Housing lottery makes debut in New Haven

"We have no losers here today," New Haven Mayor John DeStefano Jr. said, addressing a crowd that had assembled in the City Hall atrium on Mon., Nov. 6. The crowd had gathered to watch the first-ever lottery held by New Haven's Livable City Initiative (LCI) to pick buyers for two of their newly refurbished houses. While only two of the five families eligible left with clear guarantees of new homes, Mayor De-Stefano stressed that New Haven was going to work with "all of the families to get homes."

KATIE ALDRICH/YH The first-ever New Haven housing lottery was held on Mon., Nov. 6 in the City Hall atrium. Two families won new houses.

LCI was established in order to "promote [among other things] homeownership by providing quality, affordable homes in the New-hallville neighborhood to low-to-moderate income families," according to a press release from the mayor's office.

In keeping with this mission, LCI purchased and refurbished two houses earlier this year that were once part of a failed condo complex in the Newhallville section of New Haven. The two houses, one with two bedrooms, the other with three, came complete with many amenities such as jacuzzis, finished basements and off-street parking. Both houses were offered by LCI at slightly less than market cost.

The five families who participated in the lottery were selected mostly on the basis of their ability to get a loan from a bank to cover the cost of the houses. The properties were valued at $45,000 for the three-bedroom property, and $40,000 for the two-bedroom property. But according to LCI Project Director Nicole Jefferson, the families eligible for the lottery were also "strong members of the Newhallville community."

All those who spoke at the drawing stressed the importance of the resurgence of interest in New Haven housing. This newfound interest, the speakers emphasized, signals a growing confidence in the city of New Haven. "We didn't have a lot of demand for remaking and rebuilding buildings and vital public places at the beginning of the decade," Mayor DeStefano said, explaining that this shows the "[recent] confidence in technological and biotechnological industries in New Haven."

LCI Financial Director Henry Fern-andez, LAW '94, supported this claim. "The fact that people sought to buy homes [in Newhall-ville] shows how far we've come in making things better for people."

Newhallville is one of the poorer neighborhoods in New Haven, but the speakers emphasized the improvements being made in the housing situation there. Fernandez enthusiastically told the audience that "there are no prettier houses or better places to live than our houses in Newhallville."

"LCI represents a renewed commitment to comprehensive neighborhood planning," LCI Executive Director Regina Winters said. "It increases people committed to being here to solidify neighborhoods. One tool for improving communities is providing the opportunity for people to invest in their own homes."

Those who won the lottery, and will purchase the two homes, expressed this same confidence in Newhallville and in New Haven as a whole. One of the winners, Lisa Covington, who will purchase the two-bedroom property at 199 Division St., said that she had entered the drawing because she had wanted to remain in Newhallville. "This is the first house I've ever owned," she said. "It was important to me to stay in my own community."

But while Mayor DeStefano and all those representing LCI at the event stressed that there would be houses for everyone, those who did not win the lottery expressed some concern over the New Haven housing market. "There's going to be snow on the ground soon and I don't have a house," one of the losers told an LCI director.

According to Jefferson, however, while LCI has not renovated any other houses that could be sold to those who didn't win the lottery this time, "there are houses already available for them in other locations," and there are "several open houses for those who want to stay in the community." Jefferson could not comment on the cost of these houses.

Jefferson also stressed the ease with which the losers of the lottery would be able to purchase houses. "They are all already pre-qualified for mortgages," she said, "and they don't have to go through the rigorous application process. I am confident that all of them will be able to buy houses."

As if to provide a visible expression of the idea that there were no losers, everyone who participated in the lottery was sent home with a gift basket provided by the Mayor's Office.

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