Rice Building to change hands

The Rice Building

The historic Rice Building is close to changing hands.

Luther Tai, an attorney from New Jersey, and the current owners – the Troy Architectural Program, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and First Niagara (formerly Troy Savings Bank) – have spent months guiding the final sale’s approval through the bureaucracy of state government.

While there have not been any bumps in the road towards that end, selling a building to a private entity that has had $2.5 million of public money invested into it does take a while. Thanks to Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno’s influence, the state bankrolled a big portion of the project that at the time was a unique partnership between government, academia and non-profit organizations.

Once the rehabilitation was complete, the building was opened for business in 2000 and it was largely filled with upstart tech businesses from the RPI incubator program. While the building maintains its stunning historic exterior character, the interior was completely modernized to accommodate high-tech companies of the 21^st Century. It remains filled with similar companies to this day.

Joe Fama, executive director at TAP, said he would not comment on the inevitable deal but didn’t deny it was in the works.

An undated photo or drawing of The Rice Building
before the Fire of 1920

(As an aside, few love Troy architecture as much as Fama and he and TAP spearheaded the effort to bring it back to life. Safe to say the sale would not happen if Fama didn’t approve of the buyer or the buyer’s plans, which I understand is to keep the status quo and make the necessary investments to keep the building structurally sound and technologically up-to-date.)

In May, 2013, Tai and his sister Lolly Tai, purchased 17 First Ave., home to the bar Footsy Magoos, for $340,000.

The now five-story Rice Building, according to the Preservation League of New York, which gave it an “Excellence in Historic Preservation” award in 2001, is a “rare example of high Victorian Gothic style in Troy with its use of Venetian Gothic elements, most notably pointed-arch polychrome voussoirs.” A voussoir is a wedge-shaped stone used to build an arch.

It was constructed as an office building in 1871 by Benjamin Hall, a poet and lawyer, and for a century or so was known as the “Hall Building. It originally had six stories with three spires on top, but the Fire of 1920 that ravaged a good portion of River Street destroyed everything above the fifth floor. There is some talk of Tai rebuilding the spires, but Fama would not comment on that or anything else regarding the potential sale.

In the 1980s the building was foreclosed for taxes and it sat vacant for more than 12 years. It was literally falling apart with reports of masonry falling off the building and crashing to the street below. The city was ready to demolish it when TAP stepped up and kick started the partnership that saved one of Troy’s most stunning structures.

Rockers for Bruno

FRENCH

It’s no secret former state Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno has a bunch of support in the Capital District as he literally fights for his freedom.

But today, on Live from the State Capitol with Fred Dicker on Talk 1300, he got a plug from an unlikely source – Jay Jay French, a founding member of the heavy metal band Twisted Sister.

French toed the line defending Bruno along with Dicker, the longtime state editor at the New York Post, who has spent hours on his radio show, and rightly so, bashing the U.S. Attorney’s Office for going after Bruno for a second time.

The politically astute French not only gave Bruno some lip service but the two are friends. Bruno has joined the rocker for dinner in New York City and Bruno has had him up to his Rensselaer County home for some R&R.

BRUNO

It’s an odd couple for sure. Twisted Sister epitomized the Big Hair Era of the 80s complete with long hair, ripped jeans and a devil be damned attitude, while Bruno was the “Dapper Don” of the state Senate always with an impeccable coif and tailored suits.

In addition, Dicker, who has an extensive collection of folk music he plays on air some of each Friday, played one of Twisted Sister’s most famous songs, “We’re not Gonna Take It.” Given the circumstances, I don’t think Pete Seeger did more than a quarter turn in his the grave.    

In the end French called the Bruno trial a “witch hunt” and echoed Bruno’s main argument all along – that legislators are part time and being a consultant should carry the same import as being an lawyer.

French also summed up what must be one of Bruno’s biggest fears as the trial begins its third day – People think “all rockers are drug addicts and all politicians are corrupt.”

I'll link the podcast of Dicker's show as soon as I can. Until then, enjoy some Twisted Sister.

 

A Salem Witch Trial in Albany

At one point in time – around when magistrates were hunting witches in Salem Mass. – it was common to torture those accused of a crime until they confessed.

Now-a-days, the stocks in the village square are replaced by leaks to newspapers and floggings are replaced by financial ruin. If in the cross hairs of the federal government it’s just as easy to plead guilty than suffer the consequences of fighting the charges. Guilt or innocence may not even factor in.

Of course, I’m referring to former state Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno who goes back on trial Monday. He has thus far withstood the modern day tools of torture and rather than take a plea – I’m, told he could have gotten off with a slap on the wrist, saved some of the more than $3 million he’s going to spend and not go to jail – he is continuing the fight.  

Everyone reading this knows the story but to recap:

Bruno was indicted on eight counts of theft of honest services that did not include bribery. Before his first trial was set to start, the U.S. Supreme Court opted to hear a challenge to the theft of honest services statute. After he was convicted on two of the eight counts, the Supremes ruled the statute too broad and as such unconstitutional unless if included bribery or kickbacks. Basically, theft of honest services was employed by the feds when they suspected something was afoul but didn’t have any hard evidence to back it up so they would indict on bullshit and implement the tools of torture to get a guilty plea.

Thanks to the Supremes, Bruno won Round I. The feds, in their infinite wisdom, rather than letting it go and saving some taxpayer money – the investigation and prosecution is estimated to cost somewhere in the neighborhood of $25 million - indicted Bruno for doing the same thing but changed the charges around to include bribery.

(As an aside, speaking of taxpayer money, where are the other area representatives in Washington – Sens. Charles Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand and Reps. Paul Tonko, Chris Gibson. In every other instance they jump through hoops – and even elbow each other out of the way - to bang the drum about wasting taxpayer money.)

Many screamed double jeopardy but this is the federal government and there is no higher power to appeal. The cliché is “you can’t fight city hall,” but try fighting Washington with its bottomless pockets and endless resources. Most just don’t have means or the heart.

Another reason to take a plea is that Bruno is 85 years old is coming off his second round against cancer and will go to jail if he’s convicted. If history is any indication, Judge Gary Sharpe not only won’t do Bruno any favors but will likely side with the prosecution on about every ruling he has to make. Knowing the Supremes were going to weigh in on theft of honest services, the judge went ahead with the first trial anyway so don’t expect him to do anything but put Bruno behind bars pending a certain appeal should the jury convict.

Christ, the judge already put a gag order on Bruno to avoid the daily press conferences Bruno held during the first trial. Sharpe must think stifling First Amendment rights is more favorable than having Bruno make him look bad. How is that for the integrity of this federal judge - he thinks personal appearances are more important than the Constitution.

Another reason to take a plea is that Bruno’s legacy is already established. The last leader from the Capital District of either Albany chamber was Oswald D. Heck, who served as the Assembly’s speaker from 1937 until his death in 1959. Bruno was a once-in-a-generation politician and all one needs to do is look around – at the airport, the train station, GlobalFoundries, The Joe baseball stadium and countless smaller projects he funded or spearheaded – to see the impact he’s had.

I don’t write history books, but I hope the Bruno prosecution is remembered as fondly as the Salem Witch trials, I hope two or so weeks from Monday he walks out of the courthouse a free man, and I hope the feds learn a lesson.   

 

 

The FBI in Troy, now what?

Russ Reeves

Now that the Times Union disclosed the FBI are looking into three questionable deals orchestrated by City Hall – sidewalks in North Central, King Street demolition and Scolite – everyone is wondering what happens next.

It’s really anyone’s guess. Generally, the Feds take a look when something doesn’t quite pass the smell test and then determine if it stinks enough to warrant a full blown investigation or not.

We saw that process play out the Feds took a look at voter fraud, former County Executive Henry Zwack, former state Sen. Majority Leader Joseph Bruno, former political boss Ed McDonough and most recently the conduct of police during the Jan. 25 melee at Kokopellis.

Bill Dunne

Everything may not be peachy keen, but I think it’s safe to say the FBI will not proceed unless they think they and the Justice Department can get a conviction in federal court. Bruno may be the exception to that rule, but after nearly 10 years the Feds found themselves in too deep to back off now.

Anyway, according to the Times Union, City Engineer Russ Reeves and Corporation Counsel Ian Silverman were invited to Albany to answer some questions about the three aforementioned projects. It wasn’t the mayor, deputy mayor or the head of the Planning Department, Bill Dunne, the central figure in all three projects, it was people on the fringes who would know what happened.

If we look at the projects, they each have their respective odors:

Fire Chief Tom Garrett

-The new sidewalks in front of Freedom Square were initially said to be paid for by federal Community Development Block Grant money. It was later determined it was not included in the Council approved projects and – and I’m not certain of the sequence – the Sanctuary of Independent Media would pick up the tab, the city would pick up the tab and J.R. Casale would pay for it out of the goodness of his heart.

(As an aside, I’m hearing that’s not the only tab Casale offered to pick up as he has a new found penchant for helping out with weddings.)

-Someone ordered Fire Chief Tom Garrett to order an emergency demolition of the King Street properties adjacent to Bomber’s Burritos while Reeves was out of town. As the TU article pointed out, by declaring it an emergency saved the owner, attorney Don Boyajian, tens of thousands in asbestos abatement. Garrett doesn't get along with Dunne or Reeves and it's doubtful he would take such an order from either one of those two so it had to come from higher up - my guess is Deputy Mayor Pete Ryan or Mayor Lou Rosamilia.

The question is why it was declared an emergency when the buildings have been sitting vacant for years and there are others in the city in a worse repair and arguably should have been demolished before the King Street properties.

Mayor Lou Rosamilia

Another twist is that the Local Development Corporation, headed up by Dunne, came under fire by the state Comptroller’s Office, for giving Bombers in excess of $2 million without any collateral – in other words, Bombers doesn’t own the building or have anything else to borrow against.

-The city certainly has bent over backwards to sweeten the Scolite property for the company awarded the bid, R.J. Valente.

First, it changed the zoning before the property was sold, then it said it would build a new $9 million road, then it said it would allow Valente to put a down payment on the property and allow it to work the property, then it said it would take another chunk of land from Ludlow Valve and give it to Valente.

All those tangible benefits were not in the initial Request for Proposal issued by the city and as such were not extended to the other bidders, who, according to at least one bidder, would have bid the project differently. The Council’s Finance Committee passed the deal by a 6-2 vote and is expected to formally address it at its regular meeting on Thursday.

Times Union Photo: Deputy Mayor Pete Ryan
has a mess on his hands

I guess the questions are: did any money change hands, was favoritism granted for whatever reason (usually that one goes back to the first question) and who is going to take the fall should the FBI continue its probe? That last one should be fun since that's generally when the finger-pointing begins.

One more thought, it’s disheartening to have to read about an FBI probe in the Albany Times Union rather than the Troy Record. There was a time, not long ago, when The Record would have been all over it but instead we get how to dress while travelling as its main Sunday story. I heard about it last week but The Record took my Rolodex and with it, obviously, a number of my numbers.