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DUANESBURG
Grant helps outfit new community center
BY JUSTIN MASON Gazette Reporter

   Piece by piece, the stone facade of the new Duanesburg Area Community Center is coming together.
   The concrete is set for the six-lane indoor swimming pool and the interior of the gym is almost built. And with a $315,000 state grant, community center officials now have the money in place to outfit their 26,000-square-foot facility, slated for completion this fall.
   State officials announced the new funding through the Office of Small Cities’ Federal Community Development Block Grant Program. The grant will go toward furniture, fixtures and other equipment for the center, which was originally envisioned by community leaders nearly eight years ago.
   “This is a long-awaited community center, which will bring important services to children and families in the rural Duanesburg area,” said state Sen. Hugh T. Farley, R-Niskayuna, in a news release. He has already secured more than $350,000 in grants for the project.
   The community center project is expected to create 35 new jobs and retain the existing 11 jobs at the old facility off Mott Road. The new building about 6 miles away off Cole Road includes a gymnasium, aquatics and fitness centers, child care centers and community meeting space.
   “These grants hold the promise of new, goodpaying jobs, which means more New Yorkers will have a secure economic future,” Gov. Eliot Spitzer said in a statement.
   Patrick Ciraulo, the community’s executive director, could not be reached for comment Tuesday,
   The idea for a community center was first put forward in 2000, when a group of local residents began seeking a place to host cultural, recreational and educational activities. Initial discussions envisioned a 20,000-square-foot structure on property owned by the Duanesburg Central School District in the village of Delanson.
   But after nearly three years of fundraising, the organization decided instead to invest in the former site of Fitness Fanatics on Mott Road. Opened in April 2003, the smaller building was able to support many of the programs initially projected, while the organization continued to seek other sources of funding.
   In July 2005, the push for an expanded community center facility received a major boost from a $250,000 matching grant through the state Environmental Protection Fund. The grant brought the community center fund up to $2.7 million.
   Construction on the building began in December 2006 on a 9-acre property by the Normanskill that was donated by the Romanski family. Once completed, the community center is anticipated to represent a $5 million investment, including the value of the donated land, infrastructure improvements by the village of Delanson, engineering and construction costs. So far, the community center has raised more than $4.5 million of this cost and is aiming to raise an additional $500,000, according to figures provided on its Web site.

ANA N. ZANGRONIZ/GAZETTE PHOTOGRAPHER Jeremiah Stuart of Nancy’s Painting sprays an interior wall white at the new Duanesburg Area Community Center on Tuesday.

What a good thing for Duanesburg. I wonder if this new facility will be one that can be counted in the sex offender law. And I wonder if folks outside of Duanesburg can use it too.

The community center will be a great asset to D'burg.  It is named the Duanesburg AREA Community Center in the hopes that people in other towns would use it also.  It will have an array of programs for everyone from children to senior citizens.  The Senior Meal Site through Catholic Charities will be located in the building.  

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The idea for a community center was first put forward in 2000, when a group of local residents began seeking a place to host cultural, recreational and educational activities. Initial discussions envisioned a 20,000-square-foot structure on property owned by the Duanesburg Central School District in the village of Delanson.
   But after nearly three years of fundraising, the organization decided instead to invest in the former site of Fitness Fanatics on Mott Road. Opened in April 2003, the smaller building was able to support many of the programs initially projected, while the organization continued to seek other sources of funding.

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“These grants hold the promise of new, goodpaying jobs, which means more New Yorkers will have a secure economic future,” Gov. Eliot Spitzer said in a statement.

Church used to be the community centers of the past....now the government/companies have to make them.....I thought folks moved to the country to get out of the 'city mouse habits'..it supposed to be 'healthy' just to live in the country...but, that is only if you grow/kill/gather your own and not at BJ's.........

like the locust we spread.....

Like I said in one of my other posts, D'burg is a changing community.  For better or worse remains to be seen.  My personal opinion is that it was "the country" 40 years ago when I was a kid growing up here.

We here in Rotterdam still consider Duansburg 'the country'. I go to Gibby's Diner once in awhile where you clearly still get the country folk feeling. But they are usually the older folks. I'm sure, as with all communities, that when the last generation dies off, the young ones move up and things change.

Rotterdam doesn't really have much left to change. Pretty soon it will just be a tear down and rebuild community. Not so with Duanesburg. There is beautiful country there that would be a developers dream. As well as Princetown. I just hope that both municipalities take it REAL slow!!!

Although I know it will become a reality someday soon, Rt7 will be developed and that corridor will open the flood gates to Princetown and Duansburg for future development.

I do agree, as a person who for a short time lived in the hills of Duanesburg, the people of Rotterdam do still consider Duanesburg / Delanson as "country living."  I believe for anyone that lives in Rotterdam, the most likely definition of "country living" would be if you have to drive more than a mile to the nearest convenience store.  Except for the 2 right at 7 and 20, this is pretty much the way that Duanesburg is set up.  

I remember that I did go to the previous DCC, which if I remember was actually in Princetown, or darn close to it.  Is that right, Rene?  Well, anyway, while this still won't be in "Downtown Duanesburg" (which I would guess is signified by the actual intersection of 7 and 20, or Delanson, whichever way you look at it), it will be much closer and much easier for people to gather at, won't it?  

I also wonder if the people of Duanesburg / Delanson / Princetown and the surrounding area will finally get back some of the money that they paid into the State Street Rejuvination Committee  Metroplex to help fund this.

I didn't mean to sound like my parents.........with my "Back in the day" kind of comment.  All the towns change and evolve, you are right we need to make sure we do it slowly and carefully.  It is still country compared to Rotterdam,  I love Rotterdam and do most of my shopping there. There is still a sense of "small town" atmosphere and yet there are many services.  The Community Center will be in the village of Delanson at the corner of Cole Road and Route #395.  It is across from the High School.  

I do hope that as Rotterdam develops it's 'last frontier', it does so in a manner that will still keep the small town charm. I do still question the multifamily housing that is sprouting up all around Rotterdam. My concern is infrustructure. Sewers of course is in question, but also the roads. Rotterdam is still only a 2 lane street town. Curry Road and Altamont is still congested at 5pm nightly not to mention the railroad tracks on Burdeck. We must consider our EMS and Fire dept's and our Police. We clearly would not want congested traffic debilitating an emergency call.

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We clearly would not want congested traffic debilitating an emergency call.

Is there this problem in NYC?

Rotterdam will just have to charge a congestion fee to force people to use their bicycles.

Shhhhhhh...shadow, don't give them any other ideas!

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DUANESBURG
PhanPhest starts slowly, but more people expected
BY KATHY PARKER Gazette Reporter

   Half a dozen music lovers were on hand for the start of PhanPhest at the Indian Lookout Country Club Friday afternoon, but promoters were expecting thousands before the three-day event closes on Sunday.
   Drew Wajnert said it’s been three years since his New Jerseybased music promotion company has held an outdoor festival.
   “PhanPhest started five years ago as a backyard hobby and three years ago we had 550 people who maxed out four acres,” Wajnert, 33, said. “We’ve been waiting to bring it back in a big way in a big venue and this fit perfectly.”
   He compares the jam bands that will perform to The Grateful Dead and Phish.
   “We say the intention of the festival is musical connectivity. This is music you don’t hear on the radio because the airwaves are dominated by a couple of companies,” he said.
   He said the 200 acres of the country club property with a 30-year history as an event venue are expected to host up to 3,000 music fans who have been invited to pitch a tent or park a vehicle and stay through Sunday evening, when the last of 32 bands hits the final note.
   The weekend started shortly after noon Friday when The Atmosferics took the stage and warmed up to a crowd of three.
   “People are still working or are on their way here,” Wajnert said.
   Frank Potter, owner of the property, said advertising for the event was mostly conducted on the Internet.
   “We’re prepared for just about anything,” he said. “My staff will check people in and search every vehicle before it goes up the road.”
   He said if searches turn up weapons or drugs, the car and its occupants are sent back out and told not to return.
   “If we find glass, we ask them to throw it in a barrel. If we fi nd baseball bats, we hold on to them until the people leave and we give the bats back,” Potter said.
   Wajnert said that security was a big plus when he and his two partners decided to move the festival from New Jersey to New York.
   “This is a fairly pure and innocent scene and we were looking for the right location with tight security,” he said.
   He said 60,000 fliers were distributed by his company and the scheduled bands and the festival has been promoted for about six months on Web sites including postings on My Space.
   “We used the words, ‘Albany, girls, Grateful Dead and Phish’ to locate potential attendees,” he said. “If you attract the girls, the guys will follow.”
   Colleen and Vinnie White of Newburgh were among the fi rst fans to arrive Friday.
   They said they have been going to concerts and music festivals for 30 years and took their children, now 18 and 19, to many when they were younger.
   “We know some of the bands that will be here this weekend,” Colleen White said. “We’ll be here to the end.”

Instead of SPAC there could be M-PAC or D-PAC......start now.....