NEIGHBORHOODS
What’s going on in your part of Greenwich
Central Greenwich
To celebrate Christmas, the residents of Parsonage Cottage recently enjoyed a special visit from Santa Claus, thanks to Greenwich Country Day School.
Families at the private school, with the support of Parsonage
Cottage Junior Advisory Board member Mimi Santry, turned the front parking lot of the complex into a winter wonderland, complete with two festively decorated Jeeps and a socially distanced parade.
Connor Santry had the honor of playing old St. Nick, with Kristen Rosenbaum taking on the role of Mrs. Claus. Elliot Spizzirri portrayed Rudolph, Dana Santry was Frosty the Snowman and Teddy Rosenbaum became Father Twas The Night Before Christmas. The Grinch even paid a visit, thanks to Nick
Spizzirri. They were all assisted by four elves, Erin O’Connor, Julia Welsh, Cam Calcano and Jojo McCurdy.
The parade was only part of this holiday gift to the seniors at Parsonage Cottage. More elves, played by GCD seventh-graders and their mothers, delivered 32 gift baskets to residents and 17 gift bags for the staff.
“Celebrating the holidays like we usually do at Parsonage is not an option this year, and of course there is an emotional cost to that,” Parsonage Cottage Executive Director Penny Lore said. “This drive-by parade brought joy to everyone here at Parsonage. It really did lift spirits.”
The baskets and gift bags were specially curated for the occasion, Santry said.
“A great deal of care went into designing the gift baskets for the staff and residents,” she said. “We recognize that many people feel isolated, forgotten and unappreciated during the holidays. We felt it was important that the gifts be personal.
“The boys made handmade cards complete with a photo, so it didn’t feel like a commercial card. Dancia Callahan monogrammed each caregiver’s name onto a zippered bag for the same reason,” she said. “Laurie Costantino hand-selected jewelry from her company LuLu DK for the staff as a personal touch. The intention was to let them know their community appreciates them.”
Cos Cob
The money to go ahead with needed repairs on the Cos Cob Causeway was finalized as the Representative Town Meeting approved spending $2.5 million on the project.
The town Department of Public Works will oversee the replacement of the more than 100-year-old causeway over the reservoir. A portion of it on South Stanwich Road that goes over the reservoir collapsed in September due to its age, necessitating the repair.
The causeway, which was closed to traffic due to the collapse, connects Taconic Road and North Street.
The work is expected to begin soon while the reservoir is at a low level and must be completed by March or April. If not finished by then, completion will have to be wait until the reservoir is low again, likely at the end of 2021.
A retaining wall will be built to shore up the existing stone wall along both sides of the existing causeway. Because it is an emergency repair, the project was not put out to bid under the normal town process.
There was little discussion of the project before the RTM vote, which came in at 199 votes in favor, 13 opposed and five abstentions. It had the endorsement of the RTM’s Finance, Legislative, Transportation and Rules and Public Works Committees.
Michael Spilo, chair of the Public Works Committee, noted at last Monday’s meeting that the roadway was built so long ago that there are no detailed records about the construction.
“The causeway is not considered a bridge and has not been part of our regular structural inspection process,” Spilo said. “We were told (by the DPW) this would be remedied in the future. The roadway itself is porous with water seeping through it and has a 2-foot culvert at its base to allow water to flow from the north of the reservoir of the south.”
The repair project is complicated by the reservoir, Spilo said, and “extra care” will be required. Only certain materials will be used in the construction to avoid water contamination.
The RTM also agreed to bond the $2.5 million needed for the causeway project by a vote of 198 to 13, with five abstentions. The Board of Estimate and Taxation had already passed the bond measure.
Old Greenwich
The Garden Club of Old Greenwich wanted to keep the festive spirit alive this holiday season even though the First Light street festival was postponed due to the pandemic.
Club members braved the cold earlier this month and decorated the planters on both sides of Sound Beach Avenue as well as on Arcadia Road and the Old Greenwich station to celebrate the season.
Fresh greens went into the planters as well as bows and ornaments, which the club members said, “make the village shine.” The decorations are a club tradition going back decades.
“Adorning the planters in the village of Old Greenwich with festive holiday greenery and ornaments seemed especially important this year to raise spirits, support the merchants and continue our mission to promote community and civic betterment,” club co-president Wendy Yu said.
The Garden Club also revived a tradition from the 1930s by holding a 2020 holiday wreath competition.
Residents and businesses submitted photographs of wreaths they created. There were two categories: traditional, with assorted greens, pine cones, ribbons, birds, ornaments, fruit and other holiday touches; and whimsical, where participants could show off their creativity with different shapes and colors.
The club called it a “perfect uplifting socially distant holiday event for this challenging year.” (The winners asked for anonymity.)
The club also honored the village’s best holiday window displays: Linen Press won for most traditional; Chilly Bear, most magical; Something Special, most original; The Village Ewe, most nostalgic; and Sam’s Wine and Liquors, Best Spirit of Old Greenwich Award.
The best winter scene prize went to Charme and Cheveux Salon; most festive to Claudette’s; best children’s display to Anna Banana; Best Reflection of Christmases Past to The Haircut Place; most creative to The Rummage Room; most whimsical to Joe Studio; and most elegant to Back 40 Mercantile.
Downtown
The pandemic and the final stages of a renovation project have kept the doors closed at the Greenwich Library, except for its nocontact pickup services, computer reservations and new café. But patrons can still get one-on-one help from a librarian thanks to a new service unveiled last week.
Real time chat with the library staff is now available from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. weekdays and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturdays by visiting www.greenwichlibrary.org. The feature is available on the bottom right corner of the homepage and the children’s page.
Patrons can ask for answers to reference questions, research help, assistance with online resources, book recommendations and more by typing questions into the chat box to connect with a reference librarian or a children’s librarian.
The feature also allows for screen-sharing and sending documents.
“This new live chat feature is convenient and useful, because it allows library patrons to quickly get in touch with us without having to pick up the phone or send an email,” said Kate Soboleva, the library’s manager of information services. “This new feature on our website is helping us further realize our strategic goal of meeting patron needs when and where they occur, applying both technology and a human touch.”