Community Corner
What's Open, What's Closed Washington's Birthday Weekend
Also known as President's Day, the Monday holiday has government agencies at all levels closed, most banks, and no school. For the rest, read on ...
Presidents' Day or Washington's Birthday is observed on Feb. 17, the third Monday of the month, by most governments, banks, schools and other public institutions.
Presidents' Day is an unofficial name for the Washington's Birthday federal holiday and it's also popularly written without the apostrophe, but either way is considered acceptable by most dictionaries, even while the apostrophe version is used more by authoritative writers.
Washington's actual birthday Feb. 22 (the date he himself celebrated after the British calendar was changed during his lifetime), is actually never officially observed as a holiday because the third Monday of the month never falls later than Feb. 21.
Here's what's open and what's closed in Darien and beyond for Presidents' Day weekend, 2014:
Department of Motor Vehicles
Holiday schedule for major service centers, including the Norwalk Office:
- Friday: Norwalk Office is open from 7:45 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
- Saturday: Norwalk Office is closed
- Monday: The department is normally closed.
- Tuesday: The department reopens for business with normal business hours of 7:45 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
Monday, Presidents' Day
OPEN:
- Norwalk garbage and recycling schedules run as normal on Monday.
- Banks in Connecticut have the option of opening or closing. According to state policy: "Connecticut banks and credit unions are required to give at least two weeks’ advance notice to their customers of holiday openings and closings by posting such notice in the lobby of each office." TD Bank is open.
CLOSED:
- Norwalk Public Schools schools are on winter recess through Tuesday, Feb. 18.
- Norwalk Public Library including the South Norwalk Library branch
- Other area libraries, including Darien, New Canaan and Ferguson Library in Stamford.
- Connecticut state government offices (including state courts)
- Norwalk City Hall and government offices (although garbage pickup and recycling occur as normal on Monday)
- The New York Stock Exchange and much of the financial industry
TRANSPORTATION:
- Norwalk Transit District offices are open, as is regular Wheels bus service around Norwalk. For other services, see its schedule on the website.
- Metro-North has announced: "On Presidents' Day, Monday, Feb. 17, Metro-North will operate on a Saturday schedule. The Hudson Rail Link and Newburgh-Beacon and Haverstraw-Ossining ferries will not operate. Grand Central North's exits at 46th-48th Streets will be closed."
- CT Transit bus service in Darien and Stamford has regular local service but "reduced" Commuter Connection service.
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