“We’re hitting our stride, and the state of the city is strengthening,” Mayor Justin Elicker told a full house of city lawmakers and staff in his State of the City address on Monday night.
“We have much work to do.. but look at how far we’ve already come, as we walk towards a day when in New Haven every resident has the opportunity to thrive,” Elicker said.
The crowd rose in a standing ovation.
Elicker led a masked parade of city officials into the aldermanic chamber to present his vision of New Haven going forward. His outlook was sparked with the ebullience born of continued development, a growing biotech sector — and an additional $60 million in direct payments from the state and Yale University in lieu of taxes.
“Last year we were able to increase our revenues, with no additional cost to our taxpayers, by almost 10%,” Elicker said. “That’s remarkable.”
Elicker balanced his enthusiasm with a call to use that windfall and pandemic relief funding to expand opportunity for all in the Elm City. Key among his cited accomplishments was the new inclusionary zoning measure, which calls for affordable housing to be included in new housing complexes.
“Now, when developers invest into our community – that development will benefit everyone by increasing the supply of affordable units,” Elicker said.
The administration’s proposed land bank, seeded with $4 million in new funding, will also allow the city to buy property “before a large out-of-town developer does, giving us better control of the development direction in our community,” Elicker said.
Elicker did not directly address the New Haven business community, but cited measures to address the recent uptick in violence in the city that threatens growth. The mayor said his administration would ramp up and continue programs like Project Longevity and Project Safe Neighborhoods and bolster police recruitment along with prison-reentry and youth programs.
The city also plans the purchase and deployment of 500 new cameras to fight crime.
“Cameras won’t solve everything by any means, but they will be a critical tool for achieving the goal of solving homicides and bringing justice for so many families and friends of our lost community members,” Elicker said.
Community startups will also benefit from new programs and grants from the city’s Financial Empowerment Center, which will “support creative entrepreneurs in a way that is consistent with the city’s new cultural equity plan,” Elicker said.
Elicker contrasted his upbeat tone of previous years to his 2022 message: “Today’s optimism is different, and it stems from two years of proof that New Haven and our residents have what it takes to persevere. We have the grit and determination to sacrifice, to push through, to have difficult conversations, and to get back up after we’ve been knocked down.”
Stats show economic recovery pre-Omicron
The city’s most recent set of economic indicators, released on Tuesday, showed improving business conditions for November, just ahead of the onset of the Omicron variant of COVID-19.
Unemployment dropped in November below 6% for the first time since the start of the pandemic, according to city data, with fewer than 2,000 new claims in November.
Downtown pedestrian traffic and parking revenue dropped in December as Omicron hit but maintained overall improvement when compared to 2020.
The city recorded 57 new businesses opening and 28 closing in 2021, compared to 48 openings and 39 closures in 2020. New businesses for 2021 included restaurants, clothing boutiques and coffee shops, along with two new construction companies.
With closings, the retail sector was hardest hit, with multiple barber shops, salons and auto body shops closing their doors across the city.
According to the most recent set of state Department of Labor statistics (DOL), the New Haven area workforce grew by 4% in December compared to December 2020, or 11,500 jobs. The largest percentage gains were reported in the job categories of leisure and hospitality, professional services and construction.
New Haven outperformed all other labor markets in the state in December, according to DOL stats, with Danbury coming in second with 3.8% growth.
Contact Liese Klein at lklein@newhavenbiz.com.
