Troy Night Out

Very few words tonight. Instead I present a photo essay called, "My Day Today."

Whenever you can have a Friday morning that begins by opening a new business, you know it will be a good day. We are proud to welcome Truly Rhe- A Unique Boutique to the City of Troy. Rhe is situated on Second Street, near Broadway, next to Some Girls. You absolutely must stop in when you get a chance, she has done a great job putting the store together.



After the ribbon cutting it was on the police station for an important press conference. Today's news dealt with two things, the capture of two burglars with the assistance of our residents (more on this later in the weekend), and the updated numbers from the Street Crimes Unit.

As you know, we instituted the Street Crimes Unit earlier this summer when the crime numbers started to tip in the wrong direction. More on this later as well. Here is a picture of some of the evidence the SCU has picked up since July 31st.




Of course tonight was Troy Night Out, and what can you say. Despite early, and obnoxious rain conditions, the crowds were simply overwhelming. Throughout the entire night, restaurants were packed, people were walking around, and there was a buzz in the air. The Ramblin' Jug Stompers got into the action, playing a show in front of the Troy Savings Bank Music Hall prior to the big Albany Symphony Orchestra show tonight.



One of the great things about Troy Night Out is how quickly things change. Here is a picture of State Street a little after 6 p.m.



And this is State Street just an hour and half later. Many thanks go out to the Shilly Shally Fire Arts group and that Static Port for putting on a tremendous show. The crowd watching on State Street was quite the unique mixture, ranging from RPI and Russell Sage students to Symphony guests, longtimes residents to first-time visitors.






The City of Troy put on one helluva show tonight. Many thanks to all those who continue to make this monthly event such a great success.

Have a nice weekend!

Harry

Curves

I'm going to double up on the blog tonight, and discuss something I talked about earlier in the day in my weekly message on the City's website.


Earlier this week I had the opportunity to visit the Curves location on Campbell Avenue. I didn't exactly know what to expect when I walked in the front door.

I will say this, Curves is not your typical gym, and in my opinion, that is a good thing. When you walk in, you can’t help but feel comfortable and welcomed. Everyone was greeted by name as they entered to begin their workout, it was really something. Another plus is there are no bodybuilders posing in the mirrors, or people hanging around gawking at you.

The music is certainly energizing and is an important part of the concentrated 30 minute workout. I learned that a Curves workout is approximately an hour and half of exercise condensed into a 30-minute routine. The best part? You can walk in at any time and jump right into the exercise circuit. No appointment or scheduled start times for the program. It makes exercise convenient to your schedule.

Patty McLaughlin and Nellie Mason own and operate the Curves location in Troy and they are committed to helping women achieve positive results in fitness. As I said, they know everyone by name and can tell you countless success stories of their members. They are both also very active in fundraising events throughout the community, which is vitally important to me. Despite being less than a year old, the Troy location has already proven to be a wonderful addition to the City of Troy.

I don't want to forget other businesses though. In recent years we have seen a great mix of people move into the City. For the adventurous exercising type, there is the Movement Lab, a pilates studio run by Julie Rose on the corner of State and Fourth Streets. I definitely suggest checking this gem out as well, as Julie has told me that she has something for everyone. Much more information can be found by checking out http://www.themovementlab.com/

Regardless of your age or physical condition, give these places a try. Tell Patty or Nellie that I invited you to stop in, they will be glad to have you. Now if there was only a Curves for men…


Harry

Troy Night Out!

We are two days away from what I'm thinking will be a huge Troy Night Out.

For those that have been in the dark for the past eight or so months, Troy Night Out is a monthly event that takes place on the final Friday of each month. It showcases all of the wonderful things happening in downtown Troy, and more importantly, sets a great tone for the future. It's that whole 24-7 City I'm fond of talking about.

All of the credit in the world goes to the organizers of the event- Elizabeth Young, Karen Schlesinger, Michael Fiske, a host of volunteers and store owners willing to try new things, and a special nod to local business ID29, which has gone above and beyond the call of duty in helping get this idea off the ground.

This month's event will likely be the last where we are guaranteed somewhat warm weather, and downtown is ready to capitalize.

If you are heading down for the event, there is nearly too much to talk about. Be sure to pick up an event map at one of the many participating restaurants, businesses, boutiques, galleries, and any other building that happens to have an event in it.

My must see event for the evening will take place on State Street between Third and Fourth Streets, right near Barker Park, which as you know is undergoing a major reconstruction.

Beginning at 6 p.m., The Static Port will be taking the stage. The Static Port is a local quartet which describes its music as "groove-oriented," that mixes together funk, jazz and progressive rock. The organizers and the City are working together to try and bring more attention to the Third and Fourth Street sections of downtown during the Troy Night Out, to help improve traffic flow to this area.

This will be the second show we have held on State Street, and the plan is to try and do one each month next year once the weather warms up. We have certainly made great strides with new events in Troy, and we believe a scheduled concert series on State Street will really add another dimension to the Troy Night Out.

But wait, there's more. I don't want to spoil all of the fun, just be sure to be downtown near State Street, and you will see some unique entertainment involving fire. Use your imagination. Or if you don't want to wait, check out www.troynightout.org (Here's a hint, check out number 42 under event listings).

We will also have another grand opening Friday, as Truly Rhe makes her initial appearance in Troy on Second Street. We will have a ribbon cutting Friday morning, and I'll be sure to have pictures posted.

This month, I assure you, there will literally be something to do for everyone. Come on out and see for yourself all that Downtown Troy has to offer.


Harry

Another Event...

Strictly election talk tonight.

The Capital District Armenian Friends of Harry Tutunjian, yes there is indeed a group with that name, has decided to throw a fund-raiser for my campaign for re-election.

Here are the important details.

Who: Everyone is invited
What: A great big party
When: Saturday October 20th at 5 to 8 p.m.
Where: Masonic Temple- 9 Brunswick Road, Troy
Why: For the fun of it
How much: $35

If you are interested in attending, just shoot as an e-mail at info@harry4troy.com I've been a little slow in responding to some e-mails lately, but I will do it get back to everyone very soon.

If you need any more information on the event, please give my good friend Rafi a call at 272-2000.

Another beautiful day coming tomorrow. You know the cold will be here soon, enjoy this while it lasts.

Harry

Tug Of War

I had the wonderful opportunity to appear on the Wakin' Up With the Wolf show on PYX 106 this morning to talk about the City of Troy, and a very positive event that is coming up in a few weeks.

The guest appearance was to help promote the second annual Firefighter Tug Of War. In an attempt to raise money that will benefit all local volunteer Fire Departments in the area, PYX 106 and Wakin' Up With The Wolf are teaming up with with area companies to hold a day of fun that includes a giant tug of war over the Green Island Bridge.

It is a great event for the entire area, as it shows great support for those who are often underappreciated. As a City that has fire and safety protection 24 hours a day, we sometimes forget how fortunate we are. There are communities out there relying on donations to survive, and this certainly is a great way that we can all help out.

This year's event will take place on October 7th on, you guessed it, the Green Island Bridge. Watervliet is chipping in and allowing everyone to use its park that day for the party after the big tug. I was out of town during last year's event, but am truly looking forward to taking part this year. If you are wondering who the teams are, it's the guys and girls on the west side of the Hudson River against us on the east. You can imagine who I will be pulling for, no pun intended.

More information can be found at www.firetug.com

I had a great time on the show. That is obviously an audience you love to speak to, and get out the message that great things are happening in Troy. A few years ago I would have had to plead with people to listen to that idea. Now? Well, now the hosts come right out and ask about all of the things they hear about Troy. It is awfully exciting.

Harry

It All Starts With The Kids

Of all the events I get to participate in as Mayor, I have to say that visiting the schools in the City is likely my favorite.

On Friday, I had the opportunity to stop by School 12 to drop off some supplies for the kids. It was a collaborative effort between myself and the Capital Alliance of Young Professionals (CAYP), which is a start-up group aimed at connecting young professionals throughout the area. The President and Founder of CAYP is Maxine Barasch, who contacted me several weeks ago, after our original meeting, and said that her group would like to donate school supplies to a school in Troy. That set the wheels in motion.

I thought it was a wonderful idea, and immediately responded by saying that I would match the donations the group received.

On Friday we headed over to School 12 to present the supplies to the kids, and encourage to stick with school and work hard. You would not believe the looks on kids faces when I tell them I attended School 18 and Troy High. You always get one in the crowd who will raise his or her hand and say, "So, I can be Mayor?"

I always respond the same way. "If you work hard, and stick with school, you absolutely can."

For more information on CAYP, check out http://www.cayp.org/

And some pictures of Friday's class.

A heated discussion was taking place.


The supplies...

The class after it had bestowed some School 12 t-shirts to us.

Let the race begin...

Hope everyone had a nice weekend!

Keep the e-mails coming... info@harry4troy.com

Harry

Welcome To Post #50

Tonight marks post number fifty on the blog, which seems both small and large.

It has been a busy few days here in Troy, all of it day to day activity that seems to be growing on a, well, daily basis. Whether it is a neighborhood party to take a look at a new sidewalk (Nice work Heather and Jim), or a high school football (way to go Troy High, I always enjoy it when they beat Colonie), or driving around the streets to see how everything is in the overnight hours (which is where I'm headed tonight), there is something to be done.

Some people would probably call that campaigning. I look at is as part of my job. From the outset of my term in office I said one of my biggest responsibilities would be the biggest cheerleader the City has. It is the part of the job I truly enjoy.

More of the same tomorrow, with a little door to door mixed in. It is obviously important to talk to as many people as you possibly can during the course of a re-election campaign, and though I have wonderful conversations just about everywhere I go, I enjoy the intimacy that having a one on one conversation provides. Plus the Giants do not start until 4 p.m., so you have a better talk with the football fans.

I hope you are enjoying this absolutely beautiful weekend.

Harry

A Day To Remember

As predicted last night, today is a day that I will not soon forget.

This morning at 10 a.m. the City of Troy held a lottery in which eight qualified families were seeking to have their name drawn out of basket. The prize was a brand new home.

You may recall that in July the City began constructing six new homes on Project Road with the intent of selling these homes to low to moderate-income residents as part of our Troy Homes initiative. Those homes are now just about complete, and today we had the opportunity to choose who would live there.

As I said earlier today, it was an old-fashioned, names in a basket, pull ‘em out lottery.

Here are the winners, and the homes they chose:

Robert Morrissey- 78 Project Road (Ranch Style Modular Home)
Tarig Abdu- 80 Project Road (Cape Cod Style Modular Home)
Tonja Owens- 82 Project Road (Ranch Style Modular Home)
Christina Parnell- 84 Project Road (Ranch Style Modular Home)
Dianne Kilkenny 86 Project Road (Cape Cod Style Modular Home)


Everyone who won the right to own their home is a current resident of Troy. We expect them to be moved in by Thanksgiving, and able to have friends and family over during the holidays. It really is a dream come true not only for them and their families, but the City as well.

As each name was pulled out of the basket, every person had a different reaction. Some cried, some laughed, some just pumped a fist. It was a wonderful sight. Here is a picture as the first name was read. It was Tonja, who is in the back of the room.



After all the names were read, the winners had the right to each choose their new home. I can only imagine the excitement they were feeling. Here is Dianne, Christina, and Tonja looking at the homes with Tim Mattice.


Tonja did a wonderful job dealing with the media.
Smile, you just won a new home!


Everyone who won today went through a tough screening process to make sure that their home ownership will be successful. Each person will purchase their new homes for reduced rates, manageable for their individual income levels. This program we have introduced is tangible. It gets results. And it spends federal money where it is meant to be spent, on the people of Troy. It really is the definition of progress.

Now is not the time to rest on our laurels however, we are already planning for Phase II of the project, set to begin next year.

Any questions, you know where to reach me info@harry4troy.com

Harry

Dream Come True...

Tomorrow is going to be a day that I think I will remember for quite some time.

Beginning at 10 a.m. the City will hold a lottery for to determine the first owners of the new Troy Homes program on Project Road.

By 11 a.m., five families will have their lives changed. They will be new homesowners in the City of Troy. It is an exciting time for sure. I pledge a full update, complete with pictures tomorrow evening.

We held the first public hearing concerning City Hall this evening and it was interesting if nothing else. Let us never forget that Troy is a diverse City, and the opinions will always vary. That being said, I thought it was a good introduction to the project and look forward to a couple of more public hearings the coming weeks.

Have a great night.


Harry

The Hilton Comes To Troy

Just so we are clear, the headline is correct. We held a press conference this morning on Hoosick Street to announce that after years of planning, studying and not much doing, a major development is going to take place on the region's second busiest road. At long last we will take a major step towards capturing the monumental traffic that passes through Troy each day.

The details of the project are tremendous and will be a long term boon for the City for years to come. This will be a seven story hotel featuring 125 rooms, two restaurants, including a high-end steak house, a coffee shop, bank, sports grill, conference center, and a number of other amenities. And yes, it will be a Hilton Garden Inn. I cannot tell you the credibility that name brings to Troy.

Much like the City Hall announcement a couple of weeks ago, this project is really a win-win for the City of Troy. This will bring much-needed tax base to our great City, provide a state-of-the-art hotel for the entire community, including the year round visitors to Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, tremendous eateries, and perhaps most importantly, be the project that puts the anticipated redevelopment of Hoosick Street over the hump.

If you want more excitement, this development will bring more than 150 jobs to the City of Troy. That is true development.

The most exciting part of the announcement today? The developers would like to break ground later this year, and have the project completed by next summer. It is an ambitious schedule and one that we fully embrace.

The developer of the project is Hoosick Hospitality, LLC which have a track record of developing projects such as this around the region, including the Hilton Garden Inn near Albany Medical Center. This is a $22 million project that the developer is pursuing at no cost to the taxpayers. A true "win-win."

The developer will appear before the zoning board later this week, and will then appear before the Planning Board next Thursday evening for a review of the project.

The good news continues to roll in, with much more to come.

Have a great night!

Harry

Growth!

I am going to keep it short and sweet tonight, at least in theory. Look for a big update on the Hoosick Street Development tomorrow night. We have a press conference at 9:30 a.m., though we will be making the rounds on the early Capital News 9 Morning show at 7:30 a.m.

This evening, I just want to pass along some exciting news. If you get a chance to pick up this week's Business Review, keep an eye out for two things. The first is another story on the City Hall relocation.

The other is a part of the weekly "List" section. This week's List deals with the fastest growing municipalities in the Capital Region, and I am proud to say that the City of Troy is on there. Based on 2006 construction numbers, the City of Troy is the 11th fastest growing municipality in the entire area.

More impressive is that we are the second place City on the list following Saratoga Springs. The remainder of the top ten municipalities are all towns in suburban areas.

While I was pleased to make the list this year, I can say that in two years I believe beyond a shadow of a doubt that we will be in the top five, if not higher. Things are happening here, and as I've said a bunch of times this year, we have heard it all before in Troy, the time has come for each person to begin to see it all.

An exciting day tomorrow, check back here for all the details.

Harry

Another Exciting Week Ahead

This is going to be one of those busy weeks that you love to have as Mayor.

Tuesday morning we are scheduled to have a major press conference to announce a development project that has been lacking in Troy for many, many years. Full details will obviously be available Tuesday evening, but we are talking about new jobs, new tax base, and a dramatic change in the landscape of one of the areas busiest roadways.

Wednesday will not be any different. I will be visiting Carol Hill School to make a small donation to the Troy School District courtesy of some friends of ours. There is also another announcement scheduled for Wednesday morning that many people will be pleased to hear.

But wait, there's more. Wednesday night is the first public hearing we have scheduled for the relocation of City Hall. It will be a great opportunity for the City to fully explain exactly what will transpire when we ask the City Council to approve the deal, and it will provide those with a political agenda to take another step towards whatever it is they are trying to achieve.

That meeting begins at 7 p.m. in City Hall.

A day later there will be a special City Council meeting so that the City of Troy may finalize its grant application to the Empire State Development Corporation for the Restore New York Grant program. Despite some politicization of the effort last month, the City has been spot on in its grant application thus far. In fact, our applications, and subsuquent and success rates concerning all manners of grants since 2005 is so far and above what the City has done in the past, criticism from an individual who has been proven incapable of securing significant funding is hypocritical at the very least.

Believe it or not, the above is just scratching the surface of what is happening this week. I did not even mention that Tuesday is Primary Day! Get out and vote if you are registered for one of the races.

I hope everyone had an enjoyable weekend!

Harry

A Chill In The Air...

The calendar may still say its summer, but the weather outside today had a distinct autumnal feel to it.

As the days tick by until the election, the more events there are to attend, the more parties there are to stop by, and of course the more walking there is to do in the neighborhoods. It is interesting walking door to door in neighborhoods this year. In past election bids, when I had the opportunity to talk to people and ask for their vote it was all about promising different things, proposing unique ideas.

This time around it is a little different. As I walk and talk to people, I especially look forward to talking about what is happening in the City of Troy. Instead of discussing my love for Troy, I now have the opportunity to talk about what we're doing about to make our home a better place.

Politicians make a lot of promises. I am not a politician. I would like to think of myself as a person who is serving the City that he loves and will move on when all is said and done. Though I am confident that we will be victorious in less than two months, I am trying to take it all in at the same time. Once re-elected, we will have four years to really push things forward in Troy. We like to say, Keep Troy Moving Forward. That's what this election is all about.

People are talking about our great City around the entire state. That is no exaggeration. But they have talked about us before. And for whatever reason we have failed to capitalize on our past momentum. I do not want to see that happen again. We will always have our detractors, particularly from inside the City. But as a team we can, and will accomplish, so much.

So if you see me out walking door to door, or downtown enjoying the weather, or any place else, stop and say hello. Tell me what you think needs to happen to make better. Tell me what you like, what you don't. And of course, you can continue to e-mail us at info@harry4troy.com

Enjoy the remainder of your weekend.

Harry

Amazing Support

What an amazing night!

You cannot be successful in a job as Mayor without tremendous support on a daily basis from across the entire community. To see that support manifested as it was this evening at the Italian Community Center is quite overwhelming.

More than 200 friends and supporters gathered underneath the tent at the ICC on Thursday night as we hit the backstretch of the long election season. With less than eight weeks to go, we are right on track to making sure that all of the progress that has been made in the City of Troy in the last four years is not all for nought.

To see that many people gathered in one spot in the middle of the week, on a beautiful autumn-like evening is wonderful. Many thanks to the ICC for hosting the event, to Al Bruno for putting on a terrific show for all those in attendance, and of course great thanks to Cranberry the Clown for entertaining so many children while the parents talked. You can't beat that.

It was also nice to have Senator Joe Bruno on hand for the event. A lot of people get a great kick out of talking with him, grabbing some pictures, and listening to stories.

Thanks everyone again for the tremendous support, it is certainly great to hear from so many people how pleased they are with the direction Troy is moving. There is much work to be done, and we are looking forward to really taking Troy to the next level over the course of the next four years.

Here are some pictures from this evening.



Al Bruno gets us started


My father with his new best friend, Ronny Chaplin. Later Ronny, met up with Cranberry, and the outcome was interesting.

Words cannot describe this picture.

Just ten minutes after the festivities began we had a full crowd.

Young Luke was happy to have pizza.

I know I said it already, but what an amazing night. Thank you so much once again!

We had a lot of requests tonight for lawn signs and volunteers. If we happen to miss anyone, please just send an e-mail to info@harry4troy.com and we will get to you!

TGI(almost)F!

Harry

Harry

Contracts

Tomorrow is one of those days that is chock full of different events, culminating in a rather exciting evening.

As was discussed earlier this week, we are expecting a huge turnout Thursday evening at the Italian Community Center for an evening in Little Italy. If you want to come down, please do so and have a great time with all of the people supporting my re-election bid. The response from people in the last week or so has been growing, almost like they sense the election is getting close. It is wonderful to have that support.

As for Thursday night, Senator Joe Bruno will be on hand, as will the great Al Bruno, and the family pleasing Cranberry the Clown. The fun gets underway at 5:30 p.m.

Despite the excitement of the event tomorrow, there is work to be done after the fun. Last week we came to an agreement with the CSEA workers on a new 5-year contract. Similar to the contract passed with firefighters earlier this summer, this agreement is fair to the union workers while benefiting the City of Troy in the long term. The employees will receive a 3.5 percent increase in salary for each of the next five years, while the union agreed to make significant changes to the health care plans in City.

The Command Officers in the Police Department have also agreed to a contract that will be voted tomorrow evening.

The CSEA approved its new contract by a vote of 180-17. Seven of the City Council members petitioned their colleagues to vote on the contract at a meeting last week, but two balked, for whatever reason. Results of tomorrow's meeting to follow.

Keep the e-mails coming into info@harry4troy.com

Harry

A Day Of Remembrance

We all remember where we were six years ago today when life changed so quickly.



We hear so many times that a tragic event really puts things into perspective for people. I think for so many that sentiment was permanently engrained with us on September 11th, 2001, when everything was put into perspective forever.



Take the time today to be thankful for all that we have. And keep those people in mind that put their lives on the line each day for us. We certainly never seem to thank them enough.



Harry

You're Invited To A Party

We are having another party Thursday evening to help drum up support for the upcoming election. Last month we had a very successful event at the Tri-City ValleyCats game with more than 175 people attending. We expect a similar turnout Thursday evening with some exciting entertainment.

This party will be held at the Italian Community Center beginning at 5:30 p.m. It should be a great time. Senator Joe Bruno will be on hand, as will longtime Capital Region Idol Al Bruno. And for the kids, we are bringing in Cranberry the Clown. As usual, there will be a bit of something for the entire family, including some very tasty food selections.

Now that we are under 60 days until the election, it is time to kick it into another gear. As I have made my way through the City for the last few weeks the support I have received from people has been tremendous. Whether it is long-time friends saying how proud they are, or people I have never met pledging their support, it is great to hear.

We work very hard each day to make sure that the decisions we make benefit just one thing. The City of Troy. When you do that, you tend to anger different people because tough decisions sometimes have a negative impact. Despite those tough decisions, I believe we have been very fair and are proud of the hard work.

Come on out to the ICC, have a great night, and be part of the team moving Troy forward. Political affiliation does not matter at all, we are moving Troy forward together, as one group- not one party.

For more information, please drop us an e-mail at info@harry4troy.com

Harry

An Interesting Day For A Parade

The saying goes, "It's a wonderful day for a parade." Today? Notsomuch. And yet despite zero cooperation from Mother Nature, I would have to say it was quite successful, all things considered.

Much credit goes out to all of the residents in Lansingburgh, and the many visitors that huddled on their porches, invented makeshift umbrellas, and did all they could to stay dry as the Uncle Sam parade marched through the streets. It makes marching worthwhile to see people sticking with the parade despite the bad weather.

All the thanks in the world goes out the Uncle Sam Parade Committee, which works very hard each year, not just on the parade, but the entire weekend. The festival in Knickerbacker Park afterwards was excellent as well, despite what can only be described as miserable conditions.

One final thank you to all those that showed up to march on a less than perfect day. Many of the local marching bands were inspiring in their will to get through the rain and entertain the crowds. You even had politicians walking through the streets in the rain, which is a rather entertaining sight. Then you had the pretenders that decided not to march and see the people, but did show up afterwards to hand out their literature. The people always love that.

I hope everyone had a nice weekend. Here are some pictures from below today. We brought the trolley I purchased several years ago down to Knickerbacker Park to blow up some balloons and greet people. Everyone gets a kick out of seeing that. Thanks to all those who attended and helped out.

Elvis and I.
The trolley, with my father Naz aboard.

One of the local marching bands, wearing the number one fashion of the day, the clear poncho.

Another band marching single file into the park.

A lone marcher packing it in for the day.

Have a great Monday!

Harry

The Relocation of City Hall

It has been a very interesting week. To say the least. The excitement was extensive and something to remember.

By now, everyone knows that the City has come to agreement with a local company to purchase the City Hall site and redevelop it.

For years we have bemoaned the fact that the riverfront in Troy was underutilized and not conducive for future development. Look no further than the site of City Hall for proof of that problem. Yesterday's announcement hopes to take care of that.

We are still working on the final details of the agreement, but in the end, Judge Development Corporation will own the parcel where the current City Hall stands. In return for that, JDC will purchase 1776 6th Avenue, the current Verizon building for the purposes of moving City Hall to that site.

The positives of this project are innumerable. We are receiving a different building to move into. at little cost to Troy. There will be new development on the waterfront. More people will be living, and spending money, downtown. The tax base will increase. Better use of the riverfront. And most importantly, limited effect on City residents. There will be no increase in taxes to help support this plan.

Because we are in the early stages of this idea, the plans for the future site of City Hall will not be ready for several months. It will include residential and retail development, as well as increased access to the Hudson River. It is a true "win-win." It will be done in a manner that JDC will have a wonderful site to develop, while financially we come out on top.

Predictably some people have tried to politicize this venture, failing once again to see the benefits to the entire City. Apparently my opponent also did not see the 120 cheering people on hand for yesterday's announcement, despite the fact he was standing ten feet away.

Before the City Council is asked to take one step forward on this project, it will be completely unveiled to the public, hearings will be held, and everyone informed. In the end, the only people that will be against it will be those that like to constantly tear down our City. It is pathetic. Hopefully it will end in a few months.

You will be hearing more about this project in the coming weeks. If you need any information, please contact me at info@harry4troy.com

Busy weekend in Troy coming up. The Festa Italiana is underway at the Italian Community Center, and it is Uncle Sam Weekend in Lansingburgh.

Have fun and be safe.

Harry

A Deal In Place

I've said it a few times over the past, but once more will not hurt. What a day!

For those that do not know, we announced today that we have a deal in place to redevelop the site that City Hall currently sits on. The details will be on TV tonight, and in the newspapers tomorrow. The response from the media today was great.

But it was the attendance of an amazing cross-section of people that attended the press conference to offer their support that was tremendously humbling. I will opine on the entire project later this weekend. There is just too much to talk about tonight. I will leave some pictures of the press conference, and thank the more than 130 people for attending.

Below is a shot from the street.


From the media crops.

A nice shot of the large crowd in attendance.

Developer Sam Judge. More on Sam and his father Peter this weekend.

A fine look at the building we all cannot wait to demolish.

Thanks again for all the e-mails. They are very uplifting. Keep 'em coming- info@harry4troy.com

Have a wonderful night.

Harry

Big News Coming

Several weeks ago I posted on this blog that there were days in city government when you accomplish an extraordinary amount with few people realizing it. When I wrote that, it actually pertained to events that will take place tomorrow in Troy.

At 10 a.m. residents, business owners, developers, City Council members, and others will gather in front of City Hall to make what I think will be one of the most important announcements of the last 20 years in the City of Troy. I will hold all the details until tomorrow, though if you do some fishing around the Internet tonight you can find them on a local news website.

If you are interested in following the event, Capital News 9 will carry the press conference live at 10 a.m.

Suffice it to say that the announcement concerns the future of City Hall. Full details and pictures tomorrow night.

Have a good one!

Harry

Necessary Demolition

Demolition in the City of Troy is an interesting subject. When I was a City Council member, one of the criticisms of the previous administration is that they left dilapidated, burned out buildings stand for too long.


Personally, I believe in the broken windows theory of managing a city and its neighborhoods. If there is an issue in a neighborhood, no matter how small, even a broken window, it will fester and cause more problems. Early on in my administration, we made the point clear that we would not allow problematic, neglected structures to destroy the living areas of our residents. Our neighborhoods have put up with enough for far too long.

That point was driven home 9 days into 2004 when a series of houses were burned beyond repair and we had them taken down within 24 hours. In previous years they would be allowed to stand and send a negative message not only to Troy, but the surrounding area.


In recent years some people have taken the notion of historic preservation to feverish levels and made into a political issue by claiming we have some type of vendetta against old buildings. I take the historical integrity of this city very seriously, and do my best to maintain it to the degree that it does not compromise the quality of life in our neighborhoods.

That brings us to 229 4th Street.

In recent days e-mails have surfaced from local people whose only concern is preserving as many buildings as possible. I respect this position, though I do not respect the anger and falsehoods that seep through the thoughts of some of these comments. Some have called me "Demolition Harry," and accused my administration of simply wanting to tear down everything we can. A silly idea to say the least.

In the case of 229 4th Street, we asked the City Engineer to inspect the building last week and do all he could to stabilize the building, as it is a fairly noticeable structure in Little Italy. It turns out the building just cannot be saved, unless you wanted to pour hundreds of thousands of dollars into it. And driving by the structure you would be surprised. It is the yellow building below.





Then you open the front door. These are not even the most indicting pictures.



For that you have to wander on to the back of the property.






A closer look at the front of the building shows that there is indeed a structural issue. At least for the owner next door.

Then the broken windows come into play. Who wants to live next to something like this?

Back in 2005, we sold this building to a private contractor that believed he could do the rehabilitation of the house. Despite sincere efforts, he could not, and now we are left with trying to remedy the situation.

I think the plan we have developed is a solid one. We will tear down this structure and rebuild the facade of the building to keep the historical integrity intact. We then plan on developing the site as some type of garden or pocket park that will be extremely beneficial to the redevelopment of Little Italy. It is a solid idea that any levelheaded person would at least be interested in hearing. Unfortunately, not everyone is levelheaded.

That is the plan for now. There are more stories remarkably similar to this one. Unfortunately the residents in this particular area have had to deal with this for too long already. When several members of City Hall reinspected the building again today, they asked several people in the area what they thought about the structure. Several said it would be an unfortunate loss, but understood something had to be done. The overwhelming majority however, including all seven of the people asked that live or do business in the direct vicinity of 229 Fourth Street, said to demolish it as soon as possible.

Demolition of old structures is an unfortunate result of years of neglect. Hopefully the programs we have recently instituted in the City, include the Code Compliance Grant Program and a zero tolerance approach to Code Enforcement will deter this from happening extensively in the future.

In the meantime, we will continue to do what the neighborhoods want. Remove the structures that cannot be saved, work to repair those that can.

If you have any thoughts on the subject, we would love to hear from you. Drop us a line at info@harry4troy.com

Harry

Happy Labor Day

I hope that everyone had an enjoyable three day weekend, I know that I certainly did. It was a nice mixture of relaxation and work.

Tomorrow marks the 9-week point until the election. I do not want to say that I am looking forward to it being over, but to be honest, there is so much good that is about to happen in Troy, I would really hate to see anything deter any of it in the slightest. They call this time of year the "silly season" for a reason.

We have received a few e-mails in the last few days asking about lawn signs. I certainly do appreciate the support. We have yet to put the signs out in abundance so that we can keep it as close to the election as possible. Of course, my father, Naz, is another story. To say he is persistent in the support of my campaign would be quite the understatement. If anyone is interested in helping out in the campaign, we sure would love the help. Just drop us an e-mail at info@harry4troy.com

On Friday evening, the official campaign murals were unveiled at my headquarters at 20 4th Street. Completed by a group of locals artists, including Cindy Alexander, Dana Rudolph, and Rhonda Jeffer, I must say, they turned out very well. Some pictures below. Please feel free to stop by and take a look.

Many thanks to the women for volunteering their wonderful talents on such a unique project. We have an amazing group of talented people here when it comes to the arts, and we must capitalize on that now and in the future. Unfortunately, I think that because I have an "R" next to my name I can sometimes be branded as not friendly to these groups. If anyone were to take the time and look at the track record of the past four years, they will see my administration has done everything in our power to advance the arts movement in Troy. It is something I am very proud of.

Nine weeks to go, hang in there.

Harry

Jammin on the River...

An excited crowd of several hundred people turned out for the Uncle Sam Jam in Riverfront Park today. It was an exciting day of music and festivities for the whole family.

Excellent work done by all the organizers involved, including Vito Ciccarelli, who you may know is running for City Council. Vito has done a tremendous job organizing community events for the last few years, and I think he will make an excellent representative on the City Council. I enjoyed the afternoon in Riverfront Park for several hours before and after taking part in a number of City events today. It certainly has been a beautiful weekend, a very appropriate unofficial goodbye to summer.

Here are some pictures from today's event. Below is a shot of the crowd in the early afternoon.


Local favorites Rocky Velvet:

Pets are always welcome.

This here is my new friend Drew, who brightened up the day considerably. He asked a couple of rather funny questions, including, "Where are your bodyguards," before taking off and saying, "I can't wait to tell my friends I met the mayor." The pleasure was definitely all mine.

A couple enjoying the day.

Another shot of the crowd.

A great day even for the boaters.

And finally, the story of the day. A cruise ship, The Grand Mariner, pulled into town as the festivities were going on. Turns out that there were 87 passengers on board from Chicago, and they were headed toward Rhode Island. But not before stopping in Troy for the night. Our overnight guests, at least some of them, appeared to be enjoying the random festival they stumbled upon. Even further evidence that we must continue to increase out events in the downtown area. You never know who will stop by, and who they may one day bring back.

Have a relaxing Labor Day!

Harry

P.S. Keep the e-mails coming. info@harry4troy.com