Man pleads guilty to arson
ALBANY, N.Y. » The Cohoes man accused of starting a fire in his backyard on Remsen Street that spread throughout the downtown area and damaged over 30 buildings, is now facing a year in jail.
Albany County District Attorney Dav id Soares announced Wednesday that
John Gomes,
51, of Cohoes, pleaded guilty to one count of fourth- degree arson, a felony, before the Honorable William A. Carter in Albany County Court.
On Nov. 30, 2017, at approximately 2:10 p.m., in the area of Remsen Street in the city of Cohoes, Gomes did recklessly cause damage to several buildings by intentionally starting a fire. Authorities said Gomes recklessly damaged several buildings in the city of Cohoes by intentionally starting a fire in a barrel which was lo-
addressed to the commissioner of the New York State Department of Labor were available, with a message on the front saying “Gov. Cuomo Don’t Take Our Tips!! We Earned Them.”
This message is also prominently displayed at longtime Saratoga Springs restaurant Hattie’s, where server Llona Hogan has worked for the past 11 years. “I don’t need a handout. I earn my money,” she said at the meeting. “I’m happy to earn what I get. I have a job that I love.”
Susan Mezera, a server at another Spa City restaurant the Olde Bryan Inn, shared her sentiments at the meeting too. “In all of the 43 years I have worked in this industry, it was never a secret that your quality of service that is provided to your customer would directly relate to the outcome of your money at the end of the day,” she said.
Beyond each server’s individual experience, Mezera believes that the adverse effect to the overall economy would be great, as do many others in her position.
“It would kind of flip the industry on its head,” said Longfellows server Brad Laustrup, who attended the Thursday meeting to hear about the proposed tip credit elimination and its possible repercussions.
Maggie Raczynski, a server at Outback Steakhouse in Clifton Park, runs the Supporters of the Tip Credit in NY Facebook page, and helped in organizing the Saratoga Springs event. At the meeting she stressed the importance of getting the group’s message out, urging to be vocal in whatever ways they can. “If we don’t say we don’t want it, it’s going to happen,” she said of the tip credit removal. “If this goes through our lives are going to change forever.”