Quoted from DemocraticVoiceOfReason

....Ray Gillen is a nice guy and doing a great job.  

What great job is he doing?

What has he done to reduce property taxes?   Huh?????    Huh:?????     Huh????
Whgat has Gillen done to increase property values OF THE HOMEOWNERS----THE PEOPLE WHO PAY THE TAXES!??????
What has Gillen done that has reduced crime?
What vital city services have increased with Gillen?
What impact has Gillen had on the infrastructure, the watermains, the roads, the plowing, the sewer system in tye city?    Huh?

By the way, Gillen STOLE almost $300,000 from the taxpayers to give that money to a pair of tax delinquent scumlords who bought a building over 10 years ago and they delibertately caused over a million dollars of damage to the building, then promptly ignored the building for ten years....and Gillen REWARDED them by STEALING from the taxpayers by giving this pair of criminals a 100% profit on the price they paid for the building and on top of that, Gillen made the financially struggling homeonwers in the city pay for the back taxes on the building!   Now, tell me how Gillen is doing a good thing by STEALING from the taxpayers, using the taxpayers money to bestow riches on a couple tax delinquents, scumlords!   Hard working people are forced to pay and reward the scum.  THAT is your visionm of a great city??????   Explain

Quoted from rachel72

DV, I don't know why you don't actually come into the City before you post complete stupidity.

There is a free parking lot (only for the first two hours) right across from the Open Door, in back of the Pizza King. Also, there is ANOTHER free parking lot on Barrett Street which has a walkway right onto Jay Street (they just installed lighting there).

This is the problem when you do a drive by of Downtown and don't actually know enough about the area. You're totally wrong about Jay - come down and check it out sometime.  

I actually do come into the city and do more than a "drive by" -- and am aware of the SMALL parking lots of which you speak.  If you think that those tiny parking lots have the capacity to hold enough customers to support Jay Street business -- then you are just as delusional as the folks who built the Center City Ice Rink for a semi-pro team and built it with FEWER seats than what the marketing study said they needed to have to just break even.

Closing off Jay Street to traffic was a huge mistake,  not building a parking garage on the north side of State Street was a huge mistake  -- and   narrowing State Street  (one of Jurzynski's brilliant ideas) was a HUGE mistake.    

And I stand by my statement that the mix of businesses on Jay Street  could stand to be improved.  

Quoted from DemocraticVoiceOfReason

The problem with Jay Street began years ago when they closed it off to vehicular traffic --- there is not enough convenient parking close enough to Jay Street -- and one could argue if the mix of businesses were better .. some folks might actually go to the trouble of walking down Jay Street.

All you said in this post was that there was not any 'convenient' parking. Then when I pointed out that there is indeed 2 lots, one actually connected via walkway onto Jay, you then say it's not enough parking.

Face it DV, you haven't visited the City in years other than your Sunday visit to St. Adalberts. Your post about a Renaissace are largely based on the times you have driven through the City. Here's something that might change your mind WALK DOWNTOWN! Don't simply drive in your car with the doors safely locked, GET OUT! Then you'll know what the reality is.

You are assuming he goes to church, and me very well do so...but his posts show his participation in any worship does not mold his character (and I use the term loosely when it comes to him...he has no character!)
You assume he drives...wait, he explained before, he got his license at 15 in the state he lived in....no it was 16.....no it was 15...no.......whatever.
There is no reasoning with an unreasonable simple mind that wil just throw a spin on anything he is challenged on.....

Quoted from rachel72

All you said in this post was that there was not any 'convenient' parking. Then when I pointed out that there is indeed 2 lots, one actually connected via walkway onto Jay, you then say it's not enough parking.

Face it DV, you haven't visited the City in years other than your Sunday visit to St. Adalberts. Your post about a Renaissace are largely based on the times you have driven through the City. Here's something that might change your mind WALK DOWNTOWN! Don't simply drive in your car with the doors safely locked, GET OUT! Then you'll know what the reality is.

I stated very clearly that there was "not enough convenient parking" -- and you are the one who is posting statements without any actual knowledge .. you have no idea who I am and how often I am in the city and how often I get out and walk around.

Now back to the actual topic of this thread -- the new SCCC student housing is a GREAT project and will have a positive impact on downtown.    It will continue the Renaissance that it well underway in Schenectady.

Quoted from DemocraticVoiceOfReason

I stated very clearly that there was "not enough convenient parking" -- and you are the one who is posting statements without any actual knowledge .. you have no idea who I am and how often I am in the city and how often I get out and walk around.

Now back to the actual topic of this thread -- the new SCCC student housing is a GREAT project and will have a positive impact on downtown.    It will continue the Renaissance that it well underway in Schenectady.

There was LESS parking back in the hey day of downtown and yet that was plenty for all of downtown.   The parking garage and the lot next to it could produce 20 people for each address on Jay St and there STILL would be many many vacant parking spaces.

Quoted from DemocraticVoiceOfReason

Now back to the actual topic of this thread -- the new SCCC student housing is a GREAT project and will have a positive impact on downtown.    It will continue the Renaissance that it well underway in Schenectady.

Now, back the actual topic of this thread. --- the new PROPOSED student housing, well DV, the taxpayers in the county are already among the highest in the whole damn U.S.   So, DV, you are saying the taxpyaers should pay even more?  

What is going to be your solution when more houses are in tax foreclosure than not in tax foreclousre in the city?   You DO know, don't you that students will NOT be flocking to Proctors, why do you think they go to SCCC to begin with?   It's because the vast majority they don't have the ability to pay for to do all four years of college at a four year school and use it to reduce overall college expenses.  But since  you never had the compansionship of a wife and children to raise while trying to work, pay a mortgage, and all of every day costs, and then try to come up with money for college when your property taxes are among the highest in the country, you wouldn't understand.

And remember, students are 17 and 18 coming out of high school.  SCCC is a two year school, they are done before they can frequent the gin mills.  

And tell us what a bunch of minimum wage jobs downtown will do for the city?

Piece by piece the "triangle" between  State Street, Washington Avenue and Erie Boulevard will take on a new look and a new vitality.   The City and County leaders are not just working together -- THEY ARE GETTING RESULTS.

As the Reverend-Doctor David Jeremiah said the other day on his "Turning Point" radio show ---- "some people PRODUCE while others just PRETEND."        Mayor McCarthy, Chairwoman Dagostino, Ray Gillen, the Democratic majorities on City Council and County Leg  AND the many fine people who work in City Hall and the County offices of planning, economic development or any other related aspect  --- these are the people who put their noses to grindstone and PRODUCE results. Results that have taken our city and county from the DEPTHS that the GOP led it into ---have turned things around and put us back on track.

The Nattering Nayboobs of Negativity sit on their collective asses and  DO NOTHING to promote or improve their community.    Worse - they use their energy to disparage and TEAR DOWN our wonderful community.  The NNNs should do themselves and everyone else a favor --- move to one of the moons of Jupiter.

We have refuted this "logic" time and again but he is sticking to it.
You can't will things into being by insisting that they are going to happen. That is called "wishful thinking", and it is what children do, usually only until adolescence, when they begin to grow up.

Quoted from Madam X

We have refuted this "logic" time and again but he is sticking to it.
You can't will things into being by insisting that they are going to happen. That is called "wishful thinking", and it is what children do, usually only until adolescence, when they begin to grow up.

You haven't refuted anything  ---  there are tangible improvements in the city and the county .. if you and your ilk took your heads out of your butts -- you would see the progress that has been made.

I challenge any of you to come up with a list of tangible accomplishments from the GOP -- what has either Farley done lately except blow hot air ?  What did Mertz and Surhada ever accomplish in office besides making asses of themselves?

Yes, we have. You are just a little slow to realize it. My how nasty you get when the grownups point out your foolish assertions are not based in reality. It's too bad, really. Others using this site are able to have civil, intelligent discourse even though we may disagree on some of the issues. If you have to resort to nasty language and name calling you are just revealing that you really have no argument.

Quoted from Madam X

Yes, we have. You are just a little slow to realize it. My how nasty you get when the grownups point out your foolish assertions are not based in reality. It's too bad, really. Others using this site are able to have civil, intelligent discourse even though we may disagree on some of the issues. If you have to resort to nasty language and name calling you are just revealing that you really have no argument.

The reality is that this project along with other projects to be announced in the near future will bring a critical mass of people to live within  the "triangle" between State Street, Erie Boulevard and Washington Avenue.   Bringing residents into that area spurs economic development -- because those people will need goods and service and the business community will benefit from more consumers living and spending there.

And as far as having a civil discourse --- it is you and your ilk that immediately attack (with personal attacks) any thing that I post.    

Dorms for SCCC students is just an attempt by the dems to shield the students from the realities of the city, and to do it at taxpayer expense.  

THe dems figure, keep the kids sheltered in safe housing, away from the gunfire in the neighborhoods, away from the car-break ins in the neighborhoods, away from the stinky overflowing trash cans stored in front of houses, way from the glass littered sidewalks, away from the foul mouthed low lifes in the city, away from the falling apart housing.  Keep them in that small area and near all the sociliast restaurants and gin mills--with lower prices than elsewhere because they are subsidized by the taxpayers, and then the dems think these kids will continue to live in the city after they graduate.   What an eye opener it will be when the students see the real city

Everything the city gets involved in seems to be for non-residents and temporary residents. The college kids from the community ("community" college, remember?) don't need dorms, do they?
Should some of the out-of-towners decide to come back here to settle and raise a family, it won't be because they had a nice dorm experience.
If some developer sees a need and wants to pursue this all by himself or herself, of course they are free to do so.

Quoted from Madam X

Everything the city gets involved in seems to be for non-residents and temporary residents. The college kids from the community ("community" college, remember?) don't need dorms, do they?
Should some of the out-of-towners decide to come back here to settle and raise a family, it won't be because they had a nice dorm experience.
If some developer sees a need and wants to pursue this all by himself or herself, of course they are free to do so.

Why don't you pull your head out of your butt for once -- and realize that Community Colleges attract students from more than just the local community.     This was true 35 years ago when my older siblings attended SCCC-- there has been a need for these dorms for years.

SCCC has extremely good reputation FAR BEYOND our county or region.  Building the dorms -- will allow MORE people from beyond the region to attend  -- introduce MORE people to our great county  ... and promoteMORE private sector investment in Schenectady County in the future.