House declared 'unfit'

Site condemned; owner moves out

Basia Dziewanowski was moving from her home at 41 Katherine Road last Thursday after the Watertown Health Department condemned the house as "unfit for human habitation" and ordered her out until problems are remedied.

The single-family home has been at the center of an 18-month legal battle between Dziewanowski, the owner, and the town over the unsanitary conditions inside the house and in the yard. Neighbors have long complained it's an eyesore, with large quantities of assorted debris scattered around the yard and stored under a carport, including boxes, old furniture, clothing, piles of wood scraps and other building materials, plastic jugs filled with standing water, and an old vehicle stored under a tarp.

Dziewanowski was moving out on the day that a Middlesex Superior Court judge had set as the deadline for her to vacate. Kristel Bennett, the town's chief environmental health officer, said officials arranged to put Dziewanowski up in a local motel for a few nights while she looks for a place to stay.

"I'm trying to cooperate as much as I can," Dziewanowski said Thursday afternoon in a telephone interview. She said she had packed all of her belongings.

Mark Reich, an attorney for the town, said the town would secure the house, which could include using padlocks and boarding up windows, until a formal cleanup plan is settled on.

Dziewanowski was ordered by the Health Department on June 20 to correct code violations within 21 days, or face fines of $300 per violation, plus additional penalties for each day the problems remain.

If the problems are fixed satisfactorily, the Health Department could lift the order and allow Dziewanowski back into the home, said Reich. But if not, the town will have to get the yard cleaned up and then probably board over the house and place a lien on the property to pay for the work, he said.

Dziewanowski has said the town has exaggerated or even misstated the conditions inside her home and she insists she has done much of the cleanup work requested by health officials. She has said she is disabled and has allergies caused by environmental pollutants.

"We're very sympathetic that she's got health issues," said Reich. But the town has "significant concerns" about the condition of the home, he said. "It's a danger to her and a danger to the neighbors."

Dziewanowski and the town were in court early last week as she sought a temporary stay in the hopes of preventing her eviction, said Reich. But Judge Leila R. Kern sided with the town, setting the Thursday deadline to vacate.

Citing a "history of serious and repeated violations" of state sanitary codes, the Health Department issued the eviction order after holding a hearing June 18 to discuss the findings of a report detailing numerous violations town health officials found during a June 9 inspection of the home.

According to the report, Bennett and sanitarian Mark Waksmonski found 17 violations of state health regulations at the property. The town's fire inspector found two violations related to the limited access from inside the house. "If you were caught in a fire, you'd have a hard time getting out," said Reich.

Virtually every room on the first and second floors, as well as the porch and basement, contained massive quantities of what inspectors called "rubbish," such as bags of clothing, hangers, papers, unused furniture, plastic laundry jugs, milk crates, and other storage bins. The material was piled so high in many places, it blocked many interior walls and several windows, the report said.

The kitchen and three bathrooms had no hot water, and jars of pickle juice were stored in the first-floor bathroom. There were also several structural issues such as two large holes in the kitchen ceiling, including one that measured 2 feet by 8 feet, and missing floor tiles throughout the house.

The basement contained flies, buckets of standing, soiled water, and a ceiling that was wet to the touch. There were also buckets of standing water in the pantry, the report said.

The home was so cluttered, inspectors were not able to do a complete review. Bennett said the violations appear largely the same as those that inspectors last found about a year ago.

"A lot of what the town says is not true," said Dziewanowski of the town's contention that she hasn't made much progress cleaning up. There have been "a lot of changes" since the last inspection, she said.

Steve Alban, a friend who was asked by Dziewanowski to stay at her house early last week while she was in court to "keep an eye on things," said she has made strides to rectify many of the problems.

"She's not fast enough," said Alban, on why he thinks the town moved to condemn the house.