Andy Ross Photo
Michael Jefferson.
“We cannot do it alone,” said New Haven Police Chief Frank Limon, referring to his police department’s ongoing efforts to reduce crime in Newhallville. “Only with the involvement of the community, the businesses, and the churches are we going to be able
to stop crime – and equally important, sustain crime reduction.”
His comments came during a meeting of 75 Newhallville stakeholders who convened last Tuesday night to find ways to curb a disturbing wave of violence.
Right now 80 percent of New Haven’s violent crimes are being committed in Newhallville, despite the fact that the district comprises only 20 percent of our population.
Sunasha Nixon, a UConn nutrition and wellness outreach worker and a Newhallville mother and resident, remarked that summertime is supposed to be a time of fun – especially for kids. But for many who live in Newhallville it is a time of fear, because as temperatures rise, so do tempers. Crime reaches a boiling point.
Efforts to reclaim and rejuvenate Newhallville through The Promise Land Project have, however, gained positive momentum during the past several months. The group has formed strong cooperative alliances with a number of area churches, schools, businesses, and nonprofit social, medical, mental health, and family support groups – as well as the police department. The project’s executive director, Pastor Donald Morris, said that the group’s main objective is to reduce crime by reaching out to the families and young people with a “don’t shoot” message.
“The violence and crime must stop in Newhallville,” he said. “We will take back our neighborhoods, one street at a time. We cannot and will not be afraid of the weather going above 66 degrees.”
Morris describes the Promise Land Project as a collaborative effort to make residents and businesses in Newhallville aware of the many New Haven support groups, services, and organizations available to them. These resources provide family counseling, supplemental food, medical treatment, and youth services.
“We believe that a campaign against violence of all kinds must be supported with useful services that residents can access on an ongoing basis,” Morris explains. He was very pleased with the turnout for last month as well as last Tuesday’s meeting, saying that the
community is really responding in numbers.
Meanwhile Chief Limon is launching a new program called the Youth Police Investment (YPI). The aim of the school program is to foster personal relationships between the police department, school officials, and students at an early age. “We need to begin the process of trust building and behavior changing with our youth,” Limon said. “But building trust requires follow-through. By that I mean we must follow that child from the classroom through the school yard right to their home and be sensitive to what they need after school.”
Newhallville District Police Manager Lt. Thaddeus Reddish explained that if a child is not being fed, for example, or if his parent or grandparent is in need of social or medical services, then we must be the ones to make it happen. That’s how trust is gained and also how goodwill is built within the community, he said.
The chief also shared an idea for registering firearm offenders, saying that he would like to see a state law passed that would require any gun offender in Connecticut to register their address and contact information with the local police department. He explained, “I believe that if we know where the violators are in the city we can keep a closer eye on them and question them more easily when new gun violence erupts.” Soon the chief plans to hold discussions on his proposal with local and state lawmakers.
Larry Conway, assistant principal of Wilbur Cross High School, asked where all of these guns are coming from. He pressed the chief about the installation of cameras in certain hot spots in the neighborhood.
“Cameras are coming,” responded the chief, who acknowledged that the gun supply is an ongoing challenge. He said he did not believe that there was one primary source of firearms trading and dealing in the city, but that there was instead a constant rotation of the arsenal by drug dealers, pimps, and prostitutes.
“Guns are used to buy drugs, sex, and other things and are often discarded after one use,” he said. “We have not detected a single ring of gun dealers, but we are cooperating in every way with federal agencies such as ATF in tracking down illegal weapons.” He
added that you would be surprised to know how many legal guns are in the possession of the wrong people. “One problem we have is that a person will buy a gun legally and then sell or trade the weapon and report it as stolen. Once it is reported stolen the owner has no further liability. Clearly there is a problem with that.”
Another sore point for the community is the Taurus Café. The late-night establishment on the corner of Winchester Avenue and Thompson Street reopened less than a year ago despite City Hall efforts to prevent it from doing so. Although there has been no trouble inside the Café the problematic crowd of patrons that fill the neighborhood streets after closing time often erupts into violence.
Donald Morris.
“If that place must stay open then it should be lit up like daylight all night long,” said Pastor Morris, “and police should maintain a heavy presence.”
Morris also challenged the chief to take action against Police Union President Louis Cavaliere. Morris objected to remarks Cavaliere made during an event when more than 200 police union members marched on City hall to protest layoff notices to 16 members of the department.
Morris said that Cavaliere’s advice to New Haven residents to pick up arms and get ready to defend themselves was not only irresponsible and inappropriate but foolhardy and insubordinate to the chief. “What kind of message is that sending to our already fragile and marginal youth?” asked Morris. “We work hard to teach respect of our police offers to our residents. This totally undermines anything we have to say. If you show one sign of weakness in your message to criminals or would-be criminals then they will seize the opportunity and use it against the community.”
Attorney Michael Jefferson asked the chief to consider issuing a letter of reprimand to Cavaliere just as he would any insubordinate officer. Jefferson, a well liked criminal attorney with offices in the heart of Newhallville, said that if Cavaliere were issued a letter of reprimand he would have to defend himself through the collective bargaining process just like any other officer.
Limon said Cavaliere “crossed the line” the minute union members took their issue to the streets of New Haven.
The Promise Land Project is sponsored by the Christian Community Commission. For more information, please call Minister Donald Morris at 203 – 627-8333.
Can Newhallville become a promise land? Anything is possible. Will it take a lot of work and input from all stakeholders in the Newhallville community? Absolutely. That said, it's sad that nearly eighty percent of all violent crimes occur in Newhallville and with higher temperatures just a few months away there will likely be a spike in crime as a result of unchecked gang violence carrying over from the colder months, lack of valuable youth programs and unemployment. To be honest I don't know if I have total faith in the New Haven Police Department and to that extent don't know if this project should be directing their energies and questions to Chief Limon or quite so worried about the offhand statements of Officer Cavilere. (You can't really expect much from a police force who for the most part does not live in New Haven and thus is not invested in the public schools or economic development of the community). As a concerned long time resident of Newhallville, I think the idea of community buy-in is of utmost importance. That's the only way such a project will truly take off, make an impact and provide safer streets for residents (particularly elderly and youth). Rather than wait on the police chief, there need to be very transparent conversations had with the local alderman and any other elected official who recently campaigned in the neighborhood and request assistance. This means dialogue with local business owners and pastors along Dixwell Avenue to buy-in to these efforts and stand against young teens loitering at all hours of the night. There are several corner stores (see Dixwell and Bassett, Dixwell and Division and Shelton and Dixwell intersections) which double as 'hot spot' hang outs for our young men who are CLEARLY involved in illegal drug activity. It's no coincidence that these very spots are often the scenes of shootings. If the police would crack down on loitering at these establishments things might not be so bad. Better yet…press the mayor to shut these stores down or close the operations at a decent hour. Then go about attracting a small reasonable quality food market to the Dixwell corridor to replace them and economically boost the community. Work with the Winchester Developers…Newhallville residents will need jobs and the community will need support. There's got to be a trade-off. There are more than enough barbershops, beauty salons and Chinese stores in the neighborhood. Send Public Health inspectors to some of these Chinese restaurants…I'm 100% sure they would fail inspection. Great! Shut them down they are not adding value to the Newhallville community. You do not go to predominately White neighborhoods and see them overran with Chinese stores and hair stores. Get the word out about a livable City Initiative Grants to improve some dilapidated homes in the neighborhood, open the school gyms through a grant and provide a place for kids to stay after school, provide a food assistance program at local churches for elderly and low-income residents. Provide job training programs and educational resources for teens and residents. Let them be apprentices and learn skills so that they can provide for themselves. It's time for everybody in Newhallville to pull themselves up by their bootstraps. Can Newhallville become a promise land? Anything is possible, but it's going to have to start with US!