The Charles R. Wood Theater, located in the heart of downtown Glens Falls, is updating their signage. This 300-seat production theater offers cutting-edge music, theater, dance, comedy, lectures, meetings, and seminars. Their mission is to promote cultural and artistic endeavors, fostering economic development and improving the quality of life within the Glens Falls area.
Parking was partially blocked off on Glens Street as the new signage went up… The previous signage had Charles R. Wood in smaller letters on the top of the sign, and “Theater” as the predominant word, featured in lowercase letters vertically against a maroon background.
The new signage has “Wood Theater” as the predominant focal point, in large black letters against a white backdrop with “The Charles R. Wood Theater” written on the bottom. The panels behind the sign have been updated to a checkered red and white design.
The Charles R. Wood Theater opened in 2004, after the former Woolworths Department Store was renovated into a theater space.
The Glens Falls City Park Gazebo Decorated for the Pride festival
Lower Adirondack PRIDE kicked off Pride Month with a celebration in Glens Falls City Park last Sunday, and the festivities are expected to continue! This event was attended by over 500 people, and included a drag show, story-time for kids, and speeches by local officials.
The vice president of hospital and community engagement for Glens Falls Hospital, Ray Agnew, was on hand to say a few words: “We are there to provide access to healthcare regardless of who you are, regardless of who you love, regardless of the way you were born, or regardless of the way you were born and now you identify as somebody else,” Agnew said.
Also in attendance were Glens Falls’ Third Ward councilwoman Diana Palmer, 113th District assemblywoman Carrie Woerner, and representatives for Planned Parenthood of Greater New York, Hudson Headwaters, Southern Adirondack Independent Living, and Alliance for Positive Health.
The event was both celebratory and somber… There was a moment of silence for those who have suffered in silence, who had not been able to express their true identities, as well as a silent march around the block of city park for those who lost their lives or loved ones who felt they could never be themselves. This was followed by a walk filled with cheers and chanting for the LGBTQ+ community to have their voices heard! The celebration continued with a drag show, to highlight that drag shows are under attack throughout the country. Six drag queens and a drag king performed.
Pride events will continue throughout the month – on June 16th, at the Charles R. Wood Theater, there will be a Pride & Paint Event led by artist Shelley Fairbanks. Admission is $20.00, which includes supplies, and the proceeds after the cost of supplies will be shared between the Wood Theater and Lower Adirondack Pride to support their mission. Doors open at 6:30 PM to grab a seat and mingle; painting will begin at 7:00 PM. This is a family-friendly, non-alcoholic event, and all are welcome.
A handmade sign in front of 42 degrees on Glen Street reads, “Thank You So Much for all the love Goodbye 42”… 42 Degrees and 42 Degrees Tavern closed on Wednesday, May 31st, 2023.
Robin Barkenhagen started the business as an art gallery and glassware shop in December of 2009… The Pipe shop, owned by Barkenhagen and co-owners Jon King and Mike Chowske, moved into the 206 Glen Street location in 2019, having previously been located for a decade on the corner of Park and Elm.
42 Degrees opened a second location in Malta in 2021, and then added the tavern to the Glens Falls location – the tavern was on the second floor of the building, and offered live music, wine, and beer.
The store closure was announced on Facebook earlier this month. Barkenhagen wrote: “I tried my best to hang on, but ultimately failed… 42 Degrees and 42 Degrees Tavern will be closing at the end of May. I want to thank you all for making the last 13 years special, and the 2 at the tavern magical. Hang on to those memories, good, bad and ugly, it was one of the finest stretches of my long life. This is obviously posted with a heavy heart, I gave both places my all, but it just wasn’t good enough… I love you all…Peace.”
The Kiwanis Club of Glens Falls is one of the oldest civic service clubs in Glens Falls… Their mission is to empower communities to improve the world by making lasting differences in the lives of children. All children deserve to wake up in a community that believes in them, nurtures them, and provides the support that they need to thrive, and throughout the year, the Kiwanis Club hosts numerous events to accomplish exactly that, by benefiting the community and helping to create lifelong friendships.
The Kiwanis Club’s current 2022-2023 leadership team includes:
President: Doug Shaver
President Elect: Laura Flower
Past President: Matthew Taormino
Vice President: Lee Cleavland
Treasurer: Mark Quakenbush
Secretary: Patricia Van Buren
The “Taste The Future” Event will be held at Seasoned, which is SUNY Adirondack’s full service student-run restaurant, where students learn and fulfill restaurant and hospitality roles, on location at 14 Hudson Ave in Glens Falls. This event will feature a four-course menu created by Chef Matt Bolton, with a beer pairing provided by Mean Max Brew Works. Tickets are $79, doors open at 5:30 PM, and dinner is served at 6:00 PM!
Mean Max Brew Works will be providing libations for this event. They are located at 193 Glen Street, #2, and are locally owned and operated. The Mean Max recipes are handcrafted and home tested, and they use both green processes and traditional brewing processes alike. Mean Max is open Tuesday through Thursday, from 5:00 PM to 9:00 PM, and Friday & Saturday from 3:00 PM to 11:00 PM.
The Kiwanis Club of Glens Falls is always looking to welcome new members. If you are interested in becoming a member or finding out more about membership, the Kiwanis Club members and guests meet for lunch at the Queensbury Hotel at 12:00 noon on the third Wednesday of each month. For a reservation, contact the Club Secretary at pvanblsg@aol.com. Newcomers and visitors are welcome!
The City of Glens Falls Building and Codes Committee is in the process of reviewing the City’s Noise Ordinance. The Committee is seeking comments and concerns from residents, as well as those who work within the City of Glens Falls.
“Any changes to the noise ordinance will have to be measurable and objective,” says Ward 3 Councilwoman Diana Palmer. “While we will be looking at other communities for examples, we want to make sure we are crafting an ordinance unique to our city and the needs of our residents.”
“Chapter 45 of the City Charter entitled ‘Prohibited Noise’ (https://ecode360.com/14409121#14409121) only addresses a limited number of situations as it stands and relates to ‘noise’. If any situation arises above and beyond the limited language within the code, we can’t really do much if a situation becomes a persistent problem.” Justin Reckner, the City’s Code Enforcement Officer said.
The Building and Codes Committee is inviting everyone who lives and works in the City of Glens Falls to complete this Noise Ordinance survey at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/GFNoiseOrdinance. The feedback provided will be reviewed and discussed in the next Building and Codes meeting on March 27th, beginning at 1:00 PM on the Second Floor of City Hall.
This past weekend, the Cool Insuring Arena hosted the 2023 New York State Public High School Athletic Association (NYSPHSAA) Boys Basketball Tournament; a weekend the City of Glens Falls looks forward to all year! On Thursday afternoon, Mayor Bill Collins started off the festivities with a press conference. The mayor, along with Dr. Robert Zayas (Executive Director, NYSPHSAA), Gina Mintzer (Executive Director, Lake George Regional Chamber of Commerce), Tricia Rogers (President and CEO Adirondack Regional Chamber of Commerce) and Chip Corlew (Director of Greater Glens Falls Amateur Athletic Association) spoke of what this event means to the athletes, coaches, families, and the community of Glens Falls.
This event – billed as, “The Road to Glens Falls: Where Legends are Made” – is the epitome of all things Glens Falls. The city of Glens Falls loves showcasing student athletes, tourism and community, and this weekend celebrates all of those things.
Teams, families, coaches, scouts and enthusiasts checked into their hotels and had the opportunity to walk the streets of Glens Falls. They got to experience a vibrant downtown filled with restaurants, retail shops, and art. Family members commemorated the weekend with souvenirs of the wonderful accomplishments that they had witnessed, and athletes anxiously awaited the experience of the last game of their season… Because win or lose, everything that they had worked for culminated during these three days.
During Thursday’s press conference, Dr. Zayas said, “We are excited to be back here in Glens Falls. This is truly the home of New York State Basketball State Championships. We have over 700 teams that participate in the sport of boys basketball within our association. We are so excited to welcome the top 20 teams from New York State to participate right here in Glens Falls to contend for the title of New York State Champion. These teams started three months ago with the quest of earning the right to be here in Glens Falls, to compete for a State Championship. So Glens Falls is truly the place where dreams come true.”
This event also makes dreams come true for local businesses and tourism in the area: it’s estimated that this event will bring more than $5-million in profits along with it! This figure is an estimation of accommodations, food and beverage, retail, recreation, and transportation, as well as other factors. Gina Mintzer said. “We are very excited, as everybody is, to welcome all of the student athletes, the fans, the spectators, the recruiter and the scouts who are going to be here to see the best of the best around New York State during these next three days… But this particular tournament, more than 5-million dollars is the estimated economic and employment impact for 2023… It’s more than just room nights… people are going to spend money on eating and shopping and just getting to know the area in addition to their accommodations… There are some people who will stay until the very end because they want to see the very best of the best.”
This weekend, the Queensbury Hotel was filled with the teams and their families. When sitting in the lobby, teams would noisily pile in, celebrating their victory or lamenting a loss. The Fenimore Pub was the gathering place on Saturday night for a victory celebration for a team that had clinched the tournament that day. One staff member described the experience: “We were busy here all weekend with the basketball tournament, but it was fun on Saturday night… After a team that was staying here won their championship game, the families came down here to the pub to celebrate. It made us feel like we were part of the event.”
Throughout the course of the weekend, from the vantage point of the Fenimore pub, teams could be seen walking the streets together. On Sunday, the team from Westhill – who won the Class B final over Catholic Central – walked along Ridge Street with a championship placard. The heroes of the court walked into the Queensbury Hotel, and shape-shifted back into teenagers who were ready to head back home.
For a brief moment in time, “Hometown USA” was their hometown, too… Our city anxiously awaited the games to begin, we cheered, we lamented the losses, and just how far each team had come. Each of the players experienced the apex of what they worked for over the course of their basketball careers… The future, past, and present all came together as Glens Falls crowned the High School Boys Basketball Champions.
The Glens Falls Department of Public Works is located at 230 Dix Avenue. Office hours are Monday through Friday, 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM; however, the DPW handles emergency calls 24/7. The Department of Public Works is responsible for all city-owned buildings and grounds, and the maintenance of all city-owned parks, recreation facilities, and green areas within streets. Tom Girard – avid Mets fan and superintendent of the department – has worked for the City of Glens Falls for 11 years. He came to work for the city following a 32-year career working for Albany Engineering.
Girard’s position as Superintendent evolved over time – after being hired by Mayor Jack Diamond as the Field Operations Manager for water and sewers for the city – a role that he is still responsible for today – he would take over the Superintendent role as well in 2021. The position had opened up due to the departure of long term Superintendent Bob Schiavoni – Schiavoni had been in and out of the DPW Superintendent’s seat since 1985.
Girard pointed out that working for the city and working for the private sector have similarities: “You start out with one job and gain more responsibility. Mayor Jack Diamond hired me to become the field operations manager for water and sewer. I worked down in the water and sewer and I still do. I still have that ‘hat’” Girard said.
Girard sees himself continuing in the role as superintendent of the DPW: “Most likely I will work for a few more years, and then think about retirement… I can’t see myself not working, after retirement I would probably like to work part time for a little bit” Girard said.
Girard was born and raised in Glens Falls – he built a house in the east end in 1986, and still lives there today: “37 years I’ve been in the east end, and I know a lot of people.”
Girard enjoys his work, but admits that there are aspects of the work at the DPW that can be challenging… Like emergency calls when a water main breaks in the middle of the night, in the middle of winter when it’s below zero: “I have really been fortunate in the positions that I have had. I have a really great staff and I know that the job is getting done… That makes my job a lot easier. The workers and the supervisors are great” Girard said.
One of the challenges that the DPW faces is the grand patchwork of places that the they are responsible for maintaining: “There are the playgrounds, the recreation facilities, the sidewalks all around the city. The parking lots. There are little pieces of land all around the city and we receive calls regarding the maintenance of them. During the summer when we are busy, I receive 50 to 60 emails a day” he said.
There are also services that the DPW provides to help the community… The DPW provides support to elderly residents, including eight senior citizens’ residences where they shovel the sidewalk; these are residents who meet the age and financial requirements for the service. The DPW also takes care of the “ghost properties” in the city; these are properties that are in the process of foreclosure. They shovel the snow in the winter and mow the grass in the summer, and will also drain the water in these properties so that the pipes won’t freeze. Girard recalled an incident about five years ago where a pipe had burst in a vacant building – because no one was aware that it had happened, the city lost over a million gallons of water in one day.
Girard also has advice for people who are considering working for the DPW: there are currently about thirty positions that are filled at the DPW, but they are always looking to hire. “If you’re looking for a job, do a little research and look at the positions that are available. If you have a CDL license, that’s a bonus. If you don’t have one, we have grants now that will help pay for training. The grant is up to $3,700. The city pays the initial $1,200 for the first prep and permit step, and then $2,500 to the BOCES program for the hands-on training… It’s a pretty intense course… We have three employees who have just finished or are in the process of finishing” Girard said.
There are a variety of opportunities at the DPW at the entry level and more advanced levels alike, and there’s the shadow benefit of being out in the community as well: “The guys here really enjoy getting ‘thank you’ from the community. They go out of their way to help, they really do” Girard said.
On Wednesday, January 18, 2023, Mayor Bill Collins will deliver the State of The City address at 12:30 PM on the second floor of City Hall. All are welcome to attend. This address will focus on the accomplishments of 2022, and look ahead to 2023: “One of the things I’ve emphasized during my first year in office is to ensure we’re providing services in the most efficient way possible to the City of Glens Falls” said Mayor Collins. “Two other points of emphasis made this past year are communication and development. We have come a long way this past year at City Hall, and I want to not only share our vision, but also bring more people to the table to help shape that vision.”
The City is also making the address available live on the City of Glens Falls YouTube page at https://www.youtube.com/@cityofglensfallsny6752/streams; the address will be available under “City of Glens Falls State of The City January 18, 2023″, and the thumbnail will have a red “live” icon as well.
On January 1, 2023, the City of Glens Falls returned to their pre-COVID parking regulations and enforcement methods – the City had previously suspended its parking enforcement in March of 2020, but the City now once again enforces the two-hour parking limit for parking spots in the downtown area. To communicate this upcoming change, the City had given out “warning” tickets when a car was parked in a spot for too long, issuing approximately 900 warnings in the last three months of 2022. The return of these regulations has been met by the business community with exasperation and support alike.
Bill Dingman – District Operations Manager for Spot Coffee – is concerned not only about the availability of parking spots, but also the cost to his employees: “My workers are 18 to 25 (years old), they are just starting out in their careers and they can’t afford the extra expense” Dingman said. Since the reinstatement, Spot Coffee employees have had to stop work to move their cars, with some even having been ticketed! “This is costing the company employee productivity… The tickets are $30 and $60 if you don’t pay in 10 days. For an 18-year old cashier at a coffee shop to pay a $60 parking ticket is punitive” Dingman said.
Dingman knows that the parking in the downtown area is a complex situation: “I fully understand that businesses need convenient parking for their businesses, I fully support that… (But parking) is equally important to the workers, the business owners and the residents who live downtown. There are not enough spots” Dingman said.
Dingman also has an eye on the upcoming tourist season when the parking will become that much harder for people in the community to navigate: “I think there has to be a solution from the City… whether it be a seasonal approach or a discounted rate for workers.”
Another perspective on the parking situation comes from Robb, who’ has been’s worked with the Lake George Olive Oil company for 8 years and has been vocal about the lack of parking enforcement – during the two-year enforcement hiatus, he has seen cars parked for hours taking up valuable downtown spots. This is a detriment to his business, where customers have come into the store because, “I saw a spot, so I stopped.”
Samantha from Rude Betty buys a pass for parking – she found that in a year’s time, she was paying about $300 for parking in the garages in town, while the parking pass was only $150, and she has always found a spot for her car.
The City is invested in finding parking solutions moving forward – there is a Special Parking Committee that is looking over the entire issue, who will provide recommendations in February. Glens Falls has also invested in parking sensors that will feed into an app that can be downloaded onto any phone; this app will show where the open parking spots and occupied parking spots are throughout the downtown area. The City is currently working on calibrating this system.
The COVID pandemic which led to the pause of the parking enforcement has had lasting effects on communities and businesses alike. “I think there has to be a solution for the workers and the employees… In the restaurant industry we, in this city, are lagging dramatically behind the state and the region… In re-employment… So, how can I then ask the employees that I’ve got to incur extra expense to work here?” Dingman asked.
Photo Credit:City of Glens Falls Chef Rebecca Newell-Butters & Manager Jolene of Morgan & Co.
The popular Glens Falls restaurant Morgan & Co showed their appreciation for the Glens Falls Police Department on Thursday, December 22, 2022, with lunch for the entire staff. Chef Rebecca Newell-Butters and the restaurant manager Jolene presented the luncheon to the Glens Falls City Police Department, which has 30 sworn members and two civilian employees.
“The holidays can be a sad time of year for some. Giving back makes you feel better, especially when you give back to the community. This year, we decided to do this for the Glens Falls Police Department because they do a lot of hard work around the city. We have a great police department, and the work they are doing in drug enforcement to keep drugs away from our kids is very important. It’s pretty amazing what our police department does” Chef Rebecca Newell-Butters said. The Chef and Co-owner of Morgan & Co said that she was doing it in the name of her father Ron Newell who was born and raised in Glens Falls. “He loved Glens Falls and helped a lot of people in the community.”
Police Chief Jarrod Smith thanked Morgan & Co: “On behalf of the police department, I wanted to say thank you very much for arranging the lunch. It was delicious and everyone was very appreciative. Thank you for thinking of us, and have a Merry Christmas.”
Morgan & Co is located in the historic 19th century McEchron House in Downtown Glens Falls. It has been owned by Chef partners Rebecca Newell-Butters & Steve Butters since 2014. Rebecca is a graduate of Glens Falls High School, and attended New England Culinary Institute in Burlington, Vermont. Rebecca’s international travel helped her sample a variety of cuisines and further develop her palate, helping her to win on an episode of the Food Network reality show “Chopped” in 2009.
Chef Steve Butters grew up in Norwood Massachusetts, and started cooking at a young age. He worked summers in restaurants on Cape Cod, and attended the famous Cambridge School of Culinary Arts. Steve also garnered culinary fame on the Food Network – he appeared on the show “Sweet Genius”, where his humor earned him a cameo on E! Entertainment’s “The Soup with Joel McHale”. The couple married in 2010, at the Sagamore Hotel in Bolton Landing.
Morgan & Co is located t 65 Ridge Street in Glens Falls, which is also known as The McEchron House; the house was originally built by William and Sarah McEchron in 1891. The McEchron’s were philanthropists and involved in many local businesses – William McEchron was a charter member of the YMCA, and was involved in the construction of Christ Church. In 1984, the house was added to the National Register of Historic Places. Morgan & Co is open year-round, and features gourmet catering, private parties, and outdoor dining in the warmer months. For more information, visit MorganRestaurant.com
