New Haven’s churches have been hosting Holy Week events since Sunday, as most have been commemorating Holy Thursday, Good Friday and Easter Sunday with worship services. Maundy or Holy Thursday refers to the night of the Last Supper within the Christian tradition, while Good Friday marks the day of Jesus’ crucifixion on the cross. Easter is the final celebration of Jesus’ resurrection, signifying new life and promise for many Christians.

“Easter is a time full of hope,” Rev. Stephen Holton DIV ’11 of Christ Church told the News. “We see the brokenness of a world that would try to kill the very love that God reveals in Jesus Christ. I’m not sure that the world has changed a whole lot from there, but we can rejoice in the resurrection, and that’s an exciting thing.”

Christ Church’s Holy Week program began with a series of events to commemorate Palm Sunday on March 24, including a blessing of the palms and a procession. This was followed by a Tenebrae service on Holy Wednesday, an event in which candles are gradually extinguished in the Church to mark the Bargain of Judas. On Thursday evening, a high mass, footwashing and stripping of the altar took place, in preparation for the final three days of Holy Week. 

Holton emphasized the importance of allowing time for rest and personal reflection amid the busy Holy Week. Each year, Good Friday and Easter cause financial markets to close, which Holton said, for him, mirrors how Jesus’ death literally halts the world in the scripture.  

“It’s a wonderful marker in a world that never stops when we can slow down and gather together to mark that moment, and then just two days later to gather again to mark the moment when love can’t be stopped,” Holton said, referring to the crucifixion and the resurrection.

Another of New Haven’s Episcopal churches, Trinity on the Green, is hosting a variety of similar events throughout the week. For Maundy Thursday, the church held a service for its Chapel on the Green community, composed of people living in or around the New Haven Green, some of whom are experiencing homelessness, hunger and poverty. The service included a foot washing clinic and a health fair in collaboration with the Cornell Scott-Hill Health Center.

On Friday, Trinity on the Green will host a three-hour event called “The Seven Last Words of Christ,” which will include preaching and music encouraging reflection on Jesus’ last words before the crucifixion. Friday evening’s event will consist of a solemn liturgy during which candles will be illuminated at the foot of the Church’s cross. An Easter vigil on Sunday night will close the Holy Week celebrations at Trinity. 

“What’s powerful about Easter is the way that that theme of resurrection cuts across people from all backgrounds,” said Trinity Church Reverend Heidi Thorsen DIV ’19. “People who are dealing with mental health or homelessness need the resurrection, but also people who’ve been watching the news about violence in the world need resurrection.”

Thorsen also spoke about Lent, a forty-day period preceding the Holy Week during which many Christians give up an element of their daily lives to allow space for a greater connection to God in preparation for Easter. The forty days of Lent are related to the forty days that Jesus Christ spent wandering through the wilderness in the Bible. Thorsen highlighted the importance of embracing this spirit of wandering and uncertainty during Lent to allow for greater reflection and intentionality in life. 

The Blessed Michael McGivney Parish is the only Catholic parish in New Haven and includes all of the city’s Catholic churches. While events and mass times vary among churches, most will hold services Thursday through Sunday of the Holy Week. 

Included in the Parish are St. Anthony Church, which offers mass in both English and Spanish to accommodate its Latine community, and St. Stanislaus, a Polish Catholic church. On Saturday, St. Stanislaus will host a blessing of Easter food, a Polish tradition in which people bring baskets of the food they will prepare on Easter Day to be blessed by the priest.

This year will be the first Easter in which all of New Haven’s Catholic churches celebrate together as one after merging under the Blessed Michael McGivney Parish. According to Parish Communications Director Emily Naylor, this merging occurred in response to changes in church operations on the part of the Archdiocese of Hartford, the ecclesiastical district to which all New Haven Catholic churches belong. 

Discussing the merging of churches, Naylor spoke about the diversity of the Catholic Church’s community. 

“I think it’s beautiful that we’re able to bring all those different traditions and languages, again not eliminating any of it, but bringing it together in this beautiful way,” Naylor told the News. “God’s love and grace transcends any language.”

There are 395 Christian nonprofit organizations registered in New Haven. 

The post New Haven churches plan for busy Easter Season appeared first on Yale Daily News.

“Trees are awesome,” said Mayor Justin Elicker at the celebration. “They are beautiful, they’re wonderful for the environment because they suck in carbon so we can help reduce the impacts of climate change, they shade our neighborhoods to keep our cities cooler [and] they provide habitat for the birds that we’re hearing right now. We need many, many more trees in our city.”

Thanks to a $2.6 million grant from the U.S. Forest Service through the Inflation Reduction Act, the URI is going to be planting 1,000 trees per year for the next five years, up from the 500 it planted in 2023. URI has been planting trees for at least the last 20 years. 

In addition to the first tree planted in Kimberly Field Park, which is the largest park in New Haven’s Hill neighborhood, Colleen Murphy-Dunning — the director of URI — announced plans to plant a total of 30 trees in the park this week.

“Yale researchers have studied satellite images of New Haven and found that some of our neighborhoods, like Fair Haven and the Hill, can have surface temperatures that are 20 degrees hotter than other New Haven neighborhoods because they have less trees and less parkland,” Murphy-Dunning said.

The remaining 970 trees will be planted in the types of neighborhoods Murphy-Dunning referenced that have fewer trees and hotter temperatures due to climate change. 

Murphy-Dunning also announced that the URI is working with IRIS — Integrated Refugee & Immigration Services — which will help spread the word about the opportunity to have a tree planted for free in backyards, parks, schools and wherever residents want them.

“We only plant trees where people want them. We will plant for a resident, a school, a park [or] a business. Any institution who would like a free tree, we will plant it for you — if you promise to love and care for that tree by just watering it once a week,” Murphy-Dunning announced to the crowd. “So, we ask the public’s help in fighting climate change and growing our green workforce by requesting a tree from URI.”

In addition to the trees being planted, the city and URI, thanks to a $60,000 grant from the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, will also be making improvements to Kimberly Park. 

The other improvements to Kimberly Field will include upgrading the park trail, installing benches and trash cans, resurfacing the basketball court, improving the entrance between the school and park and planting other flowers and shrubs.

“For the last couple years, our community has poured its heart and soul into advocating for this park, a space that holds so much meaning for all of us. We all know Kimberly Field hasn’t gotten the attention it deserves, and this is a story we see repeated across the city,” Crystal Fernández,  co-founder of Friends of Kimberly Park, said. “Neighborhoods most impacted by environmental injustice often lack access to quality parks. This project is a symbol of our collective power.”

Kimberly Field Park is located next to the Betsy Ross Arts Magnet School parking lot, which uses the park for student recreation.

Principal Jennifer Jenkins mentioned that many families and members of the community walk or ride their bikes in the school parking lot for exercise, so she was glad to see this park become something that can be a part of their daily lives. 

“It is beautiful to see [this project] finally come to fruition,” Jenkins said. “It is just like with trees: we always see the big end result, but we don’t always see how the roots are planted into the ground. So I must say the process of getting here is definitely much like these trees being planted today.”  

The Urban Resources Initiative began in Baltimore in 1989. 

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One of those students, D’Alessandro de Afvdial, is a sixth-grader at Augusta Lewis Troup School. He told the News he had never been to a museum before stepping into the Peabody with his classmates.

Discussing the visit, de Afvdial said that he loved “discovering new things” and was especially excited to explore the Peabody’s exhibits on electricity and other technological inventions. 

“Come this summer, I would love to come here with my family,” he said.

Mayor Justin Elicker, Rep. Rosa DeLauro, NHPS Superintendent Madeline Negrón and New Haven Arts, Culture and Tourism Director Adriane Jefferson welcomed first graders from the Family Academy of Multilingual Exploration and sixth graders from the Augusta Lewis Troup School as the first visitors on Tuesday. 

Accompanied by their teachers, students gawked at the Burke Hall of Dinosaurs and exhibits on the evolution of the human species and the history of science and technology. 

“It sends a real statement that the first kids into this building are New Haven Public School kids from the community,” Elicker told the News. “On top of that, the fact that you now no longer have to pay to get into the Peabody just opens up this world to so many kids that previously wouldn’t have been able to explore this space.”

Following a $160-million donation from Edward P. Bass ’68, the Peabody underwent a four-year renovation, and is now free for all visitors in perpetuity, joining the Yale University Art Gallery and the Yale Center for British Art. 

Elicker said that while New Haveners missed being able to visit the Peabody’s collections during the renovation period — especially during the COVID-19 pandemic — the reopening has reminded people of its value to the community. 

“Of course, we missed coming in here,” Elicker said. “On the other hand, having been closed for so long, it made a lot of people realize just how special this space is, building up anticipation for today.” 

Beyond expanding and reorganizing its exhibition spaces, the Peabody is also set to increase educational programming for K-12 students and develop a partnership with NHPS. 

In an interview with the News, Superintendent Negrón said that the specifics of this partnership are still unclear. Initial discussions between NHPS and the Peabody began three weeks ago, though both parties demonstrated interest in forging a stronger relationship, she said.  

Nevertheless, she expressed optimism about how the Peabody’s new K-12 education center could offer opportunities to local students and enrich their educational experience. 

“I think [the Peabody] is an opportunity just to continue to expand on learning,” Negrón said. “For example, many of our kids are interested in having leadership roles and having an opportunity to go into all kinds of different fields. This could be a way that kids could come in and learn from the people who work here, what it means to hold one of these professions and explore academically.”

The Peabody will also enhance the exhibits’ educational experience through a new app called “Amuse.” 

According to Dakota Stipp, the company’s CEO and co-founder, Amuse was founded in 2019 in collaboration with Yale’s Center for Engineering and Innovative Design. Once visitors download the app, depending on where they are standing in the Peabody, they will receive videos, tidbits of information and other types of short-form content related to different exhibits. While the Peabody is the first museum to use the app, Stipp said he hopes to expand its use to other public spaces, including museums, parks and historic landmarks. 

Stipp said that Amuse accrues data on how visitors interact with the app, informing what types of future content the Peabody will develop. The app also allows users to learn more about the city, he said. 

“When you’re looking at the map of the museum, you can actually zoom out, and then you’ll find historic information about New Haven,” Stipp said.

For the next 29 days, the Peabody will be using a ticketed reservation system. 

The post Government officials celebrate opening of Peabody Museum appeared first on Yale Daily News.

Now, after being incarcerated for 25 years, Braham will begin his law degree this fall.  

It was during his incarceration that Braham’s interest in the law began. In 1999, Braham suffered an attack by a fellow inmate, even though prison officials were aware of previous threats the inmate had made. Braham filed a civil rights lawsuit against the prison under the Eighth Amendment and represented himself in court. 

After this experience, Braham began to realize his skill in legal matters. Observing what he said were frequent violations of constitutional rights within prisons, he continued to not only teach himself the law but also aided fellow inmates in filing lawsuits for their rights violations.

“I knew the law and I understood the role of correctional officers,” Braham told the News. “It became clear after a while that upon my release, there were two paths I could pursue. I could either become a prison guard, which was out of the question, or I could pursue a career in the legal field.”

In his civil lawsuit against the prison, Braham initially represented himself due to limited attorney availability. This, he said, was the result of the Prison Litigation Reform Act of 1996 which caps an attorney’s fees at 150 percent of the dollar amount awarded to the plaintiff in civil rights cases. Braham said he was thus forced to prosecute his case while relying on a self-help litigation manual. Despite encountering setbacks, including an initial loss at the district court level, he persisted, eventually appealing to the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals and ultimately securing a settlement. 

Braham then worked toward earning an undergraduate degree. He told the News he believed that education would provide him with the necessary skills to secure employment and ensure a successful reintegration back into society.

He earned his associate’s degree from the Middlesex Community College Center via the Center for Prison Education, a partnership between Wesleyan University and Middlesex Community College. Later, he pursued his bachelor’s degree at Charter Oak State College, concentrating on philosophy, critical race theory and law courses. He transferred his community college credits to Charter Oak, culminating in the completion of a capstone project for his bachelor’s degree. Braham earned another bachelor’s degree in philosophy from Wesleyan University while incarcerated.

“I set out to do everything to earn a degree so that I could reenter society,” Braham said. “When certain opportunities came my way, I took advantage of them.”

Braham highlighted a course that he took during his undergraduate studies called “Thresholds,”  which he said left a significant impact on him. Thresholds was a decision-making course structured around five steps: seeing the situation clearly, knowing what you want, expanding possibilities, evaluating and deciding. This framework, he said, helped him navigate conflicts and assess situations so he could avoid trouble, prevent misunderstandings from escalating unnecessarily and potentially have his sentence shortened.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, while still incarcerated, Braham was introduced to Jeannia Fu, a New Haven activist. During the pandemic, Fu worked on securing the release of incarcerated individuals to reduce the risk of COVID-19 transmission.  Through Fu’s connections, Braham was introduced to New Haven civil rights attorney Alex Taubes LAW ’15 who worked on Braham’s case free of charge. Taubes’ investigation revealed potential bias in Braham’s sentence, leading to a reduction of seven years from his initial 32-year sentence.

Following his release from prison, Braham relocated to New Haven and secured employment at Taubes’ law firm as a paralegal just a month after his release. Braham highlighted the importance of this opportunity, underscoring the rarity of attorneys hiring individuals with a history of incarceration, particularly those with lengthy sentences. But Taubes affirmed that Braham’s background made him a strong match for the law firm.

“He brought lawsuits, successfully won those lawsuits and those experiences in addition to all the other things that he had accomplished, such as getting two college degrees while incarcerated. Those are the reasons why he got such extraordinary relief from the court,” Taubes told the News. “And that’s also why he made a good fit to work with me.”

During his time at Taubes’ law firm, Braham applied to and was later accepted into the second cohort of Yale Law School’s Access to Law School Program. The program, headed by law professor James Forman Jr. LAW ’92, actively involves and guides New Haven-area students and adults aspiring to pursue a career in law.

Braham said that he discovered the program during the final days of his sentence through Dan McGloin, who served as the Academic Development and Planning Manager for the Wesleyan-Middlesex Center for Prison Education at the time. In the first year, Braham concentrated on LSAT prep, engaging in group tutoring sessions and receiving personalized coaching to address their specific needs. In the next year, he shifted his focus to the application process, ultimately submitting applications to nine different schools.

Michael Merli, another paralegal at Taubes’ law firm, told the News that Braham’s journey holds a significant impact, especially as he now assists individuals who are also seeking sentence reductions. Merli remarked that Braham serves as an inspiration to him.

He added that Braham puts his all into everything he does, whether it’s assisting the law firm on a case or studying for the LSAT. He said Braham dedicates himself wholeheartedly to every task he undertakes.

“I’m just really grateful and honored to know Mike Braham,” Merli told the News. “He really brings his full self to work every day and his journey inspires me so much.”

Braham told the News that he has already received acceptance letters from three law schools and is awaiting a decision from one more. He said that he hasn’t made a final decision on which law school to attend this fall, but he will be part of the class of 2027.

When asked about the area of law he hopes to practice post-law school, Braham said that he is contemplating either becoming a general practitioner or specializing in civil rights. But Braham said he remains open-minded and anticipates that his interests may change at the beginning of law school. 

Braham said that one of his long-standing goals since his time in incarceration has been to establish a full-service community center where “children can simply be children.” He said his experiences have taught him the importance of providing a safe space for kids to grow and learn, away from the influences that may lead them astray and make bad choices. By focusing on education and providing positive opportunities, he said he hopes to break the cycle that often plagues underserved communities. 

“I want to provide more education and create a center that fosters that for kids,” he said. “I hope to use my law degree to pursue that goal or help others accomplish a similar kind of mission.”

The Access to Law School Program is run by the Law and Racial Justice Center at Yale Law School.

The post PROFILE: Michael Braham’s journey from prison to law school appeared first on Yale Daily News.

All four head coordinators said that their search for additional Yale funds has been unsuccessful. They said that conversations with Dwight Hall administrators and Associate Dean of Student Affairs Hannah Peck have yielded no additional sources of Yale funding, with administrators suggesting the organization begin applying to local grants or fundraising externally. 

The lack of options leaves the head coordinators at a crossroads: compete with New Haven nonprofits for grant money or create “slide decks” to appeal to future donors. For the head coordinators, who managed a tight budget last semester, neither option seems like a viable long-term strategy. 

“Our biggest fear, with all these obstacles and loopholes we’ve had to go through this past year, and the genuine stress of oh my god, are 250 people not going to be able to have dinner because we can’t find money? We don’t want that stress for the future to continue,” Enkhjin Gansukh ’25, one of the head coordinators, said.

Gansukh also said she feared that future head coordinators may “give up” due to the financial stress of the role, jeopardizing the longevity of YCK and the services it provides to the community.

Odessa Goldberg ’25, another head coordinator, said that costs have increased in recent years due to the added expense of take-out boxes and utensils, rising food prices and higher demand for meals. When Goldberg began volunteering at the YCK two winters ago, Yale students served around 50 New Haveners, she said. Now, she said, the number of people in one night has tripled. 

“I greatly admire the work of the students running YCK,” Peck wrote in an email to the News. “With the growth of their services and expenses, they are in a difficult position—to support their core mission, they are needing to develop a new funding model. I and my colleagues are available to help as they take on this new challenge.”

Steve Werlin, executive director of the Downtown Evening Soup Kitchen in New Haven, said this speaks to rising food insecurity in the area, which has also resulted in a higher number and frequency of people seeking DESK services. He described YCK’s work as “critical” in the effort to provide free meals to New Haven residents, many of whom are unhoused. 

YCK, which has 27 coordinators running shifts and 963 students receiving volunteer sign-ups, falls under the umbrella organization of Yale Hunger and Homeless Action Project. According to the YCK head coordinators, YHHAP receives between less than $1,000 and $3,500 in funding once or twice a semester from the Yale College Council’s Undergraduate Organizations Funding Committee. As a Dwight Hall Member Group, YHHAP also receives up to $1,500 per semester in funding from the Dwight Hall Campus and Community Fund. 

Gansukh said that while YCK uses the majority of YHHAP’s budget, the umbrella organization also funds 12 other student organizations. 

Goldberg noted that these two sources of funding fall short of YCK’s ideal budget of $5,200 a semester. She also said the funding is inconsistent across semesters, making it difficult to preserve quality offerings to residents. 

“What we’re frustrated by is that [the funding] is inconsistent,” Goldberg said. “We don’t want that inconsistency to be offloaded to our guests and the quality of the food they can receive. So whether it is that the Dwight Hall cap is higher, or there is an exception made for YCK, or it’s through the YCC, or there is a non-variable amount that YCK receives every semester, or it is through the administration, we argue that the YCK provides a real service to the University, not just our guests, in terms of preserving Yale’s relationship with the residents of New Haven and community partners.”

Goldberg additionally noted that YCK reduces Yale’s food waste, citing YCK’s use of leftovers from Yale’s dining halls.   

With $5,200 a semester — or $300 per weekend of operations — YCK would not only be able to continue to provide nutritious meals with fruit and sweet and savory snacks but also other goods that YCK guests have expressed a need for, such as space blankets, Goldberg said. 

Mark Fopeano, director of programming and evaluation at Dwight Hall, wrote to the News that it is unlikely that a single funding source at Yale will be able to fund and guarantee $5,200 a semester on a long-term basis. He also said that it is rare that a student organization or Dwight Hall Member Group would have that amount of expenses unless they have previously secured funding, such as an endowment, or “unique relationships” with several offices or departments. 

However, Fopeano said that Dwight Hall reconsiders their funding policies every year in an attempt to better serve Yale students and New Haven partners. Dwight Hall can also provide advice and strategic support to student organizations thinking about their organizational structure, long-term sustainability and financial model, Fopeano wrote. 

“We support any student organization that is building strong relationships in the community and providing pathways for other Yale students to do so,” Fopeano wrote. “Change usually doesn’t happen overnight, so I hope that YCK continues partnering with our office and others!”

Goldberg questioned the University’s lack of available funds to fund YCK, citing the $40.7 billion endowment, and expressed concerns that applying to grants would take away funds from New Haven nonprofits. Hugo Wang ’25 said he believes there are avenues to increase caps on Dwight Hall and YCC funding and that it is a “question of priority” whether Yale chooses to expand funding options for service organizations. 

Wang said that even if YCK takes administrators’ advice to continue cutting costs, the long-term sustainability of YCK is ultimately still dependent on additional funding. 

“More broadly, there is a question here that we want the administration to think about, and hopefully answer, which is how do they fund organizations that have a big impact on the local community but in order to achieve that would need funding that goes beyond the traditional limits on available funding for student clubs and organizations?” Wang said. 

The head coordinators said that last semester, YCK cut costs by shopping at Costco instead of Stop ’n Shop and started relying on snacks and water from DESK. In the past weeks, they also met with Yale Hospitality to pursue the option of ordering bread and containers through Hospitality.

Although Goldberg described YCK’s budget situation as “urgent” last semester, the group received two grants from local foundations this semester, temporarily easing the coordinators’ financial worries. Fopeano wrote to the News that Dwight Hall assisted YCK in grant applications by serving as a lead applicant. 

However, Goldberg said that grant applications and fundraising efforts are a time-consuming and stressful responsibility for head coordinators on top of the four-person job of coordinating logistics for YCK. 

She said that YCK head coordinators have held off on formally creating a grant and fundraising arm of the YCK in hopes that future head coordinators can rely on some form of steady funding. 

Taking on grants and fundraising would fundamentally change the role of head coordinators, which has historically been to “keep the kitchen running,” according to Goldberg. 

“Because YCK has been around for 20 years, we’re cited as a food resource [by New Haven organizations],” Gansukh said. “When people come to us on Fridays and Saturdays hoping for a full nutritional meal, we have to provide that service … We have a duty to a lot of our guests we’ve established a relationship with and … we hope that relationship won’t be compromised because of this funding issue.”

YCK hands out their meals outside 323 Temple St.

The post Yale Community Kitchen faces funding shortage, concerns over long-term viability  appeared first on Yale Daily News.

At the meeting, the committee held a public hearing to discuss lawn pesticides and artificial turf and heard an update from the New Haven Climate Movement about the city’s progress in implementing the New Haven Community Electrification Resolution, which was passed three years ago and requires the city to develop and adhere to a schedule for replacing several infrastructure systems with electric alternatives. Laura Cahn, the chair of the city’s Environmental Advisory Committee, presented on pesticides and urged the city to rethink its system of licensing officials that use pesticides. New Haven Climate Movement representative Krishna Davis ’25 and Steve Winter, New Haven’s Office of Climate and Sustainability director, testified about electrification.

“The planet is gasping for air, and we are holding a plastic bag around it,” Cahn said, describing the urgency of her environmental work.

Cahn suggests goats, leaf blower regulations to curb pesticide use

Although the Board of Alders previously passed a resolution implementing a “voluntary ban” on lawn chemicals, Cahn testified that many residents still use pesticides on their lawns. Because Connecticut state law prohibits municipalities from actually banning pesticides, the Board’s resolution was largely symbolic.

Cahn pointed to Tweed New Haven Airport as a large user of pesticides because the Federal Aviation Association requires the airport to keep its sidelines clear. Cahn suggested using goats as an alternative to chemicals to keep out invasive plants. The city has previously used goats to clear invasive plant growth in Edgewood Park in 2018 — which Cahn also claims was her idea.

“They did such a good job eating the invasive species, they sent them home early,” Cahn said. “They are a huge visitor draw because they’re lovely goats — you just have to be careful not to let them out where they can eat your flowers.”

Cahn cautioned about the potential for leaf blowers to spread pesticide toxins, especially when pesticides are used near schools or residential areas.

She said that pesticides are commonly used on utility infrastructure like railroads and electric lines, and on golf courses and athletic fields. 

“Golf was invented in Scotland,” Cahn said. “Obviously they didn’t use pesticides in Scotland on their golf courses and so the fact that we’ve adopted their sport and tried to make it work in our territory by using these artificial means is very, very concerning,” Cahn said.

She also claimed that several of the employees she has seen applying pesticides are not licensed by the state to do so. If a company is licensed, Cahn claimed, not every employee will be individually certified.

In that vein, Cahn advocated for the city to make a registry of every licensed lawn care and landscaping company, to keep track of their use of pesticides and make sure that they don’t magnify the risk of the chemicals by using leaf blowers.

“New Haven does not know who is doing these things in our city,” Cahn said. 

Cahn also warned the committee about the danger of artificial turf, which requires pesticides for its maintenance. Artificial turf is used for athletic fields throughout the city.

After Cahn concluded her presentation, Alder Kianna Flores ’25 asked about education campaigns to raise awareness of the danger of pesticides and their continued use. In response, Cahn said that she has not come up with an effective way to educate people, because she believes people do not want to fully comprehend something that is so bad for them.

“I don’t think it’s by accident that nobody knows about this,” Cahn said. “I’m pretty sure it is a dedicated advertising campaign, just like cigarettes, just like alcohol, to get you to do something toxic to yourself.” 

Cahn then provided an update on the EAC’s current work, which includes monitoring initiatives such as a private recycling facility on the water, bird-safe building legislation, Tweed’s expansion, greenspace in public housing developments, garbage from Long Wharf food trucks and the possibility of a statewide ban on nip bottles that contain small quantities of alcohol.

Update from New Haven Climate Movement, electrification goals

Following Cahn’s presentation, Krishna Davis ’25 spoke on behalf of the New Haven Climate Movement’s Electric Future Committee about the city’s progress towards meeting the electrification goals it laid out in its 2021 electrification resolution. 

“We cannot meet our 2030 climate goals without persistent efforts of the city aligned with the commitments made in the electrification resolution in 2021,” Davis said. 

Although he recognized the city’s efforts to electrify some buildings, Davis called for the city to incentivize developers of new buildings in New Haven to only use electric sources of energy and report their carbon emissions to both the city and the public throughout the entire development process. 

According to Davis, the Electric Future Committee has found that only three of nearly 50 new construction projects in New Haven in the last 10 years have been completely electric.

Davis also said that other cities with climate goals similar to New Haven like Ithaca, New York which he said have taken more serious action to increase electrification.

“New Haven should follow Ithaca’s lead and cities like Ithaca, and make electrification a serious policy priority,” he said.

In response to Davis’ requests, Alder Festa reminded the audience that a new electric refuse truck should be arriving in New Haven soon. This new garbage truck will be arriving thanks to a grant that Steve Winter, director of the Office of Climate and Sustainability, applied for. He has since applied for another grant in hopes of securing a second refuse vehicle for New Haven. 

Following Davis’ presentation, Winter discussed the progress the city has made since passing the electrification resolution nearly three years ago.

For one, the city has worked to electrify its light fleet, purchasing seven Chevrolet Volts for city officials to use. According to Winter, New Haven will receive a $7,500 check directly from the federal government for each Volt they purchased. He also said that for every heavy-duty vehicle the city purchases, such as refuse vehicles, the federal government would write New Haven a check for 30 percent of the cost, with a cap of $40,000 per vehicle. 

The Office of Climate and Sustainability has also been working with The City Plan Department to write zoning language that incentivizes developments to be constructed completely electrically. He discussed a point system that will grant developers density bonuses for their projects.

“You can get five points if it’s all-electric, five points if it’s mass timber, and if you’ve got something that has solar, timber and all-electric, as well, you can get 12 points,” he said, regarding the point system. “And the 12 points are important thresholds where you get a density bonus.”

Winter also discussed his progress in outfitting buildings with heat pumps to replace gas heating systems. So far, the Office of Climate and Sustainability has worked on retrofitting community centers, youth recreation centers and senior centers with heat pumps. 

Alder Festa is the chair of the CSEP committee.

The post Environmental policy hearing urges new city priorities: pesticides, artificial turf, electrification appeared first on Yale Daily News.

If approved, the proposal will split the Livable City Initiative. The newly created Office of Housing and Community Development will take responsibility for the creation of new housing in the city, while LCI will solely focus on housing inspections. The mayor also hopes to add eight new housing-related positions. 

City activists have critiqued LCI due to delayed inspection and unresolved complaints, often leaving tenants waiting months without receiving support from the city.

“It’s clear every day that housing is one of the biggest challenges that we’re facing as a city,” Elicker told the News. “While we’ve made a lot of progress, we have a lot more work to do, in particular, in two areas. One is increasing the number of affordable units in the city, and two is … improving our ability to inspect existing housing stock to ensure that it is safe.”

In total, these two housing programs will get more than $1.4 million in additional funding compared to the last fiscal year. Elicker’s proposed budget also allocates an additional $300,000 to support unhoused people. 

The proposed Office of Housing and Community Development

Included in the city budget is Elicker’s proposal to create a new Office of Housing and Community Development, which will partner with local organizations to build new housing and administer grants for future housing projects. If approved, the office will be a part of the city’s Economic Development Administration Division.

Currently, the Livable City Initiative is responsible for this work. 

Staff at the LCI who worked on housing development will be transferred to the new office, and an additional position — deputy director of Economic Development Administration — will be created to oversee it, according to Elicker. 

“It’s more appropriate for this work to be done within the Economic Development Administration,” Elicker said. “Economic development is the place [to which] developers first go when they’re wanting to start projects.”

Michael Piscitelli, the head of the city’s Economic Development Administration Department, explained that the new office will distribute funding for ongoing housing projects. According to Piscitelli, there are currently 3,500 new housing units in the city’s development pipeline — about 40 percent of which are affordable. 

Some of these projects are led by the city, such as a new series of townhouses on Grand Avenue, while other units are being built by external housing developers. The new office will support the projects by monitoring construction and providing technical assistance on grant applications.

In addition to supporting housing construction, the office will be in charge of administering grants for construction projects approved by the Board of Alders. Some of these grants include funding from the federal Office of Housing and Urban Development, which annually administers between $3 and $4 million in funds to the city of New Haven. Additionally, the office will draw on funds from the 2021 American Rescue Plan.

Piscitelli noted the need for affordable housing across the state of Connecticut. He said that the city has built 1,900 new affordable housing units in recent years but that the overall gap in affordable housing in Connecticut is upwards of 90,000 units. The new office will help improve housing policy, looking to increase the number of affordable units in the city, Piscitelli said.

Changes and improvements to LCI

The budget proposal will also add seven new staff positions with the Livable City Initiative, the agency that, under the proposed plan, will focus only on enforcing housing code and public space requirements throughout the city.

“I think [it’s] very important for LCI to focus on the core mission, what it was originally created for, which is ensuring our existing housing stock is of high standards,” Elicker said. 

Five of the proposed staff are housing inspectors, who, if approved by alders, will join the current team of 13 inspectors. 

According to Elicker, the attorney employed at LCI will join the Office of Housing and Community Development. The mayor thus proposed adding an attorney who will continue to work with LCI on housing compliance and inspections. LCI will also receive a new administrative assistant.

According to Piscitelli, these new positions will expand LCI’s capacity to engage in on-site inspections of rental units and section eight units on behalf of the city’s housing authority. 

LCI’s work entails a multi-step process of inspecting units, issuing orders based on code enforcement inspection and ensuring that landlords comply with these orders. Piscitelli said that staff expansion would increase efficiency within the agency, allowing LCI to make better use of government resources and increase the timeliness of their work. 

“We’ll be expecting a high level of process improvements such that we’re good on the timelines and we address the issues and make sure that our outcomes are good for the tenant who may live in the unit,” Piscitelli said.

Karen DuBois-Walton, the executive director of New Haven’s Housing Authority, noted the significance of improving LCI’s efficiency. 

“The city must increase its capacity to meet the requirements of the landlord licensing program,” DuBois-Walton wrote in an email to the News. “City resources can be most effective [by diving responsibilities].”

Alder Adam Marchand, a chair of the Board of Alders finance committee, which plays a major role in the budget adoption process, commended Elicker for paying attention to housing in his budget proposal. 

The finance committee will have its first budget public hearing on March 14.

The post Proposed budget rethinks city housing programs appeared first on Yale Daily News.

On Feb. 29, the joint Housing Committee approved legislation that would strengthen protections for renters facing eviction, prohibiting landlords from evicting their tenants without “just cause.” The bill, SB 143, would expand existing just cause protections, currently reserved for elderly and disabled tenants in buildings with five or more units, to almost all renters in the state. The fight for the bill has been spearheaded by Growing Together Connecticut, the Connecticut Tenants Union and Make the Road Connecticut, among other tenants’ rights and community organizations. 

“Many people within our urban communities [including] New Haven cannot even afford to rent, so they’re moving out of our city,” Rep. Juan Candelaria, the Deputy Speaker of the House who represents portions of Fair Haven and the Hill, told the News. “We need to control this.” 

Candelaria voiced his support for the bill, calling it “overdue.” He said that he sees SB 143 as a critical tool to address the affordable housing crisis and discriminatory housing practices in New Haven and around the state. In particular, Candelaria said he is concerned with protecting tenants from large “mega landlords” who often buy up rental properties from out-of-state. He told the News that he thinks evictions at the end of a lease without cause are far too frequent in Connecticut.

According to the Connecticut Fair Housing Center, landlords filed 2,224 no-cause eviction notices in 2023, around 11 percent of evictions statewide. In 2023, over 20,000 evictions were filed in the state, an approximately four percent increase from 2018. In New Haven alone, 1,769 evictions were filed in 2023, 240 without cause. 

Candelaria said that his office has received several messages from New Haven residents in support of the bill, which he committed to do, calling it “the right measure.”

Sen. Rob Sampson, ranking member of the Housing Committee and himself a landlord, raised several objections. He accused the Democratic caucus of discriminating against landlords, at one point equating the bill to racial and gender discrimination. 

“That’s all racism,” Sampson was quoted saying in the CT Mirror. “It’s been bad since the very first day that anyone judged anyone based on the color of their skin.” 

A related bill that would have capped annual rent increases at four percent plus inflation failed to pass the General Assembly last session after opposition from members of the Housing Committee. This session, the Senate Democratic caucus has added SB 143 to their list of legislative priorities

In conversation with the News, Candelaria pushed back on Sampson’s claims.

“If you’re going to increase rents, we’re not saying, ‘don’t increase them,’” he said. “Make sure those rents are fair and equitable so that we can manage the housing crisis in our cities. That’s all that we’re saying with this bill.” 

Tenant advocates support bill for low-income renters

Luke Melonakos-Harrison DIV ’23, Vice-President of CTU, also disagreed with Sampson’s claims, condemning the argument that landlords should face no regulation as ignoring the necessity of housing. He cited similar just cause legislation in several states and municipalities as evidence of its effectiveness and “positive impact” on housing stability and housing security.

“It’s a little bit hard to take seriously when you’re actually seeing what’s going on between tenants and landlords in real life and not in an abstract, theoretical debate,” he told the News.

Melonakos-Harrison did express concerns about the addition of a carve-out to the bill which exempts buildings with four units or less from the new regulations. The carve-out, he said, would reduce the bill’s effectiveness, confuse tenants about their eligibility, and play into the misconception that landlords of smaller buildings are less predatory. Instead, Melonakos-Harrison suggested, his organization might accept requirements based on the number of properties a landlord owns.

At the moment, CTU will continue advocating for the bill in Hartford.

“We’re focused on working with our members and our coalition partners across the state to reach out to their legislators and let them know how they feel about this bill and the importance of Just Cause,” Melonakos-Harrison said.

Teresa Quintana is the housing equity organizer for Make the Road Connecticut, an organization dedicated to providing legal assistance and support services for immigrant communities. 

Quintana said that immigrants, particularly those who are undocumented, are especially vulnerable to no-cause evictions.

“Many people in the undocumented community live that way because they trust,” she said. “They say, ‘Oh, they’re good landlords. We take care of the place,’ so they think [evictions are]  never going to happen… to them. And then it happens.”

According to Quintana, Make the Road Connecticut has collaborated with CTU and other organizations to encourage community members to testify in support of the bill.

She noted that immigrants are often reluctant to share their personal experiences with no-cause evictions, necessitating visits to their communities.

“When you’re going to tell [your] story, you’re going to feel that your soul is opening, because there’s a big, big scar,” she said, recalling her frequent words of encouragement to immigrants. “We’re going to expose how these people [are] taking advantage of you, your families.”

Melonakos-Harrison testified in support of the bill and helped organize members to do the same. He sees SB 143 as critical to preventing “gentrification” fueled by landlords evicting tenants to raise rents and preventing retaliatory eviction of “outspoken” tenants, especially tenant union supporters.

He said he is confident that the bill will help address the state’s affordable housing crisis by forcing landlords to negotiate with tenants, and limiting rent increases. SB 143 would provide tenants with “leverage” to negotiate a reasonable rent increase at the end of their lease, Melonakos-Harrison told the News.

“Lapse of time evictions are an easy tool for landlords who want to quell dissent, to kind of punish advocates and organizers and people who are even just requesting basic repairs,” Melonakos-Harrison said.

Landlords push back against proposed eviction protections

Rick Bush, a property manager and the treasurer of the Connecticut Coalition of Property Owners, testified in opposition to the bill at a public hearing on Feb. 20. 

Bush described lapse of time evictions as a “tool” for landlords, for example, if they need to remove a tenant to renovate their property.

“The idea that a tenant, once they take possession of a property, can stay in perpetuity is just completely ridiculous,” he told the News.

With the bill now moving on to the state assembly, Bush said he plans to keep lobbying against it and recruiting other members of the CCOPO to submit testimony in opposition.

CCOPO President John Souza is another landlord who testified against the bill.

Souza attributed tenants’ housing instability to the state affordable housing shortage, rather than lapse of time evictions. The National Low Income Housing Coalition estimates that there is a shortage of over 89,000 affordable rental homes for extremely low-income renters in Connecticut.

“Until they build a lot more housing, it’s really just musical chairs for everybody,” he said.

Currently, lapse of time evictions require landlords to provide tenants with a minimum of three days between receiving their eviction notice and vacating the property. 

However, Souza pointed out that tenants can contest such evictions, prompting a court process that lasts a few months. Tenants can also petition the court for additional stay for up to six months, providing them with extra time to find new housing.   

“I’m disappointed in the small-mindedness and short-sightedness of the legislators in Connecticut,” Bush said. “[Disappointed] that they… would fail to provide adequate housing for their constituents and that their vote is going to have the unintended consequence of making [renting property] more difficult, more expensive and less attractive to tenants. It’s going to be a disaster.”

The bill passed the Housing Committee along partisan lines. Candelaria said that he is optimistic that the bill will pass the legislature this session, most likely without any Republican support, but declined to speculate on whether Governor Ned Lamont would sign the bill into law.

Five states currently have some form of just cause eviction legislation.

The post State Housing Committee advances just cause eviction legislation appeared first on Yale Daily News.

The extension plans to connect the intersection of East Street and Water Street to the East Haven town line on South End Road. The project is also set to link East Shore neighborhoods to parks, amenities and the broader New Haven transportation infrastructure. 

“You’ve got the Farmington Canal Line to the Shoreline Greenway connecting all the East Shore parks together, creating a really safe and enjoyable path for commuting for recreation, for health, for being a way to connect to your neighbors, to run into people from the neighborhood, and really enhance the sense of connection and community that a lot of paths and things like that really bring,” Giovanni Zinn, an engineer for the City of New Haven, said regarding the local and regional significance of the project. “I think that’s something I certainly noticed, especially during the pandemic, that I got out of my house where I met all my neighbors, and it was a really simple way to build community in our neighborhoods.”

The city has received $9.3 million in funding for the Shoreline Greenway project. Approximately $7 million comes from the federal government, and over $2 million comes from Connecticut’s bond funds. 

Mayor Justin Elicker gave special thanks to the delegation that helped secure the federal funds, acknowledging Rep. Rosa DeLauro — who represents Connecticu’s third congressional district — and Connecticut senators Richard Blumenthal and Chris Murphy. 

“Particular thanks to not just Rosa and Senator Blumenthal, but Chris Murphy was really key to us getting this $7 million of funding,” Elicker said in the presentation. 

Elicker also mentioned that not only will the extension of the trail facilitate more bike and pedestrian travel, but also, in his most recent budget proposal, he requested funding for red light and speed cameras as another way to bolster bicycle and pedestrian transportation infrastructure. 

In their presentation, city officials presented their plans for design to continue through 2024 and for construction to start in 2025. 

“We’re really excited to bring these two awesome regional assets of the Farmington Canal Line and Shoreline Greenway with this connection in green, which we’re calling the New Haven Shoreline Green line,” Zinn said. 

In creating this new trail, engineers are focusing on creating a path that is away from the street or protected by a curb or concrete barrier, provides enough adequate space for both pedestrians and bikers, minimizes disruption of neighborhoods, is a low-stress environment, is suitable for all ages and connects neighborhoods with nature. 

So far, the city has yet to accept and execute its grant agreements with its funding partners, complete traffic analysis design plans, apply for necessary permits, execute encroachment and land agreements with the state and complete its purchase of the necessary extra land for the path. Although officials said they hope to begin construction in 2025, Zinn warned that the necessary preparations that must precede construction are on an “aggressive schedule.”

Following his presentation of the city’s plans, Zinn asked for input from New Haven constituents.

“Wouldn’t it make more sense to go up Lighthouse [Road] and then go over to the right on Cove [Street] because Cove already has one side street parking?” Gloria Bellacicco, a New Haven resident, asked the city engineers.

Bellacicco recommended the City consider avoiding placing the path on streets with two-way parking so that it does not interfere with residents who have to park their cars on the streets because their homes do not have driveways.

Aaron Goode of the New Haven Friends of the Farmington Canal Greenway suggested that the trail do more to showcase the shoreline near East Shore Park and Forbes Bluff. Goode predicted that a lot of walkers will not want to follow the currently proposed route because they may want to go up Forbes Bluff and along the seawall for more scenic views. 

“I really think this is one of the signature sections of shoreline in New Haven. I think it’s the most signature shoreline in Connecticut to be quite frank,” he said. “I would be remiss not to say we want to showcase that part of the park in that part of our shoreline because it’s so spectacular.”

Another New Haven resident — Chris Ozyck — voiced concern about making sure the trail is designed to feel like a “special place.” 

“Part of that is trees. Part of that is architecture. Landscape architecture, resting spaces, things to say ‘here’s where you can find these amenities, where to get water’. You know, any of these things that make the experience feel like you’re cared for as you go from A to B,” Ozyck said. 

Ozyck also expressed his appreciation for the money and planning that is going into the creation of the trail.

The New Haven Shoreline Greenway will be approximately 4.4 miles long. 

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