06/24/10 The Raw Greenwich News Feed: Morning Edition

The Latest News Reports About Greenwich

Seattle Post Intelligencer Congressman talks frankly about education, energy in Greenwich Seattle Post Intelligencer Saturday night I attended a "meet the congressman" gathering at the Greenwich home of Chicken Soup for the Soul publisher Amy Newmark and her husband Bill ...

One if by land, a thousand if by sea? Greenwich ramps up crowd control for ... Stamford Advocate At least one-third of the entire 148-officer Greenwich police force is expected to be part of the private security detail for an invitation-only outdoor ...

Pastor suspected of child porn living on Cape Boston Herald Simeon Stefanidakis, 59, minister of the Albertson Memorial Church in Old Greenwich, Conn., was charged June 15 with four counts of transportation and one ...

Pastore records improbable comeback to reach Connecticut Amateur quarters Stamford Advocate WATERBURY -- There have been a plethora of superlatives used to describe the golf talents of Greenwich High School's David Pastore. ...

Murder suspect claims police coercion led to confession Ct Post Larry Corbett of Bridgeport is a suspect in the murder of George A. McPherson, whose body was dumped in backcountry Greenwich. ...

Case of GHS aide charged in sex assault continued until July Greenwich Time Andrew Knapp, 28, a Greenwich resident and Greenwich High School special education assistant, was arrested by Greenwich police March 29 and charged with ...

Kids and adults found lacking in vitamin D Ct Post Sebastian Oe, 12 of Greenwich, came in first place in the kids' 1-mile run during the "Cook Your Buns" race June 11 at Greenwich Point. ...

Greenwich Post Senior Cannons expected to roar this summer Greenwich Post With nearly all his players returning from last year's team, others who are once again healthy, and strong pickups, the Greenwich Cannons senior legion ...

Decision on proposed Cos Cob bank branch postponed Greenwich Time The commission approved changing the zoning for the former home of Greenwich Time at 20 E. Elm St., from office to a mixed use of office and retail space. ... PLEASE SEE: 06/23/10 P And Z Public Hearing About The Bella Nona Restaurant In Cos Cob Being Replaced By A Chase Bank Is Held Over Till Next Month You Wont Read This In The Greenwich Time.... Public Hearing On Cos Cob Chase Bank Delayed At The Last Minute The Rumor Around Town Hall Is That The Chase Bank Public Hearing Was Cancelled Because The Engineer Did Not Have The Traffic Study Finished On Time The Planning and Zoning Commission at last night's meeting delayed the public hearing on an application for final site plan and special permit approval to replace the Bella Nona Restaurant at 371 East Putnam Avenue in Cos Cob with a 2,379 sq. ft. Chase Bank that includes drive-thru facilities..... More Greenwich News ....

P&Z at work on new drainage regs Greenwich Post Flooding is one of the biggest problems in Greenwich right now, if not the biggest, according architect and Planning & Zoning Commissioner Paul Stephan ...

Sea Advisors joins Narragansett at Metro Center Danbury News Times Sea Advisors Fund LLC, a fund that invests in the maritime sector, has sailed into Stamford, relocating its offices from Greenwich and New York City to ...

CitationAir, British Airways team for new service Danbury News Times The newly launched PrivateConnect service will provide British Airways customers access to Greenwich-based CitationAir's fleet of Cessna Citation aircraft, ...

Greenwich Post OGRCC U-11 boys soccer wins CT Cup with 5-2 victory over Wethersfield Greenwich Post The Old Greenwich-Riverside Community Center U-11 boys soccer team, coached by Jorge Acosta, won the Connecticut Cup on Saturday by defeating Wethersfield ...

Little About (blog) Sun exposure increases absorption of Vitamin D Little About The study led by Dr. James R. Sabetta and his colleagues at the Greenwich Hospital and Yale University School of Medicine reveals that maintaining 38 ...

For All the Smart Singles: This Mag's for You Patch Single&Smart will appear this summer starting June 24 at single hotspots throughout Westchester and Greenwich. It will be produced quarterly through 2011 ...

Greenwich In The Blogosphere:

3rd Annual Wiffle Ball Tournament | Greenwich Blog : By gb greenwichwiffle Greenwich Polo Grounds Hurlingham Drive Greenwich, CT Saturday, July 17th, 2010 (Rain date : Sunday, July 18th) Start Time: 8:45am SHARP!! Registration Cut-off is July 6th, 2010. or the first 40 teams to sign up. ... Greenwich Blog :: The Blog of... - http://greenwichblog.com/

assistant busboy (greenwich, ct) - Health Care Assistant Jobs By webmaster@craigslist.org assistant busboy ft nights call 203-622-8450 master chef- french food hard working speak english will train. Health Care Assistant Jobs - http://www.healthcareassistant-jobs.com/

Man charged with assault after argument ensues - Greenwich Real Time By Debra Friedman A 20-year-old Greenwich man was charged with third-degree assault and disorderly conduct Tuesday after police said he punched a male victim in the face and head multiple times during a heated discussion. Zachary Setian, of 19 Khakum ... Greenwich Real Time - http://blog.greenwichtime.com/realtime/

Greenwich Roundup: 06/23/10 The Raw Greenwich News Feed: Afternoon ... By GreenwichRoundup@gmail.com (Greenwich Roundup) Greenwich In The Blogosphere ..... One of the goals of Greenwich Roundup is to help these local "Mainstream" journalists, editors and publishers need to strive to convey reality and contribute to enlightenment of Greenwich. ... Greenwich Roundup - http://greenwichroundup.blogspot.com/

"Learning to Look" founder dies | The Hall Monitor By Noreen O'Donnell Diane Elizabeth Wassman Darst of Greenwich, Conn., a founder and director of Learning to Look, a nationally known art education program for children, died Tuesday at the age of 62. A Greenwich resident since 1981, she was the author of ... The Hall Monitor - http://hallmonitor.lohudblogs.com/

Diary of a Labellover By A. Fashionista: Preppy Paradise - Ralph ... By A. Fashionista True to form, the Ralph Lauren store has made a grand and opulent entrance on the main thorough fare in Greenwich, CT. Situated central to Greenwich Avenue, it is best described as 19000 square feet of preppy paradise. You can... Diary of a Labellover By A. Fashionista - http://diaryofalabellover.typepad.com/cheese_sandwich_diaries/

---

Please send your comments, news tips and press releases to GreenwichRoundup@gmail.com

06/23/10 P And Z Public Hearing About The Bella Nona Restaurant In Cos Cob Being Replaced By A Chase Bank Is Held Over Till Next Month

You Wont Read This In The Greenwich Time....

Public Hearing On Cos Cob Chase Bank Delayed At The Last Minute

The Rumor Around Town Hall Is That The Chase Bank Public Hearing Was Cancelled Because The Engineer Did Not Have The Traffic Study Finished On Time

The Planning and Zoning Commission at last night's meeting delayed the public hearing on an application for final site plan and special permit approval to replace the Bella Nona Restaurant at 371 East Putnam Avenue in Cos Cob with a 2,379 sq. ft. Chase Bank that includes drive-thru facilities.

The hearing on this application was once again held open.

Since the Planning and Zoning commission once again chose to take no action, Greenwich residents cannot yet gauge the effect of a newly adopted zoning regulation.

This zoning regulation makes banks and bank drive-ins subject to a special permit process as well as site plan approval.

The Planning and Zoning commission adopted this regulation in response to issues raised, and comments received, regarding the proliferation of banks in town.

Over 500 Greenwich residents have signed, or sent, a petition letter to the Planning and Zoning Commission asking that the zoning regulations about banks be strengthened to stop the destruction of our town’s retail areas.

The new P and Z regulation was designed to address resident concerns about such things as adverse traffic, the effect on local businesses and on the foot traffic needed to support these businesses.

There is no indication that the Planning and Zoning Commission intends to adopt any other regulations concerning banks.

In addition to the Chase banks planned for the Bella Nona location in Cos Cob and his gas station site opposite the Library, other Greenwich locations are being targeted by banks.

Approval has been given to People’s United for a drive-thru at the former Ku restaurant site in Cos Cob.

Banks also have their eye on the two gas stations at the corner of Indian Field Road and East Putnam Avenue. The Rusty Oxer truck service business at Valley Drive is being sold to a bank. And the new building on West Putnam Avenue in front of Polpo Restaurant is seeking to have a bank occupy some of its space.

Plus the big hole on Putnam Avenue is looking to be filled by a bank.

This Just Doesn't Add Up

There Are Currently 52 Bank Branches In Greenwich

They Are Servicing Only 65,000 People

This proliferation of banks in Greenwich, often with the same bank having multiple branches within minutes distance of each other. For example: Chris Canavan, owner of Greenwich Automotive Services at 111 West Putnam Avenue, the service station at the corner of Dearfield Drive opposite the Greenwich Library recently had to close his business, because the property was sold last week to a developer.

Mr.Canavan does not know who the developer is but says that the anchor tenant of the new development is expected to be Chase Bank. There are already four Chase bank branches within walking distance of Mr. Canavan’s empty gas station where now a 5th branch is planned.

The Town Of Greenwich Must Embrace Change,

But P and Z Also Must Plan For That Change.

Right now, the highest and best use for certain properties in Greenwich may be for the owners to sell to a bank.

However, this proliferation of banks in Greenwich may be just a passing phenomenon.Tomorrow these bank buildings may very well be empty white elephants.

Before the commission, Greenwich real estate developer Barry Montgomery has testified in his professional opinion the approval of the Chase branch will be detrimental to other Cos Cob neighbor properties. He feels, a banking branch bubble is forming. His analysis is that there is no banking need by Chase to have nine branches. His opinion is that Chase's business plan is to drive competitors out of business as the bubble bursts. Empty bank buildings are fire hazards. The insurance commissioner of the state of Connecticut allows fire insurance companies to cancel the insurance if 70% of the building is vacant.

Although Connecticut towns may not limit the number of banks within their borders, or institute distance requirements between banks,

There are examples of zoning regulations with more teeth.

Bronxville and Chappaqua NY, for instance, has passed a regulation that prevents banks, insurance and real estate brokers and travel agents from occupying first floor retail space in the General Business Zone.

Part of 125th Street in New York city has a similar regulation.

Another possibility would be to allow only ATM’s at the street level.

While the new special permit zoning process for banks gives the Planning and Zoning Commission the authority to exercise judgment regarding the non-site issues that might impact the neighborhood it is questionable that this process will serve as a deterrent to banks.

What is going to happen to all of these Greenwich Bank branches as online and mobile-phone banking continue to grow.

Recently Bank of America announced plans to reduce the size of its branch network by 10% because of this shift to online banking.

============================

Please send your comments, news tips and press releases to GreenwichRoundup@gmail.com

06/09/10 Notes From Last Night's Planning and Zoning Commission Meeting

Chase Bank's application to build a branch on the site of the current Bella Nonna restaurant at 371 E. Putnam Ave. in Cos Cob received no action, because because they wanted to study traffic issues. It is expected to be on the agenda for the next meeting on June 22.

A one-year extension was granted to plans to build a new general office use building at 108 River Road.

An application by Greenwich Tavern for outdoor seating was left open by the commission.

An adjustment of lot lines on a property at 309 Taconic Road and 49 North Stanwich Road received the commission's blessing.

Rye, N.Y.-based Fresh Green Light Driving School received final site plan approval to permit a driving school at 450 E. Putnam Ave., in Cos Cob.

Final site plan and special permit were given to an application to demolish an existing two-family residence at 24 Harold Street and build two structures with a total of five buildings.

Final site plan and special permit approved for plans to demolish an existing 5,843-square-foot home at 16 Highgate Road and replace it with an 11,759-square-foot home.

No action was taken on a proposal to build a new multiuse retail, office and residential use at 1139 E. Putnam Ave.

An application by BMW of Greenwich to remove nine of its 12 service bays and increase office and interior display area was left open as no final decision was made.

A proposal for a parking lot at 336 W. Putnam Ave. received preliminary approval. It still needs final approval.

========================================
please send your comments, news tips and press releases to GreenwichRoundup@gmail.com