Residents of a New Haven homeless encampment and their supporters distributed sandwiches and cups of soup as they chanted 鈥渢urn on the heat鈥� before marching into New Haven City Hall.
The group demanded electricity be connected in their encampment of tiny homes so they can have heat.
Their rallying efforts helped lead to a tentative agreement Friday with New Haven city officials to have electricity connected as early as the following day.
The community, called , consists of eight residents spread among six 鈥渢iny homes鈥� in the backyard of a private residence, on Rosette Street. Homeless residents are invited by the property owners, Mark and Luz Colville, to live there until they鈥檝e secured permanent housing.
Rosette Neighborhood needs city approval to connect electricity to the homes so that residents will have heat.
New Haven鈥檚 building official and fire marshal must also conduct an inspection to ensure the buildings follow a set of state-mandated requirements. Rosette Neighborhood residents agreed to submit a plan to the city鈥檚 department of zoning and regulations.
Residents and their advocates say the process to connect power to the tiny homes has been held up by the city.
More could have been done on the city鈥檚 part to ensure the homes were heated sooner, Rosette Neighborhood advocate Sean Gargamelli-McCreight said.
鈥淭here鈥檚 no reason that bureaucratic nightmare needs to stand between people receiving dignity and safety,鈥� Gargamelli-McCreight said.
Gargamelli-McCreight said he鈥檚 cautiously hopeful with the new plan in place and has been discouraged by what he said is the city鈥檚 delay.
鈥淎t this point, given the fact that there鈥檚 been so many start and stops, we鈥檒l kind of believe it when we see it. More importantly we鈥檒l believe it when we feel it,鈥� Gargamelli-McCreight said.
While state ordinances allow building officials to grant permits at their discretion, New Haven Building Official Bob Dillon said he doesn鈥檛 feel comfortable approving the homes until the criteria laid out by the state is met.
The homes are not up to code and do not include kitchens or bathrooms, Dillon said. Residents use the bathroom and kitchen located inside the main house on the property.
Rosette Neighborhood has failed to collaborate in recent months and hold up its end of the bargain in getting the homes approved, according to New Haven Mayor Justin Elicker.
鈥淲e鈥檝e asked them to fill out very very simple forms and they鈥檝e taken them weeks to do so," Elicker said. " I find it kind of disheartening.鈥�
