“Promise Land” Cleans Up

When the Christian Community Commission (CCC) launched the Promise Land Project in January, it made a few promises to the residents of the 10-block area that the group targeted for change. Basically, CCC committed to ensuring that neighborhood fear and negativity would be replaced with community pride and safety.

The designated Promise Land area runs from Division Street north to Bassett Street, and from Winchester Avenue to Dixwell Avenue. This area is Newhallville’s most troubled, but the CCC is determined to reduce crime to zero in that jurisdiction — eliminating the presence of domestic violence, guns, gangs, drug dealing, and other illegal activities.

The effort involves everything from prayer walks organized by unified area clergy to after-school and summertime activities for kids such as bike rides and fishing outings. There are community meetings with residents, outreach programs to provide assistance for those in need, and physical beautification projects to spruce up blocks within the neighborhood.

As Pastor Donald Morris, executive director of the CCC, explained, ​“This is a faith-based initiative and we have faith that through hard work, prayer, consistent commitment, and an ever-visible physical presence throughout theses streets we can achieve peace and harmony. And we can take back these streets and return them to the residents.”

On June 4, for example, 50 Promise Land volunteers showed up in front of the Lincoln-Bassett School to begin the process of raking, sweeping and bagging debris on both sides of Bassett Street. Soon they had filled more than 100 bags of trash and leaves for the Parks Department to haul away.

Among the volunteers were local residents, business people, politicians, kids and even non-residents. The group also included prominent New Haven citizens such as New Haven Schools Superintendent Reggie Mayo, Assistant State’s Attorney Devon Joyner, Larry Conaway, assistant principal at Wilbur Cross High School, state Supreme Court Justice Lubbie Harper Jr., and Newhallville Alderman Charles Blango.

All of them and many more came out to roll up their sleeves in a strong show of united support.

The goal of that particular event was to create a symbolic kickoff for a communitywide beautification campaign. The goal is to bring attention to the issue of littering and to point out how such behavior devalues communities.

“Additionally, we are seeking to rekindle a sense of pride in the neighborhood,” said project coordinator Michael Jefferson. ​“We will continue to bring attention to the problem via ongoing education.”

The idea to adopt one small, manageable area at a time came out of several public input meetings held by the CCC. Residents brainstormed with church leaders, members of the police force including Chief Frank Limon and Newhallville district manager Lt. Thaddeus Reddish, and politicians such as Mayor John DeStefano and Alderman Blango. Other stakeholders, including Jefferson and Conaway, teamed up with residents to help define the purpose of the organization, set goals and establish a timetable for carrying out the mission of the project.

“Once we can show measurable results in this 10-block area, we will move on to other areas and additionally train other community leaders to do the same in their respective areas of New Haven,” Morris said.

In February, Promise Land was approved for a Green Space grant from Urban Resources Initiative (URI), which is a partnership between communities and the Yale School of Forestry. Under the terms of the grant, which runs from June through August, URI agrees to supply the tools, training, seed, shrubbery, mulch, and other necessary supplies — as long as Promise Land provides the labor.

Mayo said beautification of the physical landscape in Newhallville is symbolic of what has to be done on other levels to revitalize the community. ​“I am a serious supporter of the Promise Land Project that has taken these 10 blocks under its wing,” he said. ​“This is a serious effort to take back a neighborhood one street and one day at a time.”

Kermit Carolina, principal of Hillhouse High School, – calls it ​“taking control of your own space,” and says that it is similar to having a clean house. ​“You respect it more. The same goes for your neighborhood. If it is outwardly clean then you can feel safe and satisfied. I am here because this is where I grew up, at the corner of Shelton and Ivy. I went through New Haven public schools and graduated from Southern. Most of my pupils are from this very neighborhood.”

Jefferson, an attorney whose office is in Newhallville, said littering is only the surface sign of deeper-rooted problem related to human behavior, ​“It has more to do with ignorance than with disrespect of property. This is why we are here today, to help educate and change the negative behavioral patterns, resulting in a more upbeat community that will not tolerate the litter and trash or the litter of crime.”

Jefferson went on to describe how research into crime and vandalism prevention demonstrates that fixing problems when they are still small and manageable is a successful strategy. Taking a proactive approach can effectively reclaim neighborhoods before they are lost and preempt more serious crime by eliminating the kinds of detrimental factors that give it a fertile breeding ground. Instead of giving it a chance to take hold within the community, in other words, efforts like the Promise Land Project ensure it never even gets a chance to put down roots.

During the clean-up project, Raphael Chestnut, a two-year resident who lives on Bassett Street, sat on his front porch watching the hardworking crew of Promise Land. Then he called out to the volunteers to thank them. ​“This is so great for the land and for our morale in general I just can’t thank you enough,” he said.

Meanwhile, thousands of others who love New Haven and call it their home share those same proud and grateful sentiments.

For more information on the Promise Land Project, call Pastor Donald Morris at 203 – 627-8333.