(HARTFORD, CT) – Governor Ned Lamont of Connecticut,
Governor Kathy Hochul of New York, and Governor Phil Murphy of New Jersey today
announced an agreement on the suballocations of extraordinary federal emergency
relief funding apportioned to the region by Congress to mitigate the historic
pandemic-related losses in transit system ridership and revenues.
After negotiations, the states agreed that approximately
$10.85 billion of the funding will be for New York, $2.66 billion will be for
New Jersey, and $474 million will be for Connecticut.
This funding, provided from the Coronavirus Response and
Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2021 (CRRSAA) and the American Rescue
Plan Act (ARPA), recognizes that the tristate area was among the hardest hit by
the pandemic and provides the resources necessary for the nation’s largest
subway, commuter rail, and bus services located in these states to avoid
layoffs, furloughs, and severe service reductions. These transit agencies
ensured essential workers could be where they were needed most, and this
funding will help support their longer-term recovery and sustainability.
“The agreement reached by Connecticut, New York, and New
Jersey is great news for our region,” Governor Lamont said. “It ensures
critical federal funding is now available to support the recovery of our
states’ public transportation systems that suffered tremendous financial losses
resulting from the pandemic. I thank Governors Hochul and Murphy for their
collaboration to achieve this.”
“I want to thank President Biden, Senate Majority Leader
Schumer, Senator Gillibrand, and Speaker Pelosi for securing this much-needed
transportation funding,” Governor Hochul said. “The New York City and tristate
region can’t fully recover from the pandemic without our transit agencies
effectively and efficiently moving millions of people in and out of New York
City each day. As a result of a series of productive conversations with my
fellow governors, I’m glad that we have reached an agreement that is beneficial
to all.”
“Nothing is more critical to our region’s economic recovery
than our mass transportation system,” Governor Murphy said. “With this
agreement, we ensure a reliable and safe commute as workers return to their
offices. I thank President Biden, Speaker Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader
Schumer, and the New Jersey congressional delegation for their leadership on
this issue, and Governors Hochul and Lamont for working with New Jersey to
strengthen our region’s transportation networks.”
Excitement spreads as New Canaan Library breaks ground on new building
NEW CANAAN — As workers broke ground on the new library
project last week, Executive Director Lisa Oldham said she is hearing a
“constant refrain of excitement” from the community.
Library officials had originally wanted to break ground on a
new 42,642-square-foot modern library in June, but that desire was held up due
to calls to memorialize the 1913 portion of the building by preservationists.
Even the final few steps to obtain proper permits took longer than anticipated,
according to Paul Stone, the COO for Karp Associates, the project’s
construction and contracting company.
But now Stone said he is “super excited,” for the new
library which “will be a hub” for people.
The $38.5 million project touts a children’s library three
times the size of the present one with a dedicated tween section; many
experiential co-working meeting areas; and a large living room with a fireplace
designed similar to one built by Harvard Five architect Eliot Noyes.
“I am thrilled to see construction underway,” First
Selectman Kevin Moynihan said Monday. “I look forward to seeing steel in the
air by mid-winter and a glass enclosed structure by Spring 2022.”
A large mound of dirt sits on the corner
of South Avenue and Cherry Street as topsoil is being piled. Fencing
is being erected around the perimeter and a staging area for construction
workers is being cleared at the northwest corner of the Center School parking
lot.
The new building will be built around the current one, with
sections from 1913 to 1979. The current library will be used until the new one
is built.
The project was
delayed as the Planning
and Zoning Commission met eight times to address concerns from
preservationists who wanted to keep
the 1913 library. Now, the
library is working to meet
a December deadline imposed by the commission to design a memorial of
the antique portion of the building.
The New Canaan Preservation Alliance filed an appeal in the
state Superior Court late this summer on the P&Z decision to proceed with
the new library. According to the lawsuit, the alliance is seeking the court to
“enter an order finding the commission’s action in issuing the approval to be
unlawful and null and void, and directing the commission to deny the
applications.”
The appeal process did not, however, prohibit the project
from beginning construction.
“We will work with Planning & Zoning and Centerbrook
Architects to develop options to respectfully and meaningfully preserve parts
of the legacy building,” library Board of Trustees President Robert E. Butman
states on the library website, while they “determine its location so it is
thoughtfully integrated” in the campus.
In August, the Town Council approved
$10 million and a loan for the project, and then
preservationists failed
to get enough signatures
for a referendum, to stop the use of town funds.
The foundation will start being poured next month and steel
framework will be constructed from January to March, Stone said.
The architectural plan “references modernism” to celebrate
the legacy of the Harvard Five Architects, who settled in New Canaan in the
1940s and still have an influence on architecture, Margaret Russel, the
editor-in-chief of Architectural Digest, said in an online video for the
library. “(It) navigates everything we need for the present.”
The new library will be “a modern, future-focused platform
for community learning,” Oldham said.
As one enters the new library, plans call for foot traffic
to flow through the concourse, which Oldham calls the “heart” of the building,
acting as a “busy place of connection.” There will be an art gallery at one end
of the concourse and a children’s library at the other with stairs leading to
the expansive living room on the second floor.
The plans call for “a rich and varied learning ecosystem,”
with an “infrastructure for the imagination,” Oldham said.
Childrens rooms are designed to include a cozy story time
room and a mess-proof, carpet-free room with a sink for arts and crafts and
STEAM learning. The books will be also be placed on a level where small children
can engage with them.
There will be also private meeting rooms for teenagers
upstairs.
Oldham showed plans for a business center and a maker-space
where people with common interests such as computers, technology, science,
digital art can meet and collaborate. Additionally, a 600 square-foot
conference room has been designed for a wide range of digital learning that
will accommodate 30 people, various personal computer hookups and a large
monitor for instruction.
An auditorium upstairs will be able to seat 300 people and
will have “floating” walls, so a number of smaller meeting rooms can be made to
accommodate nonprofits and other community organizations. There will also be
demonstration kitchen for cooking classes.
“Personally, I am delighted that after years of exhaustive planning and hard work, the New Canaan community will son get the New Library they so richly deserve,” Moynihan said.
Newtown rezones 40 acres of industrial land to allow 170 age-restricted apartments for seniors
NEWTOWN — A Greenwich developer’s plans to build 170
age-restricted apartments for seniors on town-owned industrial land
took an important step forward when Newtown agreed to rezone the property,
clearing the way a final detailed review of the multimillion-dollar deal.
“This is the culmination of a 15-year effort by the town,”
said Don Mitchell, chairman of Newtown’s Planning and Zoning Commission during
a public hearing last week. “A previous proposal was for 12 or 15 industrial
buildings on this spot — which is right near the stream and good water sources
… and through the Hubbard facility, which is all flowers and animals and
children and stuff — so I hate to lose industrial land, but this is a very
difficult spot to put industrial in.”
Mitchell is referring to a 42-acre property on Commerce Road
that Newtown has been trying to sell for economic development for two decades.
It is next to the 34-acre Catherine
Violet Hubbard Animal Sanctuary, a nonprofit founded in the memory of a
girl killed in the Sandy Hook shooting.
Newtown in August reached
a deal to sell the property to Teton Capital Co. of Old
Greenwich to develop about eight acres with three- to four-story apartment
buildings, and to preserve the rest of the land as open space.
William Donohue, managing member of Teton Capital, said
during the public hearing that blueprints would likely change, but the spirit
of the vision was to preserve as much of the land’s natural character as
possible.
“I caution that is this is a preliminary concept
(because)…we are in the midst of doing technical analyses on the site, but the
idea is to have multiple buildings on the site and for each of the buildings to
have parking underneath it,” Donohue said. “We want to preserve as much of the
open land as possible because it is such a beautiful site — and we don’t want
the view of cars to ruin that.”
Newtown’s five-member Planning and Zoning Commission gave
its unanimous backing for the zone change, clearing the way for Teton to submit
a detailed site plan, when issues such as traffic, safety and aesthetics will
be debated.
“I had asked before where you you will be able to see this
from,” Mitchell said during the Nov. 4 public hearing. “Unless you are passing
by on Commerce Road on your way to the Hubbard (sanctuary) it is not that — I
mean, this is big, but it is not in your face, unless you’re down there.”
Town leaders in August praised the agreement as a good deal
for Newtown and a good fit for the Commerce Road corridor, just south of
Interstate 84’s Exit 10.
Depending on the number of apartments approved, the sale
would bring Newtown between $3 million and $4 million.
The developer has agreed to split the cost with the Hubbard
nonprofit of building a $1.2 million driveway from Commerce Road to both sites.
“This is a tough parcel, and I can’t imagine an efficient
industrial use on it … that would be as good for this spot or as consistent
with the development of that area,” Mitchell said. “And this has a gigantic
piece of conservation land, which is important, especially in that area with
all the wetlands.”
The rezoning approval is the latest development in a string
of commercial proposals in Newtown.
In July, a Boston
developer won the bid to convert two Fairfield Hills buildings into a
mix of apartments and commercial use. That same month an Ohio
distributer of automotive, electrical and chemical supplies announced
it would establish its northeast headquarters in the 140,000-square-foot former
Hubbell factory off Route 25.
In April, a Vermont
RV dealer with plans to convert a former warehouse site into a $7
million showroom and service center was granted a tax-break package as an
incentive.
White House rushes with infrastructure fixes for U.S. economy
JOSH BOAK, Associated Press
BALTIMORE — The Biden administration is relying on
infrastructure dollars to help fix the clogged ports and blanket the nation
with internet access — but a series of initiatives rolled out on Tuesday show
that the urgent pace might not be fast enough to address the immediate needs of
an economy coping with a supply chain squeeze and a shift to remote work.
President Joe Biden spoke with the CEOs of Wal-Mart, Target,
UPS and FedEx on Tuesday about how to relieve the supply chain challenges as
ships are still waiting to dock at some of the country's leading ports. The key
problem is that these ports are experiencing record volumes of shipping
containers as the economy has recovered from the pandemic.
Biden received updates from the CEOs on how deliveries are
being sped up to ensure that store shelves will be well-stocked this holiday
season, according to a White House official. Bloomberg News first reported
Biden's conversations with the corporate leaders.
Yet the concrete policy steps being discussed by the
administration show that there is no quick fix to supply chain issues that are
still hurting smaller businesses and causing consumers to face higher prices.
Nor can the administration build out a national broadband network fast enough
as more Americans are pivoting toward remote work.
Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo highlighted at the White
House briefing the $65 billion for broadband access in the the $1 trillion
infrastructure package that cleared the House on Friday. She said that jobs
would be created and poorer Americans would receive “affordable” internet
service, though she did not spell out a precise dollar amount on what the
monthly bills could be.
The plan involves careful logistics that would take time to
implement. Each state would receive at least $100 million to help lay
fiberoptic cables and ensure its citizens can access the internet. This process
would occur as jobseekers are increasingly requesting remote work where they
can work from home on their computers.
“The president wants us to get it right,” Raimondo said.
“And if it takes a little longer to lay the groundwork for fiber and broadband,
then we’re going to do that.”
Similarly, the administration announced plans on Tuesday to
identify and pay for possible upgrades to U.S. ports within the next 90 days —
hoping to ultimately tamp down the inflation being caused by ships waiting to
dock and a shortage of truck drivers to haul goods.
As the U.S. emerges from the coronavirus pandemic, the economic
recovery has been hampered by congested and aging ports. The mix of inflation
and the potential for empty store shelves during holiday shopping has created a
sense of frustration for many Americans and hurt President Joe Biden and
Democrats politically.
Senior administration officials said Tuesday that the
Transportation Department would allow port authorities to redirect any leftover
money from grant projects to address the supply chain issues. For example, the
Georgia Ports Authority will use $8 million to convert its inland facilities
for the port of Savannah into container yards, freeing up dock space and
speeding the flow of goods to their final destinations.
The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the
forthcoming plans, which come on the heels of the House backing the bipartisan
infrastructure package late Friday. The package includes $17 billion to improve
coastal and land-based ports that can help to tackle the challenges in the
longer term.
Biden's team is moving straight ahead in promoting the
possible benefits from the broader infrastructure package, though they've
largely shied away from claiming that Americans could see clear and
demonstrable changes to their lives before the 2022 midterm elections. The
focus, instead, has been on how the spending on roads, bridges and broadband
will help the U.S. economy compete against the rest of the world.
The president in remarks to Democratic supporters on Tuesday
signaled that he will look to remind voters in the months ahead of the infrastructure
win. He noted “the last president” promised to pursue legislation but failed to
deliver.
“So it was left to us,” Biden said at the virtual event
hosted by the Democratic National Committee. “We got the job done.”
Administration officials said the ports initiatives being
announced Tuesday would make the supply chain faster, more efficient and
environmentally friendly in the medium to longer term.
Biden will highlight the administration's efforts by
visiting Baltimore's port on Wednesday. It's part of a broader effort to show
that the administration will tackle the inflation that has left Americans
feeling more pessimistic about the economy. Updated figures for the consumer
price index will be released Wednesday, with the previous report showing prices
were 5.4% higher than a year ago.
The Baltimore trip is designed to highlight the types of
investments that the administration believes will help unclog the supply chain.
The port in Baltimore is adding container cranes and adding a 50-foot berth
where ships can be unloaded. The administration has also approved grants so
that the Howard Street Tunnel — a train artery that opened in 1895 — can be
expanded to ferry double-stacked containers on railcars.
The Biden administration earlier helped broker an agreement
to increase the hours of operation at the Port of Los Angeles, but it's been
difficult to immediately fix this challenge.
Additional steps include launching a $240 million grant
program in the next 45 days to modernize ports and marine highways. Within 60
days, the government wants to identify repair projects and opportunities to
deepen harbors for larger ships that can be a guide for more than $4 billion in
construction by the Army Corps of Engineers.
The government will also look over the next 90 days at which
ports of entry should be upgraded and expanded as part of a $3.4 billion
investment. It also plans within 90 days to open the first round of more than
$475 million in grants for ports made possible through the newly passed
infrastructure package.
The Transportation Department intends to publish a playbook
for states on freight movement and issue guidance on best practices, so that
the value of the infrastructure investments can be maximized. There will also
be a request for information by the Transportation Department to improve data
collection and sharing to improve the efficiency and transparency of the supply
chain.
$100 million in federal funds to go toward restoring, preserving Long Island Sound
New London — With the passage of a $1.2 trillion bipartisan
infrastructure deal last week, $106 million has been allocated to restore and
preserve Long Island Sound.
Rep. Joe Courtney, D-2nd District, Sen. Richard Blumenthal,
New London Mayor Michael Passero and environmental stakeholders held a news
conference Tuesday at Ocean Beach Park to discuss projects the money will fund.
The $106 million will supplement the Long Island Sound
Geographic Program, which supports the Long Island Sound Study. The study
is funded by federal and state dollars through a joint effort from the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency, Connecticut Sea Grant and New York Sea Grant,
and it focuses on improving water quality and restoring the Sound’s ecological
balance, among other initiatives.
“Today we’re here to talk about Long Island Sound, which is
going to receive $106 million for an infrastructure upgrade for stormwater
technology to make sure that the overflows that happen with storms are not
going to soil Long Island Sound and degrade the water quality and environment,”
Courtney said Tuesday. He credited Connecticut U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-3rd
District, who chairs the House Appropriations Committee, for making sure the
states on the Sound would secure the funding.
Meant to be spent over five years, the $106 million is in
addition to yearly federal allocations, including $40 million for the upcoming
fiscal year. The state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection will
manage Connecticut's share of the money, though it has not been determined
yet how much of the funding the state will receive. Organizations and
municipalities will be able to apply for grants.
Blumenthal said the more than $100 million is “the most
significant single investment in Long Island Sound in our history.”
“It’s not only about the money. It’s about the federal
commitment. It’s a recognition that the entire nation has a stake in Long
Island Sound,” Blumenthal said Tuesday. “This is also about climate change.
We’re going to see more flooding, more erosion. The purpose of this $106
million is not only to protect wildlife and Long Island Sound but to prevent
flooding and erosion.”
Gesturing to a nearby cove, Passero said the money for the
Sound will have a local impact. “I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention Alewife
Cove, which is right here to the west, which is a very, very important estuary
that feeds the Sound and really needs money to help us to dredge it.”
Long Island Soundkeeper
Bill Lucey said that while the state and its environmental groups have
had to work with limited budgets for a long time, the infrastructure deal
funding is “real” and “long-term money.”
“We want to have hundreds of acres of restored coastal
wetlands, eelgrass beds. Everyone wants to enjoy abundant local seafood that’s
clean, that’s healthy. Nobody wants to be swimming around in sewage-strewn
beaches,” Lucey said.
“We’re going to construct miles of dunes and living
shoreline," he added. "We are going to restore coastal wetlands.
And we’re going to protect the wildlife as well as our homes and businesses
with this type of funding. We need state-of-the-art wastewater treatment
systems so that while we do all this work to clean up the Sound, we’re not
putting the pollution right back in.”
Blumenthal said New York also must enhance its efforts to
preserve the Sound.
“You cannot keep Long Island Sound clean if you don’t treat
the wastewater, and it isn’t just Connecticut, it’s New York as well. I’m going
to be very blunt: New York is the environmental bane of our existence. Its
wastewater plants are decrepit, degraded and ineffective, and we are the
victims,” Blumenthal said.
“No one should think this $106 million is going to solve
this problem for every town and city along the shore in Connecticut or Long
Island, for that matter," he added. "It’s going to take
additional investment from the state and localities. The reason we’re here
today is because New London has done it right and is at the forefront of trying
to keep the Sound clean.”
New London remains the only municipality in Connecticut with
a stormwater
authority. Meant as a way to address consistent flooding on Bank Street,
the utilities department, as the result of the creation of the Stormwater
Authority in 2019, took over operation of the pump station from the Public
Works Department and has been mapping the city’s entire stormwater system and
investigating the causes of flooding in parts of the city.
Gov. Ned Lamont earlier this year signed Public
Act 21-115, “An Act Concerning Climate Change Adaptation,” which allows
municipalities to establish a stormwater authority.