Chabad Seeks Partial Road Closure on Arch Street for Dec 18 Menorah Lighting and Concert

At Thursday’s Board of Selectmen meeting, Chabad of Greenwich had an item on the agenda requesting to close a section of Arch Street to vehicular traffic on Dec 18 from 3:00pm to 6:00pm for a Menorah lighting and music event in front of the historic post office building.

The proposal is to close Arch Street from the corner of Greenwich Avenue down to Gallagher’s Funeral Home at 31 Arch Street.

Chabad’s program director Shira Fischer said the three hour closure would include time to set up and break down from the menorah lighting and music event, which would run from 4:00pm or 4:30pm until 6:00pm. Ms Fischer said attendees would park on Greenwich Avenue, but that Chabad planned to ask the BOE for permission to use their lot for event staff and volunteers.

Fischer said about 50 folding chairs would be set up in the roadway on Arch Street.

Chabad would seek to hire two police officers for side jobs to assist with the event from 30 minutes before the start time until the end of the event.

She said she had been working with Andrew Karen, the Parks & Rec Recreation Supervisor, to go through all the departments for approvals for the annual Hanukkah celebration. She said she planned to visit the building department next week as part of the approval process.

“We know that usually during the celebration we know there are kids and people walking back and forth across the street and it was almost easier last year to block it off for safety, so we were interested in officially closing that one block. We wrote ‘up to Gallagher’s, but really it’s up to Bolling Place,” she explained.

First Selectman Camillo said he recalled last year’s request.

“I think what we’ll do is request is wait until all the approvals are lined up,” he said.

“One request is that when you light the Menorah you don’t go too high this year,” Camillo said.

Ms Stone McGuigan agreed the road closure would make the event safer, but she questioned 50 folding chairs in the street. She asked whether the folding chairs could be placed off the roadway.

Ms Fischer said the idea for putting folding chairs in the roadway was to accommodate people with small children and strollers as well older people who need to be seated.

The item will be taken up for a vote after the application works through the town departments.

The Menorah and concert stage are proposed to be in the area of the obelisk in front of RH Greenwich, which is the historic post office building.

See also: PILOT PROGRAM: 15-Minute Parking Spots in Amogerone Lot are Making Life Easier