Submitted by Brian Raabe, Greenwich
THE TRUMP (like) HOTEL – a Town of Greenwich Venture
Without parsing every line of the First Selectman’s reelection announcement, there is a fundamental thesis in the platform.
Government is bad.
Proof of Republican disdain is found in the plans for “THE TRUMP (like) HOTEL”on Greenwich Avenue where the Board of Education offices reside.
To quote Selectwoman Lauren Rabin, “We are investigating what we can do with this building and make sure we can it turn it back to the community as an asset for all residents to enjoy.”
($500.00 nightly, single room occupancy, holiday surcharges apply, pets prohibited)…
C’mon, “Back to all the community?”
We live here. Hotel room is not at the top of the hierarchy of needs. A parking space near the Apple Store? Yes.
More to the point, isn’t the entire community using the building now in the form of office space for one of the most critical areas of the town budget, education?
What next, the Greenwich Police HQ converted to a public/private nightclub and casino, “Escape the Room.” Or not…
Tod’s Point – A Water Park (brought to you by Six Flags).
Why this building?
Side note, this is the building that houses the Board of Education the First Selectman is suing at taxpayer expense. The Board of Education whose budget Harry Fisher cut by $4.0 million on a whim.
Let me check the pattern recognition software…
Nonetheless, this is where the kickoff party was launched.
The issue – according to this crew – is that a building used for government purposes is not considered “for the people” because (by extension) government is bad.
I recently read an exchange regarding fully funding education in town. The critic wrote, “fully funded by whom?”
Oh, “a gotcha.”
At the risk of civics lecture – education is funded by all of us – taxpayers, like we fund roads and police and firemen and parks. You know, the stuff that makes life in Greenwich so great, and by extension defines a civil society.
Collective funding for the broadest public good.
The critic might say, “My kids go to private school, why should I pay to educate someone else’s kid.”
Well I suppose you could pay a police officer to come only when someone is at your back door with a crowbar working their way in, and only if your credit card clears to facilitate the dispatch.
But that isn’t really practical, is it? Hard to run a great town that way.
So back to the hotel that apparently people have been clamoring for over the years according to the First Selectman, (side note – the Delamar seems pretty good), a hotel up the block from the Delamar is so in demand (and I guess the Hyatt is sold out 365), a hotel so much a part of the daily discourse we should boot the Board of Education, 77 year tenants, out of the building.
You can buy what’s being sold here ($500 nightly, single occupancy), or you can vote for change.
Brian Raabe