Faces of New Canaan

Faces of New Canaan: Elizabeth Oei

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Upon first look, Elizabeth Oei might seem to have her hands full. A longtime New Canaan resident, she serves as member of the New Canaan Volunteer Ambulance Corps (NCVAC) and the Pop-Up Park Committee in addition to a full-time nurse consultant job. She also may be most recognized around town for her two beloved dogs, Cosmo and Bean, gentle animals that she describes as her children. After speaking with Oei (full interview transcribed below), however, it became clear that her involvement is a pleasure and it is all these things that flesh out her full personality. We sat down with this very involved woman to discuss her time in New Canaan, her various roles and responsibilities, and of course her dogs.

News

Letter: ‘Thank You’ from Chamber for Successful Sidewalk Sale

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On Saturday July 18th the New Canaan Chamber of Commerce hosted the 50th Annual Village Fair and Sidewalk Sales. Thousands of bargain hunters and their families came downtown for a day of fun! With over 125 participating merchants and vendors there was plenty of entertainment, food and of course, bargains galore for everyone! The day, like any other big event, takes months and months of planning. The Chamber would like to thank our sponsors; William Raveis Real Estate, People’s United Bank, Karl Chevrolet, New Canaan YMCA, Bankwell, Kempo Academy of Martial Arts, Stamford Hospital, NC Parking Dept., NC Historical Society, the Pop UP Park Committee and the New Canaan Advertiser.

Around Town

Did You Hear … ?

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We’re wishing a speedy recovery for New Canaan First Selectman Rob Mallozzi, who is laid up at home this week—booked already as a vacation week—after spraining his ankle and breaking a lower leg bone (fibula) during a freak accident last weekend. Up in Newport, R.I. with New Canaanites Nick Williams, a second selectman, and Paul Foley, a police commissioner, for the 12-meter sailing races, Mallozzi—who had gone uninjured in eight years as a volunteer firefighter here in town—took a misstep between a sailboat and launch and rolled his ankle. As per Coastal Orthopaedics in Norwalk, the first selectman said he’s got to keep the leg elevated for a full week to prevent swelling and quicken the recovery process, and hopes to be back at work next Tuesday. “Everyone has reached out to me, my wife and family and friends have been wonderful, and as upset as I am, that part of this has made it a little easier,” Mallozzi said on Wednesday. The first selectman was to have taken a real vacation this week, including an Eagles concert, but had to forego it while he recovers at home.

Business

Letter from Organizers: ‘We Certainly Hope the Pop Up Park Can Return’

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As the Pop Up Park committee we have been overwhelmed by the outpouring of support from New Canaan residents and visitors. It is a testament to our town that even in this time of cyber communication that we still cherish a space where we can meet, shop and enjoy our summer months together, young and old, as a community. However, we recognize that we must respect the wishes of our merchant community as well. Although we feel as if we included them in the decision-making process of earlier this year, some merchants felt as if their voices were not heard until after we had secured permission to launch the Pop-Up Park for the summer. It is worthwhile to note here that we had heard and continue to hear from merchants that were very supportive of the Pop Up Park and felt it was a benefit to their business while others did not.

Around Town

Pop Up Park Creators Eye Summer 2016 Re-Launch

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Though they stopped short of specifying just where the Pop Up Park would be located in the future—a major sticking point for a group of downtown merchants who oppose it—those who created and for three summers operated the makeshift plaza on the final block of South Avenue said Wednesday night that they plan to launch it again next summer. There will be no Pop Up Park in 2015, despite an online petition and many New Canaanites on social and local media platforms calling for its return, Betsy Wilson, a Realtor who serves on the Pop Up Park Committee, told the Police Commission. “Our goal by early 2016 is to have approval for next summer,” Wilson told the commission at its meeting, held in the Training Room at the New Canaan Police Department. “It’s not going to be open [in 2015]. What we are going to do is continue to organize.”

That means inviting all stakeholders to help forge a workable site and operational plan, Wilson said, as well as defining committee members’ roles, developing liaisons to emergency response agencies, launching a website, branding the Pop Up Park with a formal logo and securing funding through a GoFundMe campaign, Wilson said.