Quoted from Shadow

Erie Blvd is still a rough road and I avoid it every time I can.

Off topic a bit, but if you really want to experience a rough road, try Altamont Ave, between Chrisler and Duane. Having traversed that section last week, I took Erie Blvd. to the same destination this past Tues. and the ride was so much smoother.

Of course, in Schenectady, the dems have to take the tax money and give it to the non-taxpaying thief King Philip and their  multimillionaire cronies instead of providing essential services to the residents and taxpayers of the city.

Quoted from Shadow

Erie Blvd is still a rough road and I avoid it every time I can.

I agree Erie Blvd manholes are 6 inches above the ground from the pavement? Shady workmanship and waste of taxpayers dollars. The old road was 100% better than the new one.

Quoted from firefox

I agree Erie Blvd manholes are 6 inches above the ground from the pavement? Shady workmanship and waste of taxpayers dollars. The old road was 100% better than the new one.

That is one of the most ignorant comments that I have read on this website -- and there have been a lot of ignorant comments.  There is no way that the old road was 100% better. You folks bitched and moaned for years  that the road was a mess.  Then when it gets fixed - yo make up some bullshit complaint (as usual). That is why no one takes your constant whining seriously.
BYW -- you do know that they have not finished paving the road ... winter set in before they were able to get it done.  

“Proctors has done so much for Schenectady and the entire area, so we know what this means in my district,” said Santabarbara. “It shouldn’t be underestimated what ‘teching’ can bring to the area. It’s a lot of behind-the-scenes work, and when ‘Ghost’ opened their national tour in Schenectady it brought in $750,000 in just the first week to the local economy. Other cities in upstate New York have seen this impact and they know what it means. It’s very important for us.”

Love it how politicos tout numbers like $750K was brought into the area for some play....really? Prove it.

Kinda' find it sad that the Parker Inn went belly up years ago with all the "millions" Proctors brings into the City.

What a lie.... where's the proof?

Quoted from DemocraticVoiceOfReason

That is one of the most ignorant comments that I have read on this website -- and there have been a lot of ignorant comments.  There is no way that the old road was 100% better. You folks bitched and moaned for years  that the road was a mess.  Then when it gets fixed - yo make up some bullshit complaint (as usual). That is why no one takes your constant whining seriously.
BYW -- you do know that they have not finished paving the road ... winter set in before they were able to get it done.  

I haven't gone on the new section yet but from State St towards Maxon Rd the roads are still bad with some very serious pot holes in between. One thing they did improve was the traffic light situation, trying to turn on Union St or one of the side roads was almost impossible, you either had to gun it once the light turned green or just basically cut right out into traffic. The money they pissed away on the new section would have been better spent repairing the rest of the roads in the city, this winter really did a number on them including the roads just recently repaired.

Quoted from Henry

I haven't gone on the new section yet but from State St towards Maxon Rd the roads are still bad with some very serious pot holes in between. One thing they did improve was the traffic light situation, trying to turn on Union St or one of the side roads was almost impossible, you either had to gun it once the light turned green or just basically cut right out into traffic. The money they pissed away on the new section would have been better spent repairing the rest of the roads in the city, this winter really did a number on them including the roads just recently repaired.

Since the bulk of the project was between I-890 and State Street and actually ended by the railroad bridge, it is very easy to see why it didn't improve any of the road going toward Maxon Road.  THAT part of the road was NOT within the scope of the project.  That section of the road will be addressed in a future project.

Again, the city could not spend the money granted for the Erie Boulevard project on other projects.  That would have been in violation of federal law.  
The fact remains that the money spent did improve the section of Erie Boulevard for which the funds were applied for and for which the funds were granted.  Over the next few years, you will see economic development activity along that corridor and that will benefit ALL of Schenectady County.

As for the Parker Inn comment posted by another poster, that failure had nothing to do with Proctor's but a lot to do with the business model of the Parker Inn.  The Hampton Inn is doing well.  The Holiday Inn is doing so well that it is being upgraded to a Double Tree Inn.  And other investors are looking at building lodging facilities within the city.   Bottom line - there is a market for good, quality lodging facilities within the city limits and those projects that are well designed and well run HAVE and WILL do very well -- thanks to Proctor's, Union College, GE and the other positive profit centers within the city.

Quoted from DemocraticVoiceOfReason

Since the bulk of the project was between I-890 and State Street and actually ended by the railroad bridge, it is very easy to see why it didn't improve any of the road going toward Maxon Road.  THAT part of the road was NOT within the scope of the project.  That section of the road will be addressed in a future project.

Again, the city could not spend the money granted for the Erie Boulevard project on other projects.  That would have been in violation of federal law.  
The fact remains that the money spent did improve the section of Erie Boulevard for which the funds were applied for and for which the funds were granted.  Over the next few years, you will see economic development activity along that corridor and that will benefit ALL of Schenectady County.

As for the Parker Inn comment posted by another poster, that failure had nothing to do with Proctor's but a lot to do with the business model of the Parker Inn.  The Hampton Inn is doing well.  The Holiday Inn is doing so well that it is being upgraded to a Double Tree Inn.  And other investors are looking at building lodging facilities within the city.   Bottom line - there is a market for good, quality lodging facilities within the city limits and those projects that are well designed and well run HAVE and WILL do very well -- thanks to Proctor's, Union College, GE and the other positive profit centers within the city.

DV, start a thread about Erie Blvd, will ya?   This is about Proctors.  Please talk about Proctors wanting more money from the taxpayers and ttell us what Proctors is doing to the tax base of the cityi.  If you claim the tax sase is up, then cite some EVICDENCE direct from the tax rolls.

We were talking to someone who 'volunteers' at Proctors. This person said that if it wasn't for Proctors....downtown gin mills and eateries would be dead in the water. This person also realizes that Proctors is being propped up with taxpayer money and that the businesses, for the most part in that area are tax exempt. This person also said in their opinion....that Proctors took on more than it can afford.

It appears that this has been a brain fart for a decade. The powers that be built a section of the city with taxpayer money that they can't stop now. It is a run-away train to say the least. The powers that be AND METROPLEX/GILLEN have made deals and promises they can't stop now.

Couple that with the ever increasing section 8/welfare recipients, home values falling, vacant properties...........something will have to give eventually. NO ONE CAN AFFORD IT ANYMORE!!!

And what is surprising to most is that the 'friends and family club' aren't smart enough to see the edge of the cliff.

Can anyone believe the nerve of the gazette to print those LIES today

It has an editorial supporting the taxpayers paying more taxes (or if not an increase in their taxes than cuts in ESSENTIAL services) to give theaters tax credits.  

Their editorial says it will "cost the state $5 million but would generate $60 million in economic activity.


  


Where in the world did they come up with that idea?   Obviously Schenectady's dems and plex and King Philip must have paid them off to write that.


We all know that the FACTS. that that is about as big of a lie as all the lies DV has told combined.  We have the EWVIDENCE right here in Schenectady.  You mean the Gazette did not see the EVIDENCE.

We have a theater that was given TENS OF MILLIONS of taxpayer dollars, does NOT pay any property or school taxes, it's CEO gets p[aid a super fat salary of a quarter of a million dollars of taxpayer money (EVIDENCE is the two items in the county budget that total that dollar amount in the county budget that is money given to Proctors and the county gets the money from the taxpayers).

Despite all those "tax credits" for Proctors, way more in handouts than this tax credit thing will provide, it has NOT generated any economic activity here.  Proof is that we have no stores downtown in which to shop, sales tax is down in this county, tax base is falling, property values are at unprecedented levels, (while increasing most everywhere else), home sale prices are down (while increasing most everywhere else), home sales are super down (while increasing everywhere else).  Tax BILLS on the homeowners are going up way beyond the dems fake tax cap.  

In the location of this Proctors, the blight in the city is at all time high, abandoned properties are at record highs because the homeowners had no money to pay Proctors taxes.  The CEO of the theater, himself, as fled this city he obviously thinks is too dreadful to live in.  

EVIDENCE PROVES that tax giveaways to theaters do NOT result in any return via economic activity.