The Public Speaks

Jobs. Education. Climate change mitigation. Libraries. Housing. Traffic safety.

The Board of Alders Finance Committee heard over 50 last-minute pitches for more funding for these critical needs as they wrap up their review of next year’s city budget.

Thursday marked the third and final public hearing on Mayor Justin Elicker’s proposed $662.7 million general fund budget for Fiscal Year 2023 – 24 (FY24), which starts July 1. The Board of Alders Finance Committee-hosted meeting — held in-person in the Aldermanic Chamber on the second floor of City Hall — marked the last opportunity for members of the public to offer in-person testimony in support of their visions for how the city should spend its resources next fiscal year.

Unlike at the first two public hearings on the budget, roughly 100 people filled the Board of Alders’ chambers on Thursday. They carried elaborate signs, props, and heartfelt stories. They testified for hours.

The six excerpts of public testimony below are just some of the words shared during the six-hour-long meeting. They represent the six most common causes for which members of the public advocated Thursday night.

Together, the testimony reflects a city facing urgent and interconnected crises — most of which, advocates argued, will require far more funding to meaningfully address.

"Our One Job As Adults Is To Make Children Safe."

Cameo Thorne has worked as a New Haven Public Schools teacher for 23 years, including as the restorative practices program director. She joined fellow members of the New Haven Federation of Teachers in calling on the Board of Alders to issue as much funding for public schools as possible.

This year, the mayor has proposed increasing funding for the Board of Education from $195,263,784 to $203,263,784. The school system receives much of its funding from the state.

Our one job as adults is to make children safe and to take care of them and I think we’re failing at that. I’m not blaming anybody because I understand it’s complicated, I really do. But when I say we’re failing — they come to school scared. They come to school feeling like the world is unsteady. And we do too.

I want to tell you a story about our first day back from Covid. I was at Wilbur Cross High School. There were three fights that broke out that day. Three different fights, not connected. 

Each one of the children I talked to were involved. The first one came to me and said, ​“Well, we had to fight here, because if it had happened at East Rock Park, somebody could have ended up dead.” And in all the years I’ve worked here, no teenager has ever admitted that to me, although I know sometimes kids bring their fights to us because it’s the safest place to fight. So I thought, ​‘Oh, that’s weird.’ The next fight — same comment, different kid. Third fight, same comment. …

And of course, what we did was we sent them home. They came to the safest place they knew and we sent them home because we don’t have the ability to meet their needs — not with the staffing we have, not with the money we have. There are many needs. Housing. Food shortage. Neighborhoods that don’t feel safe. … They come to school hoping that we will provide safety for them and then we don’t, because we can’t meet all those needs that make them feel safe. …

We have to have extra people to work with kids who are in crisis in the moment. The extra help to work with kids who maybe just need a space to be. … I would like to see in-school support rooms, not in-school suspension rooms. So that when a kid comes in, we can say, ​“What do you need from us in order to be in class, in order to be here every day, in order to do your work, in order to feel calm, in order to feel safe?” And then to be able to meet those needs. 

And right now, we can’t do that.

"Don't Let Climate Change Become An English Station."

Kiana Flores spoke among fellow members of the New Haven Climate Movement, which Flores has been a part of since she was a student at Cooperative Arts and Humanities High School. Flores grew up in New Haven and is now a student at Yale.

The New Haven Climate Movement testifiers advocated for the city to allot an additional $400,000 toward climate initiatives based in the city’s school system. Specifically, they called for New Haven Public Schools to hire an energy coordinator, sustainability coordinator, climate education coordinator, and a grant writer focused on sustainability.

We are in a climate emergency and you as city officials must step up to put out this fire. 

I grew up in Fair Haven, a predominantly Hispanic community with a large immigrant population, where in areas like Grand Avenue, the median household is below the poverty line. This community is no stranger to environmental harm. If you pass by Fair Haven before, you are probably familiar with the English Station building. This coal plant shut down in 1991, before then polluting the surrounding area, placing a heavy burden on the surrounding community. Even now, there are concerns about the environmental toxins that contaminate this neighborhood where people raise their families, where they work and play, where they go to church and where they go to school.

Much like English Station, climate change poses a risk to this community and clearly shows that there is inadequate action to make sure that New Haven prioritizes its communities rather than the convenience of fossil fuels which have played a large role in the climate crisis. I ask that you don’t let climate change become an English station, an issue that sits and lingers, continuously harming our community. Don’t let it become an issue that everyone decides is not their problem. It’s not fair…

Our testimonies are not to say you do not care about these issues. They are to push you to uphold your commitment, the commitment that you made to us and to the greater community, for serious reductions in carbon emissions by 2030 as outlined in the 2019 Climate Emergency Resolution.

"I Still Have A Deep Scar On My Arm."

Paul Garlinghouse was one of several community members to argue that the city should create a new position for an Active Transportation Planner — someone who could coordinate pedestrian and cyclist safety initiatives, including the implementation of the city’s Safe Routes For All plan.

Garlinghouse began by stating his address on Quinnipiac Avenue — and then described how he got to City Hall on Thursday evening from his house by bike.

That’s where I began my journey to your chambers on my bicycle. I’m here, as you might have guessed, about the active transportation planning position. … You may know Quinnipiac Avenue, so you may know my feelings as I boldly proceed onto Quinnipiac Ave from my home. It’s effing terrifying, OK? Those cars are going sometimes 50, 60 miles per hour and sometimes they seem to want to kill me. But that’s where I’m supposed to ride. 

So I do my best. I’m trying to be predictable and assertive and legal, and also educate the drivers. Sometimes, I have an opportunity to educate the drivers when they start talking at me and trying to run me off of Grand Avenue, which was my next turn to get here, where there were all these sharrows — cars and bikes share the road. … They’re trying to push me out of the way, and if I go too close — I still have a deep scar on my arm from where a driver opened his door right in front of me and hit me. I hit his door, it speared my arm, I went tumbling over the top of the door, bent the door, and landed on my helmet.

We need this position. People are dying. We’re only ever holding our breath. The next elderly person, the next disabled person, the next pet that’s killed or injured, the next bicyclist that’s killed, the next child that’s killed. … How much would you pay to save the life of the next person who’s about to be hit or run over by a car?

"I am number 22,915."

Khrystall Jones came to City Hall with her two young kids all the way from a hotel room in West Haven, where she’s lived for over a year after living in New Haven for 17 years. Jones told alders that she believes she was evicted due to an illegal retaliation for reporting dangerous living conditions in her apartment. 

After she testified, a group of alders followed her outside the room, gave her and her kids slices of pizza, and introduced her to Economic Development Coordinator Mike Piscitelli to try and connect her with housing.

I currently stay at the West Haven hotel because my landlord illegally evicted my family last year in January. Me and my two children there have been homeless for a year and four months. I have been in contact with 211 since I was packing my home when my landlord told us we had to leave… 

The shelter lists are forever. I signed up for Section 8 last year when the opened up the waitlist on April 6. I am number 22,915. … I work now, even as a single young mom, everyone knows that when you’re homeless with your children, the state comes and takes your children. I have been living in fear since my landlord came with a 5 by 7 truck to move me out. 

Every time I call a shelter aid program, it’s, ​“We don’t know what to tell you. Call 211.” I make $14.50 an hour and I just started working last year. My caseworker told me, ​“So apply for two more jobs.” … 

Next month, I have no idea where we’re going. Please, please find it in your hearts to increase funding…

There’s a lot of children staying in these hotels. Even in the hotel I stayed in, I found a drug stash in my hotel and I don’t even do drugs… My toilet has mold, there’s rats, rodents all through the hotel.

"I Have A Dream To Buy A Home."

Tanya Valez-Loor was one of several people to testify in support of a planned $50,000 increase in funding toward New Haven Works, a job coaching and training program. Valez-Loor was the only testifier on Thursday to speak in Spanish. The following excerpt is a translation of her words provided by Elias Estabrook.

I’m a New Haven Works member and I would like to request that the city increase the support for New Haven Works program. 

Before New Haven Works, I worked multiple jobs. I worked in an electronics factory for about eight years and I worked in home healthcare, which I enjoyed. I enjoyed the relationships, but I had no benefits and I had to travel a two hour round trip to Westchester, New York. I tried to find a job on my own, but it was hard….

I was studying at Gateway nutrition and food service.

I registered for New Haven Works in July 2020. I was working two jobs at the time when I started meeting with my job coach. I didn’t feel very confident in my English, but I had the opportunity to meet with a job coach who speaks Spanish. That made me feel more secure and understood.

They helped me in many ways at New Haven Works. They supported me with filling out applications, completing background checks, sending out references, completing applications on the computer. I had multiple interviews with different employers and finally I got a casual food service job at Yale University. … A manger called me to interview in November, 2022, and I was offered a position. I accepted it. It’s only 16 hours a week to get started with, but soon I’ll be able to apply to get promoted.

Just having this job makes me feel more secure. I know when I do get benefits, it will be really important to have medical and dental insurance and also a retirement plan.

I have a dream to buy a home, an apartment, with the assistance of Yale’s homebuyer program, and I’d like to go back to school to improve my English and secure a bachelor’s degree in nutrition and culinary.

"Hold Onto The Penny I Gave Each Of You."

When her name was called to testify, Elsie Chapman approached alders with props in hand: a penny for each of the legislators, which she handed out before beginning her remarks. (“We can’t take bribes,” joked East Rock Alder Anna Festa.)

Chapman, a Wooster Square resident, proceeded to make her case for funding the library system at 1 percent of the city budget.

The stated mission of the New Haven Free Public Library is to foster lifelong learning, inspire curiosity, and build community through shared access to resources, experiences, and opportunities for all. To fulfill that mission, the New Haven Free Public Library has been a critical and essential link to the community it serves. Throughout New Haven and beyond, people talk about how much they value the New Haven Free Public Library. 

Almost a decade ago, an idea was proposed to this finance committee to quantify the value that you and so many say they place on this library system. That idea? Fund the library at 1 percent of the city’s general fund budget. That translates to a penny on the dollar.

Not since 2010 has the New Haven Free Public Library been funded at 1 percent of the city’s budget. Not since 2010. … Now, the mayor’s proposed budget for the library is 0.7 percent. Clearly, we’re going in the wrong direction. And it’s coming at a cost. The library system is losing trained staff to neighboring library systems due to salaries and in many cases, staff stress. … 

Hold onto the penny I gave each of you and pull it out when you start your deliberations for Fiscal Year 2025. And when all the numbers have been crunched and synthesized and totaled, go back and make sure that this nationally-award winning library is funded at 1 percent of the city’s budget.