A photo of the Route 34 widening project from the Naugatuck Valley Council of Governments.
DERBY – State Rep. Kara Rochelle said there is money available for businesses impacted by the ongoing construction in downtown Derby.
“There are funds earmarked in the state budget specifically for distressed municipalities to support small business,” Rep. Rochelle said Thursday.
Rep. Rochelle’s comments come a day after The Valley Indy published a story about RiverWalk Social, a bar-restaurant that closed its doors Sunday after four years in business at 17 Elizabeth St.
Downtown Derby has been a large construction zone since April 2022, when contractors hired by the state started the long-planned, $18.7 million Main Street/Route 34 widening project. A $6.3 million renovation of the nearby Derby-Shelton bridge started in April 2021 and is still ongoing, too.
On Wednesday, Robert Mastroni, the owner of Riverwalk Social and the building that housed it, said the ongoing construction in downtown Derby – including various underground utility work and a change in traffic patterns – were the nails in his restaurant’s coffin.
Mastroni said local and state officials didn’t do enough to help small businesses hurt by the disruption from the construction projects.
Rep. Rochelle contacted The Valley Indy on Thursday morning saying there is grant money available for Derby businesses in the construction zone.
Rep. Rochelle said a manager from Riverwalk reached out to her office about three weeks ago asking for help. The manager at RiverWalk said he had reached out to Rochelle’s office repeatedly before getting a response.
Rep. Rochelle said she contacted the state Department of Economic Development (DECD), who pointed her to state money that could be used to help businesses such as Riverwalk.
The NHE3 Small Business Grant, using money from the DECD, is being administered by The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven.
Small businesses can apply to receive up to $10,000 from the grant.
The grant application, which closes July 31, can be found on this website. Please note that the Valley Indy had trouble accessing the website on Thursday. For questions, contact Joseph Williams at Mission Investments Company at 203 – 974-1656.
Elizabeth Street in front of the shuttered RiverWalk Social.
Rep. Rochelle said that within the last three weeks, seven downtown Derby businesses have been told about the money, and that four have submitted applications.
Mastroni on Thursday said he received information about the grant, but a one-time payment wasn’t going to do much when he was losing $10,000 a weekend at RiverWalk.
“They told me the highest I could apply for was $6,000 and that’s just too little, too late,” Mastroni said. “The only thing that will buy me is one week’s worth of aggravation.”
Although the one-time payments are for up to $10,000 according to a representative from the community foundation, an online press release lists the cap as $6,000.
Other Businesses
RiverWalk Social was the second restaurant in or near the construction zone to close in Derby within 90 days.
On Thursday The Valley Indy interviewed three current business owners and one past business owner to get a sense of what it’s like to do business in work zones.
Brad Purceillo owned The River Rock Tavern at 5 Main St. The bar-restaurant closed in April after nine years in business at the corner of Main Street and Route 115 in Derby.
Purceillo said the business was hurt by the COVID-19 pandemic and inflation.
“The construction didn’t help,” he said.
Purceillo said customers from Shelton would try to get to his restaurant and would give up thanks to construction-related traffic on Main Street. He said there was zero communication from anyone about lane and road closures.
“There were times the bridge would close and no one could get into my parking lot,” Purceillo said.
Mike Picone owns Twisted Vine, a restaurant at 285 Main St.
“To be honest, the construction has hurt us,” Picone said. “When the contractors were doing the sidewalks right in front of the building, we couldn’t use our parking lot for five, six days, but they communicated that to me ahead of time.”
Twisted Vine is one of the businesses applying for a grant.
“As for the grant, it’s not a lot of money, but it’s something,” he said
Picone is hopeful that things will improve once the construction is over.
“I’m in for the long run and I’m here to stay,” Picone said.
Mario Durante owns Mario’s Barber Shop at 131 Main St. He’s been in the heart of the Route 34 widening since the project started. Like Picone, he said the job’s supervisor has been in constant contact about the project and helped to get an “open for business” sign placed outside his shop.
He said his business survived COVID-19 and it’ll survive the Route 34 project.
“I’m not going anywhere,” Durante said.
Durante lost parking in front of this business when the project started. He said he’s lucky to have loyal customers who were willing to park on Water Street, at Home Depot and at Derby City Hall to walk to his shop.
Durante is also on the Ansonia Board of Aldermen. He said he was not aware of grant money available to his business.
Joe Suppa owns Derby Discount Liquors at 441 Roosevelt Drive (also state Route 34) in Derby. He said business is down at least 25 percent since the widening project started, even though he’s about a mile outside the construction zone.
“Businesses should be compensated for their losses from the project. They’re still paying rent and taxes,” he said.
Driving on Derby’s Main Street is difficult due to the ripped-up roads and confusing traffic patterns.
Making a left turn into Home Depot from Route 34 east is dangerous because motorists heading west accidentally run the red light.
Heading west, there was a left-hand turn lane on Main Street onto the Derby-Shelton bridge. Now both lanes can continue westbound, though motorists are quickly forced back into one lane 20 feet later when Main Street turns into Roosevelt Drive.
The headaches add up, Suppa said.
“I have a lot of customers who come from Seymour, Oxford, even Southbury. And they just avoid Derby by going on Route 8. They just find other ways,” Suppa said.
Suppa said no government officials have ever stopped by to talk about the construction project.
The Route 34 widening project is scheduled to be completed in October.
Political View
Rep. Rochelle is up for re-election in District 104 to represent Ansonia and Derby in the state House of Representatives.
Her Republican opponent is Ansonia Mayor David Cassetti.
Mayor Cassetti said grants for suffering businesses are good, and that the final project overall will be good for Derby — but the grant opportunities should have been promoted at the start of the project.
“I question why these funds are being revealed after a business has been forced to close,” Mayor Cassetti said. “What is this project for, if not to build a stronger and more attractive business district? Both Derby business owners and their patrons would benefit tremendously from such an improvement,” he said about the project. “If millions of state funds are being expended, let’s not forget the needs of the small business owners.”
Rep. Rochelle responded by saying her opponent prefers cameras to working to get things done.
Rochelle said she “supported the creation of the fund, reached out to DECD on behalf of these businesses, and the community foundation was in touch with them.”
“His quote makes no sense, I don’t press release on my day-to-day work, I just get it done,” Rochelle said.
– Jasmine Wright contributed to this report.
