Keywords: small business big heart amsterdam n.y. ny new york ghost town ghosttown dead city upstate real-estate realestate abandoned toxic hazardous waste rape sex offenders stupid criminal real estate mohawk valley mall 12010 blacks african americans capitol region albany animal cruelty abuse buddhists monks crime schenectady troy relocate "It's not like the big companies moved and then you have sudden shock; it's a slow transition into real depression," Amsterdam Mayor Thane says. At this time, the small city's population had nearly halved from its peak of about 35,000. Downtown is a shadow of its glory days more than a half-century ago, when manufacturing workers filled the bars, restaurants and shops overlooking the Erie Canalway. Prosperity has been replace with "persistent" violent crime, extremely high taxes and fees and extremely hostile locals who have resorted to attacking new comers in a variety of ways. Unable to pay extremely high taxes and fees, unemployment among the highest in the state, these buildings have been abandoned like many others in Amsterdam New York which has become a ghost town and has been deemed unsafe for newcomers. Amsterdam, NY has a ratio of 29.21 sex offenders per 10,000 residents. This is higher than the national average of 14.07 offenders per 10,000 residents. A Superfund site is any land in the United States that has been contaminated by hazardous waste and identified by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as an imminent risk to human health and/or the environment. There are 58 such sites in the Greater Amsterdam New York area and 8 within the City of Amsterdam New York limits. There are many other hazardous waste sites that fall just underneath the hazardous waste (EPA) guidelines so the actual count of toxic sites is much higher. "It's not like the big companies moved and then you have sudden shock; it's a slow transition into real depression," Amsterdam Mayor Thane says. At this time, the small city's population had nearly halved from its peak of about 35,000. Downtown is a shadow of its glory days more than a half-century ago, when manufacturing workers filled the bars, restaurants and shops overlooking the Erie Canalway. Prosperity has been replace with "persistent" violent crime, extremely high taxes and fees and extremely hostile locals who have resorted to attacking new comers in a variety of ways. Unable to pay extremely high taxes and fees, unemployment among the highest in the state, these buildings have been abandoned like many others in Amsterdam New York which has become a ghost town and has been deemed unsafe for newcomers. Amsterdam, NY has a ratio of 29.21 sex offenders per 10,000 residents. This is higher than the national average of 14.07 offenders per 10,000 residents. A Superfund site is any land in the United States that has been contaminated by hazardous waste and identified by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as an imminent risk to human health and/or the environment. There are 58 such sites in the Greater Amsterdam New York area and 8 within the City of Amsterdam New York limits. There are many other hazardous waste sites that fall just underneath the hazardous waste (EPA) guidelines so the actual count of toxic sites is much higher. |