What do Ridgefield and Washington, DC have in common besides MFS (Monica Fatigue Syndrome)? The answer is: Howard Milstein. Milstein and his partners recently bought the Washington Redskins for $800 million. The people of Washington weren't particularly unhappy with that - they had a losing team under the former owner and son of the late Jack Kent Cooke. But it seems that the NFL owners aren't pleased. They're worried that Howard Milstein and his buddies in the deal won't be cooperative members of their exclusive club. So the league is fighting Milstein over day-to-day management of the Redskins. This little tiff among the rich and powerful has prompted the Washington Post to do a special profile on Milstein.
This, of course, is the very same Milstein who wants to put a grotesquely oversized development on the beautiful Bennetts Ponds property. The Washington Post paints a very clear portrait of Milstein. It's not a pretty picture. Just a few adjectives from the article: "relentless," "arrogant," "headstrong."
If the NFL owners, who routinely thwart the will of large cities, have a fight on their hands in dealing with Milstein, what does that mean for tiny Ridgefield? It means, in my view, that the people of our community must wake up to the fact that we are facing a serious threat to the quality of life in Ridgefield and that our adversary almost certainly does not care at all about our aesthetic and environmental sensibilities.
I hope that many Ridgefielders will read the Washington Post piece - especially those who reflect the same disturbing complacency demonstrated recently by our Republican selectmen, in particular the gentleman who suggested that, in effect, we have nothing to worry about because the developers will come back with a much more modest proposal.
If we raise awareness and marshal our forces in a highly organized manner, we can win this battle over Ridgefield's future. There is, however, no margin for comfort or complacency. That why everyone who wants responsible growth in our community and is worried about sprawl and environmental degradation should sign up with the Ridgefield Open Space Association.
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