Lost highway: Valuation of homes abutting I-95 criticized

Owners of homes along Greenwich's bustling Interstate 95 corridor and other major traffic arteries recently learned that it's the town's way or the highway.

The land valuation discounts that they historically received from the town, which vary from location to location and were recently revisited by the assessor's office, are no longer as generous in some cases.

The net result is higher property taxes for an unspecified number of homeowners following a recently completed townwide property revaluation.

Byram Neighborhood Association President Michael Bocchino, was floored to find out that real estate taxes on his Tingue Street property will be going up next year when average assessment in town went down 11.6 percent in the revaluation.

Assessments are 70 percent of full market value.

"I live on the southbound entrance ramp at Exit 2," Bocchino said. "I'm looking at it right now. You want to hear it?"

The sound of rush hour in the background, Bocchino said he is not alone either.

"I've heard from neighbors in the community along 95 that they've had similar situations and similar concerns," said Bocchino, who declined to reveal how much his taxes went up. "There never seems to be any consideration for quality-of-life issues like noise and pollution."

Assessor Ted Gwartney said discounts are determined on a case-by-case basis and not set in stone.

"Each time you do a revaluation, you have to start with fresh eyes and viewpoints." Gwartney said.

Gwartney could not say exactly how many homeowners saw their discount, which his office refers to as a land influence factor, decrease or increase.

"If it impacts land value, you get a downward adjustment," Gwartney said. "It could be 1 or 2 percent (savings) or as much as 10 or 15 percent."

A Leonard Avenue homeowner in Riverside, who asked not to be identified because she just had an informal hearing with an appraiser about her valuation and feared repercussions, said the 35 percent discount she received for abutting I-95 was sliced in half.

Property owners were sent notices with their new assessments in mid-November, with informal hearings to follow in December and January for those who have questions or concerns about their valuation.

Formal hearings by the Board of Assessment Appeals will be held next spring for aggrieved property owners, who can then go to state Superior Court in Stamford if they are still unhappy.

The new assessments will be applied to taxes owed in July 2011.

Gwartney contested the details of the Leonard Avenue property owner's situation, however.

"I would find it hard to believe that the property would lose one third of its value from being near the highway," Gwartney said. "That's probably an error from years ago that was corrected."

The revaluation process also revealed a number of discounts that Gwartney said were inherently flawed and had no justification.

"In some cases, they were removed altogether," Gwartney said.

Among the discounts that Gwartney said was eliminated was a 5 percent land reduction for properties on upper Lake Avenue and North Street, which the assessor said didn't exactly amount to a hardship.

"No one could figure out why," Gwartney said. "Basically, they're basically calm and low traffic-bearing streets. At one point, people thought it was negative to live on those streets, but no longer is that true. It was a judgment of the past that got changed."

This is the first revaluation in Connecticut's most land-rich town since the housing bubble burst, a yeoman-like task of adjusting values for 22,500 properties to reflect five years of market volatility.

Currently totaling $34.4 billion, assessments on residential, commercial and personal property and automobiles stand to lose $4 billion in value when Gwartney signs the Grand List in February.

Russell Pruner, an owner and partner of Shore & Country Properties and a past president of the Greenwich Association of Realtors, said that many buyers are willing to accept the trade-offs of a home abutting Interstate 95.

"A lot of people are willing to take that impact to get the other great benefits that the town has to offer," Pruner said. "You do find them to be more affordable than other properties. It's difficult to find a house that's under $1 million or even $1.5 million in Riverside that you can send your kids to Riverside School or Eastern Middle School."

Staff writer Neil Vigdor can be reached at neil.vigdor@scni.com or at 203-625-4436.

Laundromat as social hub: It all comes out in the wash

Whenever I go to a laundromat carting heavy comforters or blankets, I have an irresistible urge to know something about my fellow laborers. So I decided to strike up a conversation with some customers.

Allan comes up from Manhattan to wash his clothes while his wife goes to her favorite hairdresser. The machines in his building, he said, are too small and dingy and it only takes him 45 minutes to make the drive, and he reads the paper while waiting.

One Saturday morning at the laundromat, the three customers were all men -- not at all what I expected. It is "the division of labor," one man told me with a grin. Another was there because his apartment did not have a washer and one man who looked a little confused said it was his first experience in washing.

Later, an acquaintance whom I recognized said she was washing the heavy blankets preparing for her holiday guests. Friday nights are more crowded, one man assured me.

Just when I was thinking that all laundromats looked drearily the same, I walked into The Laundry Room in Byram. When Stravos Karipides graduated from theCulinary Institute, little did he imagine that some day he would be running a laundromat. Steve, as he is called, followed his dream of becoming a chef when the building on the corner of Water and Mill Streets became available about six years ago.

He opened up Johnny Cakes, a great spot for soup and popovers, and good meals. But when another space for a restaurant opened up around the corner, Steve moved Johnny Cakes to Mill Street and decided to open a laundromat in its place.

The sapphire blue and lime green walls in The Laundry Room made me feel happy the minute I walked in the front door.

Steve was patching spots that had been chipped -- he takes pride in keeping the place immaculate -- but immediately greeted me from his ladder. Steve expanded seven months ago and now has 35 state of the art washers and 30 dryers, as well as a tailor on the premises.

Open 24 hours a day, The Laundry Room can at times seem like a social hub. "It is a very safe corner," said Steve, "And if someone forgot something, like soap or a bag, we give it to them.

"We have tables outside in the summer so people can wait for their laundry to finish." Customers also can drop off their laundry if they wish and Steve's' assistant will do the washing and drying and charge by the pound, very convenient if you have accumulated tons of dirty sheets or clothes.

When I asked Steve why he chose the laundromat business, he said he always liked to take risks. Even though three companies advised him not to enter the business, he took the risk and to my eyes, it seems to be paying off.

Some of his customers told me they really enjoy going there because of the atmosphere, the sociability, the friendliness of the women who work there during the day and evening hours.

Steve, brought up in Byram and a graduate of Greenwich High School, noted that Byram is a "changing community."

He observed that there was more diversity, younger population, more professionals, a perfect area for new businesses. You might say that the Karipides family is an institution in Byram since his father owns the Famous Pizza next door to the Laundromat and Steve worked there as a boy.

He still wakes before dawn everyday to make his famous soup for Johnny Cakes and then goes next door to oversee the Laundry Room. With two little children, he likes the fact that his new chef cooks the dinners at Johnny Cakes and he can eat with his family.

I guess there always will be a need for Steve's businesses -- preparing food and washing clothes. With the addition of The Laundry Room, Greenwich residents now can find many places to do their wash and, who knows, perhaps meet new people.

Ann Caron is an author of books on adolescence and a parent-educator.

She can be reached via e-mail at anncaron@optonline.net.

Police blotter: Arrested N.Y. resident claims to be another man during Byram police stop

A Yonkers, N.Y., man, was arrested after allegedly producing a false Mexican driver's license when he was stopped by police early Wednesday in Byram after driving through a red light.

Martin Eduardo Salgado, 22, of 118 McClean Ave., Yonkers, N.Y., was charged with interfering with an officer and permitting a minor to possess alcohol. Police said Salgado drove through a red light on Ritch Avenue in Byram at 12:30 a.m. Wednesday. The police officer reportedly noticed several unopened bottles of Corona beer in the right rear passenger seat. A 16-year-old female was also in the vehicle, according to police. The driver produced a Mexican driver's license in the name ofVairon Castillo Relles, but officers were unable to match the driver's license photograph with the driver.

The driver insisted his name was Relles, but after he was told he would be fingerprinted he said he was Martin Eduardo Salgado. Police then seized the driver's license. Salgado was additionally charged with operating a motor vehicle without a license and failure to obey a traffic signal.

Salgado was unable to post $500 cash bond and was held for a Dec. 15 appearance in state Superior Courtin Stamford.

Engel & Volkers Has Byram Sale

Lynne Morrell of Engel & Volkers Greenwich LLC was the top sales agent in her office for October and November, with $21.3 million in sales volume. She both listed and sold the property at 79 Byram Shore Road for $6.9 million, was the listing agent for 32 Meadowcroft Lane which went for $3.555 million, and the selling agent for 51 Carriglea Drive which was sold for $4.3 million. A licensed Realtor in both Connecticut and New York, she has more than three decades of sales and marketing experience.

Engel & Volkers managing broker, Bryan Dinkelacker, represented buyers, referred by the international company from London, who bought a Greenwich property for $1.815 million at 57 Maple Avenue.

Engel & Volkers will celebrate its third anniversary on Greenwich Avenue this month. The ccompany, headquartered in Germany, offers the luxury boutique "shop " on Greenwich Avenue, the exclusive Global Guide "GG" magazine, the Global Office "GO" System, supported by a single global network that unites each of the 537 shops in 38 countries. Newer to Engel & Volkers is the Yachting Division, an independent yacht brokerage that was started in 2007.

-- Susan Nova

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A big thank you from Byram Schubert Library

It's that time of the year when we give thanks, so once again, I wanted to say how grateful the Friends of the Byram Shubert Library is for the tremendous help we get from the awesome people in our community, especially during our Book & Media Sales.

This season's sale was the smoothest ever, thanks to our fantastic board, as well as countless volunteers who donated time, talent, and food!

We so appreciate all of them, and wanted to acknowledge some of our youngest: Alyssa Caputo, Jazmanny Cardona, Hannah Caron, Tatiana Cevallos, the Cleary girls, Douglas DeNunzio, Fitzgerald Francois,Kyana Francois, Javier Fuentes, Chloe Gilgore, Fernanda Grokoski, Yordano Hernandez, the Johnson kids, Emma Kelley, Erin Lally, Isabel Lane, Amanda Lazarus, Naomi Lendot, Julia Mannarino, Ryann Martins, Michael O' Connor, Eddelwyss Ople, Luis Ortiz, Janet Palacio, Troy Parker, Bart Palosz, the Perling girls, the Pittocco boys, Taylor Poe, Kristina Porter, Joseph Schembari, Victor Serpa, Justin Serricchio, Ronigleyck Silva, Matthew Tellez, the Konno kids, Jessica Toro, and Allison Trister.

Special recognition should be made to the following organizations for their continuing generosity: St. Paul Lutheran Church in Byram, the Byram Library staff, New Lebanon PTA, Famous Pizza and Souvlaki, Firehouse Deli, Nestle Waters, BNA, Liquor Pantry, Costco, Pinny Randall at The Settler, Stop `N Shop, Greenwich Library, Perrot Library, and especially Jerry Stinson and the Community Learning Program.

We are now collecting donations for the next sale, so make sure to call Byram Library at 203-531-0426 to Clean Out Your Books (you'll even get a tax slip for 2010)!

Lisa Johnson

Chairperson, Friends of Byram Shubert Library Book & Media Sale