Yesterday, “06880” ran 2 photos of the 4th of July at Sherwood Island.
Actually, it was the nearby Connector, and I-95 exit ramp. Cars were parked all along — and on Greens Farms Road — because the state park parking lot filled up by mid-morning.
Instead of giving up, hundreds of people hauled umbrellas, chairs and coolers all the way to the shore.
(Photo/John Karrel)
They were not the only out-of-towners to enjoy a Westport beach.
Compo was also packed. There’s a limit to the number of daily passes that the Parks & Recreation Department sells each day. They met that number — 125, at $70 each — early, and stopped any more sales the morning of the holiday.
Folks lucky enough to get in headed for South Beach. They set up tents, spread blankets, grilled, and enjoyed a great holiday with friends and family, at a beach with plenty of amenities.
And plenty of room.
It was a wonderful scene.
I walked by on the pedestrian path, from the kayak launch to the cannons, in mid-afternoon.
I saw people of all ages playing and swimming. I smelled delicious foods. I heard music and chatter.
Most of it was not in English.
It was wonderful.
I was happy to see so many people enjoying our beach. They were there for the day, and they made the most of it.
The rest of the beach — from the cannons to the wooden pavilion– was crowded, but nowhere near the night of the fireworks. There was plenty of space all along Soundview.
I was glad to see our town jewel getting so much enjoyment, by residents and those without regular access to a beach.
Welcome to Compo! (Photo/Ed Simek)
Not everyone shared my joy.
Social media sizzled with comments. Many were disparaging. Some were ugly. (The worst were, thankfully, removed.)
But some people pushed back.
One of the strongest comments came from Dan Roberti. A 2000 Fairfield Prep graduate (and before that, Kings Highway Elementary and Bedford Middle Schools) who spent his high school years as a Compo Beach (and Longshore and YMCA) lifeguard, then moved back to town in 2018 with his wife (Hilary Lister, Staples ’05), he wrote:
“After reading some of the negativity regarding Compo Beach, I want to share my overwhelmingly positive experience, say how grateful I am for Compo Beach, and thank all the town employees who work to make it such a great experience.
“As a counterpoint to the complaints about out-of-towners at Compo, let me offer that as a resident I drove in yesterday at the high point. I had an easy time finding a parking space right on the beach, between the cannons and the pavilion, after being greeted with friendly smiles and waves by multiple Parks & Rec employees at both the entrance and checkpoint. (They undoubtedly had to spend a lot of time turning out-of-town families away, which I’m sure was not easy).
“Despite the beach being significantly fuller than usual, my family had no trouble finding a comfortable spot in the sand for our chairs, umbrellas and toys. Our friends even had room to pitch a tent.
“It’s great having a half mile stretch of beach minutes away from anywhere in town that I have full access to, even on the busiest beach-going day in the entire country.
Sometimes Compo Beach is crowded. Many times, it’s not. (Drone photo/Brandon Malin)
“The lifeguards, marine police and other emergency personnel did an amazing job of keeping everyone safe yesterday (an additional shout out to the massive effort Tuesday night for the fireworks).
“I love being in a town with a long record of being able to fully staff its beaches with lifeguards, when so many other beaches have faced shortages for decades.
“It was wonderful to see so many people, both from in town and out of town, respectfully enjoying the beach yesterday. I saw families playing catch, sharing meals, building sand castles, walking out as far as the sandbars would allow them, and discovering shells and crabs in tide pools.
“How nice it was of the 3 older kids on the playground who, after talking to each other about how amazing this playground was and how they are so glad they came down to this fun beach today, noticed my 4-year-old waiting to use the ship wheel they had been playing on.
“It’s your turn, little guy,” they happily shouted as they ran off to a different part of the playground.
Kids of all ages — and from Westport and beyond — enjoy the Compo Beach playground.
“Yes, it is true that on this one very busy day some things were inconvenient, like the bathrooms and concession stands (for a 90-minute stretch at the absolute height of the day. But they returned to normal after that point.
“It was otherwise a truly remarkable place to spend the day. And to think, it was only an 8-minute drive from my house, and I spend most weekends at this amazing beach where the parking lot is more than half empty.
“And wow, what a job the Parks & Rec maintenance teams do! Trash cans are regularly emptied; the beach was well groomed (as well groomed as a rocky New England beach can be!); the pavilion, boardwalk, basketball courts, skate park, marina, pickleball courts, picnic areas and bathrooms were clean and safe.
“What a great way to spend the 4th. Thank you to the many hardworking people who made it possible!”
Thanks, Dan. We are indeed lucky to have Compo Beach right here, in (almost literally) our back yard.
And for those lucky enough to snag an out-of-town spot on Thursday: I hope it was your best 4th of July ever.
Yesterday — July 5th — South Beach was back to “normal.” There were plenty of grills for everyone. And Westporters were back to reserving the non-reservable picnic tables. (Photo/Dan Woog)
I love this beach and have been going to it for over 50+ years. One of my favorite places to go on a regular basis. I feel so fortunate to live in Westport and love our parks and recreation team, town representatives and town officials. I am truly grateful to live here and enjoy this beauty.
My friend drove an hour from NY on 4th of July morning paid $70 to enjoy a space at the beach and told me the next day how much she enjoyed her day here. This is truly a special place!
Dan Woog, Dan Roberti and the town got this one right.
125 out of town families paid $70 to share a small portion of our beach. About $10,000 a day to defray the cost of running the beach and keeping our property tax rates as low as they have been for years.
This is a no brainer win-win! Doing something nice, something smart and reaping a benefit for it.
Should make everyone including both the Democrats and Republicans among us – rejoice!!
And Compo Beach is never too crowded- even at the fireworks!!
Thank you for this post, Dan! It warmed my heart.
As a true son of Westport since 1952, a former summer employee of the Recreation Department’s maintenance staff who picked up many, many remnants of weekend Compo Beach bliss (and a lifelong progressive) I have to add a modest proposal: President Biden immediately solved the country’s border crisis when he ascended by inviting non-residents of the country to “just come.” I think Westport could do the same. Let’s waive the daily fee for non-residents.
Thanks for a great article, Dan! I am a great lover of Compo Beach as well, and I walk there daily. On my July 4th morning walk, I loved passing all the families on South Beach who had “set up house” for the day. They were a diverse, joyful group. Cooking, playing, swimming and celebrating the Independence Day of a country that they were most likely not born into. How wonderful that we Westporters see the “real” world with these folks’ celebrations. I love the diversity that they bring to our bucolic, predominately white community.
Priscilla Long
Do not waive the daily fee. Put it to use for improvements on the beach such as shower stations along soundview and gravel the parking lot.
What a beautiful response, Dan Roberti!
Wonderful aerial pic! Don’t think I’ve seen the sweep in such clarity. Ah, Compo! Where J.D. Salinger wrote a good chunk of Cather In The Rye — well, there & back at the rental.
To all who believe Westport is for all,I cast a dissenting opinion. Westport was an aspirational town where those who worked hard, deferring gratification splurging on whatever caught their eye, to save to buy a home .It was a safe community where like minded people lived. Everything worked seemlessly. You could hit Stop & Shop at midnight if your pregnant wife had a craving. You could disembark metro north at 2 am and not fear walking to your Benz.
As for Sherwood Is lot being filled to capacity, on the 4th, no public parking should have been allowed on Greens Farms Rd.
As for Compo beach, once the non residents lot was at capacity, buses should not have been dropping off passengers to enjoy a day at the beach on my nickel.
IF I wanted to hear Spanish music and a hundred languages other than English on the beach,I’d move to Brooklyn and park my umbrella on Coney Island.
A mega million home is now in foreclosure on 11 Coccamo.Two office building are already suing the town over their tax assessments. Home owners will be following suit. The silent majority whose voices are crushed in social media for voicing opposing comments will vote with their feet. Many residents are fed up with rising taxes so others can get a free lunch.Others see rising crime along the beach and are selling out. My own hiome is lit up like a Xmas tree with security cameras ,motion detectors and string lights following a neighbor’s being accosted in his own driveway. This isn’t the Westport I grew up in.It’s rapidly becoming Bridgeport.
The Post Rd. W. housing project will soon be the seen of paralyzing traffic jams because hey, Danny Dobin says these people have the right to have 2 cars as well. 122 Wilton is another slap in the face to anyone with a working brain cell and an envirormental kick in the nuts. The fire chief declared it an accident just waiting to happen, but hey the do-gooders say these people have rhe right to a river view as well.
Main St. is fighting for more parking spaces while one business after another bites the dust.
But you say everyone has the God given right to choose wherever they want to live. So we threw open the doors to affordable housing with no vetting or backround checksto the likes of people who have the WPD on speed dial. And the child pornographer who was hired by the YMCA kids dept. and resides in a mega million house operated by Homes for Hope. When he’s released from prison, I’ll bet my 401K some progresive do-gooder tosses him the keys to another Westport residence.
It’s time to take back Westport. If it’s not already too late.
“Spanish music and a hundred languages other than English”—right here in River City, where “like-minded people” live? Soon, people are going to be doing native dances on the Compo boardwalk! It’s like Footloose!
Caroline Bennett has referred to immigrants as “flotsum [sic] and jetsum [sic]” washing up on our shores and then reproducing “like cockroaches.” (And she never fails to mention her “Benz.”) Her White Folks schtick, as always, is supremely out of place and out of time.
I spent the holiday at my beach house in Nantucket,Mr.Prince. So the comment regarding Spanish music and languages other than English were simply heresay,reported by Mr.Woog in this article. But as for Westport no longer being safe, I just returned from a 9:30pm CVS run. The rear entrance is now locked due to shoplifting. As I parked in front of the store a Black teen and a Caucasian teen were pushing a second teen in a grocery cart into CVS. The elderly store clerked told them to get out of the cart .He then said to those of us in line, this is a nightly occurence. Enough said about the decline of civility, safety and security in Westport.
Compo is open to all. Yes, there’s a price to pay. It helps maintain our facilities and pay our staff.
Our beaches have closed before for poor water quality, thunderstorms, and…capacity!
It’s normal. The town sells daily beach passes. Personally, I think 125-150 is ridiculous. And where they can park, because certain people in town meetings get angry over people parking in THEIR space (this has happened on many occasions).
Greenwich has a policy where residents and guest of residents can only visit, no. Others have suggested residents only, no. Enforcement of walk on, no.
When residents are not at the beach, there is room for visitors who generously pay to get the same experience us residents do.
I was driving through, and did a walk and here is what I noticed:
Families, speaking English and other languages, playing in the water, barbecuing, their own trash bags next to their picnic table, playing music at a low volume, socializing, enjoying the holiday at a low cost, making memories, respecting the other patrons and facilities itself.
I know for a fact 262 passes were sold that day. As visitors left, spots opened up.
I would honestly like to see open plan parking instead of being in one lot. This was pushed by a nonpartisan group in town, among other non inclusive and obstructive ideas.
I want people to enjoy the beach like I did as a kid and now as an adult, resident or not. And you should too.
Compo is open to all, and will stay that way.
One of our favorite casual restaurants is Ripka’s on Calf Pasture Beach,Norwalk. Best fish & ships ,lobster rolls on the sound with an unparalled view of the water, under a large white tent. Only downside is the restaurant has only half a dozen parking spaces reserved for non residents because Norwalk grants beach passes to Norwalk tax payers . Compo has been open to all Westport taxpayers who buy a beach emplem. The non residents pay a daily fee. Since when did Compo become open to anyone else and more to the point, why should it? Last time I checked we were a capitalist economy, not a communist country.
Do you ever stop and think before you type? Or does it all pass directly from that tiny prehistoric cortex of yours into the public realm? Why is excluding people—from public restaurants, from public beaches—the highest form of human expression for you? You’re going to love Project 2025. It’s that thing where the government ships 10 million people out of the country. You and your great orange overlord face an uphill battle, though. Hooray for the riffraff!
Those of us who have a functioning cerebral cortex make decisions based on facts,not emotion. We understand it is esssential to recognize that the ecomomic status of a city’s inhabitants could be a pivotal factor influencing crime stats. Stop & Shop was the previously unheard of scene of a robbery,as was Lux,Bond & Green. A Bayberry neighbor was accosted in his own garage. The CVS last night was the scene of Black and white teens scraming,racing around the parking lot into the store pushing a grocery cart with one of them sitting in the cart. The elderly clerk said this is a nightly occurence. 25% of Westporters reported in a survey conducted by Area Vibes, they do not feel safe .
So yes, there will be a red wave sweeping the country from the White House to the Senate,from the Congress to the governor’s mansions and yes even to our own Town Hall.
Remember the last red wave? It kind of dribbled, sputtered, and wheezed on its way out of the spigot. I’m guessing this year there are enough women and LGBTQI people who want to control their bodies, enough people of color who are tired of all the right-wing racism, enough honorable people who can still recognize a party of con men, pedophiles, rapists, and liars.
It’s the cretinistas versus people with neurons that still fire.
“Never fight uphill, me boys.” Exciting, isn’t it?
Here’s a thought. Why not split 06880 into two towns. Freeport for those who welcome all and are willing to pay twice their previous tax liability to support those who see themselves as entitled to live ,work and play here but lack the financial resources to support themselves ,and Westport for those who prefer the way we were .
The way we were? When? 1860? 1960?
1960 predates my birth. But having lived here since my parents built their first house in 1968, having married and raised 3 kids here, I’d say the town was Americas Greatest Family Resort until 2019. My parents ,their friends waited with baited breath for the Baron’s mansion to be transformed to elderly housing. Instead, they downsized to Lansdowne. Now the plan is building affordable housing in its place. From the sublime to the ridiculous. And the elderly are still relegated to living in housing that predates the introduction of 8-30g so we can roll out the red carpet to those who choose a champagne lifestyle on a beer budget.