McEneny Goes Off the Deep End


By DIA, Section News
Posted on Thu Feb 28, 2008 at 06:49:49 PM EST

Metroland once again does a great job of covering the convention center issue. And Jack McEneny looks to be working harder than Hillary Clinton at destroying a career's worth of good will.
McEneny dismisses such criticism. “When you hear criticism of the convention center,” he says, “either positive or negative, you have to ask yourself, what is their experience? Do they know what they are talking about?” McEneny points to recent letters of support in the Times Union from John Giordano of Plaza Meetings and other local business people as credible sources. “Not because they stand to profit,” says McEneny, “but because they know what they are talking about.”
I have to refrain from commenting on the above bit of absurdity because there is nothing I could say that wouldn't be laced with profanity. However, I will issue an open challenge to Jack McEneny that any time he wants to show some courage and answer questions about the convention industry to prove he "knows what he is talking about", he should drop me a line. I will be happy to provide him with 20 questions to prove his knowledge. More from Captain Jack.
But don’t mention the numerous convention centers and convention-center hotels around the country that have been performing significantly below their expected numbers to McEneny; he doesn’t want to hear it. “I get very frustrated when Dominick [Calsolaro] goes on Google the night before a meeting and tells me San Diego is building its third one, or look at Charlotte [N.C.], because it was built for so much cheaper. I want to be compared to Hartford [Conn.] and Providence [R.I.], because they are brand-new and state capitals, and because they have union labor and they have high energy costs. I think that is important.”
Does Jack really want to be compared to Hartford? Is DIA gonna have to link to the quote from the guy who runs the Hartford Center where he states that if they were making the decision to build a center now he isn't sure they would do it and that it hasn't been the success they had hoped. Is that what Jack wants? Because that can be arranged. By people who know what they are talking about.

So, Jack McEneney says we should go forward with a $400 million tax payer boondoggle because of letters to the Times Union.

What is that sound? Sounds familiar. Oh yeah, SUNYA is firing up the forge to give Jack a medal of honor so he can join jerry in the corporate sellout hall of fame.

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McEneny Goes Off the Deep End | 4 comments (4 topical, 0 hidden)
Idiots!!!!!!!!!!!! (none / 0) (#1)
by Corruptany on Thu Feb 28, 2008 at 08:05:12 PM EST
I am trying to understand his logic here. Number one, I could have sworn there was allot of talk about revamping the Jacob Javits Convention Center in Manhattan with State funds. I am sure that if it comes between funding Albany's vs Manhattans, we can be assured that Manhattan will get the dough. I guess that leaves Albany County tax payers footing the bill.

Number two, if they revamp the Javits Center, doesn't that mean Albany has even more competition in this industry. I guess I am not an expert like Jack, but if I were in charge of booking a convention, it would be NYC. Mostly because Albany isn't exactly an ideal place for one. Do these people understand that when people come to a convention, they are also coming to vacation. What does Albany offer them besides seeing what Eastern Europe probably looks like.

If Jack wants facts about convention centers losing money, he can search the Boston Globe. The Hynes Convention Center and Bay State Expo Center are losing money left and right. Sad reality is that these centers do bring in people. However, the cost of running them is so much that the city and state end up losing money.

I seriously want to know what goes in these peoples heads. Anyone with knowledge of business and urban planning would look at Albany and the site and say its a waste of resources and land that could better be served by some mixed use project like office, retail and residential space. Why not use that land to take advantage of the fact that Albany has allot of industries that are poised for growth such as Healthcare and life sciences.

I recently read an article about Albany in an urban planning magazine. It mentioned that Albany is losing population and the outskirts aren't even growing. Please Jack, tell me how wasting millions of dollars on this and taking away valuable space will fix this. It won't, I have allot of experts from the MIT and Harvard Schools of Urban Planning and Architecture that will be more then happy to tell you what we all know. Difference is, they have credentials unlike some hack businessman.

Truth be known... (none / 0) (#2)
by hawkny on Fri Feb 29, 2008 at 06:10:27 AM EST
Many of us do not care whether the convention center is built in downtown Albany or not....just as long as New York State and the US Government are footing the entire bill.  

This or any convention center is built to attract people who want to do business with large corporate entities, not local denizens.  Therefore, if this project uses Albany tax payers as a fall back if it operates in the red, every resident of the city of Albany should be opposed to it.

Collectively we can hardly get by now as it is! And no one in the city or county governments is very willing to help us out...

Another Breslin vs. Jennings (none / 0) (#3)
by professor on Fri Feb 29, 2008 at 07:40:51 AM EST
This is going to be another Breslin vs. Jennings thing.  Mike now wants the Center and it seems that Jerry doesn't.  Does Neil Breslins firm have the potential of reaping any of the benefits of this thing?

I think that Jack McEneny would like to see the State foot the entire bill for this thing like they did in Hartford.  I don't think that it would be impossible to convince the Legislature into thinking that this would make the State Capital a bit more "attractive" by having this 'white elephant" in the city.  They arer stupid enough to buy the argument!

So Much Smarter Than The Voters (none / 0) (#4)
by Dan Van Riper on Fri Feb 29, 2008 at 07:56:39 AM EST
Yes, Jack, you and those very important speculators who want this pile of crap are so much smarter than the rest of us.  I'm forced to admit that I am so stupid as to not know what is best for my own neighborhood.  

We are so fortunate as to have a bunch of superior SOBs like Jack and his speculator buddies.  What would we do without them?

...Can I say the unthinkable?  Perhaps somebody might want to consider a primary run against McEneny next time out.

By the way, at the last CANA meeting in February, Jennings backtracked on his apparent abandonment of the Con Center.  He says he still wants to see it happen.  And I have an audio recording of his comments if anyone cares for confirmation.

McEneny Goes Off the Deep End | 4 comments (4 topical, 0 hidden)
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