The State Of The City Is … Onward!

Two weeks into an onslaught of federal policy upheavals and funding threats, New Haven is still tackling problems that long precede Donald J. Trump. 

That dual focus emerged from Mayor Justin Elicker’s annual State of the City address in the Board of Alders Chamber on Monday night.

Alders, journalists, city employees, and a handful of civically-minded residents filled the room to hear Elicker’s speech.

As with previous years’ addresses, the mayor touted his administration’s accomplishments the year before.

He celebrated a crackdown on unsafe housing conditions, a 25 percent decrease in shootings in 2024, an impending policy restricting cell phones in schools, a long-awaited police contract expected to help with retention and recruitment, and expansions in vocational and technical educational opportunities, among other developments.

He reported that more than 1,000 new apartments became available last year, over 40 percent of which are being rented below the market rate.

And there’s more building yet to do, Elicker argued. 

“Just like when there is not enough oil available, the price of gas goes up, or when there aren’t enough eggs in production, the price of eggs goes up: When there isn’t enough housing, the price of housing goes up. And this is untenable for our residents,” he said.

He set a new goal for the city of building 10,000 new housing units — ​“with at least 30 percent of those units affordable” — within 10 years.

The housing affordability crisis was one long-brewing challenge that Elicker addressed — along with persistent gun violence, climate change, and insufficient educational resources (which Elicker argued should be funded by the state), among others.

The mayor warned that the city’s efforts to combat these challenges are at risk of losing funding under the Trump administration.

“They will try to force us to choose between eliminating our Black and brown contractor and entrepreneurship programs or lose significant funding that benefits all in our community,” he said. ​“Or a choice to either allow a young transgender athlete to play high school sports or lose massive amounts of school funding that all our students rely on for success. Or a choice to co-opt our police department to hunt down good, hard-working, community members who also happen to be immigrants or lose public safety funding that will make our community more dangerous.”

“You see, these choices, they are created by design,” he continued. ​“They are intended to divide us – to pit one group of us against the other. We won’t let that happen. To the Trump Administration: New Haven stands together.”

Exactly how New Haven will stand together — and navigate potential choices that Elicker called ​“impossible and unethical” — remains to be seen.

In the meantime, the city’s federally-funded housing inspectors will check tenants’ homes for unsafe conditions. City planners will draft zoning regulations and public health staff will prepare for the next pandemic. Teachers will help their students solve math equations, explore manufacturing careers, and learn English as a second language. 

For now, the state of the city is marching on.

See below for the full text of the mayor’s address.

Mayor Elicker's 2025 State Of The City Address

Good evening, President Walker-Myers, members of the New Haven Board of Alders, fellow New Haven residents, and guests. It’s good to be together again to provide an update on the state of our city.

While I always feel proud of our city, at this moment in time I feel particularly proud of New Haven. We are tackling difficult challenges with the thoughtfulness that each challenge requires. We are working together, as a team – from the mayor’s office to the Board of Alders to our state and federal delegations, to members of our community – to ensure we make progress toward our shared vision where everyone in our city has the opportunity to thrive.

And perhaps most importantly in this moment, we are firm in our resolve to defend our shared values – a city that welcomes everyone, a city that supports people looking for a second chance, a city that sees the potential in someone when they may not yet have seen it yet in themselves, and a city that stands up to those outside of our community who try to divide us. Don’t you feel proud of our city?

Housing

I want to go back to a year ago and my last state of the city address, which, first of all I think we all can agree was quite long. We’ve tried to trim things back a bit tonight.

I emphasized housing as you’ll recall – and we have made so much progress since then.

This past year, New Haven once again led the state with over 500 new housing permits. New housing is being built in every neighborhood all over the city. When other municipalities say no growth or no affordable housing in my backyard – we open our doors, say come on over, build in New Haven, and be a part of our diverse community.

Together, this past year we’ve brought over 1,000 new housing units online – with over 40 percent of them affordable.

And we’re seeing many long-term, affordable housing developments that are deeply important to the neighborhoods in which they reside, start to come to fruition.

The Beulah Land Development Corporation project on Dixwell Avenue (in Alder Streater’s ward). Beacon Communities project on State Street, the former New Haven Coliseum Site (Alder Rodriguez), the Residences at Canal Place (Alder Morrison), the beautifully renovated Valley Townhomes in West Rock (Alder Smith), ConnCAT Place on Dixwell Avenue and Winchester Green in Science Park (Alder Streater), and in Madame President’s very own ward Cofield Estates is coming online soon and we broke ground on the Monarch Apartments too.

And that’s just the beginning. We have over 7,000 new units in the pipeline and over 25 percent of those are affordable or deeply affordable. From Union Square to State and George Street to the old Strong School on Grand Avenue, the list goes on. Our development team lead by Mike Piscitelli and Arlevia Samuel is rocking it at a time when interest rates have been at a nearly 25-year high.

New Haven is growing. And let’s be ambitious: by 2034, as we journey towards being a city of 150,000 people and to ensure affordable housing for our residents, let’s set a goal here today to building 10,000 new units of housing with at least 30 percent of those units affordable. 10,000 in ten years. I know we can do it!

I want to be clear why growth is so important. The state needs 110,000 new housing units to meet just the current demand, according to a new statewide report commissioned by the state legislature that was released this past week. If we do not increase the number of housing units available, then, because there are so many people in need of housing, the price of our existing housing will go up and up and up.

Just like when there is not enough oil available, the price of gas goes up, or when there aren’t enough eggs in production, the price of eggs goes up – when there isn’t enough housing, the price of housing goes up. And this is untenable for our residents. Residents who are on fixed incomes like our seniors or who are struggling just to pay their current rent, will be pushed out of their homes. In other words, if we do nothing, if we don’t build, our residents will suffer greatly. That is why we must grow – so that we can keep housing affordable in our city.

As you may recall, in addition to inclusive growth, I also talked in my last state of the city address about landlord accountability. Our residents deserve to live in affordable, safe, healthy, and high-quality homes. And man, we’ve come a long way.

With the help of all of you, Wildaliz Bermudez, Liam Brennan, and members of the Fair Rent Commission and Livable City Initiative teams, we have not only put absentee landlords on notice, but we’ve brought them to account. If you are a landlord that takes care of your property, we are grateful for your work in our city. If you are a landlord that doesn’t take care of your property, we’re coming for you.

We’ve reinvigorated our housing code enforcement efforts. We focused the Livable City Initiative’s work on inspections and expanded LCI’s capacity and capabilities to get the job done for our residents. We’re adding more housing inspectors, streamlining LCI’s processes and turnaround time, and have enacted new legislation that increases the potential fines for serious health and safety violations at non-compliant properties. Now, instead of a one-time $250 slap on the wrist – which was laughed off as merely the cost of doing business – we’ve increased fines to up to $2,000 per day. And guess what? It’s working.

On top of that, I look forward to the Board of Alders sending to my desk new legislation that will strengthen our tenants’ union ordinance – lowering the organizing threshold from 10 units per property to 5 units. This will enable residents in 24,000 units citywide to have the option of forming a tenants’ union. And, in the same legislation, we’re going to strengthen tenants’ protections against landlord retaliation like unfair rent increases and prematurely ending leases that unnecessarily leave families scrambling to find a roof over their head.

And, for our residents who are struggling the most to find housing and are currently unhoused – with numbers climbing both locally and nationally – we built even more supports and will continue to extend compassion, care, and services to help residents get back on their feet. Whether it’s the opening of the new REST Center in Edgewood that provides someone in their moment of crisis a place to go – or whether it’s adding yet another eighth shelter on Grand Avenue run by Upon This Rock Ministries. New Haven does more than any other city in Connecticut to help those who are unhoused. And, thank you, Alder Hamilton and Alder Cupo, for your ward’s hospitality and for courageously and compassionately saying ​“YIMBY” and not ​“NIMBY” to our most vulnerable residents.

Housing is so important, and we need to ensure that New Haven continues to be a place where people want to live. We need safe streets, a growing local economy, good schools that connect our students to those career opportunities, vibrant communities, and a high quality of life for our residents.

Public safety

Our first responders – police, fire, PSAP, medical – are working around the clock to keep our residents and communities safe. Our 9 – 1‑1 call center fielded over 140,000 calls last year – deploying police, fire, medical, and Elm City COMPASS personnel into crisis situations. People calling for help – often in one of the worst and scariest moments of their lives – and our first responders rising to the occasion time and time again to protect, support, and care for our residents in their moment of need.

Thanks to the hard work and dedication of our police department and public safety partners, violent crime and gun violence continue to decline in the Elm City.

Last year, the overall number of firearm-related incidents – fatal shootings, non-fatal shootings and shots fired – declined by nearly 25 percent. Over the last five years, it’s declined by over 31 percent.

Our multi-pronged approach to gun violence is working. Community-based policing. State-of-the-art technology. Violence prevention and interruption programs. And community resources to support individuals experiencing life changes, challenges, and traumas. All are contributing to our successes.

And after a local and nationwide spike in property crime – specifically motor vehicle theft and often the dangerous joy riding of those vehicles – those numbers are now on the decline as well. This past year, we reduced motor vehicle thefts by 15 percent.

Now, while we are making a lot of progress, let’s not sugar coat things – we’ve got a lot more work to do – to confront gun violence, to ensure our young people have both opportunity and appropriate accountability, and to ensure our neighborhoods are safe.

More help is on the way!

Our new police contract will enable us to retain our current officers, attract new ones, and expand the overall ranks of the department. That means more walking beats, bike bikes, and stronger bonds with the community. The contract is already working: more officers are staying at the NHPD, and more people want to join their ranks. Nearly 30 officers were expected to retire or leave the department at the end of 2024, but instead 22 stayed on with the NHPD.

We’re also getting closer to the goal of installing 500 new cameras across the city – critical technology that’s helping our police stop and solve crimes. Like the sexual predator who assaulted a woman while she was jogging at Edgewood Park, where a combination of different cameras provided critical evidence that helped positively identify the suspect who was then linked to a second sexual assault – a cold case from 2018. That predator is now off the streets and will soon face his next day in court. Or the two individuals who shot four people on Halloween – thanks to newly installed cameras, arrests were made that same night. Over 300 cameras have been installed already, with an additional 20 to 25 coming online every month.

This year, we’ll begin to install new red light and speed safety cameras near a number of our schools and some of our most dangerous intersections. This will help deter dangerous driving and hold individuals accountable who recklessly put our children and residents at risk. Thank you, Alder Wingate, for your leadership on this important issue.

We’ve also strengthened our collaboration with our neighboring municipalities and the Connecticut State Police with the establishment of our Joint Regional Task Force on Auto Theft. Working together, ten cities and towns assign dedicated officers to participate in regular meetings, share information and intelligence, coordinate joint operations to apprehend individuals stealing cars. and connect young people to services and supports that help redirect them from this behavior. Since the task force launched in October, they have recovered 43 stolen vehicles, made 68 arrests, and seized 18 firearms – and this collaboration is just getting started.

And, once again, we’ll be leading the charge at the state capitol to provide municipalities with more enforcement tools and larger fines to address illegal dirt bikes, ATVs, and street takeovers. Last year, it passed the State House – and this year, we’re going to redouble our efforts to make sure it passes the State Senate too.

Economy

Shifting gears to our local economy, New Haven continues to be a destination of choice for new businesses, a hub for growing industries, and a driver of the innovation economy that is powering our future.

A couple months ago, we topped off the construction at the new neuroscience center at Yale New Haven Hospital. As you’ll recall, this was an agreement penned by Madame President, Mayor Toni Harp, and hospital CEO Marna Borgstrom. An $838 million, 500,000 square foot facility and transformational investment for our city. In addition to providing state-of-the-art medical care for New Haven residents, the center will also strengthen the city as a hub for advancements and innovation in medicine and science. And, of course, it’s providing hundreds of construction jobs and new permanent jobs upon completion.

And this year, we anticipate breaking ground on the new bioscience building at the former coliseum site. A $200 million, 200,000 square foot medical / lab building that will house early stage and established life sciences companies engaged in cutting-edge research and development.

For some, it’s hard to see how this growth in biosciences and life sciences impacts the lives of our residents. I’d like to take a moment to explain why it’s so important. First, of course, we know about the importance of the construction jobs. But we’re interested in long-term jobs too.

Our kids should see themselves working inside these buildings – as future lab technicians, scientists, innovators. That’s why this year we launched BioCity – a New Haven Public School classroom inside 101 College Street. New Haven Public School students are learning from instructors from Southern Connecticut State University and Gateway Community College, in spaces alongside scientists that are discovering cutting-edge medical advancements. And, third, 100 College Street – the city’s first significant bioscience construction project – pays over $5.6 million in taxes ever year. For comparison, our library budget is around $5.4 million. The taxes from that one building are the equivalent of the entirety of our library budget! As the building next door, 101 College Street, phases in, it will pay a comparable amount of taxes too.

New Haven’s bioscience and life science sector isn’t just providing more opportunities for New Haven residents, but it’s helping drive our budget – critical for paying for many of the important services that we in this room want to deliver to our community.

And, of course, while we continue to welcome growth from the neuroscience, life and bioscience, and quantum industries, we know the heartbeat of our local economy will always be our small businesses. We now have nearly 700 active small businesses located across the city. There are so many local gems to shop at, eat at, and enjoy – which is why we’re always encouraging folks to shop small and shop local! We have some incredible anniversaries this year – 100 years at Frank Pepe’s Pizzeria, 50 years at Claire’s Corner Copia, 25 years at Lalibela Ethiopian Restaurant. And, of course, many other small businesses are brand new.

Whether you’re a start-up or scaling business, the city’s Small Business Resource Center is constantly working to support our local entrepreneurs to provide free business classes, one-on-one small business counseling, technical assistance, access to capital, and networking and mentorship opportunities.

In fact, working in partnership with the Community Foundation for Greater New Haven and the Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development, we’ve supported almost 400 small businesses since our new partnership began – with a particular focus on our historically marginalized Black, brown, and female entrepreneurs.

We also show businesses that New Haven is a good place to invest and grow by demonstrating we have the city’s own fiscal house in order. And I’m so proud of the work we’ve done together, taking our city from the financial brink to a position of greater financial strength that exists today: delivering five straight years of balanced budgets and three straight years of bond rating increases from independent financial rating agencies. Together, we’re ensuring our budget reflects our values, provides residents with the essential city services they need today, and protects the city’s long-term financial health in the future. A special thank you to Finance Committee Chair Marchand for your partnership and steady hand at the wheel.

Education

Last year, I mentioned that in New Haven we have a promise that kids who choose to can go to college – but that we also need a promise so that every child has a pathway to success, no matter what they do.

That’s why we’re aggressively expanding our career pathways program at New Haven Public Schools. NHPS now offers 18 different industry certifications to students – because we know that exploring career opportunities motivates students to attend school and succeed academically.

I’ve already talked about BioCity, but there is more. This year, we’ll be opening a new manufacturing lab and program at Hillhouse High School. Through a unique blend of academic learning and hands-on experience, students will soon have the opportunity to jumpstart their post-secondary education by earning 22 college credits while also gaining industry-certifications for high-demand jobs within the manufacturing sector. The goal: create a seamless pathway from education to employment so that upon high school graduation, our young people are workforce-ready and in a position to excel in today’s competitive job market. Alder Hogan, ​“Whose House?” Hillhouse!

By the way, did you know that New Haven Public Schools currently offers 42 concurrent enrollment courses, where students study with NHPS teachers who are certified to teach college-level courses and get college credit? This number is up from 11 such courses a few years ago.

And our team continues to make steady progress on the vision of a vocational school in New Haven – and we have our sites on the Goffe Street Armory as a potential home for such a school. I know this is important to so many of you in this room as it is to me. We’re excited at the potential such a school can have for so many of our young people.

And while at school, no matter what they are studying, we want our kids focused and learning. We don’t want them distracted by their cell phones, social media, texting, and other nonsense. Beginning this spring all elementary and middle schools will be cell phone free for our students – and this fall, all high schools will be cell phone free. Thank you to the schools that piloted the cell phone free spaces and for sharing your experiences, thank you to the alders for approving the funding needed to help support this initiative, and thank you to Dr. Negrón for leading this charge.

While our students are beginning to make academic gains again after the pandemic, we know we still have a lot of work to do and a long way to go. Many of our students are struggling, many young people are disconnected from school and the workforce, and many of our educators are burnt out. We have got to give our students, teachers, and schools the resources and support they need so that all our learners can thrive.

As a city, we’ve put out money where our mouth is and I’m grateful to this body for all your support in this effort. Our city has increased our local contribution to our schools by 50 percent over the last five years. Meanwhile, aside from one-time covid spending, the state’s spending to public schools hasn’t even kept up with inflation. Can you think of anything that hasn’t gone way up in cost over the last ten years? I can’t.

Our city is doing its part, and we need the state to do its part. That’s why, we’re helping to lead the charge alongside other municipalities to urge the state to increase its funding to schools – particularly Connecticut’s high-needs students – which represents over 80 percent of New Haven’s student population. Our delegation has been heroes when it comes to bringing more funds to our city. We need to see Governor Lamont and the General Assembly take a bold step to actually provide an appropriate amount of funding to public schools so that students have a true opportunity to an equal education.

High quality of life and vibrant communities

Housing, public safety, education – in each of these areas we’ve made incredible progress together, and we have more work to do. And we have much more work to do in many other areas as well.

Confronting climate change at a time when federal leadership is non-existent.

Ensuring safe streets for pedestrians, cyclists, and other users.

Creating beautiful welcoming spaces for all our residents:

• a new alameda along Blatchley Street,
• a Grander Grand Avenue,
• a Long Wharf Park and waterfront that wows our residents and has something for everyone to enjoy,
• a New Haven Green that invites even more positive activity and amenities,
• a new bathhouse and playground at Lighthouse Point Park,
• a new Youth and Community Center on Trowbridge Square,
• a new community center abutting our Adult Education Center on Bassett Street,
• The list goes on.

We’ve made so much progress, but we have work to do.

Conclusion

Every new year brings new opportunities and new challenges. Some are anticipated and known – others are unknown.

Undoubtedly, 2025 will be a year of challenges. There are challenges we are certain of – centered around housing, public safety, ensuring equal opportunity to education, financial challenges.

But what has been on all our minds, especially in these past two weeks, is this new challenge we face – one that will bring incredible uncertainty and instability.

The Trump Administration will attempt to test our values and threaten to cut funding from programs that our residents – particularly our most vulnerable – deeply rely on, in an attempt to force us to compromise our embrace of all members of our community.

We will be presented with impossible and unethical choices. They will try to force us to choose between eliminating our Black and brown contractor and entrepreneurship programs or lose significant funding that benefits all in our community. Or a choice to either allow a young transgender athlete to play high school sports or lose massive amounts of school funding that all our students rely on for success. Or a choice to co-opt our police department to hunt down good, hard-working, community members who also happen to be immigrants or lose public safety funding that will make our community more dangerous. You see, these choices, they are created by design. They are intended to divide us – to pit one group of us against the other. We won’t let that happen.

To the Trump Administration, New Haven stands together. Because let’s be clear, this is America. The diversity in this room is America. The Lunar New Year festival that we enjoyed this past weekend, where hundreds of residents came together to celebrate our Asian American community – that is America. The IRIS Run for Refugees next weekend, where hundreds will come together to support our country’s long-standing tradition of welcoming people from countries in conflict – that is America. The Juneteenth Celebration on the New Haven Green, where we acknowledge and own the truth about our history – that is America. The Puerto Rican Festival, the Pride Festival, the Italian American Festival, Saint Patrick’s Day Parade, the fact that yes, we can have a menorah, a Kwanzaa sign, and a Christmas tree standing next to each other on our New Haven Green – that is America.

New Haven is America.

And while we will be tested and we will have to make difficult decisions, as a community, we will not waiver from our values. We will proudly stand as one.

Madame President, Alders, and my fellow residents, in these difficult times, I’m so grateful and proud to live in this city we all call home. We have much work ahead of us, but I’m confident we are ready for the year 2025, whatever it may bring, because we are united together, working toward a city where everyone has the opportunity to thrive.