Paul Bass Photo
Appointments only: An aspiring firefighter presents guard Steve Asprelli with one of a steady stream of requests for access to 200 Orange.
Starting Thursday, New Haveners may be able to walk into not just a crowded bar or restaurant or sporting event or store — but also the municipal government office building at 200 Orange St.
As long as they’re masked.
That’s the plan anyway.
Elicker administration officials said late Tuesday that they plan to allow the public back in the building by then, with some last-minute details to attend to first.
Like putting in more plexiglass in offices.
That means people won’t need special permission to go in and request permits, submit building plans, speak with government officials, request voter registration lists, register to vote, check on last-minute public-meeting filings, turn in absentee ballots, or file and explore land records.
Since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, the city has kept the front door locked to the building. Members of the public need to knock and have a security guard call to confirm that they have an appointment to visit a city office.
Gradually some offices within the building — notably the engineering and building departments — have begun to allow walk-ins as Covid cases have plummeted and vaccination rates risen in recent weeks. But first people need to get in the building. Some administration officials had been under the impression that that had become possible; in some cases, at least (including this reporter’s experience), it hasn’t.
As of Thursday, the front door will probably not be locked anymore, according to Deputy Chief Administrative Officer Rebecca Bombero. People will be allowed to walk in at will to the engineering and building departments. They will need an appointment to do business with the human resources and finance and traffic and parking departments; and will need to have the security guard, from inside the building, confirm the appointment. Bombero said those offices have been conducting their public-facing business online.
Whether the registrar of voters and clerk’s office open is up to the elected officials who run those departments. Both City Town Clerk Michael Smart and Democratic Registrar of Voters Shannel Evans told the Independent Tuesday they expect to be open for walk-in business once the city installs plexiglass in their offices. City Engineer Giovanni Zinn said he expects to have the glass up in the registrar’s office on Wednesday and also to be responding to the clerk’s request as well.
“Once we get the plexi, we’ll be open and full blast to the public,” Smart said.
His office and the registrar’s office have been sending staffers downstairs from the second to the first floor to respond to people seeking to file papers or obtain records, dealing with them on the outdoor front steps.
Judge Clifton Graves said the probate court at 200 Orange will bel open, by appointment. (Call the office at 203 – 946-4880.)
All visitors will need to wear masks inside 200 Orange, even if they’re vaccinated, Bombero said.
She said the port authority is the first city board or commission to have held an in-person meeting recently. Others will follow at their own discretion.
The City Hall building on Church Street has been open for months, with a security guard stationed indoor at the front. Mayor Justin Elicker was asked why one main government building was open while another was closed. He said that City Hall has more security guards as well as more room for people to gather while maintaining a social distance — for instance, waiting in line in the first-floor atrium outside the vital statistics or tax office.
Elicker was also asked if restrictions like masks and appointments are still necessary in public buildings like 200 Orange.
“We are not out of the pandemic,” he responded, noting that the governor has allowed local governments and businesses to set the rules for their own buildings. “There is still a lower percentage than we would like of people vaccinated.” He also said the city has no way of determining which people coming into buildings may have compromised immune systems and thus be at risk.
Mayoral spokesperson Kyle Buda said the city will plans to notify employees this week about changes in the work-from-home policy enacted during the pandemic, with a goal of having more people come into the office. He said the changes will go into effect 30 days after employees receive notice.
One active civic participant, zoning lawyer Ben Trachten, criticized the work-from-home policy in a comment posted to a recent Independent article. He wrote: “The only failures I’d dump squarely in Justin’s lap are all employment related. Under his tenure the city has allowed most employees a 15+ month vacation with virtually no expectations. He hasn’t required them to come back. City Hall is a ghost town. You can’t run a city by email. Telephone calls don’t get returned (even for frequent users of city services like me).”