DONT GAMBLE ON SUBURBAN SPRAWL (Rensselaer is Better Than East Greenbush For Casio) Vic Christopher, a local business owner and former economic developer in Troy, has an excellent Rensselaer County related Letter to the Editor of the Times Union today, on an issue that does effect us in Troy. Hard Rock better bet for a casino blog.timesunion/opinion/hard-rock-better-bet-for-a-casino/30778/ The letter is regarding the proposed casinos in upstate New York. And I’m pleased to read these remarks -- doubly so to see them in the form of an “old fashioned” letter to the editor, rather than blog comment, tweet, etc. Background: There are currently four proposed casino sites in our region: Downtown Rensselaer, Downtown Schenectady, rural Schoharie, and suburban East Greenbush. The following are my thoughts on this topic (Vic’s LTE, however, is attached and linked to below): Personally, I voted against bringing a casino to our area. But the votes were cast, and it’s coming. Therefore, I believe the best proposed scenario is Downtown Rensselear, near the train station. We should, however, advocate for the highest quality building so that it is capable of being “re-programmed” for other uses in the future (so that it can continue to add value to our greater community long after the casino stops taking bets). Of the two sites located in downtowns, AmTrak train service to the Rensselaer site is the most reliable and therefore offers the most appealing alternative to driving. (Schenectady is a decent second option in this regard.) The East Greenbush site, on the other hand, is pure, short-sighted SUBURBAN SPRAWL. The Mayor of Albany currently has reached a “non-exclusive” agreement to receive $11 million over 10 years from the SUBURBAN East Greenbush casino project (money goes to Capitalize Albany organization), and 25 percent of the employees are to be from Albany. $11 million over 10 years just isn’t worth the cost of building more short-sighted SUBURBAN SPRAWL in our region. The additional cars, pollution, and infrastructure to accommodate all the cars .... this is not in our region’s best interest. Casinos are not a long-term solution to anything. Suburbia is not going to work out, either. Let’s not become burdened by yet another SUBURBAN “white elephant” in our area. P.S. With respect to the large apron of surface parking surrounding the proposed Rensselaer casino … I would advocate for a permeable paving surface to reduce storm water runoff. I would not, at this point, push for multi-level parking structures… because it’s easier to build “urban infill” on surface lots than it is to first tear down massive parking structures. And there will be, inevitably, more urban infill next to this casino, when it goes bust and is reprogrammed for another use in the future. Here, again, is Vic’s LTE: Hard Rock better bet for a casino blog.timesunion/opinion/hard-rock-better-bet-for-a-casino/30778/
Posted on: Wed, 24 Sep 2014 21:14:52 +0000
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