NEIGHBORHOODS
What’s going on in your part of Greenwich
Downtown
The town of Greenwich’s Parking Services Department is now accepting applications for its new residential permit program. The deadline is March 1 to sign up for one of the 100 permits.
The program will allow downtown residents to park in 12-hour spots in the town’s municipal lots in central Greenwich. The program was launched by Parking Services and approved by the Board of Selectmen in January.
The goal is to free up the metered parking spaces for shoppers and diners on Greenwich Avenue, while also giving an option for downtown residents who don’t have parking spots with their homes.
The demand for daytime parking increased downtown after more residents worked from home during the COVID-19 pandemic in the past year.
“People have been spending more time at home, and we’ve seen a lot of different changes,” Deputy Police Chief Mark Marino told the Board of Selectmen in December. “There’s definitely been change in the parking trend.”
Many residents are “not really driving their cars as often as they normally would,” so the town came up with a “permit program for residents that live in the downtown section of Greenwich that are really regulated by parking meters during the day,” he said.
If more than 100 applications are received, a lottery will be held for the permits.
The annual cost for a permit will be $725, which includes the state sales tax and a $5 processing fee. However, the cost will be prorated for 2021. The persame mits will last until the end of the year, when residents must reapply. The permits will not carry over from year to year.
The permit must be placed in the vehicle as a hang tag from the rear-view mirror. A car cannot be in the same space for longer than 24 hours, or it can be ticketed and/or towed.
To find an application, visit www.greenwichct.gov and or go in person to the Parking Services Department in back of Town Hall from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. weekdays. The application requires two proofs of residency.
The deadline to apply is 4 p.m. March 1. For more information, visit the town website, call 203-618-3060 or send an email to parkingserviceslottery@ greenwichct.org.
Backcountry
It was a very happy Valentine’s Day for residents of Parsonage Cottage, a senior living residence on Parsonage Road, who received cards and gifts from residents all over town.
The “To My Valentine” program encouraged residents to take part to mail or drop off cards for the seniors who live there. More than 800 donations were made, allowing staff to create individual gift baskets for the 38 residents at Parsonage Cottage. And the 20 staff members all got gift bags too.
“We know that seniors bring wisdom, knowledge and guidance to our lives,” Parsonage Cottage Executive Director Penny Lore said. “They have spent most of their lives loving and caring for others. They deserve the in return, and I wanted to do something that would demonstrate care and respect for them.”
The donations included greeting cards, many of which were handmade, along with chocolates, candy, decorated cookies, chocolatecovered pretzels, hand-crocheted hearts, origami designs, jokes from kids and balloons.
“This is a perfect example of when love is viewed as a verb, its focus is on giving, not receiving,” Lore said. “We are so touched and overwhelmed by the generosity of our community.”
And Lore added that many children took part. “Many of them aren’t seeing their own grandparents due to the COVID-19 pandemic, so they understood and related to the seniors living in a place like Parsonage Cottage.”
A similar “heartfelt” effort was made next door at the Nathaniel Witherell for Valentine’s Day.
The newly formed chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution in town donated candy to the workers at the town-owned and -operated skilled nursing and short-term rehabilitation facility. Witherell’s Director of Volunteer Services Mary Tate shared the candy at the facility’s six nursing stations.
If you are interested in joining the new DAR chapter, contact Jolene Mullen, Connecticut State Chair for Chapter Development at the Connecticut Daughters of the American Revolution, at jolenem@aol.com.
Cos Cob
River House Adult Day Center in Cos Cob is one of five local organizations that recently received vital support from the Greenwich Lions Club.
Club member Susan Ferris presented a check to Donna Spellman, executive director, with the River House’s portion of $20,000 in grants from the Greenwich Lions. The Greenwich Scholarship Association, Neighbor to Neighbor, Meals on Wheels and Abilis also received grant money.
In addition, the Lions gave $3,000 to help local children and seniors access eye care and get eyeglasses. This effort also included rejuvenating the Lions Low Vision Center at Greenwich Hospital and setting aside funds to sponsor summer camp scholarships for youth in town who are visually impaired.
Helping people with visual impairments is a critical part of the Lions’ mission. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the group is also supporting agencies working to alleviate food insecurity.
“The pressing need for help in the areas of food, shelter and companionship has never been more dramatic than during these times,” Ferris said. “The Lions have these essentials in mind always when allocating funds contributed by our local supporters.”
Club secretary Alan Gunzburg added, “We want to support the people who might otherwise be overlooked, especially at this time.”
For the second year in a row, the Greenwich Lions Club canceled its annual spring fundraiser due to the pandemic. Gunzburg said the group is preparing to hold its annual pancake breakfast on Oct. 9 at the Eastern Greenwich Civic Center.
To make a contribution to support their work, checks can be mailed to the Greenwich Lions Foundation at P.O. Box 130, Old Greenwich, CT 06870.
Greenwich
Do you love winter? The Bruce Museum is offering a virtual program on “The Art and Science of Snowflakes.”
From 7 to 8:30 p.m. Feb.
23, photographer Don Komarechka and physicist Kenneth Libbrecht will give a presentation “on the art and science behind one of winter’s most elegant creations: the snowflake,” the Bruce said. A question-and-answer session will follow.
Attendees will “learn about the physics behind how snowflakes form and the incredible technology used to capture their beautiful crystalline structures.”
According to the Bruce, “Always science-minded but never formally trained, Komarechka uses photography as a way to explore and understand the world around him . ... Photographing something unusual or unknown or as ephemeral as a snowflake is the perfect excuse to learn
something new.”
Libbrecht’s interest in the molecular dynamics of crystal growth led him to a study of how ice crystals grow from water vapor, which is essentially the physics of snowflakes. He has authored several books, including “The Snowflake: Winter’s Secret Beauty,” “The Art of the Snowflake,” “The Secret Life of a Snowflake,” and “Ken Libbrecht’s Field Guide to Snowflakes.”
The event is free, but reservations are required by visiting www.brucemuseum.org or calling 203-869-0376, ext. 311.
Donations are appreciated to help support the Bruce’s exhibitions and programs.