SARATOGA SPRINGS — The city public library parking lot will be going to a paid parking scheme this summer, although provisions are being made to allow library card-holders to continue to park free of charge during the library’s normal hours of operation. 

The Saratoga Springs City Council unanimously approved a pair of measures during its May 7 meeting, allowing the proposal to come to fruition. 

Since its opening in 1992, the 75-or-so parking spaces in the Saratoga Springs Public Library (SSPL) lot, which sits between Putnam and Henry Streets one block east of Broadway, had offered free parking to the general public on a first-come, first-served basis. 

“Since then, the city of Saratoga Springs has constructed four parking garages and service lots and more recently a seasonal public parking permit program to accommodate a growing population and tourism industry. These recent developments would impact the use of the library parking lot,” city DPW Commissioner Jason Golub said during this week’s council vote. “SSPL approached the city to develop solutions for protecting patron use of the space.” 

The library – which serves 700 people per day, is chartered not simply by the geographical boundaries of the city of Saratoga Springs, but in the larger school district which serves about 52,000 people. 

“Regulations are intended to provide library patrons with priority use of the lot during library hours and to allow the city to charge for parking in the evenings,” Commissioner Golub said, adding that the library lot is anticipated to return approximately $52,000 in revenues during the seasonal parking plan. 

A new seasonal paid parking program affecting six city-owned, off-street parking facilities was approved April 2, prior to the addressing of the library lot. Overall, it was anticipated the seasonal program would run Memorial Day through Labor Day, although that may be headed toward a post-June 9 start, following the conclusion of the Belmont Stakes Festival. 

When the plan goes into effect, Special Permits will be required for library patrons to park in the library lot during designated hours. Permits, which will run via a license plate system, will be available to patrons who register and have a library card. Although the software to approve permits is not yet in place, library staff will be the ones responsible for registering patrons on a portal site provided by the city. 

“People will need come into the library to register for the permit, because it will require that they are a resident of the school district and a library card holder,” said Library Director A. Issac Pulver. 

“The library is essential to our community and serves a lot of our people,” said Finance Commissioner Minita Sanghvi.  “The library is the lifeblood of our community in so many different ways…the ability to gather together and learn from each other… I’m happy we came to a solution that works for the library and the city.” 

Draft Regulations: 

(a) The Library Permit will enable Library Patrons to exclusively use spaces in the Library Lot from the hours of 9 a.m. – 6 p.m. daily, for a three-hour time limit. 

(b) Library Permit holders may continue to use the lot for free for three hours until 9 p.m. daily, but the spots will be on first-come, first-served basis and the lot may include paid parking users after 6 pm. 

(c) Library Permit Patrons seeking to use the lot 9 p.m. - 9 a.m. will be charged a fee by the city when the city parking program is in effect. 

(d) The city may charge a fee for Non-Library Permit Patrons after 6 p.m. daily and on days or holidays when the Library is closed.

The anticipated charge for paid parking will be at the rate of $2 per hour. On holidays and other days when the library is closed, the city may charge for parking at any time. Tickets will be issued for violations. 

SARATOGA SPRINGS — Last week, regional officials announced they anticipate the hosting of the Belmont Stakes Festival at Saratoga to have an economic impact in 2024 of upwards of $50 million.

Shifting to Saratoga next month, the 2024 Belmont Stakes Racing Festival will begin on Thursday, June 6 and continue through Sunday, June 9. Belmont on Broadway meanwhile, billed as a locally based multifaceted celebration, is slated to take place June 4 -9 featuring concerts and other complimentary events to the 2024 Belmont Stakes Racing Festival. 

That $50 million projection comes from applying a mathematical formula that takes the overall economic activity of the annual 40-day summer meet at Saratoga and assigning it to the number of days of the upcoming Belmont festival.   

“The historical number for the 40-day meet has been $370 million so we simply took what we knew to be fact - $370 million – and divided it by the number of days for the Belmont Festival on Broadway, including the Belmont Stakes. That’s how we came up with the $50 million,” Gregory Connors, president and CEO at Saratoga Economic Development Corporation, explained this week. 

That overall 40-day meet figure, at just over $370 million, was detailed in a study commissioned by the Saratoga County Industrial Development Agency based on data from 2021 and released in 2023. The study additionally cited nearly $2.1 million of tax revenue in Saratoga Springs, almost $2.4 million in Saratoga County, and over $7.3 million of tax revenue in New York State as attributable to the 40-day meet. 

As a curious aside, of those counted as visitors to the racecourse during the 40-day meet, the study pointed to nearly 6 in 10 visitors as coming from outside of the Capital Region, and indicated that overall, just under half of all track visitors stayed overnight locally. It will be interesting to learn, if such movements are to be tracked, the way those numbers will trend for the Belmont.   

Saratoga Hosting Belmont Stakes 2024 & 2025, Scheduled to Return to Long Island in 2026 

Last December, the New York Racing Association announced the 2024 Belmont Stakes would be relocated to Saratoga Springs, and three months later followed up with an additional announcement that the 2025 Belmont Stakes would be staged in the Spa City as well. 

In its post-Kentucky Derby story published this week, the Associated Press referenced Saratoga as playing host to the Triple Crown’s final race for the next “three” years while Belmont Park is being reconstructed. It is a rumor that has been circulating throughout the spring – although no one in any official capacity has said likewise. To be clear, current plans for the near half-billion-dollar redevelopment of Belmont Park hold firm that renovations to Belmont Park are expected to be completed in time for the Long Island racetrack to host the Belmont Stakes in June 2026. 

Connors said he has not heard anything other than that the Belmont is expected to return to Long island in 2026.  “My sense is, and my personal opinion is that it’s all connected to the construction schedule on Elmont, Long Island at the Belmont track. If they’re on the construction schedule that they hope to be able to follow it’s more likely to be a two-year thing (in Saratoga),” he said. “In any event we know we’re going to put on a great show in 2024 and 2025.” 

WILTON — A large multifamily housing project recently given the thumbs-up to proceed is anticipated to offer hundreds of new residential units as early as the summer of 2026 in the town of Wilton.

The project will take place alongside the existing Wilton Mall and is expected to be developed in two phases, with 296 apartments available for occupancy in the summer of 2026 and 86 townhomes made available the following year. 

The Wilton Mall will remain largely operational, and the hope is it will gain new interest as a result. The space formerly housing the Bon Ton store will be demolished and atop nearly 9 acres of land, 296  “market rate apartment units” will be constructed in its place. Demolition may take place as soon as this spring. 

The additional 86 townhome units will be developed just across the road in the northeast corner of the property and on nearly 5 acres of land during the project’s second phase. 

Mike Shaffer, general manager of Wilton Mall, is hopeful the combined 382 new units will provide a financial boost for the mall. At its peak in 2016, the mall generated about $95 million in sales, but by 2022 sales had dropped in half, due to factors such as the closure of Bonton and Sears, the pandemic, and a public shift to shopping online. 

“The mall needs that residential catalyst to attract new interest,” Shaffer told the Wilton Town Board during its April meeting when it approved the creation of a Planned Unit Development District (PUDD) to allow the project to move forward. Specifically, Shaffer cited the project as catalyst to potentially attracting national retailers, restaurants and new uses such as entertainment. 

The evolution of the mall over the past decade or so has included bringing in Healthy Living, Planet Fitness and a 22,000 square feet Home Goods store as a tenant. It transitioned the vacated Sears box store to Saratoga Hospital for primary care, clinical care and administrative uses, sited Orangetheory  Fitness and recently celebrated the reopening of a cinema. The redevelopment of the vacant BonTon marks the next step in the evolution of the mall.

To meet the spring 2025 construction plan, design and preparations are anticipated to take three to four months, site plan subdivision approval four or five months, and building two or three months in time. The hope is to have the first apartments online and for rent in the summer of 2026. 

The Macerich Corporation and Paramount Development are collaborating on the project. “For the construction, we have 318 jobs, $14.5 million in associated earnings, $37.5 million in sales spent locally,” Tawney Farmer, of Macerich, told the Wilton Town Board during the 35-minute presentation and vote, which was approved 4-1, with Wilton Supervisor John Lant casting the lone vote against.  “Annually, after the apartments are built, we will generate 125 permanent jobs, $5.6 million in associated earnings and $16.6 million in annual sales.” 

Additional estimates point to the Town receiving $368,000 in new sales tax revenue annually, and the Saratoga City School District experiencing a net benefit of $809,000 after estimating 25 new enrolled students the project may produce.

The proposal for the project had been in the discussion and debate stage for at least two years. The Wilton Planning Board and the Saratoga County Planning board had each previously issued a positive recommendation for the project.

SARATOGA SPRINGS — A six-day festival in June anticipated to produce an economic impact in 2024 of more than $50 million will feature a free kick-off concert on Broadway with the band Blues Traveler, officials announced during a May 1 press conference at the Skip Scirocco Music Hall at Saratoga Springs. 

Nicknamed “Belmont on Broadway,” dozens of local business, tourism and government leaders were on hand for the announcement of a multifaceted celebration being planned for the week of the 2024 Belmont Stakes Racing Festival. 

 “Not only is the Belmont going to help economically for the city, but it’s going to put us on a pedestal that’s going to be worldwide,” said Saratoga Springs Mayor John Safford, “This is just going to bring it to a whole new level.” 

With construction ongoing at Long Island’s Belmont Park in 2024 and 2025, the Belmont Stakes Racing Festival will shift to Saratoga Race Course over the next two years. Racing days in 2024 will begin on Thursday, June 6, continue through Sunday, June 9 and will be highlighted by the 156th edition of the Belmont Stakes - the third leg of the Triple Crown - on Saturday, June 8. 

Belmont on Broadway activities, slated to take place June 4 through June 9, will include a downtown window decorating contest, a pre-festival event called Embrace the Belmont, and a variety of other events including the free, outdoor concert with Blues Traveler, which will take place on Wednesday, June 5. 

The concert will start at approximately 6 p.m. (with Blues Traveler going on around 8:30) and end promptly at 10 p.m. The stage will be set directly on Broadway adjacent to the City Center and face south. Broadway will be closed likely from Van Dam to City Hall the day of the show, said Saratoga Springs City Center Executive Director Ryan McMahon. 

Organizers anticipate 5,000 to 10,000 people to attend the event. Opening bands participating in the all-ages free concert as well as satellite parking, shuttle options, and additional weeklong activities will be announced leading up to the June 4-9 festival.    

“We’re anticipating people will be coming up a little earlier in the week (prior to the June 6 race day start), so that’s why we’re trying to create these opportunities for people to have fun things to do, opportunities to engage with our community. And our hotels are definitely seeing some occupancy earlier in the week, so that tells you some good things,” said Discover Saratoga President Darryl Leggieri. “It’s also something for our locals. Doing this free concert downtown, I want locals to know they’re welcomed too, they’re a part of this, were celebrating together.” 

What will be interesting to learn is whether the staging of the Belmont in Saratoga brings different visitors to the area, compared with visitors who flock to Saratoga during the New York Racing Association’s annual July-to-September summer meet.   

“Everyone is going to learn off the first year, and we can build on that in the second year,” said NYRA President & CEO David O’Rourke, who spoke at this week’s presser. “It’s a new big event. You have the Whitney, the Travers, and now The Belmont,” O’Rourke said. “You might see more of an international (crowd); it’s typically on another level in terms of international exposure - and then if you have a Triple Crown, that’s just going to change the dynamic.”       

SARATOGA SPRINGS — A 21st century TV episode showcasing events that occurred in 18th century Saratoga had its local screening premiere this week in a 19th century hall in Saratoga Springs. 

Last September, “Travels With Darley” producer and host Darley Newman visited Saratoga County with a film crew for a busy five-day zag through the county capturing historic locales and contemporary venues alike. The completed project, presented as a 30-minute episode of the Revolutionary Road Trips series, was showcased during a local premiere at Universal Preservation Hall April 22.     

The episode highlights area historic sites like the Saratoga National Historical Park, Congress and High Rock parks and post-Saratoga battle venues in the villages of Schuylerville and Victory, among others, as well as paying visit to numerous stores, breweries, shops, eateries and hotels in and around Saratoga Springs.    

“Stories of triumph and sacrifice, of compassion and betrayal that are part of a journey to create a nation,” Lauren Roberts - Saratoga County Historian and Chair of the Saratoga County 250th Commission, told the large crowd assembled at UPH to view the screening. 

In the fall of 1777, two battles took place in Saratoga that resulted in the surrender of the British army and is referred to by historians as a turning point in the Revolutionary War, as it convinced France to ally with the United States and aiding in the eventual victory over the British. 

The British surrender at Saratoga has been immortalized in a painting by John Trumbull that hangs in the rotunda of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., and in 2015, the U.S. Mint issued a “Saratoga” coin to represent New York state in the America the Beautiful Quarters Program. The coin depicts a close-up of the moment British Gen. John Burgoyne surrendered his sword to Gen. Horatio Gates alongside an inscription that reads: Saratoga.

“The 250th anniversary of the Battles of Saratoga gives us a stage to tell our stories in a new way that breathes life into history,” Roberts said. The region will celebrate the 250th anniversary of the victory in a series of events leading up to, during, and after the 250th anniversary in 2027. 

In 2022, Saratoga County officials unveiled the official brand “America’s Turning Point” to commemorate the anniversary of the Revolutionary War Era events that happened in Saratoga County, and the county Board of Supervisors committed $150,000 in seed money to a newly formed Saratoga County 250th American Revolution Commission to help advance a mission of promoting education, historic preservation and heritage tourism. 

Roberts serves as chair of the 13-member Saratoga 250 commission which comes up with programming ideas and commemorations, she explained. Campaign for Saratoga 250 Inc., a separate non-profit group, is charged with locating funding and grants to support the programming.

This week’s screening at UPH saw numerous county officials, community members and business leaders in attendance. In addition to commentary provided by Roberts, introductory remarks were offered by Board of Supervisors Chairman Phil Barrett, Adirondack Trust Company President and CEO Charles Wait, Jr, and Saratoga Arms proprietor Amy Smith. 

“It’s great to be here for the premiere showcase of ‘Travels with Darley’ and to be able to better share with the general public the golden moment this is,” Congressman Paul Tonko told the audience. “As we approach our 250th anniversary, let’s all celebrate together knowing the sense of place that we call home is indeed a powerful one - deepened by its stake in history, heritage and strategy that enabled us to be the nation we are. It created that infancy walk of a greater nation charged by its framers to always search for a more perfect union.”     

While the two Battles at Saratoga and the British surrender took place in 1777 with its 250th anniversary to be celebrated in 2027, the Commission will extend to 2033, marking the anniversary of the end of the American Revolution. “After the Battles of Saratoga we still have involvement: in 1780 there was a rain on Middletown Road in the town of Ballston, and there are actually soldiers in Saratoga until the end of the war in 1783,” Roberts said. 

Signature annual events include the springtime Women In War Symposium and the Siege Encampment weekend in the fall. Currently in process are educator workshops that will provide teaching tools for K-12 students, interpretive exhibitions that will be housed separate from the battlefield, including using technology to showcase underrepresented stories in places like Schuylerville.

Travels With Darley Revolutionary Road Trip series episode featuring Saratoga is anticipated to broadcast on WMHT-TV regionally and PBS stations across the country in June. Viewers with access to on-demand video streaming apps such as Tubi may be able to currently view the episode.

BALLSTON SPA — The Saratoga County Board of Supervisors during its monthly meeting on April 16 expressed its intent to create a Local Law that authorizes property owners to request the removal of unlawful occupants from dwellings. 

The potential law’s stated purpose “is to protect owners of dwellings in Saratoga County from unlawful occupants commonly referred to as ‘squatters’ and to protect lawful occupants of dwellings from unlawful evictions.”

“The unlawful property and intruder law is in relation to the stories we’ve seen publicized, both in New York State and around different parts of the country,” said Board of Supervisors Chairman Phil Barrett. “Generally known as squatters, these are people that take over peoples’ homes, set up shop and decide to live there.”

According to a draft of the proposed law, an “unlawful occupant” is defined as “a person who knowingly enters or remains unlawfully in a dwelling having entered the dwelling without permission of a party entitled to possession.” 

Barrett said he has asked county attorneys to draft legislation for supervisors to consider. 

Additionally stated, the draft explains the proposed law “does not mean a person who entered the dwelling upon consent of a party entitled to possession even if the consent is later revoked including: tenants whose oral or written lease has expired; family members who have been in the dwelling unit for at least 30 days; roommates or other licensees of tenants and occupants who have been in the dwelling unit for at least 30 days, or workers who have been provided housing as part of their job.”

To request the immediate removal of an unlawful occupant of a dwelling, the property owner would need to submit an affidavit to law enforcement that lists 27 points, including that they had directed the unauthorized persons to leave the dwelling, but the person(s) had not done so.

Once the claim has been verified, law enforcement may then take the unlawful occupants into custody and may bring them before a local court judge to face applicable charges, including trespassing.

“We’ve had instances of this in the past in the county, and it probably will become more prevalent,” Barrett said. “It’s become increasingly concerning because it’s clearly a coordinated effort. There are organizations working to identify vacant properties and they have people they send in to take over that property.“

A Public Hearing regarding the proposal will be held at 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday May 14, at the next county Board of Supervisors meeting. A vote may follow. Meetings are held at the county complex in Ballston Spa.     

If approved, the local law is slated to go into effect 60 days after being adopted.