Rally for more black subcontractors held in New Haven

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    NEW HAVEN, CT (WFSB) — A community center in a predominantly black neighborhood in New Haven is 30 percent complete.

Now small businesses are speaking out, saying the city needs to hire more black subcontractors for the project.

The city provided some numbers today for the Dixwell Q House project.

As of May, nine percent of subcontractors for the Q House are African American, 13 percent are Latino, and 8 percent of the total workforce are African American employees.

“It seem like New Haven- they wanna keep they feet on our neck, and we can’t grow here,” said Rodney Williams, a small business contractor.

Subcontractors pouring out their frustrations at a rally Monday in front of New Haven city hall called for the city to employ more black companies for projects.

The center of the demonstration is the 54,000 square foot Q House, a community center that will house a library, a health center, a senior center, and more, in the heart of a predominantly black neighborhood.

“If we’re not using neighborhood residents to help build this building, it sends the wrong message,” Mayor Justin Elicker said.

Mayor Elicker said the lack of black subcontractors at the site is a problem.

The city ordinance requires black subcontracts equal 10 percent, but a progress report by the city says the general contractor has only hit nine percent of that goal for the Q House.

“It is not right that the city outsourced other contractors when there are contractors locally that can do the job,” Reverend Virgis said.

City engineer Giovanni Zinn says there’s still a lot left to do with the project, from flooring to sheetrock.

He says they’re trying to remedy the situation.

“We’ve really gone back to the general contractor and the prime subs and explained to them the rules and what they have to do in order to get more subcontractors,” Zinn said.

With two-thirds of the project left business owners demanded the city and general contractor give them a bigger piece.

“The services coming out of that building will help our city. So let’s make sure we have our black businesses working there,” said Chaz Charmon with Ice the Beef.

The construction on the health center part of the facility will start this fall.

Zinn says they are working on a small contractor development program to attract more black companies for that part of the project.

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