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Downtown Schenectady a nightlife destination
Improvements paying off as more people are drawn to city
Saturday, August 8, 2009
By Michael Lamendola (Contact)
Gazette Reporter

SCHENECTADY — It was a perfect night for a date.
Cheri and Brian Hart, two thirtysomethings from Niskayuna, were “kid free” and wanted to spend some quality time together. They chose downtown Schenectady for their Friday night date.
The Harts started with dinner at Bombers Burrito Bar on State Street, downtown’s main drag, and then saw the latest Harry Potter movie at Movieland, about two blocks away.
As they walked along State Street on a warm summer evening, they passed packed restaurants, a street drummer and dozens of other people, some waiting to see the Broadway musical “Rent,” some just out on the town.
As recently as two years ago, the Harts would have never considered downtown Schenectady as a destination. “We never came downtown because there was nothing here,” said Cheri Hart.
Today, they are excited about downtown because of what it has to offer. “It is a destination for date night. We are excited to see things coming downtown,” Hart said.
Downtown has indeed become a nightlife destination, but with a lowercase “d,” meaning it has yet to reach the appeal of downtown Saratoga Springs during racing season, according to interviews with visitors, merchants and developers.
“We are getting close to critical mass where it can stand on its own with enough people and enough visits,” said Ray Gillen, chairman of the Metroplex Development Authority, which was created 10 years ago to revitalize downtown.
In the years since, Metroplex’s scope has expanded to promote economic development throughout Schenectady County.
In the days before suburban malls, Schenectady’s downtown was once the economic and social heart of the county. But like downtowns across the nation, it declined to consist of boarded-up storefronts and decaying buildings....................>>>>.............>>>>...............http://www.dailygazette.com/news/2009/aug/08/0809_schdynightlife/

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Some nightlife in downtown Schenectady isn’t all that attractive

    I think the headline of Michael Lamendola’s Aug. 9 article [“Downtown a nightlife destination”] should have included the qualifier: “at your own risk!”
    Like the Harts in the article, who referenced a kid-free date night on Friday night, we, too, chose downtown for our kid-free night out the very next night (Aug. 15). And just like the Harts, we had an enjoyable meal at Bomber’s Burrito Bar. Unfortunately, that’s where the similarities end — and for us, the rest of the evening was not so enjoyable.
    At 7:30 p.m., on a pleasant summer Saturday evening, the downtown restaurants were not nearly “packed,” and we passed very few people, let alone “dozens.” All of the downtown merchants on both State and Jay were closed. With the exception of Bomber’s, Aperitivo, Proctors and Movieland, there was nothing else open.
    To top it off, as we left Bomber’s and strolled down State [Street] to walk off our meal and enjoy the new streetscape, we were accosted by a vagrant, who after standing on the corner muttering to himself, randomly decided to scream obscenities directly at us as we passed. At just 9 p.m., there was not another soul in sight within a block of us to help if we should need it.
    Needless to say the whole experience was unsettling, and my wife was so scared and disappointed that I don’t anticipate she’ll be running back to downtown anytime soon — and definitely not with kids.
    Don’t get me wrong. I realize it’s a work in progress, and I applaud the efforts of the city and Metroplex, and am pleased to see that vast improvements have begun. The new streetscape is beautiful. And being an old-school visitor myself, with fond childhood memories of Carl Co., Woolworth’s, Apex Music and Mr. Peanut, I look forward to it returning to its glory days. But until more shops open, more visitors appear and maybe a beat cop or substation is within reach to chase away undesirables, I hate to say I’ll have to stick with Crossgates Mall (of all places) as the safer alternative!

    JIM GESEK
    Guilderland

http://www.dailygazette.net/De.....r00703&AppName=1

Welcome to the real Schenectady, it's a good thing that the visitors didn't walk any further than they did or they might have gotten mugged.

To top it off, as we left Bomber’s and strolled down State [Street] to walk off our meal and enjoy the new streetscape, we were accosted by a vagrant, who after standing on the corner muttering to himself, randomly decided to scream obscenities directly at us as we passed. At just 9 p.m., there was not another soul in sight within a block of us to help if we should need it.




^^ what is this guy nuts.. lets take a late night stroll on State street..

LOL you gotta be kidding me.  

The initial story from the Gazetto's Puffy La-La is embarrassing. More idiotic cheerleading. Nothing was open-not one store! The eateries are empty not packed as "reported".. The few people on the streets are vagrants with mental issues. There is no police protection. Six shops on Jay st have closed with many more ready to bail.

  We have been calling for the reopening of the Jay St SPD substation for months. All we here from Metrograft's Death Ray is "there is no crime Downtown" and there are "700,000 cars in Metrograft lots". Bizarre. And then they open more tax free art galleries where stores used to be. Take another look at State below Erie and tell us again about "renaissance".

I chase a bum off of me every time I step out of my car down there.

Of course it's like that on State Street. Look at what surrounds those couple of blocks on state st. The rest of the city is falling down around it.  And when and if the people start frequenting downtown, the undesirables will increase. More money to lift, more drugs to sell, more sex to sell and more panhandling in general!

I really don't know if a police substation would really help at this point. I believe that our generous welfare packages and non profits and free lunches in central park will keep all of the undesirables right here.

If there where a substation, than we will have to enlarge our jail house and continue to yet pay for them there!

The Jay St substation must be reopened. Nobody will go there if it is unsafe and populated with aggessive panhandlers/criminals. At least it will close one art gallery that doesn't sell any art. Need an increased police presence and decreased criminal presence.

  Metrograft has been a total flop. Sales tax revenue in this County is tanking not increasing as it was supposed to do. Metrograft has a bunch of hacks on the payroll and is more and more secretive. They have no plan-no vision-the same old "new curbs and bike paths" {ala Erie Blvd} which does nothing to create a safe environment.

Nah,,,,the artists will chase away the muggers/robbers/rapists with their paint brushes.....

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Schenectady needs more welcoming, open-minded people

    Two vastly different views of Schenectady were published in the Aug. 17 Gazette. Fear is a theme in Jim Gesek’s letter [“Not all downtown Schenectady nightlife is that attractive”]. According to his letter, on a recent trip to downtown Schenectady, Mr. Gesek was “accosted by a vagrant,” who was “muttering to himself,” and screamed “obscenities” at Gesek as he went down the street.
    Apparently, vagrants are unwelcome in Mr. Gesek’s nostalgic view of downtown Schenectady. He suggests, in his letter, “a beat cop or (police) substation to chase away undesirables.” That solution, for him, is a necessary step to make Schenectady a more welcoming place.
    Another view, friendlier and welcoming, is expressed in R. Michaela French’s letter [“Arthur’s Polachek ran a welcoming kind of market”]. French, an immigrant from England, writes how a store owner (Peter Polachek) made her feel welcome and helped her be able to call the Stockade “home.” Polachek was, according to her letter, “always welcoming, ready to chat, and made me feel comfortable — no longer an alien.”
    The irony of these two letters appearing side by side in the Gazette! Here’s my view: We make our communities by our attitudes and behaviors toward the other members of the community. Our Schenectady is a heterogeneous community. We have people of various colors, socioeconomic strata, abilities, temperaments, and so on. We have suburbanites and “vagrants” among us. For me, Mr. Gesek’s dislike of “undesirables” is itself undesirable.
    Schenectady needs more people thinking along the lines of Ms. French: Welcoming, loving and appreciating people.

    TOM SCHMITZ
    Schenectady

http://www.dailygazette.net/De.....r00503&AppName=1

Downtown is fine when college is in......any other time is a bunch of mushrooms

there have been mulitple muggings/assaults of students walking from the new dorm (old ramada hotel) to the main campus.......

There's been multiple armed robberies of students along dangerous Van Vranken Ave (which the Gazetto claimed was in "renaissance"}. Union Students would rather go to Saratoga then Downtown Schenectady. Senders is right and the mushrooms are multiplying.

  Until the sheeple demand action on the crime/gang explosion nothing will change. We don't need increased "tolerance" for aggressive vagrants-we need a get tough policy and sweep of criminals Citywide. Reopen the Jay Street SPD substation and make the traffic bureau on Albany St a substation with armed police. Start cracking down on welfare fraud and remove the welcome mat for criminals and double dippers.