nothin Paca Questions Church St. South Plan | New Haven Independent

Paca Questions Church St. South Plan

Brian Slattery Photo

The beginning of demolition at Church Street South.

If Marcus Paca becomes New Haven’s next mayor, he promises to take a closer look before allowing the developer who allowed the Church Street South complex to deteriorate to build it back up again.

And if he does end up working with the developer, Paca vowed, he’ll keep the company on a short leash.”

Paca, who is challenging incumbent Mayor Toni Harp in a Sept. 12 Democratic primary, made that vow Tuesday during an interview on WNHH radio’s Dateline New Haven” program, during which he also sought to clarify his position on New Haven’s sanctuary city” status.

The Church Street South vow came during a broader discussion about affordable housing in New Haven.

Paca said that in campaigning, he has heard a consistent message from voters: It costs too much to live in New Haven. He promised to put more of a focus on affordable housing if elected, by for instance establishing a Housing Trust Collaborative that would bring together philanthropists, businesses, city officials, and nonprofits to meet quarterly to craft a policy for luring more developers and obtaining grant money.

He also supported the idea of developing micro-housing,” or smaller apartments or mini-houses, to keep prices down. Mayor Harp has argued that such micro-apartments jeopardize the quality of life in the city and are unnecessary. Paca said that homeless people and advocates have told him they support the idea.

It’s easy for someone to say [it’s a bad idea] when they can afford their rent or their mortgage,” Paca said. This is a viable option.”

Paca called for redefining” city priorities to emphasize affordable housing more: I have my finger on the pulse of our community because I’m out there every day earning votes. Whether or not they’re an elderly lady living on Orange Street who can’t afford her taxes because they’re $15,000 or $18,000 and she may have to move out of her home that she’s been living for 60 years because she can’t afford the taxes, or the single mother in the Hill who can’t afford a $1,200 rent for a two-family apartment, I think all these issues are combined. When people can no longer afford to live in the city they were born and raised in, something needs to be done.”

One flashpoint for the affordable housing debate is the 301-unit Church Street South housing complex across from Union Station.
New Haven is in the final stages of helping to find new homes for the families who lived amid squalor, mold and crumbling walls and porches there. Once the complex is cleared out, and the complex is torn down, the Harp administration hopes to see a 900-to1,000 unit mixed-use complex takes its place, with 30 percent reserved for subsidized housing (giving former tenants first right to return).

Mayor Harp at first refused to promise to work with the complex’s Massachusetts-based private federally-subsidized owner, Northland, on a rebuilding plan. She said the company first had to make good on promises to help find new homes for the families trapped in unsafe conditions at Church Street South. Later, Harp argued that because Northland cooperated with the city on that effort, and because it owns the property, her administration will work with the company to rebuild the complex.

City Economic Development Administrator Matthew Nemerson Tuesday reported that the plan with Northland is moving ahead very well.” As for finding the government money needed to support 30 percent subsidized housing, the needed funding we hope will come from some smaller state and larger HUD [federal Department of Housing and Urban Development] programs and grants,” he stated.

Paca took exception to Harp’s position on Northland during the WNHH interview.

Paca: Those folks lived in squalor. They lived in some of the worst conditions in our city for many, many years. This administration turns around and works with the same developers who let this happen for a very long time.

Excuse me if I don’t feel this is a good situation for the people who were displaced….

If you and your children were living in moldy conditions with appliainces that didn’t work and lead paint and asthma, I think you’d feel a certain type of way too. I don’t blame any of those people for taking those vouchers and getting as far away from that place as possible.

What I don’t agree with is that we allow those very developers that allowed residents to live in those conditions for so long to actually come back and partner with the city for the next phase of development in that area.

WNHH: Here’s the reason [offered for that position]: Northland was told at first they had to clean up the place.They own he property. They came here originally under [then-Mayor] John DeStefano with the promise to have no affordable housing, or maybe 10 percent [in rebuild complex]. And that changed. The Harp administration says [Northland] grew in how they worked with the relocation.

You talked about costly lawsuits. They feel if you don’t go with [Northland], it’s going to be another 10 years before you can ever build there because it’s their property [and the company could sue the city] …

Paca: That’s one perspective. The other perspective is the city should have dealt with these slumlords years ago. It shouldn’t have come to the point where things came to a head and became a major emergency….

I want to be the pro-active mayor. I want to be the type of mayor that sees a problem coming a mile away and takes care of it before it becomes a major issue. Before it affects our citizens, our children or our seniors, in a negative way. I think that’s a problem with city government. It has become too reactive. Only when someone is ready to sue, only when things hit the paper, does anyone act.

Your point is well taken that the only way to deal with the problem is to deal with it on the front end. Your point is well taken that people say, How can you deal with Northland again?” If you become mayor, you’re going to be faced with a narrower decision. You’re going to have to decide what’s the best thing to do. Are they right that it makes more sense to work with someone if they’ve proved they can work with you and they own the property, and otherwise the thing won’t get built and no one will have any housing for 10 years? Or are they wrong about that? Are you going to do something different in this specific case?

Paca: In this specific case, I would have to get more details on the ground. But I would tell you is that I would keep Northland on a very, very short leash. They’ve proven themselves to not be responsive to the needs of our residents. It’s incumbent for the city government to take action.

Marcus, some people would agree with you said earlier, that you shouldn’t deal with them at all.

Paca: Yeah. But in light of the deision that has already been made, I’m going to have take on a lot of the weight that has already happened under this administration.

Earlier you did say — I think a lot of people would agree with you — that they still wouldn’t deal with Northland.

Paca: I’m not backing up on that position. If there’s some type of legal contract that I don’t know about …

They own the property. It’s not a legal contract. They own the property. So you can’t just force them to sell the property. You can get all into their business and make it hard for them. Some people say if you have good enough lawyers and you mind your ps and qs or you sit down with them, you can get them to leave. But they’re business people. They’re not going to walk away until they make some money. They’re going to say, We lost millions of dollars and we never got to build the project [we] originally wanted to when Mayor DeStefano originally drove us around and caved to political pressure” [for more affordable housing]. You’ve got to figure out what’s smartest. People feel strongly on both sides.

Paca: The only people I want to be responsible to are the the taxpayers and the residents of New Haven. So if it’s not in their best interest, I’m not going to do it.

The way I feel about Northland is very, very clear. I don’t think they should have gotten this far. But if they are involved and they own the land, then what we have to do is get creative.

I’m going to keep them on a short leash. I’m going to do everything in my power to ensure that whatever is the next develpoment on that site, it’s going to be something that is beneficial to the residents and the taxpayers of our city.

A Sanctuary Plan

Paul Bass Photo

Marcus Paca.

During the interview, Paca said he also wanted to speak about his position on New Haven’s sanctuary city policies, which include supporting undocumented immigrants who take refuge in local churches to avoid deportation; having police not inquire into people’s immigration status; and refusing to work with federal agents on immigration arrests or holding nonviolent detainees longer to help the feds pick them up.

Paca took heat from local immigration reform activists following his last debate with Harp, on Aug. 20, after a member of the audience tweeted about his position. (Read about that here.) At the debate, Harp said New Haven will absolutely maintain its sanctuary policy whether or not President Trump follows through on threats to withhold federal grants as a result. Paca said his position at the debate was mischaracterized. Here’s how he proceeded to discuss it on Dateline New Haven” Tuesday:

Paca: I support sanctuary cities. I do not believe that any family should be torn apart because of their status. I don’t think federal agents or city agents should be coming into schools or hospitals and ripping families apart. I don’t think any New Haven family should be living in anxiety or fear.

Should hypoethically a scenario come where we are going to be losing funds, I strongly believe it is incumbent on our leader to have a contingency plan, to have some kind of understanding of what’s going to be lost. Those funds are going to have to be made up somehow.

And if we have to take those functions somewhere else to make up for potential funds that are lost on a federal level, we need a plan. That’s the type of person I am. That’s the type of leader I am. I think it’s dishonest at worst and irreponsible at best for a mayor to suggest that such a scenario wouldn’t require a contingency plan or a real-time response.

The Marcus Paca campaign is not going to move away from difficult conversations for the sake of political purposes. We are going to make sure that New Haven has a strategic plan to deal with any type of action coming down from the federal government.

WNHH: Will that plan include saying that we will forfeit the money because we’re not going to change our policy?

Paca: I’m not saying it won’t. What I’m saying is that I’m going to have a plan for where that money is going to come from just in case we lose it. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that.

The question is: Are you willing to forfeit the money to keep the policy in place? You’re saying that if we forfeit the money, we need a plan and you feel a plan is not place.

Paca: That is correct.

There’s still the question of what will you do. Will you say, Donald Trump, I will not change the policy. I have a plan to get the money somewhere else”?

Paca: I have no plan on forfeiting the sanctuary city status. What I do have a plan on doing is making sure that it’s very, very clear to the taxpayers of New Haven of what their tax dollars are going toward and how it’s going to be used. I don’t believe that New Haven can afford right now to lose any money, honestly. We’re looking at a multimillion dollar deficit. The state is broke. We’re laying off folks. And we need to make sure we’re taking care of all of New Haven.

So what do we do, if we can’t afford to lose the money, and Donald Trump says, You’re going to lose the money” … which by the way might not happen …

Paca: Exactly! It might not happen.

… If it happens, what is the plan? If he’s saying, You’re going to lose the money if you keep the policy,” is your plan to still say no to Trump and find the money elsewhere?

Paca: Paul, do you know how much money it’s going to be?

No. No one knows.

Paca: OK. Since no one knows, I can’t answer that question. There’s a difference between losting $100,000 and losing $10 million. If as a leader we don’t have a plan on how we’re going to make that up, then there’s an issue.

I support sanctuary cities 100 percent. I do not plan on kowtowing to the Trump adminsitration. I don’t think it speaks to the best values of who we are as citizens of New Haven and as Americans. I will plan a contingency around that to make sure that if we do lose those funds, to make it up so all New Haveners are safe, all New Haveners have opportunities for workforce development opportunities and we are the best city that we can possibly be.

Marcus Paca and Toni Harp will square off on in a mayoral campaign debate at Booker T. Washington Academy, 804 State St., on Tuesday, Sept. 5, beginning at 7 p.m. The public is invited.

Click on or download the above audio file to hear the full interview with Marcus Paca on WNHH radio’s Dateline New Haven“program.

Click on the above arrow to watch the Facebook Live video from the interview.

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