This Week’s Letters to the Editor

Editor’s Note: The Letters to the Editor section in the Woodbridge Town Chronicle is a place where community voices can be shared and heard. In the print newspapers of years past, letters to the editor were often the liveliest section, where readers spoke directly to one another, the broader community, and its leaders. To submit a letter for consideration please refer to the submission guidelines.

Remembering Andy Esposito: A giant of our community

To the editor,

Woodbridge lost a giant last week with the sudden passing of Andy Esposito. Andy and his wife Judy lived in Woodbridge for more than 60 years where they raised their family, Andrew, Christina , and Jonathan. Andy lost his beloved Judy in March, and had a difficult time transitioning to a life without his partner. I spent many days sitting with him and spoke to him many days. He was a Marine, and he toughed it out as much as he could, but more than 60 years of marriage made Judy his soul mate and he truly worshiped her.

Andy continued to take care of his children, grandchildren, and great grandchild every day he lived. He was going to celebrate his 90th birthday on July 30, and in fact had booked a facility to celebrate with 130 of his closest friends and family. He was so looking forward to that. That was typical Andy.

Most of us are aware of his amazing business career which took him all over the world and of course his dedicated service to Woodbridge in so many capacities. Police Commissioner, Board of Finance and numerous building committees. A truly talented man.

Andy always lamented all the friends he had lost in recent years. Monsignor Gene Gianelli, Dom Proto, Dolph Luciani, Dave Ryan, Tony Malafronte to name a few. This group was active in all aspects of the town, in fact they formed a third political party. They also formed the Woodbridge Fathers Baseball League and made it an amazing success.

So we say farewell to a great one, one who is truly irreplaceable. I, along with hundreds of his friends and acquaintances will miss him deeply. He affected so many people, all in a good way. Rest in peace my friend.

— Matthew T. Giglietti

For those wishing to learn more about Esposito's life and contributions, his obituary is available online.

Rotary Club inducts new officers

To the editor,

The Rotary Club of Woodbridge recently inducted their new officers at their annual installment banquet, held at Carmines di Vega restaurant.

Officers were sworn in by past District Governor Robert B. Friend (right in the photo). Officers for the 2026-2027 year are (right to left) President Rob Rosasco, Membership Chair and Director Anna Dickerson, Secretary Pennell Hamilton, Treasurer Thomas Shernow, and Past President Buddy DeGennaro. Officers serve for a one-year term.

Rotary Club of Woodbridge is one of 46,000 clubs throughout the world. There are about 1.2 million Rotarians in over 200 countries who dedicate their time to community improvement, youth scholarships, and seven core causes including peacebuilding, basic education, and environmental protection.

Woodbridge Rotary serves three communities, Woodbridge, Bethany and Westville. Past projects include Thanksgiving baskets, senior holiday lunch, thesauruses for 3rd grade Beecher Road students and even one benefitting a school in India, jointly completed with a Rotary Club in India. We look forward to further engagement in the year ahead. For more information, you can contact us by email.

— Anna Dickerson

The writer is providing information on behalf of the Rotary Club of Woodbridge.

Action needed on “Woodbridge Heights” opportunity

To the editor,

We made progress on affordable housing this week, and could be doing more if only the First Selectman would take action.

Kudos to New Samaritan Corporation for negotiating a deal to acquire the senior housing complex at Lucy Street. New Samaritan is a non-profit focused on providing affordable elderly housing, with over 50 locations in Connecticut. With the help of State funding, New Samaritan’s acquisition will bring substantial improvement to the complex while improving our town’s count of legally affordable housing. I’m so pleased that town residents unanimously voted for the ground lease which is a small but necessary piece of New Samaritan’s purchase.

Another opportunity for affordable housing is lying fallow due to inaction at Town Hall. The Town owns some 9 acres off of Pease Road known as Woodbridge Heights. The acreage includes seven slivers of privately-held land which have long been available for foreclosure to make the acreage whole. This property would be suitable for small-scale affordable housing if only our First Selectman would initiate the tax foreclosures needed to secure clean title to the acreage.

In March 2026, CUPOP recommended that Woodbridge Heights be designated multiuse, including both potential residential development and trail connectivity, and explained the need to clean up title through tax foreclosure. That same month I discussed the property’s potential in person with First Selectman Mica Cardozo, CUPOP Chair Nicole Donzello, and representatives from Habitat for Humanity, which builds 100% affordable housing. A few weeks later I reminded our First Selectman of the need to start the foreclosure process. Inexplicably, as of this week our Tax Collector has yet to receive authorization to proceed with tax foreclosure. Why the delay?

— Amey Marrella

The writer is a member of the Board of Selectmen.

Seeking clarity of Beecher grants and referendum process

To the editor,

I have a number of questions about the process, timing, and requirements for the various grants being sought for the proposed Beecher Road School construction project.

We’re told that we can receive a 5% Housing Incentive, based on the newly required housing growth plan, due in 2028. How does that timing affect our project? Does that mean that we will not know whether we qualify for this 5% grant until 2028? If approved, wouldn’t the project have already started by then?

Second, how will we handle the inevitable claw back the state routinely makes? Two longtime town officials have told me that after a building project is completed, the state does a thorough audit, and usually takes back 10-15% of the promised grant monies. In this case, if we get the maximum hoped for $65m in grants, 10-15% of that amount is a very large number – $6.5m - $9.75m. How are we planning for such a large potential claw back?

Third, I remain confused by the referendum timing and process as it has been described. A referendum will ask us to approve the entire $118million project budget, but we won’t know until later whether we have received the hoped for grant money. If the referendum passes, we have legally committed ourselves to a debt of $118million. The First Selectman says that if we don’t get the full grant amount we won’t go forward with the project, but what is the legal mechanism for what seems to be the invalidating of a referendum? Who decides? The Board of Selectmen, the Board of Finance, the Board of Education (who have the authority to accept or reject the grants), or some combination?

I hope the town plans to have a public information forum where these and other questions can be answered.

— Cathy Wick

Editor’s Note: Letters reflect the perspectives of their authors. They are published to foster dialogue about issues of local concern, including questions of governance, transparency, and accountability, as well as topics such as highlighting upcoming or past events from community groups. To submit a letter for consideration please refer to the submission guidelines.