Description

199 Lark Street has sat vacant for years and is an eye sore as well as a home for vermin and now a safety hazard. The roof of the building is said to be collapsing by those who have seen it from above, and the front of the building is now falling apart. During the winds this weekend, and with thousands of visitors here for the St. Pat's Parade, pieces of the facade blew off and could have seriously harmed adults and children, as could happen any time. It is beyond negligent that the city has not addressed this issue to the extent that the building owner has either completely rectified the issue or forfeited the building. A person should lose all rights to property when their disregard creates health and safety issues, decreases the appeal of the street and negatively impacts the value and safety of the properties nearby. In general, Lark Street is drab, run down, dirty and neglected. In addition to empty buildings, gum all over the sidewalks, litter, the few trash cans overflowing onto the ground, the steps to some buildings have completely disintegrated and are a danger to anyone (including residents and mail carriers) having to climb them. A couple oriel windows are in such bad shape pieces may come off and endanger pedestrians, and property owners are allowed not to paint and maintain their buildings, and steps, etc. Lark is never going to be a "destination" when it looks like this. Clean it up, repair it, paint it, maintain it, put lights in the trees, have foot patrol officers until all bars close, address the pan handlers which are aggressive intrinsically if they approach people who do not want to be approached, who are alone, in the dark, etc. Saratoga, Hudson, Troy and other areas are doing far better than Albany because they are addressing all of these issues. The city and the Lark BID have to put effort where it really matters which is beyond bars traffic and festivals. Surely you can't hold the positions you hold and not know and commit to that at minimum.