Tim Tai, Staff Photographer

After nearly two years of pandemic crises, New Haven Mayor Justin Elicker is more hopeful about 2022. 

During his annual State of the City address to the Board of Alders on Monday night, Elicker highlighted the Elm City’s improved financial stability and its plans to address public safety, affordable housing and wealth creation.

“I’m confident in saying that our city has never been better positioned to tackle these long standing challenges,” Elicker said from City Hall, at his first in-person State of the City address since the start of the pandemic. “We have much work to do … [but] we [are] walk[ing] towards a day where in New Haven, every resident has the opportunity to thrive.”

Elicker began the speech by discussing public safety and youth engagement initiatives. This past year, the city spearheaded the expansion of various summer programs, offering employment opportunities to all 750 youth applicants in the Youth@Work program and opening new camps for younger children. Elicker mentioned another project that restored New Haveners’ access to critical youth services and community resources – the reopening of the Q-House in the “heart” of the Dixwell community.

He also referenced the proposed $10 million increase in funding for youth engagement initiatives under the Phase 3 allocation of American Rescue Plan funds.

“After a year of virtually no summer engagement and a year of distance learning, our young people needed more – much more,” Elicker said. “Summer camps and Youth@Work are critical tools for keeping young people engaged in productive activity, helping them learn new skills, meet new friends and earn some extra money.” 

The mayor connected these programs to broader efforts to reduce violent crime. He noted that violence spiked and city services shrank as a result of the pandemic. 25 people died by homicide in New Haven in 2021 –– the most since 2011 –– and 2022 began with three shootings in three days. Elicker said that although the city moved many violence prevention programs online, these virtual offerings were not as effective.

Elicker heralded the city’s expansion of Project Longevity, a crime prevention program that some residents have criticized for its ties to law enforcement. Last year, the city also opened a Reentry Welcome Center, which supports formerly incarcerated residents. 

Police are “an important part, but only one part of the citywide strategy to address violence,” Elicker said. However, New Haven recently moved to invest in 500 new surveillance cameras, despite the presence of what Elicker called some “vocal doubters.” The city has also expanded its police recruitment efforts and recently swore in seven new sergeants, including one who has been subject to excessive force allegations. 

Elicker then turned his attention to housing.

“New Haven is booming. You look around the corner – cranes in the sky, buildings going up all over the place,” Elicker said. “On the other hand, so many New Haveners are deeply struggling when it comes to housing.” 

The city has received over $6 million in federal Housing and Urban Development grants for its abatement programs, enabling an increase in the rate of housing inspections and giving workers new technology to upload inspection reports in real time. Currently, there is an ongoing proposal to invest $10 million of ARP funding into bolstering housing programs, such as rental assistance, down payment assistance and fair housing funds, as well as efforts by the city to establish a land bank to “secure” important properties before large out-of-town developers do. 

New Haven has also updated its housing policy in recent months, passing new ordinances regarding inclusionary zoning and accessory dwelling units. Among the values that Elicker emphasized are being “humane, inclusive and equitable” in terms of the city’s approach to delivering housing services.

On the economic front, Elicker cited both the dedication of interdisciplinary institutions in fostering a culture of economic growth as well as the importance of creating jobs for the public through outside projects. He drew particular attention to the city’s mission to support Black-and-brown-owned small businesses through increased grant opportunities and through expanded collaborations with the Financial Empowerment Center to “support creative entrepreneurs.” 

He emphasized that New Haven has a responsibility to its youth even beyond high school and the summer months, and that the city must ensure that every young person receives guidance in their journey toward a “career that pays enough to support [their] families.” This applies whether that “journey” involves obtaining a four-year college degree or attending vocational and technical school. Currently, New Haven plans to invest approximately $8 million in ARP funding in vocational and technical development with the intention of creating an “entrepreneurial pipeline” and serving job-seekers in “every aspect” possible. 

Some attendees at the meeting said they appreciated the mayor’s statements, including some members of Local 884, which represents employees with the Livable City Initiative, Police Department and other municipal entities.

“I do agree that things are getting better,” Kym Bray, interim president of Local 844, told the News. “Housing is important. And I do agree that he touched on getting people the funding that they need and jobs for people.”

However, Bray said she was concerned about the city’s lack of process on contract negotiations with the union. The union submitted a request for a public hearing about the contract, but it was not discussed at Monday night’s Board of Alders meeting. 

Many of the initiatives that Elicker cited were made possible by recent increases in the city’s budget. Elicker celebrated increased contributions from the state — from $41 million to $90 million per year — and from Yale — from $13 million to $23 million per year. Combined, that represents a nearly 10 percent hike in New Haven’s annual revenue. 

“That additional funding took us off the precipice,” Elicker said. “It won’t be easy, but this year will be dramatically different. From a budget perspective, we can finally stand on two feet.”

Alders echoed the mayor’s appraisal of New Haven’s progress in gun violence, housing and youth services, but also noted that the city will continuously explore options for further collaborations with other organizations to offer expanded services.

“As a board, we all continue to deliberate and figure out what priorities we need,” Ward 1 Alder Alex Guzhnay ’24 told the News. 

Elicker delivered the address in City Hall, which is located at 165 Church St.