Local bands enjoy larger exposure at Stamford's Alive@Five

As members of the rock band Chasing Something Better exited the stage at Alive @ Five Thursday night, they were thrilled with the experience of playing such a large venue.

[MrT]

I have said it before and I will say it again. Stamford is the only city in Ct. serious about attracting big business, growth and young people and it is obvious. You make the job of convincing my wife to move there much easier. Stamford has a golden key... the 45 minute express train service to Manhattan. Events like the Thanksgiving balloon parade and Alive@Five are big city events. I love it!

[stamford resident]

others may love it, but many of us...hate it..try living here and surviving, with the high taxes, and always rising, we use to have a great schooling, we longer have that, it vcost a fortune to buy or rent a home, everything here is out of reach for people, very difficult to raise a family here, not a good enviroment for children, we have apolice departmant that needs an overhaul, the list goes on..i love music, and i wouldnt go down town for free let alone pay an admission, i just cannot wait to get my family out of here, and relocate..they have chased all the original stamford people out, very few lwft..

[Jambo Alimbo]

Mr. T. the Stamford resident is right. Stamford has some serious issues to get through of which number one is the absolute lack of a cohesive downtown. There was one once and then Stamford Town Center was dropped on top of it. What the city could do is buy the open pit from the slimy landlord who owns it and develop it into a town square and connect it to the mall.

As to Live at Five, it is a huge bonus for those businesses in Columbus Park but it crushes the business for those outside the ropes. maybe once the greenway is completed that will change and they will move these events there.

Despite what you may hear, the crime rate keeps growing as they layoff more police officers and they day worker population grows. Drive down South State Street from 5:00AM on and you will see a line of illegal immigrants waiting for cash jobs. The state and city not only don't discourage it but set up a rest area for them under the highway with picnic tables and a port o let.

One of the reasons I am taking my family and moving out of this town.

[MrT]

stamford resident wrote:

others may love it, but many of us...hate it..try living here and surviving, with the high taxes, and always rising, we use to have a great schooling, we longer have that, it vcost a fortune to buy or rent a home, everything here is out of reach for people, very difficult to raise a family here, not a good enviroment for children, we have apolice departmant that needs an overhaul, the list goes on..i love music, and i wouldnt go down town for free let alone pay an admission, i just cannot wait to get my family out of here, and relocate..they have chased all the original stamford people out, very few lwft..

Everyone complains that Stamford is not what it used to be. Stamford has been a very rapidly growing city for a long time. When it was not growing, it was dirty and dangerous. In the 80's it had the designation of being the fastest growing city in the country. In the early 1800's, there were very few people here. We are smack dab in the middle of one of the most populated parts of the world and one of the wealthiest places in the world. What do you expect? Tons of money, tons of people. Don't cry, don't complain. Move. Life is unfair. The quicker you learn, the less unhappy you will be. I just get annoyed because I love Ct. and Stamford is the states only real chance to become a legitimate city. An attraction. A place to live and work. No more sleepy bedroom communities. For me, it is progress. OK... now lets here about the high taxes...

[Frijoles]

I agree you can not look back to some village ideal, but I have lived in a few other places, including a few rapidly "growing" places, and my experience is that Stamford is the most troublesome of all the places. The management of this city is problematic, to say it charitably. The schools have major issues they did NOT have a few years back. Community life has declined as new residentual building have gone up, now many of those buildings are not fully occupied, compounding the problem. I could go on and on....The point is that there are better cities to live in that are also growing, so there is no reason to put on a happy face about ours.

[Rob Tyska]

Frijoles wrote:

The point is that there are better cities to live in that are also growing, so there is no reason to put on a happy face about ours.

In CT? Where?

[MrT]

Jambo Alimbo wrote:

Mr. T. the Stamford resident is right. Stamford has some serious issues to get through of which number one is the absolute lack of a cohesive downtown. There was one once and then Stamford Town Center was dropped on top of it. What the city could do is buy the open pit from the slimy landlord who owns it and develop it into a town square and connect it to the mall.
As to Live at Five, it is a huge bonus for those businesses in Columbus Park but it crushes the business for those outside the ropes. maybe once the greenway is completed that will change and they will move these events there.
Despite what you may hear, the crime rate keeps growing as they layoff more police officers and they day worker population grows. Drive down South State Street from 5:00AM on and you will see a line of illegal immigrants waiting for cash jobs. The state and city not only don't discourage it but set up a rest area for them under the highway with picnic tables and a port o let.
One of the reasons I am taking my family and moving out of this town.

The mall was a huge mistake and I think it should be leveled immediately. This is why Bedford looks like a street in an old factory town in Ohio. I also agree that the greenway will add a much needed place to congregate and maybe even have the concert series there. Would be nice if they could build an bandshell like the one in Prospect Park Brooklyn. You may be right about the crime rate, but that is not unique to Stamford. Crime goes up when the economy goes down.

I can understand the tax issuess but at least you are not in Hartford or Bridgeport where the taxes are high and you get nothing for it. Stamford has decent schools, safe areas and decent entertainment options including a beach.

[Security Cameras]

The Stamford Public Schools...bascially Suck big time. I couldn't enroll my son to the AIT school because enrollement was overbooked by the City of Bridgeport Kids" - Go figure...I live and own a home in Stamford - decide to move to Stamford to provide a safe envirnoment for my kids, pay TOP $$$ on house/school taxes and I'm the outer....what the F*&* is wrong with the City of Stamford? Stamford is now called "The CITY THAT DOES NOT WORK" - thanks to the mayor - basically, if he can't control his family...how can he control "Stamford"?

Frijoles wrote:

I agree you can not look back to some village ideal, but I have lived in a few other places, including a few rapidly "growing" places, and my experience is that Stamford is the most troublesome of all the places. The management of this city is problematic, to say it charitably. The schools have major issues they did NOT have a few years back. Community life has declined as new residentual building have gone up, now many of those buildings are not fully occupied, compounding the problem. I could go on and on....The point is that there are better cities to live in that are also growing, so there is no reason to put on a happy face about ours.

[Publius]

Security Cameras wrote:

The Stamford Public Schools...bascially Suck big time. I couldn't enroll my son to the AIT school because enrollement was overbooked by the City of Bridgeport Kids" - Go figure...I live and own a home in Stamford - decide to move to Stamford to provide a safe envirnoment for my kids, pay TOP $$$ on house/school taxes and I'm the outer....what the F*&* is wrong with the City of Stamford? Stamford is now called "The CITY THAT DOES NOT WORK" - thanks to the mayor - basically, if he can't control his family...how can he control "Stamford"?
<quoted text>

whine, whine, whine,

if the state wasn;t supporting AITE, the new school wouldn't exist, and your child could not go there, The price of state support (Free building) is that at least 25% of the students must be from outside of Stamford (not nearly all are from Bridgeport).

If your child couldn't get in, it wasn't because there were too many Bridgeport students; it was because there were too many applicants from Stamford, so admission was based on lottery.

Time to grow up. If you don't like living in Stamford, move somewhere else.

I find it interesting that you complain about paying "top dollar" for a house in Stamford when Stamford's housing prices are considerably less than surrounding towns. But apparently Stamford's housing prices are high because.....well, i guess because there is a big DEMAND for houses in Stamford.