Lucy Gellman | Arts Paper photo
Angel Dahfay: Ready to "activate" the Green.
More signs with more history and more accessible storytelling about our nearly 400-year-old national historic landmark are coming to the New Haven Green in the next month or two.
That news emerged from an interview with Angel Dahfay, who is the manager of public programming and activation for the New Haven Green.
Improved signage is one of the developments emerging from an ongoing municipal discussion about larger changes to the Green occasioned, in part, by a $4.6 million, street- and bus route-improvement grant.
It foresees adding crosswalks to Temple Street to try to knit upper and lower sections of the Green together, and to add features to adapt the Green to become more of an engaging destination, less a walk-through, and to do so in a manner consistent with the space’s historical integrity, its values, and its design.
Born in Liberia and raised in West Haven, Dahfay’s first interactions with the Green came about as a commuter. Bus connections to and from Southern Connecticut State University, from which she graduated in 2019, often landed her waiting for buses and enjoying the easy centrality of the place.
“Sometimes I would just sit on the grass, stay around, a really great place to be and also to meet people,” she said.
Dahfay, who runs her own events planning business, Sweets and Sounds, was hired by the Proprietors of the New Haven Green in the summer of 2024 (although technically she’s an employee of the International Festival of Arts & Ideas).
She scored an immediate success with First Night, a 2 p.m. to 7 p.m. festival of activities on the day of New Year’s Eve that drew close to a thousand people to a slide, carousels, face painting, ice sculpting and other family-friendly activities.
As an organizer of events on the Green, she said she is “super excited” about the changes contemplated to make it a better gathering space. “My hope is that they make it more accessible and engaging.”
Asked for reaction to some of the specific proposals percolating, such as a permanent or semi permanent stage, and the more controversial idea of bathrooms on the Green, Dahfay responded: “From a programming and activation standpoint I feel a stage is a good idea. We have a huge music scene. People can come with their instruments and give free shows.
“That’s one idea and the conversation about adding bathrooms to the Green, that is another, an important one. It would enhance experience but it needs to be approached thoughtfully about design and maintenance, and how it would fit into the Green. The goal should be to enhance the space without disrupting its character or functionality.”
The same issues, she said, pertain to a playscape because such an apparatus is welcoming for all ages. However, she was at pains to add that design should be “intentional and reflect the Green’s legacy while also being interactive and innovative. There are lots of logistical factors. The key is to find a balance.”
I asked Dahfay about her job title — director of programming and activation — and if and how one goal is different from another.
“They’re closely related, but different” she answered. “Programming refers to these structured events, concerts, festivals that engage the community. Activation, on the other hand, is broader, more wholistic. It’s about life, energy, and engagement year round and beyond scheduled events.
“Activation considers how people interact daily, how the Green ‘feels’ to them, how the Green becomes a place where people want to gather. In my role I focus on both, curating intentional programming while ensuring that the Green is constantly welcoming.”
And to that activation end, she added that she likes “public art installations, and more seating areas. [Currently we have] the fountain and benches, but something more prominent [might be a good idea] to give people a reason to stay on the Green.”
And that’s where new signage comes in too. “There’s room for improvement,” Dafahy said, with the current offerings.
According to the Historical Marker Database for New Haven, the Green has eight signs, including two larger welcoming historical summaries at two main entrances, one off Church Street and City Hall and the second as you enter from the corner of Elm and Temple across from the library.
At least half of the eight are smallish markers, several hardly legible on beaten up granite and clustered on, around, or in back of Center Church noting the establishment of the first meeting house, the leading founders like Theophilus Eaton, the presence of the Quinnipiac (a few words on the pediment of Center Church) on the land before European settlers, and a marker noting the presence of a graveyard behind the church.
Along the long rectangular patch of dirt at the east side of the Green facing City Hall there is also a marker noting how Eli Whitney brought the first water to the Green in the 1860s, and there’s also a plaque celebrating a renovation campaign for the Green in the 1980s.
But all of these must be sought out, as the intention was to commemorate, not to teach and educate and it’s all a bit of a hodgepodge assembled over the years.
Most glaringly absent is signage on the long diagonal pathways where most people spend their time transiting the Green. That’s why new signage that tells the impressive story of the Green as a witness to so much New Haven and national history is welcome news.
Dahfay said that the Proprietors have long been planning signage changes and now, with the coming of the semisquincentennial of American independence in 2026, the timing feels just right.
The major events to expect on the Green between now and the end of the year, she said, include:
May 10: Wake Up The Green, sponsored by the New Haven Garden Club, that feature, re-enactment of the Powder House drama, rides, vendors, games, and family friendly pop ups all day.
June 14 – 28: Arts & Ideas Festival
Summer “activations” including rides, music, jazz nights, fitness classes, lots of community involvement, details to be determined.
Aug. 9: The Puerto Rican Festival and, on Aug. 16, Black Wall Street
December: Holiday Tree Lighting and the second edition of First Night, New Haven, a family friendly day of New Year’s Eve.
See below for other recent articles about the Green.
• View From The Hub: Concerns & Satisfaction
• The Once & Future Green: A Timeline
• Green Conservancy Debuts
• Town Green: Make That Doughnut A Danish
• Green Proprietor: “We Are Not The Committee Of ‘No’ ”
• City Historian: The Green’s Constant Is Change, & “Public Good”
• Prof/Filmmaker: The Green’s Not Just About Fun
• Green Remakers Face Grave Question
• Big Changes Eyed For The Green
Signs of the times.