SARATOGA SPRINGS — Lex Figuereo was found not guilty this week in City Court regarding charges in connection with a Saratoga Springs City Council meeting in 2023.
Glens Falls City Court judge Gary Hobbs announced the not guilty verdict in court Jan. 27. The story was first reported by Aaron Shellow-Lavine of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.
The charges against Saratoga BLM co-founder Figuereo stem from an April 4, 2023 council meeting that involved a fracas during that evening’s Public Comment session. Following a commotion that continued for several minutes, the meeting resumed to conclusion.
Figuereo was subsequently charged with obstructing governmental administration – a misdemeanor, and disorderly conduct – a violation. Local resident Bridgette Barr, who unfastened a thin barrier separating members of the council and the public and approached the council table while yelling at its members, was similarly charged.
Five Saratoga County Sheriff’s department patrols were brought in at the request of the city police department and staged on Maple Avenue during the council meeting. Additionally, Saratoga Springs City Police officers stood in a hallway adjacent to Saratoga Music Hall where the council meeting was held. Explaining the police presence, then-Public Safety Commissioner Jim Montagnino said afterwards that he held conversations with his deputy commissioner and the command staff of the police department “in response to significant activity on social media that indicated an intent to bring and recruit a large number of individuals to Tuesday’s City Council meeting.”
Members of the council that night expressed displeasure that they had not been made aware of the presence of officers in and outside the building prior to the meeting.
The five-hour meeting was archived on the city’s website and may be viewed at: https://saratogaspringsny.new.swagit.com/videos/223380.
David Greenberger and the Huckleberries onstage at Universal Preservation Hall on Jan. 19, 2025. Photo by Thomas Dimopoulos.
SARATOGA SPRINGS — Area legend David Greenberger staged a performance at Universal Preservation Hall on Jan. 19, and he brought a quartet of musicians – collectively called The Huckleberries, along with him.
Perhaps best known for his 32 years of publishing The Duplex Planet – a periodical borne out of his Greenberger’s conversations with nursing home residents, the conversations have spawned a plethora of recordings and performances of monologues and music.
At UPH, attendees were treated to a 90-minute showcase during which Greenberger, wearing a black suit and blue suede shoes, spoke the snippets – word thoughts, conversations, and linguistic interactions of humans engaging with one another, many of them local to the Saratoga and Ballston Spa territories, and heard onstage for the first time. For the record, some of the monologues were based on conversations held specifically at the Senior Center, and Home of the Good Shepherd.
Backed by music and told in first-person style, by each song’s end one could imagine the spirit of the soul who first spoke them drifting up the vintage theater’s balcony staircase and taking refuge among the long wooden church-like pews, listening in succession to the next story in line, and greeting one another in the haze of the veranda’s mist.
The quartet of Huckleberries – Peter Davis, James Gascoyne, Chris Carey and Sam Zucchini – accompanied Greenberger in a variety of ways: keyboards, a drum kit, a stand-up bass with dual f-hole cutaways, electric guitar, electric bass, saxophone, and an assortment of string-and-strum noisemakers with odd shapes, among their arsenal.
“You may be wondering why they’re called the Huckleberries,” Greenberger told the crowd, in between pieces that related the storytelling standing of one person named Gilbert, and another named Jitterbug Frank, “Well as a kid I loved Huckleberry Hound,” he said, recalling the animated TV series with the protagonist dog. “I was in the fan club and everything.”
SARATOGA SPRINGS —A special city election to seat a Department of Public Works Commissioner through the end of 2025 is underway in Saratoga Springs.
The nine-day Early Voting period – with voting taking place at the Scott Johnson/ Saratoga Springs Rec Center on Vanderbilt Avenue – takes place 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. every day through Sunday Jan. 26, inclusively.
Election Day is Tuesday Jan. 28, when ALL city polling sites will be open 6 a.m. to 9 p.m.
The position of DPW Commissioner position is both departmental and legislative, with responsibilities that include the oversight of Saratoga Springs’ street and highway maintenance, its buildings and grounds, and for ensuring that the water system provides sufficient quantities of safe potable water. The seat also plays a role as one of the five voting seats at the City Council table establishing overall policy for the city.
In the contest, City Republicans are backing Chuck Marshall for the position, while City Democrats are backing Hank Kuczynski, currently the interim DPW commissioner, as a write-in candidate. The winner of the seat will serve for the balance of term, through the end of 2025.
The nine-day Early Voting period began Saturday, Jan. 18. Through the first four days of voting, the Saratoga County Board of Elections reported just under 2% of eligible city voters overall cast a ballot, with registered Democrats (D) accounting for 42.4%, registered Republicans (R) 37.3%, registered voters unaffiliated with any party (NOP) 15.4%, and other parties collectively accounting for the remaining 4.9% balance.
There are approximately 21,000 registered voters in Saratoga Springs’ 25 voting districts – about 40% are registered as Democrats, 28% as Republicans, 26% as actively registered with no party affiliation (NOP), and the remaining 6% registered with other parties.
Overlook depiction of the Loughberry Lake Dam area along NYS Route 50. Image: City of Saratoga Springs.
by Thomas Dimopoulos
SARATOGA SPRINGS — The new year brought with it the rattle and hum of heavy machinery whose metal limbs poked at the sky above Saratoga where Route 50 crosses with Marion Ave.
The cause of the scene is a $9 million project to address aging infrastructure in a remediation of the deficiencies of the Loughberry Lake Dam.
The project initially got underway in October 2024 and is slated to continue to its “substantial completion” in October 2025. The goal is to return the dam to a safe working condition per the New York State DEC, says Saratoga Springs City Engineer James Salaway.
A state DEC inspection classified the dam as a “High Hazard,” a classification the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation based on the potential impact that a dam failure may have on downstream areas. By definition, the estimated consequences were the dam to fail: “may result in widespread or serious damage to home(s); damage to main highways, industrial or commercial buildings, railroads, and/or important utilities, including water supply, sewage treatment, fuel, power, cable or telephone infrastructure; or substantial environmental damage; such that the loss of human life or widespread substantial economic loss is likely.” The reclassification was made sometime during the past few years due to increased development.
Last September, the Saratoga Springs City Council awarded a bid to rehab the Loughberry Lake Dam to Winn Construction, of Waterford. Winn Construction was the lowest bidder on the project, and the project bid was awarded at $7.612 million. The $9 million overall project cost includes about $7.5 million in construction and the balance in design and engineering costs, Salaway said.
Loughberry Lake has been the principal potable water supply for Saratoga Springs since 1871 – the lake itself developed sometime between 1850 and 1865, by damming a surface stream channel and valley.
Originally constructed as a railroad embankment, in 1967 the dam crest was widened after state Department of Transportation constructed Route 50.
The lake spans a length approximately 5,700 feet long with a maximum width of 1,050 feet, with three local governments – the city of Saratoga Springs and the towns of Wilton and Greenfield, occurring within the watershed, according to the June 1988 report “Water Quality and Watershed Study of Loughberry Lake” published by the Division of Water in Albany.
Interim DPW Commissioner Hank Kuczynski said every two weeks the engineering staff of the city – led by City Engineer James Salaway, assistant City Engineer Matt Zeno, and Water Plant Operator Brett Johnson – tour the construction site and mark the project progress according to plans submitted by the engineers.
Note: an earlier version of this story referred to the Loughberry Lake Dam as having an “Intermediate Hazard” classification. It was reclassified as “High Hazard” sometime during the past few years due to increased development.
Schuylerville Mayor Dan Carpenter reading proclamation honoring the Schuylerville High School varsity football team during village meeting on Jan. 13, 2025. Photo by Thomas Dimopoulos.
SCHUYLERVILLE — The village of Schuylerville Board of Trustees unanimously approved, by a 3-0 vote, the adoption of a Local Law during its Jan. 13 monthly meeting that prohibits parking on the south side of Ferry Street – from the intersection of Broad Street to the intersection of Green Street.
A 30-minute Public Hearing was set aside for the public to be heard prior to the vote. No one from the public showed up to speak.
The Village Board additionally approved an amended resolution to hold a General Election on Tuesday, March 18. Up for vote are the mayor’s seat, and two board trustee positions. Each is a four-year term.
Polls will be open noon-9 pm on March 18, and voting will be held at the village firehouse.
During the meeting, a proclamation was read honoring the Schuylerville Black Horses, who were named the 2024 NYSPHSAA Class C champion. The Black Horses’ win marks the first state title in program history.
Upcoming meetings: Schuylerville/Victory Board of Water Management – 6 p.m. Jan. 27; Comprehensive Plan Public Outreach – 6 p.m. Jan. 29 at Saratoga Town Hall: Next Village monthly meeting – 6 p.m. Feb. 10; Budget meetings were set to be held at 6 p.m. on: Jan. 27, Feb. 17 & Feb. 24.
BALLSTON SPA — During its monthly meeting, held Jan. 21 at the county complex in Ballston Spa, the Saratoga County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved the appointment of Megan W. Johnson, of the town of Queensbury, as Commissioner of Mental Health and Addiction Services.
The appointment to fill a vacancy follows the Oct. 30, 2024 retirement of Dr. Michael S. Prezioso.
The county Board approved 10 resolutions in all during its first regular meeting of 2025.
Trombone Shorty will perform Sunday June 29 during the two-day Saratoga Jazz Fest at SPAC. Photo provided.
SARATOGA SPRINGS — The 48th Annual Saratoga Jazz Festival, presented by GE Vernova will return for a full two-day and two-stage weekend experience on Saturday, June 28 and Sunday, June 29 at Saratoga Performing Arts Center.
Featuring a roster of 22 musical groups and 10 festival debuts, the line-up is headlined by magnetic performers Gary Clark Jr. and Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue, alongside beloved jazz vocalists Gregory Porter and Cassandra Wilson, and the next generation of jazz, funk and rock stars Cory Wong, Lettuce, DJ Logic & Friends and Veronica Swift.
The festival will also see the return of jazz icons such as Al Di Meola, Michel Camilo and Kenny Garrett in addition to new, emerging artists on the scene like Nicole Zuraitis, Brandee Younger, and Julius Rodriguez.
Founded in 1978 by jazz impresario George Wein, Saratoga Jazz Festival is the fifth longest-consecutive-running jazz festival in North America. Initially founded as “the Newport Jazz Festival at Saratoga” the weekend event was renamed Freihofer’s Saratoga Jazz Festival in 1998.
The 2025 festival marks the beginning of SPAC’s new partnership with lead festival sponsor GE Vernova. The two organizations embark on a five-year partnership, with $200,000 committed from GE Vernova for each year, ensuring the vibrancy and longevity of Saratoga Jazz Festival, one of the largest jazz events in North America.
Making his SPAC debut to headline the festival on Saturday is four-time Grammy award-winner, multi-instrumentalist, songwriter and performer Gary Clark Jr. Heralded for his bold and expressive guitar playing, his music fuses blues, rock, R&B, soul and hip hop with influences and collaborations ranging from B.B. King, the Jackson 5 and Muddy Waters to Alicia Keys, Dave Grohl and Childish Gambino. His most recent album JPEG RAW, released in 2024, represents a quantum leap displaying his versatility and demonstrating the fresh new directions he can take with his music.
Back by popular demand to headline the festival on Sunday is Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue. Since 2010, Shorty has released five chart topping studio albums (his most recent being 2022’s Lifted); toured with everyone from Jeff Beck to the Red Hot Chili Peppers, and has collaborated across genres with Pharrell, Bruno Mars, Mark Ronson, Foo Fighters, ZHU, Zac Brown, Normani, Ringo Starr, and countless more. Beloved for his onstage charisma, Shorty’s appearance marks his fourth Saratoga Jazz Festival performance.
In addition to two non-stop days of great music on two stages, fans can also enjoy a host of amenities including new and diverse food offerings, a fine arts and crafts fair, and artist merchandise signings. Guests are welcome to bring in their own food and beverages, as well as lawn chairs, blankets, tents and lawn umbrellas. Parking for the event is free. Performances will begin at 11 a.m. on Saturday, June 28 and at 11:45 a.m. on Sunday, June 29.
Tickets go on sale beginning on Jan. 21 to SPAC members (tiered by level) and on Jan. 24 to the general public.
Tickets for the festival start at $85. Members will also receive a discount of 15-20% (depending on level) on their ticket purchase. Two-day passes are also available. Children 12 and under receive 50% off tickets in the amphitheater and are free on the lawn. Full-time students with a school issued ID receive 25% off tickets in the amphitheater, or $28 on the lawn (student ID must be presented at will call).
Visit spac.org for more details.
2025 SARATOGA JAZZ FESTIVAL LINEUP:
SATURDAY, JUNE 28
Amphitheater: Gary Clark Jr., Gregory Porter, Lettuce, Veronica Swift, Michel Camilo Trio, Kenny Garrett.
Charles R. Wood “Discovery” Stage: Artemis, Nicole Zuraitis, Keyon Harrold, Julius Rodriguez, C.J. Chenier & The Red Hot Louisiana Band, The String Queens.
SUNDAY, JUNE 29
Amphitheater: Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue, Cory Wong, Cassandra Wilson, Al Di Meola Acoustic Band, DJ Logic & Friends featuring Vernon Reid, Cyro Baptista, Emilio Modeste, James Hurt, Felix Pastorius & Terreon Gully.
Charles R. Wood “Discovery” Stage: Gary Bartz, Bria Skonberg Quintet, Brandee Younger Trio, La Excelencia, Skidmore Jazz Institute Faculty All-Stars Celebrate their Heroes feat. Clay Jenkins, Jimmy Greene, Steve Davis, Dave Stryker, Bill Cunliffe, Todd Coolman & Dennis Mackrel.
Current housing on Allen Drive, facing Church Street on Jan. 9, 2025. Photo by Thomas Dimopoulos.
SARATOGA SPRINGS — A new 98-unit development targeting Allen Drive is anticipated to address the city’s workforce housing shortage.
Beacon Communities and the Saratoga Springs Housing Authority last week announced the start of work on the collaborative project that includes the demolition of six existing but outdated fourplexes on the 3.1-acre site, located Opposite Sunnyside Gardens where Church Street veers into Allen Drive.
The fourplexes will be replaced with six, newly constructed three-story buildings that will include 98 one, two, and three-bedroom units for single adult households and small families with incomes of 50% to 80% the area’s median income (AMI) – the mid-point of income distribution in a single year.
The median household income in Saratoga Springs was $100,485 in 2023, the most recent data available from the U.S. Census Bureau. That 50% to 80% AMI extrapolates to single adult households and small families with incomes of $50,000 to just over $80,000 annually.
Nearly 40 of the 98 units will have a workforce preference, according to a statement from the Boston-based affordable housing developers Beacon Communities LLC.
“The Allen Street development is a crucial step in addressing the housing affordability challenges facing the local community,” state Homes and Community Renewal Commissioner RuthAnne Visnauskas said. “By creating 98 high-quality, affordable units, the Allen Street development will not only provide homes for families and workers but also help to ensure the long-term viability of Saratoga Springs as a place where all New Yorkers, regardless of income, can live, work, and thrive. “
Once complete, the new community will be owned and managed by Springs West Apartments LLC, an affiliate of the Saratoga Springs Housing Authority.
Leasing is expected to begin in spring 2026.
The new development will feature laundry rooms in each building, a community room, gym, playground, and bulk storage spaces. Residents will have access to 92 off-street parking spaces at the rear of the buildings as well as 26 on-street spaces on Allen Drive.
The city’s main economic drivers – tourism and hospitality – rely heavily on a workforce increasingly getting priced out of the market when it comes to housing.
“With the median sales price of a home in Saratoga Springs now exceeding $600,000, our city’s sustainability relies on us building more affordable housing so the people who work here can also live here. We cannot be a ‘city in the country’ just for the rich and wealthy,” added Saratoga County Chamber of Commerce President Todd Shimkus.
The $42.8 million Allen Drive project is being financed with tax exempt bonds issued by NYS Homes & Community Renewal along with an allocation of Federal Low-Income Housing Tax Credits, NYS Low-Income Housing Tax Credits, and state subsidy loans. The tax-exempt bonds are backed by a Letter of Credit from KeyBank, N.A. Both the LIHTC and SLIHC were purchased by Key Community Development Corp.
Sample ballot with spaces colored-in for purposes of this depiction that lists the Republican candidate on the ballot and where the write-In candidate’s name would go.
SARATOGA SPRINGS — Readying for retirement after serving ballot-casters in Saratoga the past 15 or so years, the county’s aging voting machines will be pressed back into service one more time for a special election to place in Saratoga Springs.
Election Day is Tuesday, Jan. 28. In advance of Election Day, nine days of early voting will get underway Saturday Jan. 18 in a citywide vote to elect a Commissioner of Public Works in Saratoga Springs.
The election will decide the DPW Commissioner/ fifth city council member to complete the regular balance of the term, which concludes Dec. 31, 2025. All five city councilmember positions – four commissioners and a mayor – will be up for new two-year terms this November.
City Republicans are backing Chuck Marshall for the position. Marshall, a former member of the Saratoga County Sewer Commission, currently serves as chair of the Saratoga Springs Planning Board and is employed as director of real estate at Stewart’s. Marshall’s name appears on the ballot.
City Democrats meanwhile are backing interim DPW commissioner Hank Kuczynski. Kuczynski – who had previously served as city deputy mayor – was unanimously approved by the City Council as interim DPW Commissioner on Oct. 29 and currently occupies the seat.
As Democrats did not secure a pre-marked slot on the actual ballot, voters favoring candidate Kuczynski will need to physically write his name in, in the ballot’s “write-in” box.
Machine Music
Last September, the Saratoga County Board of Supervisors approved the purchase of 241 new voting machines and associated equipment from Clear Ballot Group, Inc. at a total cost of $1.76 million to replace the aging voting machines in use. The new machines will be operational this year, but Saratoga Springs residents voting in the special election will see a return to the familiar.
“We’re using the old machines that still work. The reason is the human learning curve is a couple of months, to get everyone trained on them,” explained Saratoga County Republican Election Commissioner Joseph Suhrada.
The chain of custody of election equipment should be maintained from acceptance to proper disposal, according to The U.S. Election Assistance Commission – an independent, bipartisan commission established by the Help America Vote Act of 2002. The Commission notes there are security risks associated with the disposal, sale, or destruction of computer equipment and storage devices, and instructs that prior to disposal, all equipment be “sanitized” – that is, the process of removing all data from a device.
The new machines will be instituted for use during the special election for the 21st Congressional District, anticipated to take place this spring.
“That’s when I expect we’ll employ them,” Suhrada said.
That special election will involve a race to fill the presumed vacancy of Congresswoman Elise Stefanik, who was selected by President-elect Donald Trump to serve as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. The ambassador post requires Senate confirmation and Stefanik must resign her congressional seat in the 21st District – which may happen as soon as next week – after which follows a political pinball process to set a date set for the regional special election to take place.
“We expect (Stefanik’s resignation) to occur around Jan. 20 from what we’ve been told, and with the special election anywhere from 71 to 90 days out from her resignation – that places us somewhere at the middle or end of April,” Suhrada said. “And at that stage we will use our new machines.”
The 21st Congressional District special election will be open to voters in dozens of Saratoga County polling districts from the northeast section of the county to the northwest – the towns of Saratoga, Corinth, Moreau, Hadley, and a portion of Wilton among them.
Saratoga Springs Special Election
In Saratoga Springs meanwhile, all registered city voters may take part in the special election for Saratoga Springs DPW Commissioner.
Early Voting will take place at the Saratoga Springs (Scott Johnson) Rec Center at 15 Vanderbilt Ave. and gets underway Saturday, Jan. 18 and continues for a total of 9 days, until Sunday, Jan. 26, inclusively. Those Early Voting times are: 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. each day – except Monday, Jan. 20 and Wednesday, Jan. 22 when the polls will be open noon – 8 p.m.
On Election Day – Tuesday, Jan. 28 – all city polling sites will be open from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m.
The position of DPW Commissioner position is both departmental and legislative. The commissioner is responsible for oversight of Saratoga Springs’ street and highway maintenance, its buildings and grounds, and for ensuring that the water system provides sufficient quantities of safe potable water, among other duties.
The position also plays a role in the legislative body of city government by placing the commissioner at the City Council table. The Council proposes and enacts legislation and establishes policy for the city. The mayor and four commissioners form the five-member City Council, and having five members is key in potentially acting as a tiebreaking vote in any deadlocked city-related decisions at the table where majority rules.
There are approximately 21,000 registered voters in Saratoga Springs’ 25 voting districts, according to 2024 state Board of Election enrollment data. About 40% are registered as Democrats, 28% as Republicans, 26% as “blanks” – or those actively registered with no party affiliation, and the remaining 6% registered are with other parties.
While Republican candidate Chuck Marshall’s name appears on the ballot, residents wishing to vote for the Democratic Party backed Hank Kuczynski will need to write in his name. The exact spelling of the candidate’s name is not as much an issue as it once was, Suhrada said, when asked about the issue.
“At the end of the day, as long as it’s determined that it is him, a misspelling is no longer disqualified as it may have been 50 years ago,” he said, pointing to a ruling on the matter made approximately 20 years ago by Judith S. Kaye, longtime Chief Judge of the New York Court of Appeals.
“So, if I put down Hank Kuczynski and I use a Y instead of an I, or an I instead of a Y – they know that I mean Kuczynski,” Suhrada said. “Now that being said – they do have to put it in a certain place on the ballot. It is involved no doubt, but spellings? No.”
Dolled up for the holidays, December 2022. The music hall will site the Saratoga Springs State of The City address on Thursday, Jan. 23. Photo by Thomas Dimopoulos
SARATOGA SPRINGS — The city of Saratoga Springs will host its annual State of The City Address 6 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 23 at the Anthony “Skip” Scirocco Music Hall.
The longstanding Saratoga Music Hall was renamed last February to honor the late Anthony “Skip” Scirocco, who served the city for decades as animal control officer, Saratoga County Supervisor, and as a longstanding member of the City Council as Commissioner of Public Works.
The hall is located on the top floor of City Hall.
