Protesters Crash Coffee Klatch At Library

A feel-good event marking the inclusion of a coffeehouse and maker space in the public library morphed into a protest raising the question of who gets to sit in the chairs.

The unscripted debate occurred at the opening celebration Wednesday evening of the new ​“Ives Squared,” a maker space, a collaborative working space and new outpost of the G Café inside the confines of the main library branch on Elm Street.

Social justice activists crashed the event, charging that the new plan represents a form of gentrification by inviting well-heeled library patrons to replace the homeless people who spend their days getting out of the weather and using computers in the library. They further charged that homeless patrons have been kicked out and ultimately banned for minor infractions in the library allegedly to make the new space more palatable for people who can afford to make a purchase at the new café.

City officials stressed Wednesday that the new amenities are for everyone.

The roughly 35 protesters almost didn’t get into the event Wednesday. They were met at the door of the new space by Police Chief Anthony Campbell, who told them they would not be allowed to disrupt the event. When they argued that they had the right to protest and to be allowed into the event, Campbell told them they could hold their signs but again cautioned them to not try to keep the event from happening.

The protesters mostly played by the rules but occasionally broke into chants of ​“Stop banning the homeless!” ​“Housing, not jails!” ​“Shelters not cafes!” and ​“People over profit.”

And when Mayor Toni Harp took the mic, they roundly booed her and at one point attempted to shout her down with the Game of Throne-esque call of ​“Shame! Shame! Shame!”

Harp swung back at the protesters, pointing out that the library is the one place that everyone in the city, regardless of income, can come and have access to technology. That drew big applause from supporters and more chants of ​“Shame!” from the protesters.

“And I want to say another thing,” Harp said as the chants grew louder, ​“I am not ashamed of New Haven. We are the only city in the state of Connecticut that provides over $1 million in our budget for the homeless.”

She said that she also was proud that the library is the place people can come if they’re hot in the summer and cold in the winter. The library also serves as a warming center for the homeless during below-freezing winter days.

City Librarian Martha Brogan also received a round of heckling. She challenged the critics to use the new space in a productive way to address the issue of homelessness suggesting that the library’s new 3D printers could be used to develop prototypes for inexpensive housing.

“You can laugh,” she said, ​“but I believe Holland has just created a community using 3D printing.”

Plans for Ives Squared started to take shape two years ago when the library secured a grant from the Elm City Innovation Collaborative (ECIC), the local arm that controls the $2 million state grant that came into the city through the CTNext Innovation Places Initiative. It represents the way that the public library has evolved in changing times and kept growing.

In addition to Ives Squared the CTNext grant has funded 13 other projects. They include: the Elm City Innovation Collaborative are Collaboratory, Concepts for Adaptive Learning, The District, Economic Development Corporation of New Haven, Gateway Community College, The Grove, Health Haven Hub, Make Haven, Mobile CSP, Science Park Development Corporation, A Small Instrumentation Fund at SCSU, The State House, and Town Green Special Services District.

Activist Norman Clement said given the high use of the downtown library by homeless people, the new café space could have been more useful as a shelter space with showers and other amenities. The protesters said their anger stemmed from a culmination of issues ranging from police interactions with the public to the recent city tax increase and raises for administration officials.

The stepped-up police presence Wednesday caused activists like Kerry Ellington to press Chief Campbell and Assistant Chief Ontoniel Reyes about the ongoing investigation into the controversial arrest of Jerome Richardson. In addition to Campbell and Reyes, Downtown District Manager Lt. Mark O’Neil and six patrol officers also were on hand. Two of the officers present were involved in the arrest of Richardson, who also was at Wednesday’s event.

Ellington said neither she nor Richardson has had any follow up with Internal Affairs other than a letter she received a few days ago. She said the group is losing faith in the police department’s promise to take the investigation of the incident seriously. Richardson, meanwhile, is seeking a legal remedy in the courts. Though a jury recently handed a big victory to police in the resolution of an accusation of false arrest, Ellington said she and Richardson have hope that a court would see his arrest differently.

Reyes said the investigation into the Richardson arrest is ongoing and the department is looking into every aspect of the complaint.

“We understand that emotions are high,” he said. ​“Our job is to be neutral and to make sure that everybody’s rights are protected whether it’s in Starbucks or the library. The library has the right to conduct its normal business and they have the right to use the library.”

Brogan said after the event that library would be the perfect place to host a town hall to address many of the concerns that people raised Wednesday. She also noted that the vast majority of the library is open to the public . The new cafe is a public-private partnership that will help the library provide more services, she said.

Activist Clement said he’d like to have that meeting. Meanwhile, a petition will be circulating to reinstate banned homeless patrons.

Click the Facebook Live videos below of the Ives Squared protest and opening ceremony.