Free Ice Cream Tops Off Tough Summer

When S’ence and Quanetta Thomas saw lights flashing and heard police speakers booming, they rushed out of their home at the Brookside Apartments.

Behind the line of police cars and motorcycles, a bright red and white striped Jolly Roger Ice Cream Truck rolled up to the scene.

“Free ice cream! Come down for free ice cream!” officers announced.

The Thomases caught up with the truck and joined neighbors in line. ​“It’s good!” Quanetta said last Wednesday as she ate a vanilla soft serve cone. 

New Haveners across the city enjoyed nearly 1,500 cones during an ice cream giveaway event organized by the city’s Youth and Recreation Department, Police Department, Health Department, and Parks Department.

Members from all the departments helped hand out cones and Covid-19 personal protective equipment (PPE) packages last Wednesday through Friday. They made five stops in the Hill and Fair Haven on Wednesday and 12 stops in Newhallville, Dixwell, and Amity.

City Health Director Maritza Bond said the departments organized the event to ​“encourage a healthy New Haven.” Bond said she’s seen a large increase of Covid-19 cases recently, especially in younger New Haveners.

“We want to mitigate this pandemic and what a creative way to come out to the neighborhoods and to provide the ice cream cones along with information and a mask so people stay safe” she said.

A few weeks ago, Bond got in contact with Youth Services Specialist Ron Huggins to brainstorm fun ways to engage younger New Haveners and reduce Covid-19 cases. They then worked with the police and parks departments to make over 1,000 Covid-19 care packages filled with reusable masks, hand sanitizer, and Covid-19 informational sheets.

Bond and the Health Department designed the informational sheets with safety suggestions and graphics in Spanish and English.

“This is just an example of when different departments come together, the success that can come about. It was interdepartmental and external community members coming together so we could increase awareness in a unique way. And it’s a hot summer day so we wanted to be able to provide an ice cream cone for balanced, healthy eating!” Bond said laughing.

Huggins said he helped organize the event for ​“the smiles on the kids faces!”

“To see kids coming down, this is what community is all about. Stepping up during this tough time, giving people just a gleam of hope, giving people ice cream, seeing all the kids, seeing people that you know!”

Just then, Huggins greeted Elizabeth Yarbrough who lives with her two grandsons on Wayfarer Street. Yarbrough said with Covid-19 and the Westville Manor buildings’ demolition on Wayfarer, there has not been much for the neighborhood kids to do over the summer.

Yarbrough’s grandsons are 10 and 14 years old, and said they were very excited about the ice cream giveaway. ​“It’s something positive for the kids to do while they’re in the process of moving us. There’s nothing else for the kids to do anymore.”

She thanked Huggins for all the work he and the department have done. ​“Every time I look, he’s doing something positive!”

City Director of Youth and Recreation Gwendolyn Busch Williams said she remembers chasing after the ice cream truck when she was a kid. Busch Williams said she is happy New Haven kids got to chase after the ice cream truck as well this summer.

“It’s important to make sure the community knows that the city loves them, that we’re present, and it’s the smallest things that make the difference,” she said.

Busch Williams also spoke about encouraging New Haveners to practice healthy social distancing and sanitizing habits. She bent down to assist Marque put on his reusable mask from the PPE package.

She twisted the ear straps to make the one-size-fits-all mask fit his face…

…which later came off so he could eat his ice cream…

Kayla Tyson brought her five month old puppy Mega for some vanilla ice cream. She said Covid-19 hasn’t majorly impacted her summer fun of shopping and eating ice cream. ​“It’s still been good!”

Edilberto Fontanez, who owns the ice cream truck, said the most popular flavor of the day’s giveaway was vanilla. Fontanez has owned the ice cream truck for over 35 years and has run Eddie’s Market at 58 Sylvan Ave. for almost 50 years.

He was joined by his daughter, Nancy Fontanez, and granddaughter, Serenity Johnson. Johnson often helps Fontanez serve ice cream in the summers.

Fontanez said he typically sells the ice cream at $2 per cone, but agreed to sell cones at $1 each to the city-sponsored event’s organizers so New Haveners could enjoy free ice cream.

Huggins said as soon as he called Fontanez with the idea, Fontanez said yes immediately.

Huggins worked with NHPD Lt. Manmeet Colon to plan the route and stops for the ice cream giveaway event. ​“We wanted to spread the love all across the city in all the neighborhoods,” Huggins said.

Throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, Huggins, Colon, and Police Chief Otoniel Reyes teamed up for joint efforts between the Police Department and Youth Services to cheer up and support New Haven kids. In May, they paraded to several homes to help kids celebrate their birthdays with cakes and Jr. Officer badges.

They have also stopped by a handful of kids’ lemonade stands and helped organize an airplane banner that flew over the city in June to honor the Class of 2020. ​“This is what being selfless is about,” Huggins said.

Just last week, when a basketball hoop in the area broke, Colon and Huggins worked for five hours to put up a new one. Huggins said they designed their ice cream giveaway route to hit neighborhoods they hadn’t touched much yet this the summer.

Colon said they also wanted to stop at locations where kids have witnessed a lot of police activity, homicides, and shootings. ​“It’s something positive for them to see that the police are not always responding here when there is an act of violence or crime, but that we’re here and part of the community.”