SARATOGA SPRINGS - The New York State Liquor Authority (SLA) summarily suspended the license of Saratoga Hospitality at Gaffney’s LLC, doing business as Gaffney’s, on May 3.  

“There is a clear pattern of behavior which not only threatens public safety, but has become a drain on police resources,” said SLA Chairman Vincent Bradley. “The SLA has an obligation to ensure this violence does not continue, and this emergency suspension should serve as a message that this agency will not hesitate to take immediate action when a bar poses a threat to public safety.”

The suspension followed numerous reports of violent incidents “emanating from inside the establishment,” according to the SLA, the most recent occurring May 1 when a patron was stabbed during a large altercation involving numerous patrons.  “According to Saratoga Police, video footage shows the brawl and stabbing taking place inside and then spilling into the street.”

The suspension was ordered by Chairman Vincent Bradley, Commissioner Lily Fan, and Commissioner Greeley Ford at a special meeting of the Full Board Tuesday, putting into immediate effect the prohibition of alcohol either being sold or consumed on the premises of the popular Caroline Street bar.

The SLA charged Gaffney’s with operating a disorderly premises based on the alleged May 1 incident, and said it will, during the suspension, prosecute this and multiple other violations based on prior charges which are currently scheduled to go to an administrative hearing. 

The May 1 incident marks the third stabbing incident at Gaffney’s since October 2021 and the fourth seriously violent incident emanating from the premises since that date, according to the state Liquor Authority. 

Currently suspended, the maximum penalty for the charges is revocation of the license. However, the SLA’s decision to summarily suspend a license is not a final determination on the merits of the case. The licensee is entitled to a prompt hearing before an Administrative Law Judge.

Gaffney’s issued a statement via its public relations firm Wednesday: “We respect and intend to comply with the suspension order. We will work with the State Liquor Authority and the City of Saratoga Springs to rectify this unfortunate situation with the hope of reopening as soon as it is practicable to do so.” 

SARATOGA SPRINGS — A youthful Brian Eno, his face aglow with vibrance and wonder bumps jackets with Barbara Streisand draped in a Superman T-Shirt and sporting a pair of tube sox. Two rows over, Peter, Paul and Mary share smiles in front of a brick wall in Greenwich Village marking their debut, circa-1962. Next to them, the Clash scowl alongside a brick alleyway of north London’s Camden Market marking their debut, circa-1976. A collection of string instruments are being released from their protective casings a few yards away. Memories of Matt McCabe, the previous longtime occupant of this space, permeate the room. 

“I’m a violin maker by trade,” explains Thomas Dunn. “Six generations of violin making is where I come from so there are a lot of traditions here: the oldest family of violin makers in the world, being able to carry on a Saratoga tradition, and honoring Matt’s memory. That’s something that’s cool for both of us.”

That “us” is Thomas Dunn and Jason Planitzer. The two men have embarked on a collaborative effort to open a new shop at 480 Broadway, located next to City Hall and the Saratoga Music Hall in the space previously occupied by Saratoga Guitar. 

Dunn’s expertise is musical instruments. Planitzer’s is in vinyl records. “We were both looking for a space, met, liked each other’s vibe and thought: maybe we could do something together. So, we decided to share this space and make this kind of the music center of Saratoga,” Dunn says. 

They are hoping to open the shop as early as this weekend. Once fully operational, it will include new and used instruments for sale for players, musical instrument lessons, instrument repair and restoration work and a full line of accessories – from strings and picks, to pedals and more. 

For music fans and vinyl collectors, the store will also feature a collection of albums.     

“The stars aligned, and we are able to carry on the tradition,” says Planitzer, originally from Pittsburgh and relocated to upstate with his wife in January after having lived in Brooklyn for 15 years.

Off-Track Records

“I’ve collected since I was in college, that’s 20 years now, and during the pandemic my collection got a little out of hand,” he says with a laugh. “It grew exponentially.” 

Planitzer said he hopes to start with 2,000 to 3,000 mostly used records. An already existing relationship with music distributors will enable him to carry some new vinyl as well. “We will buy, we will sell, we will trade. Same as with the guitars and the stringed instruments,” he says. 

Despite the ever-changing soundscape of technologies over the previous decades, there remains and indeed is growing a market of people who love vinyl records. In 2021, a resurgence in vinyl records continued for the 15th consecutive year, according to the Recording Industry Association of America.  And new vinyl revenues grew 61% to $1 billion over the past calendar year – having last exceeded that $1 billion mark back in 1986, according to an article published by Variety in March that is titled: Vinyl Sales Soar. 

“I work in film and television, I’m a location scout; I read scripts and then go find the places where they film. That’s what I did in New York City for the past 14 years and now more and more film work is coming upstate – shooting in Schenectady, Troy, in Albany,” Planitzer says. He calls his part of the collaboration with Dunn: Off-Track Records.  “This is something I can do in addition to film work, much as I did in Brooklyn. At that time, I worked at a record shop - it’s called Record Grouch – and that was a blast. I love getting music from a shop. I get a lot of music online now, and I think we all do, but there’s nothing like going into a shop.”

6^th Generation Violin

Dunn is carrying on the traditions of the Frirsz family of luthiers who began making violins in the mid-1800s. Originally from Hungary, they are known as the oldest family of violin makers in the world, spanning five generations. Fourth generation family member Maximilian relocated to North America and eventually set up a shop in midtown Manhattan where he became known as one of the foremost luthiers and restorers in the country. Max’s son, Nicholas, took over the business in the 1980s and relocated to Saratoga Springs in the ‘90s. 

When he was a teenager, Dunn began working with fifth-generation master Nicholas Frirsz on small repairs and learning how to make violins. In 2011 Dunn became Frirsz full apprentice. Dunn calls his segment of the collaborative space Sixth Generation Violin - carrying on the family methods, traditions, and secrets of violin making. 

“Those connections we built up over six generations,” Dunn says. “And we will have a range of new and used instruments for sale, from high-end instruments of unique boutique makers and luthiers, custom-made, to student rentals – violins, cellos, guitars, ukuleles, fretted instruments.” 

 A room where musical lessons will be offered is being developed in the back of the store, and Dunn says an instructor will include someone who formerly worked for Matt McCabe. 

The men say they aim to provide a personal touch and human care for the community of music lovers and practitioners in the region. 

“We’re excited to be here and hope to be a part of the Saratoga music community for years to come,” Dunn said. 

Planitzer and Dunn say they hope to open this weekend and plan to be open most weekdays during regular business hours and weekends from noon to 5. For more information about Sixth Generation Violin and Off-Track Records, visit the store at 480 Broadway, or call 518-893-9188. 

SARATOGA SPRINGS — A Rochester-based full-service real estate company has filed an application with the city seeking an area variance to permit the construction of 102 apartment units at an abandoned brewery site at 131 Excelsior Ave. 

The company, Conifer Realty, LLC, specializes in the development, construction, management, and ownership of high-quality, affordable housing communities, according to the company, and currently owns more than 15,000 multifamily apartment homes across the Northeast and MidAtlantic states. The owner is listed as Saratoga Dairy, Inc., which is connected with Stewarts Shops.    

Preliminary plans for the project – titled North Spring Run - call for the redevelopment of the existing site - including the demolition of the vacant brewery, and the development of a 102-unit residential complex in its place. 

The city’s Zoning Board of Appeals is expected to consider the variance application at its meeting on April 25 at City Hall.   

BALLSTON SPA — With an annual budget of $381 million – approximately seven times the expense plan of the city of Saratoga Springs - the county spends on average more than $1 million per day, every day of the year, including weekends and holidays. For the first time, residents are now be able to witness from the comfort of their own homes how their elected officials are spending that money in real time.          

“I think this will be good for people to have the ability to see what’s going on here, to be more engaged, or at least more interested in county government. Good for the public and good for us,” said Saratoga Springs City Supervisor Matt Veitch, providing a tour this week of the newly installed technology equipment in the large supervisors’ meeting room at the county building complex in Ballston Spa.    

In one corner of the room, a multi-shelf cabinet houses an array of units that enable wireless mics and state-of-the art audio, disc storage, internal screen controls and the technology that transmits meetings to the public via live stream. Four cameras are fixed to the ceiling, one in each of the four corners of the room. A pair of large 65-inch flat screen TV’s hang in opposite corners. Two dozen or so smaller computer screens with attached mics line the desktops of the big room for board member use. 

“Before all this, the only way you could watch a board meeting was by being here,” Veitch said. An awkward phone call-in system was implemented for remote location meetings during the pandemic, but was often difficult for listeners to follow.      

“Now you can watch the meetings live from your house. It’s not easy for everyone to get here and it can be quite a haul from some of the more distant areas of the county, so I think it will be useful to those people as well,” the supervisor said. 

Visiting organizations making presentations to the Board will have their presentations showcased on the large screens and visible to those watching both on-site and in remote locations. In addition to live capabilities, county meetings will be archived and available for public viewing on the Saratoga County website – at saratogacountyny.gov - after the gatherings take place.    

“We eliminated the old-school projections and screens, which were era-2000, extremely expensive to maintain, and not very good for the audience,” Veitch said. Another benefit of the new system is cutting down on waste; with agenda items and attachments directly loaded onto supervisors’ screens, it is estimated nearly 20,000 pieces of paper will be saved annually, just from the Board of Supervisors meetings alone. 

In addition to the monthly Supervisor meetings, the county’s 12 other standing committees will be following suit. For some of those smaller-member committees an adjacent meeting room has, to a lesser degree, also been fitted with technology upgrades to provide audio and video capabilities.        

There are 23 supervisors in all - one each representing each of the 21 county cities and towns, with the two higher populous municipalities of Clifton Park and Saratoga Springs each having two supervisors. 

In 2021, the county Board of Supervisors initially entered into an agreement with Syracuse-based Presentation Concepts Corporation for the design and implementation of the audio/visual upgrades. Those unspent funds were reappropriated this past February and overall increased to a total budgeted amount of about $350,000. To date, about $178,000 has been spent. 

Veitch says replacing the paper-and-easel way of conducting business with more efficient technological tools was a long time coming. 

“I think through my urging of my colleagues, eventually we all came around to wanting to have better technology at the county. Last year (fellow Saratoga Springs Supervisor) Tara Gaston chaired the Technology & Resiliency Committee. The first part of this was with that committee, and now the end part is with my (chaired) committee, Buildings and Grounds – but we all really worked together, all the supervisors, Chairman Kusnierz, it came from everyone,” Veitch said. 

“We all voted for this, and basically have gone from a 2000’s-era room that had no internet and no way to get out to the public, built up with today’s technology. Going from something we had for 20 years to something beyond, so, it’s a big leap for us,” Veitch said.     

This week, as Board Chairman Theodore Kusnierz noted at the start of the supervisors’ April 19 meeting, the future has arrived. 

“Today is a momentous occasion,” he began.