Roger Reynolds, the senior legal director at Save the Sound, explained that Tweed is in a small residential area that is in a flood zone, so thoroughly studying the environmental impacts of Tweed’s expansion on surrounding neighborhoods and the environment is essential.

“It was the FAA that ultimately concluded that there were no significant environmental impacts, again, despite the fact that this would increase emissions in the area, would have flooding consequences and would have water quality consequences,” Reynolds said.

According to Reynolds, Save the Sound is concerned that the FAA’s use of an Environmental Assessment, or EA, rather than the more rigorous Environmental Impact Statement, or EIS, may have overlooked some consequences of Tweed’s expansion.

Both East Haven and Save the Sound are seeking an EIS, specifically due to the EA’s neglect of how Tweed’s expansion could affect tidal wetlands, water quality and flood control in the East Haven area.

Typically, once an EA has been issued, this leads to either an EIS or a FONSI. An EIS is issued if there is evidence of significant environmental impact in the initial EA. In this case, the FAA did not identify the potential for significant environmental impact.

In the event that the appeals of the Town of East Haven and Save the Sound against the FAA’s FONSI are approved, they would move on to the Environmental Appeals Board for review. 

Reynolds added that one of the FAA’s conclusions was that increasing the size of the airport would result in reduced emissions under the assumption that the demand for flights would not be affected by the expansion, even though the expansion would increase the capacity of the airport and would allow for more flights and bigger planes, including additional freight flights.

Neelakshi Hudda, a professor at Tufts University who has studied the air quality impacts of Tweed’s current emissions, also questioned the assumption that the number of enplaned passengers would remain constant after the expansion. 

“There’s no need for [an expansion] if there isn’t a demand. How is this profitable if there’s no demand?” Hudda asked.

She noted that the building of new infrastructure would likely induce greater demand.

The Tweed New Haven Final EA document mentions that the estimated number of enplaning passengers in 2026 without and with the expansion is the same, so the number of enplaning passengers will increase over time but not as a direct result of the airport expansion.

The FAA’s environmental protection specialist assigned to review Tweed’s environmental impact was not immediately available for comment regarding how this assumption was made.

“I can say that all of us in our neighborhood deserve an Environmental Impact Statement. There is simply too much at stake to let this proposed expansion go through uncontested,” Lynne Bonnett, the New Haven representative on the Project Advisory Committee for the current Environmental Assessment, wrote.

Save the Sound has noted that the EA assumes that expanding the airport could potentially improve air quality.

This conclusion is a result of the FAA’s assumption that an expansion will not increase passenger demand for flights and that the expansion will allow them to use larger, more efficient planes.

“The decision is neither fair, safe, nor equitable, offering no resolution to the multitude of issues posed by a project of this magnitude,” Mayor of East Haven Joseph Carfora wrote. “The appeal is our only recourse.”

The Tweed New Haven airport is located at 155 Burr St.

The post East Haven and Save the Sound appeal FAA findings on Tweed’s environmental impact appeared first on Yale Daily News.

The program will run daily on weekdays from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. from June 24 to Aug. 2, and Yale undergraduates will have the opportunity to design their own curriculum about a topic of interest to teach the students. The program costs $75 to attend, although the U.S. Grant Foundation offers full scholarships for students. The program unites students from schools across the city to offer them an enriching opportunity to learn and take part in other activities.

“The program’s mission [is] to set kids up for a successful school experience, but really more so to have a positive and powerful experience over the summer that can serve as a touchstone for many years to come,” said Sam Purdy ’10, a member of the board of directors for the Ulysses S. Grant Foundation.

Purdy added that the program also aims to provide academic enrichment and social connections between middle school students and between the students and the instructors, which is especially important, since middle school is a pivotal time for learning and growth.

Each student in the program takes a humanities class, an investigations class and an elective of their choice. Classes offered in previous years were about topics such as psychology, astronomy and climate change, all of which were designed by Yale undergraduates based on their interests.

Last summer, Lyn Rodriguez ’26, one of the co-directors of the program this year, taught a class on Aztec history. 

“[It was] very niche and teaching it to sixth graders is definitely a challenge, but it was fun for them,” Rodriguez said.

As a former student of the program, Rodriguez felt like this was one of the bridges that connected Yale to New Haven and has very low barriers for entry. She was also able to make friends from different schools in New Haven who she saw again at other programs over the years. 

Teaching through the program has been a very rewarding, full-circle experience for Rodriguez. She pointed out that she and her co-workers developed a deep, emotional connection with the students they taught. 

Purdy, who was also a teacher for the program in his undergraduate years, said that his time was very transformative and set him on the path for his future.

“It just felt like this experience opened me up to forming such powerful relationships with kids and families and not to mention fellow teachers. Ever since then, my only work has been in education,” Purdy said.

Outside of classes, the program also offers other activities that expose students to different parts of New Haven, such as City Hall, where students were hosted by Mayor Justin Elicker one summer.

In the past several years, the program has connected students to Yale resources like brain research labs and the Yale New-Haven Hospital. The program also invites student groups like Sabrosura, a Latin dance team, to perform for the students.

Rodriguez agreed with this sentiment, saying that the program opens up students to the idea of what a university looks and feels like.

Klara Oppenheimer, a student who has participated in the program for three years, thoroughly enjoyed her experience virtually and in-person. 

“Something that I really like about [the program] is the way that I can and do apply the things I learn at US Grant throughout the school year. We’ll start a topic in class, and I’ll think ‘Oh! I know this from US Grant!’” Oppenheimer wrote.

Oppenheimer took classes through Zoom in her first year in the program, and her class of children’s media connected her with the teacher made her really want to continue with the program for the following year. 

She was first nervous about attending the program in-person in her second year after her fun experience the previous summer, but she said that her in-person experience exceeded the virtual one of the previous year.

“You don’t even notice the time passing between the day that everyone is quiet and shy, and the day that everyone is laughing and yelling and feeling like family. I’m going to be so disappointed this summer when I age out, but I also feel so fortunate that I have these memories that I’ll keep forever,” Oppenheimer wrote.

The Ulysses S. Grant Foundation is accepting applications for student instructors for summer 2024 until Feb. 23, 2024.

The post Application open for the Ulysses S. Grant Foundation’s summer program for New Haven middle schoolers appeared first on Yale Daily News.

According to a National Academies report released in February 2020, loneliness in elderly subjects is linked to higher rates of depression and anxiety, issues exacerbated by the social distancing and stay-at-home mandates of the pandemic. The report found that social isolation is associated with a greater risk of dementia in patients over the age of fifty. The Nourish Project emerged to remedy these negative consequences that the pandemic brought to the elderly community.

“Our mission is to promote longevity, healthy aging and social connectedness among the elderly in our local communities,” wrote Rishi Shah ’26, president of the Nourish Project. “We do this through three key areas: encouraging regular exercise and healthy nutrition, improving digital and technological literacy and fostering sustained intergenerational relationships.”

Members of the Nourish Project make weekly visits to senior homes to implement their mission. 

According to Sarah Moskowitz, the Nourish Project’s three-pronged approach enriches the interactions and well-being of residents at Lifestyle Communities’ retirement village in Essendon.

“Residents at The Towers, senior independent living in New Haven, have absolutely loved the Nourish Project,” Moskowitz wrote.

According to the Nourish Project website, the organization’s first emphasis centers around nutritional well-being, giving seminars on healthy eating and teaching accessible at-home exercises to reduce the risk of age-related illnesses. 

They also strive to narrow the telemedicine-geriatric care gap by boosting digital literacy among elders. Student volunteers hope to equip residents with the knowledge and confidence necessary to actively participate in online physician visits.

Finally, the organization also promotes social connection and relationship-building among students and residents alike. 

“Our biggest challenge so far has been finding the best way to distill complex topics in a digestible format that seniors can easily recall,” Shah wrote. “Our strategy to address this is to use analogies liberally – connecting modern-day terminology with terms that seniors are already familiar with from when they were younger.”

Volunteers with the Nourish Project often receive and analyze feedback from the residents they interact with to better understand the needs of the elderly population whom they serve. They host weekly member meetings to review teaching strategies and modify lessons as needed.

By adapting the content of their weekly visits, volunteers told the News that they are better able to curate relevant materials and interact more genuinely with the residents.

“Our biggest success lies in the smiles shared between the new friendships formed,” Alicia Brak ’27, a volunteer with the Nourish Project, wrote. “Witnessing the impact of our efforts firsthand, from brightening someone’s day to creating meaningful connections, makes every moment worthwhile.”

According to Brak, the Nourish Project leads the discussion and offers guidance, but invites feedback and suggestions from the residents they work with, too, collaborating to blend “real-life experience and scientifically backed information.”

She added that the Nourish Project allows her to easily interact with the people of New Haven and live outside of the “Yale bubble.”

Brak said she also hopes to increase the project’s outreach through social media by sharing stories of the residents and Nourish Project members to engage more members. 

Since its inception in August, the Nourish Project at Yale has recruited over 25 new volunteers.

The post The Nourish Project promotes healthy aging at two local senior independent living facilities appeared first on Yale Daily News.

Opened in May 2023, Hot Murga is a new restaurant located on Howe Street. Their menu features a variety of chicken sandwiches, sliders and fries and includes vegetarian and vegan options. It also allows customers to customize the level of spice they want for their chicken, which can range from no heat, mild, medium, hot to super hot. 

Rupinder “Romy” Singh is the owner and founder of Hot Murga. He was inspired to start the restaurant because of a trip to Nashville, Tennessee with his brother and cousins about two years ago where he noticed the enthusiasm for hot chicken. After taking a class on making hot chicken during his trip, he and his brother started brainstorming how to put their own spin on hot chicken.

“What if we did [an assortment of things] with our techniques of Indian spices [and hot chicken]?” Singh wondered.

Growing up in a family that has been heavily involved in the restaurant industry, Singh said he was surrounded by inventive thinkers. Singh’s father owns Sitar and Singh’s brother owns House of Naan, two other Indian restaurants in New Haven. 

Prior to his restaurant and business ventures, Singh was a lymphoma researcher at Yale University and was interested in becoming a physician’s assistant. Although he enjoyed conducting cancer research,he said that food allowed him to be more adventurous and let his creative juices flow. The more he explored food, the more he felt interested in the industry and running a restaurant. 

Singh joined the culinary industry full-time and opened Pataka, a vegetarian Indian restaurant in the same location as Hot Murga, with his brother in the fall of 2020. Singh’s brother moved Pataka to New York, and with the vacant space, Singh opened Hot Murga.

Although Singh said he felt wary about opening a restaurant based on a new fusion concept, Hot Murga has received great feedback. 

“People are loving the combination,” Singh said.

Charlotte Turner ’27, an fan of spicy food, said she enjoyed what the restaurant had to offer. 

“There was a lot of depth of flavor, despite the spice level, and all in all, made for a really good eat,” Turner said.

Mansi Anil Kumar ’27 said that the food was well-cooked and had a great amount of spice. Kumar added that it matches the “stereotypical standard” of Indian food being spicy.

Raised in New Haven, Singh is hoping to give back to the community, including donating food to soup kitchens and working with students across schools in New Haven. 

Singh also plans on expanding Hot Murga’s menu in the near future.

“We’re working on a couple of things, getting the kinks out and then adding the new things,” Singh said. “I’m really excited about that.”

Hot Murga is located at 140 Howe St. and is open from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily.

The post Hot Murga spices up New Haven with Indian fried hot chicken appeared first on Yale Daily News.

Yale offers various graduate courses across multiple graduate and professional schools that undergraduates can take. Students who want to enroll in these courses usually have to contact instructors, write permission requests and add the course to their registration worksheets once they are admitted. While some courses are competitive for undergraduates, others have been more accessible for students across all years. 

“We had a form called the blue form that you used to have to fill out to make a special request for [graduate courses],” Yale College Dean Pericles Lewis told the News. “We got rid of the blue form because it sort of was unnecessary … We’re trying to take better advantage of the fact that we have these great professional [and graduate] schools and students have a real interest in learning about professional life.”

Lewis explained that without the blue form, the students can access graduate level courses more easily by simply requesting permission from instructors. However, he said that some classes at professional schools like the Law School or the School of Management are not open to undergraduates. 

He explained that one of his strategic goals as the dean of Yale College is to collaborate with the deans of the professional schools to make sure that undergraduate students can access courses relevant to their majors at the professional schools. He explained that the college has a close relationship with the School of Art and the School of Management in working to make sure that undergraduate students can join their classes. 

“But there is a small scheduling challenge,” Lewis explained. “For some of the [graduate and professional schools] like Divinity and a few of the others, they don’t operate on our calendar. Like Medicine starts earlier. Law goes later, I believe. Music starts just a little bit later than we do. So it’s a little bit complicated to take a course in one of those schools.”

David McElfresh ’25, a molecular biophysics & biochemistry major, is planning on taking graduate-level courses because the classes align with his interests and teach research skills he is interested in. Taking these classes would help him complete a combined Bachelor of Science/Master of Science degree in MB&B, for which he is currently applying.

McElfresh has previously taken a graduate level course called Methods and Logic in Interdisciplinary Research and is currently taking Biological Physics. His experiences in graduate-level courses often include analyzing and discussing scientific research papers. 

“[Graduate level courses] seem more application-based rather than theoretical,” McElfresh said.

In his undergraduate biochemistry class, for instance, he is learning about the theories and mechanisms of metabolism. But in his graduate-level courses, he reviews these mechanisms in academic papers and works to understand the applications of these methods in the context of experiments. 

McElfresh recommended contacting the professors teaching graduate-level courses of interest to get a better sense of whether the course is a good fit for the student based on their knowledge and past experience.

“The workload [for graduate-level courses] is bigger but you also get to dive more deeply into the material and really analyze it,” Christina Logvynyuk ’25, who has taken graduate seminars across different schools, told the News. 

Logvynyuk, an economics and Eastern European studies double major, said that she is taking a course on Russian information warfare through the Jackson School and another on the global history of Eastern Europe through the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences this semester. 

She explained that the process to get into these courses differs depending on the school and the course. Getting into the seminar at the GSAS was more straightforward, she explained, while the course she takes through the Jackson School required more work to get departmental approval.

“One of the biggest reasons that I am hoping to continue to take more graduate courses in the future as an undergrad is the commitment to the actual material of the class rather than assignments,” Logvynyuk told the News. “If an undergraduate student has a real interest in a subject area, if they can find a graduate class where they can dive more deeply into the material, I highly recommend it.”

Undergraduate students taking graduate level courses will have these classes recorded on their transcripts with their graduate course numbers.

The post Undergraduate students enroll in graduate courses during registration period appeared first on Yale Daily News.

The Westville Arts Market hosted its third joint market with the CitySeed Farmers Market at Edgewood Park from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Nov. 5. The Westville Arts Market featured 15 local artisans selling products ranging from jewelry and clothing to ceramics. The CitySeed Farmers Market included 16 businesses selling fresh produce, fish and other foods. The event also featured a puppet parade, a longstanding tradition of the Westville community arranged by the Westville Village Renaissance Alliance, a Westville neighborhood association that creates community events including the arts markets. 

Kate Stephen, owner of Kate Stephen Jewelry and a vendor at the market, is one of the market’s coordinators. Stephen and others were inspired to arrange a more frequent arts market by the annual Westville Arts Walk hosted every May. Stephen said the goal of the arts market is to cultivate a space where artists and the community could come together and support artists.

From her experience as a vendor, Stephen appreciates the small, warm environment with familiar faces at the arts market.

“It’s fun to vend here because you feel like you’re vending with a group of friends,” she said.

CitySeed, a nonprofit founded in 2004, works to increase accessibility of fresh produce in the New Haven community through farmers markets and other events.

Sandy Flores, a New Haven local and the Assistant Farmers Market Manager for CitySeed, said she had grown up going to the farmers market, and volunteered with CitySeed in high school. She makes sure to reach out to the Latine community to engage them in these farmers markets. She highlighted the farmers markets’ program that allows residents who have Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, benefits to receive more produce and make the markets more affordable. 

Flores is also a Volunteer Coordinator for the Sanctuary Kitchen that helps refugee women who are resettling in New Haven gain economic opportunity by cooking and baking. 

Elizabeth Donius, the Executive Director of the Westville Village Renaissance Alliance, said that the mix of events contributed to high attendance.

“When there’s a critical mass of stuff going on, you end up getting more people out,” she said. 

She added that the traffic was heightened because the families attending the puppet parade were able to step out and peruse both markets. 

Dooley-O Jackson, an artist and vendor at the market, was the third event coordinator alongside Stephen and Donius.

Alanna Gilbert, a Senior Farm Staff at Massaro Community Farm, a certified organic community farm, is a longtime vendor at the CitySeed Farmers Markets. She echoed Donius’ sentiment of an increased turnout at the joint arts and farmers markets. 

“[The collaboration between the markets] makes [the environment] feel like more of a place where people will come to shop but also hang out,” she added.

Allison Chew and Chris Chew, the co-founders of Chew–Chew Designs, a crafts company selling a variety of accessories and products, were invited by Connectic*nt, a local arts zine, to be vendors at the arts market. Allison Chew appreciated the wide range of local vendors at the market, selling products from candles to more “whimsical” objects. 

Chew added that vending alongside a farmers market brings a new clientele. 

“Usually, when people go to a farmers market, they’re not looking for art specifically. But it’s nice that [they] can walk [down the venue] and maybe they’ll find something they weren’t exactly looking for,” she said.

Downtown Westville, or the “Westville Village Historic District” is on the National Register of Historic Places.

The post Farmers market and arts market bring food and crafts to Westville appeared first on Yale Daily News.

The Into the Afroverse Summit was the seventh event held by 6th Dimension. The arts festival runs from Aug. 26 to Oct. 28 across New Haven and Hamden. The festival celebrates and introduces attendees to the concept of Afrofuturism.

The summit, hosted at NXTHVN from 10:30 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., featured a variety of speakers and workshops, including four panels, a “Finding Your North Star” workshop, an “Exploring Afrofuturism Through Food” event, opening and closing keynotes and a social to wrap up the summit. There was also a vendors market that hosted seven Black-owned businesses, an exhibition called “Sara Woodfalk: Field Notes from the Emphathic Universe,” arcade games by Third Space, food trucks by Cool Runnings and Caribe Soul and free screen printed shirts by DeadBy5am. 

Juanita Sunday, organizer of the 6th Dimension festival, said she was excited to share Afrofuturism through an interdisciplinary mix of visual arts, music and other mediums. 

“Afrofuturism is an aesthetic, a practice that focuses on creating and centering Black experiences in our own universes. Part of Afrofuturism is looking at the past to analyze our present and make change for the future,” Sunday explained. “How can we start looking at our community and reimagining a new future?” 

Sunday invited Reynaldo Anderson and Ingrid LaFleur — internationally recognized thinkers in Afrofuturism — as the keynote speakers for the event. 

Sunday said she also wanted to incorporate speakers from New Haven, which she regards as the “arts center of Connecticut.” Among the New Haven-based panelists at the summit were Salwa Abdussabur, the executive director of Black Haven, a cultural nonprofit that aims to allow artists to use art as a tool for social change, and Babz Rawls Ivy, a local radio host.  

“With the summit, [I wanted people] to start thinking about how we’re using concepts of Afrofuturism in our artistic practice, in our organizing practices, and within our community,” Sunday said. “I hope that people take away an appreciation for Black art and Black culture and start thinking about ways that we can start reimagining our own communities.” 

Sandra Aya Enimil, the owner of Pretty Afrika Designs — a jewelry and accessory business she runs with her mother — was a vendor at the event. 

She said she enjoyed hearing broader conversations about envisioning the future of Black life, referencing a discussion on the lack of Black people represented in the future in film. 

Maya Lwazi Rose, an attendee of the summit, said they were also happy to be in an environment where they were surrounded by visually expressive, like-minded thinkers imagining the future. They said they also enjoyed the other attendees’ creativity and expression through personal styles and outfits.

“The keynote speaker … and people on the panels have been referencing history and also referencing what new technologies are coming about, what ideas are coming out,” Rose said. “We’re all in the same headspace, and that is a really special thing because you don’t have that everywhere you go.”

Whitney Lawson, another attendee at the summit, told the News that she was interested in checking out the “Exploring Afrofuturism Through Food” event as a form of sharing culture and stories and connecting members of a community.

Abdussabur, who runs Black Haven, was a panelist for the “Young, Black & Out of This World” panel where she discussed the importance of Afrofuturism in the future of the Black community, especially in New Haven. Black Haven aims to brings stories in Black history that are often unheard from the past into the present and the future, according to Abdussabur.

Abdussabur said that Afrofuturism is a “practice of thought and liberation” that allows her to see herself in the future “despite living in a society that is outwardly blatant about Black folks not living in the future.” 

She also said that the summit was a community where she could share her ideas and feel supported by those around her.

“In the [Building a Black Tomorrow] panel, I felt safe enough to ask ‘What does it mean to ask for help as a Black woman in leadership?’ because I am a Black woman in leadership and it can be hard to ask for help sometimes,” Abdussabbur said. 

6th Dimension wraps up with two more events in October: a “Dirty Computer” screening & dance party on Oct. 19 and “The Memory Librarian” book club social on Oct. 25.

Correction, Nov. 11: A previous version of this article incorrectly stated that The Into the Afroverse Summit was the fourth of six events held by 6th Dimension. The Into the Afroverse Summit was the seventh event held by 6th Dimension.

The post NXTHVN holds “Into the Afroverse” summit celebrating Afrofuturism appeared first on Yale Daily News.

From 5 p.m. to 10 p.m., The night market occupied two blocks of Chapel Street — between York Street and College Street. The market featured four live performances, 58 street vendors and nine food vendors, including local restaurants like Oh K-Dog and Lazeez Indian Cuisine. Shoppers played with cornhole and Jenga sets, got temporary tattoos and participated in button-making and community mural painting activities. The Town Green District, the event organizers, also held a raffle and sold New Haven Night Market merchandise. 

New Havener Delilah Quezada sold personalized pet toys and elastic, adjustable pet bandanas at the market for her business, Creations by OKISS. As a first-time night market vendor, she said she did not expect turnout to be so high and that she loved seeing the reactions that “pet parents” had to her products.

Quezada also noted the unifying spirit of the market.

“I feel like the New Haven Night Market is a great way to bring both [New Haven residents and Yale students] together,” she said.

Creations by OKISS was one of many online shops and small businesses that used the event to showcase their products to a larger audience. Aly Fox, owner of Foxspark Design — a business that uses natural dyes made from pomegranate, onion skins and other natural sources — was also a first-time vendor at the night market. 

Fox said she liked running a booth but was eager to explore the market, which she said she has done in past years as a customer. 

“It’s cool [to be a vendor], but at the same time, I want to go see everybody’s stall,” she said. “It feels like you get to be on the other side and be offering something to the community as much as enjoying it.”

George Gross, co-founder of Your Queer Plant Shop, said they enjoyed sharing their passion for plants with people in the community and appreciated the ambiance of the market. They told the News they felt that the New Haven Night Market was special because it prioritized artists and makers over resellers.

Tony Potchernikov ’24 was one of Gross’s customers and purchased a terrarium from Your Queer Plant Shop as he explored the market. Potchernikov expressed his satisfaction with the market, saying that it was similarly enjoyable to a market he visited over the summer. 

Amelia Wilkinson ’27 echoed this sentiment, as the event reminded her of the small farmers markets she would visit growing up in a small town in Oregon. She was looking forward to exploring the jewelry vendors and enjoyed the energy of the market.

Kellie Linch, a resident of neighboring Hamden and longtime visitor of the night market, was excited to see its expansion over the years. She complimented the market’s atmosphere, pointing out the white “bistro lights” that were strung up along the length of Chapel Street.

“The city sort of revs up for the night, and it makes you feel like ‘Oh, I wish this happened every Friday night,’” she said. 

Linch added that the night market is an event she enjoys attending with her daughter, as it has a “beautiful blend” of activities for all ages.

The New Haven Night Market is held twice a year and will make another appearance in the city in spring 2024.

The post New Haven Night Market draws lively crowd to Chapel Street appeared first on Yale Daily News.

Hosted as a fundraiser for the Connecticut Cycling Advancement Program, the New Haven Grand Prix attracted visitors from New Haven and beyond, who stopped by between 4 p.m. and 10 p.m. Cyclists of all ages, from eight to over 40, raced on a rectangular cycling course formed between Chapel and Elm Streets. 

The race was a criterium — a one-day race where cyclists make laps around a short, enclosed course. Alongside the race, the Apizza Feast occupied College Street, where cyclists and spectators alike enjoyed live music and pizza from 10 different local pizza shops.

Aidan Charles, founder of the CCAP, said that the city’s atmosphere and the Apizza Feast enhance the experience for cyclists and spectators. 

“The unique placement and location, particularly with the restaurants and their support — it makes this just right,” Charles said. 

The Connecticut Cycling Advancement Program, which organizes the event each year, is a non-profit organization that works to introduce children across the state to cycling. Their mission, according to their website, is to provide youth ages nine to 18 a safe environment to participate in a team sport, learn valuable life skills and develop positive mindsets.

Charles touted the role of the grand prix’s course in making the race more exciting for spectators because they can see cyclists pass through multiple times in one race.

Dillon Pronovost, a longtime cyclist and the owner of Cheshire Cycle in neighboring Hamden, agreed with Charles that the environment at the race was special.

Pronovost told the News that he most enjoyed the atmosphere at the race — including the announcer, the food, the music and the crowds.

“You wouldn’t get any of these spectators at a race in Lyme Rock or some town in Western Mass.,” he said.

Erin Rand traveled from Plymouth, Massachusetts to race for the Magenta Express team. After racing, he told the News that although the course was “a little choppy,” he enjoyed the speed of the course, “which makes for good racing,” Rand said. 

Annabelle, a 10-year-old cyclist on the Farmington Valley Youth Cycling Team, has been riding for three years and began racing at the age of eight. Although this was her first grand prix, she said she was “very excited” and eager to win the championship jersey. 

April Caplan, a member of the management team for the walking food tours company Taste of New Haven, expressed how she is “super impressed” by the talent and skill levels of the bikers of all ages, especially the kids.

Gregg Ferraris and Julie Endich work for the CCAP as director of youth programming and event coordinator, respectively. This was Endich’s first year working at the grand prix after her son introduced her to the world of cycling. Endich said she was amazed at the environment and the community around cycling.

“Even though we’re working, it’s fun to be around all of the cyclists and our community and people that are coming out that are not in the cycling world,” she said.

Ferraris, who previously attended the New Haven Grand Prix as a volunteer for one year and a cyclist for two years, also said that it was entertaining to watch the bike races from another perspective.

The New Haven Apizza Feast, hosted by the Taste of New Haven, occurs in conjunction with the grand prix.

The post Twilight Grand Prix lights up the streets of New Haven appeared first on Yale Daily News.