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The What

The What: Longtime Businesses Forced to Move as Commercial Spaces Sit Empty; Budget Votes; Flood Resilience in Norwalk

The What is your look around lower Fairfield County for the week of April 20.

The What: Longtime Businesses Forced to Move as Commercial Spaces Sit Empty; Budget Votes; Flood Resilience in Norwalk
Hope you all enjoyed the warm weather last week! Photo by Kelly Prinz

Monday, April 20

Happy Monday! It’s a busy week around southwest Connecticut. How is the new newsletter format serving you? Let us know what you think (or if you have an issue/topic you’d like us to cover) at coastalconnecticutimes@gmail.com. 

Highlights 

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

Spotlight

This section features our main reporting each week.

For Anne Grossman, the owner of Rebel Daughter Cookies in Norwalk, all of the issues started about a year ago. It began with one the roads to her business being closed. Then came the construction noise, followed by equipment taking up designated parking spots—all of which led to frustrations from customers. 

“Foot traffic has been down, but the people who do come in—it seems like nine out of 10 people are complaining about how hard it was to find us,” she said. “And if they were able to find us, how they were dodging the heavy construction equipment and felt like things were going to be falling on their heads, or they were getting yelled at by the construction people, or by the cops who are blocking the road. And so it just has not been a pleasant experience.”

After months of this, Anne officially announced her decision to close Rebel Daughter Cookies, at least at its current location. 

Rebel Daughter Cookies sits behind the Wall Street Place Development in Norwalk, which is currently under construction. (Photo by Kelly Prinz)

And she’s far from the only one. 

A few miles down the road, the building of the locally beloved distillery 1420 SoNo is also scheduled to be demolished within a year to make room for 32 apartments. 

Just a few towns over in Fairfield, at least three businesses—Las Vetas Lounge, Catch a Healthy Habit Cafe, and the Fairfield Barbershop—have to move from their location on Unquowa Road to make room for 50-unit residential building, which was initially denied by the town’s Planning and Zoning Commission in 2022. But the developer appealed in court and eventually won. The revised plans call for a 5-story building with 50 units, of which 8 are affordable, and two retail spaces. 

But at the same time, as these new mixed-use developments pop up around the region, they’re adding commercial spaces that sit vacant sometimes for months. 

Let’s dive into these opposing trends—and what officials are trying to do to address some of these issues. 

Explore our full piece or check out our video highlights.

This Week at a Glance

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

Bridgeport

Featured Meetings: There are two public hearings on the budget this week. The first is on Tuesday, April 21 at the Budget and Appropriations Committee at 5:30 p.m. on the city and school district’s proposed budget and on Thursday, April 23 at the Budget and Appropriations Committee at 5:30 p.m. on the proposed capital plan. 

Stamford

Featured Meeting: The Transportation Committee is meeting on Monday, April 20 at 6:30 p.m. and will be voting to dissolve the Stamford Transit District.

Norwalk

Featured Meetings: The Board of Estimate & Taxation will meet on Monday, April 20 at 6:30 p.m. to vote on the proposed budget. Also, on Monday, April 20, Norwalk will host a Flood Resilience Presentation at 6 p.m. to give residents an update on the city’s flood resilience plan. 

Fairfield

Featured Meeting: The Board of Selectmen will meet on Tuesday, April 21 at 4 p.m. and hear updates on the budget, the town’s Safe Streets initiative, and the Aquarion sale.

Greenwich

Featured Meeting: The Planning and Zoning Commission will meet on Thursday, April 23 at 10 a.m. and discuss the housing bill passed in November and its impact on local communities.

Darien

Featured Meeting: The Darien Planning & Zoning Commission is meeting on Tuesday, April 21 at 7 p.m. to discuss and vote on a proposed moratorium of large multi-family projects for one year.  

Westport

Featured Meeting: The RTM Finance Committee will meet on Tuesday, April 21 at 7 p.m. to review and discuss the proposed 2026-2027 school district budget. 

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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