By the time Braguez moved back in with her mother in her childhood home about five years ago, the area had changed considerably. The number of owner-occupied homes had decreased substantially, and drug use had surfaced in dark alleys and vacant properties. There was a big difference in the neighborhood 40 years ago. . . . We never had to worry about walking the streets. Now I wouldn't walk the street at night by myself.
People are afraid to go out.
Until Friday the 13th. That's when someone flagged down his Southern New England Telephone Co. truck on North Street and told him that a man inside the Hi-Way Package Store needed help. Every weekend a small storefront at 25 Newtown Road in Danbury is transformed into an informal meeting place for members of the city's growing Brazilian community. In the Santos Pastry and Deli, Brazilian immigrants can, through the typical food, remember and share memories from their homeland. The high school's report on the class of 1998 states the number of that class' students attending prestigious institutions is among the highest ever in the district's history.