New Haven Independent

In a conversation following a press event Monday, DeStefano said his staff has been working on a two-step plan. Step one will involve short-term help for struggling youth agencies that provide after-school programs and summer jobs. Part two will involve a longer-range look at what “positive choices” the city does and doesn’t offer kids.

The spate of violence involve kids on bikes this year, most recently featured in an unflattering Sunday New York Times article, focused City Hall’s attention on the need for a new youth policy, DeStefano said. Just this September, in an Independent interview, DeStefano was denying the need for such a new policy or a link between the youth violence and the cutbacks in youth programs. (Click here to read that interview. Click here to listen to his comments on youth policy.) Since then, criticism has spread through the community about City Hall’s lack of attention to youth issues and the need for a new policy. Most recently, the issue arose in last week’s mayoral debate.

“I’ve always heard that for 12 years” about the need for more youth programs, DeStefano said Monday. But now, he said, “It’s clear that LEAP has been greatly scaled back,” as have other youth centers like Latino Youth Development, the Boys and Girls Club, and the Q House and Hill Coooperative Youth (both which closed).

After the outbreak of violent crimes committed by up to 60 kids massing together on bikes, DeStefano said, he held two meetings at the police department. Not just cops, but community “partners” like the people at the Yale Child Study Center attended. At the time the city was handing out warning tickets to kids about violating bicycle laws. At the meetings, DeStefano said, officials spoke about the need not just to tell kids what they can’t do, but what they can do.

Right now city officials are doing a broad assessment about what programs do and don’t exist for kids, and which age groups in particular need more options, DeStefano said. He expects to develop a long-range plan out of that information by some time next summer.

In the meantime, DeStefano is working with his allies on the Board of Aldermen to craft a short-term response.

“This is on everybody’s radar,” said Alderman Carl Goldfield, the DeStefano ally who says he has the votes to become the new Board of Aldermen president in January. Goldfield is spearheading the upcoming short-term youth response along with aldermen like Babz Rawls-Ivy, Ina Silverman, Yusef Shah, Ed Mattison, and Drew King.

Goldfield said the plan will involve using $1 million from the proceeds of the city’s sale of the Water Pollution Control Authority.

That idea, in a different form, was originally proposed months back by current board president Jorge Perez. At the time, DeStefano and his allies opposed the idea. Perez wanted to use the $1 million to help struggling youth centers fix up their buildings.

The new proposal will steer money not to buildings, but to staffing for after-school programs, according to Goldfield.

“We’ve built all these beautiful community schools” with space that’s not being used after hours, Goldfield noted. “One of the things they were sold on was that they were going to be community resources as well.” He said groups like LEAP and Latino Youth will be able to apply for the money to run after-school programs in those buildings.

“There’s a necessity to get kids into good activities after school and in the summer,” Goldfield said, “so they have something to do, not wandering the streets in groups on bikes.”

“I’m happy to see people are finally realizing this is an issue,” Jorge Perez said. “The young people have been crying out for this, based on the crime statistics” and demands from parents for services.

Perez said Goldfield showed him a draft of the idea. “It makes me very happy to have other colleagues join me in an effort to find a short-term and long-term solution to this issue,” Perez said. “Having said that, I have read their draft resolution. I believe it has some merits. However I believe it has to be thought out more.” Specifically, Perez wants to see some of the money still go toward fixing up neighborhood facilities like the Q House, LEAP and Farnam Neighborhood House.