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Schenectady DSS building subject of disabled-access complaint
Thursday, March 13, 2008
By Michael Lamendola (Contact)
Gazette Reporter

SCHENECTADY — The federal Department of Health and Human Services is investigating a complaint that the county’s Department of Social Services headquarters on Nott Street violates the Americans with Disabilities Act.
The county received notice of the complaint about two weeks ago, said County Attorney Chris Gardner.
“We responded that we have dealt with 95 percent of the issues raised by moving into a new facility on or by Dec. 1,” he said.
Jason Plank, who is disabled and receives DSS benefits, filed the complaint against the county in January.
“I filed with the Department of Health and Human Services after state courts refused to uphold my basic civil rights,” Plank said. “They cannot operate in that realm; it is not handicapped accessible.”
A spokesman for the federal department said he could not comment on current or potential investigations.
County officials have long acknowledged the building is not accessible to the handicapped and does not offer proper accommodations, Gardner said. As an interim solution, DSS staff members meet prospective clients with handicaps in their homes, or those clients can meet with staff at another DSS location that is handicapped accessible, he said.
The Nott Street building is a former school dating to 1875; it houses approximately 80 county staff members and the DSS administrative and child support units. Staff members see between 60 and 75 clients daily. The building lacks elevators, ramps and handicapped-accessible rest rooms.
Gardner said the county would have to spend more than $1 million to make the building accessible to the handicapped and “we’d still be stuck with a bad building.” He said the county addressed the building’s problems prior to receiving the complaint; it plans to relocate DSS staff and offices from Nott Street to a building at 797 Broadway.
The county Legislature in December approved a 20-year lease on the Broadway building with owner the Galesi Group. The lease begins in January 2009 and will cost the county approximately $16 million over its term. The county can purchase the Broadway building after 10 years, Gardner said.

Wait a second - hold the damn phone a minute.

The "NEW" DSS building - I thought that was supposed to be a NEW building?  The existing yellow monster at 797 is nothing but four walls laced with Asbestos and years of decay from a chemical plant that has long since abandoned it.  My impression of this "move" was that this was going to be a NEW building - not a building exactly like the old one - old, crumbling and in desperate need of replacement?

Modular buildings are a dime a dozen - I can't believe they're seriously looking at "rehabbing" this pile of cinderblock.

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SCHENECTADY COUNTY
Aged DSS building on Nott target of access complaint
BY MICHAEL LAMENDOLA Gazette Reporter

    The federal Department of Health and Human Services is investigating a complaint that the county’s Department of Social Services headquarters on Nott Street violates the Americans with Disabilities Act.
    The county received notice of the complaint about two weeks ago, said County Attorney Chris Gardner. “We responded that we have dealt with 95 percent of the issues raised by moving into a new facility on or by Dec. 1,” he said.
    County officials have long acknowledged the building is not accessible to the handicapped and does not offer them proper accommodations, Gardner said. As an interim solution, DSS staff meet prospective clients with handicaps in their homes, or these clients can meet with staff at another DSS location that is handicapped accessible, he said.
    The Nott Street building is a former school dating to 1875; it houses approximately 80 county staff members and the DSS administrative and child support units. Staff members see between 60 and 75 clients daily. The building lacks elevators, ramps and handicapped accessible rest rooms.
    Gardner said the county would have to spend more than $1 million to make the building accessible to the handicapped and “we’d still be stuck with a bad building.”
    He said the county addressed the building’s problems prior to receiving the complaint; it plans to relocate DSS staff and offices from Nott Street to a building at 797 Broadway.
    The Legislature in December approved a 20-year lease on the Broadway building with owner the Galesi Group. The lease begins in January 2009 and will cost the county approximately $16 million over its term. The county can purchase the Broadway building after 10 years, Gardner said.
    Jason Planck, who is disabled and receives DSS benefits, filed the complaint against the county in January. “I filed with the Department of Health and Human services after state courts refused to uphold my basic civil rights,” Planck said.
    A spokesman for the federal department said he could not comment on current or potential investigations.

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SCHENECTADY
Galesi works on new DSS building Work expected to be done by end of year
BY MICHAEL LAMENDOLA Gazette Reporter
Reach Gazette reporter Michael Lamendola at 395-3114 or lamend@dailygazette.com

    Workers in hard hats are swarming the sprawling skeleton of the former Schenectady International facility on Broadway, part of an effort to transform it into a modern county office building.
    The Galesi Group is gutting the northern-most building on the site for new tenant, the Schenectady County Department of Social Services.
    Galesi expects to have the building ready for occupancy by the end of the year, said company executive David Buicko. “We wouldn’t say it if we didn’t think so.”
    General contractor BCI Construction is removing tons of material from the three-story concrete structure, including heating, ventilation and air condition systems, and stockpiled wallpaper left behind by a former tenant. Buicko said the items are typically found in an unused building.
    A Schenectady International spokesman earlier said the building is not contaminated with chemicals. It never used the site to make resins or alkylphenols, as it does at its Rotterdam Junction facility. The buildings may contain asbestos, an insulating material in common use decades ago, which will be removed, Buicko said.
    Galesi will install new major mechanical and plumbing equipment, including boilers and chillers, and create modular office space throughout.
    The county will rent the 47,000-square-foot building for about $16 million over 20 years, a cost of $16.99 per square foot, beginning Jan. 1. It has an option to buy the building after 10 years.
    The county plans to spend $1.5 million in federal and other money to clear and stabilize the steep slope behind the structure. The slope is considered unstable.
    The county plans to relocate DSS operations from 487 Nott St. and Schaffer Heights on Nott Terrace to the Broadway site, as well as several offices from Center City, including the Youth Bureau, Veterans Services and the Schenectady Job Training Agency. The relocation would involve some 200 staff.
    The first floor will contain a waiting area and interview rooms for DSS clients while the upper floors will house staff. The building lies on a Capital District Transportation Authority bus line, and the site contains parking for about 200 vehicles.
    Galesi bought the property for about $761,000 in October from Uncle Sam’s House, which still operates programs to help veterans in the Capital Region. It contains another building measuring 83,000 square feet.
    Galesi will put the building on the tax rolls, receiving reimbursement through the state Empire Zone Program.
    SI owned the facility for more than 25 years before donating it to Uncle Sam’s House in 2001. Uncle Sam’s sold the building after the city blocked its efforts to house veterans recovering from alcohol and drug dependencies. Uncle Sam’s also wanted to operate a commercial laundry in the facility. The laundry equipment remains in a larger, adjacent building, Buicko said.
    The county considers the Nott Street DSS building obsolete and a health hazard. It sold the structure to Galesi for $200,000 this year. Galesi plans to demolish the building in the spring and construct a medical office there, Buicko said. “The proximity to Ellis and St. Clare’s and Golub is terrific,” he said. “We think Schenectady needs a new, modern medical office building.”
    The site is adjacent to College Park, where the Golub Corp. is constructing its new headquarters.

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Galesi will put the building on the tax rolls, receiving reimbursement through the state Empire Zone Program.

Isn't Empire Zone funding targeted to support the creation of jobs in depressed areas?  I have not read in
any of the news stories or heard stated during any of the meetings of the Schenectady County Legislature any
mention of new jobs, other than the temporary construction work.  Existing county offices will be relocated to
the new site.

This question should be posed to State Comptroller Dinapoli who recently reported the failure of the Empire Zone program to create many new jobs in Schenectady County despite $7M in grants.

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Isn't Empire Zone funding targeted to support the creation of jobs in depressed areas?  I have not read in
any of the news stories or heard stated during any of the meetings of the Schenectady County Legislature any
mention of new jobs, other than the temporary construction work.  Existing county offices will be relocated to
the new site.

This question should be posed to State Comptroller Dinapoli who recently reported the failure of the Empire Zone program to create many new jobs in Schenectady County despite $7M in grants.

Exactly. This is just a relocate without meeting the quota of new jobs through the Empire Zone.

DSS is a government facility.......duh........and right next door they can relocate Another World for use by "my babies' daddies"..........

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SCHENECTADY COUNTY
Social Services’ new home to be energy efficient
BY MICHAEL LAMENDOLA Gazette Reporter

    Special glazing, additional insulation and other energy-saving measures are expected to save the county at least $1 million over the next 20 years, or about $1 per square foot off the lease, on its new Department of Social Services center on Broadway.
    The Schenectady County Legislature is expected to amend its current lease with building owner The Galesi Group next week. Legislators discussed the project Monday night.
    The county proposes to spend an additional $250,357 on energyefficient improvements for the construction project at 7697 Broadway, a former Schenectady International facility. It will offset nearly half of the cost with a $104,000 grant from the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority.
    Over the 20-year lease, the county expects to save $61,500 annually due to the improvements, for a total savings of approximately $900,000 over 20 years.
    At the same time, the county will pay an extra 35 cents per square foot in the lease agreement, said County Manager Kathleen Rooney. She said the net savings of $45,160 means the county will recoup its expense in about three years.
    The county is paying approximately $16 million to lease the 45,000-square-foot building, with an option to buy after 10 years.
    The county asked NYSERDA to conduct an energy audit as part of efforts to make its building more efficient.
    The county expects to occupy the building in January 2009. Approximately 200 employees will work there. They are relocating from DSS sites at 487 Nott St. and Schaffer Heights on Nott Terrace and from Center City.
    The county plans to spend $1.5 million in federal and other money to clear and stabilize the steep slope behind the structure. The slope is considered unstable.
    “Schenectady is going green, and in this case, green means saving energy and saving money,” said Susan E. Savage, D-Niskayuna, chairwoman of the Schenectady County Legislature. “By accepting this NYSERDA funding, we develop energy-efficient space for the Department of Social Services. This is all about savings for the taxpayers and improved energy efficiency.”

This are is accessible by whom???.....if one is on DSS they usually dont have a car........oh, the otherside of Schenectady.....the one Mr.Stratton didn't really see a problem with.........

welcome to the tug-o-war match in the county between the NIMBYS.......location location location..........

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SCHENECTADY
Slope safety work an eye opener Prep reveals ‘100 years’ of refuse
BY JUSTIN MASON Gazette Reporter

    Removing more than a century’s worth of rubbish from a 45-degree hillside is no easy task.
    Just ask Jim Gabriel, the Schenectady County engineer overseeing the $1.5 million stabilization effort along a steep embankment behind the former Schenectady International offices on Broadway. He knew from the beginning that the slope would hold some surprises, but wasn’t expecting the sheer volume of refuse left there.
    When the more than two-dozen trees shading the bluff came down this month, workers uncovered a virtual landfill in the silty soil. Bags of trash, old refrigerators, rusted washing machines and even a car chassis, some left by illegal dumpers, some left by opportunistic homeowners at the top of the slope hoping to extend their property by a few feet.
    “You’ve got about a hundred years of uncontrolled fill up there, which is downright dangerous,” he said Wednesday. “As long as there have been homes up there, it’s been going on.”
    So far, crews have demolished four homes and stripped the scrub vegetation from a large swath of the embankment. The open hillside is visible from the eastbound lane of Interstate 890 about a half-mile away.
    Even more stunning is the view from the dead end of Bluff Avenue more than 50 feet above Broadway. Steady streams of curious residents wandered by late Wednesday afternoon to catch an unobstructed view of General Electric’s sprawling complex, the western edge of Schenectady and even the rolling expanse of the Mohawk River meeting the edge of Glenville.
    “I don’t think you’ll get a better view of the city anywhere,” Gabriel said.
    Of course, the view was an unintended consequence of the federally funded project. A combination of high groundwater, sandy layers of soil and years of uncontrolled dumping created an unstable situation on the hillside that threatened Broadway below, renovation of the long-dormant Schenectady International buildings, and the homes along Bluff and First avenues.
    If the embankment is left untouched, county officials fear it could eventually slide onto Broadway. Such was the case in January 2004 when a 250-foot fissure opened up on the hillside, prompting city officials to condemn two First Avenue houses at a cost of more than $50,000.
    Similar circumstances caused part of the slope to collapse and bury the former Tel Oil Co. gas station near the I-890 off-ramp in January 1996. More than 7 feet of soil and debris cascaded down from the ridge, killing 42-year-old Thomas Frank while he pumped gas.
EMERGENCY GRANT
    In January, the county received a grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to perform the stabilization work. The county has since hired Carver Construction for the project, which got under way in September.
    Crews are continuing to excavate the slope to reduce its incline by nearly half. They will then install a series of drainage pipes to collect and divert groundwater from the slope, which will be planted with low-growing shrubbery.
    Gabriel said the stabilization work is expected to continue through the end of the year. The project’s conclusion is expected to coincide with Schenectady County moving it’s Department of Social Services offices into the smaller of the Schenectady International buildings, which are both owned by the Galesi Group.
    BCI Construction is nearing completion on its renovation of the 47,000-square-foot brick building. Company Vice President Bob Fortune said the interior is mostly finished and expects their work to conclude on the site sometime in mid-November, when county crews will begin moving in.
    “It came along just as we predicted when we started it earlier this year,” he said. “It’s going to be like a new building.”
    Galesi executive David Buicko said the larger of the buildings is already being gutted so it can be marketed and eventually restored. He anticipates significant interest in the critically located property once companies see the results of the first renovation.
    “From that standpoint, I think it’s one that will market itself,” he said.


PETER R. BARBER/GAZETTE PHOTOGRAPHER Bluff Avenue residents Sarah Dubois, left, and Theresa Mitchell look over the cleared hill at the foot of Bluff Avenue, overlooking the GE Plant and Bellevue neighborhood, as workers clear the hillside Wednesday.

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Just ask Jim Gabriel, the Schenectady County engineer overseeing the $1.5 million stabilization effort along a steep embankment behind the former Schenectady International offices on Broadway. He knew from the beginning that the slope would hold some surprises, but wasn’t expecting the sheer volume of refuse left there.

yeah, ok look around at the city...tell me you didn't think otherwise.....PCB's anyone?.....the apple doesn't fall far from the teacher.....politicos included...

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SCHENECTADY
Developer sees bright future for old building
County offices moving into adjacent site
BY JUSTIN MASON Gazette Reporter

    Dave Buicko’s voice echoed as he stepped into the cavernous building that formerly housed Schenectady International.
    Drafts of cool air whipped through several open windows as the Galesi Group’s chief operating officer led a tour through of the 93,000-square-foot concrete, brick and rebar structure looming along Broadway. Bird droppings coat the dingy stairwells and decadesold furniture chokes many of the dimly lighted corridors — not the kind of environment most would consider ideal for state-of-the-art office space.
    “What you’ve got to have is a little bit of vision,” he said, surveying the fi rst floor. “You need an imagination to convince people this is going to be offices.”
    So far, only a few companies have voiced interest in the prime location, just a short distance away from the city’s main arterial, Interstate 890.
    But Buicko expects that to change, once his company finishes renovating an adjacent building into the future home of Schenectady County’s Department of Social Services.
    Galesi’s contractors have transformed the 47,000-square-foot building into brightly illuminated offices that bear no resemblance to the dilapidated structure next door. Workers have refinished the building’s interior, transforming the bleak industrial-looking corridors into an inviting space for the fi ve different county agencies expected to move in before the new year.
    “This is going to be a significant step up from where they are today,” Buicko said.
    Workers have installed drop ceilings throughout the building and outfitted all the rooms with motionsensor lighting systems. Over the next few weeks, they’ll finish putting in the wall-to-wall carpeting on the fi rst floor and completing the wood-molded service desk in the center of the building.
    Outside, a 20,000-square-foot warehouse behind the building was leveled earlier this year to make way for the building’s parking lot. County contractors are expected to complete the first phase of a bank stabilization project behind the building, which will eventually leave the rear offices overlooking a landscaped slope.
    Along Broadway, crews have installed an exterior security camera system and are pouring concrete for sidewalks. Once completed, the building’s street front will feature an entrance awning, dwarf cherry trees and floodlights to illuminate the facade.
    “It’s going to be a very nice addition for the downtown,” said Frank Gilmore, the project’s lead architect.
    Gilmore said the two structures were originally built around the 1930s and once housed a mica plant. The curious second-floor walkway between the buildings was crafted in part because the area below was a paper street.
    For decades, the buildings housed Schenectady International’s headquarters downtown. The company vacated the building in 2000 when it moved to Niskayuna.
    After unsuccessfully marketing the property for a year, Schenectady International donated the building to Uncle Sam’s House — a veteran support group — which attempted to run its cleaning and maintenance service from the buildings. The effort failed.
    Last October, Galesi bought the property for roughly $760,000 after Uncle Sam’s fell into debt over the maintenance costs. Galesi agreed to refurbish the smaller building for Schenectady County, which agreed to lease the space for $16 million over 20 years.
    The top floor will house the county’s Veterans’ Affairs, Human Rights and Youth Services departments; Social Services’ investigation, support and collection branches; and the commissioners’ offi ces. The second floor will include Social Services’ general and administrative staff, while the fi rst floor will be for processing of requests and service windows.
    Buicko said the project to rehabilitate the buildings seemed like a no-brainer because of their sturdy construction and the amount of money it would have taken to demolish them. He said the project shows that the industrial fortresses of New York’s bygone days can be rehabilitated for modern uses.
    “These are issues many upstate New York cities are facing,” he said. “You’ve got old, obsolete buildings in the middle of your downtown areas.”


BRUCE SQUIERS/GAZETTE PHOTOGRAPHER
David Buicko, CEO of the Galesi Group, points out design features during a tour Wednesday of the soon-to-be-completed Department of Social Services building at 797 Broadway. Behind him is Frank F. Gilmore of Stracher, Roth and Gilmore Architects.

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SCHENECTADY COUNTY
DSS building not in compliance Agency will soon move to accessible site
BY KATHLEEN MOORE Gazette Reporter

    Just 10 weeks before the Schenectady County Department of Social Services moves to a handicapped-accessible building, the federal government has put it on notice that its current building isn’t acceptable.
    The federal Department of Health and Human Services began an investigation this year after receiving the first complaint ever filed, according to its records, regarding the Nott Street building in Schenectady.
    For more than 20 years, the county Department of Social Services has operated out of an outdated school building that disabled residents cannot enter because they must climb a set of steep stairs.
    There are no ramps, elevators or handicapped parking spaces either.
    The building is heavily used because residents must go there to apply for food stamps, seek help with heating bills or request welfare benefits. But apparently no one complained until disability advocate Jason Planck wrote to HHS early this year.
    At that point, the complaint was mainly a formality. HHS noted in its ruling this week that the problems will be solved in less than three months when the county moves to a rehabilitated office building on Broadway, the former Schenectady International site.
    In the meantime, DSS officials signed a written contract listing the alternatives they will offer to those who cannot physically enter their building.
    They agreed to have a designated phone number for disabled residents, which would be staffed by an employee who would log each call and the accommodations made to address the caller’s needs. The phone number must be posted outside the building.
    If services are provided to a walk-in in less than 24 hours, they must be provided to the disabled resident in the same time frame, according to the agreement.
    DSS said the interim solutions are reasonable, given that they will be needed only for 10 weeks.
    “What we did is opt for the long- term solution,” said first deputy county attorney Kevin Burke, who handles DSS matters. “This is why we’re moving to Broadway.”
    Planck said he was satisfied by the agreement. He complained to HHS after having to discuss his private affairs with a DSS caseworker on the public sidewalk because he couldn’t get up the stairs. He walks with a cane.
    “I stood out in the street. There’s no other way,” he said. “Am I embarrassed? Yes.”
    Burke said other options were available before Planck complained, but Planck said the alternatives weren’t reliable before HHS got involved.
    “You’d call and hope to God you get a live person. Right now all they do is say, ‘I’m busy, I don’t have the time to talk with you,’ click,” Planck said. “Or they would schedule your appointment and if they were short-staffed they would cancel it. Basically you have to stand out in the street and conduct your business. I understand people are short-staffed, but you just can’t treat people like that.”
    Burke said DSS had offered timely appointments whenever anyone with disabilities called for help. ............................................http://www.dailygazette.net/De.....100&ViewMode=GIF

My mom's neighbor takes care of an elderly gentleman who is presently in the hospital. He needs to be released into a nursing facility and he only has his SS check for money. My mom's neighbor is all he has. (long story there) So she called DSS and made an appt for 9:30 Tuesday.

She arrived at 9am where there was no place to park. She parked 5 blocks away and arrived back at the DSS building at 9:15 where she had to wait "outside" with about 50 people in front of her. She finally got "inside" at 10am. When she finally got to see someone (10:15), she told them she had a 9:30 appointment. They told her she was too late and had to reschedule. She explained her story of no available parking, walking 5 blocks and waiting outside for 45 minutes. It didn't seem to matter as they just told her repeatedly that she had to re-schedule another appoint for another day.

My mom's neighbor left so angry that it almost brought her to tears. She said she will not go back again. And by the way, the nursing facility he was going to be released to was in Mass..

It certainly seems that moving the DSS building to a new location didn't help the service you get when you go there.

What a horrible story. Vince Riggi has pointed out that there is no bus cut outs, so that traffic will back up in both directions on busy Broadway.

     This site was wrong to begin with. There is not enough parking, runoff issues and inadequate mass transit. Another museum or Center City white elephant. Anyone who criticized the site selection was being too "negative". The funniest part is that Death Ray has promised the old DSS site on Nott St will be another retail mecca with "national chains"! Another Gillen's Gulch like Robinson's Square? Try opening one before promising more.