Labor Paints Prospect Street With ​“Respect” Message

Isn't graffiting the streets a crime? Or is it OK if it sends a socialist message? The BLUE LINE to attack Yale is fine but the BLUE LINE for Blue Lives Matter is not OK? This is CRAZYTOWN.

To student Mishel--- you've attended programs at Yale and they are mostly all free but you have the nerve to say they do not do "good things", that is more than a little hypocritical. And maybe Yale is not doing a good thing offering free opportunity to ungrateful students like yourself.

Again, why should Yale be responsible for fixing problems that the city, state, and federal governments are responsible for. NOT. YALE'S. PROBLEM.

This is ridiculous. Is New Haven going to let every group graffiti the streets with their own political messaging?

Honestly New Haven needs to start respecting Yale. Without Yale, New Haven would be in as bad of shape as the rest of the cities in Connecticut like Bridgeport or Waterbury.

I am so enraged that the city allowed this. Can anyone group now just co-opt public streets to push their agenda? This union did not help their image with this little stunt, nor did the city help its relationship with Yale by approving it.

If this union wanted to earn some respect and support, why not paint some of the non-existing crosswalk markings at intersections? Use your energy -- and paint -- for something actually useful.

Yale takes a massive tax break at the expense of New Haven. Good use of public space.

What it comes down to is what our State Treasurer said, "We must ask ourselves: is it Fair for a city as poor as New Haven to give a $157 million tax break to institutions as wealthy as Yale and Yale New Haven Hospital?"

To those who claim "New Haven would be Bridgeport without Yale": #1 have you thought about how racist and offensive that comment is?, #2 we ARE Bridgeport, just WITH Yale. And we are Bridgeport not despite all Yale's charity and programs, we are Bridgeport BECAUSE of Yale's land and labor practices. Because Yale has swallowed up our taxable land, ousted local businesses, displaced residents, cut people of color out of hiring, attacked job standards, and refused to pay back what it has taken and taken for generations. This has resulted in chronic underfunding of our city alongside huge tax increases. Who has not been impacted by this in some way?

Commenters are frequently complaining, and with good reason, that the streets in New Haven are dangerous for pedestrians. So, a while back, I seem to recall that somebody secretly painted a "guerilla crosswalk" to bring attention to a dangerous crossing. It was roundly dismissed as making the crossing more dangerous, but ultimately, the city came up with warning lights and a crosswalk in the exact same spot.
Of course this was done without police blocking traffic, as shown in one of the photos, to allow the "authorized?" anti-Yale graffiti.
Point is that the "unauthorized" street painting served a valid safety purpose. I'm not sure why the city would allow a street to be shut down in the middle of the day to allow this tired old complaint to be in the street when a couple of well placed signs and/or protests would get the message across.

CityYankee: POISON when it plays on my classic rock radio station is fine but POISON when it's in my sandwich is not OK? This is CRAZYTOWN.

This observation is exactly as astute and relevant as yours.

So yes, Yale and Yale New Haven Hospital/Health ever expanding properties being taken off the taxable grand list rolls causes much of New Haven's budget issues. (Never mind YNHH swallowing up all the private medical practices it possibly can in the area, stifling the competition and the choices CT residents have for healthcare- monopoly, anyone?) But New Haven also has Gateway, SCSU, Albertus Magnus, West Haven has UNH and Yale, Hamden has Quinnipiac U. See a pattern? In fact, most of our financially budget strapped municipalities have a college or a university or a hospital or two or more in them. Plus, the same municipalities have hosted all the homeless shelters, subsidized housing, rehab facilities, halfway houses, jails/prisons, trash management, industrial and commercial businesses, and other necessary social services shoehorned into their borders by restrictive zoning laws passed by their wealthier suburban neighbors. And the state of CT supports the zoning laws that creates tremendous inequities and inequalities in financial and environmental and social burden responsibilities statewide. You even notice that the same communities that have serious budget issues, have the most poor people living there, and the most minorities living there, compared to the wealthier suburbs? And with the exception of a few smaller towns regionalizing their school systems because they didn't have enough students to justify paying for separate school systems, there is almost no regionalized or county government system for the sharing of tax income and cost of services and for the common good of the county as a whole? This isn't just a Yale versus New Haven problem. It's a statewide zoning and unregionalized government and tax exempt properties issue. A few municipalities are shouldering the burden of providing services for the entire state, and are going towards insolvency while the richer suburbs are contributing next to nothing in return. Time to make changes.

New Haven has plenty of land to develop. The State gave New Haven the property on Rt 34 and the city immediately proceeded to give away part of it to the "non-profit" Continuum of Care and another acre or two to some well-connected developers who plan to build affordable housing.

@Austerity for whom: With respect, but with all seriousness - have you seen or been to Bridgeport lately?

Many of the "usual suspect" commenters are 'big mad' that this event and painting took place. The fact is, the city alders, as elected representatives of their communities, approved this. Their constituents voted them in by a majority, which means that a majority of the residents trusted their alders based on their platforms and values to make a decision like this. If you're unhappy, maybe try actually talking to your alder about how this made you feel, instead of commenting on a news article under usernames such as "CityYankee" and "EngagedCitizen." Your alders don't know who you are.

If a majority of the alders' constituents don't like what occurred here, they can simply support a different candidate next election. However, with many alders running unopposed in the past, it appears they are doing a good enough job for the majority, and in politics, majority rules.

It's sometimes easy to think that opinions in this city are evenly split when reading the comments section on news articles. But the usual negative opinions are by the same few people - a small vocal minority, a subset of only those residents who have actually created accounts on this site. Although it's fun to debate the trolls, the arguments here fade away into nothing and the democratic process always trumps in the end.

And for those that are angry that a street was closed for a day (the sidewalks were open, so maybe try leaving your car behind?) - I expect the same passionate opposition when streets are closed for parades, outdoor dining, car crashes, presidential motorcades, and construction.

Perhaps Yale should run the City. They appear to have the secret to a successful organization. They don't spend money unless they have it. This probably will not last, however. The donors to the University will tire of the special interest groups and union hammering the University for more money and Yale will have to spend their endowment on themselves to stay afloat. The real fix is to have City leadership that understands Finance.

@owen@large yes I've been to Bridgeport lately have you been to the Hill, Newhalville, the Tribe or the Tray lately?

We have suffered segregation and disinvestment for decades while Yale remakes downtown and YNHH remakes Hill North in its own image, displacing residents and small businesses. Aside from a few armchair critics here there is a clear consensus on and off campus that Yale must do more. It's not charity it's not cleaning up the city's messes, the city has been forced to depend on charity and gotten into this mess precisely because of Yale's growing tax break and policy of austerity. If you're a tax payer how do you feel about the fact that you're giving away thousands of dollars to Yale each year?

www.YaleRespectNewHaven.org will tell you exactly how much you paid to Yale this year. Hope you received a thank you letter from Salovey for your generous contribution!

Yale NH Hospital is branching out to satellite locations and perhaps down the road NH will become less essential to their operations; except for Smilow. They are connected somehow to the University so it's all part of one big package. What does the public want them to do? Pay more taxes? Then what is the plan because NH doesn't seem to have one beyond that

@Austerity for whom: Haven't been to those areas for a while. Though I did spend a good amount of time in those areas years ago when I worked with students and their families for over a thirty-year period. Tell me, do you think those areas have gotten better or worse over the years? The families and the people I worked with throughout those neighborhoods were by and large fantastic, but the areas were generally very run down then, as I expect they still are. I tell you, I don't see Yale as the problem. I blame the countless New Haven administrations for poor planning and very poor fiscal management. And, just to the point about Bpt. In Bpt. there is "no there there", - very little in the way of business, entertainment, or thriving commercial activity. The University of Bpt. is well past its prime days. New Haven, on the other hand, is far and away like night and day in comparison, neighborhoods included. With all the business, scientific, medical, cultural, and entertainment, etc. activity that Yale brings into New Haven, you would think that the NH administrations could figure out a way to make it better for all its residents. You want to put more of a hit on Yale, you have to change some laws. Of course, in the meantime, you could demand more from City Hall.

Local 34 member Isaac Bloodworth, a ale Center For British Art museum technician, spoke about recently losing two people to Covid-19. After these deaths, he had 20 hours of bereavement pay. "I was expected to pick up and move on as though nothing had happened.

Why should your employer pay you to be off because someone died? You're lucky to get a free 20 hours.

New Haven would be like Bridgeport without Yale, how is that comment racist, please explain. But with the current leadership of the Alders we are becoming like Bridgeport, severely in debt and super high taxes because of reckless spending.

Why would Yale want to contribute to a City that votes on union contracts but doesn't even know what they'll cost? Gross Malfeasance is the best you'll get out of this City with the incompetence that's in place now.

Auterity: I looked up what a family member's taxes would be if Yale & YNHH were taxable. It's about $3K a year. What does he get in return? Steady employment at a decent wage, great health insurance and a decent pension. Plus, lots of free cultural events that make living in New Haven a pleasure. None of which he would have were it not for Yale. Frankly, if New Haven got another $150 million a year, it would not reduce the mill rate, it would just conjure up more "programs" of dubious effectiveness but for worthy goals. Yes, there are run down neighborhoods in New Haven, but there are far more upscale neighborhoods than in Bridgeport. Bridgeport has St Mary's by the Sea, while New Haven has Prospect Hill. Black Rock is decent, but small and most of it is comparable to City Point or Beaver Hills. In addition to those neighborhoods, New Haven has lots of new housing downtown and in The Hill (Randy Salvatore's project), will have more with the Church Street South replacement, has the middle class East Shore and East Rock, and middle to upper middle Westville. Northern But used to be like the East Shore, but its now run down and its downtown is mostly empty lots. Front St. in Fair Haven has nice homes, and some of Fair Haven East isn't too bad.

@Heather C.

If

Between

Lines

It's because New Haven has less and less to offer the "richer" suburbs.