What’s going on in your part of Greenwich
Downtown
A new program is in place to provide parking permits to downtown business owners and their employees.
Under the program, permitholders can park in 12-hour parking spaces in municipal lots — freeing them from plugging parking meters with coins. The yearly permits will come at a prorated cost of $720 and will be good until Dec. 31.
There is a limit of 100 permits. If there are more than 100 applicants, a lottery will be held, and winners will get the first chance to purchase the permits.
The permit program was approved at the
March 25 meeting of the Board of Selectmen. It was recommended by Deputy Chief of Police Mark Marino, who oversees the Parking Services Department.
“This is our latest program to make a little advancement on the downtown parking situation,” Marino said. “We’re going to chip away at things here a little bit at a time.”
This is an expansion of the town’s merchant parking program, which was recently expanded to the Lafayette lot
near Greenwich Hospital, Marino said. After that program’s success, he decided to try a similar program in the downtown shopping district.
The goal is to free up shorter term spaces for shoppers and diners.
Selectperson Jill Oberlander voted against the plan, saying she wanted to wait until the board’s next meeting to first get public comment. That has been a past practice of the board, but First Selectman Fred Camillo and Selectwoman Lauren Rabin said it was an urgent matter and voted in favor of approving it immediately. “This is a great proposal,” Camillo said. “It’s something that has been an issue in the central business district for a long, long time.”
Moving the employee parking will free up spaces “and make it easier for people to shop and dine in our downtown; 100 spaces is a big deal,” he said.
Marino said he wanted to get the program launched quickly because the weather is warmer and outdoor dining is returning.
“I see no reason to delay it,” Camillo said.
Parking permits are still available that allow downtown residents to park at 12-hour spots in municipal lots. The permits, which are good from April 1 to Dec. 31, also cost of $720 per year, though the amount will be prorated. That program is limited to 100 residents just as the merchant program is.
For more information about the permits, visit https:// www.greenwichct.gov/567/ Parking-Services.
Cos Cob
Spring is in the air, and it’s time to get back into the garden. To that end, the Greenwich Botanical Center has announced that its Plants of the Year Sale has returned.
Shrubs and perennials will be for sale that the center has “selected both for their beauty and suitability for our local growing conditions.”
“These plants will attract pollinators to your garden and complement each other for spring and early summer bloom,” the center said in a statement, adding that the plants are also deer resistant.
For 2021, the shrub selections are weigelia, a compact shrub with dark foliage and pure white flowers from late spring to early fall; and fothergilla gardenia, which dazzles from early spring through the fall with fragrant white flowers.
There will also be varieties of pink azalea offered for sale. They are deciduous varieties with “with bright trumpet shaped fragrant flowers and showy autumn foliage color.” A variety of perennials will also be offered, which attract butterflies, bees, hummingbirds and other beneficial insects.
The sale raises funds for the Botanical Center’s horticultural outreach programs, which includes internships, Eagle Scout projects, outreach to seniors, field trips, pollinator habitat education and vegetable garden donations to a local food bank.
Preorders are required. Items will be available for pickup starting April 21. Orders can be made online at greenwichbotanicalcenter.org/product-category/plant-sale or by phone at 203-869-9242.
To order a brochure, call the Botanical Center at 203-8699242.
Downtown
There is still time to take part in a special deal at Funky Monkey Books and Toys on Greenwich Avenue and benefit the Greenwich Police Department’s Scholarship Fund.
Through April 2, participants can shop for an Easter basket or Passover bundle at the store, and 10 percent of the sale will go to the scholarship fund. Online purchases can also be used to benefit the fund.
The baskets and bundles cost $50. Each creation can be unique by telling a Funky Monkey employee about the child’s interests. And be sure to mention the fundraiser, which comes as the Greenwich Police Department mark its 125th anniversary.
“Greenwich has such a strong sense of community and we are very appreciative of those partnerships that make our town so special,” Chief of Police James Heavey said. “It is fitting that a store that obviously looks to bring joy to all children is also honoring the Greenwich Police Department’s 125th anniversary with contributions to the GPD Scholarship fund.”
The store is excited about “partnering with the Greenwich Police Department and supporting their commitment to providing scholarships for children of Greenwich police officers,” store owner Jared Greenman said.
Funky Monkey is open for in-person shopping and curbside pickup at 86 Greenwich Ave. For more information or to order, visit www.funkymonkey.toys.
Greenwich
The final webinar in the Conservation Commission’s spring lecture series is set for 6:30 p.m. March 31.
The previous webinars have tackled issues involving the air, water and land in town. And the final one will combine the three issues together and discuss changes to the Earth and to the climate.
“Changing Earth, Changing Climate” will be moderated by Allison Walsh and will feature Laura Bozzi, director of programs at the Yale Center on Climate Change and Health.
“Taking action to create a world which is both nature positive and carbon neutral may seem like a big ask, but it is essential to securing longterm human health and prosperity, and to helping prevent future global pandemics,” said Pat Sesto, director of environmental affairs for the town. “It is crucial that we rebalance our relationship with nature to secure a sustainable future for people and the planet.”
The spring lecture series is hosted by Cos Cob Library and is free for anyone to attend. To register and receive the link, visit https://greenwichlibrary.evanced.info/signup/ EventDetails?EventId=54064&backTo=Calendar&startDate=2021/ 03/26