The Yale Homebuyer Program and Fair Haven

The Yale Homebuyer's Program is one of the University's most touted employee benefits, and rightly so. It offers $5,000 upon purchase of a home at $2,000/yr. for ten years following. Unfortunately, the University has removed the Fair Haven neighborhood of the city from the Homebuyer Program. President Levin's rationale was as follows: “It's an expensive program, so we decided to concentrate on the area closest to campus where the likely demand would be significant.”

In fact, Fair Haven is contiguous to campus, and neighborhoods like Beaver Hills and parts of East Rock (which are further away, but richer) have been opened to the program. Considering that the population of Fair Haven is overwhelmingly minority and low- to moderate-income, we are dealing with a policy that results in urban redlining .

The Demand: Yale must extend the Homebuyer's Program to Fair Haven.

Here's the letter submitted to Yale and ONHSA administrators.

Email to

a) sign your organization on to the letter
b) request a brief presentation at your group's meeting



On homeownership and the program itself:

Homeownership is the most stable and secure method of increasing net worth and economic security, especially for working families. It also provides the steadiest tax base for communities.

Homeownership in New Haven has dramatically declined in the last generation, and even in the last ten years. It now sits at under 40%.

Homeownership is even lower among New Haven 's minorities. 1 in 4 of every black household and 1 in 5 of every Latino household own rather than rent.

Fairhaven itself has the lowest homeownership and highest vacancy rates in the city, with the exception of parts of the Hill.

On Yale, its workers, and Fair Haven

Latinos make up 22% of the New Haven population, but only 4% of the Yale workforce. The overwhelming majority of Latinos in New Haven live in the Fair Haven neighborhood.

During the recent strike, the University agreed to form a joint committee with the unions to re-assess hiring and promote job training to de-segregate the workforce. The vast majority of New Haven 's Latinos live in Fair Haven, but Even if more workers, especially Latino workers, are recruited into jobs at Yale, they won't be able to buy homes in their communities with the Program.

Many of the 4,000 workers that won great contracts from Yale in September are now in a financial position to consider buying homes. Fair Haven will be closed off to them. As it stands, the Homebuyer Program is failing to achieve its stated purpose if it only aids in the purchase of upper-middle class homes in Beaver Hills without promoting homeownership in New Haven 's struggling neighborhoods.

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