An Occupy New Haven protester fills a generator at the encampment on the Green recently./Melanie Stengel/Register

By Mary E. O’Leary

Topics Editor

NEW HAVEN — It is certainly a unique situation.

The New Haven Green, 16 acres of park land in the heart of downtown, is owned and run by a self-perpetuating group of five private citizens who hold it in trust for the public good.

Whose idea was that? Apparently, it goes back to the original settlers and investors in New Haven in the 1640s, under the auspices of Charles I, according to historical accounts.

Read more here.