NORWALK, Conn. – South Norwalk residents have mixed feelings about a developing plan for a major project in their midst, according to one community activist.
Corrine Weston of the Sono Alliance agrees with others that Washington Village, a Norwalk Housing Authority project that was built in the 1940s, needs to be razed and rebuilt. But she’s concerned about the plan’s specifics.
“The people who are in Washington Village don’t like it at all because they’re afraid they will not be able to come back,” she said. “The people that are around in the area love the idea because to them, it’s going to build up, it’s going to be nicer and everything. Then we have people that are really outside of the area, and are on the perimeter, and they’re just taking that wait-and-see kind of look and saying, really, how is that going to benefit South Norwalk in the scheme of things?”
Weston made the comments at Monday’s meeting of the Coalition of Norwalk Neighborhood Associations. Members suspect that none of the current residents will come back to Washington Village after moving out in advance of demolition.
Weston agreed. “They know that if certain things are in play they will not come back. A lot of them are saying, ‘once I move out and five years go by, why would I want to come back?’” she said.
Only 26.6 percent of Washington Village’s current residents are committed to staying there, according to a survey published on the Norwalk Housing Authority website.
Weston is frustrated that the Sono Alliance has not been kept in the loop, as many informational meetings have taken place without the group being informed. She said the people who need the information are not getting it.
“Even the people who do not live in Washington Village are getting a conflicting story,” she said.
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