The rear of the building is even worse than the front.

Meanwhile at both of your own properties: garbage/recycle toters clutter the sidewalk making it hard for pedestrians and bicyclists alike. Toters should have been pulled off sidewalk last Wednesday, and don't go out until Wed this week (a day later due to holiday. #justsaying

Thank you, I will address this situation tomorrow when I am feeling better

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. It will not change the address in your post you will have to call See Click for that

Unfortunately, that home is not the only eye sore. I am not sure why LCI is not aware of the issue already when all non owner occupied property have to pay a yearly fee to LCI for inspection and the livable city initiative...It would really be nice for LCI to do "drive by" inspections of the city on a scheduled basis to identify issues sooner before they become unmanageable. While taxes have risen on property in New Haven which should mean that there is more money to maintain and repair the city, in my opinion, city programs are still working at the same pace as with less funding...What is the point of having the LCI program if they are overwhelms with work and not enough staffing to conduct business as needed. City needs to either 1. hire more people to address the needs of the LCI program appropriately or 2. Disassemble the program to fund other efforts needed such as the massive crater issues we have on EVERY street in NEW HAVEN.

LCI Citywide Helper assigned this issue to OLD PROFILE

Hi Corinne, I'm the owner of 189 Dwight Street. I appreciate your feedback, and I agree--my house requires the investment that I'm putting into it right now. The repair work has not abruptly ended, but put on hold due to winter weather and a new plan for the interior (I'm converting it from 4 units to 2, which I feel is better for me and--in the long run--for the neighborhood. For too long, this stretch of Dwight has been more about squeezing rental income from Yale students than about creating future homeownership opportunities.

I believe you're a preservationist, as am I. That's why I'm going the extra mile to restore the original board-and-batten exterior. As I'm sure you can appreciate, previous owners did not do this house any favors, especially with the non code-compliant entrances and egresses, the insensitive additions and poor workmanship on repairs. My plan is to turn this house into the landmark Carpenter Gothic house it is.

If you'd like to reach me, please email me at scott.healy@aya.yale.edu and I'd be glad to give you a call. I hope you're feeling better.

- Scott Healy

Kuddos!! this is the most helpful communication I have read on this site about our community!!! Thanks Scott for letting us all know of your wonderful restoration and vision for the betterment of the community. Thanks LCI for acknowledging the request.

Hi Scott--thanks so much for your kind and generous response to my concerns! It's a beautiful house that will be even more beautiful once you've restored the house to its original historical glories. Best of luck with all.

There still hasn't been any action on this issue whatsoever. Scott--can you at least have the grass cut and the bushes trimmed? This really is an eyesore to your neighbors and a source of blight--it has been for YEARS. Have you considered selling it to someone who can fix it up nicely?

Corinne, I realize there isn't much progress of late on the exterior. In the exterior demolition of the shingles (which were not original), we discovered several more significant issues--not unexpected in a property of this age. As you may have heard, when Colin Caplan did research to uncover what the original structure looked like, he discovered the house 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 Repeating Arms family, which means that this house has played a much more significant role in our neighborhood than we realized. Because of the historic significance, I'm taking a much more deliberate approach to restoration (rather than simply renovating it). This is time-consuming, and I apologize that the house looks like a mess right now.

As for the exterior landscaping, I'm glad to send my landscaping company there this week. We've held off certain landscaping because the scaffolding is likely going to be fairly invasive, but I understand that the yard MUST look better than it does. Thank you for the reminder.

Again, feel free to reach out to me: scott.healy@aya.yale.edu or 203-996-5101. I just moved to West Haven to a rental there so I could do a better job of overseeing the work. Please don't hesitate to call or email me if you have questions.

LCI Neighborhood Specialist was in the field and left a message for the owner this morning.

We are trying to delineate issues that are current and need the city's attention to resolve. Any issues prior to 1/1/20 are being closed. If your issue remains and needs to be addressed by the city, please either re-open or open as a new See Click Fix issue. Thank you.