Longtime state senator retiring

By Melanie Lekocevic

Capital Region Independent Media

ALBANY — Longtime state Sen. Neil Breslin, D-46, announced his retirement last week after more than 25 years of service.

The 46th state Senate District includes Coeymans and Ravena, and other parts of Albany County and Schenectady counties, as well as all of Montgomery County.

Breslin, 81, was last re-elected to the seat in 2022 when he defeated Republican challenger Richard Amedure Jr. He will not seek re-election in November after 28 years in office.

He is chairman of the state Senate’s committee on Ethics and Internal Governance and the Insurance Committee, and serves on the Finance, Higher Education, Judiciary and Rules committees. He is also co-chair of the Legislative Ethics Commission and a member of the Legislative Commission on Rural Resources.

Breslin is a Democrat and also runs on the Working Families Party line. He is the longest serving official in the New York State Senate.

In addition to his service in state government, Breslin practices law with the firm Barclay Damon LLP.

During his last re-election campaign Breslin sat down for a video interview with the Ravena News-Herald and said he did not originally intend to go into politics.

“I swore I would never be an elected official or be in any political jobs,” Breslin said at the time. “I come from a middle-class family in Albany that turned out three lawyers, an engineer, a schoolteacher and a nurse, so a traditional family.”

He opened a law practice with his two brothers more than 40 years ago. When he was asked to run for state Senate over two decades ago, he said it wasn’t an easy decision.

“I labored over it and finally decided that if I could make a difference in people’s lives, it would be worthwhile,” Breslin said at the time. “It was the first public job I ever had or ever sought.”

Breslin has been serving in the state Senate ever since.

Albany County Executive Daniel McCoy said Breslin’s state service will be missed after his retirement.

“For over 25 years, New York State Senator Neil Breslin has been a strong advocate for Albany County and the Capital Region as a whole and a pillar of our community,” McCoy said in a statement. “First elected in 1996, Sen. Breslin is the most tenured member of the state Senate, bringing a wealth of experience and expertise to the chamber. As he embarks on a well-earned retirement, we celebrate his commitment to public service. His contributions have made a lasting impact, and his daily advocacy will be greatly missed.”

Persico’s Hardware serves up big changes and plenty of barbecue

In News, News - Ravena, The Ravena News Herald

May 9, 2024

By Marlene McTigue

Capital Region Independent Media

James Blanas was the grill master for the event. In preparation for this summer’s events, Blanas has been learning about all the different grills offered in the store. Here he explains his method to store patrons. Marlene McTigue/Capital Region Independent Media

RAVENA — It was free meatballs hot off the grill and a warm welcome at Persico’s Ace Hardware on Main Street in Ravena last Saturday.

In the first of multiple festive grilling events that will run throughout the course of the year, the public was invited to stop by and learn more about the various grills that are available at Persico and maybe learn some new techniques.

Susan Persico was the event’s facilitator.

“We would like to introduce people to different kinds of grilling and different kinds of grills and how versatile they are,” Persico said. “We find that if you feed people, give them a sample that has been cooked on the grill, they are not so intimidated by a new item.”

The sampled item at last Saturday’s event was smoked meatballs.

“We are serving two different flavors of smoked meatballs today,” said Persico. “One is a raspberry chipotle, and the other is called smokey mountain. We sell all of the spices and rubs inside the store. Every grilling event that we will have this summer will feature a different kind of grill. Today’s featured grill is a Traeger and the next one we’re hoping to showcase will be the Big Green Egg, which can be a very intimidating grill. This is why we are hosting these events, because once you learn about the grills, it’s no longer intimidating.”

Upcoming events include a Stars and Stripes BBQ on May 25, the Ace 100th Anniversary Block Party on June 29, a Labor Day BBQ on Aug. 31, and Thanksgrilling on Nov. 23.

Susan Persico and Caitlin Collins offer smoked meatballs to patrons at their April grilling event. Marlene McTigue/Capital Region Independent Media

Persico also spoke about the store’s recent transition from being a True Value store to an Ace Store.

“The transition was quite the undertaking. We are nearly complete, but it’s been a really good thing for us, and I think it has been a really good thing for customers as well. We have more product now,” she said.

“We were with True Value for 38 years and it was very good for a very long time, but they are not keeping up and we just felt that in 20 years, True Value won’t be around anymore, so we decided we have to do it now if we want to preserve what we have here,” concluded Persico.

And an even bigger celebration is the works. Stay tuned for news on a grand reopening soon as the store completes its transition to Ace.

Photo Caption: James Blanas was the grill master for the event. In preparation for this summer’s events, Blanas has been learning about all the different grill offered in the store. Here is explains his method to store patrons.

Photo Caption: Susan Persico and Caitlin Collins offer smoked meatballs to patrons at their April grilling event last Saturday.

Longtime state senator retiring

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