Metroland

The End of the World

2009-11-25T15:33:13-05:00

Why sit through 2 1/2 hours of 2012?? The Fleischers destroyed the earth more entertainingly--and in under six minutes!

Metroland Staff, 2004

2009-11-20T11:13:01-05:00

Shawn Stone

Funsgiving

2009-11-19T13:34:51-05:00

Because Thanksgiving involves too much tryptophan, too many relatives, and not enough ridiculous facial hair, the B3nson Family hosts its second annual Funsgiving tonight at Valentine's. Doors open at 7:30 and the lineup includes We Are Jeneric, Scientific Maps, Barons in the Attic, Pinguinos, and Stacy Gets Drunk. $7 at the door, or $5 with a canned good (the event benefits the Capital Region Food Bank).

All manner of ridiculous facial hair is strongly reccomended.

Love for Super 400

2009-11-13T13:31:20-05:00

Say what you will about the jamband scene and Jambase.com, but editor Dennis Cook is one of the best music scribes in the biz. Check out these kind words he had for local power trio Super 400.

Prefuse 73 subs for Dan Deacon

2009-11-13T10:13:37-05:00

I've got some good news and some bad news. Here's the bad news: Due to health problems, Dan Deacon will not be performing tonight for EMPAC's New Nothing series. I know. Bummer, dude.

Good news: The show must go on. Joining Luciano Chessa and Skeleton$ will be the hella-good glitch-hop DJ Prefuse 73. Not to be missed...

MJ Gallery

2009-10-30T16:26:06-04:00

So it begins . . .

Spot says, "This is an antharia plant, but how fitting."

Yes, Reading!

2009-10-23T12:57:29-04:00

It's a cool little reading series happening every other week at the Social Justice Center (33 Central Ave., Albany). Tonight, the featured poets are Albanians James Belflower and Anna Eyre. 7 PM.

Selling papers

2009-10-12T15:34:06-04:00

I wonder if the Times Union realizes that it is being sensationalist and irresponsible when it publishes shit like this?

Schenectady police seemed sure they had their man Wednesday. They had detained a suspect after an attempted abduction report in a community on high alert . . . In the end, the local man in custody turned out to be the child's grandfather, police said.
But the false alarm underscores the balance authorities must strike in ensuring the safety of children without encroaching on the rights of people going about their daily business, which may include interaction with unruly youngsters. The local angst follows a national outcry over the arrest in August of a California couple accused of the horrific kidnapping and rape of a young girl. Jaycee Lee Dugard was abducted in 1991 when she was 11 and held captive for more than 18 years.

Come to Troy, get mugged?

2009-10-06T14:22:50-04:00

Downtown Troy has been overrun this summer and now fall with a series of muggings--some at gun point, some during daytime hours, almost all of them, allegedly, at the hands of teenagers. Troy PD caught four kids in an undercover operation last week and two of the alleged would-be muggers were 13 years old.

Three days ago, two women were robbed near Russell Sage. Today, RPI sent out the below crime alert. I have lived in Troy for nearly a decade now, and I don't remember a time when downtown seemed this dangerous. People are getting skittish and some have started a neighborhood group. Others are weighing the benefits and risks of living in downtown.

The Tutunjian administration has devoted so much of its effort into making downtown attractive to the affluent, and now, instead, it is attractive to the muggers.

On Monday October 5, 2009 at approximately 4:50pm on the 8th Street Approach staircase, a male Rensselaer student was approached from behind by two suspects. One of the suspects struck the victim in the head with his fist. The other suspect took victim’s cell phone and IPod. Both suspects fled south on foot. No weapons were displayed or threatened.

SUSPECTS DESCRIPTION:
Suspect #1: Black male, Approx. 16 years of age wearing Red T-shirt
Suspect #2: Black male, Approx. 16 years of age wearing Black T-shirt.
Tips or information relating to this incident should be directed to the Troy Police Department at 270-4426 or the Department of Public Safety 276-6656 (24 hours a day) or the Department of Public Safety Investigations at 276-6603.

Surprise: Ellis' campaign is still alive

2009-10-05T13:55:09-04:00

Just as Councilman Dominick Calsolaro predicted in this week's issue, the campaign for Corey Ellis has finally come back to life today in order to issue a round of press releases criticizing Mayor Jerry Jennings' 2010 budget.

The new budget proposes $2.3 million in additional spending over last year. Ellis maintains that this is unacceptable and the city needs to redo the budget, keeping in mind the economic realities. We must reduce spending and eliminate the residential tax hike, Ellis said. "The mayor's claim that he has made 'incremental cuts to all departmental budgets' is simply untrue; twenty-six of the departmental budgets have proposed increases for 2010."

Ellis pointed out that the largest "cut" in a departmental budget was $475,000 in the Central Garage budget for gasoline. However, this was not a budget cut but simply reflects the fact that gas is much cheaper than it was last year.

Ellis explained that many departments simply did not cut any spending, such as Department 5010 (Maintenance of Streets) and Department 1490 (Parks Maintenance). There are no cuts to any line items in either of these departmental budgets.

Care to complain about the budget? The Ellis campaign suggests that you make it to the caucus tonight at 5:30 at City Hall, and even provided a list of the main issues that are facing you, the Albany voter:

The citizens of Albany are facing another tax hike that will be imposed by Mayor Jennings on residential homeowners;
Continued very high levels of borrowing in the Jennings budget ($20.3M for 2010);
Mayor Jennings's 2010 budget is not balanced - it uses approximately $5.3 million from reserve funds to fill the hole in revenues versus expenditures;
Mayor Jennings's 2010 budget fails to adequately address an $11 million budget deficit pushed forward into future budget years, 2011 and beyond - a gaping hole for a $163M total annual budget.

Ellis: This election is not over

2009-09-24T15:04:04-04:00

An email just received from the Ellis campaign:

Dear Friends & Supporters,
I want to express my gratitude for your support on primary day. We came close to doing what so many thought could not be done. Because of people like you, our campaign nearly unseated a deeply entrenched mayor with the connections and influence that allowed us to be out-spent by more than 5-to-1. And with your help, we were able to prove that political change in Albany is possible.
I cannot predict what the future will bring, but I can assure you of one thing - the race to determine the next mayor of Albany is not over. Not by a long shot. And as I said on primary night, I do not feel defeated. We captured 44% of the vote with an all-volunteer campaign. We have come so far but this campaign will continue only if we have the financial support of voters like you.
In the 2005 election, 8,000 more people came out to vote in the general election than voted in the primary. To win this election we need to reach those additional voters and that is going to take money. I am asking you to donate to my campaign. With your help, we can change the city of Albany. I look forward to serving you as the next mayor of Albany.
Sincerely yours,
Corey Ellis

Lebron: Albany ambulance takes 1 hour to respond

2009-09-18T16:36:03-04:00

In May, Mohawk Ambulance failed to provide timely transport for a dying child. It took the company 25 minutes after the 911 call was made to deliver an ambulance the scene of the child's accident. Later, memos were leaked to the press that pointed to a systemic problem within Mohawk. Mayor Jennings called for an investigation--of sorts--and his ad-hoc committee produced a flimsy offical report. Mohawk made assurances that it would take every step possible to avoid future delayed responses., and that was that.

(The full backstory is here.)

Well today, Nathan Lebron, a Republican running in the Albany mayoral, found out firsthand just how well Mohawk is doing with its promise to prevent lengthy response times. And what he is claiming does not reassure:

One hour after my initial call I called 911 once again and was transferred to the police department. The officer asked me to get his name and someone at the bus shelter recognized him. Once I gave the officer his name, he recognized him. EMS finally arrived at 2:15 pm followed by Mohawk Ambulance. He was placed on a stretcher and taken away. I attempted to engage the Lieutenant of West Hill Engine #7 a couple of times but was rude and appeared to be vexed by the situation.

Continue reading his blog.

Broken voting machine at Central Towers Housing

2009-09-15T13:51:40-04:00

The voting machine at the polling place for the 9th election district in the 5th Ward is broken, and the Albany County Board of Elections has known this since 12:30, a half-hour after the polls opened, according to election inspectors.

Two calls have been made to the Albany County Board of Elections asking that the machine be repaired. The scond time an election inspector called, she was told that the voters were just going to have to vote on emergency paper ballots.

The residents of Central Towers make up the voters of the 9th ED.

Bad day for Corey Ellis

2009-09-11T11:07:29-04:00

Siena releases its poll of the mayor's race, showing Ellis trailing 21 points behind Mayor Jerry Jennings. It appears that Ellis' biggest challenge remains--as it always has been--reaching the voters who simply have no idea who he is.

The Times Union weighs in with a hand-wringing endorsement of Jennings.

He should also consider some of the key issues Mr. Ellis raises. Yes, crime is down overall, but people don't feel safe. Could Albany police incorporate more aspects of community policing into their overall strategy? And while there may be fewer vacant buildings, there is a sense that blight is spreading. Can code enforcement be stronger, fines stiffer, and assessment policies be changed to discourage absentee slumlords?

And Andrew Cuomo comes out in these final days and endorses Jennings.

It's going to be a long four days for the Corey Ellis campaign.

Do these buildings look vacant to you?

2009-09-10T14:37:18-04:00

The mayoral campaign for Corey Ellis has compiled a list of more than 150 buildings that do not appear on the city's official Vacant Buildings Registry but yet look, well, vacant. The campaign is making no claim that these buildings are vacant, rather that they appear to be, noting that there is reason to be suspicious of the mayor's campaign-year claim that he has reduced the number of vacant and abandoned buildings in the city by more than 300.

Check out the list of buildings for yourself:

83 Beaver St

87 Beaver St

97 Beaver St

31 Benson St

110 Bradford St

947 Broadway

1024 Broadway

1028 Broadway

1031 Broadway

1197 Broadway

1211 Broadway

147 Clinton Ave

166 Clinton Ave

168 Clinton Ave

225 Clinton Ave

304 Clinton Ave

309 Clinton Ave

372 Clinton Ave

381 Clinton Ave

435 Clinton Ave

607 Clinton Ave

609 Clinton Ave

666 Clinton Ave

55 Columbia St

308 ElkSt

356 Elk St

361 Elk St

365 Elk St

376 Elk St

388 Elk St

437 Elk St

239 Green St

147 Henry Johnson Blvd

300 Lark St

323 Lark St

11 Lexington Ave

19 Lexington Ave

21 Lexington Ave

40 Lexington Ave

43 Lexington Ave

51 Lexington Ave

56 Lexington Ave

66 Lexington Ave

68 Lexington Ave

77 Lexington Ave

79 Lexington Ave

95 Lexington Ave

97 Lexington Ave

450 Livingston Ave

10 MohawkSt

44 Morton Ave

82 Morton Ave

84 Morton Ave

168 Morton Ave

211 Myrtle Ave

224 Myrtle Ave

253 Myrtle Ave

120 N Lake Ave

122 N Lake Ave

124 N Lake Ave

126 N Lake Ave

128 N Lake Ave

130 N Lake Ave

137 N Lake Ave

168 N Lake Ave

3 N Manning Blvd

42 N Pearl St

44 N Pearl St

406 N Pearl St

407 N Pearl St

19 McCarty Ave

17 Odell St

19 Odell St

153 Ontario St

275 Ontario St

101 Orange St

178 Orange St

290 Orange St

297 Orange St

312 Orange St

24 Quail St

58 Quail St

133 Quail St

54 Robin St

56 Robin St

336 S Pearl St

53 Second St

238 Second St

256 Second St

398 Second St

480 Second St

103 Sheridan Ave

3 Sherman St

241 Sherman St

243 Sherman St

249 Sherman St

251 Sherman St

11 Ten Broeck St

523 Washington Ave

533 Washington Ave

3 Albany St

5 Albany St

11 Albany St

18 Albany St

28 Albany St

31 Albany St

34 Albany St

108 Broad St

1148 Broadway

1150 Broadway

1156 Broadway

1216 Broadway

132 Clinton Ave

399 Clinton Ave

401 Clinton Ave

48 Clinton St

51 Clinton St

68 Clinton St

85 Clinton St

87 Clinton St

102 Clinton St

191 Colonie St

213 Colonie St

221 Colonie St

32 Dana Ave

58 Dana Ave

86 Dana Ave

20 Delaware St

30 Elizabeth St

75 Elizabeth St

76 Elizabeth St

82 Elizabeth St

114 Fourth Ave

130 Fourth Ave

142 Fourth Ave

82 Grand St

142 Green St

100 Lark St

128 Lark St

158 Lark St

199 Lark St

464 Livingston Ave

23 Morris St

3 Myrtle Ave

691 Myrtle Ave

196 N Pearl St

66 Ontario St

18 Second Ave

43 Second Ave

48 Second Ave

55 Second Ave

76 Thornton St

9 Trinity Pl

16 Trinity Pl

18 Trinity Pl

20 Trinity Pl

22 Trinity Pl

41 Trinity Pl

Vid for the Weekend

2009-09-04T11:10:50-04:00

For your viewing pleasure: Marco Benevento's "Now They're Writing Music."

Now They're Writing Music from Michael DiDonna on Vimeo.

Hey Albany fence-sitting pols

2009-09-02T12:33:48-04:00

DIA has a few words for you . . .

"There is a very clear choice. Silence in times like these is support of the status quo. Silence is a vote for Jerry Jennings and all he represents. Speak up or climb into bed with Jerry. Your choice. I hear he doesn't like to share the covers"

The Place to Score DVDs

2009-08-29T15:31:11-04:00

Yes I know a lot of you have moved past the whole "ownership" thing when it comes to music and movies. But for those who still like to buy DVDs, you seriously have to visit Big Lots! once a month.

Today I bought BRICK (pictured) for $3.
And John Ford's THE HORSE SOLDIERS for $3.
And NIGHT COURT Season One for $6.
All brand new, remaindered by the studios who ditching inventory as fast as they can.

The invisible man

2009-08-28T16:40:11-04:00

Good point over at D.I.A. TU weighs in on the obvious--that Police Chief Jimmy Tuffey has been a disaster--failing to take aim at the real target:

Can anyone remind me the one person in Albany who can hold the police chief accountable?

Mayor Jennings. Jerry Jennings. Say it with me, Rex: Mayor Jerry Jennings.

Polling in Albany's mayoral

2009-08-27T16:26:39-04:00

"We are wondering if there is even any race here at all," says Don Levy, director of Siena Research Institute. "What we wonder is, what is the voter intensity?"

That will be one of the key questions asked when Siena conducts its only poll on the Albany mayoral during the first week of September. The results, Levy said, will be made public Sept. 9 or 10. He explained, since the institute planned to do only the one poll, they wanted to wait until the week prior to primary day, because "more people will have made up their minds."

Off-the-record claims of private polling done by the various candidates are circulating the Albany politic, but this will be the first (and maybe only) independent poll. Which is unfortunate, considering that this is the first time Jennings is facing a well-organized challenge since Jack McEneny took his shot back in 1997. We would have enjoyed an earlier snapshot of the voters opinions, at least back when the race was a contentious three-way.

Levy asked what I thought were some of the key issues shaping the electorate, and I told him. He invited me to call him back "if I had a brainstorm." So go ahead, brainstorm, and let me know: What are the issues most important to you? What will you be voting on?