News

Tourism Committee: Mid-Century Moderns Association, Consistent Messaging Among Focus Areas

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New Canaan’s cultural heritage should be spotlighted and promoted, according to a volunteer committee of the town. 

The focus of the Tourism and Economic Development Advisory Committee, known as ‘TEDAC,’ includes increasing resident usage of New Canaan’s downtown area and other attractions, and developing communication strategies using existing platforms in order to bring more visibility to what the town can offer, according to members of the committee. 

Addressing the Board of Selectmen at its July 9 meeting, TEDAC Interim Chair Tucker Murphy described some of the research the committee has undertaken. She said the group has taken up a survey of people who have recently moved to New Canaan as well as an economic study of the downtown area. One of the things Murphy said the committee has discovered is that locals “may not fully take advantage of all we have to offer.” 

“If just the people of New Canaan used all the services and all the businesses that were here, we probably wouldn’t be having this discussion,” TEDAC member Robert Doran said at the meeting, held at Town Hall. The question, he added, is “How do we leverage what we have amongst the people who live in town already?”

“And then reach out to other communities to join us,” he said. Murphy referenced a presentation sent to the selectmen prior to the meeting.

Podcast: Here Comes the New Canaan Sidewalk Sale

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This week on 0684-Radi0, our free weekly podcast (subscribe here in the iTunes Store), we talk to Tucker Murphy of the New Canaan Chamber of Commerce and Steve Karl of Karl Chevrolet about the planning, activities and uniqueness of the Sidewalk Sale & Village Fair, which will be held Saturday. This week’s podcast is sponsored by Walter Stewart’s Market. Look for their signature Model T at Saturday’s Sidewalk Sale for special sales on Connecticut’s freshest local produce. Here are recent episodes of 0684-Radi0:

Business

‘Lilly Pulitzer’ Opens on Elm Street 

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An established women’s clothing store with East Coast locations that include Greenwich has opened on Elm Street. Lilly Pulitzer, a self-described “resort lifestyle” brand that feature printed dresses and swimsuits, opened in part of the retail space at 146 Elm St. that had been occupied by design solutions. Launched in the 1950s in Palm Beach, Fla. by Lilly Pulitzer—whose husband Peter was grandson of Joseph Pulitzer, founder of the Pulitzer Prize—the company makes clothing that suits “happy, colorful and free” moods, according to its website.

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‘I Have No Inclination’: Police Commission Rejects Proposed Parking Meters on Main and Elm

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New Canaan’s local traffic authority voted unanimously Wednesday night to reject a proposal to start charging for parking on Main and Elm Streets. 

The Police Commission voted 2-0 to deny the proposal for metered parking in the heart of the business district. 

Chairman Sperry DeCew noted during the Commission’s regular meeting that officials are still investigating whether the business district can gain back 13 spaces lost last year due to the town’s decision to observe a state law regarding buffers near crosswalks. “It was changed 50 years ago for pretty good reasons, and people have gotten used to having that enticement to shop and everything else,” DeCew said during the meeting, held at the New Canaan Police Department. He referred to the fact that Elm Street used to have parking meters. 

“I have no inclination to change the current situation,” DeCew said. 

He and Commissioner Jim McLaughlin voted 2-0 to deny the recommendation, which originated with the New Canaan Parking Commission. That appointed group had voted 3-2 at a meeting earlier this month in favor of the change, with advocates saying it didn’t make sense to offer up the most coveted spaces for free while charging for parking further out, and that it was the only way New Canaan would get employees of downtown businesses, stores and restaurants out of the free spaces designed to served shoppers and diners. Asked for her opinion by the Police Commission, Parking Manager Stacy Miltenberg, a guest at the meeting, said she personally didn’t support it. 

“I don’t believe it would be beneficial to merchants or anybody coming into town to park,” Miltenberg said.

Chris Hering

‘We Are Being Reasonable’: Facing Rebuke from Commission Chairman, Parking Manager Defends Enforcement 

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During a tense meeting last week that included menacing language from an appointed official, the head of New Canaan’s Parking Bureau defended the town’s enforcement officers against accusations that they’re aggressive and sneaky about issuing tickets. 

Not only do enforcement officers ask motorists to move prior to ticketing them, but many tickets are voided by the Parking Bureau before they ever come before the appointed body that oversees the town department, Parking Manager Stacy Miltenberg said Thursday night. “We give leniency,” Miltenberg said during the Parking Commission’s regular meeting, held in Town Hall. 

“If somebody is sitting in the car and in a no parking zone, we ask them to move. Let me tell you what the staff and I am encountering by these people out on they street: They don’t want to move. Excuse me for being like this, but we are taking such crap from these people that you don’t see the other side and I have to defend the department. We are not out there—we’re short-staffed to begin with and we are not out there watching people and sneaking up on people.