Stamford Summer Bar Tour [6] - 122 Pizza Bistro

Pizza Bistro 122? Have I fallen off the stated mission of bar hopping into a restaurant romp, not unlike my brief detour into a Townhouse Cafe tour? Known simply as "The Bistro" to rowdy group of townies who can often be found cramming a sliver of bar space any night of the week, 122 Broad St has one of the most popular restaurant bar scenes in Stamford

BlogStamford was joined on this stop by about 8 co-workers hungry after an all day event of corporate team building. Any self respecting group of office drones knows the key to retaining ones sanity in the workplace is to grasp onto an inside joke and punch, kick, strangle, and bulldoze every ounce of funny out of it. My crew shares a love of Willford Brimley's Liberty Mutual commercial and his non-standard pronunciation of of "diabetus". See for yourself:



Maybe the warm cozy feeling of the Bistro reminded me of fireside at Wilford's because I decided to start shouting lines from the commercial at various co-workers. Everyone was loving the bit about how some people still didn't know their testing supplies could be covered by Medicare. The part about Liberty being a participating Medicare provider killed. The free of shipping went over huge. Or so I thought. No one was laughing. Was the joke finally dead? Was I the asshole doing a bad impersonation of Borat a month too late all of a sudden? What had happened? Was our newest associate, a shy, straight out of college girl and possibly the one person in the group not aware of Mr. Brimley's work to save us money and hassle on buying meters the X-factor in the mix? No, but maybe it was her boyfriend who had just met us out, dangling a shiny medical bracelet from his wrist and apparently fresh off telling the entire group (minus a certain distracted blogger) about his diabetes.

Clive's is Coming

So I found a flyer tucked under my windshield wipers that wasn't for some DJ, but a new restaurant on Bedford St.

Egane & Clive's is having it's grand opening on July 4th. You can check out the website here. The website doesn't say anything about Egane's, the Korean BBQ place that is still in 135 Bedford St location, but the cuisine is still listed as an offering on the flyer:

Korean BBQ, RAW OYSTER BAR, Breakfast (sat. & sun), SOUTH & WEST BLEND MENU

According to the site, it's run by a lifetime resident of Stamford, Clive Haynes. I haven't noticed any renovation to the place, but Egane has been up for sale for quite some time (along with almost every other business on Bedford).

So from the sound of it, we get to keep the Korean BBQ, which is pretty unique and worth a try, loose one of 100 sushi bars that there are in a 10 block radius and get an Oyster Bar, South/West & weekend breakfast menu to replace it. Kind of out there, but I'm sold.

Ice, Ice Carty

I very excited to just bump into a shaved ice cart in downtown Stamford. What's better than a dixie cup of flavored syrup diluted with some icy mush on a hot day? This is the first time I've seen one in Stamford. When I lived in the Bronx these things were everywhere. Now if we could get some extra crappy food trucks for the last call crowd and we'd be set!

Live @ Five Open Thread #2 - "Isn't the lead singer dead?"

So last night was less crowded and more subduded, at least from my corner table at Fin 2. I rode the scene out to the end last night with my ninth stop on the bar tour (yes, I'm slightly behind writing them up). Everybody out there in one piece?

UBS Buyout Impact

Publius on Topix (This guy knows his shit. Who is this masked man? It safe to assume he works in city government based off some of his insights he’s made there previously) has the best take I’ve seen on what the rumored UBS buyout could mean to Stamford.

The tax deals to bring UBS (and others) here do not hurt the city taxpayers. First, a good part of the difference is paid to Stamford by the state; that's why Moira Lyons was involved. Second, the portion of taxes Stamford receives from UBS today, even with the incentive, is considerably more than it was receiving from the Helco building, Rice School, and assorted auto sale and rental lots. And third, once the state tax deal ends, the city gets the full tax load from UBS.

IF UBS remains in that property the full tax amount will come to Stamford directly. IF UBS cuts back employees, it may still keep the property as is, or it may lease out portions, but it is the building that is taxed, whoever is in it. IF UBS leaves the city entirely, the chances are the building will be sold and marketed to someone else, and taxes still will be collected on it.

Worst case scenario: UBS leaves, the building is sold to a speculator and not fully rented. The tax incentive is gone, so the new owner has to pay full taxes. He appeals the assessment based on less than full occupancy, and gets a reduction in assessment....
And it is STILL more money in taxes than the City was receiving from the property before UBS bought it.

Now, there are other impacts if UBS leaves: what will it do to the housing and hotel market in Stamford, especially in the downtown? What will be the impact on employment opportunities?

OTOH, there are few buildings in the NY metropolitan area that offer as much space for a single company convenient to a major commuter and Amtrak station. There may be more than one company willing to take the building as is. The tax deals to bring UBS (and others) here do not hurt the city taxpayers. First, a good part of the difference is paid to Stamford by the state; that's why Moira Lyons was involved. Second, the portion of taxes Stamford receives from UBS today, even with the incentive, is considerably more than it was receiving from the Helco building, Rice School, and assorted auto sale and rental lots. And third, once the state tax deal ends, the city gets the full tax load from UBS.

IF UBS remains in that property the full tax amount will come to Stamford directly. IF UBS cuts back employees, it may still keep the property as is, or it may lease out portions, but it is the building that is taxed, whoever is in it. IF UBS leaves the city entirely, the chances are the building will be sold and marketed to someone else, and taxes still will be collected on it.

Worst case scenario: UBS leaves, the building is sold to a speculator and not fully rented. The tax incentive is gone, so the new owner has to pay full taxes. He appeals the assessment based on less than full occupancy, and gets a reduction in assessment....
And it is STILL more money in taxes than the City was receiving from the property before UBS bought it.

Now, there are other impacts if UBS leaves: what will it do to the housing and hotel market in Stamford, especially in the downtown? What will be the impact on employment opportunities?

OTOH, there are few buildings in the NY metropolitan area that offer as much space for a single company convenient to a major commuter and Amtrak station. There may be more than one company willing to take the building as is.

So even if the rumors of a UBS buyout are true, and they remain just rumors as of now, it won't necessarily bring the devastation of let’s say a sub base closing in Groton. It also seems unlikely a new owner would abandon a captial investment as large as the UBS HQ. Of it could be fire and brimstone coming down from the skies! Rivers and seas boiling! Forty years of darkness! Earthquakes, volcanoes, the dead rising from the grave! Human sacrifice, dogs and cats living together... mass hysteria!

Who knows.

McCalls Redux

BlogStamford beats the Stamford Advocate to the punch again. The landmark McCalls sign is coming down as building comes closer to demolition.

Antares is proposing a large office development for the north end of the property called The Gateway. No immediate plans for the southern portion of the plot seem apparent although the article mentions one potential use in consideration.

Discussions about what to do with the land are still open, according to Richard Redniss, a land-use consultant for the Gateway project. One idea is to preserve the building's foundation to create a public access scenic river overlook. Antares, however, has not submitted any applications regarding the McCall's site.

That would be cool considering RBS is developing their strip of land long the Mill River as a landscaped riverwalk open to the public. If Antares does the same and connects to RBS with the land they control south of the tracks we’ll have a significant expansion of the greenway.

Free Ice Cream in the CTW

Downtown and hungry? Webster Bank will be in an ice cream truck giving out free ice cream on Atlantic St today – Sunday.

Here’s the schedule from their site.

Wednesday: 2p – 4p
Thursday: 4p - 6p
Friday: 2p – 4p
Saturday: 1p - 3p
Sunday: 2p - 4p

New Haven Gets The Jump

I’m a competitive type of guy, so this actually pisses me off a little that another CT city is taking the lead on this issue ahead of us. From Design New Haven:

The New Haven Register reports today that the city has received a $10,000 grant to improve bicycle access at Union Station, and also has submitted a federal funding request for $145,000 for on-street dedicated and shared bike lanes connecting Union Station to Downtown New Haven and neighborhoods to the south and north of the city, which themselves have bike routes planned to connect with other sections of New Haven.

So basically New Haven is moving forward to make bike travel to the train station friendlier and increase storage on arrival. Stamford has its own traffic claiming initiative under way where bike lanes are one consideration in a number of techniques designed to slow speeding. While the proposed neighborhood treatment maps include bike lanes, they seem to be mostly left to smaller, secondary roads and excluded from the main thoroughfares that actually connect all the different parts of the city. I suppose bike lanes are just being used to slow traffic by thinning the roads in Stamford. I’d rather see them make a real commitment encouraging actual bike transport as the aim. That doesn’t only have to be people commuting from home to the train station but also beaches, parks, retail centers, etc.

Summer Streets

Here’s something cool to check out in NYC this summer. The city is experimenting with Summer Streets this year which will create roughly 7 miles of car-free streets on three Saturdays in August from the Brooklyn Bridge all the way to the Upper East Side along Park Ave. Cars, trucks and buses will be barred from the streets along the route from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Aug. 9, 16 and 23.

From a New York Times article describing the idea:

Mr. Bloomberg and the transportation commissioner, Janette Sadik-Khan, said the idea was to make the streets a haven for walkers, cyclists and others. Fitness, dance and yoga classes will be held along the route, and there will also be places to rent bicycles. The plan was reported in The New York Sun on Monday.

“Everyone around the world knows about Park Avenue as one of New York City’s most storied thoroughfares, and to turn that over to pedestrians and cyclists, even though it’s just for three consecutive Saturdays, I think that sends a very powerful message that the tide is turning so that bicyclists and pedestrians are on at least an equal footing with drivers.”

I plan to bring my bike down to check it out. Bikes are allowed on the trains off-peak, so the Metro North can’t harass you about it. Could this work anywhere on a smaller scale in Stamford? To some extent we already do for events like Live @ Five, Arts & Blues, and the Farmers Market. Why not try the same idea on lower Bedford on Sundays?

Stamford Under Zombie Attack

Here is a helpful reference for tracking Zombie attacks in Stamford.

Google Maps you so crazy. Thanks to Kate for the heads up!

Shit That Stamford Needs - Nightlife Edition

Ok, when StamfordTalk gets down on the city we are in trouble. I've considered this post for a while, please help build on it. We have a number of great resteraunts and a number of bars that all basically the same. Time to kick it up a notch Stamford, help the kids remember why we are paying so much to live here.

Here's my first pass:

Medium Size Music Venue - a la Toad's Place where national acts can play.
Comedy Club - Again, something that can attract some national acts.
Bowling Alley - something more swanky along the lines of a Bowlmor.
Food Joints that stay open past bar close
Coffee Shops that stay open beyond 9-5

Stamford Summer Bar Tour - Stop [5] Vinny's Backyard

So far the tour hasn't strayed more than 4-5 blocks with two downtown stops (Tigin & SBC) and two downtown outlier stops (Murphy's & Casey's). To keep it interesting BlogStamford headed North into the quaint hamlet of Springdale.

My friend grew up in Springdale and has been back for a extended break. He's been harassing me to come to his local haunt, Vinny's Backyard forever but any time I walked out the door to meet him I realized I could just as easily walk to any number of downtown bars instead. That was before I took a sacred bar tour vow. I'm like a monk... or Batman... is their room for two Bat-Men is Stamford?

So I ventured to Hope St. to Springdale. I was told to look for it in a strip mall across from the Twin Rinks. You can pretend in other parts of town you're living some urban existence, but it doesn't much more suburban than when you're headed to have a beer in a strip mall. Not to sound snotty, but I didn't have high hopes for an establishment that could have conceivably been sharing a row with a Build-A-Bear Workshop.

All that aside I had a good time here. Some good brew, excellent wings, and although I haven't had, I heard the pizza is great. The place is split into two sides, a sports bar and a family dining room. We went on a Sunday night so I didn't get a good sense of the crowd, but Springdale locals is a safe assumption. Vinny's isn't looking to be the Monster B's of Springdale, drawing from all over town, luring people onto party buses to be trucked North. If you have a friend up that way, it's worth a shot.

The Tangled Web of CT Politics

Dan Malloy has a post up on his blog about speaking with Obama at the US Conference of Mayors and noted that the presumptive nominee gave Stamford a specific shout out as "a shining example of a community that works and leads the nation in best practices". Rock!

Here are some fun facts. Malloy supported Hillary in the primary who in turn (albeit begrudgingly) had supported Ned Lamont in his successful primary challenge again Joe Lieberman two years ago. Both Malloy & Obama backed Lieberman in that race who after winning the general for his senate re-election turned and now supports Barrack's opponent Joe McCain. Despite Clintons former support Ned Lamont recently supported Obama's bid over Hillary's for primary. Got that. I think someone needs to chart that out.

WTF?! 50 in Stamford?

So I noticed this headline in today's New York Times.

Rapper 50 Cent Ordered By NY Judge to Forfeit Guns

Ok, nothing out of the ordinary there. But what about this line in the article:

The Stamford, Connecticut-based rapper has denied any involvement in the fire and separately on Friday filed a $20 million defamation lawsuit in a Connecticut Superior Court against Tompkins for statements she made to the media.

Infamous rapper 50 Cent lives in Stamford?! I thought he lived in Mike Tyson's old house in Farmington. Could a Boys II Men collabo at Columbus park be far behind?

I Don't Swim in Your Toilet...

If the downturn in the housing market starts to hit Stamford as hard as the rest of the country maybe they’ll consider measures like this condo complex in Tampa.

Condo using clothing optional pool to increase sales.

Live @ Five Open Thread

The Live @ Five opener was a shit show this year, and I say that in a good way. That had to be the biggest crowd they ever had. I wonder if the event has outgrown the little Columbus Park square (or triangle).

Blues Travller put on a good show, with a full set. I seem to remember other closign acts last year topping off at 45 minutes. I watched half from a bar and half from a roof, so I wasn't down mixing up with the people much. Anyone have any good stories?

Braving Rt. 1

Today was my first attempt at an actual bike commute, Downtown Stamford to South Norwalk. It’s part of my attempt to drive less.

I haven’t had time to figure out a scenic, less congested route that’s not taking me miles out of the way so I took her right up Route 1. A few spots were slightly hairy, but it’s not nearly as dangerous as everyone would think. In any case, I’m looking for an alternative route, especially through Norwalk’s strip mall hell.

The second challenge is sweating. A slow pace and a temperate morning held off the worst today. A co-worker who has biked in the past confessed she will shower out of a bucket in the bathroom on really hot days. I’m looking to avoid a bucket shower if possible.

There’s also no non-shady place to lock the bike down here. Without bike racks, you’re usually left locking down to a rail, fence or pipe behind a building, sharing space with dumpsters and all the fun stuff you can imagine you often find discarded in these areas.

The whole experience though was actually more relaxing than driving which can feel downright combative around here at times. Maybe that will change when the novelty of it wears off. I’m also lucky enough to live & work in walking distance of a train station so I can easily swap a train ride in during inclement weather, hang overs, general laziness, etc.

Try and not mow me down out there if possible.

Stamford has an Erection

Trump Parc is raising the crane to finish the final 35th floor this weekend.

Beware, it’s raining stuff!

Mystery Building on Broad

Here's some potential development news to tide you over until we are clawing over each other to sing the chorus to "Hook" tomorrow night.

Found these renderings on a site for the Bildner Group for a project on Broad St across from the mall. It's listed as a retail opportunity on the DSSD site but I've never heard or seen anything else about it. The architecture is kind of non-descript, but I like the idea of putting that space, currently fenced in lots, to use. Tweak the scale and the design and they might be on to something.

Another Steak House Ready to Bite the Dust?

Anyone else here the rumor Bennett's is closing this summer? Could some potential devlopement be about to go down on Spring Street?

Harbor Pt in Pictures

Finally found some ever elusive renderings of Harbor Point set to finally hit the ground running July 1st. Check them out here.

These pics look like the first phase of development North of the Marina. A description of the website:

The four-phase, 10-year project creates 4,000 new residences, 400,000 sf of retail space, nearly 350,000 sf of office space, a hotel and spa, 16 acres of parks, and more than a mile of shoreline and harbor access—all conveniently located near public transportation. A hotel consisting of 114 rooms plus lobby-level attractions including a wine bar, bakery, and café is at the center of the development. The hotel features a spa and fitness center, meeting rooms, a ballroom, an in indoor pool, and 55 condominiums on the upper floors of the building.

A central square, shaped by the three office buildings and hotel, is the center of social activity. Many of the proposed restaurants and retail components are located in and around the green space providing access to hotel entertainment, the waterfront, parks and various bike trails incorporated into the surrounding landscape.

Stamford Summer Bar Tour - Stop [4] - Casey's Tavern

Stop #4 takes us to one of Stamford's premiere "Craic" Houses, Casey's Tavern.

If Casey's wasn't floating so far out on the fringe of Downtown, sharing an unassuming Woodside Street with a number of rundown houses, I have no doubt it would be one of the more popular bars in town. Then again, transplanting would probably screw with the flavor of this hidden gem. Built in what looks like could have once been a house, going to Casey's feels like you're discovering some cool hole in the wall every time.

Casey's isn't messing with the standard Irish pub script, but that's a good thing. While sometimes Tigin can feel a little forced (no one thinks that rake on the wall ever once touched dirt), Casey's comes off a little more natural. If you're not one of the steady mix of regulars chances are you won't bump into someone you know (although this night I did happen upon my friend Bill from Star Wines) Hit the outdoor patio though where the open air seems to attract some uncharacteristic to Fairfield County interaction among strangers. An offbeat local is usually game to share some bullshit about their screenplay or how they gave up six figures as a stock broker to tar roofs. The patio is pretty nice and more than the prerequisite role as shithole to drop butts like most bars reduce them to. The staff is cool (I've heard the owner Shamus is a great guy) and even the food is pretty decent.

I went this particular night with a group to check out a friends band. We had laugh that the tight layout left the band performing to the bathroom doors as the crowd enjoyed the set off center from the bar and the patio. Good craic all around, I would definitely go more often if I didn't have these miles to go on the mission.

Until next time...

Old Lady Rell Joins the Fray

Governess Rell is in the bike on trains fight now. She’s ordered that the new M8 cars have bike accommodates onboard designed in. Design New Haven has a good chronological summation of the saga up until now posted here. It got me thinking though; it would probably be a major pain in the ass to even get your bike to the platform at Stamford, arguably the largest station in CT. The city might want to put some thought into that as part of their People in Public Places study to improve the pedestrian environment around the transportation center.

Meanwhile, if you’re not sold, here are 17 reasons why bicycles are the most popular vehicle in the world today.

Capturing the Zeitgeist of the City

According to our tracking software the three topics that consistently bring the most search engine traffic to BlogStamford outside of direct site searches are as follows:

1. RBS
2. Alive @ Live
3. Beamers

Look for our next post where I discuss high finance with John Popper over lap dances.

Where Will I Buy My Kiddie Dressers?

The remodel of the old Children's Furniture Store into retail/ lofts on Forest began last week. There was talk of awhile ago of the developer trying to attract a grocer to the ground level. The website is selling it as a prime restaurant spot. My guess is restaurant will win.
Now:


Later:

Bike Hit On Bedford & Spring

Ouch! I feel sorry for the kid, but hopefully next time he'll wear a helmet.

Unfortunately the Traffic Calming workshop for the downtown neighborhood held recently was a joke. Very few treatments were proposed. Little to no attention was given to any of the main roads downtown. One bike lane, few intersection treatments. The group actually got pretty agressive with the group paid to conduct the study over it. Time to go back to the drawing board and make the downtown more friendly to anyone not wrapped in a ton of steel and glass.

Summer Bar Tour Stop [3] - SBC Dowtown

My bar tour tally isn’t quite as lame as it seems, I’ve just been lazy with the updates.

Stop #3 has already been mentioned on StamfordTalk so I’m forced to put on a surge and get back on pace.

Stop #3, SBC Downtown: When Blogosphere’s Collide!

I choose to tackle SBC its most infamous night, Karaoke Thursday. Notably absent this night were the regular contingent of nannies and the Emo dudes who last summer would stand on tables, hang from the rafters and belt the same song every week (a song whose name now escapes me). A stop in from the Happy Hour Club though packed the room on an already busy night. I approached The Management and was bestowed my name tag (I always get doled one that has something to do with the Internet – “I Even Read the Blog” – “You Might Recognize Me From the Website”) and a heads up StamfordTalk was in attendance.

Yes, Stop #3 brought together the CTW’s power elite to the same stage for the first time. Let speculation of the discussion run more rampant than Obama – Clinton’s secret meeting last week. Know that no Dream Ticket was agreed on, but I do recognize that I may need help to win over her die-hard woman supporters.

Not enough time and liquid courage to take the mic tonight. I once brought down the house though with the Bloodhound Gang’s “Bad Touch”. If it’s booty waved in your face your after, this be your jam.

To not discuss the drinks at a brewery is probably some kind of sacrilege, but SBC’s brews never left much of an impression on me. It’s not an SBC original, but a Blue Point Oatmeal Stout on tap did good work. See if a couple are enough to crack a binder open and find a song to serenade some strangers.

Among The Dead

The state recently honored the work of individuals and organizations instrumental in establishing greenways in Connecticut. Stamford’s Mill River Greenway that is beginning to take shape got a nod:

Mill River Greenway, Stamford - Mill River Greenway is a planned 3-mile greenway segment connecting Salsa Park to Kosciusko and Southfield Parks on Long Island Sound.

What is Salsa Park? I was also surprised by this (my emphasis):

It is the first part of Stamford’s long-term vision to create a greenway along the entire Mill/Ropeway River from the Sound to the New York State line. It will help to restore the Mill River and its riparian habitat, improve water quality, and provide a recreation venue for walking, jogging and cycling in a natural environment through Stamford Downtown. It will reconnect wildlife corridors in the City and become the trunk connector of a new open space network. The larger greenway will eventually intersect with the East Coast Greenway and connect to publicly accessible water company lands along the river in North Stamford.

New York State line? I didn’t realize the plan was that ambitious. Very cool, however, I’m sure that’s more of a wish than a reality in anything close to the immediate future. Good to know it’s on the radar though. I’d love to attempt a run or bike ride that spans the entire city and never steps off a trail.

Also along that train of thought, when I posted Antares development map awhile ago I noticed they mistakenly labeled Woodland Cemetery as part of Kosciusko Park in the South End. Unless I’m wrong and people are off barbequing on grandma’s plot, Kosciusko Park is only the peninsula jutting out the very tip. It did get me thinking though, why can’t Woodland accommodate some park land. It is a huge plot that lines the waterfront and I guessed that bodies weren’t being dropped too close to the flood plains. Sure enough, from Yahoo Maps you can see that there a substantial strip of unused woods along the shore. Some trails and/or waterfront boardwalks could connect Kosciusko Park to Ludlow St (with Harbor Park’s promenade being the final connection piece) and make a pretty substantial greenway that lines the entire bottom of the South End.

Hispanic Dudes Have More Friends Than Me

How do they get 25 people together to play soccer together in a park on a Saturday? I have 5 local friends and I can't get more than two of them together to even drink beer. Teach me your latin voodoo and I promise your days of pretending soccer balls are volleyballs at Scalzi nets are over.

Tigin - Stamford Summer Bar Tour Stop [2]

Stop number two on the bar tour is close to my heart and home, Tigin. BlogStamford can often be seen here enjoying some of the best Guinness in town in the architectural equivalent of an English Muffin.

There are two quintessential times to go to Tigin, pub quiz Tuesday and Sunday morning Soccer matches. I’ve blogged about the former already. Of the later I’ll only say that a tough loss can offer up one of the few opportunities in American to see grown men in Harry Potter looking scarves weeping openly in public.

My friend and I made a go at trivia this Tuesday under the moniker The Statue Got Me High. Local art display/ They Might Be Giants reference…no?... fine. A win, or anything close wasn’t in the cards that night. A handout round had us matching authors to a novel/ publishing year. A disagreement over an answer re-sparked the argument from Stop #1 over our divergent perceptions of the 1930’s.

The downtown business crowd only reaches this stretch of Bedford in a trickle. The crowd is slightly older and decidedly more dude, but there is quality to the lady who appreciates this establishment. The nooks and crannies though make interaction with anyone outside the group you came with pretty awkward to maneuver. Best bet is to find an open corner and own a corner with your friends.

Little known fact, Tigin isn’t really an old broke down cottage turned pub. It’s part of a chain out of Georgia.

Captain Planet Approved

Overlooked recently among all attention to Antares redevelopment of 80 acres of brown fields in the South End into a mixed use community is the Metro Green development set to spring up below the tracks. Metro Green is a residential/ office development that will include a 17 story, 250ft office tower facing the tracks (seen left in what looks inexplicably like a ghostly apparition) and a 238 unit residential development to the south. The first phase of the entire project broke ground yesterday, a 50 unit affordable townhouse development on Henry St between Atlantic & Washington. That’s double what the developer was required to provide under Stamford’s mandate to make 10% of all residential development affordable.

Besides the fact the entire development is in walking distance of the Metro North there’s a number of other eco-features baked in.

The development will include a rainwater harvesting system, a high-performance building envelop with a roof that reduces the heat-island effect, energy-efficient mechanical systems and a high-performance roof and insulation system. Additionally, the project will offer a parking garage with a green roof.

Here are some looks at the designs of the affordable housing component from Jonathan Rose Companies.







By the way, life looks great in architectural renderings. Nice weather, everything’s always in bloom, people just doing nothing but walking around and riding bikes. It's like college brochures where everyone is just playing acoustic guitar under some trees.

"I'm an Illusionist Michael, not a Park's Director!"

The Parks Department bought 3 segways to traverse the grand expand that are our city parks. Didn’t they learn the troubles of taking these things off road from GOB Bluth?

Stamford Summer Bar Tour - Stop [1]

BlogStamford has reconsidered the bar tour. We are instead embarking on a Townhouse Café tour.

First stop... drumroll… Murphy’s Townhouse Café.

Classification: Neighborhood Haunt/ Downtown Outlier

I wanted to kick off the journey with something low key and unpretentious so I grabbed a buddy and headed down narrow side streets towards 97 Franklin, a world where 1950’s houses, 1970’s office buildings, 1980’s condos, & 19th century cemeteries nestle together. Sounds jarring, but its strangely fitting for a place like Murphy’s. Whereas the bar flies spill into the sidewalk outside Brickhouse, here I think you could step right out into the street and take sip. (Not necessarily endorsed)

Murphy’s is made up of a tight barroom, a down home dining room, and a wrap around patio. There’s a kitchen at the end of the bar no bigger than my bathtub. My buddy keep insisted the place reminded him of something out of the 1930’s. Something about the ceiling. I didn’t see it, but he persisted. He also claims to have purchased a painting worth thousands for twenty bucks at the Treasure Shop across the street.

Inside a lively, everyone knows your name crowd lined the room. Outside, my acted out tale of a unisex office bathroom embarrassment (not my own) made us some new friends on the patio.

New friend wanted to give me a light.
I don’t smoke.
New friend wanted me to use his lighter regardless.
I had nothing to light.
New friend wanted me to just press the lighter button.
Ok…some things only make sense in bars.
Lighter delivers me an electric shock.
New friend laughs, wants me to try again.
I understand the gimmick now, no further need.
New friend insists.
Some things only make sense in bars.

That wraps a quiet weekday night. Easy walk home, if available, the best feature of any bar.

This concludes the Summer Townhouse Café Tour. We’re left with no choice to re-embark on the original mission. Until then…

What's the Hole in the Ground's Address?

An article in this morning’s Stamford Advocate points to an online tool that people can use to find out their tax assessment. After you swallow that, have some fun using it to see what any property in town is assessed at, who owns it and what they paid for it.

Show Some Love to Bikes Metro North

The Connecticut Post ran an editorial today in favor of greater accommodation of bicycles on the Metro North. Biking to work is not much of a reality in Fairfield County. Unfriendly road conditions are only part of the equation. More pressing is the fact that many of us don't live close enough to our jobs to do a realistic bike commute. Using the train though as an intermediary in a bike from home-to-station, station-to-work commute is a possibility for many. The Metro North, as the Connecticut Post points out, doesn't seem to agree.

Metro-North Railroad doesn't make it easy for the bicycle-inclined, keeping the two-wheelers off peak-hour trains. And when they are allowed, there's no storage to speak of, so riders must stand them in the vestibule, forcing everyone else to walk around them and inviting serious grumbling.

I think this is a great suggestion.

But there are other ways. In California, for instance, Caltrain service south of San Francisco features front cars with no seats but plenty of bike parking. It shouldn't be hard to find old cars around here that have outlived their usefulness for regular passengers but could be gutted for use by cyclists.

One car for bikes during peak hours, that's not asking much. We're giving booze a car to itself.

No word yet on whether California will make Olde Time Stamford guy's head explode in quite the same way as New York. Someone should float that over at Topix and see.

A soggy brown paper bag

NPR ran a story last week where they asked listeners to describe the voices of famous people. So for example, Marlon Brando:

An itch that shouldn't be scratched in public ... but is — Daphne Case

A keynote speaker perpetually on the verge of a sneeze — Sky Chamberlain

Stamford's resident weiny, Joe Lieberman, was on the list and here are the listeners impressions of his oratory:

A flat tire on a Segway — Greg Pyne

A soggy brown paper bag — Tess Wilson

A turtle standing on a stack of telephone books — Tim Rossiter

A grease stain on a new silk blouse — Susan Edwards

Max White [the father character on the TV show Alf] reprimanding Alf for trying to eat the family cat, Lucky — Jami Dennis

The straining engine of a previously owned Yugo — Dave Airozo

An exhausted math teacher who needs to explain what a square is for the Nth time —Nicholas Freidin

A person suggesting we form another committee to look into a "mission statement" after a two-hour meeting — Dina Borzekowski

The fine, boring, important print in your insurance policy — Susan Kunkel

Ben Stein being smothered with a pillow by Ralph Nader — Laura Hooning

A dog's squeak toy after the squeak has been removed — Matt Underwood

The cowardly lion's petite weaselly, older brother — Dawn Francher

A discarded banana peel — Michael Daukrof

Like Gumby and Pokey were his speech therapists — Tina Biege

I'll add to that mine:

The awkward moment after your great aunt makes an out of touch, borderline offensive comment at Thanksgiving dinner.

Confirmed: Granny Panties

Did anyone else wait to night fall to confirm whether Marilyn's undercarriage was sculpted out in the same detail?

Don't judge me... you were all wondering.