I think an outside consultant should be hired to determine the effectiveness of Metroplex. Many businesses have been created by Metroplex in downtown Schenectady, but are they successful? The mechanism was created to create jobs, tax base, and revitalize downtown, but is it effective and worth it? What are the taxes that each of these businesses pay? Anyone can spend money, but is that money a good investment? The city and Rotterdam are declining at a rapid pace, even with all of this spending, and capital region taxes are out of control. So my question is what do people want?

Metroplex has prodiced great results in Downtown Schenectady .... the new construction on the
corner of State and Jay is almost complete .. and it looks great.

Now they should spend some money and time on the outlying neighborhoods and towns.

Quoted from DemocraticVoiceOfReason

Metroplex has prodiced great results in Downtown Schenectady .... the new construction on the
corner of State and Jay is almost complete .. and it looks great.

Now they should spend some money and time on the outlying neighborhoods and towns.

Only took 10 years and how many millions?  

How's that tax relief coming that they promised?  Anyone seen SOS's budget yet?

Didja ever notice, when there's something NICE to say about Metroplex, it's always "what a great job the democrats are doing" - but when something goes wrong, it's "Farley's fault" for proposing it?

Just sayin.

Quoted from 147

only took 10 years and how many millions?  

How's that tax relief coming that they promised?  Anyone seen SOS's budget yet?

Rome wasn't built in a day .. and Schenectady is MUCH improved in the past 10 years.

Where is the tax relief that Hugh Farley promised 34 years ago.. and every year since he
got on the state's gravy train ?????

Quoted from DemocraticVoiceOfReason

Rome wasn't built in a day .. and Schenectady is MUCH improved in the past 10 years.

Where is the tax relief that Hugh Farley promised 34 years ago.. and every year since he
got on the state's gravy train ?????

See? It's Farley's fault.

LOL.

Good minion.

Quoted from 147

See? It's Farley's fault.

LOL.

Good minion.

You must be really sensitive on the issue to get so defensive ... I only asked a question ..
and you KNOW that the answer is that Farley has DONE NOTHING in 34 years to lower taxes.
But he did manage to spend $3.6 million of taxpayers dollars on "personal services" in 3 1/2
years.

There already was an outside audit of Metrograft by the DEM NYS Comptroller. It's results were horrible and should have been followed up with criminal action. Nothing happened. Nothing was improved. The band played on. While the taxpayers were scrambling for the life boats.

     Over $100 MILLION have been dumped into a 2 block area with no positive results. The only thing that has increased is police calls. Sales tax revenues have tanked in this County for two consecutive quarters. Albany, Montgomery and Saratoga are all up. Unemployment is at record highs. The building at Jay and State has been roundly criticized and resulted in a $1 million portico being ripped up. It has a nonprofit Y with no pool. Some big success. Another nonprofit feasting at the public trough.

There are people and businesses that would just love to see the bids that came in for metroplex projects. hmmmmmm......did the lowest bidder get the job? hmmmmmmmmmmmm.......we most union shops.......hmmmmmmmmmmmm? Were they ALL from schenectady county? (paul mitchell)..........hmmmmmmmmm.....

Downtown looks like a sh!thole! The street was made narrower to handle the HOPEFUL, SOMEDAY influx of cars!!!!!!!!!! WHO'S IDEA WAS THAT??? Now that was great planning! NOT! Driving down those 2 blocks is ridiculous!! There are empty store fronts everywhere. There are people pissing on the sidewalks. There are shootings and robberies. People are puking. Pan handlers everywhere! Drug dealers! A movie theater that is empty most of the time.....and now a shooting!!!!! AND to add insult to injury....the shooter is still at large in schenectady county!

Being the 19th highest county in the country and a 60% unemployment rate is the return on investment schenectady county taxpayers got for their tax dollars.

Sure....People would LOVE to see an independent audit done. But I would wait until Paladino has about 1 year under his belt FIRST!!! IMHO

Quoted from 615

I think an outside consultant should be hired to determine the effectiveness of Metroplex. Many businesses have been created by Metroplex in downtown Schenectady, but are they successful? The mechanism was created to create jobs, tax base, and revitalize downtown, but is it effective and worth it? What are the taxes that each of these businesses pay? Anyone can spend money, but is that money a good investment? The city and Rotterdam are declining at a rapid pace, even with all of this spending, and capital region taxes are out of control. So my question is what do people want?

i would like a 1/2 a million or so
pay off all my debt and then i can spend freely in the local economy

there are no leaders with future sights for the locals....just the same muck....with the same retreads....I'm not saying they dont like their 'hometowns'
but we must dig up others that aren't the status quo.......

time to move the cheese.....

Savage, the metroplex and crew have failed the taxpayers of schenectady county miserably! the promise from a decade ago to lower taxes and create jobs has obviously become non-existent!!! It is shameful how they have raped the taxpayers and all for power and greed and political positioning.

Sure I'd love to see an independent audit of the metroplex. When you can find one that can't be bought, let us know!

Quoted from DemocraticVoiceOfReason

Rome wasn't built in a day .. and Schenectady is MUCH improved in the past 10 years.

Explain HOW Schenectady has "much" improved.   Can you do that?????

I'm going to pick up on things I've read on some other blogs/forums.  

Tell us DVOR what has happened to the taxes locally in these ten years......I trust you DO know that you Savage woman has brought us to having the 19th HIGHEST taxes in the whole United State.  Can you explain HOW that is an improvement??????????????    

This county now gives HUMONGOUS tax breaks to millionaires and DRAMATICALLY increases the taxes on the people who are lower income.   PUHLEEZ, DVOR, HOW can you justfy raising taxes on people with household incomes of $30,000 while at the SAME time giving huge tax breaks to millionaires?    Do you REALLY  believe it is just and fair to take from the poor and give it to the rich??????   Do you?

Tell us DVOR, what has happened to the crime in the these past ten years????????    

It used to be that Hamilton Hill was "the bad neighborhood."   But, DVOR, tell us what HOW the city has "improved" over the past decade.

Please explain the how Mt Pleasant has improved....do you really believe Mt P is a much more desirable place to live today than 10 yrs ago?   How about Eastern Ave?????    My parents used to be in that area---please explain HOW you have concluded so much has improved.....is it YOUR belief that Eastern Ave is a real safe place for people to leisurely walk around?  Some woman goes into a corner store to buy something and get's murdered?     DO you know that when that St. Mary's was open, a long time ago people used to walk to the church but whatever people still lived in the neighborhood and belonged to St. Mary's before they closed, those people would drive to the church, even only a few blocks....because it is a very dangerous....and that is what yOU say is an improvement?

Union St, that historic triangle....tell us DVOR, tell us how Schenectady has improve.....slumlords, drug dealers, even a shooting in broad daylight on Union St in front of St. John's church.   And then a shooting in the triangle yesterday

More shootings than ten years ago and YOU call that an impovement?

Tell us how much improved the housing stock is.  How is a 25% vacancy rate in the city an improvement.  

Tell us how the causing of a bottleneck of traffic jams along State St, causing the drive time to probably triple is a good thing.

Tell us how snowplowing has improve.  Tell us how drainage issues have improved.  Tell us how the condition of properties have improved.  Tell us what has happened to the percentage of owner occupant houses (people who generally take care of their properties) in the past ten years......do you REALLY believe that the dramatic increase in absentee slumlords is an improvement?

Tell us about a whopping quarter of as million dollars being bestowed on a pair of tax delinquent slumlords who let their properties fall apart is a good thing.  Did those slumlord owners who owend the Foster Hotel and deliberately didn't pay the heat bill causing a million dollars in damage 10 years ago (which WE taxpayers have to pay to repair), ever pay the back taxes on their multitude of tax delinquent properties when we taxpayers paid them a quarter of a million to buy the old hotel building?   Well?????   Is that a good thing to give tax delinquents that much money and not mandate that they pay all their other back taxes?

Tell us how the situation is with the pools in the city?  How many pools were there 10 years ago?   How many today?

How about the conditions of all the parks and playgrounds....are they all in tip top shape today?

Wow. NICE summary Mike.  Kudos to you on that one.

It's going to be impossible for DVOR to dispute the facts that MC has presented.