MONA MAHADEVAN photos
Bernblum (right): $8,900 in fines now, maybe more to come.
Inside the ex-clock factory in July.
A volunteer Livable City Initiative (LCI) hearing officer approved $8,900 in fines for the owner of the dilapidated ex-clock factory on Hamilton Street — and is considering levying another three years’ worth of penalties for the property owner’s sustained failure to address blight.
That was the outcome of a hearing held on the second floor of City Hall Tuesday, in just the latest quasi-judicial proceeding LCI uses for fining landlords whom the agency finds to be in violation of local housing and anti-blight law.
Hearing officer Julie Bernblum reviewed two cases of blight violations. She was joined by LCI case officer Elijah McLaurin, city attorney Sinclair Williams, and LCI Executive Director Liam Brennan. Bill Kraus, one of the clock factory’s creditors and a long-time champion of its redevelopment, observed the hearing.
Both cases concerned the 150,000 square-foot industrial site at 133 Hamilton St.
For the first case, LCI sent a civil citation to the landlord, Taom Heritage New Haven LLC, in May 2022 due to reports of illegal dumping, graffiti, and debris on the property. The landlord “never remedied most of the issues,” said Williams, adding that Scott Reed — who controls Taom Heritage through his Oregon-based company Reed Community Partners — had not been in contact with LCI since 2023.
Reed’s company has owned the ex-factory property since 2018, and long planned on converting the site into 130 affordable apartments — but never followed through on that plan, instead letting the property fall into further disrepair and tax foreclosure.
On Tuesday, Bernblum acknowledged evidence of blight on the property but worried about whether she had the authority to enact a fine for a three-year-old violation. “I think there is too far of a gap for me to feel comfortable acting,” she explained.
Brennan and Williams responded that the relevant state law — Connecticut General Statutes Sec. 7 – 152c — allows LCI to assess fines whenever, so long as a citation has been sent to the landlord within 12 months of the violation.
Since she said she had received conflicting advice from the city’s attorney, Bernblum said she would postpone consideration of the case until next Tuesday at 9:30 a.m.
Williams and McLaurin then presented the second case of blight, for which a civil citation had been sent in May of this year.
Describing the ex-factory’s dangerous conditions, McLaurin said, “It’s been a problem since I’ve worked here.”
After reviewing a stack of documents and pictures, Bernblum agreed to impose a fine of $100 per day since the date of the citation, for a total of $8,900.
Landlord Pushes Back On Involuntary Bankruptcy
Tuesday’s hearing took place amidst a petition from a group of creditors, who have collectively invested a seven-figure sum in the ex-clock factory’s redevelopment, to place Taom Heritage into involuntary Chapter 7 bankruptcy. Their efforts came out of frustration over the company’s failure to complete environmental remediation, secure the site, and complete a 2024 purchase-and-sale agreement with the Housing Authority of New Haven.
Taom Heritage, which is primarily owned by Reed Community Partners’ Scott Reed, did not send a representative to the City Hall hearing. Kraus and LCI said no one from Taom Heritage responded to the anti-blight citation.
Attorney Robert Arcaro, who is representing Reed in the bankruptcy proceedings, filed a motion in federal court on July 18 to dismiss the involuntary bankruptcy case. He submitted the following arguments against each creditor:
• Decontamination Decommissioning and Environmental Service, LLC (“DDES”): Arcaro claimed DDES is a creditor of Reed Community Partners, not Taom Heritage New Haven LLC. He added that the “alleged outstanding claim was for billing in excess of the agreed upon price with Reed Community Partners.”
• Rescue 1 Pest and Termite Control LLC (“Rescue 1”): The brief claimed that Bill Kraus, “who was at no point an agent of [Taom Heritage],” rather than Taom Heritage, contracted with Rescue 1.
• Triton Environmental, Inc. (“Triton”): Arcaro claimed Triton is a creditor of Reed Community Partners, not Taom Heritage LLC.
• Sydney Simpkins d/b/a Sydney Simpkins Associates (“Simpkins”): Arcaro claimed Simpkins is a creditor of Reed Community Partners, not Taom Heritage LLC. He added that Simpkins was paid in full in April 2019.
• CT Environmental and Demo Limited Liability Co. (“CTEDLLC”): According to the brief, CTEDLLC did not complete asbestos remediation because “asbestos is sitting in bags on the property.”
• C. William Kraus d/b/a C.W. Kraus Preservation & Development. (“Kraus”): Arcaro claimed that Kraus was compensated for his work for Taom Heritage prior to March 2020. After that point, he “performed services that were not requested by” the company.
• T.S.J., Inc. (“TSJ”): Arcaro “disputes that there is any basis for liability to TSJ.” According to the brief, TSJ is the original borrower of a loan from Agnes Yagovane in the amount of $1.25 million dated March 31, 2005. When Taom Heritage purchased the property, Reed’s company assumed that loan and no additional liability to TSJ.
An evidentiary hearing in the involuntary bankruptcy case is scheduled to take place on Aug. 26 in a courtroom on the 18th floor of 157 Church St.