Items tagged with 'troy'
Brenda Ann Kenneally: Upstate Girls
A book collecting Brenda Ann Kenneally's ongoing work documenting the lives of people living through poverty in Troy -- Upstate Girls -- was published in October. (You might remember the North Troy Peoples' History Museum.)
From the book description (link added):
Brenda Ann Kenneally is the Dorothea Lange of our time--her work a bridge between the people she photographs, history, and us. What began as a brief assignment for The New York Times Magazine became an eye-opening portrait of the rise and fall of the American working class, and a shockingly intimate visual history of Troy that arcs over five hundred years. Kenneally beautifully layers archival images with her own photographs and collages to depict the transformations of this quintessentially American city. The result is a profound, powerful, and intimate look at America, at poverty, at the shrinking middle class, and of people as they grow, survive, and love.
This month Adrian Nicole LeBlanc -- who wrote that NYT Mag article -- takes up Kenneally's book in The New Yorker. A clip:
Shaming people who live in poverty is an old reflex in America. Kenneally reminds us that the fault lines of capitalism are everywhere within our nation, running through the very foundation we keep building upon. Her excavations blast through any attempt to deny it. In her book's opening essay, she refers to her photographs as "new fossils." With taking pictures, Kenneally writes, "comes the power to manufacture a record that future generations will consider fact." Whether we choose to look or not, these images are facts.
Here's the new concept plan for 1 Monument Square in downtown Troy
There's a new plan for 1 Monument Square -- and a long way still to go.
That's the big takeaway from Monday's meeting in which the city of Troy and its consultants showed off concept plan for the redevelopment of Monument Square that's centered on a large public plaza.
The new plan is the product of a public input process pursued this year in an attempt to create a solid consensus about what to do with the site -- at the heart of downtown Troy -- and then pursue developers interested in following that vision.
"Don't get too hung up on the particulars of the design, it's meant to illustrate proportions more than a specific design or specific building materials," mayor Patrick Madden told a packed crowd at the Arts Center of the Capital Region. "And don't get too wigged out at this point about the challenges -- not yet, anyway."
Let's a have a look at some renderings and a few of those challenges...
The Troy Waterfront Farmers' Market is looking for feedback about its future, including a new permanent home
By the way: The market moves indoors to The Atrium for the season this Saturday.
The Troy Waterfront Farmers' Market has a public meeting lined up for November 7 at the Franklin Plaza Ballroom to talk about its future and gather feedback. It's hired Project for Public Spaces -- a NYC-based placemaking consultancy -- to lead the process. Press release blurbage (emphasis added):
The market wants to hear what people feel about the market and how it might evolve. The workshop will also provide the community with a chance to hear about the success stories from public markets across the country.
"The market has been growing by leaps and bounds in recent years," said Zack Metzger, president of the Troy Waterfront Farmers' Market. "We are really excited about that growth, but we need to address some of the issues we are facing, such as the need for a permanent home for the market in a space that's big enough to grow. When we consider what that means for Troy and for farmers in our area, we see a lot of potential." ...
"The community has supported the market in a huge way, which has enabled us to create a first rate marketplace. Now it's time for us all to consider creating a first rate Market Hall and discussing what that would look like and how our programs could expand, and what it would mean for the city of Troy and the Capital Region as a whole."
You probably remember that a 2014 proposal for the 1 Monument Square redevelopment prominently featured, at one point, a permanent space for the farmers' market. But the idea later washed out of the plan in 2015, and in 2016 the overall plan crashed.
There's another public meeting coming up to talk about ideas for 1 Monument Square
The fifth major attempt to redevelop the 1 Monument Square site in the heart of downtown Troy takes another step November 5 with a public meeting to formally present ideas developed during the public planning sessions this past summer.
City press release blurbage:
During the meeting, project designers and planners will present a refined concept for the site. Following the presentation, the City, along with the design team, will analyze project costs, available grant funding, and other factors necessary to move the project forward. The City previously held a multi-day workshop to study the site, inviting Troy residents, business owners, employees and the general public to participate in developing a shared vision for the One Monument Square site. The feedback provided during the meetings were used to develop a series of site illustrations which feature significant open public space, two levels of parking, views of the Hudson River, and pedestrian connections down to the adjacent William D. Chamberlain Riverfront Park.
Officials have said the idea this time around is to figure out some sort of consensus on how the site should be used before finding developers interested in the site.
This next meeting is Monday, November 5 at 7 pm at the Arts Center of the Capita Region (265 River Street).
Earlier: Five takeaways from the start of the fifth major effort to redevelop 1 Monument Square
Today's moment of mural
Took a minute the other day to admire this little mural in the Williams Street alley just off Broadway in downtown Troy. It's just very pleasant.
(If you know who created it, please share in the comments.)
A look around Bard & Baker, the new board game cafe in downtown Troy
The board game cafe Bard & Baker is now officially open in Troy. It's in the street-level retail space at the corner of Broadway and 5th Ave in The News, the redeveloped old Troy Record building.
The cafe has more than 400 games board games that you can play all day for as long as you like for a $5 cover. (You can even leave and come back the same day.) There's also a menu that includes all sorts of beverages (coffee, teas, soda, juice, beer, wine, cocktails), along with sandwiches, snacks, and pastries.
Here's a look around the new place...
Troy Letter
Check it out: Local journalist Luke Stoddard Nathan has started a weekly email newsletter about all sorts of Troy-related things. It is called, fittingly, Troy Letter. The second issue popped up this past Friday.
It's free. Hit that link just above here, enter your email address, click the confirmation link, and you can be signed up in just a few seconds.
Nathan was, of course, the news editor for the The Alt until it recently stopped publishing. (He also contributed here at AOA a while back.) As he explained in the first issue of Troy Letter:
The tone/style will be more informal than what I produced for The Alt. I'll use slang, abbreviations, shorthand, "I," etc. I might occasionally speak up at the myriad city meetings I attend, rather than adhere to the more traditional, fly-on-the-wall code of decorum for reporters. I see this as something like a "neighborhood blog" for the city of Troy, one that reflects my own interests/tastes/sensibilities.
The issue that landed this past Friday included a discussion of possible gyms in downtown Troy, the city's trash policies, real estate projects, a court case, events, and all sorts of odds and ends.
If you live in Troy, spend time in Troy, or care about Troy in some way, there are probably at least a few bits in there that will interest you.
Troy street painting competition 2018
The street painting competition organized by the Arts Center of the Capital Region returns to downtown Troy September 22 and registration is now open. Participating artists will use chalk to turn sidewalk panels in art. Blurbage:
All regional artists are invited to participate in the fall Street Painting Competition for the best chalk design on the sidewalks of River Street. Registration fee is $20.00 and includes one set of colored chalk, and one pack of white chalk. Please note, artists are allowed to provide their own chalk based on their designs but the entry fee still applies.
Age categories: Adult, Grade 1-5, Grade 6-8, or Grade 9-12.
Registration is $20 and space is limited. See the link for details.
Also: The event has a different location this time around. It will still be on River Street, but it will be the block between 1st and State Street (it's the curved block by the Rice Building).
Follow up: The Dutch Udder
AOA is on summer break. So we'll have new follow-ups with people we've met and covered during the last year (or so).
Kehmally Karl and Jeff McCauley started making ice cream as a side project -- creating fun flavors for family and friends. Slowly and methodically, they've turned a hobby, and an incredible talent for creating inventive flavors, into a successful small business: The Dutch Udder.
Flavors found on their ever-changing menu include Nine Pin Cider Sorbet, Grasshopper, Cinnamon Toast Crunch, and Rice Crispy Treat ice cream.
At first, they sold ice cream from a cart at markets and festivals and special events. And three years ago the then-fledgling business was also finalist in the AOA Startup Grant contest. Since then, Jeff and Kehmally have opened a storefront on River Street in downtown Troy and they've captured awards for their Philly Vanilla and for their other inventive flavors.
Jeff talked with us about their experience in the ice cream biz so far.
Troy neighborhoods and districts map
Check out this map of Troy neighborhoods and districts put together for the Troy subreddit by FifthAveSam.
A clip from the background explainer for the map:
I'm tired of wishing that there was a better map of Troy when people ask where something is located. I've spent the last couple of days scouring the internet to find the old list of Troy's recognized districts in order to make a map to help others understand the area a bit better. I also used some recent government posts and injected a little bit of my own opinion in order to make a comprehensive map of our neighborhoods and districts.
And later in the explainer: "This is not 100% perfect nor do I predict it ever will be." That's understandable -- maps are hard.
Five takeaways from the start of the fifth major effort to redevelop 1 Monument Square
Monday night the city of Troy had a public workshop to kick off the fifth major attempt to redevelop the 1 Monument Square site. Yep, the fifth -- and the old city hall was only knocked down at the end of 2010.
Given all that's happened since -- arguments over form and function, allegations of incomplete disclosure, infrastructure complications, legal threats -- what hope is there that this time will be any different?
"Oh, you have to hope. We have to hope that it's going to be different," said Troy deputy mayor Monica Kurzejeski. "I think people are ready to come to the table. They're ready to have conversations. It's just the negativity is starting to -- you know, it's starting to be boring a little bit. Now we have to have some positive outreach."
For this fifth attempt, here are five takeaways from Monday's discussions...
Checking in with Bard & Baker, the board game cafe planned for Troy
The cafe will be in the street-level corner space of the old Record building.
The new board game cafe that's been in the works for downtown Troy -- Bard & Baker -- now has a location.
The developers behind the new News Apartments announced this week that Bard & Baker will be taking one of the retail spaces in the old Troy Record building at Broadway and 5th Ave.
The cafe's owner is Charlotte Guyton, who was a key member of the team at Clark House Hospitality (Peck's Arcade, The Confectionery). And Bryan Connor, who was a pastry chef at Peck's Arcade, will be the cafe's kitchen manager.
Guyton first publicly announced the plan for the cafe during last year's AOA Startup Grant content, in which she was finalist. Even though she didn't win, the judges were very impressed by both her and her methodical approach. And Guyton got a boost last month when she won a $1,500 grant in the business plan competition for the Capital Region Chamber's Entrepreneur Boot Camp. She's aiming to open in September.
So we're curious to hear about how thing are coming along, and what to expect when the cafe opens this fall. And we figured you might be, too...
Troy has another round of public workshops coming up to talk about 1 Monument Square
The city of Troy has posted the schedule for the upcoming series of public workshops to talk about the future of the 1 Monument Square site. It includes three events in one week at the Arts Center of the Capital Region:
Monday, June 18:
Movie night and discussion 4:30-6 pm
Community workshop 6-8 pm
Wednesday, June 20
Open house to discuss design ideas 5-8 pm
Thursday, June 21
Community design review 6-8 pm
Last month the Madden admin
Rockin' on the River 2018
Singer/songwriter/composer Meklit will be there in July. / photo: Marco Peris / via Meklit Facebook
The full schedule for the next season of the Rockin' on the River free concert series in downtown Troy is out.
The Wednesday night series starts June 6 in Riverfront Park and runs through August 8.
And here's the lineup...
A look around The News, the latest large residential project in Troy
The last few years have seen a small boom in residential projects in the downtowns of the Capital Region's core cities.
And the latest project to open is The News. It's a 101-unit redevelopment/new construction project by the Rosenblum Companies at the site of the former Troy Record building in downtown Troy. Tenants started moving in at the start of this month.
Here's a look around the place, along with a conversation with Rosenblum's Jeff Mirel about Troy and building new residential in urban neighborhoods.
At the new Zebra Bras in Troy, the measuring tape is a 3D scan
If you are a bra-wearer, you already know the struggle to find the right size bra.
Standard sizing does a poor job of accommodating non-standardized bodies, and misinformation is rampant. Many women don't know what a properly-fitting bra is even supposed to feel like, and uninformed employees at mall stores often measure incorrectly.
But maybe all of that will soon be a thing of the past.
Sure, custom bras have been around for a while, if you're willing to spend enough cash. But recent innovations in 3D scanning and printing have the potential to eliminate issues with fit.
Zebra Bras is a new business in downtown Troy that uses 3D printing and scanning to create bras that are customized to your body. I talked with owner Hannah Johnson about how it works...
Reclaimed and unbridged
The photo illustration above of the Green Island Bridge is the latest in local photographer John Bulmer's "Reclaimed" series, which imagines landmarks in a state of post-human abandonment.
He talked with Lauren a few years back about the inspiration for the series and how he creates the photo illustrations.
Bulmer is a professional photographer. In addition to works such as the "Reclaimed" series or this many-sunsets composite of the Albany skyline he also frequently posts beautiful weather and architectural shots on Twitter.
The portrait of Peter F. Baltimore
That portrait above depicts Peter F. Baltimore, a prominent resident of Troy during the early 19th century. The Rensselaer County Historical Society has an opportunity to buy the rare circa 1840s watercolor for $15,000 -- and it's asking for the public's help. Historical society blurbage:
RCHS has been offered a rare second chance to acquire an exceptional circa late 1840s watercolor portrait of Peter F. Baltimore (1829-1913), prominent member of an important free black family who came to Troy in the late 18th-early 19th century. They were key members of the community, particularly working in the area of abolition. Peter was a barber who traveled to NY City with Rev. Henry Highland Garnet as an early anti-slavery proponent. His barber shop on First Street was a documented part of the local Underground Railroad system. RCHS uses his unique story in school programming, tours, and other presentations to make connections to our shared national history and to "recognize every face and every story." Peter's only son was Garnet Douglass Baltimore, RPI's first black graduate, who became a civil engineer and designed Troy's Prospect Park among many other important projects.
RCHS had $9,000 of the $15,000 raised as of earlier this week, with an event focused on the portrait and its historical context Wednesday (March 14) evening. It has a deadline of April 24 to raise the money. [TU]
As that blurb alludes to, the Baltimores have a remarkable family story in Troy. Peter Baltimore's father, Samuel, escaped slavery. Peter Baltimore owned a high-end barbershop, was a key figure in the local abolitionist community, and assisted Harriet Tubman in the dramatic rescue of Charles Nalle. And Garnett Douglass Baltimore? In addition to accomplishments mentioned above, upon his death he was remembered in a Troy newspaper as being "as much of Troy as the monument."
image: Antique Associates At West Townsend via RCHS
River Street Market
A rendering of the River Street side of the building.
In the works for Troy: The River Street Market, a food hall planned for the Hedley Building* on River Street. Press release blurbage:
Located in 12,000 square feet on the first floor of the Hedley Building, the River Street Market is slated to open this summer and will contain a dozen unique food, beverage, and market concepts that provide a wide variety of farm-to-table quality providers to delight the 1,500 employees within the building as well as the growing downtown Troy population. Local food entrepreneurs, Katie and Luke Haskins will lease, manage, and work at the market while assembling a team of independent operators to take Troy's food scene to the next level.
The Haskins also own Hooked at the Galleria 7 food hall space in Latham -- Steve Barnes talked with them today about the project.
The announced-so-far tenants for the River Street Market:
+ Lord & Montague, and wine and charcuterie bar run by Katie and Luke Haskins. (The name is a nod to Hannah Lord Montague, an early 19th century Troy resident who created the detachable collar.)
+ Sunhee's on the River -- a spinoff from Sunhee's Farm and Kitchen over on Ferry Street.
The food hall is part of First Columbia's long-simmering "Waterfront District" plan for the section of Troy just south of the Collar City Bridge (map).
The River Street Market would be the second food hall for downtown Troy, joining Troy Kitchen over on Congress Street.
* The Hedley Building is the office building on the riverfront that also currently houses Troy City Hall.
Earlier:
+ Eat This: Blackened Fish Po'Boy at Hooked Seafood Co. (2016)
+ Follow up: Troy Kitchen
The city of Troy wants to plan for the future of 1 Monument Square. Again.
The site back in 2016.
This all sounds familiar.
The city of Troy says it's aiming hold a three-day public design event -- a charrette -- about the future of the 1 Monument Square site. Press release blurbage:
Mayor Patrick Madden said, "The design charrette process offers a fresh start for the redevelopment of Monument Square. With assistance and input from our community, we can create a collective vision for the site that respects Troy's unique and historic character while enhancing our city's valuable assets and expanding access to our unique waterfront location."
A charrette is an intensive planning and design session where residents, business owners, designers and other stakeholders collaborate on a vision for development. A design charrette provides a forum for ideas which offers a unique opportunity to give designers immediate feedback while creating mutual authorship among participants in the plan. The City is not advancing any predetermined concepts with the exception of a 50-foot deep esplanade along the Hudson River and connection from the esplanade to River Street.
The city has issued an RFP for a consultancy to hold the event, which does not have a date:
A potential map for Troy's future
A conceptual plan for a reconfiguration of the riverfront in downtown Troy.
The draft of Troy's new comprehensive plan -- Realize Troy -- was released this week after more than two years in the making. It's basically a proposed road map for the city's future over the next 25 years and beyond.
The full draft is available over at the Realize Troy site.
We read through the plan this week and picked out a handful of bits that caught our eye -- from a major reconfiguration downtown to... forks.
Muffaletta from Harrison's Corner Market
A muffaletta sandwich is a glorious thing.
Rich, unctuous, and briny, it has enough substance to make typical sandwich accoutrements (pickle, chips) seem superfluous.The trick is getting the proportions right and keeping each flavor profile balanced.
A new (long awaited) eatery -- Harrison's Corner Market in Troy -- seems to recognize and respect that.
State Attorney General's office: Troy police review of fatal shooting was "deficient and incomplete"
An image of a 3D model of the incident prepared for OAG by a forensic analysis company called Precision Simulations, Inc. The car on the left is that of Sgt. French, Thevenin's car is in the middle, and the car on the right is that of TPD captain Matthew Montanino. The cone shapes stretching between French's car and Thevenin's are the estimated paths of the shots fired by French.
The state Attorney General's office released its report Tuesday on the fatal shooting of Edson Thevenin by Troy police in April 2016 -- and it is highly critical of the Troy Police Department.
Thevenin was shot by Troy police sergent Randall French after Thevenin fled a DWI stop and struck a divider on the entrace to the Collar City Bridge. In the version of events publicized by the TPD in the days after the shooting, French had fired after Thevenin's car pinned him against his own patrol car and he shot in self defense.
But the OAG report pointedly argues that Troy police mishandled the investigation of the incident. A clip:
The TPD was the police agency with exclusive control over the investigation for an initial critical period after the shooting. Almost immediately, and without having conducted any real investigation, the TPD publicly adopted the position that Sgt. French was pinned when he began shooting and that the shooting was therefore justified. The TPD did so notwithstanding its possession of evidence contradicting that version of events, including photographs it took of Mr. Thevenin's windshield showing trajectory rods inserted in each of the eight bullet holes. Those photographs make clear that some of the bullets were fired from different points across the front of Mr. Thevenin's car (i.e., evidence inconsistent with a pinned, immobile shooter.)
Checking out the new Franklin Alley Social Club
The Franklin Alley Social Club -- a new bar/shuffleboard/bocce ball/arcade spot under Takk House in Troy -- opened this past weekend.
Here's a look around and little bit about what's up...
The Narrows
Check out the plan for The Narrows, a formalized series of walking trails through Troy. It's a collaboration between the Rensselaer Land Trust, Post Contemporary, and the city of Troy. Blurbage:
The Narrows is an extensive 5 mile hiking trail proposal that winds through the waterfalls, outcrops, and historic landscapes of Troy's Wynantskill and Poestenkill valleys: a wilderness hike... in the City. When complete, the wilderness trail will wind to Downtown Troy from the Hudson Mohawk Bike-Hike Trail over the river on the 378 Bridge.
The Narrows will highlight Troy's exceptional cultural heritage and scenic beauty, exhibit strong connectivity to regional trail systems, heighten quality of life and health for citizens of Troy and the region, bolster community identity, and add to economic development. ...
Phase One will connect the Burden Pond Preserve to the Staalesen Preserve along an over 2 mile trail that weaves its way along the Wynantskill's gorgeous waterfalls, gorges, and uplands. This route was chosen because of its spectacular natural features, and its complete site control. The connectivity to date has been impossible because of lack of infrastructure, most notably of two long span bridges needed to cross the Wynantskill at key locations
That first link above includes more info, including photos of some of the landscape.
Project backers say construction on phase one could start in the spring and be finished by the end of 2018.
... said KGB about Drawing: What's something that brought you joy this year?