Dozens of people gathered at Albany’s Common Council Chambers in City Hall yesterday evening for the Board of Zoning Appeals meeting. The board meets with the community twice a month to consider making changes to current zoning regulations, special use and parking permits. Yesterday’s meeting resulted in a victory for the Hariett Tubman Free School, and a further division between the Fort Orange Club and the citizens of Albany.
The first case dealt with Albany’s Fort Orange Club, an upscale, private, social club in the city for distinguished business, government, and social leaders. There are currently 600 members. John Allen made this presentation. The club wants permission to tear down two buildings on Washington Avenue to provide more parking for its members. Removing these two buildings will increase the available spots from 51 to 73. The Fort Orange Club also plans on putting up decorative fence and limestone, and also new lighting for the parking lot.
A few community members boldly spoke out against this proposal. Center Square Association President Paul Fowler was one of these people. Fowler believes that tearing down these two buildings will have an impact on pedestrians in the area. He also believes that the sounds and smell of Washington Avenue will pour into the Center Square community. Albany resident Lynn Jackson spoke about this issue on behalf of John Wolcott. Wolcott wrote a passionate letter expressing his opposition towards this proposal. Wolcott believes there is “No reason for this application other than to satisfy the self-centered Fort Orange Members. Why shouldn’t they walk or take the bus like the rest of us?” He also described the proposal as anti-urban and anti-environmental. Four Orange Club member Bill Croney believes that the project will be an “aesthetic improvement.” Richard Berkley of the Hudson Park Neighbors Association said “You can always tear down buildings and build more parking. You can’t recreate old buildings.”
The other case that received a lot of public outcry at the meeting was the case of the Harriet Tubman Free School. This is the school’s second year. The previous year it was held in a library, but it is now in it’s own building on 59 Elizabeth Street, where the community would like it to remain. A remarkable 15 people attended the meeting to speak out against this issue. Among these people were professors, school employees, parents, and the Harriet Tubman Free School’s own students. All of these people expressed the necessity and benefits of not moving the school. Dave Harrison said that the Free School is “bringing life to the community.” Since attending the school, student Joshua Fick said “I feel that I have changed as a person.” All 15 people that spoke on this issue were in agreement that the school is important to the community. Because of this outcry, the community won the appeal, and the Free School supporters left the Common Council Chamber celebrating.
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1 comment:
Veronica, you did a nice job backgrounding and writing about the meeting, but this is not quite a news story in structure. The background on the makeup and duties of the board are too far up in the story -- even before you tell me what the board did yesterday evening.
what it did -- or the most important single thing of many it did -- should be your lead.
And don't feel compelled to write EVERYTHING the board did. For example in the first case == what kind of building is this? What office wants its?
In any case, the Fort Orange request and the Tubman school request seem the most important events judging by number of people interested and the prominence of these organizations...so they should be in the lead or at the top of the story, not the ending.
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