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2008 Weekly Messages |
01/03/08
- Changing The Perspective Of Troy
Welcome to 2008, which I hope will mirror the enthusiastic
shouts Monday evening from
revelers that ‘08 will be great. There are
some very exciting things happening in the City of
Troy
right now, and this year is an important one in making
sure momentum is not lost.
01/10/08 - Crime in the City of Troy
Drops
News came this week from the New York State Division
of Criminal Justice that violent
crime in the City of Troy dropped 3.6 percent in 2007.
This may come as a surprise to
many of you that were inundated with election falsehoods
during the fall of last year, but
it does not come as a surprise to us.
01/17/08
- Restore NY Program
We picked up a tremendous
grant award from New York State as part of the Restore
NY Program. Though the state only issued $25 million
in grants to downstate communities (of which we are
considered a part of in the Economic Development
front), we received $2.5 million for waterfront bookend
projects
in the Hedley District and the future demolition
of City Hall. That’s ten percent of the entire
pot!
01/31/08
- Congress Ferry Street Corridor
Earlier this week, we held a public meeting on Tuesday
evening to discuss the road
design for the Congress-Ferry Street Corridor. It was
a busy night in City Hall, as the
committee reviewing the proposed sale of this building
met for the first time.
02/07/08
- State of the City Address
Here it is, the 2008 State of the City Address. Thank
you to the many people that attended last night, it is
much appreciated.
02/14/08
- RPI Converts Best Western into a Residence Hall
for Undergraduates
We have talked for many years about bringing more residents
into downtown. It is one of
the reasons my administration wants to move City Hall,
and it is the basis for many of the
exciting announcements we have had in the past four years.
More people downtown
means more business, means more tax base.
02/21/08 - Happy Birthday to Troy Night
Out
Next Friday will be the 1-year Birthday Celebration
for Troy Night Out (note that organizers are
cleverly not referring to this as an anniversary),
and there is quite the special evening planned in
addition to the normal night’s activities that
have made this event such a smashing success.
02/28/08
- Troy Truancy Reduction Program
Earlier this week, the City of Troy, in collaboration
with more than a dozen other agencies that form the
Juvenile Crime Enforcement Coalition, officially kicked
off the Troy Truancy Reduction Program, an initiative
aimed at addressing habitual truancy in the Lansingburgh
and Troy School Districts, and solving the issues that
underline this problem.
03/07/08 - Police Benevolent
Association Contract
Welcome to
a special edition of the Friday column. Last night
the
City Council
took
action
on
the recently approved contract with the Police Benevolent
Association, passing it with unanimous approval.
03/13/08 - CDBG Fumding
One of our most important sources of funding that we
receive each year revolves around
the federal Community Development Block Grant program,
which provides us with more
than $2 million each year to distribute amongst community
programs, city initiatives and
neighborhood projects.
03/20/08 - Earth Day
It’s that time of year again! That’s right,
Earth Day 2008. It’s merely a coincidence that
today is the official beginning of spring, and we are
starting talk of Earth Day. If only it
felt like spring out there.
03/27/08 - Spring Clean Schedule
As we embark on this aggressive street cleaning schedule
each and every year in hopes of
removing the mess that winter has left behind. In an
effort to guarantee the streets are
cleaned properly and efficiently, the cooperation of
all neighborhoods is essential.
04/03/08 - Annual Striped Bass
Fishing Tournament
This is one of the most exciting events we hold each
year, with hundreds of fishermen coming
from all over the world to participate in the striper
tournament. Each spring, more people than
you can imagine call the Hudson River one of the finest
striper destinations in the entire world.
04/11/08 - Frear Park Golf Course
It is always a sure sign of spring, and how long winter
has taken to disappear, when the
golf course gets going. This year was just about average.
Not as late (April 21st) as last
season, and not nearly as early (March 31st) as 2006.
But we are off and running.
04/21/08
- Earth Day Volunteers
This coming Saturday is Earth Day in the City of Troy,
and we continue to seek
volunteers for the annual cleanup. As of this morning,
there are more than 25 groups
signed up to participate.
05/02/08 - Troy Pig Out
We had a wonderful announcement yesterday detailing
the inaugural Troy Pig Out, a New York State Barbecue
Championship sanctioned by the Kansas City Barbecue
Society. Mark your calendars for Saturday July 19th
and Sunday July 20th for a party in downtown Troy.
05/15/08
- River Street Festival
With Memorial Day fast approaching so is the summer
concert series. We will be talking about this much
more in the coming weeks, but I wanted to get a quick
head start today. This afternoon at 4 p.m. WEQX 102.7
will be announcing the musical lineup for the 5th Annual
River Street Festival.
05/22/08 - Rockin On the River
With the rising cost of gas and living expenses around
the country, people are looking for unique
entertainment this summer that the entire family can
enjoy and not have to break the bank. We
have had great success in the last few years with booking
local acts in the City, but this event
will be a step up with nationwide talent and excitement.
05/29/08 - Troy Night Out
It is difficult to believe that when Sunday morning
rolls around, June will be here. Talk about a quick
moving year. Of course, if a new month is coming Sunday,
that can only mean one thing. Tomorrow is Troy Night
Out, and once again there is no shortage of events
to take advantage of.
06/05/08 - Troy Pig Out
With the backdrop of the Hudson River, this event has
now added a dimension that was previously missing.
During the summer months, the River is a tremendous
recreational asset, and having this event take place
in Riverfront Park will only add to the fun. Thousands
of people will be coming to Troy for the first time,
and we are intent on putting on a good show.
06/12/08 - River Street Festival
It is hard to believe that it was five years ago we
began this event in the singular hope to bring people
to downtown Troy on a Saturday afternoon. Now it has
grown into one of the more exciting events each year
in the Capital District. With nice weather, you can
expect about 20,000 people to fill four blocks of River
Street
throughout the day on Saturday.
07/03/08
- Fireworks
Like so many urban communities, the illegal use of
fireworks is going to be at the top of the list of
issues for the police department to deal with this
weekend. As has been the case the previous few years,
we have increased our police patrols, and will have
a zero tolerance approach to fireworks and explosives
throughout the City of Troy. The Street Crimes Unit
in particular will be out in force tomorrow evening
and throughout the holiday weekend.
07/11/08 - Citywide Reassessment
During the State of the City speech earlier this year,
I announced that the City of Troy would be pursuing
a revaluation for the first time since 1972. I want
everyone to know that I did not make this decision
without weeks of contemplation. Unfortunately, we have
come to a point where we cannot wait any longer. The
intent of conducting a citywide reassessment is to
have the City’s Assessment Roll be both fair
and equitable, a point we are not near today.
07/17/08 - Redevelopment of the Hudson
River Waterfront and the City Hall Site
Today the City held a press conference with
Senator Joe Bruno to announce significant funding for
the redevelopment of the Hudson River waterfront and
the City Hall site. The announcement of this funding
from the Senator came at a time when he was just hours
from retiring from the job he has held for 32 years.
I do not believe we will ever be able to thank him
appropriately.
07/24/08 - NY Penn League All Star Game
Fan Festival / Annual Chowder Festival
Coming up in
just a few weeks in Downtown Troy, will be the 2008
New York Penn League All-Star Game Fan Festival. That’s
a mouthful. Hosted by the City of Troy and the ValleyCats,
the fan festival will be held on August 18th, a Monday
night and will be highlighted by a
performance by rock legend Eddie Money. That’s
right, Eddie Money for free on a Monday
night in Troy.
07/31/08
- Mitchell Smyth
Earlier this morning I had the great opportunity to
meet with Mitchell Smyth, a travel writer composing
a story for the Toronto Star, in which Troy will play
a starring role. He was in Troy to take a tour with
Rensselaer County Historian Kathy Sheehan, and stopped
by my office to talk a little about Uncle Sam and his
history in Troy.
08/07/08 - Rebranding Campaign for the
City of Troy
Last year we embarked on a rebranding
campaign for the City of Troy with the help of the
Troy Redevelopment Foundation. One of the crucial steps
in that campaign is a comprehensive website that can
take over for what this municipal website could never
be. The website will be a significant source of information
for all things Troy.
08/14/08 - 2008 NY Penn League
All-Star Game Fan Festival. / Music Legend Eddie Money
As all our events have focused
on this summer, there will be a tremendous
family friendly aspect to this event. Both Radio Disney
and the ValleyCats will be
providing a multitude of Bouncy Bounces, activities,
food, and games. It has been very important to show
off the City of Troy this summer as a place that families
can count on for a fun place to be at no cost to them.
So far so good.
08/28/08 - 2nd Annual ChowderFest with
country star Jimmy Wayne
On September 20th, the 2nd Annual ChowderFest will
take place along River Street and
will feature country music star Jimmy Wayne! With more
than 30 restaurants expected to
participate on the culinary side, this is going to
be an event to remember.
09/04/08 - NYS Assemblyman Neil Kelleher
Sr.
Very sad news to report today, former Troy Mayor and
New York State Assemblyman
Neil Kelleher Sr. has passed away at the age of 85.
09/15/08 - ChowderFest
Obviously this summer has been like no other in the City of Troy when it comes to
offering free entertainment to our residents and neighbors in the Capital District. It started
out with the 5th Annual River Street Festival, and continued throughout the entire summer
with the 6-week Rockin’ On The River concert series, the inaugural Troy Pig Out, the
Valley Cats All-Star Fan Festival featuring Eddie Money, the Powers Park Concert
Series, the Collar City Pops, and the list goes on and on.
10/02/08 - City Budget Message
Yesterday I presented my fifth budget proposal since taking office in 2004. This week’s
message is a reprint of the budget message you will find inside the proposal. If anyone is
interested in some light reading, a copy of the budget can be picked up in City Hall. It
will also be online by the end of the day.
10/17/08 - Troy Highl vs Lansingburgh High
For the first time in a long time, Troy High School and Lansingburgh High School will do battle on the gridiron at Lansingburgh beginning at 7 p.m. I suggest getting there early as it’s going to be very crowded.
10/30/08 - Grand Openings for Centanni's Market and Bad Ass Burritos
Saturday will be a very busy day in the City of Troy. We have two new businesses celebrating their grand opening. First up at noon will be Centanni’s Market, a deli located at the site of the former Barna’s in South Troy. A couple of hours later up in Lansingburgh will be the grand opening of Bad Ass Burritos.
11/06/08 - Shot Spotter
This morning, the City of Troy made an exciting announcement that puts us on the cutting edge of fighting violent crime. We have purchased technology called “Shot-Spotter” which is marketed as a Gunshot Location System.
11/13/08 - Turkey Trot
Two weeks from today the City of Troy will come alive on what will likely be a chilly Thanksgiving morning for the 61st Running of the Troy Turkey Trot. There are some significant changes to this year’s race, so if you are a veteran of the Trot, or just a spectator, you may want to pay attention.
12/04/08 - 26th Annual Victorian Stroll
Welcome to December in the City of Troy where everyone is readying for the 26th Annual Victorian Stroll this coming Sunday. Obviously the Stroll is one of our grandest traditions and we are hoping for good weather and about 20,000 strollers to invade downtown Troy.
12/18/08 - Ice Storm '08
The past seven days have been quite a blur thanks to Ice Storm ’08, as local newspapers have cleverly deemed it. Let me first say that the City is thrilled that despite a challenging situation, no one was seriously injured during the five day recovery effort. As of this writing nearly all of the City has its power back, and our emergency shelters have closed.
12/23/08 - Twas the night before Christmas
A tradition has blossomed here at the Mayor’s Weekly Column in the past five years, to celebrate the Christmas Season with a bit of Troy history. Before we begin, I want to extend my warmest greetings and sincere blessings to everyone in Troy. Have a wonderful and peaceful holiday with your friends and family.
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