Westport is receiving a windfall as a result of this years increase in the local municipal real estate conveyance tax.

Town Clerk Patricia H. Strauss said revenues have more than doubled in the first three months of this fiscal year over last year.

Strauss told WestportNow that in the three-month period ending Sept. 30, the town collected $534,717 in real estate conveyance taxes compared to $251,733 in the same period last year.

The increase came despite a slight dip in sales over the period Җ 218 sales in the recent period to 227 a year ago—and reflected increased value of transactions.

As part of its budget-balancing efforts earlier this year, the state legislature reduced state programs but allowed municipalities to increase revenues by increasing the conveyance tax.

The conveyance tax rate for municipalities increased effective March 15 from 0.11 percent —or $1.10 per each $1,000—to .25 per cent, or $2.50 per each $1,000.

The rate is supposed to revert back to its lower rate effective July 1, 2004, but many legislators have expressed doubt that in these tight budget times this will happen.

Westport is losing another longtime local retailer CamerArts, a photo and camera store in Sconset Square, is selling out to a Ridgefield retailer who will reopen it as a photo, card and gift shop.

֓The face of retailing has changed dramatically, said owner Stephen A. Schwartz, 58. ԓThe competition is stronger than it ever has been. And that makes it very, very tough.

Schwartz, who ran a learning center for photographers as well as selling cameras, photo supplies, and offering photo finishing, said he has no regrets after 23 years in the square.

ԓIve been in retailing for 35 years and itҒs time, he said. ԓEverybody in Westport has been terrific. But times change. People are more demanding. Its hard to meet those demands and make a profit. You just max out.Ҕ

Schwartz, who lives in the Compo Beach area with wife Nancy Holson, founder of the political satire group “The News in Revue,” said while sale of his business has been completed, hes waiting a few days to change the sign.

ғThe Fairfield County Weekly, or Advocate, whatever they call it, is coming out in a few days naming us the best photo shop in the county, he said. ԓIronic, isnt it? So weҒll keep the sign up until then.

Schwartz gained some national notoriety three years ago after Martha Stewart wrote an article in The New York Times Sunday Magazine saying she really didnԒt like Westport and intended to leave.

The CamerArts owner put up a bulletin board in his store and invited Westporters angered at her comments to post messages to her. That was fun,Ӕ he recalled with a chuckle.

Of course Stewart stayed anyway. But now its CamerArts thatҒs leaving.

04/30/2003 19:18 pm Comments (2) • Permalink

Another longtime locally-owned Westport retailer is closing its doors Kidwear at 1045 Post Road East near Colonial Road. The two sisters who founded the children֒s clothing and accessory store 16 years ago say its time to move on.

ғIts a combination of everything,Ҕ said Westporter Lynne Rozsa, who along with her younger sister Nancy Symington of Bridgeport, opened the store in 1987. ItӒs hard fighting the (poor) economy and retail is so consuming.

The storeԒs Web site says the two sisters decided to open Kidwear because they wanted to create a fun, easy one-stop shopping experience for moms or anyone shopping for children.Ӕ

Now, in a mailing to Westporters, they announced they are launching a quitting business saleӔ beginning Thursday. Everything will be sold, their letter said, including clothing, shoes, accessories, toys, and even store fixtures and equipment.

At the end of the sale, they plan to award customers more than $2,000 in prizes.

Rozsa said she looked forward to quieter times. It’s been hard, she said, having three kids go through the Westport schools while helping Westporters and customers throughout the country via their Web site or phone.ItӒs time to get out, she said.

04/29/2003 19:06 pm Comments (0) • Permalink

Attorney Alan Neigher lives in Fairfield but works in Westport. But not by much. A good golfer standing outside his office near the Super Stop and Shop on Post Road East could probably hit a ball across the town line into Fairfield.

What does that have to do with anything? Maybe nothing. But it is interesting to note as Neigher does battle for a client who lives mostly in Stamford but is trying to convince Greenwich he ought to be considered a resident there, at least for voting purposes.

Todays Greenwich Time highlights the legal dispute and quotes from a legal brief filed by Neigher in which he argues that “no law requires that a party living on property bisected by town boundaries must vote where (he) or she pays the greater amount of real estate taxes, or where their bedroom is located.Ҕ

For political trivia buffs, it is also interesting to note that Neigher, better known for his legal briefs on behalf of his media and entertainment clients, is opposed by the First Selectman of Easton on the issue.

The Town of Greenwich hired Bridgeport attorney William Kupinse Jr., who also wears the hat of Eastons top elected official, to represent its two registrars of voters in the dispute.

For longtime area media buffs, there is another interesting note: Alan Neigher is the son of the late Harry Neigher, a well-known columnist and cartoonist for the old Bridgeport Herald, (later the Bridgeport Sunday Herald), and probably knows a thing or two about publicity for his cases when he wants it.

Perhaps that, along with his other media connections, has something to do with how NeigherҒs Greenwich-Stamford border case ended up on the front page of The New York Times metropolitan section April 10 under the headline: Is It Greenwich Or Stamford? Lay Your Head On Either Side.”

Update: A special arbitration panel ruled May 16 that Neigher’s client was improperly removed from the Greenwich voter list, but the panel’s decision did not address what determines residency, which could leave room for him to be removed again.

04/26/2003 17:08 pm Comments (0) • Permalink

Talk about your high profile properties the Empire State Building and now a prize piece of downtown Westport in your portfolio.

The $18.1 million Westport deal closed on April 14 and today’s Hartford Courant/The Advocate of Stamford gives prominent coverage to the transaction under the headline: “Best of Westport: $1,046 a square foot.”

Reporting on the sale of the 17,282-square-foot retail building at 66-99 Main St., the Courant notes, Owning a retail building in a town where Paul Newman, Joanne Woodward and Martha Stewart live isn’t cheap.

The one-story building housing Gap, Ann Taylor and J. McLaughlin stores was sold to a partnership led by W&M Properties executives Peter L. and Anthony E. Malkin of Greenwich. They bought it from Boston-based First Westport Properties.

Last year, an investment entity owned by Peter Malkin and his father-in-law, Lawrence A. Wien, acquired the fee title to the Empire State Building after owning the buildings master lease since 1961.

Each of the 66-99 Main St. retailers has a long-term lease for their space—The Gap, with 10,521 square feet; Ann Taylor, with 3,880 square feet; and J. McLaughlin, with 2,881 square feet.

W&M Properties said the Westport purchase, through its Wien & Malkin Co-Investor Capital L.P., is the investor group’s first retail acquisition outside of Manhattan in more than a decade.

The Malkins’ commercial and office building portfolio also includes properties in Norwalk, Darien, and Stamford, New York and elsewhere.

According to the Courant, the buyer said dependable rents, high-income residents in the area and future value of the property prompted its purchase.

Todays New York Times takes a look a soaring home prices in the Northeast which, coupled with rising property taxes, are driving an increasing number of elderly from their homes and communities.

Sound familiar? The story doesnҒt mention Westport, but many Westporters will be able to identify with those who are cited. It says some communities provide relief to seniors by allowing them to work off part of their taxes. That has yet to be tried in Westport, which has a number of senior tax relief programs that are income-based.

The Times quotes one economist as saying: For the older people, their homes are rising in values, but their income is not rising. But you cannot eat your house.Ӕ

Update: Sundays New York Times reported that home buying has reached a feverish pitch in much of Fairfield County җ Norwalk is an exception fueled, brokers say, by declines in interest rates to 30-year lows, a shrinking of inventories and uneasiness over the war, a listless economy and a jumpy stock market.

The Times said Westport had 31 of the 56 building permits issued in February for the Stamford Labor Market, according to the state Department of Economic and Community Development. That includes Greenwich, New Canaan, Norwalk, Darien, Weston, Westport, Stamford and Wilton.

Last year only 36 permits were issued in February in the whole labor market. It is currently the only labor market showing an increase statewide, the report said.

The newspaper quoted Kathy Barnard, director of Westportגs Planning and Zoning Department as saying: “Things have not slowed down. People are putting on enormous two-story additions, tearing down houses to build bigger ones, and the issuing of building permits may not be backed up as much as it was last fall, but it’s still very busy.”

04/12/2003 22:51 pm Comments (0) • Permalink

Martha Stewarts place may not be the only game in town. Westporters with picturesque homes looking for a little added income can now add their homestead to the stateҒs list of potential location sites for filmmakers.

The casting call for homes has been issued by the Connecticut Film, Video & Media Office which is updating its database of available production crews, companies and support services for its print production guide, CD-ROM and Web site

Connecticut residents who want to make their homes available as locations to potential filmmakers are welcome to list their homes with the film office to become part of its library of Connecticut location sites.

Those interested are asked to fax a residential listing form to 860-721-7088 and see guidelines for Taking Your Location Photographs. Single snapshots are also accepted.

You can send hard copies to the Connecticut Film, Video & Media Office, 805 Brook St., Building 4, Rocky Hill, CT 06067 or e-mail images (at 150 dpi) to .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

04/10/2003 00:40 am Comments (0) • Permalink

A recent Connecticut court decision may cause chaos to zoning regulations in the states municipalities, including Westport.

ThatҒs the gist of a report in The Advocate of Stamford which said the action could also affect efforts of the communities to limit “McMansions.” It quoted land use attorneys and officials.

The newspaper said the legal issue began with a Wilton couple’s quest to add a garage and breezeway to their home.

04/06/2003 15:13 pm Comments (0) • Permalink