Millwood Merchants Want More Visibility

Several merchants in Millwood Town Plaza note visibility is a challenge for them.

The merchants, who spoke at Thursday's Millwood Task Force meeting, described examples including people, even local residents, not knowing about their presences.

The plaza, located at 238 Saw Mill River Rd. (Route 100) does not have shops that directly face the street. Rather, they are in a row that runs perpendicular to the street and is accessible through an access road.

Lana Leonelli, who owns Millwood Nails, said that she put out a sandwich board, which happened to be on state property because it is close to a state road.

“It was extremely helpful," she said, adding that customers made her aware that without the sign they would not have known about her store.

Leonelli was then told to remove the sign after the Town of New Castle's code enforcement intervened, which she did. Her concerned is that the only outward signage, which is a directory listing each store in the plaza, is not visible enough for passing drivers. She cited its height off of the ground as a reason.

“It's up in the air,” said Sue Matero, owner of the Matero jewelry store, which is a fellow tenant in the plaza. 

Mike Competiello, who owns AS Fine Foods, noted that people have mistaken the plaza for townhouses, and that even people who live in town did not know about his presence.

New Castle Town Administrator Penny Paderewski, who was at the task force meeting, offered to work with Town Planner Sabrina Charney Hull on what to do, which would include a site visit. Paderewski said she did not know who made the complaint about the nails signage and said that the town does not actively look for related violations.

“Oh that's great if it's expedited," Leonelli replied after Paderewski suggested what she will do.