Bill Walbert

‘A Symbol of Our Town’s Commitment to Public Safety’: Officials Cut Ribbon on Renovated Police Station

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More than 50 town officials and community members gathered at the entrance of the New Canaan Police Station on South Avenue on Wednesday morning to mark the re-opening of the renovated building. The updated station at 174 South Ave.—a $20 million project, $29 million with soft costs such as insurance and the temporary headquarters downtown—includes new office space, locker rooms, and much more. “The improved space enhances our ability to carry out daily operations, strengthen teamwork, and continue serving New Canaan with the highest standards of professionalism and care,” Police Chief John DiFederico said at the ribbon-cutting ceremony, held on a sunny, breezy day. Those in attendance included First Selectman Dionna Carlson, Selectmen Steve Karl and Amy Murphy Carroll, Public Works Director Tiger Mann and Police Capt. Joseph Farenga. The chair of the Police Department Building Committee, Bill Walbert, opened the ceremony by expressing his pride and admiration for the new station.

Business

New Canaan Couple Launches Breast Protection Insert for Female Athletes

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Christian Murphy had no idea that sending a message of support to his close childhood friend from Australia would lead to a new passion in his life. The former A+E Global Media employee was looking through LinkedIn one day in 2023 when he came across the inspiring story of Suzie Betts, Christian Murphy recalled. “I hadn’t been in touch with [Betts] for a very long time, but saw that she had recently undergone multiple surgeries and biopsies to address what were non-cancerous but extremely painful lumps in her breasts,” Christian Murphy told NewCanaanite.com Monday during an interview at New Canaan Library. “Based on this experience, she had developed a product to protect other female athletes so they wouldn’t have to go through the same experiences that she did.”

He continued: “I really admired what [Betts] was trying to do. She was trying to address a major problem in our society: a lack of funding and support for the proper equipment in female sports.”

Betts had her first surgery in 2018 and then, after conversations with her own daughters that showed a need for additional breast protection in youth sports, founded her product as ‘Boob Armour’ (later ‘Boob Protect’) in 2021.

Around Town

‘An Incredible Experience’: Birding Expert Leads Tour of Bristow Park Sanctuary

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Frank Gallo crouched down and peered through the trees at Bristow Park on an overcast Friday morning, holding his strapped binoculars and wearing a hat that celebrates a biennial birding exploration he leads in Texas. “We’ve got action over here,” Gallo whispered to a group he led through the Old Stamford Road bird sanctuary, contiguous to Mead Park. To the naked eye, there’s nothing but plants, dirt, and rummaging chipmunks as an eerie silence engulfs the natural world, yet Gallo hears the calls of hundreds of birds. Suddenly, a repetitive shushing sound rang throughout the trees, not made by the birds but by Gallo. After several of his calls, the forest awakens: Birds swoop down, making their “tea-kettle-like” noises, as Gallo described.

Elliot Siderides

Property Developer Details Proposal for New Hotel on Locust Avenue

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Town officials on Tuesday night heard the pre-application presentation for a proposed new hotel on Locust Avenue, asking questions ranging from room pricing to the potential impact on traffic flow. Founder and president of New Canaan-based Windward Development, Inc. Elliot Siderides presented the plans for the hotel on behalf of Two Corners LLC., which Siderides called the “contract purchaser” of 49-51 and 39 Locust. Siderides presented to members of the Planning & Zoning Commission during their regular meeting alongside his two sons, John Siderides, Windward’s in-house architect, and Andrew Siderides, Windward’s head of development and construction management. Commissioner John Kriz voiced concerns about the potential impact of the hotel on the streetscape. He listed “issues with loom” and problems if a “building dominates the skyline.” Kriz requested “visuals of the as-built structure from various prominent places in town.”

Elliot Siderides responded to a Kriz question about parking by citing the 115 available spaces throughout the complex. 

“The requirement for a hotel is one [parking space] per room, so 40 of the spaces have to be for the hotel,” he said.

New Canaan Police Department

Warrant: Man, 26, Stole McLaren Worth Approximately $250,000

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New Canaan Police last week arrested a 26-year-old New Jersey man accused of stealing a high-end sports car belonging to a New Canaan resident, closing a four-year investigation into the theft. On Aug. 28, 2021, local officers were dispatched on a report of a vehicle that had just been stolen from a garage of a western New Canaan home, according to an arrest warrant application written by NCPD Sergeant Scott Romano and obtained by NewCanaanite.com. The stolen car was a 2020 McLaren GT sports car worth approximately $250,000, Romano said in the application. The garage door of the McLaren had been closed, yet the neighboring garage door, holding a Tesla SUV, had been left open.