All-star development team plans $841M housing, commercial project along CT River in East Hartford

Michael Puffer

A partnership including some of the most prominent businessmen in Greater Hartford is planning an $841 million development along the Connecticut River in East Hartford, including 1,000 apartments, 300,000 square feet of commercial space and new transport links.

The ambitious plan to redevelop the roughly 50-year-old Founders Plaza took a big step forward Wednesday as Port Eastside LLC paid $4 million for a low-rise office building on 7.3 acres at 99 Founders Plaza.

Port Eastside plans to demolish this building, along with the former Red Thread property and a crumbling parking garage, then acquire additional properties, to make a roughly 30-acre development site along the river.

The project would mix up to four mid- to high-rise apartment buildings with a 100,000-square-foot medical center, retail and commercial buildings, serviced by a new transportation center, an elevated greenway and a new pedestrian bridge spanning the Connecticut River into Hartford.

“The idea is opening up the river on both sides for the benefit of the people living on both sides,” said Martin Kenny, owner of multifamily developer and investor Lexington Partners, who is involved in the East Hartford project. “This is something that needs to happen and is happening in other cities. This is a way to get that going.”

Kenny said the existing buildings should be demolished this year, with reconstruction possibly launching as soon as a year later and proceeding in phases. The entire project could be completed in seven or eight years, Kenny said.

Kenny owns and manages about 1,000 apartments already in the Hartford area with his friend and longtime business partner, Alan Lazowski, owner of national parking giant LAZ Parking and other ventures.

The partners were recruited into Port Eastside this spring. Kenny admits he found the plan a bit daunting at first but quickly warmed to its prospects.

Other partners include: Hoffman Auto Group Co-Chairman Jeffrey S. Hoffman; Manafort Brothers Inc. President Jim Manafort; Peter S. Roisman, head of Houston-based multifamily investor REV; and Figure 8 Properties principals Harris and Bruce Simons. MBH Architecture President Nicholas P. Michnevitz III is leading design of the project.

“When you see the names…those are serious developers,” East Hartford Mayor Michael Walsh said. “They are well known to the state of Connecticut, and they are familiar to everybody. This is a game-changer.”

The development team is counting on East Hartford to come through with about $45 million to defray costs of building a new parking garage, using either a tax financing agreement or an improvement district. Either vehicle would direct a portion of new tax revenue from the development to pay down costs.

The plans have been quietly shopped around to East Hartford’s Town Council, Department of Economic and Community Development Director Alexandra Daum, Lt. Gov. Susan Bysiewicz, Department of Revenue Services Commissioner Mark Boughton, U.S. Rep. John Larson, D-1st District, and members of East Hartford’s legislative delegation.

The proposal will need staunch political backing, as investors seek $45 million through a tax agreement with the town and about another $100 million from state and federal sources for transportation links, including an impressive pedestrian bridge spanning the river.

Port Eastside backers are seeking to draw amusement and entertainment venues to commercial buildings planned for the site, creating a destination that will blend well with the Connecticut Convention Center, Connecticut Science Center, Front Street Entertainment District and other offerings just on the west side of the river.

Kenny said the planned pedestrian bridge would land near the Colt Armory Complex development in Hartford. Coupled with riverside paths and the pedestrian crossing at the Founders Bridge, it will create a loop connecting entertainment, arts, education and dining options on both sides of the river.

The plan incorporates a transportation center, with a stop for CTfastrak buses connecting to an improved greenway, stops for LAZ Parking vans to Bradley International Airport and rental electric scooters.

The Capital Region Development Authority and state Bond Commission have approved $6.5 million to help cover demolition costs for existing buildings on the site. The development team will have to secure a development agreement with the town, along with other agreements for local, state and federal incentives.

The project has significant political momentum. Even so, this week’s purchase represents a big commitment for a project that still has many dominoes to fall before permitting and financing is secured. It’s a big show of confidence from an all-star development team.

“What we are confident about is we have a great team of well-heeled people who care about our region,” Kenny said. “Alan and I have shown that in Hartford with our commitment there. There is a lot of juice with this group, and we like each other.” 

After lengthy delays, work begins on linear trail extension in Southington

SOUTHINGTON — Construction to extend the Farmington Canal Heritage Trail north from Lazy Lane to Aircraft Road is underway after years of planning and delays.

The project, the third and final phase needed to complete most of the town’s segment of the popular linear trail, is scheduled for completion in 2024.

The trail runs with little interruption between New Haven to the Massachusetts border and beyond, along the former New Haven and Northampton Company (NH&N) railbed, which was constructed along the route of the Farmington Canal in Connecticut and the Hampshire and Hampden Canal in Massachusetts, respectively.

Planning for the privately funded Farmington Canal began in the 1820s, following the success of the 363-mile Erie Canal, according to the Farmington Canal Heritage Trail website.

After numerous engineering and construction setbacks, the first commercial canal boat, the James Hillhouse, left New Haven bound for Simsbury in 1828. The canal was finally completed from New Haven to Northampton, a distance of 84 miles, in 1835, with a series of 28 locks in Connecticut providing a drop of 220 feet from the Massachusetts border to New Haven.

Commercial operations on the canal ceased in 1848.

Pandemic delay

State and local officials cited the pandemic as the cause of delays in designs and approvals needed for the trail segment, which crosses wetlands at several different points, requiring both local approval and permission from the Army Corps of Engineers. Southington engineers worked with the state Department of Transportation on the trail’s design.

The Lazy Lane-Plainville town line section, about two miles long, is the last portion to be finished in Southington.

Plainville’s section of the trail hasn’t yet been completed.

Most of the heritage trail, which runs from New Haven into Massachusetts, is finished in Connecticut. Unlike many other towns and cities along the trail, the Plainville portion cannot use rail beds because the rail line in town is still being used.

For more information about the Farmington Canal Heritage Trail go to fchtrail.org/history.

Speed cameras doing their job on I-95 in East Lyme

Elizabeth Regan

East Lyme ― Word on the street is speed cameras have helped slow traffic in work zones.

State Department of Transportation project engineer Andrew Millovitsch estimated most drivers were going 75 or 80 miles per hour through a dangerous expanse of Interstate 95 between exits 74 and 75 before construction began this spring on a four-and-a-half year project to make the roadway safer and less congested.

Now, he said speeds have dropped “significantly.”

The local rollout of the DOT’s Know The Zone pilot program on June 5 brought SUVs equipped with cameras to snap pictures of vehicles going more than 15 mph over the limit. The first violation comes with a warning directed to the registered owner of the vehicle, while the second comes with a $75 ticket. Subsequent violations cost $150 each.

DOT spokesman Josh Morgan said warnings went out to 7,716 car owners so far for speeding through the East Lyme work zone. Three owners received tickets.

The tickets issued in East Lyme account for half of the tickets issued statewide since the program launched in April.

The three other tickets were issued in Norwalk, where construction is going on between exits 16 and 18 on Interstate 95.

The pilot program allows the speed cameras to be used in up to three work zones during the day and three at night. Locally, they’ve also been used in Groton on I-95 and from Griswold to Plainfield on I-395.

Morgan said he doesn’t have statistics on average speeds in work zones with cameras, but the information will be included in a DOT report on the pilot program expected early next year.

“Anecdotally, from people on the ground, people are slowing down,” he said.

The SUVs can be found on the northbound or southbound side of the highway between mile markers 86 and 88 from 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. Morgan said the cameras are only operational while construction crews are on site.

Robert Obey of Glastonbury-based GM2, who serves as the resident engineer for the construction project, reiterated what he perceived as a “significant” decrease in speeds on the highway.

Even though current efforts to remove 300 feet of ledge from the project area involves crews working mainly alongside the highway instead of on it, Obey said the mindset of drivers in the work zone needs to change now.

He pointed to four years of construction marked by shifting, narrow lanes that will be riskier at high speeds for drivers and workers alike.

“You need to change the culture,” he said. “The culture in East Lyme was ‘we speed.’”

Morgan last week said 126,675 of the 492,384 vehicles traveling through the work zone were going over the 50 mph speed limit, whether that means going 51 mph or 91 mph.

“One in four cars are speeding through the work zone,” he said.

According to the University of Connecticut Crash Data Repository, there were 2,874 crashes in work zones from the beginning of 2020 through July of this year. There were 11 fatalities and 25 suspected serious injuries.

The speed camera program was approved by the state legislature in 2021 at the last minute even though lawmakers had stripped the provision from a traffic safety bill earlier in the session. The language reappeared in the budget implementer bill, which is filled with wide-ranging policies that don’t necessarily receive the same level of individual scrutiny as typical bills.

Connecticut State Police Union executive director Andy Matthews at the time objected to the program as an effort to replace state troopers with “unreliable” cameras. He also objected to the fact that warnings and tickets are sent to the registered owner of the vehicle even though that might not be the person who was driving.

Matthews said it’s a police officer’s responsibility to calibrate speed enforcement equipment, witness the violation, investigate it, verify the identity of the driver and use discretion to determine if enforcement action is necessary.

“Unfortunately, a speed enforcement camera is not capable of making these decisions and should not be relied upon or considered as evidence that a violation of law has occurred on our roadways,” he wrote.

In East Lyme, the mobile units with cameras on them have been seen on different days next to or in front of signs announcing the 50 mph work zone speed limit.

Morgan, asked if it is appropriate to put a speed trap where or even before the speed limit changes, said he would look into it.

Around town and among area commuters, those most vocal on the topic came out in support of the cameras.

Kevin McMahon of Groton said speed enforcement by police is “clearly lacking” throughout the state. He described the level of careless and reckless driving as mind-boggling.

“Some people might think cameras are Orwellian,” he said. “So be it.”

Jeff Von Flatern, who commutes through East Lyme on his way to businesses he owns in Clinton and Guilford, said he believes the average speed is down a bit since the cameras arrived.

It’s a departure from the days when those who dared to drive the speed limit were “tailgated, beeped at, endured various creative hand gestures and just about run off the road,” according to Von Flatern.

“I welcome the cameras and hope they stay after the construction,” he said.

Supporters Pack Meeting to Press for $13.5 Million Boathouse in Middletown

Emilia Otte

MIDDLETOWN — High school sophomore Anthony Bonanno wasn’t sure about rowing when he first decided to join the high school crew team last spring. But he said the rest of the team quickly drew him in. 

“The first few days. I was … a little quiet, but then everyone started talking to me. And they all came up to me and just started greeting me. I had no clue what to do, but they were very welcoming. And they helped me out so much,” he said. 

Now, Bonanno said, he’s in the best shape of his life. His teammate, sophomore Antonio Pattavina, agreed. 

 “It helped me grow as a person a lot more. Helped me get more comfortable in my own skin,” said Pattavina. “Also … it’s helping me get into a lot better shape. I’ve lost 10 pounds, gained 10 in muscle.” 

Bonanno and Pattavina were part of a group of high school rowers and other Middletown residents who packed a meeting of the Finance and Operations Committee on Wednesday to advocate for the Common Council to place a resolution on the ballot in November asking voters to approve $13.5 million in bonding to build a new boathouse. 

Gerry Daley, chair of the Boathouse Building Committee, said at the meeting that the project came out of a report from the Riverfront Redevelopment Commission in 2014. In 2016, the Boathouse Building Committee was formed and given charge of a $2.6 million Urban Act grant, which was used for remediation of part of the river area and initial design plans. 

After city leaders asked the committee to scale back its design, the committee spent an additional $270,000 on a new design, according to Daley, contracted with DiBattisto Associates.

“We tried our best to come in with realistic numbers,” said Daley. “We’re very sensitive to the fact that if we get approval, that locks us into that number — we have to stay within that budget.”

The current design includes a 12,000 square foot building with new bays to store the high school boats and a special area to repair boats on the first floor. The second floor includes a multi-purpose space that can be used for workouts and expanded locker rooms and bathrooms. The bond also includes renovations to the current boathouse, which will be used for the adult community rowing program, Central Connecticut Rowing. 

Members of the Boathouse Building Committee said this project has been necessary for a long time. 

Wendy Shiel, a member of the boathouse building committee who coached Middletown High rowing from 2000 to 2019, said the current boathouse described the boathouse as “ancient” and “basically a shed.” She said that while that boathouse has been a “home” for many of the young people she’s coached, it was in desperate need of improvements. 

“Every kid I coach says that’s their salvation. Those kids deserve a better space to be in,” said Shiel. “If we can create a better space, a more appropriate current space, we can draw more kids into that experience.” 

Shiel said the current boathouse has no fire sprinkler system, and no heat — which means they have to pay to store the outboard motors for the coach’s boats at a marina during the winter. She also pointed out that when Middletown High School was renovated around 15 years ago, other athletes got new football fields and baseball fields. But the crew team, which hosts between 60 and 120 students in a year, continued with the old boathouse. 

Jeff Clarke, a member of the boathouse committee and a member of Connecticut Central Rowing, told the committee that the adult rowing program was currently at capacity, with over 70 rowers, and needed more space. 

Jennifer Alexander, also a member of the boathouse committee and chair of the Downtown Business District, told CT Examiner that building a new boathouse also made sense as a tourism attraction and a way to grow the town’s grand list.  

“We’re so fortunate to have the riverfront be part of Middletown’s identity … it’s what people think of when they think of Middletown. And so capitalizing on that resource is an economic development move,” said Alexander. “It’s going to take us 25 years to build all of the things that we want on the riverfront. We have to do it a little bit at a time. And so we should just keep investing in stead of waiting for some giant project.”

Democratic Common Council member Eugene Nocera asked the Finances and Operation Committee to consider delaying the boathouse project for a year and including it in a more “comprehensive bond,” in which leftover funding could be allocated toward other projects. He gave the example of the $55 million bond for infrastructure investments that voters approved in November 2020, part of which was used for renovations at the Canoe Club. 

“I’m not comfortable with just moving ahead when we know we have other projects that are going to come before that — like our parking garage that’s going out to bid very soon,” said Nocero. “I asked you to consider pausing this for a year so that we can develop stage two of the infrastructure for the riverfront and combine those pieces together.”

But Republican Common Council member Tony Gennaro disagreed. He noted that the current boathouse had been built in 1978, and that the town should invest in the boathouse now rather than waiting until later years, when costs could increase. 

“I think it’s time to stop stalling, and I think it’s been long overdue. I think we’ve done a lot of other projects here. This has been overlooked for too long. We need to move this forward, and the sooner the better,” said Gennaro. 

Kyle Breton, a former rower and coach whose sister currently coaches at the high school, said he felt the town should invest in a program that has already been greatly invested in by the local community. 

“We go up against other teams. A lot of them have very deep pockets — [the] Simsburies and the Glastonburies and the Stoningtons of the world — and they have towns that invest in their teams tremendously,” he told CT Examiner. “And we have a team that does dozens of fundraisers to try to get our hands on one new piece of equipment every few years. And it’s a really different world.” 

And Shiel said she thought a better boathouse would bring more people into the rowing program. 

“There aren’t a lot of people who get to have the perspective of the city that we do. It’s an incredible gift and I want everyone to have that,” she said. 

The Finance and Operations Committee voted unanimously to pass the recommendation for the bond resolution forward to the Common Council. The Common Council will vote at its meeting on Tuesday whether to place the $13.5 million bond resolution on the ballot for Middletown voters this November. 

Pattavina said he thought that if rowing had already been such a positive experience for him, it could do even more with a better boathouse — and that it could give opportunities for even more potential rowers. 

“If all of those benefits came from the 50-year-old boathouse that we have — that’s not up to code, that has possums running around — imagine what could happen with a new boathouse that has AC, mats everywhere and elevators and everything,” he said.

Don’t buy American?

 Jim Cameron

I’ll never be President of the United States. Not that I would want to be… I just can’t be. 

You see, I wasn’t born in this country. I’m an immigrant. And though I’m very proud of my Canadian roots, I’ve been a U.S. citizen for over 45 years: an American by choice, not chance.

While this country has always impressed me as a meritocracy, on this Labor Day weekend something strikes me as odd: why do mass transit agencies in the U.S. do all they can to bypass the Buy America laws governing spending of federal funds on things like new trains. Not very patriotic, eh?

Why would they pass up millions in federal money to procure American steel and components needed to build new rail cars? Why is the Connecticut Department of Transportation’s new $315 million contract with Alstom (a French company) to bring us 30 new rail cars seeing them built in Mexico instead of their U.S. plant in Hormel NY?

One reason is, since the closing of the Budd Company’s railcar plant in Red Lion PA in 1987, the U.S. hasn’t had a large-scale domestic railcar manufacturing facility. I toured that Budd plant in 1980 as they were finishing their last orders — Amfleet coaches (still in use), Metro-North’s original M2 cars and subway cars for Chicago. But as demand for new railcars dried up, so did the mighty Budd Company.

Now that many cities are in the market for new subways, trolleys and commuter trains, there are only overseas firms to turn to, such as Alstom and Siemens. Not that they build bad cars, just that they’re not American.

As with the solar energy market, there’s interest in Washington at re-establishing a domestic railcar industry to keep our spending on-shore — so far with mixed results.

Look no farther than the MBTA in Boston for an example of how this can go terribly wrong. When “the T” wanted to order 284 new subway cars they saw the chance to kick-start domestic train manufacturing, albeit with a foreign partner, China’s state-owned CRRC, the world’s largest manufacturer of rolling stock.

CRRC acquired the old Westinghouse Electric factory in Springfield MA, hired 150 workers and started building in 2015. The initial subway cars were to start delivery in 2018.

Now, five years later, only 100 of the cars in the $870 million order have been delivered and those cars are not working properly. Some are missing parts, others breaking down in service. Doors fly open as the train in running. Pretty serious stuff.

Eight workers have died on the job in CT since 2022. Here is what happened and what OSHA found.

ED STANNARD 

The workplace isn’t always a safe place.

Whether an employer failed to put safeguards in place, or a worker didn’t follow safety protocols or because of a simple accident, there are times the factory floor or the construction site can become deadly, according to Occupational Safety and Health Administration data.

Since 2022, OSHA reported eight workplace fatalities in Connecticut, one this year, seven in 2022. They include including workers being crushed, pinned, falling on their heads and being buried in a collapsed trench.

There were 10 workplace deaths in 2021 and seven in 2020, OSHA reports.

‘Injuries and events’

According to a labor law expert at Eastern Connecticut State University, more could be done to keep workers safe.

“I think we’re definitely better off from where we were 50-60 years ago,” said Dana Dowdell, who teaches human resources management and labor and employment law at Eastern.

“I think workplace safety has been pretty stagnant over the last 10-20 years, because there really haven’t been many significant changes legislatively, which I think often drives employers’ willingness to care and focus on it,” she said.

“I think workplace safety often runs like a pendulum, where there’s organizations that have really strong and robust safety programs and then there’s other organizations that look at safety as kind of an afterthought or a cost of doing business,” said Dowdell, who also owns Boss Consulting HR of Norwich.

Companies must have workers’ compensation coverage, but they may lack a safety committee, which is required for any company with more than 25 employees, she said.

Rather than being “smart and strategic about their safety and preventative … I think for a lot of companies it takes a large event like a major workers’ comp loss or a death, and then they start looking at it from a strategic standpoint versus just a cost of doing business compliance standpoint,” she said.

Any workplace injury must be reported to OSHA, but not all require an investigation. 

“There will always be injuries and events that happen at work that are true accidents, things that you cannot prevent,” Dowdell said. “I think sometimes we focus on those so significantly when really the focus should be on the more common things that can happen at work that can be avoided.”

The most common of those are slips and falls, meaning companies should focus on basics such as good snow-removal plans, she said.

Sometimes, however, an accident at work may be the fault of the employee or something unavoidable that occurs.

“When those major events happen, I think it’s human nature to seek … fault,” Dowdell said. “You want to know, is it the employee’s fault due to not following procedure or not using things the way that they are meant to be used, or is it the employer’s fault where they are not providing the appropriate safety mechanisms for employees. … In many workplace injuries, there’s no fault. It’s hard.”

Connecticut is a no-fault state for workers’ comp claims, meaning an injured worker is eligible even if he or she caused their own injury, Dowdell said.

Following are the eight workplace fatalities reported to OSHA since 2022:

April 28, 2023: Crushed to death

William Christman III, 80, of New Milford, who worked for Four Star Driveway Services of New Milford, was fatally crushed between a truck and a building, according to OSHA. The death was ruled an accident and there was no action taken by OSHA.

According to his obituary, Christman was “a fun-spirited soul,” an Air Force veteran and a former Danbury police officer.

“Bill had many passions, he was an avid pool player, loved buying and restoring old cars with his friends, he was an active patron with the American Legion and The Veterans of Foreign Wars Post both in New Milford and Danbury,” his obituary said. “Most of all he enjoyed taking care of his cats and enjoying the simple beauty of nature.”

The company could not be reached for comment.

Nov. 23, 2022: Fall out of a truck

Christopher Mucci, 29, who worked for APS Technology of Wallingford, “was riding on the tailgate of a moving pickup truck when he fell off the truck and hit his head on the asphalt pavement,” according to the OSHA investigation. “The employee died due to head trauma.”

According to his obituary, Mucci “loved to spend time with close friends for game nights, get-togethers, and parties. He enjoyed hiking and walking, especially with his favorite dogs, Willis and Lola.

“Chris was an avid gun and shooting sports enthusiast. His hobbies also included video gaming and was an ‘expert’ movie buff. He was always available to lend a helping hand when needed. His wit and unique sense of humor always made everyone laugh.”

The company was fined $10,046, which was later reduced by half in an informal settlement, according to OSHA.

The citation, which was listed as serious, said, “The employer did not furnish … a place of employment which was free from recognized hazards that were causing or likely to cause death or serious physical harm to employees in that employees were exposed to the hazard of falling from the back of a moving vehicle.”

It said Mucci was riding in the cargo bed of a “GMC Sierra 1500 Pickup Truck without seatbelts or other safety restraints, exposing the worker to a fall onto the pavement.”

A message seeking comment was left with the company.

Oct. 6, 2022: Crushed to death

James Anderson, 52, of Cheshire, was fatally crushed between a truck and a dumpster while working for Sign Pro of Southington, OSHA records show.

According to the OSHA investigation, “an employee was walking to the back of a truck to check and see if the load was secure. The truck rolled back, pinning the employee between the truck and a dumpster. The employee was killed.” The incident was ruled an accident.

Anderson’s obituary notes, “Jim was loved by everyone who knew him. He was very involved in his son’s sports, he never missed a practice or a game. He was an avid fisherman and a (Pittsburgh) Steelers fan.”

Sign Pro was asked for a comment.

Aug. 2, 2022: Fall from a scaffold

Edwin Ordonez, 28, died in a fall from a rolling scaffold at the Danbury War Memorial Association, OSHA said. He was interim director, according to his GoFundMe page.

According to OSHA’s investigation, “an employee was cleaning the vent in a basketball gym from a Tallescope upright rolling scaffold, while wearing a backpack vacuum, when he fell from the rolling scaffold onto the gym floor. The employee died due to head and neck injuries.”

“Edwin was a kind hearted man with a bright smile,” his obituary said. “He was the kind of person who never met a stranger. He was hard working and loved to help anyone that he could. Everyone knew they could always count on him to lend a helping hand and that he would never say no to anyone who needed his help. Although he loved everyone he met, he loved his family above all else, especially his parents and his daughter.”  

The war memorial association, a recreational and educational complex, was fined $18,752 for four serious violations, which it is contesting, according to OSHA. The citations were for alleged lack of inspection of the scaffold, a lack of outrigger beams to prevent movement, a lack of bracing of the equipment, a lack of wheel locks and a lack of training, OSHA records show.

The war memorial declined to comment about Ordonez or the incident.

July 22, 2022: Buried in a trench

Dennis F. Slater, 56, of the Broad Brook section of South Windsor, died when working at the Laurelwood Farms housing development for Botticello Inc. of Vernon when a trench collapsed on him.

According to OSHA, “an employee was guiding a twenty foot section of pipe into place. The trench collapsed, and the employee was not protected by a trench box and had no way of egress. The employee was crushed by the dirt.”

Company owner Dennis Botticello, 67, of Suffield and foreman Glen Locke were arrested and charged with first-degree manslaughter and first-degree reckless endangerment. Botticello and Locke are both due back in court Oct. 20, judicial records show.

According to his obituary, Slater “was a devoted member of the Broad Brook Volunteer Fire Department for 29 years before retiring, and even after retiring he would show up to major incidents to help out in any way he could or participate in many fundraisers the department sponsored.”

Botticello Inc. was fined $375,021 for three willful violations: no protection from cave-ins, no stairway, ladder or other means of egress from the trench and no inspection before each shift. The company is contesting the fines, OSHA records show.

According to a Courant story at the time, Slater’s colleagues tried to dig him out using their hands and an excavator, but he was unconscious by the time he was partially freed and died at the hospital.

A request for comment was made to Botticello Inc.  

July 1, 2022: Pinned by a forklift

Carmen Calandro, 55, of West Haven, was pinned and crushed by a forklift while working for the Norwalk Glass Co., trying to drop a pallet into a dumpster, OSHA records show.

“He was just a really amazing person,” said his fiancee, Angela Durand. “Anybody that got to know him or be a part of his life was lucky and he just had so many people that were close to him. Everybody at work misses him and it’s just been really hard.”

Calandro’s obituary said, “A quintessential ‘Westie,’ Carmen lived most of his life in West Haven, very much enjoying his friends and community. He loved life and believed in living it to the fullest potential. Carmen will best be remembered for many things; his sweet and kindhearted ways, always willing to help anyone in need, and his unending work ethic. Chiefly, he remained a loving family man and will forever remain in the hearts and mind of those closest to him.”

According to OSHA’s investigation, “an employee was observed using the forklift to lift a large wooden pallet into a roll-off dumpster. The forks were raised, the forklift driven forward, and the fork angle lowered to get the pallet to slide off the forks into the dumpster.

“After this did not work, the driver got out, reached up, and attempted to push the pallet off the forks, which caused the pallet to move a few inches but remain on the forks. Next the worker stepped up onto the flat surface between the mast and the control panel and reached forward from behind the mast in an attempt to knock the pallet forward off the forks.”

Calandro tried the maneuver a second time “when one of his feet inadvertently activated the middle lever which moved the boom backwards, pinning his chest between the back of the boom and the front of the forklift roof. The worker immediately used his foot to try and hit the lever in an attempt to move the mast forward, however was only successful in dropping the forks,” OSHA reported.

“The worker then began to lose consciousness and remained pinned for approximately 16 minutes before another worker noticed he was pinned and rushed to rescue him. The employee was killed,” the investigation said.

The incident was ruled an accident and Norwalk Glass was fined $20,302, later reduced to $14,000 in an informal settlement, OSHA records show.

There were two citations, both serious: Calandro was allowed to operate the truck 14 months past the three years when he was supposed to have had refresher training, and there were no load backrest extensions “to minimize the hazard of rearward falling materials.”

An official with Norwalk Glass declined comment.

May 31, 2022: Fall through a skylight

Daniel Henderson, 57, of Meriden died in a fall through a skylight at Fairfield University, OSHA records say.

According to OSHA, he “was working as a mason on the rooftop of a commercial facility preparing the brickwork for the new roof to be installed. The employee was changing his clothes when he lost his balance and fell backwards through an unguarded skylight. The employee fell approximately 29 feet to the concrete floor and died from his injuries.”

He was working with Craig Henderson, of Southington, who was cited by OSHA.

“Dan was a simple man, but most of the time he was the life of the party, either doing funny (things) or telling jokes to make people laugh,” his obituary said.

“Daniel was a gifted musician who loved to play the drums and piano. He also loved to study history and fly light winged aircraft such as hang gliders. But it was spending time with his family that Daniel truly loved to do. Family was everything to him and he loved hard! A truly religious man, Daniel has now earned his angel wings,” it said.

Craig Henderson was fined $7,808 for two serious violations: not protecting the worker from falling through the skylight and not training employees who might be exposed to fall hazards. He was also cited for not certifying to OSHA within 10 days that the violations had been abated.

Craig Henderson could not be reached for comment.

March 17, 2022: Fall from a ladder

Joseph Maguire, 54, of Naugatuck, died in a fall from a ladder while working for Encore Fire Protection, owned by Encore Holdings LLC, OSHA records show.

His obituary said, “Joe coached Union City Little League baseball and YMCA girls’ basketball and he loved the New York Yankees, New York Giants and UConn Women’s Basketball. Joe enjoyed traveling, especially to the Cape and he loved spending time with his family and friends. Joe’s proudest moments included seeing his children being successful.”

The OSHA investigation concluded, “an employee was moving a ladder into position, and beginning to (climb the) ladder to complete systems installation. The employee slipped from the ladder, fell backwards, and struck the back of his head on the ground below. The employee suffered a severe contusion and head injury, requiring emergency hospitalization. The employee was killed.”

The case was ruled an accident and closed.

Encore Fire Protection was asked for a comment.