Tutunjian to sell "Kennedy Park"

It is inconceivable to me that the City of Troy could possibly interpret that the 2+ acre property at the corner of Federal Street and Sixth Avenue is not designated a city park. The attached City of Troy tax map clearly identifies the parcel as "Kennedy Park".

This parcel was constructed by the Troy Urban Renewal Agency back in the early 1960's. The development of Kennedy Towers by the Troy Housing Authority required a three part agreement among the THA, the City of Troy and the NYS Division of Housing and Community Renewal that specified that the corner property was to be park area associated with the construction of the Kennedy Towers.

These facts were identified during the title search associated with the renovation of Kennedy Towers by Omni Development. The fact that the property is designated as a park is commonly known by the Troy Housing Authority.

How then can the City of Troy declare that they can sell this property to anyone without first getting authorization to do so from the New York State Legislature???? (Selling any park land requires State Legislature approval and designation of a separate property of equal size for park purposes.)

I was told that this evidence was presented to the administration. The administration however, decided to ignore the truth and proceed with the plan to sell the property regardless of the legalities. As a result, the City is ignoring the law and will risk the embarrassment of having a major development in the City of Troy fall flat on its face because of it's unwillingness to follow the proper procedure.

It is not my intention to throw cold water on a good development program for the City of Troy. SEFCU's plans to locate in Troy and build a new headquarters in Troy is good news. Such projects should be helped by the administration. But you can't ignore the process. The ends do not justify the means.

I also want to ask - Where is the press? How can they simply accept news releases without curiosity or editorial investigation. Do they believe everything they are told by this administration? It didn't take me ten minutes to check the tax map. Did anyone else - especially the press - even try?

Just like the sale of City Hall, this administration can not sell public assets in a private manner - EVEN IF IT IS A GREAT PROJECT.

My advice is to start again and do it correctly! Get authorization to sell the site from the State, establish the appraised value of the property, conduct a public solicitation of proposals according to the City's existing process and ask the City Council to select the best offer. That's the way it works. Just like the sale of City Hall, they can't cut corners.

Homeless In Troy

Congratulations to Chet Hardin of Metroland for writing a thought provoking in depth article on the conflict which exists between some interests and the many homeless people of downtown Troy. "You Can't Come Here Any More" in the November 29^th edition is a must read. As a Times Union and Troy Record subscriber, I would encourage these papers to take a hard look at their reporting compared to the content within this free publication, most of which I consider superior.

The current administration has conducted a systematic assault on many of the agencies and programs which deal with homelessness in Troy. In fact, the Mayor had to be forced by the threat of loosing federal money before he would agree to sign a required housing assistance plan which included funds for homeless programs. He and his administration have opposed new home projects by Habitat for Humanity and Joseph's House and he has refused to fund the grant writing efforts of the Homeless Collaborative which was successful in raising millions of dollars in homeless program funds. Only during re-election time did the Mayor embrace Habitat for Humanity, for a photo op.

This is illustrative of the "head in the sand" approach of this administration to the complex issue of homelessness in this community. You will not reduce homelessness by ignoring it or by reducing the programs which meet their special and complex circumstances. Some of these circumstances are:

A recent report identified that many veterans are, or will become, homeless.
Most homeless people are women and children.
Many homeless require medical and/or mental health treatment as well as housing.
Many homeless have jobs.

I believe the city administration should rethink its opposition to the Joseph's House proposal for permanent housing on Fourth Street and it should agree to fund the Homeless Collaborative's efforts to find more money for homeless programs and services. People of Troy, even those homeless among us, deserve better.

Where is Troy's Money??

Published reports today showed awards of millions of dollars in environmental grants to Capital District communities for everything from fixing the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception to installing park equipment. Where was the City of Troy? If we didn't submit applications; why not? If we did, what were the projects and how could we not receive an award with all the muscle available to this administration from the State Senate?

I could think of a number of worthy projects - Ingalls Ave. park at the former Jack's Junkyard, the Troy Biketrail, New boat launch and park at 111^th Street or improvements to the Troy Marina just to name a few.

The City Council should insist that the administration provide answers on why Troy was excluded from this funding opportunity. We deserve better.

At the risk of sounding like an "I told you so"

I find reports of several actions recently proposed by the Tutunjian Administration to be the height of arrogance.

First - the raising of the Mayor's salary and the salaries of his staff two weeks after the election.

These raises if planned for next year should have been included in the Mayor's proposed budget. The City Charter requires that raises be included in the budget. I didn't see them there did anyone else? The Mayor is required to swear by oath that the budget he prepared and submitted to the City Council is complete and accurate.

Section C-70 D (15). Budgetary procedure requires the Mayor to submit the following:
A certification, under oath, by the Mayor and the Budget Director that, to the best of their knowledge and belief, the budget recommendation reflects all known or anticipated expenditures and accurately reflects all known or anticipated revenues, and is in balance between total expenditure and total revenues.

It seems as though it was his intention all along to tie his salary to the raises awarded to the Civil Service Employee Union in order to set up a 3.5% annual pay raise for himself and his lieutenants. As a result, the Mayor will be making over $97,000 by the time his lame duck term is over.

Tutunjian was often quoted during the election as saying the race was one of "trust". However, with some races not even finalized yet, this trusted elected official has decided to take the same path as the Republican County Legislature did when they voted themselves an 11th hour raise a couple of years ago.

Not only that, he proposes the absurd requirement that future City Councils need a unanimous vote to change any of these raises. This requirement violates the operation procedures of the City Council, the City Charter and state law and Robert’s Rules of Order. Where is the "open" and "trustworthy" administration this candidate campaigned on!

Second – Didn't the Mayor learn anything from the proposed sale of City Hall?

The proposed sale of two acres of parkland at Kennedy Towers and the proposed sale of the Uncle Sam Parking garage require the same public process required for the sale of City Hall.

The sale of the Kennedy Towers site will require approval by the state legislature and require the City to replace the loss of 2 acres of parkland somewhere else. In addition, the Mayor must go through the same open solicitation for bids for each of these public facilities. Short cutting the process is not an option, even if the proposed projects are good ones - and I believe each could be good.

Both projects also require a competent appraisal of the value of each property in order to evaluate the sales price for each. These steps do not have to be onerous and may not impact the final outcome of the projects but they must be followed. To do less is to violate the Charter and the "trust" of the people.

Thank You!

I just want to extend a personal thanks to each and every voter who chose to vote for me in the recent election for Mayor.

I also want to express my deepest thanks to the many people who gave of their time, energy and money to help me wage an aggressive campaign against a well know, well financed incumbent.

Believe me I would have preferred to win; but, I am very gratified by the fact that our efforts helped support a strong win for the Democratic City Council candidates. For that we can all be proud and thankful.

Please join me in wishing the successful candidates - all of them - congratulations. I hope they will work together to move the City of Troy forward. "We can do better" if we work together.

Best regards,

Jim Conroy

Conroy for Troy - Times Union Endorsement

".... If Troy wants to avoid repeating the mistakes of the past, it will demand a mayor who will be up front with them on every issue. We think James Conroy is that man."

THE ISSUE: Troy voters face a choice between past and future.

THE STAKES: New leadership will help continue recent successes.

read the entire endorsement

Metroland Endorses Jim Conroy Nov 1, 2007

"..we think the former Deputy Mayor Jim Conroy has the will and determination to set some of those issues right." Metroland article November 1, 2007

Jim Conroy for Mayor takes to the airwaves!

If it wasn't for Jim Conroy..

So what do you think about the election for Troy Mayor?

People before politics!