It all depends on who's doing the reporting

It sounds like something out of an old "Dukes of Hazzard" episode. Instead of the Duke boys' Dodge Charger going airborne to evade  a local sheriff, in this instance it was a small Toyota truck going airborne on the Collar City Bridge a little after 6 a.m. Monday and landing below on Hoosick Street with minimal injuries all around.

Apparently local news media didn't quite know what to make of it.

On Monday afternoon, WGY radio reported that a truck had hit a car, then a snowbank on the bridge, became airborne and landed on Hoosick Street below the bridge.

In Tuesday's edition, The Record reported a truck had hit a snowbank and become airborne, resulting in minor injuries to the "Brunswick couple" riding in the vehicle. No mention of another vehicle being involved. The newspaper quoted police Captain Dan DeWolf as saying, "They hit a snowbank on the side of the bridge and it was like a ramp. They went up and over and landed on the roof of the vehicle in another snowbank. They're lucky to be alive."(Underlining is mine, for emphasis.)

Also on Tuesday, the Times Union reported that the truck landed near 5th Avenue, and that the driver suffered only minor bumps in the accident, never mentioning the presence of a passenger in the vehicle. It quoted Captain DeWolf as saying, "He was really lucky. That's kind of a long fall."

To sum up the news coverage, a truck hit a car, or it didn't; it then hit a snowbank and became airborne while carrying a driver and a passenger, or just a driver. Got it?

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Troy makes 'Best Complete Streets' national listing

The cover photo of the 'Complete Streets' report.

Here's some good news about the efforts of a coalition of organizations in the City.

The City's "Complete Streets Ordinance" adopted last June, has been ranked No. 2 in included in "The Best Complete Streets Policies of 2014," released today by the National Complete Streets Coalition.

The policy, says a City press release, "directs transportation planners and engineers to design and build streets that provide everyone, regardless of age, ability, income, or ethnicity, and no matter how they travel, with safe, convenient & accessible access to community destinations."

Troy finished behind only Ogdensburg, St. Lawrence County. The rest of the top included four Massachusetts communities -- Salem, Acton, Middleton and Stoughton -- plus Austin and Dawson County, TX;  Lakemoor, IL, and the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority.

The National Complete Streets Coalition says it reviewed every policy passed in the United States in 2014 and scored each according to the 10 elements of what it regards as an ideal policy.The coalition is described as a program of Smart Growth America, a non-profit, non-partisan alliance of public interest organizations and transportation professionals committed to the development and implementation of Complete Streets. It defines "Complete Streets" as the integration of people and place in the planning, design, construction, operation, and maintenance of transportation networks.

Troy's success is a product of the Transport Troy Complete Streets Citizen’s Working Group, led by Capital Roots (formerly Capital District Community Gardens), Troy Bike Rescue, Independent Living Center of the Hudson Valley, Transition Troy, Troy Architectural Program (TAP) and the City government.

“We fully anticipate the growth that we have seen over the last few years to continue,” said Mayor Lou Rosamilia. “Therefore, it is important that we plan accordingly and take into account everyone’s collective needs when making decisions about our future.”

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DeFazio, Bombers land parcels get OK for sale

Bombers' patio no longer on city property.

Two local food-related businesses got good news at Thursday night's Troy City Council meeting when sales of two parcels of city land were approved without dissent.

The major piece of business was approval of Rocco DeFazio's request to purchase the former Vanilla Bean Bakery building on the same Little Italy block on which he has operated a pizzeria and grocery for decades. The other was clearing up some confusion over the use of a strip of city-owned property by Bombers Burrito Bar at King and Federal streets.

The current DeFazio's

In the DeFazio project, the longtime businessman and chief cheerleader-organizer of the Little Italy neighborhood had earlier said he wanted to turn the former bakery at 214-226 4th Street into a complex encompassing a pizzeria/restaurant and bar, cooking school, banquet space and retail store.

He also plans to add outdoor dining on the Hill Street side of the building, opposite the site of a weekly public market. Estimated cost for the entire project is in the $1.5 million-$2 million range. DeFazio said he would put his current property at 266 4th Street up for sale once the new project is completed.

Both properties were part of a bundle of parcels the council considered for blanket sale approval. The city had received only one bid for each.

The sale of the King Street strip to local lawyer and property owner Don Boyajian, who leases out the corner building to Bombers Burrito Bar, wasn't as straightforward. Federal agencies still are investigating the demolition of a building on the north side of Bombers, another Boyajian property.

When the burrito franchise -- which opened in June 2013 -- was constructed by sibling owners Tami Dzembo and Glen Young, outdoor seating under a canopy was included. However, that strip of land was owned by the city, not by Boyajian. They paid an initial "nominal fee" to use the property but have not paid any sort of rent or other payments, Corporation Counsel Ian Silverman said Thursday.

Before the sale was approved Thursday night, the council debated the measure on three fronts: (1.) whether the parcel should have been included in legal advertising with other properties that technically had different status; (2.) whether unbundling it from the other parcels and re-advertising it would allow a window for a speculator to step in to push up the price for an otherwise useless piece of property; (3.) whether the parcel should be sold off quickly to eliminate city liability for any injuries that might occur on the property. In the end, the liability argument won out.

Marker shows where new DeFazio complex would be built.

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When it comes to snow removal, City is a lawbreaker

As I maneuvered my car to avoid yet another cluster of pedestrians forced to trudge in the road because the sidewalks were clogged with snow and ice following the latest storm, I once again longed for the days when people actually gave a damn about their fellow citizens and got out the shovels.

It doesn't seem that many years ago that the sidewalks in front of homes and businesses actually could be used in the winter. Today, it's a rare part of Troy where that is the case. The residents and business owners too lazy, too cheap and too lacking in civic pride to do what they ought to do should be ashamed.

But, there is another culprit, and it's a big one.

One of the duties of municipal government is to work on the quality of life for its citizens and businesses. In Troy, that duty has been abrogated for years. Not only is that a failure, it is illegal.

Think I'm exaggerating? Read this excerpt from the Charter of the City of Troy:

"Sidewalks. It shall be the duty of the owners of land fronting on any of the public streets of the City to construct and keep in repair the sidewalks in front of their respective lots in such manner, at such times and of such materials as the Commissioner of Public Works may direct; and to keep all such sidewalks at all times free of ice, snow and other obstructions. If any owner, after notice shall neglect to comply with this section within the time specified by the Commissioner in the aforesaid notice, the Commissioner may cause the work to be done at the expense of the owner. The cost and expense of any such work, if unpaid, shall be added to the tax rolls... ."

I particularly call your attention to two phrases from that excerpt: (1) "to keep all such sidewalks at all times free of ice, snow and other obstructions," and (2) that the Commissioner of Public Works "may cause the work to be done at the expense of the owner. The cost and expense of any such work, if unpaid, shall be added to the tax rolls."

That makes it a simple matter. Clean your sidewalks, or pay someone to do it, or reimburse the City for cleaning up your mess -- probably at a higher rate than you would have paid by hiring someone on your own.

As always, the ball is in your court, Mayor Rosamilia. Do you plan to uphold the City Charter or do you and your administration plan to continue ignoring your duty and leaving our city in a mess?

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