Saratoga parking garage

All posts tagged Saratoga parking garage

Spring cleaning

Posted by noonante on March 30, 2015
Posted in: Horse Racing, Political/Social commentary, Politics, Saratoga thoughts. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

There are a number of things I failed to comment on promptly, so here is an attempt to do some catching up:

  • Now that’s a March surprise:  No not the NCAA’s, but the Israeli election.  Candidates in American elections fear the “October surprise” from their opponent  –  an event so close to the election that there is no time to respond.  Bibi Netanyahu delivered not one, but two such shockers.  First there was the renunciation of the two-state solution to create a distinct Palestinian country.  Then on election day he tweeted about the “droves” of Arabs turning out to the polls.  While he has walked back from the first and apologized for the second, I wonder what his enablers in our Republican Party thought of those two developments.  The two-state solution has been a long-standing tenet of United States foreign policy, although the GOP apparently now thinks it is OK to have its own foreign policy at opposition to the elected leadership of the country.  I fear that many may secretly admire Netanyahu for blatantly playing the race card.  Incidentally, for a disturbing account of seemingly wide-spread anti-Semitism in Europe, read Jeffrey Goldberg’s piece in this month’s Atlantic.
  • Speaking of the GOP, buy this guy a dictionary:  I have long thought that Representative Steve King of Iowa is one of the biggest nitwits to hold elected office.  He is the one who talked about Mexicans with calves the size of cantaloupes from carrying backpacks filled with drugs into the country.  More recently, he made a typically asinine comment criticizing Democrats who boycotted Netanyahu’s speech to Congress for being “Democrats first and Jewish second.”  When Representative Steve Israel demanded an apology, the always erudite King responded that “I defend Israelis from Leftists & misogynists.”  Huh??  It was reminiscent of a state legislator from Massachusetts who once defended himself from charges that he was anti-immigrant by saying, “I am not a bigamist.”
  • Saratoga Springs does the right thing  –  so far  –  on monstrous parking garage:  It’s good to know that the big-money interests don’t always win.  First, the City Council decided against applying for a casino license, and now the Zoning Board of Appeals has voted down a five-story garage to be built on city property that would have been a monumental eye sore near the center of town.  Interestingly, Mark Baker, President of the City Center was a leading opponent of the casino, but the major proponent of the garage.  If a parking garage is the most desirable use for this valued parcel in downtown  –  it’s already a parking lot  –  the ZBA decision gives time for a rational planning process.
  • NYRA equine fatalities decline remarkably:  There was no shortage of publicity when there was a dramatic increase in racing fatalities on Aqueduct’s inner track.  There were 14 catastrophic injuries suffered in less than two months in December and January.  Since January 26, however, there has been one racing fatality and another on the Belmont training track.
  • Why was NYRA not planning to race on Dubai’s World Cup day?  Were it not for the large number of weather-related cancellations, NYRA  would not have run a card this past Saturday even though it is one of the biggest days on the racing calendar.  NYRA now focuses on its own “big days,” but doesn’t growing the sport mean educating a potential fan base that there are big races in addition to the Triple Crown and Travers?
  • New York’s disputed election ends up with right result:  I have written previously about the hotly-contested election for President of the New York Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association.  Unsuccessful challenger Terry Finley lost to incumbent Rick Violette by 14 votes from over 1,200 cast. The NYTHA Board conducted an appeal process and made their decision earlier this month upholding the results.  I know that there are loud dissenting views  –  this is, after all, horse racing  –  but I think a fair-minded observer would conclude that the appeal was taken seriously and the decision-making process was fair.  NYTHA posted all of the written submissions on its web site, as well as the transcript of the hearing and then its written decision.  That is not the behavior of an organization with something to hide.  The hearing transcript was particularly revealing.  Board members had obviously gone through the voluminous evidentiary submissions and asked pointed and pertinent questions.  It was thorough and professional.  I hope we can move on from what has, unfortunately, had an unnecessary personal aspect.
  • NCAA tournament is, once again, riveting:  Several years ago I decided against filling out a bracket because I did not want to be rooting for heavy favorites in order to win some cash.  Now I can just enjoy the games, and this year’s tourney has been worth it.  Of course, there are the inevitable annoying commercials and the suspicion that the NCAA is able to cram more of them into a 40-minute game than even the National Football League can with 50 per cent more time.  But my personal most-hated spots are the Rob Lowe ones and the promos for Tru-TV programming.  People actually watch that dreck?
  • A final note of sadness:  Racing lost one of its true giants with the passing of Allen Jerkens.  I did not know him other than by observation, but it was one the highlights of my life when I met him on the Saratoga backstretch a couple of years ago after another one of his patented upsets in a graded stake.  Others can write more knowingly of him (see Steve Haskin here and Teresa Genaro here), but it is unfortunate that his type of horsemanship is fading from the scene.

Saratoga parking garage controversy

Posted by noonante on January 25, 2015
Posted in: Political/Social commentary, Politics, Saratoga thoughts. Tagged: , , . Leave a comment

Last weekend, we went with friends from out-of-state to the Mouzon House on High Rock Avenue for dinner.  They are frequent visitors to Saratoga, and as we walked across the adjacent parking lot, I said there are plans to build a five-story garage on the site.  They were incredulous.  We all should be.

The City Center wants to build the garage on the site to add about another 300 parking spaces to the existing lots.  They also wish to have a walkway over Maple Avenue so City Center visitors can go directly to their vehicles without stepping outside.  Not to put too fine a point on it, but their plan would plop a monstrosity down on a valuable piece of city-owned land only three blocks from the center of the city.

The structure would also tower over the Mouzon House, and block sunlight from ever reaching its outdoor dining spaces and bar.  In the interests of full disclosure, I think the Mouzon House has some of the best food in Saratoga, and an atmosphere that is second-to-none.  It is the go-to place for my wife and me on special occasions.

It is also an historic structure. The Pedinottis who own the building and the restaurant purchased it about 10 years ago, and are only the third owners since its construction in 1883.  Their remodeling of the building has resulted in one of the most interesting interior in the Spa.  From 1919 until its purchase by the Pedinottis, it had been the home of the family that gave the restaurant its name.  The original owners were a husband and wife, one of whom was a full-blooded Cherokee Indian and the other an African-American.  One can only imagine what it must have been like for them in the Saratoga of almost a century ago.

According to Saturday’s Saratogian,  Monday’s meeting of the Zoning Board of Appeals (7:00 p.m.) will consider a request for a variance sought by the City Center that would allow it to build a structure that not only exceeds maximum height restrictions, but would impede  the use of solar panels on the roof of the Mouzon House.

It is somewhat ironic that Mark Baker, President of the City Center, was a leading opponent of the attempt by Saratoga Harness to add a casino to its property.  He was, of course, interested in preventing competition with his convention center.  One of the more persuasive arguments against the casino was that it would alter the character of Saratoga, and detract from the locals business, including restaurants, that now flourish in downtown.

Sustainable Saratoga, a non-profit organization that promotes “smart land use and efficient urban planning” as part of its mission, has sent a thoughtful and detailed letter advocating a more thoughtful and inclusive process.  It does not necessarily oppose a parking garage on the site, but has suggested alternatives that would not only prevent the construction of an eyesore, but could also result in the development of additional local businesses.  Nor do the Pedinottis oppose any parking garage on the land.  They point to alternatives that would be conducive to the environment, as well as bringing additional business to the area.

If the facility proposed by the City Center is built, it will have a lasting impact that will add nothing to Saratoga’s charm and beauty and, indeed, detract from it.  By my count, there are already three parking garages and two parking lots  –  each of which is free  –  within three blocks of the corner of Broadway and Lake.  While adding this new structure may benefit the insiders who control the business community in Saratoga, it does little for the rest of us who just live here.  And all this, for an additional 300 parking spots.

Saratoga Springs is often referred to as the home of “history, health and horses.”  Do we need to add “parking” to that triumvirate?