What was the alternative plan to getting businesses into Downtown?  It's called leverage - you have to give up something to get those businesses to plant a flag in a depressed area.

RE: the election.  Vince Riggi is not going to run and has said he will support Peter.  It will be interesting to see what his platform is.  Although many are unhappy with the political and financial arrangements made to attract businesses, one has to admit that it is better to have something downtown instead of old vacant buildings filled with rodents, pigeons and vagrants, and serving as potential fire hazards.  The image of Schenectady has been dramatically improved by the downtown upgrades.   RE: the neighborhoods.  The argument that they need a similar upgrade cannot be argued. The problem is that it is a heavier lift.  The Mayor has taken some steps towards addressing those areas.

My point is that, if Peter Guidarelli is going to be successful, he will probably have to spell out how he will be able to significantly reduce taxes and expedite the neighborhood improvements that the Mayor has already begun. And, he will need some of his OWN initiatives. And, then there is the issue of there simply being more Democrats in the area.

Quoted from visitor

What was the alternative plan to getting businesses into Downtown?  It's called leverage - you have to give up something to get those businesses to plant a flag in a depressed area.

RE: the election.  Vince Riggi is not going to run and has said he will support Peter.  It will be interesting to see what his platform is.  Although many are unhappy with the political and financial arrangements made to attract businesses, one has to admit that it is better to have something downtown instead of old vacant buildings filled with rodents, pigeons and vagrants, and serving as potential fire hazards.  The image of Schenectady has been dramatically improved by the downtown upgrades.   RE: the neighborhoods.  The argument that they need a similar upgrade cannot be argued. The problem is that it is a heavier lift.  The Mayor has taken some steps towards addressing those areas.

My point is that, if Peter Guidarelli is going to be successful, he will probably have to spell out how he will be able to significantly reduce taxes and expedite the neighborhood improvements that the Mayor has already begun. And, he will need some of his OWN initiatives. And, then there is the issue of there simply being more Democrats in the area.

Very well said.

Quoted from visitor

What was the alternative plan to getting businesses into Downtown?  It's called leverage - you have to give up something to get those businesses to plant a flag in a depressed area.

.

So Visitor, I trust that you are a city of Schenectady homeowner, with a total household income of the typical less than $40,000 a year and you are overjoyed to pay the taxes of multimillionaires and billionaires, right?   You are gleefully happy that the rich political cronies of the city leaders are getting richer and you are getting poorer.  

Would you be happy to give up replacing your furnace when it finally fails (and then be without heat in the winter) in order to get millionaires to open up a bakery full of fattening foods downtown?

You have a garage in your yard that is in danger of falling down.  Would you be happy to give up the money needed to tear down the garage and instead give that money to a billionaire so he can demolish his building?

Would you be overjoyed to give up taking insulin and instead give that money to a billionaire to build an unnecessary movie theater.

Would you be willing to lose money on the sale of your house in order for a billionaire to make more money?

Would you be happy to lose your house because of your inability to pay the taxes of a billionaire?


Visitor, we're not talking helping out some little individual (driving around in a used car and barely has $5,000 in his personal bank account) who takes out a loan and gets some $10,000 in tax money to open something downtown.   We are talking BILLIONAIRES who have so much money that they can pay cash for buying a building AND pay cash to fix it up, and still have so much wealth after spending that money that they have the cash on hand to pay the taxes of every one of the roughly 20,000 properties in the city, in the whole county, actually in the whole capital district, and then STILL be so wealthy that it's CEO can own multiple personal $25 million personal residences.

Galesi does NOT need one penny of tax dollars to do anything downtown in order to buy property, fix it up, pay taxes, and exist.    That company is filthy rich.   So WHY, tell us, visitor, WHY homeowners must pay his taxes?   Why must homeowners pay for a demolition of a building Galesi owns.   WHY must homeowners suffer a massive reduction in their home value in order to make a billionaire richer?   WHY must homeowners pay taxes of all these multimillionaires and billionaires and if the homeowners can't afford the higher taxes then they lose their home.  Why should the poor pay the remodels and the taxes of the ultra filthy rich?

And the question is, what have the homeowners gotten in return for paying for the millionaires and billionaires?  
-- Have city homeowners seen an increase in their home values?     Yes or No?  
-- Have they seen a reduction in taxes?   Yes or No?
-- Have then seen an increase in essential city services?   Yes or No?
-- Have they seen a better school system turning out students who can read and write and do arithmetic?    Yes or No?
-- Have then seen a flood of people buying houses in great numbers?   Yes or No?
-- Have they seen houses sell in just a month combined with multiple offers where the prospective owners have to offer above asking price when asking prices exceed assessment values.   Yes or No?
-- Have they seen an increase in their own financial worth?   Yes or No?

Yeah, answer those questions and provide evidence of what the homeowners are getting in return.  

visitor, I don't have to admit that what we have was better than old vacant buildings. We had businesses downtown that left subsequent to Metroplex. I vehemently disagree that downtown needed to be a special focus, and I have given my reasons, based on facts, for my opinion.
I'm still waiting for someone to show me the gain from all this spending downtown. Just happy perceptions that things are improving don't count.
Devon Blake, Mr. James, Patton's Natural Foods... I could go on. Proctor's was already up and running prior to becoming the money-sucking ripoff it is now. Somebody show me one cent of "good' it has done for downtown. Again, happy perceptions do not count.
The library draws more people to downtown than does Proctor's, yet we are making cuts there. The library benefits ALL, not just people with the price of a ticket. What the heck did they do with all the windfall sales tax revenue, when gas was up so high? THAT was the reason for the "record revenue",not any of this bogus "economic development". The people who say otherwise are rent-seeking, self-dealing LIARS for the most part.
Crony capitalism is a bad thing. The rest of the country is starting to wake up to that fact, Schenectady will be dead last, or just dead.

Here's a link to counties that charge tax on residential energy use. School districts are also in on the fun. Notice there aren't too many counties out of the total in state.  http://www.tax.ny.gov/pdf/publications/sales/pub718r.pdf

lets see now...so when it was empty buildings downtown i have lower/less taxes...now that its full buildings downtown ///higher taxes....not a hard choice     

I think what Visitor is pointing at is the decision people need to make is based on where we are at, not where we used to be. Even though most of us disagree with what Metroplex did, a certain amount of that is said and done, and planning for the future has to incorporate those deals that were passed. I for one am very interested to hear more of his ideas, as he seems to be approaching this from a realistic, not an idealistic prospective.

Quoted from A Better Rotterdam

I think what Visitor is pointing at is the decision people need to make is based on where we are at, not where we used to be. Even though most of us disagree with what Metroplex did, a certain amount of that is said and done, and planning for the future has to incorporate those deals that were passed. I for one am very interested to hear more of his ideas, as he seems to be approaching this from a realistic, not an idealistic prospective.

Very well said.

here's where we are at.......the service/trade workers that got them voted in are feeling pretty SHAFTED.....sooooooooo....I suggest
getting out of the 'kissing rich people's a$$es' business and lay something pretty heavy and pretty permanent on the rest of the folk
that are the MAJORITY of the 'problems' as everyone seems to call them......

a casino with sh!tty to modicum paying jobs will only get them so far before the city is swallowed up by the modicum and becomes
obsolete....once again.........


Rotterdam is being dumped on as 'it's a blue collar stupid service worker town', we can put all the dollar stores and walmarts
there, town'....

coming soon to all outlying towns....

if we're going to raise the bar(tic)......let's raise the fu(king bar.....I don't have the $$ but metroplex and buddies do.....


FIX IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

mike c.  it's not about being happy about it.  I merely pointed out that  in order to get businesses to plant a flag downtown, the businesses had some negotiating power and used it.  whether the deals were worth it is for city residents to determine.  

Madame X: Downtown was bad, I was not exaggerating when I said a lot of those big buildings down there were filled with pigeons and their droppings, rodents, and vagrants squatters.  

Good old Patton's.  Wow, talk about some memories.  Tough to go into a health food/supplement store now and be served by someone that knowledgeable. He may have had a hard time staying in business competing against GNC and the like. You are not the first one to raise that argument. I have spoken with a few of the old smaller businesses and they complain about the big, new kids getting assistance while old businesses stuck it out and received little to no help. I don't whether those claims are 100% accurate, but, the owners had no reason to be less than candid with me. In short, their argument is that if you can afford to help the Bow Tie Cinema then you can help the little guys/gals who struggled and stuck it out, before and after metroplex arrived on scene.  

I'm not waving or carrying a flag for Metroplex, the  Mayor, or Peter G.  Just trying to make a point about what it takes to get things done sometimes.  and agin, it's just my opinion.

Quoted from visitor

What was the alternative plan to getting businesses into Downtown?  

first.....why did Schenectady need to get businesses downtown?
to help with the tax base? They FAILED miserably!!!

second.....did they think businesses would make folks WANT to move to Schenectady? They FAILED miserably!!!

third.......did they think businesses would get rid of the vagrants squatters? They FAILED miserably cause they now 'squat' in all of the other vacant properties!!!!

How many of those folks who are spending taxpayer money actually live in Schenectady???????

All of downtown is almost 100% supported by tax dollars.
The struggling overburdened taxpayer got it stuck right up their a$$, in plain English!!!!!
You, visitor, might call it LEVERAGE.....anyone else would call it GOVERNMENT EXTORTION at it's best!!!
shame on you!!

McCarthy is always on the other side of the fence with the millionaire and billionaires. He doesn't give a dam about the people in the neighborhoods. He throws a bone to them every now and then to please the base. But the masses can see through his shallow attempts. MCCARTHY IS A BIG MONEY MAYOR! PLAIN AND SIMPLE! Now the question is who will fight for the POOR? I hope the other guy running against McCarthy hammer him on this very issue "income equality and "dispraportionate community investment"

"income equality and "dispraportionate community investment" was the Democrats in power platform THEY FAILED MISERABLY IN SCHENECTADY!

Your going to hear a whole bunch of $hit from Obama tonight on this issue all talk no answer to the problems!

Quoted from bumblethru

first.....why did Schenectady need to get businesses downtown?
to help with the tax base? They FAILED miserably!!!

second.....did they think businesses would make folks WANT to move to Schenectady? They FAILED miserably!!!

third.......did they think businesses would get rid of the vagrants squatters? They FAILED miserably cause they now 'squat' in all of the other vacant properties!!!!

How many of those folks who are spending taxpayer money actually live in Schenectady???????

All of downtown is almost 100% supported by tax dollars.
The struggling overburdened taxpayer got it stuck right up their a$$, in plain English!!!!!
You, visitor, might call it LEVERAGE.....anyone else would call it GOVERNMENT EXTORTION at it's best!!!
shame on you!!

very very well said!!  

and your solutions are?

let the city go bankrupt and then get a state control board to start... privitize the trash?.....as is there are 20+ hourly employees working part time for full time paycheck.....