Escape Emails Reveal Behind-Scenes Battles

Applause rang out in a church hall when Harp administration officials announced plans to build an ​“Escape” drop-in center and homeless shelter for young people.

Even as the documents were signed, years of behind-the-scenes City Hall bickering began. Over who should get paid. How. And whether to pull the plug on the project altogether.

“PLEASE do not ask me to sign any more POs in this manner,” the city’s purchasing director wrote to Youth Services Director Jason Bartlett at one point.

“I told you this would surface,” the project’s coordinator warned Bartlett in a separate dispute over how to pay bills.

“I’m worn out and in no mood to do anything right now,” that same project coordinator later wrote to Bartlett.

“omg really?” Bartlett wrote during a different exchange.

“I have to look out for myself with this,” another official is quoted as saying in response to paperwork questions.

Those are just a few excerpts of the backroom discord that emerged in hundreds of city emails that were sent between 2015 and 2019 about the proposed, never-built Dixwell youth drop-in center and teen homeless shelter.

The emails, which were obtained by the New Haven Independent, also detail ongoing concerns that stretch all the way up until May 2019 regarding a persistently leaky roof at the Bethel AME Church-owned community outreach center that the city leases on Orchard Street near Goffe. That building still houses the Dixwell Senior Center, and was to be the home of the Escape.

Earlier this year, Mayor Toni Harp may have all but pulled the plug on the teen shelter when she declined to include any new capital funds for the project in the city’s latest fiscal year budget. The Escape would have provided 15 beds for homeless teens in a former community outreach center owned by Bethel AME Church at 654 Orchard St.

The mayor’s decision seems to have put an end to over four years and at least $350,000 in public dollars spent on the teen drop-in center, which was heralded at the 15-year lease signing in September 2015 as a landmark opportunity to house homeless youth.

Over the years, the project kept stalling, with Bartlett appearing before the Board of Alders Finance Committee time and again to ask for more money to repair the roof, replace the HVAC system, and update the electrical system.

During a recent episode of WNHH’s ​“Mayor Monday” program, Harp said that the community outreach center building still needs ​“a couple hundred thousand” dollars more in order to properly fit it out for the Escape. The Board of Alders has sequestered the funds necessary to finish the project, she said. She said she plans to meet with aldermanic leadership over the next two months to determine if and how to use those funds.

“We continue to think it’s something we’re going to pursue and work on,” she said. But, ​“even if we don’t do it, we have an obligation to bring that facility back to where it was before we started the renovations.”

Bartlett’s handling of the Escape, and in particular construction contracts he awarded to a former business partner of his named Maverick Jacobs of New Birth Construction, are subjects of a wide-ranging federal subpoena that the U.S. Attorney’s office served to City Hall in June.

After the Independent first reported on the subpoena, Bartlett stepped down from his role as campaign chair of Harp’s re-election bid, and then was put on paid administrative leave from his role as head of the Youth Services department.

The newly obtained emails reveal that:

• Bartlett opposed alder oversight of a $100,000 capital transfer from the Engineering Department to the Youth Services Department for the project.
• he was chastised by the city’s purchasing department for paying Jacobs through a purchase order rather than through a properly bid-out contract.
• he dismissed the city engineer’s order that, after two years of work, the project had exhausted its city funding.
• officials questioned whether work was being paid for without being authorized.

The emails include a quotation after Bartlett’s email signature. It reads: ​“It’s easier to ask for forgiveness, than it is to ask for permission.”

Excerpts from these emails are included below, including longer excerpts that are set off in blockquotes and in bold.

“PLEASE Do Not Ask Me To Sign Any More POs In This Manner”

From: Jason Bartlett
Sent: Monday, May 09, 2016 4:05 PM
To: Michael Fumiatti
Subject: PO SIGN OFF

Hi Mike,

Would it be possible to sign off on PO Request 20167256 before you leave. Id like to get for this week so we can keep things moving at Escape.

Thanks so much.

Jason

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From: Michael Fumiatti
Date: Tuesday, May 10, 2016 7:57 AM
To: Jason Bartlett
Cc: Giovanni Zinn
Subject: Re: PO SIGN OFF

Jason
I will approve this however, this is not the way to run a project (I have previously relayed this to your staff) — this should have been formally bid out and it should have been a contract — PLEASE do not ask me to sign any more POs in this manner.
Thanks.

At the very start of the Escape project, just days before Mayor Harp met with Bethel church officials on Sept. 8, 2015 to sign a 15-year, $4,000-per-month lease for the former community outreach center space, Bartlett and city Architectural Capital Projects Coordinator William MacMullen were already sharing concerns about the project’s budget and staffing.

“Tuesday is the lease signing,” Bartlett wrote to MacMullen on Sept. 4, 2015. ​“I don’t feel right that we don’t know the direction vis a vis construction manager… We are going to take a lot of hits for not knowing timeline … w seniors and others. Please outline some sort of timeline for me… keep in mind that I will be moving senior center for 5 weeks to Beulah heights…The idea is to do that when roof and main ballroom are done. Lease will be dated for Oct 1st. JB.”

MacMullen responded by cautioning Bartlett not to rush into hiring the wrong person for the job considering the project’s tight budget.

“With only about $280k for the entire project,” MacMullen wrote later that afternoon, ​“we may need to rethink hiring a separate Construction Consultant. He’ll be looking for a $50k fee, (anything less would be suspect given the liabilities).”

“The Escape will have to be a complete basics package as we are building to a budget rather than a program,” he continued. ​“These days $250k does not buy a lot. Hopefully, between the volunteers, youth build groups and licensed contractors, we’ll be able to pull this off. I feel we can do it, but we have to be smart about hiring/ contracting or the money will get used up fast. Let’s not rush into this.”

On Sept. 23, Bartlett asked city budget staffer Elizabeth Smith about whether or not the Escape would get its own line item in the budget and about whether or not it would be able to pull from federal Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds.

Smith replied that CDBG-funded projects usually require individual capital improvement jobs to go out to bid before awarding a contract. ​“Please keep in mind $280,000 is a significant investment using CDBG funds,” she wrote, ​“and your project will be scrutinized by HUD.”

On Oct. 13, the mayor wrote former budget director Joe Clerkin, instructing him to transfer $100,000 in capital funds from an Engineering Department project called ​“the DTC Youth Program mapping initiative” towards the Escape.

On Nov. 3, Bartlett expressed dismay that the transfer might have to be vetted by the local legislature.

From: Jason Bartlett
Sent: Tuesday, November 03, 2015 4:37 PM
To: Bill MacMullen
CC: Charles Williams
Subject: RE: Stage Extension Drawings for The Escape Teen Center

I m worried there going to make me go before the Alders for this 100k…omg really?

Jason

On Dec 14, Bartlett told MacMullen he was worried about not having any Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds on hand for the Escape. ​“Why couldn’t monies for repairs come from CDBG?” he asked. ​“I would assume HVAC and electrical come out of that pot as well. Jb”

“Large biddable items like electrical and hvac” can be funded by CDBG, MacMullen replied. ​“BUT we have to bid that out. I believe the homeless section #4 will have the most work to use CDBG monies. New showers, toilets, exlectrical & lighting etc. big ticket items. This we will be ready to do. Bill”

“Ok,” Bartlett sent back later that afternoon. ​“But she’s [Elizabeth Smith] saying must be bid out so let’s make sure we address that”.

On Dec. 22, MacMullen told Bartlett that he would be sending solicitations for bids to the Purchasing Department on roofing, HVAC, plumbing, electrical, and other engineering work need for the Escape project.

From: Malinda Figueroa
Sent: Wednesday, January 27, 2016 3:39 PM
To: Michael Carter; Bill MacMullen
Cc: Jason Bartlett; Gwendolyn Busch
Subject: RE: Invoice — Teen Center

This looks like it should belong to Youth Services — Jason Bartlett, as Engineering does not have funding for the Teen Center.

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From: Bill MacMullen
Sent: Wednesday, January 27, 2016 3:39 PM
To: Jason Bartlett
Subject: Re: Invoice — Teen Center

Jason
I told you this would surface. It will have to wait until I get back. Ed Cherry should be paid for this. I thought I might add it as a change order to the Armory. He did the survey work, but no design.
Bill

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From: Jason Bartlett
Sent: Wednesday, January 27, 2016 3:52 PM
To: Bill MacMullen
Subject: RE: Invoice — Teen Center

Yes you told me you were paying him through another project.

jb

On March 1, 2016, MacMullen let Bartlett know that Jacobs, the Escape contractor from New Birth Construction, wasn’t responding to texts because because he was busy working on a project in Bridgeport.

“I really want to get this project going or we’ll never get it open,” MacMullen wrote. ​“I know you want Maverick on this project, I’ll do whatever to get him involved, but we need to start getting work done out there.”

On May 10, city Purchasing Agent Michael Fumiatti chastised Bartlett for asking the city to rush through a purchase order to pay for for Jacobs’s work.

“I will approve this,” Fumiatti wrote, ​“however, this is not the way to run a project (I have previously relayed this to your staff) — this should have been formally bid out and it should have been a contract — PLEASE do not ask me to sign any more POs in this manner.”

Later that day, MacMullen pressed Bartlett to clarify Jacobs’s position on the project and to lay out a clear budget. ​“I want to make this successful for you,” he wrote, ​“you have to let us.”

MacMullen asked Bartlett if Jacobs had a contract to oversee teenage construction work for the Escape.

“If he doesn’t have a contract, he can’t get paid,” MacMullen wrote. ​“That’s a problem. The project needs someone there every day in order to get it done.

“He has a contract,” Bartlett replied, ​“that needs to work thru the system. It is with Job Corp and or Youth. If Job Corp. is not going to participate we need to innovate and get youth as part of it so its in keeping with the contract.”

On June 24 at 10:34 a.m., Jacobs sent MacMullen an invoice for work performed on behalf of Triad Construction at the Escape Teen Center.

That work, which totaled $3,200 at a rate of $40 per hour per person for 40 hours of work, included the removal of 40-foot duct work from over head, removal of 60 feet of ridget 15-inch pipe, removal of 80 feet of 15 flexible duct work, removal of 30 hanger supporting duct work, and removal of three gas forced air ceiling heaters.

Later that afternoon, Jacobs emailed Shay Atluru of the engineering consulting firm DTC with another payment request.

“Please be advised I was inform by Mr. Jason Bartlett to bill Triad for the work done and Triad is to bill the city also,” he wrote. ​“Am I able to pick up a check today please respond by text because I am leaving for Hartford.”

Ray forwarded that email to MacMullen with nothing more in the body than a confused, ​“Huh????”

“No,” MacMullen subsequently wrote to Bartlett. ​“Maverick was hired to do DEMOLITION, and took out the permit to do that. He must bear the cost of that scope of work. If however you do want Triad to bear that cost, prepare for a large, expensive Change Order. The ductwork was always to go. Pay Maverick for this. It will be less expensive.”

Bartlett replied that Triad had done $35,000 worth of demolition. ​“How is it that I should not pay Maverick for demolition for that work thru Triad contract????” he wrote. ​“Please see me in person.”

“Jason,” MacMullen replied, ​“The work Maverick did will be paid and a credit due from Triad. Maverick expected a check the same day he billed. That can’t happen. Triad’s work is eligible for CDBG funding, a credit to cover Maverick’s work can be processed to collect thru Triad. I have to have paperwork to reconcile. Maverick can’t expect instant payments. Another reason I need to see an accounting of funds paid out and existing contracts. Bill”

From: Bill MacMullen
Sent: Tuesday, July 19, 2016 3:41 PM
To: Jason Bartlett
Subject: Kamco‑7 – 19-16.pdf

Hi apparently Maverick was buying more than the ceiling tiles at Kamco on the Library’s account. That was NOT authorized. We are going to have to transfer funds to the library to cover this. We can talk about it tomorrow. I’ve just spent two hours with M Okafor and I’m worn out and in no mood to do anything right now. Bill

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From: Jason Bartlett
Sent: Tuesday, July 19, 2016 3:43 PM
To: Bill MacMullen
Subject: Kamco‑7 – 19-16.pdf

As long as I get an account number we can transfer the money.

JB

On Oct. 23, MacMullen told Bartlett that he wanted to start closing out Triad’s contract after they finished installing a new HVAC unit to replace the three existing burned out units at the Orchard Street property.

“Terminating the balance of their contract after this invoice will save us +$45k, more than enough to cover the new unit plus surplus $,” he wrote.

“I really need the Narrative on Senior Capital to get go ahead to transfer that money,” Bartlett replied. ​“If I don’t move the money I can’t keep Maverick on the job.”

On Dec. 2, MacMullen wrote with great frustration to Bartlett about a transformer at the Orchard Street property blowing out while he was out of the office for the day.

“There was an incident today that I believe was intentionally kept from me,” MacMullen wrote. ​“I am fed up with the incompetence on this project. From people you control. We need to talk on Monday first thing. I have to find out these things while I am out sick? I’m really pissed Jason. Please pay attention to this.”

Bartlett responded that he had told City Engineer Giovanni Zinn about the problem, and said that nothing had been intentionally kept from MacMullen.

On Dec. 17, MacMullen asked Bartlett if the $100,000 capital budget transfer from engineering to youth services for the Escape project was ever made.

It was, Bartlett replied.

He then wrote that Gwendolyn Bush Williams, the Youth Services’ department’s business manager, ​“may have givendor [sp.] Maverick money on last PO from CDBG and she may be switching other stuff to it when told it was eligible. I have to see what she s up to. Also, I alwas [sp.] knew we needed Migdalia transfer to get Mavericks last contract. She may have already booked some of this stuff on PO. I need to see what was freed from Triad.”

“I didn’t mean to be off putting,” MacMullen responded, ​“but ALL CDBG funds get audited as standard procedure. I know for a fact that I have not signed off on over $300K of invoices. I don’t want YOU, this project it or ME to get a black eye. This is a great project, we knew from day one that it was underfunded, but we need to have realistic updates on everything. Gwen once told me she was paying capital invoices out of operations money. How can all of this been expended? Did the new van come out of it?”

“Nothing came out of CDBG but the Teen Center,” Bartlett replied. ​“I mean really Bill. Gwen is 10x more anal then me. And both of us value our relationships and careers. We ll figure it out Monday”

On Dec. 22, MacMullen received copies of Escape-specific financial spreadsheets from Jean Iannuzzi, the city’s CDBG financial analyst auditor.

“First off,” he wrote to Iannuzzi, cc’ing Busch on this email, ​“I can see direct purchases of materials that I did not approve, Kamco and Sherwin Williams are two. There should have been requests for purchase and not just ​‘open access buys’.”

Busch and then Bartlett responded by saying that all of the purchases were on behalf of the teen center. ​“I’m not going to quibble with you thru email about the Sherwin Williams and Camco purchases but surprised you would question or act like you don’t know about these things all the same,” Bartlett wrote later that afternoon.

From: Bill MacMullen
Date: December 23, 2016 8:02 AM
To: Jason Bartlett
Subject: Re: Teen Center

Jason
I am not quibbling and the expenditures are for the Teen Center. Others(ie: Alders, Liz Smith, Daryl Jones, CDBG Feds), could and probably WILL ask for a recapitulation of what the funds were spent on. I need to have a clear understanding of that, even IF we had plenty of funding, not just because we have an overall shortfall. Gwen caused me some concern when she said the other day to me ​‘that I have to look out for myself with this’, why would she have said that? I wondered.
I don’t want her, you, myself, and especially the project to have doubts cast on us collectively.
We need to start working as a team.
My first question: did the $100K from Engineering ever get transferred to Youth Services? Yes or No?
Let’s meet next week and come up with a strategy to get more funding.
Knowing how th einitial funds were spent will be helpful in crafting how we can obtain more to complete the job.
Let’s work together.

Bill

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From: Jason Bartlett
Sent: Friday, December 23, 2016 9:00 AM
To: Bill MacMullen
Subject: RE: Teen Center

Yes funds were transferred.

I need 3 of us to meet so that she ll work better with you. I d appreciate that…and I’m going to speak w Mayor still about last convo.

Jb.

On Feb. 21, 2017, City Engineer Giovanni Zinn entered the email exchanges about the Escape, and told MacMullen that funding had run out.

“On the teen center, I believe the project is completely out of funding,” he wrote, ​“so probably all work needs to cease until funding is identified and the building department has completed its analysis. Please provide a list of any outstanding invoices you are aware of, or other outstanding liabilities for the project.”

Bartlett said that the flooring and windows were still outstanding. ​“He’s aware of this,” he wrote about Zinn. ​“We have funds to pay them.”

“He’s quick to want to stop working on this project,” Bartlett continued, ​“but the idea is to determine what amount we need to get Phase one done so the Mayor and Chief of Staff can secure the money.”

On Feb. 23, Zinn confirmed that the project had indeed been put on hold.

From: Giovanni Zinn
Sent: Thursday, February 23, 2017 2:37 PM
To: Jason Bartlett; Bill MacMullen
Cc: Tomas Reyes; Gwendolyn Bush
Subject: The Escape

Hi Bill and Jason,

At this point, we cannot continue any activities at the Escape until further notice. Please provide me a list by the end of the day of any and all contractors, suppliers, vendors, or any others you have any knowledge are working on the project. They will be notified to stop work and provide any invoices to date.

We will be working to develop a new plan going forward for finishing the facilities, and managing its operation thereafter.

Please provide a full set of keys to me for the building, and a comprehensive list of who has access to the building.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Giovanni Zinn, P.E.
City Engineer
Engineering Department
City of New Haven

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From: Jason Bartlett
Sent: Thursday, February 23, 2017 3:07 PM
To Giovanni Zinn; Bill MacMullen
Cc: Tomas Reyes; Gwendolyn Busch
Subject: RE: The Escape

Why are you stopping work at the Escape and with no discussion from me?

I don’t agree with this unilateral decision. My understanding from the meeting was for you to come up with a budget to finish the project not try to slow down the project.

By slowing down the project you make everything more difficult.

Until the Mayor, Tomas and all of us have a conversation to make this decision I am not pulling what we have going out of the Escape.

Jason

On March 28, 2017, a year and a half after the mayor and the Bethel church leaders signed the lease for the Escape, former mayoral staffer Rick Melita let Zinn, Bartlett, MacMullen, and Busch know about a mandatory meeting with the mayor concerning the Escape set for the following day.

“Ok,” Bartlett responded in the last email exchange provided to the Independent referencing the project.

Leaky Roof And Falling Tiles

The email archive also covers a number of ongoing maintenance concerns with Bethel’s community outreach center space that the city leases from the church to house the Dixwell Senior Center, and that it planned to use to house the Escape project.

The annual senior center lease grants the city the right to use 3,000 square feet in the community outreach center as well as the building’s ballroom for a total of $47,354, paid in monthly installments of $3,946.16.

According to the lease, the church ​“shall maintain and keep the structure and the roof of the building, including the mechanical systems such as electric, water, sanitation, etc. in good condition and free from trash, inflammable material and other debris.”

Emails from January through June 2019 describe frequent maintenance concerns with the property that led the city to close the Dixwell Senior Center for at least three days during this spring and early summer.

“Urgent panic call from Migdalia [Castro, the city’s elderly services director] this morning about ceiling tiles falling out at Dixwell Senior Center,” MacMullen wrote to Engineering Department staffer Malinda Figueroa on Jan. 22, 2019.

The next day, MacMullen emailed city Chief Administrative Officer Sean Matteson about the building’s history of roof leaks.

“The roof has been leaking at the perimeter of the main room at the Dixwell Senior Center after the recent storm,” he wrote. ​“The water has frozen on the roof, however, rain which leaked in has drenched the ceiling tiles along the perimeter inside causing them to fall out of the ceiling grid. In the past this has been caused by not maintaining cleared roof drains. As the Bethel Church has no ladder to access the roof, no cleaning or inspection takes place. It was recommended that they retain a contractor to inspect and clean out the roof drains twice per year or when necessary. As this is a safety issue, I recommended that Migdalia Castro close the Center until the problem is resolved.”

On Jan. 25, MacMullen wrote to city Community Services Administrator Dakibu Muley, Castro, and Zinn about how he went up on the roof of the building with two Bethel staffers and found ​“numerous voids in the parapet cap that correspond to the leaks below in the Senior Center.”

He also found areas where lead flashing had been pulled away as well as two clogged roof drains. ​“The roofing contractor engaged by the Church will start repairs today,” he wrote.

The senior center reopened four days later, on Jan. 29.

Then, on Feb. 14, city Elderly Services Specialisy Gwendolyn Grady let MacMullen know about a new leak, ​“by the tv and the whole left side” of the senior center.

On March 11, Grady let MacMullen know about still more fallen ceiling panels and ​“water all over the floor.”

“Now that everything is thawing out,” MacMullen responded, ​“we’ll get water leaks. They have to remove the old burned out HVAC unit on the roof to stop the leaks. This they had to wait until warmer weather.”

Later that day, Castro let Bethel Rev. Steven Cousin know that she had canceled transportation and the lunch program for March 11 because of the leaks.

“Can you please tell me time frame when this issue will be resolved. Is unsafe to bring the seniors in this conditions.”

On March 25, Grady brought up still another problem with senior center. ​“There is a bad smell here at the center,” she wrote to Cousin. ​“It smells like sewage back up.”

On May 2, Castro told Muley that she wanted to relocate the Dixwell Senior Center entirely to a new temporary space before its eventual move-in into the new Q House on Dixwell Avenue.

“In addition to this Bethel has not repaired the roof as of yet and they have no money,” she wrote. ​“Bethel has said to Bill [MacMullen] and I that they will repair it when the weather gets better. Twice, I had to close the Center because the roof was leaking. Bill went up the roof and access the situation. Bethel clear out the gutters and place back the tiles. I have the emails of this issue. Bill has been out for a while and I am waiting for home to get back.

“I would like not to continue spending more money there and find another place for the seniors to moved to. Bill says this should have been done when they had the plans for the escape/agreement.”

From: Dakibu Muley
Sent: May 16, 2019 1:48 PM
To: Migdalia Castro
Subject: Re: Follow up from meeting with Dixwell/ Newhallville Senior Center

Good day Migdalia,

Alder Morrison and I met with members of the senior center int he basement of Bethel Church. Initial information provided to me was that there was a laundry list of issues related to the space they utilize. However, upon further discussion with the seniors it boiled down to the following issues:

• There are multiple active leaks up at the new senior space next door to the Escape Center. I was informed these leaks have been an ongoing occurence.
• The female bathroom in the same space above has ongoing issues with the toilet.
• The church basement is always cold and no one has done anything to address this
• Lastly and probably the most concerning are the access stairs to the church basement space. The flight of stairs from the parking lot need repair and are steep, there is concern someone is going to fall and injure themselves. The remote chair on the stair case leading down from the sanctuary to the basement has been broken since January and has been reported.

Alder Morrison and I both suggested that the seniors should convene a meeting with Rev. Cousin on a quarterly or regular basis to discuss issues. Secondly, we reported that you would follow up with them about the issues they raised in order to develop a plan of action. I know from your previous email Migdalia, that you have been working with the senior center regarding issues.

Thanks!

Dr. Dakibu Muley, MSW
Community Services Administrator

On May 29, Grady emailed Castro about still another problem at the senior center.

“Due to the roof is leaking,” she wrote, ​“and smoking water is dropping on electrical components inside of the center, and making a popping noise. I called Migdalia and spoke with her about it, and it is a risk to have the seniors in here, so the center is closed today. Please do something about this ASAP.”

Later that morning, Castro emailed Cousin, and chewed him out for the ongoing disrepair at the complex.

“Months have passed and there has been no repairs,” she wrote. ​“The building is unsafe and today is another example of interrupted programming due to the unsafe conditions.”

Cousin told the Independent that the community outreach center building, a former factory that the church bought in 1992, has long suffered from leaks because of its seven different flat roofs.

The city did a thorough walk-through of the 30,000 square-foot space slated to house the Escape before the mayor signed the lease in 2015, he said, and were aware of the problems with the roof and the need for a new HVAC system. He said the church played no role in pricing out any of the subsequent contractor work for the Escape space.

As for the Dixwell Senior Center space, he said, Bethel staffers have replaced all of the center’s ceiling tiles and have cleared the roof of all leaves and other debris that had led to the drainage problems.

“I personally went inside and was happy to see no more pools of water,” Cousin said, even after the recent spate of rain storms in June July. He committed to being more diligent about cleaning the roof on a regular basis and making sure that no pools of water accumulate on top of the building and then eventually leak into the senior center below.

“It complicates things when you have a flat roof,” he said.

As of now, the city’s contract with Bethel remains, both for the Dixwell Senior Center and for the now-gutted space where the Escape was to have been.

“I know Bethel Church is committed to our youth whether it be a teen center or not,” Cousin said about the still stalled project. ​“The real ones who suffer,” he added about the Escape’s continued delays, ​“are the youth who can’t call any place their home.”

Previous stories about The Escape:

• No Escape?
• More Delays Plague ​“Escape” Youth Center
• Stalled Teen Center Gets An Rx
• Trash Cans Sprout Wings To Keep City Clean
• Youth Center Mired In Delays, Overruns
• Youth Help Build ​“Escape” Youth Center
• ​“Escape” Could Mean ​“Employed” For New Haveners
• Wells Fargo Pitches In For ​“The Escape”
• A ​“Door” Opens To Homeless Teens