The cell phone camera pics were flying at a recent meeting of the city’s police commissioners, as merchants along Wakelee Avenue argued over which of them is parking illegally on the busy road.
The dispute revolved around Frank’s LLC, also known as Frank’s Repair Shop, at 142 Wakelee Ave.
At a police commissioners meeting earlier this month, neighboring merchants complained the mechanic’s shop constantly parks cars along Wakelee Avenue, including the dilapidated shoulder next to the Bare Plains Cemetery at 166 Wakelee Ave.
Merchants complained that illegally parked vehicles on both sides of Wakelee Avenue make for dangerous conditions — especially since ambulances often travel the road on the way to Griffin Hospital in Derby.
“We’ve had some real bad accidents,” said Robert Barbieri, who owns Chippy’s Service Station at 136 Wakelee Ave. “Something has to be done before somebody gets killed.”
Stephen H. Eberle, of The Hearing Center at 149 Wakelee Ave., said the excess vehicles from Frank’s LLC causes blind spots for neighboring businesses.
“I myself have almost been hit several times exiting that spot,” Eberle said.
Barbieri’s and Eberle’s complaints were repeated by Larry Saffran, president of Stelray Plastic Products, Inc. and John Stanley Zaleski, owner of Wakelee Memorial Funeral Home at 167 Wakelee Ave.
Ed Norman, a former member of the board of alderman, took the complaints further, saying Frank’s LLC is “almost like a junkyard now.”
Click here for a 40-second video of the disputed area.
However, repair shop Frank Heusser, Jr. made three rebuttal points to his complaining neighbors.
First, Heusser said he is moving some of his trucks and vehicles to the empty Dworkin auto dealership on Hawkins Avenue in Derby. He hopes that will relieve some of the pressure at his crowded repair shop.
Second, Heusser said he’s not the only merchant who takes up space on the side of Wakelee Avenue.
“It’s not just my business. All the businesses in town are using that street,” Heusser said.
As proof, Heusser’s father, also named Frank, showed police commissioners a cell phone photo of a vehicle he claimed was from The Hearing Center — an accusation Eberle, the business owner, sharply denied.
The younger Heusser than produced 1990s-era meeting minutes (along with an old newspaper article) which showed he’s allowed to park cars near his shop on Wakelee Avenue.
Heusser, who has a lawsuit pending against Ansonia for allegedly taking his business off the police department’s “tow list,” urged the police department to stop ticketing cars parked on Wakelee Avenue.
Police Chief Kevin Hale suggested the commissioners request a study of the many issues along Wakelee Avenue, which the commissioners did with a unanimous vote.
