Boxing Gym KO'd by Town Officials

A Norwalk boxing and mixed martial arts studio's attempt to open on the New Haven-bound side of the Fairfield Railroad Station was KO'd by the town's Zoning Board of Appeals on Thursday after anonymous letter writers said they feared for their safety and the safety of children in downtown Fairfield.

But Adam Colberg of Fairfield, who owns Westport Boxing and MMA on Westport Avenue in Norwalk, said Friday that the anonymous letters were "bogus" and from his competitors because at least one referenced the famous Gleason's Gym in Brooklyn, N.Y., and it wasn't publicly known until Thursday that Colberg planned to open a second Gleason's in Fairfield.

"No one knew until yesterday that Gleason's Gym was going to be in Fairfield," Colberg said. "These anonymous letters were all bogus. That's why they all came in together."

Colberg, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran of the Persian Gulf War, had the support of several area business owners, but anonymous letters opposing the gym were sent to the Zoning Board of Appeals in the days leading up to the vote, objecting to the "violence" of the gym and worrying about the safety of children in downtown Fairfield.

One letter writer, who identified herself (or himself) only as a student at Fairfield University, said she was "worried about feeling safe enough to enjoy my weekends out and about with my girlfriends."

"I am not sure that encouraging a large number of men who enjoy fighting is a good idea without adding an additional number of police officers to make sure that everything remains calm and the fighters are only fighting in the gym and not harassing people out to enjoy the evening," the letter writer says. "Safety is important to me, and, as a girl, I do not want to fear encountering violent or dangerous people walking down the street in the center of town."

Another anonymous letter writer, who identified herself (or himself) as a Fairfield parent, said she was "shocked" that a boxing and mixed martial arts studio planned to open on Carter Henry Drive and that she would fear for her children's safety in downtown Fairfield if the ZBA granted a waiver to parking space regulations to allow it to open.

"I will not feel comfortable with either of my children down there knowing that grown men are sharpening their fighting abilities," the letter says. "I went to their Web site, and I see images of people fighting and then blood splattering everywhere. I would never want my child to go to a Web site that promotes that. The Web site clearly says, 'Get Your A** into Fighting Shape.' "

Still another anonymous letter writer, identified only as "Concerned Fairfield Citizen," feared for people's safety. "My family spends a considerably large amount of time enjoying the relaxed, family-friendly atmosphere of downtown Fairfield and fear that a fight club would attract a less amicable and rebellious following," the letter says. "I am concerned for the safety of my family and feel that a fighting gym, an institution that promotes violence, is in strict opposition to the safe and peaceful reputation of the Fairfield community."

Assistant Town Planner James Wendt said anonymous letters could be sent to the Zoning Board of Appeals and it was up to individual board members to decide how much weight to give to them.

Not every letter in opposition was unsigned.

Scott Winter, owner of Beach Bum Tanning on the Post Road, and John Taxiltaridis, owner of Beachside Deli and Pizza on Fairfield Beach Road, opposed the gym's opening, saying Colberg's request for a waiver of 27 parking spaces was excessive.

Winter said in his letter that downtown Fairfield already had "a major parking problem" and Taxiltaridis wrote that allowing a business to open with only six of 33 required parking spaces wasn't fair to "other established businesses already struggling with parking."

Donald W. Vidoli, president of Station Square Condominium Associates, which owns property on Carter Henry Drive, had offered Colberg's business 34 parking spaces outside the hours of 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Vicente Siguenza, owner of 55 Degrees Restaurant on nearby Miller Street, offered his parking lot from the early morning hours until 11 a.m.; and the Rev. Victor T. Martin, pastor of St. Thomas Church across the street, offered parking spaces on the church's property.

Colberg said he was disgusted by the unanimous vote and no longer planned to open a second Gleason's Gym in Fairfield County. He questioned whether the vote was based in an opposition to diversity and said the zoning board was elitist. "I don't know if I even want to live here anymore either, long-term. It's a good place to have children grow up, but after they grow up, it's very limiting," he said.

Kevin Coyne, the ZBA's secretary, said Friday that he couldn't speak for anyone else on the ZBA but his vote denying Colberg's request for a waiver to town zoning regulations was based on a lack of hardship - the legal requirement for granting a waiver - and the "fairly substantial" number of required parking spaces that Colberg wanted waived.

Coyne said he considered the anonymous letters but they weren't a driving force behind his vote to deny the application. "Our whole board had them. To me that did not have an impact. If somebody's going to object, I would appreciate them signing their name," Coyne said, adding that the ZBA requires people who speak at public hearings to give their name and address.

In reaction to the anonymous letters, Colberg said he was among those fighting obesity, and, contrary to what the anonymous letters said, was actually promoting safety because people who train at his gym are able to defend themselves. He said he's never had an issue with violence at his gym and had a celebrity clientele in Fairfield County.

Colberg, who said he trains fighters at Gleason's Gym in Brooklyn, wanted to open his boxing and mixed martial arts gym in 6,500 square feet of space at 160-172 Carter Henry Drive and planned to have a boxing ring, three punching bags, a trainer's office, stretching area and men's and women's locker rooms.

"It was going to be the second Gleason's in the United States. The one in Brooklyn is amazing," he said.