Plattsburgh is the county seat for Clinton County which was formed as part of the split of…read moreWashington County in 1788 and parts of Clinton County were sliced off to form what are now the neighboring counties of Essex, Herkimer, Franklin and others. The county is the furthest to the northeast of New York State, bordering Vermont (across Lake Champlain) and Quebec to the north. The building is two stories and was constructed in 1889 of ashlar stone and brick in a Romanesque style. It has a central tower with an open bell tower and pyramidal roof. The attached Surrogate's Building was built in 1884-1885, and is a two-story, Italianate style brick building. On a Sunday morning, the building was well secured and locked up so I was not able to tour the interior. I pressed my nose up against a few doors but there's nothing to see except x-ray machines in the hallway. The grounds, however, are beautifully kept and the red brick building is photogenic. [Review 1619 of 2024 - 532 in New York - 22642 overall]

Plattsburgh is the county seat of Clinton County. It is on the northwest shore of Lake Champlain…read moreopposite Burlington Vermont. Plattsburgh was the site of Battle of Valcour Island in 1776, one of the first naval battles of the Revolutionary War. It was also the site of the Battle of Plattsburgh which took place in September 1814 where the United States victory ended the final British invasion of the northern states. Plattsburgh was founded by Zephaniah Platt in 1785 and incorporated in 1815. City Hall was designed by architect John Russell Pope, who was also responsible for the the National Archives and Records Administration building (completed in 1935), the Jefferson Memorial (completed in 1943) and the West Building of the National Gallery of Art (completed in 1941). This was one of his earlier works, constructed in 1917. The Classical Revival style features a projecting entrance portico with six Doric columns. I spent a couple of days here, exploring and enjoying the hospitality of the town. There are some excellent beer breweries, some great coffee and of course, the New York harbor for the Lake Champlain ferry to Vermont. In July, the temperatures are fabulous. The weather was hot, the skies were clear and the Lake is beautiful. [Review 1614 of 2024 - 527 in New York - 22637 overall]

Of all the government agencies, you are my least favorite. You tend to hire the most incompetent…read morepeople, you never return messages, your wait times are obscenely long, and without fail you make a mistake on at least 20% of the cases that you turn back. The level of idiocy that is housed in one government office is enough to make anyone afraid. The simplest mistakes are found on documents and it is almost predictable how your officers will screw up immigration forms. My favorite is receiving one of those pretty, blue RFEs and seeing that what you're requesting was already in the original files sent to you. Yep, that makes my day. I'm willing to grant that mistakes happen once in a while and assumed that it was the norm. But having moved on to greener pastures (i.e. California Service Center), I can see now that all those excuses were for naught. It is actually possible to do the job and do it well. Faster, more efficiently, and without the superfluous RFEs to buy more time. I don't have moments throughout the week trying to budget in $1000 Premium Processing fees to cover your butts since evidently I can actually depend on the turn around times found on the website for the CSC. If they ever move our region back to your pathetic excuse for a government agency, I may have to consider moving states just so I can continue to file with California. Your incompetence makes me sick.

Although the US Immigration department excludes "idiots and the feeble minded" from entering the…read moreUS, they do not exclude "idiots and the feeble minded" from being employed by the Immigration Department. It is not possible for a person to comprehend the level of incompetence displayed by the Immigration Department unless you have first hand experience. The incompetence has led to a large percentage of applicants becoming illegals when they become frustrated with the banality of the system and the near impossibility of getting any timely or meaningful communication going with officialdom. Dealing with the immigration department is exactly like shouting into a dark hole.

Great place to hold an event in. We had sign ups here for the NY State B.A.S.S. Chapter event and…read morethere was plenty of space.

It was a bit of a wait, but we were at the desk in less than an hour. The actual visit was less…read morethan 5 minutes. We just needed new SS cards.:: too bad they don't choose people by the time their visit might take.

I dreaded this trip, and avoided it as long as I could. I went years without seeing or needing my…read moreSocial Security card. I had gotten away with passport and driver's license for years! Finally the day of reckoning came and I had to apply for a replacement. I filled out the form online beforehand, (THIS IS KEY FOR ANY BUREAUCRATIC ENCOUNTER) came in the morning, interfaced with the touchscreen terminal to get my number, and waited. The waiting room was about half full, but mine was the next number to come up. I guess the others weren't getting replacement cards. I went to the window, presented my papers, answered a few simple questions, thanked the lady, and headed out. Fifteen minutes all told. But seriously, thank a bureaucrat today. They have feelings and they don't get treated particularly well. If they improve the external signage, I'll come back and give the place five stars. Very hard to find, the instructions on Social Security website were good but not intuitive. The building is a real warren.

The obelisk at the center of the square opposite Plattsburgh City Hall is the 135-foot-tall (41 m)…read moreMacdonough Monument that honors the victory of American soldiers and sailors in the Battle of Plattsburgh, also known as the Battle of Lake Champlain. It was the end of the final British invasion of the War of 1812 and it took place in September 1914. Lieutenant (later Commodore) Thomas Macdonough, commanding the American naval forces on the Lake, established a secure base at Otter Creek (Vermont), and constructed several gunboats. Among them, the USS Eagle, USS Saratoga, the USS Ticonderoga and the USS Preble. The British were able to construct the HMS Confiance along with the gunboats Chubb, Linnet and Finch. Many of the British dead, not including the officers, were buried in an unmarked mass grave on nearby Crab Island, the site of the military hospital during the battle, where they remain today. On a normal day, the monument is open and can be climbed. There are 156 steps to the top and a 360 degree view. [Review 1611 of 2024 - 524 in New York - 22634 overall]

Ah Winooski. It's a small industrial town on the other side of the river from Burlington, and it…read morewas the place I called home for several years during graduate school. I enjoyed the quiet stream flowing by, outside my apartment window, and the recreational opportunities it provided such as kayaking out to Lake Champlain and fishing or swimming if you dared. Okay I will admit occasionally, it got a little smelly...I think there were some sewage issues - but I always found it pretty. Winooski has been growing and changing. I will say that I like the changes and only some of them have scared me. I love the Blue Star Cafe for their fabulous coffee. I've enjoyed many evenings at at the Monkey Bar and have found memories of meeting the recent love of my life there. Sneakers has a place in my heart for breakfast, as long as you get there before the crowds. I'm glad they added the rotary because it helps with traffic, but it was pretty scary for the first several weeks, while people learned how to drive in it. I'm a little nostalgic at the moment, and missing this funny little one square mile town with weird laws and low speed limits. It was nice place to call home for a bit.