Archive: Opinions

Editorial"I dream about a town center," I told Lansing Supervisor Scott Pinney as I interviewed him in his office this week.  "As I've told you before, I miss the Sure Fine.  And since you own the (former grocery store) building now, basically I blame you for no grocery store!"

As we both laughed he replied, "If you have anybody who wants to put a grocery store in there I'd be more than happy to rent it to them.  So now you have to blame it on yourself!"

I understand that there has to be enough traffic to sustain a business in the center of Lansing.  But I want it both ways.  I love the rural character of our community.  But I really want a grocery store all our own.

Pinney has a plan to get me my grocery.  He says he wants to make Lansing more friendly to business, plus pave the way to building a town center where he thinks it makes sense for a small shopping area to be.  He has started the ball rolling to move the town ball fields across the street where the land is restricted to recreational use only.  That would free the location of the current ballfields to eventually develop a commercial town center.

His predecessor had begun asking Albany to change the designation to allow mixed use, and Pinney is currently following up to see if at least the road front part of the property that is farthest away from the Gosset Center could be used for commercial use.  And he's not the only one who has his eye on the stretch of Lansing between Triphammer Road and East Shore Drive.

Last July John Dietershagen and Leo Mahool literally gave a house away to clear the way for a possible future shopping plaza just south of the former Crossroads bar, which they also own.  With estimates of between 10,000 and 16,000 cars passing through that intersection per day, there are plans on the table to significantly expand the Xtra Mart there, even incorporating a Dunkin Donuts.

At the other end of the 'town center' span plans have been floated to raize the Pit Stop, and replace it with a corner shopping center that could include a Byrne Dairy.  I don't know what the status of these projects is at this point in time, but it shows that at least some business people in Lansing think the area could sustain some level of business.

I also see the new Gimme Coffee shop as a positive sign.  If the shop prospers, and just based on the number of people who read my article about it before it opened its doors here I'd guess it will, it is another sign that my grocery store could be nearer in the future, rather than farther.  Rogue's Harbor Inn has been a mainstay on that corner, a Lansing landmark and a growing going concern.

When the Sure Fine was still open I lived within walking distance of it.  It was great to be able to get flour when I wanted to make cookies, or chocolate chips when I realized I was out of them.  It wasn't the greatest grocery in the world.  The fruits and vegetables were a bit geriatric, and it had a slightly gloomy atmosphere.  Prices were higher than those at Tops, P&C, or Wegman's.  But it did have an outstanding meat department, and the weekly chicken barbecue was delicious.  You didn't have to dodge mad crowds of cart-wielding maniacs like you do in the bigger stores.  You saw people you knew there.  And it was ours.

So I'm pretty happy that Pinney is taking the town center idea and, if not running with it, at least walking with it.  And in the meantime, if I hear of someone who wants to open a grocery store here you can bet I'm going to send them to him pronto!

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