Quoted Text

Metroplex Development Authority
Schenectady, N.Y., November 19, 2012 -- The annual Holiday Parade, Wicked and many other events attracted more than 46,000 people to downtown Schenectady this past weekend
Mayor Gary McCarthy said, “Schenectady put out the welcome mat this weekend and the response was terrific.”
“Downtown showed its holiday spirit and a good time was had by all,” said Ray Gillen, Chair of the Schenectady Metroplex Development Authority.
Gillen added, “Our parking system handled the big crowds really well. We received excellent cooperation from City officials, Proctors, the Downtown Ambassador Program, the Chamber of Schenectady County and the Downtown Schenectady Improvement Corporation in hosting this very successful weekend full of great events.”
The annual Holiday Parade sponsored by the Chamber of Schenectady County attracted an estimated 15,000 people to downtown on Saturday evening.

But look back when it was held on the day after Thanksgiving and it was a CHRISTMAS parade:

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HOLIDAYS MARCH IN SCHENECTADY CHRISTMAS PARADE DRAWS RECORD CROWD OF 65,000
Marv Cermak The Knickerbocker News
Section: MAIN, Page: 3A
Date: Saturday, November 29, 1986
They came, they saw and they gave.


A record crowd estimated at about 65,000 turned out for the 18th annual Downtown Merchants' Christmas Parade. The throng at the Friday event contributed more than $3,500 in cash and hundreds of new toys for the needy to collectors from the city's Police Benevolent Association.

"I'll stand by the 65,000 estimate," Robert Natowitz, director of the Downtown Marketing and Promotions Agency, said after the parade.

"It was the biggest parade so far. Each year it gets larger," Kevin Kennedy, chairman of the event, said.

City police Capt. Joseph A. Peters III, who was in charge of the police parade detail for many years before being named chief of detectives two years ago, also said it appeared to be the largest parade ever.

Last year, the crowd was estimated at about 50,000.

Hell, for ALL events combined, these dems could NOT get the numbers downtown that the Christmas parade alone got in the past!!!!!!!!!!!

Downtown is NOTHING but a HUGE DRAIN on the homeowners in the city, and DV has NO FACTS to contradict that, but I, as usual provide the EVIDENCE---record numbers of people putting their homes up for sale to try to get out of the city, virtually no one wanting to buy a home in the city as PROVEN by the FACT that houses are sitting unsold after a year, two years, and even the house shown on the TU website, asking a price only 75% of what the dems in the city claim the house will sell for which has been on the market for almost three years and still NO ONE wants to buy a house IN the city, the falling home values, the increasing numbers of vacant and abandoned houses and the most importantly how downtown drains homeowners in taxes as PROVEN by the record number of tax foreclousres!!!!!!!!!!!

Funny you should mention this.....cause I talked to a person who actually atttended the parade. They said that it was 2 deep....NOT 4 deep.....AND they also said that since state street has shrunk...........it appears that there are more folks but in reality there isn't......just passing on what I heard.....we didn't go.

Christmas and the other holidays are a time for tradition. It's time to move the parade back to black Friday when all the families are
toghther for Thanksgiving. Geez, the parade was what, two weeks after Halloween? Far too early. I know it would only be about a week later but for me, it seems to make a difference.

And let's get rid of the "themes" . Isn't the theme the holidays? From what I saw and heard from others there wasn't much holiday
cheer displayed. What a bummer.

I saw it on channel 18.
That wasn't a parade, it was organised loitering.

here's a link to the parade http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4oc2FV7--Wc

My daughter took my 5 yr old grandson, he was excited to see anything military (his Dad is a veteran) but as for Christmas it just wasn't there, sure a few songs thrown in but moslty the magic myth themes.

they didn't even stay to see Santa.

One  thing to keep in mind - it always seemed to me that the temperatures dropped significsantly the closer we got to Black friday.  Some of the cold weather at previous parades was absolutely brutal.   A lot of little kids attend and participate in the parades.

Quoted from visitor

One  thing to keep in mind - it always seemed to me that the temperatures dropped significsantly the closer we got to Black friday.  Some of the cold weather at previous parades was absolutely brutal.   A lot of little kids attend and participate in the parades.

Yeah, but this year, and last year was comparitively mild. I rember years ago, when some of the horn players would have to keep their mouth pieces in their mouths until the last second to avoid freezing issues, not unlike licking a flag pole.
Cheerleaders in down jackets.

This parade is done b/c Schdy is done .Its over there is no way to save this place

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This parade is done b/c Schdy is done .Its over there is no way to save this place

So True : (

And here is more EVIDENCE


This is roughly standing in front of the mental people building next to Bank of America at State and Clinton





And this is obviously below Erie Blvd





Yep, since the DEM mayor of BS dictated the parade be changed, it's failing.   And I couldn't believe as I watched the video that they were playing "Monster Mash," I mean, really monsters and a Halloween song for what used to be a Christmas parade

Sure, there were some more concentrated groups of parade goers---just THE PALTRY numbers that congregated by Jay St.   That parade used to start at Hawk Street, and there were six deep all the way down to the college!


So, the FACTS are that there is not a cheerleader for the dems and downtwon that can dispute the FACT that the parade is falling out of popularity since the mayor of BS started his dictatorship, continued by Darth Vader


By the way, why is Morris' Key Hall defined as "not for profit" when they have lavish affairs there and there was a wedding (or receiption)  there that weekend?????    

There were about as many participants in the parade as onlookers.

I used to march in this parade as a kid, and I must say I hated it. Boring, cold ughhh, I'm hoping we finally get done with all these stupid parades, all they do is block traffic....

Indeed the nayboobs in the press tend to UNDER count the paradegoers whilst the press of old was VERY well known to OVER inflate the attendance in order to prop up the nayboob GOP dolts who ran the County into the ground for so many years......   Take no mind of the insane nayboob rantings from the he-she monkey or any other nayboob turkey.

Quoted from Glryinthhighest

Indeed the nayboobs in the press tend to UNDER count the paradegoers whilst the press of old was VERY well known to OVER inflate the attendance in order to prop up the nayboob GOP dolts who ran the County into the ground for so many years......   Take no mind of the insane nayboob rantings from the he-she monkey or any other nayboob turkey.

The pictures and video don't lie.

Quoted from Glryinthhighest

Indeed the nayboobs in the press tend to UNDER count the paradegoers whilst the press of old was VERY well known to OVER inflate the attendance in order to prop up the nayboob GOP dolts who ran the County into the ground for so many years......   Take no mind of the insane nayboob rantings from the he-she monkey or any other nayboob turkey.

As Tommy said, photos and videos do not lie.  So maybe the attendance this year was 20,000 instead of 15,000.   But if you look at the black and white photo, I can't find it at the moment, there is way more people than showing in the 2012 parade.

You're just a sore loser.   Who really ran the Schenectady in the ground?   Gee, what were the taxes 10, 15 years ago?   Huh?   How about home values, MUCH HIGHER than now.   How about how many tax foreclosures back then compared to now.   How as the crime rate, the unemployment rate, the poverty rate?   Huh?   Explain why home values in Schenectady are currently going down, but in other areas of the capital district they are going up?   Huh?    Can't answer that, can you!   How come so few houses in Schenectady are selling compared to other areas in the capital region.   Huh?