A state Superior Court judge has upheld a suite of anti-blight fines assessed by the Livable City Initiative (LCI) against one of New Haven’s largest landlords of low-income housing. According to the Elicker administration, those fines now add up to nearly $1.3 million — prompting the city t o prepare to initiate foreclosure proceedings for a row of dilapidated homes on Fitch Street. State Judge Matthew Frechette handed down that decision Monday in the case Fitch Development LLC v. City of New Haven. Click here to read the ruling in full. The houses in question — located at 166, 168, 170, 174, 176, 202, and 220 Fitch St. — are owned by affiliates of Ocean Management, a real estate company controlled by Shmuel Aizenberg. According to the city’s anti-blight enforcement agency, the properties have suffered from accumulated debris, chipped paint, overgrown lawns, and general lack of upkeep for years. On Dec. 9, 2025, Ocean sued LCI for their decision to assess anti-blight fines against the company because of code violations at the Fitch Street properties. The penalty, which was decided by a volunteer hearing officer, accrued for each house at $1,000 per day until Dec. 12, 2025, when Ocean’s subsidiaries filed for permits to demolish the properties. Those permits were later voided, causing the daily fines to start re-accruing. Assistant Corporation Counsel Sinclair Williams told the Independent that as of Friday, the penalty stands at $183,000 for each of the seven properties — or $1,281,000 in total. The fine is still accruing at $1,000 each day for all seven properties. During a court hearing in January, Ocean’s attorney, Kenneth Rozich, questioned whether the company had been given sufficient notice to prepare for LCI’s quasi-judicial process for assessing fines. He also challenged the total number of violations found on each property, arguing that Ocean hid some of the blight with blue-tarp fencing. Judge Frechette disagreed. On Monday, he released a decision upholding LCI’s anti-blight fines and discrediting the substantive and procedural arguments raised by Rozich. On the merits, Frechette found that LCI was within its statutory rights to assess a daily fine of $1,000 on each property. “[B]ased on Neighborhood Specialist Raymond Jackson’s credibl[e] testimony, as well as the submitted exhibits,” LCI successfully showed three or more violations at all the houses, he wrote. Procedurally, Frechette also sided with the agency. Even though Ocean did not request a hearing, LCI scheduled one “as an additional courtesy,” he wrote. The law “clearly states that failure to request a hearing” with ten days of receiving a citation “would result in admission of liability.” Frechette also found that LCI complied with due process principles, even though the agency only gave Ocean 11 days of advanced notice. If the company had requested a hearing, he said, the law would have required LCI to provide 15 days of notice. However, Ocean did not ask for the proceedings, so that statute does not apply. More broadly, Frechette found that LCI went “above and beyond” over the last two years to inform Ocean of their blight-related violations, including by scheduling a hearing without prompting from Ocean. The company’s “alleged procedural violations are cured by both the courtesy hearing opportunity provided by [LCI] and the de novo hearing before this court,” wrote Frechette. On Thursday, Aizenberg told the Independent that he is considering an appeal. “We respectfully disagree with the Court’s decision and believe the fines are excessive” in light of the “substantial work and investment already made at the Fitch Street properties,” he said. Ocean has already completed environmental remediation and advanced demolition planning across the site, said Aizenberg. The company is “evaluating all legal options, including a potential appeal,” while also advancing its efforts “to deliver a high-quality development on Fitch Street.” Aizenberg said his plan is to demolish the existing Fitch Street houses and build a new residential development, “potentially including student-oriented housing.” Ocean is still finalizing the design and unit count. In a separate comment provided to the Independent Friday, Mayor Justin Elicker welcomed the judge’s decision in this case. “These properties have been a blight on the Beaver Hills and West Rock neighborhoods for far too long, and Mr. Aizenberg and Ocean Management have failed in their responsibility to properly maintain or demolish them,” Elicker said in a statement. “We’re moving aggressively to hold them accountable and working to ensure these properties are returned to good use for the community again.” According to Williams, the city attorney that works with LCI, the city intends to initiate a foreclosure action in the coming weeks. If Ocean still does not pay the fines, the city will take the Fitch Street properties, he said. Dilapidation row. The post Judge Rejects Ocean’s Appeal, Sides With LCI appeared first on New Haven Independent. ...read more read less