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Richard Russo - Ideas for Lower River Street by Pat Dumas Richard Russo, proprietor of Days Gone By at 199 River Street, has lots of ideas for spotlighting Troy, with lower River Street as the magnet attraction. His store is among a growing number of new business establishments on the street between the Rice Building and Congress Street. A firm supporter of Troy's revitalization efforts, Mr. Russo has informally discussed his ideas with city officials. He would like to form a Lower River Street Merchant's group to help turn those ideas into substance. He suggests showcasing the Lower River Street area each weekend by having traffic blocked off so that pedestrians could browse among the shops. He envisions strolling musicians and flower- decked vendors carts displaying gourmet food and "upscale" specialty items. He points out that there would be plenty of parking if the city-owned parking garage could be utilized for the weekend events. He also would like the merchants to consider having their shops open one evening in mid-week with shuttle bus runs to bring office workers downtown after their working hours. Mr.Russo notes that the Farmers Market which seasonally operates on Broadway might be disrupted once the planned Broadway street renovation gets underway. To overcome that disruption, he suggests that city planners consider having a large Farmers Market in operation on River Street during weekends. Mr. Russo is a native of Pennsylvania but has been a fan of Troy ever since his family moved here when he was a young boy. The family resided at 349 River Street in a building that housed a clothing store and a rooming house. The young Russo was a newsboy, selling newspapers to pedestrians along Broadway and the Franklin Square area. A retired postal worker who earlier had worked as a police officer with the New York Central Railroad, Mr. Russo decided last January to make a business out of his two hobby interest-- old postcards and railroad memorabilia. He is a member of the National Train Collectors of America and has an extensive postcard collection. With the help of his wife, Coreen, he opened Days Gone By. The store occupies one of the Quayside buildings managed by C.Y.C. Realty of Latham. The Russos are good at organizing as evidenced by the carefully notated postcards, arranged in boxes categorized by nation, state, city, and subject. Besides the postcards, Days Gone By carries railroad and steamship prints, cancelled railroad stock certificates, framed prints of old Troy, pictures by artists S. San Pedro and Edward Vigeant, and craft items including colorful bird houses and floral arrangements made by Coreen Russo. In cooperation with Troy United Ink Corp., a not-for-profit corporation 
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