Get involved

[Happy]

To make downtown and all of Meriden a better place to live, people should get involved and volunteer. Mentor a child, visit senior citizens, help out at the food kitchen, organize a litter pick-up. Contact local agencies or clubs to learn how you can help make this world a little better.

[BillCarson436]

Hello...

Spend an evening walking the streets down town Meriden on a Friday
night with your girlfriend / wife and perhaps another couple.

Then try that same thing walking the main street in Middletown.

Now compare the two and ask yourself why the two are so different.

Middletown has quality stores, Restaurants, it's clean and safe.
It's the whole experiencethat draws people down there... not
talk about it.

When Meriden can duplicate this... I'll consider speaking positive
about it.

[Happy]

Meriden certainly has a way to go, but there are signs that things are improving. I do go downtown and feel safe. It's not Middletown, but I believe that we are on the way. There is a new restaurant, the Friends bookstore, new art venues and lofts and more. With energy issues, people will most likely stay closer to home. There are lots of opportunities for local entrepreneours downtown. People should become more involved in their community and support local efforts. I know I sound like a broken record but why would you want to just sit back and complain if you live and pay taxes in a town? Your home or where you pay rent is your biggest investment. Support and help improve your town. I think that this forum is a good way to share concerns and issues but more thoughts and ideas for ways to improve and support the community would be more productive.

An idea to stay cool in this hot sticky weather--visit the library or the art gallery and then stop downtown for a bite to eat. Enjoy!

[jma]

Hello...

Spend an evening walking the streets down town Meriden on a Friday
night with your girlfriend / wife and perhaps another couple.

Then try that same thing walking the main street in Middletown.

Now compare the two and ask yourself why the two are so different.

Middletown has quality stores, Restaurants, it's clean and safe.
It's the whole experiencethat draws people down there... not
talk about it.

When Meriden can duplicate this... I'll consider speaking positive
about it.

Clearly, ignorance is bliss. Are you aware of the gang problem Middletown has in the downtown area? The crime rate in that area makes our downtown seem like Eden. The Bloods have taken over Ferry Street, and don't go anywhere near the waterfront after dark. Sexual assaults, street robberies, drugs and prostitutes!! I used to work in downtown Middletown. Believe me, the picture you painted isn't close to reality.

[BillCarson436]

Hello...

I repeat... I feel safer walking downtown Middletown than in Meriden.

Perhaps if I were Latino, I'd have a better sense of...security ???

The people that hang around the Courthouse.... not my cup of tea.

In any case, it is what it is.

[BillCarson436]

Ok...

I know, it's no tmy turn to answer but...

Anybody that has Dined out in Middletown in the past year already
knows that it's safe to eat...stroll down the street and sit out and
have a drink out on the sidewalk. The Restaurants are upscale and
clean.

They also know not to venture down towards the bridge where the
city takes on the features of a...let say... downtown Meriden ?

Now, I live in Meriden...have most of my life. I would love to have
the downtown area transformed into an area like Middletown has.
But it's never going to happen. So ...take a spin down Main Street
in Middletown tonight, observe the make up of the CROWDS... and
then ...come back ...pass through downtown Meriden and debate
debate this issue with some degree of ...fairness.

So I END here... Unless your blind...or have never spent time up
there.... I stand by my observations.

PS...and as for the Gangs and crime... that's in EVERY city. So...I am
not ...ignorant... but I'm not blind to reality either.

[Happy]

I do enjoy Middletown and partly because it has diversity including Latinos. One positive aspects of Meriden is its diversity including Latinos. I'm not Latino but appreciate the people and culture. Again, I believe that Meriden is improving and that if people support it and invest in it, we will all benefit. So stop in downtown Meriden with or without a girlfrield and enjoy meeting new Meriden people and supporting new Meriden businesses. Have a good weekend!

[BillCarson436]

Hello...

How many YEARS have we been trying to transform Meriden back to it's
glory years... how much time and....taxpayer money.

Like Steve Tyler says....

Dream On.

[Happy]

Okay, I will keep dreaming. Thanks for the opposing perspective. I understand the frustration but keep hoping for the best.

[Tino3]

I had dinner at the new downtown restaurant (old Fischers) and it was really good food. Antipasto salad, chicken dishes, shrimp scampi, bread with dipping oil, interesting pizzas. Lots of families and nice setting. Worth a trip downtown.

[ringmaster]

I had dinner at Pies Ons (the old Fischers) last week. The pizza was great. Even better was the conversation with all the locals that were there that night as well. The oldtimers talking about how things used to be. The teacher talking about what it's like to teach middle school. Two cops stopped in to eat and spoke about what's going on in the area. It was great. I hope to see them again this week.
If you like spicy-try the wings. They were too hot for half the people at my table but I loved them!!

[Jenny78]

As a British person who has been transplanted to the heart of Meriden i feel that i can offer some sort of indepentant perspective on the whole issue, in Middletown it seems the people are more friendly i have been in Meriden for almost 10 months now and making friends in this City is one of the hardest things i've ever had to do, the social community is almost none existant where in Middletown it seems to be a more relaxed and easy going atmosphere especially in the Resturants and Bars. I think the problem is how much money is there to spend on downtown Meriden and what downtown rejuvination does it require, on the whole i personally think it looks scruffy and areas near where public transport stops, i.e the train station/bus stop are not a respectable area where you can if passing go this is a place i want to visit as its mostly rundown buildings and no commercial features at all, my wife who has lived here for all her life has informed me they've been trying to improve the downtown area since she was at high school some 15 years ago, personally i would knock down all the buildings near the train/bus station and make them face the railroad with a commercial plaza, open a museum about local history and life in meriden, a new meeting place for the whole public with street cafe's and definatly more police presence on the beat, the city where i came from in Britain (Manchester) had one of the highest crime rates in the world and it was the introduction of police on the beat and new and improved shopping and Arts features that slowly changed the place into the vibrant and modern city it is now, i would also make the curtis memorial libary into an art gallery and encorage local students and people to fill the walls of it creating a culture area that is truly lacking in the downtown area, the carpark area that is opposite the bus station would if cleared and replanted make an excelent venue to hold outdoor events such as fairs and even a market, traders need to be encoraged to come to a town and small traders would be the ideal start to get in tourists from other places knowing that one saturday a month there was somewhere different for them to goto, a community leaflet i think should be avaidable for everyone free of charge that lets people know whats on and when or maybe a notice board outside the town hall, as for the last 10 months things that have been going on in meriden have been hard to find out until the last minuite for example i had no idea of the St Patricks day parade untill my wife went to the shop that day and told me that there was one going on, the city should also have one day a year that is "Meriden Day" where everyone however young or old is encoraged to come downtown for a celebration of all the cultures of the city if you used the large car park we could have stalls showcasing the food, arts and other organisations that do great work in this City and it would encorage new volunteers to organisations that find it hard to get people due to lack of coverage for there cause, overall i think there is hundreds of things we can do to improve the Downtown area but improving the public transport to me is a must too, with gas prices being as high as they are at the moment you have to encorage people to come in by other means and one or two buses an hour is no where near good enough in my opinion, and Meriden should have its OWN taxi company so that people are able to go out in the evening have a few drinks and social activitys and be able to find a way home that doesn't require waiting 2-3 hours for a taxi or knowing that the bus service stops running at 6pm, this city could be a haven for people of all ages if people were able to enjoy there time there, with new and differnet activitys and a better looking and easy accessable downtown area

just my humble opinion :)