SARATOGA SPRINGS — Saratoga Hospital is not changing the hospital’s current “No Visitors” policy.

The governor’s recent directive allows each hospital to reconsider its visitation policies and use its best judgment. Following a careful assessment of our current “No Visitors” policy, including consulting with our nursing and physician leadership, we have come to the conclusion that the safeguards provided by restricting visitation is in the best interest of our patients and our staff.

This is particularly important as we witness the volatility of the spread of the virus in other regions across the country and new travel quarantines being implemented.

As of this week, and since June 12, Saratoga Hospital has had no COVID-19 positive inpatients. Since the beginning of this crisis, Saratoga Hospital has also had no hospital-acquired COVID-19 infections. And early on in this crisis, Saratoga Hospital was the first and only hospital in the region to institute an advanced testing protocol for patients to be rapid-tested for COVID-19 before being admitted to the hospital. Knowing every patient’s status allowed the hospital staff to manage a patient’s stay much more efficiently and effectively, increasing patient and staff safety and increasing confidence in our hospital.

When essential elective procedures were allowed to restart in late April after being postponed by NYSDOH directives, all patients were required to be tested before any surgeries or procedures were performed. No COVID-19 positive patient was allowed to undergo a procedure until subsequently testing negative.

In short, every policy and protocol we have enacted has made Saratoga Hospital safer for our patients, our staff, and our community. With that level of success in our safety plan implementation, we feel it is best to continue to enforce a “No Visitor” policy and continue to reduce risk.

We understand and respect the frustration this may place on our patients, their families and friends. We have always made compassionate exceptions, made on a case-by-case basis as directed by our patient care team. When possible, we assist patients with iPad or smartphone virtual visits. And we have made our Inpatient Transition Program team available for personal phone calls to families to provide extra comfort and answer questions they may have. Each of these efforts was part of our visitation policy assessment.

We will continue to monitor and reassess the policy. The current visitation policy is available on the hospital’s website: SaratogaHospital.org/COVID19.

SARATOGA SPRINGS — While City Hall offices remain closed to the public, the Building Department is fully operational, the organization announced this week. 

Permit applications are being reviewed and issued as usual.  Email notifications are automatically sent to inform applicants as their application moves through the review process. 

However, at this time, applications for building permits continue to be accepted via U.S. Mail only.  Until the Building Department has moved into its new location on the 3rd floor of City Hall at 474 Broadway, and City Hall reopens to the public, the department is unable to accept applications and documents in person. 

The Building Departments says it will communicate via email with applicants at the following stages: When an application is received in the mail; When all required information has been received, the application is complete and has been checked into the department’s Review Queue; When a building inspector is assigned to review the application and plans; When permit is approved and ready to issue.

Inspections are being performed in all cases when the state-required “Safety Plan” is in place.

Inspections can be requested three ways: Submit request directly into system (preferred) using the online form from the city’s website at: saratoga-springs.org; Email request to building.office@saratoga-springs.org; Call the inspection line at 518-587-3550, ext. 2511. 

SARATOGA SPRINGS — This week, eight states were added to the original list of eight that requires residents of those states traveling to New York to self-quarantine for 14 days upon their arrival.   

The quarantine applies to any person arriving from a state with a Covid-19 positive test rate higher than 10 per 100,000 residents over a 7-day rolling average or a state with a 10% or higher positivity rate over a 7-day rolling average.

The newly added states are: California, Georgia, Iowa, Idaho, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nevada and Tennessee. Additionally, the travel advisory remains in effect for the initial eight states named on June 24. Those are: Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, Florida, North and South Carolina, Utah, Texas. 

“We’re in the middle of a national crisis and we have to be careful. We’ve made tremendous progress, but this is not over,” Gov. Andrew Cuomo said during his press briefing on July 1. “We’re seeing troubling signs across the country that we should be concerned about,” he said. “Our infection rate is low. How does it go up? People come in from the outside, or when we start to get lack of discipline on the inside.” 

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The advisory alerting domestic travelers coming to New York occurs at a time when European nations are instituting a travel ban related to Americans traveling overseas. All members of the European Union – as well as a handful of non-E.U. nations, are slated this week to begin opening their borders to residents of more than one dozen foreign nations – Canada, Australia, and Japan among them – but not to residents of the United States, where the spread of Covid-19 has not been controlled, according to the N.Y. Times.

The rate of infection in the Capital Region remains low, although there were cautionary messages this week from the state about a COVID cluster at a Washington County/Vermont Slate Quarry. 

Washington County Department of Health subsequently announced it is working with the New York State Health Department and the Vermont Department of Health to assess the potential impacts to the community regarding reports of the cluster of COVID-19 cases. 

Cuomo said visitors to New York found to be violating the quarantine can be subject to judicial order and mandatory quarantine, in addition to being assessed fines. Those fines could be $2,000 for a first violation, $5,000 for the second violation, and up to $10,000 “if you cause harm,” the governor said.

SARATOGA SPRINGS — Saratoga and the greater Capital Region entered Phase 4 of the state’s reopening plan on July 1. 

The industries specifically tagged to reopen in phase four include: professional sports competitions – with no fans, higher education, both indoor and outdoor low-risk arts and entertainment, and media production. 

Regionally, the rate of those testing positive for the COVID-19 virus has remained low and statewide has fallen dramatically compared to where they were earlier this year.

This week, the number of positive test results ranged from 0.7% to 1.5% across the state, with the Capital Region measuring at 1.0% – or 1 of every 100 people who had been tested, testing positive for COVID-19. 

New York State has conducted more diagnostic tests per capita than any nation on earth, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said this week. 

“New York State is doing great, the numbers are good, the numbers are solid,” Cuomo said regarding New York’s infection rates, hospitalizations and the number of deaths recently caused by the virus.  “But I feel there are storm clouds on the horizon,” he warned.    

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Thirty-five states have seen an increase in infection rates this week. 

“Now they’re all starting to say: we better take this seriously. We better start wearing masks. They’re going backwards on their reopening plan – which is just what we talked about happening,” Cuomo said. “If you reopen too fast, you’re going to have to close. And that’s the worst situation, the worst for the economy and you’re going to lose more people in the meantime.” 

The formula the governor described at his July 1 press briefing includes: testing, tracing, social distancing and wearing a mask. To that last point, a Fox Business report posted July 1 cited a Goldman Sachs study that says a national face mask mandate would slow the spread of COVID-19 and potentially prevent the reinstatement of lockdowns that would wreak havoc on the U.S. economy.  He also cautioned about the slipping of citizen compliance. 

“If you have citizen compliance dropping and you don’t have local governments enforcing, then you’re going to see the virus go up. Period.” Phase 3 indoor dining in New York City was postponed due to a combination of lack of local enforcement, an influx of visitors and lack of public compliance, Cuomo added. 

In Phase 4, social distancing, face-covering and hygiene protocols continue to apply. Arts and entertainment businesses are mandated to limit workforce and patron/visitor presence to no more than 33% of the maximum occupancy for a particular area at any given time outside, and to no more than 25% of maximum occupancy inside. 

Mandatory directives regarding the resuming of professional sports competitions include there be no live audience, fans, or spectators allowed to attend or to enter the venue. Additionally, fans are prohibited from congregating outside the venue. 

The industries which remain closed are amusement parks, video lottery gaming and casino gaming facilities, indoor movie theaters, large gathering concert or event venues, indoor common portions of retail shopping malls greater than 100,000 square feet and gyms and fitness centers. This week more than 200 gym-goers in West Virginia were urged to quarantine after a Planet Fitness client tested positive for Covid-19. 

The history of architecture has often promoted the idea that bigger is better but today, the tiny house movement is challenging this notion.

Offering the styling of larger houses with a lower price tag, minimalist living is an attractive option for environmentally-minded homeowners who want a simpler lifestyle. 

Building a tiny house, however, is no simple task. 

The Best Laid Plans

The 220 sq. ft. tiny house was a big project that involved a lot of work by many people. 

Even before the high school students in the Washington-Saratoga-Warren-Hamilton-Essex Board of Cooperative Educational Services (WSWHE BOCES) Residential Construction Course began the tiny house project, work-based learning coordinator, Bruce Hoffman, was helping to organize donations of materials, appliances and expertise from a long list of industry professionals. 

“At BOCES we thrive on that. We always want to show the value of cooperation and building relationships with the community. That all comes together in this project. It showed, very clearly, what you can do in a BOCES program and what can be accomplished,” said BOCES Senior Public Information Specialist Maribeth Macica. 

In seven months students, led by instructor Ian Hamilton, redesigned architectural plans to make the tiny house mobile, built much of it, and worked on electrical and plumbing components within it at the F. Donald Myers Education Center campus in Saratoga.  Welding class students modified the trailer deck, and conservation class students used heavy equipment to tow it once it was completed. 

Showcasing Student Opportunities

The WSWHE BOCES programs provide students with opportunities for hands-on learning and gives them the experience to get well-paid jobs. 

“Each program has a consultant committee that annually reviews the curriculum and gives advice as to what’s happening on the cutting edge of that industry,” said Macica. 

BOCES students are learning things the average high school student is not. You may already know that WSWHE BOCES students build sheds, but did you know that last spring, they cleared a site in Moreau for the Harry J. Betar Recreational Park & Playground or that they design and create the “Tuff eNuff” obstacle course each year in Saratoga Springs?

These activities build a workforce and strengthen the community which is eager to hire skilled people. To help get the word out, the BOCES tiny house was on display at the Washington County Fair, and at three different locations in the fall Showcase of Homes, organized by the Saratoga Builders Association (SBA). 

“The Saratoga Builders Association has 160 members and our mission is very focused – we promote construction and make life in Saratoga County better,” said SBA Executive Director Barry Potoker.

This year will mark the 25th annual Showcase of Homes tour. It attracts between 3,500 – 4,000 visitors each year and has helped to fund the $1.3 million that the SBA has donated  to charitable causes. 

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Designing the Tiny House

The Showcase of Homes demonstrates what area builders can do. These homes show off the latest in building innovations and luxurious living. 

Interior designer Michele Ahl, of 2B Design, LLC. has served on the Showcase planning committee, as a judge, and won awards in 2016 and 2018 for her designs. She volunteered to help make the tiny house into a home. 

“The idea of promoting the youth in the trades got me very excited. They can make an amazing living. It’s a fantastic opportunity because now, if you want someone good, you have to wait a long time. If there were more people in the industry, we could do jobs faster and there would be more competition, which would bring prices down. It would help everything in every way,” said Ahl.

Designing for the Showcase of Homes is a unique challenge.

“In a lot of ways, it wasn’t any different than any Showcase house; there are big plans at the beginning, as time goes on, it all changes, and at the very end, you have to scramble to get it done. It’s very long days and nights, redesigning, rethinking, refiguring, shopping and returning things to make it work,” said Ahl.

Sizing Up Small Spaces

When it came to designing the tiny house, Ahl’s main concern was how to maximize livability in such a small space.  Since the structure is also mobile, she had to consider the weight of materials and furnishings, as well as how to secure them during transport. 

“In each location, the tiny house garnered a lot of attention. There was a line down the sidewalk of people waiting to get in each weekend to see what we did. People would flock to it,” said Ahl.

Features of the tiny house include a small front porch, a 10’x8’ sleeping loft, electric heating and a composting toilet. Vinyl plank flooring stretch the length of the main level with natural pine floors used in the loft space. There is a built-in seating area for up to 7 people, a small workspace, and a kitchen with a 4-burner stove and a wine cooler. A pine sliding barn door divide the living area from the bathroom and a Precision Glass floral-printed glass door cover the utility closet, which had enough room for a stackable washer and dryer.

After the Showcase, the tiny house was sold, fully-furnished, for $21,000 in an online auction.

Living Large in Small Spaces

While your space may not be as small as the tiny house Michele Ahl decorated, you can use her designer tips to get the most life out of your home.

Light Colors: Even when there isn’t sunlight flowing through the windows, small spaces feel bigger and more open when you pair neutrals, like whites and grays, with fresh eucalyptus and mint green colors. 

Clever Storage: Live well in any-sized space with storage that fits your needs. Use your vertical space! Hanging baskets and toiletry holders save on precious surface area. By hanging a mirror over the bathroom window, you create privacy that serves a second function.

Outside-the-Box Solutions: Create unique, inexpensive shelves by mounting books with brackets.  Copper piping in the kitchen makes interesting, usable cabinet hardware, and a wall-mounted sink positioned sideways saves space in the bathroom. 

Click Here for 4 Year Old Duplex For Sale in Gansevoort

ALBANY — A tri-state travel advisory affecting travelers coming to New York, New Jersey and Connecticut went into effect at midnight on June 24. 

The advisory – announced jointly by NY Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy and Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont stipulates that individuals traveling from states with significant community spread of COVID-19 quarantine for a 14-day period, from the time of last contact within the identified state. 

The quarantine applies to any person arriving from a state with a positive test rate higher than 10 per 100,000 residents over a 7-day rolling average or a state with a 10% or higher positivity rate over a 7-day rolling average.  When the advisory was announced, on Wednesday, June 24, those states above the infection rate were: states above the infection rate are: Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, Florida, North and South Carolina, Washington, Utah, and Texas.

The tri-state measure will use uniform parameters and messaging on highways, airports, websites and social media across the three states. The three states will also ask hotels to communicate the 14-day quarantine to guests who have traveled from one of the impacted states. Those found violating the quarantine can be subject to judicial order and fines, Gov. Cuomo said. 

“Two thousand dollars for the first violation, $5,000 for the second, up to $10,000 if you cause harm,” the governor said. 

Guidelines for Phase Four Reopening, which is currently slated for the greater Capital Region July 1 have been posted on Gov. Cuomo’s website at: forward.ny.gov/phase-four-industries. 

Those categorized industries are: Higher Education; Low-Risk Outdoor Arts & Entertainment; Low-Risk Indoor Arts & Entertainment, and Media Production. 

SARATOGA SPRINGS — City owned splash pads, located at the recreation center and Geyser recreation fields, are open for public use, Department of Public Works Commissioner Anthony “Skip” Scirocco announced June 18. 

Following all guidance for social distancing is required while using the splash pads and additional cleaning protocols will be implemented by DPW. Residents who are sick or have COVID-19 symptoms should not use the splash pad.

The Recreation center splash pad is located at 15 Vanderbilt Avenue and the Geyser splash pad is located in Veterans Memorial Park on Geyser Road. East and West Side Rec splash pads are currently closed due to construction by the Saratoga Springs School District. Reopening of these splash pads is dependent upon approval by the district. Residents with questions can contact DPW dispatch at 518-584-3356.

SARATOGA SPRINGS — Approximately one dozen picnic tables donated for temporary use to the city by NYRA have been set up in Congress Park. “In this time of social distancing, we trust that these tables will expand the enjoyment of Congress Park,” NYRA CEO David O’Rourke wrote, in a letter dated June 10 and addressed to city Mayor Meg Kelly. 

SARATOGA SPRINGS — In recognition of the official emancipation of African-Americans throughout the United States, city Mayor Meg Kelly of Saratoga Springs has proposed making Juneteenth a holiday for city employees, beginning in 2021.

On June 19, 1865, two years after President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, African-Americans across the state of Texas became aware of their emancipation and their fundamental rights as free men. This day has become known as “Juneteenth,” a day that celebrates and commemorates the end of slavery in the United States and the beginning of a new era of brotherhood, acceptance, and the recognition of shared human rights no matter one’s race or heritage. 

Last week, state Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced he is advancing legislation to make Juneteenth an official state holiday next year. 

“I fully support Governor Cuomo’s Executive Order,” Mayor Kelly said in a statement. “We are going to work with our unions to make Juneteenth a holiday for our employees for 2021. I am thrilled that this historically significant day is becoming more recognized across the state, country, and right here in Saratoga Springs.”