It’s always about parking in Glens Falls
Rep. Stefanik might want to rethink her endorsement of Carl Paladino
The Front Page
Morning Update
Wednesday, June 15, 2022
By Ken Tingley
Glens Falls residents love talking about parking. Whether it is the renovation of a new building or the opening of a new restaurant, there always seems to be a concern there will not be enough parking.
Years ago, I surmised in a column that Glens Falls did not have a parking problem, it had a parallel parking problem. Nobody knew how to parallel park.
These days, I still do not see a problem. When I go to a hockey game or the state basketball tournament, I park in the First Baptist Church lot and walk a couple blocks. When I am going to the Adirondack Theater Festival or an event at Crandall Library, I look for places along Maple Street, and if I don’t see any there, I turn into the bank parking lot. It is less than a five-minute walk to Glen Street. I once experimented with how long it took to park in the mall parking lot and walk to one of the stores in the middle of the mall. It was just over five minutes. Nobody complains about parking at the mall.
On Monday night, Glens Falls Mayor Bill Collins laid out the plans for South Street and the new farmer’s market. Renovations of the former Hot Shots bar, Sandy’s and a third building will begin this fall as phase one of the project.
Phase two of the project will see two new buildings constructed in the parking lot behind Sandy’s and next to the Empire Theater building. These two buildings will bring 75 new residents downtown, so the natural first question was: “Where are those people going to park?”
I suspect Mayor Collins’ answer was not what most wanted to hear. He said they were working on it. He suggested a parking study should provide guidance.
One person said recent studies showed that people spent up to 13 minutes circulating around downtown trying to find a parking place because they did not know where to park. And once that place is identified, the perception about parking would change.
That makes sense to me. After 30 years, I know where to park. I’m not afraid of walking a few blocks. Some people don’t feel that way. Some people have been complaining about the parking problem for 30 years. But one of these years, it might actually be true.
Change is tough and change has been a long-time coming on South Street. The sketches shown Monday show Glens Falls taking another big step forward in revitalizing its downtown. That should be embraced. In recent years, three parking garages have popped up around town. And there may be a need for another one. But getting the South Street project under way now is important even if the mayor does not have all the answers yet.
Even if it leads to a parking problem.
Not Paladino
Rep. Elise Stefanik sure knows how to pick them.
After the mass shooting in Buffalo, Republican Rep. Chris Jacobs came out in favor of gun safety measures. But after an enormous backlash from his mostly Republican district and threats of a primary, Jacobs decided not to run for re-election.
One of those who entered the Republican primary was former gubernatorial candidate Carl Paladino. Rep. Stefanik almost immediately tweeted out an endorsement.
“Carl is a job creator and conservative outsider who will be a tireless fighter for the people of New York in our fight to put America First to save the country,” Stefanik wrote.
Paladino then shared a conspiracy-laden Facebook post suggesting that the mass shooting in Buffalo was part of a plot to take away people’s guns. The post was later deleted.
Then an interview surfaced where Paladino suggested the United States needed a charismatic leader like Adolph Hitler to bring us together.
Meanwhile, Stefanik invited Paladino to President Trump’s Westchester County golf course to have his picture taken with Trump.
Rep. Stefanik has still not taken back her endorsement.
In June 2017, The Post-Star wrote an editorial about Paladino’s run for governor. It started this way:
“Carl Paladino is the type of person that decent people would not allow in their house. He’s not outspoken or brash or blunt. He is not funny. He is contemptible.”
That’s the kind of person Rep. Stefanik is supporting these days.
1/6 coverage
While Fox News chose not to cover the opening night coverage of the 1/6 committee hearings, the local Fox affiliate in Albany did show it.
The channel where the regular Fox News opinion shows are shown was replaced by the Fox Business channel coverage of the hearings. It was good to see the local affiliate showing independence and realizing these are important hearings which need to be seen.
ATF opens tonight
Adirondack Theater Festival continues to deliver Broadway-caliber performances to Glens Falls theater lovers.
The 2022 season opens tonight with “The Chinese Lady.” Single show tickets are for sale now. I’ve already bought my season ticket.
I recall Bobby Jindahl saying several years ago about Republican candidates "we have to stop being the party of stupid". Since that time stupid is coming out of the woodworks. Conspiracy theorists, racist, hateful candidates who once would have never been elected are winning. It's a race to see who can say the most outlandish remarks. Maybe it's more of a reflection on what we've become. It ain't good folks.
Speaking for people my age, I guess we’d need more handicap parking places because a five minute walk is too much for some of us especially if rain or snow. Tho I admit to being on the treadmill 2 - 3 times a week.
Horrible comment re Nazis of Palidino.