English Bulldog Puppies for Sale in Stamford, CT

STAMFORD, CT — The Stamford Zoning Board this week denied a proposal to construct 60 townhomes and a 201-unit apartment building with associated amenities at 23 Barry Place, the site that formerly housed the Conair Corporation in Waterside.

A motion to deny was approved 3-1. Members cited concerns with the proposed density, scale and compatibility with the surrounding neighborhood. The board also said there were concerns with traffic, safety and neighborhood livability.

"I think everyone on the board would support an application that did not have the density that this one has," Zoning Board Chair David Stein said during the board's Jan. 5 meeting. "I think this project that's being proposed is really... too much for that area."

In a memo outlining concerns with the proposal, the board said "the density is grossly inconsistent with the surrounding residential neighborhoods."

The project was brought forward by Continental Family Holdings LLC and Conair co-founder Leandro Rizzuto Jr.

The property was originally part of an 11.7-acre site that was recently subdivided to allow for the new Wings Arena ice skating rink.

Old Greenwich's Innis Arden Golf Club borders the site on the western and southern sides.

There are also Metro-North train tracks and commercial/industrial uses along the entire northerly border, and much of the easterly border is across the street from Saint Clement Church.

Until recently, the property at 23 Barry Place contained one large building that served as a warehouse and office facility for Conair. It also was a site for Pitney Bowes at one point.

Residents previously voiced opposition to the project, saying they were worried about potential traffic impacts and environmental concerns at the site.

Derek Daunais, an engineer who worked on the project, said in October the site was found to have some areas of contaminated soil many years ago.

The site was cleaned to suit the industrial use of the property, but it would have had to be remediated further to a meet federal and state residential standards.

Some residents supported the project, including the Rev. Carlos Rodrigues of nearby Saint Clement Church, who submitted a letter in support of the project and spoke during a public hearing in October.

"I like the whole idea of the design and giving affordable housing. I think it is something that's going to improve the neighborhood, and it will be a blessing to the neighborhood," Rodrigues said then.

Board member Jerry Bosak voted against denial on Monday.

"Speaking to residents there, I think it's something that's willfully wanted in that area by the vast majority of the residents," Bosak said.

Three applications were submitted - one to change the zoning map at the site from manufacturing to residential, one for special permits, and the other one for site and architectural plans.

The settlements stem from a larger investigation into fraudulent activity by health care providers, according to officials.

STAMFORD, CT — Two Connecticut dental providers have entered into a civil settlement agreement with the federal and state governments to resolve allegations of violations of the federal and state False Claims Acts, according to an announcement from the United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut.

The settlements stem from a larger investigation into fraudulent activity by health care providers who submit kickback-tainted claims to the Connecticut Medical Assistance Program (CTMAP) for services rendered to Connecticut Medicaid patients referred by third-party 'patient recruiting' companies, officials said.

State officials say two now-dissolved dental practices in Stamford and New Haven, and their owners, submitted claims to CTMAP, which includes the state’s Medicaid program, for services provided to Medicaid patients who were referred by a third-party patient recruiting company.

According to officials, Dent Plus Family Dentistry, PLLC of Stamford, L&M Family Dentistry, LLC of New Haven, and their owners, Ivan Makar, DDS, and Oleg Losin, DDS, paid a recruiter for each Medicaid patient referred to the practices.

With each submitted claim, officials said the practices and their owners "impliedly certified" that they met all conditions for payment, including that they did not pay kickbacks or violate provisions of the Connecticut Dental Health Partnership provider manual related to the claim.

The CTDHP provider manual, which is an addendum to both the CTMAP provider agreement and the CTMAP provider manual, expressly prohibits per-patient compensation for individuals referred to CMAP providers, officials said.

To resolve the allegations under the federal and state False Claims Acts, Makar and Losin paid $714,446.27 to reimburse the Medicaid program for conduct occurring from Jan. 1, 2019, through Sept. 6, 2020, officials said.

In entering into the civil settlement agreement, the providers and their practices did not admit liability.

People who suspect health care fraud are encouraged to report it by calling 1-800-HHS-TIPS.

Stamford’s transit history is rich and fruitful, yet the world continues to pass by without us looking back.

The first train arrived in Stamford almost two centuries ago and still today we ride these same trains that connect us deeper into New England and New York City. From wealthy businesspeople to blue collar workers, we all share one space in common: transit.

With the most expensive high school in New England history, we have another expensive infrastructure project under planning for our city. The Stamford Transportation Center Master Plan may improve our downtown transit center; but it is not the solution to the problem this city faces.

Like many cities in the U.S., our city has a car dependency problem and unlike many other U.S. cities, Connecticut cities have the potential for the most expansive transit networks in the United States. Our urban planning has been kept mostly intact below the Bulls Head intersection and there is massive potential for us to get back to our times of transit glory.

The Stamford streetcar network was one of the most expansive in all of New England when it started rolling back in 1894. It connected up and down Route 1 to Norwalk and Greenwich, throughout Glenbrook and Springdale, up the historic Bedford Street and past Washington Boulevard. It made our city accessible, not just for the few but for all. Everyone loves to talk about traffic on our streets, but no one wants to talk about the real solution: public transportation.

The Connecticut Department of Transportation and lawmakers in Hartford provide CT Transit with the money to do the bare minimum in our cities. Even with a recent federal grant providing brand new electric buses it hasn’t changed the fact that the frequencies are not often enough, the routes don’t cover every part of our city, there are not enough dedicated busways, there are no orbital connectors, they don’t run late enough, and have loop routes on weekends and evenings.

Hundreds if not thousands of commuters in our city drive right past a bus station every morning on their way to work or the train, perhaps even passing the exact bus that is already going where they are going. These buses are nice, but there has not been enough of a push to make people aware of our transit system and that is not the fault of the residents; it is the fault of our city government and CDOT.

While our city government has made a push to make biking in our city safer, they have forgotten about the one form of transportation that is truly accessible to all: the bus and rail. Since our former Mayor Dannel Malloy was making a push to be the Transportation Secretary during the 2016 Clinton Campaign not one lawmaker has brought up the subject of transportation in any serious capacity. The 2010 planning for streetcar network rebuilding in Stamford and New Haven has been all but forgotten and, in a period where the federal government has been hesitant in its transit spending and the state has been lacking true innovation and out-of-the-box thinking, it must be noted that a time for real change is needed.

While our governor has done an excellent job controlling many issues that our state faced eight years ago, such as the state pension debt, there must be a new push to address the problems we have now as well. Stamford, New Haven, Bridgeport, and Hartford will struggle with growth if we do not push for higher spending on transit projects and operations.

People in power must begin to think about a new future for transit in Connecticut or it will be a dark future for our state’s biggest cities and suburbs. The glory days may be behind us although much of the work has already been done to show that it is possible to get more people on transit. Unless the urban planners in Hartford want to have a new push for streetcars or even just an orbital bus system that is not only hub and spoke they will not help enough people, not now, and not ever.

It is time the politicians come to realize that ridership does not indicate your budget like we have seen with the current trickle flow of funding towards Shore Line East , instead to quote a great movie about the American Pastime “If you build it, they will come.”

Isaac Theodore Reicin is a lifelong Stamford resident and undergraduate student at The University of Vermont.