Where do our elected officials get their ideas from? Every single person I talked to this Christmas season, all went to Colonie Center or Crossgates for shopping. Others went to Mohawk Commons. Few went to Rotterdam. And some even went to Saratoga.

Saratoga, Colonie or Crossgates did not lose a major employer like Schenectady did when they lost GE. And GE will NEVER be what it was. Nothing will ever match it either. Not in our lifetime any way. We do not live in a manufacturing/industrial economic society. What we do in this country is buy products from other countries and whether we like it or not, we sell them and buy them here. So the name of the game is RETAIL. Saratoga's downtown section has been that way for years and years. They have the track, SPAC and a close proximity to Lake George. Schenectady has NOTHING! Not even Proctors can bring the city back to life. It should have focused on becoming the retail mecca of the capital district. And for that we don't need a METROPLEX!!!! They have wasted a decade and millions of taxpayers dollars already. Ten years ago,they should have got rid of the drug users, starting with their own police force. Then clean up and stop catering the rest of the slugs that drain our entire county.

These local politicians and the plex started out on the wrong foot a decade ago. It may be too late to turn it around. But I have to say folks, don't look for those great paying jobs. Cause there ain't any out there. Just look at the auto industry. The powers that be got all excited about GE's Wind Turbines. Yes, that was a positive, but hardly what it use to be. And hardly enough to employ the vast numbers.

Mr.Obama will fix it and that damn roundabout will be in the plans.......

'idle hands are the devils tools'

Let me see........

Silver Diner - ?
Big House - ?
Bomber Burrito - ?
Saratoga clothing store - ?
Loft apts rented - ?
ALCO - ?
Robinson building - ?
Cyclics Corp moving out
Acme Printing closes
Predal lays off and cuts hours
Van Dyke autioned off
Earthly delights closes
Parisi's restaurant closes
Schenectady Armory closes
Super Steel closes
Mohawk Office Products closes
Backstage Grill for sale
SACC TV moving
Walgreens gets the boot
DSIC buys a building
DSS relocates
= tax increase!

is this the 'comeback' we have been waiting 10 years for? IMHO

Great review BT! Something have not seen in the Gazetto. Some other "renaissance" news; Trustco moved its HQ and over 500 jobs to Glenville, Sunmark left the Lottery Building for Latham on Rt. 7 taking 125 jobs. Innovations Museum shop closed on Jay St. Bibliomania Book Shop closed on Jay St. Translation Company leaves Downtown for Cohoes taking 25 jobs! Thousands of jobs have left the City since Metrograft was created. All we hear is a burrito shop that will create 10 minimum wage jobs.

     Robinson Building? Is now Gillen's Gutch-this was an imaginary retail mecca and like everything Ray touches sits in ruins. Van Dyke fiasco another farce that fails to repay the County Taxpayers. After repeated lies. And nobody says nuthin.

The initial story in this thread tells much about the failure of Schenectady and what sadly passes for journalism in these parts.  News Flash: It is not a success when the Strawberry Festival runs out of Strawberries or drunks run low on booze. The bar is set so low here that this is some kind of imaginary success?

    Take another look at State below Erie Blvd, Eastern Avenue, Crane Street, Broadway and tell us again about the "comeback". A community with a Christmas parade each year, where the dates and names keep changing.

You got all those cards being just thrown out of the deck, BT, then remember all the shuffling that's been going on...moving jobs from one locality (normally Rotterdam) to another locality (normally Schenectady)

Downtown is a lost cause. There are more treatment centers and housing units than stores. Its a fairy tale that it is getting better but the ending will be like of Mice and Men.  Look across the pond mister businessman. Walk around down there during the day and its like playing a live game of Resident Evil on your video game console.
Let see:

YMCA housing
YWCA housing
Bethestal House
City Mission
Womens Shelter
DSS
ACSCA REHAB corner of State & Erie
City Court
Family Court
County Court

All in a few block area and im sure I left some out

You hit the nail on the head Captain.

Quoted from 211

Downtown is a lost cause. There are more treatment centers and housing units than stores. Its a fairy tale that it is getting better but the ending will be like of Mice and Men.  Look across the pond mister businessman. Walk around down there during the day and its like playing a live game of Resident Evil on your video game console.
Let see:

YMCA housing
YWCA housing
Bethestal House
City Mission
Womens Shelter
DSS
ACSCA REHAB corner of State & Erie
City Court
Family Court
County Court

All in a few block area and im sure I left some out

EXCELLENT Captain!!!!!! EXCELLENT!!

I agree also, CA.  

Quoted from 211

Downtown is a lost cause. There are more treatment centers and housing units than stores. Its a fairy tale that it is getting better but the ending will be like of Mice and Men.  Look across the pond mister businessman. Walk around down there during the day and its like playing a live game of Resident Evil on your video game console.
Let see:

YMCA housing
YWCA housing
Bethestal House
City Mission
Womens Shelter
DSS
ACSCA REHAB corner of State & Erie
City Court
Family Court
County Court

All in a few block area and im sure I left some out

Great review! But it gets funnier. The idiotic City is throwing $4 million down the pishaloo to move Bethesda House to Vale/Central Street. Didn't matter that residents didn't want them and they displaced a black owed business. Nothing is happening Downtown-they roll up the sidewalks at 4pm. Gillen's Gulch and the Big Hose are typical of Metrograft's insane plans. Metrograft should be disbanded and not another nickle wasted on propping up this Downtown disaster. Any "leader" that says they support Metrograft must be chased out of office.

Quoted Text

Any "leader" that says they support Metrograft must be chased out of office.

Be he/she be a member of the Democratic or Republican party.

There is no shopping.....where are the clothing stores? book stores, shoe stores and anything else to shop for.....right now all we can do is get drunk
raise our chloresterol and then make an expensive purchase we cant afford(but cant tell because we are drunk) on some art work by an unknown artist
no offense to the artists but life truly is a little more than paint/crayons or canvas.....JMHO

I think it must be another NYS ponzi.......

Getting drunk? The Big Hose Bar, despite $3 MILLION in your tax dollar is still not opened. The last Gazetto puff piece had the Big Hose, doing "finishing touches". That was 8 months ago. Nothing is happening-no opening date announced.

  Buying Art? 440 State Street announced they were not selling art anymore. Because no one was buying the "art". No use in trying to sell it. Another complete flop, where a store used to be.

  New retail?  Robinson's Square, Death Ray's promised retail mecca on State St sits in rubble and has been renamed Gillen's Gulch. More retail has promised at both Center City and Clinton Square. Nothing has been accomplished.

Silver diner - for sale

Quoted Text

Prize Construction, which planned to convert the former rail car diner on Erie Boulevard into office space, has withdrawn from the project, the Metroplex Development Authority announced this morning.

Metroplex said none of its money had been spent on the project. The agreement with Prize was announced in June 2008.
SDSILVERDINER1

The Silver Diner as it appeared in 2007

Metroplex said the building is “in very poor condition,” and that it is listing it for sale on craigslist and other Web sites.

If no new owner is found, Metroplex said it plans to turn the diner over to a group developing a museum in Duanesburg. They would salvage parts from the diner. Metroplex also asked anyone who wants to buy it to call the authority at 377-1109.

http://blog.timesunion.com/business/silver-diner-renovation-derailed-in-schenectady/13771/