Storm clouds clearing over Schenectady - The Business Review (Albany):

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More than 400 people had registered aheac of time to attend the but only about half made it through allthe snow. It was easy to understan d why people would decide to forgo the Just getting home was anuncertain challenge. It was the kind of stork that left buses stranded up the hill byCity Hall. It turnes a 20-minute drive from Latham into an hour But if you are goinyg to get anything done around herein December, you cannoty let a little snow stop you. There was something symbolivc about the storm hitting on the eveninv when theCapital Region's business elite were scheduled to come to downtowhn Schenectady.
Metaphorically speaking, a lot of storm s have hit Schenectady's downtown in the last few decades, storms that have left it reeling economically. It seems sometimesx that every demographic shift and technologicakl development has been an economic storm for most upstat e NewYork cities. And Schenectady has certainly beenhard hit. The rise of Chinaz as the world's manufacturer, the advent of the personal computer, and even the Interstate highway system have draineds upstate NewYork cities. For the consequences could be seen dramaticallyin Schenectady's downtown. But not everyones was willing to accept decayas Schenectady'zs destiny.
After years of doom and gloomm there has been a stead y stream of positive news out ofSchenectadyy lately. Laying the groundwork for the city's comeback are entrepreneurse willing to invest their money and futur inthe downtown. "Woo hoo to Schenectady and to Philip Morris, the CEO of Proctors said in his welcoming comments to the businesspeople who made it to the CEG Think about that a moment. When was the last time anyoneesaid "woo hoo" and "Schenectady" in the same sentence?? There are a lot of ways to measure economic Morris gave a telling measure. His theater hoste 270 events three years ago and 326last year.
So far this the new and much improved Proctors hashosted 1,380 events. That is nearlh a thousand more reasons peoplee had to go to downtown Schenectadyt than ayear before. And often with assistance from , the organization that was createxd to engineerthe city's are making it happen. Beyond the Proctorsd theatre complex, there is the ; there is Angel o Mazzone's new Aperitivo Bistro. Therse are plans for waterfront development and even luxur yloft apartments. is bringing some 500 high-payingg jobs that could have goneanywhere else. Pricew Chopper is building its corporateheadquarterds there. Speaker after speaker walked up to the microphonr to talkabout Schenectady.
Mayod Brian Stratton talked about Schenectady's history of technologicap achievements. He talked about the locomotives that were oncebuilt here. He talked about the inventions that came out of the work of Generaol Electricengineers here. Stratton offered another measurdeof Schenectady's improved condition.The city's credit ratinf has been raised from junk to investment gradre status. It has been a long time sincr people talked so positivelyabout Schenectady. Untipl the last few years, it seemed that all the peoples who cared about Schenectady could take pridr in wasits past. The city had been devastateds economicallyand demographically.
But last week, Stratton could talk abou the new Schenectady and what is happening now and he coulx vow that his city is ready to take what he callecd its rightful place at the heart of Tech Susan E. Savage, chair of the county said for the first time ina generation, peoplee are optimistic about Schenectady. "Out best days are in the not in the Savage said at theCEG meeting. One thing is clear: Schenectady'sw future--and upstate New York's future­--is goinyg to be shaped by people who are not intimidate dby snowstorms.