Author: Saratoga TODAY

SARATOGA SPRINGS – Inside City Hall Tuesday night, council members took their chamber room seats behind newly installed COVID-precautionary glass, where they voiced their opinions about decisions that will have long-reaching effects for the residents of Saratoga Springs, and points beyond.

Just outside of City Hall meanwhile, police made several arrests that stemmed from an investigation following protest-related activities that occurred in Saratoga Springs in July.

Four people were charged Sept. 7 in connection with the investigation. A fifth person is facing multiple misdemeanor charges following an alleged altercation with an officer outside City Hall. 

According to a statement released by Saratoga Springs Police Department Wednesday afternoon, the  July 14 protest that started in Congress Park spilled into the streets and interfered with traffic, resulting in motorists stuck inside their vehicles. 

“This included one motorist who suffered from a heart condition, which was openly shared with protestors blocking his vehicle in. After learning of these added details regarding this protest, Chief (Shane) Crooks ordered that an investigation be conducted and that those identified be charged and held accountable, where appropriate,” according to the statement.

Subsequent to the investigation, arrest warrants were obtained on Aug. 31, and arrests made Sept. 7.  They include: Samira K. Sangare, 23, of Halfmoon, Chandler M. Hickenbottom, 25, of Ballston Spa, and Molly B. Dunn, 44, of Saratoga Springs, each charged with disorderly conduct: obstructing traffic, a violation. Dunn was additionally charged with unlawful imprisonment in the second-degree, a misdemeanor. 

Alexis A. Figuereo, 34, of Saratoga Springs, was charged with disorderly conduct violation, and two misdemeanor counts of obstructing governmental administration – the latter charges in connection with Figuereo’s alleged disruption of Saratoga Springs City Council meetings on July 6 and July 20, according to police. 

Police said the charges from July 14 allege “the protestors not only obstructed traffic, but by doing so they prohibited the movements of those on Broadway by Phila Street for many minutes. One of these people was the individual with the medical condition noted above.”

According to court documents, a voluntary witness whose name was redacted in court records provided police with a statement dated Aug. 12 that read, in part, that the July 14 protest resulted in halting vehicle traffic. “They had the traffic stopped for about 15 minutes before they let the cars go. At one point while I was stopped, one of the protesters thanked me for waiting…I have never been in a situation like that. I was surprised it was happening in Saratoga.” 

Gabrielle C. Elliot, 27, of Ballston Spa, was charged Sept. 7 with attempted assault, resisting arrest, and endangering the welfare of a child. All three charges are misdemeanors. While officers were affecting warrant arrests Tuesday night, Elliot is accused of throwing and striking a uniformed officer with a full water bottle who was involved in the arrests. When informed she was under arrest, Elliott refused to comply and pulled away from officers, according to police, and grabbed on to the stroller where her small child was seated until she was taken into custody. Police said “the child was fine and sent with another family member at the scene.”

“The Saratoga Springs Police Department recognizes the right to peacefully and lawfully protest but many of the acts committed on July 14 are not only unlawful acts, but they placed the protestors and the public in harm’s way,” Chief Crooks said, in a statement. Police subsequently reported the additional arrests of Alexander C. Patterson, age 26, of Clifton Park, and Jamaica M. Miles, age 46, of Schenectady,  in connection with alleged actions that took place on Broadway by Phila Street on July 14.  They were each charged with Disorderly Conduct: Obstructing Traffic violation, and Unlawful Imprisonment misdemeanor.  .

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City Council

Saratoga Springs City Council adopted a variety of measures Tuesday night. They included:

• The council approved the sale of a city-owned property located at the southeast corner of Caroline Street and Henry Street to Frank J. Izzo, of Ballston Spa, for $801,000.  Adjacent to the public library and currently used for surface parking, the city has owned the parcel since the early 1980s. It consists of approximately 7,344 square feet or 0.17 acres. A recent appraisal set the property value at $500,000. The $801,000 bid by Izzo was the only bid submitted. The closing is anticipated to take place within 60 days.   

• The council unanimously approved a bond resolution regarding the proposed East Side Fire/ EMS station on Henning Road. The City Council plans to finance the total cost by the issuance of serial bonds of the city in an amount not to exceed $6.7 million. 

“We are ready to bond, we are ready to build, we still need to work on the employment model,” Finance Commissioner Michele Madigan said. Since bonds will not be publicly sold until next June, a bond anticipation note is being secured to cover any costs needed until a bond is obtained. 

• The city approved “a jumpstart investment” by moving to grant $250,000 to the Saratoga Springs City Center “One of its prime revenues is hotel occupancy tax, bringing in about $1.2 million for the City Center. As you know our occupancy tax (due to COVID) has dropped significantly,” Madigan said. “They find themselves in a serious cash flow deficit and are working through this…I do see them as too big to fail which is why we have this on the agenda.”   

• The council unanimously approved the 2022-2027 Capital Budget. The six-year plan is flexible and may be altered as the council sees fit. The six-year plan currently counts 26 projects at a total cost of approximately $6.5 million, with the Loughberry Lake Dam – at a cost of $1.275 million, at the top of the committee-ranked project list.      

• Outlook – 2022 Budget.  Approximately $57.65 million in requested general operating fund expenses. “While 2021 revenues continue to improve (and) 2022 projections are very strong, matching the $57.65 million in expenses remains beyond our current outlook,” Madigan said.  The 2022 Comprehensive Budget will be presented at the Oct. 5 City Council meeting. 

• UDO. A fourth and final workshop was recently conducted to review opinions from the county and city Planning Boards, the public, and the Design Review Commission, pertaining to the proposed Unified Development Ordinance, or UDO. 

A UDO is a tool combining traditional zoning and subdivision regulations, along with other development standards for items such as design guidelines, storm water management, and signs and street standards into one, easy-to-read reference document. 

The council announced this week the next steps regarding the UDO. They include: Inputting the most recent changes and creating a “final-final” version for public released at the next City Council meeting, on Sept. 21; Hosting Public Hearings regarding the document on Oct. 5 and Oct. 19, with an anticipated vote to adopt the UDO on Nov. 16. 

• Saratoga County Public Health Services department is holding free community COVID-19 vaccination clinics 9:30 – 11:30 a.m. and 1:30-3:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 10 of the Pfizer Second and Third Dose Vaccine at Saratoga County Public Safety Building, 6012 County Farm Road, Ballston Spa, and 11 a.m. – 1 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 11 of the Johnson & Johnson Vaccine at Healthy Living Market at the Wilton Mall, 3065 NY-50. The vaccines are free. No proof of insurance required.  Pre-registration is required only for third dose clinics.  Minors must be accompanied by a parent or guardian. For more information about COVID-19 vaccines administered by Saratoga County Public Health Services, call 518-584-7460 Extension 8327 or visit the Public Health’s COVID-19 webpage at www.saratogacountyny.gov.

9/11 Memorial Film
Friday, Sept. 10 | 10 a.m.
Clifton Park-Halfmoon Public Library | 475 Moe Rd Clifton Park
Commemorate the 20th anniversary of 9/11 with this film presented by the 9/11 Memorial & Museum, highlighting first-person accounts of the attacks and their aftermath. Please also see exhibit in the foyer and café area of the Library on display until September 20.

Never Forgotten: Commemoration and Remembrance Ceremony
When: Saturday, Sept. 11 | 8:15 a.m.
Where: High Rock Park, Saratoga Springs
Mayor Meg Kelly welcomes all citizens to a Commemoration and Remembrance Ceremony. Gather at the Tempered by Memory Sculpture in High Rock Park on Saturday, Sept. 11. Ceremony will begin at 8:30 a.m., please arrive by 8:15 a.m. Ms. Dottie Pepper, CBS Sports will be the Master of Ceremonies. Frank G Hoare, USAR, Ret, will be the Keynote Speaker. 

9/11 Ceremony of Remembrance at Gerald B. H. Solomon Saratoga National Cemetery Saturday
Saturday, Sept. 11 | 10 a.m. 
The Gerald B. H. Solomon Saratoga National Cemetery | 200 Duell Rd, Schuylerville 
The Gerald B.H. Solomon Saratoga National Cemetery will host a ceremony in remembrance of the attacks of 9/11. 
The event will be held honor the victims of that day, as well as those who have lost their lives in the years since due to health issues from working on the rescue and recovery efforts. The ceremony – which will take place at 10 a.m. on Saturday – will also honor those who served in the military and were killed, several of whom are interred in the cemetery.
For more information and maps for parking visit acebook.com/NatCemSaratoga or facebook.com/Saratoga-National-Cemetery-Support-Committee
The Gerald B. H. Solomon Saratoga National Cemetery is located 200 Duell Rd, in the town of Saratoga. 

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Saratoga-Wilton Elks Lodge #161’s 2021 Flag Day Parade Commemorating 9/11
Saturday, Sept. 11 | 12 to 3 p.m.
Begins on North Broadway and ends at Congress Park
Saratoga-Wilton Elks Lodge No. 161’s 53rd Flag Day Parade will take place Sept. 11, at which time it will commemorate the 20th Anniversary of the 9/11 tragedy. Parade participants will march down Broadway in the City of Saratoga Springs starting at 12 p.m.
This year’s parade theme will be “Honoring Our First Responders.” The Elks plan to honor not only our brave local first responders who went to New York City to assist with search and rescue efforts after the Twin Towers fell, but also our community’s first responders who have been at the forefront of the local response to the COVID-19 pandemic, including medical personnel, public health officials, law enforcement members, and emergency services personnel.
The Elks are pleased to announce that the Avant Garde Drum and Bugle Corps will again reunite and be a key participant in this year’s parade.

Ballston Spa 9/11 Remembrance Event
Saturday, Sept. 11 | 7:30 to 8:30 p.m.
Ballston Spa Village Hall/ 9/11 Memorial Park
66 Front St Ballston Spa 
On Saturday, Sept. 11 at 7:30 p.m. Ballston Spa holds its Annual 9/11 Remembrance Ceremony. 
20 years ago, life in our country changed. Even in the quaint village of Ballston Spa, we had a new perspective on life. To remember those who we lost, the community of Ballston Spa came together to created its own 9/11 Memorial Garden, next door to Village Hall. The Memorial, complete with a section of the subway track that ran under the Twin Towers, is a treasured part of the Ballston Spa community. 
This year’s ceremony is very special. The 20th Anniversary marks an important milestone for all Americans. To honor those who died in the attack and those who gave their lives trying to save others, Ballston Spa is planning a special ceremony. 
The program will include music by the Union Fire Company Band, a dramatic light display and art banners, presentations by elected officials and a special candlelight ceremony. The event will be attended by the McBoston Fire Truck flying their massive American Flag and members of the local Fire Companies, Police and Ambulance Corp. Everyone is welcome to attend this personal small town event. Bring a chair. We will be following CDC guidelines. Rain date Sunday Sept. 12. 

SARATOGA SPRINGS — Barbara Floryshak remembers marveling at the view when her eyes scanned the landscape of the great city. 

“Up at the top you saw all of New York City, the city in all its glory and vastness,” she says. 

“There was a young lady visiting from Germany. I asked her, ‘Hey would you like to go over to the World Trade Center?’ So we went, got on the elevators, rode all the way to the top. When we were in the elevator, I remember telling her about the first time we had a bombing, in the garage.” 

In February 1993, a terrorist bomb had exploded in a parking garage of the World Trade Center. Six people were killed that day and more than 1,000 injured. Later, the FBI would refer to the attack as a deadly dress rehearsal for 9/11. 

“We saw the view, we came down, and I put her back on a plane. That was on Monday. On Tuesday was when 9/11 occurred.” 

Rev. Dr. Barbara Floryshak served as a pastor at Tribes Hill Presbyterian Church near Amsterdam, NY and has served a part-time as Chaplain at the Albany VA.  Originally from Long Island and a Saratoga resident since 2006, while with the ministry she became a go-to person with people visiting from Germany. 

“I became their guide to New York City, because I knew the city back-and-forth having graduated at NYU,” she says.  Floryshak had lived in Germany for a spell, where she has a familial background. “I was almost stuck behind the Berlin Wall in 1961 – but that’s a whole other story.” 

On Sept. 12, 2001, she returned to the Trade Center.  “It was a day later. I went down and responded to the area for people who lost somebody and needed help spiritually,” says the retired Presbyterian minister. 

“The subway was bombed out, so I had to take a bus from Grand Central. It was terrible. You’d just see a white cloud with all this stuff floating around. Nobody was wearing masks or anything. And it was heartbreaking to see where the building used to be, not being there. It’s hard to explain.” 

Hundreds of rescue workers descended upon Lower Manhattan searching for survivors and sorting through the ruins. 

Floryshak stayed at the Marriot Hotel near Ground Zero for several days. “They were using a church, an Episcopal church there, for recovering the bodies, I think it was. It was a terrible scene. I was trying to help people emotionally and spiritually – the first responders, the people from the families,” she says. “I was with a priest down there and I remember him saying: the hardest thing is to give counseling to the families of people who just jumped out the window. He was having a hard time, too, just trying to give some comfort, because how this all happened, it doesn’t make any sense.” 

Floryshak’s son worked downtown. He was able to make it out. His best friend with whom he graduated from Syracuse that year, did not. He worked on the 100th floor. “He was supposed to go to his friend’s wedding the next week. Instead, he had to go to his funeral. His best friend. When I go down there now, I look for his name.” 

In the 20 years since the attacks of 9/11, memorials have been sited across the country. In Saratoga Springs, at High Rock Park, stands the 25-foot-tall sculpture titled “Tempered By Memory.” Commissioned by Saratoga Arts and created by artists Noah Savett and John Van Alstine, it is comprised of five twisted pieces of Trade Center steel. Four pieces came from the North Tower, one came from the South Tower. It is not an easy memory. After much public and political debate of potential sites that varied from the City Center to the Visitors Center, the sculpture stood in a field in Northumberland awaiting a permanent location in Saratoga Springs.  It was eventually placed at High Rock Park in 2012.

Floryshak has since made several trips from her upstate home to downtown Manhattan. “There was an organization for people who lost their loved ones and First Responders, and I became a part of a group. They got together once a year, so every year I kept on going down,” she says. 

On the first anniversary of the attacks, she befriended a woman who explained she had lost her son who was working on one of the upper floors in one of the towers. A requiem was sung for the people who had passed away. A memorial gathering was being staged. “It was in the morning and when I started walking down the street, suddenly I couldn’t walk. The wind was so terrific it stopped me in my tracks. It was the same time, the same day, one year later. I said to myself: what is going on? Eventually I got on a train and went back to Albany. The very next day I picked up the paper and there it was. It showed all the people around doing the ceremony, but the wind was blowing so hard things were flying all over the place.”   

At Ground Zero, while the families of the victims crowded deep in the pit around the Circle of Honor while all 3,000 names were read aloud, the wind slipped over the sides and whipped the dust into a thick cloud that billowed all through the complex, eerily replicating the smoke that hung in the air a year before,” wrote Charles Shaw in 3 a.m. Magazine. 

“When I picked up the newspaper the next day and looked at the picture, the caption read: ‘Are Those The Lost Souls Coming Back?’ Floryshak says. “For people who are not involved spiritually, it maybe doesn’t matter. But to me? It meant a lot.”

Floryshak deals with lingering physical effects she says from the time she spent at Ground Zero. “I had cancer in the lung. In 2011 I went to Dana-Farber in Boston. They took out a lung. It’s connected to my time there, it’s all a result. So now this year they’re working to give me radiation and I’m just trying to find out if I have some more cancer in it, so I don’t know if this is kind of the end or what,” Floryshak says. “I yell at myself: ‘Why did you go down there?’ And then I snap back: ‘You went down there to help out,’ so I have to put it aside.”