Build It But Will They Come? (The Hole Story)

Sylvie Beaudreau

[Revised 5:25 PM - 10/21/19. Statements by Sylvie Beaudreau edited for clarity.]

© 2019 Luke T. Bush

PLATTSBURGH CITY, NY -- Wednesday, 10/16/19

It's not often I attend a public meeting and hear words like "tyranny" and "follow the money."

But some citizens are strongly opposed to the plans for the use of the DRI (Downtown Revitalization Initiative) grant money awarded to Plattsburgh City to bring improvements to its downtown.

Plattsburgh Citizens Coalition presented an informational meeting this Wednesday evening in the second floor Old Courthouse auditorium. This group was formed to put truth to power, saying that the city is pushing its own agenda while at key points leaving the public out of the process.

Sylvie Beaudreau, Plattsburgh State history professor and PCC member, explained that PCC is not anti-DRi: it's only against how the grant money is planned to be used, particularly with the Durkee Street parking lot.

The city is working with Prime Companies from the Albany area, she said, on a proposal to remove most of the convenient parking spots to build a building with 114 high earner apartments. This ignores the original plan to make the area more of a public space with river access and an expanded farmers market. The proposed Durkee Street project was included in a survey and it ranked towards the bottom. Some of the money will be spent on upgrading empty downtown storefronts, she added, and smaller projects like that would be better than putting a major part of the grant into a huge project.

 Kevin Farrington

The next speaker, Kevin Farrington, mentioned how some people had resigned from the parking committee looking into the creation of new parking spaces because they felt the city had made up its mind, ignoring any input from citizens and business owners. The city thinks it's above the law, he said, referring to the "current tyranny." He emphasized that the city took the original DRI framework and changed it to what it wanted. (Note: Kevin's position as city engineer was eliminated in 2017 as part of the city's budget cuts.)

Among other key points presented during the meeting it was mentioned that if the deal goes through as it now stands with Prime Companies --- for example the PILOT (Payment In Leui Of Taxes) agreement -- it will mean a raise in taxes for most residents.

A Q&A session followed the presentations. One audience member asked who was benefiting from the Prime deal, was anyone following the money?

Kevin Farrington said Mayor Colin Read sits on the Arrow Financial Corporation’s Board of Directors, the parent company of the Glens Falls National Bank, receiving millions of dollars in compensation.

After the meeting I spoke with a couple of speakers about the big hole in downtown Burlington, Vt. created for another big building project that so far hasn't materialized. I asked if that could happen with the Durkee Street parking lot project if Prime didn't follow through. Both answered in the affirmative.

And there's another question that others have asked: Who will be able to afford those high earner apartments in the proposed residential building? Like they say: Plattsburgh City ain't Burlington. Many citizens live on a beer, not wine, budget.