Quoted Text

State provides $1 million for mural on Amsterdam bridge
By Matthew McKibben June 15, 2015


AMSTERDAM — Federal, state and local officials announced Sunday they have secured $1 million to fund artistic elements on the Mohawk Valley Gateway Overlook, effectively ending a debate that has raged in the Common Council over the last several months.

If the funding hadn’t been secured by Tuesday, the mural for the $16.5 million pedestrian bridge was in jeopardy of never being completed.

Some Republican council members were wary about using the city’s money to fund the mural and had planned to vote against a resolution to fund the artwork.

Issues surrounding the bridge — and its construction — have become politicized in the city, with Democrats repeatedly throwing their support behind waterfront revitalization and Republicans unsure the bridge will have a positive impact on the local economy.

But some city officials anticipate the bridge will attract tens of thousands of visitors to the region, generate millions in local spending and create new jobs.

The full price tag to decorate the bridge is $1 million. The city had received a $325,000 grant from the Mohawk Valley Economic Development Council, but the city would have had to cover the rest of the cost. The city can now work with the regional council to find a new use that $325,000.

The artwork includes a ripple design along the deck that will mimic the view of the water and incorporate two circular plazas branching out from the main deck of the curvy, 475-foot span. The plazas will provide a bird’s-eye view of boats traversing the river and Erie Canal below, and an open space in the center will be large enough to accommodate performances. Once that is completed, several other artistic elements are expected to be included in the bridge.

“Investing in the completion of the bridge is a critical part of the ongoing recovery and bright future here, which is why I fought hard to secure this funding. A project like this can jump start development, as we have done with the revitalization of Schenectady, and I’m confident that this unique regional destination will attract additional investments for the entire area,” said state Assemblyman Angelo Santabarbara, D-Rotterdam. “In Amsterdam, with the improvements to the waterfront and continuous development of downtown, we have seen the importance of taking pride in what we’re building for future generations and this bridge will stand as the centerpiece of those efforts.”

After the funding shortfall for the pedestrian bridge was identified, Santabarbara began working with local officials and state agencies to secure the necessary funding. The $1 million in funding to decorate the bridge comes from a pool of available state funds allocated specifically for waterfront projects, like the pedestrian bridge.

“This project culminates years of hard work and promise,” Amsterdam Mayor Ann Thane said. “The city of Amsterdam is very grateful to Assemblyman Angelo Santabarbara for ensuring that the project is complete and will serve the community to its greatest benefit.”

Quoted from Alva White

Here's another one that grinds my gears, I don't have the article handy to post, but I'm sure you've heard about how Saratoga County is going to pony up over $3million + in tax breaks and incentives so Ace Hardware can expand their warehouse in Wilton and create a whopping 25 jobs. Do the math. LOL

Quoted from Box A Rox

The numbers vary widely but if this assessment is true, then $3 million for 25 jobs is a bargain!

Average Job Creation "Cost" In 2013: $553,000

Quoted from 55tbird

Here's the text to Boxy's pic above:

"There was a time when the Fed's QE was, at least on paper, supposed to generate jobs (the broad inflation will come on its own, in due course). After all, the prospect of injecting $85 billion in liquidity into a market with the sole goal of pushing the stock markets that benefit the purchasing power of about 10% of the population would hardly have received broad approval even by the co-opted Congress.

So, to all those who still naively claim Fed is not the sole reason for the market's relentless march higher, those billions in liquidity must go into the economy, and specifically into job creation, right?

As a result, we decided to back into what the average private sector job has ended up costing the US population in pure dollar terms (which in turn ultimately manifests itself in terms of unsustainable government debt and pent up inflation) via the Fed's monetary pathway. Well, according to the ADP data released earlier, in which a paltry 130K private sector jobs were created in a month in which the Fed, as always, injected $85 billion, the bottom line came to a whopping $654K per job (since government jobs are always a net drain, we exclude those from the calculation). And taking the average job growth throughout 2013, this number, as can be seen on the chart below, is a laughter-inducing $553K!"


bottom line... the gov't should get out of the business of creating jobs.

Quoted from Alva White

I don't know about the numbers, and frankly numbers and stats can be skewed in any number of ways to support a position. I'm enough of a realist to understand that being only a decade away from the first quarter of the 21st century this is the new normal. Just seems kind of sad to me and frankly more than just a little depressing. And btw I'm not one of those folks clinging to 20th century values and pining for "the good old days". I do get it. Just don't agree and not smart enough to come up with a viable realistic alternative.

Quoted from CICERO

The good ole days of the 20th century benefited from the beginning of fiat currency and easy credit.  The 21st century is trying to figure out how to pay for the unsustainable debt that was run up.  All fiat currency eventually goes to zero.  There is no alternative, only a reset.  The market values are so distorted, the people that are retiring from jobs are living better on their pensions than those that are filling that job.  Watch events going on in Greece.

Quoted from Alva White

I don't know about the numbers, and frankly numbers and stats can be skewed in any number of ways to support a position. I'm enough of a realist to understand that being only a decade away from the first quarter of the 21st century this is the new normal. Just seems kind of sad to me and frankly more than just a little depressing. And btw I'm not one of those folks clinging to 20th century values and pining for "the good old days". I do get it. Just don't agree and not smart enough to come up with a viable realistic alternative.

Quoted from DemocraticVoiceOfReason

So the $16 million Bridge To Nowhere will have a $1 million mural painted on it --- anyone want to place any bets on how long before both are covered with graffiti?  

Seriously, this is a colossal waste of money.  $17 million dollars could have been better spent tearing down the dump that used to be Amsterdam Mall and making that downtown area someplace people actually want to go to. --- or --- I am sure that there are bridges that people actually use in Montgomery County that could have been fixed up  --- etc.