Chamber: Alders stall development

Yale union influence hurting economy, jobs, business leaders say

Leaders of the Greater New Haven Chamber of Commerce say members of Yale University’s union are threatening the city’s economic future by using their clout on the Board of Alders to influence the approval of construction projects.

A group of Chamber leaders — including President Tony Rescigno, and Larry Bingaman, the chairman of its board of directors — met with the New Haven Register’s editorial board to ex-

press their concerns about a group of alders who are either employed by the unions or are sympathetic to their concerns.

Specifically, the business leaders are concerned that the alders are ignoring the recommendations of the city’s professional planning staff regarding several Yale University projects, choosing instead to focus on minutia that result in the approval process getting bogged down.

“The people on the Board of Alders are taking their orders (from the unions),” Rescigno said. “We are incensed that the Board of Alders is stalling projects. This sends out a message that development of any kind is not welcome in the city.”

Some 11 members of the 30-member Board of Alders have some connection to the Yale University unions, Local 34 and Local 35, which are currently negotiating contracts with the university. Officials with the two main Yale unions, Local 34 and Local 35, did not respond to several phone calls made this past week by the New Haven Register seeking comment on the claims made by the Chamber’s leaders.

But with both unions trying to get new contracts, sources say that it’s not that the unions are antieconomic growth; they’re just using their supporters on the aldermanic board to get some of what they want in a new contract.

For it’s, the majority on the Board of Alders seems determined to speak as one voice.

Calls made to several alders with ties to the Yale unions were not returned. But Board President Tyisha Walker and Majority Leader Alphonse Paolillo issued a two paragraph statement Saturday that indirectly addresses the claims made by the Chamber’s leadership.

“We have a track record of working collaboratively with developers on projects that improve quality of life for our constituents and help our city grow, including New Haven Works, Jordan’s, Live Work Learn Play, and District,” the statement said in part. “We are continuing this work on the Hill to Downtown Project, which is moving in a positive direction.”

As an example of the Chamber’s frustration, Rescigno cites two ongoing disputes that revolve around parking issue and development.

One involves Yale’s proposal for its $70 million replacement of the Gibbs lab building and other improvements at Science Hill off Whitney Avenue. The other is Fairfield County developer Randy Salvatore’s efforts to build a mixed-use development in the city’s Hill section.

Late last month, Salvatore stormed out of a Board of Alders’ Joint Community Development and Legislative Committee meeting after the parking issue was not resolved. At that point, Salvatore seemed prepared to walk away from his plan to construct about 140 apartments, about 7,000 square feet of retail, 120,000 square feet of research space and 50,000 square feet of offices in the Hill on lots that have remained undeveloped for 26 years.

The statement from Walker and Paolillo contends the alders had good reason for given both projects close scrutiny.

“Last month’s public hearing on parking was attended by over 150 residents, dozens of whom testified about the issue,” the statement said. “We are “confident we can address the serious concerns about parking raised by our constituents and that Yale shares that goal.”

New Haven Mayor Toni Harp said last week that she is confident a deal can be reached that will enable Salvatore to build his project.

Bruce Alxeander, Yale’s vice president and director of New Haven and State Affairs and Campus Development, said the university is “hopeful of receiving approval for our project on July 27.” That is when the Joint Community Development and Legislative Committee is next scheduled to review the university’s plan for Science Hill.

Alexander declined comment on what role the Yale unions might have had in slowing down approvals for the university’s development plans.

As to the contention by Chamber leaders that the Yale unions — and their supporters on the Board of Alders — are anti-development, Harp said she has no reason to believe that the alders don’t have New Haven’s best interest at heart.

“Despite different perspectives and occasional differences of opinion, I’m confident every elected official in New Haven works earnestly toward what he or she believes is best for the city,” the mayor said in a written statement. “I believe the city will prosper based upon a broad range of economic development projects, some already in the approval pipeline, and especially those to capitalize on its strengths — in the higher education, healthcare, and technology sectors of the economy.” Despite the confidence expressed by Harp and Alexander on the parking issued delaying the two projects, Hugh Manke, a member of the Chamber’s executive committee, said it is inappropriate for the alders to be taking any hands-on role in terms of influencing development in the city. Manke is a principal in the New Haven office of the law firm of Updike, Kelly and Spellacy.

“You don’t want politics influencing land use,” he said. “The Board of Alders has wandered into this project further than they should have.”

Bingaman, the Chamber’s board chairman, said the general public might not fully grasp what’s at stake with the projects or how the approval process works when development projects are proposed.

“I think people need a better understanding of the issues,” he said. “People are not able to connect the dots.”

More economic development in the city would benefit all labors unions, not just those at Yale, Rescigno said.

“I’ve told them (Yale unions leaders) that if you are serious about creating jobs for your members, this not the way to do it,” he said. “There needs to be a recognition that jobs are being held up.”

The chamber’s economic development vision for the city includes developers who might be interested in building upscale apartment complexes.

“That’s the hot market,” Manke said.

But while building upscale apartment complexes has a short-term benefit in terms of employing construction workers and permit fees paid to the city, commercial or industrial development would have a longer-term impact in terms of jobs and tax benefits.

Rescigno said the Chamber “has an interest in all kinds of development.”

“It’s just that if someone came into the city and built an office building, there wouldn’t be much demand for it right now,” he said. “You’ve got to capitalize on whatever is hot at the moment.”

Furthermore, having more people living in New Haven with more disposable income would benefit the retail mix of New Haven’s downtown, Rescigno said.

“We’ve heard from some retailers that there isn’t enough critical mass to bring them to town,” Rescigno said.