In an update of barn- raisings of yore, friends are rallying to raise money to keep a foreclosure at bay and Corrie Carton in her home.
A foreclosure sale is scheduled for Feb. 21 at the home which Carton, a local social justice activist, owns on Summit Street in Fair Haven Heights. The city is foreclosing on her for back taxes.
But first friends have organized a rally to raise $9,000 to stave off the sale. The event is scheduled for Sunday from 2 to 6 p.m. at Sacred Heart Parish House, 200 Columbus Ave. The $9,000 represents the money Carton owes in unpaid taxes and attorney and court fees.
Unidad Latina En Acción and Amistad Catholic Worker House are among the sponsoring organizations.
The effort is a return favor for a woman who has spent a lifetime volunteering in peace marches, sister-city exchanges, and groups like the Greater New Haven Labor Association and Rainbow Recycling.
Unidad coordinator John Lugo said that neither his organization nor Amistad Catholic Worker had ever interceded in a foreclosure situation on behalf of an individual before. “But when we were organizing for the municipal ID card, Corrie not only came to every rally and brought us bottled water. She was caring but also tough. She was militant and encouraging.”
Lugo (pictured) talked about the foreclosure at Carton’s home the other day, sitting at the kitchen table with Carton and her two outspoken dogs, Weaver and Muddy (pictured at the top with Carton’s friend Leo Jaramilo).
“Corrie,” said John Lugo, “is such a giving person also in so many less visible ways. Last month a friend lost his job and then his apartment and found himself in a shelter. I called up Corrie and asked if he could stay with her until things straightened out. She said absolutely. Even though she’s in need of money, she didn’t ask for a cent in rent, just some work in lieu of rent. Amazing.
“At a time when the government is giving so much money to banks, it’s completely unjust that such a person is in danger of being booted out of her house.”
Carton, 60, raised her twins in the 100-year-old, modest green house. She paid taxes for 26 years.
She always got by juggling part-time jobs. That became much harder over the past two years, and she fell behind.
“I’ve not been able,” she said, “to hold a legitimate full-time job for two years. I do all kinds of part-time things like landscaping, making thermal curtains, cooking, but, I don’t know.”
Carton wanted to make use of a courthouse mediation program. But it doesn’t apply to her case. It applies to cases in which a bank has filed a foreclosure because of an unpaid mortgage. Carton paid off her mortgage years ago.
Carton said she doesn’t begrudge the city its taxes. “After all, taxes must be paid,” she acknowledged.
She also admits she has let maintenance of her property slide. The yard is cluttered, occasionally spurring the ire of neighbors and her alderman.
On the other hand, she said she resents being treated like a “slumlord who lives in Miami and has 20 units here in New Haven that he doesn’t take care of.”
She said she also feels embarrassed at having a foreclosure sign out front of her house. “I’ve got a counter sign I’m going to letter and put up. It’s going to say, ‘The city is trying to take my house for back taxes. But it’s not going to happen. With the help of friends we will stop it. Thank you and gracias.’”
Having such a public event done on her behalf has not been easy either. “I was telling a friend I’m going to make T-shirts for the occasion. On one side it will say, “‘I don’t deserve this.’ And on the other side, ‘I can’t be loved enough.’”
Whatever is raised on Sunday, Carton said she would not keep it all. “I’m going to put a percentage of it in the bank for use by others, in a savings account that can grow and be added to to help the next person who gets into this kind of emergency.”
For those unable to attend the rally who might want to help, contact John Lugo at 606-3484.
Previous Independent coverage of New Haven’s foreclosure crisis:
• Home-Rescue Squad Ignores WPCA
• Let The Bank Have It, This Time
• Sewer Agency Unloads House
• Foreclosure Evictions Halted
• Hazel St. Sale Reflects Economic Climate
• Hill Foreclosure Triggers Memories, & Prayers
• Foreclosure Fee-Slashing Judge Leaves Town
‚Ä¢ She’ll Be Watching Deutsche Bank
• A Last Pre-Foreclosure Look At A Lifetime Past
• New Yorker Snags Foreclosed-Upon Gem
• Foreclosure Dream Goes Sour
• Judge Slashes Foreclosure Bounty
‚Ä¢ Tax Break Saves Woman’s House
‚Ä¢ Bank Replaces “Gunshot Alley” Landlord
‚Ä¢ Foreclosure Bill OK’d
• Singh Seeks Home For A Song
‚Ä¢ Foreclosure’s Neighbor Worries More About Speeding
‚Ä¢ Networking Replaces Foreclosure at Christy’s
‚Ä¢ Foreclosure Bargain — & Renewal — Jeopardized
• Bank Outbids Akbar; Family May Keep Home
‚Ä¢ “So Don’t Worry About Pablo”
• Bankruptcy Postpones Foreclosure
• Next-Door Foreclosures, 53 Years Apart
• They Met On Foreclosure Way
• Little Garage Draws Big Bids
• A 2nd Chance on Lewis Street
‚Ä¢ Foreclosure Attracts New Breed of “Specialist”
‚Ä¢ In Foreclosures, Judge’s Hands Tied
• Home Saved From Foreclosure. Cycle, Too
• A House For Precious?
• Deutsche Bank Grabs Dixwell Condo
• Reluctant Bidder Snags F. Haven Bargain
‚Ä¢ Well, There’s Always Powerball
• Neighbors Retrieve Home From Bank
• Somebody Has Plans For Bassett Street
• Foreclosed, the Khennavongs Leave the Santanas
• Foreclosure Steal May Be Too Good
• 2nd Foreclosure in 3 Months Dims Bright St.
‚Ä¢ After Foreclosure, W’ville Owner Still Hopes To Sell
‚Ä¢ He’s Not Buying, Yet
• Quiet Foreclosure on Porter Street
• 3 Minutes Too Late
• Historic Gambardella Property Foreclosed
•2 Homes Lost, 1 Gained
‚Ä¢ “Everybody’s Got To Eat”
• More Foreclosures, More Signs
‚Ä¢ Foreclosure Sale Benefits Archie Moore’s
• Rescue Squad Swings Into Action
• A Bidder Shows Up
‚Ä¢ Bank Beats Tanya’s Bid
• Westville Auction Draws A Crowd
• DeStefano: Foreclosure Plan Ready
• Can They Help?
‚Ä¢ “We Should Over-Regulate These Bastards”
• Rosa Hears of Rescues
• WPCA Grilled on Foreclosures
‚Ä¢ WPCA’s Targets Struggle To Dig Out
• Sue The Subprimers?
• WPCA Hearing Delayed
‚Ä¢ Megna’s “Blood Boils” at WPCA Tactics
• Goldfield Wants WPCA Answers
• 2 Days, 8 Foreclosure Suits
• WPCA Goes On Foreclosure Binge
• A Guru Weighs In
• WPCA Targets Church
• Subprime Mess Targeted
‚Ä¢ Renters Caught In Foreclosure King’s Fall
‚Ä¢ She’s One Of 1,150 In The Foreclosure Mill
‚Ä¢ Foreclosures Threaten Perrotti’s Empire
‚Ä¢“I’m Not Going To Lay Down And Let Them Take My House”
‚Ä¢ Struggling Couple Sues Over “Scam”
To learn about the ROOF Project, a community-wide effort to help New Haveners navigate the foreclosure crisis, click here.
The following links are to various materials and brochures designed to help homeowners avoid foreclosure.
How to prepare a complaint to the Department of Banking; Department of Banking Online Assistance Form; Connecticut Department of Banking, Avoiding Foreclosure; FDIC Consumer News; Statewide Legal Services of Connecticut, Inc; Connecticut Bar Association Lawyer Referral Service.
For lawyer referral services in New Haven, call 562-5750 or visit this website. For the Department of Social Services (DSS) Eviction Foreclosure Prevention Program (EFPP), call 211 to see which community-based organization in the state serves your town.
Click here for information on foreclosure prevention efforts from Empower New Haven.