Side view

It was 188 not 118

It is 188 Canner st. Sorry. I have asked seeclickfix crew to change it.

Everyone in the neighborhood knows exactly which house it is regardless of an incorrect # posted. I had no idea the back looked so bad. What a blight to the neighborhood!

LCI has been in contact with the Building Department who has jurisdiction over construction projects.

They will contact the owner about this matter.

Seeclickfix has not changed the number to 188 but I am re opening it anyway. We meet to get a real answers before a kid get's injured by the old structure coming apart.

I've updated the address. Sorry for any delay.

LCI is looking to address this situation and reaching out to the property owner tomorrow. Everyone is right that the scaffolding has been up far too long. It's time to address this situation.

Justin Elicker
Ward 10 Alderman
justin.elicker@gmail.com

Justin, I received the same answer from LCI last year. This issue has been reported on the news and from several citizens but nothing has been done to correct it. What I am really concerned now is the safety of the kids at Hocker school and citizens that walk on the sidewalk In front of the house. Should we wait for somebody to get injured from the scaffolding that is felling apart to really do something?

Hi Larry.

LCI has said that now they may have more leverage because it is a safety issue. The problem is that the ordinance allows the property owner to keep up the scaffolding as long as he is making progress with the construction. I'm looking at our ability to change the ordinance. Clearly there has been almost no progress with construction but unfortunately that is difficult to prove. This issue has been going on long enough however that I don't plan on dropping it. Please keep commenting on this thread as we pick up pressure on the property owner to address the building.

Justin Elicker
Ward 10 Alderman
justin.elicker@gmail.com

This is awful. Someone is going to get hurt when that all comes down. Please fix!

Justin,
not only there has been no progress with the construction but actually the house is in worst shape than ever. I spoke with one of the tenants that was leaving in the property and she explained to me that it was a disaster inside to. She did not feel safe in the apartment and she left after asking the owner to fix several things several times. Again where was LCI?

The owners of this dilapidated property are John Cusick and Wendy S. Reed. Their address is 16 Bethmour Road, Bethany, CT 06524. Second address: 188 Nicoll Street (perhaps another property they own?).

The building department sent a letter to the property owner yesterday to take the scaffolding down because it is dangerous. It will be passed on to the City's Corporation Counsel to pursue legal action.

We'll keep on this.

Justin Elicker
Ward 10 Alderman
justin.elicker@gmail.com

Justin, you truly deserve a thank you for you continuous involvement and unconditional care of the New Haven community wellbeing. Every time you have been involved in a project to improve our community you have not stopped working until the case was resolved. We truly need your leadership to make New Haven a better place.

Thanks Larry. If you can, could you put the tenant who you spoke with in contact with me? We can then get LCI to inspect the inside of the property as well.

Justin Elicker
Ward 10 Alderman
justin.elicker@gmail.com

Justin,
She will contact you shortly via email and you can give her your cell to call you.

Someone needs to take a look at the back yard it is so sad looking. They are ruining that beautiful house because of their lack of attention to it. There are hazards all around that house. My concern is for the children that play at the playgound. Scaffolding could fall and hit someone. Justin as always you are on top of every request. Do you ever sleep? This city truly needs your leadership and you have my 100% support.

Thank you all for your attention to this home. I am very surprised that adjacent neighbors have not insisted that the city move forward to correct the situation. Just for further information. We bought our home on Everit street in 2000. The scaffolding was up on the Canner Street home back then. Granted, the scaffolding was on a different part of the house then, but still up. The owner told us he was very busy with jobs fortunately, and planned to work on the building when he was less busy. He seemed to be making headway at times, but then his efforts would almost reverse in the time that the building sat without the attention it needed. I haven't seen the scaffolding change position or any improvement activity on that home in a few years now.

Dear Justin,
Thank you for your efforts to address our concerns. I have worked at W. Hooker School for 6 years and the situation is the same since then. We have found pieces of rusted scaffolding on the sidewalk and the school playground, and our students are not allowed to play on that side of the school because we fear that the scaffolding could collapse at any time. As you mentioned previously, there has been almost no progress with construction, on the contrary, the scaffolding has been deteriorating causing a safety issue. As always, thank you so much for your help.

Another concern I have is that on 2 separate occasions, I witnessed 2 raccoons coming directly out of an opening in the back of the house. Both occurred at about 7:30 am.

Based on Larry's request here: http://www.seeclickfix.com/issues/392601 I am posting an update about this matter:

The owner has 14 days from today to remove the scaffolding based on the letter sent from the Building Department that was served by CT State Marshall. A letter was sent in February but was returned to the City because it was served on a tenant not the owner.

Feel free to contact Carmen Mendez, LCI Neighborhood Specialist at 203.946.7733 about this matter.

LCI Watcher, 14 days have gone by like the last 15 years and the owner of 188 Canner st has done nothing. What is the next step? Spring is here and the kids are starting to play outside. Are we waiting for a kid to get injured to prosecute this incredibly unresponsive, irresponsabile and careless property owner?

Another what? Try leaving in front of a dilapidated building for that long and pay premium taxes. Do you call that another agenda? Until the building is fixed or the scaffoldings are gone this issue is not closed.

Our staff is working with the City of New Haven Legal Department (Corporation Counsel).

We will provide an update shortly.

Feel free to contact Carmen Mendez, LCI Neighborhood Specialist at 203.946.7733 about this matter.

LCI Watcher, do you have an update for us?

A site visit was conducted by LCI & the Building Department.

The owner is hopeful to finish this project by the beginning of winter.

The owner has a lot of work to do to get there. We are hopeful the scaffolding will be moved to the rear of the property in the next 90 days.

LCI is sending out a violation Notice for Anti Blight.

Feel free to contact Carmen Mendez, LCI Neighborhood Specialist at 203.946.7733 about this matter.

“The owner is hopeful to finish this project by the beginning of winter." after 15 years of doing nothing? why don't we give him an even looser dead line...let's give him a full year. "The owner has a lot of work to do to get there". Shame on him and his careless inertia. Nobody is feeling his pain here. "We are hopeful the scaffolding will be moved to the rear of the property in the next 90 days." Hopeful again? I have a fundamental question here; what is LCI role and position? If a sales person tells his boss, I am hopeful to reach quota and I am hopeful to call on new customers this quarter I am sure, not hopeful that he will lose his job.

Well said. I agree and sadly enough I am sure, not hopeful, that nothing will be done here again. I really wonder how can the Mayor of New Haven allow this to continue after he has targeted the East Rock Neighborhood with the highest taxes in the city.

Carmen at LCI. I have spoken with teachers and management at W Hooker school and they all report no activities on the house. Please update us. Everybody is furious about this.

The owner has informed our office that work will begin in May 2013 on or about May 10th. Materials are on order.

We will be watching to make sure there is progress over the summer.

"The owner has informed our office that work will begin in May 2013". I believe the owner has been using that excuse for the past 15 years that the scaffolding has been up. We, too, will be watching and notating any progress. In a previous LCI statement:"The owner has a lot of work to do to get there. We are hopeful the scaffolding will be moved to the rear of the property in the next 90 days." The owner has had many years to work on this property and because of his lack of attention to it, this property has dilapidated. As far as the scaffolding, so now he will let it sit in the rear of the house for the next 15 years. Great, now we have that to look forward to.

Hi everyone,

I am frustrated with this issue. In my opinion, the city should give people a second chance, but not more. This property owner has had more than fair warning and the city should begin to enforce the anti blight ordinance. I will continue to push the city to address this issue.

Justin Elicker
Ward 10 Alderman
justin.elicker@gmail.com

Carmen at LCI. I am confused. Isn't the city already enforcing the anti-blight ordinance on this dilapidated building? If not, why?

@ Canner St Homeowner

You are correct this is an active case

Carmen, if the anti-blight ordinance is currently in effect for this property based on your message above dated 2013-03-22 " The owner has 14 days from today to remove the scaffolding based on the letter sent from the Building Department that was served by CT State Marshall" the owner has been fined every day since 4-5-13. Is this correct? If not Why?

FYI,

this is not Carmen....I am the LCI Watcher.

The building department letter is a separate matter.

Our antiblight fine started April 21, 2013.

Just to explain this a bit further, the property owner will be fined $100 a day but LCI has the right to waive these fines if the property owner fixes the issue. In other words, if the property owner is showing progress on cleaning up the house and keeping the timeline that LCI has given them, LCI may waive the fine. But if the property owner isn't making progress, LCI will fine them.

I have a disagreement with LCI on how aggressively they should enforce the timeline on this property, but ultimately there should be movement on this property soon. Please keep commenting on this issue with any progress or lack of progress that you see.

Justin Elicker
Candidate for Mayor
justin.elicker@elicker2013.com

"Our antiblight fine started April 21, 2013". LCI, this is outrageously ridiculous. It only took 15 years? April 21 2013? So as of today the owner has been fined only $1,000 correct?

LCI watcher please respond to the questions above!

You can't go back and retroactively fine, no matter how attractive that might be! :) There's a legal process involved, of formal notices, hearings, etc, and then the daily fine accumulation occurs after that.

FairHavenRes I am not sure way you mean. The question was if the anti blight fine started April 21 2013 per LCI how much has the homeowner paid to date? Very simple question and LCI is not responding.

The information reported above is correct. The fine is $100 per day beginning after the 10th day following notice. No money is collected until a lien is recorded (90 days from from the Civil Citation) at which point legal action may occur to collect the fine ( foreclosure).

Please understand we want the house repaired too.....We understand your desire for movement on this matter and we will be on top of this matter until it is resolved. Our goal is for there to be progress and the owner has committed to begin this rehabilitation.

If there is no progress there will be legal action 100%!

LCI Watcher, thank you for the explanation. My question is why did you wait so long, over 10 years to send the notice and start this process? You have received numerous complaints in the last 8 years at least. Last year this home was on the New Haven Independent too. Link below
http://www.newhavenindependent.org/index.php/archives/entry/2_eyesore_owners_pledge_progess/
Please explain.

I recently took on this issue because of comments on See Click Fix.

As you point out the owner has not been able to move this forward for some period of time. This issue was previously seen as a Building Department issue in the eyes of many.

Based on the comments here (SCF) I wanted to act upon the neighbors complaints. I have only been involved in this issue since February of this year.

This is an active Anti-Blight case and I will see this through ....... I will not drop the ball on this one!

I can not explain events of the past....BUT......I can promise that I am committed to seeing this matter resolved.

Thank you LCI Watcher! I hope your efforts will be measured and reworded in "days" not "years". We will all be "watching" your success in resolving this matter. Thank you.

LCI Watcher. No progress to date. Nothing looks like has been done since your last correspondence. Was the lean recorded? Our taxes will soon go up another 7% bringing the average yearly tax amount paid on Canner st over $16,000 and we have to continue seeing this dilapidated building and fear for the our kids safety playing in the school yard? This is just not right and incredibly frustrating. Please respond with actual actions completed to date and future steps with dates. Actual simple bullet points with dates will help us tremendously. Thank you.

Larry,

Every day the fine increases by $100.......

There is the end of May update:

* The owner has requested a hearing before the Anti-Blight Hearing Officer ( Date to be scheduled for June 2013)

* Owner claims materials on order

* Owner reports cleaning yard

We are mid June now. What is the status? Nothing has happened to the house. It looks as always. An abandoned house with scaffoldings around, now all kind of wild vegetation growing on it. Well, a great site for all to enjoy. My son asked me today how is this possible..... Well I responded....I am not sure and nobody seems to have control over it.... It is just incredibly sad...

LCI Watcher!?!? Please give us an update as requested above!

The owner is working on this property. Major carpentry will begin shortly. The owner has informed LCI of a timeline whereby the beginning of school most of the scaffolding on the side of school driveway will be removed ( except the corners). All scaffolding will be removed by the end of November.

We will continue to monitor this property.

Thank you LCI watcher and other concerned neighbors. The following question is directed at the LCI watcher. Why is "most of the scaffolding" acceptable and will it be secure and why will the corners remain?

NOVEMBER now!!! This is outrageous. You had said 2 months ago, by the summer this would be resolved, "I am not going to drop the ball on this" using your words. Guess what people of East Rock, LCI is dropping the ball again. So disappointing...

Please be fair and fell free to vent.

There is a lot to be done here.

It will get done ...this is the start of the project.

If it makes you feel better please feel free to contact us directly at 2039467090.

The scaffolding issue:

The owner plans to continue doing work on the corners of the house until winter arrives.

We asked that the scaffolding be removed as soon as possible.

as someone who knows a lot about this area I understand the frustration that this matter has dragged on but be fair after 15 years of nothing the city is involved working with the owner to get this complete let's hope it does.

it seems like in the last year LC I has really got their game together I understand this is slow maybe not as fast as all of us around here would like to but at least we have a warm body that we can contact and say hey what's the status and according to this website they do provide status updates so that's a good thing

it's easy to kick a man when he's down as I can see from these comments what's really sad to me is that no one is offering to help no one is posting does anybody know this neighbor how can we help does he have a hardship is he sick or is he broke is he in foreclosure is he mentally ill?

as the elite of New Haven in our high end neighborhood we need to set an example of how a community can really resolved issues I understand it is unsightly but it does not appear to be unsafe it just appears to be a long-standing issue a project like this needs time to be resolved and if this thing is cleaned up within the next 18 months I will consider that acceptable given that for 15 years this has been at a standstill.

lastly I just have to say even though I don't know who any of you posters are I can say that some of you clearly want to have someone to be your punching bag whether the owner or lci. that is very easy convenient but the truth is up until recently this issue was pretty much a construction project gone wrong now we have a situation where the government is holding this man's hand to make sure the house is repaired thus if the house is not repaired the proverbial ball has been dropped currently this is a construction site and historic restoration takes time if you want a crappy product to look at everyday I'm sure we can knock on the owners door and tell him to just put lipstick on this pig and get the scaffolding down.

if you need to explain to your kids anything about the situation its that sometimes people have hardships in life instead of criticizing them we need to engage them to find out if we as neighbors in members of the community can help them in any way I'm certainly not suggesting anyone bankroll this man unless you wanted to hold paper on a mortgage because we all know if this house were fixed up as a 4 or 6 family house it would probably be worth well over $1,000,000 so to all of the hateful posters on this thread I hear you it is total BS that this has dragged on so long there's plenty of blame to go all around the owner the city former alders current alders current legislation former legislation you name it we can all come up with red herring arguments and blame anyone we want but that's not going to solve this problem what's going to solve this problem. The owner is doing work which takes time and as we can all sense will not be completed by winter I'm sure the scaffolding will go back up next spring and more work will continue ....progress takes time enough venting...mmmmm

Thanks Peter, but you're no longer living across the street from this house and you don't have children playing in the yard next door. We know the owner. He is healthy.

I couldn't have said it better myself Celeste. On top of it he is a well respected carpenter therefore compassion is totally unnecessary here. I work very hard for my money (not an elitist as insinuated in a previous comment) and cannot justify paying the taxes we pay to be in the same street of an abandoned and dangerous for the community house.

LCI watcher please give us an update. We have observed No apparent changes. The only comment I have is that I have seen scaffolding being erected and taken down in less than a month at the house across the street. The roof and some exterior job was done. Can anybody tell me why, why should we allow anybody to keep scaffoldings up for 15 years?

Larry,

The owner is doing work along that side of the house ( on the corners and along the entire run of scaffolding) and will work until winter arrives.

We asked that the scaffolding be removed when the school year begins, the owner will remove most of it except the corners. All of the scaffolding will come down for the winter..

I understand your frustration at the pace of this project.

Our goal is to work with the owner and see this through to completion.

LCI, any update for us?

The owner continues to slowly rebuild rotted portions of the roof and gable.

He will continue to work until winter.

Winter is here and LCI has failed us resident again. Scaffoldings are still up even though LCI ensured they would have been gone by the winter. Please see LCI COMMENTS ABOVE A FEW LINES. No fines were enforced. Just a bounce of empty talk and promises. Now I am asking, do we really need to support LCI if we have no support from them???

LCI Watcher, This issue was opened in Feb of 2013. Since then, this owner did re-shingle and repair parts of his roof. I can't say that his methods of doing so seemed efficient, but nevertheless, there has been activity. That is all the activity that I've seen on the exterior of the home however. Will he be able to just work on the home a few weeks out of every year for another 15 years, keeping the scaffolding in place and not be held accountable or fined? On May 6 of 2013, you wrote and I'm quoting, "I can not explain events of the past....BUT......I can promise that I am committed to seeing this matter resolved." You also wrote, "This is an active Anti-Blight case and I will see this through ....... I will not drop the ball on this one!" I'm wondering where exactly the ball is now on this active case. Thank you.

LCI continues to track this property as it gets rehabilitated.
Please understand the goal is to have a finished "restored" home.

The owner has been slowly making progress. The scaffolding is unsightly and we regret that it was not completely dismantled due to the snowy winter.This issue is moving towards being resolved & completed. The owner does not have unlimited time to complete this project.

Up to this point the owner has showed a "good faith" effort in coming into compliance with our Orders by fixing the exterior of this house. That said, we understand that harsh winters will slow the progress of any project. The owner has committed to complete this project this year (2014). We plan to hold his feet to the fire.

We started this Anti-Blight action on behalf of the neighborhood because the condition of the house was unacceptable. The house is being repaired and a lot more work will will occur shortly.

Celeste,
"wondering where exactly the ball is now?" Please consider this Winter Intermission / half time .

The project will move forward in the spring.

Celeste is correct about LCI DROPPING THA BALL AGAIN! I am quoting LCI comments above on 7/10/13 "All the scaffolding will come down for the winter".winter started and hopefully soon gone.
WAS THIS DONE?... NO!

Thank you to the LCI Watcher. I'm looking forward to completion in the spring then.

Spring came and went and again nothing has been done with this shameful home. Please see the attached picture taken today. What a complete failure is this for LCI.

What a shame...

Looks like LCI is giving up again on this. LCI? Could we get an update? LCI ?

Larry,
As you can see the property is being fixed. The scaffolding being moved to a new section highlights that the owner is making progress.

The owner continues to work and LCI continues to track this matter.

Repairs are being made in good faith. This is not a failure for LCI. This is how matters get resolved. It would be a failure if nothing occurred since your post in February of 2013. Please see my post from 5/6/13. I have been visiting the site to keep the focus on moving towards completion.

Please allow the process to continue as this matter moves towards completion.

The bottom line is that "the process" is taking too long. Did you (LCI) put an ultimatum or can "the process" continue for another year? The school next door is observing no changes for the last two months which should be the crunching time for construction. Will the scaffoldings be down by the opening of the next school calendar year, September 2014?

Larry,

The process shall run until completion. As long as the owner works in "good faith" and makes progress we move towards completion. The house is in better condition now and shall be better as time goes on. There is not an "ultimatum".....as long as work is on going and progress continues. The owner is not "playing games" and understands that many eyes are on this matter and is working on the property......Please understand LCI will make it to the finish line. Thus, "The bottom line is that "the process" is taking too long" is unfortunate but understandable.

The summer is almost gone and still nothing has been done. What a shame!

Something really should be done about this. I remember scaffolding up at that address when I attend Hooker in elementary school in the early 90s.

Good morning,

The property owner continues to repair this property. It is looking better day by day.

Another year and nothing has been done besides leaving two trucks to show progress. In reality the trucks are parked there, one on the sidewalk and the other in front of the house, and the only thing they do is inconvenience the neighbors, obstruct the sidewalk and making it dangerous for the kids at Hooker School. What is going on here!!! Why are we allowing this LCI ? Why are we still allowing the scaffoldings and please do not give me the same excuse, the third year consecutive since this post started, that until there is progresses to the work you cannot do anything. Then this means we can allow this inconsiderate neighbor to paint a square inch a year without LCI NOT ENFORCING ANY RULES?

For years, I've been very understanding and polite about this dangerous and unsightly property. I'd like to call it a home, but it hasn't really been that for 15+ years. I'm looking for signs of progress and don't see them on the exterior. I'd like a clearer explanation of what LCI expects and how they measure "repairs being made in good faith." I'm truly afraid, given the current schedule and lack of attention by LCI and New Haven, that i will be looking at a progressively declining building for years to come.

All, please take a look at the "progresses" done to this house. It is actually much worst than the picture posted in this blog 1 year ago. What is LCI doing about it?! Nothing! They should be fining this irresponsible home owner which is putting the lives of his tenants and neighbourg at risk. LCI, will you respond this time or ignore our concerns once again?

I'm noticing that LCI last responded to this matter on 9-8-14. Have we heard anything from LCI since then? Has our LCI representative changed, perhaps with other changes in the Harp administration? If we have a new rep, is he/she plugged into this site?

When will finally anything be done about this house?

Celeste, you are correct! Since September 2014 LCI has disappeared from this board... SCF could you help clarifying is they are still registered and active on SCF?
Independently of the they have been absent in our Neighbour. They usually chase good taxpayer because easy targets and allow delinquents to endanger the community. Just terrible!

LCI WHAT IS GOING ON HERE? There has not been any activity in the past year and the house still looks horrible and is falling apart. I just learned LCI is not fining the owner anymore. WHY LCI?????????
This is pure BLIGHT!!!!

Why is LCI NOT RESPONDING ANYMORE? Does LCI still exist?

We are aware that progress has been slow, but the property is being repaired. The scaffolding has been removed from the school area (which was the original concern).

The owner will continue to repair this home over the next few months.

Thank you