August 13, 2009 3:21 am

Just Who Is Politicizing East Ave Widening?

First we take a look at the meat of the Hour article:

The resolution lends the city’s support to both projects and states that city staff will consider residents’ comments and concerns, and work to incorporate grass snow shelves, plantings, pedestrian amenities and underground utilities into the widening of East Avenue, between the railroad bridge and Interstate 95.

Councilman Douglas E. Hempstead last month put forward several language revisions aimed at making the road-widening project more than simply asphalt.

Here is Doug Hempstead doing what council members are supposed to do, making language changes to Council resolutions so that they are clear and convey what the council as a body wants to accomplish. So no, it wasn’t Doug Hempstead trying to politicize East Ave.

District C Councilwoman Laurel E. Lindstrom, who opposed the road widening and resolution as originally proposed, lent her support to the resolution in a written statement.

“Keeping the small-town feel of Norwalk while accommodating the realities of the city we’ve become is at the heart of residents’ concerns,” said Lindstrom, who is also president of the Eastern Norwalk Neighborhood Association. “And the amendment to add further public information sessions will allow opportunities for additional comment.”

The amendment, added by Lindstrom, states that city staff “will conduct further public information sessions during the development of the roadway improvement project.”

Here is council member Laurel Lindstrom making sure that the public has input into the the final design considerations of the planned widening. She opposed the previous resolution, made amendments to address her concerns and voted for the current resolution. So no, it wasn’t Laurel Lindstrom politicizing the widening East Ave.

District C Councilman Nicholas D. Kydes, who fully supported both projects from the start, thanked the East Norwalk Business Association, its President Winthrop Baum, and “all the people of East Norwalk and Norwalk in general that have signed my petition to move this forward.”

Wait, what’s this? A petition? Don’t people who are not in government create petitions so that people in government can see that there’s a constituent demand for something?

“I’m glad we got beyond the politicization of this project and are moving it forward,” Kydes said. “Now all of Norwalk will benefit from this definitely needed improvement.”

And now for the clincher. Announcing that the politicization is over. Well he should know, because he certainly is prime candidate for politicizing an issue. It’s like he’s running a campaign or something. Oh wait.

source: The Hour,�Council OKs plan for widening East Avenue, By RObert Koch, August 11, 2009

http://intensedebate.com/people/ENW ENW

Do we inhabit this man's world or does he inhabit ours? I guess it depends on who you ask.
http://intensedebate.com/people/SecondhandRose SecondhandRose

"Small town feel"?? LOL, Norwalk hasn't had a "small town feel" since at least the 1940s. I think Laurel is talking about some other place – maybe Wilton or Ridgefield. hahahaha
http://intensedebate.com/people/Zackery Zackery

Secondhandrose I don't know what part of town you live in but I live in East Norwalk and to me it does have that "small town feel" much more than Route 7 in Wilton does…
http://www.intensedebate.com/people/SecondhandRose SecondhandRose

I've lived in or visited a few different areas of the US over the years and I've also lived on George Avenue in East Norwalk for about 10 years. I hate to disagree with you, but East Norwalk is nothing like "small-town America". There is nothing "small town" about East Avenue, Van Zant Street, Beach Road, or East Norwalk's close proximity to I95 and Route 1. You want a "small town" feel, maybe you should move upstate to some place like East Haddam or around that neck of the woods, because that type of "small town" feel has been gone from Norwalk for more than 50 years.
http://intensedebate.com/people/jillcooks jillcooks

The "small town feel" that Norwalk or E. Norwalk has has nothing to do with roads, it has to do with people. If you lived here for any stretch of time, people seem to know their neighbors and they stay here..if they can. Wilton is a corporate town as is New Canaan and that other one that thinks Rowayton is theirs. Go to a locally owned restaurant,(outside of SONO)or a "club" there is where you will find your small town feel.
http://intensedebate.com/people/SecondhandRose SecondhandRose

Well yeah, if you want to consider the East Avenue "center" near the historic cemetery as "small town" I suppose you have a point. Of course, there you can enjoy the deteriorating buildings, empty storefronts, lack of pedestrians and shoppers and nonexistent vibrant businesses. That's certainly "small town" these days. The close proximity of these very busy roadways that I've mentioned before have done nothing for this part of town except assist in its rundown appearance, while other areas adopt an attitude of snobbery and price themselves out of most people's pocketbooks. Either way, there's nothing "small town" about East Norwalk. No open space (unless you consider Taylor Farm, and that belongs to everyone, not just East Norwalk), houses built practically on top of one another, varying in some degree from either almost falling down or extremely well taken care of (just drive the length of Gregory Boulevard, you can see both ends of the spectrum in some cases right next door to each other). The side streets are crowded; there are boatyards and businesses crammed together with houses and apartments (the Cove Avenue area comes to mind here), frankly much of East Norwalk looks like a business district well gone to seed.
http://intensedebate.com/people/NwlkNative NwlkNative

SecondhandRose: It is interesting that you consider George Avenue "East Norwalk". That area of Norwalk, including Westport Avenue, County Street, Walter Avenue, etc. were never considered East Norwalk until Laurel Lindstrom started her ENNA association – all of a sudden we are in East Norwalk! Don't think so. East Norwalk started, or ended, where the turnpike crosses Strawberry Hill – at least that is where most old time Norwalkers consider East Norwalk.
http://www.intensedebate.com/people/SecondhandRose SecondhandRose

Sorry, the post office considers it East Norwalk, it's got nothing to do with me. And I lived 3 houses in from the Sunset Hill end of George Ave., kitty-corner across the street from the top of Lockwood Lane.

In the first 5 years of my life I lived upstairs over the West Venezia Pizzeria on Cove Avenue until we moved to West Norwalk. My mother grew up on Bethel Street where I spent a significant amount of time since my grandmother lived there well into the 1980s, next door to the Burrs (who still live there, and who bought my grandmother's house) and my aunt, my uncle, and a bunch of cousins all lived on Lorena. I used to ice skate on the Mill Pond in the winter; and play on the banks in the summer. The Market Basket was our grocery store and my cousins and I would buy candy at Cove Variety. When I got older and moved into my own place, I used to do my laundry where Partners Cafe is today.
http://intensedebate.com/people/HateThis HateThis

George Avenue zip code is 06851 – East Norwalk zip code is 06855. So – not that it exactly matters, but really I don't think the post office considers George Avenue East Norwalk. The kids in this neighborhood go to Naramake, and the kids considered East Norwalkers go to Marvin, so I don't think the BOE considers us East Norwalk either. I refer to this part of town as the Stew Leonard's suburbs.
http://intensedebate.com/people/VeryCurious VeryCurious

I thought it was called the Bettswood part of town.

http://intensedebate.com/people/turfgrrl turfgrrl

VeryCurious: By my map reading, East Norwalk is east of the Norwalk River, West Norwalk is west of West Ave. Middle Norwalk is the strip in between comprised of lower Norwalk — South Norwalk or SoNo and upper Norwalk, North Norwalk or NoNo. There are neighbourhoods within each geographic section. For real definitions though, the boundaries of the three cities, South, East and Norwalk are probably a tad more accurate.
http://intensedebate.com/people/SecondhandRose SecondhandRose

It is, by some people. And Bettswood Ave. was less than a 2 minute walk from my front door on George.

Also, the dropped field to the right of the intersection of Tierney Street and Strawberry Hill, which was less than 4 minutes up the street from my front door, was known as "Jupp's Hole" according to Malcolm Hunt's "Names and Places of Old Norwalk". And the Tierney Street Deli (or whatever name it's known by today) was less than a 4 minute walk in the opposite direction from Tierney/Strawberry Hill.

http://intensedebate.com/people/NwlkNative NwlkNative

VeryCurious – you are right and Westport Ave/WalterAve/County/Strawberry were known as the Peat Swamp (or "Pete") Swamp area!! Across U.S. 1 was the Wolfpit Area. TheThird Taxing District is East Norwalk.
http://intensedebate.com/people/SecondhandRose SecondhandRose

I also voted at Nathan Hale.
http://www.intensedebate.com/people/SecondhandRose SecondhandRose

I also voted at Nathan Hale, not that that has much to do with anything I guess.
http://intensedebate.com/people/HateThis HateThis

Um, who cares and what does it matter?