Powder Farm Takes First Step Toward Remediation

It’s ironic that, when it was deemed politically expedient, the old Middle School site was considered, with negligible evidence and no evidence of harm, a toxic waste dump. Now, a site that is, to my mind, a REAL toxic waste dump is being eyed as a future recreational area and bucolic escape from urban Hamden. Unless every square meter of the Powder Farm can be tested and remediated, it’s the LAST place I’d want to see children playing. Moreover, with local mosquitoes carrying West Nile virus (a friend is still recovering from WNV paralysis), malaria-carrying mosquitoes moving northward, and new tick-borne diseases adding to Lyme Disease, the idea of a park focused on bodies of relatively still water seems ill conceived to say the least. I’d like to see more people take advantage of East Rock Park and the wonderful walks along the Mill River and through the woods, as well as Edgerton Park. These resources are vastly underutilized and safe for children and adults.