Ness Books

As a book of any relevance or knowledgeable value to the case evidence of the Loch Ness enigma this volume is virtually worthless. Factually inaccurate in many areas it provide no new information or data and simply retraces old ground. Recommended if you are a collector and simply want to own the volume, but not recommended if it is accurate information you require.

I find myself the subject of a portion of this book. Some statements are opinions, but some of the statements are actually errors. I would like to respond.
1. When I bought the property in October 2001 I continued (but did not initiate) the opt out of the single contract with HUD. The previous owners had begun the process, but had not informed the tenants. I met with the tenants immediately and explained the opt out process, and their rights to have Enhanced Vouchers, giving them special rights to STAY at the property.
2. One basic and essential right of Enhanced Vouchers is that the tenant will NEVER pay more than 30% of their income, no matter what the contract rent. The contract rent had no bearing on what my tenants would pay.
3. Anyone who was evicted for non-payment was opting not to pay the normal family portion of 30% of income. Less than 5 tenants were evicted. Some tenants left to take advantage of the Enhanced Voucher to relocate outside of central New Haven, to be in a less urban environment, or to be closer to their now grown-up children.
4. Since 2001 I have continued to operate the building adhering to my goal of having a mixture of different kinds of tenants, from many different races and nationalities, and I have kept my promise to retain the original tenants, many of whom are "overhoused," that is, living in a multi-bedroom unit as a single person (their family having grown up and moved away). Since HUD offers a subsidy for ONLY ONE YEAR after it is aware of overhousing, I took on subsidizing the difference for these tenants by accepting a ONE bedroom contract rent for the TWO and THREE bedroom apartments the tenants were inhabiting. Ovella Watts is still a tenant in the same apartment she has occupied all these years, even though she technically would have had to move if I had not stepped in and accepted the lower rent.
5. Although it is difficult to make improvements to occupied apartments, I have offered to each of my long-term tenants to choose an improvement they want (which is in addition to appropriate maintenance). One section 8 tenant recently asked for a hardwood floor to be installed in her living room, which we did.
6. I have an excellent relationship with all my tenants at 65 Dwight Street, especially my section 8 tenants whom I have now known for over 6 years.
7. I WAS NEVER CONTACTED BY THE AUTHORS OF THIS BOOK, even though my office is two blocks from the property, and I would certainly have been willing to give them detailed information on any question they might have asked.