At the first gathering of the Niskayuna Concerned Citizens meeting Thursday, Feb. 19, at the Niskayuna Public Library, some main topics of discussion included taxes, and home revaluations.
The meeting went well. There were nine people there, said Linda Rizzo, one of the Niskayuna residents who organized the gathering. `Basically we just encouraged people to go to the Town Board meeting. It’s important to express yourself and have community people get together and share concerns.`
She said that she believes a community is strong when there are concerned residents meeting and talking about issues, rather than `dealing with them in isolation in their own individual homes.`
She said that if residents are concerned about issues, it’s helpful to know that they aren’t alone.
Since the group’s first meeting, Rizzo said the shape and mission of the group are coming together more clearly.
`I think we want to create a group that is vigilant about issues,` said Rizzo. `We don’t want an attack group, we don’t want a group that is filled with negativity.`
She said she wants people to get involved who are concerned about issues, and she wants members of the group to leave their partisanship at the door.
Lorene Zabin, another Niskayuna resident and meeting organizer, said that she too was pleased with how the meeting went.
`I feel that they [those attending] were laid back, and this is exactly the kind of Niskayuna person that should be able to come to the meeting and express themselves,` said Zabin. `If they have any concerns, my philosophy is that Niskayuna is one big neighborhood. A lot of what makes Niskayuna special is the fact that we interact with the people in our neighborhood.`
She said that she believes that Niskayuna residents should be concerned about what affects their neighborhoods, as well as other parts of the community.
As an example of how citizens banding together were able to have an impact on their neighborhood, she cited an example of a local residential property that the owner wanted to make into an agricultural district and how resident action stopped that from happening.
`Someone got wind of it, and had they not pursued this, they might have caused a problem for the people in that particular part of Niskayuna,` said Zabin.
In the end, she said that residents got together and spoke out for what they wanted, and the parcel of land remained residential.
Zabin said that the group has decided to have another meeting next month.
`One of the great things about Niskayuna and the neighborhood concept is that we all live here, and we are the closest thing we have to the government,` said Zabin. `There are people out there who may want to be more involved, but they just don’t know the proper way to do it, and we’re going to try to help them, to tell them about meetings coming up, and the town’s Web site ` we have a great Web site.`
She also wants the group to act as a resource for new citizens in the town.
`I think there are a lot of people that come into town, and they’re not aware of the great things we have here,` said Zabin.
`If we can do something that’s not in a negative fashion, because I don’t like negative, I like positive, I think that’s where we might really be more effective, and if not, so we’ll chalk it up,` said Zabin.
The next meeting of the Niskayuna Concerned Citizens will be held at the Niskayuna Public Library, located at 2400 Nott St. E., on Thursday, March 26, at 7 p.m. For information, residents can call Lorene Zabin at 370-0572.“
