By Scott Benjamin
DANBURY – Among Mets Hall of Fame catchers, who was better: Gary (The Kid) Carter or Mike (The Monster) Piazza?
Mensah Robinson, who has been following the blue and orange from Flushing since Davy Johnson was at the helm, said Carter was better at managing pitchers but Piazza had “a better offensive profile.”
Robinson, a real estate salesperson for Coldwell Banker Realty, works from an office on Kenosia Avenue that is not much further than a Piazza upper deck shot from the Danbury Fair Mall and restaurant row.
The Hat City ranks first in Connecticut in sales tax revenue and first per capita in restaurants.
Robinson said the west side of Danbury “is very commercial. It is structured to draw people from New York state.”
He commented that the single-family homes in the Aunt Hack and Richter Park sections of the west side are more expensive than in other parts of the city, but the prices and taxes are notably lower than Ridgefield or other parts of metro Danbury.
However, you don’t have to travel as far as the distance from Citi Field to Yankee Stadium to find people with lower incomes.
In recent years Danbury municipal and school officials have said the poverty in the city is greater than it was a generation ago. About 50 percent of the students in the public schools receive a reduced-lunch waiver.
State Rep. Bob Godfrey (D-110), whose district covers much of downtown Danbury, has complained that the new, big apartment buildings – such as Kennedy Flats -are not designed for lower-income residents already living in the city.
Robinson said developers have utilized a strategy that has been effective elsewhere: “You see a lot of units that are in modern contemporary buildings with models for young folks who have money.”
Nevertheless, he said Danbury has multiple options. In comparison, he said, “If you go to New Fairfield, you’re not finding many condos.”
More than 35 years ago, Gov. Bill O’Neill (D-East Hampton) signed the Affordable Housing Appeals Act. It was designed to spur more affordable housing across the state through minimum quotas.
Critics have said that if it had been more successful, there might not have been a need for the comprehensive housing legislation that Gov. Ned Lamont (D-Greenwich) signed last fall.
Ginny Monk of CT Mirror has reported that the legislation “requires towns to create housing growth plans, changes minimum off-street parking requirements, expands fair rent commissions and incentivizes towns to take steps to allow more housing, among other measures.”
Even the new legislation may have limited impact in a state that is still revolutionary.
“It comes down to what the communities want,” Robinson said.
Real estate professionals have complained for eons that there is not enough supply.
Commented Robinson, “Communities want that small-town feel. When you’re coming up the coast, it is your first stop in New England. We do want to retain that. I think there are places to do that intelligently. I think Dan bury can do that.”
“Are we going to be able to have a whole lot of single-family houses?” said Robinson. “Probably not. We’re running out of real estate.”
As Coldwell Banker commercial real estate broker Scott Cooney said, “There are not a lot of tracts of land” available for development. He added that many communities are committed to preserving open space, “which is a good thing.”
Commented Cooney, “The emphasis is on apartment conversion, new apartment development and taking existing structures and multi-family or blocks of single- family homes in multi-family zones and knocking them down and converting them into apartments.”
Robinson explained, “Not having enough supply is keeping the prices high and pricing out the younger buyers.”
He said part of it is a mortgage lock that inhibits homeowners from putting their houses on the market.
People who bought their houses during the pandemic at mortgage interest rates of three or four percent are now reluctant to sell and then buy a comparable or better house at a mortgage rate exceeding six percent.
He said there also are not many options for older people seeking to move south.
“Right now, people are not moving. For example, with the starter homes, there not enough people leaving them.”
However, he added in comparison to earlier generations there are more people in their 20s who are interested in an apartment instead of a house.
“The 20s are now an extension of adolescence,” Robinson said. “You don’t see as many young people ready to settle down.”
The General Assembly has considered rent caps.
Robinson remarked, “That’s a tough one, especially in a country like ours. It feels like you want to put a rope on the market. I understand the motivation of trying to help people .But making a home a more valuable thing should bring rates down on rent naturally.”
Retired Washington Post economics columnist Robert Samuelson wrote in 2015 that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac went into conservatorship after the 2008 Great Recession. Yet seven years later the government sponsored enterprises dominated housing finance.
This despite a call by Democratic former President Barack Obama in 2013 for “private lending to be the backbone.”
Robinson commented, “The traditional models_ - such as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac – “are the ones that work.”
However, last fall Republican President Donald Trump suggested a 50-year mortgage.
Robinson questions whether that would be viable, noting that, “The lifetime of a family or a career is more similar to 30 years.”
Derek Thompson of The Atlantic and Ezra Klein of The New York Times wrote in “Abundance,” their 2025 book, that construction of modular homes would make housing more affordable.
Commented Robinson, “Can you save money on the modulars? Absolutely. But I don’t know if there will be a lot of modular houses in Connecticut.,” since, among other things, they may not conform with local zoning laws.
He said many people wanting to buy a house are “going to want to have a yard and some space.”
Robinson, who grew up in Pawling, N.Y., and graduated from the State University of New York-New Paltz, was a program manager, physical education teacher and performing arts teacher at the Pathways Academy in Danbury before entering real estate about eight years ago.
There have been anecdotes that teachers make good real estate agents.
Robinson said, “Real estate is about educating people. Making sure that they get information. Making sure that people are up to date with the options.”
He said former teachers also usually have “patience.”
“Real estate is an emotional process and you have to be that person that will keep things calm,” Robinson explained.
How does he measure a successful week?
“Client touches,” remarked Robinson. “Who did I talk to. Did I have a good conversation with somebody.”
He explained, “I don’t get that immediate gratification that someone in retail gets. I need three yes comments to get a sale. Yes, I want to work with you as an agent. Second: Yes, I want to make an offer on this house.The third: Yes, we’re accepting your offer and we’re going to move on and close.”
Who’s the better Mets play-by-play announcer: Howie Rose or Gary Cohen?
“My personal preference is Gary. But Howie Rose is very good,” said Robinson.
Is it partly because Gary lives in Ridgefield and had praised the hamburgers at Sycamore’s in Bethel?
Robinson commented, “No, it is because Gary, Keith [Hernandez] and Ron [Darling] are really good together” on SNY.
Resources:
Interview with Mensah Robinson, Patch.com, on Thursday, May 14, 2026.
Phone interview with Mensah Robinson, Patch.com, on Sunday, May 17, 2026.
Phone interview with Scott Cooney, Patch.com, on Thursday, May 21, 2026.
Bob Godfrey, interview with Patch.com.
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