A Sense of the Meeting Resolution (SOMR) about restoring police to direct traffic in the intersections of Greenwich Ave was withdrawn on Friday, after the RTM Budget overview Committee considered it Thursday night. The BOC rejected amending the SOMR by a vote of 4-7-1 and then the BOC rejected the SOMR as submitted by a vote of 2-8-2.
“We got a detailed presentation from the proponents and from Chief Heavey and spent about 90 minutes discussing it,” said BOC chair James Waters.
The SOMR was supposed to appear as item 19 on the March 10 RTM call.
The group that organized the SOMR had circulated a petition that garnered over 1,000 signatures in recent months, and there have been complaints and opinion pieces about unsafe intersections given Greenwich Ave has become a very popular restaurant destination since the pandemic, with both people and cars attempting to get through busy intersections without the aid of police or traffic lights.
Decade after decade, Greenwich Ave has served increased numbers of pedestrians and vehicles.
Early photo of 240 Greenwich Ave at the intersection of West Elm Street.
Greenwich Avenue at Fawcett Place, c1950, when Greenwich Ave was two-way. Courtesy Greenwich Historical Society.
From the National Park Service gallery of the Greenwich Avenue Historic District
Petitioners wanted police to direct traffic at the busy intersection of Elm Street and Greenwich Ave. Saturday, Dec 14, 2024 Photo: Leslie Yager
The recently withdrawn SOMR acknowledged Greenwich Ave is a destination for residents and non-residents alike for shopping, dining and entertainment, and described the intersections as confusing and hazardous.
The SOMR suggested without police directing traffic, there had been an increase in crime because the police had been a deterrent.
Item 19 has been withdrawn from the March 10 RTM agenda.
Residents have complained that with so many pedestrians and vehicles sharing the intersections, people don’t know whose turn it is to proceed, and everyone is forced into what former P&Z commissioner Peter Levy described as “a tight knuckle.”
The topic was an election issue November 2023 municipal election when Democratic candidate Laura Erickson said the First Selectman had approved removing police from the Avenue without a plan.
“The incumbent First Selectman removed the police officers from the Greenwich Ave./Arch St./Havemeyer intersection without a plan in place to address traffic flow and pedestrian safety,” Erickson said in an Oct 2023 letter about why she was running.
“I am on the record expressing concerns when it was being discussed…We need an alternative plan on how to address this dangerous situation because right now, no one (drivers and pedestrians alike) knows what to do there.”
The Dept of Public Works anticipated the installation of bump outs at Elm Street would calm traffic and subsequently serve as a model for eight Avenue intersections, which are in the works.
But bump outs have been about as controversial as removing police from the intersections.
There have been discussions at P&Z commission meetings about installing traffic signals on Greenwich Ave, where now there are only stop signs – possibly old fashioned looking lights, given the Greenwich Avenue as added to the National Register of Historic Places back in 1989.
One letter writer suggested a compromise of having police at intersections at least for two hours a day at lunch time.
This recent SOMR for the RTM was not the first.
In a 2021 earlier SOMR petitioners noted that in January 2019, prior to the pandemic, Mr. Camillo removed funding from his 2021-2022 budget for police to continue directing traffic on Greenwich Ave.
At the time, Ed Dadakis noted the police had been directing traffic at Avenue intersections for the better part of a century.
“We all know there are times when Greenwich Ave is chaotic,” Dadakis said. “Drivers stopping completely or driving down the middle of the road at 2 mph, pedestrians crossing wherever they want, frequently paying no attention to their surroundings. Chaos is reduced and managed with police at the intersections.”
Nevertheless, the SOMR failed to pass in 2021: The vote was 81 in favor, 127 opposed and 7 abstentions.
The First Selectman has said repeatedly that the police will never be returned to the Avenue intersections.
Heavey’s letter on Saturday said a vote in favor of the SOMR would be a vote of no confidence in the efforts by Greenwich Police.
Heavey has said that limited police assets were better directed to address new trends in crime.
Today the 172-member force has officers deployed to the nimble e-bicycle police team, plainclothes officers and the ORCA unit, which is short for Organized Retail Crime Activity. Anyone who follows the police arrests reports on this news site is aware of numerous arrests made by these members of the police department. A recent arrest of a trio of suspects was a good example of these successful efforts. In that incident, suspects were apprehended after officers witnessed a suspect attempting fraudulent transactions, and the ORCA Unit coordinated with the Bike Unit to combine resources for a swift response.
On Saturday Police Chief Heavey distributed a letter to the media about the SOMR media, but the letter was withdrawn before media had a chance to publish it.
In his letter, Heavey talked about how limited resources of the police force were better allocated to the Ave in different ways.
He said in the last year alone, ORCA had investigated 71 cases, resulting in 130 persons being arrested for 363 felonies, 391 misdemeanors, and dozens of infractions.
“Many of these local arrests were tied to major regional cases being investigated by federal law enforcement agencies. Many of these suspects have been tied to violent crimes committed elsewhere.”
“I can report to you that so far in 2025, there has not been an increase in crime on Greenwich Avenue, but we have made more arrests for property crimes that can result in higher prices for all of us,” he added. “The ORCA team recovered over $261,000 worth of property in asset forfeiture and over $110,000 dollars in merchandise.”
Heavey also emphasized the police force had shrunk overall since he joined in 1986. That year there were 175 police officers, which he said remained steady until after 2000, when the number dropped to 156.
As of July 1, 2024, the department has 152 sworn full-time officers.
Overall, he said since he joined the force the officer strength had decreased by over 10% at the same time the town’s population increased by about 5%.
“Yet even with fewer officers, it’s simply not true that there are fewer officers on the Avenue now than when they were on fixed traffic posts.”
Again, Heavey said a vote in favor of the SOMR, while non binding, would be a virtual vote of “no confidence” in the efforts of the Greenwich Police Dept to address emerging crime trends and to align limited police resources with the needs of the community.
Heavey added, “The most visible enforcement isn’t necessarily the most effective.”
That might have been a reference to the SOMR’s whereas clause:
“Whereas Greenwich police have warned residents of growing burglaries from nationally organized ‘South American Theft Group’ since Sept 1, 2024.”
The organizers of the petition for the SOMR have said they might introduce it again in future.
Note: This article was updated to reflect the results of the RTM Budget Overview Committee’s votes on the SOMR the day before the item was withdrawn.
