The Remarkable Bookcycle: If You Build It, They Will Read

Posted on August 28, 2018 | 12 comments

Last weekend, “06880” reported the remarkable story of the resurrection of the Remarkable Book Shop. The beloved pink shop suddenly appeared at Compo Beach, as a free library balanced on a 3-wheeled bike.

World popular author (and longtime Westport resident) Jane Green masterminded the project.

But she couldn’t have done it without the help of Ryan Peterson. The recent Staples High School graduate transformed Jane’s old cargo trike into a new/old/way cool lending (and donating) library.

Pictures told the story. But now — just before heading to Fairfield University, to study engineering — Ryan’s sent along a video of his handiwork.

Enjoy it. And remember: Jane knows the Remarkable Book Shop only through stories. She moved here after it closed.

Ryan was not even born then.

It takes a village to nurture a book store. And then bring it back to life.

Truly remarkable.

12 Comments

Posted in Looking back, People, Staples HS, Westport life

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A Fine Spot To Park

Posted on August 28, 2018 | 21 comments

As summer winds down, Westporters snag as much beach time as they can.

Yesterday evening was a perfect time to sit, relax, and enjoy the sunset.

Alert “06880” reader Elise Russi wishes one couple that did had parked somewhere else.

“Just try maneuvering a 22-foot long surf ski around a BMW, and you’ll understand why this is getting old,” she says.

“People who pay a small boat/kayak rack license (which is extra with limited availability) need the boat ramp!”

That’s because, she says, boaters are required to launch from the ramp only, to avoid interfering with beachgoers or swimmers.

(Photos/Elise Russi)

21 Comments

Posted in Beach, Transportation

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Flooding Main Street With New Stores

Posted on August 28, 2018 | 9 comments

It was a common refrain all summer, from former Westporters who returned to visit parents, attend high school reunions or just passed through: “What happened to Main Street?!”

They saw the butcher-papered storefronts. They noticed empty signs where national chains once stood. They found plenty of parking, but not much life.

Behind those grim facades though, another story is emerging.

Frequent flooding has taken a toll on downtown businesses. Chico’s, for example — and Sunglass Hut, across the street — were closed for at least 6 months after Hurricane Sandy. Both are now gone.

Main Street, a bit after the worst flooding from Hurricane Irene. This photo was taken exactly 7 years ago today: August 28, 2011.

High-tech gates offer a solution. Basements are filled with special concrete. Foundations are poured. The gates are stored off-site. But — with just a couple of days’ notice of impending bad weather — they can be trucked over, and clicked into place on both the Main Street and Parker Harding Plaza sides of buildings.

When the storm passes, the gates are removed.

It’s a new approach, resulting in fortress-like properties. A similar project is underway in Lower Manhattan, following Sandy’s destruction there. Closer to home, David Waldman flood-proofed Bedford Square as it was built.

But it’s expensive and labor-intensive. It takes several months for the concrete and foundation work to be done. And that’s after the long permitting process, involving a number of town bodies.

Plus, every Main Street landlord needs to be part of the project. If one store is not protected, water pours into adjacent properties through the walls.

But it’s a solution that landlords and merchants have worked on for months. Skip Lane — a 1979 Staples High School graduate who remembers downtown’s mom-and-pop days — is now a retail director for commercial real estate broker Cushman & Wakefield. He works with Empire State Realty Trust, an enormous firm that owns the Empire State Building, along with a substantial portion of Main Street.

They’re in the midst of flood-proofing the now-empty stretch, from the former Chico’s to the old Ann Taylor.

Stores on Main Street frequently flood. This is the scene at Parker Harding Plaza. (Photo/Chip Stephens)

It’s not easy. Though they’re Empire’s buildings, for example, the town owns the sidewalks that are part of the project. Many other municipal obstacles slow the work too.

But it’s important. As Lane notes, landlords have gotten hammered for the vacancies on — and vacant look of — Main Street.

Lane says that commitments have already been made for key retailers to fill the former Nike, Allen Edmonds and Ann Taylor stores. Peloton is moving in to the old Sperry spot — and they’re flood-proofing too.

“Main Street is not as bad as it looks,” Lane adds. “But with all the construction, it will probably look that way for another 9 months.”

Meanwhile, downtown shoppers should not miss some real gems. Shops like Savvy + Grace and The Brownstone are open, thriving, and vivid reminders of the days when downtown pulsed with fun, unique (and locally owned) options.

Let’s hope they’re flooded soon.

With shoppers.

Savvy + Grace is on Main Street, underneath Tavern on Main. It’s one bright spot in Westport’s downtown retail scene.

9 Comments

Posted in Downtown, Local business, People, Real estate

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Pic Of The Day #497

Posted on August 27, 2018 | 9 comments

Early this morning: Schlaet’s Point on Hillspoint Road (Photo/Mary Sikorski)

9 Comments

Posted in Beach, Pic of the Day

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Vote! But Where? And When?

Posted on August 27, 2018 | 22 comments

In the days leading up to Connecticut’s primary election this month, I did not receive my usual postcard reminding me when and where to vote.

That’s important information. In addition to voting day coming in the middle of summer — when one day slides into the next — my polling place has changed twice. First it was Saugatuck Elementary School. Then it was the Westport Library. Now — with renovation underway — I vote at Town Hall.

But I googled that info on my own, the day before the election.

I figured my postcard got lost in the mail.

In fact, there were no postcards.

Alert “06880” reader — and noted journalist/author Andrée Aelion Brooks, who spent 18 years with the New York Times — writes:

Westport and surrounding towns no longer send out postcards confirming the resident’s polling station and date of the election. This came to my attention after the primary last week, when many neighbors and friends said they did not vote because they were unaware it was the right date for Connecticut.

I contacted the Registrar of Voters, and 1st Selectman Jim Marpe. Apparently the town saves money this way, and they do not believe cards are needed any longer.

This is not true. And it will depress voter turnout, especially in communities where residents rely even more on this low-tech method of reminders.

If this is a statewide issue, perhaps it can be solved at the state level. If it is a local issue, perhaps we can muster some awareness of the need for change.

22 Comments

Posted in Local politics, Politics

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Blues Views & BBQ News

Posted on August 27, 2018 | 4 comments

The Blues Views & BBQ Festival is a uniquely Westport tradition.

And it’s one that reaches far beyond our borders.

Now in its 11th year, the Labor Day weekend event brings Southern- inspired food, nationally recognized music, and good ol’ family fun to downtown.

You may not think of Westport as a blues town. With Bobby Q’s gone, there ain’t much barbecue left.

But the Festival — set for this Saturday and Sunday (September 1-2) — brings out our inner blues and BBQ. It draws thousands of non-Westporters who really understand that kind of music and food to places they otherwise might never go: the Levitt Pavilion, Library parking lot and Imperial Avenue commuter lot.

People come from around the state — New York and New Jersey too — to hear fantastic performers at the Levitt, and on 2 auxiliary stages. This year’s lineup of 20 bands includes funk powerhouse Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe, Grammy Award winner Fantastic Negrito, Sister Sparrow and Carolyn Wonderland.

Fantastic Negrito comes to the Blues Views & BBQ Festival this weekend.

Blues, Views and BBQ introduces up-and-coming and local talent too, like first-time performers Alpaca Gnomes, Mingo Fishtrap, Cris Jacobs and Ruby Velle & Soulphonics.

All that listening whips up an appetite. A BBQ competition, cooking demos, rib- and pie-eating contests, and plenty of food trucks and stands take care of the heartiest eaters.

Throw in 6 bounce houses, car painting, touch-a-truck, airbrush tattoos and more kids’ fun, and Blues, Views and BBQ is something you just don’t see every day. Particularly in Westport.

Enjoying a great day of blues at the Levitt Pavilion. (Photo/Lynn Untermeyer Miller)

This year, the Westport Weston Chamber of Commerce takes over the event from the Downtown Merchants Association. They spent 2 years making the transition, so it will be seamless.

This year too, the event has expanded to fill the entire Imperial Avenue lot. Folks will wander from there to the Levitt, library parking lot and back. Fantastic music and amazing BBQ aromas will fill the air.

… and, of course, BBQ in the parking lot nearby.

“06880”‘s tagline is “Where Westport meets the world.” This weekend, Blues, Views and BBQ shows some of the special ways we do it.

(For more information on the Blues Views & BBQ Festival, click here. For tickets, click here.)

4 Comments

Posted in Downtown, Entertainment, Organizations, People

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Remarkable Bookcycle: The Back Story

Posted on August 27, 2018 | 33 comments

Saturday night’s Pics of the Day was one of “06880”‘s most special — and most commented on.

The photo s– sent by a reader who did not identify him or herself — showed a 3-wheeler. In front of the pedals sat a wooden structure, filled with books.

It was painted pink — just like the old Remarkable Book Shop.

More remarkably, the front featured the beloved store’s dancing man logo.

And — in case you missed the other clues — a sign on the top said “The Remarkable Bookcycle.”

The photos were taken in and around Compo Beach.

Readers loved it. But no one knew the back story.

Now it can be told. And the tale comes courtesy of Jane Green: author of 19 novels, with over 10 million books in print in more than 25 languages. Besides being (duh) a huge book lover, she’s a longtime Westporter — and a very involved neighbor. She writes:

It started with George, although really, it started with the Remarkable Book Shop. Ever since I moved to Westport almost 18 years ago, everyone has told me that I would have loved the Remarkable Book Shop. Esther and Sidney Kramer were neighbors of ours, and I’ve harbored a secret fantasy of re-opening the bright pink bookshop for years.

Which brings me to George: a cargo tricycle we bought from neighbors of ours at the beach about 12 years ago. It seemed like a great idea at the time, a way to transport picnics and children back and forth to the beach, but those children are now teenagers, and George has languished in our garage for years.

More recently, I found myself obsessed with Little Free Libraries. The Little Free Library is a non-profit organization founded in the 1980’s to encourage people to read, and to bring communities together. Usually, people build them at the end of their driveways, giving away free books, bringing strangers together, chatting about books.

As a novelist who created the Facebook group Westport Front Porch for exactly that reason — to bring a sense of community back — and as an avid reader, I had always wanted a little free library. Also, my house is threatening to topple over with the piles of books everywhere. But I live on a small private street, and suspected my neighbors might not be so happy with an influx of readers coming over.

A mobile Little Free Library suddenly seemed an excellent idea, one that could travel around the beach and bring a bit of happy nostalgia to our town, for who doesn’t feel good when they remember the Remarkable Book Shop? I found a wonderful new Staples graduate, Ryan Peterson, to rebuild George and transform him into the bookshop. I downloaded pictures of the store for him, and with my husband Ian Warburg, who grew up here and has so many happy memories of the bookstore, designed the cart as a double-sided library where people can take home free books.

Jane Green stocks the Remarkable Bookcycle library …

I was ready to paint the sign myself, but realized that Miggs Burroughs would do a much better job. I sent him an email asking for his help with a secret project, with no idea that his mother, Esta Burroughs, worked at the book shop from the day it opened until the day it closed. (How remarkable is that?!) Miggs was thrilled, and painted both the sign and the instantly recognizable dancing man.

We have loved parking the Remarkable Bookcycle (pronounced bicycle!) by the beach this weekend, and seeing the smiles on people’s faces. At some point soon, we’ll have a website set up with news of how to donate books. In the meantime, look for the Remarkable Bookcycle around Compo, raise your glasses to the spirits of Sidney and Esther Kramer and Esta Burroughs, and don’t forget to stroke Heathcliff the cat while you’re picking out your book. Yes, there’s even a Heathcliff the cat tucked in amongst the books in the Remarkable Bookcycle!

… and takes an inaugural ride, along Compo Beach Road.

33 Comments

Posted in Beach, Downtown, Looking back, Media, People, Totally random, Westport life

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Pics Of The Day #496

Posted on August 26, 2018 | 2 comments

The Levitt Pavilion, during last night’s Melissa Etheridge concert… (Photo/Nico Eisenberger)

… and a closer view. (Photo/Paul Rossi)

Tonight’s show was the last of the 2018 season — its 45th summer, with nearly 60 nights of free entertainment. (Photo/Amy Schneider)

2 Comments

Posted in Downtown, Entertainment, Pic of the Day

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Photo Challenge #191

Posted on August 26, 2018 | 13 comments

Many readers thought last week’s photo challenge rang a ball.

In fact, Bob Mitchell’s image was a bell.

But it was not where most commenters thought it was (Saugatuck Engine Company 4, on Riverside Avenue).

Bob’s bell is on Riverside Avenue. It’s at the other end, though: #15, near Post Road West. Specifically, it’s next to the Gault Building West — beside the driveway leading down to the small parking lot on the river, across from Sunny Daes.

It took a while, but Lynn Untermeyer Miller and Diane Bosch finally nailed the answer.

You can see both bells — this one, and the one at the firehouse — from Riverside Avenue. Take a close look. Until then, click here for the photo.

Now on to this week’s photo challenge:

If you know where in Westport you’d find Kuti’s Way, click “Comments” below.

13 Comments

Posted in Photo Challenge

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Lawn Mowers And Leaf Blowers: One Solution

Posted on August 26, 2018 | 40 comments

Alert — and neighborly — “06880” reader Dick Jay writes:

This past spring, Dan ran an eye-opening article about the significant air and noise pollution from lawn maintenance equipment.

I have been quite annoyed by the same quality of life issues — especially the deafening noise of mowers and blowers — and knew of a great solution that I saw at my brother’s house in Italy 2 years ago. European homeowners have already installed over 1 million private, self-recharging, electric robotic mowers like the one at my house. They’re way ahead of us on this one.

I was finally able to find not only where to get the equipment (Brandman’s), but just as important the installer, a local entrepreneur: erik@pyoorllc.com. Beachgoers now routinely gawk at the futuristic Husqvarna machine pictured below, as it mows my lawn at 53 Compo Beach Road across from the marina.


I have no personal stake in promoting Erik’s business, except improving the lives of local residents. He pays for and installs the equipment and dog fence-type wiring. His people monitor and service the equipment, and come weekly to trim and blow the lawn — all with quiet electric trimmers and blowers.

The total cost is comparable to conventional commercial services, but the advantages are beyond my expectations. No mowing noise. No pollution. Lawn mowing by small increments 2-3 times weekly, sun or rain. The lawn is always the right length. Minimum lawn stress, thereby saving significant water. No damage to lawn and landscaping from heavy fast moving mowers. One mower can handle up to 1.25 acres.

I have not encountered any negatives. I wish everyone converted, if only out of respect for their neighbors.

40 Comments

Posted in Beach, Environment, Local business, People

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