The following appeared in the Pulse of the People, The RECORD, Feb. 24, 2011
Much has been said about the location of a new Troy City Hall. Many are very pleased it is no longer located in the old building due to the mold problems, wasted space, a Council Chamber that was designed so inadequately it was very hard to hear anything that was being said in there, and just the plain old design of it. Personally I thought it was the ugliest building I ever saw. The structure was completely out of character for a great historical City like Troy, known for it's fine architecture. Suggestions for a new City Hall have been plentiful. Some like where it is right now, the old Verizon building at 1776 Sixth Ave. That is an acceptable location with parking, though there is not a Council Chamber and use has been being made of the Christ Church on State and Fifth Aves. I have to add, I like the situation and the sound enhancement and the atmosphere. There is plenty of comfortable seating and vision is excellent.
So at this point I would like to bring a fresh consideration into play. St. Patrick's Church in Uptown/North Central has been closed. Next door to it on the North is the former convent for the nuns, the Rectory is to the south of it. How wonderful it would be for City Hall to relocate here. The Convent could be turned into individual offices and also the Rectory. The Church would make an absolute outstanding location for the Council Chamber! It would afford the same position we now have for the meetings as Christ Church provides, roomy, wonderful views for those participating in the meetings and it is AIR CONDITIONED! When the location is not being used for Chamber functions, other meetings could be booked there holding many more people than the former City Hall ever afforded. Community meetings, Department meetings, Holiday functions and whatever type of purpose the Community could need. Also the City could rent it out for other gathering and help pay for its upkeep. There is parking on the corner of Douw and Sixth, and it is between 2 Bus lines which would make it accessible to everyone. The location is less than 1/2 mile from the major highways and right off of Route 7. The Community Police Station is half a block to the North. What a wonderful re-use of a building to keep a Community active and vibrant. The building is in wonderful condition and handicapped accessible. Extra parking could be found in other locations of the buildings that are slated for demolition or abandoned in the future.
Can you imagine the Kudos our City administration and Council would receive for such a fine change of venue for this building? I envision the magnitude of Citizens speaking of the brilliance of this occupation and use for the populace of Troy and the alternate uses for the general public. It would lessen the gap between the northern and central parts of Troy which is closing everyday with the development of the River St. area just north of the Green Island Bridge and also new talk of development of the former Marshall Ray building and the former Mooradians just south of that, is also ripe for redevelopment. Next would come new small businesses, restaurants, etc. and mid level and larger businesses. What a comprehensive boost to this area with the Street/Structural grant coming in mid 2012.
If you agree, let your City Administrators and Council Representative know.
Showing posts with label North Central. Show all posts
Showing posts with label North Central. Show all posts
Friday, February 25, 2011
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
2010 Census
Have you filled out and sent in your 2010 Census? The forms went out last week and should have been in your mailbox by now. I received mine, filled it out as soon as it came and returned it. I didn't want to set it aside, thinking "I'll do it later" and then have it forgotten. It was very easy, 10 questions, all easy to understand and not personally invasive.
Some people may not understand the importance of filling this form out. It is not that the Government is being nosey, of which they frequently are accused us, but need this information to distribute our tax dollars to the areas that are in need. This information will tell them the numbers that are living in our Cities and the ages of people. Many of the Social Service dollars are distributed in this way, to the needy areas and other dollars for improvements such as infastructure. Troy is one City that fell below 50,000 in the last Census and we lost aid because of this. In reality I find it very hard to believe we were below 50,000, just take a look around you. Look at the large houses that have been broken down into multi-apartments, and many Census forms delivered to those houses are inadequate. Records may show it is a 2 or 3 Family house, when in reality, it may now be 5 to 6 apts in there, so the proper number of forms never arrive. Many of the apts are also severely overcrowed and they fear being evicted so they don't fill out the form or fill it out incorrectly understating the amount of people there. Thus, we show less than our City has and hence get less funding. I hope the Government also does a cross reference on the amount of Citizens in the area on Social Services, Unemployment, and Elementary and High School enrollments and compare that number with the numbers that come back in the Census forms, that would show whether or not there is an imbalance to our numbers as the forms are returned.
Also we have a number of illegals living in the City, obviously they are not going to fill out a form or the people that they are living with are not going to include them.
We need to have these forms filled out properly and returned so we can receive our fair share of our Tax dollars returned to us. I have heard some make statements such as "I am not giving them any of my personal information, they know too much already!" Folks, if you know of any of these people, please try to stress the importance of filling out the form. Most people don't realize that there are other benefits to the count besides just knowing how many people live in the Country, State and Cities.
If you need help with it, Call City Hall in Troy as our Mayor has set up various times and places for Trojans to go and ask questions and receive help filling out the form.
If there is anything I have missed or any comments you would like to add, please do so, this is a BLOG for the Community, and we all jump in to comment because, "That's the Way It Is"!
Some people may not understand the importance of filling this form out. It is not that the Government is being nosey, of which they frequently are accused us, but need this information to distribute our tax dollars to the areas that are in need. This information will tell them the numbers that are living in our Cities and the ages of people. Many of the Social Service dollars are distributed in this way, to the needy areas and other dollars for improvements such as infastructure. Troy is one City that fell below 50,000 in the last Census and we lost aid because of this. In reality I find it very hard to believe we were below 50,000, just take a look around you. Look at the large houses that have been broken down into multi-apartments, and many Census forms delivered to those houses are inadequate. Records may show it is a 2 or 3 Family house, when in reality, it may now be 5 to 6 apts in there, so the proper number of forms never arrive. Many of the apts are also severely overcrowed and they fear being evicted so they don't fill out the form or fill it out incorrectly understating the amount of people there. Thus, we show less than our City has and hence get less funding. I hope the Government also does a cross reference on the amount of Citizens in the area on Social Services, Unemployment, and Elementary and High School enrollments and compare that number with the numbers that come back in the Census forms, that would show whether or not there is an imbalance to our numbers as the forms are returned.
Also we have a number of illegals living in the City, obviously they are not going to fill out a form or the people that they are living with are not going to include them.
We need to have these forms filled out properly and returned so we can receive our fair share of our Tax dollars returned to us. I have heard some make statements such as "I am not giving them any of my personal information, they know too much already!" Folks, if you know of any of these people, please try to stress the importance of filling out the form. Most people don't realize that there are other benefits to the count besides just knowing how many people live in the Country, State and Cities.
If you need help with it, Call City Hall in Troy as our Mayor has set up various times and places for Trojans to go and ask questions and receive help filling out the form.
If there is anything I have missed or any comments you would like to add, please do so, this is a BLOG for the Community, and we all jump in to comment because, "That's the Way It Is"!
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