03/07/09 READER SUBMITTED COMMENTS: Housing

Reader Points Out Greenwich Roundup Mistake

Brian;

You are right about the housing issue, but wrong about the “P and Z trying to pull a fast one”. The responsibility for honoring the town’s obligation under the deed to sale for the power plant to provide 24 units of housing belongs solely with the First Selectman. P and Z cannot legally condition site plan approval on this, as our brief is only with land use, not Town obligations

Dave Thompson from DPW, who is presenting the case for the power plant in front of P and Z, said in a public meeting that the Law Department was trying to prove a case that says that the obligation has already been met. He said that the position of the First Selectman as he understood it was that 24 units have been created since 1997 through requirements of site plan approval, one or two accessory apartments created by property owners in town, a couple of new units built by the housing authority, all totaling up to 24.

As a sitting Commissioner on the Power Plant vote, I won’t make my own opinions known, but I thought that the facts should be known

Many thanks,

Frank A. Farricker

Cos Cob

COMMENT:

Sorry For The Error In Reporting.

Greenwich Roundup Just May Go Down To The Riverside Offices Of The Greenwich Time And Apply For The Next Reporters Job That Comes Open.

I Am Now More Than Qualified To Be A Greenwich Time Reporter, Because I Have Not Gotten The Story Wrong Two Times In Less Than A Week.

First I Incorrectly Suggested That WGCH Should Start A Community Events Board And Then Jeff Weber Informed Me That They Have A HUGE Button At The Top Of THEIR Website That Has A Link To The Viva Pop Community Calender..

Now I Have Accused The Planning And Zoning Board Of Pulling A Fast One, When It Is The Town Itself That Is Pulling A Fast One.

I Should Have Been Smart Enough To Realize That The Planning And Zoning Board Is The Deliberative Body Hearing The Evidence, And That If A Fast One Is Being Pulled It Would Be By Persons Appearing Before The P And Z.

However, I Sincerely Hope That The Planning And Zoning Board Rejects Arguments Like "One Or Two Accessory Apartments Were Created By Property Owners In Town" And Fully Meets The Requirements Of Providing Vitally Housing For Working Families In Town.

PLEASE SEE:

03/06/09 WHAT WILL THE VOTERS THINK? - Will CT Governor Jody Rell Let Her Republican Buddies In Greenwich Weasel Out Of An Affordable Housing Deal?

THE HEADLINES:

No Affordable Housing For Police Officers, Fire Fighters, Teachers, Nurses Or GEMS

Greenwich Resident Bernadette Settelmeyer Caught The XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX TOWN Trying To Pull A Fast One

THE QUOTE:

"We are looking at the history of it, the language of it," says Greenwich Town Attorney Wayne Fox

THE STORY:

Greenwich close to Cos Cob Power Plant affordable housing opinion- Greenwich Time

By Colleen Flaherty
Staff Writer

After 20 years, the town has begun to address the obligation to build affordable housing stemming from its 1989 purchase of the former Cos Cob Power Plant property.

The 24 affordable units Greenwich ultimately promised to build in exchange for the 9-acre property, which it bought from the state for just $1, have never been built, but Town Attorney Wayne Fox said he is reviewing documents related to the sale to see what, if any, obligation still exists......

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03/07/09 More Love For Malloy?????

To The Greenwich Roundup,

Every few months I get a good laugh at the local politics here in Fairfield County. In a 90% Democrat/10% Republican area, rarely do I ever discuss politics. I'm a conservative Republican. In the same area, most people are some spin off Protestant. I, being a Catholic, never discuss religion either.

In the last 25 years, the information printed in The Stamford Advocate/Greenwich Time has always been one-sided. There is no need to read about local politics until budget time. The current Mayor has always been way over budget, and his habit of cutting programs and town employee wages/benefits continues. I believe raising property taxes was Dan Malloy's solution to every budget issue. Yet, the information given to the residents of Stamford via the local newspapers never said that. In other words, it was never clearly addressed.

Additionally, Joseph Pisani, as Senior Editor of both newspapers, went after the Catholic Church with a vengeance. For 2 years, the majority of non-Catholics, had to read regurgitated "incidentals" It was front page for 2 years. It wasn't a typical story of the pedophile priest-though it might as well have been. It was about a gay priest who embezzled money. I have to wonder what sort of editor (who is a practicing Catholic) would go to such lengths to insure this story was drilled into the ground. I think Joe Pisani made it clearly personal while abusing his editorial privileges.

So, I take a step back when politics or religion are mentioned.

This Malloy family is probably like a lot of other families. The exception being Dan Malloy is a public figure. If a Mayor of a town has to go out of his way to cover up his family's issues, the Mayor himself has SERIOUS ISSUES.

No one is above the law.

Joe Pisani has proven to be a self-absorbed and dishonest journalist. The Mayor is clueless,selfish parent and politician.. While the Mayor and Joe laughed about hiding the truth and elaborating on insignificant details, anyone with a brain saw this coming.

I'm hoping the new editors will continue to serve the public in an unbiased manner. I read the Advocate, so I can't speak about the Greenwich Time. So far I've been pleased.

Dan Malloy doesn't have a shot in hell at Governor.

Jim

North Stamford

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03/07/09 READER SUBMITTED COMMENTS: Malloy

To the editor,

I wanted to write I have mixed feelings about Stamford Mayor Dan Malloy political aspirations to run for CT. State Governor. This is not because his son was arrested, but rather a question of the Mayor's priorities.

I have great sympathy for the families who suffer at the hand of a family member's substance abuse problems. I can't think of one family in my circle of friends who hasn't been forced to either deal directly with the problem, or deal with the consequences of NOT dealing with the problem.

In this day and age, drug and alcohol addiction are accepted as medically treated diseases. There are unlimited resources available to families. There is only one prerequisite. The need for ADMITTING there is a problem and dealing with that problem directly.

This young man, Ben Malloy, 21, who was arrested in Darien has not been held accountable for any of his run-ins with the law. It is very easy to blame the Stamford Police or the local newspapers for sweeping his past behavior under the rug. But, in the end, the blame will always comes back to his parents. How long did they expect this to continue before a very serious accident happened? The type of accident that leaves another family grieving.

I believe Mayor Dan Malloy has done a fair job as Mayor of Stamford. I'm not judging his career. I don't believe parenting skills should cast a shadow on his political achievements but that's what will happen. We will begin to hear all sorts of past incidents regarding the Malloy kids. So, it's a little late now. This Mayor has failed to deal with serious personal problems in straight forward, mature manner. One of his sons, Ben Malloy, didn't wake up one day,at age 21, with a substance abuse problem.

I was disappointed at news regarding the arrest. The Mayor has chosen to make a "public statement" in an private email sent to about 30 people. That is a sham.

Now, do I want a State Representative who can't even manage his personal life? No, I want someone who is willing to admit there are serious problems being dealt with. Up until now, Dan and his son, Ben Malloy, have been lucky. They (and our pathetic local newspapers) have also been extremely evasive and calculating.

In the world of drugs/alcohol/crime, "LUCK" runs out rather quickly.

MB

Old Greenwich

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03/07/09 The Raw Greenwich News Feed - This Just In....

The Latest Greenwich News Briefs:

HERE IS REAL DUMB IDEA IT ALL READY SOOOOO HARD TO GET TOWNS TO RELEASE PUBLIC INFORMATION THEY ARE PUBLIC RECORDS NOT REPUBLICAN PARTY RECORDS Greenwich rep wants more time on FOI Greenwich Time By Colleen Flaherty State Rep. Livvy Floren, R-149, wants to allow towns and cities more time to comply with new Freedom of Information requirements. ...

Rivals Greenwich, Darien to meet for FCIAC boys hockey title Stamford Advocate By David Fierro GREENWICH -- Much more than bragging rights is at stake when longtime Fairfield County Interscholastic Athletic Conference hockey rivals ...

Greenwich man brings kids news to the bloc Stamford Advocate Primo, a Greenwich resident who revolutionized television journalism in the '60s with his trademark "Eyewitness News" concept, had never been to or met ...

Murder in Greenwich triggers 'Don t Look Twice Connecticut Post Gross introduced his Greenwich police detective hero Ty Hauck in last year's hugely successful "The Dark Tide," but the new novel reaches out from western ... PLEASE SEE:

02/28/09 Author Andrew Gross Writes About Greenwich 03/01/09 READER SUBMITTED COMMENTS: Andrew Gross 03/06/09 PRESS RELEASE: Just Books' Author Visit March 7 & 9-Mystery Month

BOND REPORT Treasurys mixed after weak employment report MarketWatch - USA "This is a universally weak report," said strategists at RBS Greenwich Capital. "Treasurys are trading lower in the wake of the release -- a trend that's ...

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