NEIGHBORHOODS
What’s going on in your part of Greenwich
Riverside
The Greenwich Lions Club recently bestowed a special honor on a longtime supporter.
Gifford Reed was named as a Lions International Lifetime Member on May 26, and the local club and First Selectman Fred Camillo honored his accomplishment. The Old Greenwich resident said his commitment to helping town residents was inspired by his father-in-law Carlton Gisborn, who was a founding member of the club in 1933.
Reed, who has been a club member for 65 years, helps with the annual grapefruit sales fundraiser and with the 1,500 pediatric eye screenings the Greenwich Lions Club performs each year, according to the Lions. The fundraising efforts made it possible for $22,000 in grants to be awarded to local nonprofit human service agencies.
The Greenwich Lions Club also said its popular pancake breakfast, a local tradition that has been sidelined due to COVID-19, will return next February. Reed has already volunteered to resume his role as chief chef for the breakfast, the Lions said.
The event honoring Reed was held at the Riverside Yacht Club.
Glenville
To support an ongoing project to beautify the heart of the Glenville neighborhood, the Pemberwick Glenville Association gave the town a gift of $250,000.
The funds will be used to support the project, which has been a major priority for the association.
The newly approved town budget for 2022-23 includes $500,000 for the Glenville project. The association pledged the allocation as part of a public/private partnership, with the town picking up half the cost of the project. The gift from the nonprofit makes good on its commitment and allows the project to move forward in the new fiscal year.
Work is poised to begin in Glenville on part of a federally funded Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement Project. It will involve intersection improvements through the neighborhood’s main corridor and traffic signal optimization to reduce traffic congestion and improve public safety.
“We are focused on the lights because the roads are going to be open from the CMAQ project, which is commencing this summer,” said Abbe Large, a member of the Pemberwick Glenville Association. “We want to take advantage of this construction with the purchase and installation of street light poles similar to the street lights on Greenwich Avenue.”
The association is focused on more fundraising and plans to create a QR code to allow for easy donations, Large said.
There are other beautification initiatives planned for Glenville’s streetscape.
“We’re focused on replacing the unsightly guardrail, too, by the field and replacing it with a wood guardrail,” she said. “We also want to build a pathway connecting the north and the south of Glenville, and the path will line along the pond with the waterfall. We want to get benches along it and working with the Tree Conservancy with low-level trees near the parking lot so it doesn’t look so bare.”
The Representative Town Meeting formally accepted the gift this past Monday in a vote of 198-0, with two abstentions.
Western Greenwich
Heading to the dump? Make sure you have a new permit.
Starting July 1, residents must have their 2022-23 permit on display when heading to the Holly Hill Resource Recovery Facility to drop off trash or recycling. The new permits are good through June 30, 2023.
The new permits are available at the town’s website at www.greenwichct.gov, in the section for the Department of Public Works. Permits can be ordered online or through the mail for $25 for the year. The permit is a tag that should be displayed in your vehicle.
Residents with a pass can take garbage, recycling, yard debris and construction materials to Holly Hill. There will be additional fees for residents using cargo-type vehicles or trailers.
The hours at Holly Hill, which is located at 4 Holly Hill Lane, are 7 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. weekdays and 7 a.m. to noon Saturdays. It is closed on Sunday.
According to DPW, 1,223 permits have been sold so far for the 2022-23 fiscal year. In 2021-22, a total of 9,185 permits were sold. The permits can be purchased at any time during the year.
Central Greenwich
Christ Church Greenwich is hosting an ice cream social for members of the LGBTQ+ and their allies on June 26. The event is open to all, including children, youth, families, couples and single people.
It will be held behind the Tomes-Higgins House next to the church. An ice cream truck will be on hand, and people are urged to bring friends and make new friends at the event “for the LGBTQ+ community and the people who love and support them.”
“Christ Church is a community of people committed to living the way of God’s unconditional, unselfish love for every human being regardless of gender, sexual identity or orientation,” the church said in a statement. “We believe that God loves us all (with) no exceptions.”
After a successful launch in 2021, Free Music Fridays have returned to downtown Greenwich in 2022.
The summer concerts will continue through the coming months, with Cover Story with Megan Tyre performing on June 24.
The free concerts are held in Greenwich Common off Greenwich Avenue next to the Havemeyer Building, taking place every Friday from noon to 1 p.m. They are produced by Greenwich Forward, Re-Imagine Greenwich, and the Parks and Recreation. Department.
The goal is to feature different local artists every week, covering different genres of music and appealing to a wide variety of musical tastes. Residents are encouraged to grab lunch and sit outdoors to enjoy the concert.
First Selectman Fred Camillo called the concerts a way to bring the community together.
“The Free Music Fridays program is a perfect example of Greenwich emerging stronger than ever. Music has the power of uniting us and raising our spirits as we celebrate this gradual return to normalcy,” Camillo said.