SWOT Recap: Housing

Thanks to everyone who submitted responses to the S.W.O.T. analysis thread. I’ve tried to look for some common ground among these posts, and I see a couple of areas where people’s comments overlap. One of the issues that came up in both the strengths and weaknesses category was our housing stock. I’ve always agreed with [...]

Open Topic: Take a S.W.O.T. at Amsterdam

By request, I’ve created an open topic where anyone may post their own S.W.O.T. analysis of the City of Amsterdam. Please take a moment to familiarize yourself with the concept of S.W.O.T. by looking at the graphic below. Please try to be as objective as possible. Let’s see what ideas are out there!

Big A for Amsterdam

I’d like to take a good look at an initiative (dubbed “Big A”) for getting Amsterdam growing again that was recently proposed on Flippin’ Amsterdam. I would urge anyone who holds out any hope for revitalization in Amsterdam to read through the entire post and consider it. The ideas behind the proposal are ones that [...]

The Mohawk Valley Regional Economic Plan

The Mohawk Valley Regional Economic Development Council, along with other regional councils across the state,  have submitted their final strategic plans which are essentially applications for an initial 40 million dollars of  NY state economic development funding. The economic councils are part of a new strategy initiated by Gov. Andrew Cuomo to manage economic development [...]

A Ray of Hope for the East End

I was encouraged by the Recorder’s account of the Brownfield Opportunity Area meeting for the East End.  The most compelling idea that has come out of the meeting is the vision summary, which reads:     “The East End will be a city within the larger city with its own definite and coherent sense of [...]

The Fulton/Montgomery County Regional Business Plan

Any type of revitalization initiative has to start with a solid plan. Putting ideas down on paper forces a planner to think things through, communicate the vision clearly and provides a basis for holding our elected officials accountable for making progress toward their goals. That’s why I was excited to read about the Fulton and [...]

New Urbanism – Freedom of Choice (via Reckless Abandon)

I found this very thought provoking and inspiring article about New Urbanism. One of the ways I think we can look at the cultural dynamic of Amsterdam NY is in terms of urban ideals vs suburban ideals. I believe our city is simply caught in a place inbetween the two. “For every action there is [...]

How To Eat Fried Worms

There’s a new proposal from Amsterdam Material Recycling to build a Construction and Demolition landfill on the edge of the Edson Street Industrial Park. Several years ago, the zoning ordinance to allow the landfill to be built got voted down. This new proposal comes at a time when Amsterdam, like almost every city in NY,  is having [...]

A Well Rounded City

If we are to work together as a community to revitalize our city, it’s going to take a common vision that the majority of our population can believe in and see themselves as a part of. Otherwise, the number of people needed with the passion and  patience to see a long-term plan carried out will [...]

The Comprehensive Plan

Beginning in 2001 and finishing in 2003, Amsterdam’s Comprehensive Plan initiative provided us with an unprecedented resource for crafting vision and direction for the city’s revitalization efforts.  The finished product, a 71 page report, along with  241 pages of appendices, provides us with the most well thought out and balanced collection of information and ideas [...]