Quoted from bumblethru

I could care less if you live there or not. The bottom line is that sync and those that represented them dupped this town board. (not that it was difficult) Sync and AB knew they could pull anything over on this merry band of idiots. And they did. AB didn't even have to work that hard to win this case considering the tb he had to work with. He should give sync a cut rate.

Now we'll see how this tb handles a half way house in rotterdam.

Quoted from 147

Read more: http://www.timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=925825#ixzz0mLkTdiI7

Quoted from Kevin March

With Nicki DiLeva being absent, this was unanimously voted down.

Quoted from 664

That is good news.

Quoted Text

ROTTERDAM
Transition home request rejected
BY JUSTIN MASON Gazette Reporter

    Firetree didn’t even make it past the first step in the company’s effort to rezone a Chrisler Avenue property for a facility to house former federal prisoners.
    The company had hoped to rezone the three-quarter-acre parcel from light industrial to be multifamily residential so that the property’s vacant warehouse could be converted into a transition home for post-release federal offenders and inmates on probation. But members of the Town Board handily shot down a resolution that would have referred the matter to the Planning Commission during their meeting Wednesday, following an outpouring of criticism from business owners and residents in the area.
    One business owner presented a petition with more than 200 signatures of people opposed to the proposed zone change. Others said locating former federal offenders near a residential and commercial area would cause safety concerns and economic hardship.
    “The question is, would you want this in your backyard?” remarked Damien DeDonatis, a resident who works with youth near the proposed facility.
    Peter Andrew, a resident of Gina Marie Court, a development across the train tracks from the Chrisler Avenue property, feared the facility might bring federal sex offenders to the area, which would in turn threaten the safety of his kids and others. He also questioned why the town would want to approve a zone change for a nonprofit company like Firetree, which would pull the property off the tax rolls.
    “This is a safety concern and an economic concern for our town,” he said.
    Representatives from Firetree tried to allay some of these concerns. They indicated that the company would assent to a payment in lieu of taxes agreement with the town and urged board members to review some of the documentation about other facilities Firetree operates in New York.
    Ed Cox, a consultant with the company, said the facility would house 18 inmates and employ up to 25 people. He said similar facilities, such as one in Syracuse, hadn’t had any negative impact on community safety or property values.
    But the board wasn’t convinced. All four members attending the meeting voted against forwarding the zone change application to the town Planning Commission, a move that effectively killed the proposal. ............>>>>.............>>>>...............................http://www.dailygazette.net/De.....r01500&AppName=1

Quoted Text

Proposed halfway house couldn’t be in a worse location

    Re April 26 article, “Post-release facility proposed”: The article has our neighborhood up in arms about this facility being allowed.
    Many readers will think “no big deal” because it’s a light industrial area, so what’s the harm? This is a big deal.
    They are proposing a housing facility for former federal prisoners, with some sex offenders [likely] to live here for several months at a time. Many of these are [longtime] prisoners.
    Hudson Street does have a light industrial area, but there is more to the story. Midway down Hudson Street is residential. At the end of Hudson Street, you can go either left or straight — around a residential block of single-family, owneroccupied homes.
    This is a nice neighborhood. We have about 14 children living in this one block, most under the age of 10. This is not a tired, has-been or forgotten neighborhood. Our houses and yards are well kept; our children can ride their bikes and skateboards, play outside and be children.
    Our block is not the only residential area, either. There a few blocks in front of us, as well as behind us, going toward Hamburg Street. There are residential areas on both sides of Chrisler Avenue, as well as a school right on Hamburg Street where they’re proposing this facility.
    Rotterdam needs to take a stand and say no to this proposition. This proposition was voted down in Colonie, and it needs to be voted down in Rotterdam. It’s not good for our city, our neighborhoods and, most importantly, our children.

    TABITHA BUONO
    Rotterdam

Quoted from bumblethru

MOST municipalities fight to keep crime and undesirables out of their community. Not rotterdam....they welcome them with open arms! More taxes taken off the tax rolls. Brilliant!
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Quoted from Sombody

Undesirables-  Try and put a home for unwed single mothers near anything.- Not near me you say.   No doubt in my mind  that people like you point out how your neighborhood would not be a good place either.  Conservatives are morally confused -  They never know how to take the first humane step.  Keep those unwed mothers out of Rotterdam to because they attract an 'undesirable element '.  Brilliant- oh yeah - make abortion illegal too-