Our neighbor's assailant pleads guilty

Anthony Cresser, convicted. / Rensselaer County mugshot

Local TV stations tonight carried an update on the court case of the man accused of stabbing our neighbor Trent Cox and two others back in September.

Anthony Cresser, 25, pled guilty to two counts of attempted first degree murder. He will be sentenced on February 28. He faces up to 15 years in prison.

As Trent tells us, “ 'Attempted' would not have been appropriate had he been successful. Betsy and I will be in the Rensselaer County Courthouse that day."

State Troopers had responded to the Sugar Hill Apartment Complex at 400 McChesney Avenue for a report of a stabbing. Upon arrival, they located three victims suffering from stab wounds. 

“The defendant lured the neighbors outside and committed a stabbing in an attempt to steal their vehicle,” said District Attorney Mary Pat Donnelly. “Thankfully, there were witnesses who immediately called 911. Thank you to the New York State Police, who arrived quickly and arrested Cresser at the scene.” 

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Free bulk trash dropoff program unveiled

Mayor Carmella Mantello today announced the start of a new, weekly, free bulk trash dropoff program for city residents. 

It has been several years since Troy residents have been able to dispose of household items during the winter months. In the past, the bulk pickup has been suspended annually from December through Spring with residents then paying various fees. 

“This new dropoff continues our commitment to make our streets safer and cleaner through our new 'Quality of Life Action Task Force',” Mantello said. “For too many years residents did not have a way to dispose of household items during the winter months and we are noticing more illegal dumping of mattresses and couches along our streets and alleyways.” 

The new mayor said that, along with this new free service, "We will continue to enhance our enforcement efforts placing mobile trail cams in certain illegal dumping hot spots and increasing our litter patrols and code enforcement throughout the city.” 

The new dropoff service will become available beginning this Friday (February 2). Proof of City of Troy residency will be needed. 

The drop-will be available every Friday (weather dependent) during the winter at the Troy Resource Management Facility (commonly known as The Alamo). Hazardous waste, electronics, or construction materials will not be accepted. 

The Alamo) is located at 3000 Main Street in Troy and will be open each Friday (weather dependent) from 7:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. for the bulk trash dropoff.

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Boil-water advisory doesn't affect us

Marker shows approximate site of work.

If you heard a news report today (Sunday) about a boil-water advisory in the City of Troy near Oakwood Avenue, don't be concerned. It has nothing to do with the Terrace community.

The advisory stems from another water main break near Sausse and Oakwood avenues on Saturday, just south of the hospital formerly known as St. Mary's (*). 

The boil-water advisory will be in place at least until Monday, according to city officials.

The same general area had been affected by repairs on a water main after a pipe broke back in September.

(* -- What had long been known as St. Mary's Hospital now officially is called Samaritan Hospital - St. Mary's Campus after an ongoing series of mergers and repurposing among a group of medical facilities.)

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Do state's property tax changes affect you?

Do the state's newly-amended property tax exemptions for senior citizens and/or persons with disabilities and limited incomes apply to you or a relative?

Anyone wishing to check on the specifics of the amended law for themself or a family member can go online to the state Department of Taxation and Finance website for details.

New York State's amended Real Property Tax Law for Section 467 and Section 459-c during 2023 increased the maximum income limit from $37,400 to $58,400 and simplified the “definition of income.” This is the first income increase and change since 2010.

The local law is scheduled to be introduced the week of January 29 and acted upon by the end of February.

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While you were sleeping (again)

 

Skyview plow at work after midnight. / Bill Dowd photo

At a little after 1 a.m. today, the thermometer said it was a balmy 16 degrees. Above zero, thank goodness.

So, it was encouraging to see the snowplow from Skyview Landscaping laboring away to remove the second significant snowfall of the Winter of '24.

By the way, we noticed several Terrace residents doing their own shoveling earlier, but it really wasn't necessary unless they had an emergency need. Skyview, FYI, had kept us fully informed of snow removal plans as weather conditions varied throughout the day and night. 

Obviously, there was no logic to having crews on-site while snow continued to fall, but as soon as it eased the crews went to work.

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Seeking your input on a security measure

For anyone concerned by the recent police presence on the Terrace, relax. It was simply a case of a residential security camera triggering a police security check. But, it shows that such processes work, especially comforting to the snowbirds among us.

Food for thought: 

The Ring doorbell camera company offers a neighborhood-wide alert service if customers who purchase and install a camera system wish to make use of it.

Several Terrace residences already have Ring cameras -- unobtrusive, white devices (i.e., such as the one shown above that blends in with the white siding on the buildings) -- aimed at providing security surveillance and recording images that can be shared with each other and with local police in case of "porch pirate" theft, break-in attempts, acts of vandalism, etc. 

To that end, if anyone who has a Ring account, or plans to install one, would like to be involved, we can create a neighborhood security alert system for all who wish to voluntarily participate.

Regretable as it is as a sign of our times, many on the Terrace are becoming increasingly interested in improving security. So, what steps have we already taken as a community and as your THCA Board?

• Periodic sharing of reminders to maintain a sufficient level of illumination by replacing burned-out bulbs in exterior pole lights, garage lights, etc.

• Creation, and disssemination, of a database of people to be contacted if Terrace residents are not reachable (vacation, cruises, snowbird travels, etc.) in case of such emergencies as fire, broken pipes, electrical failures, etc.

• Alerts circulated via The Terrace Times and email blasts concerning work projects on the Terrace that would bring non-residents into the community.

• Upgrades and followup repair of security lights at the entrance to the Terrace on Hyland Drive.

• Installation of solar security lights around the mailbox gazebo parking area.

• Even an occasional alert about strange disappearances. 

All that said, if you would like to be involved in such a security network based on a Ring camera, please contact THCA Board President Bill Dowd at BillDowd4Troy@gmail.com with your thoughts, comments, questions, etc., and update him on whether you have a Ring account. He'll make every effort to advance it from there.

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While you were sleeping ...

The first Terrace plowing of the season, around 1:30 a.m. today. / Bill Dowd photos

A clean driveway swipe.

Our new snow removal service, provided by Skyview Landscaping that also took over our grounds maintenance last summer in good fashion, was on the job throughout the weekend as promised. Quite an improvement over our previous vendors.

For those of you who have a habit of actually sleeping during the night, rest assured periodic snow plowing and shoveling have been taking place on Saturday night and Sunday night throughout the first real snowstorm of 2024, as can be seen in these photos.

Our thanks to all Terrace residents who complied with the THCA Board's request to garage your vehicles and keep driveways and key portions of the common parking areas vehicle-free to allow the Skyview crews to facilitate the snow clearing.

In addition, City of Troy plows made numerous passes through the Terrace over the weekend, partly because of the energetic involvement of our new mayor, Carmella Mantello, who popped up all across Troy to cheer on and thank the municipal crews.

Incidentally, the National Weather Service (NWS) forecast for our area this week calls for no more snow, but for a strong chance of rain and some strong winds.

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A new era of snow removal by the city?

For the benefit of those of you who, unlike me, go to bed early, a City of Troy snow removal crew passed through the Terrace at least twice before 3 a.m. Sunday.

This seems to be the early result of our new Mayor Carmella Mantello's pledge to clear city thoroughfares and neighborhoods as much as possible as soon as possible.

In case you missed it, for information on what our Skyview Landscaping vendor has planned to clear this first storm of the winter, just click here.

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City OKs emergency infrastructure work

City workers repairing water main break. / Troy Record photo

Troy's new mayor, Carmella Mantello, is wasting no time address deteriorating water main pipes and leaking pumps that have been ongoing issues.

Her administration says repairs are needed as soon as possible at the Eddy’s Lane Pump Station, which affects more than 100,000 residents and multiple municipalities from south of Rensselaer County northwest to the Town of Halfmoon in Saratoga County.

“We’re going to do whatever we have to do to correct it immediately,” Mantello said. “I did contact Troy Housing Executive Director Deb Witkowski because right below here is an affordable housing community.”

That housing community has more than 50 residents. One of the major issues is if the facility were to flood, the water would also come down the hill and flood surrounding homes, inundating the area with millions of gallons of water.

City Engineer Russ Reeves, who also is Troy's commissioner of Public Utilities, said the situation is a public safety concern and is the main reason for the emergency declaration. The declaration allows the city to start designing and implementing the repairs.

“The water line care and replacement would take three to four months to complete,” Reeves said, "because each level has to be planned with tremendous coordination.”

It was explained that intense coordination will be required because engineers will have only 12 hours to make the repairs once it starts.

City officials estimate the cost of repairs at more than $100,000. They hope to begin the work within the next few weeks. The project will take at least two months to complete.

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Snow removal plans for first storm of '24

Skyview Landscaping, our new snow removal contractor (yep,  same folks who began maintaining our grounds last year; details here), is all geared up for the storm heading our way.

In communication with the Terrace, Skyview said its plans call for crews to service our community at least twice during this event which is forecast to begin Saturday afternoon and continue into Sunday. The amount of predicted snow accumulation varies depending on which source you believe.

"Please expect crews on-site early Sunday morning, with a return overnight Monday for a final cleanup," Skyview says. "Common areas and roadways will be serviced through the day on Sunday."

To help facilitate a smooth operation:

• Please garage all your vehicles, if possible.

• If you need to park in a common area, please try to avoid using the portions through which plows usually push snow.

 • Be sure to tell all expected visitors to follow these same parking requests.

 • While walking pets, be alert to snow plow activity.

Stay warm and, as always, don't forget to check in on your neighbors.

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Socks drive a success; more Sidewalk Warriors info

For the second consecutive year, our "sock drive" to provide new socks through the local Sidewalk Warriors organization helping people in need was a success.

Last year, using our Terrace Holiday Luncheon as the dropoff point, event coordinator Janice Dessingue reported that we contributed 100 "sock packs" (two pairs each) in our first such effort. This year, we topped that. The breakdown:

• 61 packs of men's socks
• 40 packs of women's socks
• 8 packs of children's socks

In addition, we contributed three packages of T-shirts and underwear.

FYI, the all-volunteer Sidewalk Warriors community organization relies on community residents and businesses to support their work. You can get details on their Facebook page.

Just one other example of helping: If you visit the Honest Weight Food Co-op in Albany any time this month, you will  have the opportunity to round up your purchase price to the nearest dollar, with that added change going directly to Sidewalk Warriors Troy. Plus, Honest Weight will match the first $500 collected. 

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