What happened to this house? There was such a great flurry of activity for a few weeks(https://www.newhavenindependent.org/index.php/archives/entry/historic_restorations_dwight_street_home/...and then nothing. This once uniquely lovely house is rotting away before our eyes. Can the city force a sale under these circumstances? Scott Healy where are you?

Hi Sven, Hi Scott, Hi (I suppose) LCI--
I just had a long and informative talk today with Scott Healy on the telephone, He will be cutting back the bushes and cutting the front lawn ASAP. He has a construction loan and must take significant action on the property over the coming weeks. I suggested that he sell it to a local private person--not a realty company--who would commit to restoring the property to a two family house. I believe that this would be the best solution all around. At this time, 189. Dwight Street is a blighted property that has major structural issues. As I attempted to remind Scott, it will probably not last a hard (or another) winter, so time is of the essence,

It is totally up to you but I would not use my real name on this site because you do not know who is viewing these posts and how they may react. You can change your screen name by clicking the image of a person on the top right of this page and chose preference or call See Click Fix 800 369-9060 It will change on this post and future ones You have to call See Click Fix to change anything in the actual posts

I will look into this

Who is afraid of how they will react to a post?

This is an example of exactly the reason why the Dwight neighborhood supported the concept of reenacting the City's eminent domain powers. Since the Agency has already approved a draft plan as vetted and approved by Chapel West, Greater Dwight Development, the Dwight Management Team,and The Whalley Avenue Special Services District the city staff has so far failed to submit it to the City Plan Commission and the Board of Alders to begin public hearings to solicit input from the broader public. What are they afraid of? The draft plan as it stands allows these neighborhood entities veto power over projects. This is a first in New Haven Redevelopment history. Is there a problem with that?The City staff does not catch up with these problems ever until it is too late to act.

Hi all,

If you go by my home today, you’ll see that our landscaping crew cleaned up all of the vegetation, including the shrubs that we need to remove to repair the foundation.

I’m a big proponent of See Click Fix and I know I deserve all of the negative feedback that’s come my way. This is an extremely involved and complicated restoration—logistically, financially, and physically—and I, too, want this to move as quickly as possible. The reality is that the house I was sold (as Sven remembers, since his wife Olivia sold it to me) had hidden problems that the owner likely knew about but withheld at the time of sale. I’m now rectifying structural issues and going even deeper, restoring this gorgeous old property to what will make us all proud.

As I’ve noted in other See Click Fix posts, my home was built in 1853 by George Baldwin Woodruff, a prominent joiner and pattern maker. He later became the London rep for Singer Sewing machines and developed his own method of sales called the Woodruff method. He sold the house to Oliver F. Winchester of the famous Repeating Arms family. The house was modified several times, including the historically insensitive “renovation” in the late 1980s that did incredible damage to the building’s integrity. The spot fixes that were made before sale—again, overseen by Olivia Martson—prolonged the structural problems with the house.

I’m working hard to rectify these issues and bring this house back to its former glory. Please reach out to me directly if you have concerns as we continue to restore my home. My number is 203-996-5101.

Scott Healy

PS: If we look at New Haven’s urban renewal period in the 1960s or New London’s corrupt use of eminent domain in the 1990s, we see the clear results. Cities have abused eminent domain time and time again, and the result are places like the empty Route 34 corridor that sits, empty and foreboding, at the southern edge of our neighborhood. Do we really want to return to that “city planning” regime? What a frightening thought.

One other thing I forgot to mention: I’ve found people sleeping on my front porch since the day I moved in. This isn’t a new issue, and one of the design challenges I’m trying to address is the deep porch with sight lines that make it a temptation for people to sleep. I’m also addressing the fact that the back yard—also a visually protected area—has seen near constant illicit activity, even when all units in my house have been full. The boldness of people—usually suburban white men—coming to our shared lot to get their fix is stunning, and the problem hasn’t subsided at all since my first year on Dwight Street. I’m sure my immediate neighbors and the NHPD can attest to this ongoing problem on our block.

Maybe we can all pitch in to

...figure out a way to address this block-wide issue once the house is restored.

Scott--when do you anticipate you will be finished with your property, what is your pathway for achieving that result, and would you be willing to sell the property to a local private party interested in maintaining historical integrity if you could not remove the blight from this property within a reasonable period of time. By the way, I used to have a problem with people coming onto my property to engage in illegal activity before I put up security lights and a security camera. Problem gone.

We could all pitch in by having a block watch and, even more important, eliminating blighted properties from the neighborhood.

I have security lights, Corinne, and the problem has not gone away. I’ve shooed people away from your property at the end of the block, too. I’m not sure you’re aware of how pervasive the problem is.

As for selling my house to a loving owner, OF COURSE I’m hoping to do just that. We talked about this on the phone at great length. I then emailed you directly with my contact information.

I’m all for this exchange on See Click Fix, but we should also interact as neighbors did before the advent of online forums. You ALL have my contact information, and I have good intentions and signed contracts on more than $150,000 worth of restoration. The actual cost will be much more. I am glad to walk anyone who’s interested through my plans, including the financial complications that have arisen due to my decision to fully restore rather than spot-fix my home.

I get it, Corinne: you want me to sell tomorrow. I hear you. I’d like the opportunity to continue the work I’ve started and THEN find a homeowner who will find a historic house in much better condition than what I purchased.

One last thing: my trash bins—two of which have been taken without asking by my neighbors’ tenants—are always, ALWAYS full of garbage and envelopes and boxes labeled with the addresses of my neighbors. I’ve had Yale students at the end of the spring semester dump furniture on the sidewalk in front of my home. I haven’t pursued the issue with the owners on this forum, because you know who you are and you face your own challenges on this front. But let’s be honest with each other here: are we really doing everything we can to encourage our tenants to be good citizens on this block?

Again, I deserve all the negative feedback I’m getting. But for goodness sake, take a look at your own stewardship of your own houses before pressuring your neighbor to sell his.

Scoot--Lizzie Borden abused an axe. Do we ban axes?

Not sure I know what you’re getting at, Brian McGrath. But given my history with you and Chapel West, and my personal friendship with you, I’m not sure why you’re using my historic house to make a broader point.

You’ve been good to me, so I don’t want to come across the wrong way. But seriously...Lizzie Borden?

Also, it’s Scott. Scoot is something I hope all the naysayers do. Let me use it in a sentence: “Hey everyone who’s used an anonymous online platform instead of reaching out to me directly: how about you scoot along and reach out to email or phone I’ve sent you numerous times?”

Hey Scott--I think Brian was making a pointed joke--no pun intended.

What’s the joke, Corinne? I’ve traded jokes with Brian many times, and he’s someone I admire—despite his advocacy to tear down entire blocks of historic neighborhoods.

So what’s his joke, exactly? And are you interested in responding to my emails to you, or just posting on this public forum? Seems weird.

This old gem looks much better today. Thanks, everyone, for letting me know what could make the lot better as we tackle the structural issues. If only my neighbors’ tenants weren’t using my trash bins for their bulky garbage....

Scott, I wish you success in your restoration of this lovely house. I hope you can get the funding needed to finally finish what is obviously a labor of love.

Thanks, Angelika. Your post is the only reassuring comment I’ve seen since starting the project. The good thing is that I’m now super motivated to prove the naysayers wrong. I definitely need all the luck I can find....

Hi Frank Douglass,

Earlier this year, I reached out to you to get your advice and let you know how my project is going. I didn’t hear back.

If there’s someone else at the Board of Alders or City Hall who would be a champion of this kind of restoration, could someone let me know? I googled “Frank Douglass” and am worried he’s not in a position to advocate for my project at this time.

Sorry Scott. Only meant in the context of typical American arguments against Redevelopment, which you launched, which always turn into diatribes about evil things done in the name of Redevelopment. Eminent domain is a good tool sometimes and we are not those people from the 1960's and we do not intend to do things the way they did. I was also not implying that you will not fix up the house. It is only an example. The best way for the City to get title to an abandoned house is to find another developer with the money, buy the house with his money using eminent domain and have the new owner do the job. No subsidy implied.

Front porch cleaned.