The Ravena News Herald – A Dirty Rag

 

As S. Shyam Sundar put it in this The New Republic article of 2016:

“We can’t distinguish between real news and fake news because we don’t even question the credibility of the source of news … Why would we, when we think of ourselves or our friends as the source?”

This article was inspired by what we read in the January 13, 2022, issue of the Ravena News Herald, a local rag run by Capital Region Interactive Media, and a McHugh associate, Mark Vinciguerra. The RNH was formerly owned by McHugh, bought after previous owner/publisher Dick Bleezarde died, and in which McHugh continues to hold an interest. In fact, McHugh’s law offices occupy the Ravena building on at 164 Main Street in Ravena, the former location of the Ravena News Herald. McHugh uses that address as his primary address on his license and elsewhere. McHugh actually lives; that is, his primary residence address is really at 100 Lawson Lake Road, a Feura Bush address (12067) but on the Town of Coeymans assessment rolls.

We’ve frequently taken issue with the reports printed in the McHugh Public Relations Manual calling itself the Ravena News Herald, and have written about misreporting, incorrect facts, partisanship, partiality, and outright favoritism when it comes to reporting about McHugh or any of his friends or clients (Readers might want to visit our article “George McHugh: Conspiracy, Misrepresentation, Possible Fraud?”, or any of our articles relating to the 2019 elections and McHugh). The front-page stories in the January 13, 2022, issue of the Ravena News Herald did nothing to improve our opinion of the News Herald as a dirty tampon.

Case in point: Not a word was printed in the Ravena News Herald about the September 8, 2021, two-car accident that occurred on Route 9W, in front of Pickers Nation (2530 US Route 9W, Ravena), that involved Coeymans Town Supervisor George McHugh and local Ravena resident, Laszlo Polyak, and which also destroyed the sign at the Capital Care Family Practice medical facility, at 2524 US Route 9W. Wouldn’t that be news? After all it involved the Town Supervisor, was investigated by the Coeymans Police Department, and caused significant damage to a local business? A month later, almost to the day, Rosemary McHugh, 4^th wife of Town Supervisor George McHugh, t-boned a vehicle operated by a local Ravena resident, Kayleen Cique, in the Ravena Stewarts Shop parking lot. (See our article, “Rosemary McHugh: Driving While Disabled?”.) Again, not a word in the Ravena rag. Do you think there may be some favoritism or influence at work here?

We then have the report, again a front-page article, about the untimely resignation of a newly elected town official, Laura J. Barry, who was elected to be Town Clerk. The article does nothing but obscure the facts behind the resignation but it does contain hundreds of sugar-coated words reinforcing the incest club calling Coeymans Town Hall its home. Disgusting.

A second front-page article discusses the “revitalization of a long-vacant Main Street building” in Ravena.[5] Well, the misinformation starts with the title because the building in question was not a “long-vacant building”! The building is occupied by Mr. Laszlo Polyak who has been living there for 30 years! Polyak also rents three apartments on the second floor, which have been occupied for at least 10 years! That hardly qualifies as long-vacant building!

You say Tomehto We Say Tomahto; They Say Gay-bler, We Say Gobbler.

Yep! Just what we needed in Ravena-Coeymans: Another Land-Gobbler. It’s as if the Michael Biscones and the George McHughs, and their insider friends Carver Laraway, Albert Collins, and Robert Nolan weren’t grabbing everything in sight, we now have a new kid on the block who will gobble up properties or whatever’s left over and worth having. They may pronounce it ‘Gaybler’ Realty but in the tradition of a Josephine Bruno, they’re still gobblers, no matter how you spell it or pronounce it.

Coincidentally, the owner of the building, Mr. Laszlo Polyak, is the second party in the George McHugh accident, and Polyak’s tenant Kayleen Cique, rents and lives in one of the apartments in the “long-vacant Main Street building” – long-vacant according the News Herald’s and Lekocevic’s definition of ‘vacant’ – that’s the same Kayleen Cinque, whose car was T-boned by Rosemary McHugh. Interestingly, we have unconfirmed information that Rosemary McHugh made a deal with K. Cinque to go 50-50 on the repairs needed by Cinque. Now isn’t that interesting? No ticket and no insurance company involvement in that accident, even though the Albany County Sheriff’s deputy S. Hotaling investigated the accident and filed the Police Accident Report.

Nowhere, absolutely nowhere in the article is Mr. Polyak mentioned, nor is the fact that the “long-vacant” — though occupied for 30 years — building also contains three occupied apartments! Nowhere in the article does Lekocevic mention that Polyak spearheaded the renovation of the entire building on the corner of Main Street and Central Avenue. Nor does Lekocevic mention the actual “long-vacant” buildings along Main Street like the old Bushes Hardware, the former offices of the Ledger newspaper — both the Ledger and Bushes have been gone for more than 10 years but their signs are still there —, and the eyesore just across the street from the Gabler Real Estate offices, a large corner building that has had an “Auction” notice posted on it for several years now! Looks like the News Herald’s Executive Editor, Ms Melanie Lekocevic, has a big problem with the facts, but manages to get everyone else’s name in the article from Ravena bar-owner Mayor Misuraca to village untrustworthy trustee Nancy Warren to Delmar realtor Joy Iafallo, none of whom had anything to do with the improvements made to Polyak’s property! Even stupider is the fact that Mayor Moose-Moron Misuraca states in the article that the “building where Gabler Realty opened has been vacant for many years.” Misuraca is mayor of Ravena, has his mayoral offices just blocks away, and his bar is just down the street on Main Street, yet he is unaware that the building has been occupied continuously for more than 30 years! Can he be that stupid? (Answer: Yes!)

Well, Ravena doesn’t have to deal with Misuraca any longer; he lost his bid for nomination by the Republican party and will not be on the ballot for the March village elections.

What we find incredible is that Gabler Realty and its principals, Judi Gabler and Joy Iafallo, knowing full well that the News Herald story was a load of crapola, didn’t get an immediate conspicuous correction of the fake facts in the article.  Iafallo is also president of the Ravena-Coeymans-Selkirk Community Business Association, so you’d think that she’d be interested in getting true facts out there. But wait a minute, doesn’t the fake news about the property make Iafallo, Gabler, and Gabler Realty look real good? Even better since the article, although full of misinformation, does paint Gabler as being the hero-savior of yet another derelict building in Ravena? When you actually think about it, the lies do make Gabler Realty look good, so why should they want a correction? Realtors are not really noted for any interest in truth-telling, are they?

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Another instance of the Ravena News Herald keeping silent on the antics of Ravena elites occurred in 2021, when Robert Nolan of Nolan Propane (Ravena, NY) and a McHugh appointee to the Town of Coeymans Planning Board/Zoning Board of Appeals, and Ravena shyster Michael Biscone attempted to bully the neighboring Town of New Baltimore into denying a local business project competing with Nolan. The RNH neither reported on the conspiracy nor did it mention that Coeymans Town Supervisor McHugh was representing the Town of New Baltimore against one of his own board members and a business in the town to which McHugh was elected to be Supervisor! (See our article, “Nolan, Biscone, Miller vs. Albright & Sons: News Herald a Day Late and a Dollar Short”.)

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Editor’s Note: We could agree that Judi Gabler is a graduate of the RCS school system when she is quoted as saying, not once, but twice, ”As an alumni of RCS…” The correct term would be alumna, if the speaker is a woman; “alumni” is the plural men or mixed men and women. We can almost forgive such ignorance in a realtor but not in a journalist! But then, we’re talking about the Ravena News Herald, aren’t we? But then, we do live in a gender-identity confused culture, so maybe Gabler’s apparent error is actually a true statement of who she is. 

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It seems that the author of all three front-page articles in the January 13, 2022, issue of the Ravena News Herald, Ms Melanie Lekocevic, who gets a billing in the News Herald as “Executive Editor,” really needs a refresher in journalism and reporting, particularly as regards getting real facts and checking those facts! Shame, AGAIN, on you, Ravena News Herald!

Here’s a good idea for a front-page story, Ms Lekocevic: Why is it that Coeymans applies for grants (and is rejected) and Coeymans organizations can get money to repair an old chimney (We’re referring to Lekocevic’s front-page story, “Historic Alcove Chimney: Restoring a local landmark.” (RNH, January 13, 2022)) but can’t find money to revitalize or restore the water mains in the Village and Hamlet so that the Fire Departments can get water to extinguish fires?!? Does Supervisor George McHugh or Mayor William Misuraca or Trustee Nancy Warner have an answer to this question? How about Gabler Realty? Is Judi Gabler or Joy Iafallo or any of the claimed 20 Gabler employees going to disclose to potential buyers that the Village and Town can’t provide a reliable source of water? Are they going to tell their “match[ed] property buyers” how that might affect their property insurance? Or is all that going to be swept under the carpet like so many other things in Ravena and Coeymans?

By the way, as of this date and after an exhaustive search, we cannot find a single word about the two McHugh accidents nor about the Notice of Claim and possible lawsuit against the News Herald’s little friend, Georgie McHugh, or his protégés Keyer, Baker, Collins, Bruno, LeFevre, Seney, or Arnold. The Town is on the brink of a huge legal controversy and the Supervisor and Police Chief are about to be investigated, if they’re not already under investigation, and Coeymans is kept in the dark all this time. Why is that Mark Vinciguerra, Melanie Lekocevic? Aren’t you selling a newspaper, and aren’t Coeymans residents purchasing the Ravena News Herald to get their news?

Of course, residents in the Town of Coeymans are certainly aware that the Coeymans Town Board annually designates the Ravena News Herald to be the Town’s official newspaper, the place where you’ll find all the news McHugh and his mob want you to know about in your lovely Town of Coeymans.[6] If it seems that incest is best in Ravena-Coeymans, it’s because it is part of the culture; everyone has his or her hands in the other’s pockets or panties.

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Notes:

[1] Coeymans: Poster-Child of the “Sick Community Syndrome.” Part I
Coeymans: Poster-Child of the “Sick Community Syndrome.” Part II
Coeymans: Poster-Child of the “Sick Community Syndrome.” Part III
Coeymans: Poster-Child of the “Sick Community Syndrome.” Part IV
Coeymans: Poster-Child of the “Sick Community Syndrome.” Part V

[2] McHugh and his Town Board take good care of themselves. On January 29, 2021, the Coeymans Town Board gave notice of a Resolution Authorizing the Transfer of Certain Lands Owned by the Town of Coeymans to Albert F. Collins Jr. and Lori Collins, in which two parcels of land were to be transferred to the Collins for $66,300.00, which “represents the amount owed by the Town to Collins & Son, Inc. under a contract for prior cleanup work performed on the property.” That must have been on hell of a cleanup job! How many Coeymans residents knew about this and was it published conspicuously or even reported in the Ravena News Herald? (See our article, “Coeymans: Send McHugh and His Nuggets Down The Tube.”)

[3] The County Legislator’s seat was left vacant in 2021, when George Langdon, representing the Town of Coeymans and previously a sitting member of the Town of Coeymans Town Board, a member of George McHugh’s so-called Comeback Team, was forced to resign in disgrace from the Albany County Legislature. McHugh moved quickly to tap another of his Comeback Team, rookie Town Board member Zachary Collins, son of McHugh appointee to the Planning Board/Zoning Board of Appeals, to run for Langdon’s vacant seat, even though Collins had not completed even half of his 4-year term on the Town Board to which he was elected in 2019! That’s exactly what the Albany County Legislature needs: corrupt inexperienced puppets elected by sheeple.

[4] Chief of Police Douglas Keyer himself is in the hot-seat as we write, since he is named in the pending Claims as having abused his office as Chief of Police, as having knowingly engaged in clear conflict of interest, as having obstructed or impaired a police investigation, and as having conspired with George McHugh to influence the process and outcome of a police accident investigation, among other charges.

[5] “Gabler Realty revitalizes long-vacant Main St. building,” RNH, January 13, 2022, p. 1.

[6] Re: New York Town Law. The promulgation of notice provisions in the Town Law frequently deters effective publicity. Although the Town Law does not suffer from the politically oriented designation procedure of the County Law, its provisions often cause confusion and injustice, however. Unlike counties, towns need not designate an official newspaper but have the option to do so. Being an “official newspaper” does not mean that everything pertaining the events in a municipality must appear in the newspaper but legal notices, notices of hearings, various administrative and legislative actions are examples of what should be published in a municipality’s designated “official newspaper.”

 

New Baltimore Property Taxes: Absolutely No Rhyme, Reason, or Answers!!!

The New Baltimore Board of Assessment Review met on Grievance Day, May 22, 2018, and the Final Tax Roll was published on July 1, 2018.

The Office of the Sole Assessor, currently occupied by Mr. Gordon Bennett (an employee of the Town), and the New Baltimore Board of Assessment Review (all appointees by the current Town board) is representative of the rest of New Baltimore’s dog-and-pony act, their excuse for Town government: Complete Incompetence and Ignorance!!!

Grievance Day is also a dog-and-pony act, where a gang of five appointees sit and demonstrate how ignorant and poorly qualified they are for determining the quality of property assessments in the Town of New Baltimore. The assessor sits by and listens, not contributing much in the way of assisting the poor wretches or preventing them from making complete asses of themselves and taxpayers!

Here’s this year’s tally of stupidity based on documents provided by the Town of New Baltimore and the official taped recordings of the New Baltimore Board of Assessment Reveiw of hearings held on Grievance Day, May 22, 2018, at New Baltimore Town Hall:

Shyster Michael Biscone of Ravena, apparently a bosom buddy of Mr. Bennett, since they are on a first-name basis, even in an official proceeding like Grievance Day, represents two property owners before the Board of Assessment Review, and presents their cases in a rambling fashion, so you have to pay close attention to understand the bottom line on the tapes. [Editor’s Note: For those of our readers, we are providing links to the Greene County online Property Tax Information website, where you can read everything about the properties we’re discussing. It’s all public access. Just click the links in the text below to go to the property information. The link to the main page, where you can search properties by municipality, tax map number, last name, first name, etc. is Greene County Search. ]

The first property is on Roberts Hill Road (565 Roberts Hill Rd, West Coxsackie NY 12192); it’s actually two properties that were once one but was divided in order to sell them. One has a house on it sitting on three acres (Tax Map No. 28.00-2-31.2). The other portion is 37 acres of undeveloped property (Tax Map No. 28.00-2-31.1). Mr. Biscone, on behalf of David Hales, whom he refers to as a “fine young man,” argues that the two properties should be assessed as one. He also admits that Grievance Day is not the place to argue his reasons but he does so anyway. Hales purchased the property in 2017 for $206,000. Bennett assessed the property for $210,000. The New Baltimore Board of Assessment Review, practically no questions asked, reduced Hales’ assessment by $49,000. Why? You’ll never know.

The second property is an interesting case. Again, it’s presented by shyster Biscone and is a property owned by William Brant, who, by the way, gives his address as 72 Brownstone Way, Apt. 410, Englewood, New Jersey (!), and owns the property on US Rt. 9W, between the Best Western and New Baltimore Family Dentistry (Tax Map No. 40.00-4-2.111). He’s had his plan for a for-profit senior living project that has been before the New Baltimore Planning Board for several years now, and has finally gotten approval. If you drive down US Route 9W going South, you’ll come to the Best Western Hotel, and then New Baltimore Family Dentistry. The Brant property is between the hotel and the dentists there’s a cute little cottage sitting in the middle of the field (that’s the Brant property) . In fact, you can see the temporary road leading into the property, where construction preps are being done. Looking towards the back of the property is a small building, a “well house” that is discussed below.

The property is assessed at $120,000 land value, but Biscone somehow convinces the New Baltimore Board of Assessment Review that it’s overassessed at $70,000 because of a “well house.” Biscone argues on behalf of Brant that the “well house cost” Brant only $27,000 but Bennett has assessed it at $70,000. If you’re lost here, don’t worry, it doesn’t make sense unless you listen to the tapes about 3 times. It’s a smoke and mirrors act and works for Biscone and Brant because the BAR buys it and reduces Brant’s assessment by $25,000. You’d think the members of the BAR would have the property tax reports in front of them to follow along but Hey! If they did that they might have smelled a rat and caught it. But that would be asking too much of a bunch of sillies trying to look important.

One tidbit that Biscone drops is that he will “drop off a number of receipts” that would prove what he was saying (not that Michael Biscone was ever concerned with the truth). But he never had to do that because the BAR made their decision to reduce the assessment that evening, on May 22, 2018, without the benefit of any proof or documentation.

What’s even more interesting is the fact that Biscone mentions that one of the contractors, whose receipts he was going to produce, is none other than Robert van Etten, New Baltimore Town Board member Shelly van Etten’s husband. What’s even more interesting is that van Etten, who owns an excavation-construction business located in Ravena, New York (only per the address), is the chairman of the New Baltimore Planning Board (and of the New Baltimore Town Committee on Agriculture)!!! Yes, readers, that’s the same Planning Board that kept Brant’s application in Limbo for several years and only just approved it! Does anyone smell something like conflict of interest here? Corruption? Stupidity?

Does anyone wonder Why? Mr. Brant got his Planning Board approval for his project after so many years of hassle? Just saying …

Case No. 3 is a property owner whose primary residence is in Long Island and who owns a property on North Ridge Road in Hannacroix. 2 acres with a 1 family house on it. Mr. Crimeni, whose primary address is 48 Lace Lane, Westbury, NY, is crying poverty. You see, he thinks his assessment is too high and he’s paying too much in taxes for his weekend country estate, comparing his New Baltimore taxes to his $8,000 Long Island taxes. Crimeni’s property (Tax Map No. 4.00-3-20)  full market value is $195,000 and is assessed at $145,000 but Crimeni is still not satisfied. (There seems to be some confusion also in the tax records because on one page for the same property we find the full market value to be $195,000 and on another page we find that value to be $116,000. It also shows it to be a 1-family house but the house has 0 living space! Maybe there’s an explanation for this?) Anyway, Rocco Crimeni co-owns the property with Nicola Crimeni (apparently his brother) and to listen to their story and compare it to the tax records is like, well, it’s like pure steaming bullshit. The original assessment was on a full market value of $195,000 which was assessed by Bennett at $145,000 for the 2 acres and the house. After the BAR heard Mr. Crimeni’s sad story we find that the assessment for the 2 acres and the house was reduced to a full market value of $119,298, and an assessed value for 2018 of $85,000, total tax bill of $ ??? The final assessment is $85,000, a total reduction of $60,000 !!! Great job, Ms Degnen and company!

Just for kicks and giggles, here are a couple of excerpts from the Crimeni hearing:

Crimeni: There was a trailer on the property and it burned down because of a wood stove we had there.

Crimeni: We purchased an Amish house for $38,000…the Amish people built it…it’s a shell…We’re finishing it ourselves.

Crimeni: We’re not rich people … the disparity in Mr. Bennett’s assessment is tremendous…We have a house on Long Island…and the taxes are $8000…

Degnen: You said it was a shed…[Editor’s Note: Crimeni did not say it was a “shed”, he said it was a “shell”! Degnan makes many such mistakes throughout the hearings. Is she hard of hearing or just demented?]…What are the dimensions?

Crimeni: 26 x 28, 2-story…We don’t have the money to finish it.

Degnen: Are you living there now? [Editor’s Note: Apparently Degnen missed the part where Crimeni says he lives on Long Island. She also hasn’t done her homework or she would know that Crimeni’s primary address is on Lace Lane, Westbury, NY!!!] … Do you have water and electricity? [Again, Degnen, homework? Familiarity with properties?]

BAR Member: Do you have the amounts of houses near you…did you bring the houses near you? [Editor’s Note: Apparently the BAR member is asking if Crimeni has any comparables, that is, information on similar properties in New Baltimore. The BAR member should know she should have these or could get them online in a couple of seconds. We did! In fact, if you go to the Greene County link we provided, enter the tax map number and go to the property page, you’ll be able to see the comparables for the property. Here’s the page for the Crimeni property:  Comparables.]

Crimeni: We ran out of money…We don’t have no money … We can’t afford this … [Editor’s Note: Here comes the best one: ] … We don’t live up here!

Hi, I’m the village crazy lady, and I’m on the Board of Assessment Review.

Now don’t you just have to sit down and cry hearing a story like Crimeni’s? Well, he apparently tugged at the heart-strings of the BAR because they allowed him a $60,000 reduction in his assessment, no questions asked!!!

For your information, you can find out any information you want on Greene County properties on the Greene County online property tax site, SDG Mate Online, and can search by property tax map number, owner’s name, etc. It’s all public access and available to anyone who is interested. Here’s the site link: Greene County Property Tax Info .

We could go on with the remaining 6 properties that received similar reductions but we’ve made our point. There’s something really wrong in the New Baltimore Assessor’s Office and on the New Baltimore Board of Assessment Review and it needs fixing. We think it’s corruption and collusion because there’s no rhyme, reason, or fair play in these determinations. Here’s why:

Two properties on New Street in the Hamlet have been the subject of a great deal of anxiety and discussion because since late 2016, severe damage was identified. In the one case, runoff from the street caused the collapse of the building foundation, making it unusable. Then Town supervisor Nick Dellisanti (now Deputy Town Supervisor) and then Deputy Town Supervisor Jeff Ruso (now Town Supervisor), together with Town Board member Shelly van Etten, personally inspected the site and identified a number of problems. Two days later Dellisanti, Ruso, and then Highway Superintendent Denis Jordan and Deputy Highway Superintendent Scott van Wormer visited the site and confirmed the same problems. After that the New Baltimore Highway Department created new problems and the Town was served with a number of Notices of Claim for the damage. In 2017, the Highway Department and Callanan paved New Street and created a mess. We won’t go into details here but if you want details go to our article: “New Baltimore Superintendent of Highways and Board to be Sued – AGAIN!”

Dellisanti and Ruso’s game was “deny and hide,” handing the matter over to the town’s insurance company and their lawyers. Town Law would allow the town to make out-of-court compensation to the owner subject to the approval of a NYS Supreme Court judge but NO! they’d rather force the already traumatized owner to have to go to court and then to the poorhouse. That’s Republican fair play, apparently. No one in Town Hall wants to admit the wrong done. In fact, Dellisanti’s personal notes of a discussion with then Superintendent Jordan records that Jordan’s response to the resident’s request for a meeting was, “Let them sue us!” Apparently Dellisanti and Ruso agreed.

The owner of the property continued paying his taxes like a good citizen even though he couldn’t use the property and the damage was continuing because the Highway Department didn’t know what they were doing and Dellisanti and Ruso didn’t either – or they didn’t have the balls to go after Jordan directly. So the property owner requested a reduction in taxes on the collapsing building and the other impaired property, and appeared before the New Baltimore Board of Assessment Review with a complete written history of the case and numerous photographs showing the damage.

The problems first began when New Baltimore Sole Assessor refused to provide the members of the Board of Assessment Review with copies of the property owners request saying, “It’s not our responsibility.” But it is his responsibility to provide the BAR with copies of all complaints, it’s in the Real Property Tax Law!!! At the Grievance Day hearing, Gordan handed the four members present ONE copy, his file copy, of the requests for reduction of assessment on two properties. The hearing was a complete mess, confusion, the BAR couldn’t follow the conversation and Degnen kept on saying, “That’s not our problem. You have to go to the Highway Department,” and had to be repeatedly reminded that the information was being provided for background only, so the Board would understand the history of the problem. Degnen just couldn’t get it. The rest of the Board had no idea what the property was.  By the way, New York Real Property Tax Law requires the Board of Assessment Review to be familiar with the properties they are considering. They were not, which was obvious already in the Hales, Brant and Crimeni cases.

The bottom line: The New Baltimore Board of Assessment Review made all their decisions that evening, during the 4 hours they were hearing 11 case presentations, and did not adjourn to reconsider additional information, did not go into executive session to discuss any details of any property, as they should have done, did not request additional information, and refused to inspect the property. They approved 9 out of the 11 cases for reductions of between $12,000-$60,000, properties whose owners simply thought they were being taxed (Hales, Brant, Crimini) but the properties that were damaged and destroyed because of Town of New Baltimore negligence got NO CHANGE!!!

The Town of New Baltimore, the Office of the Assessor, and the Board of Assessment Review refuse to respond to inquiries or to answer communications on the subject. New Baltimore public servants at work, it seems. Any questions? You won’t get answers from Town Supervisor Mr. Jeff Ruso, Deputy Supervisor Nick Dellisanti, Highway Committee member Shelly van Etten, Sole Assessor Mr. Bennett, or Board of Assessment Review Chairperson, Donna Degnen.

The board is made up of five appointees including: Donna Degnan, Linda LeClair, Ronna Smith, Lynn Taylor, and This year, the members of the  Board of Assessment Review, chose Donna Degnen to be the chair. The fifth member, Bernard “Bernie” Jones was absent on Grievance Day.

The members of the BAR receive $200 each, and the chair, Ms Degnen, $250, with an additional $50 per meeting for meetings beyond two meetings. So that came out to about $50.00/hr for each of the members of the BAR for the 4-hour Grievance Day hearings. Degnen received an additional $50.00. Total for Grievance Day circus appearances: at least $1050.00 to give away almost $300,000 in property tax reductions, the majority of which were totally unsubstantiated if you listen to the tapes!

The Board of Assessment Review and the Office of the Sole Assessor are just as indifferent and incompetent as the Office of the Supervisor and the New Baltimore Town Board.

We have obtained the taped recordings of the proceedings of the Grievance Day hearings before the Board and can only say that the bowel sounds in a special ed class would make more sense than what we had to listen to in the tapes. Degnen was dithering and the rest seemed intent on making their presence and importance known by asking irrelevant and generally uninformed questions. None of the four Board members were familiar with any of the properties presented. Just a minute, one member, Linda LeClair, was the only member who showed any interest in the properties and the only member who had personal knowledge of a property. That’s a very poor showing.

But the Board did hear presentations on a total of 11 properties and granted reductions in 9 of them. Two properties, one literally collapsing and unusable and the other defaced by former Highway Superintendent Denis Jordan’s incompetence, were left unchanged, despite comprehensive exhibits and a clearly well-founded presentation. We think that there’s some collusion/conspiracy with the Town of New Baltimore and the BAR to avoid admitting any damage to the two properties, since, if any department or agency of the Town of New Baltimore admits the severe damage to the properties, it will cause havoc in Town Hall. Town Hall has been ignoring the damage and trying to discourage the owner from demanding compensation in their usual way, that is, let their insurance company lawyers make any court case impossibly expensive. That’s New Baltimore Town Hall at work. They ask for residents’ votes and then send them to the poorhouse when something goes wrong and the resident asks the Town to be fair and evenhanded. It’s a lousy system.

Several of the 9 reductions stand out as particularly loathsome and examples of the corruption in small town appointed committees. But first of all, let’s look at some general facts:

The assessments in New Baltimore are done on the basis of the Full Market Value and an Equalization Rate is applied. The Equalization Rate is a percentage that is applied to the Full Market Value to arrive at the assessed value. In New Baltimore this year the ER is 71.25% which means that the assessed value of properties this year is 71.25% of the Full Market Value. That’s legit in our estimation. But that’s were the legitimacy stops cold.

The total value of the properties is divided into two items: the land value and the property value (living area, etc.). The problems start with the Sole Assessor’s, Mr. Bennett’s method for determining the land value, which has absolutely no rhyme or reason and, in Bennett’s own words, the basis for determining the land value is, “Because it’s easier.” “Easier?” Yes, it’s easier to just apply a random value per acre than doing an actual calculation. It’s easier for Bennett.

Here are some examples:

In the Town of New Baltimore, Bennett has assigned land values to comparable properties as shown in the examples below:

The wide discrepancy in the Sole Assessor’s land values is one example of a huge irregularity.

The chart shows properties that are in the same area of the town, actually the Hamlet, but if you look at the land assessment, compare it to the acreage, and then to the per acre assessment, you’ll see why we are so up in arms about Bennett’s crazy assessments! They just don’t make sense! How can the land value of a property of 0.18 acre be assessed the same amount as a property of 1.03 acres, that is, a land value of $11,000??? Then have a look at the difference in the proportional value (last column) per acre!

A property on S. Main Street in New Baltimore of 0.05 acre (Total assessment: $56,700, Land assessment: $9,600) has a proportional price per acre of $192,000!!! WTF?!?!

We’ve written to Mr. Bennett several times and he refuses to answer. We’ve also complained to New Baltimore Town Supervisor Jeff Ruso about the fact that his employees and appointees refuse to answer inquiries but he’s refused to respond as well. It appears that when New Baltimore officials feel the heat of unpleasant questions, they tend to hide or ignore questions. (See Ruso’s comments regarding the resident’s letter, above.)

What’s even worse is the fact that the Board of Assessment Review was very generous in granting their friends handsome reductions, while denying reductions to touchy properties, like ones that are impaired because of Town incompetence. Here are the results of the Board’s “deliberations”:

The Board’s reductions ranged from $0 – $120,000 but there’s no logic; the stories behind the reductions are, however, very troubling. For example:

Brant is the developer who has the property on 9W, just behind the New Baltimore Family Dentistry buildings. Brant is a developer and has been planning to develop the property to put in some sort of housing project. He’s complaining because he feels his property is being overassessed. So, moneybags Brant pulls on the heart strings of the Board and they give him a reduction in assessment of $25,000.

Another property owner, Spence, is apparently interested in selling the property but wants a reduction in assessment for some reason. So the board hands Spence a reduction of $12,000.

But the worst example we have to offer from our investigations, listening to the hearing tapes, and reviewing the documents produced by the New Baltimore Board of Assessment Review and their determinations is a property owned by a downstater, Mr. Cremini and his partner:

Cremini owns a primary residence in Long Island and 2 acres in New Baltimore, where he and his partner a building a weekend home, which is livable and has electricity and water. Cremini is crying the blues because his assessment is “too” high. He pays about $8,000 in property tax on hi primary residence in Long Island and, convinced the Board that he can’t afford the taxes on his New Baltimore property. So the board reduces his assessment by $60,000!!!! Cremini lives in a primary residence on Long Island, can afford to own more than 2 acres and a house in New Baltimore, cries poverty and the Board reduces his assessment by $60,000!!! Of course, Mr. Bennett agrees.

Another property got a $12,000 reduction. Go figure.

Of course, the Board of Assessment Review doesn’t response to our inquiries regarding the reasoning behind these reductions. But our information comes from the actual tape recordings of the hearings made by the Board, and from the official Order for Change in Assessments and the so-called “minutes” of the Board’s meeting.

Got questions? New Baltimore’s got secrets and no one is talking. But these are the facts, people.

 

Go to other articles in this mini-series on New Baltimore:

Open Letter Blasts New Baltimore Supervisor, Town Board over Jordan Affair

New Baltimore Town Supervisor Jeff Ruso and his Board: Hide and Deny

New Baltimore Sends “Acting Superintendent” to Highway School. Why?

The New Baltimore In-Justice Court and Kangaroo Judges: Thomas Meacham, A Case Study.

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Open Letter Blasts New Baltimore Supervisor, Town Board over Jordan Affair

New Baltimore Town Board Served with an Open Letter Exposing their Indifference and Negligence in Dealing with Malconduct and Incompetence of former Superintendent of Highways Denis Jordan Malconduct and of his Deputy Superintendent Scott van Wormer.

Letter Broils New Baltimore Town Supervisor and Town Board: Incompetent!

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An example of the abject stupidity and short-sightedness of the New Baltimore Town Board (Greene County, NY), the Greene County Independence Party, and the Greene County Republican Party is the fact that they are now circulating petitions to get Jordan’s Deputy Supervisor Scott van Wormer on the ballot to be elected to be Town of New Baltimore Superintendent of Highways. This is the same man who was hand-picked by the criminal Denis Jordan to be his deputy, his lacky, and the same man that stood by watching, and participating in Jordan’s unlawful activities and said and did nothing. It’s incredible that the Town of New Baltimore would even consider keeping him on the pay roll, much less out of jail, for not coming forward and exposing what was going on in the Highway Department under Jordan. Now they want to put his monkey in Jordan’s chair. Unbelievable!!!

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The New Baltimore Town Supervisor, Jeffrey “Jeff” Ruso (R), and The New Baltimore Town Board, Mr. Scott Brody, Ms Kelly Downes, Mr. Charles “Chuck” Irving, and Ms Shelly van Etten, were served with an Open Letter on Monday, July 9, 2018, by a local resident on behalf of several other New Baltimore residents and the community. The Letter does not paint a pretty picture of former Town Supervisor, now Ruso’s “Deputy Supervisor,” Nick Dellisanti (R), Town Supervisor, then “Deputy Supervisor,” Jeffrey Ruso’s, or the Town Board’s performance over the last several years of former New Baltimore Supervisor Denis Jordan’s alleged unlawful activities in the Town at taxpayer expense. Jordan was forced to resign under investigation by several agencies.

Also mentioned in the letter is Greene County District Attorney, Joseph Stanzione, claims to be investigating Jordan and his activities, but is just as weak in making a statement as Ruso or Dellisanti. The local Democraps may be backstabbing crooks but the local Repukelicans are backstabbing cowards, it appears.

The Letter refers to the June 12, 2018, by Columbia-Greene Media (CGM) reporter Richard Moody that appeared in the CGM newspaper, the Daily Mail, in which Mr. Moody reports on Jordan’s resignation, the investigation of the New Baltimore Highway Department, the New Baltimore Town Board’s glossing over the situation, and District Attorney Stanzione’s understatement. (Read the entire article ‘New Baltimore highway superintendent resigns; department under investigation.”)

The Letter also provides a so-called Memorandum of Law which points out all of the state laws that provide the Town Board with the powers to have prevented and avoided, or at least curbed Jordan’s devastating activities in the Town but which the Board and Town Attorney Tal Rappelea, as well as DA Stanzione ignored.

The Smalbany Blog was cc’d with the letter and we are providing it in its entirety for our readers’ information (See the link at the end of this article.).

Here are some excerpts from the Letter:

The letter starts out setting the tone by describing what can fairly be said to apply to most of the local municipalities in the Capital District (Albany, New York) region:

“Many of us in this Town of New Baltimore are angry and fed up with the corruption, indifference, back-scratching, cronyism, and lack of integrity in our local Town officers and employees. It’s a country club of log-rollers, and the residents and voters are being handed the dirty end of the stick.”

The Letter rightly tars and feather’s Town Supervisor Jeff Ruso at several points, but we’d like to include also former Supervisor Nick Dellisanti, now Ruso’s “deputy supervisor,” in the statement:

“Mr. Ruso, you are blowing more than smoke when you evasively stated, “It’s more like he retired.” It’s me, Harold W. Vadney, you are facing now, and you know I know the truth and the background to former Supervisor Nick Dellisanti’s and your own stormy relationship with Mr. Jordan.”

In the article, mealy-mouthed Ruso tells the reporter, “It’s more like he retired…” But Jordan didn’t “retire,” he resigned and he resigned under investigation by both the Office of the New York State Comptroller and the Greene County District Attorney! The author of the Letter correctly observes:

“If he “resigned,” there would be a clear and substantial reason for his resignation. If he resigned, the taxpayers of this community and the voters need to know the reasons. He is, or was an elected public figure; the public has a right to know. The reasons given by Mr. Ruso are not reasons; they are speculation. They’re also very weak-minded and are a slap in the public’s face.

“Do I need to inform you, Mr. Ruso, members of the Board, that there is a vast difference between “retiring,” Mr. Ruso, and “resigning.” The implications of “retiring” or “resigning” for the individual and to the Town and taxpayers is enormous.”

The general impression made by Supervisor Ruso, and Town Board member “Charles” Chuck Irving, who states in the article, ““All I know is that he resigned,” and the author of the Letter sharply but accurately notes:

“How can it be true that the very people sitting at the table before us didn’t know a thing about what was going on in the Town. That’s reprehensible! That’s simply unbelievable. What are you hiding and whom are you protecting. My guess is you’re hiding your own culpability and negligence in allowing this charade of local government to get to this stage in the first place, and the ones you are protecting are yourselves, for your negligence and indifference!”

This blog has reported for years and has directly contacted the New Baltimore Town Supervisor, the Highway Department and members of the Town Board about former Superintendent of Highways Jordan’s unlawful and unprofessional activity and incompetence, so it’s a very true statement when the Letter strongly criticizes Ruso and the Board with some strong words:

“Mr. Ruso, you are quoted as having said that “The Town is not investigating.” How can the Town be so negligent and indifferent as not to have investigated. The Town has been served with at least 4 Notices of Claim citing the Town of New Baltimore, the Town Board of New Baltimore, the New Baltimore Highway Department, Highway Superintendent Jordan, and all that the Town does is ship the Notices of Claim off to the Town’s insurance company, who then ships them off to a law firm, who then proceeds to protect the insurance company’s interests while trampling the rights of Town residents and taxpayers! Is that how you serve this community and its residents? Is that what we elected you people to do? You avoid fair play, justice, and your fiduciary obligations to residents and taxpayers in this Town? You beg for our votes and then you defecate on us!”

and

“Your statement, Mr. Supervisor, that the “Town is not investigating Jordan,” is an embarrassment and an admission of neglect, indifference and incompetence on the part of the office of the New Baltimore Supervisor and the Town Board.”

We have to ask the same question that the author of the Letter asks when he questions that if outside agencies are investigating the New Baltimore Highway Department, how can it be possible that the Supervisor, Jeff Ruso, and the entire Town Board of New Baltimore know nothing about the investigations? That’s a classic example of a bare-faced lie!!!

“Furthermore, and an even more scurrilous and specious evasion of your duties and responsibilities, Mr. Supervisor and members of the Town Board, is the statement, the indictment of you all in fact, that “If there are outside authorities investigating, I would not know about that?” Isn’t it your job to know about that, sir? And isn’t it your jobs to know about that, ladies and gentlemen of the Board?… It was YOU, Sir, ladies and gentlemen, and your predecessors’ duty to have investigated Mr. Jordan, but you were derelict in that duty, and now you are playing ignorant and innocent. But we know better, don’t we?”

The author of the Letter wipes Supervisor Ruso, former Supervisor Dellisanti’s and the entire New Baltimore Town Board’s faces in doggy doo, and doesn’t for a moment forget the disservice and incompetence, even malpractice of Town Attorney Tal Rappelea, when the author cites numerous provisions of New York state law and authoritative legal opinion to show how incompetent and indifferent the Supervisors, Town Board, and the New Baltimore Town Attorney, Tal Rappelea, were when turning their backs on the residents and taxpayers of New Baltimore.

“…[New York state] Town Law provides you with every possible opportunity to have taken charge of Jordan’s activities, to provide relief and compensation to the residents and taxpayers whose properties were damaged by Jordan’s incompetence and negligence — and I might add, the Town’s indifference and complicity in Jordan’s malfeasance —, and the means to have removed Jordan, and even to have made Jordan personally liable for any provable damage or waste he might have caused. It’s all provided in the New York State Town Law and New York State Highway Law…”

Far be it from the author of the Letter to leave it at that! He actually provides the Town Supervisor and the Board with a so-called Memorandum of Law listing and explaining the provisions of law that were available to the Supervisor and the Board, but were ignored!!! (Memorandum of Law re Hwy Super and Hwy Dept.)

“Then and now the Town Supervisor and Board played the three-monkey-game: See no evil. Hear no evil. Speak no evil. Good for monkeys but pretty shoddy practice for an elected supervisor and elected board members who have the power and authority to have eliminated evil or at least to have controlled it, but refused to do so, while aiding and abetting it to the detriment of taxpayers and residents.”

It is clear that the entire Town of New Baltimore operation is a failure, and that the corruption and incompetence, the abuse and indifference was not and is not restricted to the Town Highway Department and its crook Superintendent; New Baltimore Town Hall is infected through and through.

“But the abuse and indifference goes beyond our elected Supervisor, Town Board, Superintendent of Highways, and extends to our appointees and employees. The Code Enforcement Officer, the Sole Assessor, and the tax-paid Board of Assessment Review all have refused to budge when it means doing what’s right.”

The author doesn’t leave the abuses and violations at New York State Town Law and Highway Law, he accuses the Town elected and appointed officers, Town Supervisor Ruso, former Supervisor Nick Dellisanti, Superintendent Denis Jordan, and others of violations of civil and constitutional rights and violation of their oaths of office!

“Let’s now move from your ethical and moral dereliction, from your administrative failure, beyond your violations of tort and contract law, to some violations of some US and New York constitutional violations, which you also managed to accrue.”

A very appropriate and brief final paragraph sums up the author’s challenge and his demands on behalf of residents, taxpayers and the community of New Baltimore:

“Mr. Supervisor, Mr. Deputy Supervisor, ladies and gentlemen of the New Baltimore Town Board, Mr. Jordan may be gone but the spectre of his acts and omissions haunts this Town Hall; Jordan may be gone but we still have the wounds and scars inflicted by his incompetence and indifference. The question remains: What do you intend to do to cure the injustice and to heal the wounds?

The Town of New Baltimore is just one sorry, pitiful example of the rampant corruption and incompetence that we find in our local elected officials and town halls. The nit-wits that stroll through our communities around election day campaigning, smiling, promising, begging for votes, once in office screw the daylights out of residents, voters and taxpayers. We all become invisible until the tax bills come rolling out. The Jordan affair was allowed to happen. It was allowed to happen because New Baltimore Town Hall allowed it to happen. It was allowed to happen because the gutless cowards working with Jordan were ignorant, stupid and indifferent to the unlawful and unprofessional conduct that was happening right under their dirty noses and overhanging bellies!

It’s worthwhile to repeat the Letter’s last paragraph and ask the Town Board, Mr. Ruso, Mr. Dellisanti, Mr. van Wormer how they are going to repair the emotional, psychological, physical and fiscal damage done by Jordan and his deputy van Wormer, and how the Town of New Baltimore is going to make those who suffered damage during Jordan’s term whole again?

“Mr. Jordan may be gone but the spectre of his acts and omissions haunts this Town Hall; Jordan may be gone but we still have the wounds and scars inflicted by his incompetence and indifference. The question remains: What do you intend to do to cure the injustice and to heal the wounds?”

The letter was distributed to the Town of New Baltimore and the Town Clerk was requested to distribute the Letter to the Supervisor and the members of the New Baltimore Town Board on July 9, 2018, in time for the regular public meeting of the Town Board. The letter was also copied to the Smalbany Blog, to the publisher of Columbia-Greene Media, LLC, Mr. Mark Vinciguerra, the editor of the Daily Mail, Ms Mary Dempsey, Greene County DA Joseph Stanzione, and the Office of the New York State Comptroller, Office of Local Government.

Mr. Patrick “Pat” Linger, Republican/Independence Party Greene County Legislator representing the Town of New Baltimore, was copied separately, as was New York State senator Mr. George Amedore, representating New Baltimore, and who we cited in an earlier article for his irresponsibility in channeling money into the Jordan highway department, taxpayer dollars that were completely squandered under Amedore’s nose (See our article, “George Amedore, NY State Senator for 46th District, Needs to do Some Homework“), the Town Boards, and at least two Town Supervisors’noses (Dellisanti and Ruso), as well as on the watch of county legislator Patrick “Pat” Linger and Greene County DA, Joseph Stanzione.

They’re Running for Election and the Petitions are Circulating

Please sign my petition…give me your vote!

They’ve come out of the woodwork again and are asking you for your support and your vote. What are you going to do? Just sit there with your thumbs up your butts as usual?

Patrick “Pat” Linger is running for re-election in November, as is Jordan’s former deputy (Jordan replaced him when A. van Wormer ran against Jordan), Alan van Wormer (Jordan’s Deputy Highway Superintendent Scot van Wormer’s brother), who is now running on the Republican/Independence Party ticket for the office of Superintendent of Highways. And you thought Ravena was the only community with an established incest tradition? We say that house needs cleaning. The house needs fumigating to get the stink and the vermin out. Remember all of this on election day. We’ll be there to remind you.

Thank you for reading and becoming active in cleaning of the Town of New Baltimore.

Something stinks in New Baltimore Town Hall and in the Greene County DA’s Office. What’s that smell?

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Click on the links below to read the original documents.

• Jordan Resignation_Public Statement 9July18 Letter
• Memorandum of Law re Hwy Super and Hwy Dept

 

Why You Should Avoid Ravena-Coeymans and New Baltimore, New York

Among so many other scandals and secrets, we now learn thru the media that the depressed village Ravena in the depraved Town of Coeymans (New York) may be getting garbage from Connecticut. Long-time polluter and environmental disaster LaFarge cement may be accepting tons of Connecticut garbage for burning in Ravena! According to an article in Hudson Valley 360, the online version of the Register Start and the Daily Mail, “A proposal is under consideration in the state of Connecticut that if enacted, could bring 116,000 tons of trash to the LafargeHolcim cement plant for burning each year.” Of course, everyone from the Lafarge spokesperson to corrupt Coeymans Town Supervisor Phil Crandall and his lackey, town board member Tom Dolan, plead ignorant, “We are not informed.” But the plan, according to the media, means that the Ravena plant could be burning 116,000 tons of solid waste every year in the near future. But local officials know nothing about this, of course. Aren’t they supposed to be aware of what’s going on in the town? (When the construction of the new kilns was announced nothing was said about burning garbage!)

[Read more at: Connecticut’s trash may be headed to Lafarge (Hudson Valley 360), and at Proposed solid waste removal plan could mean Conn. waste comes to Ravena (News 10 online)]

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Infrastructure is crumbling. Real estate is plummeting and deteriorating. Tax base is dwindling. The ignorant still elect the ignorant…

Coeymans has a disgraced former town justice (Phil Crandall (D), Coeymans Town Supervisor), at least two former prison guards (guess what their attitude is to dissent or opinions), and a known bully used car salesman (Jim Youmans (D)), plus their cronies and friends (Cindy Rowzee (D), Crandall’s former “confidential secretary,” as Town Clerk, in key town government positions. Coeymans Town Hall has become the backwater, hill town version of corrupt Tamany Hall.

 New Baltimore has an illiterate, barely high-school educated, but highly paid dolt, Denis Jordan (D), with no formal training training  and no continuing education course, serving as Town Superintendent of Highways (Denis Jordan). Jordan ignores the New Baltimore Town Board and the New Baltimore Town Board — even though they have a Repubican majority on the board –— takes it up the bottom and does nothing to discipline Jordan or to protect residents and their property from Jordan’s incompetence.

When the New Baltimore Town Supervisor complained of anal irritation, this x-ray showed what appears to be Denis Jordan’s foot.

There’s little or no hope for justice in these backwater towns, either. It’s no wonder, though. The New York State Unified Court System (everything but unified) and New York state law requires a town justice to have only a high-school equivalency education and does not require legal training to be a town or village justice. The fact that town and village justices are elected locally, and because the standards for education and training of the judges are so abysmally low, the courts in the area are just as corrupt as the town boards, and local law enforcement. In the Greene County town of Cairo, one town justice, Leland Miller, takes his orders from the attorneys appearing in the court. So much for judicial impartiality. And New Baltimore has two incompetent town justices (Joseph A. Farrell Jr and Thomas J. Meacham, highly questionable ethics and courtroom conduct). Coeymans town supervisor Phillip Crandall, was removed from the bench and forced to resign from his elected position as a town justice and had to promise never to run for judicial office again! A judge disgraced for doing illegal favors for friends. But he then ran for the office of Coeymans town supervisor and was elected! And in 2017 re-elected by Coeymans voters!!! So Coeymans thinks that a dishonest town justice makes a great Town Supervisor? Apparently!

Incest may be illegal everywhere but in Ravena-Coeymans, shyster Michael Biscone can fix it for you.

Ravena doesn’t fare much better when it comes to a village court. Harold “Hal” Warner, a former Albany cop who was taken off the street because of civil rights abuses, and put behind a desk until he could collect his pension — That’s how they do it locally: We take our criminals out of the public’s eye, put them somewhere until they can collect their pensions! There’s a lot of local incest and Ravena, apart from its inbred native population, practices incest in public office, too. Old judge “civil rights abuser” Hal Warner’s wife, Nancy Warner, is a “village trustee” — we wouldn’t trust her with a bowl of cat food; she’d probably want to sell it — The village court is supervised by Mrs Hal, who, by the way would hyphenate her name as Biscone-Warner; she’s a member of a local incest tribe, the Biscones, who appear in public either as crooked real estate agents (Josephine Bruno) selling you local dump properties or as corrupt lawyers (Michael Biscone) who do your real estate work for you with their cousins, the real estate agents. Incest may be illegal everywhere but in Ravena-Coeymans, Michael Biscone can fix it for you. (Michael Biscone’s claim to partial masculinity, — he hasn’t seen that part of his anatomy in decades — is the fact that he claims to drive a “Bentley,” a fact he won’t let locals forget. He’s apparently on everyone’s payroll both over the table and under the table.)

When Coeymans Town Supervisor Phil Crandall complained of similar anal irritation, the x-ray showed his head inserted into his rectum!

Elected government? Forget about it. Where Coeymans has a pack of crooks on their board, New Baltimore has a one-party system for supervisor, and other elected offices: The No-Balls Party. Houses are going up for sale in unbelievable numbers in Ravena, Coeymans and New Baltimore. Property owners can’t get out of these backwater towns fast enough. What doesn’t sell gets either burned down or demolished. It’s a ghost town in the making.

Infrastructure is crumbling. Real estate is plummeting and deteriorating. Tax base is dwindling and the tax burden is falling on the few who are attempting to ride out the storm of mismanagement, corruption, and general incompetence in local government. And you wonder why?

Ravena’s mayor, William “Mouse” Misuraca, was elected by his bar room buddies and bar customers.

What can we say about the village of Ravena? Well, not much. What applies to the Town of New Baltimore and the Town of Coeymans applies equally well to the village of Ravena and the Hamlet of Coeymans. Incompetence, apathy, ignorance, anxiety, crumbling infrastructure, corruption, croneyism, empty storefronts, hemorrhaging businesses and population. Absolutely no vision in village hall. Ravena’s mayor, William “Mouse” Misuraca, was elected by his bar room buddies and customers — the mayor owns one of the local bars — and previously had tax problems so he qualified for local elected office. He’s done nothing for Ravena but plenty for his bar business: Everyone likes to have the mayor pouring his liquor, opening his bottle of beer. His honor William “Mouse” Misuraca! You can’t make this stuff up, people!

Vote for Mayor Mouse Misuraca (or buy 10 beers) and get a Mouse shirt!

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Law enforcement in the Town of Coeymans and the Town of New Baltimore can easily be called “Cold Case Criminal Investigation” because you can hand the Coeymans Police Department and the Greene County Sheriff the hottest of evidence and they’ll let it chill until it goes cold. Chilling a case takes less effort and is less expensive than working it, maybe even prosecuting it. But then, the Albany County District Attorney, racist P. David Soares, and the Greene County District Attorney, Joe “Stagnant” Stanzione, as the chief law-enforcement officers in their counties, play the party game, they’re logrollers, country-club members in their respective parties. Don’t rock the boat! Don’t go after friends of “friends.” And you’ll likely be elected for life. Same thing for Albany County Sheriff Craig Apple and Green County Sheriff Greg Seeley, who both play by the party’s rules and stay in office. Corruption? Do ya think so?

Search this blog. For more than five (5) years we’ve been investigating and reporting on the craziness in Ravena, Coeymans, New Baltimore. We have hundreds of thousands of readers. State and local government officials, even the FBI, read this blog, yet the situation gets worse and worse with each election! Why is that we have to ask?

“I don’t get involved in local politics.”

The ignorance is staggering. When discussing — rather attempting to discuss — the local situation with a fairly evolved local (We know that because he was walking on his hind legs, upright!), he responded: “I don’t get involved in local politics.” Well that explains a lot!

It’s a pitiful situation but no one wants to admit the fact that we are in a crumbling, corrupt and indifferent vicious cycle of political parties, NO!, not parties, one political party the Self-Serving Party (or in the service of the Corporations, who then show their “appreciation”). Our politicians, or more accurately, our local wannabe politicians hold carrots on a stick dangling in front of the dumbass sheep (local residents, “potential” voters), and the dumbass sheep (We repeat: local residents, “potential” voters), follow the carrot wherever the lying sacks of dung (= our local wannabe politicians) want them to move. The fascist political party committees pick the candidates and the voters can make their choice between two or more evils, the final choice being evil by default. That’s what our democracy has become. And you sing your stupid carols and shout Happy Holidays, ringing in a New Year with depravity and debauchery, making resolutions you have no intention of keeping — and you try to deny that the coming year, the New Year, will be different from the Old Year. You’ve been deceived so often for so long that you’ve gotten to the point of deceiving yourself, and you don’t even know it. Business as usual in 2018. And Town Hall butters their bread while telling the starving masses, “Eat cake!”

Can you find yourself in this group photo?

The mob has control of the entire floor of Town Hall

When you look back on 2017, do I have to spell it out for you? What do you see? Well, in 2015 Coeymans elected a bunch of recycled losers to occupy Coeymans town hall. Phil Crandall and his mob of morons, Jim Youmans, Tom Dolan, all losers, made life miserable for the decent public servants, Coeymans Police Chief P.J. McKenna and Town Clerk Diane Millious. In 2017, Crandall was re-elected (or was he?) by the Coeymans villain voters. Crandall’s “confidential secretary,” Cindy Rowzee,  was elected by those same villainous voters to take over the Town Clerk’s office. Diane Millious after more than a quarter century serving the Coeymans community had had enough, had suffered enough abuse from Crandall and Youmans, two scurrilous bullies, and had shed enough tears.So they drove an honest town clerk out and installed a fixture from the corrupt supervisor’s office. Now the mob has control of the entire floor of Town Hall.

The Coeymanites handed their community over to the Coeymanazis!

The Hamlet of Coeymans is a social welfare slum. Run down buildings, abandoned buildings. Buildings being demolished at an alarming rate. Lost tax base; overtaxing those who are stupid enough to remain in what is a textbook example of the American third world in the making. Corrupt Town Hall, abuse of power, and a cowering community. Guess who’s to blame? The Coeymanites handed their community over to the Coeymanazis!

New Baltimore is just as bad. The Democrats served themselves and their friends for years. Now it’s the Republican’s turn. We say Democrats and Republicans but they are the same. For the past 4 years New Baltimore has been the Republican’s sandbox and they’ve done absolutely nothing to benefit taxpayers. The New Baltimore Town Board has proven that the fish stinks from the head down. New Baltimorons can pay their taxes to pay the freaks in the Highway Department to ruin their property, to devalue their real estate, even to create dangerous situations and then refuse to correct their defective work. The New Baltimore Town Board has the wherewithal to correct the situation — New York State Town Law actually gives the Board considerable power over the Highway Department — but when you got no balls and you have an incompetent town attorney advising you, the community suffers, that is, what’s left of the community.

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Editor’s Note: In our article New Baltimore Elections: No Choice. The Sequel.(Nov. 4, 2017) We called on New Baltimore voters to protest all unopposed candidates by withholding their votes for unopposed candidates. Again on November 6, 2017, we repeated our call for New Baltimore voters to withhold their votes for unopposed candidates (Election Day Recommendations. This is the moment of Truth!); we advised New Baltimore voters simply not to give unopposed candidates the numbers. On November 7, 2017, we published the election results for New Baltimore (Congratulations, New Baltimore! You did good!). Those results showed more than one-third of ballots cast did not vote for an unopposed candidate. Those numbers sent a very strong protest message to those candidates. It was a great response to our call to withhold votes from unopposed candidates and not to give them the numbers! One third of New Baltimore residents who voted did not vote for an unopposed candidate! Bravo for those voters! Then, in our article, Complacency is a Bad Thing…Especially in Local Government, published on November 10, 2017, we put local, county, and state officials on notice that we would be watching and reporting, warning that complacency and indifference would not be accepted, warning them to be on their guard. This article is to show that we have not let our guard down; we still have your back, neighbors!

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New Baltimore Town Board Meeting

New Baltimore would rather sit back and let their insurance company attorneys f**k with New Baltimore taxpayers

Even the higher state courts expect the Town Boards to take care of their own dirty laundry and to keep their incompetence out of the court system but New Baltimore would rather sit back and let their insurance company attorneys f**k with New Baltimore taxpayers — unless you’re a friend of New Baltimore Highway Superintendent Denis Jordan or, as the incumbent Republicans like to say, “Republicans take care of Republicans” — You pay your taxes and the town of New Baltimore uses the money to screw you, while taking their salaries, and padding their pensions. You get to pay attorneys until your money runs out and your home collapses around you. They’ll ruin your property but they’ll still send you a hefty tax bill. And you’ll still be liable for their debt service. Complain? Sure. They’ll send a letter telling you you have to appear before some board months later! But you’d better not be late paying your taxes! Or your dog license, they’ll hit you with a $5 surcharge or threaten you with court action. Small town government at its best!

Don’t give Coeymans Police trainee Amanda L. Mueller any attitude! Hooters in Coeymans PD!

A bunch of kids in uniform with too much power (little authority), and a bunch of bored, ignorant geezers “supervising” them…

Local Coeymans police department rookies go for the quick and the easy: traffic passing through their territories, while a blind eye is given to criminals and obstruction of justice within the department. Serious cases go cold because of indifference and incompetence in the police department. But seriously, can we expect more of boys and girls who are barely out of puberty, still have identity problems, have barely an education, no life experience, no real ability to make good decisions, and you put them in a uniform, pin a badge on them, give them a gun and IT’S PARTY TIME BACK IN HIGHSCHOOL BULLY LAND!!! That’s what we have in Coeymans right now: a bunch of kids in uniform with too much power (little authority), and a bunch of bored, ignorant geezers “supervising” them. Lord save us from ourselves…and our police!!! (See our article on Amanda L. Mueller, local rookie bully cop, at Coeymans Police Turning Into Coeymans Gestapo Again?)

Coeymans: Save money. Put children in uniform, turn them loose on the community.

The antiqaited, obsolete and incompetent town and village court system is a collection of ignorant, just barely high-school educated hicks in black robes, elected by their friends until they are sanctioned, censured, or removed by the State Commission on Judicial Conduct.

Mayor “Mouse” Misuraca
Village of Ravene, NY

Ravena is run by a local bar tender/gin mill owner, so-called mayor Bill “Mouse” Misuraca. Coeymans is run by a disgraced town justice, Phil Crandall, and several recycled politicians. Crandall, Coeymans town supervisor, was removed from his elected judgeship for ethics violations and doing favors for his friends. New Baltimore is a shambles, run by a bunch of balless board members, who can’t even get the town highway superintendent to keep reasonable records. New Baltimore has become a one-party town, where several elected officials, including the town supervisor, were “voted” into office this past election; the problem is that they were unopposed! There was no other candidate to choose! Local democratic process at work. (BTW, it was the Democratic party that was unable to cough up an opponent to the Republican incumbents.) Misuraca’s campaign slogan was lifted directly from the GOP (Republican) National Committee’s slogan, “Committed to Community,” but his administration is more committed to Misuraca’s bar room ego than to any notion of “community.” His campaign couldn’t even come up with a decent campaign slogan.

In the meanwhile, the infrastructure is crumbling and corruption abounds. New Baltimore Highway Superintendent Denis Jordan is doing favors for his friends using town equipment, but refusing to correct deficient and defective sewers and roads in the National Historic District.

Local Town Justice Presiding in Coeymans.
(George Dardiani or Thomas Frese (Dem))

Roads are shit, transportation is shit, local elected officials are shitheads and dumbasses, law enforcement are bullies or worse, judges are ignorant and the courts run by the lawyers. Ravena, Coeymans, New Baltimore have descended to below third world quality of life.

Local Town Justice Presiding in New Baltimore.
(Joseph Farrell or Thomas Meacham)

What left of families and what’s not “brown trash” or “white trash” is quickly vanishing as the children grow up, go on to their fake higher education, go deeply into debt for a third-rate education but can’t find jobs, struggle to pay back their student loans accrued for their third-rate education (generally because the academic standards in the RCS Central School District are so low, and the RCS CD Board of Education know nothing about education but love to spend money). Once the kids experience what it’s like in the outside world, no one has any plans to go back to their backwater hill-town home towns. They go elsewhere.

Local Village Justice in Ravena deciding a case.
(The notorious former Albany cop taken off the street and assigned a desk job for civil rights abuses, Harold Warner.)

As the children leave the area, what’s left are the parents, aging, miserable, and heavily taxed. Property taxes are some of the highest in the state and with the wild spending practices in the RCS school system — plenty of money for AstroTurf and sports field renovations, seasonal refreshment stand construction, and tennis courts but none for books — aging parents question the value of paying school taxes in a community where there are no children and for the third-world education for “brown” and “white” trash, or for snooty, “me-first” part-time parents (parents who split their time between their personal interests and parenting). The obvious solution: people are selling their homes and moving to areas where, if they must pay high taxes or taxes at all, they will at least get a reasonable quality of life and some public services in return.

The situation in the village of Ravena-, and the towns of Coeymans and New Baltimore merely reflect the general decline and the depressed atmosphere of the New York Capital Region. The whole region is, and has been for generations, rife with thievery and corruption. The corruption starts in the state capital, Albany, and from that nest of depravity, extends its loathesome tentacles out to surrounding communities, even crossing county lines into Schenectady, Rensselaer, Greene counties. It’s a mess.

The entire area has turned into a hippo farm

The unfortunate fact that the Ravenese, the Coeymanites, and the New Baltimorons (a term coined to describe their neighbors by Ghoul’s Gulch denizen, Joan Ross a.k.a. “Cut-and-Paste” Joan and her partner in vileness, “Bitter Bob” Ross, imports from depraved Albany) have to admit is that they owe all their problems and misfortunes to their ignorance and apathy. They could have it much better if they’d simply take an interest in their community instead of complaining and turning into ugly hippos. Yes, dear readers, The entire area has turned into a hippo farm. Depression leads to many things and one of them is a lousy diet, lack of ambition, and obesity.

Two locals having a chat

Ravena and Coeymans is a veritable hippo farm, a breeding ground for every ailment, mental and physical, that accompanies a depressed and apathetic community. And Albany Medical Center is right there to open up yet another EmUrgent Care location, the Walmart of the American healthcare system, where you can go and sit and wait to be seen by an incompetent physician’s assistant who will give you what you are looking for, a fake diagnosis and a prescription, you’ll pay and be on your way. Everyone’s happy: you got your fake diagnosis and prescription, the EmUrgent Care staff got their numbers and are rid of you until your condition worsens and you return for the ambulance ride to the Albany Medical Center emergency department where you will wait 14-20 hours to get a bed and, if you don’t die there, you’ll be dumped out on the street in a couple of days with another fake diagnosis and another useless prescription. Best healthcare system in the world — or so they tell us.

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The Bigger Picture

How we got here; where we’re going from here.

Life in the United States has become highly confused and superficial. Confused because the population is bombarded with conflicting and contradicting information from all sides, particularly the media. A general atmosphere of fear and anxiety is foisted upon the American people by everyone from the POTUS on down. Fear of North Korea. Fear of guns. Fear of shooters. Fear of aging. Fear of the cold and flu season. Fear of this or that product. Fear of the weather. Fear of fear.

The anxiety actually starts with fear of failure. Parents and the education system has failed to teach the value of failure as a learning tool. The result has been a downward spiral of expectations and standards to the extent that the education lie has become a reality. The young people graduating from our schools are dirt dumb. But they do know how to thumb-type and how to conceal a weapon so they can shake things up at school.

Albany High School. Once a place of learning the largely minority high school has become a place of violence, criminality, and police presence!

Take as an example the recent student fight phenomenon (See: Update: Albany High will close Friday after fights spilled into street) or weapons in school (See: Student with gun is arrested), as happened recently in Albany High School (Albany,, New York), a huge collection of kids of color (a fancy term for blacks and mixed-race youth) coming from disordered and angry homes, mostly single parent households, if that, who bring their anger and loneliness to school and start shooting or brutalizing each other. Once the shooting starts, the stampedes start. It was all caught on film and broadcast for all to see a week ago. The new entertainment, it seems. The new United States it is. Soon, the government’s first phase of destroying American values will have been concluded: those poorly educated, angry, young people will be churned out into a world that disparages them, a jobless world, a world full of the wrong passions and addictions, and they will likely perpetuate their anger and misery. They will all be churned out not with competencies and confidence but a sense of arrogance and entitlement; self-destructive and depleting.

George Orwell painted a very accurate picture of the world back in 1948, when he penned his prophetic novel, “1984.” It’s all coming true. Then there was Aldous Huxley’s novel “Brave New World,” and  the film “Soylent Green.”

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Editor’s Note: Since our schools do not teach literature any longer, and people don’t read real books, being too wrapped up with Facebook and Twitter, truncated, abbreviated virtuality, I’m going to proved a brief synopsis of these novels for our readers:

Brave New World (Aldous Huxley, 1932). The author describes a world, in which citizens are engineered through artificial wombs and childhood indoctrination programs into predetermined classes (or castes) based on intelligence and labor. Lenina Crowne, a hatchery worker, is popular and sexually desirable, but Bernard Marx, a psychologist, is not. He is shorter in stature than the average member of his high caste, which gives him an inferiority complex. His work with sleep-learning allows him to understand, and disapprove of, his society’s methods of keeping its citizens peaceful, which includes their constant consumption of a soothing drug called soma. Courting disaster, Bernard is vocal and arrogant about his criticisms, and his boss contemplates exiling him to Iceland because of his nonconformity. His only friend is Helmholtz Watson, a gifted writer who finds it difficult to use his talents creatively in their pain-free society.

Nineteen-Eighty-Four (“1984”) (George Orwell, 1948).  As literary political fiction and dystopian science-fiction, Nineteen Eighty-Four is a classic novel in content, plot, and style. Many of its terms and concepts, such as Big Brother, doublethink, thoughtcrime, Newspeak, Room 101, telescreen, 2 + 2 = 5, and memory hole, have entered into common use since its publication in 1949 (A complete glossary of “Newspeak“can be found at Newspeak. Nineteen Eighty-Four popularized the adjective Orwellian, which describes official deception, secret surveillance, brazenly misleading terminology, and manipulation of recorded history by a totalitarian or authoritarian state. There’s a great online study guide for “1984” but we think it might be interesting for our readers to first check out the Themes page. It’s an interesting read.

Soylent Green (Film directed by Richard Fleischer, 1973). The 20th century’s industrialization led to overcrowding, pollution and global warming due to the greenhouse effect. In 2022, 40 million people live in New York City; housing is dilapidated; homeless people fill the streets; many are unemployed; those few with jobs are only barely scraping by and food and working technology are scarce with most of the population surviving on rations produced by the Soylent Corporation. Their latest product is Soylent Green, a green wafer advertised to contain “high-energy plankton” from the World Ocean, more nutritious and palatable than its predecessors “Red” and “Yellow” but in short supply. The main characters are New York City Police Department detective Frank Thorn, who lives with his aged friend and police analyst, Solomon “Sol” Roth. Fast foward to the end: Roth is so disgusted with his degraded life in a degraded world that he seeks assisted suicide at a government clinic. Thorn rushes to stop him, but arrives too late. Roth is mesmerized by the euthanasia process’ visual and musical montage – extinct forests, wild animals, rivers and ocean life. Before dying, he tells Thorn his discovery (that Soylent Green is made from human beings) and begs him to expose the truth. Thorn boards a human disposal truck to the disposal center, where he sees the human corpses converted into Soylent Green, but is spotted and has to flee. Returning to make his report, he is ambushed by Fielding and others. In the ensuing firefight, Thorn kills his attackers but is himself wounded. When Hatcher (Thorn’s supervisor) arrives, Thorn tells him what he has discovered and urges him to tell the researchers so that they can make a case against Soylent and to spread the truth about Soylent Green. Hatcher promises that he will. Thorn is taken away by paramedics, shouting out: “Soylent Green is people!”

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The apathy and anxiety are fatal to the community. The root cause is that people see so much wrong and wrong-doing, and our elected officials and office holders don’t seem to care, they are indifferent and for the most part incompetent due to inexperience or lack of education and training. Elected office has become an ego enhancement or a way to acquire power and influence and is even used against the voters, taxpayers and property owners. It seem that our elected officials quickly become the enemy and the oppressors, not the promised benefactors we speak to when they’re campaigning.

You’re drowning and you don’t get out of the water? That’s malfunction!

Over the passage of time, just as any disease process, the sufferer becomes tolerant of the pain and discomfort and learns to live with it for better or for worse. That’s what’s happened in our communities and that’s what’s happening across the nation.

You allow your kids to play violent games and shed virtual blood, they become tolerant and insensitive to violence. You allow yourself to spend hours a day on Facebook while you avoid doing more worthwhile things or even necessary things, and you become tolerant to being irresponsible and inefficient; in fact, you become addicted. You allow your elected officials to take you, the voter for granted, you allow them to do as they please while in office with no accountability or transparency, you allow them to treat you with disrespect, you soon become tolerant of it and you get more of the same. Business as usual. But the effect on you is fatal: you lose your dignity, you become apathetic, and your self-esteem plummets. Same things happen to entire communities, to entire nations. It’s happening right now.

The women’s answer to being unable to cope in a “men’s world:” sexual harassment.

The confusion is infiltrating every space in our lives. One example is the confusion we now face regarding the once clearly defined question of gender, and the acceptable behavior between the genders. When the male-female roles were clearer, that is, in the generations where men were men and women were women, there was respect and certainty. The man was the provider and protector, the woman was the nurturer and the educator. Now men are still expected to be men, but women have insisted on invading the previously men’s world, but the women don’t want a level playing field. They want the rules changed: they want to assume male roles but want to keep the advantages associated with being a woman. They want to enter the male world but can’t play the game by the same rules. We now have the women’s answer to being unable to cope in a men’s world: sexual harassment. Whenever a woman feels inadequate or unable to cope, she bounces back with a claim of sexual harassment. If you can’t cope or play by the rules, then just be a victim. Victim is in. But this scenario causes a great deal of confusion because no one feels trusted or safe any more; the result is anxiety everywhere. And that’s just one example of the myriad confusion and anxiety situations. The mistrust of women and the feminist agenda has even affected some men’s desire to even get involved with women, who are now perceived as adversaries, unnatural, predators, opportunists, freaks. Those men might very well be right in their diagnosis of such confused gender benders as many women have become. The Orwellian stigma attached to any charge of “sexual harassment” by any psycho no matter when the alleged event may have occurred, has reached a troubling peak at this writing. A defense is nearly impossible; the merest allegation is politically annihilating. It’s just one of the many diseases of our current culture.

So now you know the facts. What are you going to do about it? How are you going to improve your life, your community, the nation in 2018?

 

Got any Answers?
The Editor

 

 

Is the Town’s Plan to Exhaust Residents Seeking Justice?

New Baltimore Resident’s Message to Joe Stanzione, Greene County District Attorney:
“We, the public, pay the bills but we’re not getting delivery. As an attorney, you should recognize that this is unlawful.”

Taxpayers and Property Owners are not Means to Their End!
Tax Dollars Pay Public Employees’ and Elected Officials’ Salaries, and Provide Money for Reasonably Expectable Competent Services.
Not to damage our property and then ignore us!!!

New Baltimore insurers Marshall & Sterling (Leeds, NY), Trident Brokerage, and Argo Group (Bermuda) are being paid to work against New Baltimore Residents and Property Owners with good faith claims for damages. The Albany law firm of Bailey, Johnson, DeLeonardis & Peck P.C. have been hired by New Baltimore’s insurers and New Baltimore to make sure New Baltimore residents, property owners and tax payers don’t get justice and fair play! Isn’t there something wrong with this picture? Don’t WE pay the bills in this town? If we as private citizens damage town property our sorry asses are in jail! Maybe that’s where our Town Board, our Town Sole Assessor, Gordon Bennett, and definitely our Town Superintendent of Highways, Denis Jordan, should be!

This is what our government has become!

When a government uses a taxpayer’s own dollars to screw the taxpayer, that’s downright immoral. The Town of New Baltimore pays for insurance to cover liabilities but when a liability occurs, the insurance coverage we pay for is used against us, and the town hides behind the insurance company’s lawyers. You want rights? Find another lawyer, pay him, spend years paying him or her, and when the money runs out, forget about it. You’re still paying. Why doesn’t the Town of New Baltimore wake up, accept the evidence, and stop playing games with residents. That’s not how it’s supposed to work guys and gals!

Here’s the text of a local resident’s letter to the insurance companies covering the Town of New Baltimore’s liability risk. It seems that New Baltimore’s Town Board (Jeff Ruso, Shelli van Etten, Chuck Brody, Scott Brody), Supervisor Nick Dellisanti,  and other elected officials are really missing the bus when it comes to doing what’s right for residents and taxpayers. The problem is that we elected these people who are spending so much time screwing us than they are making life better for us. No exceptions! From the SupervisorDellisanti, Deputy Supervisor Ruso,  to the town board members (Shelli van Etten, Chuck Irving, Scott Brody), to the Highway Superintendent Denis Jordan, to Gordon Bennett, New Baltimore Tax Assessor, who, rather than look at a piece of damaged property for reassessment, tells the property owner to ask for a form!!!

Here’s the full text of the letter to the Town’s insurance company:

Dear Insurance Specialists:[1]

Mr Thomas Rickert, CPCU, ARM, ARM-P, ARM-E, ARC, ARe, VP, Head of Marketing, Trident, ArgoGroup[2]
Joshua Bouchez , Territory Marketing Manager, East Coast[3]
Claims Reporting, Trident[4]
Ashley Heline, Communications Coordinator, ArgoGroup[5]
ArgoGroup Underwriters[6]

It has always been my understanding, and I would reasonably presume that of the general public, that insurance was a science of risk management, control, mitigation but our understanding has changed radically over the past two years on the example of ArgoGroup’s, Trident’s and Marshall & Sterling’s “risk management” in the Town of New Baltimore.

It seems your operations are more attuned to “risk aggravation” or “risk perpetuation” than to “risk management,” and this fact is borne out by a brief review of some of the reports published on a local watchdog blog, Smalbany Blog, which has been covering the incompetence and the abuses operating in the Town of New Baltimore, most specifically in the New Baltimore Highway Department under the direct supervision and authority of its Superintendent, Mr Denis Jordan. For your convenience, several of those links are provided at the end of this communication. You are encouraged, in your own interests, to review the contents of those articles.

Our Town Government at Work for Us.

In terms of fair play, justice and fiduciary obligations, ArgoGroup, Trident, the agency Marshall & Sterling (Leeds, NY) in collusion with the law firm of Bailey, Johnson, DeLeonardis & Peck P.C.(Crystall R. Peck, attorney of record in this matter) and the Town of New Baltimore, you all get failing grades in terms of ethics and fair play. Furthermore, on objective and subjective moral assessment, your conduct is immoral.

It is very much in your interests to review the links provided below which provide a very clear picture of the real risk situation in New Baltimore and how the rights and interests of taxpayers, residents and others, including your shareholders, are being misused and abused.

The facts are indisputable, the evidence clear and convincing, the wrongful acts ongoing, and the damage to the public and to private interests substantial. This is bad press for you and your collaborators indeed.

Poor stewardship of public treasure, abuse of office, and indifference and incompetence at the state level (Mr George Amadore, NYS Senator, 46th Senatorial District), the county level (Greene County, NY; Greene County District Attorney, Mr Joseph Stanzione), and at the local, town level (Town of New Baltimore Town Board; Town of New Baltimore Highway Department, Highway Superintendant Denis Jordan; Town Attorney Mr Tal Rappelea) with the self-interests of Trident/ArgoGroup’s legal prostitutes Bailey, Johnson, DeLeonardis, & Peck P.C., are jointly, severally and individually traumatizing every concept of justice, fair play, professional ethics, good government, and abusing the fiduciary obligations and duties of local, county, and state elected officials, whose obligations are to the public weal, and to the individual uniquely concerned.

It is our well-founded observation that none of the parties listed in the above paragraph are complying with the basic tenets of ethics and the standards we, the public, expect of regulated enterprise, licensed professionals, elected officials; in fact, it is our observation, not our opinion, that Marshall & Sterling, Trident, ArgoGroup, state senator George Amadore, Greene County officials, Town of New Baltimore officials, and the law firm of Bailey, Johnson, DeLeonardis, & Peck P.C.are making a public mockery of public and professional ethics, good government, responsible stewardship in government, and the notions of justice, fair play and fiduciary obligation to the citizen, resident, and most of all to the taxpayers of these communities.

As it now stands, the taxpayer and property owner is exposed to tenfold jeopardy[7]:

• Jeopardy situation No. 1: As a property owner, one is obliged to pay substantial taxes on one’s property to support government and education; accordingly, the property owner, by and through their taxes and assessments, pays for the services of government. Forsaking all else in order to ensure timely payment of assessed property taxes, the property owner remits.
• Jeopardy situation No. 2: When the services of government, including the wages and salaries, the goods and services required for operation, etc. operate contrary to the interests of the taxpayer, the taxpayer is harmed. The taxpayer/property owner is deprived of his reasonable expectations issuing from the payment of assessed property taxes.
• Jeopardy situation No. 3: Included in the allocations of taxpayer dollars, that is, the taxes paid by the property owner, are set aside for the purposes of payment of the salaries and wages of individuals who are either indifferent or incompetent, and those individuals in the course of their employment, harm the taxpayer, those tax dollars are used ostensibly to harm the taxpayer. This is an egregious abuse of the notion of trust and fair play.
• Jeopardy situation No. 3: When the competent government offices are served with notice of the above situation, and those authorities do not exercise and implement every available option to cure the defects and deficiencies, those authorities are derelict and guilty of misprision.
• Jeopardy situation No. 4: When the harm done to the taxpayer/property owner is ongoing and attributable to the constructive operations and knowledge of the local competent government offices, each of the instances constitutes a new claim and a new harm to the taxpayer/property owner. Given the fact that the local government and the competent offices are duly notified, each instance constitutes a separate act of negligence/dereliction.
• Jeopardy situation No. 5: The taxpayer/property owner not only is being deprived of reasonably expected level of competent services for his tax dollars, he is being deprived of good ethical government services, both of which result in financial damage to the taxpayer/property owner in terms of his good faith investment in his community and his reasonable expectations of financial advantage resulting from his investment. This deprivation is tortious.
• Jeopardy situation No. 6: When the beneficiary local government by its negligence, indifference or incompetence then ignores the taxpayer/property owner’s good faith notice and demands for cure of the defects and deficiencies, and for compensation of the harm done, the local government ignores the claimant and, instead of fair response, hands the matter over to an underwriter, who then hands it over to a hired-gun law firm.
• Jeopardy situation No. 7: Given the situations above and given the fact of Jeopardy situation No. 7, the taxpayer/property owner is confronted by a situation comparable to Buridan’s ass[8]: The choices available to the taxpayer/property owner to obtain justice are: (1) rely on the good will of local government, (2) proceed at law. A third option is merely to throw one’s hand’s into the air in despair, and lapse into anger and apathy. Conspicuously, option (1) is absent and unavailable to the taxpayer/property owner, and option (3) is unacceptable by any standard of assessment. This leaves Jeopardy situation No. 8.
• Jeopardy situation No. 8: The taxpayer/property owner, while still obliged to pay his property taxes and other assessments to the delinquent and derelict town government and town officials, is compelled to seek out and to pay for legal services necessary for obtaining justice. This may be a calculated strategy deployed by the delinquent and derelict town government in collusion with their insurance underwriters and their attorneys, clearly expecting that the matter will have to endure a protracted course in pretrial procedures and, if the victim is persistent, then to endure the trial procedure. This normally lasts for a decade or more and can cost the harmed property owner hundreds of thousands of dollars. Regardless of the endurance of the harmed property owner in terms of financial resources and tenacity, he is still in jeopardy situation No. 9.
• Jeopardy situation No. 9: The clear strategy of the town is to hand over the matter to the underwriter, who has almost limitless resources, who hands it over to a local law firm, who is on retainer by the insurance company. The combination of very deep pockets and a law firm on retainer and obliged to represent the interests of the insurance company over and against the interests of the property owner, regardless of the factual situation, encourages the insurance company and the law firm to keep the matter in the courts for as long as possible, ostensibly in the expectation of exhausting the property owners will, energy, and resources, causing him to withdraw.
• Jeopardy situation No. 10: The interests of justice and the public weal are defeated, as are the interests of the property owner. The entire community and society at large are damaged, injured.

Damned if I do. Damned if I don’t.
Why are they doing this to us?

As the situation enumerated above clearly shows, the current situation is immoral and represents an insult to the precepts of ethics in government and the professions. We are demanding investigation and prosecution of the particular matter and the general situation in New Baltimore.

I reasonably expect that as this situation develops there will be commensurate and appropriate public outrage, a justified outrage that will manifest itself in a multitude of ways.

This communication will be submitted to the Smalbany Blog for editing and publication.

I look forward to your response and comments.

First of all, given the performance of these elected officials, they don’t deserve to be in office and should be booted out next election. Secondly, these crooked insurance agents and brokers should be boycotted and investigated by the regulatory authorities. As for the shysters, the prostitute law firms like  Bailey, Johnson, DeLeonardis, & Peck P.C, they should be drummed out of the profession; they’re whores practicing law and abusing it.

Well, we’ve done our homework and have researched the law and other applicable court decisions as well as opinions on the subject matter handed down by the Office of the New York State Comptroller. Apparently, New Baltimore Town Attorney, Tal Rappelea, although he claims to specialize in municipal (town) law, hasn’t done his required reading for this course. We’ll be happy to provide him with our Memorandum of Law at the next New Baltimore Town Board public meeting. We’d like him, Mr Denis Jordan (New Baltimore Superintendent of Highways), Mr Scott van Wormer (the “new” — or he will be — New Baltimore Superintendent of Highways), Mr Joe Stanzione (Greene County District Attorney), Ms Crystall Peck (Bailey, Johnson, DeLeonardis & Peck P.C.), and the Greene County Press (Johnson Newspaper Group, Mary Delaney), and Ken Gray or Jean Valk (Marshall & Sterling Insurance) to be there to hear what we have to say, and maybe to comment, too. Maybe Greene County Sheriff Gregory Seally (R), “Mr Cold Case” Seally, will bring a couple of deputies and cuffs for the Town Board and Mr Jordan. We”ll also publish the Memorandum before the meeting so that the whole community can see what can and should be done to correct the disgusting situation in New Baltimore, and other towns like it.

Speaking of lawyers, here’s a bit of humor to take the edge off:

Question: Why does New York have all the lawyers and New Jersey all the toxic waste?
Answer: New Jersey had first choice.

Sign on New Baltimore Town Hall front door.

Enjoy your day!

The Editor

If you enjoyed this article, please copy and paste this link https://wp.me/p2jPFe-31V and email it to your friends, family, and contacts. Keep everyone informed.

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Notes

[1] This communication was also cc’ed to Nick Dellisanti, Supervisor, Town of New Baltimore; Jeff Ruso, Deputy Supervisor, Town of New Baltimrore; Barbara Finke, Town Clerk, Town of New Baltimore; Mr. Joseph Stanzione, District Attorney, Greene County; Tal Rappelea, Town Attorney, Town of New Baltimore; Crystall R. Peck, attorney representing Trident/ArgoGroup (Town of New Baltimore); Ken Gray, Marshall & Sterling (Leeds, NY);  Jean Valk, Marshall & Sterling (Leeds, NY).

[2] Thom Rickert, CPCU, ARM, ARM-P, ARM-E, ARC, ARe VP, Head of Marketing, thom.rickert@tridentpublicrisk.com

[3] Joshua Bouchez, Territory Marketing Manager, East Coast, joshua.bouchez@tridentpublicrisk.com

[4] Trident Claims Reporting, claimsreporting@tridentpublicrisk.com

[5] Ashley Heline, Communications Coordinator, Argo Group US, ashley.heline@argogroupus.com

[6] The Argo Group is the parent of the Trident Insurance brokerage, and is located in Bermuda. Wonder Why? that is? Could it be for tax avoidance? (Argo Group, 110 Pitts Bay Road, Pembroke HM 08, Bermuda. info@argolimited.com

[7] Jeopardy is defined as being or being placed in a situation in which someone or something is exposed to possible injury, loss, or evil.

[8] Buridan’s ass is an illustration of a paradox in philosophy in the conception of free will. It refers to a hypothetical situation wherein a donkey that is equally hungry and thirsty is placed precisely midway between a stack of hay and a pail of water. As used here, it represents a situation where the choices are equally good or equally bad; damned if you do and damned if you don’t. The donkey in the illustration is hungry but dies because it can make the choice of which bale to eat. The illustration relates to the situation in New Baltimore in that the options for the property owner are all going to cause more harm or more suffering no matter which choice he makes. The only good choice is for the Town of New Baltimore to choose to do what is fair and right. But they have chosen not to do so. Thus, the property owner is in the unfavorable situation he finds himself in.

 

 

Open Letter to Greene County District Attorney Joseph Stanzione

Greene County District Attorney Joe Stanzione (R):
“I cannot comment on the matter at this time as it could compromise a pending investigation.”

If there is an investigation, pending or in progress, don’t you think that our elected officials owe it to us to tell us Who? is being investigated and What? It’s just days before elections for chrissake! Don’t you think we should be told these things?

IT’S OUTRAGEOUS

Greene County District Attorney Put on Notice to Take Action in New Baltimore

New Baltimore Resident Confronts the Greene County District Attorney asking WHY? is the Situation in New Baltimore Allowed to Go On. Demands Action, Investigation.

On October 31, 2017, after numerous attempts to get the New Baltimore Town Board to take responsible action and to do what’s right with regard to New Baltimore taxpayers, property owners, and residents, and faced with the refusal of the New Baltimore Highway Department to correct dangerous conditions created by it, one resident confronted the Greene County District Attorney, Joseph Stanzione, a Republican, and demanded that Stanzione do his job and take action, at least to launch an investigation as to Why? the New Baltimore Town Board has taken no action against the New Baltimore Superintendent of Highways Denis Jordan, and Why? instead of ensuring the rights of residents and property owners and ensuring fair play and justice, the Town Board hands matters over to its insurance company and its attorneys, forcing residents and property owners to spend thousands in court and attorney’s fees or simply to give up, when they should be getting help and relief, not to mention justice, from their elected officials. This is not democracy at work, it’s cowardice and dereliction of duty. It’s downright wrong.

The letter was cc’ed to New Baltimore Supervisor Nick Dellisanti, Deputy Supervisor Jeff Ruso, Town Clerk Barbara Finke (for recording), Highway Superintendent Denis Jordan, and to Town attorney Tal Rappelea and Town insurer’s attorney Crystall R. Peck, to ensure that all parties are fairly informed.

Here’s the full text of the e-mail communication to Mr Stanzione:

Dear Mr Stanzione:

I am writing to you in your official capacity as the chief law enforcement officer in the County of Greene.

It is inconceivable that you would be unaware of the situation in the Town of New Baltimore, and on that presumption, even more inconceivable that the Office of the District Attorney has not inaugurated some level of investigation into the dereliction and abuse of public office that is going on not only in the operations of the New Baltimore Town Board but most egregiously in the Town of New Baltimore Highway Department.

The specious and spurious indifference of the Town Board with regard to the abuses and incompetence, even corruption in the New Baltimore Highway department is tantamount to criminal. The Town Board, very well informed by residents of the activities of the New Baltimore Highway Department and its Superintendent Denis Jordan, have done absolutely nothing by way of response, fair play, justice, or compliance with their fiduciary duties to the taxpayers and residents of this Town.

The situation is not one of demands for special treatment or for extraordinary service, it is a situation that affects residents’ investments in their property and community, responsible stewardship of public treasure, observance of oaths of office, questions of competence, and even abuse of public office and corruption.

Much of what has been reported — please review the links below — has been in the eye of the public and is common knowledge in the Town of New Baltimore, and totally ignored by our elected officials on the Town Board.

It’s no wonder that the claim “Democracy is Dead” has become a slogan; regrettably, Justice predeceased Democracy in this town and its environs.

The real tragedy in this tragicomedy is the fact that because the Town Board refuses to do what’s right, and the Town Highway Superintendent has his way no matter what, the taxpayers and residents pay to suffer. The fact that our elected officials refuse to do their jobs, refuse to take steps to avoid the doing of injustice, are indifferent to what is going on in this town, and the deleterious consequences create an environment of distrust, anxiety, apathy and misconduct verging on criminality. Those who find it necessary to defend their interests and right, far from getting the needed and reasonable support from those entrusted with the public weal, are forced either to go into debt to defend their rights at law with representation, or, as is the case in the majority of instances, simply throw their hands into the air in despair! This is an abuse! This is not what democratic government is about…or is it?

I am putting you and your office on notice of these facts and the current situation in anticipation of your taking an interest in this case and taking action to relieve us and to see that the law is enforced and justice is done.

Let’s see if you and your office are up to the challenge.

I would appreciate a response once you have reviewed the facts in the attached links.

Yours very truly,

[redacted]

Links of interest:

• URGENT Advisory to Trick-or-Treaters on New Street, New Baltimore\
  Allegation that New Baltimore Highway Super Helps Employee Avoid Drug Test
• George Amedore, NY State Senator for 46th District, Needs to do Some Homework
• Denis Jordan Avoids Duties to Serve Special Friends: The Case of the Disappearing Creek
• New Baltimore Town Highway Superintendent Harasses Local Woman; Demands Removal of Fence
• A Toothless Town Board? New Baltimore Board Works for Hwy Super!
• Campaign to Remove Denis Jordan from Public Office
• New Baltimore Town Officials are Absolutely Useless!
• We asked for a traffic cone … to prevent this …
• New Baltimore Superintendent of Highways and Board to be Sued – AGAIN!
• Reasons Why Denis Jordan Must Go!
  and the result of all of this…
• Democracy is Dead!

[For security reasons we are not publishing the author’s name and details.]

We are watching the developments very closely and are very interested in seeing what Mr Stanzione has to say; whether he has the balls to do his job.

If you enjoyed this article, please copy and paste this link https://wp.me/p2jPFe-31V and email it to your friends, family, and contacts. Keep everyone informed.

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Editor’s Update: We have received information that Mr Stanzione, Greene County District Attorney, declined to comment on the resident’s letter saying “I cannot comment on the matter at this time as it could compromise a pending investigation.” Looks like something is brewing in New Baltimore. We’ll keep readers posted as things develop.

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We also have a similar letter to the Insurance Agency who handles the Town of New Baltimore’s liability insurance,  Marshall & Sterling Upstate (Leeds, NY), and the insurance brokerage they use, Trident Insurance Brokerage, Stay tuned for further developments on this issue.

 

Democracy is Dead!

This article will set you straight on the fact that democracy even at the local level is dead! We are told by political committees who will be our choices in the voting booth. That’s not democracy. We are not provided with the least bit of information on the candidates’ education, training, experience, qualifications for the job until the very last minute, if at all. That’s not democracy. Locally, and it seems nationally we have become a one-party system in a one-horse town. That’s not democracy. How has the term “public servant” taken on new meaning and how has it been re-coined “self-servant” by our so-called “elected officials? How is it that we taxpayers, voters, citizens are abused and insulted by the egomaniacs we elect based on their lies and misrepresentations. How they, once in office, ignore us until next election year. We see that locally, at the state level, and nationally. We can and much change the situation where we can: LOCALLY.

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Democracy is DEAD in New Baltimore, Coeymans, Ravena, New York, the U.S.A.!!!

Do we really want schizophrenics running our towns, cities, the nation?

We still call them public servants but they have other ideas. They have their mega-egos and their personal agendas. They’re all warm and cuddly Dr Jeckyl when they knock on the door asking for your support and vote; they are voted in and they immediately turn into Mr Hyde. They no longer know us! Do we really want schizophrenics running our towns, cities?

Why is it that we continue to elect people we totally don’t know? Why is it we don’t demand a résumé or a public town hall meeting to ask these people questions? Why is it we let political party committees and political party-run election boards to tell us who we have to vote for? That’s why we get crooks, rejects, scoundrels, and ding-a-lings running for office and then you elect them to spend your tax money, judge you and sentence you, to control your lives. Now does that make any sense to you? You are always bitching and moaning but won’t lift a finger to help yourself. Now does that make any sense? You are constantly bitching and moaning that nobody listens, and then you elect people who don’t give a damn! Now does that make any sense? Keep staring into your smartphone and make some more virtual friends on Facebook. That really solves our problems!

Let’s face it, government, especially local government, the government that most directly affects our day-to-day lives, is an abysmal failure.

They don’t seem to be able to understand that public service is not self-service…

First, it appears that only egomaniacs want to run for public office these days. Hardly any of them have a clue about the job they say they want to do for us. Most aren’t even schooled in government and most come from blue-collar jobs. Some are absolute rejects. If they do come from a business background they don’t seem to be able to understand that public service is not self-service, and that the taxpayer is not the same as a retail customer. If our local elected officials and our local public employees don’t look at us as if we’re the enemy, they look at us as if we are an ignorant consumer. The end result is that we lose all respect for them and they for us; instead of public servants we face public enemies—until election day rolls around again.. Nothing gets done but they get paid. Can you see what’s wrong with this picture?

Here are some local examples:

We have a very unpopular Superintendent of Highways, Denis Jordan, in the Town of New Baltimore. The word on the street is that he’s incompetent, ignorant, and a crook. He has a history of using public employees and town equipment for private favors. We’ve reported on that several times already, and we’ve provided details and evidence. He has no clue as to road planning, design or construction. Yet, he’s been re-elected at least 3 times; the last time he won by a mere 1 vote. The town residents are basically to blame for this deplorable situation because they have become apathetic and don’t come out to vote; they’d rather stay home, complain, and start another rumor. That always works in the American democratic system.

Highway Superintendent Denis Jordan literally intimidates and ignores the Town Board, and frequently brings in his own people to confront the Board, including his own attorneys (paid by the taxpayers of New Baltimore. Who else?).

When the Highway Superintendent Mr Jordan isn’t tinkering with the town equipment, which he apparently does for a great deal of the time he is at the Town Garage, he’s using Town equipment for questionable local projects, while ignoring work necessary to avoid accidents, injury, and Town liability. He’s caused damage to private property that goes ignored by the Town Board, and he’s created numerous roadway hazards in the Hamlet that no one, including the Highway Department, want’s to even mark off for the public’s safety.  The New Baltimore Town Board ignores that too. Mr Jordan is receiving more than $53,000 a year in salary, plus benefits (many of us don’t have), and apparently plans to collect a pension. He’s just barely graduated high school, has no job-specific training, doesn’t attend any continuing education courses, conferences, workshops, and is generally a non-achiever. Chances are he’ll collect a fat pension if he’s not investigated and criminally charged, and his pension either revoked or reduced to cover the damage he’s done in the Town.

That’s one example. Let’s move on to the New Baltimore Town Board, currently comprised of a Town Supervisor Mr Nick Dellisanti, a boardmember and Deputy Supervisor Mr Jeff Ruso, and three boardmembers Shelli vanEtton, Scott Brody, and Chuck Irving. Actually, the names are not really important but most Town residents don’t know who is on the board so we’d like to refresh their memories.

New Baltimore is a one-party town; Democrats in New Baltimore can’t even cough up a candidate to run against Ruso.

Dellisanti, originally from downstate, was a newcomer to local government 4 years ago, ran for the 2-year supervisor position and won a second term. Barely got his feet wet in the 4 years on the job, and now has decided he does not want to run again. Deputy Jeff Ruso, who ran for supervisor once and lost, ran for town board member along with his sidekick Dellisanti, and won a seat on the board. Ruso is now running for town supervisor again but here’s the tickler: Ruso, a one-time loser, a Republican, is running unopposed for the office of New Baltimore town supervisor. The Democrats and other political parties in New Baltimore can’t even cough up a candidate to run against Ruso. So, you see, the situation is just as we’ve been describing it all along: Democracy is Dead, for at least for sale in local and national politics. Voter apathy has led to a one-party town; no choice. And you think this is getting better?

The New Baltimore Town Board has no balls; they are derelict in their duties and obligations to the residents of the Town.

We mentioned that New Baltimore Highway Superintendent Denis Jordan has been getting away with murder in the town, and the Town Board does nothing, despite the fact that they have certain options under New York State Law. Another option would be for the Greene County District Attorney, Joseph Stanzione (R), to get involved and do an investigation of the operations of the Town Highway Department. Another would be to call in the New York State Comptroller for a special audit. Of course, these are all options that depend on honesty, integrity, and good practices, none of which are to be found in the Highway Department. And the New Baltimore Town Board has no balls; they are derelict in their duties and obligations to the residents of the Town by ignoring the wrongs done to taxpaying residents! All the Town Board has to do is ask for help in dealing with Jordan…what are they afraid of?

New Baltimore taxpayers have to pay the bills but are getting nothing in return except abuse, excuses, indifference, and ding-a-lings.

Here’s an example of ding-a-ling local government: In June 2017 we sent an email to Mayor William “Mouse” Misuraca of Ravena, Supervisor Phillip Crandall of Coeymans, and Supervisor Nick Dellisanti of New Baltimore. The request read:

Good morning, Town and Village executives:

It’s an election year again and we’d like to follow up with you to ask you to please provide your self-assessment of what you’ve accomplished during the past 1-2 years of your term in office.

Would you please provide us with a short list of the top ten items you feel are your most significant accomplishments during your most recent 1-2 years in office. A short description of how the most important of these items and how the item benefits your constituents, your residents and the taxpayers of your town or village would be very helpful.

Please limit your list for up to 10 items. If you list less than ten that’s fine too.

Please be advised that these items will be published. If you choose not to reply we will note that fact too. Please reply before Friday, July 14, 2017.

Thank you for your attention.

The Editor

We followed a month or two later asking again for their list of accomplishments, hoping to be able to publish them prior to the November elections. The only response we got was from New Baltimore Supervisor Nick Dellisanti, to his credit, but what he included in the list was a bit surprising (See the actual list here.)

One item was “change the wording from ‘mandatory’ to ‘voluntary'” in the Comprehensive Plan, changing the number of zones on Route 9W from six to four. Big news, right? A word change! Now that’s an accomplishment!

A couple of years ago, the Town handed over one of the town parks, the Cecil B. Hallock town park, to a Greene County travel baseball team, the Outlaws, who, for their own purposes “overhauled the park.” Mr Dellisanti thinks that handing over a town park to an outside baseball team is an accomplishment. We differ in that opinion.

Mr Dellisanti states that his administration lowered taxes three years in a row but is not specific on that one. More on taxes and assessments below. But lowering taxes in view of the disadvantages caused to taxpayers living in New Baltimore is only fair. But Mr Dellisanti thinks this is an accomplishment worth noting.

Another item listed by Dellisanti is the creation of the “Friends of New Baltimore Recreation Committee,” whose purpose is to raise funds for park improvements. Like handing them over to outside baseball teams and cricket associations? Parks are a nice, not a necessary. Well-planned, designed, executed roadwork is a necessary. We don’t have that in New Baltimore. Effective drainage to prevent property damage is a necessity. We don’t have that either in New Baltimore.

Speaking of parks, Dellisanti mentions a $50,000 grant from our dunce friend George Amadore, to provide “handicapped-accessible playground equipment” for the District 2 park. WTF!!! “Handicapped-accessible playground equipment”? What the F**K is that??? $50,000!!!! What in hell are handicapped persons doing on playground equipment, anyway??? Will someone cue us in on this one, please!!! (Editor’s Note: New Baltimore population, especially youth, has been dropping for years! Who is using this playground equipment? Is this one of the town’s top priorities?) Now that we have physically challenged individuals frolicking in our New Baltimore parks along with the out-of-town baseball and cricket teams, who’s insuring these handicapped people using the “handicapped accessible playground equipment?” Mr Amadore? Mr Dellisanti? Mr Ruso?

Yeah! For rubber cells for the New Baltimore Town Board, and spendthrift NY Senator George Amadore (R)!

The fact that the town obtained “0% financing of a $2.6 million project for a new wastewater treatment plant” sounds really great but where is all that wastewater coming from? All $2.6 million dollars of it that needs treatment. Only a portion of the Hamlet has a sewerage system but no water to speak of. The wells are iffy and most go dry during the summer. The town failed several years ago in its attempt to bring a public water system to the Hamlet. 0% financing or not, this is a loan that has to be paid back by taxpayers.But let’s ask again, whose wastewater is being treated? Interest-free or not, someone’s going to have to pay back the loan.

Dellisanti lists “anticipate grant of $650,000 to reduce the cost of the new wastewater treatment plant.” Sorry, but “anticipate” doesn’t cut it, Nick; neither does the $2.6 million loan for the same plant. Give us public water and we might be able to swallow this when we don’t have to spend $30/week for bottled water to drink and cook with! Waste water treatment plant? There’s no water to flush with!

This one, Number 8 in the List of 10 accomplishments, really got us shaking our heads: “Brought Capital District Cricket Association to District 3 Park.” Yes! You read “cricket association.” And No. 9, “New Baltimore will receive $25/day for weekend games” thanks to the Capital District Cricket Association. Wow! $25/day!!! That will just about cover opening and closing the park gates! (By the way, that’s what a resident would pay to use the park facilities for a private function. The New Baltimore resident would also have to leave a $25 deposit, too..) New Baltimore is quickly running out of parks to give away.

The Town of New Baltimore now has a so-called “Veterans Committee” that hosts an annual — that’s once a year, friends — luncheon for town veterans. The town has installed a veterans memorial at the Town Hall. While we have every respect for veterans, several of us being veterans ourselves, we do question the expense of a veterans memorial at our quaint, miniscule, but cute Town Hall. We’ve been to the veterans luncheon and must say that the organizers work hard to put on a nice event for many of our veterans, almost to the man over 70 years old now! But, really, is this a town government accomplishment?

We asked for 10 items but Mr Dellisanti, apparently anxious to get the politician’s last extra in, gave us 11. No. 11 reads in part, “received grants for AgFest, Veterans, and our Summer Recreation Program” through county legislator Pat Liner and the Bank of Greene County. Really, how much? Wouldn’t this be county and private enterprise, a bank putting back into the community it’s already gouged bloody? And where’s Pat Linger getting the money? From taxpayer dollars! He’s not digging into his pockets to pull out the moula! Is this an accomplishment? We’re not quite sure what this does for the Town of New Baltimore, a town teetering on the edge of implosion and hemorrhaging residents.

Sorry, but all things considered and while we are grateful to Mr Dellisanti for at least taking the time to respond to our request, we have to admit that none of the above really addresses the real problems in the Town of New Baltimore. In fact, most of it is pretty useless: handing over parks to out-of-town baseball teams, cricket associations, getting loans, and useless memorials and programs. Come on, with our problems?!?! Is that REALLY all the New Baltimore town board can accomplish?

The Mayor of Ravena and the Town Supervisor of Coeymans could not provide us with any accomplishments during their current term of office. NONE. Because they have NONE.

The fact is that Mr William “Mouse” Misuraca, mayor of the hovel village Ravena, and disgraced-judge-now-supervisor of Coeymans Phillip Crandall, who has the nerve to run again in November, did not respond to our request for accomplishments. We assume that their refusal to respond was that they don’t have the brains to make up any accomplishments or they actually can’t think of any. Regardless, the bottom line is that the Mayor of Ravena and the Town Supervisor of Coeymans could not provide us with any accomplishments during their current term of office. That’s pretty sorry stuff. But it’s local politics and elected officials working for us — so they’d like us to believe.

NONE!

Actually, if the observable facts can be relied on, Mr Misuraca and Mr Crandall are, for once in their corrupt lives, being truthful: They have not provided a list of accomplishments because they have NONE!

We have nothing further to say about Mr Misuraca’s and Mr Crandall’s failures as leaders; their non-existent accomplishments speak volumes about their failure.

Residents and property owners in the Town of New Baltimore have been complaining to and suing the Town for years for damage by or abuse or corruption at the hands of the New Baltimore Highway Department under Superintendent Denis Jordan. We won’t go into details here because we’ve been reporting on the scandals for some time now. Just search the articles on this blog.

One example of the absolute depravity of the dysfunction in the New Baltimore Town Hall is clearly visible in the New Baltimore National Historic District, on New Street. The street and surrounding areas were neglected by the Highway Department for years. Drainage ditches were filled with debris and overgrown with weeds, culverts rotting in the ground, rutted road surfaces working like canals for runoff water, storm drains lying buried, and dead-end culverts, “Where’s this go? I dunno!” If you take a short drive to the National Historic District and down New Street, at the end you’ll see the result of one property owner’s tax dollars at work: negligence and lack of maintenance of the road owned by the Town of New Baltimore and the responsibility of the New Baltimore Highway Department has destroyed a private residential property. The negligence caused runoff water not to go to the unmaintained ditches or to the buried storm drains into the dead-end culverts. No! All of the above conducted the water into the foundations of the building and the building is now collapsing, totally useless! And the owner’s investment? That too, is zilch.

But for almost ten years the Town and the Highway Department were being informed of drainage problems and poor maintenance. Over a year ago the owner of the property demanded that the Town Board and Highway Department inspect the area and the damaged building. They inspected. They did nothing.

True, the Highway Department came down and dug things up, put in a new culvert, installed two culverts under private driveways, but the bottom line is that they didn’t fix the original problem; they even made it worse, and created new dangerous conditions. The Town board regularly informed. Nothing done.

New Street was paved under contract to Callanan Industries under the supervision of Superintendent Jordan. It cost almost $200,000 to pave several Hamlet streets. It was a nightmare, a terrible mess! A number of dangerous conditions were actually created by the paving and Mr Jordan’s “supervision” (when, if he was present). The Town and Highway Department notified. Nothing. Remember the drainage into the foundations of the residential property? Well, the paving work actually created new conduits for water flowing into the foundation.

The Town Board and the Highway Department were made fully aware of the damage and the problems over a year ago; they actually came down to New Street and were given a grand tour of the defects and deficiencies. In fact, it was Deputy Supervisor Ruso who found the dead end culvert and couldn’t find where it led, and Deputy Highways Superintendent Scott vanWormer who dug up the storm drain buried under 3 inches of soil, remarking “In 17 years on the job I never knew that was there!” Former building inspector and code enforcement officer Steve Mantor addressed a letter to the owner noting “community concerns” as to the safety of the building. But the fact that the Town’s negligence has destroyed the building and made it useless, condemnable, hasn’t stopped them from assessing normal taxes on it, and the owner has had to pay more than $1000 in property taxes alone for a building that is dangerous and unusable. Your government at work! Your government working for you and in your interest. NOT!

Now Mr Jordan’s involvement in covering up a Highway Department employee’s drug use has been exposed. Let’s see what happens now. We’re watching the New Baltimore Town Board closely, and Mr Jordan still has 2 years to go.

The owner wrote to the Town Assessor, Mr Gordon Bennett, asking for a reassessment of the building and an adjustment of the tax bill. Mr Bennett, rather than acknowledging the situation and the Town’s complicity in the damages and losses to the resident, responded in a letter, “the grievance board would be the venue for such a complaint … {I]f you would like us to mail a grievance form to you, we would be happy to do so.” Your government at work! Your government working for you and in your interest. NOT!

The bottom line: Pay your taxes. We’ll provide you with insensitive, non-responsive, incompetent government. We’ll damage your property, cost you thousands, pee down your leg, and spit in your eye. Sucker! Now, pay your taxes like a good citizen, or else!
If New Baltimore had the public’s interests and safety in mind, they’d condemn the building but that would be an admission of the facts; they won’t dare condemn the building because they’d have to have a reason and reasons have causes, and we, they know the Why’s and the How’s of the situation. They have for years and have let it go on and on and on.

In this article we’ve used New Baltimore as an example of what’s going on generally in our local communities. You’ll find similar situations in Ravena, Coeymans and elsewhere in this area. It seems to be a pattern, almost like a disease that just crosses from one community to infect the other and then, mutated, crosses back into another community. Ravena-Coeymans-Selkirk-New Baltimore, plague central.

The problem is that we deny the reality that we don’t have a clue what government is or how it should be functioning. As a result, as the result of your denial and continuing ignorance and apathy, it gets only worse. In fact, New Baltimore, while horribly corrupt and incompetent, is probably the least afflicted of the three communities. Just ask residents of Ravena or Coeymans about their water system, their sewer system, how they are billed for water and sewer services, property taxation practices, building code enforcement, law enforcement, etc. Ravena and Coeymans property owners can tell you some stories to set your hair on end.

In New Baltimore the problem seems to be a core group who control the elections and their outcomes. The situation is like a mini-New York state where the entire state might vote, New York City does the choosing. In Ravena and Coeymans, the lower classes, social services recipients, the porch monkeys outnumber the property owner taxpayers. Promise the have-nots extra benefits and free schooling for their offspring and you own them. Mr Tom Dolan and his cronies have proved this in Coeymans. Ravena elected a local bartender and bar owner, William “Mouse” Misuraca, to be their mayor. Pays to have a gin mill in Ravena if you have political ambitions.

But all of these communities are misgoverned, depressed, losing population, and have terrible real estate values. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that there are more For Sale signs going up than there are new businesses coming in, most businesses are moving or dying. New Baltimore has only the 9W corridor as any potential business and you can count them on two hands. Downstaters and outside developers are buying up the legacy properties and the old farms, intending to subdivide and “develop.” Coeymans has prostituted its unique historic Hudson River scenic opportunities to court industry, heavy truck traffic, dust and noise instead of artists, shoppers and tourists. Porch-monkeys, deserted buildings, ramshackle housing, crime, drugs, and more porch-monkeys are the pride of Coeymans. Ravena is the empty storefront capital of the area, cleverly leaving the former business’s signs up to make the impression that the properties aren’t “really” empty. It’s all smoke and mirrors, friends!

The bottom line as we see it is that local government, the government closest to us, the government that affects us most directly, the government we should be able to trust has turned rabid on us. The very people we elected to take care of our community, to serve and to protect us and our families, the very people to lied when they said they’d bring us a better life if we elect them, have stabbed us repeatedly in the back. Why? How? Well, because you put them where they are. Because you allow them to do that. You let a small minority of outspoken patriots stand up and tell them like it is. If they succeed you’re right behind them, if they happen to be shut down, you run and hide. That’s how we got where we are as community and as a nation. You hide. You don’t open your mouths. You don’t take action. You don’t vote. Your don’t demand transparency, responsibility, accountability. You want to play nice. You want to kiss ass. You teach your kids to do the same. You are terrible role models. And you wonder why you’re surrounded by skanks and non-achievers? Look in the mirror, friends. You’ll find the answers there.

When you go to the polls this November and you look at the rotten selection of recycled goods you have to choose from, a selection that even makes dumpster diving at PriceChopper produce look fresh and appetizing, you can thank yourselves. Our hometown political process has turned into dumpster-diving democracy. Thanks so much for participating!

 

I know there’s a candidate in here somewhere!
(The new American polling place.)

The Editor

 

George Amedore, NY State Senator for 46th District, Needs to do Some Homework

George Amedore Jr, is the New York state senator representing New York’s 46th senatorial district. Amedore is backed by the Republican, Conservative, and Independence parties and was first elected to the Senate in 2014 for a 2-year term. Although he was first elected to the State Assembly on July 31, 2007, and held that seat for 5 years, he gave up that seat to run for the Senate in 2012. He lost to Cecilia Tkaczyk by a slim margin but ran again in 2014 and won the seat. Members of the New York State Senate serve two-year terms and are not subject to term limits. Amedore is up for re-election in 2018. The question we have is whether he’s up to the job. (Click here to view the map of the NY State Senate District 46.)

Amedore.
Totally Clueless

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If George Amedore is showing such fiscal irresponsibility and indifference as to how he’s shelling out state taxpayer dollars to nitwit incompetents like the Town of New Baltimore (Greene County) Highway Department to  enrich the likes of Callanan Industries, Inc., and to screw up our town streets, voters and oversight agencies need to take a good hard look at Amedore’s performance, possible corruption and abuse of pubic office, malappropriation of public monies, and potentially criminal behavior in the Town of New Baltimore Highway Department. Better do it now before any more money is wasted and any more damage done!

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We’ve been reporting on a large number questionable practices in the New Baltimore Highway Department, and how the money’s being spent and where. All we can conclude is that the New Baltimore Highway Superintendent Denis Jordan is totally incompetent and doesn’t have a clue what he’s doing. He’s also been implicated in some shady operations for “friends” of Denis Jordan at taxpayer expense, including the misuse of town equipment and crews. (See our 2015 Election article, “Reasons Why Denis Jordan Must Go!“)

Our investigations have shown that Jordan has plenty of time to reroute creeks and lay expensive culverts on a friend’s property, and repair roads on Schoolhouse Road for some crony of his, but has ignored requests from residents in the Hamlet to fix numerous problems he’s created there by his lack of skills and poor planning — actually, Jordan doesn’t do any planning at all. Residents in the National Historic District can’t even get him to put a grate on a dangerous hole he created on one street in the Hamlet; he won’t even put a traffic cone to protect cyclists, pedestrians or motorists. (See our article, “Denis Jordan Avoids Duties to Serve Special Friends: The Case of the Disappearing Creek“}.

Our most recent investigation has uncovered even bigger problems created by Jordan. Yes, we have reported on his harassment of a local woman to take down a privacy fence for no reason at all. We have reported on his refusal to talk to the New Baltimore Town Board. And YES! we have reported on the rerouting of a creek on Lydon Lane, and the installation of expensive culverts on his buddy’s, R. Bullock’s property. From what we can confirm, residents’ claims that he did that work so Bullock would have a nice flat lawn instead of having a creek with a ditch. You see, you can really make out if Jordan is on your “A’ list. If you’re not, forget anything from the New Baltimore Highway Department…except maybe a flooded basement and ruined foundations. (See our article, “New Baltimore Town Highway Superintendent Harasses Local Woman“).

Well it does get worse, much worse.  Earlier this year (2017) requests for bids went out for repaving of a number of streets in the Hamlet of New Baltimore. Peckham Road Corporation  put in a bid, as did Callanan Industries, Inc., and Precision Roads and Driveways. Callanan, an old “friend” of Jordan’s was awarded the contract; they quoted to put down 2″ (two inches) thick layer of asphalt on the roads to be paved, an estimated 5,520 tons of material.

The concerned roads were Kings Rd, Mathews Pt, Pitcher Ln, Mill St., Washington Ave., Madison Ave., Nodine Mtn Rd, Cedar & White Birch Ln., New Rd., Union St., Liberty Ln., Baldwin Terrace, Gill Rd.  Well, if you reside in the Hamlet and don’t recognize some of the street names, it’s because either Jordan or his illiterate friends at Callanan couldn’t even get the names right. That’s a bad start already.

The paving operations were done in June 2017, and were supposed to have been done under Jordan’s supervision as New Baltimore Highway Superintendent, but he was often nowhere to be seen. One day, he left early while paving operations were going on so he could attend a local wake. He left at around 3 p.m. If it was his own wake we could understand his having to be there early but it wasn’t. It was only an acquaintance but Jordan left the work unsupervised with some very bad results.

Pedestrian Trap Designed by Denis Jordan

The bids for the job explicitly state a “2-inch” thick layer of asphalt (blacktop). Well, our investigations show that at least twice that amount of blacktop was deposited and in some places up to 4x. On some streets the roadbed was raised 4-6 inches, some edges of the street were raised a foot or more, leaving dangerous unmarked drop-offs. The idiots put a 12-14″ wide sloped curb on one side of the street which reduces the width of the street by almost 2 feet, and creates the hazard of falling if you try to get out of a car at roadside.

The drainage on New Street was worsened and more problems created. At one residence, the Highway Department created such a bank of blacktop that the front and side entrances to the residence could not safely be used. Jordan had to pour concrete steps to allow the entrances to be used but even the concrete was defective and was poured without proper foundation, and started crumbling in the first week!

Back to our little friend George Amedore. With all this going on and the Town of New Baltimore being served with Notices of Claim, the first step in a lawsuit, for many of these botched jobs by Jordan, it seems Amedore isn’t talking to anyone in the Town Hall, and his handing out money hand over fist. The paving by Callanan on Jordan’s watch is just one instance of wasted taxpayer monies. We’d like to ask Mr Amedore if he has inquired why if 2″ of asphalt were quoted more than 4 times that much was actually deposited on some of the roads, actually creating hazards!!!???

New Baltimore Math

Furthermore, the Section 248 Agreement required under the New York State Highway Law notes that a total of $284,732.00 was to be spent on the paving of the streets mentioned above. That amount is broken down with $174,732.00 coming from the CHIPS (NYS Consolidated Highway Improvement Program) and $100,000 coming out of the Town’s General Repair budgeted money. That’s the math taken directly form the Agreement for the Expenditure of Highway Moneys made between the Town Board and the Town Highway Department. The agreement also explicitly states 2-inch thick.

So, dear readers, if the Agreement states that the paving is to be 2″ thick and the bids were based on that figure, how did they manage to drop up to 4x times that much blacktop? If they stuck with the 2″ layer, wouldn’t that have reduced the price by 2-4x? So what’s the story here? Do we need an investigation by the State Comptrollers Office, by the State Attorney General? And where’s our good ol’ boy Joe Stanzone, Greene County District Attorney on this one? Can’t the Town Board do math? Isn’t anyone watching or asking any questions in New Baltimore?

Elections are just around the corner. How the New Baltimore Town Board Handles this Scandal will Determine the Outcome of the Elections. We can assure you of that fact. You know we’ll remember when Amedore comes up for relection in 2018. And when Joe Stanzone, the Greene County DA, starts stumping for re-election, we’ll remember him, too. So guys and gals, start doing what the public expected you to do when they voted you in: to clean up the crooks and to govern our town, county and state wisely. So far it doesn’t look good for you.

According to New York State Town Law, the New Baltimore Town Board has the power to investigate Jordan’s and Callanan’s opertations and to ask some very scathing questions. We’ve already asked some of those questions above but the ball’s in the Town Board’s lap now. New Baltimore Town Board: Either investigate or share the guilt. If you don’t launch an investigation you are as guilty as the crooks. After all, the entire board signed the Section 248 Agreement with it’s explicit and specific language, and the County Superintendent of Highways, vanValkenburg, signed off with no questions. Do we call that negligence, indifference, lack of due diligence? Corruption? It’s soon to be election time so you’d probably start burning rubber and get moving on this investigation. Right? 

The Greene County Superintendent of Highways, Robert Van Valkenburg, had to sign off on that Section 248 agreement. Is he math-challenged too?

Well back to our candy-ass Senator George Amedore Jr and his fine representation of the people and taxpayers of New York. Georgie boy, in a letter dated — this guy’s really numerically challenged; even his letter is undated —. No matter, the letter is stamped “RECEIVED April 28, 2017, Town Clerk, Town of New Baltimore.”

Amedore’s first sentence is a clear indication that he knows nothing of what’s going on in New Baltimore. He writes, “Maintaining safe, dependable roads is important to the safety of our communities an the health of our economy.” First of all, he has no clue how unsafe New Baltimore roads are. He has no idea what Denis Jordan is doing in New Baltimore. He has no idea of what he’s talking about when he uses the terms “health of our economy.” What economy? The only economy is real estate sales with the downstaters buying up our land and homes, and everyone else trying to sell to get out of the area!

George Amadore’s Math

Amedore then goes on to cheerfully announce to Mr Jordan that he’s handing him $142,255.00 from the CHIPS (Consolidated Local Street and Highway Improvement Program) as part of the states recent 2017-18 budget. Amadore then goes on to tell Jordan that he’s going to receive 32, 471.00 in funding under the PAVE NY program and $27,682 in funds under the Extreme Winter Recovery program.

Amedore must be on another friggin’ planet. He’s totally off base! He’s clueless how this money is being spent, wasted, criminally! And this is responsible government. This is an elected lawmaker aiding and abetting incompetence, abuse of office, waste of public resources? Why is Amedore handing out hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars to the like of Denis Jordan?

Amadore’s, New Baltimore’s Idea of Fiscal Responsibility!

We almost puked when we read Amedore’s closing sentence: “A strong infrastructure is vitally important to strong , healthy communities. If you have any questions….” Do we have questions? Do we have QUESTIONS? Guess What? Mr Amedore, we do have questions. One of them is How in hell did you ever get elected?!?!? But then if Denis Jordan got elected…we withdraw the question.

George Amadore Puts the FAKE in Rubber-stamp Government!!!

 

 

 

 

Campaign to Remove Denis Jordan from Public Office

PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT

Campaign to Remove from Public Office
Town of New Baltimore Highway Superintendent
Denis Jordan
and to prevent his running for public office in future

We have been informed that there is a campaign being organized by residents and taxpayers of the Town of New Baltimore, County of Greene, New York, to collect and organize information and evidence to be used in support of an action to remove New Baltimore Superintendent of Highways, Denis Jordan.

For some time now Jordan has been the subject of numerous complaints and claims by residents of New Baltimore submitted to the Town Board of the Town of New Baltimore, but to date those complaints and claims have not been organized. This has all changed with some recent developments in the town, where Denis Jordan has finally crossed the line.

 

Taxpayers and Residents of the Town of New Baltimore are up in arms and claiming that Jordan:

• Has abused and abuses his office and authority

• Is unqualified and incompetent to hold the office of Town Highway Superintendent

• Has abused his discretionary authorities as Town Highway Superintendent

• Has shown special favoritism to select residents while abusing other residents in the context of his public office

• As the result of the above has wasted public resources and obstructed the operation of good stewardship in New Baltimore Town government

• Has abused employees of the New Baltimore Highways Department

• Has exposed the Town of New Baltimore and its residents and taxpayers to unnecessary and burdensome legal actions and lawsuits

• Causing damage to private property with a wanton indifference, and failure to respond to notifications of dangerous situations

• Jordan has an established pattern of intimidation and bullying among Highway Department employees

• Because of all of the above, Mr Jordan has placed the Town of New Baltimore at risk of losing its insurance coverage or being placed in a higher risk classification, which will result in additional expense and even reduced coverage of the Town of New Baltimore.

This list is not complete or exhaustive, since we are now on the track of investigating Mr Jordan and his dealings with local contracting companies, including Callanan Industries, Peckham Materials Corp. companies that have already been associated with Jordan’s questionable practices,  and others, in the public bidding processes, the planning and execution of roadwork, and the estimation of materials used in those projects. The picture is very grim from what we have been able to glean even at short notice. (Editor’s Note:  We’ve requested the bids and the background facts as well as the estimates of materials and the actual materials used by Callanan. We expect to prove serious criminal activity.)

According to informed and reliable sources,  Mr Jordan’s recent escapades and incompetence in conjunction with Callanan Industries’  “successful” but totally botched bid to execute repaving of streets in the Hamlet of New Baltimore, the Highway Department has been deluged with complaints from irate and angry residents complaining of the poor quality or disastrous effects of the work done by Callanan under Mr Jordan’s supervision.

In fact, on Monday, June 26, 2017, when Callanan crews were paving New Street and Madison Avenue, while New Baltimore crews were standing around counting farts on the corner of Madison Avenue and Rt 144, Mr Jordan left early, at around 3:00 p.m., to attend a wake. The wake was for a local but not a relative or close friend of Jordan, which raises the important question of: Couldn’t Jordan have stayed to supervise his contractors work on an important repaving project and stil paid his respects to the family of the deceased? After all, he could have left when the crews left at around 4:30, and had plenty of time to prepare for the wake, which certainly ran until at least 7 p.m. Shows where his priorities are. 

Suspicion was cast on Jordan’s re-election and his win over his former deputy highway superintendent Alan vanWormer; vanWormer lost the election by 1 (ONE!) vote. The election was not contested, which raised suspicions in the New Baltimore community.

We support the residents and taxpayers of New Baltimore in their efforts to clean up local government and to remove corruption, incompetence and crookedness. We urge all of our readers to support those courageous residents and taxpayers seeking to remove Jordan from office and to better local government and quality of life.

I you have any information or a complaint or know of anyone who has information about Jordan or wishes to file a complaint, we are here to assist you. Please contact us directly at rcs.confidential@gmail.com or write to us c/o P.O. Box 422, New Baltimore, New York 12124. All contacts will be strictly confidential and no information identifying you will be shared or published without your express written permission. We also encourage you to leave a comment telling all of our readers about any of your experiences with the New Baltimore Highway Department or Mr Jordan.

Recent roadwork done by Callanan Industries done under t he direct authority and supervision by Mr Jordan has generated a deluge of complaints and general dissatisfaction. According to a well informed and reliable source, the New Baltimore Highway Department has received numerous telephone complaints about the shoddy work done. Rather than call the Highway Department, where it is almost certain that your complaint will be lost in the dust, we recommend you make your complaint known via this blog, and then to write directly to the New Baltimore Town Board. That way you’ll be heard.

Please share this information with your family, friends and neighbors. It’s our duty and obligation to ensure that our New Baltimore community is a model of good government, honest and competent elected officials and public employees, and that our sense of community stands as an example for our surrounding communities. Your contribution to this effort will put all questionable and corrupt elected officials and public employees on notice that we will not tolerate ignorance, indifference, incompetence or dishonesty being paid for with our tax dollars.

Do your part and share what you know!

The Editor

 

 

New Baltimore Town Officials are Absolutely Useless!

There’s a Bully in the National Historic District

New Baltimore’s Idea of Service to Residents

New Baltimore Supervisor Dellisanti, Deputy Supervisor Jeff Ruso, and Animal Control Officer Joe Tanner Refuse to Enforce Town Laws

We’ve asked this question time and again: What exactly are they doing in New Baltimore town hall, anyway? They seem to have their own agendas because they’re certainly not doing residents any big favors! They don’t even communicate among themselves and are totally oblivious to the welfare of the community they’re supposed to have been elected or hired to serve.

You see, not only did property tax bills go out on about December 28, 2017, demanding, rather extorting money from property owners to pay for local and county government and our ineffectual school  — the RCS Central School District whose Board of Education can find almost a million dollars to redo the athletic field with dangerous astroturf but teachers complain there’s no money for books! So we now get a bill for property and school taxes, and you have to really wonder what your dollars are paying for. Here’s the answer: INCOMPETENCE!

Now, in the National Historic District, residents are exposed day-in-day-out to a local resident’s barking dog. Robert and Bonnie Krug of bank robber fame, keep a dog that they use to bully the neighborhood with its constant barking from morning to evening, Monday through Friday, with special performances on Saturday and Sunday.

Residents have attempted to approach the Krugs but Mr Krug responds only with threats. Maybe that’s why the Town officers don’t seem to be able to stop the nuissance; they’re afraid of Krug! Has he handed them one of his famous notes, too?

Flyers are now circulating in the Hamlet of New Baltimore asking residents to join together to neutralize the nuissance and to force the Town of New Baltimore to enforce its laws, and to restore peace to the National Historic District, and compel the irresponsible, inconsiderate owners of the animal to control their animal.

Click here to read the stop-the-bully-flyer

A resident has already sent a copy of another flyer directly to the New Baltimore Town Board through Nick Dellisanti, Supervisor, Jeff Ruso, Deputy Supervisor and Joe Tanner, Animal Control Officer. You can read that letter by clicking this link barking-dog-letter.

Like a school bully, one person can’t really fix the problem. It takes group action. People simply have to get involved. Like a school bully, if the people with authority, the teachers and supervisors, don’t take action, someone else has to step in. We urge New Baltimore residents in the National Historic District to take action both to send a message to the New Baltimore Town Board and to the Krugs that residents deserve a quality of life and the services from elected officials and town employees for which they are paying. It’s particularly important now that the Town is sending out their demands that property owners pay taxes.

We have to ask, For what?

It’s not much to ask for, is it? Then why can’t the New Baltimore Town Board provide it?
The Editor