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Citizen Nancy has been scribing this invaluable blog for almost three years now.I frequently scoop most reporters in town.(It's not that difficult) And mainstream media frequently lifts my work and calls it their own.
What's that expression about imitation and flattery?

Because Citizen Nancy refuses to work for corporate America and lives in Saratoga, I often need funds so I can live and continue to write what I consider to be the BEST blog in the Capital District. If you would like to fund this local iconoclast, please give in to the urge.

I want to thank my many loyal readers and especially my adversaries who read my blog obsessively.

Thank you and good day. - Citizen Nancy

Mathiesen: The New Robespierre?

"Any institution which does not suppose the people good, and the magistrate corruptible, is evil."
                                                          - Maximilien Robespierre

During the Age of Enlightenment and what was to become the French Revolution there was a most brilliant scholar by the name of Maximilien Robespierre. Robespierre was to become the leader of the Public Safety Committee.

Robespierre believed in liberty and equality for everyone not just for aristicrats and he believed that people could profoundly change their lives for the better through political action. Robespierre also thought of himself as 'incorruptible.' And for a time that was true. But like Lord Byron said, "Absolute power, corrupts absolutely."

Saratoga Springs own leader of Public Safety is in danger of becoming corruptible himself. He is allowing the Police and Fire Department to undermine his leadership.

Let us remember that it was Mathiesen himself who told Citizen Nancy back in October that he wanted all bartenders licensed and all bouncers credentialed. Now lets fast forward to this past week where a Saratoga Springs Fire Department employee was arrested on crack cocaine charges. The public is rightly calling for random drug testing for ALL public employees. I believe this is just and reasonable. As we all know the general public is not always reasonable.

In what Public Safety Commissioner considers an 'isolated incident', the public accurately perceives it to be a growing and disturbing trend of public employees/ officials (see David Forbes)as being above reproach. The sense of entitlement at the taxpayers expense is beyond infuriating at this point in the game.

I believe Mathiesen is making a colossal and costly professional mistake for not implementing a random drug test for ALL public employees including himself. I understand that he is trying to escape the wrath of the Fire and Police Department. But by not providing leadership to the community, Mathiesen will endure much abuse from those who elected him and will no doubt send him packing two short years from now.

The reality is this: When push comes to shove and push does occasionally show up to shoves office; it is Mathiesen who is THE BOSS of the Fire and Police Department, not the other way around.

Luckily for Mathiesen, he has time to correct this mistake. Mr. Mathiesen, do not allow the whining cry-babies to weaken your resolve to bring law, order and safety to our beloved community.

My Thoughts On Black History Month and Womens History Month

If you have been an avid reader of CITIZEN NANCY you already know my strong aversion to special interest groups. I detest when elected officials use the term 'special interest' to pander to corporate america.

I am tired of how Blacks, Women and sometimes Jews are considered a 'special interest' group. No one is a special interest group. Groups, like individuals should be viewed by individual and collective achievements; not by how much one group or individual has suffered or has been discriminated against.

I used to look forward to all the great documentaries that PBS would air especially for Black History Month and Womens History Month. The programs aired during this time always seemed to have a lot more 'flava' than the usual programming.

As much as I enjoyed these programs, it was just as shocking to realize that much of the contributions of blacks and women were often written out of history, ignored or marginalized and more recently regulated to the month of February and March respectively.

There is no question that America has been made better by those of African-American decent and women of all ethic and racial backgrounds. The contributions are as profound as they are varied. Elijah McCoy (an inventor) and Malcolm X (the revolutionary) could not be more different, yet they both have made indelible marks on American History and Culture. Susan B. Anthony(suffragist) and Victoria Woodhull,(first woman to own her own newspaper and run for President of the United States) both fighting for equality for women albeit going about it in completely different ways have both made substantial contributions to American Culture.

Those contributions were made with much heartache, risk and sacrifice. Many women and blacks who openly resisted exploitation and degradation paid for it with their life. When we don't value the freedoms we have today we inadvertently disrespect those who have gone before us.

I used to look forward to Black History Month and Womens History Month but I believe if we want true progress and true equality we must demand and expect more or ourselves so we can continue to achieve greatness. I am not one for taking Shakespeare out of the classroom and replace him with a book authored by someone black or female. There is room for everyone at the table. Shakespeare's literary contributions to the world are undeniable.

We do need to get rid of the notion that anyone who is Black or A Woman and opinionated is a 'radical' or 'anti-American.' I am also opposed to affirmative action because it hinders the progress of both blacks and women because it implies that we only got to where we are because of it. For awhile it may have evened a very uneven playing field. But over the course of time and from my own personal experience it does more to benefit the white-male power structure than it does for anyone it is supposed to benefit.

The contributions of Black people and Women should not be underestimated, but the notion of regulating us to one month is rather outdated and ultimately insulting. Onward and upward. And.... power to the people!

Awake: Are You?

A Homage ToPoets and Journalists

The Bartenders Ball: More Like Monsters Ball

Saratoga Springs has long been known to be a city that had MANY good looking women. Judging by the photos I saw of Saturdays Bartenders Ball, that has changed. One picture of four good looking women was the exception. Other than that it was the ugliest group of fucking people I have seen in a long time. Where are all the good looking women in this town, have they moved away?   Mother of God! My eyes are sore.

Dear Saratogian:

Plagiarism: To present the ideas and words of another as one's own.


*Your story regarding a South Broadway 'Renaissance' is very similar to my February 3rd Story on CITIZEN NANCY. There is no way someone at your publcation could have come up with that on their own. It's also against the law.


I suggest that all those who are CITIZEN NANCY fans, write the Saratogian a well worded letter and or cancel your subscription.

The Greatest Talent The Music Industry Ever Had: RIP WHITNEY HOUSTON

Metroland Best Of:

I realize that mediocrity is frequently rewarded here in America. I have railed against this and many other things on my blog for almost three years now. I have and will continue to educate the sheeple from the unscrupulous behavior of those in our beloved community. I have in a sense become the unofficial reporter of City Hall and all things pertaining to MY HOME TOWN of Saratoga Springs.

Every year Metroland has a BEST OF addition in which readers fill out what the best restaurants, clubs, blogs etc. I trust that this year people will vote for who is truely best and not what is 'SAFE' or 'FUN' but what is BEST. I appreciate all the e-mails and accolades that I get from both fans and critics alike. I trust that my 'constituents' or readers will do the right thing and vote for CITIZEN NANCY for best blog. Thank you and good day.

Correction: From Citizen Nancy

Dear Mike King:

It seems that Citizen Nancy was given some misinformation this morning. And sometimes banks do make mistakes. The mistake wasn't from Adirondack Trust or the City Tax Collector so my apologies to Mike King.

Respectfully,

Citizen Nancy

Tonights City Council Meeting

Citizen  Nancy has been up since 5am so I will just write a few things now up will give you a more detailed article tomorrow of what went on the the council meeting this evening.

Eric Weller who is on the Housing Authority Board was skyped in for the meeting. Weller was appointed to the Board by Mayor Klotz in 2000. Weller confirmed to John Franck and the rest of the city council that the PR firm Gramercy had been paid $175 an hour but the Housing Authority terminated the agreement when the results of last weeks bed bug workshop were unsatifactory.

The latest revelation about the bed bug saga according to John Franck is that he has gotten numerous phone calls about some Stonequist tenants being without a lease for two years. Other tenants were able to renew leases. Its seems that Spychalski is 'not giving leases to certain tenants as a mechanism to to control them,' said Franck.

Weller seemed okay with Finance Commissioner Michele Madigan's recommendation for a forensic audit. "Bring on the forensic audit," said Weller.

Mike King the Tax Collector appeared before the council with news of a total of 31 Saratoga Springs properties that will be foreclosed on and most likely will end up being auctioned off. Most are parcels but five properties are owner occupied. Below is a partial list with Tax Map Number for those interested in purchasing the property:

Tax Map # 165.18-3-26 292 West Circular Street
Tax Map #165.58-1-24  195 Division Street
Tax Map #165.58-3-12   26 Cherry Street

I will include a full list tomorrow.

The properties will first go to a Real Estate Committee that includes Marilyn Rivers, Kevin Veitch, Joe Scala,

Part II of the John Franck Interview:

Regarding the Saratoga Springs Library:

"When they built the seperate assessment for the library that was to pay the bond down. The bond was paid off a couple of years ago at which that tax was supposed to disappear. The school district decided that they wanted to keep the tax there. There was a lot of uproar about it two or three years ago. We put it up for a vote and the vote went through to keep the fee," said Franck.

"Twenty years from now there isn't going to be any [new] libraries. Probably ten years from now. There is no reason to open up libraries anymore. Everybody gets books on ipads and stuff. There aren't going to be books in school. Some states are already trying to change the law to basically force school districts, they're doing this in Florida to use ipads or tablet devices because they're going to save so much money."

"I like going the the library, its a beautiful place but they're going to be a thing of the past because they are so expensive. I mean that library [Saratoga Springs Public Library] cost more to build the basement than it did the rest of the building because the water table was only two feet deep. So the cement to encase the basement cost more than the other two floors above it," said Franck.

Regarding the election at the Library: (Usually happens in the Springtime)

The reason that there is a separate election for the school budget 'is because the school budget is on a fiscal year of July 1st-June 30th and the city is on a calender year,'

"We also have a special assessment district. If you have a building within a certain range of Broadway you have to pay an addtional tax. So for this building [511 Broadway] I pay an additional tax. The additional tax is used for improvements on Broadway. The [property owners] on Broadway, their taxes are going to go up because of this parking lot [Woodlawn] because the special assessment district is kicking in some money from that," said Franck.

I asked John about the Public Comment period and its restrictive two minute rule. Each municipality is run differently. Malta and Milton have no such restrictions and I have always wondered why the Citizens of Saratoga Springs have been kept to such a stringent and rather unforgiving time frame:

John Franck: "When Val Keehn was Mayor, she had two public comment periods; she did keep it to two minutes which is more of a guideline than a rule. Mayor Johnson did away with the other public comment period.  What you can do is workshops [Like the one Franck hosted and fascilitated last week regarding the Housing Authority and bed bug fiasco] and in workshops you are not stuck under a certain public law that you are under City Council meetings. You have to do the business of the people. If we let everybody go for 45 minutes then you're not going to get anything done.

Another issue for Saratoga Springs is the lack of neighborhood associations. Currently there is only one in Saratoga, there used to be many neighborhood associations. Accounts Commissioner Franck suggests that neighborhoods along with City Council members hold public meetings. He suggests having these informal meetings after Labor Day. The residents who live on the North Side of town could perhaps meet at Skidmore, South Side residents could meet at the South Side Recreation Center, and those who live in Geyser Crest could meet at the Saratoga Eagle Beverage Center, East Side could utilize Caroline Street School etc.

Franck feels that so many community residents are hesitant to attend City Council meetings because 'its daunting,' Franck candidly admits that until he was elected to public office he had never attended a city council meeting. "People are afraid to come, its not a Democrat or Republican thing. They think, 'I don't want to go in and start trouble and then all of a sudden my assesment goes up,' said Franck.

Citzen Nancy: Speaking of Assessments, they have not gone up:

John Franck: We have not reassessed the city [of Saratoga Springs] since 2005. One, its too costly, if you're going to reassess the city you gotta do it right. And you have to reassess it every year and the cost of doing it properly is a half million dollars. And then whenever you do a reassessment you can add another half million- a million dollars in legal fees in defending the assessments. My point was when I came into office they reassessed in the hottest real estate market of all time. I found it to be unconscionable that people were going to think that our house values were going to go up every year by twenty percent. When I came into office we were at seventy-eight percent of full market value meaning that the first year I was in office the building prices went up twenty-two percent. Since I've been in office [properties] have gone down in value. We are probably going to be at eighty-four percent of full value. Full value meaning the number in 2005. So, were getting closer to were we were in 2005 and through trending analysis and information we get from the county and us going through properties the values of houses have been going down since 2006. If I go through and reassess peoples homes right now the average reassessment would go up about sixteen percent. It makes no sense.

Plus, originally New York State was giving us $5 per parcel but they took that away. We have thirty five taxing municipalities in Saratoga County, only two are at a hundred percent.  Wilton and Malta. Everybody else backed out of it because it was too costly. Milton was in it but after one year they got out of it. Greenfield got in it and then out of it. It was too expensive. The problem like all problems with government; its simple to fix, you take the Assessors out of the local municipalities and have it run by the county. Then the county assesses all properties at one hundred percent annually.Everybody is paying all these assessors, when it should be run through the state as a conduit for the county. Thats just about how every other state runs it but not New York. And the reason it doesn't is because its a colonial state and for many years the Assessor was the most powerful person in the city.

The Staircase To Nowhere: Mayor Johnson's Legacy

I finally made an appearance this evening at the South Side Recreation Center aka the Mayor's 'baby'. What a dismal disappointment. I went there to play raquetball. It was $10 and the court had to be reserved.

Unbelievably there is only one raquetball court. I'm not making this up. So much for a 'free' place for people to go to. And....... you have to awkwardly walk through the entire gym (there were 3 different basketball games going on at the time) just to get to a tiny dead space of an area where the raquetball court is. No forethought or vision. Oh, wait, why does this sound familiar? Because this was Mayor Johnson's idea.

Also, I had heard from one of Citizen Nancy's foot soldiers that there was a 'staircase to nowhere.' I had to see it to believe it but its absolutely true. It is just inside the main entrance. I went up the stairs thinking that surely there must be a community room where people could congregate and chat but sadly there isn't. Indeed it was a staircase to nowhere. The Mayors speech yesterday should have been called the staircase to nowhere since thats basically been the premise of his entire administration.

I can't say I would recommend the South Side Rec. I don't want to pay $10 just to play raquetball when I can just go to the East Side Rec. and play for FREE.

As time goes on and we look back on Mayor Johnson's legacy it will be seen as it really is; "The Staircase To Nowhere days."