We loved yesterday’s profile acknowledging the 75th anniversary of Charter Oak Communities – describing Fairgate as looking like “the set for a movie about an idyllic suburb.” (Nice in a week in which our city was also ranked in the Top 100 “most livable” mid-sized cities in the US.)
Read it here.
Meet Our New WS NRZ Business Development Specialist, George (Jorge) Hernandez
We’re happy to welcome George to our West Side neighborhood, where he will be available to work with business owners (and those who want to be) looking to expand or improve business. As Business Specialist for the Women’s Business Development Council (WBDC – and they help men too!), George coordinates outreach to Minority Business Enterprises (MBE), entrepreneurs and provides program development. Fluent in both English and Spanish, George will have office hours in the community room at the Fairgate Community Center (9 Fairgate Drive) every Wednesday, 10-3. Feel free to stop by – or call for an appointment: 818-470-3377.
Mark Your October Calendar!
10-7-14 Master Plan Update (Government Center; 6 pm)
10-18-14 Harvest Festival at Fairgate Farm (12-2 pm at the Farm)
What’s new at the WS NRZ?
We had a packed agenda and 30+ people (lots of new faces!) at our 9/17 (quarterly) meeting. In addition to meeting George and learning about new business development opportunities, we heard from Police Captain Bill Mullin (the West Side had a quiet summer) … learned about the new Greenfield apartments, now taking applications for a later-this-year opening (977-1400, x3301 for info) … got a construction update on Stamford Hospital, on track to open mid-2016 … and previewed plans for a mixed-use (residential + medical office space) proposed for the corner of Stillwater/Merrell Avenue, plus a flex industrial building in the works for the CYTEC site on West Main Street.
OTHER NEWS: Congratulations to WS NRZ regular, Thomas Bradford, being honored by the NAACP at the Annual Freedom Fund Dinner (Friday, Oct. 24), celebrating our nation’s oldest and largest civil rights organization.
WS NRZ meetings are now held quarterly: Next up is our holiday party (a new WS NRZ tradition), scheduled for December 9. Then, in 2015, mark your calendars: March 17 and June 19. We’ll continue sending our quarterly eletters, too.
Have you visited us on Facebook recently? We feature news from Fairgate Farm, community and local news announcements, health tips and more. (www.facebook.com/vitastamford)
New Friends: We were honored to welcome Father Alfonse Picone, new Pastor at the Sacred Heart Church on Shuyler Avenue, who came to Tuesday’s meeting. Here he greets West Side business owner Mariana Andrade, whose two local businesses (Mariana’s Bridal and Maria’s Liquor, have a long history of success in our neighborhood.
Old Friends: Ray Bowling, owner of United Housewrecking (which started out on the West Side before moving to its much larger location on Hope Street) shares memories of the good old days on Stillwater Avenue with Anthony Pellicci of Pellicci’s Restaurant. The two men have known one another more than 50 years!
What a Summer We Had at Fairgate Farm!
Gorgeous weather, healthy crops, new friends and lots to do — it was a great summer! Farm Manager Bill Callion reports growth every which way – we’ve planted lots of new crops (100+ varieties of fruits, vegetables and even flowers) … we have more volunteers, with lots of people of all ages logging more hours and taking more just-picked produce home to their families… we’re making more farm-to-table deliveries to local organizations, including Scofield Manor, New Covenant House and the men’s and women’s shelters on Pacific Street … we’re partnering with lots of organizations (Franklin Street Community Center, Optimus and the Greenwich Alternative High School, for instance) to bring nutrition education alive … and we also had a very busy calendar, with eight weeks of summertime nutrition and creative cooking workshops for parents and children in our community. We hope to see you at next month’s Harvest Festival, October 18 (noon to 2 pm)! As always we’ll have music — food samplings and demonstrations — kids’ crafts and more.
Snapshots from our Farm-to-Table Summer Workshop Series:
These young men were very intrigued by kohlrabi, which we’ve had in abundance since August.
|
Stamford Hospital Chef/Dietitian Gavin Pritchard demonstrated chopping techniques.
|
Farm manager Bill Callion shows off a beautiful beet, which we used for crafts and a tasting.
|
|
|
