NEIGHBORHOODS
What’s going on in your part of Greenwich
Backcountry
The three candidates for the open seat in the 36th state Senate District will take their cases directly to voters in Greenwich’s backcountry during a digital forum.
The forum, organized by the Round Hill Association, will be a digital one and anyone in the community can participate by signing up for the link. It will be held from 7 to 8:30 p.m. Aug. 12. Taking part will be Republican candidate Ryan Fazio, Democratic candidate Alexis Gevanter and John Blankley, who is running as a petition candidate. All three are Greenwich residents.
The election will be held Aug. 17. The winner will finish the remainder of the term of former state Sen. Alex Kasser, who unexpectedly resigned in June. The district includes all of Greenwich and part of Stamford and New Canaan. The term will expire at the end of 2022.
Voters can submit questions via email to RHAForumQuestions @gmail.com by Aug. 9. To register to watch via Zoom, go to https://bit.ly/3BC5GYb. The link will be sent out 24 hours before the forum.
“The purpose of the forum is to learn more about each candidate, what their goals are for our state and what they can bring to our community,” RHA Vice President Nancy Duffy said. “The public has been invited to submit questions for the candidates on topics of importance to them. The Round Hill Association Board of Directors will also submit questions for the candidates.”
The League of Women Voters chapters for Greenwich, Stamford and New Canaan are also collaborating to hold a candidates forum on Aug. 6. Voters can submit questions for all three candidates for that event as well.
Viewers must register in advance to watch and send in questions. The link to register can be found at https://lwvgreenwich.org/. Questions must be submitted by Aug. 1 and, according to the league, it will only consider questions that “all candidates can address.”
On Friday, the nonpartisan My Voting Power education group announced it was holding a debate on Aug. 3. Gevanter, Fazio and Blankley will all attend, and voters can attend in person at Town Hall or watch over Zoom by registering at www.myvoting power.org/event-details /special-election-debate.
According to My Voting Power, “The debate specifically aims to encourage millennial participation in the special election and the election season to follow by educating and spreading information about policy.”
The debate is slated to last one hour and take on issues that will be “promoted primarily to millennials and secondarily to nonmillennials in the Senate district.”
Downtown
First Selectman Fred Camillo, along with the First Selectman’s Advisory Committee for People with Disabilities, Abilis and other organization will mark a special occasion on Monday.
At 11:30 a.m. in The Café at Greenwich Library, Camillo will read a proclamation designating July 26, 2021, as Americans with Disabilities Day in town while “celebrating all that has changed over the past 31 years and celebrating the champions in our community who strive to make life for those with disabilities equal and fulfilling.”
Camillo will be joined by advisory committee chair Alan Gunzburg as well as Amy Montimurro, CEO and president of Abilis Inc., a nonprofit that serves more than 800 individuals with special needs and their families throughout Fairfield County. Abilis program participants who are employed in Abilis’ businesses, such as The Café at Greenwich Library, Abilis Gardens & Gifts and the Island Beach Concession, are expected to attend as well.
The event will mark the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, a civil rights law that prohibits discrimination against those with disabilities in employment, transportation, public accommodations and communications as well as ensure access to state and local government programs and services.
According to the advisory committee, “Prior to the passing of the ADA, those using wheelchairs who wanted to ride a bus or train would need to abandon their wheelchairs. A restaurant could refuse to serve a person with disabilities. A grocery store could prevent a disabled person from buying the goods there. If a person in a wheelchair could actually physically enter a library, he or she might not be able to check out library books, because of the wheelchair. Homosexuals could be considered disabled. There was no previous legal definition of disability and homosexuality was considered a disease until 1973.”
Before the law was in place, any place of employment could refuse to hire a person because of a disability and a person with disabilities could legally be paid less just because of their disability, even if they were doing the same work as another person, according to the advisory committee.
The café is located on the lower level of Greenwich Library at 101 W. Putnam Ave.
Greenwich
They may be best known for providing affordable housing to town residents, but Greenwich Communities is also inviting residents to go to the movies.
The organization, formerly known as the Housing Authority of the town of Greenwich, is teaming up with
Community Centers Inc. to host three outdoor summer movie nights, showing family-friendly films for free. The entire community is welcome to attend.
All of the screenings will begin at 7:30 p.m. and will take place outdoors. Attendees are encouraged to bring lawn chairs or blankets. Free food will be offered, including hot dogs, popcorn, snow cones, cotton candy and drinks. And since these are outdoor screenings, residents are advised to bring the bug spray.
The event will kick off on Monday, July 26, with a showing of “Madagascar,” an animated film starring Ben Stiller, Jada Pinkett Smith, Chris Rock, David Schwimmer and Sacha Baron Cohen about zoo animals who escape into New York City and are accidentally sent back to the wild. It will be shown outdoors at the Greenwich Communities’ Wilbur Peck Court complex downtown. The rain date is Tuesday, July 27.
On Aug. 2, “Despicable Me” will be shown. The animated film stars Steve Carell, Julie Andrews and a whole bunch of the beloved little yellow minions. It will be shown at Armstrong Court, a Greenwich Communities property on the western side of town. The rain date is Aug. 3.
The screenings will conclude Aug. 9 with “The Boss Baby,” an animated film starring Alec Baldwin, whose sequel is in theaters now. It will be shown at Adams Garden, which is also a Greenwich Communities property. The rain date is Aug. 10.
Anthony Johnson, Greenwich Communities’ executive director, said the group is excited to partner with CCI on the movie nights.
“The public is welcome to come and join the fun as we celebrate summer and the opportunity to come together,” Johnson said.
The partnership was also celebrated by CCI, a Greenwich-based human services agency.
“We are so grateful for our ongoing partnership with Greenwich Communities and our ability to serve GC residents,” CCI’s Executive Director Gaby Rattner said. “We can’t wait to see families gather to spend some summer nights under the stars watching movies.”
On the islands
In a ferry service update, First Selectman Fred Camillo reported Friday that the Islander II is at the shipyard in Bridgeport for repairs.
The vessel that is in the shipyard’s dry dock is nearing completion and should be launched soon, and the Islander will be repaired next, he said.
A problem was discovered late last month with the ferry during a regular daily inspection, according to the town.
“In the meantime, we will provide ferry service to Great Captain Island on Monday, July 26,” Camillo said, weather permitting.
The ferry will leave Arch Street at 12:30 p.m., leaves GCI at 1 p.m. and then leave Arch Street at 3:30 p.m., leaves GCI at 4 p.m.
In the event of inclement weather, call the ferry information hotline at 203618-7672.