{"id":11915,"date":"2018-02-07T11:07:23","date_gmt":"2018-02-07T16:07:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/english.cpnn-world.org\/?p=11915"},"modified":"2019-10-10T07:35:57","modified_gmt":"2019-10-10T11:35:57","slug":"state-of-the-city-were-the-resistance-new-haven-ct-usa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/english.cpnn-world.org\/?p=11915","title":{"rendered":"State Of The City: We\u2019re The Resistance (New Haven, CT, USA)"},"content":{"rendered":"
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TOLERANCE AND SOLIDARITY . <\/p>\n

A article by by\u00a0Markeshia Ricks in the New Haven Independent<\/a><\/p>\n

A week after President Trump delivered his State of the Union Address, Mayor Toni Harp delivered a \u201cstate of the city\u201d address that put New Haven squarely in the camp of the anti-Trump \u201cresistance.\u201d<\/p>\n

In front of a full aldermanic chamber at City Hall, Harp painted a picture of a city resistant to Trump\u2019s vision for America, resistant to Connecticut\u2019s cities-vs.-suburbs mentality, and resistant to any notion that New Haven isn\u2019t a city on the rise. She borrowed a word \u2014 \u201cresistance\u201d \u2014 that has become a phrase for local movements across the country formed to oppose the current administration in Washington.<\/p>\n

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\nVideo of Mayor\u2019s speech<\/a><\/center><\/p>\n

A year ago, Harp said, no one could have predicted that \u201cwe would be dealing with such a dramatically altered political, social, and economic landscape.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIn that context, tonight, I would describe the state of New Haven as resistant to these frightening trends in this nation toward what would be a new normal -\u2013\u00a0 a Republic, a state, and a civic life so different as to be unrecognizable to most of us,\u201d she said. \u201cNew Haven is resistant to these would-be, new standards not for the sake of being contrary, and not because it\u2019s stylish or politically correct to be, but because these new standards are contrary to the best interests of this city, its residents, and its future.\u201d<\/p>\n

Harp said that New Haven continues to offer a hand to its residents even though there is \u201ca trend in some government circles to neglect or abandon the aged, the vulnerable, and those who simply can\u2019t keep up.<\/p>\n

\u201cSocial services for veterans, the elderly, the formerly incarcerated, the homeless, the disabled, the addicted, and the mentally ill seem to fall increasingly on the shoulders of local providers, as federal and state support dwindles,\u201d she said. \u201cGoing forward, New Haven must resist the temptation to follow suit: in my opinion, a community is measured by the care it provides for those who cannot provide \u2013 or speak up \u2013 for themselves. Tonight, I\u2019m pleased to say that in this regard, New Haven continues to measure up.\u201d<\/p>\n

Harp said all of the progress that New Haven has made \u201creflects an undeniable collaboration.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIn New Haven, elected officials, city workers, residents, volunteers, students, immigrants, and a host of other city partners make this a vibrant, attractive city, committed to its better days ahead. New Haven is resistant \u2013 and will continue to resist \u2013 a laundry list of frightful trends in America,\u201d she said. \u201cPerhaps most frightening among them is a deliberate attempt by some in this nation to deny benefits of the American dream\u2014safety, security, education, healthcare, opportunity \u2014 to any number of Americans for completely arbitrary and unjustifiable reasons.<\/p>\n

Harp said New Haven has \u201cresisted\u201d by rallying to the side of displaced Puerto Ricans with ongoing aid and relocation assistance; by partnering with Bridgeport in a long shot but, alas, failed bid for Amazon\u2019s second North American headquarters; and by creating a favorable climate for development that is starting to pay dividends downtown and beyond. She also noted that since she took office New Haven\u2019s unemployment rate has dropped from 10.3 percent to 5.1 percent.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis city continues to resist any notion that big ideas are too much to handle in challenging times,\u201d she said. \u201cThe new Boathouse at Canal Dock, a major redesign for the rest of Long Wharf, and continuing progress on Downtown Crossing reaffirm this. Phase 2 of Downtown Crossing will get started this year, continuing the process of stitching back together parts of town that were unduly separated generations ago.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAs I complete my assessment of New Haven this year, and as I assess the state of other cities nearby and frankly, across the nation, there isn\u2019t a city I envy, there isn\u2019t a city I\u2019d rather serve as mayor, and there isn\u2019t a community of people I\u2019d rather be with as we tackle a daunting agenda under these current, challenging circumstances,\u201d she concluded.<\/p>\n

(Article continued in the right column)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Questions related to this article:\n<\/div>\n
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The post-election fightback for human rights, is it gathering force in the USA?<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

(Article continued from the left column)<\/p>\n

Alders Praise Vision, Seek Details<\/strong><\/p>\n

Several alders were getting their first taste of the mayor\u2019s \u201cstate of the city\u201d address as a member of the Board of Alders, and they found a lot to like.<\/p>\n

Yale Alder Hacibey Catabasoglu said he was happy to hear about the city\u2019s infrastructure and the improvements that have been made, such as the wifi on the Green and efforts to help small businesses. He applauded the city\u2019s efforts to bring in companies like Goldman Sachs to teach small immigrant business owners like his father.<\/p>\n

He added that he would have liked for Harp to talk a little bit about youth activism in the city and how their political activism helps New Haven resist.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe youth are the ones that are going to be the decision makers and I think it would have been nice for her to touch upon that,\u201d he said. \u201cBut overall, I thought it was a wonderful speech.\u201d<\/p>\n

First-term Newhallville\/Prospect Hill Alder Kim Edwards said she found the mayor\u2019s message about the state of the city to be positive and upbeat.\u2028\u201cWe sound like a city that\u2019s thriving,\u201d she said. \u201cThere are many things we need to work on and we have to make sure all of our population is included in the decisions that we make daily.\u201d<\/p>\n

Edwards said while she knows there is much work ahead on the budget, she said she was impressed that the city has managed to cut its unemployment rate nearly in half.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe need to keep on that trend and we need to make sure that they are living wage jobs,\u201d she said. \u201cWe live in a high tax state. So we need to not just use the words living wage. They actually need to be living wage jobs.\u201d<\/p>\n

Downtown Alder Abigail Roth said listening to Mayor Harp Monday night reminded her of how proud she is of the Elm City. \u201cI liked her theme of a city that\u2019s resistant, especially with the state of our country today,\u201d said Roth, who attended one of the original \u201cresistance\u201d events, a D.C women\u2019s march coinciding with Trump\u2019s first inauguration weekend. \u201cIt feels good to be in a city where people\u2019s values align with mine and the mayor\u2019s values on so many fronts.\u201d<\/p>\n

But like Edwards, Roth noted that the upcoming tango with the budget is on the horizon. And Harp didn\u2019t have a lot to say about that in her address aside from mentioning the reduction of overtime in the fire department.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you look at the [monthly] budget reports it\u2019s something we have to be concerned about,\u201d Roth said. She noted, for instance,\u00a0 a\u00a0recent story in the Independent about a police psych-exam contract problem\u00a0that is delaying the seating of an academy class and leading to increased overtime costs. She called the issue \u201ca huge concern.\u201d \u201cThat\u2019s not to take away from what she said in the speech,\u201d Roth added. \u201cThere were a lot of positive things but the city\u2019s budget is a very serious thing that we\u2019re going to have to focus a lot on.\u201d<\/p>\n

There will be time for focusing on that soon enough for Morris Cove Alder Sal DeCola, but Monday night the mayor\u2019s speech had him focused on the positive.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are a lot of good things that are happening for New Haven,\u201d he said. We\u2019re always hearing the negative and she was talking about all of the positive things. I wish more people would focus on the positive. The bad\u2019s always going to be there. I have this saying, \u2018Every flower garden has weeds in it; look at the flowers.\u2019 We know the weeds are there; enjoy the flowers. That\u2019s how I look at it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fair Haven Ernie Santiago saw some flowers when he heard Harp say that\u00a0a sweep that helped the city assess the needs of Newhallville\u00a0last year will make its way to his community.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat was very good news,\u201d he said. \u201cFinally, Fair Haven is going to get its due. Now, we gotta see if it comes to fruition and how much is done because we do need a lot in Fair Haven. We\u2019ve got the worst streets, the worst sidewalks. I feel good about hearing what I heard. She gave a good speech. It\u2019s always good to hear they\u2019re going to work on your ward.\u201d
\nFreshman Newhallville\/Prospect Hill Alder Steve Winter said he appreciated the message of resistance and believed it was needed. He also noted that he\u2019s interested in hearing more about how the digitization of city services and other technology could help the city maintain a high level of service in a tough fiscal environment.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith values and institutions under assault, it\u2019s important to have our leaders and our colleagues remind us of why we have to do what we do and why you have to keep going,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

TOLERANCE AND SOLIDARITY . A article by by\u00a0Markeshia Ricks in the New Haven Independent A week after President Trump delivered his State of the Union Address, Mayor Toni Harp delivered a \u201cstate of the city\u201d address that put New Haven squarely in the camp of the anti-Trump \u201cresistance.\u201d In front of a full aldermanic chamber … Continue reading State Of The City: We\u2019re The Resistance (New Haven, CT, USA)<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[91,14],"tags":[5],"class_list":["post-11915","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-north-america","category-tolerance","tag-north-america"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/english.cpnn-world.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11915","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/english.cpnn-world.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/english.cpnn-world.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/english.cpnn-world.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/english.cpnn-world.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=11915"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/english.cpnn-world.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11915\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/english.cpnn-world.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=11915"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/english.cpnn-world.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=11915"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/english.cpnn-world.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=11915"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}