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Passengers disembark in Pittsfield on Friday from the soldout Berkshire Flyer, a new weekend tourist train from New York City.
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Sold Out Berkshire Flyer Arrives at Pittsfield's Intermodal Center

By Sabrina DammsiBerkshires Staff
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State Sen. Adam Hinds rode the Flyer's inaugural trip from New York City to Pittsfield.
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The Berkshire Flyer arrived at the Joseph Scelsi Intermodal Transportation Center with the first New York City passengers to Pittsfield in 51 years. 
 
On board was state Sen. Adam Hinds who has been instrumental in getting the weekend tourist train on track over the past several years. 
 
"It is so enjoyable. The ride along the Hudson is just amazing," he said. "And so smooth, sitting in air conditioning with leather seats and space, with wi-fi."
 
This inaugural trip on Amtrak was sold out despite what Hinds described as "a great start with very little media outreach" during a Facebook check-in during his trip north.
 
Officials gathered to greet passengers in downtown Pittsfield hope this weekend's trip foreshadows an expansive future. There's a goal of making passenger rail available more frequently and year-round based on how successful this two-year summer pilot is.
 
"I'll be filing an amendment in the transmission bond bill next week, to also set up the infrastructure for a stop in West Stockbridge as well. So we're really hoping to expand," Hinds said. 
 
This pilot program has been five years in the making as part of four projects including Western Mass passenger rail, Vermont to Connecticut, and east/west rail. It took coordination among local and state officials in two states, the federal Amtrak Railway service and private rail companies.
 
Numerous state and local officials were at each end of the line to see the train off and to arrive including state Transportation Secretary Jamey Tesler and Rail and Transit Administrator Meredith Slesinger in Pittsfield, along with another advocate for Western Mass passenger rail state Sen. Eric Lesser. In New York, Amtrak CEO Stephen J. Gardner was among those seeing the train off. 
 
"This is a true partnership, we could not do this without your advocacy, your leadership, your commitment, your challenging times to us, we all need this," said Tesler. "It requires persistence and requires passion, and these things get done because we all get there together, even when we find challenges. So this is the beginning. And I think that's what's really important. We are here to do hard things and challenging things. Building service back after 51 years is complicated. It was challenging."
 
That sentiment was shared by Pittsfield's state Rep. Tricia Farley-Bouvier.
 
"I just want to say that in a big way, sometimes we do this in small ways, but in a big way. This is an example of our very best work," she said. "When local, state, federal, and private entities come together, and work without ego, work on solving problems, and work towards a common goal, we get it done."
 
Downtown Pittsfield Inc. provided the disembarking passengers with a kit that included a flyer with weekend events, a map of the Berkshires and a pamphlet with a list of local attractions, restaurants, and organizations. 
 
Multiple speakers talked of how this was a momentous moment that will help both the Berkshires and New York City economically by linking the two regions. Hinds said this relationship will expand the options for both New Yorkers and Berkshire County residents 
 
"It's critical for our third-largest sector, which is tourism and cultural development. It's critical at a time when we're trying to make the case to folks that they can live here and work anywhere," the senator said. "So having a link with an economic center is key. And it's just, we're exposing more and more people to the Berkshires. It's great."
 
Tourism has brought an extensive amount of revenue to the Berkshires and is projected to grow because of this initiative. 
 
"I want to talk a little bit about the economic benefits of tourism, as Adam said, is one of our key main sectors. It's $870 million a year, before the pandemic, that tourism brought in," Thomas Matuszko, executive director of the Berkshire Regional Planning Commission said.
 
"This train is really going to support that it's one of the tools that we're bringing in to bring in more of the tourism to New York City visitors. We have a long history of tourism in connection with New York City, the Berkshire cottages from the mid-1800s. New York residents have been coming up to the Berkshires. This is just a continuation of that." 
 
Farley-Bouvier noted that this inaugural moment is bittersweet in that it is the beginning of a farewell tour for Hinds as he is ending his term this year as senator of the Berkshire, Hampshire, Franklin and Hampden district. 
 
"We need to pick up this baton that the senator is handing off and we need to make sure we keep this going because this is not about the people that are here today," Farley-Bouvier said. 
 
"It's about the people that are going to be here tomorrow, next week, next year, and for generations to come because as our grandparents used to take the train back and forth to New York City, we want our grandchildren to be doing the same thing." 

Tags: passenger rail,   

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Crosby/Conte Statement of Interest Gets OK From Council

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff

Architect Carl Franceschi and Superintendent Joseph Curtis address the City Council on Tuesday.

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — With the approval of all necessary bodies, the school district will submit a statement of interest for a combined build on the site of Crosby Elementary School.

The City Council on Tuesday unanimously gave Superintendent Joseph Curtis the green light for the SOI to the Massachusetts School Building Authority by April 12.

"The statement I would make is we should have learned by our mistakes in the past," Mayor Peter Marchetti said.

"Twenty years ago, we could have built a wastewater treatment plant a lot cheaper than we could a couple of years ago and we can wait 10 years and get in line to build a new school or we can start now and, hopefully, when we get into that process and be able to do it cheaper then we can do a decade from now."

The proposal rebuilds Conte Community School and Crosby on the West Street site with shared facilities, as both have outdated campuses, insufficient layouts, and need significant repair. A rough timeline shows a feasibility study in 2026 with design and construction ranging from 2027 to 2028.

Following the SOI, the next step would be a feasibility study to determine the specific needs and parameters of the project, costing about $1.5 million and partially covered by the state. There is a potential for 80 percent reimbursement through the MSBA, who will decide on the project by the end of the year.

Earlier this month, city officials took a tour of both schools — some were shocked at the conditions students are learning in.

Silvio O. Conte Community School, built in 1974, is a 69,500 square foot open-concept facility that was popular in the 1960s and 1970s but the quad classroom layout poses educational and security risks.  John C. Crosby Elementary School, built in 1962, is about 69,800 square feet and was built as a junior high school so several aspects had to be adapted for elementary use.

Ward 6 Councilor Dina Lampiasi said the walkthrough was "striking" at points, particularly at Conte, and had her thinking there was no way she would want her child educated there. She recognized that not everyone has the ability to choose where their child goes to school and "we need to do better."

"The two facilities that we are looking at I think are a great place to start," she said.

"As the Ward 6 councilor, this is where my residents and my students are going to school so selfishly yes, I want to see this project happen but looking at how we are educating Pittsfield students, this is going to give us a big bang for our buck and it's going to help improve the educational experience of a vast group of students in our city."

During the tour, Ward 5 Councilor Patrick Kavey, saw where it could be difficult to pay attention in an open classroom with so much going on and imagined the struggle for students.

Councilor at Large Alisa Costa said, "we cannot afford not to do this" because the city needs schools that people want their children to attend.

"I know that every financial decision we make is tough but we have to figure this out. If the roof on your house were crumbling in, you'd have to figure it out and that's where we're at and we can't afford to wait any longer," she said.

"We can't afford for the sake of the children going to our schools, for the sake of our city that we want to see grow so we have to build a city where people want to go."

Councilor at Large Kathy Amuso, who served on the School Building Needs Commission for about 18 years, pointed out that the panel identified a need to address Conte in 2008.

Curtis addressed questions about the fate of Conte if the build were to happen, explaining that it could be kept as an active space for community use, house the Eagle Academy or the Adult Learning Center, or house the central offices.

School attendance zones are a point of discussion for the entire school district and for this project.

"At one time I think we had 36 school buildings and now we have essentially 12 and then it would go down again but in a thoughtful way," Curtis said.

Currently, eight attendance zones designate where a student will go to elementary school. Part of the vision is to collapse those zones into three with hopes of building a plan that incorporates partner schools in each attendance zone.

"I think that going from eight schools to three would be easier to maintain and I think it would make more sense but in order to get there we will have to build these buildings and we will have to spend money," Kavey said, hoping that the city would receive the 80 percent reimbursement it is vying for.

This plan for West Street, which is subject to change, has the potential to house grades pre-kindergarten to first grade in one school and Grades 2 to 4 in another with both having their own identities and administrations. 

The districtwide vision for middle school students is to divide all students into a grade five and six school and a grade seven and eight school to ensure equity.

"The vagueness of what that looks like is worrisome to some folks that I have talked to," Lampiasi said.

Curtis emphasized that these changes would have to be voted on by the School Committee and include public input.

"We've talked about it conceptually just to illustrate a possible grade span allocation," he said. "No decisions have been made at all by the School Committee, even the grade-span proposals."

School Committee Chair William Cameron said it is civic duty of the committee and council to move forward with the SOI.
 
He explained that when seven of the city's schools were renovated in the late 1990s, the community schools were only 25 years old and Crosby was 35 years old.  The commonwealth did not deem them to be sorely in need of renovation or replacement.
 
"Now 25 years later, Crosby is physically decrepit and an eyesore. It houses students ages three to 11 in a facility meant for use by teenagers,"
 
"Conte and Morningside opened in the mid-1970s. They were built as then state-of-the-art schools featuring large elongated rectangles of open instructional space. Over almost half a century, these physical arrangements have proven to be inadequate for teaching core academic skills effectively to students, many of whom need extra services and a distraction-free environment if they are to realize their full academic potential."
 
He said  the proposal addresses a serious problem in the "economically poorest, most ethnically, culturally, and linguistically diverse area" of the city.
 
Cameron added that these facilities have been deemed unsatisfactory and need to be replaced as part of the project to reimagine how the city can best meet the educational needs of its students.  He said it is the local government's job to move this project forward to ensure that children learn in an environment that is conducive to their thriving academically.
 
"The process of meeting this responsibility needs to begin here tonight," he said.
 
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