Kelo Report, Part 2

[Michael Fisher]

It makes our town look good when it has received bad press recently for losing a big business.

Edit:  Though not THAT good.   

[TackleTheWorld]

Hi, Lauren here, resident of the embattled Ft. Trumbull neighborhood of New London, Connecticut.  Day 98.

Status of utilities:
electricity     On
gas             On
water           On
phone           On
cable           On

A utility worker came today and spray painted guides for the demolition equipment in front of the recently sold-out Guretsky house.  The residents here tell stories inaccurate demolition.  A brick wall crushed part of Mr. Dery's garage.  Number 79 Walbach unexpectedly fell into the street during it's demise, when there were no barricades or warning signs to keep people away.  They forced everyone out of the Kelo house when they destroyed the house next door.  Does the NLDC bulldoze houses only feet from occupied homes to show progress or to intimidate remaining residents? 

[Michael Fisher]

Get a group of people to stand near their homes to protect them during demolition.   

[Dave Ridley]

who are the best people to call and express our displeasure to down there, and what are their numbers?

[TackleTheWorld]

New London City Council
181 State Street
New London, CT 06320
860.447.5201 -- Fax: 860-447-7971


New London Development Corporation
165 State Street, Suite 313 -- New London, CT 06320
Phone: (860) 447-8011 -- Fax: (860) 447-3833

[TackleTheWorld]

Article from The Day
_______________________

Featured in Region

Fort Trumbull's Parked-Car Protest
NLDC opponent blocks utility crew's access to house

 
Buy this Photo Dana Jensen
From left, Lauren Canario, Jim Johnson and Foe Hammer stand near Canario's car, parked to prevent utility workers from shutting off gas to a house in the Fort Trumbull neighborhood.


By JENNA CHO
Day Staff Writer, Lyme/Old Lyme
Published on 11/27/2005

New London - When Lauren Canario saw two Yankee Gas utility vehicles head toward Smith Street on early Saturday afternoon, she parked her yellow Isuzu right in front of the house where she knew the trucks were going.

With the car parked where it was, the gas company could not get access to the portion of the road necessary for permanently shutting off gas service to 19-23 Smith St., a property the New London Development Corp. purchased for $310,000 last month.

The house, formerly owned by James and Laura Guretsky, was not taken by the NLDC through eminent domain and did not figure in the recent decision by the U.S. Supreme Court allowing the agency's eminent domain takings to stand.

Canario moved to New London from Las Vegas last summer to help the plaintiffs in that suit fight the city's plan to take over their homes by eminent domain. She was arrested in mid-September in City Hall when she refused to leave the overcrowded City Council Chamber.

She refused to cooperate during the processing of her arrest and as a result was ordered by a judge to stay in custody.

On Saturday, the Yankee Gas vehicles, one of which had a backhoe in tow, idled across the street from the light blue, multi-family house with its front, first-floor windows boarded up.

?It's an abandoned building,? said one utility worker. ?We always cut off the gas to abandoned buildings.?

Utility workers called police, who asked Canario to move her legally parked car.

She refused.

?I said I didn't see a reason to move it,? said Canario, who rents an apartment from Fort Trumbull homeowner Bill Von Winkle, three houses down.

At about 1:15 p.m. Saturday, Canario stood outside with her husband, Jim Johnson, sipping tea while Johnson videotaped the incident. Several other opponents of NLDC's use of eminent domain to seize homes in the Fort Trumbull neighborhood showed up for moral support.

?We've got to stand together in this battle,? said Foe Hammer, an anti-NLDC activist whose real name is Ron Reisel. Hammer was wearing a ?Death to NLDC? tag on his jacket on Saturday.

A police sergeant told Canario that a 24-hour No Parking sign would be installed in the parking spot so that the gas company could do its job. The sergeant also told Canario to register her Nevada-plated car with the state within 30 days. The Yankee Gas workers drove off at 1:35 p.m.

?It's not an immediate hazard, so we can't tow the car,? said the sergeant.


? The Day Publishing Co., 2005
For home delivery, please call 1-866-846-9099

[Michael Fisher]

 

[Kat Kanning]

Too cool.

[TackleTheWorld]

Hi, Lauren here, resident of the embattled Ft. Trumbull neighborhood of New London, Connecticut.  Day 104.

Status of utilities:
electricity     On
gas             On
water           On
phone           On
cable           On


Demolition of the Guretsky home

If you could see my neighborhood you'd agree that the owner of the blue triplex didn't sell willingly. 
Next door used to be neighbors, their house was bulldozed, so were the neighbors in back. 
Out front is a pot-holed street that has a crater where each absent home's utilties used to connect, and a weedy lot in place of the warm hearths. 
Above the barren expanse cut cables dangle from the power lines. 
Down the street Mr. Athenian says he feels like he's living in a bunker, his house is nearly surrounded by 8 feet of dirt and stone fill. 
Where is the level-headed protection of the local government that these citizens expect from their tax dollars? 
Sadly, the local government is the agent of this devastation. 

My neighborhood is the Fort Trumbull section of New London, Connecticut, where Susette Kelo of Kelo vs New London lives. 
My city is the pathological beast that eats it's own flesh, and this disease is coming to your city as well, thanks to the wisdom of the Supreme Court.
 
Let me tell you what you can expect:  real estate agents coming to your door at any hour with sales contracts in hand.  "Sell now or the city will take it by force and give you nothing", they'll tell you. 
Bulldozer engines will wake you in the morning.  Police will come to your door and say "It won't be safe to be in your house while they tear down the one 20 feet away, so you better live somewhere else for a while". 
The elderly will be cowed with long battles, the poor will be intimidated with fines, the strong will be called selfish for wanting to keep keep their own homes. 
Your property will be "condemned", the deed will be stolen, your tennants will be thrown out. 
Rightous residents will dig in their heels, insulted officials will be furious at being defied.  In the end there is no limit to what the government can destroy, they have all the laws, judges, police and guns on their side.  Who is there to restrain them? 

[Tom Sawyer]

Wow... Lauren that is some great narrative!

You made my skin tingle and my blood race. Thanks for speaking from the 'heart' that can reach people.

[FTL_Ian]

Who is there to restrain them? 

You, apparently.   

We need to encourage more people to behave like you, Lauren.  You set a great example.

[Michael Fisher]

When we visited, we found dead grass, rocks, weeds, and nothing else in the empty lots.

If I were there, I would take care of the yards and weeds around the neighborhood so they cannot condemn the neighborhood as "blight".   

[Russell Kanning]

The sergeant also told Canario to register her Nevada-plated car with the state within 30 days.

always helpful

[Pat McCotter]

The picture from the article

From left, Lauren Canario, Jim Johnson and Foe Hammer stand near Canario's car, parked to prevent utility workers from shutting off gas to a house in the Fort Trumbull neighborhood.


[attachment deleted by admin]

[TackleTheWorld]

Who is there to restrain them??

You, apparently.? ?

We need to encourage more people to behave like you, Lauren.? You set a great example.

I moved here to learn from the experts. The residents here lived through all that I described and stayed their ground. ?They are my gurus.