In the News

 

By ELIZABETH BENJAMIN , Staff writer  First published: Sunday, October 1, 2000

City history razed without approval
Albany -- County ignored regulations to demolish 11 buildings in historic districts since 1990

Preservationists were outraged to learn that Albany County had begun to tear down a 155-year-old building in a city historic district without a permit last August, but they would have been even more shocked to learn it was nothing new.

According to data obtained by a Times Union Freedom of Information request, the county has successfully razed 11 other vacant and decrepit buildings located in several of Albany's 16 historic districts over the past decade. And it did so without approval from the city's Historic Resources Commission or an emergency permit from the Building Department for any of those demolitions -- as required by a 1988 city ordinance. 

"It's a callous disregard of the ordinance and of residents' concern for maintaining the character and integrity of their historic neighborhoods,'' said Jeff Baker, board member of the Historic Albany Foundation. "We assumed the county was living up to the law like it expects its citizens to do and didn't need a lot of vigilant oversight. Obviously, we were wrong.''

County officials have admitted they were remiss in the case of 41 Ten Broeck St. and should have waited until the HRC approved the demolition or Building and Codes Director James Googas issued an emergency permit before work began there. They also maintain, however, that they made a "good faith effort'' when they told the city Building Department that 41 Ten Broeck was a safety hazard and that they intended to tear it down.

The county asked the commission for permission to remove 41 Ten Broeck in April, but the issue was tabled. A second application is pending.

A court-ordered injunction halted the demolition of the building and negotiations are continuing to somehow save its partially ruined brick facade.

Albany County Attorney Michael Lynch would not address the question of why the county has routinely flouted the demolition regulations for properties in historic districts over the past 10 years, but said the rules would be adhered to in the future.

"I have acknowledged what the correct standards are in these cases, and I expect that we will go forward accordingly,'' Lynch said.

Googas, who created the county's codes office in June 1990 and headed it until June 1997, was in charge when the county hired contractors to pull down three buildings in historic districts.

"The administration was well aware of what I was doing,'' Googas said. "If they had felt I needed permits for those demolitions, I'm sure they would have told me to get them.''

Albany County has demolished a total of 25 buildings within the city limits since January 1990, 11 of which were outside districts overseen by the HRC. Eight buildings were demolished in the first eight months of 2000 alone -- more than in any of the previous nine years.

This accelerated pace of demolitions will likely continue as the county takes title to more and more tax delinquent properties through the foreclosure process -- the vast  majority of which are long-vacant buildings in the city of Albany.

"We don't want to demolish these properties, but we're left to deal with a problem -- to enforce property taxes on neglected buildings and also protect the public health,'' said Albany County Commissioner of Management and Budget Joseph Pennisi. "If a building is a threat, we're going to seek to take it down. That's our policy. If the executive and the Legislature want to start focusing on preservation, they'll have to direct us to do that through legislation.''

The county ended a four-year moratorium on foreclosures last year and now owns about 900 tax delinquent properties, officials said. Nearly one-third of the 314 properties taken in its most recent foreclosure process last year were in city historic districts. Another 95 parcels will be eligible for foreclosure if their owners do not pay what they owe in back taxes, interest and penalties or file a legal answer by Nov. 15.

Because the county is a higher level of government than any of its municipalities, it does not ordinarily need to apply for a permit to demolish property it owns. But the city of Albany's historic districts and secondary downtown review area provide an added degree of protection for properties located there. By law, the county is supposed to follow the same rules as any other owner of property in these specially designated sections.

In 1990, the Appellate Division of the state Supreme Court upheld the legality of the city's Historic Resources Commission ordinance and reaffirmed that the county is not exempt from it. Historic Albany sued to prevent the county from tearing down what was the oldest continuous row of homes in the city at Division and Green streets. Eight years later, Googas declared the structures a safety hazard and issued an emergency permit allowing them to be demolished.

Last Monday, preservationists called on city and county leaders to come up with collaborative plan to protect Albany's unique architecture and deal with its numerous vacant buildings.

Mayor Jerry Jennings said he has already had one meeting on this topic with County Executive Michael Breslin.

"We have to get our heads together to inventory these properties and evaluate them,'' Jennings said. "Some demolitions will be warranted. If buildings are a detriment to the district and not salvageable, we should get rid of them as quickly as we can. But we certainly don't condone the policy of knocking buildings down illegally.'' 

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