New Haven is located in south-central Connecticut, about 70 miles east northeast of New York City. Founded in 1638, New Haven is perhaps best known as the home of Yale University. Long a prosperous manufacturing center, New Haven has endured many yea rs of decline and now, a deteriorated older city with a population of 130,474, confronts a host of social and economic needs.
HUD's Consolidated Plan regulations require local governments to identify and describe housing and community development needs and priorities, and to establish a comprehensive 5-year strategy for addressing these needs with Federal and other resources. T he Consolidated Plan replaces the previously required Comprehensive Housing Affordability Strategy, combining several separate planning and application submissions into a single document. For the first year of the plan, the city of New Haven is requesting $6,922,000 in Federal Community Development Block Grant (CDBG), HOME, and Emergency Shelter Grant (ESG) funds. This money will be used to finance 90 housing, community development, and support service activities planned for Fiscal Year 1995-1996.
For New Haven, the first year of the Consolidated Planning process is a transition period and reflects both older public participation and newer neighborhood planning processes. In April 1994, for example, the city began a grassroots-based planning proce ss that included many neighbor meets, prior to a successful application to become one of 65 Enterprise Communities. Even earlier, New Haven began a self-examination process, "A Vision for a Greater New Haven," that involved over 2,000 area residents expl oring new ideas and possibilities for the city in 33 subject areas.
The citizen participation process for the Consolidated Plan began with a November 10, 1994, open letter from the mayor to New Haven residents. Two public hearings on December 1 discussed needs, eligibility requirements for funding, etc. Seven community meetings between November 16, 1994, and February 1, 1995, gathered neighborhood input. A public hearing on March 13, 1995, allowed interested citizens to voice their positions on specific activities within the action plan. Two additional public hearings were held on March 21 and April 4.
On March 21, a public comment period began with two newspaper advertisements that specified plan goals and recommended funding levels for various activities. Copies of the draft Consolidated Plan were made available at 3 city offices, the public library,
and 10 community police substations. The public comment period was open until April 19, 1995.
New Haven, an old and built-up city with little open space, is one of the poorest municipalities in Connecticut, a pocket of poverty surrounded by middle- and upper-income communities. Most neighborhoods targeted in New Haven's Consolidated Plan are dense ly populated and plagued with poorly maintained streets, buildings, and vacant lots. Graffiti, vandalism, security doors, and barbed wire are common sights. The city has only 15 percent of the region's land but more than 60 percent of the region's subsi dized housing units. This responsibility places a greater burden on the city's human service and employment systems.
According to the 1990 census, median family income (MFI) for the area was $46,805. Of the 48,779 households in New Haven, fully 55 percent earn 80 percent or less of the median income and thus are defined as low- to moderate-income. Analysis of 1990 cen sus data indicates the following levels of low- and moderate-income households:
The number of tax-exempt properties (such as Yale University's holdings and government-owned properties) seriously affects New Haven's financial status. The result of the glut of vacant and abandoned buildings is that 40 percent of its real estate does no
t provide tax income. With the existing poverty rate, the needs within the community, and more than 20,000 units subsidized through either project-based or tenant-based assistance, New Haven's resources are strained. In the absence of regional governanc
e, the city must bear disproportionately the burden of meeting the needs of the region's lower income population.
The 1990 census shows that New Haven has 54,057 housing units, 9.4 percent of which are vacant. Estimates for 1995 indicate that there are 600 vacant rental and mixed-use buildings. Most vacant units are either available for rent or would be habitable a fter rehabilitation. Approximately 43 percent of the city's housing stock is in 2- to 4-unit buildings; units in structures with 5 or more units equal 35.2 percent of all units. Strikingly, only 18 percent of New Haven's housing stock is comprised of sin gle-family homes.
New Haven's homeownership rate is 31.8 percent, or approximately half the national rate. Forty percent of all housing units are subsidized in some manner. Excluding city rehabilitation loans, 37 percent of all rental units are subsidized, as are 36 perce nt of all owner-occupied units.
Half of New Haven's housing was constructed before 1940, 78 percent before 1960, and 90 percent prior to 1980. While creating a remarkable urban fabric for preservationists and students of American architecture, the costs of maintaining this stock of old er housing often places a severe economic burden on those least able to afford the costs. The vast majority of residences are stick-built with clapboard or shingle exteriors, difficult to maintain, and expensive to repair. High energy costs add to total housing costs, and many older homes are in violation of housing codes. Even though house systems may have been updated since first built, they still may fail to meet more recent code requirements.
Almost half of all renter households in New Haven pay more than 30 percent of their income for housing -- more than one-quarter have a severe rent burden (paying more than half of their income in rent). Housing affordability problems are concentrated amon g a number of vulnerable demographic groups. Among very low-income households, who comprise half of all renters in New Haven, almost half have a severe rent burden. Just over 50 percent of New Haven's population are minorities and generally have lower inc omes. More than 70 percent of very low-income minority households report housing problems. Hispanic households report a higher incidence of housing problems than blacks at every income level.
Overcrowding is a serious problem in New Haven -- 44 percent of all large renter households live in overcrowded conditions. Although high housing costs can help explain this problem, it can also be traced to an apparent shortage of large, affordable, rent al units.
The estimated homeless population, based upon data collected by the city's shelters, is 885. This includes 412 persons in homeless families, and 473 individuals not part of a family. About 244 homeless persons are unsheltered, 563 are served by emergenc y shelters, and 78 are in transitional housing.
The needs of homeless families differ from those of individuals seeking shelter. Of families seeking emergency housing, 46 percent are new to the New Haven area. Their prior living arrangements included shared housing (57 percent) and their own units (3 7 percent). Among single men and women, substance abuse, alone or in combination with chronic mental illness, is common.
Needs of homeless families and individuals include housing, employment, mental health intervention, substance abuse treatment, medical referral, and financial assistance. Families are much less likely than individuals to require mental health or substanc e abuse services.
The availability of affordable housing alone will not remedy the identified needs of persons with special needs. Support services and case or client management are an important part of a comprehensive housing strategy. Vulnerable subpopulations include th e following:
The Housing Authority of New Haven owns and manages about 6 percent of the total year-round housing stock in the city. Of the 3,543 units in 37 developments in the public housing inventory, there are 1,226 elderly housing units in 16 developments and 2,3 17 units designated for families in 21 projects. Routine vacancies amount to 10.7 percent in family projects and 14 percent in elderly developments. Only 138 units (3.9 percent) are vacant because of major reconstruction needs. Three-fourths of all vaca ncies are in efficiency and one- or two-bedroom units, suggesting an unmet need for large units in the public housing stock. Much of New Haven's public housing is old and in desperate need of repair. The problems facing public housing neighborhoods are co mpounded by crime and drug-related activities in the housing authority's buildings. Tenants also need better access to job training, education, substance abuse counseling and treatment, health care, day care, and transportation.
Section 8 assisted housing within New Haven is managed by both the State of Connecticut and the city housing authority. The State manages 316 certificates and vouchers within the city. The Section 8 program of the Housing Authority of New Haven is much larger, allocating rental assistance for 2,514 units. This includes certificates, vouchers, Section 8 project-based, moderate-rehabilitation, and single-room occupancy rental assistance. The housing authority reports that approximately 10 percent of Sect ion 8 certificate/voucher recipients have used their assistance to move to other jurisdictions.
Systemic barriers to affordable housing in New Haven include the following:
As an older city, New Haven fits the profile of a jurisdiction with a high risk of lead-based paint exposure among young children. Use of lead-based paint was suspended in 1979, but by then use of paints containing lead had dropped somewhat as easier-to- use paints became available. Based on such factors, HUD suggests that 90 percent of the housing units built before 1940 will contain lead-based paint; 80 percent of the units built between 1940 and 1959 will have lead; and 62 percent of those constructe d between 1960 and 1979 will have lead.
Fully 90 percent of all housing in New Haven was constructed before 1990. Estimates suggest that between 59 percent and 72 percent of housing units in the city are at risk for lead-based paint hazards. This includes between 21,000 and 26,000 rental unit s.
The risk is not hypothetical. Records of the city's Department of Health confirm 1,151 lead-poisoning cases in New Haven between 1989 and 1994. In 1994 alone, 427 children had high lead-blood levels, which required the property owner to abate the offend ing conditions. The very lowest income renters, usually living in the oldest and least maintained housing, are at the greatest risk of living in a unit with a lead-paint hazard.
As part of an earlier Enterprise Communities neighborhood meeting process, New Haven developed a detailed outline of its community development needs. Below is a condensed list of nonhousing needs drawn from this important planning resource:
New Haven's primary goal is the comprehensive, systematic revitalization of the city and its residents, neighborhood by neighborhood. This is consistent with HUD's goal for community planning and development programs: to develop viable urban communities by providing decent housing and suitable living environments and expanding economic opportunities for low- and moderate-income persons.
An estimated $68,080,000 is needed to address New Haven's priority needs for housing, homelessness, and community development over the 5 years of the Consolidated Plan.
New Haven estimates the cost of meeting its priority housing needs at $11,250,000 over 5 years. These priorities focus on eliminating physical defects in low-income renter- and owner-occupied housing. Priority needs and their estimated 5-year costs are:
To meet the city's priority homeless needs, New Haven estimates the 5-year cost at $47.5 million, allocated as follows:
Total cost of meeting New Haven's priority community development needs over the period of the Consolidated Plan is estimated to be $9,580,000. The cost by activity category would be:
New Haven's strategic plan for reducing poverty encompasses the following:
Resources available for Consolidated Plan activities include the following:
During the 1995-1996 fiscal year, the city of New Haven proposes to use its CDBG budget of $5,435,000 to fund 85 housing, community development, public services, economic development, and planning activities. Allocations by category are:
Allocations of HOME Investment Partnership grant monies of $1,470,000 include:
Emergency Shelter Grant funds of $174,000 are to be allocated as follows:
Almost every activity funded under the Consolidated Plan is located in areas of low- to moderate-income or minority concentrations. The exceptions are program administrative functions in city offices, activities such as a football league for 8- to 14-yea r-olds, which includes teams from outside of low-income areas, and an AIDS information program that does not limit its efforts to specific neighborhoods.
The Development Administrator's Office will carry out the Consolidated Plan. The Development Administrator is one of four coordinators appointed by the mayor, and will serve as a direct link between the chief executive and the city's administrative agenc ies.
Action plan activities will be monitored by the city's Offices of the Development Administrator, Management and Budget, and Human Resources Administration. Monitoring will be carried out according to the regulations of each program, and will include moni toring of all subrecipients.
New Haven's 1995 Action Plan activities are expected to benefit an estimated 64,188 people, including 3,583 specifically identified as elderly and 3,755 identified as youth. Activity descriptions also list 66 businesses as beneficiaries of the 1995 Action Plan.
MAP 2 depicts points of interest and low-moderate income areas.
MAP 3 depicts points of interest, low-moderate income areas, and minority concentration levels.
MAP 4 depicts points of interest, low-moderate income areas, and unemployment levels.
MAP 5 depicts points of interest, low-moderate income areas, unemployment levels, and proposed HUD funded projects.
MAP 6 is a map, sectioned by neighborhood, which depicts points of interest, low-moderate income areas, unemployment levels, and proposed HUD funded projects.
MAP 7 depicts points of interest, low-moderate income areas, unemployment levels, and proposed HUD funded projects within one of the four neighborhoods indicated in MAP 6.
MAP 8 depicts points of interest, low-moderate income areas, unemployment levels, and proposed HUD funded projects within another of the four neighborhoods indicated in MAP 6.
MAP 9 depicts points of interest, low-moderate income areas, unemployment levels, and proposed HUD funded project(s) from a street level vantage point; in addition, a table provides information about the project(s).
Elizabeth (Liz) Smith
Phone: 203-946-8390
Fax: 203-946-7924
