If you travel down Division Street headed toward Stop and Shop, Webster Bank or McDonalds, you can’t miss it.
The blue burnt house at 119 Division St. The first floor window boarded, the door sealed with a wooden slab and decorated with a no trespassing sign. A burnt mattress is seen through the second floor, middle window.
A remnant of the family that lived there.
According to the New Haven Register, a fire destroyed the house on Nov. 11, 2007 when an extension cord in the back of the house sparked.
Now, two years later, neighbors worry the house is risk because it still is not occupied or repaired.
“First, it’s an eyesore,” neighbor Donald Perillo said. “Second, someone can go in there — a homeless person, kids.”
The property is listed on the city’s blight list for about 18 months, according to Kevin Blake, Ansonia’s corporation counsel.
The property’s owner, Raymond Jones of New Haven, has amassed a blight lien of some $20,000.
In addition to the blight problems, Blake said Jones was in violation of the city’s zoning codes that require property owners to take steps toward repairing fire damage within one year after the fire.
The Valley Independent Sentinel attempted to contact Jones numerous times, including by mail, but was not successful. A message seeking comment was left his lawyer.
One of the major reasons the property has sat rotting for so long appears to be that even when Jones attempted to sell the property, he encountered bad luck.
Pasquale Civitella, of Civitella and Associates in Shelton, said he had attempted to purchase the property in October 2008, but the deal fell apart because Jones did not disclose the blight lien.
“It (the blight lien) was not discussed at the time of the contract,“ Civitella said. “If it was, then I would have negotiated to reflect that in the purchase price.”
Civitella also said that Jones told him that he had another potential buyer when Civitella told him to pay the blight lien. According to Civitella, he then placed a land lien on the property since he had already contracted with Jones to purchase the house.
Civitella said Jones sued him in March to get his lien lifted.
“I agreed to release the land lease so Mr. Jones could sell it,” Civitella said.
Meanwhile, neighbors have complained about the property to Alderman Jerome Fainer, who represents the city’s Fourth Ward.
Fainer is aware of the problems Jones has had trying to sell the property.
“I am trying my darndest to stay on top of it,” Fainer said. “I want it to go away, but sometimes your hands are tied when there are so many issues with it.”
City officials said they’ve been trying to work with the property owner, given the circumstances.
“Anytime a person has a fire like this it’s a hardship,” said MIke Marganski, an anti-blight officer with Ansonia. “The city doesn’t want to be the bad guy. As long as the city sees progress moving forward and there is no immediate hazard, then we will allow them to correct the problem.”
The city took steps to begin foreclosing on the property, according to Blake, the city’s corporation counsel.
However, at an Aldermen meeting in September, officials decided to meet with the landlord to explore other options.
“The options the city has are to move forward with the foreclosure and get someone to buy it, or to work with Mr. Jones and his attorney and another buyer to resolve the blight issue,” Blake said.
New Agreement
The city’s efforts may be paying off.
Blake told the Valley Independent Sentinel Thursday a new deal is in the works.
The new agreement between Jones, the city and an interested buyer means the property should be fixed up by January.
Blake said the city has agreed to stop pursuing foreclosure on the home if Jones sells it before the end of the month, and the new owner brings it into compliance before the end of January.
“We have a tentative agreement with the old owner, the buyer and the city to resolve this thing,” Blake said.
