Saving the Neighborhoods

Updates on the tragedy of Kathina Thomas...

- Corey Ellis' "Save our Neighborhoods" campaign is hopefully gaining momentum

- Support from throughout the city, throughout the region, continues.

- Reward amount has increased from $1,000 to $11,000, but nothing will bring back Kathina.

- While, in Schenectady, a visiting eighteen year-old was shot to death in a "targeted" attack.

- Tedisco talks of increasing penalties for killing children, but still nothing will bring back Kathina.

- In Troy yesterday, people marched for another life lost to gun violence.

- A bright Mom I know thinks elected officials are too mired in old political battles to help anytime soon, and wants a movement among mothers across divides (racial, neighborhood, economic) to end the violence, and save our children.

- Tonight, the Albany Common Council meets at 7 p.m. -- I hope they get an earful from the community.

- Tomorrow , the Gun Violence Task force meets - 4-6 p.m., "First" Israel AME Church, 381 Hamilton Street-Albany

It's time to save our neighborhoods, so that our children can become adults one day.

Tragedy

Yesterday morning, when I read the newspaper on the bus on my way to the office, I assumed my next blog entry would surely discuss our region's placement on the Carbon Footprint countdown and those shiny new buses CDTA will be able to purchase thanks to Hillary and Chuck.

Then, this morning with cup of coffee in hand, I routinely scanned Times Union stories online. Reading this tragedy trivialized any plans of bus chat this morning as tears streamed down my face.

Every 10-year old, on every block in this city should be able to play outside on a beautiful spring evening. The disparities we see from neighborhood to neighborhood are shameful. This city has got to get its priorities straight. The mayor needs to do more than show up after a tragedy, where are his plans to work with other elected officials to ensure every child can play without fearing for their lives?

My heart goes out to Kathina's family and friends, to all of the students and faculty at her school, and to the young, vibrant principal who is faced with the shooting death of a student at the end of her first year on the job.

Ten year old kids need to be safe in their neighborhoods.

It's Good to Let the Right Hand Know What the Left is Doing

Last week, CDTA posted a Service Alert, noting that among other things, on Monday May 26 (Memorial Day -- observed), buses would run on the Sunday/ Holiday schedule. Today is Memorial Day and, I needed to run to the grocery store.

I decided to give Trip Planner a whirl, which I hadn't done in a long time. I input my home address and tried a couple of different options for destinations, and it's a good thing I didn't heed Trip Planner's advice. If I had, I'd still be outside waiting for the Number 3 which doesn't run on Sundays/ Holidays. It sure is important to let the right hand know what the left is doing, especially when you're directing your website's traffic to to the iRide Trip Planner with prime real estate. Somehow, the Service Alert folks didn't let the Trip Planner programmers know to schedule today as a Sunday/Holiday, or perhaps they don't have those programmer positions filled. In any case, it was a definite "CDTA Oops."

Hopefully, the rest of the region was too busy with Memorial Day observances, parades and services, and outings to be left waiting for a bus that won't be coming until Tuesday.

If it's not one thing... it's another

So, for the first time in a while, the Albany City School District budget passed... on the first go-around. Good news for kids and families, and for that matter, the greater community.

But, it seems that even with such good news, the May 20, 2008 vote in Albany will go down in history with some drama. The ballot for Library Trustees was incorrect. You see, there was only one seat open on the library's Board of Trustees, yet the ballot read that voters could choose any 2 of the 3 candidates. Problematic, to say the least. Somehow, even with such an error, a winner was declared. Make sense? Not to me.

So, what's to be done?

I'm thinking either a re-vote or the top two vote-getters are appointed to finish the term of beloved, deceased Trustee, John Bach.

And I don't think time should be wasted with Carr appealing to the State Education Department.

Oh, Albany.

Featuring the Number 3

I love the Number 3 bus line. The Number 3 provides a glimpse of the cultural and economic diversity of Albany's neighborhoods; connecting Arbor Hill, Pine Hills, Park South, Center Square and Mansion Hill all for the price of a bus fare. This little loop of a bus line goes up Clinton Avenue from the Palace Theatre to Quail Street, across Quail Street to Madison Avenue, down Madison Avenue all the way to Grand Street for a mini tour of Grand Street, then across Pearl Street back to the Palace. The line also runs in the opposite direction, but on a slightly different route Monday through Friday until about 6 p.m.

Unfortunately, like so many CDTA lines, it does not operate on Sundays at all.

Catch a Number 3, and it will take you many places in the City of Albany -- some functional, some fun including financial institutions, museums, churches, laundromats, a whole bunch of restaurants, a huge art collection and quite a few performing arts venues.

For instance, the stretch along Clinton Avenue gets passengers within four blocks of:

• Federal Building
  
• Family Court
• Albany Heritage Area Visitors Center
  
• United Tenants Association
  
• Ten Broeck Mansion
  
• the building on Orange Street that houses Capital District Community Loan Fund Affordable Housing Partnership, and the Albany Community Land Trust
  
• Salvation Army
  
• SEFCU
  
• Way too many abandoned buildings.

While the stretch along Quail Street gets passengers to:

• The Linda
• Last Vestige Music
• Mr. Pio Pio
• Mild Wally's
• Mary Jane Books
• Pepper Jacks
• Many blocks in need of a neighborhood clean-up
  

And along Madison Avenue, passengers can easily get to:

• Washington Park
• Scratch
• Debbie's Kitchen
• Albany Art Room
• NYS Museum
• Tandoor Palace
• Price Chopper (a couple of blocks down Delaware)
  
• Empire State Plaza Art Collection
• Grand Street Community Arts
• Lincoln Park and Lincoln Park Pool (just behind the NYS Museum)
• The Governor's Mansion
  

Finally, the Grand Street and Pearl Street stretch connects folks to:

• Cafe Capriccio
• The TU Center
• A lot more restaurants
• Cap Rep
• Melville's Mug
  
• More banks than you ever thought were necessary
  

Unlike 14 other bus lines that stop at the Albany bus hub -- Washington Avenue and Lark Street, the Number 3 doesn't utilize Washington Avenue at all, yet you can still transfer to all of the lines that stop at the Washington-Lark hub down on Pearl or State Street.

I highly recommend buying a $3 Day Card on your next day off and spending the day hopping on and off the Number 3 line.

May "To Do" List

May is a great month to appreciate and take steps to improve our quality of life! Below are just a few things to do in (or just outside of) the City of Albany during in the beautiful month of May.

• Support our schools. Support our libraries. If you live in Albany and are not registered to vote, REGISTER NOW. If you know people who aren't registered to vote, do a good deed and get them registered immediately! Residents have until May 6 to be registered at their current addresses, and be eligible to VOTE in the May 20 Albany School Budget vote and Albany Public Library Trustee and Budget Vote.
• Buy some furniture, have some fun, and help our libraries. Attend the May 7 auction at the Howe Branch at 6:00 p.m., and the May 14 auction at the Pine Hills Branch at 6:00 p.m. Lots of information here.
• Ride your bike! May is National Bike Month. In honor of Bike Month, I fixed my link to the Albany Bicycle Coalition on the sidebar of this blog. I need to get a bike, and a helmet. And a fellow blogger sent me this interesting article about bike sharing in D.C.!
• GET YOURSELF TO A FESTIVAL

1. UPDATE: POSTPONED UNTIL RAIN DATE: May 17 11 a.m. - 2 p.m. New Scotland Avenue Spring Spree brought to you by the Helderberg & New Scotland/ Woodlawn Neighborhood Associations. To participate: visit an Information Table in front of Anthology Florist or Isn't it Sweet! (Activities include: face painting, sidewalk chalk art contest, the Big Purple Bookmobile, Children's Art Show, Pet Adoption Workshop, Folk Dancing, and more!)
2. 60th Albany Tulip Festival - May 9-11. Washington Park, Albany. And if you're looking to be a super team player and volunteer, let Beth know now, you can also call her at: 434-5411.
   
3. 2008 St. Sophia Greek Festival, May 16-18.

• ATTEND A CONCERT-- concerts in Albany for all kinds of tastes and price ranges. Here are just a few:

1. Look up concerts here or here
2. Go to the mall and hear a great town band! Colonie Town Band plays Colonie Center, Monday May 5, 7:30 p.m.
   
3. Ron Eliran plays Temple Israel at Albany's celebration of Israel's 60th birthday on May 8th at 7:00 p.m.
4. The Albany Symphony closes their season with this Choral Spectacular that includes special guests and is sponsored by Bea and Bob Herman on May 17 at 7:30 p.m. at the Palace Theatre.

• GO FOR A RUN!

1. Albany YMCA 5K Run and Walk - Sunday, May 4 - 9:00 a.m.
2. If you're a woman, join my daughter and me on May 31 at 9:15 for the 30th Freihofer's Run for Women.

• TELL US ABOUT OTHER GREAT THINGS I FORGOT TO MENTION IN THE COMMENTS SECTION OF THIS POST!
  

Who will be impacted by a Fare Hike?

I wasn't surprised to see this story in the TU. According to the article, CDTA hasn't raised their fares since 1995 -- wow! Of course, they restructured the fares not so long ago when they phased out oh-so-20th-century transfers in favor of the very cool $3 day cards. Apparently the revenue earned from that change isn't enough to cover increasing costs and demand for service.

Too bad it's not looking like service will be expanding soon, because there sure is a need. One recent Sunday evening at about 7:20, I was waiting for a bus by the
View Larger Map'>Hannaford on Central Avenue. As usual, I had given myself very little wiggle room, and I was supposed to be at my daughter's friend's house off of New Scotland Avenue near the intersection of View Larger Map'>Ontario St. and New Scotland Avenue by 8:00. The bus was late. I must say, I've found late buses to be unusual during my travels around Albany. Not that it doesn't happen -- it does. Finally, at about 7:35, a 55 came chugging down Central Avenue, I wasn't expecting a 1 since after 6:40 p.m. on Sundays, it's almost 5 hours before another bus is scheduled to get to the Northway Mall stop at 11:20!

The bus was PACKED.

I got on, but there was no room behind the "yellow" line. The bus just sat there. Those of us who had boarded at Hannaford were trying to squeeze in. Now, where I come from -- this is not an issue, as one of my fellow new passengers and I were telling the people, "I'm from New York, there's plenty of room." You see, in NYC, there's an understanding that sometimes you need to "make like sardines in a can and squish together", it's only temporary, and it will get you where you need to go. That's not the philosophy, however as you travel north along the Hudson. People on the bus started yelling at us, "Get off the bus, I need to go home!" I asked if the bus was always this crowded, simultaneously, I got 2 opposing answers. "No," said the bus driver, "Not my bus!" and "Yes," from a bus rider...I turned to the bus driver (who looked a wee bit stressed), and asked if I should get off the bus. She explained to me that, at this point the issue was that she couldn't leave the bus stop while there was a person in a wheel chair waiting to get on.

Yes, that's right. There was a woman in a wheel chair who had been waiting for the bus, but there was absolutely no room for her. The bus is not allowed to pull away while there's a wheel-chair bound person waiting to board. So the driver had called her supervisor and was waiting for instructions. That's why the bus wasn't moving. I asked if CDTA would send a STAR bus for her, the driver said that she didn't think so, but didn't know.

Feeling guilty about trying to squeeze myself onto the bus while someone waited in her wheel chair on the sidewalk, I got off, called to say I'd be a bit late, and waited on the sidewalk to see what happened. It wasn't too long before a supervisor showed up and told the bus driver to leave. It was already after 7:40 and another bus would be along "soon" to pick up the woman in the wheelchair. Soon, according to the schedule, meant departing Northway Mall at 8:03. Given that the bus that departs Northway Mall at 8:03 was scheduled to reach Central and Allen at 8:11 --it seemed to me that I'd be more productive walking. Since my friend in the wheel chair had the attention of the CDTA supervisor, I decided to get walking.

It was 8:06 when I got to the corner of View Larger Map'>Central Avenue and Ontario Street and turned to walk towards New Scotland Avenue. If I had waited for the bus... I'd still have been waiting for the bus! Saved time. Got some exercise. I hope that supervisor made sure my friend boarded the next bus, or gave her a ride if there wasn't room.