Miscellanea
A couple of articles of interest.
First, the practice of predatory towing has had limits put on it by the city of Albany:
Tow companies must toe a new line
Albany ordinance now gets some cars off the hook; county law is pending
By KATE PERRY, Staff writer
Click byline for more stories by writer.
First published: Thursday, March 15, 2007
ALBANY -- If you've ever tried to talk your car off the merciless hook of a tow truck, you know your breath is better used calling a cab.
City officials feel your pain.
Mayor Jerry Jennings announced Wednesday that the eight towing companies licensed to tow in Albany now must abide by a new ordinance intended to make the city more visitor-friendly.
People have complained about towing for years, and Jennings called for a review of the local law last fall. The Common Council approved the new ordinance in November and it took effect Wednesday. Tow companies are now required to release a vehicle for no fee if the owner shows up before the truck is moving.
The mayor said overzealous tow companies and poorly marked private lots made the new ordinance necessary.
"People would go into a parking lot where there wouldn't be signage or it wouldn't be visible and immediately they would be towed," Jennings said. "It's almost predatory."
Meanwhile, a law banning predatory towing in Albany County is pending before the County Legislature.
City Police Chief James Tuffey said most complaints come from people who parked in lots they thought were public. Often, the drivers were attending special events such as Alive at Five when parking is hard to find.
The city now requires lot owners to clearly mark their lots and tow companies to call the police before they tow there. Also, tow companies must obtain prior approval from the police department to remove vehicles from private lots near major city events. That way the lots can be inspected for proper signage first.
Portable signs that warn drivers of private lots will be put up in the vicinity of major events, the mayor said.
County Legislator Tim Nichols of Latham said Wednesday he is "finalizing changes in the language" on his proposed county law and expects a second public hearing next month. The legislature could vote on the law in May, he said.
"I am pleased that the proposal announced today for the city of Albany contains many of the provisions included in my proposed local law that will apply to the entire county," Nichols said. "I look forward to reviewing in detail the city's proposal and work to make my proposal as consistent as possible to the city's version."
Nichols was drawn to the towing issue after being contacted by tenants of Latham apartment complexes who complained the management had their cars towed in the middle of the night for what they considered minor infractions, such as a wheel on the white line of a parking spot.
The tenants claimed they were treated rudely by workers at Joe's Osborne Street Garage when they showed up to retrieve their vehicles at that location in the city.
At a January public hearing, Joseph Gimondo, who operates the garage, opposed the law and said, "We're not the devil people think we are. We are not rude unless they are rude to us."
At least one towing company, Dott's Garage, has no problems with the new ordinance. Vice President Luke Dott said his company's practices fall within the rules.
"We're not out here to rape the public," Dott said.
While some companies patrol private lots for violators, Dott's tows only when it gets a call, he said. His company's normal fee is between $75 and $100. The new ordinance caps the fee at $100.
Perry can be reached at 454-5092 or by e-mail at kperry@timesunion.com. Staff writer Carol DeMare contributed to this report.
http://timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=572106&category=ALBANY&BCCode=&newsdate=3/16/2007
It looks as if Joe's Osborne Garage is going to have to finally behave themselves! (There was an article about a woman who was dragged by a Joe's Osborne Garage tow truck as she tried to get her car back.)
They are looking into closing the abomination which is the Livingston Middle School:
End in sight for Livingston school
Albany district wants to act before state pulls plug; critics say move is rushed, mergers misguided
By RICK KARLIN and KATE PERRY, Staff writers
Click byline for more stories by writer.
First published: Friday, March 16, 2007
ALBANY -- The city school district has all but agreed to close the embattled Philip Livingston Middle School to keep the state from doing it, officials said Thursday.
"It's at risk of being identified as a SURR school," state Education Department spokesman Jonathan Burman said of Livingston, referring to the designation as a School Under Registration Review.
SURR schools can be shut down by the state if they don't improve their academic results.
News that Livingston would close came earlier Thursday with the Education Department's latest list of SURR schools across the state. Twenty schools statewide were added to the list, bringing the total to 65, including 35 in New York City.
Schools in Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse, Yonkers and Long Island's Wyandanch and Roosevelt also are on the SURR list.
No SURR schools are currently in the Capital Region. In addition to Albany, officials in New York City and Rochester also have agreed to close some schools.
Albany Superintendent Eva Joseph has already recommended closing Livingston to the school board under a sweeping restructuring plan of the district's secondary schools. At an afternoon news conference in response to the Education Department's announcement, she said the school board still needed to approve the closure.
Joseph last month rolled out a plan to convert Livingston into a high school academy specializing in engineering as well as nanoscale and environmental science.
School board members have over the years mulled the closure of Livingston, especially in light of the new 600-student Myers middle school off Kelton Court, and several years of poor test score results at Livingston.
Additionally, Livingston, which serves approximately 755 students, has been as one of 23 "persistently dangerous" schools around the state. Under the federal No Child Left Behind law, schools with high numbers of reported assaults and other problems get that designation. A slew of state officials, including ex-state Comptroller Alan Hevesi, have found fault with the way dangerous incidents are counted.
Joseph said the district's new plan will address the issues that have placed the school on state and federal warning lists.
"The fact is, we have been proactive," she said. "Our singular focus is having all students meet state standards throughout their experience here in Albany. We have ambitious goals. We aim to eliminate the achievement gap."
Joseph met with the media for only five minutes, and answered several questions while backing out the door.
At the school board meeting later in the evening, several people criticized the plan -- mostly for being rushed. A few specifically addressed the planned closure of Livingston.
Some said closing the school would cheat families on the northern part of the city because both middle schools would be south of Madison Avenue.
Leroy Graham, chairman of the education committee of the NAACP Albany branch, said the students with educational problems at Philip Livingston Magnet Academy would still struggle with them unless there were major philosophical changes made at the new middle schools.
"Attendance at a new school will not close the achievement gap," Graham said.
http://timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=572440&category=ALBANY&BCCode=&newsdate=3/16/2007
Anyone remotely familiar with Albany knows that the Livingston Middle School is a fucking wreck and the kids that get their "street-cred" there turn into the fucking reprobates who stab each other in the High School. However, the real problem is they are avoid the problem in the first place -- the school isn't the problem (not talking about environmental psychology here). The school district is just treating the symptom and not the disease.
Finally, I'd like to end with this quote from Nir Arbel -- the founder of Soulseek:Day rolls into night and a huge corporation that never factored values of human decency into its profit model will do everything in its power to keep making more money, without any regard to perspective and common sense.
First, the practice of predatory towing has had limits put on it by the city of Albany:
Tow companies must toe a new line
Albany ordinance now gets some cars off the hook; county law is pending
By KATE PERRY, Staff writer
Click byline for more stories by writer.
First published: Thursday, March 15, 2007
ALBANY -- If you've ever tried to talk your car off the merciless hook of a tow truck, you know your breath is better used calling a cab.
City officials feel your pain.
Mayor Jerry Jennings announced Wednesday that the eight towing companies licensed to tow in Albany now must abide by a new ordinance intended to make the city more visitor-friendly.
People have complained about towing for years, and Jennings called for a review of the local law last fall. The Common Council approved the new ordinance in November and it took effect Wednesday. Tow companies are now required to release a vehicle for no fee if the owner shows up before the truck is moving.
The mayor said overzealous tow companies and poorly marked private lots made the new ordinance necessary.
"People would go into a parking lot where there wouldn't be signage or it wouldn't be visible and immediately they would be towed," Jennings said. "It's almost predatory."
Meanwhile, a law banning predatory towing in Albany County is pending before the County Legislature.
City Police Chief James Tuffey said most complaints come from people who parked in lots they thought were public. Often, the drivers were attending special events such as Alive at Five when parking is hard to find.
The city now requires lot owners to clearly mark their lots and tow companies to call the police before they tow there. Also, tow companies must obtain prior approval from the police department to remove vehicles from private lots near major city events. That way the lots can be inspected for proper signage first.
Portable signs that warn drivers of private lots will be put up in the vicinity of major events, the mayor said.
County Legislator Tim Nichols of Latham said Wednesday he is "finalizing changes in the language" on his proposed county law and expects a second public hearing next month. The legislature could vote on the law in May, he said.
"I am pleased that the proposal announced today for the city of Albany contains many of the provisions included in my proposed local law that will apply to the entire county," Nichols said. "I look forward to reviewing in detail the city's proposal and work to make my proposal as consistent as possible to the city's version."
Nichols was drawn to the towing issue after being contacted by tenants of Latham apartment complexes who complained the management had their cars towed in the middle of the night for what they considered minor infractions, such as a wheel on the white line of a parking spot.
The tenants claimed they were treated rudely by workers at Joe's Osborne Street Garage when they showed up to retrieve their vehicles at that location in the city.
At a January public hearing, Joseph Gimondo, who operates the garage, opposed the law and said, "We're not the devil people think we are. We are not rude unless they are rude to us."
At least one towing company, Dott's Garage, has no problems with the new ordinance. Vice President Luke Dott said his company's practices fall within the rules.
"We're not out here to rape the public," Dott said.
While some companies patrol private lots for violators, Dott's tows only when it gets a call, he said. His company's normal fee is between $75 and $100. The new ordinance caps the fee at $100.
Perry can be reached at 454-5092 or by e-mail at kperry@timesunion.com. Staff writer Carol DeMare contributed to this report.
http://timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=572106&category=ALBANY&BCCode=&newsdate=3/16/2007
It looks as if Joe's Osborne Garage is going to have to finally behave themselves! (There was an article about a woman who was dragged by a Joe's Osborne Garage tow truck as she tried to get her car back.)
They are looking into closing the abomination which is the Livingston Middle School:
End in sight for Livingston school
Albany district wants to act before state pulls plug; critics say move is rushed, mergers misguided
By RICK KARLIN and KATE PERRY, Staff writers
Click byline for more stories by writer.
First published: Friday, March 16, 2007
ALBANY -- The city school district has all but agreed to close the embattled Philip Livingston Middle School to keep the state from doing it, officials said Thursday.
"It's at risk of being identified as a SURR school," state Education Department spokesman Jonathan Burman said of Livingston, referring to the designation as a School Under Registration Review.
SURR schools can be shut down by the state if they don't improve their academic results.
News that Livingston would close came earlier Thursday with the Education Department's latest list of SURR schools across the state. Twenty schools statewide were added to the list, bringing the total to 65, including 35 in New York City.
Schools in Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse, Yonkers and Long Island's Wyandanch and Roosevelt also are on the SURR list.
No SURR schools are currently in the Capital Region. In addition to Albany, officials in New York City and Rochester also have agreed to close some schools.
Albany Superintendent Eva Joseph has already recommended closing Livingston to the school board under a sweeping restructuring plan of the district's secondary schools. At an afternoon news conference in response to the Education Department's announcement, she said the school board still needed to approve the closure.
Joseph last month rolled out a plan to convert Livingston into a high school academy specializing in engineering as well as nanoscale and environmental science.
School board members have over the years mulled the closure of Livingston, especially in light of the new 600-student Myers middle school off Kelton Court, and several years of poor test score results at Livingston.
Additionally, Livingston, which serves approximately 755 students, has been as one of 23 "persistently dangerous" schools around the state. Under the federal No Child Left Behind law, schools with high numbers of reported assaults and other problems get that designation. A slew of state officials, including ex-state Comptroller Alan Hevesi, have found fault with the way dangerous incidents are counted.
Joseph said the district's new plan will address the issues that have placed the school on state and federal warning lists.
"The fact is, we have been proactive," she said. "Our singular focus is having all students meet state standards throughout their experience here in Albany. We have ambitious goals. We aim to eliminate the achievement gap."
Joseph met with the media for only five minutes, and answered several questions while backing out the door.
At the school board meeting later in the evening, several people criticized the plan -- mostly for being rushed. A few specifically addressed the planned closure of Livingston.
Some said closing the school would cheat families on the northern part of the city because both middle schools would be south of Madison Avenue.
Leroy Graham, chairman of the education committee of the NAACP Albany branch, said the students with educational problems at Philip Livingston Magnet Academy would still struggle with them unless there were major philosophical changes made at the new middle schools.
"Attendance at a new school will not close the achievement gap," Graham said.
http://timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=572440&category=ALBANY&BCCode=&newsdate=3/16/2007
Anyone remotely familiar with Albany knows that the Livingston Middle School is a fucking wreck and the kids that get their "street-cred" there turn into the fucking reprobates who stab each other in the High School. However, the real problem is they are avoid the problem in the first place -- the school isn't the problem (not talking about environmental psychology here). The school district is just treating the symptom and not the disease.
Finally, I'd like to end with this quote from Nir Arbel -- the founder of Soulseek:Day rolls into night and a huge corporation that never factored values of human decency into its profit model will do everything in its power to keep making more money, without any regard to perspective and common sense.