by | Jun 17, 2022 9:59 am | Comments (7)
Laura Glesby Photo
Domestic workers Thursday calling for rights and recognition.
Over 20 domestic workers and their families gathered in a church sanctuary to call for sick days, maternity leave, and healthcare — and to celebrate their day-to-day work, without which “the world stands still.”
by | Jun 10, 2022 4:38 pm | Comments (4)
Thomas Breen photos
Ruth-Ann Millwood (center left) at Friday's ceremony on the Green.
Reading from The Oath of Allegiance.
Ruth-Ann Millwood raised her right hand and, after pledging her “true faith and allegiance” to the country she has called home for more than half of her life, officially became a United States citizen.
by | Jun 1, 2022 4:36 pm | Comments (17)
Former tenants outside court Wednesday after case dismissal.
A local landlord has dropped two longstanding back-rent lawsuits against her former tenants, citing a recent protest outside of one of her rental properties as inspiring her change of legal course.
by | Apr 22, 2022 8:05 am | Comments (2)
Together again, at last. From left, Suzanne, Farah, Haitham (grandson), Lamese, Aboudi, Shiyam, Haitham (grandfather), Leila, and Wesam.
The long road from New Haven to the old industrial city of Erie, Pennsylvania, passes through Danbury, Binghamton, Damascus, Homs, Tripoli, Beirut, Chicago, and finally to the shore of the Great Lake that Erie is named after.
At least that’s the route we took in our minds when we undertook a ten-hour drive to, at last, meet the whole family of Haitham Dalati and Shiyam Daghestani, for whom, under the auspices of IRIS, we had helped ease their transition from the Syrian civil war to life in New Haven.
by | Apr 18, 2022 3:45 pm | Comments (0)
Kimberly Wipfler Photo
Yaira Matyakubova and Lyala Stowe at gathering on Peck Street.
The room was hushed when Lyala Stowe began to speak. Her voice was soft. She is from Ukraine, and she was about to recite poems by Ukrainian poets.
Stowe apologized that most audience members would not comprehend the words, spoken in her native tongue. Regardless, the room held onto every syllable.
Continue reading ‘Violin Strings, Heartstrings, Pulled For Ukraine’
by | Apr 10, 2022 9:23 pm | Comments (14)
Allan Appel Photo
Yevgeny and Kristyna with baby Leonell Sunday at St. Michael's Church.
Yevgeny and Kristyna Biziaieva and their three children observed Palm Sunday on George Street, the first Ukrainian refugee family to be welcomed in New Haven since the war broke out.
by | Mar 26, 2022 9:46 pm | Comments (18)
Laura Glesby Photo
Housing activists protest outside City Hall.
Camila Guiza-Chavez and Norm Clement lead the rally.
Fifty people gathered on the front steps of City Hall to call for New Haven to allocate a majority of the $115 million it received in federal Covid relief funding toward affordable housing.
Continue reading ‘Rally Seeks More Covid Relief $ For Housing’
by | Mar 16, 2022 4:53 pm | Comments (8)
Relied-upon newcomers: Moe Alshalpi and Ammar Chekhess at their year-old Howe St. bodega.
Griffin Rose burst into Andalouse Freshop at 7:15 p.m. hunting for a post-filming calorie boost. Soon her arms were full.
by and | Mar 13, 2022 8:12 pm | Comments (8)
Nora Grace-Flood Photo
Shamrocks, gingers, fifers and fedoras filled Chapel Street Sunday afternoon as New Haven’s annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade proudly recovered from a two-year pandemic hiatus.
by | Feb 28, 2022 12:15 pm | Comments (7)
Thomas Breen photo
Officer Troche, defense attorney Paine, and prosecutor Strollo in court on Monday.
A state judge gave an arrested New Haven police officer and case attorneys another month and a half to review “literally thousands of pages of discoverable material” regarding the cop’s alleged pressuring of an undocumented 19-year-old Honduran immigrant to send him nude photographs and have sex with him in exchange for money.
by | Feb 23, 2022 4:25 pm | Comments (2)
Nora Grace-Flood photos
Clarion's Mariam Andino Pagán thanks a giveaway volunteer.
Supplies stored and distributed Wednesday in the Clarion basement.
Mariam Andino Pagán doesn’t earn enough money working at the Clarion Hotel to afford a place to sleep at night — but she did find clothing and supplies in the basement Wednesday, as a community rescue mission that began with a local fire expanded to more people in need.
by | Feb 21, 2022 5:08 pm | Comments (6)
Nora Grace-Flood photo
Ralph Liuzzi displays his mozzarella's flexibility to visiting senator.
A Hamden cheese manufacturer is aging as well as the products it sells — and is stretching its story further across town as business booms.
by | Feb 7, 2022 4:29 pm | Comments (7)
Maya McFadden Photo
Parent Dilawar Shamshad at Clemente, where more than 10 percent of the student body is now Afghan.
When mother of four Zarghoona immigrated to New Haven from Afghanistan five years ago, she did not know any English.
She learned it with the help of her daughter, who was picking it up at Clemente Leadership Academy. Then Zarghoona returned to the school helping newer arrivals from her native land adjust to a new country, as an interpreter.
by | Feb 2, 2022 12:46 pm | Comments (0)
Thomas Breen photo
Arrested Officer Christopher Troche and attorney Rosemarie Paine in state court Wednesday.
A New Haven police officer who was arrested for allegedly pressuring an undocumented 19-year-old Honduran immigrant to send him nude photographs and have sex with him in exchange for money entered a pro forma not guilty plea Wednesday — as state prosecutors and the officer’s defense attorney prepare to review a trove of evidence provided by the city police department.
Continue reading ‘Arrested Cop Pleads Not Guilty In Immigrant-Sex Case’
by | Dec 12, 2021 1:41 pm | Comments (4)
Thomas Breen file photo
Arrested New Haven Police Officer Christopher Troche with attorney Rosemarie Paine in court on Friday.
The lawyer representing a New Haven police officer who has been arrested for allegedly pressuring an undocumented 19-year-old Honduran immigrant to send him nude photographs and have sex with him in exchange for money claimed that her client is innocent of the charge he is facing: that is, one count of soliciting a prostitute.
Continue reading ‘Immigrant-Sex Case Cop's Lawyer: He's Innocent’
by | Dec 3, 2021 12:15 pm | Comments (2)
Thomas Breen photo
Thursday night’s protest on Wolcott Street.
With cries of “No Más Violencia!” and “¿Qué Queremos? Justicia!” two dozen immigrant rights protesters took to Wolcott Street to demand an end to violence in Fair Haven — and to call on police to take their concerns seriously, regardless of their nation of origin or which language they speak.
by | Nov 21, 2021 6:52 pm | Comments (19)
Breen Photo
Interim Chief Dominguez: “A very difficult time” for NHPD.
A city cop turned himself in for arrest Sunday on a charge related to an alleged sexual relationship with a 19-year-old undocumented Honduran immigrant he met after she called police for help — the third New Haven officer to be arrested in recent weeks, and the second officer to get into trouble for sexual misconduct in Fair Haven.
Continue reading ‘Cop Arrested On Sex Charge Involving Immigrant, 19, Who Sought Police Help’
by | Nov 5, 2021 9:37 am | Comments (10)
Lisa Reisman Photos
Owner Chidi Onukwugha, grandniece Ke’lani, mother-in-law Elsie D. Dixon, and grandniece Kaiyden make it official.
Chidi Onukwugha, owner of Kaiyden’s Coffee, wanted to set the record straight.
Continue reading ‘Ribbon Cut At Kaiyden’s Coffee, As Wooster Square Gets Its Caffeine Fix Back’
by | Nov 4, 2021 12:04 pm | Comments (3)
Lisa Reisman Photo
Patricia Perez and her daughter Ana pushed through the door of the unassuming storefront on 254 Grand Ave.
“Long time no see,” Musa Ugurlu greeted them, standing behind the counter in the tidy, brightly lit space. “How’s everything?”
by | Nov 3, 2021 12:48 pm | Comments (44)
Paul Bass Photos
Movers haul donated furniture up to Scranton Street apartment for newly arriving Afghan family.
Javid Mohammadi, who received similar help when he moved here two years ago from Afghanistan, was part of the crew.
Three Afghan refugee families arrived overnight in New Haven and crammed into temporary lodgings with relatives, while a search continued for landlords willing to rent to a wave of newcomers.
The governor joined the head of New Haven’s refugee-resettlement agency Wednesday to urge landlords to make up to 100 apartments available, with a promise to cover the rent.
by | Oct 29, 2021 1:20 pm | Comments (0)
Courtney Luciana Photo
IIhan Bayram, Kadir Catalbasoglu, and Ali Parcal Friday on the Green.
The Turkish flag was raised on the Green Friday to celebrate the 98th anniversary of the declaration of the Turkish Republic.
Continue reading ‘On State’s 98th Anniversary, Turkish Flag Flies For Freedom’
by | Oct 28, 2021 8:52 am | Comments (8)
A group of local immigrant women wrote the following article:
by | Oct 4, 2021 5:46 pm | Comments (27)
Thomas Breen photo
Nayeli Garcia (center) at Monday’s protest with Meg Fountain and Catherine John.
A mic held against her mask, Nayeli Garcia looked up through the rain at U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro’s office to let the New Haven Congresswoman — and everyone within earshot — know who she is.
I am a student at Gateway Community College, Garcia said. I am an essential worker who cleans houses. I am an undocumented immigrant from Mexico. And I deserve a path to citizenship.
by | Sep 29, 2021 1:13 pm | Comments (5)
Nora Grace-Flood photos
Empanadas from Ibiza and Grab & Go: Try both!
Whether you’re looking for a snack to grab on the go or a slow-cooked meal to sit down and savor, two neighboring Hamden eateries have a common solution: empanadas.
by | Sep 13, 2021 1:06 pm | Comments (1)
Thomas Breen photo
IRIS’s Chris George (right): “Would you leave your parents behind?”
Forty-five New Haven and West Haven residents remain trapped in Afghanistan, and are currently caught in an “agonizing” position: Do they find a way to get back to the United States while leaving their families behind, or do they stay in a country where they and their families are in constant danger?
A call went out Monday to help them get back home — and to help Connecticut prepare to resettle 1,000 new Afghan refugees through next summer.
