteries of Westville.
Greer is president of the new New Haven Jewish Cemetery Association, which is working with other local Jewish organizations and synagogues to restore the cemeteries. He is also mapping and cataloging the gravestones. Greer said 5,800 graves have been cataloged and 4,000 mapped out online at www.yeshivanewhavensynagogue.org. In the meantime, the association has developed a plan for restoring the cemeteries, including resetting some 120 gravestones that have fallen, painting a wrought-iron fence, clearing footstones and sealing numerous animal holes on the grounds. The Jewish Federation of Greater New Haven maintains the grounds.
Greer said the project goes a long way to honor those who have passed.
“All these individuals in this cemetery, practically 200 years, eight generations of individuals who are no longer with us, they can’t say thank-you,” he said.
Greer said the city was mindful of Jewish tradition throughout the process. For example, when Greer pointed out that the original trees selected for planting would have violated Jewish tradition, the city worked to find trees that comply.