Year: 2019

The Federal Government has put what had been the county’s nursing home on a watch list as one of the most troubled facilities in the nation. In a cost saving move a few years ago, the county sold what had been called Maplewood Manor under the county to Zenith Care Health.

This blog as did others warned at the time of the proposed sale that privatizing the nursing home would, in all likelihood, lead to a deterioration of services. In her excellent column for the Gazette, Sara Foss points out the moral failure of our county whose success should have made possible public investment in the care of our elderly.

The New York Times reported recently about HUD and Medicare’s growing crisis regarding privatized nursing homes. In an attempt to expand care, following the myth that the private sector always does things better, the Federal government began underwriting loans for private companies who wanted to buy nursing homes. The story paints a grim picture of the result. Many of the players either as a result of mismanagement or the exploitation of payments to themselves, have now created a crisis with insolvent nursing homes that have vulnerable patients with no place to go.

The decision by the Board of Supervisors  to sell the Maplewood Manor created this problem. There is good reason to worry that the currently named Saratoga Center for Rehab and Skilled Nursing Care may become insolvent.

At a minimum, the Board of Supervisors, as our elected officials should be voicing alarm and meeting with Zenith Health Care and the state to find out just what is going on. If the the facility is in financial jeopardy, they should be evaluating whether they need to be looking into taking it over again.

Matt Veitch was a Saratoga County Supervisor representing Saratoga Springs when the decision was made to sell the manor. He is still our Supervisor. Tara Gaston is currently our Supervisor as well but was not serving on the Board when the decision to sell was made. Both are up for re-election this year.

I would like to offer them both the opportunity to be guest writers on this blog to tell us their thoughts on this matter.

I urge the readers of this blog to take the time to read Ms. Foss’ column.

https://dailygazette.com/article/2019/06/10/foss-poor-conditions-at-nursing-home-are-troubling

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/31/business/nursing-homes-mortgage-hud.html?searchResultPosition=1

The fifth annual Saratoga Pride Celebration will be on Sunday,  June 16, from 1 to 4pm at the High Rock Park Pavilion. They will be celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots. Police regularly raided bars like the Stonewall. For more details on the many activities at the event here is a story from the Saratogian.

Wikipedia has an excellent history of the Stonewall Riot and the emergence of the gay liberation movement. Here is an excerpt:

The Stonewall Inn, located at 51 and 53 Christopher Street, along with several other establishments in the city, was owned by the Genovese crime family.  In 1966, three members of the Mafia invested $3,500 to turn the Stonewall Inn into a gay bar, after it had been a restaurant and a nightclub for heterosexuals. Once a week a police officer would collect envelopes of cash as a payoff, as the Stonewall Inn had no liquor license. It had no running water behind the bar—used glasses were run through tubs of water and immediately reused. There were no fire exits, and the toilets overran consistently. Though the bar was not used for prostitution, drug sales and other “cash transactions” took place. It was the only bar for gay men in New York City where dancing was allowed; dancing was its main draw since its re-opening as a gay club.

Visitors to the Stonewall Inn in 1969 were greeted by a bouncer who inspected them through a peephole in the door. The legal drinking age was 18, and to avoid unwittingly letting in undercover police (who were called “Lily Law”, “Alice Blue Gown”, or “Betty Badge”), visitors would have to be known by the doorman, or look gay. The entrance fee on weekends was $3, for which the customer received two tickets that could be exchanged for two drinks. Patrons were required to sign their names in a book to prove that the bar was a private “bottle club”, but rarely signed their real names.^[10] There were two dance floors in the Stonewall; the interior was painted black, making it very dark inside, with pulsing gel lights or black lights. If police were spotted, regular white lights were turned on, signaling that everyone should stop dancing or touching.^[54]. In the rear of the bar was a smaller room frequented by “queens”; it was one of two bars where effeminate men who wore makeup and teased their hair (though dressed in men’s clothing) could go. Only a few transvestites, or men in full drag, were allowed in by the bouncers. The customers were “98 percent male” but a few lesbians sometimes came to the bar. Younger homeless adolescent males, who slept in nearby Christopher Park, would often try to get in so customers would buy them drinks. The age of the clientele ranged between the upper teens and early thirties, and the racial mix was evenly distributed among white, black, and Hispanic patrons. Because of its even mix of people, its location, and the attraction of dancing, the Stonewall Inn was known by many as “the gay bar in the city”.

Police raids on gay bars were frequent—occurring on average once a month for each bar. Many bars kept extra liquor in a secret panel behind the bar, or in a car down the block, to facilitate resuming business as quickly as possible if alcohol was seized. Bar management usually knew about raids beforehand due to police tip-offs, and raids occurred early enough in the evening that business could commence after the police had finished.^[59] During a typical raid, the lights were turned on, and customers were lined up and their identification cards checked. Those without identification or dressed in full drag were arrested; others were allowed to leave. Some of the men, including those in drag, used their draft cards as identification. Women were required to wear three pieces of feminine clothing, and would be arrested if found not wearing them. Employees and management of the bars were also typically arrested. The period immediately before June 28, 1969, was marked by frequent raids of local bars—including a raid at the Stonewall Inn on the Tuesday before the riots—and the closing of the Checkerboard, the Tele-Star, and two other clubs in Greenwich Village.

Wendy Liberatore’s Times Union article on the recent change in the Saratoga Springs Republican Party Committee leadership begins with the following:

“In an organizational meeting on Wednesday evening, Matthew Hogan lost his leadership role to Chris Obstarczyk…”

The clear suggestion here is that there has been an internal party coup with Matt Hogan being ousted in a competition for leadership. This is simply not the case.

I have spoken to both Matthew Hogan and to Chris Obstarczyk and they paint a very different picture. Matt originally recruited Mr. Obstarczyk to join the local committee. Matt told me that he just did not have the time to continue as chair. Mr. Obstarczyk made clear that he decided to take over the chairmanship after Matt indicated his plan to step down. If you read the rest of Ms. Liberatore’s article you will see that other than the above unflattering and misleading assertion there is nothing in it indicating that Mr. Hogan was forced out.

Matt Hogan has stepped down as chair of the Saratoga Springs Republican Committee. In his place, the Republican Committee has elected Chris Obstarczyk. Mr. Obstarczyk is a partner in the law firm Levy & Obstarczk.

I spoke to Matt recently and he shared with me that other commitments made finding the time to chair the committee too difficult. He has been chair since October of 2016.

I contacted his successor, Mr. Obstarczk, who spoke warmly of Matt. He told me that Matt had originally enlisted him to join the committee and that when Matt decided to step down that with Matt’s support he took over the chairmanship.

I happen to like Matt a lot. During a time of increasingly dark partisanship and incivility, Matt has always demonstrated a dignity and openness for which he should be recognized. His job had not been made easy by the changing demographics of the city where enrollment of Democrats has eroded a city once thoroughly dominated by his party.

While he and I have always assumed that we do not agree on many public issues he has always made himself available to me and his answers to my questions have proven to be accurate and complete.

I wish Matt all the best.

Looking back on my notes I see that I only offered the option of responding on my blog to Ms. Braymer. Of course should attorney Matt Jones wish to respond I offer a similar courtesy.

Ok. This has nothing to do with Saratoga politics but the video of this dog winning some sort of speed/agility event as part of Westminster Dog Show was so wonderful that I wanted to share.

Ray Watkin was mayor of Saratoga Springs from 1974 to 1979. Ray was a real visionarry. It was Ray who spearheaded the preservation movement that viewed the city’s aging architecture as jewels. His administration pursued grants and other policies to upgrade the downtown and bring out the beauty that years of neglect had hidden.

Ray ran a shoe store on Broadway in the block between Lake Avenue and Caroline Street. He used this store not only to make a living but as a vehicle for talking to the people of the city about issues. This evolved into his successful campaign for mayor.

Happy Birthday to my friend, Ray Watkin.

[JK:I offered Claudia Braymer, the attorney who represents the neighbors in the dispute with the hospital, a forum to address my recent blog post on the issue. I made a similar offer to Matt Jones who represents the hospital. Ms. Braymer sent me the following statement.]

While the Comprehensive Plan does define Institutional as an area that allows for religious, health, educational, cultural and tourism, the Comprehensive Plan does not state that the Institutional area would allow for commercial/professional office complexes.  Yet, that is exactly what the proposed OMB-2 designation would allow.

The zoning change is not simply about the Hospital’s one proposed-in-theory (but not actually before the Planning Board) medical office building.  The zoning change for Parcel #1 is about changing the entire 17+ acre Parcel #1 site (most of which is currently owned by DA Collins) to a zoning district that allows for professional offices (not limited to medical offices), plus medical offices, parking facilities, and other related accessory structures.  The Comprehensive Plan does not support changing all of Parcel #1 to a zoning district that allows for professional offices of an unrestricted nature.

The City Council should reject the OMB-2 designation, and have the Hospital & DA Collins bring forward all of their plans for this undeveloped land, so that the public and the City can evaluate the situation in the light of day, and come to a rational conclusion about the proper zoning designation.

Sincerely,

Claudia Braymer

Braymer Law, PLLC

Claudia K. Braymer

Attorney at Law

PO Box 2369

Glens Falls NY 12801

(518) 882-3252

claudia@braymerlaw.com

The Independence Party is sponsoring a debate on Friday, June 14, between the candidates in the upcoming Democratic primary for Finance Commissioner. Both challenger Patty Morrison and current Commissioner of Finance Michele Madigan were invited to attend.  At this point only Commissioner Madigan has accepted the invitation.

The Independence Party has endorsed Commissioner Madigan but to ensure fairness has enlisted Chad Beatty, publisher/editor of Saratoga Today, to moderate. The event will take place regardless of how many candidates choose to attend.

The event will take place at the Saratoga Casino Hotel Riley’s/Arrowhead Meeting Room on Friday, June 14. Doors Open at 6:30pm, debate 7PM-8PM.

Previous attempts by the Saratoga County League of Women Voters to organize a debate between the two candidates were unsuccessful.

Chris Mathiesen recently brought to my attention an error in my Hospital vs Neighbors story. The committee that produced the 2015 Comprehensive Plan was appointed by Mayor Scott Johnson’s administration and not Mayor Joanne Yepsen’s.

I would like to publicly apologize to Ms Yepsen for my error. I have edited the story to correct it.