A break-even on Old [sic] Round Hill Lane?

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5 Old Round Hill Lane (a small development built off the real Round Hill in 2003-2004), priced at $10.9 million, finally has a contract. The owners tried for $11.495 million in 2018 and had dropped that to $9.950 by the time they gave up in July 2021. They came back this past March at $11.9, dropped it to $10.9, and that seems to have done the job.

These same owners purchased it for $10.375 in 2013 and, depending on how much the 2019 “renovations” claimed in the current listing cost, they might just be breaking even here; minus commissions and other transaction cost, of course. My guess is that they’re losing money, just as their predecessor in title did; he paid $11,200,000 in 2006, when it was newly built and still sparkling in the dew.

Here's a fairly-uncommon sight these days: a price cut

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127 Stanwich Road, which was launched on the resale waters last March at $5.250 million, has, after a suitable period of price discovery, been dropped to $4.750. The owners paid $4.450 million for it when it was new in 2006, put in a pool and made other improvements, so to see no appreciation over 18 years must come as a disappointment.

This may serve as a reminder to other buyers during this period of irrational exuberance that we went through the same thing back in 2002-2007, and the aftermath was pretty ugly for a long time.

Video here.

I think this is a great idea — in fact, if I were a parent of young children, I’d keep them off cellphones entirely — but I suspect this will go nowhere.

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Two Greenwich moms want schools to ban cellphones 'bell to bell;' 700 people signed petition for it

"Every hour that (kids are) on that is preventing them from exploring a hobby that at 11, 12 and 13 years old, they need the chance to explore who they are and what they like and what they don't like, not spend all that time scrolling, having the internet tell them who they are, what they like, what they don't like, how they should feel about themselves," she said.

"We believe that the current 'not during class' practice is not enough and implementing a phone-free policy (bell to bell) will enhance the educational experience for all students in Greenwich Public Schools," the petition reads. "We respectfully request that the Board of Education take this step toward improving our children's learning environment and overall well-being."

I read an increasing number of studies that detail the horrendous effects social media, sped along by cellphones, has had on young children over the past decade-and-a-half, and i think it’s a tragedy. There’s no putting this particular technological genie back in the bottle, but delaying children’s exposure it might help mitigate the damage.


It doesn't matter what THEY want to see, it matters what WE want them to see!

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enemies of the people


A New York Times columnist has slammed the producers of the blockbuster hit 'Twisters' for not including a climate change plot - after the film's anti-woke storyline was credited for huge box office takings. 

Margaret Renkl called out director Lee Isaac Chung in a scathing opinion piece published Monday, criticizing his decision to omit any reference to global warming in the film's plot- after he said he doesn't believe films are meant to be 'message-oriented.' 

The movie, a long-awaited sequel to the 1996 hit 'Twister', stars Glen Powell and Daisy Edgar-Jones as storm chasers battling extreme weather. It's been tearing up the box office, with many crediting its success to an approach that avoids political messaging.

In her review, the columnist reflects on the dissonance between the film's dramatic portrayal of increasingly violent tornadoes and its complete silence on the broader implications of climate change.

She argued: 'Artifacts of popular culture have always had immense power to articulate changing attitudes, engage empathy and open firmly resistant mind.

'With MAGA politicians at every level denying that climate change even exists, real climate legislation is now nearly impossible to pass,' she continued. 'And with the Supreme Court determined to quash all executive-branch efforts to address the changing climate, too, we seem to be at the mercy of artists to save us.'

And this naive filmmaker doesn’t get it, yet.

Earlier this month, Twisters director Lee Isaac Chung has opened up on why the blockbuster doesn't address climate change or global warming.

Chung told CNN: 'I just wanted to make sure that with the movie, we don't ever feel like it is putting forward any message.

'I just don't feel like films are meant to be message-oriented, I think what we are doing is showing the reality of what's happening on the ground … we don't shy away from saying that things are changing.

'I wanted to make sure that we are never creating a feeling that we're preaching a message, because that's certainly not what I think cinema should be about. I think it should be a reflection of the world.'

Sale prices reported

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Watchtower Lane

15 Watchtower Lane, Havemeyer, $3.750 million asked, $3,890 million paid by Long Island City “newcomers” — from Venezuela? Eleven days on market.

Hendrie Avenue, Riverside

8 Hendrie Avenue closed today at $3,312, 500 — asking price was $3,350 million. Built in 1880, with electricity and indoor plumbing added since. Buyers are from the Denver/Aurora area. 12 days on market.