Dave Vincent, who closed his Countryside Market recently, said the downtown Duanesburg building will be razed within the next six months or so.
"It's a tired structure with tired plumbing and wiring," he said, noting the property has petroleum contamination from the '40s. He plans to clean the land and sell the parcel for possible commercial development.
Vincent operated the market since he founded it in 1974.
He believes the 150-year-old building was a barn belonging to the adjacent old Case Hotel. The hotel, founded around 1800, later became the Hub Restaurant, once a town fixture. Vincent owns a string of convenience stores and small markets in Cobleskill, Schoharie, East Berne and Sloansville. He also owns the Mobil Mart/Dunkin' Donuts operation in Duanesburg. Vincent may be remembered as a hard-working, caring member of the Schenectady County Legislature for a decade or so ending in the early '90s. He also is a former chairman of the Capital District Regional Planning Commission.
It will be sad to see this structure go, but it is understandable. In conversations with Dave, it is with a heavy heart and much deliberation that formed his final decision. On to new ventures for "downtown" Duanesburg.
DUANESBURG Ex-trucker questions bridge posting Signs give height 1 foot less than actual clearance BY JUSTIN MASON Gazette Reporter
Ron Pechtel can tell you stories about the old Delaware & Hudson railroad bridge in front of his home, but they’re not the tales one would expect, given the structure’s low height posting. Instead of recounting how tractor-trailers have slammed into the bridge with its supposed clearance of 12 feet, 8 inches, the Western Turnpike resident will tell you about how the consciously false height posting has caused truck drivers to mire their rigs in spring mud on the road shoulder. He’ll discuss the problem faced by some recreational vehicle drivers after turning around before the bridge, heading nearly seven miles to Route 30 near the Esperance town line only to find yet another 12-foot-8-inch railroad bridge. “They turn around all the time because they see that stupid sign,” lamented Pechtel, a retired trucker himself with more than 20 years in the business. Pechtel’s pet peeve stems from the state Department of Transportation’s overcompensation when it comes to posting bridge clearances. Instead of risking accidents, DOT purposely marks bridges about a foot lower than their actual clearance. “The legal clearance shall be one foot less than the measured clearance,” reads the passage in New York’s Vehicle and Traffi c law. “The measured clearance shall be the minimum height to the bridge or structure measured vertically from the traveled por- tion of the roadway. On bridges or structures having fourteen feet or more of measured clearance, no such signs shall be required.” Federal law sets the maximum height for a truck without a special permit at 13 feet 6 inches. This means many legal rigs or RVs passing by Pechtel’s home could make it beneath the railroad bridge. It’s a fact that has prompted him to acquire a two-way radio to help passing traffic when they attempt to turn around on the state road near the Duanesburg Town Hall. He said the radio was donated to him at a garage sale after he explained his purpose in acquiring it. Pechtel is not alone in his concerns. Members of the New York State Motor Truck Association are considering Pechtel’s complaint as they plan their agenda for the upcoming legislative season. Acting President Kendra Adams said complaints about the state’s practice of posting lower bridge clearances haven’t been flooding in, but they’ve been persistent. She said she understands the concern about the deceptive signs and can see how they could cause issues for large vehicles. “There are definitely areas where there are low-posted bridges that actually cause safety hazards,” she said. But Adams said she also understands the other side of the issue. She said posting the actual height of low bridges could become a problem if snow buildup or road paving over time decreased the clearance. “There are pros and cons as to why the bridges are posted the way they are,” she said. DOT spokesman Peter Van Keuren said the reasons for the law extend beyond the buildup on the road. He said bridges are often damaged by trucks narrowly meeting the clearance, but carrying machinery that rises above the vehicle. By keeping the low posting, Van Keuren said, the DOT can avoid costly damage. “One of the reasons that this is part of vehicle law is to provide a height buffer between actual and posted clearance for the trucking community,” he stated in an e-mail. Pechtel sees it differently. He said it’s the truckers’ responsibility to secure their load and ensure they have the proper clearance, meaning any damage caused by their vehicles would fall directly on their shoulders. “If a trucker hits that bridge, it’s the trucker’s responsibility,” he said. “That’s the bottom line.”
DUANESBURG Neighbor: Landfill activity a ‘nightmare’ Officials say property has been ordered cleaned up BY JUSTIN MASON Gazette Reporter
Norman Torres was unaware he was moving in across the road from a dump. Four months ago, the 50-year-old disabled veteran purchased a $250,000 farm along a rural stretch of Mariaville Scotch Church Road. To his surprise, he found he was neighbor to a landfill fed by a steady procession of trucks hauling refuse into a vacant lot opposite his home. “This guy is hauling stuff in and out of that place,” said Torres, as he flipped through some of the more than 200 pictures he’s taken of the refuse-choked land since the spring. “It’s like a living nightmare.” From street level, the five-acre Dawson property seems normal. But area residents contend the land is brimming with junked vehicles, construction debris and old tires. Town and state officials agree. Torres said he first learned of the dump one day when he was nearly struck by a piece of automotive equipment that fell from a truck pulling out of the property. When he walked up the winding gravel drive to confront the owner, he discovered an endless maze of junk splayed in nearly every direction — everything from large fuel drums to bags of household garbage to what he believed to be asbestos-covered pipes. “He’s got everything up there,” he said. “And he’s burying it too.” Both the town’s code enforcer and officials from the state Department of Environmental Conservation are acutely aware of the problem. Since 2004, they have engaged in a lengthy enforcement effort on the property, which is now being slowly cleaned. Town Code Enforcer Dale Warner said the owner of the land — listed as Sidney Dawson — has until mid-September to clear the lot. He said the town and DEC have made regular visits to the property ever since the issue resurfaced earlier this year. “It’s been kind of an ongoing problem,” he said. Some neighbors claim the property has been an issue for nearly two decades, when the former piece of farmland was acquired by the Dawsons. Dave Hamil owns farmland abutting the site and says he has contended with junk that has spilled over onto his property over the years. But while the property is technically owned by Dawson, Hamil claims it’s Dawson’s son who is doing the dumping. He’s watched trucks with out-of-state license plates haul loads of junk onto the land under the cover of night and he’s listened to the sound of excavating equipment he suspects of burying the debris. “It’s not right,” he said. “He’s making my acreage worth nothing.” There is no listed number for Sidney Dawson in the Capital Region. State and town officials only have a post office box address for Dawson in the Glenville hamlet of Alplaus. Warner said there are no legal junkyards operating in Duanesburg and opening one would require a special zoning variance through the town. Violators of the town’s junk ordinance can face either a $1,000 fine, 90 days in jail or both. DEC officials have cited the property on two occasions. DEC spokesman Rick Georgeson said Dawson was assessed and paid a $1,000 fi ne for operating a solid waste facility without a permit in 2004. Georgeson said state enforcers returned to the property in 2006 and assessed a $1,500 fine in 2007. On both occasions, they discovered materials that were inappropriately disposed of, including large piles of metal, fiberglass, adulterated wood and tar shingles. Georgson said the next step is to criminally prosecute the owner of the property if the dumping continues. He said further dumping could bring much stiffer penalties because of the now-lengthy record of enforcement. “Because they’re intentionally breaking the law, instead of not knowing the law,” he said. Warner said there has been a considerable effort to clean the land this summer. He said the owner has reduced the number of junked vehicles from 41 down to less than a dozen. “He’s gotten a considerable amount taken out of there,” he said. For Torres and other area residents, the cleanup can’t happen quick enough. Torres said runoff from the property has an oily sheen, which he fears might one day contaminate his drinking water well. “It was a mistake that I went up there, because it’s really bothering me now,” he said.
This is intolerable. The property owner has been violating the law for at least 4 years and perhaps for decades as alleged by neighbors, he and/or the individuals responsible for the dumping should be held accountable and the dumping should be discontinued, if necessary, by police intervention.
Fines of $1000 and $1500 likely pale in comparison to the income received from those who have been dumping their waste at that site. I am surprised that the DEC isn't more forceful in enforcement.
This is intolerable. The property owner has been violating the law for at least 4 years and perhaps for decades as alleged by neighbors, he and/or the individuals responsible for the dumping should be held accountable and the dumping should be discontinued, if necessary, by police intervention.
Fines of $1000 and $1500 likely pale in comparison to the income received from those who have been dumping their waste at that site. I am surprised that the DEC isn't more forceful in enforcement.
I am never surprised by inaction on the part of a state agency. It is my understanding when this came up in 2004 our Code Enforcement Officer was told DEC was managing this clean up and they did not require his involvement. It is also my understanding that when this issue resurfaced to us on the town level earlier this year DEC apparently wanted our Code Enforcement Officer to be involved. I have not spoken with him about this in any depth recently but it is my guess that it is his involvement that has spurred the action of the homeowner to clean up. I am also hopeful the possible burying of "stuff" is thoroughly investigated by DEC. Why do some people have to be pigs and the scum of the earth?
I don't think it is the 'mayors' job to drive around town in a patrol car and give out speeding tickets. That is clearly the job of law enforcement.
In fact isn't that the job of the county sheriff's dept.? They are county roads, correct? And who is responsible for the sheriff's dept.? Who is making sure those roads are being patrolled?
We only pay the Sheriffs about 1.5 million a year to roam the county aimlessly and with no direction whatsoever. If they only patrol Princetown and Duanesburg, then how would they be able to get paid overtime for going to court in every other jurisdiction throughout the county? They have to patrol every jurisdiction every week, so they can attend every court night in every town, city, village in the county- despite the assurance of our Sheriff that the road patrol was formed to patrol the "jurisdictions in the western part of the county that do not have law enforcement agencies". Our legislators are doing a fine job insuring that happens.
there you go attacking the men in blue again you people act like anarchists and rabble roucers here. Leave the policemen alone they do a very fine job thank you indeed. You people are against the rights of the police over here and this will make the town backlash against you and Miss Rhinestone. STOP IT NOW and stop throwing the men in blue around like a political football for putting their lives on the line over here. Lazzari went against the police patrol and look where that got her. Other wise she was a decent official but when she went against the police it cost her the race. She wanted to take the jobs away from them and they all banded together righ- fully so. You didnt see Angelo do that and look over here HE WON with the support of the men in blue!
Not against the police, but if you are going to spend millions of dollars on a new police force and you tell the taxpayers that the force is for the "western part of the county that doesen't have police departments", then
that is what it should be used for. The Sheriff deputies write tickets- period. I just think, as Carolina did- that the patrol should be for Duanesburg and Princetown- as was the original stated plan.
You need to realize that papanetta67 is affiliated with the Schenectady City Police Department. It is my understanding that there has been strife between the Schenectady Police and the Schenectady County Sheriff's Department for years. papanetta57 is the only one posting to this forum who has disparaged the Sheriff's department.
I have supported the Sheriff's Association with donations. I value their service here in Duanesburg. Several in the department live in the town.
For the record, Carolina Lazzari was not against the Sheriff's department. I spoke w/ her several times about the road patrol. Her Democratic opponents lied and misled the residents of the hilltowns about her position. Of course, you are welcome to believe the mischaracterization of her position.
And, for the last time, this has nothing to do w/ Kelly Rhinesmith or those of us who are working (and winning) to retake control of the Conservative party. I don't know if you are trying to create problems or if you just don't comprehend well. I suspect that you are either working with those who have abused the power of their positions on the Conservative Party Executive Board and betrayed the party membership by endorsing liberal Democrats OR, perhaps, you are among those who favor their replacement and use the absurdity of your posts to rally people to the cause. Either way, I find both your posts and those of papanetta67 to be lacking intellectual substance and sincerity.
Logged
Duanesburg.
