Well, that was interesting: a meeting of the commission responsible for the upkeep of this canopy. Notice how beautiful it is, with dramatic lighting and a photographic eye, in the photo one post below. Notice how it looks like a rotting building in the photo immediately below. This is lesson in perception: you see what you are looking for; a photo shows what the photographer wants to reveal. Both pictures are true, but they are from different points of view. One photo was created for emotional and aesthetic impact. Another was created to give a technical viewpoint.
I have a theory about life that all young people need to serve on a local newspaper for a year. This would be like Israeli youth going into the army for two or three years. Unless you go for an internship in your congressman’s office or city government, the only way to get actual experience in civics is to cover local government meetings like this. I think this is important because most people have opinions about how the world should work. particularly the government. with no actual experience in what it takes to make even small things happen.
Here is what I learned today. This overhang was added to these 19th century buildings about 32 years ago. This is in a section of New York State that is in its quadricentennial year. Stone houses are scattered around this part of town and you can catch glimpses of how it was as a settlement.
So this is an old, old historic part of the United States; truly, an historic treasure. The Brits burned this city not once but twice during the Revolutionary War. It must be special. (British Major General John Vaughan, who led one invasion, justified the destruction of the city because it was “a nursery for almost every villain in the country.”)
There are 40 property owners involved, whose buildings touch this canopy. All of them pay an annual property tax to maintain the structure, though obviously the funds don’t go far. The thing covers all of three city blocks; one long lock and two short ones.
There’s about $1.8 million in the budget for all improvements to this little uptown area. Most or all of it would be devoted to this one improvement. After four years, most members of the commission are ready to go ahead with the project. Yet two weeks away from getting a cost estimate from the architects, with a couple of exceptions, they had not even cut into the structure to see how much internal damage there is. In other words, their architectural plans were based on a superficial assessment of the existing structure.
Property owners asked how exactly a cost overrun would be handled. Most projects run over budget, and renovation has a particular reputation for being extremely costly. (It’s one reason why we tear down so many old buildings in the United States, but I have another theory, for another day.) The chair of the commission had no answer to that question, except to say that it would not run over. One of the owners said that he used to restore old houses, and you never know what you’re going to find until you cut the thing open everywhere and see what condition each small section is in.