Hello, Collar City! This is Issue 25, dated March 8, 2019.



Hello, again! Troy Letter now has



I'd like address a few things that have come up over the past week —> ! Troy Letter now has 91 patrons on Patreon . Thanks! I'm surprised! It means that this newsletter will continue for at least another three months. As I said last week, if I reach 200 patrons, TL will continue from the date that number is reached for at least another year.I'd like address a few things that have come up over the past week —>

South Troy Farming

. Patreon is not really set up that way—and I'm reluctant, at least at this stage, to set up a separate account on another money-accepting platform for that express purpose. But there is a somewhat unwieldy (though functional) workaround: Become a patron, enter your desired one-time contribution amount, then cancel your subscription once you've been billed. Per Patreon , "You'll know when you have been billed because you'll receive an email confirmation stating your payment has successfully processed." Rest assured, if you do this subscribe-and-cancel move, I will notice and appreciate (and not be mystified/angered by) it. That said, I recognize that it's a somewhat funky procedure, and I am exploring alternative ways to accommodate this way of contributing in the future.. When you choose to become a patron, you'll have the chance to adjust that amount. Five dollars is the threshold for receiving beautiful, timeless schwag (all the totes have been claimed, but there are still magnets), but any amount, even $1, is appreciated.. I really, really appreciate the interest/offer, but in the interest of administrative simplicity, I'd prefer to handle all transactions through Patreon, at least at this time. (There's also a transparency angle I like about solely using Patreon; you can see exactly how much money, pre-taxes, I'm earning each month.)Whether you remain a subscriber for the lifetime of this project or cancel after you've contributed what you feel is an appropriate amount, I want again to thank you for helping out. I hope, too, that by pitching in to help sustain this project, you might feel a bit more ownership of it. The more frequently people send story ideas, ask questions, etc., the better the end product will be. (I can't always respond to all of your emails, but I do read them.) Of course, you're more than welcome simply to sit back and enjoy the show, but I just wanted to let you know that, while it may sometimes seem that I know everything that is happening around town, I really don't, and I always appreciate emails and texts that say something to the effect of, "Hey, did you know about this [issue/event/etc.]?" Photos of funny/strange things are also appreciated.Drop by during either window and pick up the schwag to which you are entitled. (I'll have an updated, time-stamped list to verify whether you're a tote-and-magnet or just magnet person. If you can't make it to this one, don't worry, there will be future opportunities to connect.) As long as it doesn't interfere with SMCo.'s normal business operations or my ability to distribute the schwag expeditiously, I'll be more than happy to talk to you about all things Troy-related. I'll be sitting at a table or the counter. It will probably be obvious who I am (look for the bag of bags), but here, for identification purposes, is a recent photo of me wall-sitting at Prospect Park:If you haven't already done so, you can become a patron of TL by clicking here . Your support helps to keep TL free, accessible, and discoverable for all. Thank you.(One other, minor note: A handful of you opted to support the Patreon but had not signed up/did not sign up to receive TL itself. After a cross-check, I went ahead and signed you up. If, for some reason, you do not want to actually receive these emails—and maybe you just used a different email for Patreon versus TinyLetter; sorry, then, if you get duplicate emails this week—there's an unsubscribe button at the very bottom of this one.): South Troy farming, pool renovations, Knickerbacker Park negotiations, and much more. Enjoy!Last night, the city council granted its final approval to a bundle of city-owned property sales. One interesting deal: Dara Silbermann, who owns 2nd Street Farm in South Troy , which launched last year, has purchased a sloped, wooded, 0.68-acre parcel near Oak St. for $100.Silbermann intends to clear brush and invasive plants/trees, then plant fruit trees and edible plants. (There are already berry canes on the property, she told me in a phone interview this week.) The bounties of the orchard will eventually be offered at 2nd Street Farm's retail stand and through its farm-share program, which people can join to receive weekly allotments of produce.The farm-share will begin in mid-May—that's when "the best vegetables of the year," like broccoli rabe and spicy greens, come out, Silbermann says—and end in mid-September. Members receive six to nine produce items per week. The 20-week program costs $350. When members pick up their shares at the farm (at 492 Second St.), the retail stand will also be open, so they can supplement their shares as needed.As of Thursday, 2nd Street Farm's spring/summer farm-share has 22 people signed up, with a list of 15 more people who have expressed interest in joining, Silbermann said. (Technically, the farm-share memberships are offered through Cultivated Arts Cooperative, a nascent network of Troy-based farms that collaborate to share marketing expenses. Edible Uprising Farm at Springwood Manor will also be involved with the cooperative this year.)Sign up or learn more via the farm's Facebook page . And here's a picture Silbermann sent me of onion seedlings under the glow of full spectrum grow lights:

Thursday City Council Meetings Roundup

Last night, the city council voted 4-2 to award a $199,450 contract to River Street Planning (first discussed in TL23) for a full review and revision of the city's zoning code. Margaret Irwin, a principal of the firm, addressed the council during a planning committee meeting earlier that night, outlining her project team's planned approach to the rezone. Irwin stressed that the final zoning code should be user-friendly.

One interesting tidbit: Irwin's team includes "climate change adaptation specialists," she said. "It's of grave concern to me that a lot of Troy lies in the flood plain and particularly that a lot of its redevelopable or infill land lies in the flood plain."River Street Planning has worked on zoning-related matters for the cities of Schenectady, Albany, Rome, and Oneida, as well as "dozens of smaller communities, villages, and towns," Irwin said.Council President Carmella Mantello withdrew her support for the resolution on Thursday afternoon. She said this decision was based on her opposition to using $100,000 in funds from Troy Redevelopment Foundation—a consortium of large, local nonprofits that makes a voluntary payment to the city annually—to cover about half of the project cost. (The state is contributing the other half.) She said she'd prefer to see the $100K go toward fixing potholes or improving the city's surveillance cameras, which reportedly often don't work properly During the public comment portion of the meeting, Republican mayoral candidate Tom Reale offered a different critique: that there was a conflict of interest in awarding the contract to River Street Planning because Margaret Irwin is Mayor Patrick Madden's ex-wife. "It doesn't matter if everything's completely legal. What matters here are the optics, and the optics are starkly poor," Reale said.The mayoral candidate also pointed out that River Street Planning was not the lowest bidder for the project. (Another firm's bid was about $4,000 lower, though both were below the budgeted $200,000 for the project, according to a memo by the planning commissioner. A review committee led by a planning department staffer that included several members of the public picked River Street Planning.)Last year, in the context of a different pending award, the city's ethics commission found that Madden would not need to recuse himself from the award of city contracts to River Street Planning, partly because there were "no financial ties between the former couple," according to the TU . They separated in the early aughts.Corporation counsel James Caruso said Thursday he saw no conflict of interest in the matter.Republican city council member Jim Gulli joined Mantello in voting against the resolution.“Protecting the unique character of our neighborhoods and supporting economic development requires a robust overhaul of our long-outdated zoning ordinance," Mayor Madden said in a statement on the approval, which did not specifically address Mantello or Reale's critiques. "Tonight’s approval by the City Council to begin this important process demonstrates a citywide commitment to strengthen our neighborhoods, improve walkability, guide business investment, and plan for the future growth of Troy.". The city council endorsed the application on Thursday. The previous grant the city obtained allowed it to hire an additional code enforcement officer and private attorney. The city recently secured a $14,000 settlement from a lender responsible for a zombie property on Lark St., Strichman said., Kurzejeski told the council's planning committee. (The administration wants to rebuild the Lansingburgh Pool in a different location within the park; TL12 includes a look at that concept.) The nonprofit wants to enter into a new lease agreement with the city, Kurzejeski said. "We're not quite what those proposed terms are gonna be," she said, but there will be changes.In her formal response to the mayor's state of the city address,It's hard to see how legislation authorizing the referendum would be adopted by the council, given its current composition. Here's the TU's write-up of the speech , council member Anasha Cummings said on Thursday. The council majority has interviewed four of those applicants, has scheduled two more interviews, and hopes to "get back to the applicants early next week," Cummings said.A number of people who attended Thursday's meeting were wearing pro–sanctuary city shirts. City resident Siobhan Burke encouraged the council to un-table the resolution and vote on it at the April regular meeting. Supporters of the resolution have canvassed South Troy over the course of multiple weekends. Burke estimated that, "of the people we speak to, approximately 60 to 70 percent are in favor" of the item. Burke said supporters of the resolution will be presenting petitions to the council next month.