3rd Quarter dues coming up

The third installment of your 2007 Homeowners Association dues comes due on Sunday, July 1.

Dues are $355 per household, in accordance with the rate set at a special meeting of the Association on Oct. 16, 2006. Please get your checks to Treasurer Kathy Wade ASAP.

Note: Dues for the fourth quarter will be due on Oct. 1.

Troy strolling back to the future, briskly

Photos & Story by William M. Dowd

(Double-click to enlarge images.)

In some cities street festivals are weekly events. In the Capital Region they're far less frequent, but can be every bit as much of a crowd pleaser.>

The annual River Street Festival in Troy was such a place on Saturday, June 16, another sign that the gradual but perceptible revival of the waterside city is working.

Thousands -- some city officials claim 20,000 over the course of the day-long event -- crowded River Street from just north of City Hall down several blocks into the Antiques District, with live music at either end. Food and craft vendors lined both sides of the street, along with strollers, dogs, kids and people looking for a spot of shade in the glare of a near-90 day.

This is what a lot of Troy must have looked like many years ago, with crowds milling about, lots of pleasant noise, and folks just generally having a good time. It's what you hear when oldtimers reminisce about the city's heyday.

There will be more such, if repeated comments I overheard by non-Troy residents are any indication. Things like, "The architecture down here is fantastic. I want to come back." "I always thought it was hard to find your way around Troy. It's easy and they have loads of parking." "Let's come back next week and try the antiques shops."

Larry Schepici isn't wasting any time trying to keep the momentum going. The much-decorated chef who owns two downtown establishments -- the Illium Cafe on Monument Square and the fine-dining Tosca just a few steps away -- told me he's planning a Troy Chowderfest competition on Saturday, Aug. 18, that might cordon off another part of River Street: the food-and-fun block just above the Green Island Bridge where Jose Malone's, Ryan's Wake, Deli-icious, River Street Cafe, Troy Brew Pub and Revolution Hall are located.

"There's no reason to limit ourselves to just once in a while," Schepici said. "We've got something going here and we need to take advantage of the momentum."

The concept of the event, Schepici said, is to feature Troy restaurants working with local farms and produce to showcase the relationship between chefs and the farms of the Capital Region.

Luckily, Troy hasn't blocked itself off from the Hudson River as its downstream neighbors in Albany did when I-787 was constructed on the west bank. Its proximity to water, affording ambiance and views, is among the major drawing cards luring condo builders, redevelopers and businesses to the Rensselaer County side.

This all may sounds like a very hopeful pronouncement, especially from the guy who christened Troy "Plywood City" in frustration over the number of derelict, boarded-up buildings that create pockets of eyesores throughout a community on the comeback trail. But both views have been rooted in reality.

Where once there were few signs of revival, we now see redevelopment of former factory and commercial buildings, planning for the massive Congress Street corridor project, and new buildings at RPI popping up like toadstools after a warm rain.

It's fair to say Troy no longer is just a place you drive through to get to Vermont.

(This story was written originally for the Web site of Capital Region Living magazine.)

Busy Troy entertainment calendar

• The inaugural Folk Fest For Food is scheduled for 2 to 5 p.m. Saturday, June 9, in the Troy Antique District on River Street. The event, sponsored by Jim Barrett's River Street Beat Shop and Kaleidoscope 104.0 FM, is a charity event for the St. Patrick's Food Pantry. Local favorites Roseanne Raneri and the Ramblin' Jug Stompers are scheduled to perform. Admission is by voluntary donation.

• Troy's famous Flag Day Parade is scheduled for Sunday, June 10 (even though Flag Day isn't until the 14th), at 1 p.m. The 40th annual event is the largest such parade in the nation. You can get additional details here.

• Troy’s River Street Festival is scheduled for 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, June 16, with a "Grassroots & Antiques" theme. The family-oriented event also offers food and entertainment. Details are available here.

Annual Spring Cleanup a sparkling success

Grounds Committee Guru Harvey Bailey cracked the whip and the volunteer crew spruced up the Terrace during the annual Spring Cleanup project last weekend. Many thanks to all who participated.

Here are a few scenes, courtesy of Jerry Gordon.

Women In Art

There's an extremely clever morphing selection posted on the You Tube site, showing a collection of paintings of women done by various artists over the years.

Click here to see it. I guarantee it's worth the time.

About those 'cute' deer ...

A local store has a reminder posted near its pet food supplies:

IT IS ILLEGAL UNDER NYS LAW TO FEED WHITE-TAILED DEER

Some reasons:

• Overpopulation has affected deer survival.
• The proliferation of Lime Disease caused by deer-borne ticks is endangering many humans.
• Attracting deer to neighborhoods encourages them to roam the area, where they destroy landscaping.
• Getting deer used to human activity creates road hazards.

According to the Cornell Cooperative Extension's Wildlife Damage Management Program:

"Deer frequently feed on flowers, fruits, and vegetables and the buds and twigs of fruit trees and ornamental shrubs. Damage to landscape plantings and ornamentals may occur at any time of year but is usually most severe in the late winter and early spring when other food supplies are limited. Damage to fruit trees may cause both the immediate loss of the crop and residual tree injury that leads to reduced yields in the future. Deer browsing may permanently disfigure ornamental trees."

For a copy of Cornell's excellent deer factsheet -- which includes information on repellants, deer-resistant plants and shrubs as well as general information about deer -- click here.

Oakwood goes big Times

Terry Page and Oakwood Cemetery are featured in a May 25 New York Times story on historic cemeteries around the country.

Diamond Ridge gets a partial OK

(DOUBLE-CLICK ON MAP TO ENLARGE.)

The Troy Planning Board approved "stage 1" of Diamond Ridge's expansion project Wednesday night.

What that approval covers is seven two-family units to be constructed on the east side of Harris Road. What it leaves up in the air is "stage 2," a proposal for a three-story, 60-unit residential building and the possibility of a connector road between Harris and Hyland Drive.

Duncan Barrett, president of Omni Housing Development which is handling the expansion work, has told the Terrace Homeowners Association that Diamond Ridge concurs with the Terrace that such a connector is not needed. However, under pressure from the city Fire Dept., his firm prepared four different scenarios for undertaking such work, ranging in potential cost to Diamond Ridge of $30,000 to $165,900.

The arrows on the map above show the two most likely emergency access pathways that have been drawn up. The top one is a Hyland-Harris connector, the bottom a paved version of the current Hollywood Drive dirt road. The other two access possibilities are a new driveway to Gurley Avenue and a driveway through the current commercial parcel (Dunkin' Donuts, etc.) onto Oakwood.

Because of continued Terrace opposition to a Hyland-Harris connector, City Engineer Russ Reeves agreed to call a meeting among the Terrace, Diamond Ridge, the Planning Board and the Fire Dept. to discuss the merits and demerits of such a project.

One other neighborhood-related item that came before the Planning Board this week was Thomas Murley's latest project -- construction of a gas station and a bank on a now-vacant plot on Oakwood opposite Biscayne Boulevard.

Several members of the Terrace Homeowners Association, as well as a representative of the Greens Party, spoke at the Planning Board meeting in opposition to the idea of a Hyland-Harris connector. Association President Bill Dowd delivered the following statement on behalf of the Terrace community:

"Ladies and Gentleman of the Planning Board:

"My name is William Dowd. I am here in my capacity as president of the Terrace at Highpointe Homeowners Association. Our community abuts Diamond Ridge.

"In February of 2006 I addressed this panel to explain our community’s opposition to any ill-advised attempts to create a connector between Harris Road, Diamond Ridge’s street, and Hyland Drive in the Terrace.

"Now we’re here again because of a change in Diamond Ridge’s planned expansion. Parenthetically, we are not opposed to that expansion. Diamond Ridge has been a good and cooperative neighbor. Plus, we recognize the growing need for senior housing. However, while the parameters of the project have been changed somewhat, what has not changed is the harm that will be done to the Terrace community if the two aforementioned roads are connected in a manner being pushed by the city -- and, I should note, with no effort to involve the Terrace Board in the matter as should be the case.

"Such an eventuality would turn the Terrace at Highpointe from a quiet extended cul-de-sac development into one with a through-street accessible by hundreds of vehicles daily attempting to circumvent traffic lights at Oakwood and Northern and redirecting vehicle traffic from Highpointe, Moneta Overlook and the Terrace that now flows directly onto Oakwood.

"As a result, Terrace residents on Hyland Drive -- and on Hyland Circle and Hyland Court whose homes adjoin Hyland Drive -- would suffer a decline in property values, an increase in unhealthy vehicle emissions, and greater potential for mishaps due to increased and faster traffic.

"If the city seeks to add an emergency egress or entrance for the benefit of the Terrace, there is no empirical evidence one is needed. We have been adequately served in a timely fashion with police, fire and EMT vehicles on call.

"It is with these very real concerns in mind that this association of taxpayers, voters and owners of 34 homes in Troy respectfully asks that the Planning Board take into serious consideration their point of view.

"As I noted here 15 months ago, the residents of the Terrace made an important decision to invest in Troy. Many moved here from other parts of the Capital Region to become active and productive members of the community. Endangering their financial investment and quality of life would set a poor example for others considering making similar investments in the future of Troy.

"Simply put, there is no concrete reason for connecting Hyland and Harris.

"One version of such an idea is to put a locked gate or barrier there which could be unlocked by fire emergency personnel. We submit that is patently useless. Any such equipment coming up Northern Drive from the lower Lansingburgh area would not need such a connector. Any such equipment coming out on Oakwood would merely have to access Diamond Ridge via Northern and Gurley, without stopping.

"Even should a Harris-Hyland connector be considered without a locking barrier, emergency equipment would have to considerably slow down and make several turns onto narrow residential streets.

"These streets, not so incidentally, usually are barely wide enough for a single passenger vehicle to navigate in winter because of the minimal city plowing we have experienced in the more than a dozen years the Terrace has been in existence.

"In conclusion, we submit that nothing has materially changed from the original Diamond Ridge plan that would necessitate proceeding with a connector road.

"Thank you for your attention."

Diamond Ridge on the docket; please turn out

Those who check this Web site or who attended the annual spring Homeowners Association meeting on Monday night were forewarned: The Diamond Ridge expansion project is back on the city planning agenda and so is the idea of a connecting road between it and the Terrace. (See preceding entry.)

As you know, we have testified several times before the Troy City Planning Commission against the idea of a connecting road, noting that it would destroy the character of the Terrace, which is an extended cul-de-sac design, as well as create unnecessary traffic and the dangers inherent in that.

Representatives of Diamond Ridge did not argue with that and, in fact, have been working against the idea of a connector as well. Duncan Barrett, president of Omni Development which is handling the expansion, told me in an e-mail earlier this week: "I continued to hope the city engineer would quash this whole notion. He hasn't, so it's better to be prepared."

Part of being prepared is showing up in force before the Planning Commission. As before, I plan to present a formal statement on behalf of the Homeowners Association, but all Terrace residents are free, of course, to make their own statements as well.

The Diamond Ridge project is second on the agenda for this Thursday's planning meeting at City Hall, so it is best to arrive no later than 6 p.m. when the meeting is scheduled to begin.

City planners meet May 10

The monthly meeting of the Troy City Planning & Zoning Board is scheduled for 6 p.m. Thursday, May 10, at City Hall on River Street.

The agenda items have not yet been publicly released, but I suggest you keep abreast of it by clicking on City of Troy in the menu at the right and going to "Economic Development." There you will see the P&Z Board and be able to select a copy of the agenda when it is posted.

At the April meeting, the proposed Diamond Ridge complex expansion went back to square one since changes had been made in the conceptual plan by the residential facility owners and the possibility of connecting Harris Road and Hyland Drive has resurfaced. Preliminary review was given to Diamond Ridge's desire to construct seven two-family apartment buildings and a 3-story building containing 60 units for senior living. The applicant is Omni Housing Development, 40 Beaver St., Albany.

Also at the April meeting, several projects in the general vicinity of the Terrace were discussed.

• A proposal was delivered to demolish the Spring Garden restaurant building and reconstruct it in the same footprint. It is located at Second Avenue and 112th Street in Lansingburgh.

• A proposal was delivered to convert a former dance studio into a retail store selling cell phones and jewelry. It is located at 20 Northern Drive in Lansingburgh.

Spring membership meeting coming up

The Terrace Homeowners Association will hold its annual spring meeting at 7 p.m. Monday, May 7, at Faith Lutheran Church. Secretary Pat Whitman is sending out formal notifications by mail.

If you have any items you would like placed on the formal agenda, please let President Bill Dowd know no later than May 1 at 238-1950 or by e-mail (see top right of screen).

Ready for a laugh?

If today's pop music isn't to your taste, how about one of the classics?

The popular viewer-supplied Web site YouTube has this video of a group of English oldsters and Alf, the lead singer (seen here), doing their version of the rock 'n' roll classic "Talking 'bout My Generation," by The Who.

Just go there and click on play. Guaranteed to bring a smile to your face.

The Who, by the way, first began appearing publicly in 1964, more than four decades ago. The original quartet was John Entwistle, Roger Daltrey, Keith Moon and Pete Townshend. Moon died in 1978. The rest probably could blend right in with this video group.

Down in the 'Burgh

The decrepit, abandoned Friehofer bakery facility down the hill from the Terrace in Lansingburgh, is nearly gone.

After years of wrangling among developers, real estate agents, landowners, city officials and preservationists, the brick eyesore and the adjacent yacht club building are being torn down and the debris carted off.

The choice piece of land, right on the Hudson River next to the Union Bridge between Troy and Waterford, is one of those rare opportunities. The problem at the moment is that we don't know what is going to be done with it. One hopes it won't be another cookie-cutter drug store as had been talked about a year or so ago.

Photos by April Dowd.

Snow going

When an equipment malfunction occurs during the winter's heaviest snowfall, you're bound to have some plowing problems.

Despite that, Mark and his crew got Terrace driveways pretty much cleared in time for people to get out to work Thursday morning and by 10 a.m. was doing what he calls the "finesse" work -- clearing walkways, moving two feet or more of snow out of the way after it wound up in large piles from City plowing (which took place around midnight last night) and his first-pass work.

Thanks to all Terrace residents who kept their cars out of the way of City and private plows, making the Great Valentine's Day Mess a lot easier to handle that it might otherwise have been.

Murley strikes again! Plus, Diamond Ridge expansion progressing

Thomas Murley, the man who started Moneta Overlook, the pizza-and-donut complex on Oakwood Avenue next to the empty, disintegrating restaurant building, and other enterprises, now wants to construct a gas station and a bank on his property at 310 Oakwood, opposite Biscayne Boulevard.

That's right. A gas station just a few doors from an existing Stewart's gas station/convenience store.

Murley, who lives at 32 Hialeah Drive across Oakwood from us, is scheduled to present a "conceptual review" of his proposal at the Thursday, Feb. 8, meeting of the City of Troy Planning Board.

The meeting will be held at 6 p.m. in the Council Chambers of City Hall, second floor. Murley's proposal is the seventh item on the agenda. Four pieces of old business, then two pieces of new business are scheduled to precede his turn.

The second item of old business also is a "conceptual review," this one of the Diamond Ridge expansion project. It consists of two phases:

• The first, which Diamond Ridge officials tell us they hope to have compp;leted by the end of the 2007 building season, calls for seven two-family units along Harris Road.

• The second, which still has to undergo state review as well as the city approval process, calls for a three-story building containing 60 senior housing units. Because it would be built at a grade level well below that of the Terrace, Diamond Ridge officials say the highest point of the building would be on a direct line with the front doorstep of the Claeys house so sightlines should not be disturbed.

If snow really is on the way ...

... this weekend, please be sure to keep your cars out of the driveways and off the streets so the city and private snowplows have unfettered access to The Terrace.

And, while you're preparing, be sure you have candles, matches or lighters, flashlights, spare batteries and bottled water in case of power interruptions.

Don't spend it all on presents

The first round of Association dues comes due on Monday, Jan. 1, 2007.

Effective on that date, quarterly dues are $355 per household, in line with the passage of an increase approved at a special meeting of the Terrace Homeowners Association on Monday, Oct. 16.

The increase, passed without dissent, is $2.79 per week per residential unit. It will fund the anticipated increase in lawn care service.

Dues in 2007 will be due on or before Jan. 1, April 1, July 1 and Oct. 1.

The Terrace rings in the season

The annual Terrace holiday party this year had a different sort of theme -- a French country Christmas. The setting, at The Epicurean at Sterup Square, was a warm and seasonal one, with the gourmet bakery/specialty shop decorated for the event.

Some candid scenes shot by Bill Dowd, beginning with event chairperson (and committee of one) April Dowd putting the final touches on the table favors:

Friday deadline for party reservations

If you haven't already responded with your "yes" and your dinner entree choice(s), please contact holiday party chairperson April Dowd (238-1950) no later than Friday, Nov. 17.

Missing the material mailed out to everyone? Just check the mailbox gazebo bulletin board.

Hurry, hurry!