Schenectady

Kyle McCormack, assistant manager of Lyle's Hoagies, remembers when the Erie Boulevard store was the "money maker" in large part because of all the General Electric employees who would walk to the sub store in the 1990s.

"The population gets smaller and smaller, and then they redid the road, and we were basically losing money the last year and half over there," he said Friday, adding the difficulty of finding parking around Erie Boulevard made matters worse.

As a result, he said, the downtown eatery closed a year ago.

City leaders maintain more businesses are settling than leaving the Electric City and despite recent layoffs and a bleak financial outlook at GE, Schenectady's downtown remains prosperous and a regional destination with a variety of attractions.

City Councilman John Polimeni said the city "has diversified our economy in such a way that we can handle impacts like that much better than we could 30 to 40 years ago."

"There's all kinds of new different types of jobs available here that weren't when I was growing up," the Schenectady native said.

GE employs 4,000 people at its Schenectady factory and office complex that dates back 125 years and is the headquarters for GE Power, which sells power generation products and services and is typically GE's biggest revenue generator.

Earlier this week, the Times Union reported that unit suffered a miserable fourth quarter of 2017, reporting an 88 percent profit drop to $260 million on $9.4 billion in revenue.

The disappointing results came as GE announced a $9.8 billion loss during the fourth quarter and its bleeding reinsurance unit is under investigation by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission..

GE's Schenectady employees have not been immune to the downsizing as GE has laid off about 100 white-collar workers and eliminated 130 blue-collar union jobs in Schenectady since November.

At the Schenectady campus, GE makes steam turbines and generators and also has offices for engineers and executives in the power business and other units. It also oversees its onshore wind turbine business from Schenectady, where it has a control center.

Suzy Wenskoski, the general manager of Aperitivo bistro, said she hasn't really noticed a marked decrease in business and that patrons from other local businesses will more than make up for what they may lose from less customers from GE

'I don't think we see a huge impact in the dining," said Wenskoski. "We just stay optimistic and just stick with our community and just make sure we do what we can do from our end to make sure that our business is still running and everybody knows that." She noted that they are doing catering and other private events.

Her boss, Angelo Mazzone, who also owns the Glen Sanders Mansion, where Wenskoski used to work, agreed with her assessment.

"I think there will be some effect in sales but I don't think it's going to kill us," said Mazzone, adding he did not think fewer people would be going to Proctors.

Standing outside Proctors, Sherrie Wentraub described Schenectady as a "GE town" when she and her husband Dennis moved to the city from Toronto in 1981.

The couple, who said they live on the North Side near Ellis Hospital, lauded the development that has made the downtown a showpiece.

"We're thrilled with this part — this is the high end — and the restaurants, but I think GE is going to be pulling the rug out," said Sherrie Wentraub. "I think Schenectady has been deflated with the leaving and the downsizing of GE and yet it seems to be building a lot of high-end things near the casino and we question whether or not they are looking at the demographics closely."

Her husband agreed.

"The layoffs are going to hurt and at the same time they seem to be building a lot of apartments and I don't know where they're going to get the people to occupy them," he said. "It's a positive (new development) but I'm just not sure it makes immediate sense given that there have been layoffs."

Mayor Gary McCarthy takes a different view, in part thanks to the $480 million Rivers Casino and Resort at Mohawk Harbor that includes a marina, hotels and town homes.

"In the last year, we've seen the casino open. We've seen the completion of Mohawk Harbor. There are other small businesses coming in which pretty much offset those shifts at GE even though we'd like to see everything prosper together," he said.

Councilman Vince Riggi said the types of businesses that dominate downtown are for people with "disposable income."

"When disposable money starts to dry up, it's going to have an impact, but it's too early to say how big of an impact," said Riggi.

City Councilwoman Leesa Perazzo said when she hears about layoffs at GE, her primary concern os for city residents who may lose their jobs.

"Schenectady is established enough that we have all different types of people coming into downtown for all different types of reasons and that the city will continue to thrive," said Perazzo, who works for Proctors.

She said the most recent layoffs pale in comparison to the massive ones of the past that had a crippling effect on the city.

"I think that Schenectady felt the impact of the past downsizing, but we're talking about a whole different level of downsizing then and I think Schenectady has since rebuilt itself on General Electric with a smaller campus, still of great asset to the city, but I don't see this downsizing as dramatic and I think we have a well-established city core," added Perazzo. "I think downtown will be fine but what about our people?"

pnelson@timesunion.com • 518-454-5347 • @apaulnelson