NORWICH – A vacant house on Guernsey Street that city officials and nearby residents had long identified as a public safety concern was demolished Monday, November 9. The demolition comes after months of effort by the city to reduce neighborhood blight.

Heavy equipment operated by people wearing hazmat suits tore down the structure while neighbors gathered to watch. Many expressed relief at the removal of a house that had been a source of concern for years.

City of Norwich Mayor Robert Jeffrey said the property had been one of the most problematic in Ward 2 and had generated ongoing complaints from residents living in the surrounding area along Guernsey, Cortland, Henry and Ferris streets.

“This has been a property that for many years has been an issue with the residents of Ward 2,” Jeffrey said. “Between code enforcement and the police department, we heavily targeted it. We were able to shut that down earlier this year, and it took a little bit longer than we would have liked, but we were able to successfully tear down the home today.”

For Norwich Police Chief Mathew Roberts, the property's removal eliminates what he describes as one of the most problematic locations in the city.

“It was probably the biggest nuisance property we had here in the city at the time,” Roberts said.

According to Roberts, police were called to the address nearly every day at one point. Complaints ranged from excessive garbage and suspicious activity to concerns about people occupying the building under unsafe conditions.

“It was pretty much a place for people to go to use drugs,” Roberts said.

The chief said the property lacked basic utilities and had become increasingly hazardous.

“There was no working toilet, no running water. It was almost like a hoarder house,” he said, noting that there was a smell immediately when walking inside. The neighbors outside echoed that sentiment.

Among the crowd of residents who watched the demolition on Monday were Dave and Mary-Ann Conner and Ashley Gallagher, who all said they were relieved to see the building finally come down. Dave Conner was particularly outspoken, saying he was captain of the neighborhood watch and had reported activity at the house many times.

They reported that trash had piled up around the house as well as around the neighborhood, awful smells came from inside, an influx of people led to fights breaking out in the street regularly, and illicit activities like drug use and theft were common occurrences. Mary-Ann Conner said that she wouldn't allow her daughter to walk past the house, and Gallagher shared that as many as a dozen people would be squatting there at a time.

“We deserve better, and want a neighborhood where people aren't swearing in the streets,” said Dave Conner, who has lived in the neighborhood since 1978 and said that now if ever he left a window open at night he'd be woken up by shouting. He explained that the issues began stretching past the individual house and through the neighborhood as people began leaving trash around and conflicts increased.

Chief Roberts said those concerns reflected what police saw during their responses.

“For a while there, everything went right back to that property. It was definitely a problem,” said Roberts. Since the city closed the property and prohibited occupancy, Roberts said police calls in the surrounding neighborhood have declined significantly.

As the neighbors watched the demolition, all three said it felt like “a breath of fresh air” and expressed hope that additional problem properties in the area would receive similar attention as they pointed to other vacant houses nearby that are in deteriorating condition.

The demolition is part of a broader city effort to identify and address blighted properties through a partnership between the Norwich Police Department and code enforcement officials. Jeffrey said the city has been conducting property inspections weekly, prioritizing the areas that generate complaints from residents.

“What we've been doing is we've been going through the entire city and doing property checks, which is a task force between both the police department and a code enforcement division; and we've been targeting a lot of these properties that have current blight in order to stop it,” said Jeffrey.

Roberts said the collaboration has already helped address several other problematic locations.

“We helped landlords evict and shut down three other problem houses,” he said. “We're holding the landlords more accountable when it comes to these places.”

The mayor acknowledged the neighborhood concerns that individuals who had been occupying the property could simply relocate to other vacant buildings. He said the city has increased patrols and inspections where similar concerns have been reported.

Officials emphasized that enforcement efforts are often paired with referrals to services for people experiencing homelessness or other hardships.

“We offer the assistance of the warming shelter, the WRAP center, stuff like that for these people to go to once they are forced to leave,” said Chief Roberts. “It's not like we just force them to leave and tell them good luck, you're on your own. There are resources out there for them that we do guide them to whether they take it or not.”

“We try to get them connected with resources the best we can,” said Jeffrey, adding, “but unfortunately, at the end of the day, we need to be looking out for public safety that comes first. And we're not going to tolerate residents being put in unsafe situations. So we're going to be on top of it as much as we can, and look out for the people in the neighborhood.”

With this problem building now gone, city officials are looking toward redevelopment. Jeffrey said they plan to discuss the site with developers who’ve expressed interest in Norwich.

“Our goal is to, to continue to put investment into Ward 2 and create a single family home on that site,” Jeffrey said.

The mayor said Norwich will continue its work to address blighted structures throughout the city while encouraging rehabilitation where possible.

“I hear the concerns of the residents when it comes to, public safety in the neighborhoods. This is hopefully the first step that we can take. We're continually going to be reevaluating and evaluating where and when we can demolish buildings, depending on how far gone they are and what kind of impact they have to the neighborhoods. Certainly, this one was a very bad situation in Ward 2. Fortunately, we were able to come in, shut that property down at the beginning of the year, seal it up, and, ultimately get to the demolition phase. And, you know, the neighborhood is very happy about this,” Jeffrey said.

Chief Roberts asks that residents stay vigilant and report concerns. “If you see something, say something. If something looks out of place or you see a lot of traffic at a certain place and you think it's starting to get bad, say something before it turns into a flop house like that one did,” he said.

The city plans to maintain its focus on public safety and neighborhood quality of life through the winter. This demolition brings immediate impact for nearby residents as the neighborhood gets a little quieter again.

“I think it's a relief to the neighborhood to have their neighborhood back. Not being overwhelmed by shopping carts, garbage, and the traffic they saw going in and out of there daily. I think their quality of life is better in that neighborhood since the city took the house over and demolished it,” said Roberts.

“Certainly we're going to continue to work as best we can. This was basically a year-long endeavor, but this was the result that we wanted, and certainly the neighborhood's very excited about it,” said Jeffrey.