Rotterdam businesses oppose moratorium Owners upset over town building limits meant to block new Wal-Mart DANIELLE FURFARO Staff Writer Section: Capital Region, Page: B1 Date: Wednesday, March 8, 2006
ROTTERDAM - More than 20 business owners from the Burdeck Street corridor plan to attend a Town Board meeting tonight to protest a building moratorium that has been proposed in an attempt to block a Wal-Mart.
The businesses owners represent a variety of longtime area companies, from salt mines to pavers and propane distributors, said Jim Foley, operations manager for William M. Larned and Sons, a sand and gravel company based on the road. The businesspeople say the moratorium, as well as an attempted rezoning of the corridor, puts all the companies in jeopardy, he said.
"There are other avenues to block a Wal-Mart than to change everybody's zoning," said Foley. "They can scrutinize the plans when they come in. This zoning thing is back-stabbing tactics."
Last month, Wal-Mart filed plans to build a new 200,000-square-foot supercenter with a hair salon, oil and lube shop, grocery store and garden center on Burdeck Street. Almost immediately, the Town Board announced plans to implement the building moratorium.
This isn't the first time the town has used defensive tactics to block the behemoth retailer. Last year, the town rezoned the area from general business and light industry to corporate commerce, which would effectively rule out any new retail.
That rezoning was challenged by the owner of the land on which Wal-Mart wants to build and was overturned by the state Supreme Court, which ruled that the town did not conduct the proper environmental studies before the change. But Town Board member John Mertz is hoping the town will Please see WAL-MART B10 appeal that decision.
"Our position is that since the new use would be less intense than the old one, it should be permitted," said Mertz.
A zone change would allow the town to market to businesses in the high-tech industry that could generate taxes without putting a strain on the town's infrastructure, as a major retailer could.
Not all the Town Board members are in favor of the rezoning or moratorium. "It's a sad thing to do to all the businesspeople in this town who have given their blood, sweat and tears," said Diane Marco
Contributor Amt Contr. Date Recipient Filing Sched Office Dist County Municipality WILLIAM LARNED % SINS, INC. 544 BURDECK STREET SCHENECTADY, NY 12306 1,500.00 28-AUG-09 REVITALIZE ROTTERDAM 2009 11 Pre Primary B Supervisor N/A Schenectady Rotterdam WILLIAM M LARNED & SONS, INC 544 BURDECK STREET SCHENECTADY, NY 12306 750.00 24-JAN-08 ROTTERDAM REPUBLICAN TOWN COMMITTEE 2008 July Periodic B N/A N/A Schenectady Rotterdam WM. LARNED & SONS, INC. 544 BURDECK STREET SCHENECTADY, NY 12306 250.00 30-OCT-06 COMMITTEE TO ELECT FRANK RENNA 2006 27 Post General B Town Board N/A Schenectady Rotterdam LARNED, TIMOTHY 210 WENDY COURT SCHENECTADY, NY 12306 1,500.00 28-AUG-09 REVITALIZE ROTTERDAM 2009 11 Pre Primary A Supervisor N/A Schenectady Rotterdam Total Contributions 4,000.00
MEETINGS Section: Capital Region, Page: B4 Date: Tuesday, January 24, 2006
ROTTERDAM
PLANNING BOARD
Tuesday, Jan. 17
Declared itself lead agency for Robert Iovinella and Timothy Larned's proposed 168,500-square-foot food service distribution warehouse and 12,800-square-foot truck maintenance building on 27.42 acres along Feuz Road. Declared that the warehouse proposed by Iovinella and Larned would have a significant impact on the environment and scheduled a Jan. 31, 7 p.m. special meeting at the South Schenectady firehouse.
Wal-Mart files new plan Company resumes efforts to build Rotterdam supercenter ANNE MILLER Staff Writer Section: Capital Region, Page: B9 Date: Friday, February 24, 2006
Correction: Published February 25, 2006 A story in Friday's Capital Region section incorrectly reported the Thruway exit in Rotterdam near which a Wal-Mart supercenter is proposed. The site is in the western part of the town near Exit 25A.
ROTTERDAM - Wal-Mart has filed plans this week to build a new 200,000-square-foot supercenter in Rotterdam even as town officials have been seeking a building moratorium to block it.
The plans mark the retailer's second attempt in 12 months to build on Burdeck Street in the town. The earlier proposal touched off a political firestorm that inspired a building moratorium, the creation of neighborhood organizations and the altering of zoning regulations. The zoning changes essentially prohibited Wal-Mart from building on the site. But a group of landowners filed suit against the town over the changes, and a state judge ruled the new zoning was illegal.
So the town now faces the same fight.
Preliminary site plans, submitted to the town building department Wednesday, detail a store with a hair salon, oil and lube shop, grocery store and garden center.
Traffic would have exits on to Burdeck Street and Thompson Road, and lights around the property would be placed to limit the effect on nearby neighborhoods, according to a letter Wal-Mart submitted to the town.
Wal-Mart also promised to submit traffic and environmental studies, although it has not yet done either.
The current general business zoning on the land allows for a big box store but does not permit the oil and lube department. Wal-Mart must request a special use permit from the town planning commission, in addition to the building department approvals. The project has not yet been placed on the commission's agenda for discussion.
The plans are almost identical to the proposal floated last spring, when Wal-Mart touted plans for a new supercenter on Burdeck Street at public meetings. But public outrage led to town officials enacting a moratorium that prohibited new buildings, to give the town time to review land use in the area.
Eventually, the Town Board enacted new zoning regulations for the entire area around Thruway Exit 25, including a new designation, corporate commerce, which would have allowed office but not retail uses on the proposed Wal-Mart site. The landowners who had contracts to sell to Wal-Mart filed suit against the town over the changes - and won.
Last month, Supreme Court Justice Vincent J. Reilly Jr. ruled in favor of the landowners and negated the zoning changes.
That opened a window for Wal- Mart.
Neither the town supervisor, Steve Tommasone, nor Town Board member John Mertz returned calls Thursday. Both helped craft the earlier zoning changes.
Last year, Michael O'Connor was among a group of vocal residents against the supercenter. This year, he's less worried.
"Wal-Mart is really not the issue," he said. "It's always been about comprehensive planning. The town has always been a little bit behind on that front.
"I don't think the filing, in and of itself, is really a giant issue, because I think the moratorium would trump that," he said.
The town board is expected to revisit the moratorium in the next few weeks for a formal vote.
Rotterdam ruling favors proposed Wal-Mart Town attorney decision means there are not enough Town Board votes for moratorium to block store ANNE MILLER Staff Writer Section: Capital Region, Page: B1 Date: Thursday, April 6, 2006
ROTTERDAM - A new finding from Rotterdam's attorney could move Wal-Mart a step closer to town. The attorney, Gerard Parisi, ruled that four of five Town Board members must vote for a building moratorium on the Burdeck Street corridor for the proposal to pass, several town officials said Wednesday.
Without those votes, which the board does not have, Rotterdam moves closer to seeing a Wal-Mart come to the western part of town.
Parisi did not return numerous phone calls seeking comment.
Parisi's call negates the 3-2 vote for the moratorium at a Town Board meeting last month. The plan would have temporarily halted development of buildings with more than 90,000 square feet along Burdeck Street where the retailer seeks to open a store.
Parisi's decision mirrors the guidelines for changing a property's permanent zoning, even though the moratorium would have been temporary.
Town Board member John Mertz disagreed with the decision. "A temporary moratorium, I don't think, rises to the same level as a zone change," Mertz said.
Neighborhood organizer Tom Vincent, who has often spoken against the Wal-Mart, said he read the law himself and agrees with Parisi's decision, even if he doesn't really like it.
"The law's the law, and you have to follow the law," Vincent said.
The decision was prompted by a petition signed by more than 60 landowners along the corridor in question asking for the 4-1 majority, Mertz said.
That petition was submitted to the Town Board the week of March 22. That night, board members voted on the moratorium, and three said yes. The sole Democrat on the council, Diane Marco, voted against it. Joseph Guidarelli abstained from voting, citing a business conflict.
Marco sees the issue not as Wal-Mart, but as the right of property owners.
"I leave the word Wal-Mart right out of it," Marco said, noting that she would wait until the retailer submits plans before voicing an opinion.
Initial work-ups of the site reviewed by the town Planning Commission this week prompted much critique, said Planning Commission Chairman Lawrence DiLallo.
"The site is crammed. It's too small for what they got there," DiLallo said. As proposed, the Wal-Mart has too little green space, too few trees and the potential for too much traffic, DiLallo said.
The project is so large that the town is requiring Wal-Mart put $75,000 in escrow to pay for a town-approved engineer and attorney to review the plans throughout the approval process, DiLallo said.
Joseph Guidarelli abstained from voting, citing a business conflict.
This is a perfect example of what will happen if fdg and crew get elected to our town board. Just as Mr. Guidarelli abstained time and time again citing a business conflict, fdg and crew will do 'exactly' the same thing.
Every decision, every issue, every newly proposed development will be handed over to the developers/businesses with out the concernof the residence. It could have and would have happened exactly that way IF fdg and crew were in office then.
Just go back a few short years folks and remember what a mess this town 'could' have turned into with the wrong people in office. The rotterdam residence took back their town a few years ago.....you have to do it again this year. NO FDG!
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
Strong supporter of Frank DeGallo, Tim Larned contributes a whopping $3000 to the DeGallo campaign. It was only 3 short years ago when business owner Tim Larned wanted to drop a 90,000 square foot Walmart Super Center smack in the middle of town, and build a busy distribution center on Fuez Rd less than a mile from El Dorado Acres. The Rotterdam business community has come out to support Frank DelGallo, already raising $42K. I hope the residents of Rotterdam know what they mean when they say "revitalize rotterdam". It could mean a box store or a warehouse in your backyard.
$1 SALE IN ROTTERDAM SPURS PARTISAN ATTACK Marv Cermak Staff writer Section: LOCAL, Page: B12 Date: Thursday, June 28, 1990
Republican Councilwoman Catherine A. O'Connor Wednesday accused Democratic members of the Town Board of possibly profiting from selling a parcel of land for $1 to developers of a proposed shopping mall.
O'Connor made her accusations at the Town Board meeting Wednesday night and Democrats sharply disputed her claims. Democratic Supervisor James A. Constantino said the 130-foot by 201- foot parcel was sold to developers Timothy Larned and Robert Iovinella because it was worthless to the town.
"Your insinuation shows you have a total lack of understanding what the hell is going on here," Constantino said, noting the town had sold numerous "slivers" of unusable land to adjacent property owners for $1.
"Are you saying you didn't profit from this?" O'Connor asked.
Constantino said: "Be careful. What you're saying is bordering on something."
"That land is worth more than a dollar," O'Connor said, waving a dollar bill. "I'll buy all the $1 town parcels so you can't give them to the rich people," O'Connor said.
She did not explain how town Democrats may have profited from the land sale.
After the Town Board meeting, Constantino said the city and county of Schenectady and other towns have often sold unusable parcels to adjacent property owners for $1.
Iovinella, Larned and Larry Lewandowski are proposing a 100,000 square foot shopping mall, Schermerhorn Hollow Village, to be located adjacent to the huge Rotterdam Square mall on Campbell Road.
O'Connor said the property sold to the developers for $1 in 1988 will be the entrance to the proposed mall. The new mall proposal was not made public until March 28, 1990.
Constantino said meeting rules prohibited giving Iovinella the floor to explain, but after the session Iovinella said the developers already have a 12-foot easement through the property to a 20-acre tract they plan to convert into the mall.
"The land was unbuildable with no value other than egress and ingress to our property," Iovinella said.
"I like O'Connor's style," he said, "but tonight was a ploy to raise the hair of Democratic board members. I like her, but she gets upset because the Democrats override her."
Constantino said selling land for $1 was a common practice done openly and publicly at Town Board meetings.
"We are here to work with businessmen, not hinder them. If this action allows an applicant to come forward with a project years later, I have no problem," Constantino said.
"I'm here to say government will work hand-in-hand with business, not to tell developers to take a walk," he added.
O'Connor also ripped Councilmen Ralph J. Salerno and Vincent T. Fernandez for moving and seconding the 1988 resolution authorizing the $1 sale.
"Under no circumstances should this Town Board adopt the lead agency role for environmental studies for the proposed shopping mall. Fernandez, Salerno and Constantino acted irresponsibly toward the project based on the $1 sale resolution.
"If they're saying the property is only worth $1, they're lying. It's worth a lot more," O'Connor charged.
Fernandez said at two recent Town Board meetings he insisted the town did not have resources to be the lead agency for the proposed mall. "I don't know how we acted irresponsibly," Fernandez said.
Constantino said he has been a member of the board since 1975. "I can cite at least five to 10 occasions where the Town Board took a small parcel of land, with no value, and gave it to adjacent property owners," he said.
$1 SALE IN ROTTERDAM SPURS PARTISAN ATTACK Marv Cermak Staff writer Section: LOCAL, Page: B12 Date: Thursday, June 28, 1990
Republican Councilwoman Catherine A. O'Connor Wednesday accused Democratic members of the Town Board of possibly profiting from selling a parcel of land for $1 to developers of a proposed shopping mall.
O'Connor made her accusations at the Town Board meeting Wednesday night and Democrats sharply disputed her claims. Democratic Supervisor James A. Constantino said the 130-foot by 201- foot parcel was sold to developers Timothy Larned and Robert Iovinella because it was worthless to the town.
"Your insinuation shows you have a total lack of understanding what the hell is going on here," Constantino said, noting the town had sold numerous "slivers" of unusable land to adjacent property owners for $1.
"Are you saying you didn't profit from this?" O'Connor asked.
Constantino said: "Be careful. What you're saying is bordering on something."
"That land is worth more than a dollar," O'Connor said, waving a dollar bill. "I'll buy all the $1 town parcels so you can't give them to the rich people," O'Connor said.
She did not explain how town Democrats may have profited from the land sale.
After the Town Board meeting, Constantino said the city and county of Schenectady and other towns have often sold unusable parcels to adjacent property owners for $1.
Iovinella, Larned and Larry Lewandowski are proposing a 100,000 square foot shopping mall, Schermerhorn Hollow Village, to be located adjacent to the huge Rotterdam Square mall on Campbell Road.
O'Connor said the property sold to the developers for $1 in 1988 will be the entrance to the proposed mall. The new mall proposal was not made public until March 28, 1990.
Constantino said meeting rules prohibited giving Iovinella the floor to explain, but after the session Iovinella said the developers already have a 12-foot easement through the property to a 20-acre tract they plan to convert into the mall.
"The land was unbuildable with no value other than egress and ingress to our property," Iovinella said.
"I like O'Connor's style," he said, "but tonight was a ploy to raise the hair of Democratic board members. I like her, but she gets upset because the Democrats override her."
Constantino said selling land for $1 was a common practice done openly and publicly at Town Board meetings.
"We are here to work with businessmen, not hinder them. If this action allows an applicant to come forward with a project years later, I have no problem," Constantino said.
"I'm here to say government will work hand-in-hand with business, not to tell developers to take a walk," he added.
O'Connor also ripped Councilmen Ralph J. Salerno and Vincent T. Fernandez for moving and seconding the 1988 resolution authorizing the $1 sale.
"Under no circumstances should this Town Board adopt the lead agency role for environmental studies for the proposed shopping mall. Fernandez, Salerno and Constantino acted irresponsibly toward the project based on the $1 sale resolution.
"If they're saying the property is only worth $1, they're lying. It's worth a lot more," O'Connor charged.
Fernandez said at two recent Town Board meetings he insisted the town did not have resources to be the lead agency for the proposed mall. "I don't know how we acted irresponsibly," Fernandez said.
Constantino said he has been a member of the board since 1975. "I can cite at least five to 10 occasions where the Town Board took a small parcel of land, with no value, and gave it to adjacent property owners," he said.
BTL PROPERTIES, INC. 90 CAMPBELL ROAD SCHENECTADY, NY 12306 750.00 28-AUG-09
Quoted Text
ROTTERDAM PROJECT ENGINEER RETAINED FOR SHOPPING CENTER Marv Cermak Staff writer Section: LOCAL, Page: B8 Date: Thursday, May 24, 1990
A new 100,000- square-foot shopping center proposed across from the Rotterdam Square mall took its first step forward Wednesday night when the Town Board hired an engineering firm to review the site.
Schermerhorn Hollow Village has been proposed by B.T.L. Properties, a partnership of developers Timothy Larned, Robert Iovinella and Larry Lewandowski. The board authorized C.T. Male Associates of Latham to conduct the engineering survey at a cost of $2,000, to be paid by the developers.
Town Supervisor James A. Constantino said the project is proposed for a 21-acre tract adjacent to Campbell and Schermerhorn roads.
The shopping complex would utilize about 8 acres while the remaining land would be used for a parking area for about 550 vehicles and appropriate landscaping.
The project would need a zoning change from agricultural to commercial. Constantino said the usual project reviews, environmental impact studies and hearings would take about 1 1/2 years.
ROTTERDAM GOP CHAIRMAN CRITICIZES WORK BOND Marv Cermak Staff writer Section: LOCAL, Page: B4 Date: Thursday, December 29, 1988
Town Republican Chairman C. Douglas O'Malley charged the Town Board Wednesday with acting illegally in accepting a mortgage from developers as a performance bond.
The board had accepted a $153,048 mortgage from developers Robert Iovinella and Timothy Larned to assure completion of work on roads, sewers and water lines at Mohawkville Manor and Caroline Manor. The mortgage is on business property owned by the contractors on Campbell Road. O'Malley said the state Department of Audit and Control said Section 277 of the Town Law allows only letters of credit, bank books or cash to be accepted as performance bonds.
"This is the good old boy network in action. Accepting the mortgage as a bond is favoritism for some builders and not for others," O'Malley charged.
"There is no interest paid the town on the mortgage, whereas other types of performance bonds mean an expense for the developer. It's a nice deal."
Supervisor James A. Constantino said town attorneys said the procedure is legal.
"We've never refused a mortgage as a performance bond in the past and we will not in the future, unless we're told otherwise by the state. This practice would not be limited to Iovenella and Larned," Constantino said.
"What's important here is the Republican town chairman is trying to make waves for Democrats in control of the Town Board."
However, Constantino said he would ask town lawyers to look into the procedure to make sure it is proper.
O'Malley said he checked the procedure with the Schenectady County attorney's office and supervisors and town attorneys of other area towns.
"They all agreed that accepting a mortgage as a performance bond is bad practice. The town shouldn't be in the mortgage business," O'Malley said.
"It isn't," Constantino retorted. He said while most towns allow developers to build houses first, Rotterdam demands that roads, sewer and water be provided before a single house may be built.
"If the builder defaults on the amenities, we don't let him put up any buildings," Constantino said.
O'Malley charged holding mortgages did not offer liquidity to the town in case of default.
Constantino said:
"In Rotterdam 98 percent of the contractors we deal with live in the town and they have a stake in the community.
"We bend over backwards to deal with the many local contractors and we haven't had to worry about defaults."
COURT RECORDS REVEAL ROLE IN PLOT ANDREW TILGHMAN Staff writer Section: CAPITAL REGION, Page: B1 Date: Friday, August 23, 2002
Former Schenectady County legislator John DeGeorgio, who is currently on the town of Rotterdam's payroll, was an alleged conspirator in an extortion plot that netted him a $12,000 kickback and led to the conviction of former Town Supervisor James Constantino, recently unsealed court records show. DeGeorgio is making $47,291 this year as the Rotterdam director of Parks and Recreation and has not been charged with any crimes. But federal prosecutors indicated that DeGeorgio arranged for the extortion of $20,000 from a local contractor, of which he paid Constantino $8,000 and kept the rest for himself.
Federal officials were careful not to name DeGeorgio in open court, but Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen Tyrell said Constantino's co-conspirator was the developer of a project at Ronnie Court in 1996, and Rotterdam town officials said DeGeorgio was the developer for that site.
DeGeorgio's apparent role in the plot was revealed in court records unsealed only after Constantino was sentenced last week to 21 months in prison. Constantino pleaded guilty in October 2001 to extortion by threatening to withhold town business or create a bad work environment for the prominent local firm.
The case against Constantino resulted in the first -- and so far only -- indictment in an ongoing federal probe of corruption in the town. Constantino admitted using his influence as town supervisor to get a local contractor, William M. Larned & Sons Inc., to lower the price he would charge DeGeorgio to build a road for the residential development.
Timothy Larned, owner of the company, first offered to build the road for DeGeorgio for $148,000. But Larned dropped his bid to $100,000 after DeGeorgio asked Constantino to talk to the contractor ``and see if he'll cut his price a bit,'' Assistant U.S. Attorney Tyrell said in federal court in October.
``But for the fact that Mr. Constantino was the town supervisor, (Larned) would not have agreed to do that but he agreed to do that,'' Tyrell said. Shortly afterward, DeGeorgio entered into a contract with Larned.
Several months later, Constantino and DeGeorgio both told the contractor that Constantino wanted a kickback from the project. On at least one occasion, DeGeorgio alone told Larned that Constantino wanted $20,000. Constantino denied ever giving a specific figure, saying he only wanted ``a portion of the proceeds of the contract,'' according to court records.
Prosecutors said Larned was compelled to turn over the money.
``A lot of his business involved trucks and things like that which drive through town, which can be pulled over by police officers. When trucks get tickets for being overweight or things of that nature, they are expensive tickets. They can be thousands of dollars and he was concerned about that, as well as concerned about other projects working in the town getting approval,'' Tyrell said.
In December 1996, DeGeorgio gave Constantino $8,000 in cash.
Tyrell declined to comment Thursday on the developer he referred to in court. He said only that the investigation into corruption among Rotterdam town officials is ongoing.
DeGeorgio's attorney William Dreyer of Albany, did not return a call for comment on Thursday.
DeGeorgio built a home at 28 Ronnie Court, where he currently lives, and then subdivided the property into nine other lots, which he sold for residential development.
Constantino, a Democrat, served as town supervisor for 14 years until he lost a bid for re-election to Republican Joseph Signore in 1997.
Last April, the FBI subpoenaed the assessment records of 18 properties in town, including at least one owned by DeGeorgio, according to sources close to the investigation.
DeGeorgio, who represented the towns of Rotterdam, Duanesburg and Princetown on the Republican and Conservative lines for eight years, did not seek a third term in last year's election.
DeGeorgio, when reached at his home on Thursday, declined to comment about the federal investigation.
John Paolino, the present town supervisor, said DeGeorgio's job was protected under a union contract and no disciplinary actions have been planned.
TOWN, 11 FIRMS IN FEDERAL PROBE MARV CERMAK Staff writer Section: CAPITAL REGION, Page: B1 Date: Wednesday, April 25, 2001
Records of all transactions between the town government and 11 private firms were subpoeaned Tuesday by the FBI in connection with a federal grand jury investigation, town sources said.
Businesses named on the subpoena were Towne Construction & Paving, White Birch Nursery, Vellano Brothers, William Larned & Sons, Santoro Excavating, Gorman Brothers, The Cady Co., KED Landscaping, Chemung Supply, Chazen Engineering and Stephen Signore, an attorney.
FEDS SEEK DOCUMENTS ON CAPPING LANDFILL BOB GARDINIER Staff writer Section: CAPITAL REGION, Page: B1 Date: Monday, March 9, 1998
In Deecmber 1996, former town Supervisor James A. Constantino said that a former town comptroller erroneously sent the bills for the construction and demolition landfill closing to the state, and the town was paid for the ineligible expense.
At the time, Constantino said the money was repaid and the matter was settled.
Another town official suggested the investigation into the former town administration's handling of the capping may not be limited to the misspent $550,000 but may inquire as to whether the work vouchered for was actually done or if some money was used for non-dump related business.
``There must be enough evidence they've found that they now want to look into where the work was done,'' Town Board member Carolina Lazzari said.
The EPA office of inspector general wants copies of all contracts awarded to William M. Larned & Sons Inc., Tim Larned Sr. or John M. MacDonald Engineering during 1995-96, all bid documents awarded to Larned and MacDonald, reimbursement requests sent by the town to the EFC, personnel folders and time sheets for all town employees during that period and the minutes and memos of all official town meetings regarding work on the closure.
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