PLATTSBURGH CITY -- Sat. 12/17/11
Frostbite night. Inside 19 Clinton Street there's heat generation from amps, blast furnace music.
This event: Local bands playing too damn loud to a few young people (and adults), young people not wandering the streets, looking for something to do.
Years ago I approached a city councilor about Plattsburgh starting its own youth center. It was needed. I knew teens who said they weren't into the drug scene but what else was there? Smaller communities in the area like Saranac Lake and Lake Placid responded to the problem by creating hang-outs for their youth. Why not P-burgh? The councilor looked into the possibility, trying to get things in motion.
Time passed. There was some talk, some plans, but nothing came to fruition. Inertia.
But as the years rolled on places opened up where young people could hang around and make some noise. One of the latest is the ROTA Studio and Gallery on Clinton Street with its All Ages -- No Drugs Or Alcohol -- shows. ROTA sometimes serves as a Do It Yourself youth center, no city sponsorship.
And if ROTA and other such venues should disappear? Well, don't bitch about "today's youth" wandering the streets.
Energy needs to be channeled, expressed.
(Note: If the embedded videos below don't work or you want a larger view, use these links:
http://youtu.be/uC_st2LsKNo
http://youtu.be/da81W45ook4 )
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