Reading the letter from a Linda Crandall in the opinion page today in the gazette should be mandatory reading as a condition of living in the city!
The city needs 30,000 Linda Crandalls if it is to survive
Optimists close their eyes and pretend problems are non existent. Better to have open eyes, see the truths, acknowledge the negatives, and speak up for the people rather than the politicos and their rich cronies.
Still not going to buy that rag for $1 just to read a letter from some chick named Linda
"Approval ratings go up and down for various reasons... An example is the high post 911 support for GWB even though he could be said to be responsible for the event." --- Box A Rox '9/11 Truther'
Melania is a bimbo... she is there to look at, not to listen to. --- Box A Rox and his 'War on Women'
Galesi can build own apartments without subsidy from the city
Re June 11 article, “$3M loan sought for Schenectady buildings” : There should be a deafening roar of outrage over the city borrowing $3 million. The city is borrowing against money it isn’t guaranteed to get. HUD [Housing and Urban Development ] can turn off the faucet of funding at any time and this would leave the city — the city being the property owners and taxpayers — responsible for repaying this loan.
Second, there are multiple projects that the money is being borrowed for and the projects should be considered separately, not as a single, all-or-nothing package as is now the case. The city administration is saying to the council if you want the money for demolition, then you have to go along with borrowing $1.3 million to fund a private developer’s project, the old DSS [Department of Social Services] building on Nott Street. They are separate issues and should be considered and voted on separately.
Almost half of the $3 million — $1.3 million — is being given to assist a well established and successful private developer, Galesi [Group]. The developer has to invest only half of the total cost of his project, while the city taxpayers pay the other half over the next 20 years! What a deal. This money isn’t a grant, the city has to pay it back. The city property owners and taxpayers should not be blank checks for private developers. The justification by the city and the developer for this project is fl awed. The city states “[ the project] will restore a blighted building.” Of course $1.3 million could restore a lot of blighted buildings in the city. The cost, $202,000 per apartment, is outrageous. What does the rent have to be in order to recoup this money? Oh, wait. The city taxpayers are funding the project.
Then they try to justify the project by saying it will help jump-start a new “Walk to Work Initiative” for the neighborhood. There are only 14 residential units. How many people living there are going to be employed at any of the three big employers, Ellis Hospital, Price Chopper and Union College? According to the article, the spokes person for the developer said that the project would help the area that has “deteriorated housing stock.” Has anyone traveled down Seward Place, College Park or Union Street recently? Does this look like deteriorated housing stock Some of our neighborhoods could wish for such deteriorated housing.
Perhaps instead of lining yet another private developer’s pockets with $1.3 million, the city could borrow only what needs to demolish the buildings. Better yet, the city could not borrow any money What a novel idea. The city can’t — no the taxpayers can’t — afford to borrow any more money. Eventually there is payday.
I urge the council to first be brave and ask for the separation of the projects this loan application. I urge the council not to cave in to political blackmail that is saying “if you don’t give me this, you can’t have that.” I urge the council to take a stand for the constituents they were elected to represent.
I did not know there was anyone like this woman left living here. These awful people in city government need to get out of the development business. Who do they think they are? Lower the taxes, let homeowners fix their own deteriorated houses. This is not government's function.
Still not going to buy that rag for $1 just to read a letter from some chick named Linda
Agreed. When I was working in Schenectady a while back, my co-workers asked why I bring the TU to read on breaks instead of the Gazette. I replied that I wasn't going to pay $1 for a pamphlet that is about as well written as The Penny Saver.
I only read it online because it only costs a few cents a month if you have a print subscription, and I have elderly parents who still subscribe. I personally, haven't read the print edition in years.
It should concern more people. You can move away but this kind of corruption will be following you eventually. Look at Cuomo's ghastly plans for tax-free zones around colleges (another place to disguise money-grabbing by connecteds). You have to get clean out of New York to escape, which I know many are doing. There are fewer and fewer places to run to.
Company jumps START-UP gun Tennessee firm issues statement on move prematurely By Casey Seiler Updated 10:40 pm, Monday, June 24, 2013
The Knoxville, Tenn.-based e-commerce company Etailogic was so excited about passage of Gov. Andrew Cuomo's START-UP NY tax-free zones initiative that it sent out a news release announcing it was coming to Schenectady in hopes of taking advantage of the program.
But its hopes are a bit premature — as was its news release, according to the company's CEO.
In a statement distributed Saturday, Etailogic said it plans to occupy some 2,000 square feet of space in 251 State St., with help from the Metroplex Development Authority.
"This will position Etailogic to take advantage of the new 'START-UP NY' program that passed in both houses (of the Legislature) on Friday," the release states. "As part of that program, Etailogic will enjoy special tax incentives not just for the company but for employees as well."
Under the program, companies will pay no state taxes — including corporate, sales and property assessments — for 10 years, and their employees will pay no state income tax for five years. In addition, individuals will pay no income tax on the first $200,000 of salary for five years after that; the cap goes up to $250,000 for a head of household, and $300,000 for taxpayers filing a joint return.
Etailogic said that the company will make the move over the summer and "is looking to hire 10-12 new employees by the end of the year," including Web designers and programmers.
The release concludes by noting that "Schenectady was chosen over Austin and Miami" — surely music to the ears of the Cuomo administration, which has recently been waging a PR war with Texas Gov. Rick Perry over New York's business-friendliness.
But there are a few problems with Etailogic's interest in START-UP NY, which will create tax-free zones on and around public universities as well as select outlying sites. The program doesn't begin until January.
Also, START-UP requires the individual public institutions such as Schenectady County Community College to select the companies that fit the criteria set by the state program — including the requirement that the business be in some way related to the school's mission — and then submit those plans to Empire State Development Corp. for approval. That process hasn't even begun yet.
While certain Metroplex projects are likely START-UP off-campus sites — meeting the criteria of being within a mile of the SCCC campus and having a pre-existing relationship with the school — the authority hasn't yet seen any sites officially designated as such, and won't until START-UP is started up.
"We haven't promised companies benefits under the program," said Metroplex Chairman Ray Gillen.
He said Etailogic was interested in the prospect of coming into "shared space" set up by incoming Metroplex tenant Transfinder. "It's at a very preliminary stage," Gillen said of Etailogic's interest.
Finally, Etailogic's board hasn't approved the move to the Electric City yet, according to an email from the company's founder and CEO Phillip Autelitano, who grew up in the Schenectady area.
He said the company's vice president for marketing sent the announcement "a bit prematurely."
"Our board has yet to approve the relocation, so as it stands we're still considering some other cities," he wrote. "... (F)or now I can't comment on relocation other than to confirm we're considering the area for our new home."
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