March 04, 2004
Troy City Council Legislative Address
Marjorie Mahar DerGurahian
President

Good evening. Welcome citizens, fellow council members, the Mayor of
Troy, city employees, and distinguished guests. Tonight I will talk about what lies ahead. How can we work together to improve the quality of life for the family of Troy? What needs to continue or be changed and what are the long-range goals? First, however, I would like to take a moment to share with you what I remember about Troy because these memories are the inspiration that brought me to consider this commitment to serve you.

The Troy I remember is a community of neighbors, extended families and friends, helping one another, shoveling snow, carrying groceries, sweeping the sidewalks and chatting on porch steps. The Troy I remember is a proud father, working late into a snowy evening, plowing the streets for easier passing on a new day. The Troy I remember is a loving mom holding tightly to a child’s hand, running to the corner to catch a bus downtown. Along the bus route, you could stare out the window and see the beauty of the buildings, wonder about the people who lived in them, past and present, and what it was like, back in the days they were built. At Christmastime, the downtown Troy I remember had music in the air; I am not sure about this but I could swear that the city placed loudspeakers on the light poles just for the holiday season. There were all kinds of restaurants, hobby and specialty shops and department stores: Stanley’s, Denby’s, Frear’s, Peerless, Hartigan’s and W.T. Grants, to name a few. “If Troy did not have it, then you did not need it,” was the motto of the time.

The Troy I remember is a good place to live, work, and raise a family. The Troy I remember is still here, but we are struggling to find it. It is my home……our home….and we can make it better.

The purpose of the legislative branch is to work with the Mayor for the betterment of Troy and its citizens. I stand here tonight, as President of the City Council, to commit to the people and to the Mayor that We, your elected officials, are ready and eager to work with you.

Gone are the days of neglect and indifference that have plagued our city. We will listen. We will consider. We WILL take action. City Hall is now a hub for busy people willing to do whatever it takes to restore Troy to the vitality I remember. The work has already begun. With support from this Council and thanks to the mayor and his staff, piles of long-standing trash have been taken away, alleys cleaned, and snow effectively removed. We have collected what is ours: outstanding revenue in the form of overdue parking violations. A number of known crack houses have been closed down, and burned buildings have been quickly demolished. This is just the beginning and the message is already clear. The citizens of Troy and its streets are to be respected.

As we walked those streets last fall, door-to-door, neighbor-to-neighbor, over and over the same concerns were voiced. You felt shortchanged and ignored. However, in just two months, your words of frustration have changed to hope. We will build on this hope to restore Troy to its original place of respect in Rensselaer County and New York State. Again, people will proudly proclaim, “I live in Troy, New York”.

This Council is representative of Republicans, Conservatives, Independents, Democrats and non-affiliated members. We recognize our differences, but because of these differences, we are enriched. Our political beliefs may vary but our faith in Troy is the same. Our assignment is complex, but our agenda is simple.

Firstly, our city is deeply rooted in history. This council will endeavor to preserve our heritage. We want to begin by expanding the current downtown historic district. Preserving our historic downtown not only provides a legacy to the citizens of tomorrow, but it is another step towards increasing the economic vitality of our city today. Indeed, we have seen resurgence in business, residential investment, and retail activity in our local historic district and we look forward to seeing that trend continue in other parts of the city.

It is also important to our citizens to be able to walk in their neighborhoods and in their downtown and feel safe. A good step in this direction is to restore the 1980s’ Park and Walk program. This means that officers will patrol the streets on foot as well as by car. We hope that our Troy Police will agree that this will provide an opportunity for them to greet people and to get acquainted with the community they serve and protect. We will also initiate discussion with RPI to help us make our streets safer through better lighting. Their renowned Lighting Research Center is a resource that our neighborhood college may share with us. A partnership in this manner could have the potential to brighten our streets without the burden of increased cost to the taxpayers.

To further enhance our city, this council is committed to supporting the Department of Public Works in its efforts to clean up our streets. We will work with the Mayor to seek newer, effective ways to stop the illegal dumping of trash and to enforce the Trash Can law, which means that all rubbish must be in a sealed container.

In addition, it is our intention to strengthen Code Enforcement, which must first have the ability to enforce existing legislation before new laws are futilely enacted. Existing laws and fines could be toughened up so that they actually impact absentee and neglectful landlords. It is important to note here that we are aware of the many citizens who strive to maintain their properties and we do not intend to punish those who respect their city. In other words, we want to keep the fine residents we have and grow our community, not shrink it.

Improving the gateways to our city is another sign of respecting it. We are committed to the beautification of our gateways and our neighborhoods and have earmarked dollars that will be used for special projects.

We want to see more emphasis on rehabilitating and utilizing our city parks and recreation centers. These are vital resources that help bring people together to foster a sense of community.

When these basic problems are tackled, bigger things will happen. Investors will find us attractive, stores will open, people will shop, and restaurants will thrive. Students will venture off their campuses. Citizens will enjoy their neighborhoods and their downtown. New families will move in. Our tax base will increase. These may seem like baby steps to some, but block by block, we can walk toward a better Troy. When we respect our city, others will too!

One of our biggest responsibilities and challenges as city council members is to ensure that our city government provides the services that our citizens deserve while managing our resources in a fiscally prudent manner. We will be diligent in our efforts to ensure that the taxpayers’ money is used wisely and that all expenditures large or small are scrutinized carefully before being approved. We look forward to working with our administration to find new sources of revenue that will not impose additional burdens on our property owners.

The future of Troy holds promise. Our greatest resource, our riverfront, is the focus of numerous discussions on the state and local level. We welcome the opportunity to work with our state and county legislators to clean up our brownfields, improve the industrial landscape and encourage people to come to Troy. We hope to bring new life to the waterfront, which has been neglected and unappreciated. We want to promote proper development that will revitalize the river, safeguard our history, be environmentally responsible and aesthetically pleasing, and bring tourism dollars. We will endorse access for everyone. From the Menands Bridge to the Waterford Bridge – this is your riverfront.

I realize these are tremendous challenges for the council, the mayor and the people. We are in this together. We all have expectations and we all need patience as we assume our responsibilities.

Change comes slowly and often we become frustrated with the process. However, good times can come to Troy if and only if we work together. I am an optimist. In fact, I am such an optimist, I believe our Council meetings will no longer be seen as a source of entertainment for some but rather a true forum for the city council to conduct the people’s business. Together we can be peacemakers as author Woodene Koenig-Bricker describes: “We are peace-makers every time we listen to another person’s point of view..….…when we praise rather than criticize, when we hope rather than despair.”

Most importantly, I believe that we can lead Troy into the future and leave a legacy that generations to come will be proud to call their own.

Thank you.