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Sch’dy businesses should boycott critic’s station

    Listening to [WGDJ radio talk host] Paul Vandenburgh running down Schenectady again. He calls us all morons, particularly the mayor, the head of Metroplex, the police department, the school board and the City Council. He said he wouldn’t live in Schenectady if someone gave him a house here.
    It seems to me that Schenectady-owned businesses have to be morons to advertise on his radio station. But what do I know? I’m only another moron from Schenectady.

    DAN ERTEL
    Schenectady

http://www.dailygazette.net/De.....r00509&AppName=1

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Unadulterated Schenectady/facebook

Ask someone what they think of when they hear the word "Schenectady". Many cringe, laugh or roll their eyes. The residents are fed up with enormous tax bills and the poor school systems. The cops are a laughing stock as every week one of them is arrested for crimes they are supposed to protect the public from...not commit themselves. Filling a downtown with tax free businesses and restaurants is crippling the taxpayers and now the town is moving the YMCA residents to the Bellevue neighborhood. The Mayor involved in an illegal pension padding scheme with the Fire Chief and now increasing taxes 8 - 12% for a backroom, closed door deal with the firefighters.

Paul Vandenburg is telling the truth as much as it may hurt. The City is taking advantage of the the taxpayers (over and over and over again), yet not even half the residents vote in elections. Maybe we've given up because as much as we want change, it never happens. Bottom line, there is too much corruption in Schenectady from City Hall to the Schools to the Metroplex tax exempt businesses sucking the life out of the taxpayers. The Attorney General and the State need to come in because Schenectady is drowning. Drowing in debt, drowning in tax evasion and drowing in the cesspool created by its 'leaders'.  

Quoted from rachel72

Ask someone what they think of when they hear the word "Schenectady". Many cringe, laugh or roll their eyes. The residents are fed up with enormous tax bills and the poor school systems. The cops are a laughing stock as every week one of them is arrested for crimes they are supposed to protect the public from...not commit themselves. Filling a downtown with tax free businesses and restaurants is crippling the taxpayers and now the town is moving the YMCA residents to the Bellevue neighborhood. The Mayor involved in an illegal pension padding scheme with the Fire Chief and now increasing taxes 8 - 12% for a backroom, closed door deal with the firefighters.

Paul Vandenburg is telling the truth as much as it may hurt. The City is taking advantage of the the taxpayers (over and over and over again), yet not even half the residents vote in elections. Maybe we've given up because as much as we want change, it never happens. Bottom line, there is too much corruption in Schenectady from City Hall to the Schools to the Metroplex tax exempt businesses sucking the life out of the taxpayers. The Attorney General and the State need to come in because Schenectady is drowning. Drowing in debt, drowning in tax evasion and drowing in the cesspool created by its 'leaders'.  

        Well said rachel72, well said!

It is amazing how much dislike, and distaste there is for anything Schenenctady in the general region. Whereever you go and mention it, people shake their heads, offer pity, show disgust, reveal they NEVER want to set foot in the city, are sickened by the thought of coming here, etc. People have a very negative image of the place, sadly enough. This has increased SHARPLY over the past 4 or 5 years I can assure you. So even though everything looks like it is coming up roses to the "Working together works" team, it is because they are in power and are reaping huge monetary benefit. I don't think they will ever commission a public poll regarding public sentiment in the region, because the results would be knee buckling. They would never accept it for the reality it is.

How do I know this? I run a business and deal with the general public. Customers who used to come need to have me send them what they purchase because they don't want to drive 5 miles to get here they find it so upsetting to even venture through the city gates. If you saw my mail list for the past 15 years you would fall over at how many former city residents have moved. I would say that while 10 years ago, 2/3 of the business came from the city it is now 1/3 so I rely on people coming from OUTSIDE the city line. An analysis would show a tremendous number of the people on it going to Southern states as well. An unGodly number. As far as the "new" residents of the city, don't put any hope in them to have discretionary money to spend on anything legal but beer, butts, fast food and lottery tix. What I do to grow is internet and corporate (mostly outside the city) business, and I rely on Nisky' and G-ville and Colonie and So. Saratoga county where decent producing people live. But it is challenging to get them to come a few miles into the city based on their outlook of how bad things are, whether real or not. But I always say that the perception becomes the reality.

So, an aggressive business person may survive but not just on "Schenectady" residents. And therein lies the issue we are talking about. How do you improve the image? I am not sure those in power are worried about it.

Schenectady County (all of it) is a great place to live.   There are many wonderful people here.

Any business or businessperson that insults Schenectady should be boycotted.   Vandenburgh is an elitist
blowhard.   While I do like some of the programs on his station, I never liked listening to shows that he
was on.

1) Paul has his own show on Talk 1300

2) I'm sure he would give you the same feedback if he read your post

3) Paul never said Schenectady County is the problem, it's the City. The one you don't live in.

Quoted from rachel72

Ask someone what they think of when they hear the word "Schenectady". Many cringe, laugh or roll their eyes. The residents are fed up with enormous tax bills and the poor school systems. The cops are a laughing stock as every week one of them is arrested for crimes they are supposed to protect the public from...not commit themselves. Filling a downtown with tax free businesses and restaurants is crippling the taxpayers and now the town is moving the YMCA residents to the Bellevue neighborhood. The Mayor involved in an illegal pension padding scheme with the Fire Chief and now increasing taxes 8 - 12% for a backroom, closed door deal with the firefighters.

Paul Vandenburg is telling the truth as much as it may hurt. The City is taking advantage of the the taxpayers (over and over and over again), yet not even half the residents vote in elections. Maybe we've given up because as much as we want change, it never happens. Bottom line, there is too much corruption in Schenectady from City Hall to the Schools to the Metroplex tax exempt businesses sucking the life out of the taxpayers. The Attorney General and the State need to come in because Schenectady is drowning. Drowning in debt, drowning in tax evasion and drowning in the cesspool created by its 'leaders'.  

WOW! Silver Pen Award. Dan Ertel doesn't listen too well. Paul V never called residents morons-he asked how the residents can put up with the morons in City Hall, Metrograft and the School Bored? Paul is right.

     The residents need to demand mass resignations. The Mayor is a laughingstock, the School District is still the worst in the region and Metrograft keeps handing out tax giveaways to millionaires with no jobs created. This is more blame the messenger. Anyone who dares say the emperor has no clothes is attacked by some status quo DEM stooge.

Quoted from rachel72

1) Paul has his own show on Talk 1300

2) I'm sure he would give you the same feedback if he read your post

3) Paul never said Schenectady County is the problem, it's the City. The one you don't live in.

1) Duh .. of ocurse he has his own show on Talk 1300 and that is when I turn to a different station.
    Most of the rest of the programming is great - from mid morning (starting with FredDicker) and well into the   evening.

2) I really couldn't care less about his feedback.

3) When a businessperson insults the City of Schenectady .. he/she is insulting the WHOLE county.
  
BOYCOTT   AM 1300

What a laugh. Unlike the DEM stooges Paul understands how to create jobs and build businesses. It's funny that no one listens to him but they are all up in arms over things he allegedly said. Another fax from Metrograft?

     Paul is right about the worst Mayor in City history, Landslide Savage and Metrograft which are all jokes. What really got the DEM stooges mad is that he insists on answers on the McClellan St tragedy. They don't want to talk about that. "All is well" but it takes 3 weeks for the demolition team to recover a body from an active crime scene. Paul has hit pay dirt. BTW if he is so wrong how do you explain that Landslide Savage couldn't get 40% of the vote in this County? The first time she has an opponent she gets crushed.

Vandenburg and Rooney AND their faithful callers 'get it' and don't have a problem 'saying it'.

Morons??? Remember, government is reflective of the people! So there ya have it.

Instead of admitting mistakes and listening to opposing views, the City DEMS keep circling the wagons. What happened to the School Bored is next coming to City Hall. Clean out the barn!

Paul Vandenburgh can open his mouth and whine like his fellow Nattering Nayboobs of Negativity --- that is all he is good for complaining.

At least Dennis Prager and Al Roney have interesting shows.   Dan Lynch was the best - but he is gone now.
I have listened to Dicker, Hedgecock and Bohanon for years.    Melody Burns is a good new addition.

Sadly, I will have to continue the boycott until Vandenburgh kneels at the steps of Schenectady City Hall
for 4 days in the snow .. begging for forgiveness.

Quoted from DemocraticVoiceOfReason

Sadly, I will have to continue the boycott until Vandenburgh kneels at the steps of Schenectady City Hall
for 4 days in the snow .. begging for forgiveness.

If Vandenburgh in fact did call Schenectady residents morons, he must have met you personally.

Rachel - Well said.  I used to live in the city limits.  I will admit that I love history and Schenectady has a lot of it.  But I moved out because within "city limits" sucks.  This does not reflect on the "county" itself.  There are nice places within the "county".  Just not the "city".  I put that in quotes because that makes a huge difference.  I work in the city.  But I dont live there anymore.  Its not safe.  I once lived in Bellevue.  Right off Helderburg.  A once quiet street.  Mostly filled with single family homes.  A few rentals.  But its those rentals that drove me out.  The landlords dont care anymore.  Obviously.  I lived in the same place for ten years and a friend lived in the downstairs apartment for ten years before that.  I was at her house alot before I moved in upstairs.  Nothing bad ever happened there.  I used to make comments that the cops never had to show up in that area because nothing happened.  Then in the last 4 or 5 years, the drug dealers were moving in the area, there was a sex offender living on the street (with little girls in the same house), and the crimes were increasing.  Cars getting broken into, cars getting damaged.  Loud parties.  Drag racing on the street.  I once came out of my house to find a bum sleeping on my porch.  In one week, there were several cars that had been broken into and tires slashed.  Why?  Why was this happening to a once quiet neighborhood?  Then I started reading in the paper and talking to neighbors that it was happening all over the neighborhood.  Not just my area.  I felt that having a child here myself, it wasnt safe for her to grow up here.  And this being one of the better neighborhoods.  Thats really sad.  There is no way my child would attend the schools past 6th grade.  I would NEVER send her to the middle schools or the highschool.  My landlord did nothing to the house.  It was falling apart and falling in.  Sad.  I moved out because it wasnt safe anymore.  Look at the Family Watchdog website to see all the sex offenders in Schenectady.  They are all close to schools.  They are living in areas where children live.  Even in the same rental buildings.  How is this keeping people safe?  My cousin in Indiana was killed because she was placed in the hands of a paroled offender.  She had to die at 16 because of this.  I wasnt putting my child into the hands of a paroled offender.  I admit that I didnt pay the taxes of the city because I was renting.  But I know what my landlord was paying and it was unreal.  And for a crappy place too.  I still live within the county but not in the city.  Im far from there now.  And I can walk out of my house at night and not be scared of what will be out there to get me or my child.  And my car is safe from damage and I dont have to park on the streets.  I can sleep easier at night knowing that there isnt someone selling drugs or sleeping on my porch.