New Haven Oral History Project: Linda Maier
Summary Description
Linda Maier arrived in New Haven in 1953. Her father had left the South in search of work in 1950, and brought his family to New Haven to join him three years later. Redevelopment forced the family from their home on Canal Street. In 1989, she got involved in community activism, working on neighborhood watches and beautification in the Dwight Street area. She describes a number of community initiatives to combat gangs, drugs, and crime, including a "John of the Week" program, which attempted to discourage prostitution in the Dwight area by publicly embarrassing men purchasing sex, and a garden project and environmental awareness program for children in the neighborhood. Maier was also a leader in the Management Team, which instituted community policing in the Dwight area in the early 1990s, and continues its work today. Maier discusses the efforts of the Management Team and its sister organization, the Greater Dwight Development Corporation, in bringing a supermarket to the Dwight area, opening a Montessori school, and developing an effective home-buyer assistance program. She promises more housing for the elderly and better rental properties in the Dwight area in the future. Maier served briefly as an alderwoman, but reports that the process left her disappointed. Maier also discusses the relationship between Yale and the community. Interviewer: Chilukuri, Usha
Category Tags
Activism and Advocacy; Public Safety and Crime; Conservation, Greenspaces, and Urban Ecology; Social Services
New Haven Neighborhood
Dwight
Recommended Citation
Maier, Linda, 2007 February 16. Oral Histories Documenting New Haven, Connecticut (RU 1055). Manuscripts and Archives, Yale University Library. https://archives.yale.edu/repositories/12/resources/2867.