Column as I see ’em February 21, 2023

 

Saratoga Report Publisher Dan De Federicis

• It’s almost March and other than Matt Veitch, who will presumably run again for Saratoga Springs supervisor, I don’t know of one Republican candidate running for city council or county supervisor.  I noticed it before, but this article from today’s TU seems to confirm that.  Yeesh, are they ceding the city to the Dems?  That’s hardly a positive development – not because of the Dems but because one-party rule is simply not good.  According to the article, the Democrats have a full slate of candidates, mostly incumbents.  Looks like the real elections will take place in that party’s primary – good Lord the Republicans didn’t even have it together to return the TU’s call for comment.  The first day to sign designating petitions starts next week – February 28.  The primary elections are June 27.  When did spring become such a political season?  Ummm yay.
• Back to county supervisors, despite her politics being very different from mine, I was disappointed to hear Tara Gaston’s announcement that she would not seek reelection to her Saratoga Springs supervisor seat.  She is smart, a proven vote getter, and has the moxie to stand up to the other supervisors, mostly Republican men, and question their actions.  I saw a social media post from her that said something to the effect that she will continue working for the common good, just in a different role.  That’s good to hear.  Good luck Tara.
• Two of my long-lost favorite Saratoga Restaurants are places I never ate a morsel of food in:  Brindisi’s and The Grey Gelding.  How is it then that they were among my faves?  I guess in all fairness I didn’t appreciate the kitchens – it was their bars that attracted me.  When I first moved here in 2006, Brindisi’s was one place I could go to hear live music that wasn’t geared for 20-somethings.  Same thing a few years later with the Grey Gelding – especially on Friday Nights when the Franklin Micare Duo – namely Franklin Micare and Steve Candlen – were playing.  They rocked the house there, and it was great to even watch and listen from the sidewalk.  I understand Panza’s on South Broadway has some good entertainment – presumably that doesn’t do Dave Matthews covers – so one of these weekend nights perhaps me and the Mrs. will get there.
• I’m not a fan of Stewart’s gas pricing here in Saratoga Springs.  I will expand on that some day., but for now I will mention some things I do like about Stewart’s.  Their ice cream is of course superb and their pizza is…not bad.  Prefab for sure, but probably better than half the pizzerias in town and a whole cheese pie is less than $12 and it’s ready in 10 minutes.  Keep in mind here I have two kids age 5 and 9, so it just works when we’re in a jam.  To be clear, I am not recommending Stewart’s pizza over top Saratoga pizza such as that offered from 9 Miles East (for a more artisan pizza – and yes a plug – but a worthy one –  for a longtime Saratoga Report advertiser) and West Avenue Pizza (for a traditional pizza).  But if you only have 11 bucks and change and need to feed kids in 10 minutes….
• Regardless of what they build for the homeless and where they build it, I am convinced there will always be a large number of them congregating at the Woodlawn Avenue Parking Garage morning, noon and night.  That’s not meant to be a negative statement.  It’s just clear that many of them choose to be at Woodlawn – it’s become their place – and I don’t know if Ron Kim or anyone else is going to change that.  There has always been a homeless population here, they were just essentially invisible for a long time.  I’ve come to terms with the fact the homeless population will always be here and in fact will likely increase in numbers.  It seems like half the people I know here are disgusted with the homeless population making their presence known and the other half thinks we’re all insensitive brutes for not inviting them into our homes and want to use 40% of the city budget to address their needs.  I just would ask that we find some balance – leaders and citizens alike.  We need to be humane and caring – and yes that begins with food and shelter, as well as services to help those that have issues such as substance abuse and mental health issues.  I don’t want anything less.  But can we have just a tiny bit of common sense and enforcement here?  How did Williams Street/Senior Center proposal on top of a school get so far?  BTW, I hear it’s not dead – far from it – as this Daily Gazette editorial notes.  At Woodlawn, why has it become acceptable for people to congregate and block parking spaces on taxpayer-owned property?  Is there a way we can encourage them not to sprawl asleep on Broadway’s sidewalk in front of businesses struggling to pay staff and rent?  I want to live in a humane city that helps the homeless but also takes reasonable steps to establish order.  Is that too much to ask?  In Saratoga, it seems it indeed is too much to ask.
• If I had to pick a few select sentences from that aforementioned Daily Gazette Editorial about the proposed Williams Street shelter, it would be these: “….That leads us to the second lesson city officials need to learn from this process.  Don’t put the shelter right next to a school or in close proximity to one. That should have been obvious from the start. But it apparently wasn’t.”  I made essentially the same point in this column two weeks ago when I wrote “….But the location next to Spa Catholic is just horrible – abort!…I hope the city takes that as a clear sign they need to find another location.”
• I think the same approach – one of balance – also goes for dealing with BLM.  Can we communicate with all groups, acknowledge racial tensions and issues and the need to improve without getting walked on by protesters (e.g. shutting down meetings) and tolerating false accusations of police misconducut – even murder – in Darryl Mount’s death?  Those false – and self serving – accusations are nothing less than galling.  I wish just once one city council member would stand up and lose his/her shit when these lies are made.  Saratoga is not Minneapolis.  It’s not Memphis.  This city is nonetheless addressing any real or perceived racial inequities with a police citizen’s review board (admittedly slow to arrive) and other steps.  Yes Saratoga is very white, but it’s not racist.
• I get the feeling Saratoga Springs is a victim of its own success – it’s so wealthy and opulent here that this city naturally attracts the bulk of the Capital Region’s protesters who need an upscale place full of successful people to point fingers.  We’re bearing the brunt of Capital Region protesters’ backlash against things that occurred hundreds or thousands of miles away.  Their falsehoods about Darryl Mount’s death give their protests a preceived nexus to Saratoga when in reality it’s all just politics.
• With that being said, Darryl Mount was a human being and he died while being pursued by police.  This city dropped the ball when it neglected to complete an investigation of the events that night.  They failed Darryl Mount, his family, the police officers who I believe did nothing wrong, and the residents of this city.  The consequences continue almost a decade after his death.  Remember, there is still a lawsuit filed by Darryl Mount’s mother.
• On a slightly related note, I didn’t know Saratoga Police Lieutenant Bob Jillson was retiring.  I don’t know him well but my interactions with him were always good and I came to respect him.  I honestly don’t know for a fact why he retired at a time of a pending chief’s vacancy as he sat atop that position’s Civil Service list.  Perhaps it was just time – that happens to cops – or perhaps he had an offer elsewhere.  But I can’t help but think he got sick of what was going on in city hall and he sang a certain Johnny Paycheck song, at least in his head, going out the door.  This blog post from John Kaufmann about who showed up – and who didn’t – to Jillson’s walking out ceremony supports that last thought.  The key sentence came at the end: “Conspicuously absent from the event were all the members of our current City Council.”
• I say Jillson’s retirement is slightly related to the BLM issues because members of the group have been vocal about appointing a new chief since Shane Crooks announced his planned June retirement.  Left on the Civil Service list are Sgt. Paul Veitch and Lt. Tyler McIntosh – although with Jillson’s retirement does that mean a third candidate, previously unreachable on the list, becomes eligible?  In any event I’ve had limited dealings with Veitch but they’ve all been positive and I like him.  I don’t know McIntosh, but he had the career misfortune of working the night Darryl Mount fell to his death, and BLM has been critical of him as a prospective chief.  It says here that there is not a shred of evidence that he, or any other SSPD members, did anything wrong that fateful night in 2013, but he’s screwed because there is no way this city council will appoint him chief.  That is simply wrong, but I have to admit I get it because that is the political world we live in today.  If you listen to this recent WAMC interview with Mayor Kim, it sure seems like he’d like to hire somebody other than Veitch or McIntosh. You can bet your boots there will be some in city hall trying to scheme a way around civil service requirements.
• OK, let me lighten it up here a bit.  Back to my 5-year old daughter, she wants to know what happened to the big goldfish at Longfellows.  I’m not kidding – she asked me.  Sully, are you reading this?
• Continuing with Longfellows, I drive by it almost every day of my life and I am saddened to see it closed.  I could take my wife and kids there for dinner, or stop in to one of Saratoga’s best bars for a drink on my way home.  Seems like the new owners have grand plans, but I don’t know if they include middle-class folks like me.  A friend of mine once told me this town is getting too uppity for its own good, and we needed to have Barney’s back.  I asked him what he meant as I didn’t know what Barney’s was, and he wrote up a nice commentary for Saratoga Report back in 2021.
• This headline on Google sure caught my eye: “Mountain Lion Spotted in Downtown Saratoga“, but thankfully it was in Saratoga, Wyoming.  Man, if that in fact did happen here Ron Kim and Jim Montagnino would have trampled that poor kitty while charging down Broadway to hold a hastily-convened press conference.
• If you ever want to get a feel for what Kentucky horse farm country is like, or you just want to take a nice drive a very short distance from Saratoga, take a ride down Fitch Road.  Beautiful homes old and new, horses – including weanlings, yearlings etc. at Mcmahon of Saratoga Thoroughbreds and a few other farms along the stretch.  For some great views of Saratoga Lake and Fish Creek (this time of the year, anyway) drive Fitch Road in a southerly direction, accessing it off Stafford Bridge Road just east of Harvest & Hearth Restaurant.  Halfway along you’ll see Fish Creek off to your right and as it approaches Rt. 9P you get a great view of Saratoga Lake.
• Speaking of Harvest & Hearth, it is closed for a winter break until March 1st.
• Staying in the vicinity of Fish Creek, I think the quasi-merger between Druthers and 550 makes a lot of sense, if for no other reason than staffing flexibility.  I was pleased to see Druthers’ management state it will be cautious in keeping what works at 550 and not turning it into Druthers at the Lake.
• 550 has come a long way from the Tropic Hut, hasn’t it?  Do you recall how the Tropic Hut’s run ended?  Yeesh, that was tragic…and bizarre.  
• The doors at the Washington Avenue Post Office are really difficult to open.  That may seem minor, but the elderly and physically challenged must have a hell of a time getting in.
• What a mess the Railroad Run Trail is!  According to a posting by Supervisor Matt Veitch:  “….the Saratoga County Sewer District is re-lining the sewer trunk line that follows the trail. As they push re-lining material through the line, they must bypass the current pipe above ground, which means for safety reasons, people cannot be on the trail. There will be some minor digging on the trail to place the lining equipment. It is estimated the project will be done later in the spring.”
• Good Lord, the NAPA Auto Parts Store on Rowland St. in Milton is, to borrow a line from the late Billy Fucillo, huge!  You just don’t see too many big box stores in greater Ballston Spa.
• Owen Wilson’s movie “Paint”, a lot of which was shot here in the Spa City, opens April 7th.  The movie’s trailer didn’t make me want to run out and see it, but it will be hard for me to resist the Saratoga connection so I’ll probably catch it at some point.  In any event I think we’re at least guaranteed it will be better than Virgin Alexander.

OK folks, I’ve written a lot here so time to wrap up.  If you are looking for me I’ll be that Sunday driver meandering down Fitch Road, or perhaps I’ll be in Milton admiring what I can only assume is the world’s largest collection of spark plugs.  I never thought I’d say this but I sort of miss seeing Billy Fucillo on TV.  Take care everybody.