Albany NY

Source: Times Union, Albany, N.self storageY.Jan. 02--ALBANY -- There were two potent symbols of the new Albany on display at Wednesday's inauguration.The first, obviously, was Kathy Sheehan -- the new mayor who's unlike any in the city's history. She's the first woman to lead Albany (as you may have heard) and she grew up somewhere else.That Sheehan is from Ohio is no small thing in city that has traditionally preferred its mayors as local as the corner bar.The second symbol is the building in which the inauguration was held. That's Kiernan Plaza, the former train depot on Broadway.The station, of course, is an old building, grandly built in 1900 and converted to an office building in the 1980s. It's now owned by the College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering, and it's the fledgling first attempt at bringing the city's nano boom downtown.This much is clear: Albany needs Kiernan Plaza to succeed.See, Jerry Jennings is handing Sheehan a fiscal grenade that's set to explode. The new mayor faces a budget deficit of about $16 million, with few viable options for closing the gap.She could raise property taxes, but that would only drive more businesses and homeowners to the suburbs. And Sheehan, to her credit, already believes city taxes are too burdensome."Property taxes are so high that many families and businesses cannot choose to be here," she said Wednesday in a short speech delivered after she was sworn in as the city's 75th mayor.Before Sheehan spoke, Chief City Auditor Leif Engstrom used the inauguration to issue a dire warning about the state of Albany's finances. Engstrom, who was also sworn into office Wednesday, told the crowd that the city's needs simply can't be supported by local taxes.In Engstrom's opinion, cities like Albany need more help from state and federal governments.That's no doubt true, especially in a capital city where so much of land is occupied by tax-exempt government buildings. But Albany also needs an expanding tax base and cheaper government.That's where Kiernan Plaza comes in.Albany needs the region's tech sector to grow and expand downtown. It needs them to occupy privately owned buildings and pay property taxes. Ideally, tech companies would launch at Kiernan Plaza then move to nearby offices when they outgrow the building's space.Also, Kiernan Plaza has been given a s迷你倉ecial mission. The NanoCollege is calling it the Smart Cities Technology Innovation Center -- or SCiTI. The building is being marketed as a location for companies that will find ways to make cities run smarter and cheaper.That means its mission dovetails with Sheehan's. The new mayor talks often about streamlining government, and it's possible that technologies developed at SCiTI could help her do that.At least that's the hope.For the moment, Kiernan Plaza is vacant. So a cynic might crack a joke at the mayoral inauguration being held in an empty downtown building.A cynic might also look at the roster of announced tenants at SCiTI -- credit union SEFCU, engineering firm CHA and Windstream Communications -- and conclude that the NanoCollege is continuing its habit of luring existing Capital Region companies from private office space to its taxpayer-backed buildings.You may remember the hand-wringing that occurred back in 2010, when EYP Architecture and Engineering announced it was moving its 130 employees from downtown Albany to the NanoCollege's campus along Fuller Road. Jennings and other downtown boosters were none too pleased.But inaugurations are a time for optimism, right? Who wants to be cynical?Plus, it's hard to find too much fault with anything that finds a new use for Kiernan Plaza, a building that's been vacant since Bank of America left four years ago. It means something that SEFCU and CHA will place their corporate headquarters in downtown Albany, even though both companies plan to keep the majority of their workers elsewhere.It's also great that Kiernan Plaza is now available for public events such as Wednesday's inauguration, an event that jammed what was once the station's concourse. The old building deserves to play a starring role in the city's public life.After SEFCU, CHA and Windstream together move about 120 employees to Kiernan Plaza this year, the building's offices will be about half occupied.Who and what will occupy the rest of the space? The answer will tell us whether SCiTI lives up to its mission.It may also tell us much about the future of Albany.cchurchill@timesunion.com, 518-454-5700, @chris_churchillCopyright: ___ (c)2014 the Times Union (Albany, N.Y.) Visit the Times Union (Albany, N.Y.) at .timesunion.com Distributed by MCT Information Services迷你倉將軍澳