Crown Street neighbors weigh park-and-ride in Nashua

NASHUA – The economics of pursuing commuter rail in Nashua briefly took a back seat Monday night to another subject – crime – which two neighbors of a proposed Crown Street park-and-ride lot project said is a more pressing issue in their area. “If we add more cars, won’t it just open up the neighborhood for more crime?” Melissa Hammond, of 18 Crown St., asked Mayor Donnalee Lozeau, expressing concern about an area she described as a crime-ridden neighborhood where drug abuse is rampant and few incidents are reported to police for fear of retribution. Of her 25 years living on Crown Street, Hammond said, she’s “felt scared” for the past 10 or so years because of the increase in crime. Lozeau, who was joined by Ward 7 Alderman June Caron, city economic development director Tom Galligani and director of community development Kathy Hersh for the roughly 90-minute meeting in the Dr. Crisp Elementary School library, said the proposed project would be more likely to improve the neighborhood rather than add to its woes. “Our goal right now is to explore our options,” Lozeau said, describing the project’s current status as still in the study phase, a time to “look at what we can do for a neighborhood that does have some challenges.” Just a handful of residents attended the public hearing, which Caron called to allow neighbors to comment on the city’s proposal to purchase the current Armstrong Cabinets building at 25 Crown St., a seven-acre site under consideration for the commuter lot and a possible train station sometime in the future. The next step comes Tuesday night, when the full Board of Aldermen is expected to weigh whether to approve the city’s purchase-and-sale agreement with Armstrong property owners. If approved, Lozeau said, the city will continue to pursue the June 30 purchase-and-sale deadline set by the parties. But if the measure is voted down, Hersh said, then the Armstrong property, which involves two parcels assessed at $1.4 million and two buildings, comes off the table. The proposal last week got the blessing of the aldermanic Finance Committee, which recommended spending $1.4 million in federal funds and roughly $280,000 in state Department of Transportation toll credits to purchase the property. Also last week, the Executive Council approved $3.7 million to fund the Capital Corridor study, a statewide initiative that isn’t directly tied to the city’s park-and-ride lot proposal but is seen as a boost for supporters of bringing commuter rail to the state. At Monday’s neighborhood meeting, former Alderman-at-Large Paula Johnson criticized Lozeau and Galligani, claiming they weren’t being forthcoming with residents.