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Local Legion Post Member Elected Commander of American Legion Department of New York
Keith Koster.
Photo provided.
NIAGARA FALLS — U.S. Navy veteran Keith Koster, a member of Adirondack Post 70 in Saratoga Springs for more than 26 years, was elected commander of the American Legion Department of New York at the 106th Annual Department Convention, July 17-19 at the Niagara Falls Convention Center.
Koster, a cancer survivor who climbed all 46 Adirondack peaks to commemorate The American Legion Centennial in 2019, will serve a one-year term.
While in the U.S. Navy, Koster served as an electronic warfare technician aboard the USS Suribaci during the 1980s. His service included deployment to the Mediterranean. After his honorable discharge, Koster eventually joined Xerox Corporation as a technician and became an area service manager, retiring after 33 years in 2021.
Koster served as commander on the county and district levels before serving a term as department vice commander. His Legion involvement extends to the national level where he served on four committees and in 2021 was inducted into Senate Veterans Hall of Fame.
A native of Schenectady and a graduate of Shenendehowa High School, Koster resides in Saratoga Springs with his wife of 39 years, Cindy. The couple have two children and two grandchildren.
359 People Arrested, More Than $100K Stolen Property Recovered in Multi-Agency Initiative
ALBANY— Three-hundred and fifty-nine people have been arrested and $101,000 in stolen property recovered NYSP Superintendent Steven G. James announced last week.
The State Police, working with the New York State Attorney General’s Office, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Homeland Security Investigations, and the New York City Police Department, formed partnerships with loss prevention and security teams from numerous large retailers in all regions of the state to share information and coordinate enforcement activities in a multi-agency retail theft crackdown announced by Gov. Kathy Hochul earlier this year.
Each State Police troop also contacted businesses in their area and identified retail locations most affected by theft. The initiative started with increased State Police patrols in the highest-impacted areas identified in each troop, and included intelligence gathering along with coordination with the loss prevention teams at targeted retail businesses. Additionally, State Police specialty units, including the NYS Intelligence Center, Violent Gang and Narcotics Enforcement Unit, Community Stabilization Unit, and the Special Investigations Unit were deployed throughout the state to support this initiative.
During the first 16 weeks of the multi-agency initiative, State Troopers investigated 412 retail larceny complaints, conducted 237 dedicated retail theft enforcement details, arrested 359 people on 571 separate charges, and recovered $101,000 of stolen property.
2025 Clifton Park-Halfmoon Public Library $5.7 Million Budget Announced
CLIFTON PARK — The Board of Trustees of the Clifton Park-Halfmoon Public Library has announced the proposed 2025 budget, to be voted on by Library tax district residents.
The total tax levy is $5,251,560 and is New York State tax cap compliant. The total 2025 proposed budget expenditure is $5,370,542.
The Library Budget Vote and Trustee Election will be held on Thursday, Sept. 12 at the Library, from 7 am to 9 pm.
Registered voters, both renters and property owners, living in the Library tax district are eligible to vote. Voters must be registered at least 30 days prior to the vote. Absentee ballot are available. Those who are unable to vote in person on Sept. 12, can fill out an application online at www.cphlibrary.org or at the Library. Residents of Clifton Park will also vote on two trustee positions, vacancies created by the expiring terms of two incumbents.
A Budget Information Session will be held 7 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 5 at the Library. The Library is located at 475 Moe Road in Clifton Park and can be reached by phone at 518-371-8622 and online at www.cphlibrary.org.
Coming Soon: City Adding $76 Million to Assessment Roll
SARATOGA SPRINGS – Aug. 1 marks the official date for the new assessment roll to come into play with the annual list of taxable property in Saratoga Springs. Typically averaging $20 to $25 million in new property additions, this year’s roll will depict more than 600 changes of assessment and is expected to top $70 million tied to new additions.
“We essentially tripled the output of the department and were putting roughly $76 million on the assessment roll year-over-year,” said Accounts Commissioner Dillon Moran.
“This the work we’ve been able to do to leverage some of the backlog that was existing when I took office, bring us current, and push us forward,” he said. “We owe it to people that everybody is paying their fair taxes.”
The $76 million going on the assessment roll translates to dollars that weren’t getting taxed before that will now be getting taxed moving forward. In specific city revenue, that is expected to translate into hundreds of thousands of dollars.
“If our rate stays the same in ’25 as it was ’24 we will collect an extra half million dollars in revenue,” said Moran, adding that costs associated with the appraiser, yet to be itemized, will come in at approximately $100,000, netting the city an estimated four to five times in incoming revenue compared to the costs required to process the work. Additionally, the new assessment figures depict an update that will be reported beyond the current year and going forward into the future.
“This is like found money,” Moran said. “We’re capturing the value that’s already out there that hasn’t been connected to the roll. That’s residential home improvements and commercial properties.”
In all, there are 680 changes of assessment – of which 105 were from splits and mergers, such as the property where the Adelphi Hotel was built, now split into 80 separate units, instead of one parcel. Those with properties affected in the new tax rolls have been notified, Moran said, adding that the city’s updating efforts are part of a multi-year process.
“We’re doing two things; One is trying to get caught up on all the old files, which we successfully did. Basically, I want to have as accurate a set of records as we possibly can, because that’s what’s going to drive fairness. If someone has a 2,500 square foot home but it’s listed as 2,000 square feet – then they’re not paying their fair share of taxes,” he said.
“Now, with everything caught up and being up to date on what transpired in the past, we went around and took new photographs and updated the data. We basically did that survey for the entire city.” Those were compared with the values existing in the property record system, with properties indicating a greater than 25% variance in square footage specifically identified.
“That is our next round,” Moran said. “We’re now going to be sending letters out to those folks so we can get a deeper understanding into what the situation is. I’ve been going through this for two years and this is the last piece to be ironed out. I’m incredibly proud of the work we did. At the end of this go-through we will have the most accurate assessment record we possibly can have for this community.”
The variances can be a result of many things: human error, fact-figuring, additions to “flipped” houses where building permits weren’t properly secured, among them.
“If you just went and cleaned up the kitchen or re-painted the wall, we’re not going to see that, nor would we care. Really what we’re talking about is additional square footage, extra out-building, someone built a garage, things like that. There are going to be people who will fall into that category, and we’ll find the right way to rectify those issues.” Moran said.
“There are other people who perhaps just intentionally avoided doing things the right way. Some people just inherited the situation, and we don’t want to jam anybody up. But if there are people who very clearly did not follow the process – that’s tax cheat and you’re not really acting in the way we would expect a citizen to act.”
A PowerPoint-led presentation is anticipated to be staged during a City Council meeting in August.
Under Consideration:Mural on Ludlow Street
Work sample filed with the city by the racing museum to demonstrate the style of Saratoga Springs artist Celeste Susany, whom the museum has proposed create an exterior 75th anniversary mural.
SARATOGA SPRINGS —The National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame is seeking concept approval from the city Design Review Board for a mural to celebrate its 75th anniversary in 2025.
The museum board has selected Saratoga Springs-based artist Celeste Susany for the project and the proposed mural will go on a wall on the Ludlow Street side of the museum. Susany and the museum are applying for a Support for Artists Grant from the NYS Council on the Arts to underwrite the project, according to documents filed with the city.
The proposed mural, in full color scale, would be applied directly upon the museum’s brick wall with paint. The wall’s dimensions are 57 feet, 6 inches in length, by 13 feet, 8 inches in height.
Developers Seeking Demolition of D’Andrea’s PizzaUnion Coach Works, with New 6-Story Building Construction in Caroline Street Redevelopment
Proposed development plan rendering, looking northwest, as
submitted to city.
SARATOGA SPRINGS —Developers are seeking approval from the city Design Review Commission for the demolition of two long-standing single-story structures on Caroline Street and proposing to replace them with a new, single, multi-story mixed-use structure likely to house retail and/or restaurant on the ground floor with multi-unit residential use on floors 2 through 6, according to documents filed with the city.
The current structures to potentially be demolished are 33 Caroline St. – built in the 1950s and home to D’Andrea’s Pizza, and 35 Caroline Street – constructed in the 1970’s and occupied by Union Coach Works.
Oldest Lighthouse LLC is currently under contract to purchase the combined near-10,000 square foot property from its two respective owners.
“The buildings on the property do not contribute to the positive value of real property in the neighborhood (and) are unappealing brick and concrete single-story structures,” according to the applicant’s filing with the city, which also specifies that it is seeking a height bonus for the proposed new structure “based on affordable housing being a component of the redevelopment.”
The applicant proposes a 100% build out of the property and a height of 63 feet, which is 8 feet higher than the UDO’s maximum height allowance and ultimately to be sought at the city Planning Board.
Saratoga Event Raises More Than $100,000 for Thoroughbred Adoption
SARATOGA SPRINGS — The glitzy Boots and Bling Casino Night held this month raised more than $100,000 for ReRun Thoroughbred Adoption. The 501(c)(3) program is the largest thoroughbred rehabilitation and retraining program in the Northeast.
The event, held at Sugar Plum Farm on Gilbert Road, was attended by more than 250 people and featured a casino night, dinner, and a live auction with a selection of exclusive items showcasing a unique connection to the world of horse racing. These included halters belonging to Dornoch; the 2024 Belmont Stakes winner, and the 2024 Kentucky Oaks and Kentucky Derby winners; Thorpedo Anna and Mystik Dan, and Funny Cide’s Preakness sheet.
ReRun Thoroughbred Adoption accepts horses after their racing careers from New York trainers, owners, and farms, regardless of the connections’ ability to donate. Each year, ReRun takes in over 125 horses and places most in pre-approved homes.
Benefit for Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation and Permanently Disabled Jockeys Fund July 31
SARATOGA SPRINGS — An event benefitting the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation (TRF) and the Permanently Disabled Jockeys Fund (PDJF) will be held 6-8 p.m. July 31 at the Adelphi Hotel
The 2024 Casamigos “For Jocks and Horses” event will include gourmet hors d’oeuvres, a signature Casamigos cocktail crafted exclusively for the event, and a silent auction featuring unique items and experiences.
The Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation (TRF) is a national organization devoted to providing a lifetime sanctuary for Thoroughbreds after their racing careers as well as opportunities for people wishing to improve their well-being through the undeniable healing power of horses.
VIP Admission ($125) includes a complimentary bottle of Casamigos autographed by the Saratoga Jockey Colony plus all general admission benefits. General Admission ($50 includes entry to the event, hors d’oeuvres, and a signature cocktail. Tickets are available online at https://donorbox.org/events/577889