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In Our Opinion

Why Fulton Street Issues Should Matter To Entire City

Some readers may have a tough time understanding why conditions on Fulton Street have become such a point of discussion during recent City Council meetings. We would say, in defense of Fulton Street residents who are increasingly fed up with the mess that Fulton Street has become, that it’s hard to understand the condition of some neighborhoods in Jamestown if you don’t experience them yourself. We have a feeling some City Council members didn’t grasp the situation fully until they spent some time on Fulton Street themselves. Councilman Randy Daversa said he was “really ...

Rate Hikes Are Coming, But District Heat’s Future Is The Big BPU Question

The city Board of Public Utilities is looking for a 9.96% rate increase to take effect no later than Dec. 31, pending approval from the state Public Service Commission. BPU officials say the increase will be about $5 or $6 a month for most residential customers. So, we’re not talking about something as large as the National Grid rate increase that raised the ire of customers and the state’s elected officials recently. That increase starts at a $22 a month increase for customers this year and will end up at about $50 more a month once the rate increase is phased in over three ...

Schools Open This Week With One Major Change

Schools throughout New York state are opening their doors this week - some Tuesday, some today. It’s our annual return to the structure that the school year begins. Children aren’t the only ones who find themselves shaking off the rust as morning routines begin again after two months of sleeping a little later, staying up a little later and the general freedom that comes with long, warm summer days. For hundreds of children this is the first of many first days of school. For hundreds more this year marks the last first day of school and the next step toward adulthood. So, of ...

Proceed Cautiously With Changes To Sex Offender Classification System

No one knows if an effort to update the way New York decides how likely a sex offender is to reoffend will move in the state Legislature this year after more than a decade of inaction. Part of the bill is intriguing. Sen. Liz Krueger, D-New York City, and Assemblywoman Pamela Hunter, D-Syracuse, say the form most commonly used to assess a convicted sex offender’s danger to the community upon release is the Static 99/R, which aggregates criminal history as well as demographic characteristics to assign a a convicted sex offender a level - the higher the level, the greater the ...

Quietly, City Officials Take Steps To Help Solve Pressing Housing Issue

Many city residents will never need to know what constitutes a Pilot Residential District. The type of infill housing development a Pilot Residential District would allow isn’t going to be found in most neighborhoods. That’s one reason why there wasn’t much controversy over the City Council’s approval of the districts. In our view the lack of controversy is a positive, because Pilot Residential Districts, used correctly, could solve two pressing problems in the city - affordable housing and what to do with lots in the city that used to contain houses that are empty after the ...

Lakewood Short-Term Rental Law Will Always Be A Balancing Act

The process the village of Lakewood uses to regulate short-term rentals has, thus far, worked as intended. During Monday’s meeting, the Village Board approved three short-term rentals - two unanimously and one with some debate because it is in a R-1 district. The village’s short-term rental law prohibits short-term rentals in R-1 districts unless the Village Board approves a variance. Board members did so on Monday, but the decision wasn’t unanimous, with board members Nancy Jones and Ellen Barnes voting against allowing the 133 W. Summit St. short-term rental while Mayor ...