SCHENECTADY Downtown event intended to draw Union students BY MICHAEL GOOT Gazette Reporter
It is all about creating a buzz to draw college students into the downtown. Union College senior Steve Walker said some students may be skeptical about venturing into downtown Schenectady for their entertainment. “A lot of students are afraid it’s not quite as safe as they’d like it. A lot of students don’t know what to do,” he said. Walker wanted to change all that. He and his fellow senior Josh DeBartolo helped form the Schenectady-Union Alliance, which aimed to form a stronger connection between the college and the downtown. The alliance is sponsoring “Show Me Schenectady” a daylong event this Saturday featuring music and discounts for college students. “We just wanted to make student’s exposure to Schenectady shoot way up,” he said. The alliance was an outgrowth of a project that Walker and DeBartolo did last fall for professor Hal Fried. The goal was to create a vision of Schenectady that young people would be reluctant to leave. Other organization co-sponsoring the event include the Chamber of Schenectady County, the Downtown Schenectady Improvement Corp., Metroplex Development Authority, Proctors and local businesses. Walker said from 12 to 5 p.m. participating restaurants have agreed to offer sample sized portions at prices from $1 to $3. At 5 p.m., the college’s a cappella groups will sing at Jay and State streets. During the evening, some restaurants will offer specials for people with Union identification. Proctors will offer students half-price tickets to the New Plays Festival performance of “Battles of the Bands” at Upstairs at 440 State Street and a free performance of “Barrage” on the main stage at 8 p.m. In addition, Iwerks movies at Proctors that day will be half price for Union students. Walker said the alliance obtained some grant funding to offer about 650 students $5 food vouchers, which he said should be a great incentive. Becky Jarczynski, program director for the Downtown Schenectady Improvement Corp., said the organization has activities like a poker run where students can collect cards from select businesses throughout the afternoon to create a poker hand. “We’re hoping to create a tighter-knit community,” she said. Proctors Chief Executive Offi cer Philip Morris said in a statement his organization is very excited about the event. “It’s the beginning of making Schenectady a college town,” he said.
Schenectady is an industrial town, not a college town. You know, we had that one guy who lived here that you might have heard of. He was the first CEO of GE...Thomas Alva Edison. The beginning of incorporation in the world.
Soooooo..finally the truth.....the metroplex AND the democratic dictatorship has been hood winking us right from the beginning. They took our tax dollar and told us it was going to be used to create high paying jobs. High paying jobs that would provide good benefits and long term employment. And all along THEY KNEW that it was just going to be bars, a bakery and a theater. Oh, and Golub would be moving their corporate office complex from Rotterdam to down town. Clearly no new jobs, just a relocation. Oh sure, there have been some new employment. Ya know the appointed ones like Ed Kosiur's at $80+ grand/year. Obviously that was why there was such a push to have the SCCC music dept moved to downtown. That is why they are going to build dorms for SCCC. And now that is why they are promoting 'SHOW ME SCHENECTADY'. For the Union College students.
Folks, we have been blatantly lied to! Misled. Raped and violated. And they have been doing it to us for a decade. Am I the only one pi**ed here?
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
No we haven't----no one has read between the lines......pay attention.....I posted it a few months ago......the only takers for a city that size and what it has/will have to offer would be the transient college students......
raise your hand if you are from Duanesburg/Glenville/Scotia/Rotterdam/Nisky and venture into the city frequently for anything other than the stinkin' DMV or SS office????----I dont see many hands going up......I disagree with metroplex structure and how it operates but, this is the ONLY thing we could possibly do to a small city.......I dont want to live there, but, I do visit it frequently......GE has left it's garbage behind along with it's historical achievements that it can take credit for....after that, there is just brownfields........
...you are a product of your environment, your environment is a product of your priorities, your priorities are a product of you......
The replacement of morality and conscience with law produces a deadly paradox.
STOP BEING GOOD DEMOCRATS---STOP BEING GOOD REPUBLICANS--START BEING GOOD AMERICANS
SCHENECTADY Union students take over downtown Event aimed at uniting college, city BY JESSICA HARDING Gazette Reporter
Joan Sifo, owner of Chez Daisie, thought she was prepared for business Saturday, but by 3 p.m. Union College students had cleaned her out and a sign on her door said “closed for restocking.” “They surprised the heck out of me,” she said, while preparing for the evening rush. Sifo said she usually doesn’t have a lot of students patronizing her Jay Street eatery, which specializes in crepes. But nearly 200 of them had passed through Saturday afternoon as part of “Show Me Schenectady,” an initiative of the Union Schenectady Alliance with the help of several downtown business organizations to coax students off campus and into the downtown shopping district. Various local businesses including Chez Daisie offered discounts and free samples to students. The afternoon also including a trivia challenge scavenger hunt and a poker run designed to entice students to visit as many downtown establishments as possible to see what they had to offer. Sifo was offering free Nutellafilled crepes and $3 regular crepes to students. She wasn’t expecting to make money from all the activity, but she was hoping her delectables and students’ word of mouth would mean plenty in return. “I guess we’ll just see if they come back,” she said. Union Schenectady Alliance, which was founded this year by seniors Steve Walker and Josh De-Bartolo, is a collection of about 25 students who either serve as liaisons to local downtown boards, including the Chamber of Commerce, the Downtown Schenectady Improvement Corp. and Proctors, or representatives from on-campus organizations. “It’s a way to share information both ways,” DeBartolo said. As further incentive to encourage students downtown, students were given $5 to jump start their shopping day. “We want to get students down here and open their eyes to what’s available downtown,” DeBartolo said. Gail Kehn, vice president of visitor services for the Chamber of Commerce, said the Union Student Alliance was good for the businesses but also a good experience for the students. “They sit in on actual board meetings so they become familiar with the issues facing the city and become involved with solving them,” she said. Kehn was welcoming students as they came into Robb Alley at Proctors, where restaurants were offering free food, and students could enter to win raffle prizes and obtain information. Kehn said the chamber has been trying to attract students downtown for years, but attributed this event’s popularity to students’ initiative. “Union’s campus has everything the kids want, so many of them are realizing what’s down here for the first time, and we have a lot to offer, including movies, Iwerks, plays and shopping,” she said. Cara Gallivan, a junior and an editor at Union College’s student newspaper, The Chronicle, said most classmates will come downtown to either see a movie or eat at a restaurant, but they rarely spend time walking around and shopping. “There has been a great improvement in the downtown area even since our freshman year, and it’s only going to get better,” she said. Jessica Rudin, a senior and president of The Student Forum, was hoping for a free crepe by the time she arrived downtown and was disappointed that Chez Daisie was closed. Rudin said she often eats downtown, but in her four years at Union College she hadn’t walked to Jay Street from campus. Rudin said event organizers did a lot of advertising on campus and had been talking about the event for weeks. Organizers said more than 300 students took part in the afternoon, including Danielle Angueira who also walked downtown from the campus with girlfriends. She said in her senior year she is making an effort to come downtown regularly. “I’m really trying to appreciate the city more,” she said. Downtown business owners seemed pleased to have students visiting their stores, including Tom Lawrence, owner of Lennon’s Irish Shop, who was offering a 10 percent discount to students. “I know this probably takes a lot to put together, but I think it’s terrific,” he said. “I hope they do it again in the fall.” Rich St. Jean, general manager of the Parker Inn, said about 25 students had visited the hotel as part of the Poker Run. “I haven’t seen this many students downtown in all the five years I’ve worked here combined,” he said. As nearly 150 student gathered in Robb Alley at the conclusion of the event to recognize winners of the poker run and trivia challenge, Proctors Chief Executive Offi cer Phillip Morris said the event was less about bringing money into the downtown and more about changing perceptions of Schenectady. “It’s about an attitude,” Morris said. “If the students see that good things are happening here, they will tell their friends and family. If the students grow to like this town, they’ll develop relationships and want to stay.” ANA N. ZANGRONIZ/GAZETTE PHOTOGRAPHER Union College students Evan Duffy, left, and Katy Osborne sample items from Aperitivo Bistro during “Show Me Schenectady” festivities held at Proctors on Saturday. ANA N. ZANGRONIZ/GAZETTE PHOTOGRAPHER Aaron Civic, 13, of Galway, plays “Hotel California” along with David Vandervort as part of “Show Me Schenectady” activities held at Proctors on Saturday.
... Proctors Chief Executive Offi cer Phillip Morris said the event was less about bringing money into the downtown and more about changing perceptions of Schenectady.
Free food, gifts, an allowance. Brings my college student home (occasionally). Perhaps Morris should offer to launder the students clothes.
Took in a show at Proctor's last nite---Barrage---FABULOUS.......was at Pinhead's Friday nite......as for the college kids---didn't see any......and didn't see anyone else I knew either......I like to go out and people watch.....and if there is okay live music and drinks that's great.......
...you are a product of your environment, your environment is a product of your priorities, your priorities are a product of you......
The replacement of morality and conscience with law produces a deadly paradox.
STOP BEING GOOD DEMOCRATS---STOP BEING GOOD REPUBLICANS--START BEING GOOD AMERICANS
This appears to be a prime example of segregation. If they are so interested in changing the environment of the 'hill' then why don't they have a day for the residents of the hill or vale area? They appear to be creating an environment that would suit college students only. And not only do they leave the 'hill' out of this scenario, they are clearly creating an environment that embraces college students only. What about the rest of the county? The college kids are NOT going to sustain the downtown area. They never ever did. Even when times were good.
The leaders of Schenectady should be embracing the people who live 'in the hill/vale' area. Perhaps this would be a start. All they seem to do is throw money and cops at the problem in the 'hill/vale' area. A true display of segregation!!
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
I need more than Pinhead's and the City Mission Thift Store to get me down town. Rotterdam already has a Thrift Store and bars. I'm a female that desires RETAIL!!
By definition, a report summarizes what has been. The recent report by the Princeton Review that declared Union College at the top of the list in the category of "Town-Gown Relations Are Strained" (Times Union, July 29) proves the point.
Through the intense efforts of students, faculty and staff, downtown businesses and public officials, Schenectady and Union College have successfully created programs at Proctors, the BowTie Cinema and along Jay Street that work to tie the college and downtown together.
Union-Schenectady Day worked so well that it will be done twice this coming academic year. Video surveillance, discounts and new restaurants will only continue the positive trends.
Union College and Schenectady are bound together and as Schenectady's fortunes have improved, so has its attractiveness to the college community.
PHILIP MORRIS Schenectady The writer is CEO of Proctors.
Yeah, but when the locals are taking pot-shots at you with a .45 whenever you have a few at the corner bar, saying town-gown relationships are strained is a bit of an understatement...
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