New Haven Businesses Benefit from Fast-Acting Disaster Cleanup

11/23/2020 (Permalink)

New Haven Commercial Properties Are Happy to See the SERVPRO Van Mitigating Their Water-Damaged Property

Call SERVPRO of New Haven at (203) 234-1100 for IICRC-Accredited Commercial Mitigation and Restoration Services

New Haven is one of the largest and most historic cities in Connecticut. The Elm City is also the second most populous in the state, with Bridgeport being the largest. While the municipality of New Haven is home to an estimated 130,000 people, there Greater New Haven metropolitan area is home to over 850,000.

New Haven’s history goes back to America’s earliest days. Before European settlers entered the area for fur trading and the eventual establishment of an American colony, the Quinnipiac tribe was long established along Connecticut’s southern coast. Their primary sustenance came from fishing and maize.

English Puritans settled in the area in 1638, two decades after Dutch traders passed through and traded pelts and other goods with the Quinnipiac and is the first planned city in the United States. New Haven shared the honor of being a state capital with Hartford from 1701 to 1873 and was then consolidated in 1895.

Today, New Haven is most well-known as a hub of New England culture and cuisine and housing Yale University. Yale is by far the largest employer in the city and has been a significant contributor to the local economy and job market, especially during its expansion over the past century.

New Haven is also the headquarters of such organizations and businesses as:

• Catholic fraternal organization The Knights of Columbus
• Electrical equipment manufacturers Amphenol and Hubbell Incorporated
• Publicly traded pharmaceutical corporations Achillon Pharmaceuticals (ACHN), Transpro, Inc. (TPR), and Alexion Pharmaceuticals (ALXN)

New Haven History: Yale University, America’s Third Oldest College

Yale was founded on a movement that began shortly after the Puritans settled in New Haven. Connecticut clergymen, led by New Haven co-founder and Oxford University graduate Reverend John Davenport, lobbied to open a college that preserved European liberal education, much like the then-recently established Harvard University. After Davenport’s passing, this effort was spearheaded by Reverend James Pierpont in 1670.

In 1701, the state legislature approved a charter that would create a “Collegiate School,” a venue traditionally reserved for educated young men to go into such fields as politics and clerical study. The Collegiate School would be Yale’s official name until 1718 when it was moved to New Haven and named in honor of Welsh merchant and philanthropist Elihu Yale. Yale funded a significant portion of the construction of the New Haven facility and donated 417 books and a portrait of King George I.

The school expanded considerably during its first century, especially during the American Revolution, when enrollment spiked due to students being ruled exempt from military service. After the war, veterans attended Yale, further increasing the student body to over 200, a record for American universities at the time.

Yale’s proud legacy has produced a bevy of domestic and foreign dignitaries and leaders, including:

• 500 members of Congress
• Five Presidents of the United States
• 45 Presidential Cabinet members
• 49 Nobel Laureates associated with the University in various capacities

Apizza, a New Haven Invention

Apizza, pronounced “ah-beets”, is a culinary sensation unique to New Haven that is on par with the distinct pizza varieties found in New York and Chicago. The pizza is an offshoot of Neapolitan-style pizza, and even the name hearkens back to the Naples region.

The typical New Haven pizza is made from long-proofed dough that is turned into a coal-fired thin-crust delight traditionally served only with tomato sauce. Unlike most pizzerias across the country, “mootz,” or mozzarella, is considered a separate topping.

Another popular variety of apizza is the white clam pizza, which is served with garlic, cheese, clams, and bacon. The most legendary version of this pizza can be found at the restaurant that pioneered apizza: Pepe’s on Wooster Street.

Pepe’s was founded by Frank Pepe in the 1920s, with competing pizzerias opening not long after. While Pepe’s had humble roots peddling pizza from a pushcart, the facility today uses proprietary ingredients and vintage fixtures such as a well-seasoned oven that has been in the kitchen since 1936.

How Does SERVPRO Remove Water Damage from a Local Pizza Restaurant Kitchen?

SERVPRO technicians provide commercial water restoration for New Haven businesses 24/7, including all weekends and holidays, because disasters do not occur on a 9-to-5 schedule. Commercial properties, especially customer-facing establishments like pizzerias, benefit from SERVPRO’s adherence to local and federal sanitation regulations for eateries and the firm’s use of OSHA-approved biocides.

It is also crucial for technicians to observe a specific process for determining structural and contents drying goals for your facility in a water damage scenario. Depending on the location, factors that can affect drying include:

• Which materials are affected by moisture? Drywall, metal, floor tiles, carpet, and upholstery all respond differently to moisture exposure. Metals can tarnish within the first 48 hours of exposure, while wood swells, warps, and cracks. Sheetrock can crumble and grow mold from prolonged saturation.

Each material has an innate humidity content. With this in mind, SERVPRO technicians carefully measure both relative and specific humidity with calibrated moisture measurement tools when formulating a drying plan.

• Are microbes, stains, or odors present? Microbial growth, water damage odors, and stains from furniture finishes can add additional challenges to mitigation and restoration that SERVPRO must consider when sanitizing and extracting moisture. Extraction and sanitation are thorough so that drying and rebuilding services can be performed as efficiently as possible.
• What is the layout of the affected area? The size and openness of an affected area also impact SERVPRO techs’ approach when drying a structure. Mitigation techs can erect polyethylene drying chambers to accelerate drying in more open areas. More contained spaces may require holes in wall cavities to encourage ventilation.

SERVPRO of New Haven ensures that disaster-affected businesses look “Like it never even happened.” Call (203) 234-1100 for rapid-response commercial cleanup and restoration.