Riverside Steak Roast at the Boat Club

One of everyone's favorite summer past times is spending time in and around water. Obviously, Upstate NY offers a variety of options for everyone; beaches, lakes, rivers, ponds, and we're not too far from the ocean. One of my favorite things to do is relax and cookout by the water and enjoy a nice boat ride. If this is something that you enjoy as well, I would encourage you to set sail and lower anchor at the Troy Motor Boat and Canoe Club this Saturday for their Annual Steak Roast.

The "Boat Club" has been in existence since 1910 and overlooks the Hudson River in Lansingburgh. Located at 763 1st Ave the Boat Club offers commercial marine dock space, a rental hall, full bar, and weekly take-out dinners. With many special events happening throughout year, the club has long been a favorite watering hole for those in and around the Capital Region and the occasional water way traveler.

The Annual Steak Roast Party is sure to be a great time. Dinner will be served at 6pm on July 3rd and is $12 per person. There will even be fireworks at dusk. Stop by anytime! For more information or to reserve your steak please call 470-2929 and for more information on the Boat Club and their upcoming events visit www.troyboatclub.com

Putting for Dough - Local Charity Golf Outings

I love to golf. If possible I would play everyday of the week. I routinely travel near and far to experience all the great courses in and around our region and state. When we go away for vacation my clubs come with me. Golf has become a passion and an enjoyable past time for many individuals. But what makes it even more enjoyable is when you’re playing in one of the many benefit outings held each summer season. Benefit golf tournaments have proven to be a great way to raise money for any cause or an organization. Below are a few outings conducted by Troy organizations that are coming up and being a few are even being played at our own Frear Park. Sorry if I have overlooked your event, if I did please email me, jgordon003@nycap.rr.com, the events information and I will gladly add it to the list!

• On June 25th, the “Mayors Cup Charity Classic” will be held. This year the proceeds raised through the tournament will benefit Troy’s “Hook a Kid on Golf” initiative. This initiative is an introductory program for kids ages 8-15. Kids will be introduced to the rules and etiquette of the game, as well as take part in instructional classes on driving, iron play, chipping, and putting. This is a six week program that begins July 12th at Frear Park. In addition to the funds raised through the Mayors Cup, the program also accepts sponsors to help offset the $135 cost per child fee. Visit www.Troyny.gov for more information on this tournament and the “Hook a Kid on Golf” program.
  
  
• On July 11th, the 4th Annual “Big Mac” golf tournament will be conducted by the Lansingburgh Boys and Girls Club at the Fairways of Halfmoon. For 73 years the LB&GC has provided children with educational, social, and recreational activities to help prevent delinquency in the community. Services and activities offered include peer tutoring, academic support, a technology center equipped with 10 computers, a “Kids Café” open three afternoons a week, and after school snack provided twice a week. Each year operational costs continue to rise and money becomes increasingly tougher to raise. The golf tournament has become one the LB&GC’s top fundraisers and offers all those who attend a very enjoyable time. Call 235-4143 for more information on the 4th Annual “Big Mac” golf tournament.
  
  
• On July 11th, the Netter’s Fund Memorial Golf Outing will be held at Frear Park. The Netter’s Fund is a not-for-profit fund that aids in the education and prevention of drunk driving. Through-out the year the Netter’s Fund and their 23 local sponsors offer the Safe Ride Program. The safe ride program offers free rides to anyone who may have had a very enjoyable evening and has no business getting behind the wheel. As a not-for-profit organization the Netter’s Fund relies on donations from the community in addition to their Safe Ride sponsors to continue offering their programs. Visit www.netters.us for more information on the Memorial Golf Outing.
  
  
• On September 18th, the 14th Annual Veterans of Lansingburgh Golf Tournament will be held at Frear Park. Call 233-8656 for more information.

These are just a few of the hundreds of tournaments available this season. Generally these events are a half-day affair. Registration includes greens fees with a cart, sometimes lunch, a dinner, and an award ceremony to end the day. I find them to be well worth the money and a very enjoyable time. I would encourage you to participate in an event. You’ll have a great time supporting our local youth and community betterment programs. See out on the links!

2nd Annual Children’s Safety Fair Scheduled for Saturday in Lansingburgh

The North Lansingburgh Neighborhood Watch will be holding their second annual “Neighborhood Children’s Safety Day” this coming Saturday, June 19th at Powers Park in Lansingburgh with the support of the Missing Link Street Ministry/ Feed-A-Kid Program and Pastor Willie Bacote during their bi-weekly flea market.

Several activates are scheduled to educate children and their parents on how to live and play safely. Members of the neighborhood group will be joined by the Rensselaer County Sheriff’s Department, Troy Police and Fire Departments, Whitney Young Health Services, and the Troy Family YMCA.

Last year we had over 60 children participate in the program. The timing of this event is intended to coincide with the beginning of school districts summer vacation. Our goal is to provide the children of the community one last refresher course on how to live and play safely. During the course of the summer they will be out playing, riding bikes, or in some cases, home alone and we need to do our job to ensure the kids know how to prevent an emergency from happening and understand the right steps to take in the event one does.

Each participating agency will present specific information to educate and bring awareness on how to prevent and deal with the everyday occurrences that children may encounter.

• The Sheriff’s Department will be conducting the state-wide initiative - Operation SAFE CHILD, which was created to raise awareness about child safety. The program will provide photo ID cards, which contain fingerprint and biographical data, to individuals under the age of 18. The goal of this program is to record and store the fingerprints, basic biographical information and photographs of children, who are not missing, information critical to expediting the return of a missing child.
• The Troy Fire Department will be educating attendees on the best fire prevention practices, how to react in the event of a fire, and how to prevent common playground injuries. Children will also enjoy the opportunity of “touring” a Troy Fire Engine.
• The Troy Police Department will be conducting a bike safety program and will be distributing a limited number of bike helmets on a first come first serve basis.
• Members of Whitney Young Heath Center’s Troy practice will be discussing the preventive dental and medical services they offer locally.
• The Troy Family YMCA discussing the summer, youth & teen programs, camps and other activities offered throughout the year at their facility.

“Summer is here and better weather means more opportunities to get out and play. It also means kids need to be more aware of safety tips when they’re playing, like wearing a helmet when riding your bike,” said Mayor Harry Tutunjian. “Safe communities are comprised of safe kids and it’s good to see our neighborhood associations like the North Lansingburgh Neighborhood Watch take the lead on issues like this.”

Many of the local public service agencies have outreach programs geared to educate people on specific information We have the finest public safety agencies and youth programs available locally and having them participate in this program once again will prove to be a great benefit to the children and parents of our community.

For more information please contact Jim Gordon, 365-2270 or email jgordon003@nycap.rr.com.

Who: North Lansingburgh Neighborhood Watch
What: 2nd Annual Neighborhood Children’s Safety Day Where: Powers Park, Third Avenue side between 110th and 111th Street, Troy NY
When: Saturday, June 19, 2010 12:00 - 1:30pm

Photos from last years Safety Day...

Curfew Crack Down

Since our neighborhood group began meeting, one of the most common complaints we receive from our members is juvenile nuisance. In Lansingburgh we have see at all the time, at all hours of the evening and night, groups of kids walking up and down the boulevards and loitering on various streets. True, not every kid is causing an issue, but like anything else in life a few bad apples spoil it for the whole bunch. The last two springs and summers we have experienced a heightened level of petty crimes caused by kids. Most popular among them are vehicular vandalism and break-ins and minor property damage. Why they do these things we’ll never know, but how can we prevent it is more important question.

We have asked for a number of years now why don’t we enforce the curfew law we have on the books as a start to break this habit of kids roaming the streets at all hours of the day and night. In the past we have been given a number of reasons why this wasn’t a feasible. Last month during our regular neighborhood meeting new Chief of Police John Tedesco addressed our group as our guest speaker. Once again the question of curfew came up. Chief Tedesco, without batting an eye, said this law will be enforced. This past weekend the Troy police picked up 20 kids who were in violation of the city’s curfew law in one night. This is a great start. Many of the everyday, petty issues that the residents experience and that frustrate us the most are caused by ill guided minors. I applaud the Chief and the police department of enacting and enforcing this detail as quickly as they did. Across the board I believe we are going to see a big change in the effectiveness of the police department as summer roles on, this is not to say it wasn’t effective in the past because it was. I just think that now the next generation of improvements will be put into place and will have a great and positive impact on the quality-of-life of our neighborhoods.

However, one aspect that I feel is missing is parental accountability. That's why I am glad to learn that the curfew ordinance carries a fine and community services for repeat offenders. The first time a minor is picked up will result in a letter and the violation notice sent to the parents, but each additional offense will result in the parents facing penalties. Starting with the second violation a fine of $100 and 25 hours of community service will be "awarded." The community service will be be performed by a parent and the minor. The fines and community service continue with each violation, but for those who are repeat violators notification will also be sent to the Rensselaer County Department of Social Services or child protective services. I would imagine that for the majority of kids that would be picked up for a curfew violation will never violate again, because I could only imagine what would have happened to me if my parents were called late in the night to pick me up at the police station for doing something I shouldn’t have been doing.

Along the lines of the City’s curfew law, educate yourself and your children so they don’t get picked up for being in violation and you make that take a trip down to the police department to pick them up. The city’s curfew for those under the age of 18 begins at 10:30 pm and ends at 6 am on weekday and Sunday nights and begins at 11:30 pm on Friday and Saturday.

Tonight, Tuesday June 8 beginning at 7pm is our monthly neighborhood watch meeting at the Lansingburgh Boys and Girls Club. If you’d like to join us, our guest speakers this month are Bob Reiter and County Executive Kathy Jimino on hand to discuss benefits available for Veterans who reside in the county. Also, because there have been several questions and concerns as to who receives and dispatches emergency and non-emergency calls (270-4411 and 9-1-1) and how it works, we will have Dir. of Rensselaer County Public Safety Kelly Paslow and Deputy Dir. Mark Balistreri to discuss their service and answer questions.

2nd Annual Nancy McHugh Scholarship Fundraiser

On Friday, June 4, 2010 from 4:00pm until 6:00pm the 2nd Annual Nancy McHugh Memorial Scholarship Fundraiser held behind the Lansingburgh High School. The price is $13.00 per person and you will receive a 1/2 chicken dinner, baked potato, coleslaw, roll, butter, cookie and a drink. This year Giffy's Bar-B-Q will be providing the meal.

For anyone who knew Nancy you knew she had a true passion for education and students. Nancy joined as a member of the Lansingburgh school board in 1991. As a member of the Rensselaer County Legislature she served as the chairwoman of the education committee. For nearly two decades Nancy strove to positively impact the lives of the children of Lansingburgh and the school district; and she did. Following her passing, the district created a memorial scholarship to honor her legacy and to ensure Nancy’s hard work and dedication will be remembered for future generations.

The scholarship will be awarded to a graduating Lansingburgh senior.

Please RSVP by May 27th to Theresa Broderick at 233-6850 or tbroderi@lansingburgh.org. Your Bar-B-Q ticket will be waiting for you at the sign in table.

Proper Inspections Require Proper Inspectors

Over the past few weeks I’ve read twice about a proposal that would lead to mandatory rental unit inspections in the city of Troy. These inspections, as I read, would be conducted by city firefighters. I’m not completely “sold” on the concept yet and I can’t help but question the logic behind why firefighters would be utilized to conduct these inspections.

For the past several years the Troy UFA has pleated to the city council and the Mayor to hire more fireman. Their claim is that the current staffing and coverage levels puts themselves and city residents at risk should the department receive several calls for service, substantial in nature, within a short time of each other. Honestly, I don’t know if this is a justifiable claim or not, but let’s assume for a moment that it is. The UFA has asked for 8 more firefighters, I believe. In the past I’ve heard that the cost of adding a single new fireman to the force is approximately $150,000 (includes salaries, training costs, etc.) I’ve also heard in the past that for every $100,000 of expense added to the city’s budget equates to a 1% tax increase should insufficient revenue be available to offset the increased costs. If there isn’t a sufficient level of firefighters to perform their current firefighting and EMT duties, how can the city burden them with additional duties that are completely unrelated to their specialized trade? The current force and any additional members that will be added in the future will need to be specially trained to perform these residential inspections. There is a lot of expense that will be attached to this plan. Let’s not forget that there is a union contract at play here too that details what the duties of firefighters are, how will this be impacted? And let’s not forget about the union that represents the individuals who probably are best suited to perform this inspection function, the CSEA that represents the members of the city’s Code Enforcement department. Could there be an inter-city dispute between labor unions over whose duty and responsibility it is to perform these residential inspections? Why wouldn’t or, most importantly, why isn’t code enforcement being considered as the inspection agent under this proposal? They have the training already and expansion of their department might be less costly than that of the fire department. There will be an administrative function and expense attached as well, who manages the database, code enforcement? If code enforcement were to manage it, why couldn’t they perform the inspections?

Now let’s quickly assume that that the rental unit inspection program proceeds as described at this point in time, in its infancy, and the existing workforce of firefighters now adds inspections to their daily duties. Doesn’t this now create a greater public safety risk should there be calls for service and firefighters are out inspecting residential units? I would believe so. So, this leads one to believe that additional firefighters would be a necessity, probably over and above the 8 already requested.

Public safety should always be paramount and that is why I believe the firefighters should remain focused on their specialized trade and not be lead down the wrong path by promises made by part-time politicians touting additional duties equal additional pay and equal additional staffing. I am not questioning the ability, dedication, or effectiveness of our City’s Bravest, our firefighters. I have absolute respect for what they do each day to help keep all of us safe. They have a very specific purpose just as our Code Enforcement officers do. The training and expertise of the code officers lend themselves to more effective and a more cost efficient residential inspections. Additionally, if one of the primary issues of these inspections is ensuring smoke and carbon monoxide detectors are in place surely this is something that a code enforcement officer does on a daily basis.

As of late, government officials at all levels, local, state, and federal, continue to concoct grand pieces of legislation to improve or reform issues, but what they end up creating are cumbersome and confusing laws that ultimately end up cost the taxpayers more to fund than the perceived payoff. Let’s be smart here, government should be streamlining operations and reducing redundancies that are costly to taxpayers. I agree Troy needs stricter code enforcement, let’s do, but let’s do it the correct way, please… for once?

Troy's Wonderful Parks

One of the most valuable assets of any city is its parks. Clean and inviting parks are essential to many aspects of neighborhood development. Some of which include improving economic growth and sustainability, reduction in crime, improving residents physical and mental health, creating a strong sense of community, and supporting overall quality of life. All these and more are important to the prosperity of any community.

The city of Troy has over 20 municipal parks from Lansingburgh to South Troy. Many of these parks are little neighborhood pocket parks that offer community members a place to relax, bar-b-que, and include play ground equipment for children to enjoy. Growing up in South Troy I spent a lot of time playing baseball and enjoying the swings at the Canal Street Park. A lot of childhood memories revolve around that park and last year when it was renovated it ensured that many more memories will be had by other children. The Mayor and city’s Department of Parks and Recreation have taken a proactive approach in keeping these parks updated, safe, and clean for residents. These parks add to the neighborhoods luster and act as a major component in improving quality of life. Last year our neighborhood group, the North Lansingburgh Neighborhood Watch, began construction on a new riverside park on 1st Ave and 112th St. This was a vacant, underutilized, city-owned property over grown with weeds. We submitted a plan to the Mayor as part of the CDBG process. The plan was accepted and now the land is underdevelopment. Phase one was completed last spring and phase two is slated to begin at any moment and once this phase is completed the park will be ready for use. This new 112th St. Gateway Park, just as the rehabilitation of the Canal Street Park, and the recent upgrades our neighborhood group assisted with at the 112th Street Park between 4th and 5th Ave.’s, becomes the catalyst community improvement. These simple infrastructure improvements not only beautify the area but they instill a sense of community pride and spirit in people.

I have always thought that Prospect Park was the crown jewel of the city. The vistas and tranquility the park offers is second to none in the Capital Region. For a while now I felt that the park was underutilized and opportunity was passing us by. That’s way I was pleased to learn that this will be addressed soon and Mayor Tutunjian will be investing in improvements to the park adding to park equipment and by making it safer and cleaner. Prospect Park is definitely a unique piece of property; if you haven’t been there take a trip it well worth the time.

Many people travel far and wide to enjoy parks throughout our region and state, but with the unfortunate closure of many state parks maybe now residents of Troy and the greater Capital Region will re-discover the wonderful parks right here in Troy, close to home, and literally right in our back yards.

To find the closest park to your neighborhoods and for a complete list of Troy's park Click Here