So I see 225 Catharine St is for sale. What I've heard is that they somehow worked with the city to get the public alley next to their house fenced off for safety.

Now the house is listed for sale with the alley belonging to the house - "2 assigned parking spaces".

http://www.prufoxroach.com/search/se...&source=trulia

Does anyone know the full story about what has happened, because is sounds like shenanigans to me?

Not a "land grab", as anyone can do it. I could be wrong, but I thought that land belonged to the condos on the other side of the former alley. And I thought the 2 parking spots were in the back.

At any rate, if there is an inactive alley that is adjacent to your property, you can approach the city and purchase it. They'll come out and do a survey to check the feasibility of retaining the road. If it turns out that the road is useless, they will sell it to you at a fair market value-but if there is any manholes, water supply lines, utility lines, etc. you must keep the area available to the city at all times.

Do you know if that applies to the land behind the houses on Front Street East side between Catherine and Fitz?

No. That land is owned by a a quasi-governmental body overseen by the state. Its intent is to maintain any area adjacent to interstates(such as I-95). I forget the exact name of it, but Jeff Rush(pres. of QVNA) was once a boardmember of it.