For as long as I can remember, and probably long before that, the homeless have hung out at Barker Park — also known as Pigeon Park — and drank beer. I use the term “homeless” loosely because I’m not sure if they are all homeless or not but you get the picture.

And taking out the benches, like the city did earlier this week, isn’t going to do anything to change that in the least.

I was talking to one guy who’s been around a lot longer than I have and I asked him how long it’s been a magnet for that type of behavior and he said: “Well, City Hall burned down in 1938.”

He was being somewhat facetious, but it’s probably not too far off because shortly after the fire destroyed City Hall it became a park and administrations have struggled with how to police the tiny piece of land at the intersection of State and Third streets

Back in the 90s, I was told, the city tried having live music there once a week in an attempt to bring a more “desirable” crowd but the only thing that accomplished was giving free entertainment to the people hanging out there while they drank beer.

There was even some talk of doing away with the park altogether and making it a parking lot.

A few years ago, the Friends of Barker Park raised and invested some $100,000 to fix up the park including installing a new fence, new landscaping and yes, even installing new benches in an effort to draw a more orderly, respectful crowd. In the end, all it did was make it a nicer spot where people hang out and drink their beer.

It wouldn’t be bad if people were just hanging out drinking a cold one once in a while, but most of people who hang at Barker Park have a lot more than just one and with that comes all sorts of problems like urinating in public, fighting, cursing and other unseemly behavior.

That’s going to happen if there are benches there or not. What would solve the problem, however, is if the cops walking the beat downtown walk through Barker Park a few times a day. I know, there are more important things for the cops to do than bust a guy for having a beer or urinating behind a bush so rather than waste time bringing the guy down to the station, doing all the paperwork and clogging up the courts just make them dump out the beer.

To many in the Barker Park crowd, that is probably worse punishment than any fine or spending a night or two in jail so if it’s done a few times people will get the hint and find somewhere else to go.

Or, the city could limit the number of hours the park is open — from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. for example — and then those hanging out could face trespassing charges too so the cops wouldn’t have to even look for beer but instead just drive by and arrest anyone they see in the park after hours.

In the end, though, it’s downtown and in any downtown you’re going to get homeless people or those on the fringes of being homeless and who will congregate on any bench in the city. It just so happens Barker Park is convenient with a number of corner stores in the area and a number of non-profits that have food pantries and provide other life necessities to those on the fringes.

You won’t find too many of the fringe types in somewhere like Clifton Park, for example, but it is part of the charm of a downtown.

That said, I can understand the business owners in the area not being too appreciative of those on the fringes. But moving the benches won’t do anything except force those who will go their to drink their beer to bring their own chairs — which they would probably steal first — or sit on the curb. Something tells me they really aren’t all that picky.

Breslin/Morse debate

This paper will be sponsoring a debate between incumbent Sen. Neil Breslin and his challenger in the Democratic primary for the 44th Senate District Shawn Morse, chair of the Albany County Legislature.

Fox 23 anchor John Gray, who also writes a column for this paper, will moderate while reporter Danielle Sanzone, longtime Capitol reporter Kyle Hughes of NYSNYS News, and myself will ask the questions — which we will pre-write with the help of Editor Lisa Lewis. We will also take questions from the audience.

The newly drawn 44th District encompasses Bethlehem, Colonie, a chunk of Albany, the southern half of Troy as well as the City of Rensselaer, Cohoes, Watervlier and Green Island.

The debate will be Sept. 4 at the Bush Memorial on The Sage Colleges campus in Troy from 7 to 8:30 p.m. Many thanks to The Sage Colleges for providing the forum for what should be a spirited debate in what has been a spirited race.

CARLEY

RYAN CASSIDY

There is a minor shake up going on at City Hall as I’m hearing Mayor Lou Rosamilia’s secretary, Legislator Kathleen Ryan Cassidy, will now be the city’s community outreach coordinator. I’m not exactly sure what the new job entails but I’m guessing it won’t require her to be at her desk, which was one of the requisites of being the mayor’s secretary which she had a hard time grasping – along with not scheduling machete-carrying people to meet with the mayor, twice.

Kitty Carley, who was Deputy Peter Ryan’s secretary, will now split her duties between Rosamilia and Ryan. An odd dynamic but I’ve heard nothing but pretty good things about Carley so I’m fairly certain she can handle the job and the impact on the inner workings of city government, as it relates to impacting real people, will be negligible if not a bit better.

Also, I’m hearing the City Hall is looking to hire Monica Kurzejeski to fill the economic development spot left vacant when Vic Christopher resigned amid allegations he was stealing building materials from the city-owned Dauchy Building. The allegations were real, but he was never charged with a crime and now is working on opening a wine/cheese bar on Second Street.

The thing about Kurzejeski, who currently runs the wildly popular Troy Farmer’s Market and used to work for John Hedley, is she is from Clifton Park and as I understand it whoever holds the position has to live in Troy. Also, it’s a Civil Service position and there are certain guidelines that have to be followed – like she has to be one of the top three on the list if they city wants to hire her.

I’m not going to weigh in on any of the above required qualifications because I don’t know where Kurzejeski stands on any of them but we are trying to find out. And I know for a fact, after covering more Civil Service type issues than I care to remember, there are enough loopholes in the system to pretty much make anything work.

Like Carley, I’ve heard nothing but good things about Kurzejeski so if they can find a way past all the Civil Service stuff – which, as I implied, is about as hard as stepping on an ant – it could be worth having someone who was Hedley’s right hand lady and who propelled the Farmer’s Market into the best in the area on board at City Hall.

First, my sources tell me and I’m sure they were solid, the city was going to appoint Tony Magnetto as a part time public safety commissioner for $30,000 to oversee Chief John Tedesco. Anything more than that and Magnetto would not have been allowed to continue collecting the full pension he earned after 35 years with the department.

I’m told Tedesco was ready to fight back Wednesday morning — there is nothing he could officially do about it but there are ways he could have fought back — and I’m told that there are reasons Magnetto wanted the extra $30,000 even if he didn’t want the headache of being a public safety commissioner.

Then, Wednesday afternoon, Tedesco met with Mayor Lou Rosamilia and some members of the Council and it was decided there would not be a public safety commissioner and Tedesco would continue on as head of the department. Not to pat myself on the back, but I’m guessing the blog I wrote about it Tuesday had something to do with it.

I’m not sure if patting myself on the back is the right way to put it because controversy over whether the chief is still going to head up the department or not — especially when there has been a rash of shootings, stabbings and now some nut is running around setting occupied buildings on fire — is never a good thing. Monday night, there was a brawl on Sixth Avenue that included so many people every cop on duty was called to the scene. Crime is getting out of hand. That’s the bottom line.

And it just doesn’t help matters when the chief is looking over his shoulder to see if the powerful Police Benevolent Association or its political lackeys are going to cut his head off.

As I said, there isn’t anything Tedesco could have done about it in the official sense. If you remember, when Mark Pattison was mayor he hired Mark Whitman as commissioner over then Chief Bill Miller. The difference is Miller was just phoning it in and showing up to work to collect a check and pad his pension. Tedesco is active and engaged and still wants to shake up a department that desperately needs a shaking up.

Shaking up is something the PBA doesn’t want to see happen. It and its president, Bob Fitzgerald, have been gunning for Tedesco since just about the day he was appointed chief in 2010 by then Mayor Harry Tutunjian. You remember the dog and pony media show Fitzgerald threw when Tedesco was appointed and said the reason Tutunjian picked him over Magnetto and the number two cop in the city, Buddy McAvoy, was because the other two were going to investigate drug dealing by members of the Tutunjian administration and Tedesco would bury it. A ludicrous statement.

Tutunjian picked Tedesco because he knew he would do some things to shake up the department. And he has. He has cut back overtime, he reorganized the Special Operations Section, where cops generally went into semi-retirement to pad their pensions, he tried to make the Emergency Response Team more efficient and in response all the members quit and Tedesco tried to make better use of the cops who are assigned to the schools, something the Democrats used during the last election.

Steps the Union has fought every step of the way.

And it comes down to the contract too. I’m told Fitzgerald and Deputy Mayor Peter Ryan are close to an agreement that would give the PBA a 2 percent raise last year — they have been without a contract since Dec. 31, 2010 — no raise this year and give them more vacation time and more opportunities to make overtime.

Whatever the administration wants to negotiate is fine but the thing about these talks is Tedesco isn’t at the table at all. With any contract, and especially with the PBA, there are policy issues that can be negotiated such as the arcane seniority clause — which allows the senior members first dibs on jobs regardless of training or skill — the PBA clings to like a child to a bottle and something that Tedesco has publicly said he wanted changed.

But the chief wasn’t even at the table and that tells me the PBA and its supporters on the Council were ready to hire Magnetto and figured they had the Rosamilia Administration in the bag.

One of the PBA biggest supporters on the Council is Councilwoman Nina Nichols, chair of the Public Safety Committee. And judging by how she lambasted Tedesco at the last Public Safety Committee meeting, she is not a fan of Tedesco.

Just a hunch, but I think running a police department — where some 125 people carry guns — is better left to the police chief than a minister in her first term on the Council.

Also, I think it’s better left to the chief than the PBA, who, understandably, are looking out for their own members rather than the city as a whole.

Finally, I would say Rosamilia deserves some credit for pulling the plug on the deal to hire Magnetto and not caving to the PBA whims. But, the fact that story was leaked to me — and I do maintain it was going to happen, as I said the chief was gearing up his counter-offensive — tells me Rosamilia has to either stand stronger behind the chief or pull the trigger and hire a public safety commissioner.

Now is not the time to hedge your bets because it’s getting bad out there.

James V. Franco can be reached at 478-5343 or by email at jfranco@troyrecord.com

TEDESCO

MAGNETTO

UPDATE: I'm told that Tedesco was called into City Hall today and told there would be no police commissioner. Though, I'm sure that was the plan yesterday, I'm told City Hall will be putting out a statement today saying it's not going to happen.

According to my sources, there is talk of adding $30,000 to the Police Department budget to hire a part time police commissioner. It’s unclear if it will be a line item transfer in this year’s spending plan or will be included in the one being formulated right now for next year’s.

Those same sources tell me it will be Tony Magnetto, the longtime, well-respected Troy cop who retired shortly after then-Mayor Harry Tutunjian picked Police Chief John Tedesco to head up the department in 2010 instead of Magnetto or Deputy Chief Buddy McAvoy. At the time it came down to the three men and Tutunjian went with Tedesco, McAvoy became the number two guy and Magnetto number three.

Safe to say, it really hasn’t been smooth sailing. The powerful Police Benevolent Association, headed up by Bob Fitzgerald, was not behind Tedesco from the get go and Tedesco did little to foster that relationship by trying to shake up the department. He took officers out of the schools fulltime, who were there even in the summer, broke up the Special Operations Section, long considered to be a place where officers can go into semi-retirement and pad their pensions, and shook up the Emergency Response Team, who he thought could be more efficient. He also cut overtime across the board, something near and dear to the PBA heart, and brought a no nonsense management style to the TPD where the union has ruled the roost for years.

NICHOLS

 The anti-Tedesco forces – including many on the Council loyal to the PBA, in particular Councilwoman Nina Nichols, who heads up the Public Safety Committee – get practically a boost a day given the number of shootings this year and, of course, most recently, some nut-job running around the city burning up buildings.

 Thing is, I don’t know if that’s Tedesco’s fault or not. Of course, there was crime under Tutunjian, but Tutunjian let the chief run the department and it wasn’t like it is today. A shooting is one thing and they happen in every city in the country, setting blocks of the city on fire is just crazy. A fight once in a while is one thing, the massive brawl that occurred on Sixth Avenue Monday night is another. It’s getting out of control and that’s the bottom line.

However, bringing in a police commissioner on a part time basis just to undermine the chief because he ruffled some feathers in the union certainly won’t go very far to solve the problem. When you have the Indians trying to be chief, and you have politicians catering to those Indians, the city burns. And in this case … literally.

FITZGERALD

RYAN

It comes down the contract too. I’m hearing the PBA is close to an agreement which includes a 2 percent raise last year – the PBA has been without one since the end of 2010 – no raise this year and some other perks including more vacation time and other time off. Tedesco, who has been negotiating contracts for decades, wasn’t invited to the table. This is where policy things could be negotiated, like the inane seniority clause, so you would think the chief would be invited. Instead it was just Deputy Mayor Peter Ryan and Fitzgerald playing cards. I like both guys, but if I had to bet on which one would win a poker game, my money is on Fitzgerald every day.

A letter by Robert “Rabbit” Riley should be in the mailboxes of the members of Rensselaer County Democratic Committee today asking for their vote for chairman next month when the party re-organizes either today or tomorrow.

Of course Riley, a retired postal worker, is challenging the current Chair Tom Wade, who obviously likes being chair and while he’s upset some apples in the cart has a pretty good record of getting Democrats elected in Rensselaer County.

“I was surprised when some of the leaders approached me. I looked around and saw that a lot of these leaders were frustrated,” Riley said. “I want to bring everyone under one umbrella. I hope I can be the glue to bring everyone together. I want to get everyone involved and get the job done. I want to make sure no one has less say than anyone else. I’m not going to be a dictator.”

“Sometimes you get involved in something, win or lose, to make the situation stronger. I’m in it to win, but if in the long run I do fail I hope it makes Tom a better person,” Riley said. “I’m in this to make us all one. I’m a proud Democrat and I want to make us as a party better and stronger. That’s my intent.”

Since Wade does have a pretty solid record and is the current chair, which brings with the ability — how extensive I don’t know — to do some favors for the committeemen who will be voting on the next chair, I think Riley is in for an uphill battle. Though, Wade has upset some Democrats, in particular members of who he no so affectionately refers to as the “delusional bunch,” a group of Troy Democrats upset with him for not backing then Council President Clement Campana for mayor, calling for Councilman Kevin McGrath’s resignation given his testimony, which included admitting to federal drug crimes, during the first voter fraud trial and not backing former Councilman Michael LoPorto.

“Riley's ambition might be noble to a few but is nothing more than payback by a few dissidents who are not happy with my gutsy decisions — specifically, Campana, K. McGrath, LoPorto and CB Smith.,” Wade said. “Frankly, when it comes to leading the party, those who know Riley think he is clueless ... and delusional.”

The reference to longtime North Greenbush gadfly Smith is in reference to Smith’s support of Keith Hammond to run against Assemblyman Steve McLaughlin in the 107th Assembly District. The Rensselaer County Democratic Committee backed Cheryl Roberts, an attorney from Columbia County, instead of the homegrown Hammond.

Wade went on to accuse Riley of working on campaigns of Republicans including Rep. Chris Gibson and saying Riley’s not ready to assume the job of chairman.

“There is no training academy for county chairs who are usually elected through service and loyalty to their political party,” Wade said. “Riley comes up short in both categories. The job is not a popularity contest.”

But, in a lot of ways it is a popularity contest. It all comes down to who can sway what committeemen to vote for who.

The anti-Wade group did leak some numbers recently and they claim they are up by a weighted vote of 11,620 to 10,510 with 4,171 undecided.

A little about the weighted vote and why the numbers don’t mean squat. Each Election District has two committeemen and each committeeman carries a weight based on the number of votes for governor on that respective party’s line. In other words, it’s not one man one vote. It’s one man, one weighted vote and that can mean one man is worth 30 weighted votes or 195 weighted votes determined by a formula I don’t know and probably wouldn’t try to explain if I did.

And then there are the proxies, as I’ve mentioned. Since serving on the committee doesn’t pay anything it’s a pretty thankless job so many will not show up at the organizational meeting which has to be called within 20 days of next month’s primary. But, here’s the kicker, those who don’t show up can still cast a vote by proxy, or give their vote to someone else.

So, you can bet Wade and the anti-Wade factions are making all sorts of phone calls trying to gather as many proxies as they can. September is a long way off to be sure so who promises what at this point in time means squat. That’s why the numbers mentioned above mean about as much. Safe to say there will be all sorts of wrangling by both sides and right now I have to give Wade the leg up on the wrangling.

Also, if we look back a bit, the anti-Wade folks are not being too smart about a coup. Assemblyman Michael Bragman tried to take out Majority Leader Sheldon Silver and everyone was talking about it including people like me. And if people like me are talking about it you know Silver knew a bunch of what was going on and acted accordingly. When former Sen. Joe Bruno took out then Senate Majority Leader Ralph Marino nobody knew anything was afoot, especially Marino, until it was too late. Bruno became majority leader, Silver survived, Marino retired and Bragman ended up with a broom closet for an office.

This week’s Talespin was written by James V. Franco. He can be reached at 478-5343, by email at jfranco@troyrecord.com or on Twitter @francorecord

RILEY

WADE

The talk of a coup to take out Rensselaer County Chair Tom Wade continues and this time the anti-Wade forces are throwing around some numbers.

Before I give you the numbers, let me say they really don’t mean squat. I’m sure people on both sides are going over the committee list, trying to figure out who is going where – guessing in a number of cases is more like it – and each side, I’m sure, has a different opinion on who is going where.

And there’s a ton of time between now and September so a committee member saying one thing today could certainly change their mind by then.

OK, without further ado according to the anti-Wade forces there is 11,620 of the weighted vote for Rabbit Riley, 10,519 of the weighted vote for Wade and they don’t know how the committeemen carrying 4,171 of the weighted vote will go.

A bit on the weighted vote: each committeeman – there are two in each Election District – carries a value based on the number of people who voted for governor in each respective party from that district. In other words, it’s not one man one vote. The values, determined by a formula I don’t know and probably wouldn’t try to explain if I did, can range from 30 to 195.

And then there are proxies. As I’ve mentioned, this race will come down to proxies. It’s hard finding people to serve on the committee and it’s harder to get them to come to the meetings so they can have other’s cast their vote on their behalf by proxy.

And a bit on how to orchestrate a coup: former Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno knew how to do it, former Assembly Speaker Michael Bragman didn’t. When Bruno took out his predecessor, Ralph Marino, it was known as the Thanksgiving Day Massacre because Marino had no idea it was coming until it was too late. When Bragman tried to take out Speaker Sheldon Silver, everyone knew about it and Silver took the appropriate action.

MCDONOUGH

That’s why I think the “Delusional Bunch,” a group of Troy Democrats headed up by supporters of former mayoral candidate Clem Campana and Councilman Kevin McGrath, who Wade called on to resign, and some other factions are up fighting an uphill battle.

As I mentioned too, a bunch depends on Board of Elections Commissioner Ed McDonough, a member of the anti-Wade group as far as I know, and whether or not he is convicted in his next voter fraud trial. Wade can count votes. So can McDonough. Wade, as chair can still offer some favors to committee members on the fence. As BOE chair, so can McDonough. He won’t be commissioner if he’s convicted.

This one is going to be fun.     

MCDONOUGH

WADE

I mentioned it in my last post but it deserves a bit more.

The battle for the Rensselaer County chair comes down to what the jury decides in regards to the slew of felony charges against Board of Elections Commissioner Ed McDonough.

And that’s because he is only one guy who can take out the current chair, Tom Wade. McDonough worked under Wade for some 16 years when Wade was commissioner at the BOE so both know the mechanics of counting proxies and what it takes to swing a committee. He should, Wade tought him. And so did McDonough's father, the legendary county chair by the same name.

The committee votes are by proxy. Even if the “delusional bunch,” as Wade has not so affectionately coined the group against him headed up by former Council President Clement Campana and Councilman Kevin McGrath, has the 60 percent of the weighted vote they claim it comes down to the proxies and who can swing who. And that all depends on what happens to McDonough at trial. A convicted felon doesn’t have too much to offer the on the fence committeemen, a BOE commissioner found not guilty who is seen as taking a bullet for the party - and who has done a bunch of favors for the party - does.

Few others, if anyone, has the wherewithal to know what it takes to get and count proxies. There may be some anti-Wade sentiment out there from a number of different factions but it takes a mechanic to gather the proxies and get the votes. And McDonough is the only one I can see who can do it.

On the flip side, a county chairman who has skated through voter fraud while his minions are skewered does have something to offer. The way lucrative state patronage jobs work – or any patronage jobs work – is the interested individual has to go through the county chair. It’s the way it’s been done forever and as such Wade has some juice. Wade knows it, McDonough knows it and I’ve even heard Wade even offered to help McDonough’s wife get a job if he backs off the challenge to his chairmanship. I heard there was a “no thanks” involved so the war is on. UPDATE: Wade denies this and said it is nothing but a rumor perpetuated by McDonough's attorney Brian Premo.

It’s Wade versus McDonough. And right now it’s an even match.

It all comes down to Premo - who is pushing McDonough but really has nothing to lose and is running for county court judge - and whether McDonough’s attorney can get him a not guilty verdict. If McDonough walks, Wade is done. If he’s convicted, the “delusional bunch” is done and Wade lives on.

I suppose I have to mention Rabbit Riley as he is the chosen one to replace Wade and honestly, he is a decent sort but he doesn’t have the juice on his own. It all comes down to Wade and McDonough … and the jury.

This is about as down and dirty as it gets.