New Haven’s eds and meds resurgence
It’s that time of year when cities, like New Haven, fill suddenly with college students once again. But this time, it appears more like what it used to be, as opposed to last year, when there was such uncertainty at the height of the pandemic. In the last week or so, there’s a sudden and welcome buzz in New Haven, and many of us likely missed that energy of being in an eds and meds city.
While there’s a certain notoriety for Connecticut’s cities having specific industries, like Hartford and Stamford for insurance and finance as well as Bridgeport and Waterbury for manufacturing, New Haven has been an academic and medical hub. But there are also all the entities that rely on these sectors.
Chatwan Mongkol wrote an enlightening article last week about New Haven’s businesses — and particularly restaurants — experiencing a surge of college students returning to downtown and beyond. Restaurant owners, like Claire Criscuolo of Claire’s Corner Corpia, admit that it’s been “really busy” and grateful to see their storefront spots and sidewalks filled. It’s something that many took for granted before the pandemic. Even though most weekends had some energy around downtown New Haven, the weeknights often appeared desolate during the pandemic.
Mongkol also highlighted New Haven’s economic development director Michael Piscitelli’s point that some 35,000 college students come to Elm City within the next couple of weeks. That’s a sizable population and even more so when you include the thousands more college faculty and administrators. Throw in thousands of medical professionals, doctors and nurses, it’s no wonder that New Haven remains Connecticut’s eds and meds capital.
Certainly, Yale University along with their various hospitals and clinics have been part of New Haven’s fabric. But there’s also Southern Connecticut State University and Albertus Magnus College uptown and Gateway Community College downtown, too. Nearby University of New Haven and Quinnipiac University are impactful for New Haven and its West Haven and Hamden homes, as well.
These academic and medical sectors serve as an economic engine in the Greater New Haven area. The Elm City has been this way for generations, and not just suddenly. At times there are classic town and gown troubling relations. But because of the pandemic, New Haven seemed to lack the usual vibe. So many of us were working or enrolled in online classes and meetings that we hardly ventured into nearby restaurants and businesses.
So with college students, faculty and administrators returning around New Haven, it’s great to see and be a part of Elm City’s resurgence. I was struck that East Rock’s Modern Pizza was filled on a weeknight and lines spilled onto sidewalks. I also went to a couple of downtown haunts including partaking in Trinity Bar and Mory’s happy hours. Even frequenting downtown Chapel Street restaurants on weeknights reminded me of a couple years ago. Last week’s bar and restaurant visits also reinforced that New Haven is a unique city and there’s a certain rhythm that’s rare to replicate in other Connecticut municipalities.
Mongkol’s piece did include several business owners’ concerns about ongoing staff shortages and supply chain issues. These problems will likely remain for months and hopefully not years. But at the very least as an eds and meds city, we should all support local businesses as much as possible and remind everyone that the education and medical sectors are the lifeblood of New Haven. It could lead to an economic, but also community resurgence for the city. New Haven appears to be headed in that direction as many of us reconnect again in Elm City.