Mayor Shayne Gallo. (Photo by Phyllis McCabe)
Despite the oration going Clintonesque (45 minutes in length), the message was positive, if not optimistic. All things considered, that tone is a good thing for a chief executive of a clearly troubled city. As an example, “the Kingston area” made Bloomberg News last week by having the biggest decline (7.9 percent) in median real-estate selling prices in the nation last quarter. Elsewhere than Kingston, according to the countyBoard of Realtors, prices are up slightly.
That Gallo was afforded a standing ovation at the end was mostly, I thought, more the product of relief and people putting on their coats to depart into the late-winter gloom than appreciation for one of the hardest-working people in poli-biz.
And finally
Belated condolences to the family of former Seventh Ward alderman and combat veteran Tony Crespino, 90, who died two weeks ago. Tony, one of Kingston’s beloved characters, served 18 years in the Common Council and half a term in the Ulster legislature. Often a lone Republican voice in a sea of Kingston Democrats, he was an outspoken public official who said what he meant and meant what he said.
The problem with this decorated World War II veteran was that people didn’t always understand what he meant. Example. Tony’s most memorable quote, “The people aren’t as stupid as we think they are,” was delivered during a heated council meeting where he was trying to convince colleagues of the consequences of what he considered an ill-advised vote.
What he meant, of course, was that the people were oftentimes smarter then their elected officials.
“You know what I meant,” he would say when we laughed about it.
Tony Crespino will be fondly remembered as a man who served his country and his city well.
Here and there
News that the mayor is negotiating with Bard College to establish a Kingston campus in one of its vacant school buildings couldn’t have been well received at Ulster County Community College. UCCC, after struggling to maintain attendance for years at its Stone Ridge campus, had forged an agreement with school district and city officials to establish an adjunct at a soon-to-be-vacant city grade school.
City officials, with Gallo leading the charge, apparently feel the more college students in town, the merrier.
Meanwhile, college officials announced they have a buyer — at about $475,000 — for the president’s house on Stone Ridge. They won’t reveal the would-be purchaser’s identity, but spies tell me the couple was humming “New York, New York” when they toured the property.
Gallo admits he’s getting plenty of blowback over an executive decision to enforce no-drinking laws in the city parks, where residents have been happily imbibing since the days of Peter Stuyvesant. It’s no succor to the mayor’s ringing ears, but his action was not quite as arbitrary as some charged at first. “Those laws have been in effect since I’ve been alive,” the 53-year-old chief executive said. He said his decision had been driven by concerns from the insurance carrier.
Prediction: Kingstonians will not sit idly while one of their fundamental rights, drinking in their parks, is usurped. The clock is ticking on when the first alderman offers remedial legislation. He or she had better have at least the six votes needed to override a mayoral veto.
This just in. County Comptroller Elliott Auerbach is running. He participated in last weekend’s annual Shamrock Run in Kingston. Auerbach and wife Judi are regulars on the local running circuit, she several strides the faster. In that other activity, politics, he should be officially announcing next month.
When, oh when, will Mr. Reynolds learn that being a snarky, bitter, old man does not make for good journalism. Yawn… Being able to be rude and sarcastic doesn’t make you look witty and well-informed– just makes you look old, pointless and irrelevant Not to mention that this article reeks of lack of research or effort, or should I say, significant laziness, about getting accurate facts regarding your “story.” Many people in this community are working their arses off to make this town better. Shame on you for trying to drag everyone’s effort and work through the mud simply because you think your negative rhetoric makes you look intelligent. Hint: It’s not working
Mr. Anonymous, you have obviously not been here very long. You probably came from NYC along with most of the newbies with your money and your web-business B.S. Get a bit of a life yourself. Better yet become the next city of Kingston historian. It’ll be interesting to see if that position goes the way of attrition after Ed Ford passes. Then maybe you can get some ink yourself. Oh that’s right, no criticism is supposed to flow to the newbies because they brought their Democratic Party enrollment up from the great metro. Uh-huh. I say I don’t give a flying fart.
As for the style of Mr. Reynolds, that is what is old. I agree it is designed to make him look more well informed and in the know than would otherwise be possible, but he is just an old hanger-onto politics who benefitted therefrom for years from this. It IS working(don’t delude yourself now) because the pols have all reached a happy medium with him, despite his granting an impression to the contrary. The only way you can ever do that too is to accomplish some symbiosis with the pols. Good luck–I was born here and in 56 years I haven’t been able to do it. Nothing in the water–that’s around the best in the nation and always has been!!(Let’s lobby for a piece on the water department as often as we enoounter stop signs in Kingston).
Wrong, wrong, wrong on so many counts. Didn’t your mother tell you about “assuming?” No, not a “Mr.”, not from New York, not loaded with money, and not owning a web business. You sound a little bitter, ya know. And I actually do have a very fulfilling life — but then again, people who “assume” and then say “get a life” usually don’t. I stand by my comments on old sourpuss — boring and uninspired. A little positivity goes a lot further than false assumptions and pointless rambling — for both of you.
For the record, I remain an active Kingston business proudly and unabashedly serving women in need of my expertise: When I purchased and rehabilitated 781-783 Broadway, I created a new business at that location (Women’s Incontinence Center. Prior to my improvements, the building was vacant, rundown, and the alley contained used condoms, human excrement and needles from drug addicts. The neighboring attached building was mostly vacant building with huge ugly signage looking for tenants. After I improved the address, the neigbor was able to attract a reputable law firm tenant. Not only has my business helped the area improve, it has helped many women in need of my services. The Business Alliance of Kingston keeps me a priority and thinks as follows (I have the original signed letter:
Richard M. Wood, MD
783 Broadway
Kingston, NY 12401
April 20, 2011
Dear Dr. Wood:
The Business Alliance of Kingston has noted your decision to sell your building on Broadway. We wish you well; it is apparent from your web site that you have numerous other offices. The purpose of this letter is to respectfully request that you take down the sign, “Women’s Incontinence Center” as soon as your business moves. In the mean time, the recently tacked on sign that tells us you are still there, is in violation of the Mid-Town Design Guidelines (Section 405-36, N: Unsafe, abandoned and unlawful signs.) Please remove this small sign at your earliest convenience. We’ve been notified by Fire Chief Salzmann that ticketing for such violations is about to begin, so we hope this letter will help you avoid a fine.
While it is clear that you are devoted to helping women with health issues, we have always found your permanent sign to be inappropriate in its current location, at one of the main gateways to the city. We see nothing wrong with such a sign in a hospital, a phone book, or on a web site – where people are actually looking for your help. For those of us putting in long hours to improve the business climate of Kingston, however, it is a daily reminder that we have much work to do.
Sincerely yours,
Patrice Courtney Strong
President
Page 2 Letter to Richard M. Wood. M.D.
The signers were (in order of their signatures):
Pat Courtney Strong, Courtney Strong Inc.
Larry Zalinsky, Mezzanine Antiques
Nancy Donskoj, Main Street Manager/Business Alliance of Kingston
Kevin Quilty, Smith Printing
Teryl Mickens, Rural Ulster Preservation Co.
Rev. Darlene L. Kelley, Clinton Avenue United Methodist Church
Greer Smith, TransArt
Tom Hoffay, Alderman, City of Kingston
Ken Darmstadt, Darmstadt Overhead Doors
Martitza Estrada, property owner
Hayes Clement, Alderman, City of Kingston
Ann Loeding,
Karin Clark Adin, Bop To Tottum
Rebecca Martin, Kingston Land Trust
Please note: The signers are property owners in the City of Kingston.