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For the past five years Mario Testa, the city’s Democratic Party chief, has been trying to alter the zoning around his Madison Avenue restaurant, Testo’s.

And he’s taking another shot at the Feb. 25 meeting of the Zoning Commission. The agenda was released Thursday.

1773, 1843 & 1849 Madison Ave. – Petition of 1775 Madison Investments, LLC & 1849 Madison Investments, LLC – Seeking a map amendment to the 2008 Master Plan of Conservation and Development (Table 14-1) – future land use plan from a residential zone to a mixed use zone.

Testo’s address at 1775 Madison Ave. has been home for decades to taverns/restaurants. In 2005 Testa demolished prior tenant Three Door Restaurant for his Italian eatery and caterer.

The food service use has been grandfathered into an otherwise residential zone. Testa wants his property and some adjacent land re-zoned for mixed use, allowing him to expand a parking lot. To do so the city needs to amend the area’s master plan.

Neighbors and their state representative, Jack Hennessy, fear Testa’s true goal is to eventually sell the site to Sacred Heart University or another buyer who would be constrained by existing zoning but could build something even bigger/busier if the changes go through.

“He’s saying it’s for parking but he could just flip it once he gets the zone change and be out of the business,” Hennessy said Thursday night. “That’s what people are assuming is going to happen.”

Hennessy is collecting signatures on a petition to present to zoning commissioners Monday.

Testa could not be reached Thursday, but I’ll cut the guy some slack since he runs a restaurant and it’s Valentine’s Day.

In the past Testa has argued the residential zone affects Testo’s ability to “obtain sufficient financing for its utilization of the property” and future damage to the restaurant could strip Testa of his right to run it there.

Dee Manento, who lives five houses away and is a veteran of the zoning battles over Testo’s, does not understand why Testa keeps asking for the changes.

“He just keeps coming and coming like a barracuda,” Manento said.

UPDATE:

Testa’s proposal is actually going to be before the all-Democrat City Council before zoners get a shot at it.

Specifically the Economic and Community Development Committee will review the master plan change at its Feb. 20 meeting.

From the agenda, out Friday-

Proposed Amendment to the 2008 Master Plan of Conservation & Development Chapter 14 – Future Land Use Plan.

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Bridgeport Republican Chairman John Slater is trying to kick up a few waves in the city’s Sea of Democratic Tranquility.

Slater has pledged either he or another member of the GOP will be attending meetings of the all-Democrat City Council.

And today Slater issued a critique of Democratic Mayor Bill Finch’s response to Nemo, the blizzard that some residents and businesses have complained flummoxed the administration.

Finch over the course of the week has defended the city’s snow cleanup.

The mayor said there aren’t enough city workers to drive all the plowing equipment needed.

“I don’t think people would want to have the level of taxation required to have (more workers) for less-than-frequent storms,” he said Sunday.

And he’s also pointed a mayoral finger at the “yahoos” who ignored his Friday 5 p.m. deadline to move their cars from streets to make way for the plows.

Slater’s letter is below.

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Lack of Accountability Results in Shameful Storm Response

The Bridgeport Republican Town Committee condemns the handling of Nemo by the Finch administration and city council. The Mayor says we don’t have money in our current budget to deal with a storm of this magnitude. Rather than setting aside money to build another park, create green jobs or fund another “community program” The Mayor and council should find a place in the budget to ensure efficiency and effectiveness in our storm response. The Mayor says we have “never experienced a storm of this magnitude”, however, surrounding towns and cities experienced the same storm and have had roads cleared and children back to school days before Bridgeport was able lift its “Travel ban” to make the main arteries of the city even reasonably passable.

The Bridgeport Republican Town Committee applauds the citizens of the city of Bridgeport. Their personal sacrifices and efforts made to clear their streets and help their neighbors where inspiring. The RTC shares in your disappointment of Bridgeport’s current leadership and will continue to be vocal in ensuring Bridgeport gets the leadership it deserves.

Any elected official who feels a sense of accountability to their constituency should make storm response and emergency planning among their top priorities. A proclamation that the entire city or town should be patient and wait more than a full week for roads to be cleared is simply unacceptable. Resident’s personal vehicles should not be towed away at the owner’s expense when only given little more than a few minutes’ notice. Response crews should not have been removed from the streets during the height of the storm to save on overtime. Never should a Mayor cast condescension on his constituents by referring to them as “yahoos”.

The City of Bridgeport has experienced one party rule by the Democratic Party for the majority of the last 3 decades. The unconditional support has resulted in a lack of accountability and the lack of accountability has resulted in shameful results. The Democrats in Bridgeport have enjoyed too much power for far too long. The lack of pressure they face has provided them with the freedom to ignore their constituents and take their eyes off of the best interest of the citizens of Bridgeport. It is a basic responsibility of those elected to formulate a plan and put into action the necessary steps to respond to a storm like Nemo and they have once again proven unfit to handle the task.

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BRIDGEPORT — Nemo has made Mayor Bill Finch a very unpopular man.

Photo from Facebook group "Tell Mayor Finch to resign"

Nearly a week after Blizzard Nemo dumped 30 inches of snow in the city — and more in nearby towns — Bridgeport is still digging its way out. In response to the city’s delay in clearing streets, someone has started a Facebook group asking Finch to resign.

In the group’s description someone wrote, “Mayor Finch’s incompetence during Blizzard NEMO has not only hurt the city financially but endangered the health and safety of our city’s residents. HE MUST RESIGN!”

On Thursday evening, the city announced that almost 100 percent of streets were passable, but the snow emergency parking ban remains in place.

That means there is No Parking on marked Snow Emergency streets. No parking on Snow Emergency streets allows our crews to clear the streets of snow so emergency vehicles have safe passage.

Alternate side of the street parking continues in effect on all other streets – odd side on odd-numbered days and even-side on even-numbered days.

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The state Department of Transportation is offering a series of apps as a way to check rail and highway advisories on  smartphones.

The apps have traffic advisories and access to traffic cameras and quick links to Metro-North and Amtrak rail services. They also include scheduling and fare information, bus schedules and route, information about public transportation and more.

The apps can be installed from the DOT’s at www.ct.gov/dot . They are available for both iPhone and Android smartphones and prices range from free to $2.99.

But the state’s lawyers made sure there were plenty of disclaimers attached:

Disclaimer: The Connecticut Department of Transportation provides links to the apps on this page as a public service. The apps are written by third parties and ConnDOT shall not be held responsible for the content of third-party websites or any issue arising from the use of third-party applications. ConnDOT neither endorses any third-party products listed here nor makes any guarantees or representations as to accuracy or reliability.

Since the Department cannot guarantee the accuracy and timeliness of the information, the user of the apps should plan his or her travel accordingly. Those relying on the information provided by the apps do so at their own risk, and neither the Connecticut Department of Transportation nor any of its employees or agents shall be liable for the accuracy of the information on the apps, the functioning of the apps, or any actions taken in reliance thereon.

NEVER USE ANY OF THESE APPS WHILE DRIVING. Stop at a Rest Area or hand your phone to your passenger and ask them to use the information provided by the app. ConnDOT assumes no liability for damage and/or injury caused by the misuse of smartphones or smartphone apps while driving in a moving vehicle. The user assumes all liability for use or misuse of these apps on a smartphone.

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State Police are asking the public for help in locating a hit-and-run driver who struck and killed a Prospect woman last Friday as she was snow-blowing her driveway.

Callers told 911 dispatchers that an elderly woman was lying on the ground in the road near the intersection of Straitsville Road and Route 68 in Prospect at 8:30 pm. on Feb. 8..

State troopers, along with Prospect police responded to the scene and determined that the woman suffered fatal injuries as a result of being struck by a motor vehicle.

Anyone with information is asked to please contact the Prospect Resident Trooper’s Office at 203-758-6150 or Troop I- Bethany at 203-393-4200.  All calls will be kept confidential.

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An 18-wheeler is stuck under the train overpass at railroad and Iranistan avenues in Bridgeport.

The fire department is on the scene and scanner reports say that snow piles are limiting what maneuverability crews might have had in freeing the stuck truck.

Why not just let the air out of the truck’s tires?