Greenwich Time: ‘It’s about the residents:’ Housing Authority rebrands as Greenwich Communities

This article originally appeared on Greenwich Time and was authored by Ken Borsuk.

From left, state Rep. Livvy Floren, state Sen. Alex Kasser, Greenwich Communities Executive Director Anthony Johnson, Greenwich Communities Board of Commissioners Chair Sam Romeo, First Selectman Fred Camillo, Selectwoman Jill Oberlander and Selectwoman Lauren Rabin gather at the special ceremony officially changing the name of the Housing Authority of the Town of Greenwich to Greenwich Communities.

State Sen. Alex Kasser, D-36, was also on hand and brought a congratulatory message from Connecticut Housing Commissioner Seila Mosquera-Bruno. Kasser endorsed the importance of the continued work between the state and Greenwich Communities to build affordable housing in town.

The state has been a partner with Greenwich Communities for the ongoing revitalization project at Armstrong Court.

Selectwomen Lauren Rabin and Jill Oberlander attended the ceremony along with Romeo, commissioners Vincent DeFina and Angelo Pucci, Johnson, Deputy Director Teddy Mardula and Parsonage Cottage Administrator Penny Lore.

“Greenwich Communities says it all,” state Rep. Livvy Floren said. “Housing that enables our neighbors to live and work in Greenwich and build bright futures in their hometown.”

Greenwich Communities has also rolled out a new logo and a new website at www.greenwichcommunity.org.

Romeo said the commission’s rebranding effort is part of its goal to help others.

“It’s about the residents, it’s about the community,” Romeo said. “It’s never about us. All of our residents know that they can count on us. It has been my goal to make the quality of their life better than it was the day before.”

According to Greenwich Communities, its mission is “now more broadly defined than the conventional notion of brick and mortar as the primary focus” and will “eagerly encourage a sense of community, purpose, and personal growth, helping residents to shape their lives productively.”

Central Greenwich

Greenwich residents are invited to help clean up local waters by joining the annual International Coastal Cleanup Day.

The ferry will leave the downtown Grass Island Marina at 1 p.m. Sept. 19 and take volunteers to Great Captain Island for the cleanup event, which held yearly by the town’s Conservation Commission.

Great Captain Island is considered one of Connecticut’s “important birding areas” because it provides an essential habitat for several different species.

Last year, volunteers found a hula hoop and a couch cover in the water and on the shoreline along with the more usual trash items — balloons, plastic straws, takeout containers, cigarette butts and lots of other junk that pollutes the water.

“Each year, docks are damaged, debris is lost overboard and people litter,” said Patricia Sesto, town director of environmental affairs. “While a good deal of this pollution winds up out in the Sound, a remarkable amount also washes ashore.”

Sesto added, “This volunteer effort is essential to keep Great Captain’s suitable for the use of visitors, but more importantly, to cull debris from our natural spaces. Birds will attempt to use plastics of all kinds for nests, other wildlife ingest it. The accumulation of undigestible waste in the gut of wildlife is well documented and often the reason for the animals’ deaths.”

Ridding the coastline of plastics is important to human health, too. Sesto noted that plastic degrades into microparticles that is then ingested by species that humans rely on as food sources.

Meet at the marina at 12:45 p.m. Sept. 19. The return ferry will leave the island at 4 p.m. Those taking part in the cleanup should bring sunscreen and water, and dress appropriately for cleanup work. Masks will be required because of the coronavirus.

Preregistration is required; no walk-ons will be permitted due to the need for social distancing. For more details and to sign up, visit www.greenwichct.gov.

Downtown

A flag raising will be held in Greenwich to mark Mexican Independence Day, or Dia de Independencia, when the cry of independence was first heard on Sept. 16, 1810, triggering a revolution against the Spaniards who controlled Mexico at the time.

The annual ceremony will be held at 10 a.m. Sept. 16 at Town Hall. Byram resident Leoncio Flores will bring the Mexican flag.

Town residents Ann Blumensaadt and Robert Genna organized the annual event. Blumensaadt grew up and went to school along the border in El Paso, Texas, and started the celebration in Greenwich four years ago.

Flag raisings have been done at Town Hall in the past to mark Bastille Day, Columbus Day, St. Patrick’s Day and others. But due to the coronavirus pandemic, those events have been curtailed except for a small event in the spring to mark Greek Independence Day.

First Selectman Fred Camillo is expected to read a proclamation.

Face masks and social distancing will be required. Due to the virus, there will not be a reception in Town Hall, which remains open by appointment only, as there has been in years past.

Western Greenwich

The UJA-JCC Greenwich has teamed up with the Met Council on Jewish Poverty to hold an initiative called Pencils, Papers and Philanthropy to make sure students returning to classes this fall have enough school supplies.

More students have had a difficult time getting the basic supplies they need due to the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

On Sept. 1, more than a dozen local volunteers — who ranged in age from a 4-year-old and teens to parents and grandparents — got together to pack school supplies at a home in town for hundreds of kids in New York City.

More than 300 packets were assembled at this “packing party,” with pencils, pens, folders, notebooks and more stuffed into envelopes and mailed to kids. The list of recipients was put together by the Met Council.

“The community is always at its best when we understand the needs around us and take steps to address the challenges of these difficult times,” said Christine Toback, president-elect of the UJA-JCC Women’s Philanthropy and host of the event. “Our goal with this project is to provide much-needed basics to school children experiencing poverty in our own backyard.”

Pam Ehrenkranz, UJA-JCC’s CEO, added, “We are grateful to all of the volunteers and donors who donated time and resources to make this project a success. And we look forward to future opportunities to care for kids and families in need.”

To make a donation or for more information, visit www.ujajcc.org.

kborsuk@greenwichtime.com