The work of community cultural development lies in creating the conditions for which as many community members as possible, or are feasible for the project, can discover the potential within themselves and their community to be moved to gather and combine their cultural resources to solve community concerns and advance...
Blog
Joan Leary Matthews blog on the Governor’s signing of the Lead Pipes Right to Know Act
Read Joan Leary Matthews's blog on the Governor’s signing of the Lead Pipes Right to Know Act. The Lead Pipe Right to Know Act is the first step toward replacing all of the lead service lines in the state. https://www.nrdc.org/bio/joan-leary-matthews/new-law-will-show-location-lead-drinking-water-pipes-new-york
Community Cultural Development – What is it? – Part 1
2022 Mural, City of Glens Falls, by Hannah Williams. Photo by Jon Crouch. You’ve probably noticed it when visiting a new place, especially in larger cities with distinctive neighborhoods. Think of New Orleans, for example. Even if you’ve never been there you’ve likely heard of the French Quarter, Bourbon Street,...
Former Wilmarth Building Site Under New Ownership
For Immediate Release (Greenwich, NY) Six months after a devastating fire reduced the historic Wilmarth Building to rubble, 126 Main Street in Greenwich, NY has new ownership. Flatley Read, Inc., a Community Development and Environmental Analysis Corporation based in neighboring Schuylerville, has purchased the property with the intention of reconstructing...
We Have Opinions On: Real Estate Journalism
An article in the real estate section of Sunday, January 30th’s Albany Times Union takes a deep dive into the dilemma faced by many millennial college graduates who are unable to purchase a home due to the staggering level of student loan debt that they are carrying. Student loan debt...
We have Opinions On: Real Estate Bidding Wars
While perusing the January issue of Yankee Magazine, I noticed an article on the impact of the in-migration of city folk into Vermont’s Northeast Kingdom. For those of you who don’t know, the NEK is one of the most remote, isolated, and impoverished areas of Vermont. The article by Ben...
We Have Opinions On: New Technology for the New Year
On December 21st, the ribbon was cut on the first 3D-printed Habitat for Humanity home in the nation in a subdivision in Virginia. The Habitat for Humanity of the Peninsula and Greater Williamsburg partnered with Alquist to use the computer printing technology to create the three-bedroom home. The computer printing...
We Have Opinions: Provoking Thought
The turn of each New Year is often a good time for reflection, and commitment to new goals. What are your goals for your community in the coming year? Are your wells of creativity running dry? I’ve got some resources for you to consider during the coming cold months. Lest...
We Have Opinions On: Consolidated Funding
The State of New York recently released the list of grantees from the most recent round of Consolidated Funding Applications for economic development, public facilities, environmental protection, parks development, and Main Street redevelopment. The list is worth scanning if only to explore the creative ways that these funding programs are...
We Have Opinions On: Unusual Community Amenities
Many communities that are working very hard to revitalize their downtown neighborhoods wrestle with the issue of what makes sense for the future of dilapidated white elephant buildings that dominate their streetscapes. Often, these buildings are vacant movie theaters and vaudeville houses that are very expensive to rehabilitate, and difficult...