If the study said that sewers would bring businesses into the Hamburg St corridor then it should fall under something the Plex could do. It's the only way to get the Plex to do something that would really bring in new businesses and jobs. Normally the duty to put sewers in an area falls on the local government by forming sewer districts to fund the construction and maintenance of each and every sewer district paid for by the people who are benefiting from the project. With the economy the way it is the people in this town won't be able to afford sewers for another hundred years.
We build what we want....and what we want to be and be known as.......I think of Metroplex as FLUFF.....my tax levy is more weighted and what our government(us) plan to do with that $$$ is way more important because that will not go away......Metroplex on the other hand can be dissolved/abolished if the government(us) so chooses.....JMHO.....
...you are a product of your environment, your environment is a product of your priorities, your priorities are a product of you......
The replacement of morality and conscience with law produces a deadly paradox.
STOP BEING GOOD DEMOCRATS---STOP BEING GOOD REPUBLICANS--START BEING GOOD AMERICANS
Senders, please tell us how to dissolve/abolish Metroplex and we'll all get our taxes lowered because we won't have to fund the black hole called Metroplex.
There are routes....there has to be.....just like there are rules for voting, getting a drivers license etc....
Quoted Text
Audit Finds Dozens of Inactive ESDC Subsidiaries Authority Supporting Economic Development in New York State has Long-Dormant Subsidiaries it is Not Even Aware of, Auditors Determine
Empire State Development Corporation (ESDC) has dozens of inactive subsidiaries – including some it was not aware of and others for which the authority has no files or records – that can and should be dissolved, according to an audit released today by State Comptroller Alan Hevesi.
The authority operates in partnership with the New York State Department of Economic Development to support a range of economic development projects around the state and to borrow money to build or improve facilities. Officials at the authority maintained that the continued existence of dormant subsidiaries presents no risk to the State because the subsidiaries are embedded in the operations of ESDC.
“It is hard to imagine a more disturbing symbol of New York’s shadow government than ESDC and its long list of inactive subsidiary authorities,” Hevesi said. “ESDC says that there is no risk to maintaining the subsidiaries, because they cannot function separately from the parent authority. But we see real risk: For example, ESDC could at any time create paid positions and make patronage appointments to any of the dormant subsidiaries.
“At best, this is an example of extremely poor business practices and careless management of State interests and resources. Recordkeeping is so bad that last year, ESDC’s Chairman actually called for the dissolution of four subsidiaries that the authority had already dissolved," Hevesi said.
Among ESDC’s more active and prominent subsidiaries are the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation, which is managing redevelopment of the World Trade Center site; the Harlem Community Development Corporation and the Governors Island Preservation and Education Corporation.
ESDC reported having 70 subsidiaries as of March 31, 2004, but auditors identified 202 subsidiaries legally in existence, including 98 that were either clearly inactive or appeared to be inactive. While auditors found that ESDC did have a process in place to control the creation of new subsidiaries, they saw a need for significant improvements in the way that the authority maintains records for and controls over existing subsidiaries. Auditors noted that ESDC has no process to track subsidiaries to determine those that are inactive and take the necessary steps to dissolve them.
For example, the Governors Island Redevelopment Corporation (GIRC) was created in 2000 to facilitate the development of the island in New York harbor that was soon to be transferred from federal to State ownership. Two years later, ESDC decided that its efforts relating to Governors Island should be refocused and the Governors Island Preservation and Education Corporation was created. ESDC’s board of directors passed a resolution in 2002 to dissolve GIRC, but auditors found that three years later, GIRC had not been dissolved.
Recordkeeping regarding ESDC subsidiaries is so poor that, in some cases, auditors found records for subsidiaries that ESDC officials did not know existed. Auditors also reported that ESDC officials told them that certain entities were not subsidiaries, but then the auditors located certificates of incorporation that indicated that the entities were, in fact, ESDC subsidiaries.
A 2005 ESDC press release issued after the audit commenced stated that subsidiaries should be dissolved when their work is completed, and said that the authority was going to dissolve 20 inactive and unneeded subsidiaries. Auditors noted that four of the subsidiaries named in the press release – Sea Park West Houses, Inc.; Wright Manor Phase I Corp.; Wright Manor Phase II Corp.; and Times Square Subway Improvement Coalition – had already been dissolved. ESDC has since taken all necessary steps to dissolve the remaining 16 subsidiaries, but indicated that it is waiting for action by the State Department of State to complete the dissolution process.
Auditors reviewed corporation registration records at the Department of State, and found that some older and less active ESDC subsidiaries had been dissolved “by proclamation,” an administrative procedure. ESDC officials were not aware that these subsidiaries had been dissolved. While it is not clear that ESDC subsidiaries can be legally dissolved in this manner, auditors noted that it was not clear to officials at the Departments of State and Taxation and Finance that the entities were ESDC subsidiaries.
ESDC was established in 1995 as an umbrella organization for three authorities established in the 1960s: the Urban Development Corporation (UDC), the Job Development Authority (JDA) and the now-defunct Science and Technology Foundation. UDC issues bonds for capital costs relating to the acquisition, construction, rehabilitation and improvement of commercial, industrial, manufacturing, educational, recreational and cultural facilities. JDA makes loans to companies to expand facilities, build new plants and acquire machinery and equipment. ESDC and its subsidiaries have a total of $6.7 billion in outstanding bonds as of December 31, 2005.
In its written response to the audit, ESDC maintained that the findings were based on “a lack of understanding of subsidiary operations.” The response also noted that “it is impossible, given the number of years that have elapsed, the relocation of staff, and the physical consolidation of certain subsidiaries…for present staff to have complete records on all subsidiaries.” The complete response is included in the audit.
With the economy the way it is the people in this town won't be able to afford sewers for another hundred years.
Shadow, even when the economy was good, the people voted 'NO'. So now we should look to the plex to pay for it? The plex would NEVER pay 100% for sewers if anything at all. And even if they did, the people who live in that sewer district would still have to approve it since they would be the ones paying the sewer tax. If history repeats itself...it will be a 'NO' vote.
When the INSANE are running the ASYLUM In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule. -- Friedrich Nietzsche
“How fortunate for those in power that people never think.” Adolph Hitler
Unfortunately, Metroplex is funded by sales tax revenue - not from our city/county taxes, per se. Eliminating Metroplex will only have the effect of lowering our County Sales Tax by 70 percent of one-half of one percent of the county sales tax.
It won't decrease our property taxes one penny.
BUT ... it will eliminate a level of bureaucracy in county goverment, including $155,000 for Mr Gillen - plus that of the other employees of the Metroplex. Considering that prior to Metroplex we had an Industrial Development Agency headed by others, the salaries are probably a wash.
The point is, Metroplex was chartered to:
1. to expand the county's property tax base;
2. to expand the sales tax base; and
3. to create and retain jobs.
They've done very little to extend the property tax base. Certainly, as others have stated, if they had, we wouldn't be facing another year of proposed double digit tax increases. Fact: More properties were on the County/City tax rolls prior to Metroplex than are currently.
They've extended the sales tax base - but that amount is also negligable. Businesses are moving out (or being forced out) to make way for new names - that's all. Yes, we've got a new theater downtown - I've yet to hear any alarming/awakening attendance figures that would contribute to the city's coffers in any appreciable amount. What else - a restaurant (Aperativo) - presumably at the cost of Parisi's. A relocated pizza shop.
Create and retain jobs. About the only thing I can think of that created and retained jobs reliably is Railex in Rotterdam - which appears to be a success.
Bottom line: Metroplex=Epic Failure - and needs to be dissolved for the benefit of the residents of the City County of Schenectady.
Railex would have moved here without the metroplex. Galesi was very successful long before the plex was 'invented'. No different than the Golub's. The Golub's are moving their office to Nott St. They would have and could have accomplished that even if the plex never existed. The plex along with our county legislatures are actually costing us money.
But back to Hamburg Street, the people will never go for the sewer tax thing. They will not pay for an added sewer tax when they have working septic systems that may out live them.
When the INSANE are running the ASYLUM In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule. -- Friedrich Nietzsche
“How fortunate for those in power that people never think.” Adolph Hitler
SCHENECTADY COUNTY Fed grant to pay for sidewalk work, signs BY MICHAEL LAMENDOLA Gazette Reporter
Additional sidewalks, kiosks and bike trail improvements are coming to Schenectady County next year with the help of $145,000 in federal funds, according to the Capital District Transportation Committee. The CDTC awarded the funds to three municipalities through the federal Spot Improvement Program, which it administers. Under the program, Rotterdam received $65,000 to construct 900 feet of sidewalk along the east side of Hamburg Street from Arelene Street to East Campbell Road. The town will provide a $25,000 local match. The sidewalk will help revitalize the Hamburg Street commercial corridor, said Ray Gillen, commissioner of Economic Development and Planning for Schenectady County. Schenectady County received $17,600 to construct two information kiosks and trail markers along the Mohawk-Hudson Bike Hike Trail. The county will provide a $4,400 local match. The trail markers and kiosks will guide bikers and hikers along the trail from near the Schenectady YWCA in the Stockade, along Union and Jay streets and past the new Golub headquarters on Nott Street. The county has used other grants to extend the bike trail from a parking lot at Schenectady County Community College to State Street and Washington Avenue. The city of Schenectady received $62,400 to improve bike trail crossings at Seneca Street and Maxon Road. The city will provide a $15,600 local match. Gillen said the federal grants enhance bicycle and pedestrian routes in the Capital Region. In June, the CDTC sought proposals to fund through the Spot program. The CDTC received five proposals from Schenectady County, out of a total of 13 submitted in the region, Gillen said.
ROTTERDAM Town applying for development funding BY JUSTIN MASON Gazette Reporter
Rotterdam officials are applying for Empire State Development Corp. funding to bring economic vitality back to the old Grand Union property. Town Economic Development Specialist Aurelia Lazzari submitted a letter of intent to the Restore NY Community Initiative this week, requesting $2.5 million to spur “main street revitalization” on Hamburg Street. The letter cites the Grand Union property, which would undergo a “complete rehabilitation” to stimulate business and economic growth. “Obviously, it’s a focal point for redevelopment, not just for Hamburg Street, but the whole east side of town,” Supervisor Steve Tommasone said Monday. The Grand Union property, including the 35,000-square-foot former supermarket, has been the focus of two recently conducted studies. Last month, the Rotterdam Industrial Development Agency reviewed a $4,850 study that presented concepts for redeveloping the area around the former Grand Union property between Williams Street and East Campbell Road. The survey expanded upon the findings of a land-use and transportation study the town commissioned for the Hamburg Street and Curry Road area near Thruway Exit 25. The study indicated the Grand Union property would be ideal to develop into a “main street neighborhood center” for the Hamburg Street corridor. The owners of the property had sought to include it during the town’s application for Restore NY funding in 2008. Town officials instead decided to seek money for the redevelopment of the Curry Road Shopping Center because there were already preliminary plans to transform the derelict property into mixed-use retail and condominiums. But the Polito-Columbia Properties project wasn’t approved for the state funding. The company ultimately scrapped the plan, citing the high cost to clean existing environmental concerns. Also included in the town’s letter of ................http://www.dailygazette.net/De.....amp;EntityId=Ar01304
The survey expanded upon the findings of a land-use and transportation study the town commissioned for the Hamburg Street and Curry Road area near Thruway Exit 25. The study indicated the Grand Union property would be ideal to develop into a “main street neighborhood center” for the Hamburg Street corridor. The owners of the property had sought to include it during the town’s application for Restore NY funding in 2008. Town officials instead decided to seek money for the redevelopment of the Curry Road Shopping Center because there were already preliminary plans to transform the derelict property into mixed-use retail and condominiums. But the Polito-Columbia Properties project wasn’t approved for the state funding. The company ultimately scrapped the plan, citing the high cost to clean existing environmental concerns.
I don't remember, but did Rotterdam ever even get the money for Curry Road? If they did, what did they do with it.
And another question. This restore america grant...... was this intended for personal properties? I thought it was ment for government owned properties or infrustructure, not properties owned by private individuals. Sounds like a metroplex deal. No?
When the INSANE are running the ASYLUM In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule. -- Friedrich Nietzsche
“How fortunate for those in power that people never think.” Adolph Hitler
I thought that sewers were infrastructure too but no mention of them either.
Exactly. We aren't gonna 'restore' anything in Rotterdam without sewers. And again, why is our tax dollar going to a privatly owned building, that isn't even historic. It's just 'empty'? Shouldn't private investors being doing just that...investing in their own property? Sure I'd like to see the old grand union building occupied. So market it as is. The only thing is that there are 'nooooooo sewers'. Hint. Hint.
When the INSANE are running the ASYLUM In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule. -- Friedrich Nietzsche
“How fortunate for those in power that people never think.” Adolph Hitler
can I buy an old junk building and get someone to fix it up...
Sure...and that someone to fix it up would be 'us' the taxpayers.
When the INSANE are running the ASYLUM In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule. -- Friedrich Nietzsche
“How fortunate for those in power that people never think.” Adolph Hitler
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