Story Archive

Little Green Apology

The little pink house at Trumbull and East Streets in New London, Conn., became famous for the reason it’s no longer there: officials took it from Susette Kelo under eminent domain as part of an economic redevelopment plan. She fought for her property all the way to the Supreme Court, but lost. That was 2005. The land is now, in a triumph of economic development, vacant. But even as a plan to build an $18.4 million apartment complex in the area moves through the government, Mayor Daryl Justin Finizio, a critic of the Kelo decision, has announced an agreement to set aside the site of the little pink house, perhaps for a public park. “It is my personal hope that this park will serve as a memorial to all those adversely affected by the city’s use of eminent domain,” he said. (AC/New London Day) ...In honor of private property, a public park.