As temperatures plunge, Westporters’ tempers rise.
Well, that’s not exactly true. They’ve been at a boiling point for months.
Enough is enough.
A pair of controversies — the Parker Harding Plaza renovation, and construction of a new Long Lots School — have evoked passionate responses by residents, on all sides of the many-pronged issues.
Plus plenty of anger, nastiness and personal attacks.
For nearly 15 years, the “06880” Comments section has been a place to share opinions, insights and ideas.
From time to time, it becomes a place of incivility, even venom.
This is one of those times.
Again: Enough is enough.
An elementary school reconstruction plan sparks fierce debate.
It’s fine — crucial, in fact — for Westporters to offer their 2 cents. We need to hear what our neighbors, friends and fellow taxpayers think.
It’s not fine to attack them, impugn their motives, and call them names. It’s certainly not fine to swear at, or about, them.
These are, after all, our neighbors, friends and fellow taxpayers.
Some are just like us: sitting on the sidelines, watching the world of Westport go by.
Some have taken the bold step of volunteering for public service, devoting hundreds of hours to do what they can to help our town.
It’s mind-numbing to watch some of their meetings. It’s mind-boggling to think that’s only part of what they do, for no pay.
And not only no thanks, but volumes of vitriol.
Long Lots School Building Committee members are volunteers.
Even those public servants who get paid — the 1st selectwoman and heads of departments, for example — are human beings. They have feelings and families, just like all the keyboard warriors.
I’ve said it before, in this post and in the past. Now I have to say it again: Enough is enough.
We tell our kids to stop bullying. We lament the polarized state of our nation.
So let’s start modeling the behavior we want. Actions speak louder than angry words.
It’s time to reiterate rules that I’ve made in the past (and unfortunately, as the sometimes overwhelmed Comments moderator, not always followed): No personal, ad hominem attacks.
No accusations of nefarious activity.
No swearing.
Before commenting — or at least, hitting “submit” — ask yourself: Is this really the way I want people to think of me?
Is this something I would be comfortable saying in front of my kids — or hearing them say?
If I heard someone else say it in a public meeting, at the supermarket, or in church or synagogue, what would I think?
Moving forward, commenters will be limited to 3 per thread. Be judicious. Don’t repeat yourself. Address the topic, not the person. Play nice.
Violators will be given a “time out” — banned for a while — just like elementary schoolers. You know, the same kids some adults are writing about.
Westport can be a contentious community. Everyone has an opinion, and there are multiple controversies to have opinions about.
But it is still a community. It’s a small town, filled with neighbors and friends.
Everyone here wants it to be the best it can be. We may disagree on what that means. That’s normal, and appropriate.
That does not mean anyone who disagrees with us is malicious or evil. No one here is out to destroy the town.
The Planning & Zoning Commission received a resubmitted 8-24 (municipal improvement) request for 13 Hyde Lane (the Long Lots Elementary School property) at midday today.
The request, from 1st Selectwoman Jen Tooker, includes 2 possible sites for relocation of the Westport Community Gardens. One is near the current spot. The other (labeled “alt. location”) is behind where the current school now sits.
Long Lots Elementary School 8-24 plan, submitted today. Click on or hover over to enlarge.
The application has been posted to the Town’s website. Click here to see all materials.
The request is scheduled for review by the P&Z at their remote meeting on Monday (January 22). Click here for the Zoom link.
Written comments may also be received prior to the meeting. Email: PandZ@westportct.gov by noon Monday, if intended to be distributed to P&Z members.
Written comments received after noon on the day of the meeting will be entered into the record, but will not be distributed until the next business day.
All correspondence received to date from residents on the prior 8-24 request (withdrawn on January 4) will be incorporated into the record. Residents do not need to re-send prior emails.
For the record, here is the official notice:
13 Hyde Lane: Appl. #PZ-24-00029, Request for a report from the Planning and Zoning Commission, submitted pursuant to CGS-§8-24, Municipal Improvement, by John Broadbin, Deputy Director of Public Works, on behalf of the First Selectwoman, for a Substantial Improvement to Town-owned property in the Residence AA/A Districts, PID #G10058000, for the construction of a new Long Lots Elementary School, a replaced and relocated multipurpose athletic field and a replaced and relocated community garden on site.(Must decide by 2/22/24). Applicant’s Presentation Time:30 Mins.
Posted onJanuary 18, 2024|Comments Off on Roundup: De Tapas, Warming Centers, Trash Pickup …
De Tapas is closing.
The Spanish gastrobar on the Post Road next to Design Within Reach will serve its last meal on Sunday, January 28.
Owner Carlos Pia opened right after COVID, 2 winters ago. The restaurant was a leap of faith, after a career in corporate America. Click here for his compelling back story.
Then go say goodbye, and thank him for enhancing our dining scene.
Westport residents facing hardships due to the cold weather should contact Human Services for assistance: 203-341-1050 weekdays, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Just in time for the new year: Westport’s trash pickups begin again.
Representative Town Meeting member Andrew Colabella has organized the first 2024 session for Winslow Park. It’s this Sunday (January 21, 11 a.m.).
Volunteers will pick up garbage, and remove hazards from the walking paths. All are welcome. Dress warmly and appropriately!
A little snow should not deter Sunday’s trash pickup at Winslow Park.
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Westport Police made 3 custodial arrests between January 10 and 17.
A woman was arrested for larceny and identity theft, after a complaint that 9 checks had been stolen and fraudulently deposited into a bank account.
A man was arrested for identity theft and forgery, plus criminal attempts to commit larceny, identity theft and forgery, after a check for $249.65 was stolen, altered and deposited in the amount of $17,262.37.
A man was arrested for violation of a protective order and assault on an elderly victim, following a domestic disturbance.
Westport Police also issued these citations:
Traveling unreasonably fast: 11 citations
Failure to obey traffic control signals: 6
Speeding: 3
Operating an unregistered motor vehicle: 3
Operating a motor vehicle without minimum insurance: 3
For over a month last fall, an exhibition by 2 Westport artists enthralled visitors to the United Nations lobby.
Miggs Burroughs’ “Signs of Compassion” — 30 lenticular photos, showing local residents using sign language to recite Emily Dickinson’s poem of the same name, and Mark Yurkiw’s accompanying Braille “prayer wheel” mantra, based on those he saw in Bhutan (including a wheelchair-accessible element) — were displayed on a 102-foot curved wall.
On Tuesday, the two men described their accomplishment — the first-ever UN exhibit not sponsored by a member nation — at the Westport Rotary Club’s weekly lunch.
Their next project: sending the exhibit to venues around the world.
Mark Yurkiw and Miggs Burroughs, at the Rotary Club meeting. (Photo/Dave Matlow)
Speaking of art: Longtime Staples High School teacher and mixed media artist Camille Eskell is featured in a new exhibit — (Re) Work it!: Women Artists on Women’s Labor,” at the Mattatuck Museum in Waterbury.
The show explores the many types of labor that women are often expected to manage – caring for their family, participating in the labor force, negotiating beauty standards, handling emotional labor and more.
A reception for the 30 artists is set for January 21 (11 a.m. to 4 p.m.). The show runs through May 19. For more information, click here. To learn more about Eskell, click here.
Four of the 6 new members of the Westport Country Playhouse board of trustees are from Westport or Weston
Dave Altman is a principal for Bernstein Private Wealth Management.
Ben Frimmer is a theater arts educator with over 30 years’ experience, and the director of Coleytown Company. He produced the Playhouse fundraiser “An Evening with Justin Paul & Friends with Kelli O’Hara & James Naughton,” and will produce and direct “Voices for Volunteers of Fairfield County” on January 24.
Anne Keefe has served the Playhouse in many capacities since 1973, including associate and co-artistic director with Joanne Woodward. She initiated and curated the Script In Hand series. Formerly she stage managed at Long Wharf Theatre, McCarter Theatre in Princeton, New Jersey, and on Broadway, and served previously on the Playhouse board.
Jonathan Levy is a Westport native, and an attorney who built a venture capital business.
Speaking of the Playhouse: Nearly everyone knows the name Vince Lombardi. The Super Bowl trophy is named for the legendary football coach.
Now you can learn the story behind that name.
The Broadway play — based on the book “When Pride Still Mattered,” by David Maraniss — kicks off the Westport Country Playhouse’s Script in Hand series on February 5 (7 p.m.).
Click here for more information, and to purchase tickets ($30).
Following up on October’s Westport Library presentation on helping families and communities prepare for emergencies, Voices Center for Resilience offers a free webinar.
“The Ripple Effect of Trauma” (January 23, 7 p.m.) explores how children experience tragedy, including building resilience.
“06880” often highlights the remarkable achievements of Staples High School students. They accomplish spectacular things, in an awe-inspiring range of fields.
This story is not one of those.
This fall, 3 seniors applied early decision to the same elite, Ivy League-level college. (I’m not naming the school or the students. This story is less about them, than about the incident itself and the lessons learned from it.)
The 3 were classmates, not friends. But because college applications is perhaps the most-discussed topic of conversation for 12th graders, each knew about the other 2.
One boy emailed the college admissions office, suggesting a second boy was antisemitic — and included screen grabs of him holding a gun.
The first student’s email was sent from a fake account — created in the name of the third student, a girl. She knew nothing about it. But the first student’s goal was to deny early admission to both.
Alarmed by the image of the weapon, the university called their police department — and Westport’s. The WPD called the girl’s family, and came to the house to interview her.
Officers were “very respectful, polite and terrific,” the girl’s father says.
“They did not jump to any conclusions. They wanted information. They were terrific.”
The boy who had been targeted talked to police. The student who wrote the email refused their requests for an interview, the girl’s father says.
The girl — fearful that her dream school would not admit her — was upset and angry. Her parents were too.
Westport police were “very helpful” as they tried to clear her name, the girl’s father says. They went so far as to call the college.
After many days of worry, the girl was admitted. So was the boy who had also been targeted. The student who sent the email was not.
“Getting into college is so stressful for everyone, and Staples is so competitive,” the girl’s father says.
“It would be nice if students rooted for and supported each other. But we learned that student sabotage is not new. It’s happened before. So maybe kids shouldn’t tell anyone else where they’re applying.”
This story has spread throughout Fairfield County. The father has heard from a number of parents — and has heard similar stories.
“I just hope something positive comes out of this horrible situation,” he says.
“This is such a tough, toxic time for these kids. There has to be a way to make sure this never happens to anyone else.”
Professional engineer Yulee Aronson, and architects Joseph Vallone and Patricia Chen offer these thoughts:
For the past 6 months we’ve followed the saga that is the proposed reconstruction of Long Lots Elementary School
During this time we’ve learned about this property, its history, stakeholders, and users.
Like many of us who have followed the public debate on various blog posts regarding these issues, we’ve observed the temperature rise of some of these comments to unacceptable levels.
We understand how emotional it may get for some with a lot at stake, but we should all remember that we are neighbors and need to treat each other with respect. We attribute some of the emotional outrage to the lack of awareness of the due process required to take a project like this from concept, through regulatory approvals to final design and construction.
Long Lots Elementary School. (Drone photo/Brandon Malin)
To begin, the first step in the regulatory approval is to follow 2022 Connecticut General Statutes, Title 8 – Zoning, Planning, Housing and Economic and Community Development, Chapter 126 – Municipal Planning Commissions, Section 8-24. – Municipal improvements. For short, this has been referred to as P&Z’s commission 8-24 review.
It is important to note that this being a school reconstruction project, the most important element to include in this application would be to show the new plan for the school and deal with the other elements later in the process. Considering that the school replacement would reduce the school’s footprint on the property, the approval could have been easily gotten on the first go-around in December of last year.
Unfortunately, in addition to the new school the proposal included construction of new athletic fields. Had the athletic fields remained the same size as the existing ones, adding them to the proposal wouldn’t be an issue. However, the proposal contained expansion of these fields, ignoring the earlier ruling by P&Z in 2010 and thus jeopardizing almost certain approval by P&Z.
Below is an excerpt from Eileen Lavigne Flug, assistant town attorney’s memo dated April 26, 2022″
On February 11, 2010 (modified June 10, 2010), the P&Z issued a Special Permit/Site Plan at the request of the Parks and Recreation Department for the expansion of the community gardens, stating that, “The Commission finds that the use of this site for the Community Garden, instead of the previously proposed use for athletic fields, remains in keeping with the 2007 POCD.”
With all the back and forth surrounding reconstruction of LLS, all stakeholders unanimously agree that the new school must be replaced as soon as possible. According to the initial schedule in the RFQ for feasibility study, the study should have been completed in August of last year and 8-24 application was soon to follow. Six months later and the December application withdrawn, the new application is yet to be resubmitted. Why?
As an independent group of professionals, we would like to offer our time and expertise to help our elected officials expedite the reconstruction process while working to ensure minimal disruption to the functionality of the site and the neighborhood. We understand that a similar offer was made by the chair of the Public Site & Building Committee. Let’s all work together and get it done for our kids!
The Board of Education has added an agenda item to their meeting tomorrow night (Thursday, January 18), inviting the Long Lots School Building Committee to provide an update to the community.
The meeting is in the Staples High School cafeteria, at 7 p.m. There will be ample time for public comment following the LLSBC update to the BOE.
The community has engaged in an ongoing debate regarding the use of the property adjacent to a planned new construction of Long Lots.
This matter will be brought before the Planning & Zoning Commission on Monday (January 22), when it is anticipated that the first selectwoman will resubmit a recommendation for the use of this property, based on feedback from P & Z at their previous meeting.
I want to emphasize the critical importance of this new construction project moving forward in a timely manner without delay. As determined by multiple professionals, the facility is at the end of its useful life and needs to be replaced. The decision to build a new construction was recommended by the BOE in June 2022.
Further delays of this project can present districtwide complications. As the town has experienced with Coleytown Middle School, major capital failures can lead to significant disruption for many students. Although a capital failure of that magnitude is not necessarily likely, other capital failures (e.g. failure of one of the 3 HVAC systems, increased water incursions, etc.) could necessitate alternative plans for a section of the school, warranting the displacement of a subsection of students.
Mold forced the closing – and subsequent renovation — of Coleytown Middle School.
Again, without a crystal ball, these events cannot be precisely predicted.
However, the recommendation for a new construction (a year and a half ago) was made to avoid any capital failures that could lead to significant disruption for the Long Lots community and other schools in Westport.
This is not only a Long Lots community issue. Advancing this project and maintaining the timeline for the opening of a new LLS in September 2026 is an issue for the entire school community, and larger Westport community.
For 18 years, Westport has celebrated Martin Luther King Day in a special way.
Through speakers, panels, videos and arts performances, we’ve learned a lot.
But Sunday’s event was extra-special.
Dr. Clarence Jones — Dr. King’s speechwriter, personal attorney and confidant — offered a behind-the-scenes view of his friend’s public and personal lives.
Hundreds of people of all ages — from Westport and beyond — packed the Westport Library.
They were enlightened, inspired, mesmerized and energized by the 93-year-old Dr. Jones’ passion, stories and insights. He made the past come alive; he tied it to today, and pointed toward tomorrow.
Attendees called it “profoundly moving,” “wonderfully emotional,” and “a day I’m proud to say I’m a Westporter.”
Dr. Clarence Jones greets attendees after his talk. (Photo/Matthew Slossberg)
For nearly 2 decades, several organizations have worked together to make Martin Luther King Day meaningful.
In much of the nation, it’s a day off from work or school. In Westport, it’s an educational tool — and a reminder that while our history is imperfect, and much work remains to be done, every individual has the power to take a stand, and make a change.
Dr. Jones was joined by 2 other noted speakers: Senator Richard Blumenthal, and New York Congressman Ritchie Torres. Westport resident and NBC News anchor Craig Melvin led the discussion.
From left: Congressman Ritchie Torres, Craig Melvin, Dr. Clarence Jones. (Photo/Caitlin Jacob)
But the afternoon belonged to Dr. Jones. And none of it would have happened without a true “team.”
Westport/Weston Interfaith Clergy and Council initiated our town’s annual Martin Luther King Day celebration.
This year’s event was a partnership between the Westport Library, TEAM Westport, and the Westport Country Playhouse.
To all who envisioned a townwide Dr. King celebration nearly 2 decades ago, and to all who made this year’s event particularly impactful: Thank you.
You are truly our Unsung Heroes of the Week.
(Do you know an Unsung Hero? Email 06880blog@gmail.com. To help support this hyper-local blog, click here. Thank you! To see Dr. Jones’ full presentation, click below.)
What do you want — or not want — in the Compo Beach playground renovation project?
All Westporters are invited to an open house this Saturday (January 20, noon to 1:30 p.m., Bedford Middle School cafeteria).
Play by Design, an offshoot of the original playground design company, is leading this project. Lisa Deshano will present the preliminary designs. A Q-and-A session and comments from key committee members follows.
The renovation is the centennial project of the Westport Rotary Club, which constructed the original playground in 1986 and subsequent renovation in 2006. Both were done in conjunction with the Westport Young Woman’s League.
The Compo Beach playground is quiet in winter. Soon — with community input — it will be hopping again. (Photo/Dave Dellinger)
Clarence Hayes saw this morning’s “06880” post by Scott Smith — about clear-cutting trees before building new, large homes — and immediately thought of Newtown Turnpike.
He sent this photo, calling it “a perfect picture to illustrate mindless cutting for the convenience of a developer.”
(Photo/Clarence Hayes)
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Each year, Milford‘s Foran High School wrestling team chooses a charity to support. This year they selected Rach’s Hope — the non-profit that honors the memory of the 2015 Staples High School graduate who died just before her senior year at Cornell University after a rare reaction to common medication.
Rach’s Hope provides nutritious food, lodging, transportation and encouragement to family members when a child is in intensive care
The Foran wrestlers helped at the annual Walk for Rach’s Hope at Compo Beach in October. They sold t-shirts with the tagline “We Choose Hope,” which they designed.
Last week, they dedicated their home opening match to Rach’s Hope. The gym was filled with supporters.
Team captains eloquently shared the story and mission of Rach’s Hope — and then presented Rachel’s parents, Alan and Lisa, with a $5,000 check.
“The love and support in the gym from spectators and the team were palpable,” says Lisa.
“The wrestlers wore Rach’s Hope singlets with pride. It was an extraordinary event.
“What an incredibly warm group of high school students. They are not only dedicated and empathic to both their sport and our cause, but the effort they put into raising funds for Rach’s Hope was over the top.”
Next up for Rach’s Hope: the 5th annual PJ Gala (FTC in Fairfield). Click here for tickets. Click here to learn more about Rach’s Hope.
The Foran High School wrestling team. The backs of their shirts say, “We Choose Hope.”
COQODAQ — a new fried chicken “concept” — opened recently in the heart of New York’s Flatiron district. Mayor Eric Adams cut the ribbon, and Busta Rhymes delivered a surprise performance.
The “06880” connection: Staples High School graduate and returned-to-Westport resident Jacqueline Broder Hensel is a partner in Gracious Hospitality Management, which developed COQODAQ.
turned the space that once housed Rocco DiSpirito’s reality-TV restaurant into a glittering room dedicated to the veneration of this humble bird: A series of luminescent golden arches form a nave under which two banks of booths scallop out, and the walls are covered in a dermis of subtly textured golden panels.
“We wanted to create a cathedral of fried chicken,” (award-winning restaurateur Simon) Kim says.
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Westport Writers’ Workshop picked the perfect spot for their 3rd annual Pitch & Publish Conference (March 16): the Westport Library.
The event is aimed at anyone seeking a literary agent, hoping to be educated about the industry at large, or looking to meet and be inspired by authors, agents and editors. T
Keynote speaker Leigh Stein is a fiction writer, poet and memoirist.
The conference begins Friday, March 15 with a welcome party at WWW (25 Sylvan Lane), followed by Saturday’s panels, one-on-one pitches, and a wrap party.
New this year: Each agent will read 5 pages of a writer’s work (in addition to their query letter); a mini “practice your pitch” session, and a catered lunch.
The after-party is at Basso.
Individual tickets for the conference only are $350 each (walk-ins accepted); tickets for the conference plus 2 one-on-one pitches with literary agents are $600 each before February 9, $675 each thereafter. Click here to register, and for more information.
Longtime Westport resident Nancy Wilder died peacefully on January 6. She was 95.
A 1949 Mt. Holyoke College graduate, she remained active throughout her life keeping alumnae connected with each other, and the school.
Nancy was married to Milo Wilder for over 50 years. They had 2 sons, Sandy and Scott (“Hoover”). Scott died in 2008, after becoming a quadriplegic in 1974. They joyfully cared for him all those years until Milo’s death 2000. She then selflessly cared for him alone for the rest of his life. Sandy now lives in the St. Louis area. Nancy lived in Westport for the last 67 years.
Nancy is survived by her grandchildren and step-grandchildren: Duncan Wilder, Holly Wilder, Katharine Burgdorff Tyler, Lauren Burgdorff Frederick, and Douglas James Burgdorff.
Nancy was very active in her boys’ education, serving on many PTA boards and traveling often to watch their sports events from childhood through college. She was primarily a stay-at-home mom, although she did bookkeping for her husband’s company for many years.
Nancy adored her many golden retrievers and cats, was an active boater with her husband, and played tennis weekly with many good friends for much of her adult life. She loved watching tennis, golf, the New York Yankees and University of Connecticut women’s basketball.
Her (and her family’s) favorite place is Southwest Harbor, Maine. She went there every summer of her life. She met her husband-to-be there, and has ancestors in the region dating to the 1600s. She felt especially grateful that she got to spend all of July and August there last summer. Her favorite activity was visiting with family on the deck, looking out at Norwood Cove, the Causeway Club, and the mountains of Acadia National Park.
Nancy loved to do jigsaw puzzles, read, and visit with family She had a special knack for helping people feel deeply valued and appreciated independent of their age, like a cheerleader of the soul.
She had many friends she kept in touch with. After Scott’s death, many of his friends adopted her as their “second mom.”
A celebration of Nancy’s life will be held March 2 (2 p.m., Saugatuck Congregational Church).
As winter weather finally sets in this week, Pam Docters captured this “Westport … Naturally” image.
It shows the Saugatuck River downtown, looking toward Gorham Island. For the first time in a while: brrrrrr. (With apologies to our friends in Buffalo, where it actually is cold.)
And finally … it’s a short hop from COCODAQ (story above) to “06880.” Welcome to Westport (or at least, our hyper-local blog), Busta Rhymes!
(To honor Busta Rhymes’ first appearance in our “06880” pages, please click here. You can donate in honor of anyone else on earth there too. Thank you!)
Click here to help support “06880” via credit card or PayPal. Any amount is welcome, appreciated — and tax-deductible! Reader contributions keep this blog going. (Alternate methods: Please send a check to “06880”: PO Box 744, Westport, CT 06881. Or use Venmo: @blog06880. Or Zelle: dwoog@optonline.net. Thanks!)
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