SCHENECTADY — Center City’s million-dollar porch, complete with waterfall and performance circle, has been sold for one dollar.
The Schenectady City Council passed the porch to the Schenectady Industrial Development Agency at Thursday’s meeting, voting unanimously to sell it to the IDA so that the IDA could sell it to a private developer.
Galesi Group wants to buy the entire building, half of which is owned by the Lupe family. The IDA now owns the other half.
No purchase price has been announced. It’s also not yet clear how the IDA and the Lupe family will divvy up the money. The porch renovations were paid for by the Metroplex Development Authority in 2004, using $1.1 million in county sales tax money.
Galesi wouldn’t buy the building unless the porch was included. Company officials want the porch because it may build out toward State Street to accommodate new tenants and may redo the ramp on Jay Street to improve access, according to city officials. They’re looking forward to a bustling building in the heart of downtown.
“This is exciting,” Councilman Frank Maurizio said.
The council also unanimously approved a mandatory state law regarding pollution.
Residents can now be fined if they put anything into the city’s storm drains. Drains that open onto a street are stormwater drains. They lead straight to the Mohawk River, without being filtered at the sewage treatment plant.
Among the prohibited pollutants are pet waste, oil and paint. Commercial users will also not be allowed to wash their vehicles in the street, where soap can flow into the drains. However, residents are exempted from that portion of the law.
Pesticides, herbicides and fertilizers are also regulated under the proposed law. Overspraying is prohibited, and users cannot spread the pollutants onto their driveways and sidewalks, although they can place herbicides on the weeds growing in the space between each sidewalk segment.
The council also said good-bye to Maurizio, who has served for eight years. He chose not to run for re-election.
Mayor Brian U. Stratton gave Maurizio the city’s highest honor, naming him a Patroon.
The council also read a resolution thanking him — and teasing him for interests ranging from stone Polish-American churches to Latin dancing.
Councilman Joseph Allen praised Maurizio for his work on creating the Police Review Board after a previous version of the board seemed ineffective.
“That was a momentous task,” Allen said. “It’s not totally fixed — I don’t know if it will ever be totally fixed — but you did a great job … I commend you for that. The results are outstanding.”
Councilwoman Denise Brucker and Council President Mark Blanchfield thanked Maurizio for his integrity.
“It’s been so appreciated throughout this time,” Brucker said, while Blanchfield added, “Frank is the same person in private that he is in public.”
Maurizio said he was pleased to see how far the city had come in recent years, but in his farewell speech, he focused on the areas that still need work.
“We can never forget the homeowners and small business owners who stuck with us. They need to be part of the city revitalization,” he said.
The police department must also be reformed, and the council should continue to make “green” decisions, he said.
“Yes, there’s a lot to do.” he said. “We’re truly in the midst of a resurgence that I truly believe will make Schenectady the premier city in the Capital Region.”
Maurizio, 52, said he retired from the council because his duties as assistant director of communications for the New York State United Teachers union grew to the point where he no longer felt he could spend an appropriate amount of time on city business.
You know, if they sold it for an actual price, then maybe the city (and in the end the county also) wouldn't have to have such a high tax rate. How many sales go through like this? How much sales tax does the city / county / state lose each time someone gives a big project like this for such a miniscule amount? That's right, remember, that from this purchase, the Metroplex gets 1/4 of a cent, and the county in total gets a whopping 8 cents...for the sale of a "million-dollar" porch.
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