NEIGHBORHOODS

What’s going on in your part of Greenwich

A downtown Greenwich tradition and shopping extravaganza is expected to pack Greenwich Avenue with bargain hunters this week.

The annual Greenwich Sidewalk Sales, put together by the Greenwich Chamber of Commerce, will be held from July 14 through July 17. Retailers will move their clothing, jewelry, shoes and gifts to the outdoors, setting up shop under tents on the sidewalks, and offering discounts along Greenwich Avenue and the side streets.

The sales hours will be 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. July 14 through July 16 and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. July 17.

“We hope everyone will come to downtown Greenwich during these four special days and support local business,” said Marcia O’Kane, president and CEO of the Greenwich Chamber of Commerce. “It’s a great time to shop for bargains, discover new stores and to experience a true shopping extravaganza.”

O’Kane said OsteoStrong will serve as exclusive sponsor for the event. The chamber said sales updates will be posted on its Facebook and Instagram pages.

Western Greenwich

After delays because of weather concerns, Greenwich Communities has rescheduled its ribboncutting for the latest phase of its Armstrong Court renovation and revitalization program for 10:30 a.m. July 16.

As part of Phase II of the project, 42 affordable housing units in Buildings 1, 3 and 6 have been renovated; one- and two-bedroom apartments have been turned into two- and threebedroom units with new appliances, new kitchens and additional bathrooms added to some units.

Phase II cost $27 million. The remodeled units have new exteriors, new air conditioning and heating, new insulation and expanded living space. The three-bedroom units range between 1,200 and 1,300 square feet and the two-bedroom units are between 900 and 1,000 square feet.

The ribbon cutting will include coffee, breakfast and a tour.

In Phase I, 18 new townhouses were built at the town-owned affordable housing complex. Work on Phase III is expected to begin this summer. Under Phase III, similar work will be done to the apartments in Building II.

The work of Greenwich Communities is cited by Greenwich officials as a reason why local control of zoning should continue. Under the state’s 8-30g laws, all Connecticut municipalities must have at least 10 percent of their housing deed restricted as affordable. Greenwich has not met that threshold but has pushed back against proposed new housing mandates from the state to increase affordable housing and against proposed large apartment complexes that would include some deedrestricted affordable units.

Cos Cob

The Greenwich Historical Society is holding a scavenger hunt to encourage residents to “explore the landmarks, people and spaces that make Greenwich the vibrant community it is today.”

The hunt will be held on July 17; deadline for teams to register is July 13.

According to the Greenwich Historical Society, it will be “a day of summer fun and adventure.”

The event is open to individuals and families and is being billed as “a thrilling race to uncover clues that highlight our town’s legends and gems.” There will be a celebration for the winners at the Cos Cob campus, 47 Strickland Road.

The scavenger hunt is part of the Greenwich Historical Society’s Discover Greenwich program during its 90th anniversary year to “create a greater sense of place, connection and belonging among Greenwich residents.”

“We designed the hunt to be a fun, interactive adventure to appeal to all age groups for exploring our town’s heritage and what makes it special and unique,” said Stephanie Barnett, the Historical Society’s public programs manager.

The teams will be made up of two to 10 people; one requirement is to set up an Instagram account for the team before the competition begins. The clues about the landmarks, people and places that need to be identified will be emailed to team members in advance and made available at the museum’s store.

On the day of the competition, the teams will gather at the campus at 10 a.m. and hunt across town until 2 p.m. People will have to identify the locations — local landmarks, notable neighborhoods and community connections — from the clues, take photos and post them to their Instagram accounts to earn points.

Points will be based on the number of clues identified, photographed and posted. The grand prize winning team will receive two Empire State Building Executive Passes, each including complimentary admission for up to six people to the 86th floor observatory, the second floor exhibits and an interactive audio guide. Additional prizes will be offered to teams that score in second and third place.

To register, visit www.greenwichhistory.org /event/scavenger-hunt/. The rain date will be July 24.

Greenwich

Greenwich kids are taking part in a youth baseball tournament in Cooperstown, N.Y., home of the Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum.

Both the OGRCC’s 11member Red and 12-member Blue teams are traveling to be part of the Cooperstown Dreams Tournament.

Jonathan Hartofilis, coach of the Thunder Red, said the tournament for 12-year-old kids, which this year is slated to begin July 10, takes place several times a year. As many as 90 teams from across the country — including Greenwich — will be taking part.

“We’ll be staying in the barracks with our team,”

Hartofilis said. “It’s like a five- or six-day event and it kicks off with non-stop baseball the day after we arrive.”

The kids will participate in home run derby, golden arm, base running and fielding skill competitions. Then follows several days of a single-elimination tournament as the culminating activity.

“I have coached this team for five years, and we’ve been in tournaments here (and) in New Jersey, but this is like that experience amplified by a million,” he said. “Ten years from now, the kids will sort of remember the wins and losses and runs scored, but

I think they’re going to have much more fond memories of seeing all the teams and meeting all the kids. It will be all the little things in the experience that will stick with them.”

First Selectman Fred Camillo dropped by practice recently to offer words of encouragement; Hartofilis thanked him for his support, calling it “awesome” for a local leader to connect with kids and share his interest in them and in baseball.