January

Coming into the new year, the Town of East Haven began to see some things moving back towards a new normal as the world adjusted to living through a global pandemic. After flight services from Tweed were suspended in October 2020, American Airlines resumed its daily flights to Philadelphia on Jan. 5.

The Hagaman Memorial Library began its second stage of reopening as it allowed visitors back into the building with many safety precautions in place.

East Haven Public Schools began preparing for kindergarten registration with a hybrid approach, announcing it would be blending the online and virtual components of 2020-’21 registration with some in-person registration sessions.

Despite the pandemic, the East Haven Rotary Club hosted its 19th annual Ben Mazzucco Clothe the Children Program Jan. 15 to 17 at Kohl’s Department Store in Branford. Chair Barbara Brow coordinated a record 91 children, who were the beneficiaries of the opportunity to shop for items of clothing totaling $100 per child.

Lorena Venegas posted a petition “D.C. Moore School: Stop the sales contract” on change.org that collected more than 700 signatures. The goal of the petition was to halt the process of transforming the retired school into a residential development on the grounds of environmental and health concerns.

Evelyn Rossetti-Ryan was one of seven women honored at the Quinnipiac Chamber of Commerce’s annual Women’s Achievement Awards on Jan. 28.

Vaccine clinics began to be made available to the public, beginning with seniors and those with health risks.

East Haven Public Schools (EHPS) announced that it would begin to roll out the diversity education curriculum in the 2021-’22 school year after the curriculum was approved by the Connecticut State Board of Education in December 2020. The curriculum will be a required offering in the 2022-23 school year.

February

Mike Milici, the Town of East Haven’s assessor, released the town’s 2020 Grand List, with the town experiencing increases in all categories. The 2020 East Haven Grand List totaled $2.027 billion, up from $1.998 billion, an increase of 1.45 percent.

The East Haven Food Pantry, located at Christ and The Epiphany Church, continued to operate with adjustments for COVID. Volunteers packed food inside of the buildings and other volunteers loaded the groceries into the trunks of waiting cars.

Matt Stevens, an art teacher at East Haven High School (EHHS) who founded the school’s Gallery 35 for student art shows, also had to make adjustments for COVID. He created Gallery 35.5 as a virtual art show to showcase students’ works in a show called 2020: A Look Back.

On Feb. 15, officers were dispatched to 113 Bradford Avenue to assist the East Haven Fire Department with a large crowd burning a large bonfire. Dispatch advised responding officers that the crowd was throwing snow and ice balls at Fire Department personnel who were on scene to distinguish the large illegal bonfire. With tensions escalating, the crowd began to throw other items at the Fire Department as well as more items into the large fire. Several arrests were made.

Despite weekly vaccination clinics, as of Feb. 26, about 12.92 percent of the Town of East Haven’s population had received the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, which is “just shy of state average for total population,” according to Mike Pascucilla, director of East Shore District Health Department (ESDHD). The first dose coverage among those 75 and older, however, showed East Haven drastically behind neighboring towns. In East Haven, 37.95 percent of its residents 75 and older have received their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccination, compared to North Branford’s 70.49 percent, Madison’s 79.78 percent, Guilford’s 88.61 percent, and Branford’s 66.04 percent.

The New Haven Academy of Performing Arts held a virtual cabaret, “Raise You Up a Virtual Cabaret of Love, Unity, and Inspiration,” on Feb. 27 and 28. All performances were pre-recorded, and the vocal tracks were added in later.

March

Mayor Joe Carfora announced that the Town of East Haven will transfer its counseling services to BHcare over the next several months. As part of the town’s process of reviewing service agreements, town officials found that a new proposal from BHcare fit the needs of the town and its residents.

The Shoreline Greenway Trail hosted a First Saturday walk in East Haven on March 6, starting off of Elliot Street and continuing down to the Farm River State Park.

Christ and The Epiphany Church announces that the Rev. Mary Anne Osborn is the church’s new priest-in-charge.

The First Congregational (Old Stone) Church of East Haven held a March 13 drive-through St. Patrick’s Day corned beef dinner, with the meals pre-ordered and sold out. The meals were packaged and bagged delivered to the cars as they arrived in the back of the church.

March 23 marked one year since Governor Ned Lamont implemented the Stay Home, Stay Safe executive order in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, ordering non-essential businesses to close, the cancellation of non-essential gatherings, and social distancing guidelines. Many town departments, including East Haven Public Schools (EHPS), announced closures 10 days prior, with Carfora issuing a state of emergency on March 16, 2020.

At its March meeting, the East Haven Board of Education (BOE) voted to accept the proposed 2021-’22 operational budget of $49,021,836, a $1,027,565 or 2.14 percent increase over 2020-21’s approved budget of $47,994,271. The proposed budget was then submitted to Town Hall and went before the Board of Finance.

One World Roasters held its second annual Easter egg hunt on March 27 with attendees socially distanced and masked as they hunted.

April

Carfora presented his state of the town address on April 1 via a livestream. Carfora updated residents on several projects that have been completed or are in the works, the town’s COVID response, economic development, and more. Throughout his address, Carfora stressed the teamwork among town officials and town employees and that the town has continued to “march on” despite challenges and obstacles.

The Shore Line Trolley Museum held its annual (though COVID-modified) Ride with the Easter Bunny! on April 3. Despite the plexiglass barrier between the Easter Bunny and visiting families and cleanings between each group, the museum kept the springtime tradition going.

On April 4, Twin Pines Diner hosted free Easter dinners (dine in or take out) for East Haven military veterans, elderly residents, or in-need community members. The dinners followed a similar program hosted by the diner on Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Milici, who had served as the assessor for the Town of the East Haven for the past 30 years, retired after being placed on administrative leave while the town conducted an investigation into workplace issues in the Assessor’s Office.

After months of budget workshops, Carfora announced his plan to propose the town’s no-tax-increase, zero-dollar increase, and zero-mill-rate increase budget to the Town Council.

On April 19, the Hagaman Memorial Library moved to its next phase of reopening as it welcomed patrons back into the library by appointment only.

The Shore Line Trolley Museum held a groundbreaking for the museum’s Vision 20/20 capital improvement project launch on April 24. With the aid of state funding, the project will bring fire protection to the Branford Campus and bring public restrooms and drinking water as well as complete the new Barn 8 display building and start work on Barn 9, which will be a repair and restoration building.

May

On May 4, the East Haven Town Council voted 12-1 to adopt the proposed 2021-’22 budget of $93,455,354. The budget, which is the same overall spending as the current year, will result in no tax increase, keeping the mill rate flat at 34.25.

For the fifth year, the Board of Trustees of the East Haven Public Library, the Hagaman Memorial Library, participated in the Community Foundation for Greater New Haven’s annual Great Give virtual fundraising campaign. This year’s 36-hour event was May 4 and May 5.

On May 6, officials from Tweed New Haven Airport (HVN) and current airport operator Avports LLC announced a major agreement to expand and improve the airport. The $100 million project will not only create thousands of jobs, but bring Avelo Airlines, the country’s first new mainline airline in nearly 15 years, to the East Coast with Tweed as its home base, they said.

On May 12, Governor Ned Lamont announced that the COVID-19 vaccine made by Pfizer-BioNTech became available to residents in Connecticut between the ages of 12 to 15 at all clinics in the state that are offering that vaccine.

East Haven High School celebrated its Senior Prom on May 20. The prom was held at Woodwinds in Branford.

After more than a year since the East Haven Senior Center closed its doors due to COVID, Bob Petrucelli, director of Town of East Haven Social and Senior Services, was excited to begin to resume programming on May 24. With reopening came updates to the building as well as changes to procedures and protocols in order to safely reopen.

As spring wound down, the Town of East Haven announced a full calendar of summer events for residents to look forward to, including the return of the fireworks, concerts, and more.

EHPS announced plans for its Summer Academy, which was partially funded by the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) grant.

On Memorial Day, May 31, the East Haven Veteran’s Council in conjunction with Carfora honored all those who made the ultimate sacrifice, continuing the tradition of honoring the war dead with ceremonies of a reflective tone.

June

EHPS remained one of few school districts in the area to have remained open throughout the 2020-’21 school year. Stakeholder focus groups were held on June 7 and 14 in order to “gather feedback and input from families and stakeholders to assist EHPS in writing the [Connecticut State Department of Education]-required 2021-’22 Return to In-Person Instruction and Continuity of Services Plan and inform the writing of the accompanying American Rescue Plan grant,” according to Superintendent of Schools Erica Forti.

The 17th annual Connecticut Open House Day at the Shore Line Trolley Museum was held on June 12.

Members of 10,000 Hawks, a group that has been in existence for more than two decades focusing on the impact that Tweed New Haven Airport has on the community, voiced concerns about the airport’s expansion. The group held weekly Zoom meetings to discuss concerns and in June, the group created a petition requesting that elected officials open public forums on the topic.

The East Shore District Health Department (ESDHD) announced its Climate Change Project, seeking feedback from residents in the towns served, including East Haven, Branford, and North Branford. The project asked residents how they have been affected by climate change and how climate change has affected their property. It also explored the impact of heat events, hurricanes, and storms, as well as how climate change has affected asthma, allergies, and the impact of insects such as ticks and mosquitos.

The East Haven High School senior class celebrated Academic Awards Night on June 3 and Scholarship Night on June 9. Graduation was held on June 21 with Ashley Lynch named valedictorian and more than 200 students graduating.

After a year hiatus due to COVID, the Town of East Haven brought back its annual beach party and fireworks display on June 26 with food trucks opening and music at the Town Beach.

The East Haven Rotary Club, which is now entering its 83rd year, held its installation of officers for 2021-’22 on the East Haven Town Green. Outgoing President Joan Adamczyk presented the president’s gavel to incoming President Cheryl Panzo.

July

The Town of East Haven’s new recreation director Liz Franco-Spano officially began the job on July 1. Franco-Spano came to the job from an education background with more than three decades of service in East Haven as she took on a role that faced some significant immediate challenges from programming to the revamping of the town pool and ice rink.

With the Hagaman Memorial Library’s return to in-person services and programs, Sascha Gardiner, children’s librarian, was more excited than ever for this year’s summer reading program with a “Tails and Tales” theme.

With more than $1.7 billion in federal funding allocated to the State of Connecticut for education through the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund (ESSER) and the American Rescue Plan (ARP) Act 2021, EHPS spent much of the summer applying the funds to building upgrades such as painting, plumbing, HVAC, floors, landscaping, and more.

The East Haven Rotary Club received a grant from Rotary International that targeted social and emotional wellbeing of young children. With those funds, the East Haven Rotary purchased sensory toys and assembled more than 200 sensory boxes, which were distributed to the special education departments at the elementary schools in the East Haven Public School system.

The ballots for the Nov. 2 elections began to take shape as the Democratic Town Committee (DTC) held its endorsement meeting on July 20 and the Republican Town Committee (RTC) held its nomination convention on July 21. Both announced the full list of candidates for this November’s municipal election.

The State Bond Commission approved $159,375 in bond funding for emergency roof repairs at East Haven’s Hagaman Memorial Library on July 23.

Our Lady of Pompeii Carnival returned on July 28. With rides, games, and food, the carnival remains a cherished summer tradition for East Haven and surrounding communities.

August

The Town of East Haven launched its Permit Parking Program with a goal of “intensive parking improvements in the beach area,” according to Carfora. Within 24 hours of launching the program, more than 350 residents registered for permits through the Upsafety portal.

The area around Shoprite at 745 Foxon Road, East Haven was temporarily evacuated on Aug. 4 following a report of a bomb threat. East Haven Police and Fire departments and outside agencies were called to the scene to assist before an all clear was called later that evening.

Catch Me If You Can The Musical was staged on Aug. 13 at East Haven High School. The musical was produced by East Haven High School with support from the East Haven Arts Commission.

With the Delta variant becoming more prevalent, ESDHD strongly recommended people wear masks when indoors at all public places regardless of vaccination status.

The East Haven Chamber of Commerce brought back Lobsterpalooza on Aug. 18 at Anthony’s Oceanview in New Haven. The Hawaiian-themed event saw music by Timmy Maia, raffles, and visits from Leo the Lobster and Marina the Mermaid.

After the positive response from the East Haven Proud Motorcade in 2020, which was held as a way to lift spirits during the early COVID period, the Town of East Haven opted to bring the event back in 2021. Mother Nature had other plans, though, as Tropical Storm Henri threatened that weekend and the motorcade was rescheduled to Aug. 28.

When the school bell rang for the first day on Aug. 31, students attending East Haven Public Schools (EHPS) began ending their days 30 minutes later. School hours for the 2021-’22 school year are as follows: East Haven High School: 7:25 a.m. to 2:20 p.m.; Melillo Middle School: 8 a.m. to 2:55 p.m.; East Haven Academy: 8:05 a.m. to 2:50 p.m.; and Elementary schools: 9 a.m. to 3:45 p.m. Students returned in a full in-person format with masks required.

Two members of the East Haven Police Department (EHPD) also went back to school. Officer Nicole Burrell and Officer George Gerosa were named school resource officers (SRO)—a position that hasn’t been part of the East Haven Public Schools since 2011.

September

Nearly a year into the partnership between the Town of East Haven and the Soundview Family YMCA, both before- and after-school programs were offered to residents following a successful summer camp.

Improvements to the East Haven Town Green continued as part of a two-year effort spearheaded by the Beautification Committee. In addition to refinishing the gazebo, new benches were installed along a walkway of dedicated bricks. A metal archway was created by Tony Maresca of American Iron Works.

Back by popular demand after taking a year off due to the pandemic, the East Haven Fall Festival returned to the East Haven Green from Sept. 10 to 12.

Theater fans were treated to a sampling of hits, including selections from Dear Evan Hansen, Chicago, and Les Misérables, courtesy of the WISP Performing Arts Initiative Broadway Concert Series staged at The Old Stone Church.

The only two staff members on duty at East Haven assisted living facility Caroline Manor were found suffering from apparent accidental overdoses of fentanyl by a visiting nurse. The facility had failed aspects of a surprise inspection last month. A 911 call from a visiting nurse came in just after 3 p.m. on Sept. 22, according to the EHPD. East Haven Fire Department personnel found a male employee apparently suffering from an accidental overdose in a lower level office and a female employee suffering from an overdose on the main floor. Fire Department personnel administered Narcan to both before they were taken to Yale New Haven Hospital.

With 2,860 students enrolled in EHPS for the 2021-’22 school year, there were 29 confirmed COVID cases (28 students, 1 staff) in the opening weeks of school. As of Sept. 23, 32 students were in quarantine as a result of school-based positive cases. Of the 32, 27 of those quarantine were from East Haven High School, two from Tuttle, one from Melillo, and two from Momauguin.

October

The first-ever New England Antiques and Oddities Exhibition was held Oct. 3 at the Beerack. The exhibition featured 20 vendors with antiques, oddities, general curiosities, and art.

Candidates for the November election continued campaigning. Due to East Haven still facing the effects of COVID-19, the Town Clerk’s Office offered extended weekday and Saturday hours for in-office absentee ballot voting. Carfora (D) sought re-election to his second term in office, challenged by Sal Maltese (R).

The pumpkin patch at the Shore Line Trolley Museum was open to ticketholders on Saturdays and Sundays throughout the month of October. The ticket included the trolley ride, a puzzle book, and a pumpkin for children to keep.

Minister Mary Anne Osborn from Christ and Epiphany Episcopal Church was part of the Blessing of the Animals event held on the Town Green on Oct. 9.

A late-night shooting in the parking lot of Rumba’s Bar and Café captured on exterior surveillance video on Oct. 10 involved two individuals who were involved in a dispute inside the bar, before continuing the altercation in the parking lot where gunfire was exchanged. No injuries were sustained as a result of this incident.

With the return of many traditional events after a hiatus due to COVID, the Town of East Haven wanted to continue the momentum by adding a Halloween event with the staff at the mayor’s office creating the first annual Boo Bash. There were activities for all ages throughout the day on Oct. 23 complete with costume contests and a screening of The Rocky Horror Picture Show.

The WISP Performing Arts Initiative held a Spooktacular Cabaret at the Old Stone Church on Oct. 30.

The East Haven Rotary Club hosted its second annual Trunk or Treat event on Oct. 31. The event was held in two locations: the Town Beach and Kennedy Field in Foxon.

November

The 2021 municipal elections were held on Nov. 2. The Democratic Party claimed almost every seat that was up for grabs as Carfora was re-elected to his second term with nearly 70 percent of the votes with 4,244 over Republican candidate Sal Maltese’s 1,881.

Avelo Airlines started operation on Nov. 3 to Orlando. The company soon after added flights to Tampa, Fort Lauderdale, Fort Myers, Palm Beach, and Sarasota-Bradenton.

The COVID-19 vaccine was approved for administration for children ages 5 to 11 in early November.

On Veterans Day, Nov. 11, the East Haven Veterans Council continued its tradition of honoring veterans with a procession and a ceremony on the East Haven Town Green. The event included a procession to the green from American Legion Post 89 followed by a ceremony on the green.

On Nov. 14, Mary Correia-Bucko and her family collected non-perishable donations for the East Haven Food Pantry with their Can-the-Van fundraiser.

In its ninth year, the Beacon Awards celebrated 15 recipients at a gala event on Nov. 17 at WoodWinds. The 2021 honorees were Andrew Amendola, Anita Anderson, Susan Cosgrove Barnes, Lisa Freund, Allen Jacobs, Catherine Kiernan Marganski, Jane Moen, Kim Mucha, Cynthia Purcell, Annarose Russo, Lianne Rutty, Aron Schumacher, Todd Secki, Winnie Seibert, and Colin Sheehan.

Military veterans and East Haven senior citizens were again treated to free, take-out Thanksgiving Day dinner this year from Twin Pines Diner, thanks the return of a sponsorship program that teams local community contributors with Twin Pines owner Jim Triantis. This was the second year that Triantis and program organizer Andrew M. Amendola, an East Haven attorney, have coordinated to provide pre-ordered Thanksgiving meals for veterans and the town’s seniors.

For the 15th year in a row, the East Haven Rotary Club provided East Haven residents a free, full-course Thanksgiving dinner available for pickup or delivery at the East Haven Senior Center on Thanksgiving Day.

A longstanding holiday tradition returned to East Haven after COVID forced the East Haven Chamber of Commerce to hold the holiday tree lighting virtually in 2020. This year’s event returned in its traditional format on the East Haven Town Green on Nov. 27 with many events and activities leading up to the tree lighting.

The EHPD participated in No-Shave November, a fundraiser to benefit the Connecticut Cancer Foundation (CCF) Cancer. The EHPD raised more than $1,200.

December

The EHFD hosted its annual East Haven Firefighters Local 1205 Toy Drive to benefit local families in need. Firefighter Gordon Stewart took over the drive this year. The drive was supported by many residents, businesses, and local organizations.

The East Haven Chamber of Commerce gave Santa a hand by collecting letters for the North Pole throughout the month of December. The Chamber also hosted Holiday House Decorating Contest, which hadn’t been held in more than 70 years prior to COVID. The 2020 comeback was such a success, the Chamber held it again in 2021.

For the first time ever, the Town of East Haven participated in Wreaths Across America on Dec. 18. Volunteers laid wreaths on the graves of more than 1,200 veterans as part of the national effort. The event was supported by The Lions Club as well as American Legion Post 89.

As the year came to a close, East Haven was in the majority of Connecticut municipalities listed in the red zone for COVID cases as the state encountered its highest-yet rate of positive tests since the start of the pandemic.