Yet, while several of the members struggled with the vote, in the end the Friends of the Kensington Park lost when the Community Development Committee voted to sell it to The Community Builders for a $1 so it could use the site to build 15 units of affordable housing. It now goes to the full Board of Alders for a vote on the sale. Arrayed on one side were arguments on the environmental need for green space and mature trees that sequester carbon, the need for a nearby park in the Dwight area where neighbors could meet and children play, the high rates of asthma from air pollution impacting residents of color, continued segregation and a heat index that will increase when trees are removed. On the other was $30 million in rehab funds for 96 older units owned by TCB, the main thrust of the federal grant and $100,000 in city CDBG funds, that also included the new construction in a city where 10,000 people are on a list for affordable housing. In addition to the housing, the proposal is to swap 4 parcels in Newhallville to be used as green space instead of Kensington; donation of a building to the Greater Dwight Community Development Corp. and upgrades of some green space in Dwight.
https://www.ctinsider.com/news/nhregister/article/A-New-Haven-park-plan-calls-for-housing-15613408.php?cmpid=gsa-nhregister-result&_ga=2.215034769.766577227.1601548402-1283492455.1546819691