The Board of Alders last Monday passed a pair of measures designed to curb the industry’s growth and protect the health of residents under age 21, officials said. Mayor Justin Elicker signed the legislation on Thursday.

One of the two laws, a zoning change, restricts stores that sell tobacco or vape products from opening within 1,000 feet of schools, houses of worship or parks, or within 3,000 feet of another smoke shop. The result, according to a map made by city officials, is to bar the creation of any new smoke shops except for a barren segment of Water Street near Long Wharf — at least until existing establishments close.

“We have 212 tobacco and nicotine retailers in a city of 139,000,” Elicker said to reporters and television cameras invited for the unusually promoted signing ceremony. “We don’t need any more of these shops.”

Smoke shops that already operate will be required to remove flashy signage and make their products and paraphernalia less conspicuous to passersby.

The second measure in the new regulatory regime requires tobacco and vape sellers, beginning in October, to obtain municipal licenses that will cost $150 each year. Failure to comply may lead to fines of as much as $1,000 per day, for repeated violations.

Joel Coronado, at the counter of Chapel Smoke Shop on Monday afternoon, said he understood the rationale behind the new laws and is happy they do not shut down existing retailers. 

“They’re trying to take it away from the parks, the schools, but at least they’re not messing with the establishments that are already here,” he told the News. “Everybody that’s grandfathered in, they grandfathered in. That’s cool.”

Coronado said that he blames a “backlash” toward smoke shops on the poor behavior of other stores.

Although Coronado had heard of the new laws, he was not aware of the regulations on signage. Chapel Street Smoke’s storefront windows are bordered by flashing LED strips, apparently contrary to the prohibition on “lights that flash, shimmer, glitter.” Coronado said he planned to visit City Hall for clarification.

While several smoke shops still have storefront displays that would be illegal under the new regulations, Mist Tobacco & Convenience, located at 342 Orange St., has already begun to adapt its storefront based on the newly passed ordinance — turning off their LED signs and retracting advertisements for nicotine products.

City Health Director Maritza Bond was alongside Elicker at the signing ceremony. She announced that the New Haven Health Department will make an effort to educate smoke shop owners about the ordinance before it goes into effect. The health department will proceed with compliance checks after Oct. 1 to ensure smoke shops adhere to the new regulations.

“This is about protecting public health and the safety and welfare of our youth,” Bond said, according to the New Haven Independent.

Both laws emerged from a working group of alders and city officials, spearheaded by Alders Richard Furlow of Westville’s Ward 27, Eli Sabin of Ward 7 in East Rock and downtown and Frank Redente of Ward 15 in Fair Haven.

The zoning and licensing components came before the Legislation Committee in January and February, respectively. They were delayed repeatedly for final passage by the board while staff adjusted the legislative text.

“This zoning regulation is long overdue, but we took our time and we worked months to get it right, and I believe we have,” Furlow, the board’s majority leader, told his colleagues before the vote on the zoning ordinance amendment.

The crackdown may have little noticeable effect right away and, by design, will make smoke shops less noticeable in the Elm City. But it allowed local leaders to unite behind a legislative achievement that the city can execute on its own, at a time of struggles over funding from the state and federal governments.

Alder Adam Marchand said the licensing mandate “has at its center the goal of protecting the public health, and to shield our youth and most impressionable residents from the powerful allure of these addictive and harmful products.”

The ordinance comes over a year after Connecticut Attorney General William Tong brought a lawsuit against Anesthesia, a smoke shop on Chapel Street, for the unlawful sale of cannabis.

The post Per new law, nearly no more smoke shops fit in New Haven appeared first on Yale Daily News.

Roxanne was inspired to join the Community Healing Network, or CHN, in 2019 after taking a year-long sabbatical in Europe. After visiting an interactive art exhibit in Westville upon her return to the United States, called “The Rise and Fall of the N Word,” she was forced to grapple with her time in Europe through daily conversations with the exhibit psychologist. 

“I came back from Europe really understanding that, even though I was moving through the world as a human being, as Chandra, other people were responding to me as a Black person — and their interpretation of what that meant was not always good,” Roxanne said.

Founded in 2006, CHN began as a grassroots movement in Black churches and community organizations. Nearly two decades later, it has developed international partnerships with African countries, leading efforts for racial healing and emotional reparations, according to its website.

The organization specializes in Emotional Emancipation Circles, or EECs, an eight-week program in which a trained facilitator, usually a Black psychologist or someone with prior experience with the program, works with groups of 10–20 people on what they call the “seven keys of emotional emancipation.” 

The seven keys, each of which come with its own mantra and are the focus of one week in the program, include African Spiritual Origins, Historical Moments and Movements, and Human Development and Learning.

Roxanne told the News that the goal of the EECs is to shift the mentality of members in the Black community.

“When you have undergone constant attack and trauma, you develop a mentality yourself, and that can play out in so many different ways,” Roxanne said. “So one of the things that we want to do is, first of all, is we want to create … people who are emotionally strong and can navigate and have the tools, the resilience tools to literally regulate their own systems.”

Roxanne said that CHN is looking to turn the eight-week program into a quarterly system where members return to the program, likening it to therapy. 

Together, CHN and The Association of Black Psychologists have trained facilitators and laid the foundation for EECs in nearly 50 cities in the United States.

“What we focus on is less about what is done to us, and more about what we do to each other as a result of our historical context and our current context,” Roxanne said. “It really is about how we begin healing from the legacies of anti-Blackness and the legacies of enslavement.”

The CHN also takes on another mission: connecting Black people across the diaspora, as well as across gender and generational gaps. 

Roxanne cited their work with leading NGOs across the world, including the International Civil Society Working Group for the United Nations Permanent Forum of People of African Descent, and the Global Circle for Reparations and Healing. 

“The organization has always, always looked to do its work globally,” said Roxanne. 

Melanie Funchess, an EEC facilitator, first heard about EECs in 2014. She joined CHN in 2019, focusing on programing and training expansion in Rochester, New York.

For Funchess, their work towards emotional peace is needed now more than ever. 

“Particularly we’re finding that, in the last several months, people are in need of spaces like this to reaffirm themselves, to feel safety,” said Funchess. 

She has also helped to create more specialized circles, which include groups for young adults and men, called “Something for the Brothers.”

Funchess spoke of the historical importance of group discussions like EECs for the Black community, which have existed in some shape or form for a long time.

“Even in the beginnings of our history, coming together in circles has been the way that we have settled conflict,” she said. “It’s been the way that we appeal, the way that we share joy and love.”

Funchess aims to normalize the idea of EECs so that community leaders can bring the program to their own communities and neighborhoods without requiring the presence of CHN.

Reverend William Mathis, a lecturer at Yale Divinity School and a member of the board at CHN, first began to work with the organization through his program Beloved Community, which brings together Black professionals in New Haven.

At Beloved Community meetings, members began doing EECs, which Mathis said had a profound impact on him. He felt so inspired he spread the program to his church. 

“It became such a healing agent for me, my engagement in the world,” Mathis said. 

Mathis said that channeling the framework of EECs encouraged him to find purpose and power from within himself and the community, not from predominantly white institutions. He underscored the importance of safe, all-Black spaces for open conversation and healing. 

“Our value stems not from how other people see us or what other people do to support us. It comes from within,” Mathis said.

CHN founder and President emeritus Enola G. Aird is a graduate of Yale Law School, class of 1979.

The post New Haven nonprofit championing Black emotional health welcomes new executive director appeared first on Yale Daily News.

These efforts aim to strengthen the local economy while empowering entrepreneurs of color through funding, mentorship and retail spaces. The News spoke to five Black business owners at the Shops at Yale to get their perspectives on New Haven and Yale’s relationship with Black-owned businesses.

“They understand what we’re trying to build here, and they’re not trying to keep us in a box,” said Krystina Jackson, the owner of Soulful Threads, a vintage clothing store on Chapel Street.

Cathy Graves, deputy director of economic development for the city of New Haven, said that New Haven’s many resources for small businesses — including the DNA of an Entrepreneur clinic, an eight-week program that helps people start their small businesses by establishing lines of credit — help with networking, technical assistance and outlining business plans.

Graves mentioned that the city was “excited” about increasing levels of Black-owned businesses. She estimated that around 60 percent of people who participated in their programs were minorities or women.

New Haven also partners with The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven to provide New Haven Equitable Entrepreneurial Ecosystem grants for small businesses, particularly minority and women-owned. Over $2 million in small business grants have been awarded since 2022. 

“Small businesses are the economic fabric of New Haven,” said.

Alisha Crutchfield-McLean owns Bloom, a multi-concept retail store on Edgewood Avenue. She spoke with the News about taking advantage of the many resources available to small business owners, including ConnCorp and New Haven’s programs for entrepreneurs, as well as an NHE3 grant.

She also mentioned the more personal mentoring she has received from Graves since moving to New Haven from New York City in 2021. Her first meeting with Graves lasted two hours and was full of helpful information and advice.

“She didn’t have to do that, but she spent time with me anyway,” Crutchfield-McLean said about Graves, who remains a mentor for her to this day. “I didn’t even need an appointment.”

Ricky Evans, owner of Ricky D’s Ribshack on Winchester Avenue, told the News that as long as business owners are willing to put in the work, New Haven and Yale can point them in the right direction for success.

Evans said that after starting his business, he participated in a program hosted by New Haven’s Small Business Resource Center. Through the program, small business owners can listen to other entrepreneurs and city officials and connect with fellow small-business owners.

Evans said that Yale was a major help in advertising his business through radio ads and social media posts. 

“The city of New Haven and Yale provide a lot of opportunity,” Evans said.

Alexis Evans owns Juicescape, a juice shop located on Chapel Street that is just under three years old. 

Evans mentioned that while she knew of some of the resources available, it can sometimes be hard to take advantage of everything when day-to-day life as a small business owner is already so busy.

“I haven’t had that opportunity to see exactly what they offer because when you’re a business owner, trying to keep your business up and running, I really don’t have enough time to go out and check to see what the city is offering,” she said. 

Evans mentioned that she participated in Yale’s series of interviews with black business owners on WYBC local radio for Black History Month.

Lucy Ballester, co-founder of Soap-edi, opened their store’s second location on Chapel Street in 2022. She shared Ricky Evans’s sentiment, and praised Yale for their help with marketing efforts, saying it’s been a big help for their business.

“I’m hoping we’re here for a long time,” Ballester said.

Yale University Properties was established in 1966.

The post Black business owners take advantage of Yale, New Haven resources appeared first on Yale Daily News.

On Tuesday night, leaders of New Haven Rising and UNITE HERE unions reflected on a year of successes and setbacks. They called on New Haven and Yale to support citizens during a period of uncertainty and economic hardships. Hundreds of attendees filled the pews of Trinity Temple on Dixwell Avenue, with lines of people spilling out the doors.

The Solidarity Summit was led by New Haven Rising, a community organization that advocates for racial, economic and social justice, and UNITE HERE unions, including Yale’s Locals 33, 34 and 35 and Local 217, as well as Students Unite Now.

Marks, New Haven Rising director, opened the event with a rousing call for solidarity and strength in the face of federal political upheavals. The crowd booed as speakers listed President Donald Trump’s recent directives in office — such as an attempt to freeze federal funds and the deletion of important datasets accused of promoting D.E.I. — and criticized his embrace of the “billionaire class.”

“The truth is that we’re heading about as far away as we can from Dr. [Martin Luther] King’s vision,” Marks said. “We are here, headed towards a place of resentment, hopelessness, a place that becomes cruel and violent, a place where the wealthy buy their way to power, a place where we become more divided, a place where we grow tired from just getting by.”

Peppered throughout a dozen speeches, speakers updated attendees on union progress in New Haven and drew attention to issues such as a lack of affordable housing, wealth inequality and fears of immigration crackdowns.

The summit’s mood oscillated between celebration and somberness. 

Omni workers with Local 217 recalled their triumph of settling a contract with the hotel last September after hard-fought negotiations. Adam Waters of Local 33 celebrated how after facing 30 years of “union busting and retaliation from the University,” the union achieved a landmark contract in December 2023 that raised wages and enhanced healthcare provisions for graduate workers. New leaders, Lisa Stevens, Local 34’s president, and Gwen Mills, president of the international UNITE HERE organization, both expressed excitement for their new roles. 

The celebration was extended to city officials as well. Marks and several speakers thanked the UNITE HERE-affiliated alders who walked the picket line with them and appeared at the summit. Mills praised the recent bravery of state representatives, particularly Rep. Rosa DeLauro, amidst federal policy uncertainties. 

“The Connecticut Democratic Party should lead the whole freaking world,” Mills said.

But speakers at the summit were also bracing for a tumultuous year. Jennifer Chona, a Democratic Town Committee co-chair, recalled when her family immigrated to New Haven, whom she believes to be the first Colombian family in the city. Now, she said, immigrant families fear even going outside and bringing their children to school. Last month, dozens of anti-immigration flyers were littered across the East Rock neighborhood.

Mareika Phillips, a key leader for New Haven Rising, shared how, as a member of the LGBTQIA+ community, she and her loved ones have been used as “a tool for hate and division.”

“When we are tricked into blaming differences in race, religion, immigration status, romantic orientation or gender for our woes, they have a freer hand to focus on how to overwork us, raise prices and keep us down,” Phillips said. 

Many speakers also called on Yale to increase its financial and developmental contribution to the city. 

Marks emphasized Yale’s “debts” to New Haven, saying that the institution profited from slavery and blocked the first American Black college from finding a home in New Haven. Representatives of Locals 33, 34 and 35 all criticized Yale’s tax-exempt status, the University’s insufficient contributions to local education and the inequitable benefits of their biotech investment. There’s a biotech boom happening in the city, but “it’s a boom for whom?” Marks questioned.

“We know that Yale University is hoarding money, and they want us to think that they are poor,” Tyisha Walker-Myers, chief Local 35 steward and President of the Board of Alders, said to the crowd, “They want us to think that our jobs are not worth the money that they pay us, and we know that’s just not true.”

Phillips stressed that “we have a big year ahead of us.” 

Local 33 President Adam Waters believes that elected officials and employers like Yale must now decide: to stand “on the side of poor and working people, … on the side of justice” or to take the side of “corporations, billionaires and right-wing authoritarians who want to dismantle democracy.”

State Senator Martin Looney and Mayor Justin Elicker were present at the event but did not speak on stage. After the speeches, though, attendees could go downstairs and eat dinner while meeting their elected officials.

In the past, the summit has been called “Unity in Action” and was held specifically in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. This year, after deliberations, it was rebranded as the “Solidarity Summit.” 

“Whatever affects one affects all of us indirectly,” Marks said, recalling an iconic line from King’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail”: “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” 

Ellen Cupo, Ward 8 alder and member of Local 34, spoke of the transformative power of unionizing to the News after the event. After finding out she had a brain tumor last year, she was grateful for not only the healthcare support her union’s negotiations had won in the past but also for the support of her “union family.”

Marks ended the event by asking attendees to help fight to pass SB 8, a state bill that would enhance protections for workers while striking. 

“The elected leaders stood with us on the picket lines. Now is our chance to stand with the elected leaders and create legislation that’s going to help us build more unions,” he said.

“Now look around. Let’s see who’s in the room and who’s ready to organize,” Marks said, “We ain’t going nowhere.”

The oldest union present was Local 35, which has been organizing since 1941. 

Correction, Feb. 6: The article has been updated to remove a quote that was said off the record.

The post “We have a big year ahead”: UNITE HERE urge for city, Yale solidarity in Trump era appeared first on Yale Daily News.

The grand opening of the second-hand clothing store kicked off at 9:45 a.m. at the approximately 7,600 square-foot location on Elm Street. 2nd STREET’s opening day comes eight months after L.L. Bean left the location in mid-February.

Wakasa Mizuno, 2nd STREET’s marketing officer, said that New Haven is a perfect location for the company’s first Connecticut storefront. 

“New Haven offers the ideal combination of a dynamic retail environment and a rich cultural scene that aligns with our brand’s values,” Mizuno said in a press release. “The city’s thriving, fashion-forward population makes it the perfect backdrop for 2nd STREET’s first step into the Connecticut market.”

Following a ribbon cutting and the official opening of doors at 10 a.m., the store filled with at least 100 customers. 

Finnegan Quinn ’27, who attended the opening, expressed his excitement about the arrival of the new store.

“Pretty close to my house in Portland, Oregon, there’s a 2nd STREET and it’s always been pretty good and pretty consistent, so I was excited to check out this one in New Haven,” Quinn said. 

2nd STREET has 42 locations in the U.S. — and over 700 globally. 

Roberaa Ayana ’25, who visited 2nd STREET on Monday, left with a full bag of clothes. He commended the store’s collection, citing his previous visits to locations in New York City.

“It’s nice to have something that’s not Lululemon, L.L. Bean or J press,” Ayana said. “I feel like this is accessible for everyone in general because they have such a wide variety of prices and different kinds of pieces.”

2nd STREET is the fourth resale fashion shop in the Yale University Properties’  portfolio in the past three years. A report by ThreadUp stated that the global second-hand market is set to nearly double by 2027, totaling $350 billion, according to a University Properties statement given to the News in April.

In the April statement, Alexandra Daum, associate vice president for New Haven Affairs and University Properties, stated that with recent momentum behind the fashion resale industry, now is the time to align Yale’s portfolio with the emerging market.

“We are fortunate 2nd Street chose New Haven and The Shops at Yale for the chain’s first location in Connecticut,” Daum said in a press release. “2nd Street’s value and eco-conscious options will appeal to a broad demographic, including New Haven residents, our student population and customers living outside of New Haven.

2nd STREET is located at 272 Elm St.

The post 2nd STREET comes to Yale appeared first on Yale Daily News.

The planned increase comes from a 2019 state bill. The law requires the minimum wage to be adjusted each year based on the U.S. Department of Labor’s employment cost index calculation. The state’s minimum wage has increased every year since 2019.

“This is a fair, modest adjustment for workers who will invest their earnings right back into our economy and support local businesses in their communities,” Gov. Ned Lamont said in a press release.

For the approximately 170,000 minimum wage laborers in Connecticut, the 4.2 percent increase would result in an extra $26.40 a week— summing about $1,400 annually — for laborers working 40 hours a week. 

A city official and Yale student worker who spoke with the News celebrated the increase. But a local business owner expressed skepticism about the positive effects of the increase.  

Michael Piscitelli, the economic development administrator of New Haven, said he was optimistic about the minimum wage increase in an email to the News.

“The increase to the State’s minimum wage rate is an important step forward, supporting our residents who have bolstered the City’s economic growth over many years,” Piscitelli wrote.

George Koutroumanis, owner of Yorkside Pizza, a family-owned restaurant located on Yale’s campus, shared concerns about price increases, however. 

Regardless, Koutroumanis emphasized that the rise in minimum wage would not affect his hiring process. 

“People will make more money, that’s good. Maybe they’ll spend more money, that’s good,” Koutroumanis said. “But on the other hand, everything that they buy will cost more money.”

Despite the increase, Connecticut remains one of the costliest states to live in according to the Cost of Living Index, which ranks it 13th most expensive. It remains unclear if the rise in minimum wage will help laborers adjust to a high cost of living. 

Piscitelli noted that Connecticut still has “a long way to go” to reach a living wage relative to the cost of living. 

“You know the way the economy is today, there is no livable wage,” Koutroumanis added. “You’re making more money, but losing value.”

Meanwhile, student worker Nik Alderson ’27 expressed excitement about the increase. 

“I’m very happy. I think this will increase my disposable income by quite a lot. It’ll definitely improve my standard of living,” Alderson said.

The Koutroumanis family has owned Yorkside Pizza and Restaurant since 1969. 

The post Connecticut minimum wage set to increase in 2025 appeared first on Yale Daily News.

The CPC approved a request made by Avports, the company that manages Tweed, to extend the airport’s flood damage prevention ordinance variance. The variance grants permission to Tweed to continue operating on temporary facilities that currently sit below the base flood elevation. 

A flood damage variance request from Tweed had previously been approved by the CPC in 2021. Avports’s request to extend the temporary variance comes as a result of their current variance’s expiration approaching in November. 

“I’d like this board to consider this extension a bridge to New Haven’s future,” Tony Lorenti, a commercial pilot from Meriden, Conn., said. “It is a necessity. The airport is a public resource, not just for our community, but for the region.” Lorenti was the only member of the public to testify in support of the extension.

The request comes amid increased tensions between Tweed and the public surrounding recent plans for expansion. 

Originally planned to be open only to the CPC, the hearing was made public after 30 members of the community submitted letters requesting that the hearing be made open.

The hearing began with a consideration of two members of the public — Lorena Venegas and Patrick Rowland — requesting “intervener status,” which would have allowed them to present evidence to the CPC and directly question Avports representatives. 

Both requests were denied unanimously, though later on the two had the opportunity to speak as members of the public — who were each restricted to three minutes of testimony.

As the public hearing began, members of the community brought up concerns about the contents of Tweed’s temporary trailers, given that they reside in a floodplain and could be released into the water system in the event of a flood. 

Dr. Dana Walker, a resident of East Haven who fishes in the creek near Tweed, was one of the first members of the public to speak on the variance.

“We need to know what’s in those trailers by detail,” he said. “We need to know those chemicals, because we have tested the water for [other chemicals], and we have seen a change, and now we need to know what’s in those trailers.”

Joining other members of the New Haven public were representatives of the town of East Haven. Part of Tweed occupies East Haven land, while the other part resides in New Haven’s Morris Cove neighborhood.

Steven Trinkauss, a civil engineer representing East Haven, testified with his concerns about the safety of the below-floodline construction.

“My primary concerns are building anything below the base flood elevation is simply a bad idea, temporary or not,” he said. “It puts things at substantial risk.”

Christopher Rousseau, a lawyer representing the town of East Haven, questioned the confusing timeline of the variance application process, which contained multiple variations of the application. 

Members of the public brought up other topics concerning the variance application as well as Tweed’s overall expansion plans. Concerns included general complaints about Tweed and its plans to expand, confusion about the timeline of the ordinance, and uncertainty around the number of temporary trailers being stored at Tweed.

After two rounds of public testimony, Commission Vice Chair Ernest Pagan closed the public hearing and Alder Adam Marchand began to question the Avports representatives, including confusion surrounding the basis of the necessity for the ordinance. 

Responding to confusion about the type of hardship demonstrated by the application, Avports attorney Joe Williams stated that it was not economically impossible but physically impossible to put the trailers anywhere else.

“We made that argument, and the commission accepted and approved it three years ago,” he said. “So the question is whether there’s a change in something before you to justify denying it now. And I think the answer is clearly no.” 

According to the New Haven Municipal Code, an applicant for the FDP Variance must demonstrate that following the city’s usual floodplain ordinances would cause them “unnecessary hardship” in construction. 

Alder Marchand worried continued extensions would allow Avports to stall on building permanent structures in a safer area. 

“I feel some concern about the possibility that we’ll be facing this same situation three years from now, and I think a preferred outcome is the airport moving to a more permanent and better facility,” he said. “I’m leaning towards voting yes on this, but I’m not excited about voting yes again three years from now.” 

New Haven resident Patrick Rowland added that Avports has not provided an emergency plan, which is alarming. 

Others have pointed out discrepancies in the application, including failure to update base flood elevation and acquire proper permits for additional trailers. 

“This project has not moved as quickly as the applicant,” Morris Cove resident Gabriela Campos said. “Who knows, maybe three years from now, we could be looking at another request to extend the variance. And then, to me, that does bring into question that we’re not really talking about a temporary structure anymore … I want the applicant to say a little bit more about the issue of time frame.”

After consideration between Vice Chair Ernest Pagan and Deputy Corporation Counsel Rod Williams, the vote went forward with no prohibition of a future application, but with conditions for approval that included anchorage of the trailers to prevent them from becoming unhinged during floods. All three present members of the board, which included Pagan, Marchand and Joy A. Gary, voted to approve the extension. 

Commissioners also discussed renewing a special permit and coastal site plan review for Sims Metal. The facility has been operating for the past year without a permit due to a delayed application because of COVID-19. This application was unanimously approved. 

“I don’t see a diminishment of that an important waterway and the coastal resources that are implicated in this application,” commissioner Adam Marchand said. “So I’m comfortable with the staff reports findings on the coastal, and I’m also comfortable granting the special permit.”

The regular City Plan Commission meeting will be held on Wednesday, Oct. 16, on Zoom. 

The post City grants Tweed’s request for extension of temporary buildings appeared first on Yale Daily News.

“It makes me really sad, because for 20 years, whenever they have needed me, I’ve been there,” Corona said in Spanish through a translator. “But now we have these needs, and those are not being reciprocated.” 

Omni hospitality workers have started the second day of their strike, which began at 5 a.m. on Thursday. The strike comes after 10 months of unsuccessful contract negotiations between UNITE HERE Local 217 and the Omni hotel. The vote to authorize a strike took place on Aug. 7, when it was unanimously passed by the union workers.

Over 100 supporters joined workers on the picket line on Thursday, local 217 secretary-treasurer Josh Stanley announced to the crowd in the late afternoon. Connecticut Lieutenant Governor Susan Bysiewicz, New Haven Board of Alders President Tyisha Walker-Myers and the Rev. Scott Marks of New Haven Rising rallied behind Omni workers. 

In a press release, Stanley stated that Omni’s failure to increase wages and benefits for its workers was the crux of the decision to strike.

“Here in New Haven we are living in a contradiction,” Stanley wrote in the press release. “The hotel industry is making massive profits; New Haven is being written up as a thriving city; and yet workers at the Omni New Haven Hotel at Yale are poorer than they were in 2020 in relation to the cost of living.”

Local 217 announced in their press release that picketing will continue for up to 24 hours a day until needs are met. Ian Dunn, a UNITE HERE organizer, told the News on Thursday morning that workers plan to be on the picket line from 5 a.m. until midnight or until hotel management satisfies the strikers’ demands.

UNITE HERE unions have been striking at hotels throughout the country — including a Labor Day strike in which more than 10,000 workers participated in Greenwich, Conn., Boston and beyond.

Carla Vallati, a room attendant who has been working at the Omni for nine years, said that workers were holding out for fair wages, better healthcare and a stronger pension. Vallati published an op-ed with the News on Wednesday urging the Yale community to support the strikers’ mission. 

“For me personally, I absolutely love my job, and I’m just looking for the same love in return,” Vallati said. “The same dedication that I put in — I’d like to see some of it back.”

In addition to shouldering financial insecurity, Corona told the News that her stress from her job follows her home. Corona alleged that Omni does not always provide her with the trash bags to perform basic cleaning tasks. 

The News was not able to immediately reach Omni management for comment. When News reporters attempted to get contact information for Omni leadership on Thursday, they were told that the hotel was unwilling to provide comment at the time. 

In a speech to an energetic crowd of Omni employees, Board of Alders President Walker-Myers voiced her solidarity with the workers.

“One job should be enough,” Walker-Myers said through the megaphone. “People should be able to afford health care. They should be able to be able to take care of their family and if Omni is not standing up to that standard, that’s why we’re out here. We gotta fight.”

Bysiewicz, in her speech, extended her support to Omni workers, as well as labor unions across the state fighting for fair contracts. She noted that much of the workers powering the hospitality industry are women, and emphasized that women bear the brunt of a lack of fair contracts.

“I’m prepared to strike as long as it takes,” Vallati said. “I think we’re well worth what we’re asking for, and I don’t know what else to do at this point … I definitely didn’t want to come to here, but we’re here”

Sen. Chris Murphy and Rep. Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut are slated to support protesters on the picket line later today.

The post Omni workers start second day of strike appeared first on Yale Daily News.

The DCP promptly suspended the Thai restaurant’s liquor permit four days after the shooting, following a written request for the liquor license suspension from the NHPD. The shooting, which occurred at approximately 1 a.m. on Aug. 31, left two women grazed by bullets after a physical altercation on the restaurant’s premises. 

Lieutenant Brendan Borer of the NHPD sent the DCP a request for the suspension of NOA’s liquor permit on the day of the shooting. He stated that the request was made to “ensure that the business can improve the security and safety conditions at their establishment,” citing the shooting as the catalyst of their decision.

Borer continued that concerns about NOA’s security arose due to a stabbing that occurred at the restaurant in November 2023. 

Borer visited NOA for a security meeting following the stabbing incident. At the meeting, he and Liquor Agent Michael Kula discussed improved security measures for the business, including pat downs of patrons to prevent weapons from entering the establishment.

“[NOA] poses an immediate danger to its customers, the commercial businesses that it adjoins, pedestrians, and vehicular traffic,” Borer wrote in the request.

NOA could not be reached for comment on this article.

DCP commissioner Bryan Cafferelli served the order, which indefinitely suspended NOA’s liquor permit. The order echoed many of the same concerns for public safety and security that NHPD’s request for suspension included. 

Cafferelli stated that the DCP has had to get involved with the restaurant on three separate occasions since NOA was issued its liquor permit in July 2022. The instances include the aforementioned stabbing, complaints from the Yale Police Department about bartenders pouring drinks directly into patrons’ mouths and an instance where a minor was seen at the restaurant’s bar with a fake ID during an unannounced inspection.

“We find that the August 31, 2024 shooting event, which follows a stabbing in the premise and is the second incident of violence in less than one year, demonstrates that the premises is operated in a manner that imperils public safety and highlights the need for better control of the premise by the permittee, backer, or their agent,” Cafferelli wrote.

The NHPD requested that NOA show proof of improved security measures before reopening.

“We’d like to see any bar or restaurant contribute positively to the community by making the neighborhood vibrant and lively while also ensuring a safe environment,” NHPD Officer Christian Bruckhart wrote to the News. “We’re hoping that NOA can make the improvements needed to make that happen.”

NOA is located at 200 Crown St.

The post NOA hit with liquor permit suspension after shooting appeared first on Yale Daily News.

In early August, low-cost airline Breeze Airways announced its arrival to Tweed, with flights starting Dec. 10. Breeze announced routes to 11 different locations along the East Coast, including three routes to Florida five days a week.

Breeze will join Avelo Airlines, the only airline offered at Tweed since November 2021. The move comes as part of Breeze’s strategy to expand its operations to airports across the northeast, which was met with pushback from local residents.

“[Noise] is certainly a big issue with Tweed and the residents, so we are flying the next generation of aircraft that is much quieter and smaller, more efficient on that side, more fuel efficient per seat,” Lukas Johnson, Breeze’s chief commercial officer, told the News, addressing noise pollution — a common issue for members of the surrounding communities.

Breeze will use Airbus A220s, while Avelo currently uses Boeing Next-Generation 737s. The News could not independently verify the noise levels of the two aircraft. 

Lorena Venegas, a resident of East Haven who lives less than two miles from the airport, believes that Breeze’s quieter aircraft won’t have a positive benefit for the community.

“Our problem is cumulative noise,” Venegas said. “For Breeze, I’d want them to build a bridge with the community by writing a strong, voluntary agreement plan that would actually be feasible … We don’t want airplanes coming in and out after 9 [p.m.], and we don’t want planes before 7 [a.m.].”

Residents of the nearby neighborhood echoed Venegas’s concerns about noise and air pollution as Tweed continues to increase the number of flights coming in and out of the airport.

According to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics, Tweed saw an over 1,100 percent increase of 57 thousand to 701 thousand total passengers from 2021 to 2022.

Sam Sigg DIV ’03, a New Haven resident, also flagged the future noise level of Breeze’s aircraft. 

“I read about the kind of planes and the engines that are supposedly cleaner and quieter, but jet airliners taking off is going to make a lot of noise, and I’m really concerned,” Sigg told the News. “It’s very upsetting to me that my quality of life is going to be hugely impacted with the addition of Breeze and the doubling or tripling of flights.”

Sigg and Venegas both shared that the economic impact of Breeze coming to the airport would be negligible compared to the depreciation of property value in the area. Increased noise, as well as possible environmental pollution, could lead to decreased housing value in the area, residents said. 

While frustrated by the expansion of a new airline to Tweed, Jody Rowell, a New Havener who lives near the airport, hopes that Breeze beats its competitor, Avelo, out of the airport.

“I’m hoping that Breeze has quieter airplanes, but I’m also hoping that Breeze actually knocks Avelo out,” Rowell told the News. “I really do feel Avelo is not respectful to the community, and I think their airplanes are super old.”

Venegas, Rowell and Sigg criticized Tweed’s grander plan to expand the airport and believe that bringing Breeze into Tweed is just another step towards that expansion.

Tweed-New Haven Airport did not respond to a request for comment.

“Our life is over here. We’ve invested over here. And when a jet takes off, it does disrupt everything,” Siggs said

Tweed Airport is located at 155 Burr St.

The post Announcement of new airline at Tweed raises concern amongst residents appeared first on Yale Daily News.