On April 8, Connecticut Attorney General William Tong suggested that Avelo was freely choosing to “profit from” and facilitate “atrocities” that are “cruel by design,” in a letter addressed to Avelo CEO Andrew Levy. That same night, 28 of 30 New Haven alders signed a letter condemning Avelo’s decision to carry out deportation flights.

The following day, on Wednesday evening, over 60 residents protested the deportations at Tweed Airport. As of Monday night, a petition calling for an Avelo boycott had amassed over 32,000 signatures in one week.

“These cruel policies go against everything we stand for,” said John Lugo, executive director of Unidad Latina en Acción, an organization that attended the Wednesday protest. “[The policies] transport vulnerable people, including children and women, under inhumane, dangerous conditions out of the country, often without due process.”

Last Tuesday, Tong issued a series of questions to verify that Avelo will operate legal and humane flights, requesting a response from Levy by April 15.

Tong requested the company confirm that it will not operate deportation flights on which passengers are physically restrained without safe evacuation mechanisms, or for whom there is no valid order of removal. He made reference to a ProPublica investigation that revealed improper evacuation protocols and shackled passengers aboard ICE deportation flights.

“None of these abusive practices are required to secure our borders, promote public safety, or effectively enforce our immigration laws,” Tong wrote. “These flights are cruel by design and enormously wasteful of taxpayer resources, and no business should be complicit.”

He suggested that Connecticut’s continued support for the airline — including through its moratorium on aviation fuel taxes — would depend on its compliance with these demands.

Members of the state legislature’s Judiciary Committee said in an April 8 hearing that this could potentially be accomplished by way of modifying the Trust Act, a law that limits how state and local governments share information with ICE. The proposed modifications would additionally apply these restrictions to corporations, punishing companies in violation by revoking their contracts.

Additionally, 28 of the 30 alders of New Haven denounced the airline’s decision to operate deportation flights in a letter last Tuesday, condemning the decision as “profoundly out of step with the spirit and character of our city.” The letter urged Avelo to “unequivocally terminate any existing or planned contracts with DHS or ICE related to deportation operations.”

Of the two alders who did not sign the letter, Alder Gary Hogan said he is supportive of the letter’s contents and did not sign it due to a miscommunication. Alder Sal DeCola of Ward 18, a jurisdiction that includes parts of Tweed Airport, did not respond to requests for comment.

“We acknowledge the weight of these concerns and have received the feedback. We will be discussing these concerns with Connecticut leaders. We will have no further comment on the matter,” Avelo wrote to the News.

Carrying signs that read “New Haven won’t fly on fascist airlines” and “Bon voyage Avelo”,  dozens of members of Unidad Latina en Acción, Connecticut Climate Crisis Mobilization and Connecticut Shoreline Indivisible protested in front of Tweed Airport on Wednesday evening.

Organizers from the New Haven Immigrants Coalition, a group of local advocacy organizations, are planning a second protest at Tweed this Thursday and will give public comment at the HVN Airport Authority meeting this week.

“We know that people are being deported without due process,” Anne Watkins, an organizer with the coalition, told the News. “We know people are being deported to jails and other countries where the countries themselves are known for their human rights abuses. We know that there are deportations taking place for people who should have protected status in this country. I think people are responding to these horrific things that are happening.”

The protesters are just a fraction of those who have pledged to boycott Avelo. Tens of thousands of people nationwide have signed an online petition launched by the New Haven Immigrants Coalition, demanding that Avelo CEO Levy cancel the contract.

The petition, titled “We won’t fly Avelo until they stop ICE flights!” is currently one of the most popular petitions on Change.org. 

“It is truly amazing to see the outpouring of support across the nation,” wrote Tabitha Sookdeo,  executive director of CT Students for a Dream, a coalition member organization, to the News. “There is a swelling movement of community organizers in other states that want to participate. Across the nation, we hear a resounding call to treat immigrants with dignity.”

Avelo accounted for over 98 percent of passenger traffic at Tweed through 2024.

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Poor performance at New Haven’s Tweed Airport was key in pushing the airline to carry out deportation flights, according to an internal email from Levy to all crewmembers obtained by the News. Levy wrote that in the first quarter of 2025, the company will report its worst quarterly results since 2023, pushing the company to turn to more steady streams of revenue. 

“The primary reason Avelo’s performance did not meet expectations in Q12025 centers around New Haven (HVN), which until now has been a source of strength in our portfolio,” Levy wrote in the email. “After extensive deliberations with our board of directors and our senior leaders, we concluded this new opportunity [deportation flights] was too valuable not to pursue, as it will help us stabilize our finances and allow us to continue our journey.”

Avelo confirmed the veracity of the email to the News.

The airline will open a base at the Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport in Arizona and designate three Boeing 737 airplanes to facilitate the flights, which will begin on May 12. The company has listed job postings for attendants for deportation flights. 

The announcement that Avelo would aid in deportations triggered condemnation from New Haven locals and officials, including a boycott petition that has amassed over 2,800 signatures as of Monday night.

Tweed performance suffers

New Haven is a hub for Avelo — making up over 50 percent of the airline’s business, according to the email. The airline markets itself as “Connecticut’s Hometown Airline.” Beginning service in May 2021, Avelo has since expanded service from the airport, with over 480,000 passengers traveling through Tweed New Haven Airport in 2024.

But in the first quarter of 2025, competition in the New Haven area market increased by more than twenty times the national average, according to the internal email.

In the email, Levy blames the airport’s weak performance in New Haven on three factors: increased competition from Breeze Airways and other airlines in nearby airports in Hartford and White Plains, N.Y., falling consumer confidence in air travel and overscheduling by Tweed Airport. Levy claims that the Tweed Airport management firm, Avports, had been ignoring scheduling rules that had been in place since Avelo started service at Tweed.

“These claims are both bizarre and untrue,” said a spokesperson for Avports. “The success and popularity of Tweed New Haven Airport over the past year are well-documented, driven entirely by the dynamic and thriving Connecticut market.”

The Avports spokesperson noted that Avelo Airways announced new routes and service increases in response to Breeze Airways starting service to the airport in December 2024. These flights have stressed airport facilities with increased passenger traffic and forced quicker turnaround times, he added.

The increased passenger traffic has additionally led to greater traffic congestion surrounding the airport. In response to complaints from local residents, the time between flights was increased to 25-30 minutes from the previous 15 minutes.

To ease Avelo’s financial woes, Levy suggested a “long-term” solution.

“I realize some may view the decision to fly for DHS as controversial,” Levy wrote. “Regardless of your personal views on current political events, I know we will all continue to focus on providing the high-quality service Avelo has become known for.”

“Having a portion of our company dedicated to charter flying, without exposure to fluctuating fuel prices or risk from macroeconomic factors, provides us with the stability to grow our core business, which is scheduled passenger travel,” he added.

Avelo will shut down its base in Santa Rosa, Calif., to free up one plane for the deportation flights, but will continue to fly routes from Las Vegas, Redmond, Ore., Burbank, Calif. and Palm Springs seasonally.

Backlash from New Haven and beyond

A group of local advocacy organizations, New Haven Immigrants Coalition, launched a petition on Sunday demanding that Avelo’s CEO suspend its contract with DHS. In the text of the petition, organizers commit “to boycott Avelo as long as they are profiting from ICE flights.”

“It feels like a slap in the face, because we’ve been doing such hard work,” said Tabitha Sookdeo, the executive director of CT Students for a Dream, a Coalition member organization. “The City of New Haven is so welcoming to immigrants to the extent [that] there’s a Welcoming City ordinance. Having Avelo participate in these types of contracts is just deeply unaligned with what it means to be a New Havener.”

Sookdeo said Avelo’s contract was “morally wrong,” especially as the Trump administration escalates a hostile campaign against immigrants across the country.

In a statement to the New Haven Independent, Mayor Justin Elicker condemned the contract as an affront to the city’s values and welcoming posture towards immigrants. 

“While no one objects to deporting individuals who have committed violent crimes, it is well-documented that the Trump Administration is violating basic due process rights when it comes to our immigrant community, and we need corporations to step up and stand up to the Trump Administration’s unconstitutional, illegal and inhumane actions – not to be complicit with them,” Elicker said.

The fallout from the decision is not only limited to New Haven. According to a termination letter the News obtained from Avelo, at least one Avelo employee based in Raleigh-Durham International Airport was fired after he made an online post encouraging Avelo customers to avoid the company in light of its contract with ICE. 

Avelo currently serves four scheduled international destinations.

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Tweed Airport’s placement within the East Shore community means that travellers have to drive through residential communities to get to and from the airport. The entrance of the airport sits at the intersection of Fort Hale Road and Burr Street, home to many New Haven residents. Many of these residents have complaints regarding the increased car traffic, illegal parking and idling vehicles waiting to pick up airport passengers.

“They need to do more traffic enforcement,” Gloria Bellacicco, a local resident with concerns about airport expansion, said. Bellacicco complained about the lack of vehicle tagging and towing along Burr Street, where she claims vehicles are instead marked as parked for the airport and left alone. 

Joe Giordano, an East Haven resident who supports airport expansion, pointed out that “1,200 to 1,400 passengers converge every morning down Fort Hale Road for the early morning flights,” which he said strains the infrastructure at the airport and stresses travelers.

Sergeant Christopher Alvarado of the New Haven Police Department acknowledged these issues, noting that major congestion issues are mainly caused by flight delays, resulting in an influx of passengers that cause an unexpected rush hour. He announced that the NHPD has allocated another officer to work the perimeter of Tweed Airport, which could help alleviate these issues. 

Additionally, Alvarado clarified that while the NHPD “is more proactive, [the Traffic and Parking Department] is more reactive,” stating that residents should call in reports of disruptive vehicles to have them properly dealt with.

Thomas Cavaliere, director of community engagement at Tweed Airport, mentioned that the worst traffic issues were over the past holiday season, when flights were separated by mere 15-minute blocks. 

“Starting on March 3, to spread that out, instead of every 15 minutes, we’re now looking at 25-30 minutes.” 

Cavaliere says that this move should help alleviate congestion.

Cavaliere also announced that the city government and city engineer have developed a new traffic pattern for use at the airport, which they plan to construct by the end of the spring. While the plan has not been finalized, it currently involves the construction of a second exit and a roundabout at the intersection of Dean and Burr Streets. This means that cars for departing flights will still use Fort Hale Road, but cars leaving the airport will drive down Burr Street to the end of the road, and then take a right onto Townsend Avenue. The plan is forecasted to decrease traffic on Fort Hale Road by 30 percent.

City Engineer Giovanni Zinn, in a public meeting regarding the plan, stated that the traffic along Fort Hale Road has prevented residents from leaving their driveways. The narrow two-lane residential road makes it easy for residual traffic to spill out into the surrounding neighborhood. He believes that the reduction in “pinch points” — intersections handling more car traffic than originally designed for — leading to the airport will significantly improve traffic flow. 

Bellacicco expressed concern over this plan of action. 

“I really have an issue with sending all the cars out of the airport past a grammar school, a senior center, a church and a food pantry,” she said. These facilities are along the affected section of Townsend Avenue. Bellacicco highlighted how many students at Nathan Hale School are being picked up by parents, some of whom have to walk across the busy street to pick up their children.

Bellacicco also thinks that the lack of a traffic light at the proposed Townsend Avenue and Burr Street intersection leading out of the airport could lead to issues. With the intersection of Fort Hale Road and Townsend Avenue having a traffic light, she believes that diverting cars onto more roads in the community would worsen the congestion situation overall.

“Having a second exit to the airport is a temporary thing until the bulk of the traffic moves to the east side of the airport,” Zinn responded, referring to the relocation of terminal facilities to a new connecting road off of the nonresidential Proto Drive. 

Andrew King, spokesperson for Avports, the current operator of Tweed Airport, also believes that the airport can help financially support an effort to have a consistent crossing guard stationed outside of the Nathan Hale School.

Carolyn Roskowski, a resident who lives on Fort Hale Road, believes that the traffic flow by the school should be studied more by the city. 

“I’ve seen those lineups every morning and afternoon, and I think that’s something that bears more consideration, especially since we’re talking about kids and their parents,” she said.

A second public meeting is currently in the works. However, it is unclear when it will be arranged. 

The Board of the Tweed Airport Authority is set to convene again on March 21.

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Earlier this month, Governor Ned Lamont in his proposed budget called for raising bus fares from $1.75 to $2.00. Rail fares would likewise increase by 5 percent in each of the next two years. In December, the Metropolitan Transit Authority approved a new budget that raised fares for the Metro-North commuter rail by 4 percent starting in August of this year.

These changes come in the wake of increased spending needs by both the MTA and the Connecticut Department of Transportation. Lamont’s proposed increases to transportation fares aim to help fund transportation-related infrastructure and operation. The MTA’s fare hike addresses rising workforce costs.

Four local commuters told the News they disapproved of the increases. Central Connecticut State University student and commuter Jabril Bell said that he doesn’t “see the point in increasing the price if the experience of riding the train remains the same.” To travel to his job in Hartford, Bell uses UPass, a flat-fare unlimited-use ticket for students. Lamont proposed increasing the price for UPass from $40 to $50 per semester.

Two other riders also expressed frustration with the existing rail services, citing the hassle of arriving in Hartford by rail and the lack of progress on state construction projects, such as a project to double-track the Hartford Line. Funds for double-tracking of the Hartford Line were delivered in 2023, and construction is expected to be completed in 2027.

Other local residents see the fare increases as a disincentive to the usage of public transportation. 

“If [the transit agencies] want people to take the trains, they should lower the fence, not increase the fence, because the people that use public transit are not the people that can usually afford the increases,” said Bitak Shaw, a regular commuter to New York. Another local added that these policies do not “care about the working people.”

With a budget expanded by $29 million due to the price hikes, the state DOT plans on making improvements for transportation-related infrastructure, including $2.7 billion for bus and rail improvements in the recently unveiled Five-Year Capital Plan, such as new rail stations and pedestrian bridges. However, much of the funding for these plans is subsidized by federal grants, and the proposed fare increases will not wholly offset the projected $177 million deficit for the transportation department.

New Haven Union Station services Amtrak, CT Rail and the Metro-North Railroad.

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Psychedelics are a type of substance that induces an altered state of consciousness. Examples of psychedelics include LSD, psilocybin and DMT. These substances have been used by humans for centuries according to Paula Bizzi Junqueira of the Chacruna Institute. 

“In Brazil, we have Ayahuasca religions that are not so alternative, they are over 100 years old, so they are well integrated into society,” says Junqueira.

Psychedelics played a notable role in the counterculture movement of the 1960s, a movement calling for a liberalization of societal values. Supporters of this movement frequently used and supported recreational drugs, leading to the ban of some types of psychedelics in the late 1960s and the complete ban of most under the Controlled Substances Act of 1971. 

After decades of hibernation, educational and governmental institutions are approving studies within the space of psychedelic medicine for the first time since the original declaration of the War on Drugs. Many potential uses for psychedelics have already been established.

“We’ve done quite a bit of work over the last eight years on using psilocybin,” says Dr. Christopher Pittenger ’94, a professor of psychiatry at Yale. 

Psilocybin, commonly known as mushrooms, can alter short-term perception, followed by a long-term benefit for psychiatric symptoms such as depression, addiction and OCD, according to Pittenger. Pittenger’s team has recently published a study on work investigating psilocybin’s effect on OCD, with more follow-up studies to come. 

Many other studies have been conducted in finding the effects of psychedelics on certain mental conditions. Researchers are also investigating the mechanisms of these substances, but “there’s a lot we don’t know,” according to Pittenger. 

Psychedelic research isn’t just a topic of interest to Yale. Dr. George Greer of the Heffter Research Institute says that the institute is currently funding projects investigating the use of LSD with patients who abuse opioids, as well as more technical research into the biological mechanics of psychedelics. And many other studies about psychoactive substances have been completed and are currently ongoing, with almost 10,000 papers published in the last 10 years, according to the National Institutes of Health.

Despite this momentum, there are still many hurdles within the field. Pittenger describes the lack of controls as one of these challenges. 

“It’s almost impossible to have a real placebo, because when you take a psychedelic, you kind of know it, that kind of blows up the whole idea of the placebo control,” Pittenger says. 

Pittenger also discusses the challenge of choosing participants in studies that fit an exhaustive bill of constraints and complying with government regulations, which makes research in psychedelics time-consuming and expensive.

Pittenger says that this process involves licensing from the DEA and FDA, which requires following different regulatory frameworks for substances that “aren’t as well understood nor available.” These processes require a lot of safety data and bureaucracy to get a study approved.

Greer describes some of these regulations as necessary, stating that “a research environment is very different from a clinical environment and until the FDA approves a drug, it could be harmful to a lot of people.” 

Nonetheless, Greer is in agreement that he hopes the new studies can help influence the FDA to take a better look at the potential of psychedelics.

Neil Markley, CEO of Beckley Retreats, an organization dedicated to sponsoring safe and legal access to psychedelics, finds some of these regulations unreasonable. Markley believes that mushrooms and other psychoactive substances should not be classified as Schedule I under the Controlled Substances Act, grouping them alongside drugs like heroin. 

“When they’re in that classification, it really restricts the amount of research we can do with these substances,” he states.

Markley remains hopeful for change. He discusses how recent ballot measures in Oregon and Colorado have lessened restrictions on psychedelics, and how more states are interested in putting similar measures to vote. 

Despite the risks and challenges posed in the field of psychedelic research, these researchers are excited to see where the field goes next. Greer declares that “we’re just beginning to know how psychedelics can help people.”

There are over 200 active clinical trials investigating psychedelic compounds for various therapeutic applications as of December 2024.

The post Mind-altering remedies: inside the new wave of psychedelic research appeared first on Yale Daily News.

The Asian Pacific American Coalition of Connecticut and Unidad Latina en Acción are both working to register voters and increase political engagement within their respective communities — APAC through a goal of registering over 1,000 new Asian American and Pacific Islander voters by election day and ULA by encouraging young Latino voters to become active in the political process. 

According to Corona Zhang, APAC’s Let’s Vote Community Organizer, the AAPI community has some of the lowest voter participation rates in the nation. She cited lack of information about candidates, intensity of elections and poor accessibility to explain the disengagement. 

“In order to strengthen our communities, we need to understand how important it is to get out there and vote,” Zhang said.

Jennifer Heikkila Díaz, co-chair of APAC, said that to meet their 1,000 voter goal, the organization has been tabling all over Connecticut and participating in local community events. APAC has targeted naturalization ceremonies in Hartford, New Haven and Bridgeport for several months, Díaz said. But the voter initiative is not just limited to this election cycle. APAC plans to continue this initiative for future election cycles.

APAC has also championed the accessibility of voting resources for the AAPI community. This includes translating voter registration materials into the top 10 most frequently used Asian languages in Connecticut — from Vietnamese to Mandarin to Nepali.

John Jairo Lugo, community organizing director of ULA, wants to show politicians that the Latino community is ready to vote. By encouraging the Latino community to vote, politicians are more likely to support the interests of the community, Lugo said.

Lugo doesn’t want ULA members to stop at voting, however. “We can’t expect a winning politician to do the right thing for us,” Lugo said. Forceful public activism also prompts politicians to start paying attention to issues important to marginalized communities, supplementing the power of the ballot box.

Díaz echoed the sentiment. As more people in the community become politically engaged, there is more representation of diverse communities in political discourse. They further criticized the harmful tendency to treat immigrant communities as a monolith. 

“The more diversity of perspectives, the more we can ensure that no one is being marginalized or left out of the conversation,” they said.

There was a consensus between the organizations that immigration is one of the key issues this election cycle.

Lugo noted that the United States “has always been an immigrant country, and we [Latinos] are just a new wave of immigrants.” He said he believes politicians are utilizing the current migrant wave to stir emotions among the electorate to their advantage, negatively skewing perception of the Latino community in the process. 

For Zhang, the recent presidential elections have attempted to exacerbate racial divides. However, she said that members of the AAPI community have expressed to her that they would rather find a way forward — united — rather than participate in divisiveness. 

Díaz said that with a growing population of multilingual and multicultural groups in Connecticut, the focus should instead be on providing opportunities for these groups to allow them to thrive. 

Regardless of partisan issues, both organizations remain committed to voting advocacy as a means to push political discourse to include the needs of immigrant communities.

Election day is Nov. 5, 2024.

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The New Haven Museum officially opened its doors to the newly revamped “Amistad: Retold” exhibit this past May, intertwining the story of the Amistad slave revolt with the city of New Haven.

The exhibit has been remodeled to boast a large collection and a new lively exhibition room. It centers around the people involved in the revolt’s movement through the United States legal system and their integration into society. The exhibit also takes a special look at the Amistad in New Haven, establishing the city’s role within the abolitionist movement prior to the Civil War.

“Without the Amistad story, this museum would not exist,” Museum Educator and Researcher Eve Galanis said. “The original founders of what is now the New Haven Museum had this archive and treasure trove of what occurred with [the Amistad].”

According to Galanis, this archive was the driving force behind the museum’s establishment. 

The collection adds to a greater global context surrounding the Amistad, as well as contributes more detail to its legacy. 

The slave revolt aboard the Amistad took place in 1839, as enslaved people from Sierra Leone were being transported to Cuba. The Amistad vessel, now controlled by the captives, made its way into the Long Island Sound. Intercepted by the United States Navy, the revolters were taken to the New Haven Jail. They were acquitted following a criminal trial held at the Hartford Circuit Court and a federal trial held at the New Haven District Court and Supreme Court of the United States.

When asked what makes this exhibit special, Museum Director of Learning and Engagement Joanna Steinberg said that the selection of original artworks dedicated to the Amistad as well as firsthand documentation and testimony from the people involved sets the exhibition apart and leaves an impression. 

“You can read books, but one should come here to see the original artworks. That, to me, really leaves an impression, to see the portraits of the revolt leaders,” says Steinberg. 

The exhibit is the result of years of collaborative work between the Amistad Committee, New Haven educators and Yale scholars, according to Galanis. 

The exhibit took one year to complete, though the idea for its creation was floated around for many years prior while funding and grants for the project became available. The remodeling, which took several months, focused on making the information provided more accessible, according to Galanis.

“We had so many people involved in the research process. We had to make sure everyone gave their stamp of approval.” 

The new exhibit focuses specifically on the stories and testimonies of the enslaved and captive members of the Amistad. These testimonies were given at the New Haven District Court in 1841. 

Galanis emphasized that these testimonies are crucial to the redone exhibit, as they allow for visitors to understand how the revolters won their freedom legally.

“The enslaved people and the Amistad captives were central to their own freedom and their own emancipation. It wasn’t granted to them,” she said.

The exhibit also focuses on the multiracial movement to free the captives through the American legal system. It highlights topics such as interracial organizing, racial justice, the role of language in criminal justice and the power of the arts to shape history, which were crucial to the Amistad’s fighting of injustice.

Charles Warner Jr., the current chairman of the Connecticut Freedom Trail, described the effort as trying to convey both the historical context of the Amistad and the lessons the city has taken from it. 

“This particular exhibit gives voice to what the people of the community did to support the abolitionist effort,” Warner said. 

The people of the Amistad faced legal tribulation within the city of New Haven itself, having been imprisoned at the local jail and tried at the District Court. New Haven residents, religious leaders, scholars and activists came together to help the Amistad revolters make their defense. 

The museum is dedicated to including this exhibit in their education initiative. The exhibit has already been hosting local schools and recently held a professional learning day for city educators to learn about the history of the Amistad.

“The significance of this exhibit is to be able to reach young students and to allow them to access this story,” Galanis explained. 

The new exhibit is free to visitors and is open to the public from Wednesday to Saturday.

The post Newly redone Amistad exhibit takes new approach to New Haven history appeared first on Yale Daily News.

On Tuesday, the Legislation Committee of New Haven greenlighted a proposed amendment by the Livable City Initiative — LCI — to the appeals process of housing code citations. The new process would allow the city to appoint New Haven-specific hearing officers to make decisions on issued citations and levy penalties, departing from the current practice of directing complaints to the state Board of Appeals. Following about an hour and a half of testimony from LCI representatives and members of the public, the committee unanimously forwarded the proposal to the Board of Alders.

“The way that [the housing code] is currently written, it is inoperable,” Alder Ellen Cupo, chair of the committee, said. “So I’m quite pleased, but not surprised the committee voted in favor.” 

Patricia King, the city’s chief legal advisor, believes that the new process will enable LCI to accelerate the inspection process and possible landlord fines. A common refrain during the committee hearing was delayed enforcement as complaints played out in the state courts. 

In past years, mega-landlords in New Haven have repeatedly violated city housing codes without facing legal repercussions from LCI. 

The proposal was also met with widespread support from New Haveners at the hearing. Frustrated with the previous inefficiencies of LCI, Lisa McKnight, a member of a coalition dedicated to tenants’ rights, stated that this amendment is the “best effort” to reform the appeals process she has ever seen. 

The discussion was not without debate, however. Among the alders and members of the public, there was a demonstrated concern on whether or not the penalties levied by city hearing officers would be consistent. Uniform penalties may allow landlords with extensive property holdings — and in turn, larger pockets — to evade punishments that significantly affect their bottom line. 

“I would guess there are probably a couple thousand landlords, mostly small scale, where some of them are just as bad as the mega landlords,” Kevin McCarthy, a New Haven resident, said. “Lots of them, I think, could use some help, and hopefully LCI will be in a position to both go after the bad guys and to try to work with folks who are trying to do the right thing.”

To remedy the uniformity, Alder Eli Sabin ’22 LAW ’26 requested an amendment to the proposal to codify staggered fees based on repeat offenses. However, the amendment was drafted quickly, Sabin said, and was withdrawn for further consideration.

Alder Carmen Rodriguez questioned how hearing officers would be selected, to which Liam Brennan, executive director of LCI, stated that the officers would be appointed by the Mayor. He noted, however, that the hearing officers would not be city employees, but instead volunteers from the community.

Regardless of any debate, all alders of the Legislation Committee voted in favor of the new proposal. 

The Board of Alders are next set to convene on Sept. 16.

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