City Engineer Giovanni Zinn with Zach Shapiro and Chris Flanagan by one of Lighthouse’s many toppled trees. An overnight storm damaged 50 trees and caused extensive damage to the carousel building at Lighthouse Point Park, leading the city to close the park “indefinitely.” Crews w ere working at the scene Thursday morning to assess the damage and begin repairs. Winds of 100 miles per hour or more felled 30 trees and damaged another 20, said city Chief Administrative Officer Justin McCarthy, who was on the scene. The winds also severely damaged the building housing the park’s historic carousel, but fortunately appeared not to have damaged the carousel itself, McCarthy said. McCarthy, a retired firefighter who responded to damage from tropical storms Irene and Sandy, said the damage to the carousel building was worse this time. In a separate interview a few minutes later, Parks Director Max Webster estimated that between 60 and 80 trees had come down in the park. “The trees are really a big important part of defining the character of the park,” he said. He also said that the damage from the storm was largely localized within the bounds of the park itself. City Engineer Giovanni Zinn told the Independent that the carousel building had lost its “lateral stability,” as the front part of the building is “racked to the side.” He said that his department is fencing around the site and working to stabilize the building. The roof had moved rather than fallen apart, so the city is trying to support it as much as possible. Asked how serious the damage is, Zinn told the Independent, “It’s very serious. No question about it. It was another gust or two from blowing away entirely.”  The carousel building, Webster said, “really is an icon for the city. So many have their special moments in life in this building, whether it’s weddings or baby showers or birthday parties.” “But,” he said, “we’ll be back.” Webster said that, besides the carousel building, in order for the park to be reopened, all the debris from the damage will need to be cleaned up. The glass from the building’s shattered windows is scattered throughout the park; pieces of wood and nails are also strewn across the lawn space. “We have to make sure all those hazards are addressed,” he said. On the scene at Lighthouse Point Park on Thursday were staffers from the Parks Department, the Engineering Department, Laydon Industries, United Illuminating, the New Haven Fire Department, and Witkowsky Tree Services, among others. Also present was Gabe Finkenstein of RF Designs, the company that completes carousel restoration work. “We keep all the horses up, we keep all the aesthetics, repair work,” he said. Once the building was safe for him to enter, he said he’d look at the state of everything.  “We’re focused on the horses, the decking, the scenery panels,” he said. “All the aesthetics.” Finkenstein said he’d never seen anything like this happen to the carousel building. “We’ve done evacuations out of here when there’s been storms for the horses themselves, but this is the most damage I’ve ever seen this building.” When Finkenstein was able to take a look at the horses, at around noon, he said that they were largely untouched. “There were a couple panels that fell around the horses, but it looks like the carousel itself is in good shape,” he said. Now, he would have to figure out where to put the horses. “With anything that’s antique and wood, you don’t want the elements getting to everything,” he said. Two parks department employees, Elio Cruz and Malik Williams, were driving in a golf cart on Thursday towards the carousel building. Cruz said that he’s stationed at Lighthouse from Monday through Friday.  “This is like a really sad moment for us, especially [for the] carousel,” he said. Cruz said that he had been there just the night before, for a Yale School of Medicine event. He closed up and went home around 8 p.m. “We come this morning, it’s gone. Historical building for what — 120 years? Now it’s gone.” Williams was supposed to work an event on Thursday that would no longer be happening. He said he felt “heartbroken” by the damage. “What — two days ago? I just replaced one of the glasses that was broken in the window,” Cruz said. “We put our 100 percent in to take care of this place.” Besides shutting down public access to the beach in the midst of a hot summer, the storm will probably lead to cancellations or reassignment of weddings. Some were arranged through The Estate nearby. “While Events at The Estate is fully booked for weddings this season, we will make every effort to accommodate brides who had events booked at Lighthouse Park, which is now closed due to storm damage, by slotting weddings into alternate dates at our venue,” Chuck Mascola, who runs the venue, stated in an email blast. “As a neighboring facility on New Haven’s East Shore, we will strive to match the pricing from Lighthouse, as we are not interested in profiting from this unfortunate turn of events.” Flying horse inspector Gabe Finkenstein: All appears to be OK with the carousel. Yikes. Inside the carousel building. Broken glass, everywhere. One of more than 50 fallen trees at Lighthouse. The post Lighthouse Park Closed After Brutal Storm appeared first on New Haven Independent. ...read more read less