20 years ago this town was something to be proud of... We had the Grand Union, We had Shoperama, we had the other plaza there before they merged... Carl Company, Jamesway (I think).. I was quite young...

Sandy's Hallmark, Radio shack, Thom Mc Ann... Wool woorth's...

Now everything is leaving that plaza, CVS now is finally moving into their new location effective August 1st... So now that leaves 2 new eye sores one in the plaza one on Hamburg St...

So what's left? Hannaford that's gotten really overpriced...Staples has significantly downsized in the years its been there... and Walmart is really trashy and brings in the filth from the hill...

Not to mention the old Grand Union. which could be Something... anything...


Rotterdam.... a nice place to live... or is it?

some time ago our town had many of the characteristics it has today

unkept properties, sh!t at the curb

if our elected and appointed officials enforced the rules or past leaders worked so hard for rotterdam would be a better place

almost everyone under the employ of the people is so busy kissing a$$ that the town is falling down around us

start with the easy stuff

signs on telephone poles
lawn mowing
enforcement of zoning requirements
removal of past business sighs

here are some examples

V stream - gone, signs still up

all of capitol plaza - all business signs still up building empty

corner of dunnsville and duanesburg - pizza place gone signs still up

four corners -
empty 2 story building unkept

the house across from the "old pizza hut" now a used car dealer - piles of crap everywhere

It has basically become a shi+hole of a town.

Not to mention all the vacant, unkempt houses
with weeds and garbage.  Start knocking them
down -  for example - the one piece of crap on Broadway
and the one on Altamont Ave. between the bank and
McDonalds...start there, condemn them, knock them
down, put the property up for sale, let the town make some
money off of them.

Also at the John Kirvin park, the signs have been "tagged"
by the goons who think they are somebody special. Clean
that up also.

And for the love of God remove the friggin stump from the
wire on Curry Road...

Just like rotterdam, downtown use to be bustling too. What happened? Two things......first, Malls were developed. That was the new growing phase. When colonie center was built, people went there in droves. So the Mall idea took hold and they started springing up everywhere. Phasing out the old way of shopping. Second, and speaking only for schenectady county, GE moved out, shut down and did away with tens of thousands of jobs in the area. Nail, meet coffin!

As far as rotterdam....yes it is a sh!thole and has been for the last couple of decades. The roads look like a patchwork quilt, the sewer system is antiquated, antiquated underground water lines, the aquifer has been recklessly built on and violated, there are vacant buildings in disarray with no action from code enforcers, out of control taxes, poor planning, no vision, no updated comp. plan, rain washed signs on utility poles from last year and now a proposed gin mill (Recovery) that belongs in a CITY not a town/hamlet like rotterdam where small businesses try to survive!

Capitol Plaza? Tippy please get out of your gopher hole. This will be the sight of County "renaissance". Another governmental gin mill that Death Ray and SS both love. Just what we need another watering hole for useless politicians? Enjoy your comped drinks elsewhere.

     Good review BT but what about horrible Rotterdam Square Mall? The worst mall in the area with empty storefronts almost as frequent as lower State St. While others remodel and improve amenities this sinks deeper into the aquifer.

My prediction........Recovery will not exist. There is a major underground water problem there and unless the wondrous metroplex pays to resolve the issue....there ain't no business who's gonna take on that beast at their own cost.

And you are correct benny.....rotterdam square mall is a ghost town! The thrift stores and the second hand stores in rotterdam are doing better!!

I hope you are right. But Metrograft has deep pockets-yours and every other sheeple in this County. They have stuck there neck out here and will look stunad -like at the Van Dyke, The Big Hose, Robinson's Square Mall, CardioMag and too many other flops to list. Of course the MSM will give them another pass.

     The problem with RSM is they lack an attraction. The carousel was packed up and shipped off. McDonalds fled. Jewelers have been replaced by gold buyers.

Ashamed of the town?  

You can move to Schenectady city.


High taxes?   For a house of the same assessment, in the city, my taxes would be just over twice as much!  

how about just cleaning the sh!t up and start with the lame cheap A$$ developers

enough of the hand outs and free passes

a clean and neat piece of property sells better than a garbage dump

come on Mr. UnAppointed Department Head - stop kissing the
supervisor's,
deputy supervisor's,
town attorney's
and
connected executive overpaid administrative assistant's
a$$'s and get some work done

you will be right back to work once you file for unemployment as the deputy supervisor wont want to pay
your unemployment benefit if what he says is true about the town having no cash

cause if you don't do it the next guy definitely wont as he doesn't work after 5pm
or weekends on the senior ctr kitchen

capitol plaza and others could have been a cash cow if town codes were enforced and liens filled

in my day in govt if you didn't pay the taxing entity took title and made a profit

it is sad the uneducated hicks/rednecks in states with far less property taxes can get it right and
those who tax us to death with more degrees than a thermometer are afraid to act

how about "lets not let schenectady happen here" - it can be prevented

When I first read this thread, I thought, hey - wait a minute, this is my hometown, I've still got a lot of friends and family here, don't call it a shithole and don't say you're ashamed.  While I still think that, I gotta say, I've been riding around for the past 4 days, seeing abandoned buildings one after another. Gangs of kids hanging around crane street, vandalism in the middle of the day, burnt out buildings - general "shithole-ness".


I had the occasion to need to go to American Electric on Albany St. It was Friday morning, I figured I'd go before the "crowds" woke up - I figured it'd be safe at 10am.

I pulled up in front of, but across the street, in my truck.  A "gang" of multi-cultural youth approached me within seconds and asked me "Hey whitely, what you doin around here".  For the first time in my life, I didn't feel safe in  this city.

I'm totally amazed at how bad it's become in the past 10 months.  There's a noticable difference in this town/city/'county that I too have become ashamed of. I had a discussion with several relatives last night  - of 6, 4 are considering moving out asap.  The other two are "too old" to move, and consequently the other 4 proabably won't until they're gone.

It's going to take decades for this town/city to recover to a shell of it's former self.  One party rule isn't going to cut it.  Yall need to start working together to take back your streets, your town and your community.  I can't do it for you, I've had enough of this county. If you consider this town / city / county valuable to you - YOU need to take action, don't wait for "govt" to do it for you.

Good luck.

Quoted from mikechristine1

Ashamed of the town?  

You can move to Schenectady city.


High taxes?   For a house of the same assessment, in the city, my taxes would be just over twice as much!  

don't you think that rotterdam is heading in the same direction? Rotterdam is well on it's way. Taxes are increasing, crime has increased, historically empty structures in disarray, RIDA taken over by the metroplex, the county leg/metroplex proposing a gin mill that is clearly a match for a CITY and not for a TOWN/HAMLET, patronage jobs and stipends, at the taxpayer's expense, for the select few.......and the list goes on. Rotterdam is well on it's way!

Quoted from 147

If you consider this town / city / county valuable to you - YOU need to take action, don't wait for "govt" to do it for you.

Good luck.

I agree. However, you can't MAKE people take pride in where they live or set up business. They should have it, but unfortunately some don't possess that attribute. There are laws/codes on the books that can and should be enforced to MAKE people/businesses clean up their mess and maintain their properties.

For example.....the empty building at 4 corners.....I think CVS or one of those chains owns the building. I would be lead to believe that there are laws/codes on the books to guard against safety. There are broken windows, siding falling off and obvious access availability to this vacant building. There yet remains a skeleton of a billboard atop of this building. Has any one of rotterdam's elected officials, past and present, tried to contact the owners? Clean it up, fix it up, button it up or knock it down!
Perhaps the rotterdam residents should take up a petition and send it to the property owners, if rotterdam's elected officials can't or won't.

no spine
the same as schenectady leaders during the transition
they're afraid the developers will leave

and even if the residents did have a petition nothing would happen

look at
1066 curry
and
the racetrack

i'll bet town leaders claim no code to condemn

yet they use the same state building codes to issue a CO

it comes down to
no education
no change
a senior moment
and
help from east of the hudson

east of the hudson?  I'm missing the reference

Liccardi and Mullally

and Brick south of the town