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SCHENECTADY
Business owners criticize agency
Need for improvement corp. is questioned
BY KATHLEEN MOORE Gazette Reporter

   After a hectic year in which the Downtown Schenectady Improvement Corp. fired its director and raised taxes, many downtown property owners are criticizing the agency, some questioning whether it should even exist.
   “It’s a waste of time, period. They have no business being part of downtown and costing downtown money,” said Embarek Mesbahi, who owns the vacant Jay Street storefront that once housed Cafe Dolce. “They plant a few flowers here and there, but I see no reason for all this committee.”
   He pays DSIC $521 each year in business improvement district taxes. In return, the agency sweeps in front of his property, maintains the walkways throughout the downtown, shovels snow and plants flowers.
   Interim DSIC Director Colleen Merays said those services are essential.
   “It adds a marketability to downtown as a destination,” she said. “The reality is that not all the property owners maintain their storefronts.”
   She’s hoping the Schenectady City Council will approve the 2008 DSIC budget at 7 p.m. on Nov. 13. The council members will first discuss it at their 5:30 p.m. committee meeting next Monday.
   Business owners are quietly campaigning for major changes in the agency as its budget comes up for a vote.
   Mesbahi said he could sweep and decorate outside his store just as easily as DSIC and for far less than $500.
   He’s not the only one who feels that way.
   “DSIC needs to re-evaluate themselves and the direction they want to go in,” said new DSIC board member Bob Mallozzi, who owns Villa Italia on Broadway.
   Merays said that although she hasn’t heard any complaints, she will distribute a survey next month to find out what services owners want.
   “We want to know. Are we doing the right things?” she said.
   Mallozzi wants the agency to keep planting flowers and cleaning roads, but leave the sidewalks to owners.
   “I think the number one priority of DSIC should be the beautification of Schenectady,” he said. “We get involved in marketing and promotion of businesses. I think businesses should promote themselves.”
   But a dozen other business owners said the exact opposite: DSIC should focus on marketing, not beautification.
   “We need an organization whose purpose is to promote Schenectady,” said Cathie Russell, who owns the Night Sky Cafe.
   Kathy Fitzmaurice, who owns the Katbird Shop, recently joined forces with Ambition Coffee House & Eatery owner Greg Salomon and Fountains Spatial (formerly Applied GIS) President Austin Fisher to lobby for control of the agency.
   “I would like to see some changes or see it go away,” Fitzmaurice said. “I pay $300 and I don’t really realize anything for it.”
   The business owners asked the mayor to give all downtown owners the power to vote for the DSIC board members. They are now appointed by the mayor and the Schenectady City Council.
   “It’s an appointed board. It’s not truly representative of the people downtown who are paying the fee,” Fitzmaurice said.
   She said disgruntlement crystallized into outright opposition this summer after the DSIC board did not renew the contract of popular Executive Director Robert Buccieri. The board never publicly explained its decision.
   “People always complained, but that certainly inflamed people further,” Fitzmaurice said. “Bob was visible. He came to your store and talked to you. I can’t say that about the rest of DSIC. They shouldn’t stay tucked away in a secure little office.”
   Russell said the DSIC leaders virtually ignore all businesses outside the two-block stretch of State Street and Jay Street.
   “A lot of times I’m left out, as are a lot of businesses on the perimeter,” the Union Street cafe owner said. “They’re not a source I go to for promotions and marketing because they’re focusing on Jay Street and State Street.”
   But even some of the business owners in the heart of downtown aren’t satisfied with DSIC’s services.
   Rich St. Jean, manager of the Parker Inn, said DSIC doesn’t offer anything useful to the hotel — although he added that he would support the agency anyway if smaller businesses found it helpful.
   Stephanie Albers, who owns Cripple Creek Trading Company on the Jay Street pedestrian walkway, said she too doesn’t get enough in return for her money.
   “It’s hard enough to pay the city taxes. I think the BID (business improvement district) tax is an excessive load on the property owners,” she said.
   She wants DSIC to reduce its operations so that it does not have to ask property owners for money. Roughly three-quarters of the agency’s $1 million annual budget comes from grants and other sources; the property owners pay a total of $221,000.
   Albers also questioned the need to pay for services that are provided by the city in other neighborhoods.
   “I don’t think the downtown needs its own street cleaners — the city should do that,” she said.
   Not all Jay Street business owners agreed with her.
   “They keep the pedestrian mall immaculate. I’m very pleased with that,” said David D’Amato, owner of Real Office Center Inc. “And they do some advertising. They’re working at it.”
   He also likes the downtown facade grant program, which is funded by the Metroplex Development Authority but administered by DSIC. But he isn’t happy with the tax.
   “I would hate to see it go up. It’s just another burden,” he said.
   After some thought, he added, “But I get more out of the BID than I do City Hall.”  

  
  
  

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SCHENECTADY
Mayor rebuffs business owners Some unhappy with city’s downtown board
BY KATHLEEN MOORE Gazette Reporter

   Mayor Brian U. Stratton and some Schenectady City Council members are at odds over who should appoint members to the Downtown Schenectady Improvement Corporation.
   Stratton said he will continue to appoint DSIC board members, refusing a request from downtown business owners who want to choose their own representatives.
   In a rare dispute between the all-Democratic council and the Democratic mayor, some council members said they want to discuss letting the business owners have a say in the appointments.
   The DSIC board decides how to spend the special tax it gathers from every downtown property owner. Currently, it uses that money primarily for street-sweeping, flower-planting and other beautification efforts. Some business owners disagree vehemently with that choice, saying they want the organization to focus on marketing and leave cleanup duties to the property owners — or just stop collecting taxes from them.
   They took their dispute to the mayor, asking him to stop appointing board members without comment from the property owners.
   He did not give them an answer until after he was re-elected last week.
   Now, he has said he will not allow them to choose their representatives.
   “The appointment process is established in the legislation that created the DSIC,” he said. “That’s the way it was put together. I support the legislation.”
   He declined to amplify on his position.
   It isn’t supported by some members of the council, who will vote on the 2008 DSIC budget at a meeting at 7 tonight. There is no vote scheduled yet on the appointments, but Stratton said he would propose names shortly.
   As business owners step up their lobbying efforts, Councilwoman Barbara Blanchard said she wants to discuss their concerns, and Councilwoman Denise Brucker said she wants to hear from them before making a decision on the appointments.
   Councilman Gary McCarthy went further, saying he’d rather just get rid of the special tax altogether — a viewpoint shared by many downtown business owners.
   He said he doesn’t know if the council can give downtown business owners the power to elect their board.
   “I’d prefer to eliminate the assessment. You don’t need another level of taxation,” he said. “People are paying high taxes now. As we come back to what I’ll call a normal community level, the need for government at that level should not be needed.”
   Brucker said the business owners should be included in a discussion on the issue.
   “There’s obviously a reason some of the members want it,” she said. “I’d like to hear their reason.”
   Some of the current board members say DSIC should focus on beautification, while some of the business owners who aren’t on the board feel the agency should throw its resources into marketing and promoting the downtown.
   Owners who run businesses outside the heart of downtown also say they are being ignored by the current board.
   “A lot of times I’m left out, as are a lot of businesses on the perimeter,” said Cathie Russell, who owns the Night Sky Cafe on Union Street. “They’re not a source I go to for promotions and marketing because they’re focusing on Jay Street and State Street.”
   Kathy Fitzmaurice, who owns the Katbird Shop on Liberty Street, added that the board members do not reflect the diverse business owners and rarely visit the outlying businesses to learn about their needs.
   “I pay $300 [per year] and I don’t really realize anything for it,” she said. “It’s an appointed board. It’s not truly representative of the people downtown who are paying the fee.”
   Even some business owners on the Jay Street pedestrian walkway are frustrated with the agency’s leadership. Ambition Coffee House & Eatery owner Greg Salomon and Fountains Spatial (formerly Applied GIS) President Austin Fisher have also lobbied the mayor to stop appointing board members without the DISC members’ comments.

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Mayor Brian U. Stratton and some Schenectady City Council members are at odds over who should appoint members to the Downtown Schenectady Improvement Corporation.  Stratton said he will continue to appoint DSIC board members, refusing a request from downtown business owners who want to choose their own representatives.   In a rare dispute between the all-Democratic council and the Democratic mayor, some council members said they want to discuss letting the business owners have a say in the appointments.

Government of the people, for the people, by the people ... Stratton's people.

This is an organization that serves the downtown business owners.  To deny them a voice in the selection of their representation is bad government and speaks to Stratton's arrogance and quest for increased government control.  He needs to appoint individuals to these patronage positions so that he can reward his supporters and place individuals who share his agenda and vision.

The DSIC is similar in concept and purpose to a homeowners' association in which property owners form a board to pass bylaws and regulations that serve the general interests of the homeowners in a subdivision.

I suggest that the solution to this impass is to disband the organization and allow the business owners to spend their money that they are required to pay to the DSIC as they deem appropriate to maintain and promote their businesses.

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Councilman Gary McCarthy went further, saying he’d rather just get rid of the special tax altogether — a viewpoint shared by many downtown business owners.
   He said he doesn’t know if the council can give downtown business owners the power to elect their board.
   “I’d prefer to eliminate the assessment. You don’t need another level of taxation,” he said. “People are paying high taxes now. As we come back to what I’ll call a normal community level, the need for government at that level should not be needed.”

I don't know the complexity of the city council since I reside and am more familiar with Rotterdam government, but Mr.McCarthy should be commended for his thoughts in this matter. I agree that you either get rid of the tax all together or allow the business owners to be part of the process. I also feel that the city should take a yet better look at their spending habits as I'm sure there are areas in budget that can be cut to make up the difference in this tax. The people in the city are getting poorer and poorer. The city government appears to be forcing these poor people to live poorly yet paying through their tax dollar for an economic system that is over inflated. The businesses are apparently feeling the pinch as well and becoming unhappy with the development of State Street alone.

I agree with Joanns assessment of Mr. McCarthy.  It seems to me that for $300 per year each business could beautify their storefronts AND have money left over for marketing.

Good point Rene. It appears that the dictatorship in Schenectady wants to have total controll of everything and everybody. Way Way too much power. I wonder what would happen if all of the businesses refused to pay their tax bill when they received it? Surely the dictatorship would  not fine them all...not to mention the press they would get! I know that I'd do it, for sure!

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SCHENECTADY
Stratton considers balancing DSIC board
BY KATHLEEN MOORE Gazette Reporter

   Mayor Brian U. Stratton appeased some business owners Tuesday by offering a possible compromise in the debate over who should choose the board members for the Downtown Schenectady Improvement Corp.
   He said that although he will not hand that power over to the DSIC property owners, he might try to balance the board by appointing small business owners or owners from the outskirts of the downtown.
   At least one business owner declared victory after hearing his comments.
   “I think that’s a very good idea,” said Cathie Russell, owner of the Night Sky Cafe on Union Street. “I think it would definitely contribute the input that’s necessary.” Russell was one of many business owners who said the DSIC board is unresponsive, ignores property owners outside the heart of the downtown, and does not offer any valuable services in exchange for its mandatory special tax.
   Several owners, including some on the Jay Street pedestrian walkway, said they wanted to either vote in a new board or dissolve the organization altogether.
   Neither action is possible without backing from the city government.
   Stratton reiterated his support for the DSIC Tuesday, saying it is valuable and should continue.
   But, he said he might be able to solve the issues owners raised without changing the agency’s governing legislation.
   “They said they wanted small business owners on the board,” Stratton said after Tuesday’s Schenectady City Council meeting. “I would give it some consideration. We’re continuing to look at possibilities, and I welcome their suggestions.”
   Stratton’s comments came a day after three City Council members said they want to discuss the property owners’ concerns before more appointments to the board are made this winter.
   They were joined Tuesday by Councilman Frank Maurizio, who said the issue could be quickly resolved with an open discussion.
   “Things have been working fairly well,” Maurizio said of the agency. “But the issues of the property owners should certainly be taken into consideration.”
   On Tuesday, the council also passed the agency’s 2008 budget, which does not increase taxes. The budget passed by a vote of 6-0; Councilwoman Margaret King abstained because she is a member of the DSIC board.
   Three people urged the council to approve the budget, including interim DSIC director Colleen Merays and board President Karen Zalewski-Wildzunas of Key Bank.
   “DSIC is a vital partner in the revitalization of downtown,” Zalewski-Wildzunas said. “It has kept the sidewalks clean, it has kept the flowers watered, it has promoted downtown.”
   Bill Kownack, the owner of Castelo’s on Nott Terrace, also spoke highly of the agency.
   “It’s a great organization. It’s been a good liaison,” he said.
   No one spoke against the budget. The more than a dozen business owners who publicly criticized the agency in the past few weeks were notable in their absence.

  


  
  
  

Hey, maybe these people are just complaining to the wrong people.  If you don't get what you want from the DSIC, just go to the Metroplex.  They'll give you anything you want, and they take it from the entire county, not  just the business owners.

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Downtown retailers shouldn’t balk at fee

    Regarding the Oct. 30 article, “Business owners criticize agency”: Is a nominal fee of $1.47 per day too much to pay the Downtown Schenectady Improvement Corp. [DSIC] to clean the sidewalks, maintain the landscaping, hang Christmas decorations, plan events, keep local business owners abreast of upcoming events, recruit small businesses and facilitate the façade program?
    A dollar forty-seven per day ($537 a year) is what that unhappy property owner pays for these services. The property owner [Embarek Mesbahi] who refuses to rent out his retail space was unfortunately interviewed by a reporter who didn’t get the picture completely right. An empty store, and a perpetually negative property owner, is contrary to what the rest of the business owners on Jay Street are trying so diligently to achieve.
    Another property owner who was interviewed suggests that business owners should promote themselves. The fact is that many of the small business owners do not own multiple businesses that support an advertising budget. We have very small budgets for advertising, and therefore we depend heavily on the DSIC to send out e-mail blasts of specials and/or events we will be having. The small businesses also depend on the DSIC reduced-rate ads in the local newspapers in which we can advertise affordably.
    Should the city be responsible for cleaning the streets? Perhaps. But the fact is, they currently do not. The city’s budget can go just so far with an already high tax burden on Schenectady residents. I feel it is a fair allocation of revenue for the businesses and property owners in the DSIC area to pay for their services, rather than the entire of Schenectady to pay for the hanging of Christmas decorations, for example.
    For those who feel the DSIC only focuses on one part of their designated area, perhaps they should attend the DSIC stockholders’ meetings to discuss their concerns. Yet these meetings, despite great efforts on the DSIC’s part, have been poorly attended. If they had attended the last meeting, they would have heard how many of these concerns are being addressed. They would know that the DSIC is in favor of becoming a true business improvement district (where board members are not appointed by the mayor, for example). They would know of plans to hire a new director, and plans to restructure the DSIC in order to fill the many requirements of downtown business and property owners.
    Let this be a time for us all to support the DSIC’s evolution, not its extinction.
    JOANN SIFO
    Schenectady
The writer is proprietor of Chez Daisie Creperie.     

Sounds like communism to me.  They count on the Committee to take someone else's money to place ads on their behalf?

If one moves into a condo/townhouse neighborhood everyone 'pays fees' for snow removal, lawn mowing etc......I'm not sure I understand their complaint....

It's just one more fee that has to be paid to live in Schenectady along with the garbage fee, sewer fee, water fee, and all the rest of the fees that make this city the 10th highest taxed/fee county in the country. Tax and spend, tax and spend and no one cares about the residents paying the bill.

Question:  Why is the City government in the business of trash collection, landscape maintenance, snow removal from sidewalks of private businesses, etc.?

Answer: To increase the size and cost of government.  To expand government control.

Will Stratton establish a program by which government (city) workers mow the lawns, trim the shrubs, power wash houses, and seal driveways of private homes that are located within the city limits?  Of course, the program will come with a considerable homeowner fee and membership/participation will be mandatory of all property owners.

To those who dismiss the possibility, how does it differ from the establishment, role, and control of the DSIC?

SHHHHHH.
Don't give them any ideas!

The city will become like a locked down fortress and the 'plebs' will cling to the walls from the outside asking where their 'bread' might be......