Traffic problems in Duanesburg? Who would have thought? And I don't blame you for wanting to welcome McLane's to your town. I do hope that they find land somewhere in Schenectady County.

First you form a committee and then you have to do a study for a long long time.

long long long long long long etc........long long long..............long long.....election.....long long long....etc....long long long long long----------------

Quoted from Shadow

First you form a committee and then you have to do a study for a long long time.

Angelo Santabarbara now has a website set for the Rotterdam IDA.  
http://www.rotterdamida.org/

Also, he has his own site on YouTube, http://youtube.com/user/AngeloSantabarbara, where I found a video of him on Schenectady Today regarding the Rotterdam IDA and the Hamburg St. Merchants Association.

http://www.dailygazette.com

Quoted Text

ROTTERDAM
Small businesses get better offer
Development Agency boosts facade improvement grant program
BY JUSTIN MASON Gazette Reporter
Reach Gazette reporter Justin Mason at 395-3113 or jmason@dailygazette.net.

    Incentives offered through the Rotterdam Industrial Development Agency’s small business facade improvement program just got a lot bigger.
    The agency will offer 10 matching grants totaling $50,000 for small businesses wanting to tidy up their appearance. The new round of grants are double the amount offered by the agency last year, when a total of nine businesses were given funding though the program.
    Chairman Angelo Santabarbara said the agency expects to hammer out the requirements for the second round of grants by next month’s meeting. He said the new grants are targeted at small business owners who did not seek out the funding last year.
    “Maybe they were going to wait on a project, but with this assistance they’ll do it now,” he said.
    Last year, the program offered $2,500 grants to businesses that applied for entrance, handicap accessibility and exterior improvements. The majority of grants approved by the agency were awarded to small businesses along Hamburg Street, an area of the town that has been the focus of recent revitalization efforts.
   In a related move, the IDA approved a $4,850 study on redeveloping the area around the former Grand Union property between Williams Street and East Campbell Road. Santabarbara said the new survey will expand upon the findings presented by a recently completed land-use and transportation study of the Hamburg Street and Curry Road area near Thruway Exit 25.
    The study suggested the town create a new zoning designation to create a “main street neighborhood center” for the Hamburg Street corridor. In particular, the study suggested the Grand Union property as an ideal area to create a commercial corridor with street-front stores, sidewalks and landscaping.
    “It’s going to help us tie everything together,” Santabarbara said of the IDA study.
    Santabarbara was also reappointed chairman of the IDA this week. Town Board members voted 3-1 to extend Santabarbara’s term, with John Silva casting the only dissenting vote.
    Santabarbara was unanimously selected by the board last year to finish out the term of Arthur Brassard, who resigned to become the county Republican elections commissioner. Several months after his appointment, the Republican Santabarbara was elected to the county Legislature.
    In opposing the appointment, Silva mentioned the Metroplex home rule bill unveiled last week by Schenectady’s three Republican state legislators. If passed, the law would both raised the authority’s bond cap and extend its life, but would bar political party chairpersons, county elected officials and managers from serving on its board.
    Silva, a Democrat, insisted his vote against the appointment was not partisan, but asked the board to consider Santabarbara’s status as a county legislator. He suggested the town consider someone outside of government service.
    “We have a lot of qualified members in the community that could do the job,” he said.
    Supervisor Steve Tommasone defended Santabarbara’s reappointment, citing his achievements in less than a year of service. He also noted Santabarbara’s practice of forgoing the position’s $5,000 salary.
    This year, Santabarbara announced he would accept the salary, but donate it to establishing a scholarship fund for graduates from the Schalmont, Mohonasen and Duanesburg school districts. He said each school will be given $1,500 to divide between two students who excelled in math or science.
    “I wanted to give the money back to the community,” he said.

How many studies are needed to develop Hamburg Street? And does anyone know what happened to that, $2M (I think) that was given to the town for Hamburg Street/Grand Union/Sewers?  From what I can remember, and God only knows that I can be wrong, the money was for the Hamburg Street area, but the town chose to use it for the Curry Road Shopping plaza.

Money earmarked for Masullo Water remediation has been spent as well. We should form a committee to study what happened to the money that was supposed to be spent on Masullo and Hamburg St.

Quoted from Shadow

Money earmarked for Masullo Water remediation has been spent as well. We should form a committee to study what happened to the money that was supposed to be spent on Masullo and Hamburg St.

A Hamburg Street property owner told me that the money allocated for Hamburg Street was taken back by the state. The monies was allocated for the Hamburg Street area but the town wanted to use it else where. So the state took it back.

That's par for the course, the board complains that they don't have the money and need grants and when they get one it's wasted thru wanting to use the funds for some other project.

Hamburg street will never change...lots of talk, Its a wreck and always will be...The roundabout hasnt even been discussed,and I thought that was a done deal !!

well there are two words to describe why Hamburg st is 40 years behind the times. The first word begins with J_ _ and the last word ends with _ _ _ _ _ o" The street was kept in utter disrepair and someone didnt want successful businesses there so that his business was the highlight. Someone bought the properties up and rented them out to crappy tenants and such. As a bad result the place is forever poorly planned and the town under Godlewski's mentor Jim Constantino did whatever this individual wanted, and that included kept sewers from going in when they could of had sewers. As far as the so called 2 million, that is not the case- the state didn't give or promise any money, that was anuther misinformation campaign from Godlewski in his political career (he still goes around causing trouble and trying to make up nonsense to cause trouble)

If you recall there was a grant application where the town needed to compete with 40 or 50 other towns in the state and did not get the award. So the odds were like 2% they would get the money to begin  with. It was never awarded, so someone has been listening to lonesome Bob again, and repeating his BS!

I have been around long enough to have seen the decline of HB st and the takeover of the street by one man and then it's and his decline down the tubes. I am sad to say. Also I pay pretty good attention to matters there in my backyard, and this grant is the famously called "red herring" which makes people think that Tommasone (although he has faults) screwed up immensely. Tommasone inherited this bad problem and he is the first one to look into it, the first one to have a study done, and the first one to have the IDA focus its attention over here in this area, after 16 or 17 years with Constantino and several with Signore and then Paolino where they did ZIPPO. So say what you will about Steven, he indeed put his attention into the Hamburg st. strip, and perhaps the gent who owned all the properties is not actively running all the properties on the street anymore, which is a good thing for the street. Remember that monopolys are a bad thing, owning 2/3 of the property on a street is a bad thing for the street because the street will only look and function as good as the one owner's vision here.

Capice, people? Did I make sense to you on this? Hamburg st will turn about and repair, but it will take time.

I think you have to much confidence in your italian brother ( Tommasone )....The study's are nothing and have produced nothing but more studies. He is your typical tell you what you want to here do nothing kind of guy. Hamburg street deserves to be cleaned up...Joe has no power anymore so we cant keep blaming him...except for the trash he rents too...Keep waiting someday MAYBE....

Well in that Tommasone needs his feet held to the fire I do agree since he has too much faith in the studies too, and studies things to death before taking action, which is his greatest fault. I will give him more time on this since government cogs turn ever so slowly like molasses. BUT, in agreement with you, he needs to get moving. Joe has no more power, but he held the street under the water for so long, and just let it up for air enough to keep it alive. It will take a long time to get the place looking right. I feel bad for him now, regardless. It is a free country, but Constantino listened to him and did what he wanted since he had so much influence all those years. Ah, water over the damn.......

Tommasone is a little meds a meds, sometimes, I agree. He needs to be a stronger leader. But I feel deep down he is an honest man. This Godlewski, goes around and starts trouble wherever one looks, and he plants the seeds of dissention with lies if he has to. I dread the day the people ever make this guy boss! Maddone'!!! hE IS ANGLING FOR IT ALL.

I thought Gillen/Metroplex was going to help Hamburg Street. What ever happened to that idea? And as far as Godlewski, he does run around Hamburg Street sympathizing with the business owners with now ideas what so ever on how to help the area. He just bad mouths the present administration. That is how he elevates himself. I've said it before and I'll say it again.....with Godlewski, NOTHING, gets done!!!!!If he were ever elected to the county legislature, Rotterdam would have a slim chance in hell for anything!!!!!!