Well, Schenectady’s roadway into its future Casino Compound will not be named to honor its proud ALCO past and its faith in a productive future. It instead will be named for the effect that drug, alcohol and gambling addicts seek so desperately: a rush. Which is, of course, always followed by a crash and a craving for more.

And, it will also be named after:

• a glitzy street in Chicago that is unknown in our region
• a Founding Father who led the fight to ban gaming in the newly formed United States (and coincidentally thought being black was a form of leprosy and that the right treatment could cure the patient and make him white); and
• a casino developer and owner that treats Schenectady like a second-rate City; makes demands but offers nothing more than the State law demands; and sells casinos when a better offer comes along (or they fail to achieve a 50% property tax cut).

Our prior posting “Rush Street is simply the wrong name” explains the above assertions. For press coverage, see: “No stopping Rush Street for casino site” (Albany Times Union, by Paul Nelson, March 28, 2016); and “Council approves Mohawk Harbor street names” (Schenectady Gazette, by Haley Viccaro, March 28, 2016)

Only Council members Marion Porterfield and Vince Riggi stood up against the demands of the Casino Gang. The 5 other Council Members continued echoing their masters’ commands, making arguments too specious for any self-respecting developer to make itself. As I wrote this morning in a comment to the Gazette article, “Let’s hope this ventriloquist dummy act is limited to casino matters.” Otherwise, this precedent will bring more developers, all primed by Metroplex, seeking concessions that hurt our City and its residents. Of course, if it looks to prospective investors that Schenectady is just a Casino Town ruled by Rush Street, they might decide this small pond has one big fish too many, and is unsafe for other new businesses.