SCHENECTADY Old fire station may be razed Chief wants new facility BY KATHLEEN MOORE Gazette Reporter
The city will seek stimulus funding to demolish an antique firehouse and replace it, even though renovations would cost two-thirds less than rebuilding. The measure, proposed by fi re Chief Robert Farstad, sparked a short debate at Monday’s City Council committees meeting. In the end it was approved by the committee on the grounds that it was better to spend “someone else’s money,” as Director of Operations Sharon Jordan put it. “To foot the bill for the renovations, we just don’t have the money,” she said. “This is free money.” If the grant is approved by the federal government, the city would spend roughly $3.5 million to demolish and rebuild Fire Station 3, in Mont Pleasant. Renovating it instead would cost slightly less than $1 million, but that expense is not eligible for a stimulus grant. No one disagreed on the need for major repairs. The firehouse, which was built by a WPA crew in 1938, is in poor condition, Farstad said. It needs a new roof, as well as remedies to a persistent pest problem and the stench of a decades-old diesel contamination. The spill was cleaned up, but the fumes can still be smelled, Farstad said. Also, old water damage has yet to be fixed and Farstad wants to install taller doors to accommodate larger firetrucks. He emphasized that the cost of renovations would come from taxpayers if his rebuilding grant is not approved. “That’s close to one million, at least, of our money,” he said. Only Councilwoman Barbara ...............>>>>...................>>>>.............http://www.dailygazette.net/De.....4&Continuation=1
Not so fast, if you don’t mind, knocking down that Depression-era Schenectady fi rehouse. Even if it does need close to a million bucks worth of fixing up to accommodate 21st century fi refighting apparatus. Even if there is asbestos to get rid of, and — to hear Schenectady Fire Chief Robert Farstad tell it — “varmints” scurrying about. The Mont Pleasant firehouse is an attractive old design with historic implications in an old urban neighborhood; far more attractive and appropriate to its surroundings than the typical modern replacement. Not to mention that knocking down this rare specimen will cost a lot more — a total of $3.5 million. The city council’s position seems to be that renovations wouldn’t be affordable because federal stimulus money available for a teardown/replacement isn’t available for restorations. But that’s apparently not true. The Preservation League of New York State claims that if the building is deemed eligible for National Historic Register status, stimulus money can’t be used to knock it down, but can be used to renovate it. (And city Director of Operations Sharon Jordan acknowledged yesterday that the grant application does indeed apply to building “modifications” as well as new construction.) .............>>>>..........>>>>............http://www.dailygazette.net/De.....p;
SCHENECTADY Firehouse decision: Demolish, fix, rebuild Stimulus funds eyed for dilapidated building BY KATHLEEN MOORE Gazette Reporter
Three feuding proposals are on the table for fire station 3 in Mont Pleasant. The City Council must decide today whether it wants to demolish the historic station, repair it, or build a new facility nearby and try to sell the old one? No matter what the council decides today , nothing will happen immediately. The council is planning to apply for federal stimulus funds to afford the project. There’s no money to repair or replace the firehouse in this year’s budget. The station was built by the WPA in 1938 to resemble the houses nearby, albeit with a three-bay garage. But the second story is now in disrepair, with some windows filled with plywood, and the roof is deteriorating badly. Chief Robert Farstad said conditions inside are so bad — with vermin and the lingering stench from a diesel fuel spill — that he wants to knock the station down and replace it. But after Councilwoman Barbara Blanchard defended the station as a historical treasure earlier last week, city officials proposed a compromise. Their idea now is to demolish a vacant, city-owned building on Crane Street at the site of the former Big Ton Supermarket next to the municipal parking lot. The new firehouse could be built there while the old station is sold to developers. But Blanchard doubts that anyone would buy the firehouse, given its condition and the rough neighborhood that surrounds it. “It’s going to languish,” she said. “Who would buy that building now? I just can’t imagine another use for it.” She wants the city to apply for stimulus funds — which are available — to renovate the building. City officials erroneously told the Council last week that the grant could not be used for renovations; Director of Operations Sharon Jordan said Tuesday that she had overlooked some details in the rush to finish the grant on time. “So he does have another choice,” Blanchard said. “In my mind, it would be very wasteful not to renovate it.” Renovations are estimated to cost less than $1 million. Demolition and rebuilding would cost about $3.5 million, Farstad said. Blanchard also wants the upper floor renovated as a neighborhood meeting space. Farstad had cited the second floor as one reason for demolition, saying that the station is too large for the department’s current needs. The upper story looks like a typical house, allowing the building to fit in with the rest of the neighborhood. That detail makes the fi re station unique and valuable as a historic site, Blanchard said. Firefighters are lobbying hard for a new station on Crane Street, saying it’s their best chance of winning a federal grant. “What we need to look at is, which site hits the funding priorities the best way?” Assistant Fire Chief Michael Della Rocco said. “We need to hit those thresholds in order to get that grant.” He said renovating the current building would not meet the federal priorities as well as a replacement building. Yet all of the priorities appear to apply to both projects. They include: replacing unsafe areas, creating a safer working environment, the length of time since the city began searching for a solution, and a number of requirements regarding number of incidents and fi refighter certifications. Della Rocco said the replacement of the entire building would best serve the first priority, making it more likely to win a grant. “And that’s what’s important,” he said. But Blanchard isn’t convinced. “I am not inclined to like that,” she said. “I just don’t want to see that old firehouse crumble.” Schenectady Heritage Foundation Chairwoman Gloria Kishton offered a third view, suggesting that both sides could be satisfi ed if a responsible developer is found to reuse the old station. ................>>>>................>>>>.................http://www.dailygazette.net/De.....amp;EntityId=Ar01000
First these people have got to stop using the word HISTORICAL! Really! It is just a fire house for God's sake! Is the fire house being used as a fire house now? If not, take the damn thing down. The neighborhood is in shambles as it is! Crime is rampant. Drugs are everywhere coupled with gangs! And they are talking about HISTORY! These people are nuts! IMHO
Second of all, these 'people' had no problem raping the old HISTORIC Ingersoll home and yet they seek public funding for a run down fire house in one of the worst sections of the county! NUTS! IMHO
When the INSANE are running the ASYLUM In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule. -- Friedrich Nietzsche
“How fortunate for those in power that people never think.” Adolph Hitler
SCHENECTADY City Council seeks funds to replace or fix up fire station BY KATHLEEN MOORE Gazette Reporter
The City Council decided ambiguously to “replace or renovate” Fire Station 3, leaving more questions than answers as grant writers begin their work. In the next two weeks, city officials must write a grant that somehow defends the need to both replace and renovate the fire station on 3rd Avenue. The grant is for stimulus funding that is only available for projects that could be proposed in 18 days, which forced the council to make a decision with few facts Monday. Fire Chief Robert Farstad told the council that he’s not even sure if the station is in the right location, because he didn’t have time to do a proper study. Nonetheless, he urged the council to approve the demolition and replacement of the historic station. “We’re moving very fast because of the grant period. We really want to place any new station in the right position, study trends for population changes in the next 15 years. In............>>>>...........>>>>.............http://www.dailygazette.net/De.....4&Continuation=1
Firehouse 3 fits in old city neighborhood; new station wouldn’t
I am writing to concur with your June 17 editorial, “Renovate, don’t knock down old firehouse,” and to urge the City Council to investigate the possibility of renovating, rather than razing, Firehouse No. 3, built by the Works Progress Administration [WPA] in the 1930s. The firehouse is an attractive, historic design, and is appropriate in scale to the surrounding neighborhood. If there is a feasible way to bring it up to contemporary standards and to provide decent accommodations for the firefighters who live there while retaining its historic character, it would be much preferable than replacing it with some anonymous, and probably overbuilt, design such as that of many of the new rural and suburban firehouses in the area. The firehouse is actually one of the few remnants of a program of incredible importance to the city in the 1930s. The city of Schenectady received millions of dollars through the WPA, and the program employed hundreds of city residents during the depths of the Great Depression. However, we lack few visible reminders of that history in the city. The remnants of that massive investment include the deteriorating wall around the lake at Steinmetz Park, the city garage (now in the process of being demolished), the Municipal Golf Course (improved by, though not originally built by, the WPA), and Firehouse No. 3. It seems that much more so than the city garage, there is potential for preserving the fire station while retaining its usefulness and still taking advantage of the grant money that it is hoped will fund the project. We should keep in mind recent cases (see our current Amtrak station), where historic structures have been discarded in favor of more “functional” buildings. If we hope for the revival of neighborhoods like Mont Pleasant, at least some of that revival will come from people who appreciate the historic feel of older urban neighborhoods. The city can foster that process by investing in these historic public buildings. Thus I hope the City Council will investigate fully all the possible options for preserving the structure while making it useful for modern firefighting.
ANDREW MORRIS Schenectady The writer is an associate history professor at Union College.
Re June 16 article, “Old fire station may be razed”: Schenectady is a city rich in history. At times, city leaders choose to celebrate that history — but only when such celebration suits them. I have opposed efforts to alter the terrain in Vale Park, citing its place on state and national Registers of Historic Places. Yet, in reminding persons at the city’s Department of Development of such placements, I was told they didn’t matter, and the city could do “as it wants” in this historic location. It appears the city can also “do as it wants” with the Mont Pleasant firehouse. No one denies the courage and integrity of our firefighters. We want them to have what they need to keep us safe. But does that mean yet another historic building in our city must be demolished? According to a June 17 Gazette editorial, [“Renovate, don’t knock down, old firehouse”] federal stimulus money may be used for restoration, so why not travel the ethical path and save this firehouse? As for the “varmints” running about — get real! The real “varmints” are those who are willing to destroy our history on a steady level of decline, all for the sake of so-called progress.
“We’re moving very fast because of the grant period. We really want to place any new station in the right position, study trends for population changes in the next 15 years.
Oh, so they're going to build in another state? Cause that's where this city's population change is going.
Two statistics that were recently reported on the news and that should be considered in deciding what action, if any, should be taken.
New York State has the highest rate of exodus of residents of any state in the nation. The rate is 50% higher than Massachusetts.
Mt. Pleasant has one of the highest neighborhood residential vacancy rates in the state.
Based on these reports, I, like MT, question the validity of the statement made regarding population trends.
The debate re: facility renovation verses demolition and building new should assess the justifiable need, defined requirements, and the cost to taxpayers.
Both Ms Delain's and the Union professor's letters are failed. There are many WPA projects still standing in Schenectady; add Mt Pleasant {Now Middle School and former home to The Mad Bomber} and City Hall. Where were you when the rubber stamp City Council wanted to waste millions on a new City Garage? The WPA garage only needs a new roof. It will soon be rubble soon. They don't build them like that anymore.
Mt Pleasant is on the STATE'S top empty neighborhood list. Can't we consolidate services? If not let the old station be sold for private usage and be put back on the tax roll. Stimulus money? lol. Son of Sam got nothing from the Obama administration. Brad Littlefield is right and we need his business sense on our horrible County Legislator.
Logged
Both Ms Delain's and the Union professor's letters are failed. There are many WPA projects still standing in Schenectady; add Mt Pleasant {Now Middle School and former home to The Mad Bomber} and City Hall. Where were you when the rubber stamp City Council wanted to waste millions on a new City Garage? The WPA garage only needs a new roof. It will soon be rubble soon. They don't build them like that anymore.
