Lincoln's Log

The Old Greenwich Yacht Club is being called upon by its commodore to help a member who lost her life’s possessions in the fire at the Gables condominium on Dec. 1.

Diane Metz, who has been an OGYC member since 2002, and her son Andrew Cline lost most of their belongings when fire swept through their condominium at the Old Greenwich Gables on Forest Avenue. “Diane and Andrew have been very strong in the face of this disaster, but the reality is that they need our support to move forward with their day-to-day lives,” wrote OGYC Commodore Mary Rappas in an email.

John Martello, proprietor of Sam’s Package Store at 230 Sound Beach Avenue in Old Greenwich has graciously offered to accept donations at his store on behalf of Diane Metz. Martello told me today that OGYC members have been very generous. Anyone can stop by the store and make a direct donation to Diane Metz, who is temporarily staying at a house in Cos Cob. Martello said she is looking for another place to stay starting next week.

“Diane’s is seeking a house-sitting opportunity or amonth-to-month rental of a local studio or one bedroom apartment,” Rappas said. “Without a kitchen, Andrew and Diane would really
appreciate a gift certificate from one of our local eateries or grocery stores, where they can get a freshly prepared meal. Garden Catering, Upper Crust Bagel, Sound Beach Pizza, Oriental Gourmet,and Food Mart are among their favorite places.”

A gift certificate from the Old Greenwich store, “ChillyBear,” would be warmly welcomed, as most of Diane and Andrew’s clothing was damaged by smoke or water during the fire.

Diane Metz can be reached by email at: dmdianemetz@gmail.com

My friend Tommy the Golfer is usually even-tempered, fair and balanced.

I suspect that is why he shoots in the 70s when he plays his weekly round Saturday mornings at the Griff, the moniker favored by Townies for the municipal course otherwise known as the E. Griffith Harris Golf Course.

But don’t ask Tommy about the state of the course. You’ll be tapping into a mother lode of pent-up grievances. To start with, Tommy will tell you that the conditions this year were the worst that he has seen in many years. As a matter of fact the conditions the last two years were less than ideal in Tommy’s mind. The word Tommy uses most often to describe conditions around the greens and bunkers is “ratty.” And don’t get him started on the greens.

To be fair Tommy will also wax effusively about how the Griff has improved over the last 10 years, ever since they decided to use the excess revenues to maintain the course instead of returning that money to the general fund. By around 2005, the Griff was a jewel of a municipal course – the envy of all in Fairfield County.

But the recession that started in 2007 clearly had its impact. The course actually lost money this year – about $55,000 in the red. Membership was down to 3,650 – a decrease of 250 from 2008. Total rounds played were down by 2,000.

Now a “user group” has recommended to the selectmen that fees be increased in 2010. Don’t ask me who is on this user group. No one of any official capacity could tell me. I checked the town’s web site and could only find old agendas that go back to September 2008.

Tommy said they would never let a real user such as himself to be on the user group because he would tell them the truth. “And they can’t handle the truth!” Tommy said in his best impersonation of Jack Nicholson.

Anyway, Sometime over the next few weeks, in the bowels of the chambers of Field Point Road, our newly minted Townie selectmen board will approve increases of $5 for membership to $145 for next year, and increases of $1 for green fees across the board.

Moreover, the reservation system will be changed to allow for advance booking of four days instead of the current seven days. This is to give groups a better chance of booking for the weekends. There will be no refunds for cancellations – just like the old days when we had to run up to the course to sell our ticket if we wanted to cancel.

I don’t think Tommy is going to be happy to hear any of this.

At first I thought they were gobs of foam created by cold water flowing into the cove. But they were too formed and too anatomical. So, of course, I had to take a closer look.

Can anyone guess what they were?

Okay. It didn’t long for the first reply (see below) …

Here is the answer:

It was the single biggest store opening in Greenwich Avenue history, and, boy, we sure can use the shot in the arm! All of Lower Greenwich Avenue stands to gain by the enormous crowds expected to converge on the new Apple store in the location of the former twin cinemas. By the time the store opened at 10 a.m. the crowd had snaked around the corner past Diane’s book store. The first 1,000 customers received an Apple t-shirt with “Greenwich Avenue” written on the front. I admired the APPLE TV device and then drove over the Cos Cob TV and bought it for the same price. No lines.

The parking authority in town clearly is ratcheting up enforcement in search of more revenue. People who have lived in Old Greenwich for 15 years or longer are getting tickets for the first time. I saw this parking officer chalking up cars last week. I have never seen that before.

Also, the proposal to put meters in Byram, Cos Cob and Old Greenwich is a non-starter. The small businesses don’t want them. The residents don’t want them. There must be another way to save money.

AHA! There is. I saw this contractor ripping up the turf at Binney Park earlier this week. when I asked him what he was doing, he said he was re-turfing the grass because it was “bumpy.” No doubt some soccer parents have complained that the grass field is uneven. But how much are we spending to re-grass the field? And is this the way we want to spend tax dollars at a time when we have slashed $4 million out of the school budget?

I say let the kids play on bumpy grass. It’ll make them better players in the long run.

Finally, it was good to see the town get around to sweeping up the leaves. Didn’t it seem like forever that the leaves were on the roads clogging up traffic this year?

This picture of leaves dumped onto the parking spaces at Old Greenwich is particularly galling. I pay to park at the train station. Taking up three prime spaces with leaves is selfish and rude. Can’t the town get after those homeowners?

A frequent Lincoln’s Log reader alerted me to a sidewalk construction project in Riverside that she thought was another example of unwise spending at this time. So your intrepid reporter went down to the scene and snapped this shot. I’m actually willing to cut the town a little slack on this one. I remember walking to Eastern Middle School years ago when my son was a student and recalled that negotiating the road leading to the school on Hendrie Avenue was a little tricky, especially at night.

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The Old Greenwich Yacht Club held its annual meeting Sunday and voted in its new board of directors and announced that for the first time in recent memory it does not have a waiting list.

In fact it has nine vacancies. Even the most resilient local institutions have been battered by the Great Recession and OGYC has not been exempted. The club is unusual in that it is a public facility with most of the accoutrement of a full service yacht club except it does not have any dining and events facilities. The club is open to all Greenwich residents with a cap at 300 members.

With an initiation fee of $1,200 and annual dues of only $600, OGYC is one of the best deals in the Northeast for avid sailors. For instance, I pay the Town of Greenwich a lot more – $900 a year – just to store my boat at Greenwich Point and for usage fees such as a marine use permit and mooring permit.

Also, you don’t have to have own a boat to be a member. OGYC owns a fleet of Mercury and Ideal 18 sailboats. The Ideal 18s have become a popular “one class” race boat among all the yacht clubs in Greenwich.

The best part though is the access to Greenwich Cove, which is, in my opinion, the best among the mooring fields in Greenwich. It has easy access to the deeper water in western Long Island Sound and is at the same time sheltered from the prevailing southwest winds by the Greenwich Point peninsula.

The only downside to OGYC is the rancor among the members. A vocal minority has taken to criticizing the volunteer board for everything from maintenance of the boats to board nominations. As a result, board turnover is high and the need for new members is constant.

I joined the club in 2002 after being on the waiting list for one season. If you can manage to avoid the sturm and drang of the club politics, OGYC is an exceptional value. And the opportunity to join doesn’t come along very often. Marc Lotti is the membership director.

Click here for the club’s website

Other incoming board members are:

Commodore Will Morrison
Vice Commodore Barbara Krumeich
Rear Commodore Aileen Hutchins
Treasurer Al Shehadi
Secretary Syd Uhry
Fleet Captain Jonathan Asch
Membership Marc Lotti
Education Lou Casolo
Racing Tom Hagan

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SEWER MANHOLE COVER AT THE BEACH UPDATE

Town officials said they will place a planter on top of the sewer cover at the beach after my recent post:

There must be an explanation. But it’s certainly odd to see a manhole cover right in the middle of the beach at Tod’s Point? Apart from the aesthetic dissonance, there is a safety issue. Hope no one running across the beach mangles a foot or ankle.