Town Completes Review Into Greenwich Point Gate Practices

GREENWICH, CT — A review into the entry gate practices at Greenwich Point has concluded, and the employee at the center of the incident that sparked the inquiry no longer works for the town, according to an update from First Selectman Fred Camillo.

Last week a Stamford resident posted about what he called a "scam at Greenwich Point" on the Nextdoor social media app.

The man said he gave his niece an unused, $40 parking pass to Greenwich Point. But when she arrived at the gate on Sept. 18, an employee told her that the entry ticket had previously been used and was no longer valid.

"He 'happened to have an extra ticket,' and if she had $40 cash, he'd sell it to her. She only had $25 with her and offered to go to an ATM, but he said no, $25 would work, and he let her pass. I wonder whether anyone else has experienced this there?" the resident said on NextDoor.

The post generated over 100 comments, with several residents encouraging the man to take up the issue with the town. Other residents recounted their own experiences while trying to get into Greenwich Point.

A review began on Sept. 20, and the employee was removed from operations at the park.

On Friday, First Selectman Fred Camillo said in his weekly email newsletter that the Parks & Recreation Department conducted a full audit of the electronic guest ticketing system both in-office and at the Greenwich Point gatehouse location.

It was determined that at that time of the audit, the bar code scan system was fully functional.

"The confusion that occurred may have been caused by human error or a double scan of the ticket bar code," Camillo said. "The parking ticket in question was validated at 12:19 p.m. The actions taken by the gatekeeper who processed a ticket transaction on site was in direct violation of a standing department policy which prohibits these transactions at that location."

Parks and Recreation Director Joe Siciliano said his management team met with the seasonal employee to review the policy.

"Following the meeting, the employee is no longer employed by the Department," Siciliano said.

Further details about the employee were not released.

The cash transaction which occurred on Sept. 18 has been secured and a $25 refund will be issued, the town said.