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From The Saratogian Newspaper:

Saratoga Springs plans to demolish Caroline Street building

By Joseph Phelan, jphelan@digitalfirstmedia.com,, @jphelan13 on Twitter

Posted: 12/07/16, 6:48 PM EST | Updated: 18 hrs ago

SARATOGA SPRINGS >> Despite efforts to preserve 26 Caroline St., the city, based on recommendations from two structural engineers, plans to demolish it Thursday morning.

At the City Council’s pre-agenda meeting Monday, two differing reports were presented, prompting the city to seek a third opinion.

Mike Miller, of Ryan Biggs, inspected the building — which was damaged in a Thanksgiving Day fire — Tuesday morning.

In an e-mail read aloud by city attorney Vincent DeLeonardis at Tuesday’s council meeting, Miller wrote: “The extent of damage has compromised the structural integrity of the building at 26 Caroline Street and forms an unsafe condition. This forms a risk to the public in front of the building, as well as to the adjacent properties. Further collapsing of the building could occur at any time with added loads from snow on the roof that can occur at this time of year. Based on the extent of damage that has occurred, in my opinion, the building should be demolished to reduce the chance of further collapse and a risk to the public.”

DeLeonardis joined Miller at the inspection and he described his experience.

“I walked through the building myself and it’s a devastating site,” DeLeonardis said. “From my own perspective, in a non-engineering way, the building was destroyed.”

City engineer Tim Wales described the possibility of the building collapsing before demolition.

“[Miller] felt it is possible for the roof to collapse [because of] those two big air conditioners sitting there on top, and he felt if we get wind load, snow load or get 6 inches of heavy snow that entire roof could come down … if that would occur, it could destabilize the structure enough to knock that front facade right down, out into the street as early as possible,” Wales said.

Mayor Joanne Yepsen described the situation as one where time is of the essence, which explains the urgency of demolishing the building Thursday.

Wales, however, detailed the construction of the four buildings impacted by last month’s fire and how 26 Caroline St. could cause obstacles for the adjacent buildings.

“These row type structures may not necessarily be keyed into each other, but they all function as one group and if you take out this middle piece it weakens both the sides,” said Wales. “… [Miller] recommended the engineer from [Sperry’s, and Hamlet and Ghost] also pay attention and evaluate the structure for whatever happens to protect their own individual structures. It all kind of ties together, you can’t just come in and rip things down, especially the wall bordering Sperry’s is something that can be very precarious.”

Both establishments complied with Miller’s recommendation.

Trinity, the project’s contractor, as of early Wednesday afternoon was waiting for final approval from the Department of Labor.

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From The Saratoga Preservation Foundations Web Site

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26 Caroline Street Demolition

By saratogapreservation | Published: December 7, 2016

26 Caroline Street

The Foundation is pleased that the City of Saratoga Springs took action to declare 26 Caroline Street an emergency to hire an independent structural engineer to evaluate the building to assess its future, especially in light of the differences in the previous structural assessments.  Like the City, the Foundation does not want to jeopardize the public’s safety.  The decision to demolish any historic building in our city that is listed on the National Register of Historic Places should be given full consideration since the preservation of our architectural and cultural heritage contributes to the overall success of our community.  That is why the Foundation hired Don Friedman of Old Structures Engineering to provide an assessment last week despite being denied access by the owner and why the Foundation is willing to contribute up to $2,000 towards the City hiring an independent assessment.

The Foundation was not only concerned with the future of 26 Caroline Street, but also concerned with the immediately adjacent historic structures should partial or complete demolition of 26 Caroline Street be necessary.  We do not want to see any additional damage to those buildings as a result of the removal.

The Foundation is very disappointed to share that at last night’s City Council meeting it was announced that the preliminary report by Mike Miller of Ryan-Biggs indicates that the building posed a public safety risk and needs to be demolished immediately.  The City also said that they plan to move forward with demolition under section 118 (9) (7) of the code.

The Foundation does not know why steps cannot be taken to preserve the façade since we have yet to receive a copy of the owner’s structural report dated November 30 that specifically addresses that topic or a copy of the Ryan-Biggs preliminary report.

Marilyn Rivers, City of Saratoga Springs Director of Risk and Safety, stated at the meeting that as a result of the City’s independent inspection all of the building owners were now in communication and that they each had been encouraged to hire their own structural engineers to protect their buildings as demolition takes place.  While 26 Caroline Street will not be preserved, the inspection did result in increased communication among the owners and increased awareness about the potential impacts demolition may have on the historic adjacent structures.

We believe that the Foundation fulfilled our mission and did all we could to stay involved and advocate for the preservation of this structure or, at least, its façade.  Our Executive Committee met almost daily to develop strategy and make decisions as to our course of action and was kept abreast of developments by the Executive Director.  The full board was kept informed by regular communications from the Executive Director.

The Foundation looks to the future of this site and working with the property owner and the Design Review Commission to ensure that replacement infill is appropriate in scale and design.  The Foundation thanks all those who expressed support of our efforts and to our membership.  Without your continued interest and support we would not have been able to accomplish as much as we did, even if the result is not what we hoped.

 

The Bethesda Episcopal Church and Skidmore College are hosting a series of events celebrating the 150^th anniversary of the birth of Harry T. Burleigh, one of America’s most important composers, mentor to and friend of Marian Anderson and Paul Robeson, and a specialist in African-American spirituals. 

Mr. Burleigh worked for a period in Saratoga Springs where he got his musical start.

Stephen Salters, a leading interpreter of Burleigh’s music, will be performing both at Skidmore and Bethesda.

Here is a link to an excellent interview with Gordon Boyd about the celebration.  Mr. Boyd, himself an accomplished singer and a member of the Episcopal Church, gives a fascinating history of Mr. Burleigh.

http://www.looktvonline.com/harry-burleigh-anniversary-interview/ 

                The Burleigh observance schedule is as follows: 

•             Friday Dec. 2, 12:15 p.m. A talk by Myra Young Armstead (Bard College), “Blacks in Saratoga Springs: Then and Now.” 

•             Friday Dec. 2, 7:00 p.m. Pre-concert talk by historian Jean Snyder, author of  “Harry T. Burleigh: from the Spiritual to the Harlem      Renaissance” (2015), Ladd Concert Hall, Zankel Music Center.

•             Friday Dec. 2, 8:00 p.m. Concert by Salters, Ladd Concert Hall.

•             Saturday Dec. 3, 3 p.m., Service of Advent Lessons and Carols.  Bethesda Church, 26 Washington Street, featuring Salters, the Bethesda choir and several works by Burleigh. 

 

 

A friend sent me a link to an interview that David Lombardo did with Robert Freeman, executive director of the New York State Committee on Open Government.

David Lombardo is the son of Barbara Lombardo who recently retired as editor of the Saratogian.  Mr. Lombardo  worked for the Daily Gazette newspaper some years ago and part of his beat was Saratoga Springs.  He was an excellent reporter.

Robert “Bob” Feeman is my hero.  He has worked in his current job for over forty years.  I believe he retired briefly but returned to the job.  Consistent with the mission of his office he is extraordinarily accessible.  On a number of occasions he answered the phone himself when I called his agency.  He was like having your own lawyer.  On occasion, when I asked about the accessibility of a document under the Freedom Of Information Law he would offer advice as to how to make the request so that it fit within the law.  In an age in which government institutions have become increasingly hostile to requests for information, it is quite amazing that Mr. Freeman has survived.  I expect it is because, aside from being a person committed to the mission of his organization, he is a very good lawyer.

Link To Interview

 

John Baker purchased Gaffney’s Restaurant on Caroline Street back in 1982.  It was reported in the Albany Business Review that he has sold the restaurant to Ryan Venezia and his partner Gary Elfont for $3.4 million.  Venezia is a real estate investor from Westchester.  He already owns Mrs. London’s Bakery, Max London’s, and the Stadium Café.

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I received these renderings from Sonny Bonacio of the proposed condominiums for the Moore Hall site.

Saratoga Springs is the best small city to live in New York, according to a study from financial advice site WalletHub.

The study, which examined cities with populations between 25,000 to 100,000, ranked Saratoga No. 11 out of 1,268 cities nationally. The ranking was calculated by looking at the affordability, economic health, education and health, safety and quality of life in each city.

 

Since its inception, Mark Baker has been the President and CEO of the Saratoga Springs City Center.  After thirty-three years he has announced that he will be retiring at the end of December.  He will be staying on in his current position until the Center hires his replacement.  He will also continue in some capacity to assist in the building of the proposed parking facility.

This city has been tremendously fortunate to have had Mark’s services.  It has been my pleasure to know Mark.  He is a quiet spoken and thoughtful man.  During the recent controversy over the parking project I have spoken and corresponded with him on many occasions.   His grasp of the smallest detail of the project is consistent with the excellent management of the Center.  My interactions with the staff simply reaffirm the positive atmosphere that his leadership has brought.

 I know I speak for many when I wish Mark the best for his retirement.

 

The popular analysis by the usual suspects is to blame the triumph of Donald Trump on anti-immigrant feelings, racism, authoritarianism, provincialism, misogyny, et al.  There is also the more strategic approach which involves blaming wikileaks and/or FBI Director Comey for the eleventh hour reintroduction of Hillary Clinton’s email server.

I studied to be an historian and these kinds of critiques ignore the underlying issues.  It is the usual ahistorical moralism that provides easy answers.   While the above may have been contributing factors to Clinton’s defeat they do not fully explain how this country that elected Barack Obama  twice now has Donald Trump as its President-elect  albeit it seems by way of the electoral college. Indeed it does not provide any insight into why, for instance two counties in Ohio that Obama had carried twice went for Trump on Tuesday.

I would argue that the anger, maybe rage would be a better term, has been building for the last decade.  We, in Saratoga Springs, are fortunate to live in something of a bubble.  One does not have to drive far, though,  to pass through the small towns that are decaying shells.  The inflation adjusted wages of most Americans have been declining for decades.  The once thriving industries that provided people willing to work hard with good wages have been vanishing.  The epidemic of opiod addiction and rural meth labs are an expression of the despair that is eroding this country.  Good, well paying jobs that provide futures for those currently employed and their children are vanishing at an alarming rate.

In the meantime,  people have not only had to endure the 2008 crash in terms of their loss of jobs and homes, they have had to suffer through the knowledge that the bankers who brought this all on and were bailed out by these same struggling people’s tax dollars are enjoying huge bonuses and golden parachutes.

They also must suffer through a culture that touts “smart” people who are making out handsomely as deserving of their great success while ordinary people working two and three jobs worry about their own future and that of their families.  The “smart people” are the winners in the globalization game.  You see them on TV in shows about lawyers and doctors, and young professionals.  

In spite of all the retraining programs, without good paying jobs for modestly skilled and educated people, the vast majority of people must suffer the sense of being losers and the even deeper indignity that no one really cares.

The reality is that in Washington, with a few exceptions, no one really does care.  The Republicans promise that with tax cuts for corporations and the shredding of regulations (the basic agenda of all the lobbyists who shower money on them) the jobs will flourish.  The Democrats claim that with education and retraining programs along with more tax incentives for the same corporations, the jobs will come.  Well, for the people living in Gloversvile, Malone, and Amsterdam, nothing has changed.  There is, in fact, no significant sign of even a government presence  doing anything in places like these across the country.

It does not take a degree in political science for many of the trapped Americans to see that the road they have been traveling is one that involves diminishing resources and hopelessness. 

I do not share the same demonization of Hillary Clinton that many of my conservative friends do.  I do see her as someone who had and probably still has, no real sense of just how bad things are in America.  Donald Trump’s zinger asking her what she has been doing for the last thirty years has been dismissed by my friends who strongly supported her candidacy from the beginning.  The fact is that the needs of all of these Americans have been very low on the priority list.  Every four years the “promise machine” goes into high gear and some vapid slogan with the word “change” in it is trotted out for the campaigns.

Hillary Clinton would have lost even if there had never been an issue with her server.  It was seized on as a symbol to be exploited.  The real issue was that she was the poster child for “more of the same.” 

I kind of enjoy using this metaphor.  In 1968 people marveled that black Americans, burned down their own neighborhoods when Martin Luther King was assassinated.  People wondered as to how they could do something that was so self destructive.  On Tuesday, angry Americans burned down their country when they elected a narcissistic conman because in their rage they wanted to send a message to Washington.

This brings me finally to a local issue which is what my blog is really about.  The Democratic Party in this city is cut from the same cloth as the leadership of the National Democratic Party.  They see their responsibility as electing  Democrats period, rather than as speaking as a party to some of the major issues facing this city.   The threat to the greenbelt posed by Saratoga National Golf Course’s plan to build a huge resort?  The Democratic Party has no position.  The threat to the neighborhoods posed by our hospital’s expansion?  The Democratic Party has no position.  The threat to neighborhoods from the Witt Project “Downton Walk?”  The Democratic Committee has no position.  The pathetic ethics code of this city and the Ethics Board’s violation of open meetings law?  The Democratic Party has no position.  The attempt by Sonny Bonacio to convert Moore Hall into micro apartments with all the issues of parking and the exorbitant rents he wanted?  The Democratic Committee had no position.  The on going abuse of the Zoning Board of Appeals decisions to grant variances?   The Democratic Committee has no postion.

Is it any wonder how angry people are at the traditional political parties?  Is it any wonder that this country could elect Donald Trump?  The answer is no and no.

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After writing this I came on Glenn Greenwald’s piece on the Intercept web site.  Readers will note many of the same points but I am no Glenn Greenwald.  I highly recommend his piece.

Link To His Piece