Undercurrents

The New Haven Independent is - for those who don’t know - a great online “newspaper” combining their own news coverage with links to other online independent news sources and blogs.  I just read an excellent interview with Judge Anthony DeMayo, who provides his observations on what it is like to preside over a weekly court calendar that typically consists of more than 120 foreclosure actions, the impact of the housing foreclosure crisis on working people and people of color, and how things got this way.  Recommended reading.

Share This

For the last four years, my law practice has consisted mainly of home mortgage closings for people refinancing their debts.  (more…)

Share This

Yesterday afternoon, approximately 7 cars were broken into at the ArtSpace parking lot. Five of the cars belonged to residents and two belonged to visitors. Shattered glass is still strewn about the lot.

It is still unclear what items were taken, but all of the break-ins were traditional “smash and grabs.” The interiors of the vehicles were tossed and small, easily-pocketed items were taken.

Nine days earlier, two cars were broken into in the same manner, including my own. But, unlike this brazen Sunday afternoon spree, these two earlier break-ins were done during the early morning hours, between midnight and 4am. (more…)

Share This

The Courant ran a piece yesterday about the impact of predatory subprime lending in the Connecticut mortgage market. Of course the good Corporate Capitalists they are, it was entitled Thousands to Feel Mortgage Pain. My guess is that their pain is more that of anger and outrage against Corporate greed and profiteering that feeds off the poor! But alas, does not our corporate media continously re-victimize the victim, rather than place the blame directly where it lies: at the doorsteps of greedy and lying mortgage brokers. (more…)

Share This

Wednesday afternoon, I received a phone call in regard to my article in the latest Undercurrents magazine, on Downtown apartments. Jude Gray from the property that I had difficulty contacting, The Lofts at Main & Temple, was on the other end of the line. “I read your article . . .” she began. And then she agreed to give me a tour of the Lofts. I was pleasantly surprised and stopped downtown on Wednesday morning.

The lofts are still under minor construction, being painted as I entered the lobby. Gray stated that they were at about 80% capacity. Rents range from about a grand a month for a studio to three to four for a two bedroom loft on the eighth floor, according to Rent.com. Parking is available for tenants, which is a departure from other higher end apartments in the area, but using the Taking Care (exercise) Center is extra.

My tour went well, after a brief brownout in the elevator. I always find slight moment of horror amusing on any tour. Lofts are only available on the top floor and the complex uses much less marble and granite than others in the area. The apartments I looked at were quite spacious.

Share This

Local developer David Nyberg got a puff piece written about him this weekend in the Courant- he doesn’t wear socks!-

…and, oh yeah, he’s trying to gentrify Asylum Hill. (more…)

Share This

The Hartford Business Journal this week leads with this headline:

“For City Landlords, 2008 Could Be Downtown’s Doomsday” (more…)

Share This

In my recent move I’d encountered the shrill ads for the Colt Gateway apartments up on the Courant’s rental page. “Colt Gateway…it’s not just a place to live; it’s a lifestyle.” Personally, I take great delight in the ellipses of the slogan; It’s a pregnant pause before launching into something so ludicrous, so desperate, that it is like the deep intake of breath your parents took before trying to explain sex to you. (more…)

Share This

Like so many other cities, New Haven’s philosophy of urban renewal has been to move its problems of poverty elsewhere by construction of one high-priced, owner-occupied dwelling after another. House by house, condo by condo, neighborhoods like Wooster Square and riverfront Fair Haven are being given over to young professionals who want a quick commute downtown. Ownership is key. The stats say that those neighborhoods with a higher concentration of home-ownership are less prone to crime. When in doubt, move out the renters, move in the buyers.
(more…)

Share This