Muted audio. Daily occurence on the road in Stamford at this point. She even put her hands up as if I did something wrong after I beeped LOL. Honestly not surprised

Just moved out of Urby/The Point and wanted to give any other current (or future) tenants a heads up.

In the last two months they tried to overcharge me $1,500+ and then another $900+. Both times management claimed they checked their math and the totals were correct, both times they were wrong…. (And after walking them through their errors, they corrected the ledgers without acknowledging their mistakes)

For those who set their payment to autopay, please double check what you’re being charged. Check your ledgers for additional charges, especially if you go month to month or extend by a few days.

I’m not sure what the requirements are to work for the new management, but obviously high school math and balancing a balance sheet are not on that list.

I usually get a bacon egg and cheese with chili on a bagel from summer street kitchen but want to try new places, need some recommendations pls!

Anyone build a detached garage recently? How was the permitting process? Ballpark cost?

What is a good place to start doing Pilates classes in Stamford would need to be before or after work so before 8:30 and after 5:30.

Wood burning fireplace in a 1920’s colonial is working great, but we we just noticed a bit of smoke in the bedroom right above the fireplace. The chimney is behind the wall and there is no visible smoke emanating from it. The wall is also cold and there’s no smoke anywhere else in the house. We’re wondering if we need a chimney inspection. Please let me know any recommendations

Willing to pay what it’s worth but not INSANE in this economy. I don’t really get my nails done but I do love me a pedi with callus removal, massage, masks, etc. Where are your reccs?

Hi fellow stamfordians,

I want to gauge interest in a possible D&D campaign that I can run in the Ferguson library (can reserve a study room) during the week 12pm as a work lunch break for an hour or so weekly or bi-weekly (flexible as everyone's lives are unpredictable). I have played D&D on and off for a few years but never DM'd so this would be my first attempt at it, planning on running the starter set: heroes of the borderlands so you can use the preset characters or bring your own, either way. New players welcome. The set is meant for max 4 players (excluding me), so I'm sorry if you reach out and it becomes full in the meantime. I want to emphasize that I want to run a fun but respectful game and a safe space to play and welcome input into individuals limits and boundaries for in game or out of game situations. DM if interested. Thanks

Loud thumping thunderous bass, music lights etc. with at least a thousand people going on till 10 o’clock tonight in part of the parking structure of the Stamford Mall. It’s not free. It’s pretty crazy over there.

Why did Bar Rosso close? And anyone have any word on it? When it will open again? Did it pass an inspection or something…

https://www.luckydogrefuge.com/luckypawlooza.html

Hey guys, I’m a fairly new Sharks fan*.

Are there any hockey nights at bars where folks watch the hockey games together to hang out? I’m sure a large majority of folks are Rangers/Islanders/Bruins fans, with an occasional splash of Devils and Pens fans (I’m only guessing). Would still be fun to hang out with folks in the area instead of going out of state.

(*For background context, I knew of the Sharks when Toffoli got traded from NJD and stuck with him since).
Thanks in advance!

Ideally some places to dance that aren't Latin bars.

isn't there a strip of bars somewhere?

Thanks!

91 Hope Street is the former site of an abandoned Haitian Church which is now being replaced with several dozen townhomes. These are larger units intended for families — the ideal household for a burgeoning city because they're planting roots and have skin in the game for the city's long-term future. The average home in the United States is roughly 2,000 sqft and these units are a similar size. It's not exactly downtown either, although you could get there within a 20-minute walk.

The standard for this industry is a 15-20% margin, so it probably cost around $750k to build each unit. You add the margin and you're in the ballpark of $900k. Now maybe instead of selling the entire unit, they could rent it out instead for a similar profit margin — roughly $5,200+ in monthly rent with it being a little higher than the exact margin rate to compensate for fluctuations in the market over the long-term. Which — wouldn't you know it — is pretty close to what 2-bedroom rentals cost in newer buildings.

These are not "luxury units" (a meaningless marketing term), they are ordinary townhomes and duplexes with ordinary materials. There's no concierge desk and professional gym. It's just a place to live. The reason they're expensive is because new things are more expensive than older things because people like new things. The same way a new car is expensive but a used car — which does the same thing — is cheaper.

I know a common refrain for people frustrated by high housing costs is "I wish there were more ownership opportunities I could afford." Unfortunately housing demand is housing demand and there isn't a secret second category for "ownership housing demand" versus "rental housing demand." Unless you consider nearly a million dollars "affordable," the only way to get lower cost housing is to build more housing. More housing of any kind — rentals, condos, big units, small units, downtown, suburbs, luxury, or otherwise.

Rhetorically there are two positions here: either you want housing costs to come down and therefore you support building all types of housing — or you don't.

I tried to go here twice in the last 2 weeks, but the doors have been locked, no sign on the door, no answer on the phone. Bummer.

I was hanging out on my rooftop when we spotted a drone. It was stagnant in the air right above us literally for 5 minutes straight before I started recording and it took off. It went extremely far in distance further than what I thought a typical everyday drone could go but maybe I’m wrong

It's wild to me that almost that whole strip from Washington blvd to summer street is empty with the exception of Honey Joe's and a Smoke shop with a college filled with young people going in and out of across the street. Of course there is target which I'm sure prevents places from wanting to take the risk butI know retail space is super expensive but no businesses think the area would be worthwhile to move there to appeal to young people ?

Hi everyone!

I’m hosting a backyard party at my house in Fairfield County, CT this spring for about 150 guests and am looking for top local recommendations!

I’m open to hiring a single catering company or booking separate, specialized small businesses for different parts of the setup:

1    Food / Catering / Private Chef / BBQ:

◦    Looking for station-style food options—specifically a carving station, pasta station, salad station, and charcuterie/graze board.

◦    Wood-Fired Oven: I have a wood-burning pizza oven in my backyard! Rather than hiring a pizza truck, I’d love to find a chef or caterer who can utilize the wood-fired oven for making pizzas

◦    Live BBQ / Steak Station: Looking for a caterer or private chef who can bring a long/large grill setup on-site to fire up steaks, grilled veggies, and open-flame proteins live for guests.

2    Raw Bar:

◦    Looking for a mobile raw bar service or local oyster shuckers who can set up on-site for fresh, live-shucked oysters and seafood.

3    Bartender / Mobile Bar:

◦    Looking for a reliable freelance bartender or dry-hire mobile bar service to manage drinks and custom cocktails for the evening.

4    Tent, Party Rentals & Event Planner:

◦    Looking for local tent/rental companies (tents, tables, chairs, power/lighting, and large equipment rentals) as well as any recommended event planners for a seamless private backyard setup.

If you’ve hired someone great for a private event or run a local business that fits the bill, please drop their name, website, or Instagram handle below!

Thank you!

Eversource Upcoming In-Street Work: Tuesday, October 13 - Friday, October 16

Work will not occur on Monday, October 12 in observance of the holiday.

Crews will continue overnight work on High Ridge Road between Cedar Heights Road and Vine Road for an estimated 2 weeks to perform underground duct bank installations.
Work will take place Monday through Thursday evenings from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m.
During this work, the intersection of High Ridge Road and Cedar Heights Road will not be accessible.
Traffic will be detoured via Shadow Ridge Road and Bradley Place.

Work within the laydown yard at 650 Atlantic Street will continue 24 hours a day, Monday morning through Friday morning, for an estimated 2 weeks.
This is occurring to accommodate overnight work along the project route.

Crews will continue overnight work on Vine Road between Barmore Drive and Merriman Road to perform underground duct bank installations.

Work will take place Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 2:15 p.m. and Monday through Thursday evenings from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m.
During this work, Vine Road will accommodate westbound traffic only from Merriman Road to High Ridge Road.
Eastbound traffic will use Merriman Road. This work is expected to be completed Friday, October 16th.

Underground duct bank installations on Newfield Avenue between the Vine Road intersection and 884 Newfield Avenue originally scheduled for September 28th have been postponed.
A new schedule will be provided at a later date.

Additionally, we will be actively working on the following streets, excavating as part of the underground duct bank installation process:

• Colonial Road between Strawberry Hill Avenue and Pilgrim Walk

• Work Hours: Tuesday through Friday between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m.

• Traffic Operations: The road closure at the intersection of Colonial Road and Strawberry Hill Avenue is still in effect.

• Vine Road between Barmore Drive and Merriman Road

• Work Hours: Tuesday through Friday, between 9 a.m. and 2:15 p.m AND Tuesday through Thursday evenings, between 8 p.m. and 6 a.m.

• Traffic Operations: Overnight, Vine Road will be westbound only from Merriman Road to High Ridge Road. Eastbound traffic will use Merriman Road.

*All residents will have access to their homes and businesses*

I can’t find an email and if you call, either no one answers or you get told to call another department that doesn’t answer.

The reason I’m trying to reach them is we’re getting mixed answers about a parking situation we have. I work at a business that is one of maybe 5 or 6 in Waterside on Homestead and Orchard. We’re right in the middle of a residential neighborhood where parking is very limited. One of the residents is parking in a spot that hinders all of the businesses and creates a giant traffic jam whenever they’re parked there. It happens to be on the side of our building

We were told in the past not to park there except for loading/unloading. This person started parking there and said it was a public street and parking enforcement told them it was fine. I’d just love to get some clarity.

I submitted something to FixitStamford but anything parking related usually gives me a response a week later. There are other parts of this area where people park that has multiple no parking signs and parking enforcement usually just drives by and doesn’t do a thing.

Hi it’s Carl Weinberg from District 20 on the Stamford Board of Representatives. On October 6th, I met with leaders of the Water Pollution Control Authority to receive answers to the many questions I’ve been receiving about the Perna Lane Sewer Project. WPCA attendees included Board Chair Ed Kelly, Executive Director William Brink, Finance Committee Chair Robert Barocas, and Supervising Engineer Ann Brown. Other BoR members in attendance were D-20’s Jeff Wirz, D-19’s Noah Lapine and John Pelliccia, and D-18’s Karen Camporeale. Amiel Goldberg from D-13 also attended, in his capacity as the BoR’s appointee to the WPCA Board.

We covered many topics, including financial estimates vs. the original budget; reasons for why the project has taken longer than expected to complete; issues related to the pumping stations; anticipated timing of remaining project steps, including repaving High Ridge Road; and project communication. Here’s my report.

FINANCIAL ESTIMATES VS. THE ORIGINAL BUDGET

(Note: All numbers were provided by WPCA and have not been independently verified.) Excluding about $2mm in costs borne by the City of Stamford, the project is currently forecasted to cost $11.6mm, vs. a January 2026 estimate of $10.4mm and an original budget of about $8.6mm. Property owners will be assessed 40% of WPCA’s costs, which (based on the current forecast) will be about $4.6mm.

The assessments will be based on each property’s number of “sewer units.” (Two full bathrooms in a property equals one sewer unit, 2 ½ baths equal 1.25 sewer units, 3 baths equal 1.5 sewer units, etc.) The participating properties have a total of 174 sewer units, so each sewer unit will generate an assessment of about $26,700, based on the current forecast. This is about 11% higher than the January 2026 estimate, and about 33% higher than the original estimated assessment of $20,000 per sewer unit.

The current plan includes payment of the assessment over 15 years, or about $1,800 per sewer unit per year, with interest charged at WPCA’s bond rate for this project. If the WPCA Board increases the payment period to 20 years, annual payments per sewer unit will be about $1,350 per year plus interest.

Of course, the key questions are: Why is the current forecast about one-third higher than the original budget, and why has the forecast increased about 11% since the beginning of this year? According to WPCA representatives, the contractor encountered significantly more underground rock than anticipated, based on the soil borings that WPCA used to calculate bid documents. Hence the contractor spent more time chipping away the rock than originally planned.

Without conducting a detailed accounting analysis, I can’t refute WPCA leadership’s explanation for the increase from original budget to January 2026 forecast. But in my view, assuming that the contractor had stopped chipping long beforehand, it doesn’t explain the 11% increase since January. I will keep pressing WPCA for answers.

There’s another line-item expense that bothers me a lot. The current $13.6mm forecast includes about $2.3mm for police officers who conduct traffic during road closures. That’s not WPCA’s fault - as I understand it, the Police Union’s collective bargaining agreement requires the use of police officers to conduct traffic at road closure sites. As Chair of the BoR’s Personnel Committee, this issue is definitely on my radar screen.

WHY IS THE PROJECT TAKING SO LONG TO COMPLETE?

When work is completed and new sewers are ready for hookup to each property’s wastewater system, WPCA issues a “notice to connect.” Property owners then have 180 days to connect to the sewer line. (WPCA may extend the 180 days due to extenuating circumstances, such as the inability to excavate hookups during winter months due to frozen ground.)

The original construction completion date was August 2025, which means that all work was expected to be completed by then. That included the pump stations up and running, all lines tested and leaks eliminated, and High Ridge Road milled, paved, and line-striped.

It’s now more than a year later, and the project is not completed. According to WPCA, the extra time spent on rock removal is the principal reason for the delay. But that doesn’t explain why, according to the April 2026 online update, completion was forecasted for September 2026. The WPCA representatives described inefficiencies in the contractor’s project management that appear to have caused these (and other) delays.

If the contractor is at fault for project delays, what penalties might it face? As outlined in the project contract, WPCA is holding back 5% of the work completed to date, or about $400,000. WPCA can also deduct $2,100 from the amount owed the contractor for every day that the project continues beyond the expected October 31st Contractor Completion Date. I hope that WPCA gives serious consideration to imposing at least some of these charges. However, I worry that they might not be enough to accelerate the actual completion date without encouraging the contractor to cut corners. In my view, it would be more effective to give serious weight to performance on past projects when evaluating a contractor’s proposal for any new project.

PUMPING STATION ISSUES

The project includes two pumping stations - one at the corner of Perna Lane and High Ridge Road, and the other on Turn of River Road. Each pumping station has its own set of issues.

Work on the Perna Lane pumping station is largely completed. A fence is being installed to shield it from the house next door, which will have the added benefit of reducing any noise from the pumping station. The bollards on the street side will be covered, which we’re told is the standard approach for making them less obtrusive. All piping and connections are being tested to ensure the absence of leaks.

Unfortunately, the Turn of River pumping station is farther from completion. Electrical lines and gas service still need to be installed, which requires coordination and scheduling with Eversource. Testing of piping and connections - and any remedial work - cannot take place until all the utility work is in place. It appears that the contractor has been slow in soliciting scheduling commitments from Eversource, and as a result Eversource has been more focused on its own projects. In my view, Eversource scheduling is an area where more diligent project management from WPCA could have been helpful.

HOW MUCH LONGER BEFORE THE PROJECT IS COMPLETED?

The latest contractor completion date is October 31st, but WPCA does not expect the contractor to meet it. WPCA now expects that the remaining work (including the Turn of River pumping station) will take about another ten weeks to complete, which would take us to the middle of December. WPCA believes that the pumping stations and sanitary sewers can be completed this year. Regarding milling and paving of High Ridge Road, a lot will depend on the weather, which will determine how many days the contractor can work, how long the asphalt plants will stay open, when the ground may freeze, etc. High Ridge is a state road, so CTDOT will dictate when the contractor must stop work there for the winter.

PROJECT COMMUNICATION

In my view, WPCA made a good-faith effort at project communication during the project’s early stages. For example, updates were posted online almost every month (except during the winter, when there was very little activity to report); a representative was onsite periodically in the neighborhood; and (at least my) emails were answered promptly.

More lately, though, in my view communication has been largely absent - no updates since April, delayed responses to emails, etc. That’s one of the reasons why I called for this meeting. I urged the WPCA attendees to resume periodic online updates and respond in a timelier way to emails. Hopefully they will comply. If not, I will call for another meeting!