New York Almanack

History, Natural History & the Arts

Andrew Cuomo

The Adirondack Park Agency At 50: State Leaders Are Missing The Point

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Gov. Nelson Rockefeller signs the APA ActWell, it’s happened again. Another state budget is proposed by the Executive, wherein the Adirondack Park Agency’s legislated job is mischaracterized by this Governor’s (and former governors’) budget divisions as working “to achieve a balance between strong environmental protection and sustainable economic development opportunities for the residents of the Adirondack Park” (2023 Executive Budget Briefing Book).

Balance is an important goal to strive for in our individual lives. However, nothing in the Adirondack Park Agency law, now reaching 50 years old in May, calls for “a balance between strong environmental protection and sustainable economic development.” [Read more…] about The Adirondack Park Agency At 50: State Leaders Are Missing The Point

Gov Cuomo Signs Landmark Road Salt Bill into Law

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Plow Truck courtesy NYS DotGov. Andrew Cuomo has signed into law the Randy Preston Road Salt Reduction Act – a bipartisan bill that is expected to help reduce road salt pollution and protect drinking water in the Adirondack Park. [Read more…] about Gov Cuomo Signs Landmark Road Salt Bill into Law

Petition Circulating Calling To Make Whitney Park Forest Preserve

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Salmon Lake stands in the foreground, part of the Whitney tract, with Rock Lake and Little Tupper Lake in the backgroundThe 36,000-acre Whitney Park is up for sale. This tract, which includes 22 lakes and ponds, and over 100 miles of undeveloped shoreline, has been at the top of New York State’s land protection priority list for 50 years.

Over the decades, the property has been lightly developed by the Whitney family, which maintains a large complex of buildings in a mountain estate called Deerlands on Little Forked Lake, and  two inholdings totaling around 400 acres on Forked Lake and Plumley Pond at the south end of the tract. [Read more…] about Petition Circulating Calling To Make Whitney Park Forest Preserve

Newly Appointed Adirondack Park Leadership Remains Lopsided

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APA Building in Ray Brook NYThe protection and planning for the Adirondack Park’s six million acres, one-fifth of the state, rests in large measure on the motivation and independence of the Adirondack Park Agency’s staff and board members in Ray Brook (APA).

Seven members were just nominated by Governor Andrew Cuomo and subsequently confirmed to sit at the APA’s table by the NY State Senate.

How should we think about them? How should we think about them in light of Governor Cuomo’s challenge to re-imagine and improve public policies and practices – to “build back better?” [Read more…] about Newly Appointed Adirondack Park Leadership Remains Lopsided

Cuomo Makes Adirondack Park Board Nominations

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APA Building in Ray Brook NYGov. Andrew Cuomo has formally nominated seven individuals to the board of the Adirondack Park Agency, which oversees land-use, planning and zoning on both public and private lands, in cooperation with other state agencies.

Three individuals who are currently serving were nominated for new terms and four individuals were nominated for their first terms. [Read more…] about Cuomo Makes Adirondack Park Board Nominations

Cuomo Break-Up Recalls Rockefeller’s Momentous 1962 Split

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Nelson Rockefeller and wife Mary“After more than a decade together, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo and his longtime girlfriend, Sandra Lee, announced on Wednesday that they are ending their relationship. The two confirmed the split in a statement.” – New York Times, Sept. 25, 2019.

A thunderclap this was not. But 58 years ago, a different New York governor’s personal life was in the Times. He was, after all, a Rockefeller – with presidential ambitions. And it was a different time. [Read more…] about Cuomo Break-Up Recalls Rockefeller’s Momentous 1962 Split

Erika Sanger: MEA Update, Museums Advocacy March 11-12

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NYS museums delegates with Senator Chuck Schumer Museums Advocacy Day 2019

I am writing from American Alliance of Museums’ Museum Advocacy Day where 300 museum professionals will be speaking up for museums on Capitol Hill, in Washington D.C. — 26 are from 18 of New York’s Congressional Districts comprising the largest delegation represented.

New York State Congressional Representatives are critically important to federal funding for museums. The new Chair of the House Appropriations Committee is Congresswoman Nita Lowey (D-NY17). Senator Gillibrand (D-NY) is the author of the Institute of Museum and Library Services re-appropriation letter in the U.S. Senate.  Congressman Paul Tonko (D-NY20) is one of the bill sponsors in the House. [Read more…] about Erika Sanger: MEA Update, Museums Advocacy March 11-12

New York History and the Name Tappan Zee Bridge

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What can we learn from the controversy over the naming of the Tappan Zee Bridge? What lessons can be drawn by looking at the larger picture? I recently examined the issue by starting with the above-the-fold headline in my local paper on August 31, 2018:

Cuomo or Tappan Zee: Names Feed Identity Crisis by Frank Esposito, Rockland/Westchester Journal News [Read more…] about New York History and the Name Tappan Zee Bridge

Feinman: Make NYS History Great Again

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On August 28, 2012, Governor Andrew Cuomo launched the Path through History program.

The plenary address was given by Kenneth Jackson of Columbia University. In his address, Jackson spoke of the ways in which New York had been a national leader over the centuries. He recounted various events, named various people and places, and highlighted the prominence of the Empire State. He also noted how much better other states like Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and Virginia were at touting their history. You would never know that George Washington spent more time here than in any other state during the American Revolution.

How have things gone in the last six years? What should we advocate for during this gubernatorial election year? To read more go to Make New York State History Great Again.

 

How Business `Partnerships’ Flopped at America’s Largest University

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Campus of SUNY Polytechnic Institute. Photo: Xakuri, Creative Commons, some rights reservedThe State University of New York (SUNY) ― the largest university in the United States, with nearly 600,000 students located in 64 publicly-funded higher education institutions ― has served an important educational function for the people of New York and of the United States. But its recent “partnerships” with private businesses have been far less productive.

In the spring of 2013, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, joined by businessmen, politicians, and top SUNY administrators, embarked upon a widely-publicized barnstorming campaign to get the state legislature to adopt a plan he called Tax-Free NY. Under its provisions, most of the SUNY campuses, portions of the City University of New York, and zones adjacent to SUNY campuses would be thrown open to private, profit-making companies that would be exempt from state and local taxes on sales, property, the income of their owners, and the income of their employees for a period of ten years. [Read more…] about How Business `Partnerships’ Flopped at America’s Largest University