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February 23, 2005
Holding Down The Fort
Supporters Of Fort Trumbull Homeowners Rally In Front Of New London Superior Courthouse
By RICK KOSTER
Day Staff Columnist, Arts & Entertainment
Published on 2/23/2005
New London — On a frigid Tuesday morning, a skeleton crew of Fort Trumbull supporters gathered in front of the New London Superior Court holding anti-eminent-domain placards and earning plenty of horn-honking support from sympathetic commuters, including some drivers in city vehicles.
Their thoughts were collectively focused some 350 miles south, in Washington D.C., where the U.S. Supreme Court was scheduled, less than two hours later, to hear Kelo v. New London, a landmark eminent-domain case.
Most of the Fort Trumbull property owners fighting the New London Development Corp. to keep their properties were in Washington for the hearing. The 10 or so people at the 40-minute rally described themselves as concerned citizens.
“I would like to have been in Washington, but there are only so many seats for the general public at the Supreme Court,” said Kathleen Mitchell of Groton, participating in the rally with her daughter, Jennifer Mitchell. “We were told people would start lining up at 9 p.m. (Monday) for a chance to get in, without any guarantee. That's the sort of line you expect to get tickets to see a rock star. Plus, there are no public restrooms nearby.”
New London resident Sylvia Malizia said what depresses her is to think back at all the money wasted in the dispute, and can't understand why a compromise couldn't be reached.
“Not once did the NLDC open their minds to compromise,” Malizia said. “You know, a lot of the people who have been protesting all these years don't live in Fort Trumbull. There's no personal gain for us. It's the difference between right and wrong, and the lesson that could have been learned through compromise.”
Muwakil Aluqdah, also of New London, said he didn't live in the Fort Trumbull area, either. “But this is an issue of privacy,” he said. “This is about the city coming in and taking people's homes. If it was a highway or a thoroughfare, that's a different story. But people live there.”
Anti-NLDC activist Ron Reisel, who goes by the name Foe Hammer, was one protester with a vested interest in the Supreme Court case. He owns property on Hamilton Street which, though he said lies outside the parameters of Fort Trumbull proper, falls within the designated Municipal Development Plan as originally laid out by the NLDC.
“I can't see how the Supreme Court can do anything but the right thing,” Reisel said. “If the court gives their OK to the NLDC, the floodgates will open across the country.”
In 2003, New London police searched Reisel's home as part of an investigation into two fraudulent Internet charges made by an NLDC employee. No charges were filed.
“The NLDC hasn't played fair since the start of this,” Reisel said. “My property value hasn't matured because of the cloud of eminent domain that's hung over the area. That's why this is a big day.”
Kathleen Mitchell was feeling positive about the Supreme Court decision, which should be announced by June. “We're feeling lucky,” Mitchell said. “If the Supreme Court hadn't planned to make at least somechanges with regards to eminent domain, I don't think they would have agreed to hear the case.”
Posted by lumi at February 23, 2005 10:10 AM