WTNH
The city condemned a Hill building after an early Thursday morning fire, and reported discovering two “bedrooms” crammed into the storage area of a Chinese restaurant on the first floor.
The fire occurred around 6 a.m. at a building at the corner of Howard Avenue and Spring Street. The century-plus-old building has two businesses on the first floor: Victor’s Market & Deli and Rong Fa restaurant. The two-story building has apartments upstairs with legal occupancy for 10 people, according to city records.
Twenty people were inside the building at the time. Some got out before firefighters arrived. Firefighters helped others out, according to Battalion Chief Billy Gould. No one was injured.
CT Transit sent a bus over to keep many of the people warm; others went to the nearby police substation. Officials eventually found hotel rooms to house the people temporarily.
“It was a tough fire. It was between two sections of the building,” Gould said. Firefighters had to check the cellar, then roll up the grates of the storefronts, and search the building before discovering the source of all the smoke: a fire on the first floor. The fire had traveled up a narrow shaft to the second floor. The firefighters had to open up the roof, too. By the time the fire was under control, the building had sustained extensive fire and water damage. “It’s not going to be tenable for quite a while,” Gould said.
The fire did not immediately appear to be suspicious, according to Gould. The department is investigating the cause.
The city condemned the building.
The health department and New Haven’s neighborhoods anti-blight agency, the Livable City Initiative (LCI), were on the scene too. LCI reported finding numerous code violations there, including two bedrooms created in the storage room of the Chinese restaurant.
“We are investigating and will make every effort to bring the building up to code before it is reoccupied,” stated LCI Executive Director Serena Neal-Sanjurjo.
City records list the owner of the property as a company called 485 – 487 Howard Ave. Inc. State records do not list any principals of that corporation. An attorney named Andrew F. Dora Jr., formerly of Darien, now of Flushing, N.Y., is listed as the agent.
Reached by phone Thursday, Dora was asked about the alleged violations. “I have no knowledge of that,” Dora responded. “I represented them when they first purchased the building. I’m their attorney. I have no idea what you’re alleging.”
Dora was asked if the owner could be made available for comment.
“Don’t talk to him,” Dora responded. “He doesn’t understand English very well. He’s coming in to speak to me tomorrow.”
WTNH
What happened to the Licensing Inspection Program LCI operated? Using storage room for bedrooms, I'm feeling claustraphobic just thinking about it.
How many other illegal rooming houses are operating in the City? Recently there was one reported on See Click Fix- 17 Compton Street, a single family home with many occupants and racoon infestation.
When I tried to find out if this issue was addressed by the City, it disappeard.