NewHavenBIZ

18 n e w h a v e n B I Z | F e b r u a r y 2 0 2 1 | n e w h a v e n b i z . c o m F O C U S : P o w e r 2 5 N ew Haven's 51st mayor, Justin Elicker, has spent much of his first year in the city's top spot trying to help its residents and local businesses through the pandemic and its economic fallout. Elicker has a background in public service, having served as a member of the Board of Alders and a school teacher prior to becoming mayor. Elicker has been hosting routine meetings with the public and media, with briefings available for anyone to view, to give updates on COVID cases, testing and vaccine distribution. His office has hosted webinars aimed at helping city businesses get support and information they need to open and operate safely. His team has done inspections and enforcement actions, with a goal of ensuring compliance, and therefore, boosting public confidence in visiting local establishments. Elicker has routinely communicated with the business community to hear firsthand about the pandemic's impact, which he has described as "brutal." Under Elicker's leadership, the city has created the "Together New Haven" initiative. It includes a website with information on how businesses can get federal, state and local assistance. His administration has also launched initiatives like the "Eat New Haven" campaign, which aims to celebrate and support local restaurants that have been struggling due to fewer customers. Elicker has come out and urged the community to shop locally too, saying "We don't want to live in a New Haven where we have vacant storefront aer vacant storefront." Toward that end, his administration has pushed a "Shop Local, Shop Small" campaign, and the Together New Haven Marketplace has direct links to more than 50 city merchants' and service providers' websites to encourage people to buy local. n New Haven Mayor Justin Elicker newhavenBIZ

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