More Banks On The Green

Soon going downtown Milford will be a Bankers Paradise, this is because the old Harrison's Hardware store is being "eyed" by TD Bank North for their latest branch. They made their presentation before Zoning and Planning recently and of course, the very reaction from the board was "not good."

Most board members do not want the downtown Milford Landscape to be overwhelmed by banks. Should TD Bank prevail in its quest for Harrison's Hardware that would mark a Fifth large and imposing Bank in an area of about 100 Yards.

Currently, Downtown has a full size, Peoples, Webster, Bank of America, Milford Bank, and a Hudson United Bank. Then of course we have the added Mortgage Bankers to include a former Countrywide, (Now another BofA) and Personas Mortgage Co. I suppose a TD Bank added to the mix would certainly be hyping the dysfunctional landscape of Attorney's and Court Houses.

While some might be impervious to these economic anomalies, others are thankfully more aware and are wondering when the new creed for the Milford Business Association will read "Welcome to Downton Milford, a great place to Eat, Bank, & Sue Someone." I say this with sardonic humor, but all one has to do is look at who owns all the most valuable real estate on the Green and the answer is obvious. The type of downtown we build, and the kinds of businesses we nurture and encourage is a reflection on our community. If everyone loved Bankers and Lawyers we would be in great shape, however we try to cover that malaise with our Great Food establishments of which are packed with bankers and lawyers buying lunch with forclosure money and overdraft fees.

The first thing an outside visitor to Milford does is drive up and down the Town Green, and the nature of the businesses that reside on the Green are usually the first impression someone gets of our community. Restaurants are certainly nice but all the Banks and Legal Malaise are surely a disappointment and something to be concerned about.

Mayoral Candidates Address Downtown Challenges

Two mayoral hopefuls in recent weeks had their eyes on downtown Milford, offering suggestions about how to address a dangerous sidewalk and excessive pigeon droppings.

Peter Spalthoff, the Independent Party candidate, said he planned to fix what he described as a dangerous lip in a sidewalk near his Broad Street office himself because the situation has not been addressed.

Spalthoff said several people have fallen because of about an inch rise between two five-by-six-foot concrete pads that make up the sidewalk.

“I’m gong to have it taken care of so no one else falls,” Spalthoff said, explaining that his builder plans to give him a price on digging up and replacing one of the pads.

Spalthoff, whose Shoreline Mortgage office faces Broad Street, said he recently saw an older woman fall. And Ed Esposito, who was walking down the sidewalk last week with his dog, said he’s tripped on the lip three times.

He said he called the city about the problem, but according to Public Works Director Bruce Kolwicz, it’s the property owner’s job to keep the sidewalk in a safe condition.

In some situations, sidewalk repairs fall to the city, but in this case, it falls to property owner Joseph Voll.

“I talked to Joseph Voll,” Kolwicz said. “I told him he had to fix it, and he said, ‘No problem,’” Kolwicz said.

At the same time, petition candidate Tim Chaucer, a Democrat, said he called the city’s health department about excessive pigeon droppings on a sidewalk area just beyond that lip.

“Why is it that in the heart of downtown Milford, i.e. on the sidewalk in front of Harrison’s Hardware, we have an ongoing pigeon poop and feather health hazard,” Chaucer stated in a letter to the local papers.

“Pigeons sit in an area between the gutter and canopy of the building,” he wrote. “Has the owner been notified by the health department? The Heberts have been complaining about this for many months. The health department could notify the owner that this is a health hazard and insist the canopy be removed and even the gutter where the pigeons sit.”

Chaucer also expressed concern about the lip in the sidewalk and suggested the city correct the problem.

Jill Dion Original Story

Downtown Citizen's Bank Robbed

Police are investigating an armed robbery Friday morning at the Citizen's Bank branch downtown.

Brandishing a gun, a man wearing a bandana demanded cash from a teller at the bank, at 123 Cherry St., shortly before 9:30 a.m., according to Officer Vaughan Dumas, police spokesman.

The robber fled on foot with an undetermined amount of cash, heading south on Gulf Street toward Milford Cemetery, Dumas said.

Described as 6 feet tall with a slender build, the suspect was wearing khaki pants, a gray hoodie and a dark baseball cap, police said. He disguised himself by wearing a blue-and-white bandana and mirrored aviator-style sunglasses and held a small black weapon in his right hand, witnesses told police.

Police have released photographs and video surveillance images from bank security, hoping anyone who recognizes the suspect will come forward.