Milford Torte

If a picture speaks a thousand words, then nothing more needs to be said of dawn at Milford Beach. Light and inspiration beyond compare.

But dawn is fleeting and the light of day illuminates what we’d rather forget—that Long Island Sound has become a watery deposit of plastic trash bags, vinyl siding, frayed electrical wires, insulation, broken tiles and tons of other housing debris from shoreline homes damaged or destroyed by Hurricane Sandy.

Combine the sick, polluted waters with what’s spilling onto East Broadway and nearby streets—entire households of wet furniture and cabinetry, bedding, carpeting, lumber and bricks, broken glass and plumbing fixtures—tear-downs in the hurricane’s aftermath.

Finally, fold in the remaining ingredients from beach visitors-- dirty diapers left by uncaring young families; foam cups left by lonely coffee drinkers; fuel pollution from boat traffic and endless party residue left by careless college students. Stir well with plastic, plastic and more plastic, and bake in the pre-heated air of climate-changed southern Connecticut. Yield: Milford Torte--a concoction not very palatable. Disserves thousands.

Chef notes:

Of course City Hall is not the creator of this special dish. Let’s just say it's the lazy pastry chef who stands idly by, permitting the torte to overcook (notwithstanding its first energetic clean up in November.) Please start spending the allocated $1.5 million and clean up our streets and shoreline.