By Bill Slocum
Contributing Editor
The playing field at Cos Cob Park on Sound Shore Drive will soon be renamed Emil Benvenuto Field. To those who knew him, naming a field after “Bennie” Benvenuto makes sense. The man from North Mianus had a heart as big as all outdoors.
“Here’s a guy who comes around once in a century,” said Sam Romeo, the Greenwich Housing Authority chairman and Benvenuto friend for years.
His cousin, Guy Bruno, remembered “an amazing individual” who pulled himself up from humble beginnings to become a politician who made a positive difference.
“He always counted his blessings,” Bruno said. “He was always very, very humble, aware of where he came from, and always available to people who needed help.”
There is another reason why naming the field for Benvenuto makes sense: While serving in the state House, Benvenuto swung the deal that allowed the town to own it in the first place, along with surrounding land which totals nine acres and the adjacent Mianus Pond back in 1988. Total cost to Greenwich: Two dollars.
“At the time, the land had an estimated value of $40 million,” noted Fred Camillo, who holds Benvenuto’s state House seat. “There were people who were not supportive, in part because of the potential cost of cleaning up what had been a power plant site. I don’t know if he ever envisioned what would become of the properties, but he had some type of dream for them.”
The Cos Cob Park Athletic Field becomes Benvenuto Field at a formal ceremony in May.
Born and raised in Greenwich, Benvenuto chose public service in a roundabout manner. For years he worked door-to-door, first as a Fuller Brush salesman, then installing wood floors. Finally, after his knees began to ache, Benvenuto opened a liquor store in Riverside. Another followed soon after. By the early 1970s, Bennie Sez was one of the best-known commercial establishments in town.
“He was quite a marketer,” Bruno said. “Whenever someone walked into the liquor store with a child, he always had these Tootsie Pops. Kids remember that.”
Benvenuto was a business success, but other interests called. He became close friends with his state representative, Michael Morano. When Morano ran for the state Senate in 1976, Benvenuto declared himself a candidate for Morano’s House seat, which he won.
Benvenuto was state representative from 1976 to 1988, and succeeded Morano again for a single term in the state Senate.
“Bennie was the architect of the state’s Lemon Law,” Romeo said. “The Lemon Law is if you had a problem with a new car, and brought it back to the dealer three times without them being able to fix it, they had to give your money back.”
Benvenuto’s time representing Greenwich abruptly ended in 1990, when he endorsed independent gubernatorial candidate Lowell Weicker and lost the Republican nomination as a result. Weicker won, but Benvenuto, running as an independent, did not.
Benvenuto made a triumphant return to the Republican Town Committee in 2008, making the speech nominating Camillo, Morano’s cousin, for his old House seat.
“I don’t think he forgot where he came from,” Camillo said. “I think there was a strong belief and advocacy for people who had to struggle, the working man.”
Benvenuto died in 2011, a lifelong Greenwich resident. His friends agree that Benvenuto Field is a fitting testimonial for a man too humble to speak for himself, but who left a lasting legacy. “We’re very appreciative and grateful he’s being recognized,” Bruno said.
