Thomas Dimopoulos

Thomas Dimopoulos

City Beat and Arts & Entertainment Editor
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SARATOGA SPRINGS — The City Council on Sept. 7 approved a contract with the Saratoga Springs City School District to assign two School Resource Officers to the schools for the duration of the school year. 

One SRO will be assigned to the high school - to be on duty on campus from 7:30 a.m. – 3:30 p.m. each school day, and one SRO will be assigned to the District’s Elementary Schools system located within the city, on duty from 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.   

The contract runs through June 30, 2024 and the on-campus presence includes hours when the school is in regular session and excludes summer school and summer programs. 

The District will pay $74,285 for each SRO officer assigned to the district, with that amount increasing 2% in 2024 in accordance with CBA wage increases. 

SARATOGA SPRINGS — The city Planning Board is considering a proposal of a new church for the Unitarian Universal Congregation of Saratoga Springs that would be sited at 400 Louden Road. 

UUCSS is currently under contract to purchase just over 5 acres on Louden Road for the construction of the new church. Just over three of those acres are in “conservancy “ – not allowing for development – leaving about 1.93 acres of currently vacant land where the proposed two-story, 8,840 square foot church would be developed. 

The primary development area is located in Saratoga Springs with the road frontage being in the town of Wilton. The proposal also includes parking availability for 64 cars. 

The church employs one full-time minister and three part-time staff, and the congregation currently consists of approximately 125 parishioners.   

SARATOGA SPRINGS — Saratoga Springs’s first Cannabis Growers Showcase, which took place Sunday, Sept. 3 and Tuesday, Sept. 5 returned over $70,000 in gross sales, city Accounts Commissioner Dillon Moran said. 

The local showcase will take place 2 to 8 p.m. at the City Center Parking Garage Friday and Sunday, Sept. 15 and 17, and switches to every Saturday and Sunday through the end of the year beginning Sept. 30, according to the NYS Office of Cannabis Management. 

Nine farms presented their products in addition to a processor – who essentially makes edible goods and drinks – during the Saratoga Springs showcase, which returned more than 300 transactions on each of its first two days. 

Municipalities receive a 3% tax on cannabis sales, under New York State law. That formula indicates a return of about $2,100 for the first two days of operations in Saratoga Springs. 

“When you start to look at what potential ramifications can be on a full roll-out or a full-market basis, it’s very obvious…the cannabis market on a tax basis is going to be transformative,” Commissioner Moran said. 

SARATOGA SPRINGS —A new study underway this month may help to address a decades-long question related to the amount of large truck traffic in the downtown area and offer solutions about what the city can begin to do about it.    

The Capital Region Transportation Council (CRTC), in coordination with the city Mayor’s Office, will be conducting the truck traffic study to explore options for enhancing safety and improving traffic flow through the downtown corridor. 

The study will collect data on the number and classification of trucks traveling through the city, their routes, and speed. 

“This is (part of) a larger study of traffic in Saratoga County, and we’re able to be part of this study to determine the number and classification of trucks traveling through the city, their routes, and their speed,” Saratoga Springs Mayor Ron Kim told the council Sept. 7. 

“Here’s the important part: we can’t do anything about the 53-foot trucks that ply our streets, particularly on Broadway, until we know what the volume is, where they’re coming from and where they’re going,” Mayor Kim said. “This is a study that will do that.” 

The following streets are potential areas of study: Broadway (U.S. Rte 9); Ballston Avenue (NY Rte 50); Church Street (NY Rte 9N); Finley/Adelphi Streets; Geyser Road; Lake Avenue (NY Rte 29); Union Avenue (NY Rte 9P); Van Dam Street; Washington Street (NY Rte 29).

Following the study, the CRTC will create a technical memo and outreach material, to help the city better understand truck traffic and what it can do to reduce it, particularly in the downtown area, Kim said. 

Thursday, 07 September 2023 14:26

Developments, Demolitions, Dispensaries & Condos

SARATOGA SPRINGS — A prime piece of downtown architecture is looking to grow taller. 

Prime Group Holdings founder Robert Moser is seeking city Land Use Board approval to add two stories to the company’s existing two-story brick masonry office building at 395 Broadway. If approved, the combined four-story building would serve as office space for Prime Group Holdings on all four floors, with a retail store component on the first floor. 

The red-brick building located on the southwest corner of Broadway and Division Street was originally developed in 2000 to house Borders Books & Music, and in in 2018 was purchased by Ed Mitzen and the Fingerpaint Marketing firm. It was sold to Prime Group Holdings for $11 million in July.

On Sept. 5, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission announced it had charged Prime Group Holdings LLC for failing to adequately disclose millions of dollars of real estate brokerage fees that were paid to a real estate brokerage firm that was owned by its CEO. “Prime Group agreed to pay a $6.5 million civil penalty and more than $14 million in disgorgement and prejudgment interest to settle the charges,” according to a statement released by the SEC on Tuesday. 

It was not immediately known what effect the company’s payment of $20.5 million to settle the charges may have on its previously expressed plans for adding two stories to its Broadway building. 

Prime Group had previously planned to build a six-story complex with a restaurant, retail and offices at 269 Broadway - adjacent to Saratoga Central Catholic School - until construction estimates climbed well beyond the initial $30 million projection, Robin Cooper reported last month in the Albany Business Review. A decision about what will become of that property has not been decided.   

Plans, proposals and alterations related to Saratoga Springs developments and architecture make their way through one or more of the city’s three Land Use Boards. Those boards are the Planning Board, Design Review Commission and Zoning Board of Appeals. Meetings are open to the public. For a list of regularly scheduled meetings, go to: saratoga-springs.org.

 

Some of the other projects currently making their way through the city’s Land Use Boards.

• A project at 78 Church St., between Clinton and West Harrison streets, involves the demolition of an existing retail business to make room for a 61-foot multi-use residential and commercial building. The proposed five-story building will include 23 condominium units, commercial space on the first floor, and a garage. Applicant: Spring City Development Group, LLC. 

• Station Lane Site Plan West Ave. & Station Lane. Consideration of SEQRA review for a proposed mixed-use project including 9,500 square feet non-residential space and 68 multi-family residential units. The non-residential space is proposed to feature the development of about 6,900 square feet of retail space and 2,600 square feet of restaurant space. The approximate 2-acre project is currently vacant. 

• Adult Use Dispensary: 95 West Ave./250 Washington St. Special use permit for a marijuana dispensary. The applicant - Ten Cees, LLC – says it plans to institute a digital queue system in which customers will order in advance, then wait in their vehicles until being notified via app of their turn to enter the dispensary.  To ensure orderly queuing, physical lines will be established outside the dispensary’s front door at 95 West Ave. and wrap around to the back door, according to documents filed with the city.   

• Stewart’s Shop is looking to re-develop its Express at 177 South Broadway, with the razing of an existing house at 28 Lincoln Ave. and the construction of a new near-4,000 square foot Stewart’s.

• Chipotle area variance: removal of a vacant existing building at 12 Ballston Ave. and in its place the construction of a one-story restaurant.   

SARATOGA SPRINGS — The former long-time home of the Saratoga Senior Center on Williams Street has been made available to non-profits for a short-term lease by the city of Saratoga Springs. 

Currently vacant, the city of Saratoga Springs owns the 5 Williams St. building. In anticipation of the Senior Center’s relocation, the city last year had planned to site a 24/7 year-round homeless shelter at the building. Those plans were quashed, however, following a backlash from some members of the nearby Saratoga Central Catholic School.      

The building is approximately 7,800 square feet and includes a parking lot with 27 spaces. The term of the lease will be for 6 months, with optional month-to-month leasing for up to an additional six 6 months. Total potential duration of the lease will be no more than 12 months, commencing in November 2023. 

Rental Fee: The proposal should include a monthly rental fee not less than $250 per month, which will be considered as the bid amount. 

According to the bid published by the city on Sept. 1:  Sealed bids for the non-profit short-term lease of 5 Williams St. will be accepted by the city’s Office of the Commissioner of Accounts, 474 Broadway Suite 14, Saratoga Springs, New York, 12866, by 2 p.m. Tuesday Sept. 12, at which time they will be publicly opened and read. That RFP opening date has since been moved to 2 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 14. 

Bidders are limited to non-profit social service organizations providing services to residents and/or visitors to the city. Due to the short-term nature of the lease, the building will need to be utilized “as-is” for the duration of the lease period. The selected organization will be prohibited from making any substantial improvements to the building, excluding minimal cosmetic improvements. 

Copies of the Request for Proposal (RFP) may be obtained on the City’s web page at www.saratoga-springs.org, under current bids. 

WILTON — Following incidents of vandalism at Gavin Park during the summer, Wilton Town officials unanimously approved a resolution to initiate a bidding process that would result in a bid award to install surveillance cameras at the recreation complex.    

Town Supervisor John Lant informed the board that he had received a phone call informing him that 40 to 50 people were having a beer party at the park, followed a few days later by “more vandalism there this weekend,” Lant said, according to the most recently published town meeting notes. He did not elaborate on the extent of the vandalism. The Board, which meets monthly, was scheduled to gather for their next meeting on Sept. 7.      

Gavin Park, a central recreation complex for Wilton Town residents and surrounding communities, sites numerous youth sports programs, regional athletic tournaments, and includes two multi-purpose gymnasiums, two pavilions, and 15 athletic and baseball fields. 

SARATOGA SPRINGS —A decorative planter rests easily atop the kitchen island, greeting all who enter with letters that spell: H-O-M-E. 

The two-story haven, which stands at Kirby Road near Washington Street, will serve as the SunRise Retreat – an intensive crisis residence that is the first of its kind in the greater Capital Region and the second one sited in the entire state. 

“It is a short-term retreat for people experiencing a mental health crisis,” explained RISE Executive Director Sybil Newell, offering a tour of the building during a ceremonial ribbon-cutting Aug. 24. The residence is expected to be open and fully operational in a few weeks. 

“Experiencing a mental health crisis can mean different things to different people,” Newell said. “We will be providing stabilization services, treatment on-site, and discharge planning so that people can return safely to the community. 

“We know that people often experience mental health distress where they may not immediately meet criteria to be in the hospital, but, without additional support and oversight they continue to deteriorate and eventually do end up needing hospitalization,” Newell said. “We hope that SunRISE Retreat will fill that gap and give people the extra support they need to avoid going to the hospital, or to give them the extra time they need to get solidly on their feet after hospitalization.”

The two-story building houses approximately 12 bedrooms, 4 bathrooms and 6 showers. The bedrooms offer a living space about 15 feet long, 15 feet wide, and site a bed, desk, dresser and closet space. There is a multi-purpose kitchen with a free-standing island where meals will be prepared for those in residence, as well as a dining area, conference room, offices for staff and a large living room fitted with multiple couches, a TV, and a fireplace. 

The program is open to everyone with or without a diagnosis and there is no long referral process to get into the facility, Newell said.  “If you, or someone you know is in a mental health crisis – whatever that looks like – you can call here and we will have 24/7 availability, to be assessed by a professional to determine whether or not they are appropriate for this level of care.” 

“The wonderful thing is that it’s for everybody and anybody: your brothers and sisters, your mothers and fathers, your kids, for all of us,” said NYS Office of Mental Health Deputy Commissioner Moira Tashjian, who attended last week’s ceremony. She was joined by local and regional political dignitaries or their representatives, and health specialists.  “Hopefully it will be a safe haven for individuals who are in a behavioral health crisis,” Tashjian said. The project has been in the planning stages for nearly five years. 

Administered by RISE, SunRISE Retreat will host short-term voluntary program residencies up to 28 days for those who are in mental health distress or experiencing symptoms of a mental health crisis.  The program provides stabilization services and features four nurses currently on staff with additional nurses to be hired. A nurse practitioner acts as medical director. 

The center, available to those aged 21 and over, has contracted with managed care organizations in the area regarding insurance and accepts Medicaid, as well as being open to people who do not have the ability to pay. 

“We have some state funding to cover individuals who have no insurance, but this is primarily a service billable through health insurance,” Newell said. “The maximum stay is up to 28 days, but it really is individuals for what a person needs. Sometimes they just need a couple of days to get away from their lives to get things back together, sometimes individuals need a longer-term stay.”

While located in the city of Saratoga Springs proper, SunRISE Retreat is a licensed office of the New York State Office of Mental Health.

“Someone just has to call here, see if there is space, and come in and be assessed by a medical professional to determine whether person is appropriate for this level of care,” Newell said.  On-site treatment such as individual and group therapy, family interaction is offered. Discharge planning will specify where the person will go after being stable.

What the facility won’t provide is a hospital’s level of care, but it will offer an intensive treatment model for individuals who are in need of additional stabilization after an inpatient mental health hospitalization, or need a diversion from inpatient hospitalization but do not need that level of care or are currently in distress.

“The need is significant, particularly for folks in acute mental health crisis, behavioral health crisis,” said Dr. Michael Prezioso, Saratoga County Department of Mental Health & Addiction Services Commissioner. “Not all those folks meet criteria for admission to a hospital setting but we do need an intensive setting for them to get some relief from the symptoms they are suffering from. This is a needed addition to the continuum of care we have in the county.” 

The retreat is located within a building owned by RISE that was previously functioning as Kaydeross House, a home for adolescent girls. RISE Housing and Support Services is a human service agency that has served people in Saratoga and the surrounding counties since 1978.

What’s in the SunRISE name? “We wanted to come up with a name that indicates hope,” Newell said.  “Hope and calm.”

Thursday, 24 August 2023 14:06

Changes Coming for Three Popular Businesses

SARATOGA COUNTY — A new gourmet marketplace. A downtown party shop in Saratoga Springs. A neighborhood deli family-operated for decades.

Three popular retail establishments announced imminent changes pending in their respective businesses with a potential of ramifications resulting for the people who patronize their stores. 

Tailgate and Party Shop, Saratoga Springs

Kirsten Lambert purchased the building at the corner of Phila and Putnam Streets in spring 2021, relocating the Caroline and Henry Street-based Tailgate and Party Shop she first opened one year earlier. The new Phila Street location, since 1990, had previously housed Four Seasons Natural Foods. 

Lambert, a near 30-year-teacher of sixth-grade students was looking for a business to operate during what she anticipated as her retirement years. 

“It’s been a wonderful experience, but it’s just not ‘retirement.’ I found myself exhausted and not as retired as I thought I would be,” she says with a laugh.  “We decided we really need to spin some things down in our lives. A need to really retire this time. It is time for me to pursue other retirement dreams.”

The role Retirement 2.0 will take for Lambert and her husband is in the form of a small animal rescue operation to potentially include retired racehorses. 

The shop meanwhile will see new purpose. 

“We have a lessee coming in who is going to do his own thing,” says Lambert. While not yet completed in scope, the new business operator has plans to install a bar along an upper section of the interior and a small convenience market style area on the lower section. Paper Dolls of Saratoga has expressed interest in taking over the party supply part of the business.  Lambert will maintain ownership of the building. 

“We will begin the closing process in September,” she says. “I’ll be putting things on sale, and we’ll be done by November first.” 

The Tailgate and Party Shop was Lambert’s first real retail business. 

“I started a party store. During COVID. And I had no idea what I was doing: genius!” she says with a laugh. “I thought: have a quiet, seasonal little place. Racetrack season, Christmas. It did very well, it became a year-round store and there never seemed to be an off-time. That’s what caught me off-guard.” 

“I do think it’s absolutely wonderful that Saratoga has really become a year-round destination and my favorite thing about having the store is that it is a really happy place,” Lambert says of her go-to, one-stop-shop for all things celebration. “And meeting the other business owners. I really learned a lot and it has me understanding with compassion and empathy all these other industries.”   

Cannone’s Deli, Wilton 

“We were 28 when we got here and we’re like 67 now,” says Theresa Cannone, tracing a line back to the earliest days of the deli she and her husband John opened in 1984. 

Things were different in Wilton then. “When we got here it was almost like a rural area. On Northern Pines Road, you had no traffic. Now there’s condos, houses, developments – it’s just booming,” she says. With the influx of population over the decades, business at Cannone’s Deli at 654 Saratoga Road is also booming. 

A few months ago, the Cannones began thinking about retiring. 

“It’s bittersweet and it’s kind of hard to leave, but it’s time. We worked seven days a week, ten hours a day for 39 years. We just need to relax for a little bit, enjoy our kids, enjoy our family,” Cannone says.  “Our kids are really looking forward to us spending time with them. We’ve got five grandchildren - and one on the way in November!” she adds enthusiastically.

“The people and the community are wonderful. We built this corner back in ’89 – we had the deli for 10 years, sold it to Kelly’s Deli, we had the liquor store, the pizzeria - Christina’s Pizzeria, which we named after our daughter,” Cannone says. A handful of years ago they returned to operate the deli.   

“That was five years ago in May. When we came back people showed up with flowers – I thought we had a funeral going on – they showed up with flowers and balloons, pictures and cards, and pa-pa-pa,”  says Cannone, having left Deer Park, Long Island several decades ago to relocate upstate, but the accent not entirely having left her. 

Sunday will be the Cannones’ last day of working at the deli, which they have sold to Matthew Sanchez. The deli business will continue into the future, Cannone says. “He is a good man for the job.” 

PDT Market, Saratoga Springs 

Less than six months after the high-profile unveiling of a new gourmet marketplace in downtown Saratoga Springs, Chef Adam Foti announced this week he will be leaving PDT Market.

"Just less than two years ago, my partners and I embarked on a great adventure.  The goal was to transform my passion, PDT Catering, into a marketplace that would nourish the community with amazing, prepared foods, specialty products, and a variety of educational opportunities. From this vision, PDT Market was born,” Chef Foti explained on a social media posting. 

Foti says he will fix his undivided focus on a return to PDT Catering, which will relaunch externally Sept. 1. 

“The effort required to build and sustain PDT Market, and simultaneously keep PDT Catering functioning at the very high standards we set for ourselves, was not always compatible. Time spent on catering was time away from the market. Conversely, time spent focused on the market was time spent away from catering,” Foti says. “Each demand and deserve complete focus and attention.”

The market will also continue, presumably in the partners’ hands, and announced it will be sharing more information “over the next several weeks.” PDT Market did not immediately respond to a media inquiry regarding specific plans of the market going forward. 

PDT Market is located on Railroad Place at 55 Railroad Place in a location that previously housed a Price Chopper market.

“It’s such a labor of love that I’m so passionate about, that it’s just so exciting to see everything here,” Foti told Saratoga TODAY in March as the signage went up inside the 19,000-square-foot PDT Market in preparation of the store’s opening.  An opening celebration ribbon-cutting ceremony took place April 24. 

“PDT Market will continue to grow, flourish, and perhaps, change in my absence,” Foti says. “Rest assured that as I leave, the market is in skillful hands. The team in place is one of the finest I’ve ever had the pleasure of working with.”

Thursday, 24 August 2023 14:04

Bobby Flay’s Kitchen Could Be Yours

SARATOGA SPRINGS — Five months after Barstool Sports founder David Portnoy purchased a Fifth Avenue home in Saratoga Springs, downstreet neighbor and Reality TV personality Bobby Flay has put his four-bedroom home on the market. 

Flay purchased the Tudor-style home for $1.7 million in 2021. It is up for sale at $3,295 million. 

The home, featured in House Beautiful magazine in April, was originally constructed in 1939, and features 3,087 square feet of living space with four bedrooms, 3.5 bathrooms, and a two-car garage. 

“The outdoor living space is one-of-a-kind with an outdoor kitchen, expansive patio and unmatched views,” according to the real estate posting specifying JoAnn Potrzuski Cassidy with Julie & Co. Realty as listing agent of the property, in a story first reported by the Times-Union.      

Flay’s home, adjacent to the Oklahoma Training Track, is located approximately 100 yards away from property which David Portnoy’s company, Smokeshowcity LLC, purchased in March.   

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Blotter

  • Saratoga County Court  Kathleen M. Callanan, 62, of Saratoga Springs, was sentenced to 1 year in local jail, after pleading to felony grand larceny.  Cassandra R. Barden, 38, homeless, was sentenced to 1-1/2 to 3 years incarceration after pleading to felony attempted assault, charged in Milton.  Ashley Vetrano, 35, of Glens Falls, pleaded to felony robbery, charged in Moreau. Sentencing May 23.  Gabrielle Montanye, 63, of Stillwater, was sentenced to 5 years probation, after pleading to felony attempted identity theft, charged in Ballston Spa.  Daniel J. Koenig, III, 53, of Round Lake, was sentenced to 2 to 4 years incarceration, after…

Property Transactions

  • BALLSTON Eastline Holdings LLC sold property at 12 Aspen Dr to Shaun Scott for $596,673 Sunmark Credit Union sold property at 15 17 & 19 Main St to Landmark Holdings 2023 LLC for $240,000 CORINTH Gary ONeil sold property at 115 Hollister Dr to Aaron Schips for $345,000 GREENFIELD Jeffrey Fuller sold property at 4 Lanie Dr to Jacob Brooks for $221,700 Bernice Moeller sold property at 395 North Creek Rd to Devin Vernon for $270,000 MALTA  Maureen Weise sold property at 13 Pepperbush Pl to Robert ONeill for $245,000 MECHANICVILLE Robert Murphy sold property at 406 Park Ave to…
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