New Canaan Police are investigating two reports of thefts from motor vehicles in Waveny. The window was smashed on a parked car, according to a report received at 1:09 p.m. Sunday, with valuables and credit cards stolen from inside and the cards later used fraudulently. Cash and credit cards also were stolen from an unlocked car in the park, as reported at 6 p.m. on Dec. 9.
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The Board of Selectmen during its regular meeting Tuesday went into executive session to discuss three items, including “Real Estate Negotiations.” It wasn’t clear whether that referred to a plan to purchase the .15-acre property at 28 Grove St., whose owner passed away Dec. 1. It also wasn’t clear whether the town intends to use the lot as an entrance to a planned new parking deck near that southwest corner of the Lumberyard Lot. Finally, it isn’t clear whether the town needs a parking deck there. Increasing commuter parking in New Canaan has been a priority for First Selectman Kevin Moynihan since announcing his candidacy for town’s top job in 2017.
Here are some photos of the property and an interactive map showing its location (the DYH continues below):
28 Grove St.
A look at the back of 28 Grove St., in the center of this photo, from the Lumberyard Lot. Credit: Michael Dinan
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An Instagram account documenting “absolutely rancid activity in the NEAD [New England Academy of Dance] parking lot” has 98 posts and 110 followers.
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Two timely notices from the New Canaan Police Department:
- NCPD and the New Canaan Fire Department are extending their winter coat and accessories drive. Drop off new or gently used gloves, hats, socks and thermal sets, as well as coats, at police (174 South Ave.) and fire (60 Main St.) headquarters.
- NCPD is partnering with Toys for Tots, collecting new and unwrapped children’s toys. From 9 a.m. to 12 p.m Saturday, police will collect toys in front of the New Canaan Toy Store at 94 Park St., and from 1 to 4 p.m. Saturday they’ll be in front of The Toy Chest at 101 Main St. There’s also a donation box at NCPD headquarters through Sunday.
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The New Canaan Building Department on Nov. 30 issued a permit to demolish the 1978-built Colonial at 152 Wahackme Road, records show.
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Pre-registration for kindergarten in the New Canaan Public Schools is now open. Info here.
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Police at 4:03 p.m. Tuesday received a report of low-cost items stolen from the Mobil gas station downtown. Juveniles are involved, police said.
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Shopping for loved ones this holiday season? The Glass House’s Design Store—online and at 199 Elm St.—will be open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Dec. 19 to 22.
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Hearst Connecticut, publisher of the New Canaan Advertiser, on Sunday ran a scathing editorial regarding the town’s handling of affordable housing. (Hearst also publishes the ad-supported Food Network Magazine.)
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Generous town residents are giving to an online campaign for one of New Canaan’s favorite small business owners, Sonny Yi of Swirl frozen yogurt on Cherry Street. Yi’s daughter is hoping to attend her first-choice school of Northeastern, according to a GoFundMe campaign that has raised some $3,240 toward a $5,000 goal. More information here on the campaign and how to give. (Here’s a New Canaanite podcast with Yi from June 2021.)
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Speaking of supporting those who help make this community go, Selectmen Kathleen Corbet and Nick Williams during Tuesday’s Board of Selectmen meeting thanked New Canaan’s outstanding and prized municipal workers:
Corbet: Good holiday wishes to everybody. This is our last meeting of the calendar year and so I wish everybody a wonderful holiday and thank you for all your good work, because you guys work so hard each and every day, and we just—certainly I—appreciate everything that you have done.
Williams: It’s been a long year but I really, really want to thank the department heads and all the folks who work here and other locations in town for their commitment and dedication, hard work and effort. God bless you. Thank you. Stay the course.
( Moynihan then said, “I thank my employees every week.”)
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Police on Dec. 8 received three complaints of motorists passing stopped school buses, at 1:53 p.m. (in the area of 433 Old Stamford Road) 1:54 p.m. (Old Stamford and Summit Ridge Roads) and 1:54 p.m. (83 Weed St.).
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Auditions open: The Town Players of New Canaan are seeking two high school boys for their upcoming (Feb. 17 to March 5) production of “Ordinary People.” Details here.
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The Connecticut Siting Council on Dec. 8 approved Homeland Towers’s application for a 110-foot monopole cell tower at 1837 Ponus Ridge.
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New Canaan Fire Department Lt. Don Gesualdi will retire Dec. 22 after 22 years with NCFD, Fire Chief Albe Bassett said during the selectmen meeting. He’s a second-generation New Canaan firefighter. The selectmen voted 3-0 in favor of hiring Garrett Cantrell as a full-time firefighter in anticipation of the vacancy in the department. Cantrell will be the fifth consecutive firefighter hired out of the ranks of the volunteer New Canaan Fire Company No. 1, Fire Commission Chair Jack Horner said.
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Steve Benko Pool ornament
This year’s handmade local New Canaan Ornaments are now on sale ($20 each) at the Walter Stewart’s Market courtesy booth. Proceeds benefit the wonderful New Canaan Museum & Historical Society. The ornaments depict the Steve Benko Pool, Elm Street Books, New Canaan Winter Club, Waveny Park Conservancy and Weed & Duryea.
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Police at 4:57 p.m. on Dec. 9 arrested a 49-year-old Stamford man on motor vehicle-related charges after stopping him near Route 123 and Lakeview Avenue for operating a car without insurance. It turned out his license also was under suspension, according to a police report.
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The Board of Selectmen on Tuesday approved these appointments and reappointments to New Canaan’s boards and commissions:
- Conservation Commission – Linda Andros
- Emergency Medical Services Commission – Wendy Fog
- Fire Commission – Jack Horner
- Parking Commission – Kevin Karl and Drew Magratten
- Parks and Recreation Commission – George Bennington, Keith Richey, Doug Murphy and Timothy Kimpl
- Planning and Zoning Commission – John Goodwin, Krista Neilson, Claire Tiscornia and Tom Benton
- Inland Wetlands Commission – Beth Sanford, Angela Jameson, Anthony Sillo, Priscilla Woyke and Katie Owsley
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The Building Department on Dec. 8 received an application from the town’s buildings superintendent to do an approximately $1 million fitout at 220 Elm St. for “new offices and education program space.” The application for the future home of the Board of Education calls for installation of two new bathrooms and renovation of two existing bathrooms.
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Local churches are sharing their Christmas Eve and Christmas Day service offerings. They include:
Dec. 24.—4 p.m. Family Service with Nativity Pageant; 6 p.m Worship Service; 6:30 p.m. Caroling on God’s Acre; 7 p.m. Worship Service; 11 p.m. Candlelight Worship Service.
Dec. 24—5 p.m. The Story of Jesus’s birth; 10 p.m. A Service of Lessons and Carols.
Dec. 25—10 a.m. Christmas Day Service.
Dec. 24—4 p.m. Service with Scripture readings, traditional carols, children’s choir and Christmas message.
Dec. 24—5 p.m. The World’s Greatest Christmas Pageant with Holy Eucharist; 6 p.m. Carillon Serenade; 6:30 p.m. Caroling on God’s Acre; 9:30 p.m. Prelude with Organ, Bass, Timpani and St. Mark’s Choir; 10 p.m. Festival Holy Eucharist with Organ, Bass, Timpani and St. Mark’s Choir.
Dec. 25—10 a.m. Christmas Day Holy Eucharist, Baroque Ensemble with Ryland Angel, tenor.
Gifting for Good at Grace Farms on Dec. 9, 2022.
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Finally, Grace Farms welcomed more than 200 people to participate in “Gifting for Good,” its annual event to give back to others during the holiday season. Volunteers assembled toiletry kits, teen care kits, and household kits for families displaced from their homes. This year, Grace Farms Foundation partnered with the Center for Family Justice, a nonprofit organization based in Bridgeport that provides support and services to women, men, and children who are impacted by domestic violence.