Tuesday was a scorcher, with a NWS heat advisory in effect, temps into the 90°s and a storm in the forecast when an Aquarion water main was damaged and went out of service outside 151 Hamilton Avenue in Chickahominy, leaving residents and businesses on the block without water all day.
Traffic, including trucks and CT Transit buses, was re-routed from Hamilton Ave, to Artic Street, to Josephine Evaristo, to Charles Street, and back to Hamilton Ave.
JCM Services Inc, a contractor at 151 Hamilton Avenue, had been working when the water main was damaged causing a water shut off throughout the area, and the resulting street closure. A J Penna & Son, who Aquarion often hires to do emergency repair work in Greenwich, spent hours correcting the problem.
On Tuesday, after disruption to a water main on Hamilton Avenue, traffic was re-routed from Hamilton Ave, to Artic Street, to Josephine Evaristo, to Charles Street, and back to Hamilton Ave. July 8, 2025 Photo: Leslie Yager
On Tuesday, after disruption to a water main on Hamilton Avenue, traffic was re-routed from Hamilton Ave, to Artic Street, to Josephine Evaristo, to Charles Street, and back to Hamilton Ave. July 8, 2025 Photo: Leslie Yager
Hamilton Avenue is a busy thoroughfare that runs parallel to I-95, and is heavily trafficked, especially at rush hour. While it was fortunate that school was not in session because Hamilton Avenue School is nearby, the situation was problematic for neighbors and businesses including the River Bicycles, ROCK’s Wine & Spirits, and Coxe & Graziano Funeral home where an afternoon memorial service was impacted.
With a service planned for that afternoon, this incident had the Graziano family, who operate the Coxe & Graziano Funeral Home, pivoting to make sure they could welcome the family and friends who would be attending.
Jen Graziano said that without running water, rest rooms were unavailable to guests during the memorial service, and parking was impacted significantly given traffic was rerouted around their business and construction vehicles were taking up the on-street parking.
On top of that, the air conditioning in part of the building relies on water, so it became necessary to relocate the afternoon memorial service to an alternate chapel within the building where, fortunately, there was air conditioning powered by electricity.
Despite the heat she managed to laugh when she recalled her family taking over the funeral home in 2015 and being made fun of by Architectural Review Committee members when they proposed a stand alone clock akin to the ones outside Cos Cob Fire House, Town Hall and Greenwich Ave.
She recalled being asked by committee member Tracey Arne Brown at the time, “Why are you having a clock? What’s the purpose? Does it say Chickahominy on it? I don’t think this looks very ‘Chickahominy’. It looks like it should be down in Charleston.”
For Jen, and the neighboring businesses and residents, the irony is hard to miss. Their proposed clock, which would have been a quick, and arguably charming addition to the neighborhood, was denied – yet across the street construction at 151 Hamilton Avenue, where a second single family house is being built behind an existing single family house, has been going on for close to two years.
The prolonged construction of this modest second house has caused a multitude of issues from neighbors and neighboring businesses, most recently this water main incident.
“Today just adds insult to injury,” Jen Graziano said, gesturing to the workers under the roadway fixing the water main in front of her business.
Crews finally wrapped up by late afternoon, though A J Penna & Son and Aquarion were still present until around 7:00 pm.
Aquarion director of corporate communications Peter Fazekas on Wednesday confirmed that a contractor had damaged the service line across from 151 Hamilton Ave at 136 Hamilton Ave.
“Normally we repair the service line but when it got damaged where it connects into our water main, called a ‘corporation,’ that was damaged and could not be repaired, so we had to replace a 6-foot section of 6-inch ductal iron water main,” Fazekas said.
“If it had been just one corporation with nothing near it, you could have used a clamp there,” he added. “Instead, envision a water main with taps going into one side – too close together to clamp one of them.”
According to Jen Graziano, in the afternoon Greenwich Police sent an officer to direct traffic at Artic and Hamilton Avenue, which was very helpful.
Around 7:00 pm, neighbors reported water service had been restored, but that pressure was low and water was initially brown before eventually running clear.
On Tuesday, Don Nelson, who started a petition to town government on change.org in March, described the construction at 151 Hamilton Avenue as “bedlam.”
Reached by phone, he said he started the petition on behalf of a friend who lives near the “endless” construction.
“My friend and his neighbors were at a loss and didn’t know what to do. For close to two years, they have been living with ongoing jackhammering noise and construction mess… 11 hours a day five days a week, eight hours a day on Saturdays – even some Federal Holidays.”
“At times, for weeks on end, the constant jackhammering resulted in piles of fine rock dust that blew around covering neighbors’ cars, and outdoor furniture. It got to the point that pedestrians in the area had to cover their faces to pass by without breathing in the dust.”
Moreover, he said the construction and associated noise impacted neighbors’ right to “quiet enjoyment” of their properties.
“No one could open their windows, or enjoy the outdoors without dealing with something akin to the Dust Bowl of the 1930’s,” he added.
“It’s astounding to me that it’s taken almost two years to construct one relatively small house,” Nelson stated. “I’ve had a number of homes renovated, and built from the ground up, I understand delays – but 21 months and counting? Entire communities have been built in less time.”
Nelson continued, “How does Greenwich allow a project like this to go on in a residential area for almost two years with a, seemingly, open ended permit? Is there any oversight? Did anyone consider the impact on the community and businesses? Did anyone think to ask what on Earth is taking so long?”
“I’ve learned on my builds that it’s important to be respectful of the community – and to be transparent with both the neighbors, and local businesses so they know what to expect. That is certainly what is not happening with this situation. No one expected this.”
Mr. Nelson said he felt that Greenwich needed to address the issues that this “seemingly, endless construction” have caused, months of which he stated consisted of jackhammering which he believed exceeded decibel levels set in Greenwich’s Noise Ordinance.
“Greenwich strictly regulates the use of explosives to combat ledge rock due to excessive noise and its impact on health, welfare, and quality of life,” said Nelson.
“Friends and business owners in the area told me they would prefer a few blasts a week over the persistent jackhammering noise and associated mess for months on end.”
The change.org petition started by Mr. Nelson is titled, “Demand Greenwich to Limit Construction Times & Noise: Stop endless construction and noise in Chickahominy.”
It has collected 50 signatures and several comments.
The petition requests stricter time-limits on building permits, and a drastic reduction in the permissible decibel level allowed for construction activities in residential areas.
What is happening at 151 Hamilton Avenue?
On Nov 10, 2022, the Greenwich Planning & Zoning commission approved an application for final site plan and special permit from the owner of 151 Hamilton Ave, Salvatore Gizzo, represented by attorney Tom Heagney.
The commission’s vote was 4-1 to approve the application, with P&Z commission chair Margarita Alban opposed.
Voting in favor were Nick Macri, Peter Levy, Peter Lowe and Dennis Yeskey.
Specifically, the application was to construct a 3-bedroom, single-family dwelling with attached garage behind the existing single family house at 151 Hamilton Ave, and relocate the existing garage closer to the existing house.
Aerial view of 151 Hamilton Avenue, a .2950 acre lot in Chickahominy.
That vote came after the Historic District Commission had approved a “certificate of appropriateness” for the addition of the single family residence at the rear of the property.
Back in 2005, the Historic District Commission approved the property for a Historic Overlay (HO) zone in 2005. At the time it was called the HRO zone. The existing house dates back to 1924.
In 2005, the owner sought to rezone from R6 to R6-HRO and convert the existing three-family dwelling to medical office, but the medical office was never constructed and the applicant proposed to retain the existing house as a single family dwelling.
The house at 151 Hamilton Ave then sold from DCJE Inc to Salvatore Gizzo on Jan 6, 2022 for $910,000. The property is .2950 acres and benefits from town sewer and public water.
Rock Removal in Greenwich
In Greenwich, where there are two Ridge Streets and numerous roads named after rock features including Indian Rock Lane where at Central Middle School a giant rock outcropping will be removed as part of the new school plan, there have been complaints about noise from rock removal.
There is a great deal of residential construction in Greenwich – mostly resulting from teardowns – not only around Chickahominy and downtown Greenwich, but throughout town.
Last April, a group of residents proposed to the RTM an ordinance to limit blasting and jack-hammering, among other construction noises. It was withdrawn because it was not deemed to be in legal order, but may be resubmitted after revisions.
Last September, a resident went before the Board of Selectmen asking what could be done about loud rock removal and blasting on Locust Street in downtown. Susan Mitti said rock removal prevented her from enjoying being outdoors on her property all summer and even impacting her ability to take calls during her remote work.
“It’s like living down the street from a full-on quarry,” Mutti told the Selectmen.
Meanwhile townspeople are waiting to learn about plans for converting the former Honda dealership into two multi-story residential buildings straddling Mason Street as part of an 8-30g, which would involve extensive rock removal.
The application was approved by the P&Z commission but with conditions. Nevertheless, the applicant sued the town.
Note: This story was updated to reflect that, according to Jen Graziano, in the afternoon Greenwich Police sent an officer to direct traffic at Artic and Hamilton Avenue, which was very helpful.
