17 minute read
Newsline
from June 16, 2021
by Ithaca Times
N ews line
Business Longtime employee buys Benjamin Peters
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Benjamin Peters owner, Peter Parkes has sold his store at 120 E State St. on the Commons to employee Sam Parlett as of Apr 1. Parkes, who bought the men’s clothing store back in 1994, is now retired.
Parlett began working at the store in 2013, serving as lead salesman and frequently choosing the seasonal selection of clothing.
Parlett said the store’s dedication to quality and service will remain the same but that some changes will be on the way to stay on top of current trends.
In the fall, the store will expand to women’s clothing featuring Smartwool and Patagonia. They will also be launching their own Benjamin Peters’ line of khakis. Parlett added that Benjamin Peters is now tailoring clothes that were bought online or at other stores.
He was also enthusiastic about a new custom suit program. Previously, Benjamin Peters exclusively tailored clothes from off the rack. Now they will be offering the ability to choose your own fabrics, colors and patterns among anything, making the process much more customizable.
Parlett said he plans to keep the Benjamin Peters’ store name which was named after the former owner and his first son, Benjamin Parkes.
“It means something in the community because people know us and they know our name and what we do,” he said.
Interestingly enough, Parkes bought the store when he was in his 30’s, just after the birth of his son. As chance would have it, Parlett is of similar age and also welcomed his first son into the world a year ago when he had just started discussions about purchasing the store.
“It was really just like their situation back in 1994,” he said. “They really got a kick out of that and so did we.” -Ryan Bieber
Sam Parlett (Photo: Casey Martin)
T a k e N o t e
▶ Common Council election- Yasmin Rashid and Shaniya Foster have both dropped out of the race to represent Ward 1 on Common Council. They were running against incumbent Cynthia Brock, whom Rashid has endorsed. In a statement to the Ithaca Voice, Rashid said she has decided to focus on her efforts on West Hill and in West Village for the time being. Foster was running as part of a trio on Ithaca’s Solidarity Slate. Their website has not been updated, and it’s unclear at this time why Foster dropped out. A request for comment was not returned. They two dropped out just days before early voting began on June 12. It’s not clear whether their names will still appear on ballots.
VOL.XLI / NO. 43 / June 16, 2021 Serving 47,125 readers weekly
FEATURES
Meet the Candidates (Part II)���8
A Q&A with the County Legislature candidates on the June 22 primary ballot. Working it out�����������������������������11
Kitchen Theatre’s latest play explores the self discovery that can come from a good work out Sports.........................................................12 Newsline ..................................................3-5 Opinion ........................................................ 6 Letters ........................................................ 7
ARTS&ENTERTAINMENT
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View across cayuga’s waters from interlaken, NY (photo: Emily Hopkins)
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INQUIRING PHOTOGRAPHER
By Casey Martin
WELL, ITS OFFICIALLY SUMMER IN ITHACA. WHAT’S ON YOUR SUMMER BUCKET LIST THIS YEAR?
“Baking Ventures. More croissants. Swim as much as possible. Head to MEXICO!” -Becca G, Alex G, and Kristie Y.
“Exploring the west end alittle more… not just hitting up the Westy.” -April G.
“We just did it. We moved to Ithaca from Boston!” -Arielle L. & Nick D.
“Travel. Any place sunny… or The Bad Lands…” -Jordan G & Brett W.
“Enjoy my free time as best I can before I start Law school at Cornell this fall.” -Alex L.
ELECTION Local unions, officials, political groups choose their candidates ahead of the June 22 primary
The Democratic primary is next week, June 22, so we’ve rounded up the endorsements for each candidate in case you need help making a choice. For polling information, visit www.TompkinsCountyNY.gov/boe. For more information on endorsements or candidates, visit the websites listed after each individual person.
Cynthia Brock (Common Council, Ward 1) – Brock is backed by her Common Council colleagues George McGonigal (who also serves the first ward) and Donna Fleming, as well as the First Ward Democratic Committee, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local Union 241, Tompkins-Cortland Building and Construction Trades Council and Plumbers and Steamfitters Local 81. (cynthiabrock.org)
Robert Cantelmo (Common Council, Ward 5) – Cantelmo has the support of Common Council members Seph Murtagh, Ducson Nguyen, Rob Gearhart, Stephen Smith, Laura Lewis and Deb Mohlenhoff, as well as mayor Svante Myrick. He’s also endorsed by the New York Working Families Party. (robertcantelmo. com)
Travis Brooks (County Legislature, District 1) – Brooks is endorsed by Common Council members Brock and McGonigal (who represent one of the wards served by District 1), as well as Fleming. He’s also supported by the First Ward Democratic Committee, the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local Union 241, the New York Working Families Party and Black Hands Universal. (tbrooksforlegislature.com)
Nicole LaFave (County Legislature, District 1) – LaFave is backed by Common Council members Murtagh and Nguyen, as well as Sunrise Ithaca, the Ithaca Chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America, Plumbers and Steamfitters Local 81, Cornell Progressives and TompkinsCortland Building & Construction Trades Council. (votenicolelafave.com)
Veronica Pillar (County Legislature, District 2) – Pillar is supported by the New York Working Families Party, New York Progressive Action Network, Cornell Progressives, Decarcerate Tompkins County, Laborers Local 785, Tompkins-Cortland Building and Construction Trades Council, Progressive Women of New York, Ithaca Chapter of Democratic Socialists of America and Sunrise Movement Ithaca. (veronicafortompkins.com)
Leslie Schill (County Legislature, District 2) – Schill has the vote of Common Council member Lewis. (https://www. facebook.com/LeslieSchill4TC2/)
Vanessa Greenlee (County Legislature, District 8) – County Legislators Anne Koreman, Dan Klein, Martha Robertson, Amanda Champion and Deborah Dawson publicly endorsed Greenlee. (vanessa4tompkins. org)
Greg Mezey (County Legislature, District 13) – Mezey is backed by Myrick. (gregmezey. com)
Samantha Lushtak (County Legislature, District 13) – Lushtak is endorsed by Shannon MacCarrick, executive director of Habitat for Humanity of Tompkins and Cortland Counties and the Working Families Party. (samanthalushtak.com) -Tanner Harding
Community Connections Laurence Clarkberg: Beyond Art Collective
Many people met Laurence Clarkberg when he first chose Ithaca as his home. He attended Quaker Meetings, he designed websites for local organizations, he created computer access for young people incarcerated in state facilities. And he co-parented his beautiful children Jasper and Thea. Laurence was out and about.
As the children grew up, we would wave to Laurence and his daughter Thea as they introduced us to electric bikes as a form of efficient transportation. We watched Laurence load his Cargo-Bike-TakeThree and ride it to D.C. to visit relatives there.
As the owner of Boxy Bikes in Press Bay Alley, and later as Lime Bike’s mechanic, Laurence introduced electric bikes to Ithaca. Now as Ithaca grows denser, we will be seeking small, sleek bikes which minimize the issue of municipal parking spots.
But many who know Laurence may not know the unexpected path Laurence has traveled while amongst us. On October 10, 2016, a stranger entered Laurence’s bike shop and his life as he knew it, was changed forever. “When I looked at the person’s face, suddenly I couldn’t hear or speak, and I felt an indescribable volcanic eruption racing through my body. Were the overall effect not so pleasurable, I would have thought I had died.” After the stranger departed his shop, Laurence felt transformed. “I felt as if my identity had disappeared, and in the days and months and years that followed, I observed how my ‘social roles’ and my obligations melted away.”
From time-to-time Laurence would feel an incredible amount of energy coursing through his body, which would sometimes quake for hours at a time. The infusion of so much energy led Laurence to see things deeply and clearly, as if he now had psychic powers which enabled him to see into the heart of other living beings. As he adjusted to this new energy, he discovered his empathy for others had also expanded and he was moved by others in a way he had never before experienced. “I noticed that people I didn’t know seemed drawn to me. They came up to me and started telling me their stories. While this was new to me, it was not off-putting. It felt in some ways I was given a gift…I could hear their stories, empathize with them, yet not feel burdened. I kept feeling lighter as more people shared their inner thoughts with me… As ego disappeared and I no longer felt fearful about who I was and what others thought of me, I sensed the divine light in myself, in others. After my awakening I no longer had anxiety, my fear was gone, along with ambitions and empty desires.”
As Laurence’s children grew into adulthood, he began to express this inner change in new forums. He became active
Development IURA recommends affordable housing, ‘hometel’ proposal for Inlet Island
The Finger Lakes Development group has received the highest number of points and thus the recommendation from the Ithaca Urban Renewal Agency’s Economic Development Committee as the best plan for Inlet Island. Strategic Elements & Waterfront Alchemy came in second, while Visum Development came in third.
Finger Lakes Development is proposing two separate buildings, one with 50-56 affordable housing units serving a range of 30-120% of area median income, and one with 78-90 units for extended stays, called a “hometel.”
The Strategic Elements & Waterfront Alchemy project proposed 48 one-bedroom apartments for the middleincome housing, a 122-room Cambria hotel and 10,000 square feet of first-floor retail space. The middle-income housing would target households making 80-100% of area median income, which is a range of about $48,000$60,000.
Visum Development proposed three mixed-income residential buildings with about 120-125 units for households making between 30-100% of area median income, in the range of $18,000-$60,000.
The projects were presented to the committee last month and developers were able to participate in a public hearing and question and answer session on June 8. At the conclusion, the committee scored the projects based on community benefits, project concept, financial capacity and project feasibility and financial terms. The projects were then ranked 1-3, with three being the best. A formula was then applied to get the final scores of 760 for Finger Lakes Development, 710 for Strategic Elements & Waterfront Alchemy and 330 for Visum Development.
The question-and-answer session ran the gamut, as committee members looked to get their last questions answered before voting. Member Charlotte Hamilton said she had heard feedback about all three projects being too big, and asked if Finger Lakes and Development and Waterfront Alchemy would be willing to cut the hotel/hometel from their proposals, and if Visum would be willing to cut their housing in half.
Linc Morse, the developer from the Waterfront Alchemy project, said he sees the hotel as an economic engine for all of Inlet Island.
“The hotel feeds every restaurant, winery and marine business in Ithaca,” he said. “I’ve never considered Inlet Island to be a housing destination. I think we have a lot of housing being proposed. We don’t need more housing, we need people to come to the BoatYard Grill. What we’re seeing on Inlet Island now is not a benefit to the community.”
Developer Steve Flash, representing the Finger Lakes Development team, said the short answer is yes, but that the proposed size reflects the cost of paying for the contamination clean-up on the site.
Visum’s vice president Patrick Braga said yes, they’d be willing to downsize, but cutting the 120 units in half probably wasn’t realistic.
“We need to be in the 70-80 unit range at minimum for affordable housing,” he said. “The city has struggled to provide affordable housing since the ‘80s, and we have an opportunity to do something with publicly owned land. Waterfront housing is already happening in Ithaca up near Stewart Park, so the question becomes should the city not support socially economically inclusive waterfront housing?”
Alderperson George McGonigal was also at the meeting and asked if the developers thought the city was asking the property to be too many things for too many people.
“Is that driving the size of these proposals? In my opinion all three of these are too large, the island can’t carry that much,” he said.
He also asked about any traffic issues they anticipated.
Braga said the zoning in the area is for five stories, which he feels sets the expectation from the city about what they want in that space. He also echoed the other developers that the cost of the clean-up for the site contributes to the size of the proposals. As far as traffic goes, Braga said Visum’s proposal includes a parking garage at the start of old Taughannaock Boulevard, so it will alleviate some of the traffic issues on the actual island.
Morse reiterated the cost of building on the site.
“With our proposal trying to dedicate itself to the visitor experience and economic engine, there is a certain affordability factor,” he said. “This is an expensive place to build. The bearing structure has to be 90 feet down. That’s challenging without financial anchors, and we felt the hotel was an important economic anchor.”
Noah Demarest, the architect on the Waterfront Alchemy project, said that building housing within the city will have less of an impact on traffic, as people living there will likely be people who travel those same roads for work every day already.
Flash said that the Finger Lakes Development project’s size directly reflected the cost of environmental clean-up on the site, and said they’d be able to be more flexible in terms of size if the cost of the clean-up was shared. He also claimed their proposal was less traffic-creating than the other projects, and said they could consider putting parking on the opposite side of the inlet where they’re developing another site.
Alderperson Donna Fleming asked what the proposals offer to people who already live in the city of Ithaca.
All three developers touted the ways their plans would increase public access to the waterfront.
“It becomes a destination not just for visitors, but for locals to stand in a place they’ve never stood before,” Demarest said.
Braga said Visum’s plan would add another waterfront park, but also provide opportunities for small business spaces and housing for people already in Ithaca that live somewhere that doesn’t suit their needs.
Flash said that in addition to the improvements to the waterfront trail that Finger Lakes Development’s proposal would provide, the hometel will give locals an option for a waterfront staycation or a place to live while in transition between homes.
“I’m a huge proponent of low-income housing and really supported what Visum was doing, but the broader flexibility plus the financial pieces put Finger Lakes Development ahead,” Hamilton said. This recommendation goes to the full Ithaca Urban Renewal Board, who theoretically could still choose any one of the options at their meeting on June 24. That recommendation will go to Common Council, who ultimately has the final say.
-Tanner Harding
Ups We’re in the single digits! As of Tuesday when the Ithaca Times goes to print, Tompkins County is down to just eight active COVID cases. Downs We don’t want to put down what is surely hard work by construction crews, but the “repairs” of potholes on Meadow Street might actually be making the road worse. Ithaca is Potholes! Or whatever those t-shirts say.
HEARD&SEEN
Scoop. Purity Ice Cream is reportedly for sale. Owners Bruce and Heather Lane are planning on enjoying retirement and are selling the business, though will be keeping it up and running until they secure a buyer. Popcorn Alert! Cinemapolis is reopening for public screenings beginning Friday, June 25. Regularly scheduled screenings will take place Thursday through Sunday throughout the summer.
IF YOU CARE TO RESPOND to something in this column, or suggest your own praise or blame, write news@ithacatimes. com, with a subject head “U&D.”
QUESTION OF THE WEEK
Next Week’s QuestioN: Summer solstice or winter solstice?
Visit ithaca.com to submit your response.
