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The What

The What: Communities Crack Down on Vape Shops; Urban Core Reconnection in Norwalk; Glenbrook Community Center in Stamford; and more

The What is your look around southwest Connecticut for the week of October 5.

The What: Communities Crack Down on Vape Shops; Urban Core Reconnection in Norwalk; Glenbrook Community Center in Stamford; and more
Hope your October is off to a good start! (Photo by Kelly Prinz)

Monday, October 5

Happy Monday! Heads up to commuters—Walk Bridge construction disrupts train schedules this weekend and we’ve got the latest on efforts to restrict vape and smoke shops across Lower Fairfield County.  

Highlights 

This section gives a brief overview of the key items in the newsletter.

  • Communities like Fairfield, Norwalk, and Bridgeport are taking steps to crack down on the growing number of vape and smoke shops in their municipalities. 
  • In Stamford, the last steps for the future of the Glenbrook Community Center are on the agenda for the Board of Representatives on Monday, Oct. 5 at 7:30 p.m. The board will be voting on appropriating $2.5 million—$850,000 of which is from city bonds—for repairs and restoration for the center as well as a lease with Domus Kids, Inc. to re-imagine the space for mixed-use development and community space.
  • In Norwalk, there will be an Urban Core Neighborhood Reconnection Planning Project kick-off meeting on Tuesday, October 6 at 6 p.m. This project aims to “address longstanding barriers created by I-95 and Route 7 and improve connections between neighborhoods and destinations throughout Norwalk’s urban core, particularly focusing on the West Avenue / Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. (MLK) Drive corridor.

Spotlight

This section features our main reporting each week.

A smoke shop in Norwalk (Photo by Kelly Prinz)

Nearly 100 vape and smoke shops are in operation across Norwalk, Fairfield, and Bridgeport, with dozens more in other communities. And officials say they’re causing a lot of issues. 

“With the legalization of adult use cannabis in 2021, it took the state of Connecticut by storm, these smoke and vape shop problems,” Norwalk Police Chief Jim Walsh said in January 2026. “We're not the only community, but unfortunately, Norwalk has per capita a very large quantity of vape and smoke shops.” 

Walsh said that the city has “probably 15 to 18 bad actors that we've investigated several times and arrested several times.” 

“The smoke shops have been a significant strain on our resources,” Fairfield Captain Matthew Riendeau told the Planning and Zoning Commission in September. 

Bridgeport Lieutenant Jonathan Duarte said in June that they’ve seen a dramatic rise over the past two years or so—and have made more than 15 arrests during that time. 

“The issues that we've seen over the last year and a half in relation to the smoke shops, is honestly atrocious,” he said. “This is a serious issue. The residents of Bridgeport deserve an opportunity to be safe in their homes and on the streets of the city of Bridgeport.” 

Many of these businesses aren’t following zoning rules and regulations laid out by cities causing major problems for law enforcement and city staff.

“We had one open up recently, just no permits—they just opened up, put a sign up and started selling stuff,” Steve Kleppin, Norwalk’s planning and zoning director, told the Ordinance Committee in January 2025. “That’s one where the police went shut them down, and they closed, they reopened up with a new name, so it’s going to be a little bit like whack a mole with these businesses because they’re not following the rules to begin with so no matter what teeth we put in, they’re just going to try to circumvent them at every opportunity.”

Still, Kleppin and others said that some of the recent efforts by local municipalities to crack down on these stores can make an impact.

See how Norwalk, Fairfield, and Bridgeport are working to address these challenges. 

ICYMI: Explore the latest construction taking place along the Walk Bridge in Norwalk as work continues this weekend and will impact Metro-North schedules.

This Week at a Glance

This section includes a list of meetings, events, and programming happening around southwest Connecticut each week.

Bridgeport

Featured Meetings: The City Council will meet on Monday, Oct. 5 at 7 p.m. and review multiple items, including a resolution to address some of the impacts from the new parking ordinance. On Tuesday, October 6, the Board of Education Instruction & Support Services Committee will meet at 5:30 p.m. and hear presentations on efforts to address the district’s literacy crisis and chronic absenteeism.

Stamford

Featured Meeting: The Board of Representatives will meet on Monday, Oct. 5 at 7:30 p.m. and vote on the last steps related to the future of the Glenbrook Community Center. The board will be voting on appropriating $2.5 million—$850,000 of which is from city bonds—for repairs and restoration for the center as well as a lease with Domus Kids, Inc. to re-imagine the space for mixed-use development and community space.

Norwalk

Featured Meetings: There will be an Urban Core Neighborhood Reconnection Planning Project kick-off meeting on Tuesday, October 6 at 6 p.m. This project aims to “address longstanding barriers created by I-95 and Route 7 and improve connections between neighborhoods and destinations throughout Norwalk’s urban core, particularly focusing on the West Avenue / Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. (MLK) Drive corridor. In addition, the Land Use & Building Management Committee will meet on Wednesday, October 7 at 7 p.m. and review numerous items including a new tenant at the South Norwalk station and final plans and cost estimates for the Norwalk High School project. 

Fairfield

Featured Meeting: The Dwight School Building Committee will meet on Tuesday, October 6 at 2 p.m. and receive a project update. Learn more about school construction across lower Fairfield County.

Greenwich

Featured Meeting: The Greenwich Conservation Commission is hosting a special event called “How Other Towns Are Saving Money On Renewables” on Thursday, October 8 at 7 p.m. The event will feature four panelists around the state sharing their varied experiences, different funding strategies and lessons they learned.

Darien

Featured Meetings: The Board of Selectmen will meet on Monday, October 5 at 7 p.m. and review multiple items including updates to policies at Great Island and an inventory of charter and ordinance changes. On Tuesday, October 6 at 7 p.m., the Planning and Zoning Commission will host a public hearing on the town’s proposed 10-year master plan.

Westport

Featured Meeting: The Board of Finance will meet on Wednesday, October 7 at 7:30 p.m. and vote on multiple items including appropriating $176,000 for a study for the future Coleytown Elementary School project; $172,5000 for the design and permitting costs for the Jesup Road Bridge Replacement; and $1.12 million for Safe Streets initiatives. 

Stay in touch!

As we continue to grow and evolve, please join us! You can do that by:

Please note: All of these agendas and information here are current as of Sunday night. Meeting times and agendas may get adjusted throughout the week.

Have a great week,

Kelly Prinz

Founder, Reporter at Coastal Connecticut Times

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