[url=http://www.recordonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061207/NEWS/612070319/-1/COMM0414]http://www.recordonline.com/apps/pbcs.d ... 1/COMM0414[/url]
Yup… The RICH are sticking it to the POOR again in Sullivan County. The idea of having a racetrack close to home has always appealed to me. Most racetracks (paved, 1/4 mile and road course) are 3 hrs away, minimum. I’m right in the middle of Englishtown and Watkins Glen.
I’m pissed, maybe a little prematurely, but I’m still pissed. There are several reasons for me being pissed.
- Just last week the newspaper(front page of the paper) ran an article about the increasing number of teen deaths in the county. They listed all the teens that have died in the last 10 years from careless / reckless driving. This article ran in the paper days after a teen was killed negotiating a turn at high speed in a Grand-Am, and 2 teens were killed in a mustang after passing someone and losing control of the car.
2)Sullivan County has 2 classes… Rich and Poor. You either have money here or your broke. There are no solid manufacturing industries in the area. The highest paying positions are in the human services fields (home health, nursing, residential services). I personally work in residential services making just enough money to keep me poor. Those who have money are fortune 500 individuals who forgot where they came from.
Alan Gary for example, The man who founded Cablevision Industries (which later was bought out by Time Warner) started out as a TV repair man. He used to live up the road from my father when he was a kid. Now he has a mansion with a regulation baseball field and golf course (I have personally played on the ball field). I cant blame a man for spending his money though, I would do the same. His newest venture is an outdoor theater at the site of the ORIGINAL woodstock called Bethel Woods. This is another interest that was designed for the rich.
- I have known that this was being planned for the last several months. Not once in the last several months have I heard or seen anything about boons towards locals. I personally feel that if they are going to be bringing in even more rich they need to consider the local people as well. I would not be so pissed if I have heard one word about “local track days”, but as of yet there is no notion of it.
There are some positives from this but I honestly think that the negatives out weight the positives. It’s going to be nice to see Ferrari’s, Lambo’s, Saleen’s etc… riding around the area. I have already started seeing several of them in the last few years, which was surprising enough to me. I just dread to see the influence this has on the area, especially if the public are not going to be able to have a part in it.
damn… I should have dated AG’s granddaughter back in highschool! I had the chance! lol!
So now you know what you need to do…build a low cost race track. I can’t afford the $25,000, but this means I have two options. (1) Start to make more money or (2) Make my own cheaper race track.
there are several ‘oval’ tracks around here, but most of them are dirt tracks. I think one is paved. It would be nice to just have a 1/4 or 1/8. I am honestly contemplating emailing the guy and asking if he has plans to include the locals. So far this looks like just another NY City attraction in the catskills.
The thing that bothers me is that no one has done an impact study for this. Yet when they put in the ‘race-ino’ it took them damn near 10 years and an ungodly number of studies which are still going on.
Im also really concerned about the influence that this ‘rich’ mans track is going to have on the local racing scene, both legal and illegal. The Times Herald Record (local newspaper) ran an article not a week before regarding the safety of our roads and what the county needs to do to fix them. Now the county is essentially going to be saying that its ok to drive fast and take chances by allowing this place to come in. The kids and Idiot adults (myself included sometimes) are going to be taking chances and risking lives to keep up with these $250,000 - $1,000,000 cars on our streets, even though they wont be able to.
Please dont get me wrong. I think a track is an excellent idea. I especially would like to see this cars driving around. I think that by allowing this club to be exclusive is really going to hurt the county financial and socially. They do not realize the amount of money involved in racing. The county could be making millions just off of taxes if a ‘real’ track were built here.
I hope this makes sense. Im just coming off of working an overnight shift. fun fun!
You totally are making sense Mark, and I agree. People like all of us need to get our race car ya yas out, and a track is the best place. I mean, where else can we test out the true abilities we’ve given our cars?
just to clarify part of the point I’m making. The ‘race-ino’ is a horse racing track and Video Slots gambling hall. For those that dont know most of the people in Sullivan County have been pushing for the Race-ino to help bring money to the county. The NY state legislature shut down the idea of a Casino numerous times for Sullivan County.
Thanks Darth! and thats my point. There is no place other then the street. They think we have a problem with teenage death due to our roads now, Wait till this place is finished and we start getting these highend cars here.
That’s nothing, this already exists on a completely different plane, look at this item I posted on my personal blog last week:
[url=http://www.vicious.org/2006/11/27/supercar-racing-resort-and-the-ascari-kz1/]http://www.vicious.org/2006/11/27/super ... scari-kz1/[/url]
I give props to the guy who thought of a supercar resort. But the fact that the place excludes individuals like you or me, gets me heated. BTW the Ascari Kz1 looks like its going to be a nice car.