December 3, 2010
RESIDENTS OF NEW HAVEN'S BEAVER HILLS
TO GET AID FOR SINKING HOMES
By Mary E. O’Leary, Register Topics Editor
NEW HAVEN — Kathy Hurley couldn’t quite believe it when she heard the news.
“I’m shocked. I never thought it would happen,” Hurley said in response to Gov. M. Jodi Rell’s decision to put $2 million on the next state Bond Commission agenda to help some residents whose homes are sinking into the ground.
Flooded basements, cracked walls, porches that have separated from houses and shifting structures have been a fact of life for about 50 residents of the Beaver Hills section, but Hurley’s home and a few immediate neighbors on Beverly Road appeared to have suffered the most.
State Rep. Patricia Dillon, D-New Haven, introduced a bill to help the residents five years ago, and the problem has come close to some resolution several times, only to stall again.
The development was built in the mid-1940s for the GIs returning from World War II, one of whom was Hurley’s father.
“The whole neighborhood was built on questionable land,” Hurley said.
Studies found that the area was an ice pond at one time and filled in with debris.
One couple couldn’t wait for state help and had their home fixed, which involved bringing in a hydraulic lift and installing steel pilings to make up for the lack of footings.
Hurley said her mother started experiencing flooding in the early 1980s.
If you stand on the street, the Beverly Street resident said, you can see how the homes are listing. “I just had a roofer fill in holes in the roof because of the shifting,” she said.
Rell credited Dillon and state Sen. Toni Harp, D-New Haven, for their persistence in seeking bonding approval to help their constituents.
“The residents of Westville and the legislators who represent them never gave up in their effort to address this problem. That day of resolution is here, and I am proud to approve these funds to assist these homeowners with their homes,” Rell said in a statement.
“I am thrilled Governor Rell and House Speaker Chris Donovan, D-Meriden, listened to the homeowners and agreed to release this funding. This will help people save their homes,” Dillon said through an assistant.
The Bond Commission meets at 10:30 a.m. Dec. 10 in Room 1-E of the Legislative Office Building in Hartford.