NewCanaanite.com recently received the following letter(s) to the editor. Please send letters to editor@newcanaanite.com for publication here.
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Dear Editor,
I am writing with an open invitation asking our New Canaan Community to come together for a common cause. This cause may not be the topic of conversation at the club this weekend and it won’t spark the next trendy fashions on Elm Street. But it affects each and every one of us.
As a local resident, businessmen and volunteer, I have personally read too many stories of young people leaving us way too soon. I have seen too many adults not be able to function to their fullest potential. And I have seen too many seniors not be able to fully enjoy what should be their golden years. What do they have in common? These are our friends and neighbors. These are family members near and far. These folks all suffer from some form of substance misuse.
We have sadly witnessed first-hand the profound sadness and loss our New Canaan neighbors and friends experienced due to substance misuse. In a community as privileged and accomplished as ours, it may surprise many of you to learn about the depth of struggle affecting many of our residents. When we come together in September, we demonstrate our concern and support for all that these folks are going through. We also reaffirm our commitment to end the curse of substance misuse, addiction, and the collateral damage associated with this epidemic.
Consider this letter a call to action for our community. Please plan to gather with your friends and neighbors at the 6th Annual Community Addiction Awareness Vigil on Thursday, September 1st from 7-8:15PM in downtown New Canaan. The event will include live music (starting at 6), the Hope & Remembrance Wall, resources, hopeful testimonials, and a candlelight vigil led by members of the local clergy. For more information, visit the event’s Facebook page or go to http://ncparentsupportgroup.org/. You will be doing your part to show that our New Canaan Community is there for one other.
Thank you in advance,
Leo Karl III
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To The Editor,
The demolition sign went up for the old New Canaan Library which was expected. I was extremely disappointed to see the 1913 building included. To date the New Canaan Town Council, Planning & Zoning Commission and New Canaan Library Board of Trustees had asserted that there were plans to retain the 1913 library building. However there has not been a final architectural drawing or site plan submitted for approval with Planning & Zoning to date. When approved this will be sent to the Building Department for review.
Many of us believe that the 1913 is a building worth saving and having as a functional historical landmark. With all of the development going on about town we cannot afford to throw out the old with the new!
We should be able to mix past and present and the New Canaan Preservation Society has come up with a plan to preserve and repurpose the building. We can celebrate the great architects of the past and our town’s great history. There are mandates in place to support it:
In 2014 Planning & Zoning passed the Plan of Conservation and Development. It’s a document required to be updated and submitted to the state every 10 years. You can find this document on the town website. It helps to protect buildings like the 1913.
In 2010, Planning & Zoning passed the Village District Design Guidelines. The 1913 Library sits in the Village District. The Village District Design Guidelines protects buildings like the 1913 Library, regardless of who owns them. You can find this on the town website.
Many New Canaanites through time have opted to protect our town’s historic structures while we can. I believe that the majority of the town supports the preservation of the 1913 building. With the elections coming up in November in the spirit of democracy to have a referendum so that we can collectively decide its future.
Jennifer Vollmer
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I am writing to object to the demolition of a portion of the original 1913 structure of the New Canaan Library. I have seen the “notice of intent to demolish” posted by the New Canaan Library referring to structures built in 1913, 1932, 1952 and 1980 and I wish to object.
This demolition permit is being considered by the Historical Review Committee because, indeed, the original 1913 structure is of historical, architectural and cultural significance to the Town of New Canaan. The original 1913 structure meets all of the factors for consideration for saving a building (Town of New Canaan, CT Code, Chapter 12A: Demolition https://ecode360.com/9044202,) as well as meeting many criteria set forth by the P&Z’s Plan of Conservation Development and the Town Plan.
I personally have used the New Canaan Library for the over fifty years I have lived in town. In particular, for the first ten years I lived here and taught at Center School located next door, I used the original 1913 library and it’s earliest additions for my personal needs and brought my classes to the library for story times and visits. The room that is now the gallery (in the original 1913 structure) was the original children’s room. The Salant Room, decorated with Charles Hubbell’s murals, on the northeast corner of that structure was the original home of the New Canaan Historical Society for over forty years! The additions of 1932, 1952 and 1980 provided much needed expansion space for the growing collections and activities of the library. Those spaces will be more than compensated for by the new New Canaan Library building which is under construction. Thus, the demolition of those newer additions is understandable; however, the demolition of one portion of the historic 1913 structure must not be allowed to occur and moving another portion of it is not real preservation! The loss of such an important landmark to the town is incalculable—it can never be replaced!
Please consider letting town officials know that you want them to ensure that the partial demolition and partial relocation of the complete original 1913 structure never takes place! This irreplaceable historic landmark building must be preserved as it now exists in the location it now occupies. There is a remarkable plan for transforming that original building into an exterior performance space, featuring a folding glass curtain wall, opening onto the library green lawn providing space for hundreds to attend and a versatile interior space for cultural and educational activities. The New Canaan Preservation Alliance has offered to complete this green transformation and pay for it as a gift for the New Canaan Library. This would not only save the historic structure, but would also provide the town with a useful facility and save the New Canaan Library the cost of demolishing part of the 1913 building and moving and resettling the front portion of the 1913 structure as they have proposed.
Sincerely,
Mary-Ellen McDonald
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My name is Don Mastronardi and I am the Republican Nominee for State Representative for the 142nd District representing Norwalk and New Canaan. I am running because the people of Connecticut deserve to have leadership who believes that the government should work for them. The people of this State deserve to have their personal finances put above the politically connected, who continue to get generous giveaways at the expense of the taxpayer. We deserve leadership that understands that personal liberties and freedoms are absolute, even during a pandemic. We need leadership that prioritizes the needs of the people over a “woke” ideology that only serves to divide for their own political gain. Most importantly, we need leadership that understands parental rights and decisions that affect a child’s schooling and medical decisions belong to the parents’, not the politicians of this State. The people of Norwalk deserve to have a representative that understands their hardships, understands their values, and does not waste their tax dollars on giveaways to special interests. The people of Norwalk need a representative that has lived here, had children in our schools, and created private sector jobs in this city.
One party rule in this State has put us on a path of economic ruin and bankruptcy. CT has the second highest unfunded liabilities per capita in the entire country. Under the government of Hartford Democrats and Lucy Dathan, Connecticut has accumulated $94 billion in unfunded liabilities, or an average of ~$62,000 that each taxpayer owes the government. For what? While 300,000 of our fellow residents lost their jobs during the pandemic, government workers not only maintained their jobs but received bonuses and raises. On top of these raises and bonuses, they received another $3,500 “retention” bonus this Spring and will get 2.5% raises each year for the next 4 years. This is going to cost us, the taxpayer, another $1.9 billion over 4 years. We are coming out of a pandemic that saw CT businesses devastated or closed forever. Facing double digit inflation and $5+ gas, what did my opponent Lucy Dathan think was the correct course of action? Reject plans to provide meaningful income, sales, energy, and property tax relief to residents. She is a supporter of highway tolls and voted for taxes on trucks whose costs are passed on to consumers in higher grocery prices. She did nothing to help small businesses. Instead, she voted to increase the costs small businesses pay to cover the hole created by her Party’s lockdowns and business closures. Lucy cannot point to a single bill she has introduced that would significantly cut expenses for our residents. In her own campaign literature, her definition of meaningful tax cut is eliminating the admission tax when attending a movie, thanks Lucy. Everything she supports, and everything she votes against, increases your cost of living. She claims to be a moderate to appeal to residents, but her record is of a far left liberal that is always reaching into your wallet or purse, while trying to replace parents’ voices with that of a centralized government.
We must make Connecticut attractive to residents and businesses by making the government small and more efficient. As a business owner and employer, I know firsthand the inflated costs our residents and small businesses face just to make ends meet. I will push for cutting the sales taxes on goods and services. I will work with businesses to cut their payroll taxes and insurance costs, fight to lower property taxes, and make sure big developers don’t get special treatment just because they donate to a campaign. I will reduce the influence of the State unions and reduce unfunded mandates that cost towns and taxpayers millions of dollars every year. I will make child tax credits permanent and fight to make retirement savings non-taxable. Most importantly, I will ensure that government workers are compensated similarly to private sector workers, not as a privileged class. We need to run our State like I run my businesses: reward those whose hard work adds value, ignore special interests, and find ways to efficiently run operations and cut expenses to ensure long term, sustainable success.
Norwalk needs a leader who has lived in Norwalk, had children who attended Norwalk schools, and started businesses in this community. I am that leader. Lucy only knows Norwalk as a politician. She is a disconnected outsider, having chosen to never live in this community. I work among you and will fight every day to earn your vote.
Don Mastronardi
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