INNER-CITY NEWS

THE INNER-CITY NEWSNEWS - September 02,2016 2020- August - September 08, 2020 INNER-CITY July 27, 02, 2016

COVID-19 Cases Creeping Back Up As at Schools Connecticut Financial Justice a Key Focus 2016Reopen NAACPInConvention New Haven, Bridgeport

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Volume 27 . No. 241 Volume 21 No. 2194

“The Mighty Midget” Wins Key To The City

“DMC”

Malloy To Malloy To Dems: Dems: Newhallville Unites For Back-To-School Bash

Ignore Ignore“Tough “ToughOn OnCrime” Crime”

Tramaine Williams A Hillhouse graduate, received that honor at a celebratory press conference held outside of City Hall Monday afternoon.

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THE INNER-CITY NEWS - September 02, 2020 - September 08, 2020

NXTHVN Apprentices Make It Through Quarantine

by Kaatje Welsh, 2019 graduate of the Youth Arts Journalism Intensive The Arts Council. The ARTS Paper www. newhavenarts.org

Cup making turned into a solo art show. Color blocking turned into a painting project focused on mental health and anxiety. Sewing and weaving turned to making an EP, right on time for quarantine.

That’s the story for Aime Mulungula, Kaitlyn Higgins, and Mekhi Banks, all high school apprentices at NXTHVN. After the Henry Street arts hub closed due to COVID-19 in March, apprentices had to get creative with their projects. Now, they’re back in the studio, able to continue their work with the mentorship of their fellow.

Normally, high school apprentices work alongside studio and curatorial fellows in their spaces, located inside NXTHVN’s Henry Street building.

During their apprenticeship, they live at the intersection of NXTHVN’s identities: gallery, studio, and office space.

Like the fellows’ work, the program relies on having the apprentices onsite.

“We wanted to make sure that they continued their relationship with their fellow,” Executive Director Nico Wheadon said of the decision to have apprentices remain working over quarantine. “Because that’s such a big part of the program. We wanted to use something like Zoom and online workshops to keep them connected, and keep them working.”

“As we started to see the project ideas they were coming up with, it was clear that they were doing some awesome, radical stuff,” she added.

In March, everything changed for the organization and the apprentices. On March 12, the city announced that it would be closing public schools and moving learning online, where it remained for the remainder of the school year (there is currently a debate over whether public schools will resume with an in-person, hybrid or entirely remote model).

By then, NXTHVN had already announced that it was closing its physical doors. Each apprentice was assigned a personal project for the time they would be in quarantine.

It was not the only pivot the Dixwell gallery, studio space and incubator had to make. During the first weekend of March, NXTHVN welcomed over 400 people for its exhibition Countermythologies. By the following weekend, staff were scrambling to get the exhibition online as the gallery and offices went into lockdown and staff began

working from home.

NXTHVN staff applied for the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), which the space ultimately secured.

They also launched a $150,000 emergency relief fund, which went directly into providing increased stipends, and subsidized housing to the fellows for the remainder of the year.

Fellows, many of whom had relocated to New Haven, worked to figure out whether they would be able to access their studio spaces. And apprentices, facing a program turned on its head, looked at how their work was transforming in relative isolation.

Mulungula, a rising senior at Hill Regional Career High School, is currently working on a solo art project set

to show in February. Before quarantine, he was working with artist Jeffrey Meris on cup making as an entryway into his interest in entrepreneurship.

When quarantine began and he was unable to continue, Mulungula started working on his upcoming show, which works to show various forms of African culture.

Through NXTHVN he is working on receiving funding for his project, and is planning on showing it at New Haven Free Public Library’s Stetson branch.

The branch is not currently open to the public, but is planning its move to the new Q House for next year, with the hopes that it will be able to show student art.

“During the process, we were able to

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contact our fellows on how they could best help us,” he said. “Which was the main way that we kept in contact through quarantine. We had weekly Zoom meetings on Wednesdays, which were used to help us update the other apprentices on where we were at.”

Banks (pictured at left), a rising junior at James Hillhouse High School, is working on an EP as his personal project. Before COVID-19, he was working with fellow Esteban Ramón Pérez on sewing and weaving, which is a large part of Pérez’s work.

While they weren’t able to be in person and continue with the studio work they were doing, they did take the time to communicate over the phone to share music with each other. Banks

took the time as an opportunity to remaster some of his older songs.

“It wasn’t great, but it did have its benefits.” he said. “At home, I was able to work on something that I excelled in, which was music production. It was a strange transition, but it was fun in a way.”

That’s also true for New Haven Academy junior Kaitlyn Higgins, who was working with fellow Vincent Valdez.

Previous to quarantine, Higgins was working on rendering and color blocking for select pieces of Valdez’s. Now, she is working on showcasing a series of paintings on mental health, focusing specifically on anxiety.

Although she’s still in the process of figuring out exactly how she wants to show her project, she plans to donate a portion of her proceeds that she receives to a mental health organization.

She said the transition was a difficult one for her.

“Before quarantine, I was at NXTHVN almost 4 days a week, so it gave me something to do and focus on,” she said. “ I just love the studio so much because it just makes me feel better. So from going almost every week to not going at all was really hard. Just because it makes you lose motivation. I lost motivation to do my art, because I wasn’t doing it.”

“When I go into the studio I have an assignment, whereas when I’m home I’m free to do whatever, so I just didn’t do as much art as I wanted to,” she added.

On June 24, apprentices were allowed back into the studio with their fellows.

Before this spring, many of them had been used to socializing with friends and having a constant schedule for school. That stopped abruptly with the arrival of COVID-19. Coming back into the space and interacting with their fellow apprentices has re-gifted them with some sense of their pre-COVID normalcy.

The gallery space has also reopened for NXTHVN’s newest exhibition, Pleading Freedom. The exhibition is a collection of work from artist and NXTHVN Founder Titus Kaphar and poet Reginald Dwayne Betts. Per public health guidelines, the gallery is operating at reduced capacity. Viewers who come to see the show must sign up for contact tracing.

Kaatje Welsh is a 2019 graduate of the Youth Arts Journalism Intensive and returned during a 2020 summer session. She will be a junior at New Haven Academy this year. Find out more about NXTHVN at http://www. nxthvn.com/

THE INNER-CITY NEWS - September 02, 2020 - September 08, 2020

Free Backpacks, Masks Ready For Dwight Schools

by EMILY HAYS

New Haven I ndependent

Nazareth Vyraven is on a mission: To give a new backpack and two new face masks to every student in the schools that surround her Dwight church.

As a long-time substitute teacher in the New Haven Public Schools (NHPS), Vyraven has long seen students leave their papers at school or on the bus because they don’t have a bag to put them in.

An this fall, those students will also have to weather a sharp economic recession and public health crisis caused by Covid-19.

“I’d like to give them something that’s theirs,” Vyraven recently told the Independent.

So Vyraven mobilized her fellow congregants in the Dwight-based Church of God and Saints of Christ to pull together enough money to buy 200 new backpacks and school supplies.

She laid out the rainbow selection of bags last Wednesday in front of her church’s Beer Street entrance.

Meanwhile, her fellow congregant Carolyn Reyes (pictured above with pastor Jerald Barber) wrapped up the last day of the church’s weekly hot dog giveaway. The church gives out 40 to 60 hot dogs a week to whatever neighborhood children come by as part of a 100-year tradition of giving out food, Reyes said.

Although a few passersby requested backpacks Wednesday, the display was more for photography purposes than distribution.

Vyraven plans to distribute the backpacks directly through the principals of Augusta Lewis Troup School, Barnard Environmental Studies Magnet School and the Amistad Academy elementary and middle

schools.

The bags serve another purpose besides for cheer for students and filling budget gaps for families. Tucked into each backpack is a set of two cloth, washable masks, courtesy of the New Haven Police Department.

Dwight top cop Lt. John Healy explained that the police substations have divided up a huge donation of cloth masks and are giving them out at community initiatives like this one.

The masks are white, which means students can draw on the masks to customize them, Vyraven said.

The masks help solve an urgent question on the minds of the New Haven Public Schools Board of Education: How can public schools keep students safe even if one of their classmates has Covid-19? After advocacy from board member and pediatrician Tamiko Jackson-McArthur, and with the help of the state, the district has decided to provide face masks to students.

Students at the two Amistad Academy schools, which are part of the Achievement First charter network, are already slated to receive two cloth face masks each.

Elementary and middle schoolers at Amistad Academy will have access to inperson classes on Sept. 21, according to the nonprofit’s plans. NHPS students will need to wait until November for in-person classes, unless board members see further evidence that all of their safety concerns have been taken care of, the Board of Education reaffirmed last Monday.

Ideas bubbled from Vyraven’s lips as she looked at the bright bags. She has bought 200 so far, but her goal is 500 … for each school, she said.

Board of Alders President and West River

EMILY HAYS PHOTO

Nazareth Vyraven: I like to give students something of their own.

Alder Tyisha Walker-Myers (left), Dwight Alder Frank Douglass (center) ... ... and Edgewood Alder Evette Hamilton (left) have pledged their support to the backpack effort. Hamilton said that, for example, Edgewood has money set aside for a block party that will not happen this year. That money could go towards buying more backpacks.

Vyraven chose backpacks in solid colors to accommodate children who can’t have

characters on their bags for cultural or religious reasons.

The longterm sub is worried about what will happen to preschool, kindergarten and special needs students during this fall’s remote classes.

“It’s good for children in pre-K and kindergarten to see someone every day, and you can see if they are tired, hungry or having a problem at home. That you can’t see on a screen,” Vyraven said.

Vyraven recalled teaching students with autism to develop routines in her class last year. One of her nonverbal students even responded to her once with a “yes,” to Vyraven’s amazement. She is not sure what happened to all of that progress once school buildings closed in March.

“It’s going to be tough. That’s going to be a setback for those already set back,” Vyraven said. “I do miss them. We’ll see what happens.”

Busch Williams Tapped As Youth & Rec Director

by STAFF

New Haven I ndependent

Gwendolyn Busch Williams, who has worked in youth services for City Hall for over a decade, has been tapped to lead the city’s newly reorganized Youth and Recreation Department.

Mayor Justin Elicker announced the appointment in an email press release last Thursday.

Busch Williams will serve as the inaugural director of the city’s Youth and Recreation Department.

“I pledge to continue prodigious pro gramming to serve the youth of this City and will not be afraid to give up the good to go for the great,” Busch Williams is quoted as saying in the release.

According to the press release, printed in full below, Busch Williams started working for the city’s Youth at Work program back in 2007. Her latest role in City Hall was as program manager in the Youth Services Department.

This fiscal year, Elicker proposed and the alders approved a reorganization of the

parks, public works, and youth services departments into two new consolidated departments: the Parks and Public Works department and the Youth and Recreation Department.

The city’s former Youth Services Department was last helmed by Jason Bartlett, whom Elicker fired in February.

See below for City Hall’s August 27 press release about the appointment of Busch Williams to serve as director of the Youth and Recreation Department.

City of New Haven Announces Director of Youth and Recreation New Haven Mayor Justin Elicker announced the appointment of Gwendolyn Busch Williams as the first Director of the Youth and Recreation Department.

This inaugural role will ensure the fluidity of recreation activities from the Parks Department to the Youth Services Department, as entailed in the Approved Budget for FY 2020-2021. The New Haven FY 20-21 Budget takes the recreation activities from the Parks Department, and it places them under the newly formed

FACEBOOK New Youth and Recreation Department Director Gwendolyn Busch Williams.

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Youth and Recreation Department.

“I am so excited for Gwen to lead this newly formed department and serve the youth of the Elm City,” said New Haven Mayor Justin Elicker. “Though our City faces many fiscal challenges, we have always maintained services for our youth and populations of need, such as our homeless populations and the elderly. I am looking forward to working with Gwen, serving, leading and inspiring the youth of New Haven,” he concluded.

Mrs. Busch Williams started her career at City Hall in 2007 when the Youth Employment Program was brought back to the City as Youth at Work. Her latest role in City Hall was Program Manager in the Youth Services Department. She will now lead the newly formed Youth and Recreation Department.

“Gwen is a strong advocate, a highly capable administrator, and an enthusiastic leader,” said Dr. Mehul Dalal, the City’s Community Services Administrator, who oversees the Youth and Recreation Department. “She is perfectly suited to lead

the newly integrated Youth and Recreation Department,” he concluded.

Mrs. Busch Williams has acquired an undergraduate degree in Interpersonal Communications from the University of Connecticut (UCONN), a Masters Degree in Urban Studies from Southern Connecticut State University (SCSU), and a Masters of Social Work from SCSU. She is currently completing her Doctorate Degree in Social Work at SCSU. Additionally, Mrs. Busch Williams is a Licensed Master Social Worker (LMSW) with her State of Connecticut 071 certification for school social work.

“To whom much is given much is required. I am humbled to have been selected as the inaugural Director for the Youth and Recreation Department. Thank you to Mayor Elicker for this honor. I pledge to continue prodigious programming to serve the youth of this City and will not be afraid to give up the good to go for the great,” concluded Director Busch Williams.

THE INNER-CITY NEWS - September 02, 2020 - September 08, 2020

Equity V. Equality In Local Policy

by KEVIN MALONEY

New Haven I ndependent

The first step of addressing racial disparities at a local level is to get some basic terms right.

This is according to Leon Andrews, the director of the National League of Cities’ Race, Equity, and Leadership (REAL) initiative. Andrews has been working with REAL to help local leaders undo structural racism since protests in Ferguson, Mo. in 2015 brought national attention to police brutality.

Andrews joined the Municipal Voice, a co-production between the Connecticut Conference of Municipalities and WNHH FM, to talk about what he’s learned in the years since.

“I think the equity, equality piece is one that is so important to understand at the foundational level because people tend to use those words interchangeably,” Andrews said. “At the very high level, equality means giving everyone the same thing. Equity means giving people what they need.”

Andrews drew on the metaphor of three people behind a fence watching a game, each with a disproportionate disadvantage.

He said that one has to “think differently about what they need to watch the game.”

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So for local leaders, when they begin to process racism, they can’t process it in the individual sense. There are “policies, practices, and procedures that have actually benefited white people over people of

color, sometimes intentionally or inadvertently,” Andrews explained.

Housing policies like redlining are part of this larger institutional racism, he said.

“Whether we’re talking about housing,

whether we’re talking about health, … education, criminal justice, unemployment rates, or deaths from coronavirus, race is still the number one predictor [of success in this country],” Andrews said.

One of the ways to change this is through targeted universalism, Andrews said. The idea is that focusing efforts in one area benefits everyone. Curb cuts mandated through the Americans with Disabilities Act were intended to help people with wheelchairs, but they ended up benefitting people walking with strollers and suitcases too.

What ending racial disparities means depends on the town or city, because each is so different. Andrews argued that no one city or town or village has reached the goalposts yet.

“Ultimately, the measure of we’ve succeeded is how we close the gaps, where race is no longer predicting one’s success.”

Andrews said that he has hope for the future but he understands those who do not.

Challenges and tensions can arise on any given day.

“But what I like about this work that we do with city leaders is it’s not just about morally this is a good thing to do. Racial equity is about good governance.”

“The Mighty Midget” Wins Key To The City

by MAYA MCFADDEN

New Haven I ndependent

Local boxing champ Tramaine “The Mighty Midget” Williams took home an honorary key to the city, in recognition of the 27-year-old Hill resident’s nationallyrenowned athletic achievements.

Williams, a Hillhouse graduate, received that honor at a celebratory press conference held outside of City Hall Monday afternoon.

It was hosted by Mayor Justin Elicker and Hill Alder Ron Hurt.

Monday was the second time Williams had met the mayor. Their first meeting took place 10 days prior, at a vigil at Ring One boxing gym on Congress Avenue commemorating the life of fellow local boxer Dayshon Smith. Smith was shot and killed in the Hill in mid-August.

The mayor and the boxer met again for happier times on Monday as Williams received a key to the city for his outstanding career as a featherweight champ.

Williams lives in the Hill and has been boxing for 19 years. He has held the International Boxing Federation (IBF), United States Boxing Association (USBA), World Boxing Organization, and North American Boxing Organization junior featherweight titles.

He has 19 wins out of a total of 21 fights.

“Your hard work and dedication display the work of a true champion,” said Hurt.

Williams is close friends with Chad Dawson, who has received a key to the city

Alder Ron Hurt, Starlet Huckaby, Tramaine Williams.

last year from then-Mayor Toni Harp.

Elicker said that Monday’s key ceremony was the first chance he’s had since taking office to hand over the key to the city to

an accomplished New Haven.

“I’m just feeling like finally. I know everyone in New Haven, and this has been a longtime goal of mine,” Williams said.

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For the past two weeks, Williams has been taking a break from boxing. After a loss three weeks, ago he took a week to rest his body and then another week to get his “mind back into it.”

“I like to focus on the good moments but whenever I get awards like this I just think of how I overcame New Haven. I’ve been through things but always end out on top,” he said.

Williams’s sister, Starlet Huckaby, watched her brother accomplish another major goal of his at the Monday celebration. “There’s no question he’s chosen,” she said. “He’s always been pushing through hard times. We’ve learned to not let our hardships dictate our future.”

Huckaby said their family needed this moment of celebration after overcoming several setbacks like the death of their grandmother and uncle this year.

Huckaby said her three sons, ages two, four, and 10, have been looking up to Williams all their lives.

Williams plans to train for the next six to eight weeks. “I need some world titles.

That’s next,” he said.

Hurt said he first met Williams while he was doing volunteer work around the Hill years ago.

The two check up on each other through phone text and calls frequently. He said they also motifvate one another.

“There’s times when I find that he’s mentoring me,” Hurt said. “He’s definitely an overcomer.”

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THE INNER-CITY NEWS - September 02, 2020 - September 08, 2020

Mayor Elicker Hears From The Hill

by MAYA MCFADDEN

New Haven I ndependent

A small but outspoken crowd of Hill residents gathered with Mayor Justin Elicker to talk about how to fix neighborhood violence.

One proposed solution: The Hill needs more residents to apply to become police officers.

That conversation took place last Wednesday evening at Trowbridge Square Park, where Elicker hosted his latest “Meet the Mayor” event with city residents.

The mayor has visited neighborhoods across the city to give people a chance to convey all types of concerns to him directly. He’s made recent stops in Newhallville and Morris Cove.

A group of roughly 15 Hill residents came and went to the gathering last Wednesday while children played on the playground and splash pad across the way.

Hill Alder Carmen Rodriguez said she called up many of her neighbors in advance to invite them to the meet-up and to gather a list of concerns to bring to the mayor. One attendee, Louis Pozzuolia, stopped by after stumbling upon the meetup during a stroll through the park.

The mayor was joined Wednesday by a number of other city officials, such as

Traffic, Transportation & Parking Director Doug Hausladen, City Engineer Giovanni Zinn, and Hill district commander Sgt. Justin Marshall, among others.

From the very start, neighbors approached the mayor with comments and concerns about recent violence in the Hill and other issues which involve the police.

Neighbors questioned if police have been able to get control of Long Wharf and put a stop to large gatherings and street racing. That racing usually travels into the Hill and can keep neighborhood officers occupied and too busy to patrol the area, many said.

Marshall informed the residents of the department’s recent work cracking down large gatherings and street racing on Long Wharf. He described a recent operation two Saturdays ago during which the department towed cars and made multiple arrests after tracking down racers at the Long Wharf Mobil.

Hill residents Leslie Radcliffe asked, “Is there a shortage in our police? Do we have all hands on deck for police officers?”

Elicker responded that even after his cut of 48 vacant positions from this fiscal year’s police department budget, the department still has room to hire more of-

Gov. Lamont To Request Extension of Emergency Authority

CTNEWSJUNKIE FILE PHOTO

Gov. Ned Lamont

Gov. Ned Lamont has inked nearly 70 executive orders since the middle of March, but the emergency authority the General Assembly allowed him to have is about to expire on Sept. 9 and not all lawmakers agree on what should happen in the future.

“I think we need to have an appeal right that gives the opportunity to the leaders to appeal an EO by the governor,” Republican Senate Leader Len Fasano said.

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ficers.

Elicker added that the NHPD is currently accepting applications until Sept. 4 and encouraged residents to share the message along with their friends and family to hire more New Haveners to the department.

“We’ll take whatever patrol here in the Hill that other neighborhoods don’t want,” Radcliffe said.

“We need representation in the police.

If we want change we have to make it,” said Rodriguez who handed pamphlets about the police application process to neighbors. “If they’re interested give the information to your family and friends so they can be out here helping and listening to us.”

One resident asked Marshall if the current extra police patrol in the Hill is permanent or not.

“We need them,” the resident said. Marshall informed the crowd that the NHPD will continue its targeted enforcement in the Hill for at least the next month. In August and September, Marshall said, eight cops have been assigned to Hill North and five to Hill South.

Elicker and Rodriguez encouraged residents to stay out of any neighborhood trouble when issues arise and to “have the police on speed dial” instead.

How To Bridge The Digital Divide?

Hill North Community Management Team Secretary Maxine Harris then asked, “What is school going to look like for kids that can’t afford internet?”

The public school system is slated to begin the school year with 10 weeks of entirely remote learning.

Elicker said the New Haven Public Schools’s roughly 21,000 students will receive devices like chromebooks, iPads, tablets, and Dell laptops.

And he said that there will be 10,000 spots available for families without internet to sign up and get Comcast internet for free.

“What’s in place for kids that can’t learn with these Chromebooks?” asked Hill South Community Management Team Chair Sarah McIver, who lives on Arthur Street.

McIver does not have kids of her own but has family and neighbors with kids who “need extra help in school.”

“Some kids have a hard time keeping up without a pandemic going on. I’m just thinking, what about them? We can’t just let them fall through the cracks,” she said.

Elicker said the city is working on addressing this issue, but that he couldn’t give a full answer right then. He encouraged the community to be a good neighbor and help families with schooling in any way possible this school year.

Harris shared that she hosts a weekly read out loud program at 14 Stevenson St. to keep kids on track in the summer.

McIver said she hopes to get neighbors to start more community initiatives this Con’t on page 13

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DONT LET THEM COUNT YOU OUT!

THE INNER-CITY NEWS - September 02, 2020 - September 08, 2020

Free Ice Cream Tops Off Tough Summer

we’re present, and it’s the smallest things that make the difference,” she said.

Busch Williams also spoke about encouraging New Haveners to practice healthy social distancing and sanitizing habits.

She bent down to assist Marque put on his reusable mask from the PPE package.

by SOPHIE SONNENFELD New Haven I ndependent

When S’ence and Quanetta Thomas saw lights flashing and heard police speakers booming, they rushed out of their home at the Brookside Apartments.

Behind the line of police cars and motorcycles, a bright red and white striped Jolly Roger Ice Cream Truck rolled up to the scene.

“Free ice cream! Come down for free ice cream!” officers announced.

The Thomases caught up with the truck and joined neighbors in line. “It’s good!”

Quanetta said last Wednesday as she ate a vanilla soft serve cone.

New Haveners across the city enjoyed nearly 1,500 cones during an ice cream giveaway event organized by the city’s Youth and Recreation Department, Police Department, Health Department, and Parks Department.

Members from all the departments helped hand out cones and Covid-19 personal protective equipment (PPE) packages last Wednesday through Friday.

They made five stops in the Hill and Fair Haven on Wednesday and 12 stops in Newhallville, Dixwell, and Amity.

City Health Director Maritza Bond said the departments organized the event to “encourage a healthy New Haven.” Bond said she’s seen a large increase of Covid-19 cases recently, especially in younger New Haveners.

“We want to mitigate this pandemic and what a creative way to come out to the neighborhoods and to provide the ice cream cones along with information and a mask so people stay safe” she said.

A few weeks ago, Bond got in contact with Youth Services Specialist Ron Huggins to brainstorm fun ways to engage younger New Haveners and reduce Covid-19 cases. They then worked with the police and parks departments to make over 1,000 Covid-19 care packages filled with reusable masks, hand sanitizer, and Covid-19 informational sheets.

Bond and the Health Department designed the informational sheets with safety suggestions and graphics in Spanish and English.

“This is just an example of when different departments come together, the success that can come about. It was interdepartmental and external community members coming together so we could increase awareness in a unique way. And it’s a hot summer day so we wanted to be able to provide an ice cream cone for balanced, healthy eating!” Bond said laughing.

Huggins said he helped organize the event for “the smiles on the kids faces!”

“To see kids coming down, this is what community is all about. Stepping up during this tough time, giving people just a gleam of hope, giving people ice cream, seeing all the kids, seeing people that you know!”

She twisted the ear straps to make the one-size-fits-all mask fit his face…

Volunteers at the ice cream giveaway.

SOPHIE SONNENFELD PHOTOS

S’ence (left) and Quanetta Thomas.

Just then, Huggins greeted Elizabeth Yarbrough who lives with her two grandsons on Wayfarer Street. Yarbrough said with Covid-19 and the Westville Manor buildings’ demolition on Wayfarer, there has not been much for the neighborhood kids to do over the summer.

Yarbrough’s grandsons are 10 and 14 years old, and said they were very excited about the ice cream giveaway. “It’s something positive for the kids to do while they’re in the process of moving us. There’s nothing else for the kids to do anymore.”

She thanked Huggins for all the work he and the department have done. “Every time I look, he’s doing something positive!”

City Director of Youth and Recreation Gwendolyn Busch Williams said she remembers chasing after the ice cream truck when she was a kid. Busch Williams said she is happy New Haven kids got to chase after the ice cream truck as well this summer.

“It’s important to make sure the community knows that the city loves them, that

Lt. Manmeet Colon takes a picture of Marque.

Edilberto Fontanez with Nancy Fontanez (center) and Serenity Johnson.

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...which later came off so he could eat his ice cream…

Kayla Tyson brought her five month old puppy Mega for some vanilla ice cream.

She said Covid-19 hasn’t majorly impacted her summer fun of shopping and eating ice cream. “It’s still been good!”

Edilberto Fontanez, who owns the ice cream truck, said the most popular flavor of the day’s giveaway was vanilla. Fontanez has owned the ice cream truck for over 35 years and has run Eddie’s Market at 58 Sylvan Ave. for almost 50 years.

He was joined by his daughter, Nancy Fontanez, and granddaughter, Serenity Johnson. Johnson often helps Fontanez serve ice cream in the summers.

Fontanez said he typically sells the ice cream at $2 per cone, but agreed to sell cones at $1 each to the city-sponsored event’s organizers so New Haveners could enjoy free ice cream.

Huggins said as soon as he called Fontanez with the idea, Fontanez said yes immediately.

Huggins worked with NHPD Lt. Manmeet Colon to plan the route and stops for the ice cream giveaway event. “We wanted to spread the love all across the city in all the neighborhoods,” Huggins said.

Throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, Huggins, Colon, and Police Chief Otoniel Reyes teamed up for joint efforts between the Police Department and Youth Services to cheer up and support New Haven kids.

In May, they paraded to several homes to help kids celebrate their birthdays with cakes and Jr. Officer badges.

They have also stopped by a handful of kids’ lemonade stands and helped organize an airplane banner that flew over the city in June to honor the Class of 2020.

“This is what being selfless is about,” Huggins said.

Just last week, when a basketball hoop in the area broke, Colon and Huggins worked for five hours to put up a new one. Huggins said they designed their ice cream giveaway route to hit neighborhoods they hadn’t touched much yet this the summer.

Colon said they also wanted to stop at locations where kids have witnessed a lot of police activity, homicides, and shootings.

“It’s something positive for them to see that the police are not always responding here when there is an act of violence or crime, but that we’re here and part of the community.”

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THE INNER-CITY NEWS - September 02, 2020 - September 08, 2020

COVID-19 Cases Creeping Back Up As Schools Reopen In Connecticut

by Christine Stuart Ct. News Junkie

HARTFORD, CT — Public health data shows state COVID-19 cases have begun creeping back up in the past week, after remaining steady in the wake of their April peak.

Between last week and this week there were 868 new cases, which is up from around 744 the previous week.

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Josh Geballe, Gov. Ned Lamont’s chief operating officer, said Monday that there has been an increase in testing partly due to students returning to college campuses.

All students, even commuters, are being tested before returning to campus for a mix of in-person and online learning.

“There’s a lot of additional testing occurring based on our focused testing strategy on at-risk populations, but also with backto-school. Our colleges and universities are doing a lot of additional testing as they bring students back,” Geballe said.

He said hospitalizations remain low, which is a signal of how many people are

getting sick in the community.

“We’re at our lowest levels of COVID hospitalizations since this began,” Geballe said.

As of Monday there were 52 people hospitalized.

Since last Monday there have been more than 95,000 tests given. That’s more than the 78,000 given the previous week. And it means Connecticut’s positivity rating has remained under 1%.

“The test positivity rate has remained very stable over a very extended period of time, so I think we’re catching more of the cases with positive tests that have been out there for some time,” Geballe said Monday.

There have been outbreaks in Danbury and East Windsor, coupled with a mild rise in COVID-19 cases in some other cities and towns.

Danbury had 146 new cases in the last week, or 17.23 new cases per 10,000 residents.

In East Windsor, 31 migrant workers on a tobacco farm tested positive, pushing the town of 11,375 to a state-high 30.77

new cases per 10,000 inhabitants. That was before the Journal Inquirer reported Monday that 10 employees at the town’s Blue Bell Mattress Factory also tested positive for COVID-19.

There were no new coronavirus related deaths reported Monday leaving Connecticut’s death toll at 4,465.

Some school districts started school on Monday and more are expected to start on Sept. 8.

Gov. Ned Lamont said the state set forth clear guidelines on when schools should move to remote learning, as Danbury did with its flare-up.

“We have clear metrics out there about when we think it’s time to pull back,” Lamont said. “Public health is still our key metric.”

Lamont said he thinks it’s safe to reopen schools, even though he didn’t mandate it.

“I think we’ve been traveling for three months in a very narrow band between 0.5 percent and 1.2 percent,” Lamont said Monday during a press briefing. “Right now, I just feel like we’re in a pretty good position.”

CTNEWSJUNKIE FILE PHOTO Gov. Ned Lamont

Tags: Josh Geballe, COVID-19, Ned Lamont, schools, coronavirus, ahg

Schools Ramp Up Laptop, Wifi Access

by THOMAS BREEN

New Haven I ndependent

Joshuwa Papalotzi picked up a laptop, a charger, and words of encouragement from staff at Career High School, as the city and the public school system hustle to ensure that every student is well equipped for an all-online start to the school year.

Papalotzi, a rising 11th grader at Career, took home that Dell laptop Tuesday morning from a New Haven Public Schools (NHPS) device giveaway and press conference held on the Orchard Street side of the Legion Avenue high school.

“It’s different, and it’s just something we’ve all got to adjust ourselves to,” said Career truant officer Ron Atkinson as he handed a plastic bag filled with a laptop, a charger, and a warranty for the device to Papalotzi, and then advised the local high school student on how to log in at home.

“We all just have to keep doing the work to educate our students.”

The first day of the school year is Thursday and, per the Board of Education’s votes this summer, all city public schools will spend the first 10 weeks of the school year with entirely online learning.

As Papalotzi and fellow Career students walked along a line of yellow and orange cones spaced out at six-foot intervals leading to the laptop giveaway, Superintendent Iline Tracey and Mayor Justin Elicker hosted a press conference announcing that the local school system has enough internet-accessible devices for all 21,000-plus public school students.

Those devices, a mix of Dell laptops for high school students, Chromebooks for

THOMAS BREEN PHOTO

Career High School student Joshuwa Papalotzi picks up a laptop from Ron Atkinson.

elementary and middle school students, and iPads for the school system’s youngest learners, are available thanks to funding from the state and the federal CARES Act, as well as donations from the Dalio Foundation and Yale University, among other donors.

Tracey and Elicker said that the state is also funding 10,000 Comcast basic internet accounts and 3,000 Kajeet SmartSpot hotspot devices for public school families in need of internet access.

And on top of that, NHPS is in the process of installing 13 internet hotspots on

various public school buildings around the city.

Each of those hubs should project free wifi up to two-and-a-half blocks away from their respective schools. The publicly-accessible, school-powered wifi hubs are currently set up at Career, LincolnBassett Community School, Fair Haven School, the former Christopher Columbus Academy, and John S. Martinez School, and are slated to be installed in the coming weeks atop King-Robinson, Roberto Clemente, Hill-Central, John C. Daniels, Riverside, Betsy Ross, Truman, and the

8

former Strong School on Orchard Street.

Tracey said that, when she started out as interim superintendent earlier this year, one of her top goals to was to ensure that all roughly 21,000 students have access to devices and to the internet.

“The dream is being fulfilled right now,” she said. “I can safely say that we have a device for every child in New Haven Public Schools.”

Tracey said that she feels optimistic that online instruction will go more smoothly this fall than it did this spring, when the pandemic abruptly ended in-person classes in March and only around 30 percent of local public school students fully engaged with classwork for the rest of the semester.

This time around, she said, the school system has enough devices for all students, as well as a variety of free wifi initiatives that should bridge the internet gap for many families that do not currently have a reliable internet connection.

Plus, teachers will be using Google Suite this fall to do live instruction, which should provide for more engaging and interactive learning than the pre-recorded and asynchronous instruction that took place last spring. “Last time we were a little scared to be going with Zoom because of Zoom bombing,” Tracey said. “Google Suite is the safest place for our students right now.”

Tracey added that the school system is holding training for parents to help them set up their children’s remote classrooms and internet-accessible devices for the start of the school year. NHPS is also

training paraprofessionals to help teachers provide a “robust learning environment for our students.”

Elicker praised the various wifi enhancements—through the hubs on top of public schools, the free Comcast accounts, and the Kajeet home hotspots—as creating “a system with a lot of redundancy,” so that families that may not be succeed in getting internet through one of those options can turn to another to make sure students are connected to their classes this fall.

“Our commitment is to support our remote learning for as long as we need to, and then transition back into a hybrid and then full in-person mode” when it is safe to do so, said Asst. Superintendent Paul Whyte.

“This is a transition time. ... This is a huge change in how New Haven Public Schools does its education, but we’re moving full steam ahead.”

As he packed up his new laptop and headed back out to the Career parking lot, Papalotzi steeled himself for the start of the year.

“I don’t like it,” he said about having classes entirely online. “I like going to schools. It’s complicated to communicate with teachers” when all online.

Fellow Career high school students Jahziel Martes, Lynoshka Veracruz, and Keyshalee Rivera had a different take on starting this fall all remote, after they picked up their laptops and prepared to drive home with their parents.

“I understand” why the year is starting all online, Veracruz said. “I don’t want to get my family sick.”

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THE INNER-CITY NEWS - September 02, 2020 - September 08, 2020

Sweet And Savory Black-Owned Business Duo Redefines Court Street

by Lucy Gellman, Editor, The ARTS Paper www.newhavenarts.org

The cupcakes nearly make eye contact, winking from behind the sparkling glass and under sloping cake plates.

Then the cake cups, with ribbons of banana pudding and bright slices of strawberry. There’s a symphony of scent: honeyed butter and sweet cornbread, greens that have been simmering for hours. And chicken—except, without the animal—cooked to a perfect crisp and served on a steaming plate of plant-based soul food.

Welcome to a reimagined Court Street storefront, where Black-owned, woman-owned businesses Vegan Ahava and Edible Couture have moved into the former home of Sweet Mary’s and Havenly Treats. Last Thursday, owners Poreyah Benton and Tisha Hudson opened the small storefront after weeks of preparation. For both women, it marks their first brick-and-mortar venture after years owning and operating food trucks.

“It feels amazing,” Hudson said Saturday, just an hour before the shop closed. “It really helps us to empower more women to do this, and it’s beautiful to see it happen. Especially in the middle of a pandemic.”

Benton started Vegan Ahava as a Collab New Haven venture two years ago, in the same cohort that included 14 local food startups that are still growing across the city. Hudson, known for her pink-sided truck patterned with images of cupcakes and neat cursive, has worked out of Bridgeport for several years. In their first three days on Court Street, they served hundreds of customers who came from around the state for the food.

In just days, the two have brought a warm, conversational feel to a stretch of downtown that was eerily quiet not so long ago. When the shop is open, Benton serves a rotating mix of salads (she is known for her “loaded” salad options, which include tofu, vermicelli, potato, and kale), meatless chicken drumsticks, burgers and cheesesteaks, soul food plates, rice dishes and vegan desserts that she makes from scratch.

Hudson, who may be best known for cupcake flavors like banana pudding, strawberry shortcake and maple bacon, offers over a dozen different flavors each day.

The move from food truck to brickand-mortar came together in just a month, after Benton’s friend spotted a Facebook post from Sweet Mary’s owner Missy Antonelli at the beginning of July. Before COVID-19, Antonelli was preparing to move the bakery to York Street. Then the pandemic hit.

Antonelli leased the space to Havenly through June, and announced she was going to keep looking.

Benton, who grew up in Israel and trained at ConnCAT, saw it as her chance to expand. For the past two years, she’s run a popular truck in downtown New Haven, with day trips to Hartford and New England Brewing Company. She’s also long dreamed of running her own business on a larger scale. She put the word out on social media: would anyone be interested in splitting the cost of the storefront with her?

Hudson’s friend tagged her, and she looked into Vegan Ahava online. She saw that Benton had a faithful following that was devoted in the same way hers was. And she was excited by the idea of partnering with another Black-

owned, woman-owned business. The two had never met, but clicked instantly. They decided to go in as a joint venture, with two separate businesses that operated in a single space.

After “a few hiccups” earlier this month, Benton said she is excited to be up and running.

“It feels really good,” she said. “A lot of people were like, ‘You don’t know her! Are you sure you want to do this?’

But I needed to expand. We’ve been open for three days, and people are already starting to ask me when I’m going to open a restaurant.”

It has introduced new foot traffic to that stretch of downtown. Across the street, The Beer Collective was an early casualty of COVID-19, as was the well-loved banh mi shop nearby. A ramen restaurant that opened just before

10

the pandemic draws a quiet stream of business, rather than a rush. The federal buildings and a mostly-closed City Hall nearby mean that the area has remained quiet. The building at the corner, which once housed the ill-fated C’viche 181, has been empty for years.

But outside on Saturday, Court Street felt like someone’s front porch. Three friends, all waiting for their food, laughed and chatted on a doorstep nearby. Other customers lined up outside the door, keeping six feet of distance without anyone having to tell them to do it. Every so often, the door opened, and laughter and the smell of warm food and spun sugar drifted out.

A woman who had run a virtual 5K that morning had come to pick up her reward, a chocolate-on-chocolate-onchocolate cupcake that was waiting for her inside. Another customer, who asked to be identified only as Amy, said she has been following Vegan Ahava for months, since discovering Benton’s bright green truck on the corner of the New Haven Green with a coworker.

After 10 years in New Haven, she considers it some of the best food in the city—and the best vegan food for miles. The first time she tried Benton’s no-chicken “drummies,” she refused to believe they were vegan. When Benton assured her that they were entirely plant-based, she kept coming back.

While she is not vegan, she said she enjoys plant-based food and eats it frequently with her friends who have dietary restrictions.

“I fell in love with her food,” she said

before picking up a pre-ordered “Jackson Five” (mac and cheese, meatless drumsticks, cornbread, collard greens, and sweet potatoes). “The taste is amazing. It’s delicious. It’s really, really good.”

As she picked up her order, Hartford barber Mike C. rolled in to pick up two “Jackson Five” plates, cold lemonade and a vegan chocolate chip cookie cupcake. A strict vegan who has been plant-based for five years, C. first tried Benton’s food at the Hartford farmer’s market last year. Since, he’s been following her lime-green truck wherever he can catch it.

He said the 45-minute drive was well worth it—and that he was already planning to return. When he found out that Hudson offers vegan cupcake options, his eyes lit up.

“Plant-based food, it’s hard to come by,” he said. “It’s not often that you see that, and you have the chance to support Black-owned businesses. Those together are far and few between.”

Inside, impromptu conversations unfolded beside orders of extra cornbread, coconut-oatmeal cookies and cake cups that flew from a chilled case. Hours after first placing her order on chickenless “drummies” (“I knew they would go fast”), educator and Newhallville organizer Kim Harris came in to pick them up. Within minutes, she had started a conversation on a back-to-school drive that the Newhallville Community Action Network (NCAN) had planned for Sunday.

At the counter, a mom leaned in to find out more: her son was about to start third grade. Harris smiled, popped outside, and grabbed a stack of flyers from her car.

That purpose—community connection through food, even when it’s carry-out—is part of what Benton and Hudson are going for. Hudson began baking years ago, not because she had a sweet tooth, but because it reminded her of time she spent with her grandmother. Her son Jayden helps out in the shop, manning the register as cooks buzz around the small kitchen and take a continuous stream of orders. For Benton too, it’s never just been about the gospel of plant-based food. It’s been about food and community.

“My tunnel vision was just on the truck,” said Benton. “When I started this, I didn’t know how well it would do. But when I saw this [the storefront], I thought, why not? Maybe in three, four years, I’ll start my own restaurant.”

Vegan Ahava and Edible Couture are open at 129 Court St. Tuesday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.

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THE INNER-CITY NEWS - September 02, 2020 - September 08, 2020

City Launches $800K Housing Assistance Fund

by THOMAS BREEN

New Haven I ndependent

Low-income tenants struggling to make rent during the Covid-19 crisis have a new local lifeline—thanks to the launch of a city rental assistance and eviction prevention program targeted at helping vulnerable families stay housed during the pandemic.

Mayor Justin Elicker and top state and city officials announced the New Haven Emergency Housing Response initiative during a Wednesday morning press conference on the second floor of City Hall.

The new program is funded with $800,000 from the city’s federal CARES Act allocation.

The program earned praise from a local legal aid housing attorney—as well as skepticism about the city housing code enforcement agency charged with administering it Elicker, city Economic Development Administrator Michael Piscitelli, and Livable City Initiative (LCI) Executive Director Serena Neal-Sanjurjo said Wednesday that the new program consists of three parts—all designed to help people stay in their homes and out of the housing court’s eviction pipeline during the ongoing public health emergency.

“We are in a crisis in terms of housing here in the city,” Neal-Sanjurjo said, even as the governor’s eviction moratorium has been extended through October 1.

With roughly 10,000 New Haveners currently on state unemployment, Piscitelli said, “It will be one of the most significant things we face as a city and as a state over the course of the fall and winter, dealing with families that are facing true economic crisis.”

Tenants interested in applying for local rental assistance can call the city at 203846-7090 or email castle@newhavenct. gov.

“We’re Doing The Best With Our Resources” The new initiative creates a Coronavirus Assistance and Security Tenant Landlord Emergency program (CASTLE), which will provide direct financial assistance for low-income renters and homeowners who have suffered economic hardship during the pandemic.

Neal-Sanjurjo said that applicants must be New Haven residents, they cannot already have a judgment for eviction entered prior to March 2020, and and they must have experienced a verified income disruption due to Covid-19. Examples of such financial hardships include being laid off or furloughed, having a reduction in hours of work or pay, having their place of work close, and not being able to work in order to care for a home-bound elderly person or a school-age child.

Eligible tenants must also make no more than 80 percent of the area median income (AMI), which according to the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) comes to $75,500

for a family of four for the New HavenMeriden metro area.

Neal-Sanjurjo said that the program will provide up to $3,000 in rental assistance for eligible families, with the money paid directly by the city to the renter’s landlord. LCI staffers will help tenants who call the above phone number come up with a landlord-tenant workout plan with their respective landlords before determining how much to distribute in each case.

The new local initiative would also use part of that $800,000 total allocation to help tenants who are already involved in housing court but do not yet have an eviction filed against them cover back rent and come up with a deal with their landlords that would allow them to stay in their home.

Finally, the new response program’s hotline at 203-946-7090 will allow for LCI staffers to connect needy tenants with a variety of other housing support services, including referrals to housing counselling agencies and mediators working with legal aid and the Urban League, Neal-Sanjurjo said.

The LCI director said that the financial assistance program should help around 300 New Haven families with this current tranche of funding. That’s just a small portion of the roughly 5,600 New Haven residents the city believes are currently experiencing some kind of housing-related economic hardship.

“I don’t think the federal government, the state government, or the city have adequate resources to fund the need,” Elicker said. “We don’t know of how large this problem will be once the eviction moratorium ends” in October.

He described the new rental support program as one step in a broader series of actions taken by City Hall to make sure people remain housed during the pandemic. That includes relocating 324 previously homeless individuals to new permanent housing over the past six months and working on a soon-to-be-announced inclusionary zoning ordinance that would require developers set aside a certain percentage of apartments at affordable rents in new housing complexes, he said.

The governor’s negotiations with private banks to provide mortgage relief for homeowners and the October 1 state eviction moratorium extension represent further state actions designed to prevent an eviction and foreclosure crisis from sweeping the state, he added.

“The need is much greater than what we’re able to provide,” Elicker said.

“We’re doing the best with our resources.”

State Rental Help: Still In Process The local rental assistance program isn’t the only pot of money that low-income tenants in need can apply for during the pandemic. There’s also the state Temporary Rental Housing Assistance Program (TRHAP), which launched in July and is

THOMAS BREEN PHOTO Neal-Sanjurjo and Elicker announce new rental assistance program.

run by the state Department of Housing (DOH). Gov. Ned Lamont initially put $10 million into the program, and then added another $10 million as the renters from throughout the state applied en masse for help.

DOH spokesperson Aaron Turned told the Independent by email after Wednesday’s presser that, as of Aug. 28, the state housing department had received a total of 7,375 submissions from renters looking for help through TRHAP. He said that, of that total, DOH has determined 6,139 to be prequalified for assistance.

“To date, there are 700 households actively working with the 11 HUD Certified Housing Counseling Agencies to complete their paperwork, including contracting with their landlords,” Turner wrote.

“We anticipate additional referrals for assistance very soon.”

He said the department estimates that, when these 700 households successfully come under contract with the state, they should receive approximately $2.8 million out of the program’s total $20 million.

Not a dollar of that money has actually gone out to renters yet, however, as “they are in the process of getting under contract,” Turner said.

He said DOH hopes to get the first TRHAP payments out the door by Friday or early next week.

CDC Directive? “Assessing Its Impact Now” Wednesday’s City Hall announcement also came one day after the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a new directive ordering a nationwide eviction moratorium for renters who make under $99,000 a year and

12

can attest to not being able to pay full rent despite best efforts at securing assistance.

The order, coming on the heels of President Donald Trump’s executive order this summer that encouraged the CDC to contemplate an eviction moratorium, seemed to catch some state agencies off guard.

State housing commissioner Seila Mosquera-Bruno said during the City Hall press conference that she had not yet read about the new national directive. Turner later told the Independent that DOH’s legal department is currently analyzing the directive to assess what kind of impact it will have in Connecticut.

State Judicial Branch spokesperson Rhonda Hebert had a similar response when asked for comment on how this new directive will impact Connecticut courts.

“We are aware of the CDC directive and assessing its impact now,” she wrote.

Legal Aid: LCI Must Do Better Yonatan Zamir, a housing attorney with the New Haven Legal Assistance Association (NHLAA), praised the city for the launch of the new local rental assistance program.

“I am enthusiastic that the City is proactively looking to connect tenants and landlords to funding in an effort to stabilize the rental market in the City of New Haven,” he wrote in an email to the Independent Wednesday. “So many people— tenants and landlords—are feeling incredibly uncertain and government’s job is to try to reduce that uncertainty.”

Zamir said that his enthusiasm for the program is tempered by his concerns with the agency that will be running it—namely, LCI. “We do not have a lot of confidence in the leadership of LCI,” he wrote.

Zamir passed along a five page letter that

he and attorney Sarah Mervine emailed to LCI’s Neal-Sanjurjo on Aug. 19.

The letter, which can be read in full here, describes a number of concerns with how LCI currently takes in calls from concerned tenants, maintains records, and conducts housing code enforcement inspections.

“In the midst of a public health crisis in which our homes should be the safest place for families to shelter, it is more important than ever that our City’s housing code enforcement system is effectively and expeditiously functioning to assure that tenants are protected from conditions that threaten their health and safety,” Zamir and Mervine wrote.

The lawyers propose a range of potential fixes for LCI’s workflow in that letter.

They include: • Updating LCI’s primary voicemail message to inform callers that they have reached LCI, to let them know what LCI does, to ask them to leave their name, number, home address, and the best time to reach them, and to let callers know that they can expect a follow up call on the next business day, or sooner if the nature of the call is an emergency.

• Keeping an electronic call log of tenant calls, so that tenants can easily reference their call to the city agency if they wish to exercise their legal right to pay rent into court when their apartment is not safe or habitable.

• Creating a searchable online database of landlord registries, oversight programs, and property code violations, as well as an online system to file housing code complaints and a database for all inspections and enforcement. This was one of the recommendations in the mayoral tranCon’t on page 13

THE INNER-CITY NEWS - September 02, 2020 - September 08, 2020 Con’t from page 05

Mayor Elicker Hears From The Hill

school year like Harris’s to help kids not fall behind.

A Noisy Neighborhood Magaly Cajigas joined the gathering with her daughter Alanna Cajigas after Rodriquez had called her.

Cajigas’s parents have lived in their Hill home since she was fifteen. She asked Elicker to implement more community policing to make the neighborhood safer.

“All I want is some kind of peace and serenity for them,” she said of her elderly and retired grandparents who often call her daily with a “laundry list” of complaints about the neighborhood.

Cajigas said the neighborhood is constantly loud from neighbors, to visitors, to a neighborhood DJ that plays music during all hours of the day.

Since the Covid-19 pandemic hit New Haven, Cajigas started working remotely from her parents’ house because of their better internet connection. She said she has struggled to work because of how noisy the neighborhood is.

“It’s ridiculous when you have to joke with your boss on Zoom that you have to close the door and windows because the neighborhood DJ thinks 3 p.m. is a good time for some music,” she said.

Alanna, 17, said while at her grandparents’ home she cannot go outside alone, and that her grandfather must walk with her when going to the corner store.

Elicker agreed with Cajigas that neighbors should be held accountable and encouraged her to call in the re-occurring noise issues to the police.

Even after the hour-long community conversation was up, many residents stuck around to talk with the mayor about what life is like living in the Hill.

Con’t from page 12

City Launches $800K

sition team’s report.

• Ensuring that LCI conduct follow-up inspections with landlords before granting them a notification of compliance with the city’s housing code.

“I appreciate their concerns,” Neal-Sanjurjo said in response to legal aid’s letter.

She said that, right before the pandemic hit, the city was in the process of moving a number of department’s data and information systems—including those for LCI—into the online Municity program.

“When we started at the start of the year, things were going fine. We’re not completely live yet because we got caught up in Covid,” she said. “The city has a strong plan in how we’re going to improve our data system. We all need to bring our data systems up to the 21st century.”

She said she hopes the Municity public-facing portal will launch soon so that the public can more easily access LCI’s records. “This is going to give us an update that’s needed desperately,” she said.

“We’ve done everything we can to revamp our system internally. We’re very

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THE INNER-CITY NEWS - September 02, 2020 - September 08, 2020

On Orange Street, Black Art Becomes Resistance

by Lucy Gellman, Editor, The ARTS Paper www.newhavenarts.org

Ro Godwynn looked up at a sea of masked faces that had gathered around her on Orange Street. A moment before, her voice had been coasting, birdsonglike with the words I don’t know how much longer I can do this on my own.

Hundreds of eyes crinkled at the edges as attendees smiled and broke into applause.

Godwynn took a breath in.

“I think that this is a time that is very sad and unprecedented,” she said. “But hope is our right. We still have hope, and we can keep holding on.”

Friday, Godwynn was one of over 45 artists, makers, and performers to use art as a form of resistance during Black Art Matters, an outdoor art fair and festival celebrating Black artists in greater New Haven. The event was organized by Dyme Ellis, a Public Ally and summer apprenticeship program (SAP) coordinator for Artspace New Haven. Ellis, who uses they/them pronouns, also enlisted help from Connecticut Against Brutality and Westville-based Lotta Studios.

It coincided with Artspace’s exhibition Revolution On Trial, which explores the legacy of the Black Panther Party 50 years after May Day in New Haven. More forcefully Friday, it served as a reminder of Black creation—and Black joy—in the face of white supremacy, ongoing police brutality, and a global pandemic that has disproportionately affected Black Americans.

As Ellis suggested at one point during the evening, the state-sanctioned violence in Wisconsin was not far from anyone’s mind—but neither was the possibility of liberation.

“I saw an opportunity to lean into my desire to do more curatorial work,” they said Friday, adding that the fair came together in just three weeks. “There are hate crimes against Black people every day. There is COVID-19. We haven’t had the outlet to express our frustration at the state of this country. Meanwhile, we’re in our homes creating. This gives us an outlet to express ourselves and tackle a real issue of financial disparity.”

As attendees drifted in and out of Artspace, Orange Street came alive in a way that it hasn’t for months, after a spring and summer submerged in the strange, disconcerting quiet of COVID-19. Earlier this summer, the Department of Traffic, Transportation and Parking closed the block to vehicles between Center and Crown Streets, where it is now wide open and painted in rainbow stripes.

Just after 6 p.m. Thabisa held the street, performing old and new works with accompaniment from guitarist Clifford Schloss. As she stepped up to the mic, attendees quieted around her, some sitting on the curbs as others kneeled, crouched and stood in the middle of the street, where asphalt now meets bright color.

Lucy Gellman Photos.

She crooned in a mix of Xhosa and English, attendees hanging on to each sound.

Somewhere in her throat, the improvisation of jazz caught on the strain of a wail.

She rode it out, shoulders rolling softly forward. Her arms glowed against the white of her shirt, the matching pink of her pants and lipstick. Her gold earrings, dangling cutouts of the African continent, glinted in the sunlight. Her knees bent in time with a pre-recorded track that unspooled beneath her. She lifted a finger to her lips, and added another layer of sound the the piece.

Between songs, she spoke to the audience about her own struggles with homelessness in South Africa, tracing her fear years ago to her present-day experience as a Black woman in New Haven. She leaned back into the mic, and dozens of attendees leaned right with her, waiting to see what she would do next.

As she flowed into “Eyodidi,” art stretched back onto the street before her.

Close to the makeshift stage, members of Connecticut Against Brutality supervised sales of $20 works, printed by Lotta Studio free of charge for the event. Ellis

14

said the format was modeled off of an art-focused protest in West Haven last month, organized by Connecticut Against Brutality. Instead of bringing large, single works, artists sent images to Lotta, which prepared them for Friday evening.

Throughout the evening, a few of the works were also raffled off as prizes.

Artist Amira Brown, who launched the Bail Out Gallery earlier this summer, walked away with $200 after selling all of her prints. She told Ellis that the money allowed her to pay her bills—and to find and support new artists in the city that she hadn’t yet discovered. She praised the fair as both an affinity space and a celebration of New Haven makers who are often underrepresented, under-resourced, and passed over for their white peers.

“This is just bringing people together,” Brown said. “It’s giving us a chance to support artists who need to be supported.”

Nearby, Annissa Carter chatted with attendees about her business, Wrapped Artist Gems. Born and raised in New Haven, Carter now lives in Waterbury, where she makes rings, earrings, wrapped crystals and marble-sized gems to adorn hair. She first started making jewelry in college, after falling in with a crowd of artists and makers. As she spoke to attendees, several marveled at the work. A customer marveled at a pair of dangly earrings with oxblood-colored stones at the end.

Like Brown, she said she was excited to have an event dedicated to artists who look like her, many of whom may be struggling to stay afloat.

“It is really refreshing to see that this is a space specifically for Black artists,” she said. “I feel like they’re [Artspace] really supporting the community right now.”

Independent designers filled the street in either direction, careful to socially distance as they talked to customers and curious onlookers from tables that lined the block. Siblings Sage and Farrin Paglia showed off their work from The Juice Box, a still-new venue dedicated to custom sneaker and shoe design. Closer to the corner of Crown Street, artist and designer Sydney Bell modeled designs from Syd University, her own line of clothing.

In the middle of the street, photographer Maza Monteiro Rey chatted with artist Aly Maderson Quinlog. Quinlog held one of Rey’s photographs, depicting a woman calf-deep in water at the moment dawn breaks across the sky. A rising, peaceful blue is all around her; one can almost see the water breathing with her body. She is regal, gazing downward in a yellow dress and matching veil. Rey, who works out of Lotta Studio, said she was thrilled to participate after receiving an invite from Ellis earlier this month.

“I just think this is important,” she said.

“I do need to be around Brown and Black artists.”

Back at the front of the street, Godwynn had slowed it down with one of the final sets of the evening, her voice rising over

dozens of attendees. It curled upwards in ribbons, floating for a moment before dissolving on the still-warm wind. She slipped into a piece inspired by a conversation with a gentleman who was housing insecure, and had told her she looked just like his sister. Then she played in a new song.

“Just feel the breeze between your fingers, know that everything will be okay,” she said. Above her head, the Connecticut sky was still wide and blue. “We’re gonna be okay.”

Godwynn made room for Mighty MoonChew, the nascent creation of Mooncha, MarkDaMighty, and drummer Chris Chew. Before the fair, Mooncha explained, the group had only been together for about a week. In that time, they’ve used writing and music as an outlet for a world turned completely upside down.

The lyrics, some poppy and others shredworthy with a metallic edge, reflected it.

“Upside down/upside down/upside down/upside down,” Mooncha sang as the audience moved in and cheered. “I feel/like the world is cavin’ all up on me.”

Around the group, attendees and performers started to dance. Thabisa and Godwynn made their way into the street, arms reaching towards the clouds. Mooncha got a clap going. A cheer went up from the audience, then a second. Off to the side, an audio engineer pumped the guitar up (“We need to melt their faces off!” Mooncha instructed). Bodies joined in, orbiting each other like jovial, distant planets.

Inside, Ellis was packing up. Beyond a door, they had transformed Artspace’s front office into a bright inner sanctum.

Prints, wrapped neatly in plastic and waiting for their new homes, fanned out across a desk. Artists came in and out to collect cash they had made off their work. Every so often, Ellis paused to take a phone call and sort out a final logistical issue. Smiling, red-faced devils grinned in a pattern across their pink silk shirt. They listened to the end of Mighty MoonChew’s set through the glass.

I’m exhausted,” they said. “This is how I always feel. It’s kind of like giving birth. I haven’t given birth, but like a birth, There’s a lot of pain, and there’s screaming involved. There’s definitely screaming involved. But once it’s over, I’m like, damn. I want to do it over again.

I’m really, really proud to give this to local Black artists.”

“Art is powerful,” they added. “Art is confrontation without violence—it means we’re experiencing critical thought. It’s a critical expression of self, and of the environment around us.”

Programming related to Artspace New Haven’s exhibition Revolution On Trial continues Wednesday Sept. 2 with “Music And The Movement,” a concert with musician Paul Bryant Hudson. Find out more about the event, which runs from 5:30 to 7 p.m.,

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Online tickets required: www.beardsleyzoo.org 15

THE INNER-CITY NEWS - September 02, 2020 - September 08, 2020

Newhallville Unites For Back-To-School Bash

by LAURA GLESBY

New Haven I ndependent

Shaquan Whitfield brought her children, Joshua and Justin Currie, to a neighborhood-spanning, back-toschool fair on the Farmington Canal Trail because she wanted to “show my kids there’s more positive than negative” in Newhallville.

It was a good day to be looking for positivity.

The stretch of five blocks along the Farmington Canal Trail in Newhallville was the place to be in New Haven Sunday afternoon.

Over 500 people turned out to a Back to School festival organized by a new coalition called Newhallville United, wandering between Starr and Goodrich Streets where they could — among other activities — receive free school supplies, watch a drum line and dance performance, learn African hopscotch, buy native plants, register to vote, and gather with neighbors.

The event along the trail was filled with joy. Adults could be seen trying out hula hoops, perhaps for the first time in decades; elbow-bumping friends they hadn’t seen since before the pandemic; receiving a meal for the night. Along the path, kids balanced on rollerskates; informed backpack-distributers of their favorite colors; raced ahead of their parents, trying to beat their siblings.

Newhallville United, the umbrella organization that ran the massive event, is a newly-formed cooperative of Newhallville-based activists and organizations.

The group’s top priorities, according to Newhallville Community Management Team Chair Kim Harris, are to bring more resources to the neighborhood and to increase voting and census participation in Newhallville.

The Back to School giveaway was the group’s second collective effort, following a Black Lives Matter rally in late July. It came on the heels of a groundswell of food distribution events organized by Newhallville community leaders this summer, an effort to address heightened pandemic-induced food insecurity in the area. Those efforts have seen Newhallville organizers give out over 144,000 meals this summer.

“Covid has really helped us to think a different way,” said Jeanette Sykes, a community management team leader who runs The Perfect Blend, a program for middle school girls. She said that Newhallville United is evidence of a stronger spirit of collaboration among Newhallville activists, a wide array of neighborhood groups pooling resources toward larger collective events.

“The people who usually ride the

trail, they’re kinda stunned to see Black and Brown people having a good time here,” said Devin Avshalom-Smith, the founder of the Newhallville Community Action Network (NCAN).

Avshalom-Smith said he hoped the event — and the Newhallville United coalition itself — would raise awareness of the neighborhood’s strong community. “It’s not ‘Newhallville: gun violence.’ It’s not ‘Newhallville: poverty.’

It’s ‘Newhallville: unity,’” he said.

Kim Harris beamed with excitement as she spoke about the fair, which took a month of planning.

“It reminds me of way back in the day,” she said.

“Every Little Bit Helps” One community group that Sykes has been partnering with is The Green Peacock, a health and wellness organization that has helped Sykes run exercise and health awareness programs for young people.

The Green Peacock’s founder, Newhallville resident and longtime dancer Chaila Gilliams, had its own tent at the Newhallville United event.

Gilliams distributed menstrual products and, led by instructor Diamond Tree, ran a series of fitness demonstrations for kids and adults alike, ranging from hula hooping to African hopscotch.

One driver passing by stopped Gilliams beside the exercise demonstration, momentarily stalling traffic on Hazel Street, so that she could give a cash donation.

Doreen Abubakar (pictured), a steward of the Learning Corridor where the event began and the founder of Community Placemaking Engagement Network (CPEN), sold native plants from a community garden across the street. A group of local teenagers had planted the seeds for those plants, and they would receive a portion of the proceeds.

Elder June Redmond-Smigh, Elaine Smart, and Ida Kazee represented Mount Hope Temple as they handed out notebooks, pencils, and erasers — hoping to be helpful for students of all ages.

Nina Faucett gave out dinner meals from Haven’s Harvest, which rescues food that might otherwise be thrown out from Quinnipiac and Yale Universities. Cynthia Spears helped families sign up to receive jackets through a coat drive, via a new organization she started, Ruth’s Kids Closet, in honor of her mother. Lydia Bornick led another registration event.

Democratic Registrar of Voters Shannel Evans helped a handful of people register to vote, while a census team including Addie Kimbrough spread awareness about the national survey

LAURA GLESBY PHOTO Shaquan Whitfield with Joshua and Justin.

Chaila Gilliams and Jeanette Sykes.

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that would determine the federal resources going to the city.

Nathan Joyner explained world history to passersby, including rising fifthgrader Halo Daniels , with the help of a puppet.

Dennis Velasquez of United Way handed out drawstring backpacks containing a picture book titled All the Way to the Ocean, a story about taking care of the environment.

The popular Vegan Ahava food truck parked at Hazel Street. . . . . . and an ice cream truck awaited families on Basset Street.

The Blue Steel Drum Line — a Connecticut-based group with members in their teens and twenties from across the state — filled the air with the sounds of percussion. Their partner dance teams, the Diamond Dolls and the Pearls, performed side-by-side.

The drum line and dance teams are “basically a big family,” said 20-yearold drummer and Hamden resident Jayquan Bronell.

The event drew people from within the neighborhood and from around the city.

Ancilla Herrera came to the event from Fair Haven. She has four kids, two in grade school, and said she came because she needed school supplies; she heard about the festival from NCAN’s Facebook page.

Laura Daniels came with her daughter, Halo, who’s about to start fifth grade at Worthington Hooker Magnet School.

Halo misses seeing her friends at school. “It’s very bad,” she said of the online school.

“It’s a no-win,” Laura agreed.

But the pair was excited to be on the Canal Trail on Sunday. Laura, who’s lived on Shelton Avenue for 10 years, said she came to support a strengthening Newhallville community after hearing about the event from NCAN. They left with a backpack and a new plant.

A family of cousins based in Newhallville — Valerie Burroughs and Paula Webb, with their daughters Mecca, Samara, and Shamah — came to the fair prepared: with a red wagon to haul the school supplies they planned to gather.

“Every little bit helps,” said Webb.

Midway through the event, their wagon was filled with books, notebooks, snacks, backpacks, folders, and masks.

NCAN-founder Avshalom-Smith made two young friends at the event, Maliyah and Allyssa, whom he accompanied from table to table as they collected school supplies for the start of the year.

“Where else in the city are you gonna see something like this?” AvshalomSmith said.

THE INNER-CITY NEWS - September 02, 2020 - September 08, 2020

Union To Omni:

Open Back Up!

by LAURA GLESBY

New Haven I ndependent

When the Covid-19 pandemic hit New Haven in March, Reyna Ortiz lost her job waiting tables at the Omni Hotel. She also lost the health insurance she relies on to pay for her son’s insulin.

After several tough months, she stood alongside her coworkers across from her former workplace in a fight to get her job back.

On Friday, more than 60 UNITE HERE union affiliates showed up with bright red posters, drums, and noisemakers on Temple Street across from the Omni.

They called for the hotel to reopen and hire back its former employees, and to implement adequate pandemic safety precautions. Many of the protesters were former Omni employees themselves, represented by Local 217, the union of Connecticut hospitality workers.

The Omni’s New Haven location has been closed since March. According to UNITE HERE, 113 Omni workers have been laid off since the pandemic began, and their employer-provided health insurance expired on June 1.

In a press release, a union representative wrote that other hotels, such as the Study at Yale, the Blake, and New Haven Hotel, have all reopened in recent weeks.

The New Haven branch is among 11 Omni locations where the hotel chain has decided to “temporarily suspend operations,” according to the hotel’s website, “due to the unprecedented implications COVID-19 has had on the hospitality industry.” The chain, which has 60 locations in the United States, Mexico, and Canada, has announced a permanent closure of one branch in the Berkshires.

Representatives from the Omni’s corporate center did not respond to repeated requests for comment by the publication time of this article. An employee who identified herself as Lisa from the reservations department told the Independent on Monday that the New Haven branch will open on September 8.

For the branches that have reopened, Omni Hotels and Resorts has released a “Safe and Clean” plan for pandemic-era service, detailing food prep, disinfecting, and traffic flow procedures.

The protesters outside the chain’s New Haven location Friday argued that as long as the proper safety measures are in place, the Omni is in a good position to open its branch in the city.

“We know that Omni jobs are good jobs,” said Isadora Milanez, an organizer with Local 217 who led the rally. “We

LAURA GLESBY PHOTO

Isadora Milanez leads protesters in a chant.

are here to call on the Omni to open its doors.”

Ortiz said she came to the protest thinking of her 17-year-old son, who has Type 1 Diabetes. “My fight here is for him,” she said. “The Omni can afford to open up the Omni.”

Everlena Allen, who worked as a housekeeper at the Omni for 23 years before she lost her job in March, said she came out to protest thinking of her colleagues who haven’t worked as long as she has, and haven’t saved as much. “I’m concerned about my coworkers,” she said.

“Some have kids. It’s bad.”

Valom Simmons, a maintenance worker, is one of the few employees who did not get laid off entirely; since the pandemic began, he’s been coming into work one day a week to keep the building functional.

As long as the hotel ensures safety measures like hand sanitizer and face masks for employees, Simmons said he wants more time at work. The reduced hours

aren’t enough, he said. “I got a daughter.”

“You had well over three months to figure it out,” Board of Alders President and Local 35 Chief Steward Tyisha WalkerMyers (pictured at center) said to the crowd, directing her comments towards the hotel’s operators. “Now is the time to put this money you’ve been saving where your mouth is.”

Downtown/Yale Alder Eli Sabin said that New Haven workers should be treated like “family.” “These workers are the backbone of our country and they deserve to go back to work,” he said.

Every so often, the protesters chanted in unison: Shame on Omni! Hey, hey, ho, ho, corporate greed has got to go! ¡El pueblo unido, jamás será vencido!

“We’re not gonna sit back. We’re not gonna stay quiet. We will come back as long as it takes until they open their doors,” Milanez said in between chants.

Cheering on the protesters, dozens of drivers passing by honked their horns or raised their fists.

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COPS WHO HATE

by Oscar Blayton

America can no longer stick its head in the sand to avoid seeing the serious flaws in the culture of American policing.

The plague of gratuitous violence against “the other” – mainly directed towards African Americans – has now spread and targets anyone who dares to criticize any form of law enforcement in this country.

The countless instances of cops murdering African Americans caught on video have crushed the denials of disparate treatment of people of color by police along with their accusations that such claims are exaggerated and false.

There are too many cases of lethal animosity directed towards African Americans to support the false “few rotten apples” defense that these are the acts of a small number of rogue cops who can easily be weeded out or retrained. Clearly the problem is systemic and goes to the very root of American policing. Every day, we witness more evidence that the entire barrel of apples is rotten in many cases.

In Kenosha, Wisconsin, a young white man, visibly armed with a long gun that he had just used to murder two people, walked unimpeded past a troop of police responding to a call that there had been a shooting. This cultural blindness is aggravated by the fact that the police allowed this white killer to pass uninterrupted while a crowd of Black witnesses were pointing towards him and shouting that he had just killed someone.

In defense of the white privilege the police afforded this killer, the chief law enforcement officer of Kenosha offered the totally illogical reasoning that his officers were experiencing “tunnel vision” as they were responding to a report that a shooting had just occurred and that is why they ignored the witnesses yelling and pointing out the killer.

The message is clear: White people have privilege and Black people – and those who ally with Black people – are not to be believed.

Some people now are pulling their heads out of the sand, and while blinking their eyes in the harsh light of this reality, proclaim that “things have really gotten bad.” But things have been bad for centuries. The Kerner Commission Report, written more than a half century ago, documented the very injustices and intolerable abuses visited on people of color that plague us today.

The Kerner Report was commissioned in 1967 by President Lyndon B. Johnson

in the wake of civil unrest and riots by people of color that began in the mid1960s in America’s cities. Johnson said he wanted to find out what was causing this unrest.

White America was blind to the causes of pain inflicted upon people of color, but after a year of research, the Kerner Commission reported: “Bad policing practices, a flawed justice system, unscrupulous consumer credit practices, poor or inadequate housing, high unemployment, voter suppression, and other culturally embedded forms of racial discrimination all converged to propel violent upheaval on the streets of African-American neighborhoods in American cities, north and south, east and west.”

White America took one look at this report and stuck its head back in the sand.

Not wanting to offend his political base, the white middle class, Johnson hoped to lay blame on outside agitators such as Communists and irresponsible journalists. But the report clearly laid the blame at the feet of white racism. White America was offended by the truth and their backlash contributed to a loss of support for Johnson’s civil rights initiatives and led to the “law and order” climate that propelled Richard Nixon to the presidency in 1969 and introduced decades of militarized policing.

Not only has America disregarded the Kerner Report, but a more recent and even more startling red flag is being ignored. Since 2006, an FBI intelligence assessment entitled, “White Supremacist Infiltration of Law Enforcement,” has sat largely ignored by most of America’s news media, politicians and citizens.

The Guardian newspaper, headquartered in England, recently published an article: “The FBI warned for years that police are cozy with the far right. Is no one listening?”

The article was written by a former FBI agent, Mike German, whose job it was to infiltrate white supremacist groups.

He cites the FBI’s 2006 assessment and points out the fact that the criminal justice system “can never achieve its purported goal of fairness while white supremacists continue to hide within police departments.”

There are many good cops and many good police departments. But we turn a blind eye to the bad cops and the rotten departments at our own peril. Policing based upon white supremacy and carried out by cops who hate is a destructive force that threatens the very fabric of our democracy. We must always strive to eliminate them and the politicians who support them.

Oscar H. Blayton is a former Marine Corps combat pilot and human rights activist who practices law in Virginia.

Chadwick Boseman THE INNER-CITY NEWS - September 02, 2020 - September 08, 2020

IN MEMORIAM:

By Nsenga Burton, Ph.D., NNPA Newswire Culture / Entertainment Editor

The world is reeling from the loss of iconic actor Chadwick Boseman, who died Friday, August 28, after losing a private battle to colon cancer. Boseman died at home surrounded by his family.

A statement released by his family said Boseman was diagnosed with stage three colon cancer in 2016 and the disease progressed to stage 4. Boseman endured countless surgeries and treatments as he continued to make films from Marshall (directed

by Reginald Hudlin), Da 5 Bloods (directed

by Spike Lee) and August Wilson’s Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom (directed by George C. Wolfe and produced by Denzel Washington).

Washington and Boseman were first introduced when Washington paid for Boseman and several other Howard University students to continue their theater studies by taking a theater course in Oxford.

The Howard University-educated thespian was the star of Marvel’s Black Panther franchise, bringing to life one of the most important and revered superheroes in American film history.

Directed by Ryan Coogler, Black Panther was the first superhero movie to be nominated for a best picture Oscar and one of the highest-grossing films of all time, bringing in over $1billion.

Black Panther became more than a movie, morphing into a celebration of Black culture, art, history, achievement and intellect

in addition to highlighting the Black cultural presence and influence in comic book culture.

Boseman was no stranger to playing iconic characters, bursting onto the big screen in 2013’s 42 as baseball legend Jackie Robinson, who broke the color barrier in major league baseball. Boseman went on to star as Soul legend James Brown in 2014’s Get On Up and Thurgood Marshall in Marshall in 2017. Boseman brought a quiet dignity and powerful presence to these characters, with performances reflective of the weight they hold in world culture.

Prior to breaking into film, Boseman lived in New York, teaching at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture while cutting his teeth on small roles on shows like Law & Order, Third Watch, ER and Lie to Me, eventually landing recurring roles on Lincoln Heights and Persons Unknown.

It was Boseman’s turn as Jackie Robinson that cemented his film star status and his performance as T’Challa in Marvel’s Black Panther, that catapulted him to superstardom. Black Panther grew beyond the big screen and became a cultural phenomenon.

Boseman, who hails from Anderson South Carolina, gave moviegoers a king who was stoic, powerful and captivating as he led warriors with love, intellect and strategy as they fought to maintain control of their powerful, technologically superior nation, ripe for poaching by outsiders.

Much like the Gullah culture of his home state, Boseman was able to effortlessly blend African and American culture to help create a fantastical world on screen that

was inspirational and recognizable. Boseman led an all-star cast including Angela Bassett, Michael B. Jordan, Danai Gurira, Daniel Kaluuya, Letitia Wright, Sterling Brown, Winston Duke and Academy award-winning actors Lupita Nyong’o and Forrest Whitaker, holding his own and fortifying his status as a Hollywood superstar.

Boseman, who also appeared as T’Challa/ Black Panther in Avengers Infinity War and Avengers: End Game, starred in and produced the films 21 Bridges, Marshall and Message from the King, which he served as Executive Producer. At the time of his death, Boseman was in pre-production as producer on Yasuke, a film about the world’s first Black Samurai in which Boseman was slated to star.

In addition to acting and producing, Boseman was also an activist and philanthropist supporting social justice initiatives like Michelle Obama’s #WhenWeAllVote and celebrating fellow Bison Kamala Harris’ history making selection as the Democratic Vice-Presidential nominee for the 2020 U.S. Presidential election, which was his last Twitter post before his death.

In 2018, the wonderkind performer delivered a powerful commencement speech at Howard University encouraging students to rise above traumatic experiences and applauding their campus activism. Boseman, who was mentored by fellow Howard University alum Phylicia Rashad and helped financially by Denzel Washington as a student donated $100,000 to #Change4Change, which supports HBCUs in November 2019.

(Photo: Chadwick Boseman speaking at the 2016 San Diego Comic Con International, for “Black Panther”, at the San Diego Convention Center in San Diego, California. / George Skidmore / Wikimedia Commons)

The private public figure spent time visiting children suffering from cancer at St. Jude’s Research Center. In April 2020, the actor donated $4.2 million worth of PPE equipment to hospitals serving Black communities during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The youngest of four, Boseman is survived by his parents Leroy and Carolyn Boseman, siblings Kevin, Dionne and Derrick and wife Taylor Simone Ledward.

Boseman was 43.

Oprah & Ava: ‘Own Spotlight: Culture Connection & August 28th

By Nsenga K. Burton, Ph.D.,

NNPA Newswire Culture and Entertainment Editor

LOS ANGELES – Continuing conversations surrounding issues impacting Black lives, “OWN Spotlight: Culture Connection & August 28th, Ava DuVernay & Rev. Sharpton,” which originally aired Friday, August 28 at 1 p.m., 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. ET/ PT on OWN, will stream for free on the Watch OWN app and the OWN Facebook and Youtube pages.

The special features Oprah Winfrey as she speaks separately with both acclaimed director Ava DuVernay and Rev. Al Sharpton regarding the historical context of August 28th and the significance of the upcoming election, along with a special presentation of DuVernay’s short film “August 28: A Day in the Life of a People.”

During the special, Winfrey speaks with DuVernay about the work she is doing in support of social justice, how she uses history to inform her activism, and how imperative it is for everyone to vote in the upcoming election. Winfrey later discusses with Rev. Al Sharpton the connection of the ‘Get Off Our Necks’ Commitment

March which took place on the same day as the historic March on Washington 57 years ago. Rev. Sharpton shares ways that everyone can show their support in this moment, reiterating his intention for the march is not about numbers but long-term impact.

The interviews bookend DuVernay’s

scripted short-film entitled “August 28: A Day in the Life of a People,” starring Lupita Nyong’o, Angela Bassett, Don Cheadle, Regina King, David Oyelowo, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, André Holland, Michael Ealy and Glynn Turman.

DuVernay uses a robust combination of both documentary and narrative tech-

18

niques to transport viewers through six stunning historical moments that all actually occurred on the same day – August 28th – in various years. Written, produced and directed by DuVernay, “August 28” traverses a century of black progress, protest, passion and perseverance of African American people.

The project gives historical perspective within the creative framework of one date that has had a profound effect on America including: the passing of The Slavery Abolition Act on August 28, 1833, the lynching of Emmett Till on August 28, 1955, the first radio airplay from Motown Records on August 28, 1961 with The Marvelettes “Please Mr Postman,” Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have A Dream” speech during the massive March on Washington on August 28, 1963, Hurricane Katrina making its tragic landfall on August 28, 2005 and then-Senator Barack Obama’s acceptance of the Democratic nomination for the presidency on August 28, 2008.

The film was lensed by cinematographer Malik Sayeed and edited by Oscar nominee Spencer Averick. Ten-time Grammy nominee Meshell Ndegeocello composed

the score. Paul Garnes produced, with coproducers Tilane Jones and Tammy Garnes.

This special is part of OWN’s overall OWN YOUR VOTE initiative, a bipartisan registration and get-out-the-vote campaign partnering with national and local grassroots and voting rights organizations to provide tools and resources that will empower Black women to vote this November. Black women powerfully influence election outcomes, and OWN YOUR VOTE supports this group of voters to show up to the polls and help friends, family, and their community to do the same.

Winfrey recently shared that OWN will grant November 3rd as a company holiday to ensure all employees have the time to vote and volunteer. “I challenge other companies to do the same because this might be the most important election of our lives,” Winfrey said in her social post.

“OWN Spotlight: Culture Connection & August 28th, Ava DuVernay & Rev. Sharpton” is produced by OWN. The executive producers are Oprah Winfrey and Tara Montgomery.

THE INNER-CITY NEWS - September , 2020 - September 08, 2020 INNER-CITY NEWS July 27,02 2016 - August 02, 2016

THE GLENDOWER GROUP NOTICE

Request for Proposals VALENTINA MACRI RENTAL HOUSING APPLICATIONS AVAILABLE Construction Manager at Risk PREfor McConaughy Terrace HOME INC, on behalf of Columbus House and the New Haven Housing Authority, The Glendower Group isfor currently proposals foratconstrucis accepting pre-applications studio andseeking one-bedroom apartments this develtion manager for McConaughy Terrace.

Aincome complete copyapof opment locatedatatrisk 108 Frank Street, New Haven.

Maximum limitations Pre-applications will be fromfrom 9AM TO 5PM beginning Monday ColJu;y theply.requirement may beavailable obtained Glendower’s Vendor 25, 2016 andPortal ending when sufficient pre-applications (approximately 100) have laboration https://newhavenhousing.cobblestonesystems. been received at the offices of HOME INC. Applications will be mailied upon recom/gateway quest by calling HOME INC at 203-562-4663 during those hours. Completed prebeginning September at 3:00PM applications muston be Wednesday, returned to HOME INC’s offices2, at2020 171 Orange Street, .Third Floor, New Haven, CT 06510.

Listing: Dispatcher

NOTICIA

Extremely fast paced petroleum company needs a full time (which inVALENTINA VIVIENDAScoverage) DE ALQUILER PRE-SOLICITUDES DISPONIBLES cludes on callMACRI and weekend detail oriented experienced Dispatcher. A strong logistics background and a minimum of one year preHOME INC, en nombre de la Columbus House y de la New Haven Housing Authority, está vious petroleum experience required.

Send deresume to: en HR aceptando pre-solicitudes para estudios y apartamentos un dormitorio esteManager, desarrollo ubicado la calle 109 Frank New Haven. Se aplican limitaciones de ingresos P.O. Box en 388, Guilford, CT.Street, 06437 máximos.

Las pre-solicitudes disponibles 09 a.m.-5Employer********** p.m. comenzando Martes 25 ********An Affirmativeestarán Action/Equal Opportunity julio, 2016 hasta cuando se han recibido suficientes pre-solicitudes (aproximadamente 100) en las oficinas de HOME INC. Las pre-solicitudes serán enviadas por correo a petición Listing: HVAC llamando a HOME INC al 203-562-4663 duranteTechnician esas horas.Pre-solicitudes deberán remitirse a las oficinas de HOME INC en 171 Orange Street, tercer piso, New Haven , CT 06510 .

Fast paced Petroleum Company is hiring for a full time, CT (minimum S2 license) HVAC Technician. Applicant must have experience in oil, propane, natural gas and A/C. Send resume to: Attn: HR Manager, Confidential, PO Box 388, Guilford, CT 06437.

NEW HAVEN

**An Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer**

242-258 Fairmont Ave 2BR Townhouse, 1.5 BA, 3BR,Assistant 1 level , 1BA Listing: Customer Retail

All new apartments, new appliances, new carpet, close to I-91 & I-95 Petroleum Company has an immediate full &time opening.

Excellent customer highways, near bus stop shopping center service Pet skills a must.

Requirements include: billing questions, assistunder 40lb allowed.

Interested partiesanswering contact Maria @ 860-985-8258 ing in sales calls received, scheduling service calls as well as assisting in collections and account set ups. Previous petroleum experience and/or experience in a CT. Unified Association is pleased to offer a Deacon’s to also perform administrative/ very busy Deacon’s office environment a plus.

Applicant Certificate Program. This is a 10 month program designed to assist in the intellectual formation of Candidates clerical tasks as assigned.

Please send resume to: H.R. Manager, Confidential, in response to the Church’s Ministry needs. The cost is $125. Classes start Saturday, August 20, 2016 1:303:30 Contact: Chairman, Deacon J. Davis, M.S., PO Box 388, Guilford CTJoe 06437.

B.S.

(203) 996-4517 Host, General Bishop Elijah Davis, D.D. Pastor of Pitts Chapel U.F.W.B. Church 64 Brewster

********An Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer**********

St. New Haven, CT

Listing: HOUSING HVAC Technician SEYMOUR AUTHORITY

Sealed bids are invited by the Housing Authority of the Town of Seymour Fast Company a full time, CTSmith (minimum untilpaced 3:00 Petroleum pm on Tuesday, Augustis hiring 2, 2016for at its office at 28 Street, S2 license) HVAC Technician. Applicant must have experience in oil, Seymour, CT 06483 for Concrete Sidewalk Repairs and Replacement at the propane, natural gas and A/C. Send resume to: Attn: HR Manager, Smithfield Gardens Assisted Living Facility, 26 Smith Street Seymour.

Confidential, PO Box 388, Guilford, CT 06437.

A pre-bid conference will be held at the Housing Authority Office 28 Smith **An Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer** Street Seymour, CT at 10:00 am, on Wednesday, July 20, 2016.

Construction FT-Exp Bidding documentsAdministrative are available from the Office Seymour Position.

Housing Authority Ofrequired.EmailHherbert@ gwfabrication.com fice, 28 Smith Street, Seymour, CT 06483 (203) 888-4579.

The Housing Authority reserves the right to accept or reject any or all bids, to reduce the scope of the project to reflect available funding, and to waive any

Listing: Customer Retail Assistant

DELIVERY PERSON

Petroleum Company has an immediate full time opening. Excellent customer service skills a must. Requirements include: answering billing questions, assisting in sales calls received, scheduling service calls as well as assisting in collections and account set ups. Previous petroleum experience and/or experience in a very busy office environment a plus. Applicant to also perform administrative/ clerical tasks as assigned. Please send resume to: H.R. Manager, Confidential,

NEEDED

Part Time Delivery Needed One/Two Day a Week,

P O Box 388, Guilford CT 06437.

Must Have your Own Vehicle If Interested call

********An Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer**********

(203) 387-0354

QSR STEEL CORPORATION

APPLY NOW!

Steel Fabricators, Erectors & Welders Top pay for top performers. Health Benefits, 401K, Vacation Pay. Email Resume: Rose@qsrsteel.com Hartford, CT AFFIRMATIVE ACTION/EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER

Assistant Director Public Works – Operations, Water Pollution Control Division. The skills and knowledge required would usually be acquired with a Master’s Degree with a minimum of eight years’ experience related to the management of Public Works operations, including a minimum of four years supervisory/administrative experience or a Bachelor’s Degree in Engineering or Business, with a minimum of ten years’ experience related to the management of in Public Works operations, including four years of supervisory/ administrative experience. Requires knowledge of budgeting, contract and financial management and demonstrated project management skills. FT, $85,753-$98,616. Applications at www.groton-ct.gov and must be returned by September 11, 2020.

HELP WANTED:

Plant Maintenance Mechanic

Highly skilled mechanic needed in the repair and maintenance of all plant equipment to include pumping station equipment and motor vehicles for the Town of Wallingford Sewer Division. Requires graduation from a high school/trade school and 4 years experience in the repair and maintenance of mechanical equipment. Must obtain a CDL Class B motor vehicle operator license within 6 months of employment. $29.15 to $34.18 per hour plus an excellent fringe benefit package. Apply to: Department of Human Resources, Town of Wallingford, 45 South Main Street, Wallingford, CT 06492. Fax #: (203) 294-2084. Closing date will be September 15, 2020 or the date the 50th application is received, occurs first. EOE. Invitationwhichever to Bid:

Large CT guardrail company looking for Laborer/Driver with valid CT CDL Class A license and able to get a medical card.

Must be able to pass a drug test and physical. Compensation based on experience.

Email resume to dmastracchio@atlasoutdoor.com AA/EOE M-F

FENCE ERECTING SUBCONTRACTORS2

nd

Notice

Large CT. Fence Company SAYEBROOKE VILLAGE

Large CT Fence & Guardrail Contractor is looking for an individual for our is looking for experienced, responsible stock yard. Warehouse shipping and receiving and Forklift experience a must. commercial and residential fence erectors Old Saybrook, CT Must have a minimum of 3 years’ material handling experience. Must be able and installers on a subcontractor basis.

(4 Buildings, 17 Units) to read and write English, and read a tape measure. Duties will include: LoadEarn from $750 to $2,000 per day. Email Tax Exempt & Not Prevailing Wageunloading Rate Project ing and trucks, pulling orders for installation and retail counter sales, resume to rhauer@atlasoutdoor.com AA/ EOE keeping the yard clean and organized at all times and inventory control. Individ-

ualSelective will alsoDemolition, make deliveries of fence New Construction, Wood Framed, Housing, Site-work, Cast- panels and products, must be able to lift at LEGAL NOTICE of least 70lbs.

Required to pass a Physical and Drug test, have a valid CT. Driver’s in-place Concrete, Asphalt Shingles, Vinyl Siding, License and be able to obtain a Drivers Medical Card. CDL B & A drivers a plus.

TOWN OF PORTLAND, CT Flooring, Painting, Division 10 Specialties, Appliances, Residential Casework, Town of Portland has amended its Citi- Send resume to pboucher@atlasoutdoor.com AA/EOE/MF zen Participation Mechanical, Plan for the Electrical, purpose ofPlumbing and Fire Protection.

This contract is subject state set-aside and contract compliance requirements. informing the public abouttoits intent to apply for CDBG, Covid-19 funding. For a copy of the amendedBid Plan go to www.

Extended, Due Date: portlandct.org.

THE GLENDOWER GROUP

Request for Qualifications

August 5, 2016 Anticipated Start: August 15, 2016 Design Project documents available via ftp link below: Competition for Robert T. Wolfe, http://ftp.cbtghosting.com/loginok.html?username=sayebrookevillage Crawford Manor, Westville Manor, and 34 Level Street

DELIVERY PERSON

NEEDED

The Glendower Group is currently seeking Qualifications

Fax or Email Questions & Bids to: Dawn Lang @ 203-881-8372 dawnlang@haynesconstruction.com for the design competition for Robert T. Wolfe, Crawford HCC encourages the participation of all Veteran, S/W/MBE & Section 3 Certified Businesses Haynes Construction Company, 32 Progress Ave, Seymour, CT 06483 Manor, and 34 Level Street. A complete Manor, Westville AA/EEO EMPLOYER

Part Time Delivery Needed One/Two Day a Week,

Must Have your Own Vehicle If Interested call

(203) 387-0354 19

copy of the requirements may be obtained from Glendower’s Vendor Collaboration Portal https://newhavenhousing. cobblestonesystems.com/gateway beginning on Monday August 24, 2020 at 3:00PM

THE INNER-CITY NEWS - September 02, 2020 - September 08, 2020 INNER-CITY NEWS July 27, 2016 - August 02, 2016

Garrity Asphalt Reclaiming, Inc seeks:

Listing: Commercial Driver

360 MANAGEMENT GROUP

Construction Equipment Mechanic preferably experienced in Full time Class A driver for petroleum deliveries for nights Reclaiming and Road Milling Equipment. We offer factory and weekends. Previous experience required. Competitive training on equipment we operate. Location: Bloomfield CT We offer excellent hourly rate & excellent benefits wage, 401(k) and benefits. Send resume to: HR Manager, VALENTINA MACRI RENTAL HOUSING PRE- APPLICATIONS AVAILABLE Contact: Tom Dunay P. O. Box 388, Guilford, CT 06437.

NOTICE

Phone: 243-2300 HOME INC, on behalf of860Columbus House and the New Haven Housing Authority, ********An Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer********** is accepting pre-applications for studio and one-bedroom apartments at this develEmail: tom.dunay@garrityasphalt.com opment& located at 108 Frank Street, Haven. Maximum Women Minority Applicants are New encouraged to apply income limitations apply.Affi Pre-applications willEqual be available from 9AM TO 5PM beginning Monday Ju;y rmative Action/ Opportunity Employer State of Connecticut 25, 2016 and ending when sufficient pre-applications (approximately 100) have been received at the offices of HOME INC. Applications will be mailied upon re- Office of Policy quest by calling HOME INC at 203-562-4663 during those hours. Completed pre- and Management Garrity Asphalt Reclaiming, Incoffices seeks: applications must be returned to HOME INC’s at 171 Orange Street, Third Reclaimer Operators and Milling Operators with current licensing Floor, New Haven, CT 06510. and clean driving record, be willing to travel throughout the NorthThe State of Connecticut, Office of east & NY. We offer excellent hourly rate & excellent benefits

NOTICIA

Policy and Management is recruiting for

a Connecticut Careers Trainee (target Contact: Rick Tousignant Phone: 860- 243-2300 class Planning Analyst) position.

VALENTINA MACRI VIVIENDAS DE ALQUILER PRE-SOLICITUDES DISPONIBLES Email: rick.tou-

Invitation for Bids

Plumbing Services 360 Management Group is currently seeking bids for plumbing services.

A complete copy of the requirement may be obtained from 360 Management’s Vendor Collaboration Portal https://newhavenhousing.cobblestonesystems.com/gateway beginning on Monday, August 31, 2020 at 3:00PM.

Construction Administrative Office Position. FT-Exp required.Email- Hherbert@ gwfabrication.com

Electric Utility System Operator/Dispatcher

signant@garrityasphalt.com Further information regarding the duties, HOME INC, en nombre de la Columbus House y de la New Haven Housing Authority, está requirements and application Women & Minority Applicants are encouraged to apply eligibility aceptando pre-solicitudes para estudios y apartamentos de un dormitorio en este desarrollo Affirmative Action/ Equal Opportunity Employer instructions for this position is available ubicado en la calle 109 Frank Street, New Haven. Se aplican limitaciones de ingresos at:

Union Company seeks:

máximos. Las pre-solicitudes estarán disponibles 09 a.m.-5 p.m. comenzando Martes 25 https://www.jobapscloud.com/ julio, 2016 hasta cuando se han recibido suficientes pre-solicitudes (aproximadamente 100) en lasTrailer oficinasDriver de HOME INC. & Las pre-solicitudes serán enviadas CT/sup/bulpreview.asp?R1= Tractor for Heavy Highway Construction Equip- por correo a petición llamando HOME INCLicense, al 203-562-4663 duranterecord, esas horas.Pre-solicitudes deberán remitirse 200805&R2=2292AR&R3=001 ment.

Must ahave a CDL clean driving capable of a las oficinas de equipment; HOME INCbe enwilling 171 Orange Street, tercer piso, operating heavy to travel throughout theNew Haven , CT 06510 .

The State of Connecticut is an equal Northeast & NY. We offer excellent hourly rate & excellent benefits opportunity/affirmative action employer and strongly encourages the applications of women, minorities, and persons Email: dana.briere@garrityasphalt.com with disabilities.

Contact Dana at 860-243-2300

Women & Minority Applicants are encouraged to apply

NEW HAVEN

242-258 Fairmont Ave Town of Bloomfield 2BR Townhouse, 1.5 BA, 3BR, 1 level , 1BA

Town of Bloomfield2

nd

Notice

SAYEBROOKE VILLAGE ELM CITY COMMUNITIES

Lead Building Maintainer - Facilities

Finance Director Full Time - Benefited

Old Saybrook, CT Full Time - Benefited Request for Proposals (4 $31.26 hourly Buildings, 17 Units) Development of Single-Family Homeownership Housing Taxdrug Exempt & Not Prevailing Wage Rate Project Pre-employment testing.

All new apartments, new appliances, new carpet, close to I-91 & I-95 highways, near bus stop & shopping center Pet under 40lb allowed. Interested parties contact Maria @ 860-985-8258

$96,755 - $149,345

Pre-employment testing.is pleased For more details, visit our website – www.bloomfieldct.org CT. Unified Deacon’sdrug Association to offer a Deacon’s Certificate Program. This is a 10 month program designed to assist in the intellectual formation of Candidates in response to the Church’s Ministry needs. The cost is $125. Classes start Saturday, August 20, 2016 1:303:30 Contact: Chairman, Deacon Joe J. Davis, M.S., B.S. (203) 996-4517 Host, General Bishop Elijah Davis, D.D. Pastor of Pitts Chapel U.F.W.B. Church 64 Brewster

Real Estate Controller

St. New Haven, CT

Fusco Management is seeking a Real Estate Controller. Candidate should have leadership, communication and supervisory skills. Controller should have 6+ year’s hands on accounting experience and have a BS in Accounting.

SEYMOUR HOUSING AUTHORITY

Duties and Responsibilities: Sealed bids are invited by the Housing Authority of the Town of Seymour Oversee the activities of the Accounting Department for the accurate and timely disuntil 3:00 on Tuesday, August 2, 2016 at itsinternal office and at 28external Smith monthly Street, semination of pm financial management reports including Seymour, CT 06483 foraudits Concrete Sidewalk Repairs and Replacement at the financial statements, annual and annual budgets.

Smithfield Gardens Assisted Living Facility, 26 Smith Street Seymour.

Desired Skills and Experience Qualifi cations: A pre-bid conference will be held at the Housing Authority Office 28 Smith • Profi cient in Microsoft Word, Excel, and Timberscan, BNA, TValue.

Street Seymour, CT at 10:00 am, Timberline on Wednesday, July 20, 2016.

• Discretion, good judgment and good communication skills.

• Strong general ledger, accounts payable and accounts receivable.

Bidding available from the Seymour Housing Authority • Real Estatedocuments experience are a plus.

Operates electric distribution substation and Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) system for an electric utility serving 25,000 customers. Coordinates electric system switching and places equipment in and out of service during routine and emergency operations. Requires HS diploma/GED with 2 years experience in the operation of Distribution SCADA equipment and/or switchboards used in the distribution of electricity.

Experience and training may be substituted on a year for year basis. Must maintain valid system operation certification from Connecticut Valley Exchange (CONVEX) or other approved agency or be able to obtain the same within 90 days of hire. Must posses and maintain a valid State of CT driver’s license. $ 34.63 - $ 41.15 per hour plus an excellent fringe benefit package. Apply to: Department of Human Resources, Town of Wallingford, 45 South Main Street, Wallingford, CT 06492. Fax #: (203) 294-2084. Closing date will Invitationbeto September Bid: 8, 2020. EOE.

Of-

fice, 28 Smith Street, Seymour, CT 06483 (203) 888-4579.

Education and Experience Required: Bachelor's degreeAuthority in Accounting or Finance.

CPAtocertifi cation a plus.any Mustorhave 6+years The Housing reserves the right accept or reject all bids, to of reduce hands-on managerial Fusco Management offers a competitheaccounting scope of the project experience. to reflect available funding, and to waive any tive benefit package. Fusco is an Affirmative Action/ Equal Opportunity Employer informalities in the bidding, if such actions are in the best interest of the Housing Authority.

For more details, visit our website –

www.bloomfiWood eldct.org The Housing AuthoritySite-work, of the City of New Haven d/b/a Elm City Communities is New Construction, Framed, Housing, Selective Demolition, CastProposals for Development of Single-Family Homeownership in-place Concrete, Asphaltcurrently Shingles,seeking Vinyl Siding, Construction Administrative Housing.

A complete copy of the requirement may be obtained from Elm City Flooring, Painting, DivisionOffi 10ce Specialties, Appliances, Residential Casework, Position. FT-Exp required.

Communities’ Vendor Collaboration Portal https://newhavenhousing.cobbleMechanical, Electrical, Plumbing and Fire Protection.

Email- Hherbert@ gwfabrication.com stonesystems.com/gateway beginning on This contract is subject to state set-aside and contract compliance requirements.

FENCE ERECTING SUBCONTRACTORS

Monday, August 10, 2020 at 3:00PM.

Bid Extended, Due Date: August 5, 2016 Large CT Fence & Guardrail ContractorStart: is Construction Anticipated August 15, 2016 Administrative Office Position. FT-Exp required. looking for experienced, responsible comEmail- Hherbert@ gwfabrication.com Project documents available via ftp link below: mercial and residential fence erectors and http://ftp.cbtghosting.com/loginok.html?username=sayebrookevillage installers on a subcontractor basis. Earn

ELM CITY COMMUNITIES

from $750 to $2,000 per day. Email resume to rhauer@atlasoutdoor.com Fax or Email Questions & BidsAA/EOE to: Dawn Lang @ 203-881-8372 dawnlang@haynesconstruction.com HCC encourages the participation of all Veteran, S/W/MBE & Section 3 Certified Businesses Construction Company, 32 Progress Ave, Seymour, CT 06483 QSR STEELHaynes CORPORATION AA/EEO EMPLOYER

APPLY NOW!

Steel Fabricators, Erectors & Welders Top pay for top performers. Health Benefits, 401K, Vacation Pay. Email Resume: Rose@qsrsteel.com Hartford, CT AFFIRMATIVE ACTION/EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER

20

Request for Proposals Electronic File Management Services

The Housing Authority of the City of New Haven d/b/a Elm City Communities is currently seeking Proposals for Electronic File Management Services. A complete copy of the requirement may be obtained from Elm City Communities’ Vendor Collaboration Portal https://newhavenhousing.cobblestonesystems.com/ gateway beginning on

Monday, August 17, 2020 at 3:00PM.

THE INNER-CITY NEWS - September 02, 2020 - September 08, 2020 INNER-CITY NEWS July 27, 2016 - August 02, 2016

THE GLENDOWER GROUP NOTICE Request for Proposals VALENTINA MACRIEngineering RENTAL HOUSING PREAPPLICATIONS AVAILABLE Architectural Services for McConaughy Terrace HOME INC, on behalf of Columbus House and the New Haven Housing Authority, isThe accepting pre-applications for studio and one-bedroom apartments at this develGlendower Group is currently seeking proposals for architectural opment located at 108 Frank Street, New Haven. Maximum income limitations apengineering services for McConaughy Terrace.

A complete ply. Pre-applications will be available from 9AM TO 5PM beginning Monday Ju;y copy of the re25, 2016 and ending sufficientfrom pre-applications (approximately 100)Collaboration have quirement may bewhen obtained Glendower’s Vendor Portal been received at the offices of HOME INC. Applications will be mailied upon rehttps://newhavenhousing.cobblestonesystems.com/gateway quest by calling HOME INC at 203-562-4663 during those hours. Completed preapplications must be returned to HOME INC’s offices at 171 Orange Street,atThird beginning on Wednesday, September 2, 2020 3:00PM. Floor, New Haven, CT 06510.

CITY OF MILFORD

PRE-BID MEETING via ZOOM 9/10/20 @ 10am & INVITATION TO BID, bids due 9/30/20 @ 5pm TWO PROJECTS:

MATTHEW RUOPPOLO MANOR & FAIRMONT HEIGHTS Kitchen & Bathroom Renovations, Flooring, Painting, Limited Mechanical and Electrical system upgrades (3 Buildings, 177 Units) This contract is subject to state set-aside and contract compliance requirements.

NOTICIA

Please email Dawn Lang to request access to the ZOOM Pre-Bid Meeting:

dlang@haynesct.com Project documents available via ftp links below:

Seeking qualified condidates to fill numerous vacancies to include, Engineer Technician, Secretary and more.

For information and detailed application instructions, DISPONIBLES visit www.ci.milford.ct.us Click on VALENTINA MACRI VIVIENDAS DE ALQUILER PRE-SOLICITUDES SERVICES, JOBS and JOB TITLE.

Ruoppolo Manor: http://ftp.cbtghosting.com/loginok.html?username=ruoppolo Fairmont Heights: http://ftp.cbtghosting.com/loginok.html?username=fairmontheights

HOME INC, en nombre de la Columbus House y de la New Haven Housing Authority, está aceptando pre-solicitudes para estudios y apartamentos de un dormitorio en este desarrollo ubicado en la calle 109 Frank Street, New Haven. Se aplican limitaciones de ingresos máximos. pre-solicitudes estarán disponibles 09 a.m.-5 p.m. comenzando Martes 25 CITYLasOF NEW HAVEN, CONNECTICUT - REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS julio, 2016 hasta cuando se han recibido suficientes pre-solicitudes (aproximadamente 100) en las oficinas de HOME INC. Las pre-solicitudes serán enviadas por correo a petición Q-House Launch and Management llamando a HOME INC al 203-562-4663 durante esas horas.Pre-solicitudes deberán remitirse RFP Street, # 2020-07-1340 a las oficinas de HOME INC en 171 Orange tercer piso, New Haven , CT 06510 .

All questions and bids must be submitted in written form and directed to the appropriate estimator: Eric Facchini - efacchini@haynesct.com for Site, Concrete, Masonry and MEPs trades.

John Simmons - jsimmons@haynesct.com for all trades in Divisions 6 through 14.

EMAIL BIDS TO THE EMAIL ADDRESSES ABOVE FOR THE TRADE YOU ARE BIDDING. You can also fax bids to: 203-881-8372 HCC encourages the participation of all Veteran, S/W/MBE & Section 3 Certified Businesses Haynes Construction Company, 32 Progress Ave, Seymour, CT 06483 AA/EEO EMPLOYER

RFP due date: Tuesday September 29, 2020 at 11:00 AM EST. RFP can be downloaded at https://newhavenct.bonfirehub.com/portal/?tab=login Michael V. Fumiatti Purchasing Agent

NEW HAVEN

Invitation to Bid: 2nd Notice

242-258 Fairmont Ave 2BR Townhouse,ELM 1.5CITY BA, 3BR, 1 level , 1BA COMMUNITIES

All new apartments, new appliances, new carpet, close to I-91 & I-95 for Proposals highways, near busRequest stop & shopping center Request for Proposals for Outside General Legal Services for Elm Pet under 40lb allowed. Interested parties contact MariaCounsel @ 860-985-8258

SAYEBROOKE VILLAGE Old Saybrook, CT (4 Buildings, 17 Units) Tax Exempt & Not Prevailing Wage Rate Project

City Communities/Housing Authority of The City of New Haven, Including The Glendower Group, Inc. and Its Various Affiliates and 360 CT. Unified Deacon’s Association is pleased to offer a Deacon’s New Construction, Wood Framed, Housing, Selective Demolition, Site-work, CastCertificate Program. This is a 10 month program designed to assist in the intellectual formation of Candidates Management Group Company in-place Concrete, Asphalt Shingles, Vinyl Siding, in response to the Church’s Ministry needs. The cost is $125. Classes start Saturday, August 20, 2016 1:303:30 Contact: Chairman, Deacon Joe J. Davis, M.S., B.S. (203) 996-4517 Host, General Bishop Elijah Davis, D.D. Pastor of Pitts Chapel U.F.W.B. Church 64 Brewster

Flooring, Painting, Division 10 Specialties, Appliances, Residential Casework,

The Housing Authority of the City of New Haven d/b/a Elm City Communities is currently seekSt. New Haven, CT ing Proposals for Request for Proposals for Outside General Counsel Legal Services for Elm City Mechanical, Electrical, Plumbing and Fire Protection. contract Communities/Housing Authority of The City of New Haven, Including The GlendowerThis Group, Inc.is subject to state set-aside and contract compliance requirements. and Its Various Affiliates and 360 Management Group Company.

Bid Extended, Due Date: August 5, 2016 A complete copy of the requirements may be obtained from Elm City’s Vendor Collaboration Portal https://newhavenhousing.cobblestonesystems.com/gateway beginning on Anticipated Start: August 15, 2016 Sealed bids are invited by the Monday, Housing July Authority ofatthe Town of Seymour 27, 2020 3:00PM Project documents available via ftp link below:

SEYMOUR HOUSING AUTHORITY

until 3:00 pm on Tuesday, August 2, 2016 at its office at 28 Smith Street, Seymour, CT 06483 for Concrete Sidewalk Repairs and Replacement at the ELM CITY COMMUNITIES Smithfield Gardens Assisted Living Facility, 26 Smith Street Seymour.

BidsOffice 28 Smith A pre-bid conference will be held Invitation at the Housingfor Authority Street Seymour, CT at 10:00 am, on Wednesday, July 20, Services 2016.

Agency-Wide Elevator

FENCE INSTALLER

http://ftp.cbtghosting.com/loginok.html?username=sayebrookevillage

Fax or Email Questions & Bids to: Dawn Lang @ 203-881-8372 dawnlang@haynesconstruction.com CT Fence & Guardrail is looking for Fence Installer foremen and helpers. Foreman HCC encouragesLarge the participation of all Veteran, S/W/MBEContractor & Section 3 Certified Businesses Haynes Construction Seymour, CTHelpers-no 06483 must have Company, at least 325 Progress years’ Ave, experience. experience required, will train the right person.

AA/EEO EMPLOYER Work available 10-12 months per year. Valid Ct. Driver’s license required and must be able to get a

DOT Medical Card. All necessary equipment provided. Medical, vacation & other benefits included.

Must be able to pass a physical and drug test. OSHA 10 training required.

Bidding documents areof available the Seymour Housing OfThe Housing Authority the Cityfrom of New Haven d/b/a ElmAuthority City Communities is currently fice, 28 Smith Street, Seymour, CT 06483 (203) 888-4579. seeking Bids for Agency-Wide Elevator Services. A complete copy of the requirement may be obtained from Elm City Communities’ Vendor Collaboration Portal https://newhavenThe Housing Authority reserves the right to accept or reject housing.cobblestonesystems.com/gateway beginning onany or all bids, to reduce the scope of the project to reflect available funding, and to waive any Monday, August 10, 2020 at 3:00PM. informalities in the bidding, if such actions are in the best interest of the Housing Authority.

21

Please email resume to rhauer@atlasoutdoor.com AA/EOE – M/F

Construction Administrative Office Position. FT-Exp required.

Email- Hherbert@ gwfabrication.com

THE INNER-CITY NEWS - September 02, 2020 - September 08, 2020

Biden Campaign Launching National “Shop Talk” Series to Engage Black Men

By Stacy M. Brown, NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent

Democratic Presidential Nominee Joe Biden has echoed the sentiments of many who are sickened by the repeated shootings by police of unarmed African Americans.

This week, Biden heaped praise on the Milwaukee Bucks and other National Basketball Association teams who are on the verge of canceling the rest of the season to stand against the violence.

On Thursday, Aug. 27, Biden’s campaigned announced it would launch a national “Shop Talk” series – a weekly roundtable to engage Black men. The inaugural segment takes place at 7 p.m. EST tonight.

It features Biden Campaign Co-Chair Rep. Cedric Richmond (D-La.), actor Terrence J, hip-hop icon Jermaine Dupri, AllHipHop.com CEO Chuck Creekmur, and attorney Bakari Sellers.

“Tonight is real important for Black men to have a conversation about our concerns,” said Dupri. “You can’t possibly be Black and not be bothered by any of this that’s going on. People ask me why I decided to be involved in this panel tonight and I just say that, you can’t be Black and not be bothered by what’s going on in this country and I’m glad the Biden campaign is doing this.”

Gaulien “Gee” Smith, a Wisconsin small business owner, will host the event, and guests will participate in a roundtable focused on issues impacting Black men around the nation.

“For generations, Black-owned Barber shops in this country have always

served as a safe space for Black men of all ages to engage in enlightening, entertaining and challenging conversations,” said Richmond. “Although COVID-19 has prevented us from physically hosting Shop Talk at barber shops across America, I’m honored to bring this cherished component of Black boyhood and manhood to the main stage during a time when we must all lean on each other as brothers.”

During the discussion, participants will have an opportunity to hear from Wisconsin residents about the police shooting of

Jacob Blake in Kenosha, and the impact it has had on their communities, said Kamau Marshall, the director of Strategic Communications for the Biden campaign.

“We always strive for authenticity when engaging our key constituency groups by meeting people where they are and facilitating spaces for empowering and forward-looking discussions,” Marshall told NNPA Newswire.

He added that “Shop Talk” counts among the new Biden-Harris coalition programs created for Black men and led

by Director of African American Engage-

Rep. Waters Applauds Decision by Six NBA Teams to Boycott Playoff Games Following the Shooting of Jacob Blake LOS ANGELES – Congresswoman Maxine Waters (CA-43), Chair of the House Financial Services Committee (FSC), issued a statement today applauding the players of six NBA teams for deciding to sit out yesterday’s three playoff games following the shooting of Jacob Blake, the Kenosha Wisconsin father who was shot seven times in the back in front of his children by a Kenosha police officer.

“I commend the players of the Milwaukee Bucks, Orlando Magic, Los Angeles Lakers, Portland Trailblazers, Oklahoma City Thunder and Houston Rockets for expressing their outrage, frustration and disgust at the violence which continues to be perpetrated by the police upon unarmed African Americans.

“These incidents, fueled by white supremacy and racism, have been happening for generations, only to be swept under the rug. It is only through the spotlight being shone upon them by high profile public figures, the tireless work of civil rights advocates, Black elected officials and the increased presence of cell phone video that our country is finally realizing

Congresswoman Maxine Waters

how commonplace it is for Black people to fall victim to police violence.

“I am especially proud of individuals such as former NBA athlete, now sports analyst, Marques Johnson and Los Angeles Clippers coach ‘Doc’ Rivers who have decided that ‘enough is enough’ and are willing to show America how painful this injustice has been for its Black citizens by

expressing their honest emotions of anguish and frustration. I also commend the players of the WNBA’s Washington Mystics, Atlanta Dream, Los Angeles Sparks, Minnesota Lynx, Connecticut Sun and Phoenix Mercury for joining this boycott and not playing their games last night.

“The women athletes of the WNBA have long inspired us by their willingness to stand up to injustice day in and day out.

I am hopeful that despite the great challenges we face, 2020 can be a watershed moment for America to finally and truly come to grips with its deeply rooted personal and institutional racism.

“Without shame, Mitch McConnell has buried the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act in his legislative graveyard while Black families bury their loved ones who should still be with us. Instead of banning no-knock warrants and chokeholds that could have prevented the deaths of Breonna Taylor, George Floyd and many others, Republicans would rather conduct studies and request data. To them I say: the data is the blood on the street. We don’t need data to validate what we experience. We need action and we need it now.”

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ment Trey Baker.

“To have that space is an example of how our campaign is bringing like minds together to stand up for the issues they care about the most,” Marshall continued.

“By selecting a state to anchor the conversation each week, we’re confident that these gatherings will energize more Black men to support Joe Biden and Kamala Harris – the candidates that will undoubtedly champion their safety, economic prosperity and physical and mental wellbeing.”

Following the police shooting of Blake, whose three small sons were inside the vehicle in which cops opened fire, Biden expressed his dismay while also cautioning that violence wasn’t the answer.

“Once again, a Black man – Jacob Blake

– was shot by the police. In front of his children,” Biden stressed. “It makes me sick. Is this the country we want to be?

Needless violence won’t heal us. We need to end the violence – and peacefully come together to demand justice.”

The Milwaukee Bucks, whose home arena is about 40 miles from Kenosha, decided not to take the court for a playoff game on Wednesday. The team said it’s not a boycott, but a stand against unarmed African Americans’ repeated shootings by law enforcement officers.

The NBA and WNBA decided to cancel games, while some Major League Baseball teams also chose not to play on Wednesday. Both the NBA and WNBA reportedly are on the verge of canceling the rest of their season to show unity with protesters and stand against the epidemic of police shootings of unarmed African Americans.

“This moment demands moral leadership. And these players answered by standing up, speaking out, and using their platform for good. Now is not the time for silence,” Biden said. The Democrat has also called for an immediate, full and transparent investigation.

“The officers must be held accountable,” Biden demanded. “These shots pierce the soul of our nation. Jill and I pray for Jacob’s recovery and for his children.”

Biden continued: “Equal justice has not been real for Black Americans and so many others. We are at an inflection point. We must dismantle systemic racism. It is the urgent task before us. We must fight to honor the ideals laid in the original American promise, which we are yet to attain: That all men and women are created equal, but more importantly, that they must be treated equally.”

Oversight Committee to Hold Hearing with Postmaster General DeJoy on Sweeping Changes to Postal Service Washington D.C. (Aug. 22, 2020)—On Monday, August 24, 2020, at 10:00 a.m., Rep. Carolyn B. Maloney, the Chairwoman of the Committee on Oversight and Reform, will hold a hybrid hearing with Postmaster General Louis DeJoy and Postal Service Board of Governors Chairman Robert M. Duncan regarding changes at the postal service under Mr. DeJoy’s leadership.

The hearing will examine operational and organizational changes at the Postal Service that have resulted in delivery delays across the country, including the delivery of critical medications, and the impact of these changes on the rights of eligible Americans to cast their votes through the mail in the November elections.

On August 18, 2020, Mr. DeJoy issued a statement suspending some of his recent

changes, stating: “To avoid even the appearance of any impact on election mail, I am suspending these initiatives until after the election is concluded.”

However, he refused to reinstate the sorting machines, mailboxes, and other infrastructure he ordered removed. It is also unclear whether other possible changes— including how the Postal Service will prioritize election mail—will continue.

Chairwoman Maloney introduced the Delivering for America Act, which now has more than 200 cosponsors. This critical legislation provides $25 billion supported by the Board of Governors appointed by President Trump to help the Postal Service operate effectively through the coronavirus crisis and returns delivery standards to levels prior to the Postmaster General’s recent damaging changes.

THE INNER-CITY NEWS - September 02, 2020 - September 08, 2020

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THE INNER-CITY NEWS - September 02, 2020 - September 08, 2020

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