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Local Landlords, Unite! vs. Eviction Bill

by | Mar 14, 2024 4:03 pm | Comments (40)

File photos

Local landlords Shmuel Aizenberg (top left) and Mendy Edelkopf (bottom left), 2 of 20 signatories of form letter opposing state bill; tenant advocates Sinclair Williams (top right) and Sarah Giovanniello (bottom right, with Amy Eppler-Epstein), in support of bill.

I am a part of a group of landlords in the area who help each other out by discussing issues and providing support and guidance to each other,” wrote Ocean Management’s Shmuel Aizenberg. 

Mandy Management’s Adir Chen wrote that too. So did Julian Cardona and Menahem Edelkopf and Alejandro Soriano and Menahem Lebenhartz and more than a dozen fellow New Haven-area landlords and property managers. 

Each wrote” those same words in individually signed form letters seeking to persuade state legislators to protect their right to evict rent-paying tenants whose leases have expired.

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City Starts Reimagining Parks System

by | Jan 15, 2024 3:23 pm | Comments (29)

Laura Glesby Photo

Parks staffer Janice Parker, right, explains the department's current structure.

A public-private funding structure. A superintendent of fields.” A department divided into geographical districts, each with a point person for neighbors to contact. 

Those ideas are all on the table as the city moves forward with a plan to un-merge the Parks and Public Works Department.

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Immigrants Press Mayor For "Sanctuary" Law

by | Dec 20, 2023 10:20 am | Comments (29)

Thomas Breen photo

At Tuesday's ULA-hosted meetup at 200 Orange.

New Haveners who hail from Mexico, Ecuador, Colombia, Guatemala, Chile, Honduras, and elsewhere across Latin America gathered downtown to deliver a message to the mayor: that their adopted home city should be a sanctuary city” — not just by executive order, but by law.

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Advocates To City: Be Bold Again On Immigrant Rights

by | Dec 5, 2023 9:01 am | Comments (23)

Laura Glesby file photo

Kica Matos: Time to lead again.

Sixteen years after New Haven became the first city to issue a municipal ID card to city residents regardless of their citizenship status, advocates are calling on the city to once again lead the way in protecting immigrant rights — including by creating a new city Office of Immigrant Affairs.

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Wanted: Public Input On 2-Way Street Conversion Proposals

by | Nov 9, 2023 9:31 am | Comments (41)

Thomas Breen file photo

Church near Elm: Two-way street approacheth?

The city’s transit department is moving ahead with plans to convert a handful of downtown streets from one-way to two-way — and is seeking public input before deciding how many parking spots should remain on George Street, where protected bike lanes should go on York, and whether or not to place a Bus Rapid Transit lane in the middle of Church Street.

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Door Opened For Menthol Cigarette Ban

by | Oct 9, 2023 8:55 am | Comments (35)

Yash Roy photo

Beaver Hills Alder Tom Ficklin (right), with city Environmental Health Director Rafael Ramos: New Haven should "not wait for anyone else and instead be a leader" on a menthol ban.

The city’s health director and a Beaver Hills alder are calling for a citywide ban on menthol cigarettes — while small business owners warned that such a prohibition could drive customers to look to other shops in other towns for not just smoking products, but also bread and milk and gas.

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Mayor: I'm Keeping Park Road Mostly Car-Closed

by | Sep 21, 2023 4:08 pm | Comments (132)

Thomas Breen photo

At Wednesday's parks commission meeting: this crew doesn't have power over summit road.

The Elicker administration — and not the parks commission — will have the final say over whether or not the road to the top of East Rock Park remains largely closed to cars, and open to pedestrians and cyclists only.

The mayor said he has received widespread community support for keeping the road largely closed to cars, so he plans not to make a change.

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City Steps Towards Parks Department Re-Redo

by | Sep 21, 2023 1:21 pm | Comments (20)

Thomas Breen photo

Acting Director Rebecca Bombero: Consultant-led process "could lead to a reconfiguration" of parks-public works.

The Elicker administration is moving towards a potential un-merging of the parks and public works departments — or an entirely different parks-service setup altogether — by seeking a consultant to host community conversations around how City Hall should tend its public greenspaces.

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Tents Pop Up In 2 Candidate Debates

by | Sep 7, 2023 10:34 am | Comments (35)

Thomas Breen file photo

A tent on the Green in late August: On which public lands, if any, should homeless people be allowed to camp?

Two candidates for mayor and two candidates for Westville alder waded into an ongoing homelessness crisis as they sought to answer the same question posed on different nights by different debate moderators to different candidates running for different local elected offices.

The question: What should the city do when people who are living outdoors refuse to go to homeless shelters and choose instead to camp on public land?

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4-Year Terms OK'd For November Ballot

by | Aug 8, 2023 10:13 am | Comments (51)

Laura Glesby file photo

Majority Leader / Charter Revision Commission Vice Chair Richard Furlow: The aim is to “keep the process simple.”

It’s official: voters will get to decide in November whether or not New Haven should implement four-year terms for mayor and alders — although to understand what they’re voting for, they’ll need to do their homework in advance.

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Candidates Differ On Drug War

by | Jul 18, 2023 3:41 pm | Comments (32)

Paul Bass photo

Alternative to arrests: COMPASS crew members Yichu Xu and Nanette Campbell help out Ollie Cooper at crisis team's launch last fall.

How should New Haven police respond to the use and sale of drugs?

New Haven’s mayoral candidates are putting forward a variety of answers to that question, propelling the issue of when (and whether) to arrest people into this year’s campaign.

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Abdussabur Eyes Retired Cops For Walking Beats

by | Jul 5, 2023 3:56 pm | Comments (31)

Thomas Breen photo

Abdussabur on Wednesday: Check out the stats.

A retired police sergeant-turned-mayoral candidate has a plan for beefing up the city’s walking beats: hiring back fellow retired cops to pound the pavement, without a gun or the power to arrest — and with a civilian ambassador” by their side.

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Climate Call: Free Public Bus Passes For Students

by | Jul 5, 2023 2:47 pm | Comments (6)

File photo

A 2022 New Haven Climate Movement “Stop Climate Freefall” rally.

Young climate activists are calling again for the Board of Education to set aside funds for free bus passes for students to help New Haven’s public school district reduce air pollution and make it easier for students to get to and from school. 

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Parents Won't Get Their Own School Board Seats Via Charter

by | Jul 3, 2023 9:50 am | Comments (10)

Laura Glesby Photo

Sarah Miller, center, proposes Board of Ed reform by charter.

Despite a push from dozens of New Haven Public Schools (NHPS) community members, alders decided not to amend the city charter to restructure the Board of Education to include mandatory seats for current public-school parents.

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Opinion: Let Immigrants Serve On City Boards

by | Jun 28, 2023 6:31 pm | Comments (41)

Arts Paper / Lucy Gellman photo

IRIS Executive Director Chris George.

As director of a local refugee and immigrant service agency, IRIS, I have been following the New Haven alders’ discussions about revising the New Haven city charter to remove the requirement that one must be a U.S. citizen in order to serve on a city commission or board.

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Who Gets To Go To East Rock's Summit?

by | Jun 22, 2023 1:06 pm | Comments (90)

Thomas Breen File Photo

The road to the top of East Rock: Let cars roll, again?

Parks commissioners delayed deciding on whether or not to fully reopen the road to the top of East Rock Park to cars — as they weighed the testimony of drivers and those who struggle to walk such a long steep slope alongside that of frequent pedestrians and clean-park proponents.

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