FAIRFIELD, CT — Fairfield is taking legal action against two blighted homes that have racked up more than $200,000 in fines over several years, according to officials.
The homes — at 92 Grasmere Ave. and 280 Tuckahoe Lane — are owned by former Fairfield firefighter Raymond Wisniewski. Both have holes in their roofs, overgrown lawns, broken windows and other signs of neglect and deterioration, and have been eyesores in their neighborhoods for years.
“The hole in the roof [at the Grasmere house] has actually increased in size,” said Philip Higgins, the town’s Fire Marshal and chair of the Condemnation Board, during a meeting this week.
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According to Fairfield Town Attorney James Baldwin, fines have been levied against the Grasmere house since April 2021, and have now reached a total of more than $78,000.
For the Tuckahoe house, the town began levying fines in November 2019, and they have now reached $131,000, Baldwin told Patch. Liens have been placed on both properties.
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“I am not at liberty to say much more at this time, other than to say we have been in touch with Mr. Wisniewski’s attorney and hope to reach a resolution for both properties in the near future,” Baldwin said.
Patch reached out to Wisniewski’s attorney, Ray Rizio of Russo & Rizio, LLC, for comment, but did not receive a reply.
At the Tuckahoe house on Thursday, a neighbor saw Patch photographing the home, and said it has been in deplorable condition for more than 15 years.
“He [Wisniewski] comes by once a year to mow the lawn,” said Frank, who declined to give his last name. “Maybe a month or two ago, he tried to patch the hole in the roof, but it’s still there. It doesn’t make sense.”
Frank said that his “father-in-law, realtors and contractors” have come by trying to buy the property, but Wisniewski has not sold it.
Condemnation Board member Sands Cleary, the town’s Health Director, said this week that similarly, there have been offers to buy the Grasmere house.
“It’s still in negotiations for the sale of the property,” Cleary said, but he did not know where those negotiations stood.
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