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THE INNER-CITY NEWS - November 04, 2020 - November 10, 2020

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“DMC” Through Election Day

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THE INNER-CITY NEWS - November 04, 2020 - November 10, 2020

DJs Spin New Haven Joy Through Election Day As she spoke, she looked out over the line of voters, smiling at families who had come together and grandparents who had brought their pint-sized grandchildren for a crash course in Democracy. Back at the console, DJ Basketball Jones faded “Oops I Did It Again” into Shakira’s “Hips Don’t Lie,” which soon became Sade’s “Paradise.”

She was masterful, shoulders popping in time with the down beat as she paired Sade with Amy Winehouse’s “You Know I’m No Good.” At the back of the line, Driffin and Bedini chatted with voters. After voting themselves, they stayed to stump for Rodriguez and cheers on neighbors frustrated by the lines. They joined hands and began to dance with each other.

Lucy Gellman & Arturo Pineda, The ARTS Paper www.newhavenarts.org

Kenneth Driffin showed up at Barnard Environmental Magnet School to cast his vote for Sergio Rodriguez and the Working Families’ Party ticket. He stayed to dance.

Tuesday, Driffin was one of over 27,000 New Haveners to come out to the polls, after a record 97 million Americans cast their votes by absentee ballot. Across the city, he and thousands of other voters were greeted with an Election Day surprise—DJs working to spin and mix a citywide, nonpartisan dance party at the polls.

“I always vote!,”Driffin said, taking his partner Laura Bedini’s hand to dance. At a table, DJ Basketball Jones mixed solo Justin Timberlake right into NSync’s “Bye Bye Bye.” “The thing about music here today— music is universal. It puts you in a relationship with everyone around you.”

The concept came from political science professor and author Khalilah Brown-Dean last week, with just days to go before the general election. In eight days, she and a group of volunteers organized DJ stations in New Haven Wards 15, 16, 20, 22, 23, 24, 28 and Hamden Ward 3. Those polling locations translate to schools and community centers in the West River, Fair Haven, Dixwell, and Newhallville neighborhoods and Hamden just over the city border.

All of the music and participation was nonpartisan. Read more of the event’s backstory here.

Tuesday, voters started jamming to the music almost as soon as DJs had arrived.

Around 9:30 a.m., West River voter Mamady Kouyaté listened closely to DJ Dana Cobbs—better known as That Dana Game—as she mixed Beyoncé into Ed Sheeran, and then wound back the clock to old school jams. As she lifted her arms above a console, he let the melody distract his from the growing line and low-hanging dark sky overhead.

Kouyaté knows his music: he is a guitarist and founder of the Mandingo Ambassadors, a band that has lost eight months of performances due to COVID-19. He’s also an avid voter—he’s voted in every election that he can since immigrating from Guinea and becoming a U.S. citizen decades ago.

While his own music comes out of the Guinean dance bands of the 1970s, he said he valued Cobbs’ choice of pumping bass and vocals, which seemed to ward away the morning chill as they sailed over the sidewalk and the parking lot.

He didn’t mind the wait, he added. As an immigrant and a working artist, he has always voted for the Democratic ticket. He said he was excited to cast his vote for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris—he’s listened to the candidates in three debates and likes what they have to say.

The president’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic was also at the forefront of his mind as he prepared to cast his ballot. Due to the virus, the Mandingo Ambassadors have not been able to return to a standing weekly show at Brooklyn’s famed Barbès music club, which translates to an anemic

Professor Khalilah Brown-Dean with her daughter, Haley.

revenue stream.

“I miss it,” he said.

In line, voter Aldith Prichett pulled a chair up six feet as the line moved forward slowly. Fifty years ago, Pritchett moved to New Haven from St. Elizabeth Parish in Jamaica. As a Black woman and an immigrant, she said that nothing can keep her from the polls. Tuesday, a poll worker found a chair for her after Prichett realized that she would be unable to stand for hours. She called Joe Biden “the right man for the job.”

“I love this music,” she added, noting that she would have been practicing her best moves were it not for two bad knees. “I wish I could dance.”

A few voters down, 70-year-old Boz Gibson had his ID ready and eyed the school’s open door, bouncing from foot to foot in time with the music. Gibson makes it a point to vote in every election: he moved to New Haven the same year Richard Nixon was elected president. He missed voting in that election because he was just a few months shy of 18 years old.

“I am an every election voter,” he said. “I feel a responsibility to do so. It lets people know we are here. Otherwise, they’ll ignore you.”

This year, he said he was excited to vote for the Democratic ticket on both a national and local level. As a retiree, healthcare and a plan for COVID-19 are his biggest priorities this year. If he loses access to Medicare, he doesn’t know what he’ll do. He said that “social unrest,” broadly construed, is a close third. He praised the DJs for giving him something to listen to that “beats listening to the wind blow.”

“I’ll be voting Democrat across because

they’re concerned about the issues that I’m concerned about,” he said. “You know, I appreciate that.

At a table off to the side, Cobbs packed up her gear and handed things over to DJ Basketball Jones. For the second time in four hours, she was headed to Hamden’s Keefe Center to vote. Tuesday morning, she arrived at the center at 6 a.m. and found the lines too long with an 8 a.m. DJ set in New Haven. Spinning beforehand had helped steady her mind.

“It felt so good to be here,” she said. “Because of quarantine, a lot of DJs, we don’t get to play for anyone anymore. So this is awesome! People were dancing, singing, all together. When I’m doing these [sets], I always read the crowd. In the morning I feel like you see more older people, and now that the crowd is getting younger. It’s a perfect time for Ms. Jones to take over.”

Brown-Dean also stopped by the site a little after 10 a.m., before teaching an election day class to her students at Quinnipiac University. She joked that she had prepared an entire lecture, but was expecting to spend most of the time “riffing” on the election.

She brought her own voting buddy: her daughter Haley.

“You know, I’ve been watching people line up across the country and I’ve been watching people in New Haven who are anxious and eager to do this,” she said, watching as Driffin helped 79-year-old Mae Knight move a lawn chair forward in the line. “The music—it’s about joy, connectivity, the beauty of this community. It’s like a family reunion. This commitment to each other—it is palpable.”

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Stevie Wonder Charms Ellsworth Avenue Just a few blocks away at the Ellsworth Avenue fire station, Ward 24 volunteer Elida Paiz hooked up her phone to a speaker to keep spirits high. She scrolled to the first thing she could find: a Stevie Wonder playlist saved to her favorite music. The music seemed right on time: as she blasted “Don’t You Worry Bout A Thing,” a few dancers shook their hips and legs to the tune. While the clouds had parted for blue sky, a chill still hung in the air.

Art Perlo, who serves as the ward’s democratic co-chair, said he was seeing far higher turnout than usual. At 6 a.m., a line wound from the fire station down Ellsworth Avenue, and well onto Stanley Street. By 11 a.m., he estimated that a few hundred had voted. Containers of muffins sat nearby for voters who needed comestible reinforcements. The track switched to “Signed Sealed Delivered.”

In line, Mother-daughter duo Daniela and Bianca Soradi said they both planned to vote for President Donald Trump. Bianca, who is 27, sat the 2016 election out. Her mom, who also voted for Trump four years ago, said that she listened to Democratic candidate Joe Biden, but found that “he’s just not aggressive enough.”

“Trump, he says it the way it is,” she said.

When asked if it bothered her that the president has been the subject of sexual harassment and assault allegations from over two dozen women, she said it did not. She added that she was also not concerned that he has declined to denounce white supremacists and praised supporters for road rage in Texas, New York and New Jersey.

“I do get what they say because he’s shrewd when he speaks,” she said. “But you know exactly where he stands.”

Closer to the back of the line—which had died down by 11 a.m.—producer Ozzie Gooding introduced himself as a reformed and repentant 2016 Trump voter. Four years ago, he cast a vote for Trump to protest Hillary Clinton’s candidacy. A Bernie Sanders supporter, he said that he was upset after leaked audio featured Clinton calling Sanders supporters “Children of the Great Recession ... living in their parents’ basement,” He figured Trump would swing left after he got to the White House. Instead, he was

appalled by what he saw coming out of Washington. He called the white nationalist rallies in Charlottesville, Virginia a turning point.

“I’m tired of Donnie,” he said. “I’ve realized, this man is crazy. After the rallies in Charlottesville, I couldn’t take it. And then what really made me feel done was the COVID-19 pandemic. When Joe Biden picked Kamala Harris, I knew. Locally, I’m gonna vote for Rosa [DeLauro].”

The View From Fair Haven Eighteen-year-old Johanna Zunun came out with the objective of voting President Trump out of office. Her vote speaks for many people in her circle: her parents and many of her community members are not United States citizens. If they don’t have a voice in this election, she wants to.

“I want them to have a better future after the election,” she said. “I also think it is important to support Black Lives Matter when the President is so against it.”

At the Community Room on Chatham Street, DJ Gabby set the mood by playing old school throwbacks. To mix it up, he played an Angela Davis interview from 1972 over a soft beat. The interview, conducted from her prison cell at the time, touched on misconceptions around a violent revolution.

“When you talk about a revolution, most people think violence, without realizing that the real content of any kind of revolutionary thrust lies in the principles, in the goal that you’re striving for, not in the way you reach them,” she said over the track.

To complement the words of Davis, local New Haven artist KDub (Kevin Walton, Jr.) performed songs from his debut album, Elm City Trees. He explained that the songs were a love letter to the city that raised him and has given him strength wherever he’s gone.

“I’m back where I belong/ I’m Black and I’m strong/All I need is my Elm City Tree/, I’m Elm City’s Own and I’m coming for the throne.”

In the short line that formed outside of the center, members swayed and tapped their feet to the music. Niszaida Berrios brought her mother to the polls after she herself voted earlier that day in another ward. She spoke about the mishandling of the COVID-19 pandemic under the Trump administration and the toll it has taken on Black communities.

“This is more about the country and people dying,” she said. “We are losing Black people more than anything else in the world.”

Monica, who asked to be identified by her first name, also felt that the election comes at a time when it is difficult to believe in the government as unemployment remains high. She cast her vote for Joe Biden.

“I hope to see change but voting doesn’t guarantee change,” she said. “It saddens me. When I turn on the TV they try to push hope. How can you expect me to have hope? In the first election, he [President Trump] promised jobs. No one has a job now.”

THE INNER-CITY NEWS - November 04, 2020 - November 10, 2020

Kim Harris and students from Harris and Tucker Preschool get a firsthand look at the election process.

IfeMichelle Gardin

DJ Big Moe.

As voters came in searching for the entrance, members of Ella’s PAC helped point voters in the right direction. The PAC’s mission is to support progressive candidates for state and local office in New Haven and Hamden, with a focus on “more marginalized communities,” particularly Black and Brown communities.

For founding member Karen DuBoisWalton, the election is the start of a long journey towards increasing voter turnout in Black and Brown communities in future elections. She said that the low voter turnout in communities like Fair Haven and parts of Dixwell are not necessarily representative of the communities’ interests.

“We want to see turnout in Black and Latinx neighborhoods to be like the turnout in Westville,” she said.“Maybe we will see new candidates and members at the community management [team] meetings.”

Two unregistered voters showed up to the poll but were unable to vote. Members of the PAC offered to give them rides to City Hall to do same-registration and vote, but the pair refused.

Not too far from the Community Room on Chatham, voters steadily trickled into John Martinez School at 100 James St. By 2 p.m., approximately 400 people had cast their ballots. The turnout was a major increase from turnout in previous years, according to Ward 16 Democratic co-chairs Celestino Cordova and Sarah Derbala.

Derbala spoke about the importance of local and state elections not being overshadowed by the presidential election.

Latino voters are an important voting bloc and should not be overlooked by the state, Derbala said.

“It is about the Latino community saying we care, “ she said. “It does not mean we are less American because we are Latinos.”

Longtime Fair Haven resident Margarita Rodriguez brought her 11-year-old grandson Johan with her to the polls. She voted with the hope that local officials will invest more in afterschool programs for her youth.

“There isn’t enough to entertain the youth and keep busy,” she said. “We need more programs to keep them happy and enter-

resilience. We’ve gotta keep it going.”

At a table recessed from the school, Carrington said that he was excited to be bringing music to voters. He added that there is no single issue that brings him to the polls—he sees his vote as a chance to reflect on “everything in my life.”

“What’s resting on this election?” he said, yelling over Ja Rule’s “Livin’ It Up.” Everything!“ Just a mile away off Shelton Avenue, voters at Lincoln-Bassett School were finishing a mid-afternoon Mississippi Cha-Cha Slide, the same song that inspired BrownDean to start the challenge just a week ago.

As DJ Herman Ham brought on Cheryl Lynn’s 1978 “Got To Be Real,” members of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. began to move in unison, eliciting instant applause from a group of students from Harris and Tucker School who had come by to dance and learn about voting.

“I think this is such an amazing and community-centered idea,” DuBois-Walton said during a dance break. “When we were in Fair Haven earlier today, we watched as it drew people to the polls. They stopped their cars and asked ‘what’s going on here?’”

Ward 20 Democratic Co-Chair Barbara Vereen said the music had left her in a high spirits all day. At 5 a.m., there was a line outside the school that curved around Bassett Street and kept going. By 3 p.m., she estimated that over 900 people had voted in person. By the time polls closed at 8 p.m., that number was over 1,300.

She praised Democratic Registrar Shannel Evans for helping troubleshoot a system that allowed for greater social distancing.

All day, the site had seen a steady stream of voters and visitors, from candidates to neighborhood residents to school kids. She looked on, a smile spreading across her face as Harris and Tucker students started dancing to “Old Town Road.” They knew every lyric by heart.

“We gotta do something about the systemic racism that’s coming out of the White House,” she said. “You gotta think about the hatred that is coming out of there, and

how it emboldens people. As a Black parent, you can teach your kids to do and say everything right, and they are still targeted.

I have three sons. I’m voting for my sons and my grandson.”

She added that she was grateful for the addition of music. Ham’s afternoon appearance was his second of the day: he had started around 10 a.m., stopped for a break at noon, and planned to spin through 6 p.m.

Vereen said Ham has helped her stay sane: she has tuned in to his quarantine gospel Sundays and Friday happy hours on Facebook.

Ward 20 Alder Delphine Clyburn danced as she entered the building to vote. When she exited with a sticker, she clapped her hands. While inside, she had learned that she was voter number 931—a number that she saw as a sign that voter turnout efforts were working. She said that education, safe and affordable housing, healthcare and reliable COVID-19 testing were at the forefront of her mind when she cast her ballot for the Democratic ticket. She was planning to dance the remaining hours away to stay warm.

“I think it is just an awesome thing,” she said of the music. “It gives us a chance to dance with each other and be with each other. And some of us haven’t seen people in a while. Music brings people together.”

Beneath a tent, Ham ran a perfect through line from The Commodores to Bruno Mars, sliding KC and The Sunshine Band right in between. Marshall Cruz, who lives nearby on Shepard Street, started spinning in time with “Uptown Funk.”

He said he had come out to vote for Rodriguez, Biden, and U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro, and stayed to break it down. At one point, he spun around so fiercely that his respirator mask slipped off one ear. He smiled, readjusted it and kept going.

“In the last four years, this country has become super polarized, and this election is the change to put it back together,” he said.

“I feel like everybody’s in limbo right now.

The community needs someone who can make decisions for the good of everybody, not just the good of a few.”

tained.“ At the opposite end of the spectrum, Irvin Silva came out to support Joe Biden with the hope that he will protect and expand social security benefits. Senior citizens like himself are reliant on social security to pay rent and support themselves, he said.

“If they cut my social security, I’ll lose everything,” he said.

Patricia Briley took a break from work to come out to vote with the hope that a new president might help ease much of the violence. In her eyes, violence has taken a heavy toll on American families and immigrants.

“Families need to be protected,” she said.

“I think that the immigrants that came to this county to work need a break.”

Despite having a record-high turnout, Derbala expected to see a large influx of people around 5 or 6 p.m. after people got off of work.

Tapping Feet, From Beaver Hills To Newhallville At James Hillhouse High School, an early morning flood of voters became a midday trickle. A few yards from DJ Big Moe (Moe Carrington), Elm City Lit Fest Founder IfeMichelle Gardin had been dancing on and off for nearly five hours. After voting around 8 a.m., she volunteered to stick around, dance, and help voters navigate the polls.

As she twirled, side-stepped, and stretched her fingers toward the sky, the sun peeked out from a smear of light blue. She bobbed her head to the music and found momentary dance partners in voters that were coming out of the building. Close to 1 p.m., Gardin’s friend Tasheika Shaw spotted her and came over to jam. While she would not divulge who she voted for, she said that ending poverty remains the issue closest to her heart when she goes to the polls.

“I’m dancing because I want to be hopeful,” Gardin said as DJ Big Moe slipped into Stevie Wonder’s “Do I Do.” “I’ve got to be. I’m kind of staying as positive as possible. I’m trying to stay motivated.

Either way it turns out, we will still have

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He noted that he’s been dismayed to see several hip-hop artists, including Lil Wayne and 50 Cent, supporting Trump because they believe his tax cuts will benefit them.

Meanwhile, many of the people listening to their music may not have the same financial capital or flexibility with their money.

“But we are out here gettin down,” he added as he sank into bended knees and started to move once more. “We are gettin our boogie ” “It’s all about the votes,” Ham added.

“We’re working to lift spirits and get ‘em to vote.”

Dixwell Dances To The Beat In front of Wexler-Grant Community School, DJ People’s Choice Big Pat (Patrick Burroughs Sr.) blasted Earth, Wind, and Fire’s September. He said he wanted to avoid music with notions of violence and make the environment as welcoming as possible.

“The people are ready for a change,” he said. “We are ready to see a change about police brutality. The police have become bold. They used to beat us but now they take our lives.”

This election reminded Stephanie Sutton of the 2008 election, when Barack Obama ran against John McCain. As a Black woman, she said she also hopes that the election can help end police brutality.

“I just want my people to be treated better,” she said. “The cops keep killing Black people.I hope that with Biden we see some change.”

Like other wards across the city, Ward 22 saw a record number of voter turnout. By noon, more than 500 people had cast their ballot. In 2016, it took almost the entire day to get a similar number of votes, said Alder Jeanette Morrison. She also expected a surge of voters after 5 p.m..

She recognized that candidates have flaws and voters may not be enthused by the options but voters must search for a middle ground.

“Voting is everything … people lost limbs for the right to vote,” she said. “You gotta look at who is closest aligned with your values.”

THE INNER-CITY NEWS - November 04, 2020 - November 10, 2020

Knickerbocker Club Keeps Halloween Alive- & Safe

by MAYA MCFADDEN

New Haven I ndependent

The Knickerbocker Golf Club, Inc. made sure the kids of Newhallville didn’t fret this Halloween, finding a Covid-safe way to stage its 10th Annual Inner City Kid Safe Halloween Celebration.

Organizers remained on one side of the fence decorated with pumpkins, skeletons, and spider webs, while families walked along the other side of the fence picking up bags of treats.

In the past, the annual event would host more than 300 kids for the Halloween party indoors with a variety of activities like dance contests and zumba.

This year’s treats consisted of not only candy but bags of snacks, Lunchables, socks, gloves, and books. The club asked for donations beyond candy to help relieve parents of food and clothing needs admist a pandemic and as the weather gets colder.

The organizers had no doubt that the annual tradition would continue this year.

“It’s important to show these kids that they count. That we care about them even while things are hard,” said lead organizer EMarie Russell-Bell.

The event was supported by donations from Yale University, Empress SC CT, the Firebirds Society of the Greater New Haven, Inc., club members, and the community.

Organizers bagged 300 bags and distributed about half on Saturday. The remaining bags will be donated to kids’ organizations throughout the city, Russell-Bell said.

Before his three grandkids got out his car, Arthur Allen Jr. took a picture of them dressed up as a police man, ninja turtle, and lady bug from the car. As the trio, ages 9, 6, and 4, picked up their goodies, Allen watched from afar, “glad they can get something normal and good.”

While planning, the organizers ruled out a drive-by even,t as many families walked or took the bus to the event each year.

“We’ve always been emphasizing saftey.

It’s in the name. Because we know that New Haven isn’t the safest on Halloween,” Russell-Bell said.

Patricia Newton-Foster donated $500 to the event as a board member of the club.

Newton-Foster gave the first 100 kids each $5 and encouraged them to save up. “When you get to my age, you can be rich, paying your way through college yourself,” she said while handing out the donations.

Tennille Murphy handed out books donated from the Read to Grow organization to help families build a home library and give the youth “something to do besides electronics.” Murphy encouraged visiting parents to start lap reading with their young kids.

“Even if I had to stand on a corner to make these kids feel special, this was going to happen,” Russell-Bell said.

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THE INNER-CITY NEWS - November 04, 2020 - November 10, 2020

Every Kid Needs A Champion

by KERMIT CAROLINA (Opinion.) If you don’t know who the late Rita F. Pierson is, you probably aren’t a schoolteacher.

Pierson was a tireless educator of 40 years who famously declared in her inspirational TED Talk that “every child deserves a champion: an adult who will never give up on them, who understands the power of connection and insists they become the best they can possibly be.”

Like the Waco Independent School District where Pierson taught, New Haven Public Schools (NHPS) has had outstanding leaders such as Wanda Gibbs, Jeffie Frazier, Eleanor Boyd, Leroy Williams, Richard Kaliszewski, William Beaty, and Larry Conaway, who served as staunch advocates for our most vulnerable children. For decades, these champions for children made the right decision when they chose to stand firm against educational policies and practices that were not in the best interest of our students.

On Friday, March 13, 2020, district leaders in New Haven and many other Connecticut cities and towns made the right decision when they chose to close schools due to concerns about the spread of Covid-19. This decision may have saved the lives of hundreds of New Haveners.

Today, however, after months of quarantining at home, many of our most vulnerable NHPS children continue to search for the support of a champion as they deal with feelings of isolation, fear, grief, depression, stress and anxiety. Food insecurity contributes to these feelings, as does Covid-related illness or death of a loved one; household overcrowding; domestic, verbal or physical abuse; virtual learning barriers; drug or alcohol addiction, and even homelessness.

Vikram Patel, a psychiatrist, researcher and professor at Harvard Medical School, explained how these factors affect child development and adolescent mental health.

“Young people, especially, are facing high levels of uncertainty. For kids, it can be disturbing to hear conflicts about Covid-19 on television and in the media,” Patel said. “It is no surprise that fear and anxiety is sweeping young people.”

New Haven district leaders have rightly decided to continue with fully remote learning. This was certainly a decision based on science and a genuine concern for the wellbeing of all members of the school community. Yet we must ensure that all staff continue to be fully prepared for the enormous challenge of addressing the needs of students who have been socially, emotionally and academically impacted by the pandemic. Every kid will continue to need a champion to support him or her through a daunting period in which Dr. Anthony Fauci, the country’s top infectious disease expert, predicts will see an increase in cases of Covid-19.

In response to the expected surge in Covid-19 cases, a stronger and more holistic approach is required to address the needs of our most at-risk students. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), low-income and minority children—and those living with disabilities—are “far less likely to have access to private instruction and care and far more likely to rely on key school-supported resources…”

We will need the support of our trusted community-based partners as we seek to provide safe spaces and services such as childcare, tutoring, after-school programs, resource connections, mentoring and mental and physical health care. Equally as important are the critical eyes and strong voices of grassroots leaders who are heavily relied upon to hold local, state and federal officials accountable for delivering these muchneeded resources to our communities.

During this time of crisis, Martin Luther King’s words must ring louder than ever in our ears. As King wrote, “The ultimate measure of a man [or woman] is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.”

Where do you stand? I hope and pray that it is with our most vulnerable children who depend on you in their time of need. Every kid needs a champion like you! The larger question is—are you willing to be a champion?

Kermit Carolina is the supervisor of youth development and engagement for New Haven Public Schools, doctoral candidate at Sacred Heart University and a longtime community activist in the City of New Haven.

New Festival Shifts Its Focus To Black Filmmakers

by Lucy Gellman, Editor, The ARTS Paper www.newhavenarts.org Salwa Abdussabur didn’t see themselves reflected in the artists who were landing grants and paid performances in New Haven. So they decided to flip the script and shift the lens on Black creatives.

That’s the idea behind the first annual Black Haven Film Festival, dedicated to showcasing the work of Black filmmakers from New Haven and across the state. The festival is the brainchild of Abdussabur, an artist and activist who grew up in the city’s Beaver Hills neighborhood, as well as the team at CT Core.

Submissions for the film festival are due Nov. 3, which is also election day. The festival, which will include a screening of 10 short films, is scheduled for Nov. 20 at ConnCAT. All screenings will be COVID-19 safe; this year’s theme is Black stories and Black liberation. A rain date is set for December 4.

“Black Haven is now that time to put the platform out,” Abdussabur said on a recent episode of WNHH Community Radio’s Arts Respond program, in a conversation that spanned racial tensions in Beaver Hills to financial gatekeeping to the city’s long flirtation with the nonprofit industrial complex. “As a person, I’m so privileged to be able to create this platform for artists, Black artists, especially in film, media and theater that’s been long co-opted by racism, long co-opted by misogyny, long co-opted by classism.”

The idea for Black Haven was born earlier this year, after Abdussabur moved back to New Haven from Los Angeles. Last August, the artist went to the West Coast to expand their spoken word career and become a Public Ally, a program that was cut short by the COVID-19 pandemic.

When they returned to the city in March, they jumped into virtual and socially distanced community programming, from At Home In New Haven to their biweekly Freshin Up Friday series in Beaver Hills.

Something clicked, they said. In their 22 years in the city, they have lived at the intersections of arts and activism in the city.

Months before flying to Los Angeles in August 2019, they spent days protesting the officer-involved shooting of Stephanie Washington and Paul Witherspoon, protesting in New Haven and Hamden sometimes until after midnight.

When they came back to the city this year, they wanted to help facilitate dialogue in their own neighborhood, which has seen rising tensions between hundreds of Orthodox Jewish families and Black residents of the neighborhood.

“I really feel like I need to be here, more than ever, in my city,” they said. “I know it like the back of my hand. I know the politics like the back of my hand. I know what the community needs. I know what we need to push for. And so, it’s been really amazing ... I feel there’s so much to be done.”

Part of that, they added, is creating space

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photos by Lucy Gellman

by and for Black artists during the parallel pandemics of COVID-19 and structural racism. Well before COVID-19, they watched as arts organizations in New Haven withheld funding from Black artists, or asked artists of color to jump through hoops for small, competitive amounts of money.

They watched as Black and Brown artists were turned against each other for “diversity” grants, sometimes as small as a few hundred dollars. That feeling has intensified during COVID-19, which has affected Black New Haveners at a rate far higher than their white counterparts.

That sense of financial gatekeeping dominated their young adulthood in New Haven, they added. They recalled hearing about a white-led arts collective that didn’t have a mission statement or clear connection to the city, but had already landed $20,000 in grants. In another instance, a close friend struggled to find acting work in the city, but watched as white artists around her flourished.

For years, they and their friends produced art in largely underground networks, working on shoestring budgets when they couldn’t get mainstream support for their work. It wasn’t until recently, for instance, that Abdussabur had reliable access to recording equipment for their own songwriting and production.

They said that frustration is part of what led to a new formula for Black Haven.

“I carry that,” they said. “There’s a lot of situations like that. Feeling that for me as a Black artist, I have to have everything, everything, down to the last detail prepared in terms of my resume, experiences. There’s been so many barriers in my artistic, creative process and growth, just due to not being able to have access

to the tools.”

“So Black Haven,” they continued. “We need institutions in New Haven who have historically participated in racism—so, all of y’all—and participated in the suppression of Black art, which is so real, and I hear stories from elders who are artists … to commit to abundantly funding Black artists.”

As they built a framework for the festival, they opened it to all Black Connecticut artists in an effort to reach creatives in Hartford, Bridgeport, New London and beyond. They partnered with organizations that are led by Black people, praising CT Core in particular for carving out an affinity space for Black artists and creatives. Then they sat down with artists and asked a question that they wished someone had asked them: “What do you need to make this happen?”

As they review submissions for the festival this month, they said they are thinking about Black Haven as the first chapter of a larger movement towards creative equity in the city, and ultimately in the state. They praised a number of local artists including Stout (“she shows me that I can do this thing”), Paul Bryant Hudson, and “amazing funky white man” Aaron Jafferis, who mentored and then worked alongside Abdussabur in The Word. They also look to artists and activists whose words echo through history, including Dr. Maya Angelou and James Baldwin.

“Artists are lethal to capitalism,” they said. “Artists are lethal to oppression.

Artists are outside thinkers. I think about how artists have been targeted in so many ways, because of the power and influence they have. Artists are essential.”

THE INNER-CITY NEWS - November 04, 2020 - November 10, 2020

1,152 Food Boxes Distributed To Families

by MAYA MCFADDEN New Haven I ndependent

Despite heavy rain, the show went on for families in need and volunteers at a pop-up food distribution at Troup School.

A trailer truck full of food boxes took up half of Troup’s parking lot as 1,152 boxes each paired with a one-gallon milks were distributed by the Kingdom International Economic Development Corporation (KIEDC) and partners on Thursday.

At the start of October, CEO and founder of KIEDC Metashar Dillon partnered with Board of Alders President Tyisha Walker-Myers to feed the west side.

KIEDC has been partnering with the New Haven Police Department (NHPD) since the start of the pandemic to distribute weekly food boxes on Tuesday’s and Thursday’s with its USDA Farmers to Families Food Box Program.

Walker-Myers joined together with her fellow west side alders Edgewood’s Evette Hamilton and Dwight’s Frank Douglass to partner with KIEDC to bring its Food Box program, regularly based out of the 26 Charles St. substation, around to Dwight/West River’s residents. Another distribution was planned Saturday at South Genesee basketball court from 10 a.m to 2 p.m.

“These events will happen rain, snow, or shine,” Dillon said. “Rain or snow the

need is still here.”

Organizers plan to continue the program extension in the west side through November and possibly Decemeber. The program is looking for volunteers to make this possible and donations.

“The need was so great, we had to spread out and meet them where they are,” Dillion said.

Since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, the KIEDC/NHPD program has fed 50,000, said Dillion.

Two hours into the Thursday distribution, Dillion and Walker-Myers began calling up local organizations and others to pick up or make deliveries throughout the neighborhoods.

Walker-Myers filled up her trunk up with ten boxes to go door to door delivering to residents on Day Street.

Other organizations, volunteers, and some state police picked up as many as 50 boxes to deliver to nearby senior homes and food pantries.

KIEDC has been serving a number of cities and towns with food distribution amidst the pandemic. New Haven has had the greatest need, Dillion said.

“We come out here to meet needs and solve problems,” Dillion said.

At the start of the pandemic Dillion “sounded the alarm” to bring attention to food insecurity and the communities duty to each other. “I’ve been here before. Hungry with no idea where my next

MAYA MCFADDEN PHOTO

meal was. I didn’t know where I was going to sleep at night before,” she said.

The team also handed out packs of masks to walkers.

Carlena Weeks walked to the distribution Thursday with a collapsable wagon to pick up food for her family. Weeks temporarily moved in with her parents on Orchard street in March and picked

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up two boxes Thursday, one for her parents and a second for her husband and three kids.

“I’ve seen these in the news but never thought I’d considered coming until now. It helps that they don’t judge you and welcome you,” said Weeks.

Weeks stopped working last month to stay home with her kids. Now her fam-

ily’s income has decreased with only her husband working she said. “This is a challenge I’m up to. I love to cook so I’ll find something to do with everything here,” she said.

Each box full of ingredients for multiple meals ranged at about $40 each. The truck load totaled to about $48,750.

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THE INNER-CITY NEWS - November 04, 2020 - November 10, 2020

Latest Crimes Rattle, Unite Beaver Hills

by PAUL BASS

New Haven I ndependent

A Sabbath encounter with a machetewielding man outside their synagogue has Orthodox Jews wondering if it’s safe to walk their streets in daylight — and neighbors of all backgrounds vowing to work together for change.

The Sabbath encounter was one of two incidents within 48 hours that once again brought an uptick in Beaver Hills crime into the limelight. Police made an arrest in one case and are pursuing leads in the second, an attempted carjacking with a woman inside the vehicle.

In the wake of the incidents, community leaders renewed calls on public officials to deliver on promises of public safety.

And 100 signs vowing neighborhood unity began popping up on lawns.

The incidents, which occurred Thursday night and Saturday afternoon, follow weeks of neighborhood meetings, including with the mayor and police chief about the growing violence. The crimes have ranged from shootings, break-ins, and muggings to three successive burglaries of the Norton Street synagogue. As of last month, the department detected 18 shooting incidents in the police district that includes Beaver Hills. There were only seven by this time last year.

Some of the incidents involved references to victims’ Jewish backgrounds; Beaver Hills is among New Haven’s more diverse neighborhoods, with both a sizable Black population and a fast-growing Orthodox Jewish population affiliated with the Lubavitch Hasidic movement.

Most of the crimes did not include references to religion, rather mirroring the increase in crime occurring throughout New Haven and in cities nationwide as the Covid-19 pandemic has dragged on.

At the same time, at least four or five different gatherings of Hasidic Jews are engaged in prayer on Saturday mornings and then walking the streets home in the early afternoon. Jewish law forbids driving on the Sabbath. As a result more Jews are often on the streets — and potentially targets for street crime.

“The entire community is shaken up,” Moti Sandman, president of Congregation Chabad Lubavitch, said Sunday. “We don’t know how to react. How do we protect ourselves?”

“I’m Going To Kill You” Saturday’s incident began around 1:30 p.m., after the second of two Sabbath morning services concluded at Sandman’s synagogue on Norton Street near Whalley. (The congregation began holding two services to comply with Covid-19 restrictions.)

Services had also just concluded next door at the “Shulounge,” an affiliated youth-oriented congregation.

Here’s what happened, according to Sandman and Avi Meer, a board member

Neighbors with new sign: We stand together.

of the Shulounge, based on what the congregants involved told them. (The congregants did not wish to speak directly with the Independent.)

Two teenaged girls were leaving from Congregation Chabad Lubavitch to a home in the neighborhood for Shabbes lunch.

They noticed that a tall man was following them. They crossed the street. The man crossed the street. They started running. The man ran after them.

After a few blocks, they ran into two men who were also heading home from the synagogue, a synagogue member and his father-in-law visiting from Canada.

They told the men what was happening. The men ushered them to the home where they were having lunch.

Rivka Fenton, who was inside the home where they arrived, told the Independent that the girls came inside rattled, reporting that a man following them had threatened, “I’m going to kill you.”

The two men outside, meanwhile, traced their steps back to Norton Street. They found the man who had followed the girls standing in front of the synagogue.

“What are you doing?” one asked him.

The man at first apologized for disturbing the girls — then drew a machete from his pants. He allegedly approached the men and swung the machete at them.

The man evaded him and called out for someone to call the police. An employee of the synagogue made the call. Officers arrived within moments and arrested the man.

By that time people were coming outside from the Shulounge, which was hav-

ing a post-prayer nosh.

As police remained at the scene taking statements, another young man affiliated with the synagogue ran up reporting that someone traveling inside a BMW had just shot at him at the corner of Goffe Street. The young man wasn’t hurt; he believes the shot may have come from a BB gun.

Police Chief Otoniel Reyes said Sunday that the arrested man is known to the cops as an “aggressive panhandler” who has a substance abuse problem. The man is currently being held in a psychiatric ward, handcuffed to the bed.

Reyes said police have beefed up patrols in the neighborhood, which is why officers arrived so promptly to make the arrest. He said there was no evidence that the Saturday incident was a hate crime connected to the victims’ religion; he compared it and most of the recent crime in the neighborhood to the general uptick in violence taking place citywide. Police have arrested some of the people believed responsible for shootings, which have targeted victims known to the shooters and “in the game,” Reyes said, while quality-of-life crimes have targeted victims across all backgrounds.

At the same time, Reyes acknowledged that police have an additional responsibility to make sure people feel safe.

“Right now people in the community don’t feel safe,” he said, and he plans to continue reaching out to Jewish community members to track neighborhood crime and work together.

“You’ve Got To Help Me!” Officers also arrived promptly Thursday

7

night upon learning of an attempted carjacking on Colony Road.

At around 8 p.m., the victim, Sara Atia, had just returned home from grocery shopping. It was cold and raining.

Still inside her car, she was talking on the phone with her husband, who was inside the house, she told the Independent Sunday. The car was running. She asked her husband to come help her with the bags.

“Give me two minutes,” he said.

Just then, “I heard somebody try to open the door. He tried again and again.”

In fact, numerous young men were outside the car trying to get in.

“I screamed, ‘Yaakov, you’ve got to help me!’”

After she screamed, and her husband came outside, the men fled.

A home surveillance video captured the incident. You can watch it above.

Chief Reyes said the men had already stolen one car, which they were driving in the neighborhood, looking for another car to steal. They came upon Sara Atia’s car apparently not recognizing someone was inside. They ran back to the stolen car when they heard her and drove away.

He said officers arrived soon enough to follow the stolen car. But because of hazardous road conditions, the chase was called off. Police recovered the stolen car later and searched it for prints, Reyes said. They’re continuing their investigation. He emphasized that police have been making arrests, and that there was no evidence in the two most recent incidents that the perpetrators targeted victims because of their religion.

“Thank God my door was locked,” Atia,

who moved here from Israel six years ago, said Sunday. “Now I look around before I open the door.”

At “eight o’clock, nobody should have to worry about coming home with groceries,” she added. “We need to do something.”

Fine Racial-Religious Line Many people in Beaver Hills are saying that.

Rivka Fenton, who is Jewish, and her neighbor Mareika Phillips, who is not Jewish, were saying that for a while now.

They also talked about how non-Jewish neighbors could show support for Jews targeted in some attacks that were religiously motivated.

They came up with the idea of printing signs for neighbors of all backgrounds to display on their lawns to show solidarity.

“Love Your Neighbor,” reads one side of the sign, above representations of four people of different ethnic and religious backgrounds.

The other side reads: “No hate. No fear.

We Stand for Peace & Love Here.” That side shows a drawing of a man dressed in Jewish religious garb. “We stand with our Jewish neighbors,” it reads in small type.

“As a mother of young children and as a wife of a rabbi who clearly looks like a rabbi I asked myself and my friends, ‘What is happening in our neighborhood?’ and more importantly, ‘What can we do to stop it?’” Fenton, a music educator, said Sunday.

“My family has been living in New Haven for five years, and we love it here.

We love our school community. We love our faith community. We love our friends and we love our neighbors. We love the diversity here. People of all colors and religions living together harmoniously.”

At the same time, she worried about the uptick both in general violence and in Anti-Semitic incidents. “It feels like almost every day something new and terrible is happening. Two days ago an attempted carjacking. Yesterday an attack with a machete. Last week young rabbinical school students pushed around and chased. Two weeks ago nasty names screamed for absolutely no reason – other than being Jewish.” She noted that the girls followed and threatened on Saturday, and the men who dodged machete swipes, were dressed in “obvious” religious garb. So whether or not the attacker mentioned religion, she has difficulty removing it completely from the equation.

She and others in the neighborhood have sought to navigate a sensitive line between races and religions. Beaver Hills has for decades had both visible Jewish and visible Black populations. The Jewish population, whose previous synagogues went out of business, has grown by hundreds of families in recent years Con’t on page

THE INNER-CITY NEWS - November 04, 2020 - November 10, 2020

Connecticut Arts Orgs Get A $9 Million Boost

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

An industry that has stalled during COVID-19 is getting an overdue infusion of state-administered, federal dollars.

As that money is distributed, state leaders are hoping that it will be enough to keep the sector hanging on as it waits for a more substantial lifeline.

Monday, Gov. Ned Lamont announced $9 million in federal CARES act funding to arts organizations across the state, in what he has named the new COVID Relief Fund for the Arts. Starting Friday, eligible arts nonprofits may apply for a baseline grant of $5,000 in general funding, and up to an additional $750,000 in matching funds.

The state will match at 50 percent of funds raised since the start of the pandemic, meaning that an organization would need to raise $1.5 million to qualify for the maximum amount. Elizabeth Shapiro, director of arts, preservation and museums for the state, said that the $5,000 grants are meant to create a more equitable distribution of funding.

“I feel like I’m surrounded by people who are working so hard against such unbelievably difficult odds to make the arts work in Connecticut,” she said. “We talk about the arts as a connection to other human beings. I will tell you, right now, I believe that the arts is the bridge … we will need to cross this bridge to get to the next post-pandemic world.”

Applications for the funding open Friday morning and close at midnight on Nov. 3. The application, as well as a list of federally-mandated eligibility requirements, is available here. Shapiro said that she hopes to have funds “out the door” by December 30.

“This is an investment that’s really important economically,” Lamont said Monday, standing outside Neighborhood Music School on Audubon Street. “This is a $9 million investment that is part of our broader commitment to culture and the arts, not just the Shubert [Theatre], but also places like right where we are.

What that means to young people, and what that means to neighborhoods.”

The money, which will be distributed by the Connecticut Office of the Arts, comes out of an overall $1.3 billion in federal CARES Act funding that the state received earlier this year. It is not related to the proposed Save Our Stages Act, which has stalled in Congress, nor is is to the 120 small CARES Act Emergency Relief Grants that the Office of the Arts distributed in June.

Monday, Shapiro credited Department of Economic and Community Development Commissioner David Lehman for taking the time to listen to arts organizations as they pushed for federal support of the sector. She explained that the pandemic has paralyzed cultural institutions, which before March relied largely on in-

photos by Lucy Gellman door performance, live programming, inperson education and ticket sales to meet their operating expenses.

Prior to COVID-19, the state’s arts, culture and tourism sector generated $9 billion, 57,000 jobs, and five percent of Connecticut’s economy. Exactly a month before shutdowns, the state appropriations committee had finalized arts line item funding in the state budget. When COVID-19 hit, arts venues were some of the first to close their doors.

Now, many are struggling to make it.

Across the state, several have been forced to cut staff and announced hundreds of thousands of dollars in current and projected losses. While some received Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) funding earlier this year, that has since dried up.

While several of them have started virtual and limited in-person programming— Zoom readings, concerts on the water, and music lessons taught across a network of screens—much of that programming is free or low-cost. Shapiro said that even with Lamont’s phased economic reopening, some spaces may not return until June of next year.

She pointed to The Bushnell Performing Arts Center in Hartford, a 2,500-seat theater where a half capacity attendance does not make financial sense. Long Wharf Theatre, which has estimated a $2 million loss, has talked about being in the same boat even as it pivots to a membersustained model and season that is free of its theater’s two stages.

“Is this gonna fix all things for all people?” she asked. “I don’t think we’re in a situation where we can fix all things for all nonprofits, all arts agencies, or all

businesses. Is this gonna help? Yes, absolutely.”

She added that she sees the funding as “the beginning” of a long and difficult recovery, rather than a quick economic fix. Per National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) guidelines, the funding is open to performing arts centers, performing groups, and educational institutions broadly defined as “schools of the arts.” It is open only to nonprofits per NEA funding guidelines.

Monday, speakers and attendees called the funding integral to not only economic recovery, but also to education, civility, and cross-cultural understanding. State Sen. Martin Looney praised statewide arts organizations as spaces that contribute to both the spiritual and financial wellbeing of Connecticut, and of the country.

He spoke candidly about how much he misses going to the Yale Repertory Theatre and Yale University Art Gallery, noting that New Haven is the cultural capital of the state.

“We all know that arts have a humanizing effect in a community, and we have seen too much of a dehumanizing effect in our nation of course for the last four years, during the time of the Trump Administration,” he said. “What we are trying to do, of course, is to counteract that in Connecticut. It has been particularly hard for arts organizations … that have been devastated.”

Mayor Justin Elicker called the funding a chance to both support a struggling sector and connect “to each other as humans.” He noted that the arts have been important to him as both mayor and as a dad to his daughters April and Molly, who

8

are two and five years old respectively.

As mayor, he has watched the arts play an ongoing role in community engagement and economic development, even and especially in the thick of the pandemic. He praised Cultural Affairs Director Adriane Jefferson for her work, which has included the Greater New Haven Sector Relief Fund, launch of the #TogetherNewHaven and Mask It Up campaigns, arts for anti-racism pledge and a cultural equity plan that is currently in the works.

As a dad, Elicker also turns to the arts at least once a week, during Saturday “music nights” for his family. At home, he pulls out his guitar and gives the girls harmonicas. The act of playing together lets him re-center himself, he said.

“It’s one of the moments in the week that I look most forward to, because it allows us to connect with each other in a way that day-to-day life just doesn’t,” he said.

“To find joy, to also tap into sorrow in a different way, community connection, to also find peace with each other, to break down those barriers that we often have between us as humans.”

Several arts leaders in attendance echoed the excitement for the fund, and said they are also hopeful that it can act as a lifeline to the sector as they continue to push for more federal and state funding. Noah Bloom, who became executive director of Neighborhood Music School last year, painted the arts as both an educational and economic driver without which the state cannot recover from COVID-19.

“The downfall of every great civilization directly correlates with the decrease in arts funding,” he said during the press conference, quoting U.S. Sen. Chris

Murphy as he spoke. “So we are grateful that today, Governor Lamont is doubling down on keeping the great civilization of Connecticut alive by continuing to invest in the arts.”

The school desperately needs that infusion of support, he added in a discussion after the conference. In a normal year, NMS serves approximately 2,500 students and employs hundreds of working teachers as full- and part-time arts educators. It drives economic activity for the street—NMS parents frequent Koffee? next door and the shops and restaurants across Whitney Avenue. He recalled a conversation with the owner of a nearby furniture store, who made $200,000 in toy sales last year and attributed much of that to NMS. Since March 13, however, NMS has been running on a skeleton crew. This fall, it welcomed back students in its preschool and independent middle school, but has kept one-on-one private lessons and all ensemble arts classes online. While it did receive PPP funding, Bloom said it has not been eligible for most other state and federal relief funding. Of the 2,500 students enrolled before the pandemic, only about 1,000 have returned. He said that federal support would go to immediate relief, scholarships, and possibly infrastructure for outdoor classrooms.

“Anytime there’s any support for the arts I feel optimistic,” he said. “But we’re hurting. We’ve found a model where we can survive in the short term. We don’t know what the long term looks like. Obviously, this [funding’ will be a huge lifeline.”

Mandi Jackson, executive director of Music Haven, said that she is also excited to see “this scale of investment in the arts.” When the pandemic hit, Music Haven had just secured two years of line item funding in the state budget. Now, she said, she worries that funding is totally gone. Meanwhile, the organization has continued to provide virtual, tuition-free lessons to approximately 80 students, pay its resident musicians, and provide extra help for families where it can.

While operating costs have gone down at some organizations—those who have cut travel and broken their leases on office space, for instance—Music Haven’s have gone up. Jackson makes sure employees have health insurance and are adequately compensated as working artists. In the last year, the organization’s operating budget was $663,500. Any federal funding will go towards keeping staff employed and students learning.

“We still have to pay our rent and we have to pay our staff,” she said. “That can’t go anywhere. We think it’s really important to keep providing our students with the programming that they have grown up with.”

Kit Ingui, managing director at Long Con’t on page 09

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THE INNER-CITY NEWS - November 04, 2020 - November 10, 2020

Streicker Brings Newhallville Masks, Debate

by LAURA GLESBY

Congressional candidate Margaret Streicker arrived in Newhallville with 5,000 child-sized masks and a “Blue Lives Matter” message — the latter of which sparked lively discussion.

Streicker, a Milford Republican who’s challenging 15-term incumbent Democratic U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro of New Haven in Tuesday’s election, and members of her campaign handed out the masks Sunday at the Learning Corridor on Hazel Street and Shelton Avenue, surrounded by the vibrant orange leaves along the Farmington Canal Trail.

Streicker is the first Republican to mount an active challenge (involving visible campaigning, surprise endorsements, TV ads) to DeLauro since 1991, forcing the incumbent to campaign harder than she has for decades. Sunday’s Newhallville visit also showed the Republican’s willingness to wade outside her natural base and into deep Democratic territory to make her case.

Streicker worked on the giveaway in collaboration with Newhallville contractor Rodney Williams, who has been running free mask distribution efforts throughout the city.

“I appreciate her donating kids masks to the community,” Williams said. “My job is identifying the resources and bringing them into the community.”

By the end of the event, Williams estimated that he and Streicker had distributed 2,700 adult-sized masks. Of the 5,000 child-sized masks that Streicker donated, 4,000 were given out that morning.

As the morning chugged along, Streicker and her team of campaign staffers handed out masks to both pedestrians and drivers, occasionally switching into fluid Spanish with some recipients.

“You got masks?” one driver, Charles, called from the other side of the street. He already had a Margaret Streicker flyer on his windshield. He stepped out of his car eagerly, blocking traffic for a moment, to express his enthusiasm: “I’m voting for her.”

Brother Born, a Newhallville activist who assisted with the event, said he was looking forward to having a Republican Congressional candidate to vote for. He wore a Trump 2020 face mask along with a Make America Great Again cap. He said his largest motivation for supporting Streicker is his interest in prioritizing the growth of businesses in Newhallville.

“Conservatism is the new rock and roll,” he said. “You wanna be against the system? Be a conservative. Everyone here is liberal.”

Before he left, Streicker slid a campaign lawn sign into the back of his wheelchair.

Not everyone was on board with Streicker’s message.

“I’ve heard of you,” one driver said as Streicker approached. “You shouldn’t have supported Columbus, though. He killed my ancestors.”

The driver, who did not provide his name,

LAURA GLESBY PHOTO Brother Born at giveaway: “Conservatism is the new rock and roll.”

was referring to Streicker’s support of a Christopher Columbus statue in Wooster Square that was ultimately removed this summer amid a nationwide reassessment of the historical legacy of figures commemorated by public monuments.

“History is a fact,” Streicker replied. She argued that taking down the statue was an “erasure” of past events.

The driver agreed that history shouldn’t be rewritten. “But to say he was a national hero?”

“I’m not saying that,” Streicker said.

But the statue’s intended meaning — “to honor Italian-Americans” — should be respected, she argued.

As neighbors collected free masks, Williams and Streicker stressed that that they aimed to place the issue of mask distribution and public health above politics.

“I don’t want nobody to get the virus. No Democrat, no Independent, no Republican,” Williams said.

Blue & Black Lives Political debate still wove its way into their interactions as the morning progressed.

At one point during the event, Streicker mentioned that in her conversations with Newhallville residents, most have been concerned about public safety. She cited specifically the state police accountability bill passed this summer, which has become both a talking point for both Democrats (who support it) and Republicans (who oppose it) in this fall’s campaigns. Among other measures, the law limits police chokeholds, requires officers to intervene if colleagues violate citizens’ rights, and makes it easier for victims to sue officers who engage in “malicious, wanton or willful” misconduct.

Streicker has throughout the campaign sided with critics of both the bill and the

Black Lives Matter movement, from her Facebook posts to an event outside New Haven police headquarters when she received the city officers’ union’s first-ever endorsement.

At Sunday’s event, she argued that the new law has contributed to rising crime rates by lowering morale among officers.

Williams had a different perspective to share. He attributed the spikes in crime to a “lack of opportunity and jobs.”

“I don’t disagree with that,” Streicker responded.

Williams recalled an experience he had with a police officer while working with his company Green Elm Construction at the nearby 201 Munson development site.

The officer pulled a gun on him, Williams recounted.

“When you look down the barrel of a gun, that traumatizes you,” he said. “They ‘fear for my life’ — what happens when I fear for my life?”

“Why would you assume that I haven’t looked down the barrel of a gun?” Streicker responded.

(Asked later to clarify about whether she had stared down the barrel of a gun, Streicker’s campaign declined to comment, stating that the dialogue about public policy during the campaign event was a “personal conversation.”)

“White people don’t get killed like Black people do,” Williams continued, calling police accountability an essential success for Connecticut. Over the past five years, Black Americans have been twice as likely to die from a police shooting than white Americans.

“I see it differently,” Streicker simply responded. “The police are demoralized.”

“Positive policing requires funding,” she added.

Shirley Lawrence Shows Up

10

Midway through the giveaway, Shirley Lawrence, the co-chair of the Newhallville Community Management Team, approached to collect packets of masks for her grandchildren. She initially took two packets for her five grandchildren.

“You got five? Take five,” Williams urged.

She took a handful more.

“I’ll be honest,” Lawrence, who wore a Black Lives Matter mask, said to Streicker.

“I’ve been a DeLauro supporter since day one.”

“You don’t look old enough to be a DeLauro supporter since Day One,” Streicker replied.

Lawrence brought up a campaign statement from DeLauro that called Streicker a “slumlord” and criticized her property management practices. (Streicker has was sued by a former New York Attorney General, which alleged that she violated tenant buyout and rent stabilization laws.

She paid a $1.2 million settlement without admitting guilt.)

“Is it true?” Lawrence asked. Streicker denied the allegations.

Lawrence expressed a general concern about large landlords who buy up properties in Newhallville, only to neglect to care for the buildings or contribute to the neighborhood.

“That’s the opposite of what I do,” Streicker said. As evidence, she pulled up a video tour of an apartment that the Connecticut outpost of her real estate firm, Newcastle, manages in East Rock.

“That’s beautiful,” Lawrence said, peering at the video. “What street is that?”

“State Street,” Streicker replied.

Before she left, Lawrence turned to Streicker’s campaign staff.

“I shouldn’t say this, but you got some Republicans on West Ivy Street,” Lawrence remarked.

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Beaver Hills

because of a new influx of Lubavitch Hasidim. That’s part of the reason the city is hearing more from Beaver Hills these days than from some other neighborhoods where crime has seen an uptick: The community is organized, with hundreds of people connected to themselves and other neighbors through a WhatsApp discussion group, for instance. The challenge for organizers has been both to recognize the existence of anti-Semitism while also acknowledging that crime is afflicting people of all backgrounds.

At times racial tensions have emerged in communal discussions, along with appeals to racial unity.

Shafiq Abdussabur, a retired police sergeant who lives in Beaver Hills, picked up one of Fenton’s signs Sunday to place in front of his home. He also checked in on neighbors to make sure they were OK and see if they needed advice on security systems. He said he worries about the threat to cross-cultural neighborhood unity posed by the recent crimes. He said it’s important to recognize both the effect on Jewish families and the effect on the neighborhood as a whole.

“It fractionalizes the community,” said Abdussabur, who is Black and a practicing Muslim. “The conversations should not be about race. It should be about community wellness. We literally all live next door to each other.”

Kelvan Fitzpatrick was walking past Fenton’s sign on Sunday when he learned about the machete incident. He was saddened, and glad an arrest was made.

“I think it’s terrible,” said Fitzpatrick, who has worked in maintenance at Yale and Yale New Haven Hospital for 37 years. “I’ve been living in the neighborhood nine years. My neighbors are Jewish; they’re very beautiful people.

This bothers us all; it should happen nowhere.”

“Something’s definitely happening. I’m wondering: Why is this happening? It’s out of control. People should be able to walk down the street and feel safe,” said Beaver Hills Alder Jill Marks.

Avi Meer talked about that too — about how an out-of-town guest visiting this weekend and considering moving to town asked if it’s “safe to walk home at 1:30” on the Sabbath. “Of course,” Meer remembered replying. That was half an hour before the machete incident.

The girls followed home and threatened are now “traumatized,” Sandman said.

“The community is absolutely traumatized.”

“I was born in Beaver Hills,” he said.

“My mother grew up here. We’ve never had issues this bad.” The community is doing its part by reporting crime and pushing police officials and elected officials to respond. Now, he said, they need to deliver results.

THE INNER-CITY NEWS - November 04, 2020 - November 10, 2020

625 Students Still Haven’t Logged On $9 Million

Con’t from page 08

Wharf Theatre, said she agrees with Shapiro’s suggestion that the fund is the beginning of a much longer recovery. For both her and Artistic Director Jacob Padrón, the first priority will be maintaining staff and compensating working artists.

The theater recently launched its 20202021 season, including an upcoming live performance from the artist Zulynette in Edgerton Park.

“We’re going to need significantly more support,” she said, noting the need for unrestricted general operating funds. “But grateful for the support. The majority of us have been able to do nothing since this happened, and that is not by our choosing.

That is by state guidelines.”

“Putting money in the pocket of artists continues to be critical at this time,” Padrón chimed in. “I think it’s also about continuing to build infrastructure and build culture. A key component to that is really centering the work of inclusion and anti-racism, and you have to put money behind that work. It can’t just be a value proposition.”

“We’re trying to get on a path to sustainability,” he added. “That’s our charge.”

by EMILY HAYS

New Haven I ndependent

It is the ninth week of school and 3percent of New Haven Public Schools students still have not logged onto virtual classes at all. Another 11 percent, or 2,126 students, are logging on sporadically.

Most of these students do have a computer or tablet and an internet connection.

They are often too overwhelmed by other social or economic struggles to focus on school, according to school administrators.

“One family we talked to today are dealing with serious domestic crises, a family divorce. Another grandmother is ill, so the mom is taking care of her mom and her two children are left to their own devices,” said Gemma Joseph-Lumpkin.

“We are finding these social and economic realities that families have to deal with just to survive.”

Joseph-Lumpkin heads the Youth, Family and Community Engagement department charged with tracking down each disengaged child and finding out how to help.

This means frequent phone calls and house visits when necessary.

Her department refers families to area nonprofits specializing in each problem, she explained to the Board of Alders Edu-

ZOOMSuperintendent Iline Tracey: Most disengaged students do have computers and internet.

cation Committee on Wednesday evening.

“Where we can get them computers, get them training in how to use them, help

11

them navigate the schools system — those we handle and we do very well,” JosephLumpkin said.

Hill Alder Carmen Rodriguez asked whether language barriers are a major factor among the disengaged students.

Superintendent Iline Tracey responded that the remaining 600 completely disengaged students are a mixed group of English learners, special needs students and other students. She said that English Language Learner Programs Director Pedro Mendia-Landa and Danny Diaz, the familiar voice in parents’ voicemails, are working hard with Joseph-Lumpkin to close those language barriers.

“We have newcomers. Because they were not there at the beginning of school, they don’t know how to use their device,” Tracey said. “We have homeless students. The need is great and there is more than one factor involved.”

The number of absent students has decreased from the glitches and confusion in the first days of school, to 2,500 students missing, to 1,500 students absent in the third week. The missing students have been disproportionately English learners and Special Education students.

Tracey said that she hopes to get remaining students back to class if schools reopen for a hybrid of in-person and remote learning on Nov. 9.

THE INNER-CITY NEWS - November 04, 2020 - November 10, 2020

Black Women Appealed to Black Men: ‘Show up for Us and with Us at the Ballot

By Stacy M. Brown, NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent

After hip-hop Icon Ice Cube revealed that he’s working with President Donald Trump on a Contract with Black America, Black women wondered, “what’s in it for us?”

In a blistering op-ed and retort to Cube’s actions, writer Shana Pinnock called the star’s efforts “ignorant, arrogant, paternalistic, and dangerous.”

“As a dear friend of mine texted me just today, he ‘hit the ground running instead of hitting the ground reading,’” Pinnock wrote.

Like so many other Black women, Pinnock had a real beef with the “contract” proposed by the rapper whose real name is O’Shea Jackson.

“Moved by the public lynching of George Floyd this summer, O’Shea decided to get involved with politics and even went so far as to unveil his very own ‘Contract With Black America,’ which many Black folks (mainly men) supported vigorously,” Pinnock penned in the op-ed.

“I was unsurprised by this fervor of support of the contract by Black men, mainly because an in-depth reading of the document reveals that, at its core, it centers Black men.”

“When Black women pointed out that we were conspicuously being left out of this contract — because, let’s be clear — we need specificity when dealing with Black men, O’Shea had no answers.”

Cube has steadfastly stood by his decision and has maintained that his working with Trump on the plan in no way signals an endorsement of the president.

However, Pinnock’s missives underscore one crucial fact: Black women have remained the backbone of the Democratic Party’s success.

Few could argue that, much more than Black men, women of color have led in ways that men have not.

“Black women have long been the heart of the Democratic Party — certainly among the party’s most reliable and loyal voters — but for decades that allegiance didn’t translate to their own political rise,” Tanya St. Julien, the chief of staff at Leadership for Educational Equity in New York, wrote in an email to Black Press USA. “There have been zero Black female governors, just two senators, several dozen congresswomen, and this has translated into the people who represent them, not meeting their needs, disparities in education and opportunity,” St. Julien declared.

“Health inequities ranging from maternal wellness to the preconditions for the disproportionate toll that COVID-19 has had on the Black community. Add the countless cases of police brutality that have sparked the most recent clamoring for racial justice, and you have a perfect picture of leadership, not addressing the needs of Black women.”

St. Julien proclaimed that the value of the Black community is on the 2020 bal-

Today, 43 Black women serve in the U.S. Congress and one in the Senate.

lot.

“At a time when the entire world has paused to reflect, and have a long-overdue racial reckoning, when the world is finally coming to recognize that Black lives matter, this president and his administration are all but saying that Black lives don’t matter,” St. Julien continued.

“In fact, Jared Kushner just said that Black people need to want to be successful as if we are responsible for the conditions perpetuated by systemic racism.

It’s been years, and Flint [Michigan] still doesn’t have clean water. Generations have passed, and many of us lack appro-

12

priate housing conditions, and now our children are stuck in the digital divide, unable to access one of society’s most important resources.”

On Thursday, October 29, the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation scheduled its “Policy for the People” virtual brain trust series, “Voting Rights and Black America: Why Black Women Leadership Matters.”

Foundation officials pointed out Black women’s historical significance and voting, including in 1968, when Shirley Chisholm made history as the first Black woman elected to the U.S. Congress.

Additionally, seven Black women serve as mayors in the nation’s 100 largest cities, and 307 serve in the state legislature.

“We understand why Black men are disgusted and exhausted. As a Black woman, I am disgusted and exhausted, too,” Roxey Nelson, the vice president of Political and Strategic Campaigns for 1199SEIU in Florida, told Black Press USA. “But I encourage my brothers to ask themselves why are ‘they’ working so hard to suppress our votes if our votes don’t matter? Our vote has always been an act of resistance – an exercise of our power,” Nelson remarked. “This election even more so. This time, let’s vote like our collective soul depends on it because it does.”

Corryn Freeman, the state director at Florida for All Education Fund, said the message from Black women to Black men is evident.

“It should be ‘vote for our lives, vote for the collective Black, We.’ Because we always will show up for you. It’s your turn to show up for our community.”

Added Moné Holder, a Senior Program Director at New Florida Majority, “A message to all Black men this election cycle is that this is bigger than the Democratic party. This is the fight of our lives. We cannot win this battle without you. Show up for us and with us at the ballot box.

THE INNER-CITY NEWS - November 04, 2020 - November 10, 2020

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THE INNER-CITY NEWS - November 04, 2020 - November 10, 2020

Data shows African Americans have increasing cultural, economic and political influence Nielsen’s 10th-Year African American Consumer Report Explores the Power of the Black Community from Moment to Movement CHICAGO – October 21, 2020 – For 10 years, Nielsen has been dedicated to telling the story of the power of Black consumers and their diversity, long before the call for social justice sounded. According to “The Power of the Black Community – From Moment to Movement,” the 10th annual report in Nielsen’s Diverse Intelligence Series on African American consumers, Black influence on the economy and pop culture continues to drive not only significant moments in history, but drive change across industries and digital platforms.

From video streaming, radio listenership and podcasting to buying Black and staying connected to social movements through social media, African Americans are leading the conversation with an unprecedented impact on brands, policies and what the country watches, buys and listens to.

“African Americans are calling out systemic racism while at the same time creating opportunities for growth across social platforms and businesses with various levels of innovation,” said Cheryl Grace, Senior Vice President of Consumer Insights and Engagement, Nielsen. “African Americans have historically navigated these imperfect structures— but this current global reckoning brought on by a unique confluence of moments, proves the power of the Black community and its incredible influence.” Grace is also the founder of Nielsen’s Diverse Intelligence Series of annual reports about U.S. multicultural communities.

Key findings from the report include: • There has been an overall increase in buying power across the community, and also where and what African Americans are buying.

• African Americans are limiting the amount of time they are spending out in public due to COVID-19, and shopping where they can get more value.

• Blacks make more frequent trips to the store, spending less per trip than the total population.

• Online shopping is a convenient and safe alternative to brick-and-mortar shopping – this year, 48% of African American households shop online, 11% more than the average household.

• In the last decade, there have been more successful Black brands, Blackowned businesses, and investment in expanded economic opportunities for African Americans.

• African Americans are nearly three times as likely to take to social media to show support of their favorite companies and brands.

• African Americans are now 58% more likely to expect the brands they buy to

take a stance on issues and 37% more likely to buy a brand when they do • The Black Lives Matter movement has influenced allies to take action as well. For example, Hispanic consumers outpaced African Americans in their expectation that the brands they buy support social causes as well.

• African Americans have been at the forefront of the COVID-19 crisis, as they’re more likely to be employed as essential workers.

• Needing to strike a balance between work and home, African Americans are spending the most time on their smartphones compared to the total population.

In one week, African Americans spend over eight hours social networking, about three hours watching videos and over one hour streaming audio on their smartphones.

Smartphone ownership for African Americans has grown from 44% in 2011 to 98% in 2020—faster than the total population.

• Podcasts have become a central stage for Black voices.

• African Americans spend more time per week streaming audio, including podcast listening, than the total U.S. population.

• In a typical week, almost half (49%) of African American podcast listeners spend about 1 to 4 hours listening to podcasts.

• Radio has remained a trusted channel for news and information for African

Americans, reaching 98% of them every month.

• Black consumers are the No. 1 ethnic group in watching live TV, playing game consoles, smartphone media consumption, and streaming audio.

• The Top 20 advertisers’ spend on media focused on African Americans has increased from $3.34 billion in 2011 to $3.86 billion in 2019—almost a 16% increase.

• This time of racial reckoning has placed great responsibility on Hollywood and other media publishers to be more inclusive in the stories and characters they tell.

• With streaming offerings, Black audiences now have a lot more choice in programs that depict their real-life experiences, • Black households have steadily increased subscriptions to streaming services— from 65% in 2019 to 70% in 2020.

• African Americans are more likely to download a video podcast, watch live TV, or keep up with news through a streaming service, compared to the total population.

• For the first time, Nielsen this year created an Inclusion Opportunity index, which we use to study the most popular programs on broadcast, cable and SVOD to determine how representative they are of different demographics.

• One study comparing inclusion of Black men and Black women found that Reality, News/Weather and Drama

14

are representative of Black men, compared to their representation in the U.S. population.

• But Black women are far from parity across the board, coming close to it in one genre: Drama.

• 56% of the top broadcast shows we analyzed have a Black female cast member.

• In the past decade, there’s been considerable growth in African Americans’ population, buying power, education and income.

• There are 48.2 million African Americans in the U.S. • From 2020 to 2060, Black Americans will contribute to more than 20% of the total U.S. population growth.

• African Americans are significantly younger with a median age of all 32— six years younger than the national average and 11 years younger than nonHispanic whites.

• With smaller households and younger children, Black grandparents are filling the role of caregivers.

• African American households are smaller than the national average at 2.48 vs. the national average of 2.52.

• 29% of these households are more likely to have children under 18 compared to 27% of all U.S. households.

5% of African American grandparents live with their grandchildren, and 40% of those grandparents are the main caregivers for their grandchildren.

For more details and insights, download the report at http://www.nielsen.

com/africanamericans. Join the conversation on Facebook (Nielsen Community) and Twitter (@NielsenKnows).

ABOUT NIELSEN’S DIVERSE INTELLIGENCE SERIES In 2011, Nielsen launched the Diverse Intelligence Series, a robust portfolio of comprehensive reports that focus solely on diverse consumers’ unique consumption and purchasing habits. The series has become an industry resource to help brands better understand and reach ethnic customers. To learn more about Nielsen’s Diverse Intelligence research series, visit http://www.nielsen.com.

ABOUT NIELSEN Nielsen Holdings plc (NYSE: NLSN) is a global measurement and data analytics company that provides the most complete and trusted view available of consumers and markets worldwide.

Nielsen is divided into two business units. Nielsen Global Media provides media and advertising industries with unbiased and reliable metrics that create a shared understanding of the industry required for markets to function.

Nielsen Global Connect provides consumer packaged goods manufacturers and retailers with accurate, actionable information and insights and a complete picture of the complex and changing marketplace that companies need to innovate and grow.

THE INNER-CITY NEWS - November 04, 2020 - November 10, 2020

OP-ED:

Black Americans Have Everything to Lose in This Election

By Svante Myrick, Mayor of Ithaca, New York

As the mayor of a city in New York, every day I wake up and do what I can to ensure every resident in my city has a good-paying job, affordable health coverage, a roof over their head, food on the table, and to be treated with dignity. It’s simple.

But, as a Black man, I know none of those things are as simple as they should be and, as a society, we have only moved further away from achieving these basic needs for Black Americans over the last four years.

In 2016, President Trump asked Black Americans what they had to lose by giving him a chance and on Thursday night, during the final presidential debate and while he made his final pitch to Americans to give him another four years in office, President Trump incredibly blurted out: “I am the least racist person in this room…I am the least racist person.”

If this claim wasn’t so patently offensive it would be laughable.

The truth is no one has inflamed racial tensions or stoked more discord among Americans than Donald Trump.

In this year alone, he has mismanaged a public health crisis and the resulting economic recession — both of which have disproportionately affected Black lives — and he has added fuel to the fire and inflamed the country’s deep racial ineq-

uities. But the Biden-Harris ticket offers a different choice for Black Americans — one that builds back better for us all.

That’s why I am proudly supporting Joe Biden and Kamala Harris this November.

First, a Biden-Harris administration will lead us out of the recession President Trump got us into and build back the economy better with historic investments in Black communities. To start, they’ll increase access to capital for minorityowned businesses through investments of $100 billion in low-interest loans. With the unemployment rate in the Black community more than tripling between August 2019 and May 2020 and more than one million Black Americans losing their jobs under Trump’s lack of leadership, the investments Joe Biden and Kamala Harris want to make with minority-owned businesses will help provide a much-needed boost to our economy, and especially increase the number of jobs available in Black communities.

The COVID-19 public health crisis has not only killed more than 225,000 Americans and infected more than 8.6 million more but has killed Black people at more than twice the rate of white people. Those who have survived now have a new preexisting condition that Donald Trump plans to use to jack up premiums or kick individuals off their health plans. In fact, just one week after the election, Trump and Republicans will be asking the U.S. Supreme Court to strike down Obamacare, which would leave millions of Black people without health insurance in

the middle of a deadly pandemic.

Joe Biden and Kamala Harris will strengthen Obamacare and give Black Americans a new choice: a public health insurance option like Medicare. Their plan will prevent health care providers from charging patients out-of-network rates when the patient doesn’t have control over which provider they see and they will double funding for Community Health Centers, which are a critical source of primary, prenatal, and other important care in Black neighborhoods around the country.

Finally, in the five months since George Floyd’s death a new conversation has begun in America that has awakened millions to the perils many Black individuals face while interacting with a police officer, going for a jog, or sleeping in their own beds. While the nation is opening its eyes, Donald Trump still refuses to acknowledge that Black Lives Matter, look no further than his attempts to immediately end the conversation when asked about it during the final presidential debate. Instead of engaging in a dialogue, the president does everything in his power to inflame racial violence and divide the nation.

But Joe Biden and Kamala Harris are fighting to repair the soul of this nation.

They have a plan for Congress to address police reform at the federal level. I appreciate these ideas and know they will work across the country because, as mayor, I have made similar changes within the Ithaca Police Department in an effort to

Photo: Svante Myrick, Mayor of Ithaca, New York

improve police and community relations.

A Biden-Harris administration will also work to reform our criminal justice system, placing a key focus on prevention instead of incarceration.

I understand some may be weary of these commitments, since politicians have made and failed to deliver on promises in the past. Couple that with gerrymandering and voter suppression tactics and it cannot be surprising that just 40 percent of eligible African Americans voters between 18 and 24 voted in 2016. But Black Americans CANNOT sit this election out.

In every election, we hear “this is the most important election of our lifetime,” but it has never rung so true — especially

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When President Trump asked Black Americans what they had to lose by giving him a chance four years ago we never thought the simple, yet disastrous answer would be, “everything.” That’s why we must all vote for and work to elect Joe Biden and Kamala Harris as the next president and vice president of the United States; our lives lie in the balance if we don’t.

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THE INNER-CITY NEWS - November 04, 2020 - November 10, 2020

Trump’s Latest Executive Orders Seen as Attempts to Sabotage A Biden Administration and Eliminate Diversity and Inclusion Programs

By Stacy M. Brown, NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent With record early voting numbers heavily pointing to a potential landslide

by Democratic Presidential Nominee Joe Biden, President Donald Trump is working behind the scenes to undermine a new administration and further divide the country.

The President this week quietly signed an executive order that strips civil service protections from a large number of career federal workers if Trump determines that they are in “confidential, policy-determining, policy-making, or policy-advocating positions.”

He also was called out by members of Congress for another executive order that removes diversity and inclusion programs both at the federal and private sector levels.

As first reported by the U.K. Independent, the most recent executive order creates a new category “Schedule F” for such federal positions that do not turn over from administration to administration and reclassifying them.

The Office of Personnel Management — essentially the executive branch’s human resources department — has been charged with implementing the order by publishing a “preliminary” list of positions to be moved into a new category on what could be President Donald Trump’s last full day in office: January 19, 2021.

The range of workers who could be stripped of protections and placed in a new category is vast, experts told the Independent.

The list could include most nonpartisan experts — scientists, doctors, lawyers, economists — whose work to advise and inform policymakers is supposed to be fact-driven and devoid of politics.

For instance, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and a member of the White House Coronavirus Task Force, would be among those terminated by Trump.

In a nutshell, the Independent reported that the executive order could give Trump the power to “mount a scorchedearth campaign which would cripple a future Biden administration.”

“In the event the incumbent president loses his re-election bid, this order could give him largely unfettered authority to fire experts … while leaving behind a corps of embedded loyalists to undermine his successor, according to federal employment law experts,” the newspaper noted.

Creating the new category — known as “Schedule F” — and moving current civil servants into it “could allow a lame-duck President Trump to cripple his successor’s administration by firing any career federal employees who’ve been included on the list,” Journalist Andrew Feinberg wrote for the Independent.

“It also could allow Trump administration officials to skirt prohibitions against “burrowing in” — the heavily restricted practice of converting political appointees (known as “Schedule C” employees) into career civil servants — by hiring them under the new category for positions which would not end with Trump’s term.

“Another provision orders agencies to take steps to prohibit removing “Schedule F” appointees from their jobs on the grounds of “political affiliation,” which could potentially prevent a future administration from firing unqualified appointees because of their association with President Trump.”

Spokespeople for both the President and Biden did not return emails to Black Press USA.

“Yes, if Biden wins, he will undo all of these Executive Orders,” tweeted Beth Noveck, the first United States Deputy Chief Technology Officer and director of the White House Open Government Initiative under President Barack Obama.

“However, if they fire people on their way out the door, it will wreak considerable havoc. And if he doesn’t win, then this disaster is another one of many but a serious one for democracy and the rule of law.”

Noveck added: “It’s unclear whether this becomes… a blunt instrument…to do some surgical removal of people they don’t like, or whether they’re going to actually attempt some sort of bloodletting or purge.”

Charlie Reeves, who describes himself as an anti-Trump moderate, said the implications of the executive order is farreaching.

“I understand as an executive order it can be reversed, but you can do a lot of damage in two months and make for a big mess for Biden to clean up early,”

16

Reeves tweeted.

“Clear effort for petty revenge and to hinder a smooth transition.”

The President’s latest act marked another in a string of recent controversial executive orders.

Congresswoman Joyce Beatty (OH03), Chair of the House Financial Services Diversity and Inclusion Subcommittee, recently introduced a bill (H.R. 8595) to invalidate Executive Order 13950 and preserve diversity and inclusion training programs at federal departments and agencies as well as in the private sector.

Beatty’s bill, which has the backing of 23 members of Congress, noted that Trump’s order rolls back diversity and inclusion training programs within all federal departments and agencies, the U.S. uniformed services, federal contractors, subcontractors, and specific federal grant recipients.

The order also established a hotline within the Department of Labor for the investigation of complaints.

It required the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) to craft a request for seeking information

from federal contractors, subcontractors, and their employees regarding the training, workshops, or similar programming provided to employees, under the threat of termination of any existing contract and preclusion of future contracting opportunities.

“As the first-ever Chair of the Subcommittee on Diversity and Inclusion, I have focused our bipartisan work on highlighting the tremendous impact of a more inclusive U.S. economy and workforce,” Beatty said.

“In hearings throughout the 116th Congress, the Subcommittee has received testimony from industry leaders and experts acknowledging the correlation between diversity performance and the bottom line. Diverse organizations are more profitable, pose less regulatory risk, and strengthen our economy.”

She added: “That is why I strongly oppose Trump’s divisive attempt to cement racism as the practice and policy of the federal government and call on all Americans to join me in this effort because this Executive Order is antithetical to the values we hold so dear as a nation.”

THE INNER-CITY NEWS - November 04, 2020 - November 10, 2020

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THE INNER-CITY NEWS - November 04, 2020 - November 10, 2020

Federal Judge Halts Trump’s Rule That Would Prevent 700K From Receiving Food Stamps During Pandemic

By Stacy M. Brown, NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent

If the 2020 election’s importance wasn’t apparent to those casting ballots, a federal judge’s decision on Sunday might have underscored the urgency.

In a decision that had far-reaching consequences during a deadly pandemic that’s cost more than 219,000 Americans their lives, the court ruled on Oct. 19 against President Donald Trump’s order to strip food stamps from nearly 700,000 people.

As the pandemic worsened, businesses shuttered, and unemployment reached record levels, the President announced the implementation of a new rule that would have required more food stamp recipients to work to receive benefits.

Trump sought to limit the ability of states to renounce existing work mandates. The rule was scheduled to occur on April 1, but Congress suspended mandates requiring food stamp recipients to work as part of the CARES Act. “The final rule at issue in this litigation radically and abruptly alters decades of regulatory practice, leaving states scrambling and exponentially increasing food

insecurity for tens of thousands of Americans,” Chief Judge Beryl Howell of the U.S. District Court in Washington, DC, wrote in a 67-page ruling.

Judge Howell wrote that the United States Department of Agriculture had not adequately explained how the Trump rule “comports with federal statutes nor how it makes sense.”

Attorneys general from 19 states, the District of Columbia, and New York City filed a challenge to the rule.

According to estimates, the Trump rule could have resulted in 688,000 non-disabled, working-age adults without dependents losing food stamp benefits.

It’s estimated that since the pandemic began, more than 6 million Americans had signed up for food stamp benefits.

Nearly 43 million Americans were receiving benefits in April, according to the latest Agriculture Department data.

According to the nonprofit Feeding America, hunger rose significantly during the pandemic and the U.S. economy’s downfall.

Judge Howell’s decision still leaves at least two other motions by the Trump administration to restrict or eliminate access

to food stamp benefits.

Other administration proposals could see at least 3 million people losing their benefits, leaving an estimated 500,000 children without access to free school meals.

“This is why we need to vote like never before,” declared Cindy Richmond, a voting rights advocate in Brooklyn, N.Y.

“Imagine that we have a president who denied that the pandemic was real, knew it was deadly but hid it from us, and then he wants to take away food assistance from needy American families and children.”

That’s why ruling classes fought the concept of universal suffrage for so many

years in Europe and the U.S. In the case of African Americans, voting is even more important because the laws of this nation have been historically designed in a way that leads to the de facto economic, cultural/social, and political subjugation of African-Americans.

15-Year Old Black Female Chess Champion Wins $40K Scholarship to 7 hours a day.

Jessica is currently a sophomore at Success Academy, a school known for its exceptional chess program. Five years ago, she met her coaches Tyrell Harriott and David Mbonu, who are both National Masters, the highest level in the US. To become a chess master, a 2,200 ranking must be achieved. Jessica is already at 1,950.

“I learned the game when I was 15, so for Jessica to be at 1,950, that’s a huge edge,” said Harriot.

With that, she is hoping to become the first Black female chess master.

“There has never been a female Black player to break the master ranking and

By BlackNews.com

Brooklyn, NY — At the age of 15, Jessica Hyatt has already been awarded a $40,000 college scholarship. On top of that, she is just a few ranks away from making history as the first Black woman chess master in the world!

Jessica, who is one of the top 10 Black female chess players in the US, recently received the prestigious Daniel Feinberg Succes in Chess Award which comes with a $40,000 college scholarship.

“I play whenever I get the chance, like in my free time, like during my classes, like sometimes during classes,” Jessica told CBS News, noting that she plays at least 5

that’s what Jessica is going for,” said Mbonu.

Even with the pandemic, Jessica continues honing her skills by playing chess online. Her mother, Loy Allen, has been very supportive of her daughter and hopes other young children of color get inspired by her story.

“If your kid’s passionate enough about it, have them go for it because the sky’s the limit, right?” said Allen.

Moreover, after achieving her goal of being a chess master, Jessica dreams of attending college at MIT and plans to teach chess to other children as well.

Black Woman-Owned Company Creates the First Pajamas Line Featuring Children of Color BlackNews.com

Atlanta, GA — Building self-esteem through positive representation is an important part of raising healthy children.

Simone Edmonson established Dreams and Jammies LLC, an Atlanta-based company, to play a key role in transforming how children of color see themselves uniquely portrayed in their sleepwear as they drift off into their heavenly dreams.

Company founder Simone Edmonson states, “I wanted children of color to know that they’re valued and their faces matter. On average, children are in their PJ’s nine-plus hours per day. So, I thought it would be inspirational for them to show their individuality by selecting designs, which aligns with the child’s inner spirit.

Parents could use Dreams and Jammies as a platform to launch their child’s daily affirmation of self-worth.”

The greatest impact the launch has made in the Black community was beautifully stated by buyer Denise Johnson of Baltimore Maryland, “When I saw those beautiful black girls wearing Dreams and Jammies on my Instagram feed, I burst into tears. I initially did not know why I had this visceral reaction. Then it dawned on me that in the fifty-five years of my life, I have never seen anything like this so I purchased a pair for my grandchildren and great-nieces.”

Dreams and Jammies pajamas are 100% cotton, designed to be comfortable, and tagless. The initial product line, which is called the Comfy Collection with four

distinct styles of pajamas, has received exciting responses from parents and children. “We’re constantly creating new designs and plan to launch our boys’ line of pajamas in 2021,” Simone explains. Also, the company plans to grow its brand to include kids’ underwear, slippers, as well as adjustable satin hair bonnets. Interested consumers can sign up for advance notices on the availability of the latest products.

All DreamsandJammies.com products are available for direct shipping worldwide with prices starting at $14.99. Tuck in your little princesses at night with these awesome jammies!

To learn more about the line of products visit our website or connect with them on Facebook and Instagram.

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THE INNER-CITY NEWS - November , 2020 - November 10, 2020 INNER-CITY NEWS July 27,04 2016 - August 02, 2016

NOTICE Accountant Commercial Property

Property Management Company located in New Haven, CT is looking for a Commercial Property Accountant. The ideal candidate will be responsible for all accounting aspects for a portfolio of 13-15 commercial properties. Responsibilities include:

VALENTINA MACRI RENTAL HOUSING PRE- APPLICATIONS AVAILABLE

• Prepare, maintain and distribute statements.

HOME INC, on behalf of Columbus Housemonthly and thefinancials New Haven Housing Authority, • Mortgage, taxes and insurance invoice processing. is accepting pre-applications for studio and one-bedroom apartments at this devel• Analyze dataFrank to prepare budget actual Maximum variance reports. opment located at 108 Street, Newvs Haven. income limitations ap• Compile monthly and yearly sales tax filings. ply. Pre-applications will be available from 9AM TO 5PM beginning Monday Ju;y • Assist with annual budget preparation.

25, 2016• and ending when sufficient pre-applications (approximately 100) have Collect and post all tenant payments. been received at the offices of HOME INC. Applications will be mailied upon re• Prepare journal entries. quest by• calling HOME INC atescrow 203-562-4663 duringaccounts. those hours. Completed preReconcile all cash, and investment applications must bedepreciation/amortization returned to HOME INC’s offices at 171 Orange Street, Third • Maintain schedules.

Floor, New Haven,annual CT 06510.

• Prepare escalation/recovery settlement invoices.

• Annual income and expense and personal property filings.

• Third party funding requisitions.

NOTICIA

Job Requirements:

in accounting, finance or related discipline.

VALENTINABachelor’s MACRI VIVIENDAS DE ALQUILER PRE-SOLICITUDES DISPONIBLES 3-5 years accounting experience.

Accounting experience with property management is strongly preferred.

HOME INC, en nombre de la Columbus House y de la New Haven Housing Authority, está Experience with Sage Real Estate (Timberline) a plus. aceptando pre-solicitudes para estudios y apartamentos de un dormitorio en este desarrollo Organized and able to handle multiple properties and deadlines in fast paced, timely, ubicado en la calle 109 Frank Street, New Haven. Se aplican limitaciones de ingresos accurate manner. máximos. Las pre-solicitudes estarán disponibles 09 a.m.-5 p.m. comenzando Martes 25 Detailed oriented. julio, 2016 hasta cuando se hanExcel recibido suficientes pre-solicitudes Strong skills and software savvy. (aproximadamente 100) en las oficinas deFast HOME INC. Las pre-solicitudes serán enviadas por correo a petición learner with excellent communication skills. llamando a HOME INC alTeam 203-562-4663 durante esas horas.Pre-solicitudes deberán remitirse player with positive attitude. a las oficinas de HOME INC en 171 Orange Street, tercer piso, New Haven , CT 06510 .

Excellent benefits include medical, dental and 401k. Please send resume to openjobs. mgmt@fusco.com. Phone calls will not be accepted.

Affirmative Action/ Equal Opportunity Employer

Public Notice NEW HAVEN

The Connecticut Airport Authority (CAA) hereby announces its federal fiscal years Fairmont Ave (DBE) plan related to 2021-2023 49 CFR Part 26242-258 Disadvantaged Business Enterprise FAA-assisted contracts for professional services and construction 2BR Townhouse, 1.5 BA, 3BR, 1 levelprojects , 1BAfor the five General Aviation Airports. The proposed plan, which includes the 3-year goal and raAll new apartments, new appliances, new carpet, close to I-91 & I-95 tionale, is available for inspection between 8:30 a.m. and 4:00 p.m., Monday through highways, Airport, near busAdministration stop & shopping center Friday at Bradley International Office, Terminal A, 3rd Floor, WindsorPet Locks, 06096 or onInterested CAA's website the Bradley underCT 40lb allowed. partieshttp://www.ctairports.org, contact Maria @ 860-985-8258 International Airport website http://www.bradleyairport.com for 30 days from the date of this publication.

CT. Unified Deacon’s Association is pleased to offer a Deacon’s Certificate Program. This is a 10 month program designed to assist in the intellectual formation of Candidates Comments onChurch’s the DBE goal will forstart 45 Saturday, days from the date1:30of in response to the Ministry needs.

Thebe costaccepted is $125. Classes August 20, 2016 3:30 Contact: Chairman, Deacon Joe J.notice Davis, M.S., B.S. availability of this and can be sent to the following: (203) 996-4517 Host, General Bishop Elijah Davis, D.D. Pastor of Pitts Chapel U.F.W.B. Church 64 Brewster

St. New Haven, CT Laurie A. Sirois Manager of Grants, Procurement and Insurance Programs Connecticut Airport Authority Bradley International Airport Administration Office, Terminal A, 3rd Floor Windsor Locks, CT 06096 lsirois@ctairports.org 860-292-2043 (direct)

SEYMOUR HOUSING AUTHORITY

Sealed bids are invited by the Housing Authority of the Town of Seymour Oruntil 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 Thomas L. Knox, Jr. Smithfield Gardens Assisted Living Facility, 26 Smith Street Seymour.

DBE/ACDBE Compliance Specialist - New England Region FAA Office ofconference Civil Rights,will AWP-9 A pre-bid be held at the Housing Authority Office 28 Smith thomas.knox@faa.gov Street Seymour, CT at 10:00 am, on Wednesday, July 20, 2016.

Phone: 424-405-7208 - Fax: 424-405-7215 Cell: 951.489.8674 Physical Location: 777 S. Aviation Blvd. Suite 150, El Segundo, CA 90245

Bidding documents are available from the Seymour Housing Authority OfComments from Public Review(203) and Consultation fice, 28 Smith Street, Seymour, CT 06483 888-4579.

DELIVERY PERSON

NEEDED

Part Time Delivery Needed One/Two Day a Week,

Must Have your Own Vehicle If Interested call

(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

ELM CITY COMMUNITIES

Invitation for Bids Robert T. Wolfe Building Upgrade Phase II The Housing Authority of the City of New Haven d/b/a Elm City Communities is currently seeking Bids for Robert T. Wolfe Building Upgrade Phase II. A complete copy of the requirement may be obtained from Elm City Communities’ Vendor Collaboration Portal https://newhavenhousing.cobblestonesystems.com/ gateway beginning on Wednesday, September 23, 2020 at 3:00PM.

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

PUBLIC NOTICE

THE HOUSING AUTHORITY OF THE CITY OF BRISTOL OPENING WAITING LIST FOR THE HOUSING CHOICE VOUCHER (SECTION 8) PROGRAM

Starting on Oct. 26, 2020 the Bristol Housing Authority will accept pre-applications for their Housing Choice Voucher Program (Section 8), specifically for households with a nonelderly person with a disability, between the ages of 18-61 and who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless. Applicants must meet these criteria to apply.

To apply online or to down-load the application, go to https://www.bristolhousing.org.

Large CT guardrail company looking for Applications will not be available until Oct. 26, 2020. Applicants are encouraged to apply Laborer/Driver with valid CT CDL Class online; however, applications will also be available at our main office lobby located at A license and able to get a medical card.

164 Jerome Ave., Bristol CT 06010. The office hours are Mon-Thur 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m.

Must be able to pass a drug test and physiand Fri 8:30 a.m.-2:00 p.m. For assistance with the online application, please call (860) cal. Compensation based on experience.

582-6313.

Email resume to dmastracchio@atlasoutApplications not completed online must be mailed to the Bristol Housing Authority, 164 door.com AA/EOE M-F Jerome Ave., Bristol, CT 06010, postmarked no earlier than Oct. 26, 2020 and no later than Oct. 30, 2020 and received by Nov. 9, 2020. Applications will only be accepted online or by mail and must contain accurate and complete information. Hand-delivered, faxed or emailed applications will not be accepted. Only 1 pre-application per post-marked enveInvitation lope to Bid: will be accepted. Duplicate, incomplete, or illegible applications will not be accepted.

100 applications will be drawn at random on Dec. 1, 2020 and only families selected will 2nd Notice Large CT Fence & Guardrail Contractor receive notification by Dec. 15, 2020. is looking for experienced, responsible Bristol Housing Authority is an equal housing provider. commercial and residential fence erectors Old Saybrook, CT and installers on a subcontractor basis.

(4 Buildings, 17 Units) Earn from $750 to $2,000 per day. Email Tax Exempt & Not Prevailing Wage Rate Project resume to rhauer@atlasoutdoor.com AA/ Lead Building Maintainer - Facilities EOE

HELP WANTED:

FENCE ERECTING SUBCONTRACTORS

SAYEBROOKE VILLAGE

Town of Bloomfield Finance Director

New Construction, Wood Framed, Housing, Selective Demolition, Site-work, CastLEGAL NOTICE of in-place Concrete, Asphalt Shingles, Vinyl Siding, Full Time - Benefited TOWN OF PORTLAND, CT Flooring, Painting, Division 10 Specialties, Appliances, Residential Casework, Town of Portland has amended its Citi$96,755 - $149,345 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 Pre-employment drug testing.

apply for CDBG, Covid-19 funding. For For more details, a copy of the amendedBid Plan go to www. visitAugust our website – www.bloomfieldct.org Extended, Due Date: 5, 2016 portlandct.org.

Town of Bloomfield

Full Time - Benefited $31.26 hourly Pre-employment drug testing.

For more details,

visit our website – www.bloomfieldct.org

Anticipated Start: August 15, 2016 Project documents available via ftp link below: EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY http://ftp.cbtghosting.com/loginok.html?username=sayebrookevillage

DELIVERY PERSON

NEEDED

HANDYMAN P/T. Bristol Neighborhood Development Corp. (BNDC)

Fax or Email Questions & Bids to: Dawn Lang @ 203-881-8372 dawnlang@haynesconstruction.com seeking an 3 energetic individual who has experience maintaining HCC encourages the participation of all Veteran,isS/W/MBE & Section Certified Businesses properties.

Duties include but not limited to various small to medium Haynes Construction Company, 32 Progress Ave, Seymour, CT 06483 tasks of carpentry, painting, plumbing, HVAC, snow removal, and AA/EEO EMPLOYER

Part Time Delivery Needed One/Two Day a Week,

Must Have your Own Vehicle If Interested call

Public review comments - pending

(203) 387-0354

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

19

landscaping. Pay will commensurate with experience. Send resume and references by October 9, 2020 to The Bristol Neighborhood Development Corporation, Mitzy Rowe, CEO, 31 Quaker Lane, Bristol, CT 06010. An Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Entity

THE INNER-CITY NEWS - November 04, 2020 - November 10, 2020 INNER-CITY NEWS July 27, 2016 - August 02, 2016

Garrity Asphalt Reclaiming, Inc seeks:

Listing: Commercial Driver

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.

APARTMENTS FOR RENT

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 State of Connecticut rmative Action/ Opportunity Employer 25, 2016 and ending when sufficient pre-applications (approximately 100) have Office of Policy been received at the offices of HOME INC. Applications will be mailied upon request 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 Leadership Associate (target class Budget Analyst).

Contact: Rick Tousignant Phone: 860- 243-2300 VALENTINA MACRI VIVIENDAS DE ALQUILER PRE-SOLICITUDES DISPONIBLES Email: rick.tou-

242 Fairmont Avenue, New Haven Spacious 2 bedroom townhouse $1,225.00. Tenant pays all utilities including gas for heat, hot water, elec.stove, balcony and private entrance, off street parking. Close proximity to restaurants, shopping centers and on bus line. Section 8 welcome. Security Deposit varies. Call Christine 860-985-8258.

APARTMENTS FOR RENT 241 Quinnipiac Avenue, New Haven

Spacious 2 bedroom townhouses with hardwood floors. 1.5 baths. Select with basements and washer/dryer hookups. On-site laundry facility. Off street parking. Close proximity to restaurants, shopping centers and on bus line. No pets. Security deposit varies. $1,425-$1,450 includes heat, hot water and cooking gas. Section 8 welcome.

Call Christine 860-985-8258.

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

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) CT/sup/bulpreview.asp?R1= en lasTrailer oficinasDriver de HOME INC. & Las pre-solicitudes serán enviadas Tractor for Heavy Highway Construction Equip- por correo a petición 201015&R2=5989VR&R3=001 llamando a HOME INC al 203-562-4663 durante esas horas.Pre-solicitudes deberán remitirse ment. Must have a CDL License, clean driving record, capable of . a las oficinas de equipment; HOME INCbe enwilling 171 Orange Street, tercer piso, 06510State operating heavy to travel throughout theNew Haven , CTThe 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.

Women & Minority Applicants are encouraged to apply

CITY OF MILFORD

242-258 Fairmont Ave Townhouse, 3BR, 1vacancies level , 1BA Seeking2BR qualifi ed condidates 1.5 to fillBA, numerous to include,

All Health new apartments, new appliances, carpet, I-91informa& I-95 Public Nurse, Mechanic Sewernew Line and close more.toFor nearinstructions, bus stop & shopping center tion and detailedhighways, application visit www.ci.milford.ct.us Pet under 40lbon allowed.

Interested parties MariaTITLE. @ 860-985-8258 Click SERVICES, JOBScontact and JOB

Real Estate Controller

CT. Unified Deacon’s Association is pleased 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. Fusco Management is seeking a Real Controller.

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

leadership, communication and supervisory skills. Controller should have 6+ St. New Haven, CT year’s hands on accounting experience and have a BS in Accounting.

Duties and Responsibilities:

SEYMOUR HOUSING AUTHORITY

Oversee the activities of the Accounting Department for the accurate and timely dissemination nancial by management reports including andSeymour external Sealed bids of arefiinvited the Housing Authority of theinternal Town of monthly financial statements, and annual budgets. until 3:00 pm on Tuesday,annual Augustaudits 2, 2016 at its office at 28 Smith Street,

Seymour, CT 06483 for Concrete Sidewalk Repairs and Replacement at the Desired Skills and Experience Smithfield Gardens Assisted Living Facility, 26 Smith Street Seymour.

Qualifications: • • • •

Proficient in Microsoft Word, Excel, Timberline and Timberscan, BNA, TValue.

A pre-bid conference willand be good held communication at the Housing skills.

Authority Office 28 Smith Discretion, good judgment Street general Seymour, CT at 10:00 am, on Wednesday, 20, 2016.

Strong ledger, accounts payable and accountsJuly receivable.

Real Estate experience a plus.

Bidding documents are available from the Seymour Housing Authority OfEducation and Experience Required: fice, 28 Smith Street, Seymour, CT 06483 (203) 888-4579.

Bachelor's degree in Accounting or Finance. CPA certification a plus. Must have 6+years of hands-on accounting managerial experience. Fusco Management ofThe Housing Authority reserves the right to accept or reject any or all bids, to fers a competitive benefit package. Fusco is an Affirmative Action/ Equal Opreduce the scope of the project to reflect available funding, and to waive any portunity Employer

informalities in the bidding, if such actions are in the best interest of the Housing Authority.

Invitation for Bids

Phase 2 – Group 4 – Lead Abatement at Essex Townhouses The Housing Authority of the City of New Haven d/b/a Elm City Communities is currently seeking Bids for Phase 2 – Group 4 – Lead Abatement at Essex Townhouses. A complete copy of the requirements may be obtained from Elm City’s Vendor Collaboration Portal https://newhavenhousing.cobblestonesystems.com/gateway beginning on Monday, October 26, 2020 at 3:00PM

Contact Dana at 860-243-2300

NEW HAVEN

ELM CITY COMMUNITIES

Invitation to Bid: nd Notice

Town of Bloomfield2

ELM CITY COMMUNITIES Request for Proposals

SAYEBROOKE VILLAGE of Single-Family Homeownership Housing Development

Lead Building Maintainer - Facilities

Old Saybrook, CT Full Time - Benefited (4 17 Units) $31.26 hourly Buildings,The Housing Authority of the City of New Haven d/b/a Elm City Communities is

Taxdrug Exempt & Not Prevailing Wage seeking Rate Project Pre-employment testing. currently Proposals for Development of Single-Family Homeownership For more details, visit our website – Housing. A complete copy of the requirement may be obtained from Elm City www.bloomfiWood eldct.org New Construction, Framed, Housing, Selective Demolition, Cast- Portal https://newhavenhousing.cobbleCommunities’ VendorSite-work, Collaboration

beginning on in-place Concrete, Asphaltstonesystems.com/gateway Shingles, Vinyl Siding, Flooring, Painting, Division 10 Specialties, Appliances, Residential Casework, Monday, August 10, 2020 at 3:00PM. Mechanical, Electrical, Plumbing and Fire Protection.

Seeking qualified condidates to fill This contract is subject to state set-aside and contract compliance requirements. Office Position. FT-Exp required.

Construction Administrative numerous vacancies to include, Email- Hherbert@ gwfabrication.com Benefits & Pension Coordinator Bid Extended, Due Date: August 5, 2016 and more. For information and Anticipated Start: August 15, 2016 detailed application instructions, Project documents available via ftp link below:ELM CITY COMMUNITIES visit www.ci.milford.ct.us http://ftp.cbtghosting.com/loginok.html?username=sayebrookevillage Click on SERVICES, JOBS and Invitation for Bids JOB TITLE. Fax or Email Questions & Bids to: Dawn Lang @ 203-881-8372 dawnlang@haynesconstruction.com

CITY OF MILFORD

QSR

Plumbing Services Agency-wide

HCC encourages the participation of all Veteran, S/W/MBE & Section 3 Certified Businesses Construction Company, 32 Progress Ave, Seymour, CT 06483 STEELHaynes CORPORATION AA/EEO EMPLOYER The Housing Authority

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

of the City of New Haven d/b/a Elm City Communities is currently seeking Bids for plumbing services agency-wide.

A complete copy of the requirements

may be obtained from Elm City’s Vendor Collaboration Portal https://newhavenhousing.cobblestonesystems.com/gateway beginning on Monday, October 26, 2020 at 3:00PM

THE INNER-CITY NEWS - November , 2020 - November 10, 2020 INNER-CITY NEWS July 27,042016 - August 02, 2016

REQUEST FOR BIDS

Federal Program Waiting List Opening Notice (1-bedroom Non-Elderly Disabled Only)

NOTICE

Sale of Surplus Rolling Stock New Haven, Connecticut VALENTINA MACRI RENTAL HOUSING PRE- APPLICATIONS AVAILABLE

New Haven Parking Authority Project #21-006 HOME INC, on behalf of Columbus and the 10, New2020 Haven Authority, Bids dueHouse November atHousing 3:00 P.M.

is accepting pre-applications for studio and one-bedroom apartments at this development located at 108 Frankwill Street, New Haven.

MaximumOctober income limitations ap-at no cost Bid Documents be available beginning 20, 2020 ply. Pre-applications will be available 9AM TOSecretary 5PM beginning Monday Ju;y by emailing Fortunata Houde,from Executive at fhoude@nhparking.com .

25, 2016 and ending when sufficient pre-applications (approximately 100) have been received at the offices HOME INC. will be mailied upon re- employer.

New Haven ParkingofAuthority is anApplications equal opportunity/affirmative action 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, Third Floor, New Haven, CT 06510.

Construction

Seeking to employ experienced individuals in the labor, foreman, operator and teamster trades for a heavy outside work statewide. Reliable personal transportation and a valid NOTICIA drivers license required. To apply please call (860) 621-1720 or send resume to: PersonVALENTINA MACRI ALQUILER PRE-SOLICITUDES DISPONIBLES nel Department, P.O.VIVIENDAS Box 368,DECheshire, CT06410.

Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer M/F/V HOME INC, en nombre de la Columbus House y de la New Haven Housing Authority, está Drug Free pre-solicitudes Workforce para estudios y apartamentos de un dormitorio en este desarrollo aceptando

DISPATCHER

ubicado en la calle 109 Frank Street, New Haven. Se aplican limitaciones de ingresos máximos. Las pre-solicitudes estarán disponibles 09 a.m.-5 p.m. comenzando Martes 25 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 a HOME INC al 203-562-4663 durante esas candidates horas.Pre-solicitudes deberán Thellamando Town of Wallingford is seeking responsible to perform 911,remitirse police, fire and EMS emer. a lasdispatching oficinas de HOME en be 171able Orange Street,under tercerstressful piso, Newconditions Haven , CTand 06510 gency duties.INC Must to work be able to type information

Starting Nov. 2, 2020 at 8:30 a.m. through Nov. 13, 2020 at 2:00 p.m. the Bristol Housing Authority will accept pre-applications for the 1-bedroom Non-Elderly Disabled Waitlist for its Low-Income Public Housing Program. Only households with a disabled head of household or co-head between the ages of 18-61 years of age qualify to apply. Maximum of 2 occupants for a 1-bedroom unit.

To apply online or to download a Pre-application go to www.bristolhousing.org or www.cthcvp.org. Applications may also be picked up in person at the BHA office lobby during business hours. Pre-applications and online applications will be available starting Nov. 2, 2020. Pre-applications not completed online must be mailed to Bristol Housing Authority, Attn: Maura Martin, 164 Jerome Avenue Bristol, CT 06010.

Pre-applications must be postmarked no earlier than Nov 2, 2020 and no later than Nov. 13, 2020 and received

by Nov. 20, 2020. If you are a person with a disability and require a reasonable accommodation to apply, please contact Maura at (860) 582-6313.

Following the closing date, applicant position will be determined by a LOTTERY SELECTION and PREFERENCES as set forth in the BHA’s Tenant Selection Policies. 150 applications will be drawn at random on Dec. 14, 2020 and only families selected will receive notification by Dec. 30, 2020.

Applicants must be determined eligible and qualify in accordance with HUD regulations and the Bristol Housing Authority’s Tenant Selection policies.

We are an equal housing provider and we do not discriminate based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, actual or perceived sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, marital or familial status.

The Housing Authority of the City of Bridgeport

with a high rate of speed and accuracy. Must be able to work all three shifts including weekends and holidays and be able to work additional shifts beyond the regular shift schedule. Requires a H.S. or business school diploma with courses in typing and 2 years of responsible office work experience. Wages: $ 22.41 ~ $26.72 hourly plus shift differential and excellent fringe benefits. Closing date is November 12, 2020, or the date of receipt of the 50th application, whichever occurs first. Apply: Department of Human Resources, Town of Wallingford, 45 South Main St., Wallingford, CT 06492. Phone: 203-294-2080, Fax: 203-2942084. EOE.

Energy Performance Contract Consultant (EPCC) Request for Proposal (RFP) Solicitation Number: 149-PD-20-S

NEW HAVEN

Invitation toofBid: The Housing Authority the City of Bridgeport d/b/a Park City Communities (PCC) is seeking a quali2nd Notice fied firm to perform tasks related to its “Energy Performance Contract” (EPC). Solicitation package will be available on October 26, 2020, to obtain a copy of the solicitation you must send your request to bids@ parkcitycommunitittes.org, please reference solicitation number and title on the subject line. A Pre-proposal All new apartments, new appliances, new carpet, close to I-91 & I-95 Oldwill Saybrook, conference call be heldCT on November 12, 2020, at 11:00 a.m. Although attendance is not mandatory, highways, near bus stop & shopping center submitting (4 a proposal attending the pre-proposal conference call may not be in the best interest of Buildings,without 17 Units) Town Planner: Seeking an experienced professional to perform highly responsible and complex planning and Pet under 40lb allowed.

Interested parties contact Maria @ 860-985-8258 the Offeror.

Additional questions should be emailed only to bids@parkcitycommunitites.org no later than Project zoning work in the management of a municipal planning department. Some evening work involved. Bach- Tax Exempt & Not Prevailing Wage Rate November 19, 2020 @ 3:00 p.m. Answers to all the questions will be posted on PCC’s Website: www.parkelor’s Degree in Urban Planning, Public Administration or related field plus 4 years of responsible experience citycommunities.org. Proposals shall be mailed, or hand delivered by December 1, 2020 @ 3:00 p.m., to in municipal planning and zoning enforcement work or an equivalent combination of experience andConstruction, training CT. Unified Deacon’s Association is pleased to offer a Deacon’s New Wood Framed, Housing, Selective Demolition, Site-work, CastMs. Caroline Sanchez, Director of Procurement, 150 Highland Ave, Bridgeport, CT 06604, of via e-mail at Certificate Program.

This is a 10 monthbasis. program designed to assist in-the intellectual annually formation of plus Candidates substituting on a year-for-year Salary: $97,023 $124,140 an excellent fringe benefit in-place Concrete, Asphalt Shingles, Late Vinylproposals Siding, will not be accepted. in response to the Church’s Ministry needs. The cost is $125. Classes start Saturday, August 20, 2016 1:30bids@parkcitycommunitites.org. package.

Applications can be from the Town’s Department of Human Resources Webpage and 3:30 Contact: Chairman, Deacon Joedownloaded J. Davis, M.S., B.S. Painting, Division 10 Specialties, Appliances, Residential Casework, (203) 996-4517 General Bishop Elijah Davis, D.D. Pastor45 of Pitts ChapelStreet, U.F.W.B.Room Church 64 Brewster mailed or faxedHost, to: Human Resources Department S. Main 301, Wallingford CTFlooring, 06492 Fax Mechanical, Electrical, Plumbing and Fire Protection.

(203)-294-2084 St. New Haven, CTPhone: (203)-294-2080. The closing date will be November 16, 2020.EOE

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

Planning

TOWNAUTHORITY CLERK SEYMOUR HOUSING

SAYEBROOKE VILLAGE

NOTICE OF REQUEST FOR QUALIFICATIONS HOUSING AUTHORITY OF THE CITY OF DANBURY Bid Extended, Due Date: August 5, 2016

This contract is subject to state set-aside and contract compliance requirements.

Architectural and/or Anticipated Start: August 15, 2016

Engineering On-Call Services

TOWN CLERK - Responsible records management andTown supervision of a Municipal Town Clerk’s Sealed bids are invited byfor thepublic Housing Authority of the of Seymour Project documents available via ftp link below: RFQ No. RQ20001 Office position a H.S. Diploma GEDatand (5) years responsible untilThe 3:00 pm onrequires Tuesday, August 2, or 2016 its five office at 28 ofSmith Street,office work experience http://ftp.cbtghosting.com/loginok.html?username=sayebrookevillage in a municipal Town Clerk’s Office to include one (1) year of supervisory experience. Wages: $62,542Seymour, 06483 for Concrete RepairsDepartment and Replacement the $80,021 plus CT an excellent fringe benefitSidewalk package. Apply: of HumanatResources, Town of WallSCOPE: Smithfield Gardens Assisted Living Facility, 26 Smith Street Seymour. ingford, 45 South Main Street, Wallingford, CT 06492. The closing date will be November 16, Fax 2020.

EOE or Email Questions & The Bids to: Dawn Lang @ 203-881-8372 Housing Authority of the dawnlang@haynesconstruction.com City of Danbury hereby issues this Request for Qualifications to provide HCC encourages the participation of all Veteran, S/W/MBE & Section 3 Certified Architectural and/orBusinesses Engineering On-Call Services Haynes Construction Company, 32 Progress Ave, Seymour, CT 06483 SUBMITTAL RETURN: PROPOSAL A pre-bid conference will be held at the Housing Authority Office 28 Smith AA/EEO EMPLOYER Housing Authority of the City of Danbury, 2 Mill Ridge Rd, Danbury, CT 06811 Street Seymour, CT at 10:00 am, on Wednesday, July 20, 2016.

Envelope Must be Marked: RFQ No. RQ20001 Architectural and/or Engineering On-Call Services

Listing: Dispatcher

Extremely fast paced petroleum company needs a full time (which includes on call and Bidding documents are available from the Seymour Housing Authority Ofweekend coverage) detail oriented experienced Dispatcher. A strong logistics background fice, 28 Smith Street, Seymour, CT 06483 (203) 888-4579. and a minimum of one year previous petroleum experience required. Send resume to: HR Manager, P.O. Box 388, Guilford, CT. 06437 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 ********An Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer********** informalities in the bidding, if such actions are in the best interest of the Housing Authority.

SUBMITTAL DEADLINE November 9, 2020 at 10:00am (EST) CONTACT PERSON FOR RFP DOCUMENT: Ms. Devin Marra, Director of Procurement,Telephone: 203-744-2500 x141 E-Mail: dmarra@hacdct.org

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THE INNER-CITY NEWS - November 04, 2020 - November 10, 2020

23-Year Old Becomes Youngest African American to Be Certified as a Boeing 777 Pilot

Dave Roberts Becomes Second Black Manager to Win the World Series

By Stacy M. Brown, NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent The Los Angeles Dodgers are the champions of baseball in large part because of a masterful managerial job by Dave Roberts, who becomes just the second African American skipper to win the World Series.

The Dodgers defeated the Tampa Bay Rays 3-1 in Game 6 at Globe Life Park in Arlington, Texas, the first-time Major League Baseball held the Fall Classic at a neutral site.

“It feels great,” proclaimed Roberts, who joined Cito Gaston of the Toronto Blue Jays as the only Black managers to lead their team to a world championship.

Gaston’s Blue Jays won back-to-back titles in 1992 and 1993.

By BlackNews.com Biloxi, MS — Malik Sinegal, a 23-year old from Mississippi, has made history as the youngest African American to be certified as a Boeing 777 pilot in the world. He himself did not initially realize just how significant his accomplishment is!

Malik says that he found out about the record-breaking news only when a representative from Boeing contacted him to inform about it.

“The Triple 7 is one of the airplanes that people usually don’t touch until they’re around their forties or fifties or they’ve been at the airlines for a very long time,” he told WXXV. “And I came down with the opportunity where — a scholarship opportunity where — I was able to get into the airplane.”

Malik shared that he has always wanted to fly Boeing 777, which is known as the world’s largest twinjet.

“The biggest reason for me is that I’ve always wanted to fly this airplane. I was able to get in it for my first time in 2004 going to Anchorage, Alaska, which is my favorite place in the world.”

The title is the seventh in franchise history for the Dodgers and first since 1988.

It marked the second celebration in less than a month for a Los Angeles professional sports team – the Lakers defeated the Miami Heat on October 11 to win the NBA championship.

The victory also comes 33 years after then-Dodgers General Manager Al Campanis appeared in a controversial and racially-charged interview on ABC News’ “Nightline” with Ted Koppel.

During the mostly forgettable 1987 broadcast, Campanis infamously told a live audience why he believed African Americans couldn’t succeed in managing a Major League Baseball team.

“No, I don’t believe it’s prejudice,” Campanis blasted when Koppel asked the reason for the lack of African American managers in baseball.

“I truly believe that they may not have some of the necessities to be, let’s say, a field manager, or perhaps a general manager.”

When Koppel responded by questioning whether Campanis believed that, the Dodgers’ boss didn’t relent.

“Well, I don’t say that all of them, but they certainly are short. How many quarterbacks do you have? How many pitchers do you have that are black?” Campanis demanded.

To his credit, Koppel shot back: “I gotta tell you, that sounds like the same kind of garbage. That really sounds like garbage, if – if you’ll forgive me for saying so.”

Unrelenting, Campanis volleyed: “No, it’s not garbage, Mr. Koppel, because I played on a college team, and the center fielder was Black, and the backfield at NYU, with a fullback who was Black, never knew the difference, whether he was Black or white, we were teammates.

So, it just might be – why are Black men, or Black people, not good swimmers?

Because they don’t have the buoyancy.”

Roberts, like Gaston before him,

proved his so-called buoyancy.

With a deft-touch, Roberts guided the Dodgers from a 2-0 and 3-1 deficit in the National League Championship Series against the Atlanta Braves.

Just 14 teams out of 89 in baseball history have come back to win a best-ofseven series after dropping three of the first four games.

Since 1992, 11 Black men have managed Major League Baseball teams, including Dusty Baker, who came out of retirement this year to manage the Houston Astros to the American League Championship Series.

Roberts’ success is already legendary.

Since he took over the Dodgers in 2016, he’s guided the team to three National League Championships. Now, he’s delivered the ultimate prize, defeating the

22

relentless and talented Rays in just six games.

Roberts has compiled an impressive 436-273 won-loss record for a Hall-ofFame like .615 winning percentage.

“No manager bats 1.000, as it were, and Roberts has made plenty of decisions this series and in the playoffs that have backfired or looked bad from the start,” Jon Tayler of Fangraphs wrote.

“Yet it’s worth noting that, aside from [Ray’s pitcher] Blake Snell’s excellent Game 2 [and Game 6] start and the back half of Game 4 culminating in the Yakety Sax routine, that was the final play, the Dodgers have been firmly in control of this Fall Classic,” Tayler noted.

“It all came together as he planned, as all of his moves worked.”

After a COVID-shortened but challeng-

ing 60-game regular season and an extra playoff round that culminated into a world championship, Roberts said he’ll let it all sink in.

“It means a lot for me personally, of course,” Roberts exclaimed as his players doused him and each other with champagne.

“But for the Dodgers organization, the franchise where they’ve always been forward-thinking and groundbreaking as far as race and color barriers,” Roberts continued.

“So, for the Dodgers and for me to be the manager of this ballclub to bring a championship back to Los Angeles, I think it’s well beyond bigger than me.”

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts (Photo: Arturo Pardavila III / Wikimedia Commons)

THE INNER-CITY NEWS - November 04, 2020 - November 10, 2020

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THE INNER-CITY NEWS - November 04, 2020 - November 10, 2020

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