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2004 Weekly Messages |
02/19/04 - Welcome Message
Hello and welcome to the City of Troy's website. Stay
awhile, look around, and find out what the Collar City
has to offer.
02/26/04
- Garbage Out Too Early
To wrap up this week, I would like to discuss a plan we began implementing Wednesday
concerning garbage being out in the streets to early. As has been the key to
the first two months of my administration, we are stressing enforcement instead
of compliance.
03/04/04 - Earth Day
This year, Earth Day will not just be a day when the
City tries to clean up. Instead it will be a day that
serves as a warning to those who do not intend to keep
our city clean. We will make it known that we mean
business, and we need residents who care to help us
out, not those that want to set Troy back.
03/11/04
- Rezoning The South Troy Working Waterfront And
The Hoosick Street Corridor
These
two issues are likely to generate some controversy,
but that is not a problem. Not everyone always agrees
with change, but I will do my best to work with all
nine members on the council so that we may move forward
on these two important areas. Years of planning have
taken place, but now it’s time to start doing.
3/18/04
- The Kids Are The Future Of Our Great City
One thing the snow has not
done is slow my schedule down. In fact this last week
has been like a tour of schools for me. The kids are
the future of our great City, and we want to do anything
we can to get them involved with
government early. Too often government agencies are
given a bad name because of politics. We should change
that in Troy.
03/25/04
- Legislation For Illegal Dumping And Loitering Outside
Of Schools
We have two exciting pieces
of legislation that will appear on the agenda for next
week’s City Council meeting. The first deals directly
with a problem that the Action Team has been trying to
correct during our first three months in office- illegal
dumping. The other piece of exciting legislation deals
with the growing problem of kids loitering outside of
schools.
04/01/04
- Frear Park Golf Course
I want to focus this week on one of the City’s
most extraordinary assets- Frear Park Golf Course.
The course has been the subject of some controversy
in previous years, but it has also been the source
of accolades having been named one of the best golf
courses in upstate New York by Hudson Valley Magazine
in October of 2003.
04/08/04 - Annual Spring Street Cleaning
The annual Spring street cleaning begins this
coming Monday. The schedule lasts for the next eight
weeks as we begin to wipe away the grime left by this
Winter's snowfall. In an effort to have the street cleaning
be as successful as possible, there are a few tips
we hope the residents
of Troy follow.
04/15/04
- River Street Festival Announcement / Take Back
The Park Gathering
Many thanks goes out to Deputy Mayor Dan Crawley
for his hard work putting together the festival, as
well as the numerous business owners on River Street.
One other note...the Action Team will
be joining forces with the Troy Police Benevolent Association
for a Take Back the Park gathering on Saturday.
04/22/04
- Earth Day / Crime Victims Rights Week
As everyone knows the annual Earth Day Cleanup is set
to take place this Saturday in more than 30 different
spots around the City of Troy. Also, this week in
Troy has been named 'Crime Victims Rights Week' in
the memory
of Arica Lynn
Schneider, who was viciously murdered more than two
years ago.
04/29/04
- Letter From Tommy Griswold
I received a letter from Private First Class Tommy
Griswold, who is stationed in Iraq right now. Just
several weeks ago, I had the great opportunity to send
Tommy, and his close friend Tony Buchanan, a Troy Bi-Centennial
Flag, and a cut out of Uncle Sam. Both of these guys
are Troy Boys through and through, and it was the least
I could do. Tommy decided to write me a letter and
I wanted to share it with you.
05/06/04
- Police Clean Sweep / Nabbed Kid Shooting Out Windows
With A BB-Gun
I am excited to talk with you this week about Public
Safety. You may or may not be aware that we recently
finished up our Spring Cleanup 2004, a focus by the
Police Department
to clean up the streets of Troy from the criminal side
of things. The results were great.
05/13/04
- Congratulations Sergeant John Reigert / Our Website is Growing
I had the opportunity to attend the Troy Police
Department awards luncheon Thursday afternoon at the
Polish American Club in South Troy. Congratulations are
in order to Sergeant John Reigert, the 2004 winner of
the John J. Givney Memorial Award, as well as all the
other officers who were honored during the lunch.
05/20/04
- Frear Park Golf Course
My topic of discussion this week is golf, but
more about Frear Park than anything else. Over my years
as a City Councilman, I heard many complaints about
Frear Park, about the tee boxes, the drainage, and
the lack of upkeep by the City. With those thoughts in
mind, we decided to bring in a Golf Superintendent
to clean up the course and allow
Frear to realize its full potential.
05/27/04
- Times Union’s Best Of
The Capital Region
The annual Times Union’s Best of the Capital
Region edition was released last Thursday. The City
of Troy was all over the “best of” list
and I must say I agree wholeheartedly with all of its
selections.
06/10/04
- Flag Day Parade
This week’s column will focus on one of our most
treasured traditions- The Flag Day Parade. The 37th Annual
Parade to honor Old Glory kicks off this Sunday at
1 p.m. Organizers have said that this
will be the biggest march yet, which is impressive
considering Troy is known for having the largest Flag
Day parade in the country.
06/17/04
- Fire on Pointview Drive
/ Congress St-Ferry St Project
In other news this week, I would like to thank
four people who saved a woman from a fire last
Friday. It
is people like Rick Woods, a retired firefighter,
Eric Adams, Wayne Rado, an off-duty firefighter,
and Larry
Quinn that make me proud to live in the City of Troy.
06/24/04 - River Street Festival Turnout
/ ValleyCats
The thing that made me most happy, other than the
sheer number of people (which we estimate around 7,000),
were the busy looks of shopkeepers. These people love
what they do, and they work hard to be successful at
it. It was an awesome feeling to be able to provide
so many shoppers in such a quick amount of time.
07/01/04
- “Mr. Riverfront Park,” Clarence
Bellard Passed Away
Most people his age were long retired and enjoying
other activities. Clarence was a hardworking man, who
tirelessly promoted the City of Troy, and specifically
Riverfront Park, which he could often be found cleaning
on a daily basis.
07/08/04
- Year's First Homicide / Increase In Bond Rating
We had our first homicide of the year last weekend,
and I, like all of you, are not very happy about it.
There will be bumps in the road in improving the safety
of our City, and this is one of those instances. But
take my word for it, the Troy Police are out there
in search of the person who committed this heinous
crime, and he or she will be caught.
07/22/04
- Collins Twin / Annual Mayor’s
Cup Tournament
The Collins twins, who both stand at a whopping seven-feet,
are National Basketball Association athletes, and graduates
of Stanford University. Watching these two gentlemen
interact with the children of Troy made my weekend, and
gave me hope that there are people out there giving back
to the community in ways you don’t expect. I want
to thank the AME Zion Church for sponsoring the event.
07/29/04
- Celebrate Under A River & Stars
/ Rock The Block Celebration
We have two very exciting events taking place during
the next month in Historic Downtown Troy, both involving
businesses, music and fun.
08/05/04
- Convenience Store Legislation / Riverstreet Celebration
Turnout
The idea of small business brings me to my next topic-
the legislation we introduced this week concerning
convenience stores. We are proposing any store with
less than 1,500 of interior square footage, or less
than six gas pumps, close between the hours of midnight
and 5 a.m.
08/19/04
- Troy's Water Is #1 / John J. Harvey Fireboat
Visits Troy
Last week the City of Troy participated in a contest
sponsored by the New York State Department of Health
for the best tasting water in the area. The participants
had already won a countywide test, and this was to decide
the regional winner. Other than Troy, Green Island, Saratoga
Springs, Glens Falls, and Schenectady all participated.
Well to make a short story even shorter, we won. That’s
right; Troy has the best water in the entire area. Number
One.
08/26/04
- Six New Firefighters And Two Promotions
I believe that these new additions to the department
will make me proud someday. The addition of the six
brings our department, one of the best in the state,
to 120 strong. Often they go overlooked, but I hope
everyone realizes what it is they do everyday they
are at work.
09/16/04 - City Employees Honored / Tony
Buchanan Coming Home
Amazingly we are honoring two people this year that have
been with the City for 35 years. Police Captain David
O’Melia and Firefighter Andrew Waterman have been
serving the residents and businesses of Troy since 1969.
That is an amazing accomplishment.
09/23/04 - City of Troy And Rensselaer
County Game To Benefit Troops
The day is going to be a blast. After the City and
the County face off, the Rensselaer County Sheriff’s
Department, led by Sheriff Jack Mahar, will take on
The Troy Police Benevolent Association, led by Robert
Fitzgerald. That should be a good game to watch, but
the big one in my opinion is the Troy City Action Team
versus the Rensselaer County Legends (where they got
the name I do not know.)
09/30/04
- Budget Cuts / Outcome Of Benefit Game
Several of our costs- healthcare, retirement, contractual
raises and insurance- are off the charts. Those costs
have risen to record levels, some as much as a 20 percent
increase over the previous year. We realized this early
on in our budget preparation, and asked that department
heads cut 7 percent out of the budget for 2005.
10/07/04
- Annual Best Of The Hudson Valley
This latest issue of Hudson Valley Magazine arrived
this week, and it was the Annual Best of the Hudson
Valley issue. Last year we were fortunate enough to
win the Best Golf Course with Frear Park. While we
did not repeat in that category, we did win several
other honors I would like to share with everyone today.
10/14/04
- Minissale’s Wine Cellar
Café Reopens After Extensive
Rehab
Minissale’s Wine Cellar Café just
reopened this week after an extensive rehab of the
14th Street building. The restaurant, Italian if you’re
wondering, is located just off Congress Street. The
food was great, and the atmosphere was very New York
City. Ted, Phil and Donna Minnisale made a tremendous
investment to stay in the City of Troy and we really
appreciate that and wish them the best of luck.
10/21/04
- Demolition Of Three Row Houses
I read this week a local columnist who chastised
the demolition as tearing down a piece of history.
The only thing historical about that building was it
was set to take a place in the history of Troy when
it fell without our help. The building inside was stripped.
The back wall was falling down. There was an enormous
hole in the roof. The history of our City is wonderful,
but to say a building ready to crumble should be saved,
especially when it presents a danger to the residents,
is brash and irresponsible.
10/28/04
- Demolished Building On Stowe Ave / Convenience
Store Law
We had to demolish a building on Stow Avenue that could
have fallen at any moment. An engineer was in the building
on Monday, and by the time he was done the house had
already moved several inches. Then next day the building
had moved again. It was clear that the structure was
a complete danger to everyone around it.
11/04/2004
- Congress-Ferry St Project Next Step / 18 New
Condominiums In Lansingburgh
I am asking the City Council to pass legislation this
month that will allow the next steps in the Congress-Ferry
Street redevelopment to take place. When all is said
and done, this project could be $100 million of development
and show a sincere commitment to the taxpayers that
we are dedicated to increasing our tax base. I have
the most sincere belief that this project is going
to be a huge boost to the City in the next decade.
11/11/04
- Veteran’s Day Message
Today is one of those days that we tend to celebrate
a little less than we should. There will be a few stories
here and there about those who served our country,
but this is a case of whatever
is talked about, it is most certainly not enough. Without
sounding like I’m preaching, any man or woman
who has ever served our country, in any way from 1776
through today, deserves to be called a hero.
11/18/04 - Stanley Building Purchase
/ Market Block Books Officially Opens
Jeffrey and Deane Pfeil, who I wrote about last week
concerning their condominium project in Lansingburgh,
have purchased one of the downtown’s most recognizable
structures- the Stanley Building. The Pfeil’s
plan to put retail on the first floor of the building,
an excellent choice, and have a mixture of office space
and apartments on the above floors.
11/25/04
- Thanksgiving Message - Thanks To City of Troy Employees
Personally I have much to
be thankful for. I have been in this office for 11 months,
and I have to say, I love this job. Sure, there are
the stressful
moments, but in the end it is all worth it. We hit
the ground running in January and it was a success
thanks to a special group of people- the City of Troy
employees.
12/02/2004
- Victorian Stroll
I cannot stress enough how important this event is
for the City of Troy and its merchants downtown. Not
only is this event the unofficial kickoff to our holiday
shopping season, but it is also the major opportunity
we have to showcase Troy to the thousands of people
that will make their way downtown on Sunday. And unlike
last year, I do not believe there will be two feet
of freshly dumped snow on the streets.
12/09/04
- Victorian Stroll Turnout
While the weather took a turn for the worse this
week, it was absolutely gorgeous for the 22nd Annual
Victorian Stroll on Sunday. It was so exciting I hardly
know where to begin. From Monument
Square to River Street to Third Street, there were
people everywhere. The
estimation was more than 15,000. It sure looked like
it, could have been more.
12/16/04 - Guardian Angels
Last Saturday I was driving to a fire on Oakwood Avenue
when I heard a news report that the Guardian Angels
wanted to come to Troy because the area around Russell
Sage College is not safe. I nearly drove off the road
when I heard that.
12/23/04 - Twas A Night Before Christmas
Back in 1823, Clement Clarke Moore published the first
version of ‘Twas A Night Before Christmas in
the Troy Sentinel for his two daughters. Also known
as a Visit From Saint Nick, the story has become a
cherished holiday tail for kids of all ages.
12/30/04
- Year End Message
I can hardly believe that this year is over. One year
ago today I was eagerly awaiting January 1st to come,
with a mix in my heart of anticipation and curiosity.
On one hand, I was about to become the Mayor of Troy,
a wonderful opportunity. On the other hand, I was about
to become the Mayor of Troy, what in the world was
I in for.
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