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Welcome to Arnie's Place! |
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Welcome to Arnie's Place - Where the History is almost as Entertaining as the Games!If you lived in Fairfield County between 1981 and 1983, you probably remember Arnie's Place more for the battle to open the arcade than for the arcade itself. Built at 1365 Post Road East, in Westport, Arnie's Place became the premier arcade of Fairfield County, but not before a long battle with the Town of Westport that escalated to the Supreme Court of Connecticut multiple times. This history is very incomplete, but gives you a taste of Arnie Kaye, the Town of Westport and the background behind one of Arnie's most famous publicity stunts. October 20, 1981 - The initial proposal for Arnie's Place rejected by Westport's Planning & Zoning Commission citing insufficicient tree plantings, lack of parking and insufficient buffer space between a commercial area and a residential area. (I've you've ever driven along Post Road in Westport, you'll be hard pressed to find any residences.) Arnie Kaye appealed to the Connecticut Supreme Court challenging the Zoning Commission for failing to give propoer advance notice for the meeting. Meanwhile, Arnie submitted a scaled down plan that would shrink Arnie's Place from 50 video games and 20 pool tables to just 40 video games and 8 pool tables. The main opposition to Arnie's Place was led by a community group called Green's Farms Association (GFA). In November, GFA asked for a public hearing to push for a proposal that would ban arcades or other amusement centers in Westport. This hearing was originally scheduled for January 6, and was rescheduled three times due to the Zoning Commission failing to give proper advance notice of the meeting. (You would have thought the Zoning Commission would have learned by now, but apparently not.) The fourth meeting was scheduled for January 25th, one day before the P&Z Commission would be voting on Arnie's revised plan for Arnie's Place January 22, 1982 - To protest the Planning & Zoning Commission's effort to approve the GFA ban on arcades before voting on the revised plans for Arnie's Place, Arnie Kaye chains himself to Town Hall. Arnie had called the police in advance so they had him unchained and arrested in about 10 minutes. June 14, 1982 - Arnie's Place opens! Three weeks later, a Connecticut Superior Court Judge orders it closed. One month after that, Arnie's Place opens permanently with a zoning permit that allows for up to 50 games. Arnie installs 80 games and the battles continue... There's still lots more for me to put into this history, including Arnie's legendary offer to the Hell's Angels and his threat to turn Arnie's Place into a pornographic theater. September 18, 1994 - Arnie's Place closes. Help Me Build this pageIf you can help me flesh out the history of Arnie's (especially the late 80s-closing period) please email me. I moved out of the area in 1989, so I don't have much knowledge of the later years.
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