General Electric began as a small business in Schenectady, New York over one hundred years ago. As this initially modest enterprise was transformed into a major corporation that provided sources of energy to the entire world, GE was also providing thousands of jobs to the community to which it belonged.

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Throughout the entire twentieth century, Schenectady has relied on this source of jobs, which has dictated the quality of life for the city. At its peak during World War II, the industry employed over forty thousand people in Schenectady and the city flourished—but after decades of shared prosperity a breach developed in their relationship.

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From the late 1970’s to the early 1990’s, jobs at GE were cut by thousands, and the diminishing workforce caused the local business community to suffer great losses in customers and profitability. The city fell into despair, and no longer able to rely on the strength of GE, there was a growing need to counteract the effects of its downsizing.

 

Working alongside Robert McEvoy as County Manager, and the Republican majority in the county legislature, George Robertson was hired in 1985 to revive the economy in Schenectady as director of the city’s not-for-profit Schenectady Economic Development Corporation. Although the city is represented by a seven-member council and a mayor, Robertson soon became the main force behind the city and county Industrial Development Agencies, and has been the dominant influence on developments in Schenectady as the massive layoffs took effect.

 

While these agencies have relied strictly upon state and federal assistance and other outside resources as the means for funding development projects, the city has not thrived. Despite a healthy national and state economy throughout the 1990’s, neither state or federal level agencies, nor private businesses have wanted to invest in an ailing city, and Robertson and McEvoy could not encourage them to do otherwise.

 

Schenectady is an impoverished city over sixty thousand residents. As of the year 2000, General Electric employs about forty-five hundred people at their home plant in the “Electric City.” The downtown area has a quaint main street lined with nineteenth century buildings, and with side streets that branch out without much trace of metropolitan appearance or design—but the city is run down and void of life. More businesses are struggling than thriving, and more building space is for rent than is occupied. Throughout the day, the working hours offer bursts of bustle, but when evening arrives, downtown Schenectady is barely alive. Few businesses are open. Few people are walking about. The most used bus stop has one or two waiting passengers, and the main stoplight at the heart of downtown holds up no more than a car or two at a time. There is a historic theatre for live shows and movies that draw large crowds, but complimented only by a couple of bars and food establishments—the rest of the city’s downtown remains dark and empty.

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After a century of depending upon GE, and almost two decades of leadership from the County Manager and economic development officer, an entirely new government body has been created to push Schenectady forward. This political shift began as soon as a sales tax in Schenectady County was raised 0.5 percent in September of 1998. While thirty percent of the additional sales tax revenue goes into the county budget, the other seventy percent is strictly intended for city redevelopment, under the management of the Metroplex Development Authority. It’s eleven member board of directors was installed on January 1, 1999, and is solely accountable for over five million dollars a year generated from the tax hike. Their definitive role in Schenectady’s future lies in their direct control over this stream of revenue. Having access to fifty million dollars in state bonds also emphasizes the Metroplex’s strong potential to effect city redevelopment efforts. 

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Accentuating the city’s advance toward serious change, the state level has also provided for Schenectady, a five million dollar general fund, and five hundred thousand dollars of this money was immediately spent to hire planning consultants from Washington D.C, Maryland, and Connecticut, and Schenectady. They compiled extensive and detailed information on the overall condition of the downtown area, and proposed to the city a multitude of capital projects related to their study. Small scale-improvements are suggested, but the majority of city and county government officials are focusing on major redevelopment projects, and the public fund managed by the Metroplex was designed to support and/or incite this grand scheme.

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Having direct power to invest in the master plan encourages more autonomy, but the city’s most recent developments are relying on outside variables to strengthen the city’s core. The state level has taken greater interest in Schenectady, partly because of the election of 1996. Party lines matched up with the election of Republican mayor Al Jurczinsky together with republican Governor George Pataki. This political line-up motivated the governor’s decision to relocate the Commission on Quality of Care and the Department of Transportation Region 1 headquarters from the city of Albany to downtown Schenectady, fifteen miles away. Close to one hundred employees from the Quality of Care were transferred to a refurbished dime store on the corner of State Street and Broadway in April of 1999, and close to five hundred DOT employees are expected to occupy a newly constructed building directly across the street.

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At the private level, the Mohawk Valley Physicians Health Management Organization has added momentum to the city’s movement by consolidating their main headquarters and claims processing unit into a new office building. Over six hundred employees are being transferred to this proposed eight-story edifice, a few blocks up State Street from the DOT site.

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Even though no new jobs will be created from these relocations, the presence of over one thousand people working in downtown Schenectady during lunch hours and after work should spur consumer activity for the surrounding businesses. This was the primary reason for supporting each of these infusions—a direct economic approach that George Robertson has maintained since his tenure began in 1985. According to Robertson, investing in big business to provide consumers and even jobs to city, is the most effective means of improving the downtown business district. This method of development has proven ineffective from the city’s past two decades, but the majority of local government officials anticipate strong economic growth by applying more money and more government to the same tactic. Not without the Metroplex’s consent; this is where their power and influence becomes a dominant factor in Schenectady’s future. 

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Despite being in charge of a public fund, none of the eleven members of its board of directors was elected to their position by a public vote. Like Robertson and McEvoy, they were appointed by the county legislature. With capital projects for the city and county also decided upon without a public vote, the citizens’ involvement with the impending changes is limited indirectly to paying their taxes. The recent sales tax surcharge is hardly a tax burden, but it does affirm that the Metroplex, while acting as a private organization, functions solely with the financial support of the public.

 

Metroplex meetings are open to the public, but the members are keenly aware that any significant information offered at the meeting will be in the local Schenectady newspaper the next day. Therefore, their discussion is limited to carefully pre-determined topics. Redevelopment prospects are entertained without the possibility of serious exchange among the board members, or with the audience at the meeting. Public attendance is small, and those who attend are predominantly journalists and members of particular civic groups.

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Other agencies concerned with economic development—the IDA, LDA, and the City Council—also hold public meetings for the small minority of concerned citizens. But unless affected directly by a government decision, the majority of residents in Schenectady County do not bother with the political process. As the community has experienced its decades of decline, the level of interest in city affairs has dropped significantly. There has been a decline in community spirit, and ordinary citizens have lost faith in the city they live in.

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It is the small minority of community groups that ultimately compensate for the Schenectady government’s lack of support in community affairs. Bordering the downtown area, the run-down Vale neighborhood has become a difficult place to live. Combating the rise in street crime, and decline in the quality of life, the Vale Community Organization inspired a revitalization plan that concentrates on small but significant changes that can improve the basic infrastructure of their neighborhood.

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A more broad based organization. Citizens For Preservation and Revitalization are the most involved civic group critically analyzing Schenectady government’s emphasis on large-scale development. Their intense participation in the evolution of Metroplex as a decision making body has motivated substantial by-law revisions concerning the board of director’s accountability, originally designed to be insulated from political pressure. Public hearings are mandated if Metroplex chooses to spend more than five hundred thousand dollars on a given project, and the county legislature needs to approve any development projects financed with more than ten million dollars in public tax money.

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While CPR and other community organizations have kept the Metroplex Development Authority from becoming an oligarchy, it was another civic group that initiated the creation of the Metroplex. Since 1993, Schenectady 2000 has concentrated on small scale improvements and volunteer programs that would help “to create by the twenty-first century, an environment in Schenectady that will give all Schenectadians pride in the community, uniquely highlight its assets, and attract new businesses and residents.”

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Its members include George Robertson, as well as chief executive officers for a supermarket chain and a regional bank, and the president of a four year private college, along with other prominent businessmen. Besides their grass root efforts, the members of Schenectady 2000 also proposed a blueprint for Schenectady’s future—to build a grand hotel, a convention center, a multiplex theater, and other massive projects intended to give new life to the city. This vision, expanded and enhanced by the planning consultants, and set to be carried out under the direction of the Metroplex Development Authority, is the prescription for downtown Schenectady’s revitalization.

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Prominent and influential business people helped to create Metroplex, but it was also created because the local government had no confidence in its own ability to revive the city. Two leading authorities, George Robertson and Mayor Al Jurczinsky supported the Metroplex, not to create more bureaucracy, but to get access to more money.

The significant increase in Schenectady County’s property tax reflects the idea that a substantially increased local access to capital is needed to properly enhance the city’s future.

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After one year of practice, Metroplex is already committed to spending over fifteen million dollars on two capital projects—parking accommodations for MVP and DOT employees. After MVP officials publicly announced plans to consolidate their business in one building, sixteen proposals from three different local counties were offered to MVP, and one of the primary reasons why the company chose to remain in Schenectady was that Metroplex, as an incentive, agreed to finance a thirteen million dollar parking garage to accommodate the six hundred MVP employees. Had there been no public fund to work with, Schenectady easily could’ve lost these jobs to another part of the Capital Region. 

 

Besides showing the importance of sales tax revenue, the MVP project also shifted responsibilities that redefined the political structure of Schenectady. When the county transferred ownership of their portion of the State Street and Nott terrace property to the Metroplex, it was a vote of confidence from the county legislature that gave Metroplex a role in each stage of development: representing the bid accepted by MVP officials, owning the property to be built upon, and financing parking accommodations. It is the first major course of action in fourteen years where George Robertson and his economic agencies were not the leading actors.

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This activity should raise public confidence in aptitude and active participation of Metroplex in community affairs—but hope is being instilled in a community that has wary watched its city change for the worse. The eleven-member board of directors are being incorporated into a government system that has garnered little respect, which is why the indirect Metroplex relationship with the DOT project has proved fortunate. Other than being asked to subsidize for more parking, the Metroplex has had no active role in the negotiating process. Had it been directly involved, its first commitment to the city would’ve been associated with demolishing ten buildings and displacing seven businesses.

 

City, county, and state officials, with the advice of the planning consultants hired by the city, and exclusive of the Metroplex, determined the southwest corner block of State Street and Broadway as the  most suitable location for the new DOT building. Governor George Pataki and Senator Hugh Farley approved of the proposed site and encouraged Schenectady’s government officials to accept their approval by setting aside one million dollars in state money to purchase and demolish the ten buildings. The city IDA’s direct involvement in acquisition and condemnation of this corner block, highlights the policies and procedures of the last decade.

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Certainly, it is an underused property with fifty percent of the building space vacant to begin with, and three of the seven occupants are government agencies. Assemblyman Jim Tedisco’s office relocated with help from the city, and the county is assisting the Job Training Agency and Civil Service Commission with their displacement. The county agencies are also operating in a county owned building which is the largest on the block. Upon purchase of this building, money will be saved instead of lost by transferring a significant portion of the state appropriation to the county budget.

 

None of the local independent businesses were open after three in the afternoon or on weekends, and the Christian Science Bookstore and Giovanni’s Deli were only committed to four hours of business a day, from ten until two. Although the State Fare Luncheonette had slightly longer hours, this small restaurant was never able to draw much of a clientele. The bookstore also shared this plight.

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Giovanni’s Deli had a regular clientele after eight years, but this sandwich shop was cramped, offering no more than eight chairs to its customers. The storefront window was also spotted with a giant sign that advertised for news pagers. Their short hours of business, and this attempt at mixing a deli with sales raises questions about its viability.

 

Nevertheless, Schenectady’s local government has challenged their own integrity by demolishing buildings and displacing businesses in the name of progress. The quality of life being dictated by these drastic measures creates a feeling of insecurity. Small businesses are already competing against well financed corporations able to offer lower prices for their product or service. Concentrating on maintaining a profit is hard enough, let alone competing against the destructive policies of local government. 

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Furthermore, the DOT project is not an isolated event. Near the outskirts of the city, another corner block is being leveled so that a corporate drug store can be constructed. This wholesale demolition has displaced a jewelry store, a yarn store, a Chinese restaurant and an old-fashioned barber shop that had been doing business at its location for over one hundred years. In a nearby neighborhood, over one hundred homes are being proposed for demolition so an industrial park can stand in their place.      

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These extreme levels of sacrifice, with little regard for compromise, are the circumstances surrounding the city’s attempt to revitalize Schenectady. Although the fourth amendment guarantees a citizen the right to own property without government interference, city permission to build the drug store, city’s support for the DOT building, and its Brandywine Industrial Park—all forced businesses and residents from their owned or rented property. This amendment is countered however by the city’s right of “eminent domain” which grants great power to take property, which ultimately decides whether or not it is in the general interest to take control of someone’s property. Even if it is against the property owner’s will, if the higher officials consider the acquisition beneficial to the community, then it is legal—but a community loses its sense of liberty when the public good becomes defined only by the local government’s arbitrary determination of what should be lost or gained from its policies.

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Zoning laws in Schenectady pose as restrictions, but are easily changed when prospective businesses take interest in the city. The zoning ordinance for the proposed MVP site does not allow tall buildings, so the City Council voted to change the ordinance. Until the industrial park was proposed, the Brandywine neighborhood was a residential zone—now it is industrial to suit the legal requirements for the Tomra Recycling Plant, the first industry to be opened in the Brandywine Park. Because recycling operations were only allowed in districts zoned as heavy industrial, which was not the zoning assigned to the Brandywine area, the City Council also voted to allow recycling operations in light industrial districts.

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In a smaller separate incident, a Presbyterian church wants to demolish a house and convert the space into a parking lot, but the house is located in an historic district, thus protected by a historic zoning law. Still, the Board of Zoning Appeals disregarded the law, went against the advice of the city’s lawyers and city planner, and granted permission to the church to demolish the house. Recognizing fault in the BZA’s justification for allowing such approval, Schenectady Heritage Foundation has sued the BZA for violating zoning and preservation laws. The Stockade Association, representing the Historic Stockade District, has simultaneously sued the BZA for a separate zoning clearance violation.

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Not only is city government disregarding rules and regulations, local businesses and resident’s concerns are too often overlooked. Schenectady’s local government never bothered to include the public in the decision to build a state building on the corner of State Street and Broadway. Even the businesses being directly affected were excluded from the initial process. There were months between the DOT proposal and the formal announcement that declared the proposal official, yet throughout this time, local government officials offered no consultation or consolation to the threatened businesses. Reports from the Daily Gazette newspaper is how the entire corner block, including the county departments, found out about their displacement. While business owners made phone calls to the mayor, IDA, SEDC, and other government agencies, no information was provided until it was certain that the proposal was concrete. 

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No community groups raised serious concern about the displaced businesses at the corner block of State Street and Broadway except the Schenectady Heritage Foundation and CPR which had firm objections to the proposed DOT site. Preserving turn-of-the-century buildings was their fixed objective, but they also criticized the city’s logic of demolishing ten buildings with existing and potential local ground level activity, and replacing them with a state building where street level businesses were not allowed. Alternative sites were suggested, but until late Autumn, and the site was announced in April. The community groups forced a public meeting to discuss the matter, but it was not held until the night prior to the first day of winter. By that time, businesses had already moved out and properties sold, and according to all of the highest officials, it was too late to change course.

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Nevertheless, for better or for worse, it is this kind of friction that sparks change in the community. The DOT project is moving forward, but criticism and scrutiny have forced the city Planning Commission and the Board of Zoning Appeals to consider new legislation. Restrictions are being considered against private developers from having exclusive control of a buildings design. What’s more, the façade of the Gazette building, which houses the county agencies, is also under consideration for preservation. Whether or not these changes occur, a cooperative effort, however divisive, incites dialogue—a motivating factor that is too often absent between the local government and the citizens it represents. It’s this lack of communication that is Schenectady’s cause for despair.

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Beyond each of these most recent developments, constructing a new railroad station and transportation museum downtown is also under negotiation. More businesses will need to be displaced and buildings demolished as a result of the proposal. With even more other large scale changes written into Schenectady’s master plan, this intense conflict of interest could become an on going affair between the local government and the community it represents.

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Given the results of the election of November 1999, these policies and procedures are not going to change. Republican Al Jurczinski was re-elected as mayor of Schenectady, the county legislature still has a republican majority, George Robertson continues to be economic director of the city and county, and Robert McEvoy maintains his position as County Manager.  

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Although the political structures have been modified by the addition of the Metroplex Development Authority, their influence is no more than a higher level of politics and economics with little consideration to re-evaluate or reinvent Schenectady’s socio-economic philosophy. More government and more money in a comprehensive plan makes change inevitable, but there is a lack of real vision. No outstanding individual has emerged capable of offering a radical counterpoint to the city’s current direction.

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After losing tens of thousands of workers because of layoffs at GE, Schenectady’s government officials are determined to give new life to Schenectady by any means necessary. Massive capital projects intended to create, relocate, or retain jobs and increase consumer activity is a primary objective that keeps Schenectady’s attributes as a secondary consideration. The local government is not looking to restore a small, modest city, but striving for a metropolis.

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Schenectady will definitely appear different, but the real difference is whether or not the people of Schenectady County will support what becomes of their nucleus. The quality of life depends upon a quality of change that requires honesty, patience, and cooperation, and people respect and recognize this way of living. Unless there are drastic changes in the local government’s procedures and overall focus, it is this recognition that will keep Schenectady from becoming a proud city.