Monroe pirate ship stirs controversy during the holiday

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    MONROE, Connecticut (WTIC/WCCT) — There’s little doubt people love to see holiday decorations, especially this year, with so much negativity surrounding COVID-19.

But there’s a Monroe neighborhood where a certain decoration is making the waters a bit choppy.

Chances are no matter what time of year you drive by Oak Wood Drive in Monroe you will see the yard decorated.

“We love Halloween, Christmas, Easter, Thanksgiving,” said Jennifer Palmieri, the homeowner. “We love them all.”

And, as a fan of pirates, she puts her resident pirate to work for each holiday.

“He gets bunny ears, he gets Uncle Sam hats, he does it all,” said Palmieri. “He’s the spirit of the neighborhood!”

But, the sailboat (rather a pirate ship) he captains in the front yard apparently is not welcome by all in the neighborhood.

“I guess one or two people don’t like the sight of it,” Palmieri said. “They are not as spirited as the rest of us.”

In fact, this Scrooge or scrooges have complained to the Town of Monroe.

“The town is being really supportive actually,” Palmieri emphasized.

They have asked her to move the pirate ship.

“If it goes as a full citation, it would be $150 a day (for every day) that I don’t move it,” Palmieri explained.

The town has requested she dock the ship somewhere in the side yard or behind the house.

“So, it’s less in front view,” she says.

And she has an idea who’s trying to sink this ship.

“And it boils my blood a little bit to know that they are taking the joy out of the season out of what a crazy year we’ve had,” Palmieri said.

Two women, out for an early Winter walk in the neighborhood, say Jennifer should not be made to walk the plank.

“I don’t see anything wrong with it,” said Teri Vavrek, the wife of former Monroe First Selectman Steve Vavrek. “I don’t think it’s any more than a lot of other displays I’ve seen before. I think it’s cute.”

“I say live and let live, it’s very festive,” said Sue Waldstein of Stratford. “And she does it for every holiday. It’s not hurting anybody. Who doesn’t want to see a boat?”

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