Help Bring Back the Troy Community Harvest Festival

Last year The Uptown Initiative along with The ARC of Rensselaer County, Missing Link Street Ministry, TRIP, Ross Valve & SEFCU sponsored the first Troy Community Harvest Festival.  It was a ton of work and took many volunteers to make it the extraordinary success that it was. So when I heard that The ARC would not be spearheading an effort to hold the event again, I decided to see if I could get some funding through Pepsi's Refresh Everything program. Here we go again!

Millions of dollars of funding has been provided to thousands of worthy projects in the last 18 months that the program has been running including grants to CAC Woodside, Cohoes Music Hall & Hannah's Hope.  Troy BID made an excellent run at funding too in January 2011, falling just short.  Well, I'm happy to report that the UptownTroyFestival is within range of getting that funding.  It's early and August is a long month.  As Ken Zalewski, D-District 5 said Thursday night at the City Council meeting, it will take a small city worth of daily votes to get this project funded.  I believe that Troy NY is just that small city.

There are some changes to the program this year, mainly those little yellow caps containing Power Vote Codes.  It is those Power Vote codes that have gotten many a small project funded this year.  To help in collecting those codes, Cap Collection Centers have been set up throughout our fair city. You can drop off your caps at Smoker's Choice in the Troy Plaza, High Maintenance, Low Budget in North Lansingburgh, any The ARC of Rensselaer County office, Missing Link Street Ministry on 101st & Sixth Avenue or Conway Court off of Hoosick.  I'll be adding more CCC's as the month progresses, so keep a watchful eye out for the new additions. If you'd like to set up a CCC at your location, let me know.

I've also been fortunate enough to partner with two incredible projects: Nicholson Heritage Association is seeking to preserve their 1849 Railroad Station and Angels4Epilepsy who provides care packages to children afflicted with Epilepsy from low-income families.  Please support these groups with your daily votes too. 

It's a Damn Shame

As a registered Democrat, I was heartily disappointed when the Democratic committee selected Clem Campana to run for mayor over Lynn Kopka.  Don't get me wrong, I like Clem, I really do.  He's a great guy but he never had a chance of beating Carmela, NEVER.  Not with voter fraud hanging over his head.  Kopka, clear in the voter fraud issue, was the PERFECT candidate to take on Carmela. It's a shame that the committe members were too blind to see that.  A damn shame.

As for the debacle of Jerry Campana's placement into Conway Court, I've already made my opinion of that clear.  THA is currently Republican run.  The Campana family didn't "pull in a favor" to get Jerry placed.  I have said and continue to believe that some republican operative or operatives saw it as an opportunity to put the  proverbial "nail in the coffin" of his mayorial campaign and that's just what happened.  How shameful. Damn shameful.  Do I think Carmela had anything to do with it? NO.  I think some low level Republican flunky saw it as an opportunity to earn brownie points and pulled this stunt without her knowledge.  If I were Carmela, I'd be pissed because it makes her look bad. That's a shame too.

Now the Dems have to figure out who they can run that has a shot at winning.  Maybe Bill Dunne.  He's clear of voter fraud and term limited off the council.  Then again if I were Bill I'd run for the hills before I'd run for mayor.  Hey, here's an idea.  Why don't they endorse Jack Cox, Jr's candidacy?  He's planning an independant campaign anyway and it would save the Democratic Committee the trouble of trying to talk someone else into a losing proposition.

Somethings Just Not Right

When talking senior housing, there’s only two ways apartments open up: someone dies or someone is moved into a skilled care facility.  It is not standard for seniors to only wait a few weeks for an apartment.  My aunt waited over 7 months for her placement into Kennedy Towers , considering herself lucky at that.  She’d been told that the wait could be as long as 18 months.  Troy politics has always been a little on the nasty side.  Personal attacks are nothing new is this arena.  Targeting a candidate’s family, however, isn’t usually part of the play book.  Until now. 

I wouldn’t expect the Campana family to be familiar with the standard processes and procedures for placement into one of THA’s senior complexes.  I fully expect the staff at THA to be familiar with the federal requirements and to properly apply them.  Something’s just not right at THA and its been just not right for far too long.  There’s house cleaning that needs to be done there.  I sincerely hope that HUD performs an in-depth investigation into THA’s operations.  At the very least, all applications approved by the woman who approved Jerry Campana’s application should be reviewed to see how many others she may have erroneously placed. 

Whether the Campana Family was misled by Troy Housing Authority staff or that staff chose to ignore the federal requirements, is yet to be seen.  The anonymous tipper should not have singled out Jerry Campana in the complaint.  The complaint should have been broader.  Personally, I think someone saw this as an opportunity to create political havoc for Clem Campana’s mayoral campaign. It sickens me to think that a dedicated, hard-working, inspirational 80 year old veteran may have been used as a pawn in a political game and that’s just not right.

The Basis of a Civilized Society

The basis of a civilized society is respect.  Thinking back to raising my son, I wonder which of us taught the other more.  With Boy, it was a constant struggle.  He brought me consistency and cultivated my patience while I taught him the value of respect through the game of baseball.  “Do unto others as you would have done unto yourself.” Became “If you wouldn’t like it, don’t do it to someone else.”  Pretty basic.  Pretty simple.  Pretty necessary for a civil society.  Pretty missing these days.  It’s ALL about respect and teaching respect is every one’s responsibility.
 

I take the time to talk to kids as I make my daily rounds.  I ask them questions and sometimes question their behavior.  Such happened the other day.  I was heading out to pick up Hubby and what do I see but a couple of young boys throwing pieces of broken asphalt at the stop sign at Eighth and Middleburgh.  Two were tossing and two were on bikes.  Me being me, I had to say something so I pulled over, and called to them through the open passenger window.  Those boys knew they were snagged.

“What are ya doing?”  In unison, the two boys on the bikes said, “I didn’t throw nothing.”  The other two boys, eyes fixed to the ground just shrugged.  “Can you see if there are cars coming down the hill from where you’re throwing?”  “No ma’am.” said the younger of the two tossers.  “What do you think would happen if you hit a car with one of those things?” “We’d get in trouble.” said the older boy.  “Yes you would.  Now what if someone hit your mom’s car like that.  How would you feel?”  All four boys responded, like a quartet, that they’d be really mad. “So, do ya think ya should be throwing rocks at the sign?”  “No ma’am.” “Then don’t do it, okay?  Go have some fun down at the park.”

As I pulled away, those boys were smiling not because they got away with something but because they didn’t.  They saw their actions in a different way.  All I could think about was how accurate that one kid was and that he’d make a great pitcher, which made me think of the now defunct Central Little League.  I grew up at that ball field.  It was the center of my summer world.  I am very displeased with the stewardship it has been shown and continue to work towards a positive resolution. 

My Uptown Kids NEED what baseball can give them.  It once was and can be again a central gathering spot for our community.  All four of those boys were under 12.  All four of those boys should have something more constructive to do with their time.  All four boys need some guidance in their lives.  All four boys are valuable assets in the community and must be given every opportunity to show their stuff. 

It's a Respect Thing

A year ago, as I stood in front of my neighbors during the March 2010 NC/SL Neighborhood Associations meeting, I vowed to actively work towards the resurrection of our neighborhood through education and preservation. Shortly thereafter, I joined with Xenia Allen, Kevin McCashion and Billie-Jean Greene to form The Uptown Initiative. Each of us brought passion, dedication, emotion and action along with our personal beliefs and vision too. To say that we are diverse in our convictions would be accurate, yet we find common ground where the revitalization of North Central and South Lansingburgh are concerned.


As the native of the bunch, I bring the history. Not only my own but my ancestral history too. It’s this history that fuels my passions. The Bloody 13th has plenty of history to share. As I continue to research my ancestral history in Troy, I’m continually brought back to the old 13th Ward and intertwined with that history is the industrial history that abounds throughout North Central and South Lansingburgh. I firmly believe that It is the preservation of that history that will restart Uptown’s economic engines.

I don’t know about anyone else but I’m sick and tired of other Trojans snubbing their noses at Uptown. RPI’s “unwritten” rule about students not residing north of Hoosick, Trojans who wouldn’t “commute” to St. Pat’s, and commercial real estate agents steering clients away from Uptown properties. Enough already! Figure it out folks – If it’s good for ANY part of Troy; it’s good for ALL of Troy! You want your property taxes lower? Increase the tax base. A great way to start that is to get ALL of the properties throughout our fine city back on the tax rolls and into the hands of owner occupants. That includes our industrial wonders. I’m one Real Citizen of Troy that is thankful Mr. Christopher has been able to persuade investors towards Uptown properties.

Our neighborhoods have the reputation of being “the worst” Troy has to offer. Streets unsafe and crime rampant, requiring an increased police presence. Ya know, I remember a time when that wasn’t necessary. Why? ‘Cause cops like Bill Foy lived here. Officer Foy and his family lived on Sixth across the street from where the Sub-Station is now. Another officer lived over on River. I dare say if that were the case today, that’s all the increased police presence that would be needed. Hey, here’s a thought…Detroit is offering their police officers homes for $1,000 bucks to live in certain neighborhoods. One thing’s for certain the City of Troy owns plenty of properties that could be made available similarly. Could work in more than one way, couldn’t it?

Which than leads me to perhaps the biggest difference I’ve noticed since I was a kid: the lack of respect. It’s kinda hard to see these days. Did we stop teaching it? Back then, we had respect - Respect for our neighbors; Respect for other people’s property; Respect for our elders; Respect for each other; Respect for ourselves. I’m not seeing a whole lot of respect going around these days and it IS all about respect. I don’t know about anyone else but I clearly remember being taught the importance of respect. We youngest of the Baby Boomer generation are perhaps the last batch of kids that truly were. Is it coincidental that we are also amongst the last group of children “forced” to attend church?

Someone Needs a Little Grounding

I am a woman of strong passions. Sometimes that's a blessing and other times, well, not so much.  A tad emotional (I'm the family drama queen), I've occassionally managed my emotions inappropriately. Yet haven't we all?  When we humans make a decesion based on a dark emotion, we usually make the wrong one.  Any decision made based on one is bound to create escalating difficulties.  Managing anger is the hardest.  For me to do so I had to learn patience, something I was not gifted with.  Those "wonderful" adolescent years raising my son taught me the necessity of it.  My son gave me the grounding that I needed to have just as I grounded him. 

Being patient with emotionally charged behavior - a signature of adolescence - is something I never learned though, including my own.  I have become increasingly frustrated with the behaviour eminating from the office of the Mayor of the City of Troy.  Personally, I think someone needs a little grounding.  It is no secret in local politics that I am not a fan of Troy's current mayor, the Honorable Harry Tututjian.  Politically a registered Democrat, I'm moderate; liberal in some ways and conservative in others. I don't always agree with Mr. Dunne yet I respect the way he has consistantly conducted himself and has represented his constiuents during his term.

The animosity between the mayor and myself is well established, yet I supported his decision to seek the demolition of One Monument Square.  Since I'm ardently in support of saving Troy's heritage through historic preservation, you might find that support strange.  Do you remember what was torn down to put the Concrete Monster up?
 
As a Real Citizen of Troy, I find our mayor lacking in certain behavorial controls.   He has continually allowed his emotions to inform his decision-making process, evident when he insisted that demolition begin on New Year's Eve while knowing that the law required Asbestos Abatement prior to the onset of any demolition.  He will only listen to what HE wants to hear.   If your opinion of a situation differs from his, he will respond in an adolescent manner.  He becomes defensive. Anyone who has had to oppose his views knows this to be true.

There are consequences to actions.  Unless one is taught that lesson, one is unable to understand the impact made upon others by such actions.  Harry Tutunjian personally should be held financially responsible for any fines his irrational and emotionally charged behaviour has generated. SHAME ON YOU MR. MAYOR. You need to be grounded!  Let's start with you footing the bill for the fines the tax paying residents of Troy will incur due to your immaturity.

Together we can make it happen for Downtown

Want to take an active role in Troy's revitalization?  Then vote daily for the Troy Downtown Collaborative's Refresh Everything project.