• The vacant lot at 28 Catoonah Street, controlled by the U.S. Postal Service, received a sprucing up recently. The property’s grass was cut and a temporary fence was taken down. Photo: Stephen Coulter / Hearst

    The vacant lot at 28 Catoonah Street, controlled by the U.S. Postal Service, received a sprucing up recently. The property’s grass was cut and a temporary fence was taken down.

    The vacant lot at 28 Catoonah Street, controlled by the U.S. Postal Service, received a sprucing up recently. The property’s grass was cut and a temporary fence was taken down.

    Photo: Stephen Coulter / Hearst
Photo: Stephen Coulter / Hearst
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The vacant lot at 28 Catoonah Street, controlled by the U.S. Postal Service, received a sprucing up recently. The property’s grass was cut and a temporary fence was taken down.

The vacant lot at 28 Catoonah Street, controlled by the U.S. Postal Service, received a sprucing up recently. The property’s grass was cut and a temporary fence was taken down.

Photo: Stephen Coulter / Hearst

The empty lot at 28 Catoonah Street, beside the Ridgefield post office, has gotten a little cleaning up — grass cut, a temporary fence taken down — thanks to Congressman Jim Himes’ office, First Selectman Rudy Marconi confirmed.

The town is still pursuing long-envisioned plans for development of the site a pocket park fronting on Catoonah Street, and a public parking lot on the rear of the parcel.

“This too will have to involve the congressman’s office,” Marconi said.

The property is controlled by the U.S. Postal Service, which had a long-term lease from the owners of the large neighboring shopping center.

After the death of longtime resident Helen Cumming, who had life-use of the house, it took years of effort by town officials, with help from Congressman Himes’ office, to get the empty dilapidated house on the lot torn down. Then neighbors and residents concerned about the high-visibility spot began lobbying for a cleanup of the empty lot.