Nydia del Carmen, YTV Editor

Around 200 alders, city officials, attendees and pro-ceasefire protesters gathered at City Hall on Monday evening to receive Mayor Justin Elicker’s annual State of the City Address.

Elicker’s now fifth-annual address aimed at highlighting the city’s accomplishments in the past year, as well as tracing future plans. The speech highlighted elements of the city’s Vision 2034 plan, which will determine the city’s next steps during the next 10 years, preparing for New Haven’s 250th anniversary. Elicker also emphasized visions for how the city can ensure that its growing population of 139,000 can thrive.

“With such a milestone, it’s a time for us to reflect on both where we stand as a city today and where we want to go in the future — the values we hold, the challenges we face, the progress we’ve made and the continued work that’s required to uplift more of our residents so they have the opportunity to thrive,” Elicker said in his address.

Housing takes center stage

Elicker’s address emphasized, among many broad topics, on the city’s affordable housing initiatives.

Elicker cited 1,900 new housing units built since 2020, when he was first inaugurated, 900 of which were affordable units. He mentioned 3,500 additional units in planning right now, 40 percent of which will be affordable.

“Every resident in our city deserves to live somewhere safe, clean and affordable,” Elicker said in the address.

Many of these units were funded by American Rescue Plan Act funds — federal funds intended for use in economic and community recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. Projects like the city’s first non-congregant shelter, the redevelopment of a twelve-acre housing site on Church Street and projects like Elm City Communities were listed, among others.

With 70 percent of New Haven residents being renters, the mayor emphasized not only the need for more affordable and deeply-affordable housing, but also the need for more flexible housing options and more market-rate housing to keep supply high and housing costs down. Among these, Accessory Dwelling Units, which allows homeowners at select properties around the city to add an additional residential unit to their property, including alternative housing options such as tiny homes.

He also mentioned the rise in landlord and tenant issues in New Haven, with three new legally recognized tenants unions, and the city’s commitment to bringing justice to residents. Elicker commended the Liveable Cities Initiative and the Fair Rent Commission, whose housing inspection cases have quadrupled in recent years, for their work in protecting residents.

NHPS applauded for education initiatives

Elicker applauded New Haven Public Schools superintendent Madeline Negrón, who began working for NHPS in July, for “hitting the ground running” on improving student attendance, school culture and literacy levels.

He specifically stressed the city’s improving chronic absenteeism levels, which peaked at 60 percent among NHPS students during the pandemic. Chronic absenteeism — when a student misses 10 percent or more of school days — is currently at 33 percent citywide, the mayor noted.

“My cell phone voicemail box is full and has run out of memory several times from all the reminder calls I and my fellow parents get from Dr. Negrón, Danny Diaz and New Haven Public Schools staff to make sure my daughters are in school,” Elicker quipped.

Elicker highlighted new career exploration initiatives that NHPS is undertaking with partners such as Gateway Community College, Southern Connecticut State University and other nonprofit and private sector organizations. Although several such initiatives involve Yale, Elicker did not mention the University during his speech.

The mayor also shouted out the schools’ new literacy curriculum, which was implemented this year, and the New Haven Tutoring Initiative.

Reducing gun violence and enhancing crisis response

After discussing education, Elicker’s focus moved swiftly to public safety.

With violent crime down 5.8 percent since last year, Elicker attributed improvements to new additions to public safety infrastructure, violence prevention programs and strategic community policing approaches.

“Our streets are not only safer, but we’re actually connecting individuals who are at the greatest risk of committing or being a victim of an act of gun violence with the support they need to stay safe, alive, out of jail and successfully reintegrate into the community,” Elicker said in his speech.

One of the initiatives Elicker listed was P.R.E.S.S. — Program for Reintegration, Engagement, Safety, and Support — which aims to provide supportive case management for individuals returning from incarceration with a current or prior conviction of a firearm-related offense, as well as for gang or group members who are identified to be at higher risk of involvement with firearms.

Elicker also mentioned Elm City COMPASS, a collaborative crisis-response team, which has just celebrated its first anniversary. Elicker committed to expanding and continuing the development of both programs.

Sustainability takes a backseat as Mayor recovers from interruption

As the mayor began to describe the city’s growing commitment to parks, green spaces and the climate, he was interrupted by a protester from the crowd that lined the chamber. The protesters began to sing and chant in support of the Gaza ceasefire resolution proposed to the Board of Alders. The interruption continued for 20 minutes, until New Haven Police Chief Karl Jacobson threatened to clear out “anyone who is interrupting city business.”

When the Mayor continued his speech, he jumped to his conclusion, skipping over a prepared section describing ongoing sustainability initiatives. 

In the section, which is included in the copy of the mayor’s comments provided at the meeting, Elicker highlights the city’s Long Wharf Responsible Growth Plan, an initiative with nearly $200 million in funding to begin construction on the 18-acre Long Wharf Park and Waterfront.

“A decade from now, in 2034, the Long Wharf and Gateway districts will in many ways be unrecognizable from what it looks like today,” Elicker wrote.

The mayor also promised to develop an Urban Forest Management Plan, double the amount of trees planted in the next five years and “accelerate” the city’s transition to electric vehicles and solar power sources.

After a 20-minute interruption by protesters, Elicker concluded that the state of the city is “strong.”

Ward 27 Alder Richard Furlow told the News that he found Elicker’s speech to be “well-phrased.”

“In these meetings, the business of our city takes precedence for us and our residents,” Furlow said. 

Other attendees echoed Furlow’s statement, disappointed that the protest overshadowed Elicker’s address.

City Hall is located at 165 Church St.

Yurii Stasiuk and Ethan Wolin contributed to the reporting of this article.