Main Street should be 100% leased by the holidays.
That’s the confident assessment of Skip Lane. A director of Cushman & Wakefield’s Leasing Services Group, he’s helped find tenants for a number of long-vacant spaces.
Among the most recent: #69. American Eagle Outfitters has leased 3,000 square feet in the former Lululemon storefront.
It’s not just downtown. The Eno Foundation Building on Saugatuck Avenue — a handsome 1938 office near the Norwalk line where William Phelps Eno (the little-heralded Westporter and “Father of Traffic Safety”) devised the stop sign, pedestrian crosswalk, traffic circle, 1-way street, taxi stand and pedestrian safety island — has been leased to High Ridge Brands.
After completely restoring the structure to its original beauty, they’ll move into its 10,000 square feet.
The Eno Foundation building on Saugatuck Avenue.
Not far away, Tanner White Architects will occupy 180 Saugatuck Avenue, in front of Gault.
Virtual Procurement Service will move into 315 Post Road West.
And — though officials will not comment — word on the street is that AIG has rented all of National Hall, as office space for its top executives.
National Hall is rumored to be the new home for AIG’s top executives.
This weekend’s Italian American Police Society’s Car Show was special.
And not because over 300 classic, modified, foreign and racing cars competed for trophies. Or because their owners and friends feasted on barbecue, shared $5,000 in raffle prizes, and enjoyed perfect summer weather.
There was also a tribute to Vincent Penna Jr. The former Westport Police Department deputy chief died a week before Christmas, of a heart attack. He was 51 years old.
Westport Police detectives Sereniti Taranto and Sharon Russo, with officers from nearby towns, raised over $10,000 for the Vincent Penna Jr. Scholarship Fund.
Penna’s family — including his wife Denise, and sons Vincent and Nicholas — picked the most prestigious award at the car show: a 1932 yellow Ford coupe, just like John Milner’s from “American Graffiti.”
The car show connection continues. Among his many activities, Penna served with the Westport Police Benevolent Association. They’ve got their own car show this Saturday (August 21, 4 to 8 p.m., Saugatuck train station). (Hat tip: Andrew Colabella)
The Penna family, at yesterday’s Norwalk car show. (Photo/Andrew Colabella)
Among the highlights of the weekend’s final Shopping Day of the summer: The voice of Shiloh Verrico
The 11-year-old actor/singer from New Jersey — a co-star on Netflix’s “Country Comfort” with recent Staples High School graduate Jamie Mann, who also performed — wowed the crowd,
“She literally stopped everyone in their tracks,” says Julie Van Norden. “You could have heard a pin drop when she sang ‘Sound of Silence.’ I’ve never heard such a voice in one so young, at least not in person!”
Shiloh is a student at 1983 Staples grad Cynthia Gibb’s Triple Threat Academy, for young actors, singers and dancers.
When she hits it big — well, bigger — you can say you heard her here first.
One other great moment from the weekend: Dan Levinson’s Palomar Jazz Band, at the Levitt Pavilion.
Another large crowd filled the lawn, as the sun set and music played. After COVID forced a dark summer in 2020, this year’s 60 evenings of free music have been a welcome relief.
Kids watch their parents. They mimic them — the good, and the bad.
Want evidence that the next generation will grow up to be entitled drivers and parkers, just like their elders? Just look at this photo yesterday, from Church Lane:
On a more serious note, kids do watch how their parents drive.
For the past few days, parents dropping off and picking up their children at Wakeman Fields have been driving very, very fast.
The newly paved road linking Cross Highway and the Bedford Middle School parking lot has turned into a Grand Prix straightaway.
With the addition of curbs on both sides, it’s narrower than ever. It’s even tougher now to back up and turn around. Traffic roars by in both directions, while kids cross without looking.
Be careful. Slow down. Please show your children — and all the others — how to drive safely.
The Cross Highway entrance to Wakeman Fields. (Photo/Dan Woog)
And finally … back in 1969, today marked the last day of Woodstock.
There were some legendary performances. Also some really, really atrocious ones.
How to pick what to feature today?
How about some artists who — before or after going down to Yasgur’s farm — performed in Westport.
Richie Havens was in Westport several times. The first was when he took the Staples High School stage as a stand-in for the Blues Project, who were stuck in a New York recording studio.
He was flexible at Woodstock too, improvising “Freedom” on the spot after playing every song he knew, while most of the other first-day acts were stuck in a massive traffic jam.
Sly & the Family Stone played at least twice in Westport — once at Staples, once at Longshore. This is one of the enduring images from Woodstock:
Arlo Guthrie played at the Westport Country Playhouse:
And how about these Woodstock performers who — at some point in their lives — lived (or, in once case still live) in Westport?
Joe Cocker rented here — and auditioned musicians for his “Mad Dogs & Englishmen” tour at the Westport Country Playhouse.
Johnny Winter lived here around the same time. He’d hold court — and play — at Players’ Tavern, next to the Playhouse (most recently, Positano restaurant).
And — though Bert Sommer never made it into the “Woodstock” movie — he performed at Woodstock too. He was accompanied by Ira Stone — now a longtime Westporter.
When Alexandra Korry died at her Westport home last September of ovarian cancer, the New York Times honored her life with a long obituary.
Alexandra Korry (Photo by Dick Duane, for Sullivan & Cromwell LLP)
The 61-year-old was “a trailblazing Wall Street lawyer whose potent legal and moral rebuke as head of a civil rights panel helped spur the abolition of solitary confinement for juvenile inmates in New York City.”
She was one of the first women elected partner in Sullivan & Cromwell’s mergers and acquisitions department — and one of the first women editors at the Harvard Crimson.
The great-granddaughter of former New York governor Nathan Miller, and a descendant of Ben Franklin, she worked for consumer advocate Ralph Nader and Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan.
But the Times never mentioned one of her greatest accomplishments: chair of the Harlem Educational Activities Fund. The non-profit serves 300 people a year, changing lives from middle school through college and beyond, with academic enrichment, social and cultural exposure, and individual attention.
Korry was a constant presence there, even teaching classes.
That commitment sparked another project: the Norwalk Art Space. She envisioned it before her diagnosis, and shepherded it along while sick.
Alexandra Korry died before the space opened, in June. But her vision and guidance can be seen and felt throughout the magical space, a converted church on West Avenue, just off I-95 exit 15.
The Norwalk Art Space (Photo/Patrick Sikes)
Korry found the property — near the old Loehmann’s plaza — and realized it was perfect for an art gallery, studios and classrooms. Three museums — Stepping Stones, the Center for Contemporary Printmaking and Lockwood-Mathews Mansion — are nearby. All embrace their new neighbor.
Working with Westport architect Rick Hoag, she planned several complementary uses for the Norwalk Art Space.
The upstairs includes an airy gallery, where local artists exhibit for free. In exchange, they teach art to children — for free. Upcoming classes include acrylic painting, mixed media and collage, drawing and sculpture.
A dynamic café — run by Bill Taibe of The Whelk, Kawa Ni and Don Memo fame — looks out over the gallery.
Bill Taibe’s cafe, adjacent to the gallery space.
Downstairs are 4 studios — free to artists — along with well-appointed classrooms, and a student lounge.
One of several well-equipped classrooms.
A sculpture garden helps link the Norwalk Art Space to the neighborhood, and nearby museums.
“Alexandra was all about closing gaps,” says her husband, Robin Panovka. Since her death, he’s taken up her torch.
“She kept hearing women artists, and people of color, complain about how hard it is to get into galleries.” Now, a great gallery welcomes them.
And, in the spirit of giving back, student artists — who otherwise would not have a chance to develop their talents — are being mentored by 4 resident artists, in their 20s. They, in turn, will be mentored by 5 older “fellows” in the Art Space.
And, Panovka says, even more established artists are mentoring the fellows.
Norwalk students flock to the Art Space.
Alexandra Korry died before the Norwalk Art Space was completed.
She never saw the first show, or knew that her classrooms were full this summer.
But her husband smiles as he describes the enthusiasm the community has shown, since the doors opened in June.
The spirit of the Norwalk Art Space — Korry’s spirit — is very much alive.
(To learn more about the Norwalk Art Space, click here.)
For years, one of Westport’s best traditions is the Sunday beach service at the Compo Beach cannons.
Four Congregational churches — Greens Farms, Saugatuck, Norfield and Wilton — and the United Methodist Church — rotate as hosts.
This morning, Norfield invited the Pivot Ministries Choir to join in.
More than 20 men from the Bridgeport faith-based residential recovery program for drug and alcohol addictions added their spirit and inspiration, offering renewal and strength amid life’s challenges.
Two Sunday services remain: August 22 and 29 (8:30 a.m.). All are invited. Bring your own chair or towel, or sit on the stone wall, benches and tables. Beach stickers are not required; tell the gate attendant you’re there for worship. You can stay until 10 a.m.
Pivot Ministries at this morning’s Compo Beach Sunday service. (Photo/Gloria Smithson)
“06880” is not a real estate agency. But from time to time, a property deserves a shout-out.
This is one.
Designed by theatrical stage set designer Ralph Alswang, it’s set between towering great oaks. The gardens — by advertising executive Barry Blau — were created in response to the house. They incorporate native plants interspersed with a blend of exotics.
A group — Friends of Blau House and Gardens — hopes to retain the property, so it can become a community asset and resource for small non-profit organizations. They’re looking for ideas, interested people and organizations that can benefit and/or help.
If interested, click here or email R@RobertCohenArchitect.com. (Hat tip: Peter Gold)
One of Westport’s top community events — the annual Catch a Lift fundraiser — has just announced a new date and location.
Originally scheduled for September 13, the special ceremony honoring the 20th anniversary of 9/11 — will now be held at Compo Beach on Friday, September 10.
Starting at 5 p.m., there’s 3 hours of food and drink trucks, music, and words from Catch a Lift veterans. The national nonprofit organization helps post-9/11 combat-wounded servicemen and women recover and rehabilitate, physically and mentally, through physical fitness, motivation and support. So that 9/11 Eve date is both appropriate and poignant.
Beach stickers are not needed to attend.
The Compo event will kick off an action-packed weekend. There’s a Saturday workout (September 11, Westport police station, 1 p.m.) and Sunday family bike ride (September 12, Ridgefield).
Click here for details and information, including how to help with auction items, and more.
The Westport Downtown Association’s 3rd Shopping Day of the summer yesterday was a great success.
The weather cooled substantially from the previous week. The sun was out. With plenty of music, food and great goods, it was a relaxing way to start the weekend.
Except for everyone driving in Parker Harding Plaza. Each car had to maneuver slowly past this red vehicle. No, that was not a legit parking space.
But hey! What’s the inconvenience of hundreds of other drivers, compared to the right to park as close as possible to the action, right?
If you found a card with $500 on the ground, what would you do?
Most Westporters (I hope) would try to find the owner. Some would look to see if anyone was watching, and slip it into their pocket.
Few would probably go as far as Gabrielle Perry to return it to whoever lost it.
As reported by News12 Connecticut, the 2016 Staples High School graduate spotted the card in the Maritime Aquarium parking lot last month.
The envelope read “Reverend Dennis … thank you for marrying us.” Inside was a “really sweet, heartfelt note” to the minister. It was signed “Christina and Dave” — no last names.
Gabrielle enlisted a friend’s mother, who is good at Google searches. She found a registry for Christina Ulreich and David Kean. That led to Ulreich on LinkedIn.
The weeding was marred only by the fact that the gift to the reverend was lost the night before, at the rehearsal dinner. She and her new husband were stunned — and thrilled — at Gabrielle’s perseverance.
Congratulations to the new couple — and to Gabrielle, of course. Click here for the full News12 report.
But Jesse Terry had an opening act Friday. Clueless — a local band that’s been together for several years — warmed up the crowd with a powerful performance.
The band includes 20-year-old Westport guitarists Jake Greenwald and Zach Rogers, drummer Witt Landau (a rising Staples High School junior), and keyboardist/vocalist Ethan Walmark (a rising Staples sophomore).
Ethan Walmark (Photo/JC Martin)
Witt Landau (Photo/JC Martin)
Looking for entertainment this week?
The Levitt schedule includes:
Tonight (Sunday, August 15): Dan Levinson’s Palomar Jazz Band
Tuesday, August 17: Treehouse comedy
Wednesday, August 18: The Pop-Ups (Children’s Series; special needs celebration)
Thursday, August 19: Buffalo Rose (modern folk)
Friday, August 20: Lizzie No (singer/harpist/guitarist)
Sunday, August 22: Nellie McKay (American songbook)
Click here for (free!) tickets, times and more information.
Around the corner, the Remarkable Theater shows the animated classic “Coco” tomorrow (Monday, August 16, 7:45 p.m.) and “Get Out” on Wednesday (August 18, 9:15 p.m.). Click here for tickets and more information.
The dog days of August are a great time to fish. This Saugatuck River snowy egret at the right idea — and posed nicely for today’s “Westport … Naturally” photo.
If you’ve ever spent time as a commuter — parking in the eastbound lot, or standing on the platform scanning for your ride when you come back from New York — you’ve probably noticed the large statue of a Buckingham Palace guard, standing watch just inside the gate of a home across Ferry Lane.
Brandon Malin is not a commuter. But the June Staples High School graduate knows his Photo Challenges.
He was the first to answer correctly last week. The University of Michigan-bound reader wrote: “You can see it going toward the river from Route 136 (so going west). Must be an interesting back story!”
Alas, no one filled in that story. We’d love to hear it!
Brandon’s response was followed by John Richers, Matthew Levine (who added “the owner enjoys collecting life-size statues”), Andrew Colabella, Jonathan McClure, Karen Como, Iain Bruce, Pat Saviano (who remembers a red English-style phone booth there too), Linda Vita Velez, Clark Thiemann, Mary Ann Batsell and Claire Elliot.
Not all of them are commuters either. But — like so many “06880” readers — they are a very observant bunch.
Are they — and you — observant enough to know what this week’s Photo Challenge shows?
But a few homeowners inside Longshore Club Park enjoy free water.
I heard recently that the town — not individual property owners — inside Longshore paid certain water bills.
(If you don’t know — and not many people do — there are 3 roads, with a dozen or so homes, within Longshore. Vista Terrace, Waterside Terrace and Glen Drive form a semicircle. These beautiful, hidden lanes start near the 2nd tee, at the entrance road bend, and exit into the parking lot near the Parks & Recreation Department office.
(Rumor has it that when the town of Westport bought the property from a failing country club in 1960, they had no idea they were also buying the roads. It was not until after the closing, when 1st Selectman Herb Baldwin and his staff walked the land, that they realized exactly what they owned.)
Vista Terrace, Waterside Terrace and Glen Drive all begin off Julian Brodie Drive (the official name of the Longshore entrance road). (Screenshot courtesy of Google Maps)
I asked Public Works director Peter Ratkiewich about the arrangement. He says:
“When Longshore was purchased, there was one meter for the entire property, by the Compo South entrance.
“The water line into the park was actually a private main line. That remains the condition today.
“The meter was installed presumably when there was only one owner of the property, prior to the town purchasing it. Our understanding is that the owner periodically sold off lots within the property prior to the town’s purchase, perhaps to make ends meet.
“When the owner sold off lots, they simply extended laterals from their privately owned water main to the houses that were developed, but did not meter those laterals. When the town bought the property, it also bought the water system in it’s existing configuration .
“There is a compelling reason that the owner probably did not want to meter the new laterals. In Connecticut, if you own a private water main and then sell the water that comes from the private main, you become a water company, and are subject to regulation by the regulatory authority. If you give away the water for free, then you are not a water company.
“The only way to avoid becoming a water company would be to extend a new main from Compo South, before the meter, in to the individual properties that are getting unmetered water.
“This was an expensive proposition in the 1960s. It remains expensive today — way more expensive than paying for the unmetered water. It is probably the reason the former owner did not do it, and it is the reason the town hasn’t done it to date.
“At some point however, the town will have to replace the existing water main. When that happens, the town main will be separated and a new Aquarion main will be extended to the private residences. Those residents getting unmetered water will then be connected to a metered lateral.”
Right now, Ratkiewich says, 5 or residences get unmetered water off the town main. How’s that for a selling point! (Even better for them: An aerial view of the roads shows several with swimming pools.)
Three more are on private wells. The cabins and Inn at Longshore are all fed off the town main too. However, the cost of water is built into their rent,
Westport Urgent Care‘s air conditioning unit has been in urgent need of a part for a while. It’s still on back order.
What was merely an inconvenience earlier became — well, urgent — this sweltering week. With latex gloves sticking to doctors and nurses’ hands, dangerous heat levels, and ill patients being exposed to even more danger in the waiting area, the health care center tried to adapt.
Yesterday, the walk-in clinic closed early. A sign cited “equipment failure,” and apologized for “inconvience.”
There was no notice on the website, or voice message, whether Urgent Care will be open today. It usually opens at 9 a.m. on Saturdays.
==============================================
Then there’s this heat-related postponement: Today’s Car Cruise has been rescheduled for next Saturday (August 21, 4 to 8 p.m., Saugatuck train station parking lot #1).
The sponsoring Westport Police Benevolent Association decided it was just too hot.
Cars of all years, makes and models are welcome. The fee to enter and display is $20. Funds benefit charities like the Hole in the Wall Gang Camp, Special Olympics, and Veterans and Families of Fallen Officers.
The first 100 cars to arrive get a gift bag. The family-friendly event includes music, food, trophies and raffle prizes.
Speaking of cars: This was spotted a couple of days ago, by Ned Dimes Marina at Compo Beach. I guess he (and you know it’s a guy) wanted to park as close to his boat as possible.
Still on: Wednesday’s (August 18, 2 p.m., Jesup Green) rally to end a message about the importance of supportive housing for Connecticut’s most vulnerable residents.
As the housing market is at a fever pitch, a coalition of groups — including Homes With Hope, the Westport Housing Authority and The Partnership for Open Communities — are working on funding initiatives.
Vulnerable residents include homeless people, the housing insecure, domestic violence survivors, youth, and families struggling to stay in our community.
Yesterday’s “06880 Roundup” about an upcoming Mikey’s Way event included outdated information. The spread of the COVID Delta variant raised concerns about an in-person gathering.
The “Beacon of Hope” fundraiser — to help provide electronics for youngsters undergoing treatment for life-threatening illnesses — will be all virtual this year. A live auction begins October 13.
Like ’em or hate ’em, you can’t deny: The New England Patriots are generous.
Every year, the Kraft family owners’ foundation honors community volunteers. This week, at Gillette Stadium, 26 volunteers were cited — and donations made in their name to charitable causes.
Among them: Westporter Amy Katz, and — to the tune of $10,000 — Pink Aid.
In 2011, she founded the organization to help underserved women undergoing breast cancer treatments. It has provided more than $6.5 million in assistance, to over 10,000 women.
Katz also launched a mentorship program, and established Norwalk Hospital’s Community Mammogram Program for underinsured women.
The Kraft Family Foundation received more than 250 applications this year from nonprofit organizations. Congratulations, Amy — and thank you, Pink Aid and the Krafts! (Hat tip: Jean Lepore)
Congrats too to Tallula Stvan. The June Staples High School graduate heads off to the University of Connecticut as winner of the Westport Woman’s Club’s Leah Scherzer Scholarship.
Tallula’s activities included the school newspaper Inklings, and a community service project. Her award — part of the WWC’s $31,000 given in student aid this year — is named for the Woman’s Clubs most active member.
And more kudos: rising Staples High School sophomore Leigh Foran just had a paper published in The Pre-Collegiate Global Health Review. It’s called “A Disease Called Poverty: The Sickness Dismantling Global Health Equity.”
PGHR — a Johns Hopkins University student- and faculty-led publication — is the first international, peer-reviewed journal that features articles on global health topics written by high school students. Leigh’s article underwent a rigorous review process.
In it, she discusses the inequitable correlation between poverty and illness, including how poor people are disproportionately more devastated by preventable diseases. She comments on the role of non-governmental organizations in adding to this problem, and what can be done to find a solution.
This week’s #FridayFlowers grace the front entrance of Earthplace. It’s appropriate. The arrangement was created by club member Becky Newman, who in her spare time directs the center’s nature programs.
And finally … it’s too hot to do much during the day. But tonight, head outside. Look up. You’ll see the Perseid meteor shower. If you’re lucky — and away from too much light pollution — you’ll see one of nature’s true wonders.
For Dori Bomback and Terri Jaffe, it provided a chance to start one.
The women met more than a decade ago, when their 2-year-olds were in the same preschool class.
Their backgrounds — Dori had worked in fashion for Kate Spade, Henri Bendel and Prada, then learned the jewelry business from Jamie Camche of JL Rocks; Terri was in high-end contemporary furniture and interior design — were complementary.
During a Chabad Purim project, they realized they could be more than friends. They worked well together. Could they somehow combine their skills in a business venture?
Dori Bomback (left) and Terri Jaffe.
Several months into the pandemic, they met — masked and distanced — for a drink. They joked that the label on their tequila bottle could be great for a lifestyle brand.
The casual remark turned into an Instagram page. The women found, then posted images of things they loved — beautiful textures, colors or concepts. Once a day, Dori highlighted luxury fashion; once a day, Terri did the same for interiors.
The name was natural: “Things I Love.” They added “203” to honor their hometown area code.
At its November launch, the women were not thinking about monetizing their effort. In February though, they found a product they really loved: a handblown glass vase from France.
They wondered if they could turn ThingsILove203 into an e-commerce site. On a Zoom call, the art glass creator was very encouraging.
That was the impetus they needed.
Dori and Terri started searching for emerging artists from around the world. They looked on Instagram and Pinterest. They read voraciously.
They found artists and craftspeople in Spain, Germany, Italy Ukraine, Georgia, South Africa, Israel and Australia. For many, it was their first US outlet.
Art objects for sale …
The website also includes artist photos, bios, and pictures of where and how they work. “We want to share who they are as people,” Terri explains.
The website lists all kinds of products: scarves, handbags, jewelry, home accessories, servingware, art glass, candles, soaps, fragrances, sculptures, women’s clothes and more. Not every category is filled yet, however.
The women purchase directly from their artists. Items are warehoused in Westport, then shipped from here.
… and sunglasses.
ThingsILove203 has grown to over 5,000 followers. They’re drawn to Terri and Dori’s consistency — they still post twice a day — and the aesthetically pleasing products they promote.
The fashion posts attract primarily women. The design posts draw an audience that’s a bit older, and about 50/50 male/female. The other day, Dori and Terri introduced their first product for men: sunglasses.
It’s one more thing they love. And, they’re betting, discerning fashion-and-design lovers around the world will love too.
(Click here for ThingsILove203.com.They’re on Instagram @ThingsILove203.)
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“The only way to avoid becoming a water company would be to extend a new main from Compo South, before the meter, in to the individual properties that are getting unmetered water.
