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Accessibility & Affordability – Short Term Rental Market Booming

Written by Dylan McGlynn on . Posted in Business, Featured.

Saratoga Springs commissioner of accounts Dillon Moran speaks at a public workshop on short-term rentals at the Saratoga Springs City Center on Tuesday (Dylan McGlynn photo).

SARATOGA SPRINGS — Saratoga Springs commissioner of accounts Dillon Moran hosted a fourth public workshop on Tuesday, continuing a discussion on short-term rentals within the city.

Moran said the workshops are intended to focus on the “preservation of housing accessibility and affordability in the long-term rental and home ownership markets, and preservation of Saratoga Springs’ longstanding owner-occupied summertime rental market.”

“We want to protect the health and safety of guests and first responders, we want to allow city residents the ability to generate additional income from their properties, we want to ensure the feasibility of administration and enforcement, and we want to limit the negative impacts on our neighborhoods and neighbors,” said Moran at the meeting.

Moran acknowledged that Saratoga Springs is a host community, saying it “is a part of who we are.”

“We are a host community, and so really, the discussion is around, with these new technologies, with the prevalence of what’s happening in the short-term market, how do we apply guardrails?” said Moran.

Moran said the city’s large amount of short-term rentals is affecting the affordability and accessibility of the housing market.

“Our biggest employer is Saratoga Hospital. They have 800 job openings right now. 18% of the people who work at the hospital live in Saratoga Springs, out of 3,000,” Moran said at the meeting.

Moran said Granicus, a software company, provided a review of short-term rental properties in Saratoga Springs, and found 968 listings for 853 unique units within the city limits. The review was conducted cross-platform for sites including AirBNB and Expedia, but does not include local person-to-person rentals or ones conducted through a local realtor.

“We’ve seen a 26% net growth in rental units over the past year, and a 41% (increase) of the STRs currently online that were not live a year ago,” said Moran. “Meaning year over year, we almost doubled the amount of properties that are in this market. That is really aggressive.”

Moran said that rentals within the city for a period of less than 28 days are currently not allowed, but said the city lacks the resources to respond to every violation, with three code enforcement officers. 

Moran had previously stated that rentals for less than 28 days were allowed only during track season, but said on Tuesday he discovered this was not true, saying that all rentals for a duration of less than 28 days are not allowed in the city.

“I’m going to have to correct what I’ve said, and again, it shows us the importance of being accurate,” said Moran.

He also made note of potential safety concerns, saying that hotels, motels, and bed and breakfasts in the city are subject to Department of Health standards, while short-term rentals are not. 

“To not have that same modicum of safety, both for the people who are going into the buildings as guests, but also our first responders, to me is a problem that needs to be addressed,” Moran said.

Moran made note of Senate Bill S885, sponsored by New York Senator Michelle Hinchey, which would regulate short-term residential rentals at the state level. Moran said the bill would create a state registry of short-term rentals, and said Saratoga Springs could create their own local registry.

The registry would “enforce common sense,” by ensuring every rental has insurance, fire extinguishers, smoke detectors, an emergency contact number and evacuation diagram, Moran said.

“It’s really important that we have the ability to understand, boots on the ground, what’s happening?” said Moran. “So the idea of having a registry with an emergency contact number is really important, just within that paradigm of safety.”

The Senate bill defines short-term rentals as “an entire dwelling unit, or a room, group of rooms, other living or sleeping space, or any other space within a dwelling, made available for rent by guests for less than thirty consecutive days, where the unit is offered for tourist or transient use by the short-term rental host of the residential unit.”

The bill would require both hosts and booking companies to maintain two years’ worth of guest information, and would not allow booking services to collect a fee if the unit is not registered. There would be a $200 penalty per day for both booking services and hosts for not registering a unit.

Moran said he expects the bill to pass, and said he hopes to maintain local control of city-specific issues while defaulting to the state on larger issues.

“From there, there’s very clearly areas they still have to build out. I told people, they’re going to be adding something in these sections about taxation,” said Moran. “They haven’t defined what a violation is. I think those are very important, and I wouldn’t want to walk down that path without knowing kind of where they’re going.”

Moran said future meetings would be “much more formal,” saying they will likely be held at City Hall, and that his intent is to walk through the process of drafting legislation with community members who attend.

Saratoga Springs Baseball Section II Title Defense Off to Strong Start 

Written by Dylan McGlynn on . Posted in Featured, Sports.

SARATOGA SPRINGS — The Saratoga varsity baseball team is off to a quality start to the 2023 season, as the Blue Streaks begin the hunt for their second straight Section II title.

Saratoga beat Shaker in the Section II Class AA Championship series last season and were off to an 8-1 start entering Wednesday’s games. Head coach Andy Cuthbertson said the team’s mindset is to “reload, not rebuild.”

“Our expectations are very high every single year. I’d be lying if I didn’t say that we were going for it every single year,” Cuthbertson said. “Obviously, coming off as the Section II champs last year, we’re going to have a bullseye on our back.”

The Blue Streaks returned much of last season’s team, with Cuthbertson saying while the team lost some key returners, they also have a strong group of “core guys” returning.

Cuthbertson named juniors Michael Mack and Christian Mello as two of the team’s top pitchers, also saying Trevor Duthaler and Adam Weiss will factor in on the mound. The Blue Streaks’ head coach also made note of freshman shortstop Raul Rodriguez, who took over the position during Saratoga’s sectional run last season as an eighth-grader.

“We threw him right into the fire,” said Cuthbertson of Rodriguez’s role last season. “He saw a ton of quality at-bats. He’s already getting looks from colleges. He’s on the 40-man roster for the 15U USA baseball team. Bright future ahead for that kid.”

Junior catcher Camden Rhude, and senior outfielders Matt Salway, Owen Redick, and Drew Adams have also been key players for the Blue Streaks early in the season. 

Cuthbertson said early on, the team was focused on developing culture and chemistry, saying he wants the squad to “eat strategy for breakfast.”

“Really trying to develop Team 84. That’s a concept that we have, (the) 84th team in the history of our school,” said Cuthbertson. “We try to latch onto that, making sure our program is rich in culture. Kids really feel part of something.”

Playing in a deep Suburban Council, Cuthbertson said the Blue Streaks will look to take things pitch by pitch as they move further into the season.

“Our league is very strong, well-coached, a lot of good kids,” Cuthbertson said. “Really, it’s playing pitch by pitch, inning by inning, and being in a good spot. Hopefully you’re playing your best baseball at the end of the season.”

Code Blue to Close April 30, Williams Street Venue Vacant This Summer, Homelessness Task Force Recommendations Anticipated in July 

Written by Thomas Dimopoulos on . Posted in Featured, News.

Final clean-up at Saratoga Code Blue emergency homeless shelter on Adelphi Street, April 2023. Photo by Thomas Dimopoulos.

SARATOGA SPRINGS — The building is mostly vacant now on Adelphi Street.  Gone are those who sought sanctuary from the elements of winter as well as those who committed their time and efforts to provide care at the space that has served as a Code Blue emergency homeless shelter. The tally for the November to April season: 160 nights open, 6,800 meals served.

The Code Blue shelter – which opens when the temperature dips below 32 degrees Fahrenheit – has most recently been located just off South Broadway as a 61-bed facility on Adelphi Street. On April 30, the current lease on the Adelphi Street space will expire – it is already listed with realtors as a commercial spot for lease – leaving the city, for the time being, without a venue to point to as a shelter for next winter’s season.     

Earlier this year, Saratoga Springs Mayor Ron Kim initiated the formation of a Mayor’s Task Force on Homelessness. The group is tasked with presenting a proposal for a shelter location to the council by early summer.   

“By our July 6 (council) meeting, we’re asking them to report back. I think they’re on schedule and should be able to complete their mission. I’ve been incredibly impressed by their discussions. They’ve been thoughtful, thought-provoking and also respectful. They’ve sort of come to the conclusion that we need a 24-hour shelter,” said city Mayor Ron Kim. 

“By hook-or-crook we’re going to have to offer something. I hope we can move quickly, but that’s all about location and agency.  What I think the Homelessness Task Force will be able to do is give is responses to the three questions we’ve asked: what do we need? Where could it be, and who will provide it?” Kim said.  “It’s going to then be up to the City Council when we get those recommendations in early July to move the ball forward. So, we’ll have our work cut out for us.” 

Since late 2013, St. Peter’s Parish Center, the Salvation Army building, the Soul Saving Station Church and the “overflow” Presbyterian New England Congregational Church have all served as a regional emergency winter shelter at one time or another. Adelphi Street was first activated in 2020. All have been on a temporary basis. Each time a permanent venue was thought to be found, loud opposition from those with interests near the proposed siting spot has negated its coming to fruition. 

The most recent future-looking plans eyed a permanent 24/7 year-round shelter at the soon-to-be-vacated Senior Center on Williams Street. Last October, the City Council unanimously approved a resolution in favor of the project at the Williams Street property which the city owns. Shortly afterwards, however, some public opposition was raised and Shelters of Saratoga – which co-operates the Code Blue shelter with Saratoga County and The NYS Office of Temporary Disability and Assistance – announced it was canceling its plans to site a permanent center on Williams Street.   

The building continues to serve as the Saratoga Senior Center for now. Relocation will occur when a new senior center structure on West Avenue becomes operational this summer, Saratoga Senior Center Executive Director Lois Celeste said.  

There has been no determination yet made about what may become of the city owned site on Williams Street when it becomes vacant.

“There are no plans whatsoever,” said Mayor Kim, adding that plans to site a shelter there are not completely off the table. “On the other hand, if the (Homelessness) Task Force sees another possibility, it could be something that we use to rent, for other purposes. Another possibility is that it could help us fund something in another location. So, nothing is firm about that. But in July that will be a major thing for the City Council to address once we get the recommendations.”  

Discussions by the task force include whether an outside agency would be involved to provide services (such as Shelters of Saratoga had been in the past), the geographic area where a potential shelter would best be sited, whether it would have 24/7 capabilities, and specifics regarding whether the shelter be of a low-barrier status. The definition of a “low barrier shelter” and of a “navigation center” vary from state-to-state and having a “low barrier” points to things such as potentially eliminating curfews and not requiring background checks, sobriety or mandatory treatment.

“Those are open questions,” Kim said.  “That’s one of those things they’re still debating. One of the viewpoints is: maybe we should have an aspiration goal of low-barrier with the very particular details of that left to an agency. On the other hand, some have said maybe we should do more of the defining. So, I don’t think they’ve reached that (consensus) yet,” Kim said.  

Kim said he would prefer siting a permanent shelter rather than continuing along the path of having a series of temporary rentals as has been the case for nearly a decade. “I think we need to do this, but I don’t know in the end where it will land.” 

Funding is also a key piece. 

“The funding comes through the state and passes through the county, so the county has a huge funding role in this,” Kim said. “The county, I hope and expect, will play a huge role in this; it’s more of a partnership because the city has become the central place where you need a homeless shelter. I don’t know of any other parts of Saratoga County where this has become a huge need.”   

In July 2022, the Saratoga County Board of Supervisors approved an agreement for the short-term lease – at $8,000 per month – of the Adelphi Street venue to be used as a “Code Blue” emergency homeless shelter thru April 30, 2023. 

“The county has not been presented yet with any plans to-date for a year-round shelter,” Saratoga County Board of Supervisors Chair Theodore Kusnierz said when asked about the future status of a shelter in Saratoga Springs.  “We will entertain any proposal that is provided to us.”  

Night Market: Fridays & Saturdays in Saratoga

Written by Saratoga TODAY on . Posted in Business, Featured.

Image provided.

SARATOGA SPRINGS — Together with Palette, Sahm Reyes, a well-known local chef, founder of Caffeine-Queens LLC, and patent holder for the coffee brewer bottle, announces the launch of The Saratoga Night Market. 

The Saratoga Night Market began quietly this winter, and will officially launch to the public in April. The focus is on female developed products and businesses. The Night Market is organized by Sahm Reyes, an inventor and entrepreneur. The Night Market event space is hosted at Palette Saratoga.

Starting in April, the Night Market will be open to the public on scheduled Friday and Saturday nights. Each market features a selection of locally based female makers, creators and business owners selling their products. 

The market is located in The Palette Saratoga co-working space in the lower level of The Collamer Building, at 480 Broadway. The Night Market will be open to the public the following April dates; April 21, April 22, April 28 and April 29. The Night Market invites everyone taking a stroll up Broadway to pop in.

Each market will vary, with rotating vendors. Tourists, visitors and locals are encouraged to stop by and check out what is for sale. At a recent market, the vendors and products included a children’s book author, a fiber artist, candle makers, jewelry designers, artists, inventors, and a woodcrafter. Scheduled market sellers for April include; authors, makers, designers, artists and inventors.

Sahm Reyes said, “I am excited to be able to offer the Saratoga community and the greater Capital Region area access to these fantastic female entrepreneurs. Many of the local creators and makers at the Night Market are in start-up mode. As a recently launched full-time entrepreneur, myself, I know how hard it is to find local space to sell my products. I wanted to find somewhere around here that is affordable and safe. That is why I partnered with Palette in Saratoga. The Broadway location is beautiful and I am excited to share the launch of the Night Market with everyone. I hope to see a lot of people coming out to support us.”

Sahm is a chef who became a full-time entrepreneur focusing on her business, Caffeine-Queens, in 2023. She is an active member of the Palette Community. Palette membership includes 24/7 access to co-working spaces and support for business people who want to connect with other like minded individuals and be productive in a fun, inviting, and supportive environment.

Sahm spends a lot of time traveling to trade shows and expos and doing research for her growing business. 

When Sahm is back in Saratoga, she enjoys meeting solo-preneurs, business owners and connecting with other members who are working out of Palette. That is how the Night Market was born, a simple conversation with other small business owners. 

Marcella Hammer, COO of Palette added, “At Palette, we are here to support women-led small businesses, while helping to build community & commerce. We are hopeful for lots of foot traffic when the weather gets warmer, because Sahm has found lots of interested female creators and makers who are excited to be able to sell their products locally.”

Catherine Hover, Palette Founder and Owner of Saratoga Paint and Sip, said, “This is why I started Palette, I realized that as a Mom and business owner, I craved a place to go where I had the support of other women, who were trying to do ‘all the things’ like me. I am so excited to support Sahm and all the amazing members of Palette who are doing great things in our community and beyond. I was lucky to attend a March Night Market, and there was an impressive group of vendors and the space was buzzing with shoppers coming in from the street to check out what was going on. The energy of a Night Market is great.”

April Night Market Dates 

Friday 5 to 8 p.m. April 21, 28 

Saturday 4 to 8 p.m. April 22, 29 

May Night Market Dates

Friday 5 to 8 p.m. May 5, 19, 26 

Saturday 4 to 8 p.m. May 6, 20, 27 

June Night Market Dates 

Friday 5 to 8 p.m. June 2, 9, 23 

Saturday 4 to 8 p.m. –

June 3, 10, 24 

July Night Market Dates 

Friday 5 to 8 p.m. July 7, 21, 28 

Saturday 4 to 8 p.m. – 

July 8, 22, 29 

Other vendors include: House of Sjaye, Caffeine Queens, Little Norwegian Candles, The Good Morning Boo, Kara’s Shop of Pretty Things, Pellegrini Designs, Beauty Organics, Pillowtalk,  Sparked Permanent Jewelry, Angelic Herbals, Herlove Co, What’s the Kitsch, and McKinley Belle Jewelry.

Saratoga Springs Restricts No-Knock Warrants

Written by Thomas Dimopoulos on . Posted in Featured, News.

SARATOGA SPRINGS — The City Council by a 4-1 vote on April 18, approved a resolution that bans no-knock warrants except “in the most extreme circumstances.”  

“I think it’s really important sometimes to take a stand on some things,” said city Mayor Ron Kim. “And this is one of them.”

An Executive Order issued in June 2020 by then-N.Y. Gov. Andrew Cuomo required local governments to perform a comprehensive review of its existing police force deployments, strategies, policies, procedures, practices and develop a plan for improvement with community input. 

The Saratoga Springs Police Reform Task Force was initiated two months later and tasked with developing recommendations along with the police chief and the city attorney to present to the City Council. Portions of the subsequent “Reinvention Plan: Toward a Community-Centered Justice Initiative” was accepted by the previous council in March 2021, although it refrained from action regarding the plan’s recommendation to ban non-knock search warrants.

“This City Council’s goal is to make our community safer and protect the rights and safety of all residents, including black residents who have historically experienced systemic racism,” read the resolution presented by the council this week.  “Restrictions on no-knock search warrants will enhance safety for both the citizens of Saratoga Springs and the law enforcement officers who protect them.” 

“Restrictions” on no-knock search warrants was a late-added revision, replacing an earlier version which stated intent for an outright “ban.”  The revised version added a handful of new paragraphs and revisions and was read aloud prior to the resolution vote, but not available for public viewing on the city’s website. The updated resolution, still titled as a “ban,” allowed for exceptions “in the most extreme circumstances.”     

“This restricts no-knock warrants. There is still the extreme circumstance where the police can in fact ask a judge for a no-knock warrant, so it does not remove no-knock warrants from law,” said DPW Commissioner Jason Golub, who served as co-chair of Saratoga’s Police Reform Task Force prior to his appointment, and subsequent election, to the council. 

“It simply says: we are restricting them to the most extreme circumstances where they might be required. “The ask by Gov. Cuomo was for every city to reimagine police reform…I think that is reimagining what we can do to protect our community, and that’s where we need to be going,” Golub said.  

The issues were discussed and debated by the city Police Reform Task Force for about nine months Accounts Commissioner Dillon Moran reminded those at the council meeting, during which a great majority of those making public comments voiced their support for the city’s adoption of the resolution.

“There was a comment earlier today that there hadn’t been enough community conversation. I just don’t think that’s true,” Moran said. “The recommendation has been out there for a while and there has been plenty of opportunity for people to come forward, voice their support for – as we’ve heard this evening – and folks to use their voice against.” 

At the council table, Finance Commissioner Minita Sanghvi verbally supplied data that showcased: dozens of deaths involving civilians and police had occurred in the U.S. over a six-year period during no-knock raids; funds paid by municipalities due to resulting lawsuits, and statistics that highlighted a high percentage of no-knock warrants executed upon blacks and Hispanics indicating that “race is clearly an issue.”

“No-knock warrants have been banned in Florida – which I don’t think anyone would think is a liberal state – they have been banned in Virginia, which has a Republican governor, and in Oregon,” Sanghvi said. “They don’t make sense for the safety and security of our police or our community, and it doesn’t make sense financially either for our local government.” 

The New York State Legislature is considering a bill that would sharply limit the use of no-knock warrants.

Public Safety Commissioner James Montagnino cast the lone council vote opposed to the resolution, citing procedural issues – including that the revised measure was not available to the public – as well as current state law. “Unless and until either our legislature amends article 690 (Search Warrants) or we go through the proper process to amend the City Charter, I don’t think this resolution should be adopted.” 

Montagnino said as best he could discern, while “a number of” no-knock warrants were issued by city judges, most of those city police opted to execute as standard announce warrants. “As best as we can tell, one warrant was executed as a no-knock warrant in the city of Saratoga Springs, about 7 years ago… so the process itself is extremely rare.”

The condition providing exception to the ban reads as follows: SSPD will only initiate no-knock warrants in the most extreme circumstances where officers detail specific facts in the search warrant application that explain why giving notice would create an imminent danger to a person’s life.

Autism Expo: Annual Event Helps Families Connect

Written by Dylan McGlynn on . Posted in Education, Featured.

Photo provided by Mariah and Juergen Hahn.

SARATOGA SPRINGS — Saratoga Bridges’ 11th annual Autism Expo and Art Exhibit will be held April 23 from 12 to 3 p.m. in the Saratoga Springs City Center, offering a wide variety of resources for individuals and families with autism.

The event first began in 2012 at Skidmore College, and has continued to grow each year. Over 900 attendees are expected at this year’s Expo, said Saratoga Bridges assistant director of communications Pamela Polacsek.

The Expo also allows attendants to connect with each other, and share experiences and resources.

“I think that’s where you’ll get a lot of solid parental input,” said Mariah Hahn. “It helps you feel part of a community. You don’t have to be desperate, we’re going to figure this out.”

Hahn, who attended last year’s Expo, knows this well. She and her husband Juergen are the parents of Lucas, an 11-year old boy with profound non-speaking autism. The Hahns say that Lucas’ condition has been challenging due to a variety of factors, including a lack of research and treatments for profound autism.

“There are areas that we felt weren’t being explored,” Mariah Hahn said.

“The reality of a lot of medical research, including on autism, is they focus more on people who are actually least-affected by it,” said Juergen Hahn. “It’s much easier to deal with. If you have somebody who is nonverbal, you can’t really ask them the question, ‘How do you feel?’”

Both Mariah and Juergen Hahn are faculty members at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, studying biomedical engineering. They attempted standard therapies and treatments for Lucas, including applied behavior analysis, occupational therapy, physical therapy, and speech therapy. They also looked into supplements and medication for ADHD and mood dysregulation.

“Unfortunately, those have been non-beneficial, in fact sometimes have even been harmful,” Mariah Hahn said.

But a new method has given the Hahns hope. Called Spelling 2 Communicate or the rapid prompting method, it utilizes a letterboard to allow a person with non-speaking autism to communicate by pointing to letters on the board.

The Hahns say it is often assumed that because Lucas and other children with profound autism are non-speaking, their intelligence is also impaired. But the Hahns don’t necessarily believe that to be the case.

Many communication devices restrict speech to simple phrases, and Mariah Hahn is questioning if this is truly the highest level of communication possible, or simply a confine of the communication method.

“They really confine your speech. Like, he can say, ‘I want more fish,’” said Mariah Hahn. “Right now, they’re like, ‘Well that’s the level he can communicate at.’ Is it? That’s where we have to stop. We have to ask, is it? Or is it a confine of the situation?

“We never question, is the type of communication or the modality in which it’s delivered, combined with their own deficits, or their own struggles, preventing them from saying more? And, if they are present, is this really what they would want to be confined to?”

But the S2C/RPM method has also seen some resistance, with a lack of scientific evidence surrounding the method. Juergen Hahn even admitted he was a bit skeptical at first, before seeing Lucas utilize the method with
a practitioner.

“I can tell you, I was very skeptical myself,” said Juergen Hahn. “But I’ve seen my son work with this, with a skilled practitioner. I have no doubt that these are the things he wrote. And he wrote some fantastic things.”

“There is a lot of resistance to these methods, because the children show, on average, such high level of ability compared to what they’re believed,” Mariah Hahn said.

Since beginning the S2C/RPM method with Lucas, the Hahns are hopeful that word will spread and it will become more widely used. Mariah Hahn said she is “so excited” about a new documentary called, ‘Spellers,’ following the journey of eight nonverbal people who have learned to use the letterboard method to communicate.

“One gift that they can give Lucas and all those with profound autism is to go see it,” said Mariah Hahn. “I can’t tell you how excited these kids are about it.”

Local showings of the film will be held April 26 at 5:45 p.m at the Upstate NY Autism Alliance in Queensbury, April 29 at 1:45 p.m. at the Clifton Park Library, and April 30 at 2 p.m. at RPI.

Hahn said she knows of five other families in the area who are practicing the S2C/RPM method. She said she is hoping to start a homeschool group to teach children at grade level using the letterboard.

“What I’m trying to do is build a community where this is acceptable,” said Mariah Hahn. “There are other schools that have been started. There’s only three in the country, but they’ve been successful, and I’m hoping to start one here.”

This is where Saratoga Bridges’ Autism Expo factors in, allowing families such as the Hahns to meet, discuss ideas, and exchange valuable information. The Hahns said places like the Expo are valuable for finding services, support groups, medical and dental care, and more.

“There is a lot of collective knowledge among families who have children and adults with ASD, and it’s fantastic to tap into that knowledge,” Juergen Hahn said.

The expo will offer therapeutic opportunities, employment resources, recreational activities, academic programs, and more. This year’s Autism Expo features over 70 exhibitors and vendors, and will offer a children’s activity zone, a sensory room, an exhibit displaying works by artists with disabilities, and more. The Expo is free to attend.

“I’ve actually seen practitioners become inspired to do things, and open their practices to those with severe autism, profound autism, having attended this,” added Mariah Hahn. “In fact, one person in the area is actually being trained in S2C. … She’s now pursuing training in S2C because of what she saw when she attended the Autism Expo a year ago. It’s kind of an all-around community thing.”

‘The Other 3 Years:’ Behind the Scenes with an Olympic Rower

Written by Dylan McGlynn on . Posted in Featured, Sports.

Photo by Bright Sighted Podcasting. 

SARATOGA SPRINGS —Kristi Wagner achieved her dream in 2021, qualifying for the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo as a member of the United States rowing team. Now, she’s back at it, and she’s inviting everyone along for the ride.

Wagner is hosting a new podcast titled ‘The Other 3 Years,’ hosted by Bright Sighted Podcasting. The show, which is set to release its first episode on April 21, will document Wagner’s training process and time spent between Olympic Games.

The podcast was born after Wagner met with Christine O’Donnell, the founder of Bright Sighted Podcasting. O’Donnell is a Saratoga Springs native who rowed at the Saratoga Rowing Association before joining the team at the University of Minnesota, and said she was put in touch with Wagner by SRA head coach and executive director Eric Catalano.

Wagner said the podcast will provide insight into what an Olympic athlete does during the time between Games, and the work that goes into preparing for the Olympics.

“Every year kind of looks similar, in that we do all of our training and competing and selections and camps and everything, but we just have a world championship, world cups, and domestic races and stuff instead of the Olympics,” Wagner said. “I think that’s something that people don’t really know.”

A native of Weston, Massachusetts, Wagner said she began rowing in high school before eventually joining the team at Yale University. After deciding to begin her Olympic journey, she moved to Saratoga Springs in 2016 to train with ARION (Advanced Rowing Initiative of the Northeast), a rowing team consisting of Olympic hopefuls.

“The whole idea was, there’s this elite team which will bring athletes in and give them subsidized housing and also give them a job,” said Wagner. “I coach the middle school and high school rowers at Saratoga Rowing. We had coaching, a training plan, equipment, transportation to races, and that kind of thing.”

Wagner said her experience in Tokyo at the 2020 Olympic Games (which were delayed to 2021 due to COVID-19) “was awesome,” despite the precautions taken.

“It was bigger than life, almost,” said Wagner. “I really wish that my family had gotten to go, because they have made a lot of sacrifices and done a lot to support me.”

Wagner said that due to COVID-19 restrictions, the rowing team traveled home almost immediately following their final race.

“Literally 24 hours after our last race, I was walking down Broadway,” Wagner said. “That was a really weird aspect of it, to watch the closing ceremonies on TV and be like, ‘Was it a fever dream? Was I actually there?’ But it was really awesome.”

Wagner placed fifth in the double sculls at the 2020 Games. Now, she’s aiming to make it to Paris for the 2024 Summer Olympics, saying she feels she can keep improving and that she is still enjoying the sport.

“I just think it’s a very cool and special thing, to try to get the most out of yourself, in any regard. I feel like I’m not at my best yet,” said Wagner. “I feel like I can still improve, and I’m still having fun in the process. It’s also a bit addictive. Finding that level of success is like, ‘OK, well that felt so good. I want to try to feel it again, but I want it to be even better.’”

O’Donnell said the experience of working with Wagner on the podcast has “been really awesome,” so far.

“Kristi is magnetic. She’s really easy to be around,” said O’Donnell. “I enjoy spending time with her and producing these episodes. I actually feel like producing her show has helped me become a better human. It’s been really cool.”

Wagner said she is a huge fan of podcasts, and also said working with O’Donnell has been “incredible.”

“She’s really awesome. She’s made the whole process very smooth and seamless for me,” said Wagner. “But it’s also been really nice for me to kind of reflect on things. I feel like normally, this is true with anything, you kind of have some sort of goal or something you’re working towards, and you just kind of work and do it. It happens, and then you kind of reflect. This has been more, in the process, I’ve had to reflect. Which has been fun, and exciting.”

Wagner also said that while the Olympic aspect of her story is unique, many parts of her life will be relatable to a wide audience.

“I just think that my story, it’s unique in that there aren’t that many people that do this, but also a lot of things in my life are the same as anybody’s life,” said Wagner. “I still do a lot of the same things that other people do and have the same concerns and worries. I just wanted to share that, because I think sometimes people get afraid or think that they can’t have big goals because they’re so far away.”

O’Donnell echoed this, saying Wagner feels “like someone they already know when they listen to her.”

“She just is very relatable,” said O’Donnell. “But I think people are going to listen to her because she’s reminding them if they have a dream or a goal or this thing that they want to do in their life, they have to go all-in to make it happen. That’s what she’s done during the three years between the last Olympics and this Olympics. Anybody who has a dream who wants to make it a reality should listen to this show.”

Ultimately, Wagner said she hopes the podcast inspires people “to chase their own dreams.”

“I think I’ve spent a lot of time in my life feeling that people who accomplished really big things had tons of confidence and woke up like that. Just everything was easy for them, and they had this goal, and they just did it,” said Wagner. “That hasn’t been my experience. You fail a lot on your way to success. But there’s no reason that other people are allowed to have bigger dreams than anybody else.”

‘The Other 3 Years’ will release its first episode April 21 on all major streaming and podcasting platforms.

Hidden Horseshoes: Saratoga’s Next Big Event  

Written by Thomas Dimopoulos on . Posted in Featured, News.

Art by Brady and Elena,
AP Art Students in partnership
with Saratoga Schools

SARATOGA SPRINGS — “We loved the painted horses, we loved the ballet slippers when they came out and we loved Lip Dub,” says Tracey Shannon. “Coming out of COVID, we’re looking for that next activity to bring our community together.“

That activity: Find the Hidden Horseshoe. The treasure hunt begins Saturday, April 21 when 300 of them, formerly worn by Saratoga racehorses, may be sought in a variety of city parks and trails. Find it, and it’s yours for keeps. 

The event is the brainchild of adventure partners Tracey Shannon and Jen Clasen and is inspired by the Glass Float project that began on Block Island, Rhode Island a decade ago. There, glassblower Eben Horton creates more than 500 glass orbs that are dated, numbered and stamped and measure about the size of an orange which he calls “glass floats.” The glass floats are hidden on the beaches and greenway trails across Block Island and provide a community scavenger hunt. 

Here, the 300 horseshoes – keeping with the Spa City theme of health, history and horses – are placed on public property in the city’s parks and trails.  

The specific venues are anticipated to be High Rock Park, Congress Park, Spring Run, Waterfront Park, and Bog Meadow Trail. 

“If you find it, you get to keep it. It’s a finder’s keeper’s kind of scavenger hunt event,” Clasen says. “Three hundred will be hidden in all, of the 300, 30 will be decorated by local artists. So, if you find one, it tells you what number you found and asks you to scan it. Take a bragging picture and we’ll post it to social media and post it to our site.”   

Local artists were involved in decorating 30 of the horseshoes. Shannon and Clasen reached out to Saratoga Bridges, AIM, and the high school for that purpose, the organizers told the members of the City Council during a recent presentation promoting the event. 

All horseshoes will be accessible between ground and eye-level within three feet of a trail, so no ladders or shovels are required. It’s also important to note that the horseshoes will not be on private property, so no public or preserved property should be disturbed to find a horseshoe. It is a finder’s keepers’ activity, but organizers ask if someone is fortunate to find more than one, that they leave it be for others to find.  

The event is looking to launch in Congress Park on Earth Day, April 22.

“I think it’s a real positive activity. We want everybody to have something to get excited about and bring nature in,” Shannon said.   

For more information and “hunt” rules, go to: saratogahiddenhorseshoes.com. 

Signs of Spring: SIS Trout Release

Written by Dylan McGlynn on . Posted in Education, Featured.

Saratoga Independent School teacher Shauna Swiminer speaks with students prior to releasing rainbow trout into the Kayaderosseras Creek. Photo by Dylan McGlynn

BALLSTON SPA — Kindergarten and primary students at Saratoga Independent School released a group of juvenile rainbow trout into the Kayaderosseras Creek on Friday, capping off nearly six months of hands-on learning about water conservancy, life in water, Native American culture, and more.

The school took in nearly 100 rainbow trout eggs in October, and students watched and assisted as the fish hatched and grew in aquariums at the school. On Friday, the students finished their aquatic journey, releasing the fish into the wild.

Shauna Swiminer, a kindergarten teacher at Saratoga Independent School, said the project was “a perfect fit” for the school’s hands-on learning style.

“This year, we were studying both water, water conservancy, life in water, and Native American culture,” said Swiminer. “That idea of something so hands-on, that the kids can see, touch, and do, is really what we do at the Independent School.”

The eggs were provided by the Department of Environmental Conservation, and were part of the National Trout in the Classroom curriculum. Students met at Kelley Park in Ballston Spa to release the fish, which was preceded with words from Perry Ground, a member of the Onondaga Nation.

Ground spoke about indigenous culture, the importance of water and fish to the Haudenosaunee people, and led students through the Haudenosaunee Thanksgiving Address. The Thanksgiving Address was established as a way to give thanks to “everything in the world around us,” Ground said.

“Once those five tribes joined together, they shared lots of stuff. One of the things that we share is, whenever we join ourselves together, is something called the Thanksgiving Address,” said Ground. “Gratitude and appreciation for the things we have around us. … The Thanksgiving Address is something that we say to say thank you to everything in the world around us.”

Swiminer said her students were “so excited” when she returned to school with the fish in October.

“They were whispering like they were real babies,” said Swiminer. “Two days later, they all started to hatch out. So there was no real waiting time, which was really meaningful to the kids, to be able to get that immediate gratification.”

The students quickly grew attached to the fish, with SIS primary teacher Kathleen Johansson saying they wrote “trout poetry” and letters to the fish. She said working with hands-on projects such as this can make it “so much more real” to the students.

“I think it just makes it so much more real to them, when they’re thinking about these creatures that we’ve had and taken care of since October,” said Johansson. “They might think twice when they see some garbage floating down, and think, ‘Hey, I really don’t want my trout to get wrapped up in that.’”

But even though the fish have been released, the project has not stopped just yet. Johansson said the students will participate in a quilt exchange through the National Trout in the Classroom curriculum.

“We’re going to make individual little quilt squares with paintings on it, decorating, and we’re sending them all off, and we’ll get some in return,” said Johansson. “So we’ll have a giant quilt made from students all around who participated in the program as well.”

This year was the first time the school has participated in the Trout in the Classroom program, but Saratoga Independent School emphasizes many similar hands-on activities. Johansson said earlier this year, her class raised monarch larvae until they became butterflies.

“We did a butterfly garden last year in the spring, and we’ll start that again in a few weeks when it warms up,” Johansson said. “The kids love going out in the springtime. When they see that first monarch, they go, ‘That’s the great grandkids of the ones we let go.’ … Any of those projects where they see it happen in front of them, they just have a very different connection to it.”

Both teachers said they hope the project can help teach their students about different cultures, environmental conservation, showing compassion and empathy, and more.

“I think learning in general is best hands-on. It is important to create citizens that care about the world around them,” Swiminer said. “There were so many experiments about pollution, garbage, and watershed, just the general learning that the kids did. Those are human qualities. Those are things you want your kids to grow up and pass on.”

“I think these are the types of activities that will really stay with them,” added Johansson. “Any of them that are interested in the environment, or watershed, it makes them aware of why it’s important for all of us to care. That would be the biggest lesson, I think.”

Lights… Camera… Climb: Documentary Debut with Ray O’Conor at Saratoga Arts April 15

Written by Thomas Dimopoulos on . Posted in Featured, News.

Joe Murphy, Aviral Kapoor, Katera Noviello Kapoor and Ray O’Conor (L to R). The debut screening of
“An Above Average Day” will take place at the Saratoga Arts Center on Saturday, April 15. Photo provided.

SARATOGA SPRINGS — Ray O’Conor has worked as a financial consultant with a major Wall Street investment firm, a United States Border Patrol Agent and a Special Agent with the U.S. Department of Defense. He has served on the boards of several not for profit organizations, and is the CEO of a not for profit community development company.  

Close to home, you may know O’Conor as a former local bank CEO, a Wilton Town Board Councilmember, an avid mountain climber, the author of the book “She Called Him Raymond.” 

That’s a lot of lives for one existence, now here’s one more:  on Saturday, April 15 Saratoga Arts Center will host the debut screening of Veda Films’ documentary “An Above Average Day,” featuring longtime friends Ray O’Conor and Joe Murphy on their hiking and wilderness adventures while seeking answers the question: What could two men with a 30-year difference in age possibly have in common that would compel them to climb more than 400 mountains and hike in excess of 4,000 miles of trails?

Q. Where did the idea for the film come from? 

A. My good buddy Joe and I have done a lot of hiking and climbing over the last 15 years. We j hiked more than 400 different mountains, most of them together and more than 5,000 miles of trail. 

About 2-1/2 years ago I got a message from Katera Kapoor – one of the founders of the Veda Films company – who said, “I’ve been following your adventures with your buddy Joe and was wondering if you had any interest in doing a documentary film together.” Katara is originally from Saratoga Springs. She told me how she and her husband (Aviral), both graduates of the New York Film Academy where they’d met, started this documentary film company. So, Joe and I said: sure. That’s how it all started.

Q. How did the filming work?

A. The husband-and-wife team followed us around when we went out. They were generally long days because in addition to the hiking itself, there was the setting up to take shots, second shots, third shots, and the interviewing. It’s taken a couple of years to get done. Joe and I had a lot of fun with Katera and Avi. They are exceptional people and superb storytellers.

Q. What is the focus of the documentary?

A. There are two sides to the story. One is the adventure side about hiking and mountain climbing. The other is about the relationship between Joe and I. There are 30 years between us – I’m 68 and he’s 38. My wife Mary has always said that my behavior is worse than a child, and Joe is like an old soul kind of person. So, one of the focal points is the relationship between these two guys who met by chance and spent a lot of time together over the past 15 years on mountains and on trails.

Q. You go up a city kid. Where did your fondness for hiking and climbing come from?

A. Back in the late 1980s, I decided to run for the town board in Wilton and Roy McDonald was our town supervisor. Unbeknownst to me, Roy was big on hiking at the time. He had climbed Mount Marcy like 10 times. So, Roy calls me and says, “I’m going to pick you up at 5:30 in the morning and we’re going to go on a hike.” I didn’t even know where we were going, or what I needed. It was a real nice weekend, so I had on a pair of gym shorts, a T-shirt, and some work boots that I wore when doing yardwork. We wound up hiking Mount Marcy. We had a great time. On subsequent hikes, I came much better prepared.

Q. How do you decide where to climb?

A. We have a list we work on. The first was the 46 high peaks of the Adirondacks. There’s a fire tower challenge  – 32 mountains between the Catskills and the Adirondacks that have fire towers on them.  And we’ve done all those. There’s a broader list called the Northeast 115, the tallest mountains in the northeast United States. And there are other smaller mountains – the Lake George 12ster, the Saranac Lake 6er.

The next list is the 50 highest points and peaks in the United States. I’ve already got 17 states done and Joe’s a couple shy of that. I’ve got a plan mapped out for a southern swing next month where we go to Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas, Missouri and Indiana. Nine states, high points or peaks in six days.

Q. For people inspired to go on a hike or climb, what local resources are available to learn more?

A. If you’re a beginner there is the Adirondack Mountain Club, the Appalachian Mountain Club, Saratoga Plan. You know you don’t have to climb Mount Everest to get the benefits emotionally, physically and spiritually.

Q. What do you get from hiking, emotionally, physically or otherwise?

A. I’d like to say it’s as good for the mind and the soul as it is for the body. There’s something special about being out in the wilderness. The Japanese have a term they call it: Forest Bathing. Being out in the woods, on the trail, in isolation. Getting away from all the world’s troubles is magical.

The debut screening of “An Above Average Day” will take place at the Saratoga Arts Center, 320 Broadway, Saratoga Springs on Saturday, April 15. Shows at 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. Tickets are $5 and available at: www.saratoga-arts.org/events. Produced and directed by Katera and Aviral Kapoor, founders of Veda Films.