I bought my new home in Saratoga Springs in 1964 to move my young family out of
Albany County and the over-50-year influence of the O’Connell/Corning political machine.
My wife and I were attracted by the positive atmosphere of a town reinventing itself from being just a vacation/gambling mecca. New businesses and improved schools, blending with history and entertainment, offered a promising future. Crime and drugs have maintained well below the level of most of the adjoining counties.
What puzzles me is why so many people, mostly from New England or the New York City/New Jersey metro areas, moved up here for many of the same reasons that we did; then after a few years, try to change our town to make it more like where they moved away from?
One of the advantages we have here is we are just a three-hour drive from New York City or Boston, or four hours from Montreal. It is easy to visit these cities, so we don’t have to bring them here with their crime and drugs. If someone misses the crime, drugs and corruption too much, they can move to Schenectady — and turn a profit on their real estate to boot.
The commission form of government has kept the city solvent, clean and relatively crime-free, and it has generally been good for business. Why change to another form because you know one of hundreds using it seems successful? “If it isn’t broke, don’t fix it!”
Peter Henningson
Saratoga Springs
GAZETTE COVERAGE
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Letters to the Editor Wednesday, June 7 - Six, from readers in Glenville, Niskayuna, elsewhere- Letters to the Editor, Tuesday, June 6 - Two, from readers in Schenectady and Johnstown
- Letters to the Editor Monday, June 5 - Five, from readers in Scotia, Niskayuna, elsewhere
- Letters to the Editor Sunday, June 4 - Five, from readers in Scotia, Rotterdam, Schenectady, elsewhe...
- Letters to the Editor Saturday, June 3 - Four, from readers in Schenectady, Clifton Park and Ballsto...
Categories: Letters to the Editor
