Companies demanding government handouts to remain in a municipality amounts to corporate extortion. Now that the precedent has been established, how will it end? I can't necessarily fault the business owners for asking for something for free as those who receive funding gain an government sponsored advantage over those who themselves finance their businesses. The 'Plex management has mismanaged the funds and betrayed the public trust.
Quoted from LibertyNJustice: ... Now that the precedent has been established, how will it end?
It can only be ended by principled and courageous leadership who will place the public interests above their own and that of friends and campaign donors.
Urgent action needed to halt decline of Mont Pleasant area
Recently passing through my old neighborhood, Mont Pleasant, I could not believe what I was seeing: boarded-up buildings, trash strewn all over, properties unkept —and, most disturbing, clusters of kids hanging on street corners ready to cause trouble. [The] Crane Street commercial area is basically a ghost town with the expectation of a few businesses. Thank God for Mt. Pleasant Bakery and Marcella’s Appliances, because without these businesses and their patrons it would be a ghost town. As businessmen, you have say to yourself, why are they still here? I know in John Marcella’s case he grew up in the neighborhood, which he has ties to. Unfortunately, Marcella’s is moving to a new location, with the help of Metroplex, but staying in the city. Passing through other residential areas, where I used play, I was equally depressed. Houses were in need of serious repair or totally boarded-up. These houses once were owned by families who cared, and the breadwinners of the family more than likely working at GE, with good, long-term jobs. I suspect many of these houses are now owned by absentee landlords who don’t care about the appearance of the house but rather only collect their monthly rent check. When I was growing up, Crane Street was an active, viable commercial area. On occasion I would bike or walk to the area to Cook’s Hardware or to White Eagle Bakery or to McKinley School to play baseball. Besides the fact there is little if any retail left on Crane Street, if you ever wanted to bike or walk in the area I would be very concerned about being mugged. Last summer, driving through the neighborhood, I noticed there were few people sitting on their porches — a sign to me that the social makeup of the neighborhood was changing for the worst. Growing up, most of all the porches were used as an extension of your house, filled with colorful flowers and social gathering areas where your neighbors would visit and gab about things that were going on in the neighborhood or just talk about the latest Yankee game. My office is presently on Jay Street in downtown and I have to take my hat off to Metroplex for bringing in new businesses, revitalizing the area for the entire city’s benefit. But Metroplex has to take an immediate, active role in revitalizing not only the Mont Pleasant neighborhood but all neighborhoods. I truly believe that to stop the decline in the Mont Pleasant neighborhood you have to first stabilize the housing, which is no easy task. Code enforcement works to some degree, but in my opinion you need to establish a homeowner occupied housing program. The first step should be to set up a neighborhood advisory committee, but surely not made up of hand-picked political people. Since the churches in the neighborhood seem to be the only socially accepted gathering places, why not use the clergy of each church as the advisory committee. The advisory committee could be used as a forum to help in re-establishing neighborhood pride, which is an important first step in stabilizing the neighborhood. Doing nothing would be disastrous to the neighborhood and the entire city.
Where do you start? Another board, another handout and another tax increase? If you could tax your way to prosperity, Schenectady County would be the best County in the State. Metrograft is limited to the Rt. 5 and Rt. 7 corridors only. The answer is not a Mt. Pleasant advisory board, stacked with Democratic puppets.
Crime/Gangs must be attacked and MP needs a community police office on Crane St. The answer is in the private sector-a major property tax decrease that would bring businesses back to Crane St and encourage home buyers. Until crime and sky high taxes are cut nothing positive will happen. John didn't want to leave MP. He had two options, close and operate in Colonie only or accept the offer to relocate Downtown. Some still don't get that the minor gains Downtown are at the expense of City and Suburban business districts.
it would be all the democrat ward leaders from around the city plus their kids who want something on their resume for when they run for office. which means they will never show up at a meeting but will actually just have their names on there and then will be touted as being great successes at solving all the ills of the Mt Pleasant area.
But here is a real fact. The democrats put all their eggs, your eggs, and your grandchildrens' eggs into one basket- DOWNTOWN. They concentrated every iota of support into 4 or 5 square blocks and let the entire city from Bellvue to Goose Hill to Woodlawn COLLAPSE and DETERIORATE to sh_t.
All you need to do is what this man did- get in your car (lock your doors) and drive the heck around the city and LOOK. Make sure you drive up State street too and when you get above Nott Terrace tell me about how lovely it is. Then the democrats tell everyone how they have a renaissance going on downtown and their willing stooges in the media (GAZETTE) go along with it because they themselves would rather lie to the people than expose their liberal co-horts in power as blunderers. So you end up with a shining and lovely "core" of the apple while the skin and flesh is riddled with maggots. Crane Street is the latest maggot infested piece of the apple (Do you remember the bizarre argument years ago that the downtown had to be saved at all costs because in order for the apple to be healthy the 'core' had to be strong, and everything would build up strongly in the county with a healthy 'core.'??
I am surprised however, that this man JUST noticed this. He is from MP but he moved to Glenville, and people who moved out have found their neighborhoods turned into ghettos. SURPRISE!!!!!!!!!!!! You bring the ghetto to our town to give them welfare and they turn the entire town into the ghetto. WHAT DID YOU THINK WOULD HAPPEN, YOU IDIOTIC DO-GOODERS??????
"While Foreign Terrorists were plotting to murder and maim using homemade bombs in Boston, Democrap officials in Washington DC, Albany and here were busy watching ME and other law abiding American Citizens who are gun owners and taxpayers, in an effort to blame the nation's lack of security on US so that they could have a political scapegoat."
My brother lives out of state and when he comes back for a visit he rides around to see the changes. He is shocked and saddened when he drives through Mt. Pleasant and downtown. Repeating his words, "It's a dump". He has driven his adult children through the areas to show them the county he grew up in. His kids were small when they moved away, but after looking around here, they told him they were glad they moved. My brother said he would never move back here!
My girlfriend (who grew up in Mt. Pleasant) moved to Rochester 20 years ago for her husband's job. After he retired, they always said they would move back to this area since they both have family here. Well they moved back, but they moved to Clifton Park. They have 2 adult sons. One moved to Washington DC and the other also resides in Clifton Park. They also said they would never move back to Schenectady county.
So I have to agree with GB, that when people move away, they are shocked when they come back for a visit. I guess they(the people who move out and return for a visit) are the litmus paper for actually how far our county has come with improvements.
I am responding to the Feb. 3 letter from Richard Eats, with whom I completely agree. I am a resident of Mont Pleasant and have lived here all of my life, as I was the chosen one of eight to take care of my parents, and now my husband and I are seniors and too old to start over. Going down memory lane with Mr. Eats brought back happy times in this neighborhood, and now when I look around, it breaks my heart. It is not only the absentee landlords but also the real estate agents who sell houses to wannabe owners with $500 down that do not take care of their property. We have repeatedly complained to code enforcers — and I will admit that they try to do their job, but these people think they are above the law and the code enforcers give up on them and the neighbors still have to look at a mess. These houses depreciate the rest of the houses on the block. I have complained about the boarded-up houses and the danger they are to children; and all that was done were "no trespassing" signs put up. It seems all that Metroplex cares about is State Street, Jay Street and Broadway, while the neighborhoods are declining. All the political officials live in the better part of the city, so, in my opinion, they do not care about Mont Pleasant, Goose Hill or Bellevue. How sad!
I was speaking with an employee of Marcella's yesterday - he told me that they can't wait to get out of there. If they could move tomorrow, they would, it's THAT bad over there.
In response to Carl Strock’s Jan. 22 concerning the condition of the Crane Street business corridor, I am impelled to proclaim amen, and yet again amen! A similar response is tendered Richard A. Eats, whose Feb. 5 letter eloquently details the unfortunate plight of the onceproud and safe Mont Pleasant neighborhood. On Feb. 4, your local section featured an article, “Upper Union Street getting a boost,” describing a $340,000 improvement planned for upper Union Street. Kudos to everyone involved. However, in comparison with Crane Street, that area appears quite fine indeed. As Metroplex continues to create an exquisite “gem” on State Street, I would propose that the “setting” for this gemstone rapidly deteriorates. Hopefully, those involved will listen, take notice and act before the major gateway from I-890 to the thriving business area of Altamont Avenue is a complete loss.
REV. CARL A. URBAN Schenectady The writer is pastor of St. Adalbert’s Church.
Metrograft is the problem not the solution! Good letter from Diane but Joe Allen lives in Hamilton Hill, on Strong St, hardly a "better area of the City". It least she still lives on the hill and not another suburban commentator. Enough of those in the paper.
Rev Urban is a great Priest but has no answers. How about a community police station on Crane St? It spoke volumes that St Al's Harvest Festival decamped to Colonie last year after 50 years on MP. MP is a complete loss. How long can the last Polish bakery remain on Crane St giving away free cookies? There seems to be a growing consensus that Metrograft is killing all City Neighborhood Business Districts. As with Robinson's Square {now Gillen's Gulch} the Metrograft chickens have come home to roost.
I am NOT a proponent of the metroplex. But I don't see how the plex has anything to do with the deterioration of MP. The problems go beyond the plex. First, there are the absent landlords who rent to section 8 so they are guaranteed their rent on the first of every month. Second, there are the drug dealers, the gangs and the swarm of welfare recipients that could care less about a neighborhood's appearance or safety. There is no pride in where they live. And understandably so. When one does not work(and is able to), there is nothing to promote self reliance or self esteem.
The city MUST FIRST place a police sub-station in the MP area. The city MUST also revise the welfare benefits. These people stay here cause they CAN! IF the absent landlords would just raise their rent to beyond the section 8 limit, it would be a start.
But before ANYTHING can be done to clean up the MP area, there needs to be a 24/7 police presence in the area!! IMHO
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
Property owners must be responsible for their own properties ... Instead of waiting for someone else to do it for them. If they don't, there's a city code enforcement office that needs to step in and take the property or take measures to secure, maintain and upgrade - then bill the property owner.
Logged
Where do you start? Another board, another handout and another tax increase? If you could tax your way to prosperity, Schenectady County would be the best County in the State. Metrograft is limited to the Rt. 5 and Rt. 7 corridors only. The answer is not a Mt. Pleasant advisory board, stacked with Democratic puppets. 
