By Thane Grauel

WESTPORT — At the rounded end of Hiawatha Lane Extension, a couple of weathered motorboats sit on trailers. 

One, “The Whole Nine Yards,” has seen better days. Leaves and grime cover the decks. 

A Sea Ray 200 with no apparent name appears mothballed even longer. She’s growing mildew and even lichen, like a cemetery headstone.

A few feet away under a basketball hoop is an old home oil tank, dumped upright, still smelling of fuel.

If you live in Westport and have not seen this neighborhood, it’s because it’s not on the way to anywhere. There’s just one way in and one way out, Ferry Lane West. It lies between the Norwalk city line, Interstate 95, Saugatuck Avenue and the Metro-North Railroad tracks.

The area’s a mix of commercial properties, including Gault Energy, A.J. Penna and Sons, and middle-class homes from the 1940s and later, which are increasingly rare in this wealthy suburb.

The neighborhood’s western end is now something of a ghost town.

Eight houses are affixed with demolition notices in preparation for construction of a 157-unit apartment complex called Summit Saugatuck. 

Proposed about two decades ago, the project is slated for construction after many years of court cases, and enabled by “8-30g” state legislation that gives developers leeway and leverage in towns where the housing inventory falls short of the state’s 10 percent threshold for “affordable” housing.

Six of the Hiawatha houses are now vacant. Recycling bins, a bike and firepits have been left behind. Curtainless windows look out on the street like blank eyes.

Ordered out, hanging on

But there’s still life at No. 42.

Mark Lazar is not going quietly after being told last August his lease was being canceled under a 90-day-notice clause.

Lazar is being sued by Summit Saugatuck LLC. Four people were named defendants, but his three housemates have moved out. The case was filed Jan. 18 in Norwalk Housing Court. It’s pending. 

Lazar, a mobile car mechanic, said he knows he’ll have to leave at some point. He’s already packing. Stacks of stuffed boxes fill one bedroom. More boxes are in the living room. He’s still got a lot of vinyl records, VHS players, an eight-track and a reel-to-reel recorder to box up.

Lazar said he needs more time with an affordable rent ($1,800 a month), rather than paying much more for rent with room to store tools, so he can amass a down payment and get pre-approved for a mortgage. 

“Five years ago, you could find another ranch for $1,800, maybe not in Westport …” he said. “But now, the market has skyrocketed so tremendously.”

Lazar said he had discussions with a Summit property manager, and believed he’d get reasonable notice to leave once the time came, rather than “the heave-ho.”

But, he said, the manager called him Aug. 31 to say he’d be getting a lease termination notice the next day.

“It’s all a farce,” he said of the apartment project. “It’s all for money.”

Lazar feels the developer, Felix Charney should have made sure everyone had a place to go.

Affordable neighborhood razed for “affordable” housing

Lazar noted that his affordable neighborhood is being lost in the name of “affordable housing.”

“The thing that just blows my mind, Hartford’s, ‘Oh, there’s not enough affordable housing,’ ”he said. 

“Look around this neighborhood,” he said. “Is there any more of an affordable neighborhood in this whole town?”

He feels strongly that the judge who signed off on a stipulated settlement of long-running litigation between the developer and the town last July should have first visited the neighborhood.

Charney could not be reached for comment. Lazar’s lawyer, Abram Heisler, said he prefers not to comment on pending cases.

When the Historic District Commission denied a request in November to waive the 180-day demolition delay for six of the eight Hiawatha houses, it noted that No. 42’s original three-window front door was representative of the era’s architectural style. 

The commission this month stood by that decision when asked again to waive the 180-day period before the houses can be razed.

Asked how his situation would be different if the commission had not denied the developer’s bid to demolish houses without delay, Lazar said: “I would be arguing with marshals and police … They left me with no options.”

Neighbors’ challenge remains unresolved

While the stipulated agreement between the town and Summit Saugatuck ended several court cases, another lawsuit filed in September by some neighbors is still pending in Hartford Superior Court. 

That complaint contends increased traffic and impeded roadways caused by the apartment project would inflict irreparable harm to the neighborhood.

 The suit also complains the project violates deed restrictions stating the Hiawatha lots can be used only for single-family homes.

In January, Summit Saugatuck moved for a summary judgment in the case. The judge has not ruled on the motion.