Word On The Street: ​“Level Up”

The word on Crown Street Monday was ​“level up.”

That was the motto of construction workers Ra Hashim and Jermaine Smith as they took a brief break from doing interior demolition on Crown Street’s former Acme Furniture store, which is slated to become a taller apartment building. 

The two wore layers Monday to keep warm while working inside and outside the building. They came prepared wearing two pairs of socks, long johns, shirts, hoodies, and jackets. 

“The adrenaline and movement, pretty soon you’re hot,” Smith said. 

The construction crew began work at 8 a.m and planned go until about 2 p.m. Inside they stripped the interior of the building by removing the walls, ceilings, and flooring Monday.

The city issued a building permit on Jan. 13 to a company called LaRosa Earth Group to undergo $1.5 million of work converting the ​“3.5‑story unreinforced masonry commercial structure” into a ​“5‑story, multifamily building with 18 apartments and a ground-floor retail space.” The permit states that ​“the 2‑story addition and new egress core will be constructed with mass timber structural systems, specifically cross-laminated timber panels.”

While getting started on that work Monday, Hashim said he thought about how to ​“level up,” which to him means ​“want[ing] more for yourself and expect[ing] more for yourself.”

Hashim, a Baltimore transplant, spent his weekend clearing out the snow on Crown Street to be sure his team could get back to work Monday morning. He began working construction a year ago after coming to New Haven for a ​“new beginning.” 

Smith, a Bridgeport native, has been a construction worker for seven years. While in Bridgeport Smith did asbestos removal, then continued in New Haven. In the past he’s did construction work at theThe Stress Factory comedy club in Bridgeport. 

Within their layers of clothing to keep warm, Smith and Hashim Monday both sported work vests reading, ​“Emerge supervisor.”

The duo went together through the Emerge program, which offers assistance of many forms to formerly incarcerated people, including training and then placement in jobs like tree-planting and construction.

Each were introduced to construction work through Emerge. They have enjoyed it so far because it pays well, they learn to use their hands, and they expand their skill sets.

The two emerged from the program with new construction skills, a more positive mindset, and goal to ​“make each and every day count” they said.

Or, as Smith put it, ​“Level up and follow through with whatever you’re trying to be successful with.”

Click on the play arrow to watch the full ​“Word on the Street” segment on Monday’s edition of ​“LoveBabz LoveTalk” on WNHH FM.