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From The Times Union

Saratoga Springs protesters: ‘Sitting is not a crime’

New Saratoga Springs law meant to unblock sidewalks is called “silly,” “ludicrous”

By Tim O’Brien | on June 11, 2016

Saratoga Springs

Protesters took a seat on the steps of City Hall Saturday to object to a new law that bans sitting on sidewalks.

Some 70 people sat talking, holding signs and listening to a few people with guitars sing and play.

“Sitting is not a crime!” Randall Deschamps wrote on the sidewalk outside City Hall.

“It’s a ludicrous law,” he said. “It totally blindsided the community.”

 The City Council approved the law 4-1 Tuesday with Mayor Joanne Yepsen the sole dissenter. A second offense would be a misdemeanor, making it a crime. Protesters said the law unfairly targeted the homeless, despite council members’ claims that was not their intent.

“When the law was passed, no one talked about bankers and lawyers in three-piece suits blocking the sidewalk,” said Linda LeTendre of Saratoga Springs. “They talked about vagrants, the homeless and people in need of hygiene.”  The way to address issues of homelessness is not to ban sitting on sidewalks, she said.  “The problem is not here in the community. It’s further up the line,” she said. Corporations and the wealthy get out of paying taxes, resulting in cuts in programs to address mental health care, addiction and other causes of homelessness.

“Homelessness isn’t the problem,” LeTendre said. “It’s the result of the problem.”

Rachel Lauber of Valley Falls said she travels to Saratoga Springs often.  “I’ve never, ever, ever noticed any problem with vagrancy or panhandling,” she said. “Targeting people who have no means and threatening to fine them seems kind of silly.”

Karen Carmeli, Chris Gockley and Stephen Dornbush of Albany sat together during the protest.  “We found out about the ordinance that was passed and were horrified,” Carmeli said.  People pushing strollers or texting as they walk are more of an impediment than people sitting on sidewalks, Carmeli said.

Dornbush said money should be spent on prevention and treatment.

Police Chief Gregory Veitch, who stood across from the peaceful protest, said he doesn’t expect arrests under the law.  “I would not expect the police to be vigorously enforcing this ordinance,” he said.  There are other tools to address the issues raised of people blocking the sidewalk, engaging in disorderly conduct or aggressive anhandling, he said.

“Generally sitting on the sidewalk is not a problem,” he said.

From The Gazette Newspaper

SARATOGA SPRINGS

Standing up for sitting down

Sidewalk law protested

BY DANIEL FITZSIMMONS Gazette Reporter 

Protesting a new ordinance that outlaws sitting or lying on the sidewalk, dozens of Saratogians took to Broadway and planted themselves on the steps of City Hall and the surrounding sidewalk.

According to the ordinance, passed Tuesday, a person sitting or lying on the sidewalk would be issued a warning, and, if they refused to move, could be slapped with a violation and a $50-$100 fine. Second and third offenses, depending on how many days had passed since a prior offense, could result in a misdemeanor charge, $500 fine, and up to 30 days in jail.

Randall “Chalk Boy” Deschamps remembers hearing about the ordinance a few hours before it was to be voted on by the City Council.

“I was totally blown away,” said Deschamps, who attended the meeting June 7 to voice his opposition, but said the decision seemed to have already been made. “I think it was pretty obvious they already had their minds made up before the meeting.”

The measure was passed 4-1, with Saratoga Springs Mayor Joanne Yepsin dissenting. Yepsin could not be reached for comment Saturday.

The ordinance, which city officials have said was designed with public safety in mind and meant to prevent people from obstructing foot traffic on the sidewalks, was widely criticized by residents who say it purposefully targets the homeless.

Deschamps remembers being thrown out on the streets of Saratoga as a boy.

“I was an 8-year-old throwaway,” said Deschamps, 58, “back when it was legal to get thrown out on the streets. Now it’s not, thank God.”

Now, 50 years later, he’s sporting long, whitish-gray dreadlocks, hands coated in a layer of chalk dust, no longer homeless but scribbling a message in support of the homeless on the sidewalk in front of City Hall.

“Sitting is not a crime,” he wrote.

Deschamps said Saratogians should take photos and videos any time they see the law being enforced and put their footage online. He said residents should also call City Council members and voice their opposition to the ordinance any chance they get.

“Eventually the council will get tired of hearing about it,” Deschamps said.

Saratoga resident Cathie Commerford said the homeless should not be punished.

“We need to do something about our homeless, not make new laws against them,” said Commerford. “We are a tourist town and we need solutions, but this isn’t it.”

Saratoga resident Nichole Baldwin said there’s no getting around the fact that city councilmembers were targeting the homeless.

“I think that the law they made this week needs to be challenged,” said Baldwin. “I think it targets homeless people and makes life harder for them.”

“They sometimes ask for money but I’ve never been bothered by them,” said Baldwin of panhandlers.

“I’ve had more of a problem with drunken tourists,” said Baldwin’s friend Dana Denison, who brought her 2-year-old daughter Samara to the protest.

Baldwin said Saratoga needs more funding for shelters and Denison said the homeless could use more psychiatric care.

“Fining them doesn’t make sense,” Denison said.

S a r a t o g i a n s T a m m y D’Ercole and Mary Mahoney also came out against the measure, and could be seen Saturday evening sitting with signs in front of City Hall criticizing the ordinance.

D’Ercole said she’s lived in Saratoga her whole life and doesn’t see the homeless as a problem.

“It’s shameful for this town to ignore the homeless problem and then punish them,” said D’Ercole.

The “root problem,” she said, is addiction and mental illness.

“We need to not hide them away … getting them services is the solution,” D’Ercole said.

Mahoney said Saratoga has a lot to be proud of in terms of helping the homeless, touting a program called Code Blue that gets homeless off the streets in freezing temperatures, but thinks this ordinance is regressive. “I see it as an imposition against civil rights,” she said.

Mahoney said the community is staging another protest on Friday, June 17, at 6 p.m. in front of Lillian’s Restaurant along the heart of Broadway.

Some in the crowd, which at one point swelled to about 70 people, sang songs and played ukuleles and guitars while others held protest signs. Most talked in small groups and fielded questions from a halfdozen reporters.

One protester, who gave his name only as Craig, was asked if he was prepared to get arrested if police ordered the crowd to disperse. “I guess,” he said. “I don’t have anything going on tomorrow.”

But it wouldn’t likely come to that. Police Chief Gregory Veitch, standing on the other side of Broadway in front of City Hall, surveyed the amiable gathering and didn’t seem worried about crowd control.

“They’re being peaceful and we don’t anticipate making any arrests tonight in connection with the protest,” Veitch said. He indicated that enforcing the new measure was not a huge priority for the department, but noted that “the law is the law.”

“I would not anticipate that the Police Department will aggressively enforce the ordinance that was just passed,” said Veitch. “We’ll defi nitely be using our discretion.”

ERICA MILLER/GAZETTE PHOTOGRAPHER

Protesters take part in a sunset sit-down at Saratoga Springs City Hall on Saturday. They are upset over a change in city code that bans sitting on the sidewalk and blocking pedestrians. See a photo gallery at

.

Comptroller says NYRA’s future uncertain

New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli speaks at a news conference in Febuary. DiNapoli issued a report Friday saying the future of the New York Racing Association is uncertain. File photo

By Paul Post, The Saratogian

Posted: 06/10/16, 12:26 PM EDT | Updated: 11 hrs ago

SARATOGA SPRINGS >> State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli says New York Racing Association is not financially viable without gaming revenue from Aqueduct Racetrack’s casino, despite NYRA’s claim that it realized profits the past few years.

An audit DiNapoli’s office released Friday faults NYRA’s auditing techniques and says the firm that runs Saratoga Race Course, Belmont Park and Aqueduct has actually racked up a $109 million deficit the past five years.

But NYRA officials, in a response made April 25, defended its practices, business model and fiscal condition.

The audit finds no fault with a state-appointed Franchise Oversight Board responsible for monitoring NYRA’s budget and financial practices.

The report came out one day before Saturday’s Belmont Stakes, the biggest day of the year on New York’s racing calendar.

“There are important decisions being made about NYRA’s future right now,” comptroller’s spokesman Mark Johnson said. “We wanted to provide information to help the Legislature and governor with those decisions.”

However, there are just four business days left in the current legislative sessions, which is scheduled to end Thursday.

Johnson said it took time for DiNapoli’s office to respond to the comments NYRA made six weeks ago.

NYRA and Gov. Andrew Cuomo have been at the center of a firestorm of controversy since Tuesday when John Hendrickson, Cuomo’s racing advisor, resigned in protest of the governor’s handling of New York’s thoroughbred industry.

Cuomo has called for a NYRA board makeup that would continue the state’s influence over the firm — it currently has 12 state appointees — and eliminate some of the money NYRA gets from Aqueduct’s casino.

Under NYRA’s franchise contract, the state agreed that NYRA should receive a percentage of gaming revenue each year for operations, purses and capital projects.

DiNapoli said: “NYRA relies on video lottery terminals to stay in the black, but that revenue stream isn’t guaranteed to continue as strongly, especially as new casinos open up across the state. NYRA needs to come up with a plan to make money on racing operations, especially as it seeks to return to private control. Without such a plan, NYRA’s long term solvency could be a long shot.”

If DiNapoli is correct in saying that NYRA depends on gaming revenue, then Cuomo’s plan — if approved — could have dire consequences for NYRA.

Johnson, the comptroller’s spokesman, said the audit was prepared “without any consultation with the governor’s office whatsoever.”

“The bottom line is, NYRA will be destitute without VLT (video lottery terminal) money,” Hendrickson said Friday. “It’s part of their business plan.”

He called DiNapoli’s audit “another cheap shot, released by an Albany politician, the day before the Belmont.”

“The governor’s budget director was on the NYRA board,” Hendrickson said. “It sounds like DiNapoli is saying Governor Cuomo’s government-appointed board failed? If so, why would we now want even more of the same? I believe this audit illustrates that stealing VLT funds makes no sense if you truly care about NYRA’s financial health.”

“NYRA had received a clean audit from KPMG (a global auditing firm) for the past four years,” Hendrickson said. “NYRA uses the same accounting practices as New York government agencies. NYRA and the comptroller disagree on how the money is shown on a balance sheet. But the bottom line is the report showed the legally owed VLT mortgage payments are vital to racing’s survival. The VLT money is contractually owed for land that was given to the state. They are not support payments. They are mortgage payments.”

Audit: NYRA is losing money on horse racing

By Stephen Williams June 10, 2016  | Updated June 10, 2016 10:30 p.m.

PHOTOGRAPHER: MARC SCHULTZ

Members of the board of directors for the The New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA) met at the Holiday Inn in Saratoga on Wednesday August 12, 2015.

SARATOGA SPRINGS — A new state audit came down hard on the New York Racing Association on Friday, saying it continues to lose money on its traditional thoroughbred racing operations.

While NYRA has reported profits for each of the last three years, the audit by state Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli said that was only due to revenue from the video lottery terminals at Aqueduct in Queens.

“NYRA relies on video lottery terminals to stay in the black, but that revenue stream isn’t guaranteed to continue as strongly, especially as new casinos open up across the state,” DiNapoli said.

DiNapoli also questioned some of NYRA’s expenses, including a $250,000 bonus paid to President and CEO Christopher Kay.

NYRA officials strongly defended their organization, which runs the horse-racing tracks at Belmont, Aqueduct and Saratoga Race Course, where the annual summer meet starts July 22.

“The purpose of the OSC’s audit was to determine if NYRA received, spent and accounted for its revenues and expenses properly, and the OSC’s report clearly states that we did,” said NYRA spokesman Patrick McKenna. “This finding has been previously reported by our accounting firm, KPMG, who has issued a ‘clean audit’ for each of the last four years.”

The audit’s release comes on the eve of NYRA’s biggest annual event — the Belmont Stakes — and as the state Legislature and Gov. Andrew Cuomo debate how to return the organization to private control after four years under state supervision.

NYRA’s return to profitability after years of losses, a bankruptcy, and management scandals are central to NYRA’s argument that it should be allowed to return to private control. It has been under the control of a state Franchise Oversight Board since 2012.

Despite the claim of overall profitability, DiNapoli said racing operations, taken alone, lost $109 million over the last five years.

The profit claimed by NYRA is only possible, the audit said, because NYRA is excluding employee retirement and post-employment health care costs from its calculations.

“NYRA needs to come up with a plan to make money on racing operations, especially as it seeks to return to private control,” DiNapoli said. “Without such a plan, NYRA’s long-term solvency could be a long shot.”

In a written response, Joseph J. Lambert, NYRA’s senior vice-president and general counsel, noted that a 2008 bankruptcy settlement guarantees VLT money to NYRA for the rest of the term of the franchise — through 2033,

“Both the ‘state settlement agreement’ and the existing statutory framework found in New York State Tax Law utilizes VLT revenues as a means to support the thoroughbred and standardbred racing industries in New York State,” Lambert said.

“There was never any requirement, contrary to the OSC claim, that NYRA must have a budget that determines profitability exclusive of those VLT funds. Instead, NYRA has used those funds to support jobs in the state’s agriculture and tourism sectors, and also serve as the cornerstone of the horse racing industry in New York, an industry that generates a $2 billion economic impact.”

Over the three years covered by the audit — 2012, 2013, and 2014 — the auditors found that NYRA received $318 million from the VLTs, with $68 million going to racing operations, $91 million to capital programs, and $159 million to racing purses, which are paid out to horse owners.

The Assembly and Senate and Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s office are actively discussing legislative proposals to reprivatize NYRA, with a goal of resolving the matter in Thursday’s scheduled adjournment of the Legislature.

Maureen Lewi, chairwoman of the Concerned Citizens for Saratoga Racing, said the timing of the audit as the Legislature debates privatization raises questions about the role of politics in its release, and the role politics could play in the future if NYRA isn’t returned to private control.

The concerned citizens group favors a return to private control. Lewi said it was unfair to judge NYRA’s finances without the VLT revenue, since the state promised it in return for NYRA giving up ownership claim to three tracks, including Saratoga Race Course.

“NYRA’s overall condition is sound because of VLT revenue,” she said. “That’s exactly our point.”

In NYRA’s telling, it made $1.7 million on racing operations in 2014 and $3.6 million in 2015. But DiNapoli said that that profit calculation didn’t include pension and retiree health insurance costs, and should have.

The auditors and NYRA officials differed on whether Kay had clearly met the measures used to qualify him for a $250,000 bonus in 2014, after one year on the job. Kay’s base salary that year was $300,000.

Based on the audit, DiNapoli recommended that NYRA develop a long-term plan to eliminate deficits on racing operations, as well as consider other measures to increase financial accountability.

I recently emailed Justin Hogan who is chair of the city’s Ethics Board.  I was inquiring about two matters.

First was a follow-up regarding the Ethics Board’s decision on the issue of ex parte contacts.  In an earlier blog I have discussed this extensively.  Basically, according to the standards issued by the New York State Department of State, discussions between applicants to land use boards and members of land use boards are considered improper if they occur outside of a regularly scheduled public meeting or are in correspondence not available to the public.  Some months ago the Ethics Board had issued an opinion that was inconsistent with this principle.

The Second was over when he expected the board to reach some decision regarding the complaint (The Ethics Board uses the euphemism inquiry) made to the board over the apparent solicitation for business by Mayor Joanne Yepsen to Saratoga Hospital while the hospital  had business before the City Council.

Mr. Hogan replied in a manner consistent with my past experiences with him.  He avoided acknowledging the question related to the Mayor.  He referred me to the Ethics Boards procedures and advised me to check their agendas.

I subsequently followed up with him and asked what the procedures were for scheduling meetings.  He responded by citing the same procedures again.  This time he included that they are only required to meet quarterly.  He said that they try to post the agendas on the city website as soon as they are circulated.

The sustained pattern of these kinds of responses prompts the suspicion that Mr. Hogan, who is employed by a firm that does lobbying and public relations for politicians, seems disinclined to make his board cooperatively accessible to the public.  With that in mind, I decided to explore in general, how his board functions and in more particular, how I might successfully attend a discussion of the ex parte issue, should they decide to address it again.  It turns out that, assuming the Ethics Board even takes up the issue of ex parte, it will require considerable luck to successfully attend the meeting.

There is no way to anticipate when the Ethics Board meets

Section 3.0  of the Ethics Board procedures is entitled LOCATION, DATES AND TIMES OF MEETINGS.  Under item 3.1 it states:

3.1 There shall be regular and special meetings of the Board of Ethics conducted consistent with the requirements of the Open Meetings Law

One might deduce from the term “regular” that this board meets on a predetermined day or days each month as does the City Council and the other officially sanctioned boards.  Apparently this is not the case with the Ethics Board.  Going back to March, the committee has met on February 1, March 10, April 12, and May 2.

February 1 was a Monday.  March 10 was a Thursday, April 12 was a Tuesday, and May 2 was a Monday.  To date, no agenda has been posted on the city’s web site as to when or if there will be a June meeting.

They could, like most boards, use a particular day of the month, and in the event that they have no business, post that the meeting will not occur.

According to the Ethics Board procedures:

3.3 The City Attorney’s office shall arrange for the posting of public notices of meetings of the Board in such locations as are reasonably calculated to inform the public who desire to attend the meetings.

There is nowhere on the city website devoted to the Ethics Board that advises you where to look for the postings of their meetings.  It seems the only way to find out if a meeting is occurring is to discover an agenda has been posted which contains the time and place of the meeting but as we shall see not much else.

Unlike every other board in this city the only notice to the public is an agenda that should (not must) be posted three days before they meet.

The following from section 4 of the board’s procedures addresses agendas:

4.0 PREPARATION AND DISTRIBUTION OF AGENDAS FOR MEETINGS

4.1 The chair of the Board of Ethics shall establish and distribute the proposed agenda for regular meetings of the Board.

4.2 To the extent practicable [my emphasis], the chair shall distribute the proposed agenda and relevant materials to the members of the Board of Ethics not less than three days prior to the date of the meeting at which the agenda will be considered. No item on an agenda shall be ineligible for consideration by the Board solely on the basis that the agenda and materials were distributed less than three days prior to the date of the meeting. [my emphasis added]

So this section has the stern admonition that the agenda shall be distributed “not less than three days prior to the date of the meeting…”  Unfortunately, it also has the caveat that this will be done “To the extent practicable.”  I cannot think of any other board or the City Council with this kind of caveat.  But this is not enough.  The chair, Mr. Hogan, still has the right to add items for the meeting to address even after the agenda has been distributed.

Since on its face, the agendas appear to be the only notice to the public of their meetings, if this is true, the public only has three days notice as to when the Ethics Board is going to meet (remember there is no given day of the month) so in order to attend their meetings one would have to check the city website almost daily.  In fact, there is nothing on the city website that indicates when these agendas were posted so there is no way of telling whether they met the three day notice goal.

The Agendas Offer No Insight As To What Will Transpire At A Coming Meeting

The next issue is the utter lack of specificity in the agendas.  The following are the published agendas for the period March through May.

Saratoga Springs Board of Ethics

Agenda

Monday, February 1st 2016, 5:00 p.m.

Public Safety Conference Room, 2nd Floor, City Hall

1. Approve meeting minutes
2. Executive Session: discussion of submitted inquiry forms
3. Old business
4. New business

Saratoga Springs Board of Ethics

Agenda

Thursday, March 10th 2016, 5:3 0 p.m.

Public Safety Conference Room, 2nd Floor, City Hall

1. Approve meeting minutes
2. Executive Session: discussion of submitted inquiry forms
3. Old business
4. New business

Saratoga Springs Board of Ethics

Agenda

Tuesday, April 12th 2016, 5:30 p.m.

City Council Chambers, City Hall

1. Approve meeting minutes
2. Review submitted inquiries
3. Old business
4. New business

Saratoga Springs Board of Ethics

Agenda

Monday, May 2nd 2016, 5:30 p.m.

City Council Chambers, City Hall

1. Approve meeting minutes
2. Review and discuss submitted inquiries
3. Old business
4. New business

Note both how similar and uninformative these agendas are

So, how dear reader will checking their agendas, as Mr. Hogan advised me to do, tell me whether an upcoming meeting (should I have the luck of finding out when a meeting will be held) will include a discussion of ex parte?

Contrast the Ethics Board agendas with the Zoning Board of Appeals Agenda (I have actually abbreviated the ZBA agenda for reasons of space):

Monday June 6, 2016 – 7:00PM City Council Room

Workshop

Salute The Flag

Role Call

New Business

#2894 LAWRENTZ HOME OCCUPATION

126 Crescent Street, area variance to construct a detached garage with second-story music studio; seeking relief to permit a home occupation within a residential accessory

structure in an Urban Residential – 2 District.

2894 LAWRENTZRESIDENCEHOMEOCCUPATION_APP_REDACTED.PDF, 2894 LAWRENTZRESIDENCEHOMEOCCUPATION_ADDTLINFO.PDF

#2896 ICE HOUSE TENT

[description which I removed]

2896 ICEHOUSETENT_APPLICATION_REDACTED.PDF

#2897 CITY COTTAGE, LLC LOT LINE ADJUSTMENT

[description which I removed]

Old Business

#2880 ARMER/DESORBO RESIDENCE

[description which I removed]

#2856.1 MOORE HALL REDEVELOPMENT

[description which I removed]

#2890 BARLOW RESIDENCE

[description which I removed]

#2892 RUTHMAN RESIDENCE

[description which I removed]

#2895 NEEDHAM/KILMER RESIDENCE

[description which I removed]

#2893 223 LAKE AVE. LLC HANDICAP RAMP

[description which I removed]

#2889 CDJT DEVELOPMENT MULTI-FAMILY

[description which I removed]

#2759.1 ANW HOLDINGS RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENT

[description which I removed]

6:30 P.M.

Documents:

#2759.1 ANW HOLDINGS RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENT

[description which I removed]

2759.1 ANWHOLDINGCONDOS_APP_REDACTED.PDF, 2759.1 ANWCONDOS_CORRTINGLEY5-23 -[description which I removed]

16.PDF, 2759.1 ANWHOLDINGSCONDOS_CORRJVALETTA_RECVD3-9 -16_REDACTED.PDF, 2759.1 [description which I removed]

Adjourned Items

#2856 MOORE HALL

28 Union Avenue/35 White Street, area variance to convert the existing building to a 53- unit apartment building; seeking relief from the minimum lot size and minimum parking

requirement in the Urban Residential – 4 District

Other Business

APPROVAL OF DRAFT MEETING MINUTES – MAY 9

NEXT ZONING BOARD MEETING: JUNE 20, 2016

Note: This agenda is subject to change up until the time of meeting. Updates will be reflected here as they arise. Check posted agenda here to verify the actual agenda prior to the

meeting. [I have made this large and bold to contrast it with the procedures of the Ethics Board]

The Minutes Of The Meetings Hide What Issues Are Addressed

Then there is the matter of the Ethics Board minutes.  I have reviewed the last four months of minutes from their meetings.  The only recording of anything that one might call substantive (if one were generous) is the one paragraph devoted to the discussion at their April 12 meeting attended by City Council members Mathiesen, Franck, Madigan, and Scirocco over the meaning of the Ethics section that deals with soliciting business.

What is really striking is their policy of referring to complaints/inquiries in their minutes using  numbers rather than names and descriptions.  As far as I could ascertain, there is no place to find out what these numbers actually refer to.  In the May 2^nd minutes is the following item:

3. All Advisory Opinions received to date have been completed with the exception of #6.

My guess is that #6 is the complaint aka “inquiry” regarding Mayor Yepsen and the hospital, but  I challenge the readers of this blog to comb the city’s website to find out what this number 6 actually refers to.

So to summarize:

1. There is no way to anticipate when the Ethics Board will meet so you can plan to attend.
2. The only apparent notice of when they will meet has a goal (it is not required) of being posted three days prior to when the meeting will actually occur.
3. The agendas are so generic that one has no idea what specific actions will be considered at a meeting..
4. Their minutes make it impossible for the  public to understand what inquiries have been submitted to the Board of Ethics.

A Quiz:

Review the four agendas above and try to determine at which of these meetings if any the Board of Ethics took up the complaint regarding Mayor Yepsen and Saratoga Hospital

More to come on the Ethics Board to come.

[Governor Andrew Cuomo has never been a fan of horse racing.

There was an effort to expand casino gambling in New York about twenty some years ago.  The campaign to block the expansion then was led and partially funded by the horse racing industry in general and by NYRA in particular.  At the time in Saratoga Springs, in contrast to recent history, the Chamber of Commerce allied with NYRA in aggressively opposing casino expansion in New York.

One of the first things Governor Cuomo did as part of his recent successful campaign to expand casinos was to remove control of NYRA from its independent board and replace it with his own.  Parenthetically, there had been serious mis-management at NYRA which the Governor shrewdly exploited.

The Governor has promised that the state will reap large sums of money from the new casinos being built.  If anything, horse racing is a competitor for gambling revenue which one assumes he would prefer to go to the casinos.]

Cuomo’s racing plan blasted by horse owners, former board members

Gov. Andrew Cuomo FILE

By Paul Post, The Saratogian

Posted: 06/09/16, 5:05 PM EDT | Updated: 11 hrs ago

SARATOGA SPRINGS >> A prominent Saratoga horseman says New York Racing Association could be “held hostage” under Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s plan to reprivatize the firm that runs Saratoga Race Course, Belmont Park and Aqueduct Racetrack.

Cuomo unveiled a proposal Wednesday that would cap the money NYRA gets from Aqueduct’s casino and require NYRA to each year ask the state for a $16 million capital spending appropriation.

“That’s ridiculous,” said Jack Knowlton, Sackatoga Stable managing partner. “You can’t depend on anything happening from one year to the next when the governor and Legislature are involved. He could hold NYRA hostage by saying, ‘OK here’s the money, but you’ve got to do X, Y or Z to get it. That’s undue influence.”

Cuomo’s plan differs greatly from bills in the senate and assembly that call for a 15-member NYRA board with two appointees by the governor and one each by the assembly and senate.

Cuomo wants six appointees on a 17-member board. Two of these would be recommended by the assembly and senate.

He also wants to name the board chairman, and the state Franchise Oversight Board that monitors NYRA’s financial issues would have expanded powers.

So while NYRA would be returned to private control, which Cuomo called for four years ago, the state is far from letting go.

Legislative leaders and the governor’s office are now left to reach some kind of compromise before the session ends next Thursday.

The most contentious issue is Cuomo’s attempt to wrest money away from NYRA that it gets from Aqueduct’s large casino.

In 2008, when NYRA was awarded a new 25-year franchise to run racing, the contract called for it to receive a set percentage of gaming revenue each year, with some going to operations, capital projects and purses. Cuomo now wants to cap this amount at $46 million per year, with anything over that going to fund education.

“Basically it’s changing the rules after they’ve been set,” Knowlton said.

On Tuesday, John Hendrickson resigned as Cuomo’s special racing advisor, citing frustrations with the governor’s policies that he said are hurting Saratoga and New York’s thoroughbred industry.

He was even more critical after reviewing Cuomo’s plan for NYRA, released a day later.

“It’s worse than I imagined,” Hendrickson said. “It’s the end of Saratoga as we know it. Purses will go down, admission prices will go up and giveaways will go away.”

His wife, Marylou Whitney, said, “I’ve spent most of my life trying to help Saratoga. I truly believe Gov. Andrew Cuomo is trying to hurt us. I’m confident his father (former Gov. Mario Cuomo) would not have condoned this action.”

Former NYRA board member Charles Wait of Saratoga Springs echoed similar sentiments.

In October 2012, Cuomo created a 17-member NYRA Reorganization Board with 12 state appointees, but charged the group with returning the firm to private control within three years.

“This is not what the governor promised,” Wait said. “Expanding control of NYRA’s budget, putting six people on the board and impounding money – that’s not privatization, it’s communism. It clarifies the reasons John Hendrickson left. The governor never was serious about keeping his word.”

For some reason, John Witt has continually adjourned his application.  He adjourned the application for the March 7 meeting, for the March 21 meeting, for the April 11 meeting and now he has adjourned it for the June 6 meeting.

I emailed him on June 4^th asking him if he could share why the project has been continually postponed.  I received no response so I emailed him again on June 6 reminding him of my earlier email and asking him to respond. Below is our subsequent exchange of emails. I have yet to receive a response from John Witt explaining the many adjournments of his proposal.  When I do I will publish it.

From:  John Witt [jwitt@wittconstruction.com]

Sent:    Monday, June 06, 2016 5:46 PM

To:       John Kaufmann

Subject:           RE: Responsive

Sorry – I have been busy….

We have a great Parade of Homes opened this weekend.

Last time I responded within hours and you lied and said I didn’t respond in you blog… I asked for you to meet and review the project and you refused.

John I am happy to help… but blatantly did not tell the truth in your blog which produces lost respect.  

Headed for a bike ride – enjoy your night!

JW

John Witt, President

Witt Construction, Inc.

From:   John Kaufmann [john.kaufmann21@gmail.com]

Sent:    Monday, June 06, 2016 6:40 PM

To:       ‘John Witt’

Subject:           RE: Responsive

I apologize if you responded to a request and I criticized you on my blog for not doing so.  I have no recollection of this.  Could you send me the copies of the correspondence?  I would be happy to correct the record.

As to not meeting with you, I am familiar with your project and think it would be a waste of both our time to meet about it as currently proposed.  If, on the other hand, you are open to downsizing the project, I would be happy to meet with you to discuss what new ideas you might have for the property.

From:   John Witt [jwitt@wittconstruction.com]

Sent:    Monday, June 06, 2016 9:39 PM

To:       John Kaufmann

Subject:           Re: Responsive

Great – I have new conservation project in the town of Saratoga that I am proposing to repurpose lush a farm and leave wooded and farm land in perpetuity. Best to meet in person at the office. Please let me know what works.

Dowton Walk will be a great example of urban planning. The mixed sized buildings and scale does fit into the neighborhood! Let’s talk about Dowton Walk after it is built.

Look at your email and blog post timing… If you want to visit history… I responded to your email within I think 2 hours and after that you blogged I would respond…. Not cool!! If you respect you should act professional and responsible… I lost respect for you! You did work with my mother and I did have great respect for you. Not any more. I am happy to put this behind us.

Cheers, JW

From:   John Kaufmann [john.kaufmann21@gmail.com]

Sent:    Tuesday, June 07, 2016 8:42 AM

To:       ‘John Witt’

Subject:           Posts and Questions

On March 12, 2016, I emailed you asking you to explain why you had written to the neighbors of your Downton Walks project saying you were applying for three variances when it appeared you were applying for more.  On the same day you posted back saying that you would submit a comment and asking me to call you.  I responded back that same day and explained I was in London so I could not call you.

On the evening of March 13, having not heard from you further, I published my post regarding your project.  At the end of the post I noted the following:

In an effort to be fair to Mr. Witt, I emailed him offering to publish any defense he would like to offer regarding his letter (see below). To date I have not received any sort of rebuttal.  Should I receive one, I will publish it.  

This was technically true as I had only received your email saying you planned to respond.  In fairness to you I should have told the readers this that I had received an email indicating you planned to respond.  On March 14th (the next day) I did receive and publish without editing or commenting the full text of your rebuttal.

With respect, you still have not answered my question, why have you postponed most of your appearances before the ZBA over the last four months?  You adjourned your application on March 7th, March 27th, April 11th, and June 6th.

I have learned that Joe Ogden, the Deputy Mayor has resigned.  This is a real loss for the city.  My interactions with Mr. Ogden were consistently good.  Although he was aware of my critical posts about Mayor Yepsen, he was always cordial and solicitous.  In the two circumstances where we discussed substantive matters I found him well informed, focused, and constructive.

Too often, the public is dismissive of the people they employ in their government.  With a wide brush they characterize the people who work in government as inept and lazy.  While there is an unfortunate corps of such people, there are others, such as Mr. Ogden who take their work very seriously.  Mr. Ogden worked many, many hours in his capacity as Deputy and had to endure the marathon meetings of our City Council late into the night.

I have been advised by Mr. Ogden that he will be assuming the position of budget director of the State University of New York. It sounds like a great job and he told me he was very excited about the new position.

I asked Mr. Ogden if he wanted to share any thoughts with the community regarding his experience as the mayor’s deputy. Here is his statement:

“Being deputy mayor of our city has been nothing short of a dream job for me.  Many thanks to Mayor Yepsen for this fantastic opportunity; it has been a privilege to work alongside her on our many accomplishments in City Hall. A heartfelt thank you to all of my fellow citizens who have shown not just me, but my family as well, tremendous warmth and kindness over the years. And a very, very sincere thank you to all of my fellow city employees for showing me an extraordinary level of patience, respect, and cooperation during the last two and half years.   At a time when government service is too often looked down upon or relegated to something that is dirty or undesirable, our citizens should take heart that this city has excellent people who are passionate about their community, give 100%, and do great work each and every day – often at the expense of pursuing more lucrative opportunities in the private sector.  It has been my great privilege to work in their ranks, and I am forever grateful.”

[It appears that the governor is trying to maintain his control over the horse racing industry while syphoning off money to the state general fund rather than invest in maintaining horse racing]

John Hendrickson resigns as Cuomo’s racing advisor

Hendrickson file photo

By Paul Post, The Saratogian

Posted: 06/07/16, 4:43 PM EDT | Updated: 8 hrs ago

SARATOGA SPRINGS >> John Hendrickson has sent a loud, clear message to Gov. Andrew Cuomo, whom he said hasn’t been listening lately – I quit.

Hendrickson, Marylou Whitney’s husband, resigned his post Tuesday – four days before the Belmont Stakes – as Cuomo’s special advisor on matters relating to Saratoga racing.

He has grown increasingly frustrated over Cuomo’s handling of New York Racing Association, which has been under state control since October 2012.

“I was appointed to help give a voice to Saratoga, but it’s clear the governor is not listening,” Hendrickson said. “Marylou and I are sorely disappointed. We hope the governor finds some newfound enlightenment soon.”

Instead of advising Cuomo, Hendrickson said his role turned out to be a “nightmarish job of Whack-a-Mole” as he constantly tried to stop Cuomo from doing things to hurt racing.

One of the latest episodes was the state’s approval, in an omnibus bill, of 1,000 new gaming machines at Aqueduct Racetrack to benefit Nassau Regional Off Track Betting.

The slot-like video lottery terminals will be located at Aqueduct’s casino, which generates revenue for racing. But none of Nassau OTB’s machines will benefit racing.

“We thank Mr. Hendrickson for his service and wish him well. The Governor and the Legislature saved NYRA from yet another bankruptcy in 2012 and installed a Board and management team that, by every metric, has been a success. We seek to continue this progress,” Gov. Cuomo spokesman Rich Azzopardi said in a statement.

Former NYRA board member Charles Wait of Saratoga Springs said Hendrickson’s resignation is a “disaster for Saratoga, a disaster for racing and a disaster for the governor.”

Saratoga is losing an important voice, he said.

“This is the governor’s hand-picked advisor and he’s quitting because he can’t get anywhere,” Wait said. “I hope this gives the governor pause about the advice he’s getting or his own direction.”

Hendrickson and Whitney are highly respected in the world of thoroughbred racing and have done a great deal to improve the lives of Saratoga’s many backstretch workers. Hendrickson said he and Whitney plan to continue sponsoring their annual Backstretch Worker Appreciation Program, which provides daily activities during the 40-day meet, this summer.

But Hendrickson’s split from Cuomo is clear evidence of their disapproval with the governor’s racing policies.

In October 2012, Cuomo reorganized a 17-member NYRA board with 12 state appointees, and charged the group with returning the firm to private hands within three years.

But early last year, after NYRA President and CEO Chris Kay developed such plans, Cuomo instead extended state control of NYRA until this fall.

Most recently, it’s believed he favors a plan that would effectively keep a majority of state appointees on the board, while at the same time taking some of the money NYRA gets from Aqueduct’s casino and transferring it to the state general fund.

Under NYRA’s latest franchise agreement, the contract called for NYRA to get a share of gaming revenue in return for giving the land, worth $1 billion, at its three tracks – Saratoga, Belmont Park and Aqueduct – to the state.

Hendrickson said it’s now apparent that Cuomo wants to control the money generated by VLTs.

“Maybe this was his original course all along,” Wait said. “Racing is one of the greatest upstate industries there is. The governor says he’s open for business. This sends a message that he’s shutting upstate down.”

The group Concerned Citizens for Saratoga Racing is extremely upset at Cuomo, charging that taking money from NYRA will hurt Saratoga Race Course, one of the Capital Region’s most important economic engines. Maureen Lewi, the group’s chair, said Hendrickson’s resignation is a setback for Saratoga and racing.

“John is one of only a few notable figures that speak the truth, regardless of personal consequences, a virtuous asset in today’s society,” she said.

Only a few years ago, the best horses and stables in the country began moving to New York, attracted by the lure of higher purses resulting from gaming revenue at Aqueduct’s casino. Now, the reverse could happen if Cuomo takes money from NYRA, Wait said.

“I can’t imagine anybody investing in any business if they don’t have certainty about what the state is going to do,” Wait said. “It was his (Cuomo’s) word that he would privatize NYRA in three years. He has not lived up to his commitment.”

Last year, Wait resigned from the NYRA board when it became apparent that Cuomo’s plan was to continue state control over the firm.

Hendrickson’s departure leaves Georgeanna “Georgie” Lussier of Saratoga Springs as the lone local representative on NYRA’s board, a position she’s held since last September.

“I’m clearly upset,” she said. “I relied and depended on John’s input throughout this process. As long as I’m on the board I will represent his views and thoughts to the rest of the board.”

The board is not scheduled to meet again until August in Saratoga Springs.

Saratoga Springs enacts ban on sidewalk-sitting

Lake Lonely has been experiencing what is called an algae bloom.  Basically, when excessive nutrients such as fertilizer or phosphorus enter a still water area as a result of runoff, it creates an environment in which microscopic life, typically phyloplanktin, multiply rapidly.  When these small organisms die and decay they absorb large amounts of oxygen.  This loss of oxygen serves to threaten the animals and fish who rely on the body of water.

I am a fisherman and I have heard anecdotally that the fishing in Lake Lonely has experienced a steep decline.  This lake had been rich in perch, bass, pickerel, pike, and sun fish.

The increasing scarcity of potable water has become a growing concern for public health officials both nationally and internationally.  An extreme example is the situation in Flint, Michigan.

All of us should be concerned when any body of water has its quality threatened.

It is unclear what the source of the Lake Lonely problem is.  The obvious suspects are:

1. Saratoga National Golf Course.  This project was controversial from the beginning due to its proximity to wetlands in general and Lake Lonely in particular.  In the minutes of the Planning Board meetings when the original application was under consideration, SNGC promised to monitor the water to insure their pesticides and fertilizers had no adverse impact.  It is unclear how long they were obligated to continue their monitoring.  I have been told that a class from Skidmore did some sort of study that found no problems early in the process.  In my meeting with the Mayor’s office, no one was knowledgeable as to what was required of Saratoga National Golf Course in terms of continued monitoring of Lake Lonely’s water quality.
2. Spring Run Brook dumps into Lake Lonely.  Much of the runoff from our city ends up in Spring Run Brook which in turn ends up in Lake Lonely.

In early May when I met with the Mayor’s staff, they said they would discuss with Mayor Yepsen contacting the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation to try to determine who is responsible for evaluating the water quality in Lake Lonely and what action the city might take to address what appears to be a growing problem there.

I received an email from the Mayor on May 11 saying that they wanted to pursue this issue.  Unfortunately, in spite of the fact that I had been told I would be advised of any actions they took, I have heard nothing since.

For months I repeatedly emailed Mayor Yepsen regarding a number of issues and during this time  I  either received no reply or the reply I received did not address my question.

With this in mind I decided to make a last try by meeting with Mayor Yepsen.  I emailed her the following:

I am writing to request a meeting with yourself, Tony Izzo, and Vince DeLeonardis.  The subjects are related to requests for information that I have requested but not received.

These involve Saratoga National Golf Course and the Zoning Board of Appeals.

Thank you for responding at your earliest convenience.

I pointedly left out of the proposed agenda the issue of the hospital and her recusal in an attempt to make the idea of the meeting less threatening.

On May 3^rd I received the following email from her:

Hi John.  I’ll ask Vince to give you a call or email to set that up. Thanks.

On that same day, I received the following email from Trish Bush, executive assistant to Mr. De Leonardis (City Attorney).

Mr. Kaufmann, I have been asked to invite you to come to City Hall on Monday May 9th at 3:30 PM to discuss the items in the email you sent to the Mayor on May 2nd.  Please let me know if this time is convenient for you. Thank you, Trish Bush Executive Assistant City Attorney’s Office City of Saratoga Springs (518) 587-3550 x2516

So on May 9^th, I went to city hall for the meeting.  It turned out that the Mayor was driving to Kentucky that day to pick up her son from college and did not attend the meeting.

I met with Vince DeLeonardis (City Attorney), Tony Izzo (Assistant City Attorney), Joe Ogden (Deputy Mayor).  I was accompanied by my friend Jerry Luhn who is an attorney with decades of experience working as counsel for several state agencies.

I wrote briefly about the meeting in an earlier blog.  I described the meeting as cordial and thoughtful.  I specifically left out the substance of the meeting as I hoped that by doing so, it would provide the Mayor with the opportunity to appear to act on the issues pro-actively and not appear as having responded due to hectoring.

I sent to the participants and the Mayor this follow-up summary:

From:  John Kaufmann

Sent:    Tuesday, May 10, 2016 4:20 PM

To:       Vincent DeLeonardis; ‘Tony Izzo’; ‘joe.ogden@saratoga-springs.org’

Cc:      ‘Joanne Yepsen’; ‘jerry luhn’; ‘jerry luhn’

Subject:           Meeting Summary

I want to thank you all for being so generous with your time and for the courtesy you showed

Jerry Luhn and me.  The following is a summary of what I believe transpired:

• Ex Parte Communication between public board members and applicants having business before them. Tony acknowledged that the training session by Mark Schachner and the materials by the New York Department of State Committee on Open Government would indicate that the nature of what constitutes an ex parte communication in this context is considerably broader than a constrained understanding of the term to merely the “merits” of an application. On that premise, it was his sense that the Ethics Board would be willing to revisit this issue, drawing from the definition expressed in their recent opinion, to better articulate the meaning of ex parte. He saw no reason why a discussion of this issue should not be carried out in an open meeting of the Board and agreed that I could be notified of the meeting at which this matter would be taken up.

Shortly after I received an email back from Mayor Yepsen :

From: Joanne Yepsen [mailto:joanne.yepsen@saratoga-springs.org] Sent: Wednesday, May 11, 2016 12:09 PM To: John Kaufmann Cc: Vincent DeLeonardis; Tony Izzo; <joe.ogden@saratoga-springs.org>; jerry luhn; jerry luhn Subject: Re: Meeting Summary

Thanks for the summary John. I’m glad you and Jerry found the meeting helpful. I would like to follow up with you and my staff especially on the last two items. 

We have a tremendous amount progressing forward in open space, complete streets, sustainability efforts and affordable housing issues. Much to share!

Thanks, 

Joanne 

I then responded with:

From:  John Kaufmann [john.kaufmann21@gmail.com]

Sent:    Thursday, May 12, 2016 6:49 AM

To:       ‘Joanne Yepsen’

Cc:      ‘Vincent DeLeonardis’; ‘Tony Izzo’; ‘<joe.ogden@saratoga-springs.org>’; ‘jerry luhn’; ‘jerry luhn’

Subject:           RE: Meeting Summary

 Thank you for your note.  I would hope that item #5 would be of particular concern to you.  You have placed the need for transparency and open government as a priority for your administration.  Item #5 is particularly disturbing both in terms of the continued message of a lack of sensitivity regarding inclusion and respect for the public conveyed through the ZBA’s seating plan but particularly by the apparent violation of the open meetings law in terms of the way the ZBA determined the new policy.  I know it would be very disturbing to many in this community were these issues to go unaddressed by your administration.  Adherence to the principle of the open meetings law would seem to be the bedrock of the kind of healthy government that seems increasingly rare these days.  It is my hope that you will show the leadership so badly needed in working to find a resolution for this matter.  Given the fact that Mr. Moore was reappointed by you, he should be cooperative.

For those of you without the patience to read through these emails, I was basically promised that they would finally respond to my requests for information.  In at least two cases they were to do so before the end of May.  It is now June and it has been approximately a month since the meeting.  Tony Izzo, to his credit, sent me an email confirming that he had spoken to Mark Schachner and that Mr. Schachner admitted to misspeaking regarding the need for land use board members to recuse themselves when they had a contractual relationship with an applicant.  The sad reality of our current ethics code is that this behavior would not be a violation..

As regards all the other issues, I have heard nothing.  I think, dear readers, I have made a yeoman’s effort on behalf of you all to get answers out of Mayor Yepsen’s office and sadly at this point it is reasonable to assume that further efforts to get information on these issues from that office are simply pointless.