Today we have an update on the Shark Tank baker taking over an old bank vault in Port Chester and half of Rye reading the Declaration of Independence in a library because of the heat. Also, apparently leaf blowers are a bigger deal than any of us thought.

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Greenwich's Planning & Zoning Commission heard from First Selectman Fred Camillo, a state representative, and the Historical Society this week, all opposing a developer's plan to raze 2 Greenwich Ave's 1890s Tudor Revival building for a 14-unit complex. No formal application has been filed yet.

The corner anchors downtown's gateway, and the fight over what counts as preservation is starting.

The owners of a five-bedroom home at 1001 Forest Ave., valued at $15 million, want a gangway over protected wetlands to a private pier and dock on Long Island Sound. Neighbors have opposed the project since it was first filed in 2023, and Rye's Conservation Commission has twice called it "unacceptable," most recently in June.

Neighbor Young Kim said low tide is her favorite time on the cove: "I'd hate for that view to be forever marred by a permanent pier, an aluminum gangway, and a seasonal dock extending 85 feet from shore." The applicant has trimmed the proposal's scope but still hasn't won Planning Commission approval.

Why it matters: the case tests how far waterfront money can push against wetland protections. No new hearing date is set.

Oppressive heat pushed Rye's decades-old tradition of reading the Declaration of Independence off the Village Green and into the Rye Free Reading Room, where more than 100 residents packed in around 75 seats.

U.S. Rep. George Latimer read colonial dispatches on the Boston port closure. City Councilmember Marion Anderson recited poet Phyllis Wheatley. Incoming Rye Historical Society president Kendra Moran called it a living tradition: "Our history is a living thing, past, present, and future." Twenty-seven residents, including Mayor Josh Nathan, closed the afternoon by reading the Declaration itself, then the crowd unfurled a 48-star flag and sang "This Land Is Your Land" together.

The City Council is weighing a local law letting appointed police officers live outside the usual home-county limits, including Dutchess County, to widen the department's hiring pool.

Rye is one of the few municipalities in the area without its own residency code on the books, unlike neighbors Rye Brook, Harrison, and Bedford. "The practical effect is relatively limited, but it doesn't bring Rye into alignment with most of the other Westchester municipalities," said City Manager Brian Shea.

A public hearing on the proposal is set for Aug. 12.

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Harrison's accused tax fraud case returns to court next week. Patricia Kruse Disanto, a Harrison police civilian employee, is due in court July 26 on charges she and her husband Carmine failed to file state tax returns from 2021 to 2024. Carmine is due back Aug. 7.

An underground transformer failure knocked out power near Westchester Avenue and Main Street. The Monday night outage hit parts of Port Chester; crews restored service within hours.

A fawn got stuck in a storm drain, and Rye's first responders got it out. Firefighters freed the animal over the weekend, the kind of call that makes local news for all the right reasons.

A Greenwich art dealer pleaded guilty to a $2.1 million theft scheme. Federal prosecutors said the dealer sold art and kept proceeds owed to the true owners.

Tornado watches and flash flood warnings hit Westchester Tuesday night. Another 1.25 inches of rain fell on Rye in 24 hours; no major damage was reported.

We've been tracking this one since the start of this newsletter: Jane Foodie Cafe, the "Shark Tank" alum's flagship restaurant inside the century-old Port Chester Savings Bank building, was originally penciled in for a fall 2025 opening. That slipped to "fall 2026 expected". Now, nearly a year after the buildout began, owner Jane Carroll's team finally has a real date: mid-July.

The concept hasn't changed since we first wrote about it: a glass-walled kitchen inside the old banking hall, producing Carroll's scratch-made comfort food and flash-frozen "just cooked" meals for the freezer case, alongside a daily café menu of breakfast, bakery, coffee, lunch, beer, and wine.

Worth knowing
133 North Main St., Port Chester.
If mid-July holds, this is finally the month to go see it for yourself.

Live Music: Delta Carolina & Edinson Oportus
Where: BARROOM, 235 Harrison Ave, Harrison, NY
When: Thursday, July 23, 7 p.m.
More info: barroom.bar

Coast to Glass: A West Coast White Wine Tasting
Where: Zachys Wine & Liquor, 30 Midland Ave, Port Chester, NY
When: Thursday, July 23, 5-7 p.m.
More info: eventbrite.com

Greenwich Farmers Market (Two Guys Making Pizza)
Where: Arch Street/Horseneck Lane Commuter Lot, Greenwich, CT
When: Saturday, July 25, 9:30 a.m.-1 p.m.
More info: greenwichfarmersmarketct.com

Village-Wide Community Tag Sale
Where: Throughout Rye Brook, with a shared table at Forever Families Through Adoption, 62 Bowman Ave
When: Saturday, July 25, 9 a.m.-3 p.m. (rain date July 26)
More info: ryebrookny.gov

The Head and the Heart with Wilderado
Where: The Capitol Theatre, 149 Westchester Ave, Port Chester, NY
When: Saturday, July 25, 8 p.m.
More info: thecapitoltheatre.com

Rye Town Park Summer Concert Series: Christine Chanel
Where: Rye Town Park, 95 Dearborn Ave, Rye, NY
When: Tuesday, July 28, 7 p.m.
More info: ryetownny.gov

Bruce Beginnings: Miniature Worlds
Where: Bruce Museum, 1 Museum Drive, Greenwich, CT
When: Tuesday-Wednesday, July 28-29
More info: brucemuseum.org

Since 1986, Greenwich Emergency Medical Service has answered the town's most urgent calls. Sunday, it marked 40 years with a party built for kids as much as first responders. GEMS's Explorer Post hosted "Rescue Rush" at the Cohen Eastern Greenwich Civic Center, teaching CPR, bleeding control, and allergic-reaction response to a crowd chasing food trucks and live music from School of Rock and Rock Paper Soul.

Completing every skill station earned kids a prize. The real prize, GEMS says, is a town full of people who know what to do in the minutes before an ambulance arrives. The nonprofit is running a year-long 40th anniversary celebration, a reminder that Greenwich's ambulance service isn't a town department at all. It grew out of volunteers and is now a full-time paramedic operation covering roughly 62,000 residents.

Worth knowing: GEMS is based at the Civic Center in Old Greenwich, with more anniversary events planned through the year.

It's a pre-construction listing, on 1.4 acres in the Harrison Avenue School District, where the buyer designs the home with the builder over a 12-18 month build (double-height great room, wine cellar, home theater, pool site included), and the price just jumped $300K in a single June revision.

$4,995,000
7 bed / 9 bath · 8,924 sqft
417 West St, Harrison, NY

View listing

🏛️ Preserve it, whatever the cost
⚖️ Weigh it case by case
🏗️ Progress first, nostalgia second
🤷 I just want more parking

👉 Vote here

Last week’s poll results: How many days off are you planning to take this summer?

10 - 20 — 50%
My life is an eternal vacation 😎 — 25%
1 - 5 — 13%
More than 20 — 13%

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See you next Thursday!