By Ann DeMatteo, Assistant Metro Editor
adematteo@nhregister.com / Twitter: @annddematteo

EAST HAVEN — In 1981, a local businessman thought the town should change its name to combat a negative image, improve commerce and make the town more inviting.

Robert Hartmann’s idea of calling East Haven “Oceanport” went out to sea soon after it was proposed, but 31 years later, the town is still battling its image.

“The only publicity the town gets is negative. When people talk about what town comes after New Haven, people always say Branford. I’m fed up with this stigma. It stinks,” Hartmann told the Register at the time. He is now a real estate developer in Milford and could not be reached for comment.

The latest dent against the town came as a result of alleged racial profiling on the part of police officers, four of whom have been arrested. The arrests almost became secondary when, following the arrests, a New York television reporter asked Mayor Joseph Maturo Jr. what he was doing for the Latino community that night, and the mayor responded that he may “eat tacos” when he got home.

Longtime residents say they are saddened, hurt and unhappy about the image that the town is racist, and they don’t know where it came from.

“It’s a little shocking to find out that, for years, people were afraid to come to East Haven,” said Republican Councilman Fred Parlato, a 70-year resident.

Parlato said he doesn’t understand why the image exists. “I’m not aware of the culture. I treat everybody with dignity and respect, the way I want to be treated,” he said.

“I feel so uncomfortable at how East Haven has been stereotyped,” said Charles “Doc” Schlegel, a retired dentist who has been active with urban and social justice affairs through the Archdiocese of Hartford.

According to Schlegel, his parish, St. Vincent de Paul, has been involved with outreach work to parishes in New Haven for years, St. Rose of Lima being one of them. Continued...

• 1
• 2
• 3
• 4
• See Full Story

The pastor there, the Rev. James Manship, is in the center of the latest storm, as it was his arrest by East Haven officers a few years ago, while trying to document alleged incidents of profiling of Latinos, that led to the eventual arrests of the officers.

Scot X. Esdaile, president of the State Conference of Connecticut NAACP Branches, said he finds it ironic that it took a white priest “to break this thing,” when the previous cries of racial profiling by the NAACP’s leadership “fell on deaf ears.”



Esdaile says he’s heard the stories about East Haven for years, situations and “hostile relationships” between East Haven and New Haven residents that never made the news.

“It’s always been an unwritten rule in the black community to stay away from East Haven,” said Esdaile.

Former state Rep. Michael P. Lawlor, a lifelong East Haven resident who now works in the administration of Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, says that prejudice in East Haven is “definitely perceptible, but it’s definitely not as widespread as when I was a kid.”

As a teenager in the 1970s, Lawlor remembers that a black family in the center of town painted their house a bright shade of blue and the shutters yellow so that it would stand out because “the neighbors gave them such a hard time.”

Esdaile and Lawlor said they witnessed hostilities, bigotry and racial slurs in July 2003, during a motorcade through the center of town that took place after a federal jury found the town liable for $2.5 million in damages to Emma Jones for violating the civil rights of her son, Malik Jones. Jones was shot to death by now-retired Officer Robert Flodquist, who said he thought his life was in danger, after a police pursuit from East Haven to Fair Haven in 1997.

Those in the motorcade faced “bigotry and racist slurs in record numbers. It just shows the amount of racial tension between the two communities when we came together,” Esdaile said.

“I still think East Haven has to make right by Emma Jones, and if they’re really interested in breaking down the barriers” then the black community should be part of the healing process, along with Latinos. “We have a longer history of bad relations. We’ve been seeking justice for a whole lot longer,” Esdaile said. Continued...

• 1
• 2
• 3
• 4
• See Full Story

Lawlor said he was there that day, following behind the procession on his mountain bike, because he wanted to see how people would react. He remembers watermelons being thrown and the slurs.

“It was outrageous and ignorant stuff. The vast majority who were the most vocal were not from East Haven,” said Lawlor.

The “subtle prejudice” in town is not as bad as it used to be, and over the years, the town has become more diverse, Lawlor said. Recalling that his 1974 graduating class at East Haven High School had one black male, one Latina, no Asians and “hardly any Jews,” the town today is “extraordinarily diverse.”

He also noted that “no one seemed to care,” except for people outside East Haven, when “some gay guy” was the state representative. Lawlor was speaking about himself, the town’s state representative for 24 years. He is now Malloy’s undersecretary for criminal justice policy and planning.

According to U.S. Census Bureau figures from 2010, East Haven was 82.6 white, almost 3 percent black, and 10.3 percent of its people were of Hispanic origin.

Longtime town activist and former school board chairwoman Marilyn Vitale believes minorities have been afraid to come into town because, in past years, it had “a certain reputation and undertones of organized crime.”

Yet, Vitale said, “I would never paint the whole town with the same racist brush. This town is very giving, charitable. When somebody’s in trouble, we all band together.”

However, Vitale said that she and other women have had to fight discrimination in order to become involved in the political process. Those with prejudicial leanings in the past have gotten it from their parents, she believes.

Both political parties in town need to address the issues instead of blaming each other, she said.

Vitale believes that younger parents and the school system are teaching children to get along with everybody. “The generations coming up are going to be more accepting. If this town was so bad, why do they come here to live and send their kids to schools here?” Vitale asked. Continued...

• 1
• 2
• 3
• 4
• See Full Story

Over the years, the incidents have been isolated, but they unfortunately feed into the town’s historical reputation, Lawlor said.

“As an East Havener, I look at this crisis as an opportunity. There’s no question a lot of eyes have been opened and minds have changed,” he said.

State Rep. James Albis, D-East Haven, noted that in 10 years, the town’s Latino population has increased from under 1 percent to over 10 percent. Even the demographics at East Haven High School have become a little more diverse since he graduated in 2002, Albis said.



“Any time there is change in the population, there are people who will resist the change,” Albis said. “The loudest voices will drown out the people who are just going about their daily lives and not opposed to change.

“The town has grown more and more diverse. My generation is used to seeing different types of people. As my generation and younger generations get older (the town’s stigma) won’t be as much of a problem. Really, the vast majority of people do not harbor any racist feelings,” Albis said. “I’m really saddened about the image that’s being broadcast about East Haven.”

Albis believes that the town shouldn’t be judged on the actions of a few. Because of how the press has portrayed the town, Albis began a Facebook page known as “The Real East Haven.” It’s being used as a place for people to share positive stories about the town. After a day, it had almost 100 “likes,” and has 112 now.

“We need to focus on the positive. There are a lot of good people with good hearts,” he said.

Call Ann DeMatteo at 203-789-5716. Follow her on Twitter at AnnDDeMatteo. Text HELP for help. Text STOP to cancel.

• 1
• 2
• 3
• 4
• See Full Story

• Return to Paging Mode