SILENCE CONCERN
Councilman turns to community to keep Powers Park concerts alive
TROY, N.Y. >> If a city councilman has his way, the sounds of music will continue to flow from Powers Park on summertime Saturday nights.
Councilman Jim Gulli, whose District 1 includes the park that runs along 2nd Avenue between 110th and 111th streets in Lansingburgh, has launched a private effort to raise the $13,000 he estimates it would cost to host concerts on eight successive Saturday nights in July and August. As of Friday, he said he was nearly one-third of the way to his goal, having already received pledges of about $4,000.
After 13 summer seasons, the concerts were among the events and pro- grams for which funding was cut in a 2017 city budget that decimated city recreation services, but Gulli said he felt the shows were important enough to his constituents to try to find a way to keep them going. The park itself is in the midst of a two-year project funded by a $450,000 state grant, with improvements planned for the stage, sidewalks around the 2 1/2-acre park, lighting and landscaping. The goal of the project is to return the look of the park to its original 19th-century design as an ornamental park.
“In other places, these concerts may not be that big a deal, but in Troy, this is like going to SPAC for a lot of people who can’t afford it or don’t have transportation,” Gulli explained Thursday. “We
help strapped families find things to do.”
While those pushing the city to reopen two municipal pools for which funding was also pulled from the budget are asking the city to find the money to pay for necessary repairs, Gulli said he didn’t think it would be fair to ask taxpayers to foot the bill for the concerts when they already saw a 14.5 percent increase in city property taxes. Instead, he is looking to recruit 26 businesses to each purchase a $500 sponsorship.
“I didn’t want to try to
get money from the city and the budget,” he said. “The people I’m trying to protect from spending more [in taxes] are stepping up on their own. It’s exciting to see the community say, ‘Let’s do this together.’”
Though Gulli is still in his first term on the City Council, the Republican already has some experience with similar campaigns, having been one of the driving forces behind the creation of a last-minute block party in September 2016 to celebrate the birthday of Samuel “Uncle Sam” Wilson after the annual parade honoring the city’s favorite son was canceled due to dwindling crowds and declining financial and volunteer support.
Gulli initially launched the concert campaign over social media, and within minutes of making the first post, he said he heard from one of his private partners in the Uncle Sam celebration, Ed Doin, one of the owners of Forty- One Sports Bar & Grille, located just a few blocks from the park, on 112th Street. Doin also played a major role in organizing the first Joseph G. Manupella Memorial Race and subsequent block party in May 2016.
“That guy has been doing a lot of things for the community,” Gulli said, “and I don’t think he ever gets enough recognition.”
Gulli said Mayor Patrick Madden’s administration has also been supportive of his idea, with Deputy Mayor Monica Kurzejeski helping with logistics. Meanwhile, a possible snag turned instead into another partnership, as The Block Center, a local youth development program that already had the park reserved for
weekly Saturday flea markets, agreed to allow the concerts, which Gulli expects would have the same 6 p.m. start time as in the past.
While Gulli said he didn’t intend to solicit individual donations, he said he has received several and has set
up an account at the Key Bank branch on 2nd Avenue. He said individual donations can be mailed either to him, in care of Powers Park Concerts, 485 9th Ave., Troy, NY 12182, or to the attention of Amanda Corcoran at Key Bank, 820 2nd Ave., Troy, NY 12182.