Shame, Shame, Shame
On The
Greenwich YMCA
By Meredith Blake
Staff Writer
Article Launched: 10/29/2008 02:30:25 AM EDT
The family of the town man who could not access the Greenwich Family YMCA because the building is not wheelchair accessible, is now pressuring the nonprofit organization to install a temporary ramp or face the possibility of being shut down.
Luis Gonzalez-Bunster's family contacted Greenwich attorney Frank Peluso, who said the facility is in violation of town, state and federal laws for not providing access to people with disabilities, according to the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Town of Greenwich building code.
"They are required to have access," Peluso said.
Peluso sent a letter to the YMCA on Friday requesting the organization take immediate action to provide at least temporary access. He gave the organization until today to respond. If the YMCA does not comply, Peluso said, he will take legal action.
The Greenwich Family YMCA pool opened in November 2007, with a town-issued temporary certificate of occupancy. It was one part of a four-year $36.5 million renovation of the 96-year-old building, which has never been wheelchair accessible, according to Tim Wagner, YMCA director of real estate and building operations.
The mission of the construction project was to make the facility handicapped accessible, with elevators, a chair lift and ramps, but that phase of the project is not yet complete, Wagner said.
Because the project has taken so long, preventing handicapped people from being able to otherwise use the new facility, Peluso said YMCA ........
....William Marr, town building inspector, previously said the town issued the temporary certificate of occupancy, often requested by the owner or architect, because making the building wheelchair accessible was a part of the original proposal and was just not yet completed, he said.
The YMCA declined to comment on Peluso's letter ......
.....the Gonzalez-Bunster family, the issue is simple. If there is one person who is denied access to a public building, it is a problem.
"I don't understand how the town gave them a (certificate of occupancy). It's very suspect," said Luis's father, Rolando Gonzalez-Bunster.
There are other problems, the family says, including the lack of a curb cut for wheelchairs next to the handicapped-parking space in the newly constructed parking lot.
"There are so many problems with this," he said.......
Please Read The Full Greenwich Time Story
Comment:
Hats Off To Meredith Blake And The Greenwich Time For Continueing To Cover This Important Story And Publishing Letters To The Editors About This Issue.
The Other Newspapers And Citizen Journalists Of Greenwich Have Wrongly Ignored The Lack Of Handicapped Access To The New Greenwich YMCA Building.
The YMCA Came To ALL Of The Citizens Of Greenwich And Asked For Construction Variances And ALL Of This Community Said Yes You Can Have Them.
The YMCA Constantly Seeks Out Funds, Grants And Tax Dollars From ALL Members Of This Community And Therefore Should Serve ALL Members Of This Community.
The YMCA's Wrong Headed Idea That The Crippled Citizens Of Greenwich Should Be Served Last Is Abhorrent At Best.
If The YMCA Won't Stop Discriminating Against The Crippled Of Greenwich And Continue To Refuse To Instal A Temporary Ramp Then The Town Should Pull The Temporary Certificate Of Occupancy.
In No Way Can The Right Minded Citizens Of Greenwich Support The YMCA's Desire To Ignore The Needs Of The Crippled Members Of Greenwich Society.
Public Funds Should Not Go To An Organization, Like The YMCA, That Is Blatantly Discriminating Against The Handicapped.
If The YMCA Continues To Resist Accommodating The Crippled Members Of Greenwich Society, Then ALL Public Funds Should Be Pulled From The Y And Given To An Organization That Will Serve ALL Members Of Greenwich Society.
Two Thumbs Up To The Greenwich Time For Staying On Top Of This News Story As Other Media Outlets Have Taken
No Interest What So Ever.
At odds with his own party's establishment over attack ads it did on his behalf in prior races, Rep. Christopher Shays, R-Conn.
Angelique Conroy, 35, of 31 Woodridge Drive, Stamford, was arrested and charged with fifth-degree larceny on Sunday afternoon, police said.
Conroy was released on a $500 bond and is scheduled to appear in state Superior Court in Stamford Monday.
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Jamal Anderson, 20, of 1600 Roosevelt Ave., Bronx, N.Y., was arrested and charged with second-degree forgery, second-degree larceny and criminal impersonation on Friday morning, according to a police report.
Anderson was taken into custody by judicial marshals at state Superior Court in Stamford Friday on an outstanding arrest warrant held by Greenwich police, according to the report.
He was unable to post a $2,500 cash bond and was held for arraignment the same day, police said.
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Marc Heiman, 37, of 20 Heronvue Road, turned himself in to police headquarters Friday evening on an outstanding warrant charging him with violating a protective order, police said.
He was released on a $1,000 cash bond and is scheduled to appear in state Superior Court in Stamford on Friday.
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William Corbo Jr., 49, of 18A Arthur St., was arrested Friday night on an outstanding warrant charging him with second-degree failure to appeal stemming from a 1996 stalking incident, police said.
He was released on a $10,000 bond and is scheduled to appear in state Superior Court in Stamford Thursday.
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Theresa Monick, 46, of 18 Arther St., was arrested and charged with disorderly conduct following a domestic dispute at her home Friday night, police said.
Monick was released on a promise to appear and was scheduled to appear in state Superior Court in Stamford Monday.
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Rocco Lombardi, 49, of 5 Comly Terrace, was arrested Saturday night and charged with threatening and disorderly conduct after leaving verbal threats on a phone voicemail that included threats to use a knife, police said.
Lombardi was taken into custody and was held by Greenwich police in lieu of a $100,000 bond, police said.
He was scheduled to appear in state Superior Court in Stamford Monday.
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Michael Robertson, 37, of 55 Bush Ave., was arrested and charged with disorderly conduct following a domestic dispute at 30 Division St. Sunday evening, police said.
Robertson was released on a $2,500 bond, according to police.
He was scheduled to appear in state Superior Court in Stamford Monday
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Ronald Nieves, 23, of 86 St. Michaels Ave., Stratford, was arrested and charged with violation of probation following a traffic stop off the Exit 2 ramp of Interstate 95 South on Monday morning, police said.
A check revealed Bridge port police had an active arrest warrant out for Nieves, police said. Details of the warrant were not available. He was transported to Greenwich police headquarters and processed, police said.
Nieves was released on a promise to appear and is scheduled to appear in state Superior Court in Stamford Monday.
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Annea Claire, 29, of 47 Pecksland Road, was arrested and charged with driving while under the influence and speeding following a traffic stop on West Putnam Avenue on Monday afternoon, police said.
Claire was released on a $250 bond and is scheduled to appear in state Superior Court in Stamford Nov. 11.
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A 16-year-old male from Bridgeport was arrested and charged with disorderly conduct following an assault on a 15-year-old at the Kids in Crisis Center on Salem Street Tuesday morning, police said.
The youth was taken to police headquarters and was held in lieu of a $250 cash bond, police said. He appeared in state Superior Court in Stamford the same day, police said.
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Keith Innes, 25, no address listed, turned himself in to police headquarters Monday morning on an outstanding arrest warrant charging him with disorderly conduct and first-degree criminal trespass stemming from an incident on Oct. 15, police said.
Innes was released on a $5,000 bond and is scheduled to appear in state Superior Court in Stamford Nov. 10.
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Shelagh Mclachlann, 42, of Brookside Drive, was arrested and charged with third-degree assault on a person 60 years of age or higher and disorderly conduct following a domestic incident Monday night, police said.
She was released on a promise to appear and was scheduled to appear in state Superior Court in Stamford Tuesday, police said.
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Henry Calam, 38, of 82 Halsey Drive, Riverside, was arrested Monday night and charged with risk of injury to a minor, disorderly conduct, first-degree reckless endangerment and carrying a loaded firearm, police said.
Officers responded to the residence on a report of suspicious activity to find Calam, who was under the influence of alcohol, exiting the home with a shotgun in his hand, according to the police report. Calam's 5-year-old daughter was asleep in an upstairs bedroom with no other adults home, police said.
He was released on a $5,000 bond and was scheduled to appear in state Superior Court in Stamford Tuesday.
Halloween draws thousands to Maher Avenue
For 364 days of the year, Maher Avenue is a serene, tree lined street where neighbors walk their dogs and students pass by on their way to nearby Brunswick School.
Until they die, they can't help vicariously editing the news - any news, whether spewed from newspapers, radio/TV, the Internet or magazines.
Over and over, as I listen to or read reports in the media, I encounter dispatches that leave questions in my mind. "Where are the editors?" I wonder.....
COMMENT:
Is The Greenwich Time Starting To Get The Message That Too Many Things Are Left Unreported When It Comes To Whats Going on In Greenwich.
The Next Thing You Know Maybe The Greenwich Time Editors Are Going To Wake Up And Realize That Editorials Need To Be Hyper Local And For The Good Of The Community.
Greenwich Time Endorsement:
Forget About Camillo Go With Krumeich
Edward Krumeich frequently makes the case that Greenwich has been neglected because it hasn't sent a Democrat to the state House of Representatives in nearly 100 years.
It's an argument the Democratic candidate made in nearly unseating longtime incumbent state Rep. Claudia "Dolly" Powers two years ago, and it's one he's repeating this year against Republican Fred Camillo. The two are vying for Ms. Powers' seat in Greenwich's 151st District, following her decision to step down at the end of this term.
It's a compelling argument. But if it were all Mr. Krumeich brought to the race, it wouldn't be enough reason to send him to Hartford.
Fortunately for Mr. Krumeich, it's far from all he has to offer.
There are few people in local or state government who have given as much to the town of Greenwich as Mr. Krumeich. His more than 20 years of service includes time spent on the Representative Town Meeting, and as chairman of the Board of Social Services, where he led the fight to save Parsonage Cottage and instituted a mentoring program for parents.
Furthermore, the Greenwich attorney is the longest-tenured member of the Board of Estimate and Taxation, a span that has included many years on the finance board's Budget Committee. When it comes to town government, the Budget Committee is the big.....
...Both men clearly love this town and have a genuine desire to do what's best for it. Ultimately, though, it's Mr. Krumeich's record of service and experience on the Budget Committee that earns him our nod.
To the editor:
The League of Women Voters of Connecticut urges voters to vote "no" on the calling of a state constitutional convention.
We can't think of any serious governance issue that justifies the time, expense and bluster of a convention where every issue - no matter how outlandish - would be fair game. The Constitution would be reviewed for modifications or revisions, including the possible adoption of an entirely new constitution.
The league believes that our Constitution works well as our state's basic framework of government. We support the current method of amending it through proposals by the General Assembly after significant public input via the public hearing process, ratification by referendum and adoption by the assembly.
Several special interest organizations are working to convince voters to vote "yes" to a convention in order to pursue their hot-button issues. These supporters wish to change the Constitution to enable direct initiative (e.g., propositions) and referendum to become an accepted way of making laws and amending the state Constitution. The league opposes such direct initiatives. It would be too easy for well-funded special interests to sway public opinion on controversial issues without presenting balanced viewpoints or doing the research that is necessary to analyze the long-term implications and costs.
Our bottom line: "If it ain't broke, don't fix it!"
Naomi Schiff Myers
Riverside
The writer is president of the League of Women Voters of Greenwich.
COMMENT:
Our bottom line: "Things are broke and lets fix them!"
It seems like the League Of Women Voters bends over backwards to maintain the current status of things.
The Greenwich LWV only allows two of the four candidates to appear at their numerous debates.
And now they seek to deny citizens the right to a constitutional convention, because the the electorate of the town is not smart enough to chose wisely.
The Greenwich LWV always seem to support the powers that be and are always being alarmist about outsiders and new ideas.
It is almost like the LWV fears that orgies of mob lawless will take over if citizens are given real choices.
Our forefathers, gave us the RIGHT to a constitutional convention, because they trusted the good people of Connecticut.
However, The Greenwich LWV apparently doesn't trust the good people of this town, they know whats good for us.
We don't need to hear any new ideas from the Libritarian Party or the Green Party at debates.
And voters certainly can't handle a constatutional convention.
We need the Greenwich LWV to filter our choices through proposals by the dead locked two party General Assembly.
The Greenwich LWV wants us to wait years for a chance at ratification by voter referendum and then hope and pray for adoption by the deadlocked two party assembly.
Election after filtered election the citizens are promised real change in Hartford, as things get worse and worse and worse.
Maybe it is time for citizens to take the bull by the horns and shake up the system with a constatutional convention that will bring real reform to the state.
The last thing we want is a provincial Greenwich LWV spoon feeding us Democracy.
Open up the local debates to all candidates and start trusting the people that the Greenwich LWV claims to serve.
The Greenwich LWV needs to understand that there are at least three sides to every story, so maybe we need a third party or a constatutional convention to break the two party deadlock.
New ideas need to be brought to the table.
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