Day At The Races

Monday will be another exciting day for the City of Troy. If you are wondering, I never tire of saying that.

Tomorrow is Troy's Day at the Races, highlighted by the 4th Running of The Troy in the 9th race. Back in my first year in office, NYRA was kind enough to name a race after our beloved City. It has been a stand out race every time out thus far. Taking place on the turf each year, I still remember hitting that race when Willard Straight went wire-to-wire back in 2004.

It was a race for the history books in fact, as John Velazquez broke the record for number of wins in one season of racing at Saratoga with his win in the inaugural Troy. The following year, he won the race again, this time aboard Funfair. And then last year, the great Edgar Prado took home the prize riding Second in Command to victory. You may be shocked to learn that the Deputy Mayor won that race. We have certainly had our share of fame from the jockey end of things.

The estimated post time tomorrow is 5:20 p.m. for the 9th Race. Morning line favorite? How about Council Member at 6-5. I think I may know a few people who will take a shot at that one. 5 and 1/2 furlongs on the turf!

More to come Monday night, with pictures from the Winner's Circle.

I hope everyone had a great weekend! Please be sure to e-mail me at info@harry4troy.com.

Harry

National Grid

I was pleased to wake up this morning and see a letter in the Times Unoin from Patricia Acampora, who is the Chairwoman of the New York State Public Service Commission. The letter concerned National Grid, and the power shut-off that the City of Troy suffered on July 10th.

By now, you likely know the story. National Grid, in an effort to avoid a major collapse of its power systems removed Troy from the grid. While we understand that sometimes measures that drastic are needed, following that move, National Grid failed to communicate exactly what was happening, which caused quite a bit of trouble throughout the day.

While we came through with flying colors, we immediately asked for an investigation into National Grid and its policies. The Public Service Commission responded quickly, and is in the process of putting together a report. Below is a letter concerning that very report.

http://www.timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=613180

I am writing in response to a July 20 editorial and a subsequent newspaper article on July 29 related to National Grid's response to recent severe thunderstorms, and its lack of communication with public officials, most notably Troy Mayor Harry J. Tutunjian.

During emergency situations that storms can sometimes cause, it is to be expected that citizens look to elected officials to make sure there are plans in place to protect safety and property. Unfortunately, National Grid's efforts to avert permanent damage to its infrastructure by shedding load in Troy on July 10 resulted in much confusion for the public and elected officials.

Indeed, when Mayor Tutunjian met with my staff he indicated that the incomplete information provided by National Grid during the outage made it difficult for his city to make decisions about opening centers to provide shelter and other emergency measures. This behavior on National Grid's part was surprising. In other parts of the state, National Grid has demonstrated significantly improved communications in press conferences and briefings with local officials, such as during recent storm events as seen in the last October snowstorm in western New York.

I was disappointed that National Grid was not more proactive here in the Capital Region. National Grid's emergency notification procedures should be the same for all emergencies throughout its service territory.
The public should be assured that system reliability is a major priority of the commission. National Grid will conduct a full investigation of its emergency procedures during the recent outage and file a report with my staff. My staff is also conducting its own independent investigation.

The results of the investigations will determine the areas for improvement in National Grid's system reliability and emergency procedures.

However, the most essential lesson learned by National Grid is the importance of communications with the public and local officials for all emergency events.

Thursday Night Happenings...

Through the month of November, each Thursday evening, I will take some time and talk about one of the many great projects happening in the City of Troy. First up, the Mooradian Lofts on River Street in North Central Troy.

Overlooking the Hudson River, the Mooradian Building has always provided stunning views of the Capital District from its days as a furniture shopping destination. Now, after longtime owner Bill Mooradian decided to move on, it is poised to become known as the living destination in the Capital District.

I could write for hours about the excitement I and so many others share for this project You will find out why below. For now I want to thank those who are making it happen, and show off some pictures. If one picture is worth a thousand words, then I have a treat for you.

All the credit in the world goes to the excellent vision of Ad Hereijgers, Pietro Costa, and Peter van Jaarsveld. These three men have taken their belief in the future of Troy to levels that most unfortunately consider impossible. Here's a picture of the three of them, very happy during the recent unveiling of the model condominium. If you see them on the street, be sure to say hello and give them your thanks.

The next two pictures present views of the City looking south from the model loft. Throughout the building there are jaw dropping views that everyone who lives in this area should see at least once.

The model that was recently unveiled is full of unique amenities, and provides an excellent look at what many of the condominiums will offer to future residents:

On the evening the new loft was unveiled, a tremendous cross-section of people from the community attended to offer their support, and see what the latest project was all about. I think I can speak for most when I say that no one left the building feeling anything but excitement for the developers, and Troy as a whole. Here are some pictures from that night.

As the Mayor, whenever you hear that a business will be moving on, no matter the reason, it hurts. We strive each day to bring the City into a positive light to create new business, new development, and new interest. So when Mr. Mooradian told me that the long-time business would be leaving, I pledged that we would work with him to find a suitable replacement.

Within weeks, there was a group interested in moving into the building. Wanting to make sure they had the support of the City before pursuing their plan, they came into my office with the details. They envisioned the property as a perfect fit for their needs. Housing for those recently paroled. A halfway house. It was a proposal that would ensure this gem of building came off the tax-rolls forever, and an idea that flew in the face of a revitalized North Central.

I said no. I could not support a project like that, nor could the City of Troy.

I do believe in no uncertain terms that saying yes would have happened in previous years. People that have administered this City in the past have been all too quick to grab onto whatever they could. I thought it prudent to wait.

Several weeks later, I met Ad. I listened to his plans for the buildings. And I smiled.

When the official unveiling took place, Ad thanked me personally for the support the City has shown throughout the process. He invited me to speak in front of the crowd, and while it was tempting to share the above story, I did not. It was much more exciting to know that the patience had paid off, and that others were now seeing what I have always believed was possible in Troy. I look forward to going back next year and taking a look at the room below when it is finished and watching new people discover Troy for the first time.

For more information on the Mooradian Loft's please check out www.themooradian.com.

Thanks to everyone for reading about one of our most exhilarating projects. Be sure to e-mail me if you have any questions, info@harry4troy.com.

Have a great Friday!

Harry

Take Me Out To The Ballgame

One of the more exciting aspects of running for political office is getting out and talking to people, as well as holding events where you can hear from a large group of people. While I plan to stick to the ideas I have for the City of Troy in this daily correspondence, I would be remiss if I didn't throw in a plug here and there.

So here goes. I want to invite everyone to come out and have a good time at my next event. No stuffy rooms, or fancy food. We're going to have an evening at the ballpark.

Park your calendars for Monday, August 27th at 6 p.m. at the Joe when the ValleyCats take on the Aberdeen Ironbirds. The night will be filled with excitement as the the City of Troy will welcome home Joe Mahoney during his first professional season in baseball.

For those that don't know, Joe is from Troy and was selected in the 6th round of the Major League Baseball draft this past June by the Baltimore Orioles. He was assigned to the Aberdeen Ironbirds, who are owned by the recently inducted Hall-of-Famer Cal Ripken Jr. I know that many people have been looking forward to the Ironbirds coming to Troy so that we may welcome Joe back.

Here's the great news. The cost of the event will only be $20 and includes a ticket to the game, an all-you-can-eat BBQ along the right field line, a ValleyCats hat, and the giveaway for the evening- a commemorative Cal Ripken Jr. HOF plaque. It should be a very fun night.

If you would like to reserve tickets, you can do one of three things: send us an e-mail at info@harry4troy.com, you can show up the night of the event, or you can send a check to:

Friends of Harry Tutunjian
PO Box 1581
Troy, NY 12180

It is going to be a great night, and I would love to see some new faces and talk about our great City. See you then!

Harry

National Night Out

A great thank you to the many neighborhood groups throughout the City of Troy that held National Night Out events tonight.

I spent most of the evening at 5th and Grand Street and the Little Italy Marketplace talking with neighbors in the area. The National Night Out is a great venue for residents in our City, and others around the area, to promote their neighborhood groups. Solidifying these friendships and communities can only strengthen us going forward. Ironically, what has been lost in this information age has been our ability to communicate one on one. Whatever we can do to change that, the better off we will be.

I was extremely pleased to attend the event at Little Italy, which was a great success. With people flowing in and out throughout the night, the organizers should be proud of the turnout and experiences it provided. In particular I want to mention Marion Field, Don Russell from the Irish Mist, Charlie Staats from Flavour Cafe, and Tony DeFiglio. Marion put the event together from the start, Don and Charlie donated a tremendous amount of food to the pot luck supper, and Tony should be commended for seeking out donations, and providing great entertainment for the kids on hand.

Much like the River Street Festival I discussed the other day, it takes a lot of effort from dedicated groups of people to put these events on. And much of the time recognition of those efforts is minimal. To all who made the evening a success, including the organizers at 5th and Grand, Little Italy, Think First, North Central, South Lansingburgh, 9th Street, the Hillside, Osgood, and the Eastside, thank you for your dedication and commitment to our City and its neighborhoods.

If you would like to get involved in any of these groups, shoot me an e-mail at info@harry4troy.com and I will be sure to get you the appropriate information.

Harry

Hiring Headline Writer

There is so much to talk about in the City of Troy that I feel like the most difficult aspect of this blogging venture will be coming up with a title for each entry. Perhaps I could enlist the support of the local papers. They are the professionals in those matters.

Many thanks to Times Union reporter Ken Crowe for mentioning this blog in his post this afternoon. I really would love to spread the word of the blog so that more and more people can hear what I have to say about all that is happening in Troy. As much as you have seen in the media for the past three years, there is even more happening than you can imagine. We really have improved the climate for growth in the City of Troy since the beginning of 2004, and we are only scratching the surface.

For instance, this evening the City held its second public hearing concerning the downtown signalization project set to begin construction this fall. This is a $3 million project, of which 95 percent of the costs will be covered through federal and state funding. The aesthetic benefits of this project will be visible as soon as the work begins. We will be replacing the antiquated lights throughout downtown with state-of-the-art, historically accurate traffic signals.

Each intersection will get a complete overhaul. And while the visuals will certainly be a benefit in long-term development, the energy saving measures will also be valuable. Each intersection will be outfitted with the latest technology so that we can keep traffic moving, lower harmful emissions at these intersections, and better improve the livability and pedestrian access in our downtown.

It is yet another ambitious project that we have undertaken, and it is another great example of what can be done through collaboration and hard-work.

The project is expected to be completed next summer.

Info@harry4troy.com if you have any questions or comments.

Harry

Sunday Evening Chat

Just strolled back from the Collar City Live Concert down in Riverfront Park. The Lustre Kings put on quite a show. As did Vehicle last night in Powers Park, where the 50/50 was over $1,200. That is a staggering number. That series has really grown since we first introduced it a few years ago.

The free concerts and festivals are an aspect of my administration that may sometimes get overlooked, but are so vital to the community. For us, it all started in 2004 with the reintroduction of the River Street Festival. Whereas previously, the City had let a successful event die, we thought it would be wise to capitalize on the growing community around River Street and give me an opportunity to rediscover Troy. With the help of some local merchants, namely Dana Rudolph, we resolved to bring back a festival that an entire family could enjoy.

In recent years we have expanded the boundaries slightly and picked the music up a notch, and it really has become a destination festival. All you have to do is take a look at some of the sights from that day and you can see people are having fun.

And while the River Street Festival is the largest of the summer events, there is no shortage of variety. As of right now, there are summer music series on Sunday (Collar City Live), Tuesday (Friends of Prospect Park), Wednesday afternoon (Collar City Live), and Saturday (Powers Park). Best of all, each of these is FREE, and paid for by various sponsors, and put on through some extensive volunteer work by a number of people.

As our City continues to grow, we hope to add more music, arts, and crafts events. It is a wonderful way to showcase both our beautiful City and talented residents.

If you have any questions or comments, I love both, please e-mail me at info@harry4troy.com

Hope you had a great weekend,

Harry

Look Out Below

There are a few pictures below this post from the roof of Hedley Park Place on Thursday afternoon. It was a scorcher to say the least.

As I've mentioned, the purpose of the press conference was to announce the expansion of wireless Internet access throughout a significant portion of the downtown. The thinking went that the better the visual, the better the coverage we would have from the media. And I have to thank all of the local TV stations and newspapers, who turned out in force on a rather busy news day to help spread the great news.

And boy were they hot...

The purpose of the carpets was so that we would not poke holes in the rubber roof on top of Park Place. Let me tell you, standing up there on a day when the temperatures soared into the 90's, it didn't matter what kind of shoes you were wearing, your feet were feeling it.

There are many people to thank for making this a reality. Perhaps most importantly are Brian Epstein from WiFiFee and Dan Yamin from Cornerstone. When we first approached these companies about bringing wireless access to Troy, they did not blink. They jumped right in, and through a great collaborative effort, we are the first community in the area to establish such a large wireless mesh network. The importance of that cannot be looked past. With all of the new technology jobs that will be moving into this area, the people seeking these jobs are going to be moving into urban settings, and the more amenities we can offer, the better off we will be.

Secondly, I want to thank some of the private business owners that allowed this equipment to be placed on the roofs of their buildings, including Kevin Bette from First Columbia, who also was the gracious host of our press conference. Kevin intends to bring major redevelopment to Troy, and he fully understands that Thursday's announcement will strengthen that effort. Below is a picture of myself, Brian and Kevin following the unveiling of the mesh network.

I hope everyone enjoys the weekend! Two great concerts to check out if you are seeking entertainment. Vehicle plays tonight at Powers Park at 6 p.m., and the Collar City Live concerts continue to tomorrow at 6 p.m. in Riverfront Park with the Lustre Kings!

The View From Here

As expected...

Today was the very definition of busy. I will attempt to get some photos up this weekend of the press conference on top of the Hedley Park Place roof. It was a wonderful turnout for a great accomplishment, and I am happy that we could be a part of it.

The City Council held its monthly meeting tonight, and out of it came two important approvals.

The first is an amended ordinance that penalizes the host of social gatherings in which there are minors consuming alcoholic beverages. Underage drinking is the very definition of irresponsibility, but when adults are thrown into the mix as hosts of these parties, or any other role they play, it really becomes baffling.

From this point forward, any adults caught hosting parties in which there are minors under the age of 21 consuming alcohol, will be subject to a $1,000 fine and/or 15 days in jail. I believe it sends an additional message to think about your actions carefully before allowing your teenager,or any of his friends, a place to drink.

In addition to that Social Host amendment, the City Council also unanimously passed the Troy Uniformed Firefighters Association Contract. A thank you to all involved for your commitment to seeing the job get done, and a willingness to help the City in the future.

One final thank you today to Chef Larry Schepici at Tosca Grille, who volunteered his establishment to serve as the kickoff of the Quadricentennial Celebration Committee this morning. Chef Larry has an amazing business on Broadway, and his commitment to giving back to the people in Troy is to be commended. It is people like him that will see that we move the City of Troy forward for years to come.

One of those days...

Welcome to Wednesday night blogging, where I accidentally erased the message I was just about to post. Sometimes technology can drive you mad.

Anyway, here we go again. Today was one of those important days where there will not be much in the newspaper tomorrow about progress in the City, but inside of City Hall a lot was getting done. While it is too early to let the cat out of the bag on the latest occurrence, you can be sure when the time is right, I'll have a few things to say.

I did have a wonderful opportunity to head up to the Rensselaer County Senior Citizens picnic in Grafton today to talk with some tremendous people. I want to thank all of the well-wishers, the great support, and the humorous words of encouragement from the seniors at the picnic. I never get tired of hearing people talk about their love for Troy, and their feelings about how the activity happening now pleases them. Keep it coming!

Tomorrow is going to be quite a day. We have a very exciting press conference taking place on top of Hedley Park Place, where we will announce expanded wireless networks throughout the downtown area. This is of great importance in our quest to have people move back into downtown Troy and make it a 21st century City. I will be sure to grab some pictures from the roof and post them over the weekend.

There is also a City Council meeting tomorrow night, and we are looking forward to having the labor contract we agreed to with the Troy Firefighters passed by the Council. It is a fair deal for both sides, and we are more than pleased with the givebacks we received in health care. Those costs have been skyrocketing for several years, and the UFA should be commended for recognizing that and finding common ground with the City.

More on the Council meeting tomorrow...

Have a great day! And be sure to drop us a line at info@harry4troy.com

Thanks,

Harry

Let me hear it...

I forgot to mention in the previous post that I am always looking to hear from people about what they think of Troy. What they think is positive. And more importantly, what they think we need to improve upon.

My entire team would love to hear from you, drop us a line at info@harry4troy.com and I will be sure to get back to you.

Have a great Wednesday.

Harry

Welcome To The Campaign Trail

Welcome to what I believe will be one of the most enjoyable aspects of the upcoming campaign for Mayor. I'm going to blog. Why not? Everyone else seems to be doing it.

We have just under 100 days left until the election, and I am very excited. As an elected official, I head into work every morning with one thing in mind- I want to do what is right. I want to do what is best for the City of Troy, and if I can do that each day, I am fulfilling the duties I was entrusted with by the people of Troy in November of 2003.

The way I see this blog unfolding is pretty simple- I'd like to update it as often as possible, usually in the evenings. While I will be talking over the next three plus months about the campaign, I will spend the majority of the time talking about the City of Troy. I love this place, and I am very proud of what has happened in the past three plus years of this administration.

So I look at this as just another way of getting out the word about the City. Each week I post a column on the City of Troy website about things happening in the City. I look at this as an extension of that, a place to be more personal, to delve a little deeper into issues, and often give some insight into what it is like talking to people about Troy each and every day. After all, that is my job- 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

I want to thank you for stopping by and taking a look. Be sure to check out the progress section of the site, it's in the process of being updated, but the basis is there. There is a lot happening in Troy and on November 6th I am asking for you support to help continue this great revitalization we all want to see through to the end.

Thanks again

Harry

Welcome to harry4troy.com

Visit harry4troy.com for more information.