I printed out copies of the tax chart from Rochester Turning and handed them out to the crowd tonight as well. I think the impact of the chart was new to some long-time residents. One guy said “for this rate, the streets should be paved in gold”. I gave them to the media as well, so they can see WHY people voted for change.

And for the record, because I know Chad brought this up earlier, Koon must read RT - he had a question and answer open session at the end of the meeting where all were invited to speak.

The curtain is being torn down!

Yes, he does.

I was simply amazed at the behavior of some folks this evening. I’m standing in line to speak and the mayors cousin actually gets up to the microphone and says ” everyone here is related to some one or grew up here their whole lives. Any one who didn’t and has something to say, there something wrong with them!” i’m not kidding, she really said that, I threw up my hands and walked away, shouting ” I can’t speak i’ve only lived here two years”.

I loved the family tree part of the presentation ( I had been told by a member of the ER Democratic committee that this would be part of the show but still hearing some one actually have the balls to say it) it hit like a frieght train! Truth hurts huh guys!

I would have prefered better behavior on behalf of the “old guard” as it was broad cast and thats the sort of thing that garners “armpit of the east side” comments, but I think the dirty side of town got an airing out that was a long time comming.

For the record, all the “families” antics aside Terry would make a great lawyer for ER. He is the definition of a standup guy!

Oh! They showed you on Channel 9 ALS walking up the stairs to the door with your arms up in the air! You have blonde hair, yes?

That’d be me. She went on to intimate that if you went to MCC or Boces that you were inferior. Very attractive. Then there was the fella who got up and reasoned that because we had a 27% voter turn out ( highest in the county) that that was half of half of the residents Mayor Koon hadn’t really been elected by the majority ( so because your ass was to lazy to get out and vote, you now want to cry sour grapes and invalidate our electoral system. The majority of voters who voted voted for him, he wins, maybe you’ll remeber to come next time and vote huh?). The young fella who spoke about what he’d seen happen around town, how his friends had all left, about the drug houses on his street and how he’d like to buy a house in town but simply can’t afford the taxes was great!

I hope Mayor Koon toughs it out and decapitates the beast by firing the administrator. This guy has been the defacto mayor for the last three years and is most of the root of the problem. I’ve seen the memo from him stripping the chief of police of his powers, where would a village administrator come by that power?

it was a great scene for sure. it was nice to see that people are gaining the courage to speak up, to come out of the shadows and fight for change in their beloved town. during the campaign there was always a story about the long time resident or the little old lady, all tough as nails, but frustrated by years of mismanaged government pushing the town away from its ‘home of champions’ roots into the butt of jokes for their snobbier east side neighbors. thanks to all who went to lend support for the mayor. and we shall see if turnout gets higher in 2 years when the next election is held in e.r.

Did you all notice how quiet it got when Sam Morrabitto brought up the tax breaks to try and get some one, any one to buy and build a house at Wells Landing? That silence is deafening. I had also heard that( at $10,000 plus in property taxes apiece and hey your still in East Rottenchester who would buy a house there) and from the sounds in the audience so had many others. Follow the money on that one, guess who sold his house in town and moved into one of the very first of the few homes that are there? Ed Parrone of Parrone Engineering, our very own town engineer at $115.000 a year. You see last year the board had two “town meetings ” spruiously to seek citizen opinion on spending ( the walls were lined with ever village employee, DPW, COP and Ambulance in uniform, you tell me what the message was). The mayor was asked about Wells Landing buy a guy I know in Town Dan, his response was that the villages future depended on it. By Febuary ‘07 just 4 months later he was denying he’d ever said that as Wells Landing was fizzeling ( to bad he was quoted in the Post). Theres bad government in them thare tax breaks!

Ridanty’s the asshat who said this ” everyone here is related to some one or grew up here their whole lives. Any one who didn’t and has something to say, there something wrong with them!”. That creepy lifer mentality pervades this place, why oh why when you act like that would anyone ever move into this creepy little town knowing they will live as second class citizens because they haven’t lived there for three generations? Lord knows i’d have rethought it if I had.

You shouldn’t feel that way ALS. Especially now. Some of the best ideas and most positive forward thinkers the community has ever known were NOT born there, were NOT related to the powers that be and DID not graduate from ERHS.

Take the water situation for example (the same plot of land where now the Wells Landing now sits. The fight for clean water was brought forward by people who were flogged in public as well for “daring” to think that toxic waste 250 feet from the public drinking water wells, that had leached into the acquifer that fed the wells could possibly impact the drinking water, even with the DEC said it could.

They fought like hell for over 5 years, raised and spent their own money to shut it down and connect with the Monroe County Water Authority. At that time, Parrone was paid $750,000.00 to develop a “Reverse Osmosis” machine (from a manufacturer in California tied to then Mayor Peter Quinzi, who himself installed a $7000.00 unit in his own home to protect himself) which would NEVER remove the toxic waste (known and suspect known carinogens from an auto dealership nearby). Of course Parrone never had to pay that money back. And most of those people on the board are STILL there (Alifieri, Parrone, Quinzi, Hanks, etc.) and ALL of them at that time had properties in North Carolina, Florida, etc. where they will all live when they have finished draining East Rochester of all they can take.

The plant was never built (20+ million dollars saved) and the water shut down, and the world did NOT come to an end. But the board meetings were packed to capacity then too, with the same people shouting the same fears about “change” - which in their world equates to “CONTROL”…and control = money and personal profit.

You should offer to help Herman Parson review the voter records for fraud. Some has been found, and if he can find 9 - he can have the third seat on the board and reverse the majority control.

That’s what needs to be focused on NOW.

Whoo boy have I heard about this water thing. Before my short time but my buddy Marks told me all about it and i’ve heard stories from other residents. I have seen its effects though, the water from that place was killing water heaters and boilers in a year an a half it was so corrosive. My boiler and my neighbors boiler are barely 20 years old and the pluming on them looks like its 100. A mass of rust that had the maintenance guy afraid to touch it for fear that it would just disintegrate. My hot water heater was three years old when I moved into my house in ‘05( August), the piping rotted out completely in Febary of ‘06. Everything here seems to be follow the money, because one or more of the good ‘ole boyz are getting paid down the line.

Laying out the “family” trees in that crowd took balls, and amazingly they just don’t get that whats happened is that its not just your town anymore. The fourth gererations not staying they’re moving away, the family home is changing hands ( unfotunately to many into rentals but thats a different issue) and there are alot of people like me or Jason or Herman here now. We’re not from here, however we have the same rights, pay the same taxes and deserve to be treated the same and your 50 year old system of cuttin’ it back to the family doesn’t welcome that. Combine that with the lifetime residents to whom this never made sense and the good ‘ole boyz and family aren’t the majority they’ve gotten so comfortable and arrogant thinking they are and they don’t share well.

Herman needs a job before the next election, he wants to kick some ones ass pretty badly!

Steel, stop out to the open forum next Thursday. I don’t miss them often and usually speak, you should feel free to as well. You woulda liked when I presented the board summer of ‘06 with dozens and dozens of empty dime bags for pot, coke, speed and crack, myself and another fella collected them from the parks around town, a reporter from the Post came along and did a story about it, all documented, video taped at time and point of collection, since the mayor and the board said there was no drug/crime problem in ER. Funny thing is the mayor was quoted in the Post later still saying ” we don’t have all these problems!”.

You spoke very well, I just hope more of the board than Mayor Koon and Andy heard you, they haven’t heard me and other citizens for the 2.5 years i’ve owned my home here. If they had perhaps none of this would be necessary.

Hey,hey,hey, check out this mornings D&C, the good ‘ole boys are at it again. The sister of our freebooting administrator Justice Victoria Argento has refused to follow Mayor Koon’s instructions and will be holding court anyway. Inbreeding, its a terrible thing!

And they really have to wonder why he wants to eliminate their jobs? Anarchy in public positions is NEVER a wise career move! What fools!

We need to help stop them NOW! I am contacting Mr. Parsons and offering my help in checking the election. If only the PEOPLE had control of the board instead of the relatives, that 6% tax savings could turn into 20% and our property values would rise as more people would want to live here instead of just renting!

Matt Perrone stoped by my house this morning as he’d read this and lives just up the street from me. He told me that he has not worked for his father since college ten years ago and has been a Zerox since. We talked for several hours and had what at least I felt was a good conversation. While we do not agree on everything several points we meet on are the need for discourse to continue adhearing to the rules layed out for but not up to this time adhered to for speaking at board meetings both to ensure that decorum is maintaned and that both questioner and questioned will have the opportunity to answer without interuption from the audience. Also that this will have a longer term benefit to ER, people whatever side of the issue they fall on are participating, something very much lacking here by my expirience. Matt plans on comming out to open forums something he has not been in the habit of doing to speak, something it seem that many on both sides of the issue have not participated in previosuly but have started doing which we both agreed is positive. We were agreement that the reporter from channel 9 was obviously not at the same meeting we were at. I came away thinking that if this is approched from a more civilized discourse ( minus the Ridanty factor) with the new citizen involvement that long term we can get someplace that will have most all liking and involved in the direction things are heading. I’m glad he stopped over it gives me some hope that out of the antics of the last few weeks there can be things accomplished.

agreed there. when was the last time e.r. was on the forefront of people’s minds (without csx screwing up that is)? if all towns were this involved, our lives would probably be lived at higher qualities for cheaper prices.