“All-American” New Haven Takes A Victory Lap

The Moore family — who found opportunities for better lives in public housing — served as the human face of a celebration of New Haven winning recognition as one of 10 ​“All-America” cities.

Housing authority and city leaders held the celebration late Tuesday afternoon at the rebuilt Mill River Crossing Housing development on Grand Avenue hard by I‑91.

The event commemorated the selection of New Haven as one of the annual 10 ​“All-America City” award winners chosen by the National Civic League. This year the league focused on how families, city governments, and private entities work together. New Haven won with an application detailing how the housing authority (aka Elm City Communities or ECC) works with 26 local organizations to offer job training, food, tutoring, safe streets, and fun activities to low-income families. Or, as the authority put it, how it runs programs based in public housing developments that offer​“positive social-emotional and educational development geared toward developing self-sufficient adults.” (Click here for a previous story with more details about the award.)

Tuesday’s gathering celebrated ​“some of of what’s really working in our community that we can build on,” said housing authority President Karen DuBois-Walton.

Take what has worked for Ebony Miller’s family.

Miller has raised her daughter Teirra and son Chaance Moore at the rebuilt Quinnipiac Terrace public housing development in Fair Haven. Chaance in his younger years struggled with math. Through one of the authority’s programs, he received tutoring that got him on track. Now he has been recomended for honors in math at Cooperative Arts & Humanities High School. Teirra overcame shyness through housing authroity programs, according to her mom, and now works for an ECC youth program while attending Gateway Community College. Mom Ebony has a good job with ECC managing the housing complex where she lives.

The material face of Tuesday’s celebration was the setting: the dazzling Mill River Crossing development that arose from the ashes of the notorious former Farnam Courts. It was one of numerous former rundown projects that the housing authority has rebuilt as attractive communities in New Haven, from West Rock to Monterey (formerly Elm Haven) to Q Terrace.

Board of Alders President Tyisha Walker-Myers spoke of how she sometimes hung out at Farnam as a kid. While parking her car to participate in Tuesday’s event, she said, she looked around at her surroundings and asked herself: ​“Where am I?”

“It’s beautiful,” she remarked.

“I remember when the bus stop was on the corner” in her youth ​“and people were scared to get off the bus to go to Ferraro’s” Market, Walker-Myers said. ​“It was called the ghetto. It’s not the ghetto anymore.”