Score (160)

After having an opportunity to live in the City of Syracuse my entire life I characterize the South Side of the city to be marked by blocks of vacant lots and abandoned buildings, with little retail or commercial uses on the street. I have found that the main street (Salina St) has no identity and is an undesirable place to live, shop and work.
I suggest to design a beautification concept and to install colorful, heritage signage, banners, murals and artistic pieces on the main street.
I would like to recruit a group of 50 youth, ages 12 to 19, to study the history and cultural assets of the Syracuse community, and to create a logo and tagline for the South Side of the City of Syracuse.

Score (149)

WE THE REALESTATE TAXPAYERS
OF NYS ARE REALLY DUMPED ON
WE HAVE TO SUPPORT EDUCATION
AND WE HAVE TO PAY FOR THE HEALTH CARE OF THE POOR? andthey get better care than i can afford for myself.
last year my share was $552.18 and i dont think people are aware that they are paying this tax, when Rocky was Gov. he was told that he was being to liberal with his MEDICAID plan he did it anyway and the poor flocked to NY just to get on our wellfare plan,most liberal in all of US.well its time long overdue to corect this nightmare,why are we in NY only 1 of 2 states that make the property owners pay for it ???

Score (55)

To: Mr. Eliott Spitzer, Governor of New York State
December 29, 2006.
Before you became Governor of New York State, you were the Attorney General. At that time you fought against fraud, crime and corruption at all levels. We are now asking you to abide by the laws of the land.
The department of the Interiors’ Bureau of Indian Affairs has just signed off on the environmental assessment. You, Governor Eliot Spitzer, are about to sign off on January 1, 2007 to illegally change our land into “federal trust”. This is a major fraud. Now the proposed St. Regis Mohawk “Tribe’s” casino can go ahead at Monticello Raceway in New York State on our land without our consent, which violates international law. We are informing you of our opposition. New York State law does not supersede the U.S. Constitution, which you would be violating. As you know, this is treason.

Score (52)

Over the past several years there have been major cuts to departments that enforce workplace safety and wage regulations. The result has been that unscrupulous businessmen are evading the law by using off-the-books and day laborers in unsafe conditions and for slave wages. These practices have many detrimental impacts on society, which can be summarized as the creation of a new underclass. These people cannot afford standard housing, and so slums are built; they cannot afford standard child care, and so their children are left in dangerous illegal settings, and never receive the vital preparation needed for the early school years, and so a new generation arises without hope. At the root of all of this is the failure of the state to enforce wage, tax, and worker safety regulations. Instead of actively investigating, the state waits for a call or a complaint. While some claim that society benefits from cheap wage labor, the truth is that the cost of looking the other way is out of control. Aside from the tangibles, such as emergency health care, lost tax revenues, increase in disease and crime, there is also the intangible impact of allowing an underclass to exist in a society which claims the motto "all men created equal". I urge you to take immediate action to reverse the trend toward worker exploitation by actively investigating enforcing current worker protection laws, and by increasing the protections of the law where necessary to ban the practices which create an underclass in our society.

Score (140)

My husband, Andrew Weil and I feel Sullivan County has struggled with economic development and has mistakenly focused mainly on big box development and casinos as a means to revitalization.
That type of development is wrong for our area. Eco-tourism is a much better fit. Smaller diversied resorts/accomodations and revitalization of our quaint Main Streets is what I hope will be our focus because that is sustainable development that will help to create healthy communities.
I am opposed to casino development because first the County does not have the infrastructure to support it,and casinos do not contribute to healthy community life. To rely on casinos is to put the cart before the horse. And, to rubber stamp environmental reviews for casinos or any large development projects sets a very slippery slope, detrimental precedent.

Score (168)

There are two major issues in the Hudson Valley that our legislators have completely ignored:
(1) air pollution
(2) Lyme disease
Both are at extremely elevated levels of risk to the public health. It is almost irresponsible to raise children in Dutchess County because of these two vectors. Local governments apparently do not have the capacity to deal with these vital issues. We need the state to make this a priority (along with the many other issues we face).
Thank you.
- Submitted by Bronwyn Bevan on 12.29.06

Score (145)

As you are aware, the Upper Delaware River valley Between New York and Pennsylvania is one of the most beatiful natural areas in the Northeast; Narrowsburg, NY is known as the Bald Eagle capital of the Eastern Seabord. It would be a pity to blight this area with high tension power lines and microwave towers.
- Submitted by Art Nudell on 11.18.06

Score (9)

Hi Eliot,
Greg was happy to receive your phone call last night, and we both wish you a very lovely and happy inauguration...
I think the number one priority for large land owners, especially those who have had their land a long time and have watched the value of their land increase enormously- is the way that school taxes are assessed- Many of my neighbors in this little Town of Clinton (the farm where we had lunch together) are unable to afford their school taxes, and are forced to sell off pieces of their land to pay them- desperation is not conducive to smart growth!
Also, we in this little town, have no schools and are beholden to the towns next to us - some of us pay taxes to Hyde Park, where the schools are horrible, and the taxes are out of control because of their policies of out of control growth- This is squeezing a small, beautiful rural town into oblivion- It is not too late- Is there any way we (our town board and our group "Clinton United") could talk to one of your people about this? By the way, I am now proudly on the board of Scenic Hudson.....

Score (235)

no casinos
- Submitted by Judy Karr on 12.28.06

Score (84)

Please keep The Committee on Open Government adequately staffed.
Advisory opinions should be mailed out within a few weeks, not a few months.
- Submitted by Jennifer Forte on 11.18.06

Score (-18)

Dear Governor-Elect Spitzer,
There is an extremely apparent injustice in the current administrations criminal justice arena, especially concerning parole.
While I understand the need for justice, as well as protecting New Yorkers, I do not agree with doing it unjustly. In my opinion, the current administration has been unjust. They have especially been unjust in refusing parole to people who have clearly done everything to change their lives around. Often, the excuse they have given is, "Due to the nature of the crime, you will not be released." The nature of the crime is exactly what the conviction and incarceration was for.

Score (71)

We have witnessed the devastation of family's and loss of property due to gambling addiction, further more we as citizens will be burdened with the cost of every compulsive gambler which is estimated at a cost between $15-$20,000 per year.
Other concerns that we have are......
Trading jobs kills development
Most casinos attract 80% or more of their market from a 35-50 mile radius. Casinos absorb existing entertainment, restaurant and hotel business, and deplete dollars available to other retail businesses. That destroys other jobs in the trade area and eliminates their sales, employment and property tax contributions

Score (193)

I would hope that Governor Spitzer would help to create and pass legislation that prohibits lawmakers (like current NYS Senator James Alesi) from providing state taxpayer funded grants to ambulance corps, hospitals, fireman's groups, public schools, universities and parks in exchange for buildings, halls, and public areas being named in their honor. If an elected official is doing his job in exchange for his name placed on anything standing for the sake of an ego-building legacy, he doesn't belong in public service. This perpetuates further into private contracts with universities in exchange for continued public grants, which is borderline illegal.

Score (154)

PLEASE, don't just replace one tax for another! I agree that property taxes are way too high. In my believe they should be unconstitutional, you tax any other asset like you do property (when was the last time you received a tax bill for $200,000 in a savings account? But you get a bill every year for property. An asset should be an asset, once paid for it's paid for).
But we need to STOP the practice of raising one set of taxes or another, replacing one tax for another. The problem isn't the taxes, IT'S THE SPENDING, IT NEEDS TO BE CONTROLLED!
No more pitting one group against another. Simple understandable, solutions that can't be manipulated MUST be implemented. The true purpose of government needs to be discussed honestly with no "sacred cows".

Score (188)

All responsible research shows that casinos are highly detrimental to areas where they are built. They enrich only their owners and impose various costs on everyone else. PLEASE DO NOT APPROVE ANY CASINO.
- Submitted by John D. Arnold on 12.28.06