As I See It

Lloyd should keep its building moratorium

By Craig McKinney
Posted 11/27/19

The Lloyd Town Board has a building moratorium. The town planning board has received a lot of applications for big subdivisions at a time when Ulster County’s population has been declining. …

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As I See It

Lloyd should keep its building moratorium

Posted

The Lloyd Town Board has a building moratorium. The town planning board has received a lot of applications for big subdivisions at a time when Ulster County’s population has been declining. Other negative statistics are a decreasing school district enrollment and 40 percent of Highland’s student’s come from economically disadvantaged homes. It would be fair to ask the developers for studies which justify the building of a large subdivision. Perhaps after doing the subdivision study some of the builders may realize that building is a bad idea.

Fifteen years ago Marlboro was going through the subdivision craze. A few years later I saw a number of the subdivisions on the unpaid taxes list or being sold for taxes. The attempted over development caused Democraric newcomer Al Lanzetta to defeat a two-term Republican supervisor in a Republican town. Years later Al Lanzetta is still the town’s supervisor.

I think it would be very fair for the Lloyd Town Board to see some studies.


Highland High School’s first cook

Angie Casiero, the first cook in 1961 at Highland High School is still active.
Angie Casiero was working and cooking at the Highland High School cafeteria when it opened in 1961.

She was an Italian cook and the kids loved her food. She ate it, and her cooking must have a longevity in her recipes. She was one of the Centonze sisters. Her sister, Rose Olson, was a school secretary. Rose is gone, but her husband, 96 year old Olaf Olson is still alive.

Guy Torsone, and Sal Crimi, built and developed Toc Drive. Ollie served on a submarine in World War II. That good Italian food has kept him going all these years.

He and Rose’s son, Louis, is also a chef in the family tradition and of his extended Toscani family in New Paltz. He operates Luigi’s Italian Delicatessen on Route 299 in Highland, opposite the State Police.

Rose Olson, my dear friend, taught me what you do for a funeral. You go to Rachel and Ernie Toscani’s Delicatessen in New Paltz and buy a platter. I did and went to a huge family wake for Marie Mazzetti. Rose, Angie and friends brought all these tables and set them up. I was thinking I would be the only one to bring a platter. Holy cow, over 500 platters were brought. They must have fed 1,000 that day. This was a Highland Italian wake.

Years later my Father, Tom McKinney died and I went to Toscani’s for a platter. I went to pay, and Ernie said, “This is on us.”

Rachel and Ernie are gone and I still miss them. Kids who went to Highland High School when Angie cooked, are still talking about her cooking.


Facebook is coming to New York City

Facebook with a lot of good paying jobs is coming to New York City and no one opposes it, because unlike Amazon, it is not getting an aid package. Both companies probably liked New York City because of its wealth of high tech talent. Either Silicon Valley or the New York City east coast region is the high tech capital of the world.

Facebook has signed a lease at Hudson Yards for more than 1.5 million square feet of office space and plans to move into the new offices next year. The lease includes office space across 30 floors and three buildings in the far West Side neighborhood of Hudson Yards. The lease includes 1.2 million square feet of space at the 1,000-foot-tall tower 50 Hudson Yards, 265,000 square feet in 30 Hudson Yards as well as 57,000 square feet in 55 Hudson Yards.

Facebook’s main office in Manhattan is near the Astor Place neighborhood, while its headquarters is located in Menlo Park, California.

Facebook isn’t the only Silicon Valley company that has expanded its footprint in the city. Google is said to be nearing a deal to move into space at St. John’s Terminal in New York City’s West Village neighborhood. While Amazon will not be building a second headquarters in the Long Island City neighborhood of Queens, it will continue to hire for more positions in New York.

Newburgh vs Scarsdale

Yearly, I do a comparison of Newburgh vs Scarsdale with one upsetting comparison. The per capita income of Scarsdale is $539,942 and Newburgh, $37,915. Because of the Trump tax cuts, the average Scarsdale taxpayer has a lower Federal tax rate, than an average Newburgh taxpayer.

In 2016 Newburgh had a birth rate of 17.6. per 1000 women of child bearing years, vs. 5.1 in Scarsdale; Newburgh had 497 births, Scarsdale, 92; Newburgh had 399 abortions, Scarsdale, 18; Newburgh had 78 teen births, Scarsdale, 0; Newburgh, 107 teen pregnancies, Scarsdale 2, Newburgh School District had 10,745 students, Scarsdale, 4,770; Scarsdale spent $31,819 per pupil, Newburgh, $24,220; 68% of the Newburgh students come from economically disadvantaged homes, Scarsdale has none. Trump wants to eliminate the free and reduced priced lunch. There is no data for Food Stamps, but it is doubtful if anyone in Scarsdale qualifies, while likely that a high percentage of Newburgh residents do. Trump is trying to cut these back, too.

Newburgh has about 25 percent of its students quitting by the time they reach 12th grade, Scarsdale has none.

The school districts have vastly different student bodies. Newburgh’s enrollment breaks down as the following: 52% Latino. 24% Black, 18% White, 4% multi-racial, and 2% Asian; Scarsdale, 66% White, 20%, Asian, 7% Latino, 6% multi-racial. and 1% Black.

Newburgh had a population of 28,200. Scarsdale, 17,909.


As I See It
Madeline Vespe, 91,the heart of her family
I was at the celebration of life of Madeline Vespe, 91. Her love will be pouring through the hearts and veins of everyone who was near her for the rest of their lives. There was so much love at her wake. She was the heart of the family.

Always pasta Sunday. Spaghetti and meatballs. There was always a chair for an extra visitor. She was the loving mother of her children, grandchildren and so many more. I thought I was wealthy with my Mother and then my Italian Mother, my son was wealthier, when he married into her family. Madeline loved and she was so beloved.


Marlboro is a solar array winner
Marlborough Town Board has signed a 35 year agreement with Nexamp Solar LLC to lease the town landfill off of Bailey’s Gap Road. The town will be paid $237,921 over the life of the contract. The town will save approximately $200,000 in electrical costs during a 20 year contract for electricity with Nexamp.

Anyone, who is on Facebook has seen photos of Nexamp arrays. This duel contract is a winner in two ways; for the taxpayers and in the doing its part in fighting Global Warming. This may be the first of many solar arrays in the town.


Trump’s tax cuts secretly helps millionaires and billionaires
In the Trump tax cuts there are opportunity zones. It turns out that it is the billionaires and millionaires opportunity zones, except the opportunity zones are not being used to develop poor areas, but instead very wealthy areas and giving massive tax cuts for. For instance developing Scarsdale, where the average income is over a half million dollars a year. We taxpayers are subsidizing the millionaires and billionaires. One of the recipients is Jared Kushner and his wealthy real estate family. Google opportunity zones for billionaires and you can read the story.

Google has 13 stories on “Opportunity zones for billionaires.” You canread about this huge ripoff.