STAMFORD — An undocumented worker’s injury on a downtown construction site and her claims that the company asked her to falsify forms sparked a small protest Monday outside the Broad Street office building.
Delmi Alberto Mejia, a contracted worker for a ninth-floor renovation project at 177 Broad St., fell last month from a rolling scaffold and sustained a dislocated elbow, radius fracture and torn ligaments and tendons, according to a New England Regional Council of Carpenters.
NERCC claims the scaffold lacked standard safety rails, and the rails were not available at the job site.
Mejia, who speaks Spanish, said through a translator that said she was brought onto the project by a representative from a company called Interior Construction. However, Mejia said they told her to say she was hired by the project’s subcontractor, Alva Interiors.
When Mejia could not accurately identify her employer when she arrived at Stamford Hospital, she was initially unable to receive surgery to correct her injuries. However, doctors eventually determined her injury was an emergency and performed the surgery without documented insurance, she said.
A representative from Alva Interiors declined to comment on the safety violation, but an employee in the payroll office said the company has no record of hiring Mejia for the project at 177 Broad St.
RFR Realty, which owns the Broad Street building, declined to comment and would not provide details about the renovation project.
A representative from Interior Construction also declined to comment.
The project’s general contractor, Signature Construction Group, did not immediately respond Monday to a request for comment.
The state labor department’s Wage and Workplace Standards Division was not able to verify Mejia’s employer. A wage agent planned to speak with Mejia to determine if she was paid the proper wages and if the payments complied with state record keeping and wage payment laws, department of labor spokeswoman Nancy Steffens wrote in an email. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Hotel and restaurant proposed for Bridgeport Avenue in Shelton
SHELTON — A Trumbull-based real estate development company has plans to build a new hotel and restaurant on Bridgeport Avenue.
Phil DiGennaro, of Sound Development, said his proposed 96-room hotel would be operated by Best Western, under its new GLo brand, at 899 and 905 Bridgeport Ave. The hotel company unveiled the brand last year.
“It will cater to the way businesspeople and families travel today,” he said.
On its website, Best Western describes GLo as an “energetic new construction boutique hotel brand that’s breaking the suburban cookie-cutter hotel mold.”
When it unveiled the brand, David Kong, president and CEO of Best Western Hotels & Resorts, said it was designed to “fill a void because of the lack of a boutique product in the broad midscale segment.”
“It’s really cool and state-of-the-art,” DiGennaro said of the brand, noting that it will have large, comfortable seating and wireless access. “It’s almost like a huge Starbucks feel in the lobby.”
He said although there are numerous hotels already on Bridgeport Avenue, a new option and concept would serve the area well. He also said on some days the hotels around there have no available rooms. “There’s a real need,” DiGennaro said.
The company applied for zoning approval for the plans under the name Philken Hotels Shelton LLC. The Planning and Zoning Commission will review the proposal Tuesday at 7 p.m. in City Hall, 54 Hill St. In addition to the hotel, DiGennaro is looking for approval for a free-standing restaurant. “What we’d like to do is find a restaurant to join us on the site, assuming we can fit it in with the parking and all that,” he said. “It will complement the hotel.”
He said he is not looking for a fast food chain, but rather a sit-down restaurant. “We’re being selective,” DiGennaro said.
The property, located near the ShopRite and Stop & Shop supermarkets, is owned by the Coco family. DiGennaro said they have been trying to sell the property, which has a large sign on one end stating that it is an available development site, for years. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
West Street in Southington continues to experience, commercial, retail growth
SOUTHINGTON — Executive Boulevard is enjoying unprecedented retail and commercial growth as West Street expands its commercial corridor, a town official said.
Construction of Village Shops is underway at the commercial plaza on Executive Boulevard near Target and Lowe’s Home Improvement, just off the Interstate 84 exit on West Street. New York-based Northstar Properties has signed leases with Chip’s Family Restaurant, HomeGoods, Michael’s and Pet Valu.
Fred Leopold, a partner with Northstar, said construction has generated interest in the plaza, which could hold up to 10 more leases, depending on size. Work is expected to be completed in spring. Village Shops will have a tenant mix that will draw consumers during the day and evening, he said.
The nearby office buildings at 100, 200 and 400 Executive Blvd. now house 13 companies, with 1,400 employees, more than The Hartford Insurance Group had on the site, said Louis Perillo, the town’s economic development director. The buildings were formerly owned and occupied by The Hartford.
“The good news is Connecticut Online Computer Corp. has 380 employees,” Perillo said. “It started here two years ago with 200.” CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Using data from assessors in area towns, CRCOG Special Project Manager Pauline Yoder said Thursday the study found that as many as 19,121 homes in 24 towns could be plagued with deteriorating foundations that were poured between the 1980s and 2011.
Yoder stressed that the 19,000 figure represents the total number of homes built during that time in the area, consequently it's doubtful all of them contain concrete from the J.J. Mottes Co. in Stafford with aggregate from Becker's quarry in Willington — the two companies continually associated with the problem concrete.
Every town within a 30-minute driving distance from the quarry, and some farther away have been affected, Yoder said, adding that there continues to be concern about the potential impact to commercial buildings and infrastructure, including bridges.
In May, Mottes and Becker's Construction agreed to stop selling aggregate from the quarry for use in residential foundations. This means that even though CRCOG's study accounts for properties only through 2011, the companies were supplying concrete for residential foundations until last spring.
Yoder presented CRCOG's findings during a presentation Thursday to more than 100 people at a packed Cheney Hall, including the Board of Directors and legislative delegation.
"This is an issue that we are very concerned about," she said. "It impacts multiple towns. It impacts the whole region. We are expecting it to have reverberations for the long term."
This includes a drop in property values that would impact municipal tax rates, a depressed real estate market that would affect most of the state, and additional economic impacts due to the financial struggles of the affected homeowners.
"Everybody is very concerned about this issue," Manchester Town Manager Scott Shanley said.
"We are not happy that our citizens are feeling CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE
Money In Pocket, Amtrak Set For Update
Faster trains, more seats and WiFi that works?
The $2.45 billion federal loan that officials awarded this summer to Amtrak will help pay for those upgrades and more as the railroad continues its push to modernize service and rebuild aging infrastructure along the busy Northeast Corridor, including in the Washington region.
The package is the largest single loan ever given by the U.S. Transportation Department.
"This loan is a key step to providing investments needed to help keep high-speed trains moving throughout the region and to help all commuters in the Northeast Corridor," said Vice President Joe Biden, who made the announcement at the Amtrak station in Wilmington, Delaware. "We need these kinds of investments to keep this region - and our whole country - moving, and to create new jobs."The additional dollars are a significant boost for Amtrak, which has spent years lobbying an often-skeptical Congress for money to pay for a backlog of capital needs.
"Simply put, this investment is a game-changer," said Sen. Charles Schumer, D-New York. "It means more riders and faster trip times along the Northeast Corridor, which will boost Amtrak revenue and pave the way for further infrastructure and safety upgrades throughout the Northeast. While this loan is just a small fraction of what we should be investing in Amtrak, it'll go a long way toward proving that Amtrak can make smart business decisions that improve the service, ridership and revenue."
The loan also comes at a time when Amtrak is transitioning to new leadership.
Last month, Charles "Wick" Moorman, a former top executive with Norfolk Southern Railway, was named president and chief executive, replacing the retiring Joe Boardman. Moorman began his job Sept. 1. Amtrak officials emphasized that the money is a loan that will be repaid with revenue they expect to generate along the corridor. Under conditions of the agreement with the Transportation Department, the passenger railroad will have 29 years to pay back the money, with repayment beginning no later than 2022. The loan comes through the Federal Railroad Administration's Railroad Rehabilitation and Improvement Financing Program. CLICK TITLE TO CONTINUE