Household Hazardous Waste Day
Saturday, May 12th 8am to 1PM at GHS
The Town of Greenwich will hold a collection for Household Hazardous Waste on Saturday, May 12, from 8 am to 1 pm, at Greenwich High School. Open to Stamford and other area residents as well, with proof of residency. For a list of items accepted visit www.greenwichct.org or call Public Works at 203-622-7740 or the Health Dept. at 203-987-1001.
REMEMBER: No Latex Paint, No Motor Oil.
Howard Stern sidekick acclimates to civic service
Board of Parks and Recreation member Gary Dell'Abate at Binney Park in Old Greenwich, Tuesday, March 13, 2012. Dell'Abate's day job as the producer of controversial "Howard Stern Show" made for a turbulent confirmation process last year by the RTM for the volunteer position. Photo: Bob Luckey / Greenwich Time | Buy This Photo
Read the Article at the Greenwich Time
To the Editor:
Last Sunday's Greenwich Time carried a front page photo of Gary Dell’Abate sitting on a bridge spanning Binney Pond. The text of the article focused on Mr. Dell'Abate' nomination, appointment and his work for the Board of Parks and Recreation this past year. The feature failed to address, although the photo clearly showed, the great need to get on with the redredging of the badly silted Binney Pond. Sunday's photo did one thing well. It clearly showed one of the growing mud islands now so evident in Binney Pond. Frankly, the pond is a mess, debris cluttered and silted badly especially in the north end. One can only hope that this photo of Mr. Dell'Abate will serve as a reminder that the Board's obligations are to pay attention, not only to active recreation activities in our public open spaces, but also to the passive recreation places belonging the community. Unfortunately, the photo suggests that the Board of Parks and Recreation might be turning its back on the Binney Pond dredging question. We hope that is an incorrect assumption.
The Board of the Old Greenwich Association
The railway bridge on Sound Beach Avenue in Old Greenwich on Wednesday, Feb. 15, 2012. Metro-North Railroad has slated this bridge and the one on Tomac Avenue to be replaced. Photo: Helen Neafsey / Greenwich Time | Buy This Photo
Century-old bridges in Old Greenwich to be replaced
The Sound Beach and Tomac avenue bridges in Old Greenwich have borne the weight of untold thousands of trains and many more commuters over the last 100-plus years.
And it shows. With patches of crumbling concrete, rusting metal and peeling paint, age has crept up on the sturdy structures.
But starting next year, the state will undertake a massive, four-year construction project to replace both railroad bridges, at an estimated cost of $30 million to $40 million.
The Sound Beach and Tomac avenue bridges in Old Greenwich have borne the weight of untold thousands of trains and many more commuters over the last 100-plus years.And it shows. With patches of crumbling concrete, rusting metal and peeling paint, age has crept up on the sturdy structures.But starting next year, the state will undertake a massive, four-year construction project to replace both railroad bridges, at an estimated cost of $30 million to $40 million.
Continue Reading the Article on the Greenwich Time
Dunkin Donuts in Old Greenwich
As many people are aware, the currently empty storefront on Sound Beach Avenue which used to be the home of Patriot Bank was recently leased to Dunkin Donuts. The owners of this business have gone through the appropriate steps with the town, and will likely be opening sometime in the near future. In addition, a local news story has confirmed what some have already known about Arcadia Cafe, that the owners have applied for a beer and wine permit and intend to convert the cafe into "...an affordable and attractive alternative for family dining." The application process for that is currently under town review.
Your Old Greenwich Association has spoken with appropriate town authorities regarding both of these projects, and would like to inform you of two things.
1) For those who are interested, floor plans for Dunkin Donuts are available for public inspection at the office of Planning & Zoning at Town Hall from 8:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
2) There will be a public hearing on February 7, at 7pm in the Town Hall Meeting Room, where the Planning & Zoning Commission will listen to input from the community regarding a "...final site plan and special permit, to remove the condition prohibiting a liquor license and specifically permit the sale of beer and wine..." at Arcadia Cafe. Anyone who has in interest in this project is encouraged to attend and speak.
The Old Greenwich Association Board of Directors
Summary of Old Greenwich Association Annual Meeting
For anyone who missed it, here is a summary of what transpired at the Old Greenwich Association's (OGA) Annual Meeting last Thursday January 26th. The gathering was held at the Sound Beach Firehouse in Old Greenwich.
Wet weather did not deter an enthusiastic group from attending. The Upper Crust Bagel Shop generously provided refreshments, which were consumed as President, Dave Rafferty, led off the evening by summarizing activities of the organization during the past year.
Dave stated the OGA has been closely watching recent developments in the village as they pertain to potential new retailers. A Dunkin Donuts outlet will most certainly fill the spot formerly occupied by Patriot Bank. Old Greenwich merchants tend to be independent retailers. Therefore, there is concern among some residents and merchants that a national branded outlet like Dunkin Donuts won't fit our "village image". The OGA believe it is the right of almost any business to come to OG as long as it complies with Town of Greenwich regulations. What OGA is doing is monitoring the approval process to insure proper signage, parking concerns, pedestrian safety and adequate trash receptacles are considered so that the new outlet fits into our village-scape.
Dave also noted that the village is experiencing an unusual number of store vacancies just now. He emphasized that we, as residents, should try as much as we can to support those merchants we like in the village to insure our longstanding retailers continue to prosper and serve us as shoppers.
Dave mentioned some OGA contributions to the community which included help with the planting of additional spring bulbs for the Daffodil Hill in the north end of Binney Park. He pointed out that the holiday lights on the Binney Park lamp poles were both purchased and installed by OGA members. He also noted our assistance to the Old Greenwich Merchants Association (OGMA) and a special contribution for the First Light festivities. OGA members were involved in the original planning of this annual December happening over ten years ago.
OGA has also supported the Garden Club of Old Greenwich and the Sound Beach Fire Department among other local groups helping improve OG as a place to live. OGA purchased thousands of American flags that were given out during the Memorial Day Parade. OGA has done this distribution for many years and as the parade has grown the number of flags given out has increased too....making our recent orders well over 2,000 annually. Finally, Dave noted a contribution to, and had special praise for, the Sound Beach fire team that did so much extra work following the series of harmful storms last year.
Lile Gibbons, an OGA Board Member, told attendees about the newly formed VIllage Improvement Committee (VIC). The goals of the group, involving individuals from the OGMA, OGA, Garden Club of Old Greenwich, Department of Parks & Recreation and Bill Rutherford, a local professional landscape architect, are to develop and encourage future improvements to the OG village steetscape. The focus thus far has been on sidewalk replacement, tree plantings, planting island renewal and will later focus on building facades, signage and how to mitigate disruptions when the Sound Beach railroad bridge repair work commences. You can add your ideas for village improvements by going to the OGA website and participating in our survey - (OldGreenwich.org)
The final segment of the meeting was an informative presentation by the Asst. Fire Chief Tim Peck of the Sound Beach fire volunteers. Using a projected presentation and handouts, the attendees were re-educated about what to watch for in emergency situations like floods and fires. Mr. Peck left most people with some new ideas that they had not likely thought of to improve their personal and home safety procedures. (For more information, please go to the FEMA website where you will find tips to help you prepare your property against flood, fires and other possible catastrophes.)
Other items of interest:
The treasurer reported the OGA has $23,647.74 in its account.
Membership renewals and new member contributions are running near to levels of last year.
The new officers and Board of Directors for the upcoming year include:
Dave Rafferty, President
Katherine Donnelly, Vice President
Patricia Santonocito, Treasurer
Peter Uhry, Secretary
Board Members: James Blake, Marc Ducret, Daniel Farrell, Stephanie Frankel, Lile Gibbons, David Porotny, Alexis Voulgaris, Marcus Zavattaro
Winter Newsletter
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Replacement of Trees in Old Greenwich
The Old Greenwich Association lent its support to the Old Greenwich Merchants Association in lobbying the Town to replace selected trees on Sound Beach Avenue with ones that would provide increased shade, better sight lines and a more "New Englandy" feel. Over 300 local residents signed a petition supporting this measure. However, there were many others who disagreed, and a public hearing was held on the matter. All sides were well represented and eloquent in making their points, and after several days of consideration, Town of Greenwich Tree Warden Bruce Spaman has decided to begin a plan of pruning and maintenance, and not to remove any trees at this time.
In addition to this hearing drawing attention to the needs of the downtown village trees, one of the best things to come up was the call for more study to look into what else could be done to beautify the area. Now the ball is rolling, and at this moment there are individuals and groups planning to organize and look into trees, plantings, benches, signage and more in order to make Old Greenwich an even more attractive place to live, work and shop. If you want to read more about this, the official decision from Mr. Spaman is posted below. As always, if anyone has any questions or wants to volunteer to help, please contact us here at the OGA.
Old photo showing shade trees before they were diseased and replaced
