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People’s Bank on Main Street Robbed at Gunpoint [UPDATED]

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Two suspects displayed a handgun during a brazen afternoon robbery of People’s Bank on Wednesday afternoon, taking nearly $9,000 in cash, police said. No employees of the Main Street bank were injured during the robbery, according to a press release issued by New Canaan Police Lt. Jason Ferraro, the department’s public information officer. A 9-1-1 call came in from employees inside the bank at about 3:58 p.m., reporting that an armed robbery had just occurred inside, Ferraro said. Responding officers didn’t find the suspects there, he said. Video surveillance showed two suspects wearing masks as well as a hat and hoodie-type sweatshirt, Ferraro said.

Dr. Bryan Luizzi

Podcast: New Canaan Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Bryan Luizzi

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This week on 0684-Radi0, our free podcast (subscribe here in the iTunes Store),we talk to New Canaan Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Bryan Luizzi. The administration, staff and faculty have successfully opened this academic year by phasing the schools in, sometimes grade-by-grade, from a combined remote and in-person learning or hybrid model, to full in-person learning, K through 12. Yet the town and county also are starting to see a rising infection rate of COVID-19, meaning that much-desired and carefully planned full reopening might not last, at least not continuously. 

Here’s a link to the school district’s continuously updated COVID-19 operations guide. And here are recent episodes of 0684-Radi0:

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Police: Psychiatric Calls Up, Car Crashes Down Amid COVID-19 Pandemic

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New Canaan Police reported last week that car crashes are down significantly in 2020. Police Chief Leon Krolikowski told members of the Police Commission during their regular meeting Oct. 21 that motor vehicle accidents with property damage are down 41% through September of this year compared to last, from 293 to 172, while accidents with injuries are down 36% in the same period, from 33 to 21. “I think that is related to the dramatic decrease in traffic that we saw due to COVID,” Krolikowski said during the meeting, held via videoconference. 

As police anticipated, authorities also have seen a steep rise of psychiatric calls, which doubled in March amid the early weeks of the pandemic here and are up  54%, from 26 to 40 year-to-date through September. 

“That is a pretty good increase and our officers are certainly doing a great job with our crisis intervention teams and dealing with people who have pretty profound behavioral health issues that we are trying to deal with as effectively as we can,” Krolikowski said.

Berchem Moses

Property Owner’s Lawsuit Heads Toward Trial

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A lawsuit filed against the town last year by the owner of an 8,700-square-foot commercial building on Elm Street is headed toward trial, court documents show. A remote pretrial conference is scheduled for Dec. 3 in the matter of the property owner’s appeal of the town’s decision to preserve its assessment of 111 Elm St. In an October 2018 revaluation, the town assessed the two-story structure at $3,063,480, a figure that is “grossly excessive, disproportionate and unlawful,” according to a lawsuit filed April 18, 2019 by attorneys Gary Klein and Liam Burke of Stamford-based Carmody Torrance Sandak & Hennessey LLP. 

The property owner, a Bristol-based limited liability company whose principal lives in Palm Beach, Fla., sought relief from the New Canaan Board of Assessment Appeals but that appointed body made no changes, “thereby denying the relief the Applicant requested,” according to the complaint. “The applicant is aggrieved by the decision,” it said.

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Letter: ‘Sculpture Tour’ Highlights New Canaan Open Space

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Every once in a while, you have an experience that reminds you how wonderful it is to live in New Canaan. That happened for us when we recently toured the New Canaan Sculpture Trail, an exhibit created by the New Canaan Land Trust in partnership with the Carriage Barn Art Center to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Earth Day. The Sculpture Trail, on exhibit through the end of October, offers eight unique sculptures, all with a bit of whimsy in a variety of settings. The Trust’s map was a perfect guide, with the trails clearly marked so that the sculptures were easily found and ample parking at every location. A lot of time and effort had gone into making sure the tour would go smoothly and be an enjoyable experience.