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The response to our first edition was incredible. It’s clear we’re all craving the same thing: a fast, "skimmable" way to stay connected to our community. We’re off to a great start. Now, let’s dive into what’s happening this week!

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Governor Hochul joined Port Chester officials Wednesday to break ground on Westchester Crossing — 957 housing units, 105 affordable, on the former United Hospital site that sat vacant for more than two decades.

A $65 million infrastructure upgrade, backed by $10 million in state funds, will prep the 15-acre Boston Post Road site for vertical construction by 2027. The Sound Shore corridor hasn't seen a housing project at this scale in a generation.

The town set May 14 at 7 p.m. for the public hearing on its suspended school zone speed camera program — the approval step that should have happened before the cameras ever turned on.

Greenwich halted the program April 2 after discovering it had skipped the required public process. The restart clock doesn't move until after May 14. But an equally unresolved question looms: whether drivers who paid fines before the suspension get refunds. Town officials have offered one answer so far: "That's not been decided. We still have to speak with Blue Line, and we're speaking with our attorneys."

The cameras worked — GPD reported real reductions in speeding. That won't matter if the public hearing surfaces organized opposition. May 14 will be the first signal of how the town intends to proceed.

The Harrison Planning Board held its regular April session Tuesday night, keeping three unresolved applications at the center of its docket.

The board is tracking a trio of cases that individually would dominate most monthly agendas. The Wegmans retail expansion at Corporate Park Drive — cleared of the requirement for a full environmental impact statement last month via Negative Declaration — continues advancing through the lighter review track. The 275 North Street 17-lot subdivision remains in its Draft Environmental Impact Statement phase, following February's scoping session. And the Renaissance Harrison Article 78 litigation continues in Westchester Supreme Court, where the developer of the stalled 760-unit hotel conversion project argues the planning board has failed to act for years. No court ruling has been issued.

Outcomes from Tuesday's session were not available at the time I'm writing this.

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Four months into his term, Nathan is navigating a compressed timeline: a Central Business District zoning and design guidelines study just launched by RFP, while a 20-unit mixed-use application on Purchase Street has already arrived before any study framework is in place. The sequencing tension — new application before the study that would govern it — is the sharpest edge in Rye's development conversation right now.

Other items in the frame: the Blind Brook intermunicipal flood compact, formalized with Rye Brook and Harrison and backed by $21 million in state funding; City Hall's HVAC overhaul, with the final departments expected to return to the building this week; and Nathan's response to Westchester Crossing — the 957-unit development Port Chester broke ground on this week, which Rye residents say will route new traffic through their streets toward I-95 North.

Nathan has so far signaled cooperation over litigation with Port Chester.

New Local Podcast Alert MyRye.com just launched a weekly podcast — Conversations with Doug French — hosted by the former Rye mayor. The show tackles larger and sometimes intractable issues facing the City of Rye through interviews with local, county, and state officials and business leaders, and is available on all major podcasting platforms.

Rye — Jon Hamm filming on Purchase Street today for Apple TV+'s "Your Friends & Neighbors" — streets closed, season 2 airing now

Port Chester — The Loop waterfront promenade is two days from its Phase 1 completion deadline

Greenwich — Town Party May 23 lineup confirmed: Dave Matthews + John Fogerty

Harrison — A Metropolitan Opera bass baritone performed at North Greenwich Congregational Church Sunday (with a light dig at the planning board cadence)

A close friend introduced us to Canoe, in Greenwich (280 Railroad Ave), and his immediate advice was: "Get the Squid Ink Pasta." I’m so glad I listened—the combination of flavors was incredible! The dish comes in two sizes depending on your appetite. My wife opted for the Yellow fin Tuna, which was remarkably fresh, light, and flavorful. Pro tip: Don’t skip the appetizers—the Tuna Crispy Rice is a must-order.

The staff is incredibly friendly, the cocktails are top-notch, and now that the weather is warming up, the outdoor seating is perfect for a great meal. Highly recommended!

The Blind Brook starts in West Harrison and works its way south — through Rye Brook, through the Rye Nature Center, and into Milton Harbor at the city's edge. Along the 1,600-foot stretch through the nature center, it's been deteriorating for years: banks collapsing, floodwaters routing incorrectly, invasive plants crowding out the brackish estuarine mix of plants and wildlife that make this stretch ecologically unusual for the region.

The Friends of Rye Nature Center have spent five years getting to this moment: funding secured, permits aligned, construction targeted for late summer 2026.

The project will reshape the brook's oversimplified channel, repair the collapsing stream banks, install wetland enhancements that slow and store floodwater, and replant the corridor with native species. Engineers from Barton & Loguidice designed the work. Funding came from the NYSDEC's Water Quality Improvement Program ($723,631) and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation's Long Island Sound Futures Fund ($443,166) — roughly $1.17 million in competitive environmental grants.

The timing connects to a larger story. Governor Hochul announced $21 million last June for Blind Brook bridge replacements in Rye — infrastructure tied to the same watershed. The nature center stretch is the ecological foundation that larger work is built around.

The brook has been waiting a while. Construction starts this summer.

The U.S. faces a shortage of approximately 4.5 million housing units, according to a 2024 Freddie Mac analysis. In high-demand suburbs like Westchester and Fairfield Counties — where zoning has historically constrained density — that gap makes itself felt in prices, inventory, and the debates that arrive with every major groundbreaking. Port Chester's Westchester Crossing, at 957 units, is the most visible test of that tension in years.

What matters most to you when you think about new housing development around our communities?

🏗️ More supply — we need housing and Westchester Crossing is part of the solution
🏘️ Affordability, not just volume — 105 affordable out of 957 isn't enough
🚗 Infrastructure first — roads, schools, and services have to keep up or development backfires
🏡 Character and scale — large projects change the neighborhoods they land in permanently

Vote here!
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Last week’s poll results: How does your commute work in 2026?

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See you next Thursday!