Civitello clearly did this without Metroplex's blessings. Gillen himself says that he is confused by all of this, since he (Mr. Gillen) is showing the property to someone else who shows and interest in the property. Cause you can bet that Gillen 'hand picks' which one of his buddies will get the property.
Gillen is just confused cause it's not one of his cronies. He's like a fish out of water on this one.
As far as Mr. Civitello himself...he and his business should be checked out legally first before giving him our tax dollar.
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
Carl Strock THE VIEW FROM HERE Downtown rehab in race with jail Carl Strock can be reached at 395-3085 or by e-mail at carlstrock@dailygazette.com.
I’m happy to see that a local construction guy plans to restore two prime old buildings in downtown Schenectady, and I just hope he manages to do them before going to jail, since he faces felony charges for assaulting a neighbor with a snow shovel, and given his criminal record, a judge is not likely to cut him much slack should he be convicted. I also hope he manages to buy the more significant of those two buildings, the Foster, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, before he gets any ideas about rehabbing it. He already owns the other one, the Morgan, which he bought at auction. He claims to have a contract to buy the Foster, and in fact personally assured me that he does, but one of the two owners of the building, Dennis Todd, told me no such thing. “Our lawyer talked to him, but it’s not signed,” Todd said. The construction guy in question is Jeffrey Civitello. Charges pending against him include both second- and third-degree assault, arising out of a confrontation with a neighbor last Dec. 16 on Parkwood Boulevard, according to District Attorney Bob Carney. Another charge against him, of criminal mischief for allegedly damaging a vehicle in an unrelated matter, was recently adjourned in contemplation of dismissal when the complainant changed her story. He was out on bail on the assault case when the vehicle incident occurred, whatever it was. Civitello served six years in federal prison, from 1996 to 2002, after pleading guilty to conspiracy to distribute cocaine and to making false statements on a mortgage application, and earlier he did nine months for reckless endangerment, reduced from attempted murder. So he’s got quite the colorful resume to be part of downtown Schenectady’s renaissance, and it should come as no surprise that he has not gotten the warmest welcome from the Metroplex Authority, the driving force behind the renaissance. “I’ve had a few run-ins with Metroplex,” he told me, indicating especially that Ray Gillen, the Metroplex chairman, has continued to show the Foster Building to prospective buyers despite Civitello’s assertion of pending ownership. “I sent the contract down there,” Civitello insisted, so that Gillen would have no excuse for entertaining other possible buyers, but Gillen says he has not seen any contract and says further that the owners, Craig Alsdorf and the aforementioned Dennis Todd, have not waved him off. He nevertheless adds, “We welcome all investors,” and says of Civitello, “I have never met the gentleman.” I don’t know what the original owner, Alsdorf, might say about any of this, as he didn’t get back to me. Maybe he’s embarrassed about the grand old Foster Building decaying on his watch in the first place. It was shortly after he bought it 10 years ago and left the heat turned down in the dead of winter that a pipe burst and flooded the place. After that, he just left the building to rot so that it now needs what’s known in the business as a gut rehab. Maybe any embarrassment he feels will be ameliorated by his return on investment. He bought the building for $250,000, and after leaving it to nature for a decade he was asking $1.4 million for it until he recently, graciously, reduced it to $700,000, the price at which Civitello claims to be buying it. Talking like he already owns the building, Civitello says, “Everything is for sale. They” – meaning Metroplex – “can buy me out.” That is, if Gillen is really determined to get someone else in there. Gillen estimates a gut rehab of the five-story heap behind an ornate facade would cost $4 million to $5 million, and it’s not clear where Civitello would get that kind of money despite having been in the housing rehab business for a while. I did notice that the “Focus Construction” sign he placed on the Morgan Building the other day was defaced with graffiti, most prominently the word “rat” over and over, and that made me wonder how he stands with the construction trade unions, since “rat” is the standard union pejorative for anyone who refuses to knuckle under. He told me he is indeed a nonunion shop but said he has never had any trouble with the unions, though he has hardly had opportunity, since until now he has done only small residential projects and not anything of the size or visibility he now contemplates. In any event he won’t get the chance to do anything at all if this assault case goes badly for him, so we’ll just have to wait and see how that plays out.
Okay then...who are we going to rally for...Gillen and the selected few or Civitello?
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
eesh - can I rally for "none of the above" .. or "the taxpayers" instead?
Nope! We know that the taxpayer never wins. The winner will either be Civitello the accused or the Gillen elite dictatorship.
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
Talking like he already owns the building, Civitello says, “Everything is for sale. They” – meaning Metroplex – “can buy me out.” That is, if Gillen is really determined to get someone else in there. Gillen estimates a gut rehab of the five-story heap behind an ornate facade would cost $4 million to $5 million, and it’s not clear where Civitello would get that kind of money despite having been in the housing rehab business for a while. I did notice that the “Focus Construction” sign he placed on the Morgan Building the other day was defaced with graffiti, most prominently the word “rat” over and over, and that made me wonder how he stands with the construction trade unions, since “rat” is the standard union pejorative for anyone who refuses to knuckle under. He told me he is indeed a nonunion shop but said he has never had any trouble with the unions, though he has hardly had opportunity, since until now he has done only small residential projects and not anything of the size or visibility he now contemplates.
The 'other monkey'---damn there's a whole family of them.......
...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
Well I certainly hope that the cities elected officials aren't trying to sabotage Civitello's possible purchase of this property. I mean let it be fair and square. But I don't know if that is possible with this very tight democratic dictatorship. Gillen and the gang seem to get what they want.
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
Meanwhile, Bombers owner Matt Baumgartner said while unexpected renovations of his building has also slowed his opening, it won't stop it. The restaurant was originally expected to open earlier this year. Baumgartner would lease the space from the Galesi Group, which is renovating the building. Metroplex is considering a facade grant for that building, too. "It's moving forward. I'm really excited about it," Baumgartner said. "The excitement from people who work down there has been awesome." Stanforth can be reached at 454-5697 or by e-mail at lstanforth@timesunion.com.
If they're truly getting $500k for the new LaSortia's building, then there should be at LEAST $750k realized from the VanDyck. Metroplex gets their $275k back, bank gets some of it ... where's the rest going?
I'm betting they see no more than $200k for the VanDyck - and that housing / building markets aren't as good as he proports.
As for not investing in a business, rather a building - why is each plan on the Metroplex site titled after the name of the business going in? How can you give a grant or loan to a "building" - who administers it, the basement - or the occupant?
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