"You are a disgrace to the city, the state and the nation."
New London preparing for evictions in eminent domain dispute
June 5, 2006
By Stephen Singer
Associated Press
Copyright 2006
NEW LONDON, Conn. --City officials were preparing Monday to begin eviction proceedings against residents who refuse to leave their riverfront homes, a move that could signal the end is near in an eminent domain dispute that reached the U.S. Supreme Court.
"I anticipate we are headed into the home stretch," New London Mayor Elizabeth Sabilia said Monday morning, hours before the City Council was due to vote on whether to evict the two families remaining in the Fort Trumbull neighborhood.
The meeting was under way Monday night. No vote had been taken. About 100 people filled the meeting room, a hallway and an adjacent room.
Michael Cristofaro, one of the Fort Trumbull holdouts, spoke out against the property seizures.
"Just give us back our deeds," Cristofaro said. "You are not being straight with us or the public. You are not listening to the general public."
Cristofaro singled out five of the seven council members who favor taking the property.
"You are a disgrace to the city, the state and the nation," he said.
The small city has been trying for a decade to redevelop the once vibrant riverfront neighborhood. Seven homeowners challenged the city's plans to seize the property and build a hotel, convention center and upscale condominiums along the Thames River, saying eminent domain can't be used to make way for private development.
But a 5-4 Supreme Court ruling last year upheld the city's right to take the homes. Since then, all but two people have settled with the city and agreed to leave.
One Fort Trumbull resident, William Von Winkle, agreed to a settlement with the city Monday, just minutes before the City Council meeting began, The Day of New London reported. The terms were not disclosed.
Gov. M. Jodi Rell has proposed letting the holdouts remain in their homes but giving the city the right of first refusal if the houses ever were sold.
"Tonight's a really big night," said Scott Bullock, an attorney for the residents. "They have the chance to accept the governor's proposal and resolve this once and for all."
Sabilia said Rell's proposal won't be approved. With the settlement deadline expired, the City Council was to vote Monday night on whether to begin evictions.
"The balance of councilors are staying the course," said Sabilia, who also votes on the council.
One local resident who spoke Monday night, Donald Harrington, was against Rell's plan.
"What right has she got to tell the city of New London what to do?" he asked.
An eviction process, which includes another court fight, would take a month to three months. But that's negligible in a land dispute that has been up and down the court system over several years.
"You know how some things take on a life of their own?" Sabilia said. "This thing is like a cat. It's taken on nine lives."
Bullock said he doesn't think the city wants the publicity that will come with razing the homes.
"It would be a disaster, evicting Susette Kelo from that pink house that nearly everybody in the nation recognizes by now, when you've got a proposal from the governor on the table," he said.
Kelo, a 49-year-old nurse who bought her home in 1997, became the lead plaintiff in the court battle and has refused to sell, as has Cristofaro.
© 2006 The Associated Press: www.ap.org
June 5, 2006
By Stephen Singer
Associated Press
Copyright 2006
NEW LONDON, Conn. --City officials were preparing Monday to begin eviction proceedings against residents who refuse to leave their riverfront homes, a move that could signal the end is near in an eminent domain dispute that reached the U.S. Supreme Court.
"I anticipate we are headed into the home stretch," New London Mayor Elizabeth Sabilia said Monday morning, hours before the City Council was due to vote on whether to evict the two families remaining in the Fort Trumbull neighborhood.
The meeting was under way Monday night. No vote had been taken. About 100 people filled the meeting room, a hallway and an adjacent room.
Michael Cristofaro, one of the Fort Trumbull holdouts, spoke out against the property seizures.
"Just give us back our deeds," Cristofaro said. "You are not being straight with us or the public. You are not listening to the general public."
Cristofaro singled out five of the seven council members who favor taking the property.
"You are a disgrace to the city, the state and the nation," he said.
The small city has been trying for a decade to redevelop the once vibrant riverfront neighborhood. Seven homeowners challenged the city's plans to seize the property and build a hotel, convention center and upscale condominiums along the Thames River, saying eminent domain can't be used to make way for private development.
But a 5-4 Supreme Court ruling last year upheld the city's right to take the homes. Since then, all but two people have settled with the city and agreed to leave.
One Fort Trumbull resident, William Von Winkle, agreed to a settlement with the city Monday, just minutes before the City Council meeting began, The Day of New London reported. The terms were not disclosed.
Gov. M. Jodi Rell has proposed letting the holdouts remain in their homes but giving the city the right of first refusal if the houses ever were sold.
"Tonight's a really big night," said Scott Bullock, an attorney for the residents. "They have the chance to accept the governor's proposal and resolve this once and for all."
Sabilia said Rell's proposal won't be approved. With the settlement deadline expired, the City Council was to vote Monday night on whether to begin evictions.
"The balance of councilors are staying the course," said Sabilia, who also votes on the council.
One local resident who spoke Monday night, Donald Harrington, was against Rell's plan.
"What right has she got to tell the city of New London what to do?" he asked.
An eviction process, which includes another court fight, would take a month to three months. But that's negligible in a land dispute that has been up and down the court system over several years.
"You know how some things take on a life of their own?" Sabilia said. "This thing is like a cat. It's taken on nine lives."
Bullock said he doesn't think the city wants the publicity that will come with razing the homes.
"It would be a disaster, evicting Susette Kelo from that pink house that nearly everybody in the nation recognizes by now, when you've got a proposal from the governor on the table," he said.
Kelo, a 49-year-old nurse who bought her home in 1997, became the lead plaintiff in the court battle and has refused to sell, as has Cristofaro.
© 2006 The Associated Press:
posted by Porkus Maximus Tex: at Monday, June 05, 2006
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