Posted on 06/24/2005 8:35:12 AM PDT by Happy2BMe
Some Homeowners Vow To Stay Despite Ruling Against Them
But few options seem available
New London — Drive by Michael Cristofaro's home at 50 Denison Ave. tomorrow; he promises you'll see this sign: FOR SALE.
“I'm out of here. I'm selling my home,” Cristofaro, a New London resident for 43 years, said Thursday. “I'm a white-collar worker, a computer engineer. Who do they want living in this town?”
The Cristofaro family owns a second home, at 53 Goshen St., in the Fort Trumbull neighborhood. On Thursday, the U.S. Supreme Court affirmed the city's right to take that home, and the homes of six other property owners, by eminent domain.
The decision came as no surprise to those fighting to save their homes.
“I sort of figured it would go that way,” said Byron Athenian, who lives at what used to be 78 Smith St. before the street in front of his house was demolished. “That's the way the government works.”
But there was anger nonetheless.
“Those justices made the wrong decision,” Cristofaro said. “Four of them protected our property rights; five threw them out the door. I hope their property is chosen next for eminent domain so they know what it's like to be thrown out into the street.”
And even though, after six years of fighting the city, the group seemed to have run low on options, several promised that they would never leave.
“I'm not going anywhere. I'm here,” said William von Winkle, who owns three buildings on what remains of Smith Street. “I'm going to fight until they give up. They can do their little development around here with us here or they can do no development and try to take it, because until they stop trying to take my property by eminent domain, they will not build anything at Fort Trumbull. It's simple as that.”
“I don't know how they're going to get us out,” Cristofaro agreed. “We're going to keep our homes to the bitter end, because what they've done is wrong.”
And they warned every citizen of New London and the nation at large that the court's ruling stripped them of their right to own private property.
“One of the most fundamental rights that the country was built upon has been pretty much obliterated,” said Scott Sawyer, a lawyer who represented the homeowners. “Owning property doesn't seem to amount to much in the United States anymore. Certainly, none of us own our property anymore.”
Richard Beyer, a plaintiff who owns two homes at 41 and 49 Goshen St., agreed.
“We've pretty much lost our right to have private property,” he said. “Everybody that owns homes, their homes are at risk for eminent domain.”
And that, said Beyer, Cristofaro and von Winkle, now translates into giving the land of small property owners to big corporations.
“As one gentleman that I just got off the phone with said, ‘Welcome to Russia,' ” Beyer said. “So it's scary. I just feel bad for my kids when they get to be my age and own their own home. They don't own it. Either the bank owns it or a private corporation's going to own it.”
The homeowners predicted that more land in the city would end up in the hands of private corporations.
“I guarantee you that just about every house from Howard Street to Shaw's Cove is going to be targeted,” Beyer said. “I see that whole district in New London as being Pfizer's business park. It'll be like Avery Point minus the houses. You'll have access to Fort Trumbull State Park and that'll be it.”
Beyer, who with a partner had renovated one of his two houses and was working on the second when the city took them, said one bitter lesson he had learned was never again to do business in New London.
And he pointed out the city has never delivered on its promise that Pfizer's arrival in the city would mean lower taxes.
“The city of New London promised all the residents of New London that all your property taxes will be reduced,” he said. “That promise was never fulfilled. The taxes keep going up ... When is enough enough?”
And who, several asked, would want to build in the Fort Trumbull area now?
“They're taking the properties for an obsolete plan,” von Winkle said. “Today, who would build a hotel in New London, Connecticut? And they certainly wouldn't build an office building. We have half the city empty now. So what are they taking it for?”
For Cristofaro, the home at 53 Goshen St. is the second the city has taken from his family by eminent domain. The city took the first house, on Woodbridge Street near Shaw's Cove, in 1972.
It was a home, Cristofaro said, that his father had lovingly surrounded with fruit trees, grapevines, yews and rhododendrons.
Today it is a parking lot.
Two ways to screw up Pfizer's plan:
1) Get two endangered lizards or beetles and put them on your property then call the EPA. You'll never be able to build anything else there but neither will they. (It's one of those evil pharmaceutical firms after all, the environuts will be more than happy to help).
2) Get some highly toxic chemicals and spread them around your yard. Ever heard of Love Canal? Best to wait to do this after the eminent domain check has cleared. You won't be able to live there but neither will they.
hey anybody know who voted which way on this?
"Personally, I think you are too optimistic."
Dang, Laz. I lurked for years here, and always appreciated your humor. Had hoped to muster up a smidgen of wit to reply to you on a less serious thread. Nothing seems funny today, bro.
For what it's worth, My wife & I bought 80 acres, fenced it by hand, work a small herd of cattle. Lived in a crappy trailer for 3 years while we built our 3400 sq ft house, with our own two hands. If the trans-Tex corridor comes through here, they better cough up some serious jack, or I'll be playing "cowboys and tyrants".
Top of the world, Ma!
Bush can use the issue politically in the battle over judges. that's what he should be doing, but they are so feaful of criticizing any court decision.
not in Connecticut. the best we can hope for is news coverage of them dragging an 80 year old man out of the house at gunpoint.
Please Freepmail me if you want on or off my infrequent Connecticut ping list.
Please FReepmail me if you want on or off my ‘miscellaneous’ ping list.
When the trans-Tex corridor comes through, not if.
Pity about out country. It didn't make 250 years.
Until we get this unconstitutional problem fixed, those who know, ought to post photographs, business and home addresses and phone numbers of those contractors, realtors, lawyers, judges, city council members,etc., using eminent domain or the threat thereof to obtain private property from others. Just like some cities post sex law offender data in the newspapers
One option is to stay. I will gladly go and sit next to them for as long as it takes.
"Take" the 5 SCOTUS radical liberal home(s)
One way or another -
They must have homes in DC, Georgetown, Virginia, Maryland, Delaware
Plus their original home-state residences - and often a vacation home or cabin or seaside weekend or vacation home
"Take" them all......
Their decision opens them up to the will of the 95%-97% of FReepers and non-members plus all our friends at DU who are hopping mad about losing their one family residence -
-- and getting $60,000-$120,000 for a home reasonably valued at $300,000-$400,000
-- and not then being able to afford to buy a new home
-- the mortage, say is for $250,000+ and the City of New London sez first they'll be sports and "give" you $60,000
-- then $120,000 to be big-hearted!
-- now you still owe a ton of bucks for the mortgage - and a "new" (replacement) house will be over twice what you still owe to the bank -
-- in a van - down by the river?
-- can you afford to buy a beatup double-wide and -- whoops - City of New London, CT is upscaling - no trailers or double-wides
-- Mexico?
-- whoops - furriners cannot really "own" any property in Mexico
-- an never anywhere many miles near the ocean!
Well, back to "The Pelican Brief" now......
>>I saw the telecast of the 7 holdouts and the place looks like a ghetto.
Do a google (http://maps.google.com/) satellite photo of 41 Goshen St New London CT (one of the holdouts) and you will see all the construction/bulldozing. That big complex just to the south is a Pfizer complex.
After they pack a quarter-billion more immigrants into America by mid-century
They will come for people like you, to take your land to use for apartment buildings, shopping centers, giant factory-farms, windfarms or solar panel farms, watersheds, "wilderness" museums . . . .
We all will be herded into energy and space efficient apartment houses, and the remaining land used to supply our bloated population.
Wake up everyone!
But for now, as for eminent domain actions, the Kelo decision is a non-player in my state.
I am talking about LEGAL immigration.
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