Standoff between New Haven, activists escalates over tiny houses

As a group of unhoused activists on Rosette Street held a press conference denouncing the city’s bid to shut down their backyard tiny homes, a state marshal arrived with a cease-and-desist letter from the Elicker administration — ordering the group to vacate the ​“illegal dwelling units” in 24 hours.

That was the scene Tuesday morning at 203 Rosette St.

It marked the latest in a revived and escalating standoff between the Elicker administration and an unhoused activist crew over six prefabricated single-room shelters, each under 100 square feet large, that have stood since last fall behind the Amistad Catholic Workers House.

After months of disputes, and then collaboration, the Rosette crew — led in part by Amistad’s Mark and Luz Colville and neighbor Jacob Miller — worked with the city to secure local zoning approval for the shelters. They also received a 180-day permit from the state exempting the structures from the Connecticut State Building Code.

That 180-day state permit expired on Monday — and the mayor ordered that the tiny homes be vacated and that the power be shut off.

The cease-and-desist letter that was delivered to Rosette Street on Tuesday was signed by city Building Official Bob Dillon. It stated that the permit for these ​“TEMPORARY shelters has expired. Shelters must be removed and no further use is permitted. Power to shelters will be shut-off.”

The letter goes on to state, in all caps, that the letter’s recipient — Amistad Catholic Workers LLC — must ​“immediately cease use & occupancy of the non-compliant space(s)” within 24 hours of receipt of the letter.

While the utility company had not turned off the power at the tiny shelters by Tuesday, the Rosette residents who spoke up during the morning press conference were firm — they weren’t going anywhere without a fight.

“Shame on you, Mayor Elicker,” Suki Godek, a resident at Rosette and an unhoused activist, said. ​“Most of us know very well the trauma of being criminalized…simply for having no place to go.”

In a followup interview on Tuesday, Elicker repeated what he told reporters on Monday: that his administration is just following state law, and enforcing health and safety rules in the way that it would for any illegal dwelling unit.

“We are required to enforce state law. It’s not like I can snap my fingers and the rules change,” he said. ​“It’s unclear to me why this is so confrontational. We have a shared goal and the group at Rosette Street isn’t going about these issues in a way that is productive.”

After a ​“day of reflection” on Monday, the residents of the tiny homes wrote a statement alongside the Rosette Neighborhood Village Collective, represented by Sean Gargamelli-McCreight, to Mayor Elicker and the city.

Around 20 community members and unhoused people joined the tiny home residents in a press conference Tuesday morning behind 203 Rosette. Cups of cold water were passed around. The heat was undeniable — sweat dripped down the presenters as they spoke in direct sunlight.

The joint statement outlined the importance of the village as a means of effective transitional housing for those with nowhere else to go, nurturing the physical and mental health needs of all residents.

According to the statement, state and city officials had previously indicated that they would be interested in seeing how Amistad’s model of community would function — and how it could be replicated by the city.

But according to Gargamelli-McCreight, the residents were met with silence from the city officials. At the end of May, the collective received a legal memo from the city stating that an extension was not possible.

“Despite numerous inquiries and concerns voiced on our behalf, the city and the mayor have remained ambivalent and unresponsive,” Joel Nieves, another tiny house resident, said. ​“You have never bothered to visit us here.”

“For many of us, this work is an exercise of our religion. The city’s intransigence on the issue violates our friends’ right to housing and our own practice of our faith and religion,” Gargamelli-McCreight said.

Nieves came to the tiny home village with numerous health issues, and after finding the city’s homeless shelters unsustainable for his needs. With heart health issues, breathing difficulties, and sleep apnea, Nieves said that he’s ​“been having trouble surviving.” During the past 180 days of electricity access at the Rosette Street tiny homes, Nieves was able to use a sleep apnea machine and rest properly.

“Mr. Mayor, I say to you, am I not human?” Nieves asked. ​“Am I not allowed to live as a person?”

A white cat slept on the steps to one tiny house, ignorant to the press conference a few feet away. Godek held her dog — named Ruckus — whose tongue lolled out of its mouth, panting due to the heat.

Orlando Sanchez doesn’t have any pets, but, instead, has a magnet of a frog on the door to his tiny house.

“The way [Mayor Elicker] sees it, it’s inhumane, and it’s only a shed,” Sanchez said, his voice trailing off. Then, he holds his hands up. Inside the house, among other items, were two tiny fans, a flag of Puerto Rico, and a bull figurine — his belongings. He pointed to where a functioning air conditioner would be — if the city continued to keep the electricity on.

“It’ll be like an oven in here,” Sanchez added, if the power were to be turned off. ​“It’s like a stepping stone. Once you move on, somebody comes in. It works.”

Sanchez remembered his friend who lived next door. After experiencing homelessness, she moved into the village at Amistad, but after a few months, she moved out, securing a studio for herself. This process, according to Sanchez, is what is at stake when removing the village. The statement read by the residents emphasized the importance of having a stable and consistent spot for health personnel to interact with and help unhoused people.

Outside, Mark Colville, holding the cease-and-desist letter, mobilized the residents to City Hall, where they would return the letter, alongside a copy of their statement.

Knocking on the mayor’s door, Colville called for the mayor to come out. Though Mayor Elicker was not present at the time, a city staffer opened to greet the protestors.

“[Mayor Elicker] said it was my job to find somebody to talk — ” the staffer began.

“This is an emergency. And we need the decision maker to come and hold account for himself,” Colville said.

“Okay, okay, well give us a call,” the staffer replied.

“We have no need to call you. We are just returning to sender this abomination that he had delivered by marshal,” Colville said, handing her the letter and the statement.

According to Gargamelli-McCreight, the state had told them that the extension of the permit would be at the discretion of the building official at the city level. The confusion, to Gargamelli-McCreight, is why the city has not considered extending the permit, especially since it burdens taxpayers with ​“zero expense.” He further noted that the safety conditions that allowed the Board of Zoning Appeals (BZA) to approve the village were still being maintained.

During his phone interview with the Independent on Tuesday, Elicker emphasized that the state had been clear about the extent of the 180-day permit since day one.

In response to the Rosette crew’s critiques, he mentioned the other options the city has for unhoused people — including a seventh homeless shelter and one-on-one consultations with the Office of Housing & Homelessness Services. He noted that though he has not visited the Rosette backyard shelters recently, he is familiar with the organizers who lead the group.

Colville shared that the group intends to push for legal action and that the group does not intend to cease and desist — putting them in risk of fines of ​“no less than $200 and no more than $1000,” according to the letter.

“This was never about the tiny homes. It was about the non personhood of those who are without homes,” Colville said. ​“Suddenly, these people have something a little stronger than tents. Suddenly, they are tenants. What about those people still in the tents? That’s what this is about. It’s about changing policy.”

This story was first published July 16, 2024 by New Haven Independent.