When I walk in Newhallville, also known as the Ville, my senses are overwhealmed. Children run around playing and riding their bikes. I hear people screaming across the street saying hi to their friends. People hang in front of the store, talking and chilling. I smell alcohol on the man’s breath as he comes out the liquor store; he looks drunk as ever. I heard the bus pass and a lady banging on the window trying to get on it. I feel gum on my shoe while I am walking. I stop to take it off, and feel sweat dripping down my face from this New Haven heat.

New Haven has a reputation for violence, and the Ville is known as one of the most violent neighborhoods. Most of this violence comes down to neighborhoods, or neighborhoods within neighborhoods. There are a lot of hang-outs spots such as: Shepard, Bassett, Prospect, Ivy, Starr, Elizabeth, Winchester, Lilac, Newhall, Henry, Butler, Up-Top, and Division. This is where people gather with their friends, but conflict at and between these hang-outs can sometimes lead to violence.

But there are also good things that happen in the Ville. Neighborhood organizations sponsor basketball tournaments, and different community centers offer programs so that kids can stay out of trouble. The Ville is also full of locations that will stick in your memory: Science Park, Dixwell daily 2-4, Moe Market, Bassett Park, Country Market, The “R”, Da live back, Connecticut state, Martin Luther King Jr. elementary, Lincoln Bassett, Jackie Robinson, Vissell’s, St. Mathew’s, Dexter’s cuts, Unisex-barber shop ,Jamaican store, and Lucy’s. Within a few blocks, you could go from parks, to schools, to businesses, to restaurants. Newhallville has it all.