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Celebrate World Car-Free Day in Norwalk
Tomorrow – Friday, September 22nd – is World Car-Free Day, a worldwide initiative that invites the public to reimagine how we move around our cities. We invite you to check out the benefits & resources below and make a plan to get around car-free tomorrow. There’s also an opportunity to be featured on the City’s…
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It’s time for Connecticut to step up in the fight for democracy
As the 2024 election rapidly approaches, the Democratic Party is once again positioning the choice on the ballot as a dichotomy between democracy and fascism. The actions of the Republican Party and its most fervent supporters in the wake of the 2020 Election match this description — unfounded claims of widespread election interference, restrictive voting…
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After seven years of lawsuits & negotiating, why is the City resorting to eminent domain?
For years everyone in the City and Redevelopment Agency told us all that they had no plans to use eminent domain in any circumstances. They told us that the 2019 Wall Street West Avenue Redevelopment Plan did not contemplate using eminent domain. There was absolutely no mention of eminent domain in the draft Plan, until…
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P&Z’s ‘Soft Growth’ isn’t soft, it’s more of the same
One couldn’t help but notice a recent headline in NoN’s counterpart news outlet: “P&Z staff outlines upzoning to provide ‘soft growth’ in Norwalk” I’ve long since resigned myself to being NoN’s Cassandra on all things development, so let’s just dive back through the wringer, once again. But this time, I’m going to try simple math. Imagine a…
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My local government body continues to disappoint me!
It wasn’t until a few weeks ago that I received a text from a friend who is an employee in City Hall that made me aware of a hearing that night on zoom that the Common Council Ordinance Committee was holding to ban blowers and backpacks in the city. No emails were sent to alert people, nothing…
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Gas powered leaf blower ban proposed for Norwalk
Listening to the public hearing as I write this, regarding the ordinance proposed banning the use of gas-powered blowers completely by 2027/2028 and in part as soon as September 2024. There are a lot of landscapers and homeowners that were uninformed about this until yesterday when it was published that there would be a public…
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Stop polluting my air with your lawn care
Of all the “modern conveniences” ever invented, surely the most odious is the gas-powered leaf blower. It poses a double threat with its air and noise pollution. It’s time to stop polluting the air in the name of lawn care. That’s why Friends of Animals will be asking the Norwalk Common Council Ordinance Committee, at…
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Norwalk NIMBYs: Put your money where your mouth is
Amid all this rancor over the not-actually-that-bad* proposed upzoning of some of Norwalk’s single-family neighborhoods, one of the most common claims has been that the NIM – ahem, I mean, ENNA – represents a strong majority of Norwalkers. People keep asking with bewilderment, “How did these people get elected?” ** as if they don’t know…
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Norwalk’s new Zoning Plan is lipstick on a pig
Don’t let these bureaucrats fool you, people of Norwalk. Under the guise of “progress” they seek to destroy our family-oriented small town suburban feel like thieves in the night. They want you to be alright with the progress they seek to design. Don’t get me wrong here, progress and growth can be a good and…
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Let P&Z know you oppose drafted moves toward more density
It is not surprising that in the last two meetings of the Planning and Zoning Board resident after resident condemned the proposed changes. Our hope is that NON readers will add their voices to those opposed to the contemplated changes by turning this letter into a petition to the Board, common council members and Mayor.
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Norwalk’s density is by Rilling’s design
A truly amazing meeting last night (Wednesday June 21st) with the Norwalk Zoning Board to discuss the upcoming revisions to the City’s Zoning Regulations. As you may be aware (I’m assuming most Norwalkers aren’t) the City is planning a revision to the City Zoning maps with the intention of consolidating the number of zones and to, “increase…
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We need pride in Norwalk now more than ever
In some ways, there has never been more LGBTQ+ Pride in Connecticut. From flag raising ceremonies, to family-friendly comedy shows, to street festivals and parades, there’s a little something for everyone. But none of it really matters if we don’t show up for it. That’s right—we. I’m counting myself, but I’m counting on you, too.…
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The Golden Rule sails again!
On January 7th 1945, the last V2 rocket to fall on London in World War II fell in our street. I was only eight years old but there are things one does not forget, the noise, the smoke, the dust, the smell, the cries and the blood.
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Norwalk needs proportional representation for all parties
It’s interesting that the Charter Revision Commission hasn’t opened the database of public suggestions and comments. Likely because if they did, they’d show just how many of them they ignore. To be sure, most of these suggestions are going to be inane, wrongheaded, self-centered, and misguided. To quote Tommy Lee Jones from Men In Black,…
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Remembering Norwalk residents who died during wartime service
Every year when the calendar flips to May, I think about how the month will end. The unofficial start to the summer season and the month with a revered holiday, Memorial Day, will be celebrated again in the country. How does the country “celebrate”? Should the country “celebrate”? Maybe, observing or commemorating Memorial Day, is…
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Memorial Day memories
On the day before Memorial Day 75 years ago, the dedication ceremony for Richard Kemper Memorial Park took place at Mamaroneck High School in Mamaroneck, N.Y. Richard Kemper, a former MHS student and my uncle, was killed on Aug. 6, 1944, exactly two months after D-Day in the Battle of the Hedgerows, the effort to…
