Another Year Gone By

As we approach the end to 2013, and look forward to the New Year, It’s time that we bloggers like to weigh in. I must admit that I can be harsh, especially when it comes down to matters of this City, where I have lived for most of my life. Forget about the size of this city. When speaking about how a community is run, it doesn’t matter if the population is ninety thousand, or nine hundred thousand. It does matter however, when you’re dealing with a city as old as Albany. Glendale, Arizona doesn’t have the same infrastructure problems that exist in Albany. They don’t have to deal with two hundred year of sewer pipes, that still exist in our town. They don’t have to deal with hundreds of boarded up and deteriorating dwellings that are with in an arms reach of Downtown. And now, in ten days, this city will undergo a major, major change in how this city is run. Forget about the fact that Kathy Sheehan is a woman. Hell, I hope that Hillary Clinton runs for President. Forget about the fact that she’s not from around here. What you can’t forget about is the fact that she’s from corporate America, and this city cannot be run like a corporation that makes widgets. During her campaign, she took a stance on nothing. Issues like the landfill, the urban blight. I remember when Convention Center was being discussed. Are you for it? That would appear to be a yes, or no answer. No. We got ”a market study needs to be done.” There is no market study needed. If you want to bring more events to Albany, like the NCAA tournament, you need the facilities (by the way, now that she has been elected, she’s all for it.) There’s nothing wrong with the way this city has been run. We don’t pay exorbitant taxes, or have to put up with an unusually high crime rate. They do an adequate job removing snow, and do an excellent job taking care of our trash. We have added high tech jobs, are bringing a Community College Satellite to downtown, and we have tons of free events at the Waterfront and Empire State Plaza. All this due to the fact that Jerry Jennings has been running this City for the last twenty years. Time for a change, Maybe. Jerry, like anyone else should get to enjoy retirement. One by one, the department heads are announcing that they’re leaving. Don’t feel bad for them. They’ll all end up with nice jobs with the state or somewhere else. That will leave, however, this city with all new people running it. Not to mention an all new Common Council, with a lot of the new members firmly aligned with the new Mayor. How about Park South. It appears that the council has already caved in to the developers. Who exactly is going to benefit from the new project? A whole lot more tax free property. And why can’t Albany seek out other developers besides Columbia. They’ll build Park South. They’ll build the Convention Center (and that building better be called the Gerald D. Jennings Center.) We spend too much time dwelling on things we can’t change, like I-787. That roadway isn’t going anywhere. How many people do you think use that road every day to get around the city? People bitch about all the oil that is passing through the city, but on the other hand want to improve the Port of Albany. And let’s not forget my pet peeve. Albany is filled with narrow, old streets. You can’t make them all bicycle friendly. Yes, when you improve a road, you should adhere to the newly adopted Complete Streets Program — which we dwelled on for much too long when the state already had a program in place — and try to make the city more pedestrian friendly. But you can’t waste money placing ”sharrows” on streets like Daytona Avenue where kids have been riding bikes forever. But that’s Progressive politics. Ms. Sheehan, I wish you all the luck in the world. Make your hiring choices carefully. I certainly hope your department head’s at least have some expertise in the areas they are responsible for, and not just some political payback. I hope you have Jerry’s number on speed dial, and Jerry I suggest you get a new cell number. Happy Holidays everybody. Jonathan.