For Albany man, nightmare after nightmare
Wayne Holmes owned a nice brown house on Krumkill Road. But on March 23, Holmes arrived from work in the afternoon to find the house ablaze. The fire was a nightmare that, in the days and weeks that followed, would be followed by several others. Firefighters seemingly doused the flames, but a city of Albany inspector delivered bad news: The house at 120 Krumkill Road would have to be demolished, he said. It could not be saved.
The city would not allow Holmes to remove valuables from the home until the next day. The city did offer, however, to watch the fourbedroom house overnight — for a fee — to safeguard it from burglars and harm.
Holmes agreed, reluctantly, and went to his daughter’s house for the night.
What you’ve read so far is all according to Holmes, who is 59 and had lived in the house since 1998. He’s a large man with grown children, a white beard and a thick Boston accent. Holmes lives alone and works as a trucker, he said.
Holmes relayed his plight to me in person and during several subsequent phone calls. His version of events never varied.
The city declined to comment, citing litigation filed by Holmes.
A distraught Holmes struggled to sleep that Monday night at his daughter’s. He was too upset. So he got in his pickup and headed back to Krumkill Road.
When Holmes arrived home, he was stunned by what he found. “The whole house was engulfed in flames,” he said.
And the city employee who was supposed to be watching the house was nowhere to be found.
Holmes was livid. He says he lost his mind. He was, after all, watching 22 years of his life burn to the ground.
When police arrived at the scene, Holmes demanded that they file a report noting the city’s negligence. Officers arrested him.
Here, we have two versions of the story. Holmes says he did nothing that justifies his arrest. A spokesman for the police department said he was taken into custody for obstructing the work of firefighters.
“He was asked multiple times to back away from firefighters and he refused,” Steve Smith said.
A Notice of Claim filed by Holmes’ lawyer, Kevin Luibrand, says police “used unconstitutional excessive force” during the arrest, breaking Holmes’ hand. Photos taken subsequently show Holmes with a badly beaten face.
“Why did they do this to me?” Holmes recalled asking that night, again and again. “I went from one nightmare to another
nightmare.”
Smith said the department has not received an excessive-force complaint about the arrest and had no comment on the claim.
When Holmes eventually returned to Krumkill Road, the damage was extensive. Little of value could be retrieved from the house after the fire rekindled, Holmes said. He lost almost everything. Nearly four months later, he is still distraught.
Where the nice brown house once stood, there is now an ugly pile of rubble. When I visited recently, a white trailer sat nearby, up against a garage.
That’s where Holmes was living after the fire. But toward the end of June, a city inspector arrived. Citing zoning restrictions, he slapped a cease-and-desist order on the trailer, declaring it unlivable.
Holmes describes the order as yet another nightmare. And if it seems to you that the city is being a little unkind, you aren’t alone.
“It’s the ultimate kick of a guy when he’s down,”
Luibrand said. “You would think they would try to work something out.”
Holmes claims that the cease-and-desist order is retribution for the notice of claim, which secures his right to file a formal lawsuit that may seek $450,000 in damages. Why else, he asks, would the city be so heartless? Given that his property near the Bethlehem line is remote, at least by Albany standards, he was bothering nobody by living in the trailer, he says.
It would be wonderful to hear the city’s take on all this, including an explanation for why booting Holmes from the trailer was necessary. But as I said, City Hall was unwilling to discuss Holmes’ claims.
“We’re going to decline to comment regarding this pending litigation,” said David Galin, chief of staff to Mayor Kathy Sheehan. (A notice of claim is not a lawsuit.)
A few days ago, Holmes moved the trailer to a campsite about an hour from Albany. That’s where he lives now, as he tries to put the nightmares behind him and stitch his life back together.
He hopes to rebuild the house. Despite all that has happened, he doesn’t want to leave Albany behind.
“I’m not running,” he said. “I’ve been there for so many years.”