Archive for the 'Hartford' Category
Picture Perfect Day: ING’s Hartford Marathon
Note: Non-real estate related post follows.
A few months ago, I posted a plea for running partners to help me train for ING’s Hartford Half Marathon. My wish was granted and I met some very nice ladies that I’ve trained with over the past few weeks.
Well, today was the big day. The weather was perfect and I was ready to go. And to make it an even better event, several of our grad school friends (Katherine, Becca, and Marlene) and Kyle’s sister (Allison) came to visit us and run in the race. Yay!
While it was early in the morning (6:45am), great skill and teamwork got us through the long lines for packet pickup at the XL Center quite quickly. Additionally, some stealth tactics got us into the speed line for t-shirt pickup and a hidden bathroom with essentially no waiting. I’m keeping those secret…
We headed out to the start line at Bushnell Park, joining the thousands of other runners. Off we went and jog, jog, jog- we all finished the race. Actually, out of the collective 17 half marathons that the 5 of us previously ran (Kyle does not run), we each finished with a personal best. I finished in 2:00:16. If only I had not eaten that extra Oreo last night, I could have finished in under 2 hours.
Quotes and Observations from Our Out-of-Town Friends…
Allison (Washington, D.C.)- “I love the sun! I liked the course and enjoyed the volume of people running. I wished the mile marker signs were a little larger and there weren’t so many turns at the end.” and “The support staff that carried our crap (Kyle) was much appreciated.”
Katherine (Chapel Hill, NC)- “What I particularly enjoy about the Hartford Half Marathon, other than great company, is the big steaming Starbucks I reward myself with at the end, which was really an inspiration at Mile 11.” and “People bring a lot of really cute puppy dogs to the park to participate in the festivities.”
Marlene (Boston, MA)- “I enjoyed the live bands - they helped motivate me throughout the run. The Riverfront part of the race was picturesque.” and “I appreciated the High Fives in Parkville.” and “Next time I will bring a cell phone and money, as my friends abandoned me after the race.” NOTE [from Amy]: There was a bit of miscommunication about where to meet up after the race that resulted in Marlene being lost for about 1.5 hours at Bushnell Park. She was eventually found and returned to her weekend hosts.
Rebecca (New York City)- “My favorite part of the race was the home stretch when I convinced at least 100 people to cheer for me. Thanks Hartford!”
Hartford’s West End Walking Tour, Saturday October 4th
If you enjoy architecture, Hartford history, or just spending time outside on a nice fall morning, you might want to participate in an upcoming architecture tour in Hartford’s West End neighborhood.
Behind the Facades: Architectural Heritage of the West End is sponsored by the Hartford Preservation Alliance and co-sponsored by WECA’s Architectural History & Resources Committee.
The walk will showcase the results of Hartford’s prominence as a state capitol and center of business and culture. Stops will include peeks inside some whimsical homes along the way.
The walking tour will take place on Saturday, October 4th from 10:00am-12:00pm, rain or shine. The cost is $10. Please meet at the UCONN Law School Parking Lot on Sherman Street.
Payment for the tour should be made by check to the Hartford Preservation Alliance and mailed to 56 Arbor Street, Suite 406, Hartford, CT 06106. You may also pay in-person by check on the day of the tour. Call the HPA at (860) 570-0331 or email them if you have further questions.
We hope to see you there!
Close Your Permits?
I recently had to call Hartford’s Licenses and Inspections department to check on some permits for a particular house in Hartford. I was looking to understand if permits had been pulled for work performed at the house and if they had been closed out by a city inspector.
The L&I office has always been helpful whenever I’ve stopped by to check on permits for homes or just answer general questions I have about the L&I process. My recent conversation was a little frustrating though because the process seemed a little broken. Here’s how it went down…
Amy [on phone]: Hi, I’d like to get an understanding of what permits have been pulled for 123 XYZ Street and if they’ve been closed out.
L&I Employee [on phone]: Sure, let me check. But our computer system only goes back to 1990, so that’s as far as I’ll be able to tell you over the phone. Otherwise you’ll need to come in and do a record search.
Amy: That’s fine. Going back to 1990 is good enough for now.
L&I Employee: Okay. I see that there are 6 permits pulled, various building permits and plumbing permits, and they were pulled between 1992 and 2007.
Amy: Sounds good, I’m glad to hear that the permits were pulled. How many of them are closed out?
L&I Employee: None of them are closed. They all still show in an “open” status. But that doesn’t mean that they are necessarily open. The inspector may have gone out to check the work and the job card never got recorded to actually close out the permit.
Amy: Uh, so how am I supposed to tell if they are closed or not?
L&I Employee: Well, you can come down here and talk with the inspectors and see if they remember closing out the job.
Amy: But you said there are permits pulled from 1992. What are the chances the inspector still works in the department and that s/he will remember closing out a job from 1992?
L&I Employee: I can’t really comment on that. If you want to see if they’ve been closed out, you’ll need to come here in person and ask an inspector.
So there are a couple of takeaways from my phone conversation:
1. While the employees in Hartford’s Licenses and Inspections department are very helpful, it appears that they’re limited by the current recording process in order to get permits closed out. Inspectors could potentially be wasting a lot of time revisting jobs that have already been closed, but no record exists that they were actually closed. I think that is what is going to need to happen in my case.
2. As the homeowner, you should keep records of who performed the work at your home (which should be a licensed contractor) and the name of the inspector that comes to close out the job. That way if this situation happens to you, there is a paper trail to follow.
I’ll be headed to the Licenses & Inspections department today to do a little more investigation. Stay tuned for my dramatic conclusion…
UPDATE: So I stopped by L&I today. None of the permits were closed. I was told to call certain inspectors to see if they knew they had been closed, but not recorded as closed. More digging must be done. The people in the office assured me that there is a new process now, so this shouldn’t be happening anymore. It’s just older permits that might have this issue.