Apparently they are planning to still be there through July as they are promoting a Rock Concert that will take place "on the Island Belle at the docks of Veterans Park". Go here: https://www.facebook.com/events/350057738369571/ PS..no note of this being a charity event or being affiliated with the City of Norwalk. So we have to assume that a business is being allowed to operate off the city docks in violation of the structure's permits and with what appears to be a sweetheart deal. Where is the Harbormaster? Where can others apply to receive this deal? View Comment

@ Water Girl , Its presumptuous of you to assume I (or we) are not involved in charitable events . Its also not pertinent to the issue. We aren't speaking about a charitable event. The Island Belle is a for-profit business which cannot be allowed to operate illegally off of city properties and use those properties in a manner for which they were neither designed for nor allowed for in their permits. The city departments which are supposed to enforce these matters are at best looking the other way and at worst collecting fees in violation of those mandated uses and inconsistent with a commercial operation. It really is not about how you spend your time or about how I spend my time. Unless of course you are a city official charged with these duties. View Comment

It sat there for a year on a lease the City didn't have the authority to write. How much longer will it be allowed to continue? View Comment

OT, What I find hard to fathom is Mr Hart's statement in the article : "No one realized the boat was in the federal channel when the lease for the 110-foot-long boat was authorized at an April 2011 meeting of the Common Council, he said. " I can envision a scenario where Parks and Rec may not be up to speed on such details.....but certainly the Harbor Master is fully aware of the issues pertaining to this matter? Why on earth would he not be all over this situation when he saw this behemoth parked at the dock? And if the matter was brought before Common Council for the issuing of a year long permit, how could possibly have not been a voice in that process? View Comment

First of all, its an eye sore worthy of the 9th hole of a Miniature Golf facility, which is why they won't allow it in Westport and try to stick it to us in Norwalk. Secondly, where's the harbor master in all of this? Why did he ever allow that boat to occupy that dock for even 24 hours? That dock was designed by the Army Corps of Engineers and designated for transient use only. How did the harbor master not immediately step in and insist that this 3 story barge be removed from the public docks? This smells of a sweetheart deal 10x worse than the awarding of the beach concessions to Stew Leonards. Time for the public servants to start serving the good of the town. Come on Harbor Master ! Come on Parks and Rec! Time for the public servants to start serving the good of the town. Get that eye sore out of there! View Comment

They should handle this the way Switzerland does. Automate. They have speed detecting machines that snap a picture of the offending vehicle's license plate and the ticket is issued by mail. Could help solve the budget issues at the same time if its 9out of 10 cars. View Comment

Shouldn't he have to pay for this ad ? View Comment

Actually Woodacre Road is a very steep hill and when the snow hits it , it freezes up pretty quickly. We once had a school bus slide all the way down the hill. We appreciate DPW's efforts to keep it clear. They do a great job. View Comment

Bruce, Thank you for a clear, informative and unbiased analysis of the issue. If all public office holders communicated in such a clear and to-the-point manner, we'd have a better informed and more involved public. View Comment

Both our boys are involved in Scouts in Norwalk. There is no finer youth group in the country for instilling confidence and great values in kids. Wish more kids were doing it. View Comment

Great coaches, great league. Wish the Dept of Parks and Recreation would give them some support so they don't have to play all their games on the road. View Comment

I honestly don't know for certain if Andy has all the answers, but I know from experience that Dick Moccia does not. I don't want two more years of the same old same old. I don't want a mayor indebted to City Carting at a time when he is privatizing trash hauling. I don't want two more years of reading about shootings and stabbings on a daily basis while the mayor proclaims that all is well and we don't have a problem. I don't want two more years of driving past stalled out city reconstruction projects and wondering how many jobs they would add if they were in full swing. I thank Dick Moccia for his time of service. But I'm ready to see a fresh face with youthful energy bring about real changes in this city. I don't want two more years of things as they are. I'm voting for Andy. I'm voting for change. View Comment

For Mayor Moccia to be taking three thousand dollars in campaign contributions from City Carting execs at a time when he is looking to privatize trash collection just stinks to high heaven. I'm voting for Andy. View Comment

Really Art? Your man is accepting $3,000 from City Carting and you want to cry foul on an email not having the right phrase? The height of hypocrisy. View Comment

How could he answer the question? He got caught with his hand in the cookie jar. Best he could do was feign indignation and nobody's buying it. View Comment

The mayor should not be taking $3,000 in campaign contributions from companies having business with the city. The fact that they have links to organized crime just adds insult to injury. Especially at a time when he has plans to fully outsource rubbish collection. He should return the money immediately and disqualify them from bidding on the outsourced trash collection......or he should withdraw from the race. View Comment

Mr Geake, I wish you would make up your mind. In your letter you say two things : 1. Costs had gotten so out of control that SNEW was forced to implement a 25% all at once. 2. SNEW is an extremely well-managed and well-run pair of utilities These two points would seem to contradict each other. Had they in fact been well run, they would not have had to implement such a drastic, knee-jerk emergency measure. Too many resume builders and no one actually manning the helm. View Comment

You cannot address a problem that you refuse to admit exists. For years , Moccia has denied that Norwalk has a gang problem and yet we pick up the papers every week and read about stabbings and shootings and drug busts. We drive around and we see the graffiti tag markings typical of gang activity. Shootings used to be a once a year, unusual occurrence but they are a becoming a part of daily life and we cannot let that continue. Is Mayor Moccia the only person that doesn't know we have a gang problem? Littering and speeding? Really? Its either ignorance or arrogance and neither one serves the people of Norwalk. Time for a change. View Comment