Pubdate: Fri, 07 Apr 2006 Source: Hartford Courant (CT) Copyright: 2006 The Hartford Courant Contact: http://www.courant.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/183 Author: Tina A. Brown, Courant Staff Writer FUNDS TARGET NEIGHBORHOODS Federal Grants To Boost Anti-Crime Efforts, Youth Programs Two Hartford neighborhoods will benefit from $175,000 in federal Weed and Seed money to help police reduce gun violence and narcotics sales, and to aid community groups providing youth programs in the Upper Albany and Clay-Arsenal sections of the city. The grant was announced Thursday morning by U.S. Attorney Kevin J. O'Connor, Hartford Mayor Eddie A. Perez and Hartford Police Chief Patrick J. Harnett at a news conference outside a police substation on Albany Avenue. Community leaders George Scott and Bea Powell both said they hope the police will use the money to beef up community policing programs. Scott said he would like the city to open up the substation to the community, and to see more community police officers make their presence known in the area. "We want more than on-again, off-again," Scott said. Harnett and Perez said the plan is to beef up community policing in the area. About $90,000 of the $175,000 will be spent on police overtime, equipment and supplies for city police and the program coordinator, according to the grant application. The balance will be used for community-based organizations, which are expected to provide a variety of programs, including mentoring programs for youths and ex-offenders, computer services, delinquency prevention and drug treatment programs, said Program Coordinator Richard LeGrier. While the grants for the community groups have not yet been awarded, a steering committee made up of representatives from both neighborhoods is considering applications from "existing programs that have a track record of producing results," LeGrier said. "The spirit of this is not to pay for your program," he said. "Funding is not for start-ups. Every one of these programs has to demonstrate matching resources. Sustainability is key." The groups that have applied for funding include The Urban League of Greater Hartford; Stump the Violence, a program of Hartford Communities that Care; the Artists Collective; The Upper Albany Neighborhood Collaborative; Upper Albany Main Street; Hogar Crea, a re-education program for drug addicts; The Vine Albany Task Force; Good Works; The Hartford Animation Institute; and the Hip Hop Leadership Academy. Federal officials say they plan to renew the grant in $200,000 increments over the next five years if the programs funded by the grant in Upper Albany and Clay Arsenal neighborhoods are successful. - --- MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman