What was being called a Nor’ Easter rains down on Colonie on a dreary Friday morning as Gloria Knorr waits inside with her 9-month grandson, Jackson. She drapes a blue jacket over his head to protect him from the rain as she walks to her rusty 1965 Chrysler.
She drives to her residence located at Albany-Shaker Road in Loudonville, 13.3 acres of farmland left to her and her sister by their mother, Irma. As she approaches the dirt road leading to a tiny, aging house, Gloria must first clear the brush out of the way to get through.
Soon enough, she clears everything out of the way and approaches the 96-year-old home. This property and this land is what Gloria has fought to preserve from being built into what she refers to as a cookie-cutter home development. What she hopes she can turn the property into is affordable, yet sustainable housing.
`It’s very difficult for me now because the market is bad and the banks aren’t loaning,` she said, as she goes over the plans Bruce Brownell, owner of Adirondack Alternate Energy, has for her home. `He’s trying to find a developer for me.`
The most attractive part of the property is a 7-acre parcel located directly behind the home, which falls in the center of the property line. Gloria said she has no desire to sell only the 7 acres as she wants to sell the full 13 acres.
Knorr’s family originally owned 30 acres of land, but her uncle sold 15 to the Times Union for its headquarters. The uncle talked Knorr’s mother into giving up 2 acres of her own land in the deal.
Knorr’s hope is to build a Passive Solar Home on the remaining property, one that uses day lighting, six-sided insulation envelope and a heavy air-integrated thermal mass system. She has since come to realize that a property like that would be far too expensive to be affordable housing.
`I have to be open now,` she said. `So I say, ‘OK, passive solar ` yes, it is more expensive but still, it would be something very special in Colonie.’`
A history to build on
The home itself has a very special meaning to her. It has been passed down through generations from her grandmother, to her mother and now herself. Her grandmother died in what is now the dining room at age 85 from what Knorr said was old age or clogging of the arteries. As a registered nurse, Knorr took care of both her grandmother and mother before their deaths.
She said when her grandmother died, she was with her daughter Jeannie Seanor, now 45, and they walked through the kitchen to the bedroom where Gloria’s grandmother had passed and said a prayer by her side.
`I said, ‘Look at that sunrise,’` Knorr said. `She said to me, ‘When Momma went to heaven she lit up the sky.’`
Knorr was also the caregiver for her mother when she developed Alzheimer’s, from 1992 until she died in 2007.
The property was also home to her daughter from her second marriage, Suzanne, a lawyer for the New York State Democratic Assembly, after she gave birth to Jackson. She moved to Cohoes in September.
Getting involved in the community
All of these experiences with the farm have led to Knorr’s constant involvement in town issues, and, most important, her effort to promote affordable, sustainable housing and housing for seniors. She realized by going to the Town Board meetings and the planning board meetings, it would help her understand what she would need to do to be able to build the type of housing she wanted on her land.
`I’ve been going a lot,` she said, trying to recall just how long it has been since she first attended a meeting. `I call up the hotline for the planning and economic meeting, and they tell you an agenda of that day. If it has something to do with housing, I usually go.`
If you have ever attended a Colonie Town Board Meeting, or any other sort of meeting within the municipality’s government, it is hard to miss the 69-year-old Gloria with her black hair streaked with gray and her composition notebook filled with her thoughts and opinions she’ll share during the allotted public comment period.
Gloria said the Town Board puts a lot of time into its work, so she feels the need to show her appreciation by showing up and giving them feedback.
`Ralph Nader, heard him speak at the Egg and heard him speak at Albany Law School, where a whole bunch of Albany Law students lined up to ask what they could do,` she said of one of her idols. `He said, ‘Get involved in your town government.’ You may not feel you’re being heard, except at election time, they seem to care about what you think. But go to town board meetings because if you’re going to be upset and angry about something, why carry it and not do anything about it? Voice your concerns.`
Members of the town government certainly recognize and appreciate the time Gloria dedicates to her involvement in the town and wish there could be more people like her.
`She’s a wonderful woman and a wonderful citizen,` said Colonie Town Clerk Elizabeth DelTorto. `She takes her involvement in the community very seriously. She comes prepared to every meeting and does not overreact to anything. Makes working hard to represent this town such a privilege cause she pays so much attention. She makes you feel good about putting the time and effort into putting out a good product for the residents.`
DelTorto, who has been the clerk since 1997, also noted the amount of time Gloria put into taking care of her mother, which led to her interest in senior care and housing.
`It’s a nice beacon to see Gloria there,` she said. `She has her notebook and she’s ready. She waits patiently for the public speaking portion.`
Yearning for simpler times
Gloria recalls a time when Wolf Road was still a dirt road and the town was full of farms. Oregon is an ideal place for her, and that is where her son Tim currently resides. She said it is a state full of open space, trails and public transportation.
`I just wish we could start over again,` she said. `Go back to the farms.`
Gloria has stood up for senior housing such as the Albany Nursing Home, Hearth Stone Village in Latham and the Columbia Crest Apartments near Cohoes. Even though a place such as the Hearth Stone Village apartments is expensive, she said it is good to at least have alternatives.
`That’s what we need is housing options and choices,` she said, speaking in favor of universal design, where the lip of the shower is lowered, the bathroom is next to the master bedroom and the doorways are easily accessible for wheelchairs. `I just think the bathroom should be close to that master bedroom.`
One gripe she has with the town is over the current review process for the Comprehensive Plan established in 2005. She is upset that the time for their meetings is at 3:30 in the afternoon, making it hard for those who have work to attend.
`That’s important to me, public meetings after the work day,` she said, adding that when the town first adopted its comprehensive plan, all the meetings were in the evening. `Seven o’clock, or 6 o’clock. I don’t care.`
A citizen in good times and bad
In light of the recent controversy over Republican Dan Dustin’s alleged use of a racial slur, Gloria said she was upset that Supervisor Paula Mahan asked Dustin to step down and the possibility of hiring lawyers to investigate.
`The voters should decide,` she said. `Not asking him to step down.`
Gloria sometimes seeks the advice of neighbor Councilman Bob Becker because, she said, she likes his personality. Becker said he feels the same way.
`I do respect her,` he said. `She is someone who I’m able to call a friend. She always brings a smile to my face when I go in there.`
He also said that he values the criticism Gloria sometimes hurls at the board, as he would rather hear it coming from residents than through the grapevine.
`I totally and honestly respect her for that and love her for it,` he said. `I think that’s what a community needs.`
While Gloria said at the last town board meeting she might need to take a break for a while to get away from the politics after the Dustin controversy.
But after hearing that she would be greatly missed. She begins to reconsider.
So expect to see her at the next town board meeting, the next planning board meeting or even the comprehensive plan review meeting with her grandson Jackson in tow. She’ll be the one sitting there with her black composition notebook waiting for her turn to voice her opinion.
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