The Latest
We Have Opinions On: Details
It is amazing how often public life suffers because some fairly highly paid individual didn’t pay attention to the details. And because of those faulty details, everyone feels uncomfortable, even if they don’t know why. That was brought home to me on my drive...
Study: Lead found in blood of half of US children
Did you see this headline in yesterday's Post-Star? From the article: About half of young children who were tested for lead had detectable levels of the toxic metal in their blood, according to a new study published in the peer-reviewed journal JAMA Pediatrics. Are...
We Have Opinions On: Blight
Blight is the process or effect of community deterioration. It can manifest in vacant and abandoned homes, litter-filled vacant lots, empty storefronts, or even lots of broken windows in a neighborhood. Blight and poverty are not the same thing, and there are plenty...
We Have Opinions On: Porches!
I want to sing praise to the humble porch. In particular, the front porch. Porches are common features of homes in older neighborhoods here in the Northeast, and they are extremely popular in the South. There are home builders in our area (and I wouldn’t be...
We Have Opinions On: Home Prices
This past year has been a hot one in the real estate market for many areas of upstate New York. One of the hottest of those markets has been in Saratoga County, where Flatley Read is headquartered. In the weekly real estate transfer listings that are published in the...
We Have Opinions On: Teaching Old Dogs New Tricks
As I write this, college students have returned to campus, and elementary teachers are readying their rooms to welcome smiling young faces back to class. I stand in awe of those who mold young minds, instill a love of reading, math and science, and create the...
We Have Opinions… On: Who Should Work On Lead-Painted Surfaces
The housing stock in upstate New York, where we primarily work, tends to be older, and many of the older homes need some level of repair. We are seeing a flurry of renovation and repair activity going on in communities large and small. We can’t help but...
We Have Opinions… On: Eviction Moratoria
At the end of July, the Centers for Disease Control lifted the national moratorium on eviction of apartment tenants due to the Covid 19 pandemic. The eviction moratorium was intended to prevent homelessness, thus preventing overcrowding in homeless shelters and...
Community Development and Flatley Read
What community development means to Flatley Read, Inc. and how we can help.
North Country vs. Capital Region
So here is my unsolicited opinion on the debate on whether Washington County should be recategorized as North Country rather than Capital Region. I understand the basis of that argument. We are rural. Why should our county be tied to the fate of cities an hour or more...