Community Safety Questions & Answers

Since Lot 47 has re-opened, what will be done to monitor the lot in the area that borders Howard Avenue?

Lot 47 is now open, and the Yale Parking team continues to work with Yale Security to monitor the parking lot with officer patrols, installation of additional surveillance cameras, Blue Phones, and identify additional safety measures at both Lot 47 and Lot 96.

Night and weekend access to Lot 96, a gated parking lot, is no longer available. Such access provided a sense of safety for those returning to laboratories after hours to complete the day's work.

Lot 96 is open on nights and weekends, specifically Monday through Thursday from 4:00 p.m. to 3:00 a.m., and Friday from 4:00 p.m. to Monday at 3:00 a.m. (e.g., all day Saturday and Sunday). Gates are automatically scheduled by software to raise and lower.

There was a brief time during installation of the new gate control system that the gates did not open at night/on the weekend, but that has been resolved. Yale Parking has been monitoring the gates since the June 1 town hall meeting, and they have gone up and down as scheduled.

However, if you find the gates do not open as scheduled, please contact Yale Parking (432-9790) to alert them.

Why is there no security in the Amistad Parking Garage? It feels very unsafe. I think it would make me and many others feel a lot more secure if there was an actual individual who walked and the monitored the garage throughout the day.

The Yale Parking Office has worked with the vendor, LAZ Parking, to extend the hours of operation for a parking attendant at the Amistad Garage from 6 a.m. – 7 p.m. (M-F), and 7 a.m. – 6 p.m. (Sat-Sun and holidays).

Additionally, security personnel are now stationed at the corner of Amistad and Cedar St., outside of the Amistad Garage, during peak arrival (7 – 9 a.m.) and departure times (4 – 6 p.m.).

Can Amistad Garage’s overhead garage doors be closed after hours?

Amistad Garage has two entrances/exits: one on Cedar Street and one on Amistad Street. Starting August 1, the overhead door of the Cedar Street entry/exit will be closed after hours. Parkers with normal access to the Amistad Garage still will be able to use both entrances, but other members of the community looking for after-hours parking will need to use the Amistad entrance after hours.

I park in Amistad and we are required to place the parking sticker on our car window. Is there another way we can show we are allowed to park in this garage? For example, a removable item hanging from our mirror? I feel unsafe with people knowing exactly where I work and park when I am driving around and/or parked somewhere else.

I am very concerned about the poor lighting that is found throughout Air Rights Garage. Stairwells do not have proper lighting and provide easy access to persons from the street at all hours. The nighttime hours are very concerning.

Air Rights Garage is not a Yale Parking garage; it is owned and managed by the New Haven Parking Authority (NHPA). We reached out to the NHPA about this concern. They inspected the garage and reported back the following information:

• NHPA monitors lights within the various levels in the garage and fixes problems on an as needed basis. They currently do not have/see any particular area that indicates dark points, but will conduct additional inspections if we share a specific area of concern. (If you have a concern about lighting in the garage, please submit your specific concern using this link, so that we can follow up with NHPA.)
• All stairwell lights are functional/well-lit as of July 14, when NHPA provided their update on their inspection.
• The dumpster area lights and outside lights by the walkways are out. NHPA will fix this problem in the next couple of weeks, if not sooner. (They have to get some parts, causing the delay.)
• NHPA checked the exit/entrance doors, and found that a person cannot gain access into facility from the outside doors located at stairwells.

I have observed an extra attendant at Howard Avenue Garage during daytime hours. Could there be a guard there from 7:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m., when security concerns are greater and the likelihood of being alone in the garage is considerable?

The parking attendants are located at the Howard Avenue Garage from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. daily. The garage is secured each evening, at 8:00 p.m., at both entrances to the garage. Only those with after-hours parking access can open the overhead door and locked pedestrian access doors after-hours. Additionally, Yale Public Safety patrols this area regularly.

Has there been further consideration in locking garages, such as Howard Avenue, overnight and weekends?

The Howard Avenue Garage should be locked after hours and on weekends after clinic hours. Yale Parking will follow up to ensure the garage is locked.

What is being done about the lack of security in the Temple Street Garage, run by the New Haven Parking Authority? There are no security cameras, and only someone who sporadically walks around checking on things. I believe there is a lot of criminal activity in the garage, but no disclosure to people who park there.

Yale’s Parking & Transit Office collaborates with the New Haven Parking Authority (NHPA). The NHPA informed us that in the Temple Street Garage, uniformed officers patrol the area in a roaming vehicle, which has strobe lights, throughout the 24-hours of operation. The NHPA is not aware of recent criminal activity in the garage.

There are a few Yale affiliated child care centers next to the school of medicine. Is any camera there in the center or near the center? Could you please arrange regular police next to the child care center?

Yale Security cameras provide coverage of both sites of the Phyllis Bodel Childcare Center: in the Harkness Courtyard and playground, and also the Bodel South playground. The increase in security across the Medical School campus will benefit the child care centers as well.

I park in the Chapel-York Garage. Every day when I park, there are people already parked and using drugs in their cars (e.g., someone smoking crack in the back seat of their car.) Are there any attendants who make rounds in this garage? It seems to be happening more often. The drugs don't bother me as much as the fact that it could lead to further crime—car theft or robbery.

Union Station Parking

Will the surface parking lot near the Union Station parking garage be eliminated to build the new multi-use high-rise building?

The goal is to create additional parking on the West Lot to replace and add to the supply of parking spaces, adding 150 spaces to the campus.

With the reinstatement of full parking prices, it gives community members little to no other options to travel to work. I planned to start biking to work this year, but I have delayed this option with recent safety concerns. I wonder if parking costs will be reconsidered.

Why doesn’t the university offer shuttle service (from North Haven, Wallingford, etc.) similar to what the hospital offers?

What is the best phone number to call for the walking escort?

What is the coverage area of the escort service?

The coverage area is anywhere within the campus footprint. To help identify what is within the campus footprint, as a rule of thumb, if you can see a Blue Phone in the area, then you are within the campus footprint. You can request the service using the LiveSafe app or by calling: 203-785-5555.

Multiple universities have subsidized ride-share passes that are active after 5:00 p.m. around the neighborhood of the university for undergraduate and graduate students. The passes have reduced student-related crime incidents and have increased feelings of safety on campus. Could such a safety measure be considered for implementation at Yale?

Yale is not currently planning to offer subsidized ride-share passes. We are focused on ensuring our shuttle and walking escort services provide members of the community with safe and efficient transit options.

I use the Yale Accessibility transit app to get a ride from the Amistad Garage, but there is no way to put in the address for the Cedar Street entrance, which is the accessible entrance. Is there a way to get the garage entrance on Cedar Street added or listed as the main pick up site?

Thank you for bringing this to our attention. Yale’s Parking & Transit Office has immediately addressed this issue. Please contact our office with other accessibility issues, as we are committed to addressing these issues promptly.

Can there be more security/more consistent security particularly at: 47-60 College St, Cedar St, Washington Ave, Howard Avenue, Howard & Gilbert, and Amistad Street and Amistad Garage?

We have doubled the number of YPD officers on the YSM campus, so that we now have three to four during the day, and two in the evening, in addition to Yale security guards.

Additionally, Yale has hired LAZ to staff these locations through August 30, 2023 (with the potential to extend):

1. The Amistad parking booth
   7 am-7 pm (M-F)
   7 am-6 pm (Sat & Sun) through 8/30/23.
   
   
2. Lot 47
   7 am-7 pm (M-F)
   7 am-6 pm (Sat & Sun), incl. holidays through 8/30/23.
   
   
3. The Howard Avenue Garage (two attendants)
   7 am-8 pm, Howard Ave Entry, (seven days a week, incl. holidays)
   7 am-7 pm, Congress Ave Entry, (seven days a week, incl. holidays) through 8/30/23.

Can cameras be added near street parking and exterior doors? In the evening, staff often move their cars closer to the building where they work.

Yale has numerous security cameras on the Medical School campus, including a new set of cameras that were added to look over Lots 47 and 96 within the past month.

Has Yale done a review and analysis to count and inspect that “EXIT” signs are visible and ample/abundant in all our buildings? This would tremendously help in an active shooter situation.

The Yale Fire Marshall’s Office does an annual walk through of the campus to inspect that there are enough “EXIT” signs and they are visible. In between annual inspections, Yale electricians fix any signs they notice are not illuminated or that are reported are not illuminated. The Fire Marshall’s Office also is involved with renovation projects at the Medical School, to ensure there is proper access to exits/signage. The Fire Marshall’s Office recommends people think about how they would exit from their own office/work/study space, and if they have concerns that there is not good signage, to report it to the Fire Marshall’s Office.

In response, we also want to share Yale’s Active Shooter resources.

Someone repeatedly asks me for money, does not take no for an answer, gets right in my personal space, and follows me, in a borderline threatening way, making me uncomfortable. What should I do?

Response from the Yale Police Department (YPD): The described activity qualifies as “Aggressive Panhandling,” which is illegal (Intimidating and Intrusive behavior). It is strongly recommended that once one can get to a place of safety, they contact YPD so we can investigate unacceptable and illegal behavior. It’s a clear nuisance activity, and chances are our officers will be familiar with this person and can help them get plugged back into their safe course of life before accumulating probable cause for criminal activity, which we will act upon, as needed.