Beset by New Haven's ills, Yale revitalizes city

Yale bought, refurbished, and leased dozens of commercial lots, spending $10 million on Broadway Street and $5 million to prevent the foreclosure of historic theaters and stores on Chapel Street. Now these districts are grounded in national chains to attract suburbanites. But there are independent stores, too, some of them bound to unique demands. Written into the lease of a market is the requirement that it sell flowers and produce outside.

Finally, and perhaps most significantly, the university has worked with the city to draw more biotechnology and pharmaceutical firms. And simpler tax rules for research have allowed faculty to turn academic work into personal fortune.

New Haven's renaissance has also led to a resurgence at Yale. For the incoming class of 2005, Yale boasted its lowest admissions rate ever - which, in academia, is a good thing.

There's little doubt that Yale's contribution has been a key force not only in the school's rise, but in the city's turnaround. The number of vacant properties has dropped from 1,400 in 1998 to 550 today, and crime rates have dropped 50 percent since the early '90s. About half of residents say they have a positive impression of the city, compared to 30 percent in 1998, according to a 2003 survey.

City officials are quick to point out their own contributions, including a streamlined taxation system, the creation of a port authority, and a new marketing plan.

In the broad context of American corporate philanthropy, Yale's actions are not uniquely generous. Many economists argue that, given the university's prominence in New Haven, its corporate philanthropy is an act of responsibility, not generosity. Yale and its hospital have more employees than New Haven's next eight largest employers combined. And several banks in the city have merged recently, making hundreds of nonprofit groups even more dependent on Yale for funding.

Many organizations complain that Yale simply doesn't donate enough money. "Yale is a very wealthy school, and we would like to see actual dollars go to nonprofit organizations," says Jean Sheeley, executive director of the Boys and Girls Club of New Haven. The university, according to Sheeley, says it prefers to support the group by directing student volunteers its way.

Resident Lucille Dozier, meanwhile, wants Yale to put more money into beautifying her neighborhood of Westville. "The kids need some safe places to play," she, walking along a trash-strewn avenue a few blocks from the university's main hospital.

Other experts say Yale's support of private scientific research in New Haven has aided its faculty, but at the cost of the community. By helping to purchase and develop defunct factories and research parks, the university has precluded the rise of large-scale factories that could employ thousands more residents.

Strife with unions continues to blacken Yale's reputation here. And some say that union victories on pay, pension, and healthcare assistance in the past two decades have played a greater role in stabilizing New Haven than has Yale's administration.

Overall, though, good feeling between Yale and even its harshest critics seems abundant. Nothing makes that more clear, perhaps, than New Haven's current climate of realpolitik.

"When I was a kid the mayor here always ran against Yale," says Mayor De Stefano. "Now, you clearly have to work with them."

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