Looking to take off
Troy’s Flying Horses take to the field Friday with 20 of 22 starters returning.
Albany, a city that has annually begged the state for money, is suddenly flush, thanks to a federal stimulus bill that will send $85.2 million its way. For context on how significant that is, the city’s entire annual budget is roughly $180 million. In a very real sense, then, the money is a once-in-alifetime opportunity for Albany and its elected officials.
But how to spend it?
Well, the money does come with restrictions. According to the New York State Conference of Mayors, cities and towns can use it to raise the salaries of essential pandemic workers; restore budget cuts forced by the pandemic, and make investments in water, sewer and broadband infrastructure.
But they can also use the money to stimulate economic activity and address broader impacts of the pandemic. That includes “assistance to households, small businesses and nonprofits, or aid to impacted industries such as tourism, travel and hospitality.”
That somewhat vague language would seem to give Albany — other cities and towns are also receiving money, of course, as are school districts
— considerable leeway. Here, then, are ideas for how this region’s biggest city could spend its sudden windfall:
Knock down the Big Ugly
Yes, the Central Warehouse, the hulking, peeling and brutally grim building north of downtown. Bring on the wrecking ball?
The 500,000-square-foot building, built as a cold-storage warehouse, is privately owned, a complicating factor. But the city might be able to argue that buying the warehouse and knocking it down fits within the tourism parameters of the federal guidelines, and that demolition would also address an ongoing public safety problem. (Fires are a recurring problem in the building.)
A cheaper solution: Slap some paint on the warehouse, transforming its ugly walls with murals. Instant attraction!
Granted, there are other ways to spend the stimulus money that would
more directly impact the lives of city residents, including the next item on the list.
Better city parks
The city has one big park, Washington, that is arguably overused and other big parks — Lincoln, Swinburne and the Tivoli Lake Preserve — that are notably underused. That’s partly the result of location, but it’s also due to a decades-long failure to invest properly in park infrastructure and attractions.
The federal money could help fix that. In fact, Albany Mayor Kathy Sheehan, who has established a task force to decide how the stimulus should be spent, has already mentioned parks beautification as one place where the city might invest.
A South End farmers market
The city’s South End neighborhood has no real grocery and Albany, unlike Troy, Schenectady and several suburbs, lacks a major farmers market. So, what if the city closed South Pearl Street on
Sunday summer mornings and let farmers take over the pavement?
Doing so would give residents better access to fresh produce and, by giving people from outside the impoverished neighborhood a reason to visit, could benefit small businesses there. In a modest way, the activity would also restore the historic public market that once gathered near what is now the Times Union Center.
The market really wouldn’t cost much to launch, making it a low-risk effort. If the idea succeeded, the city could erect simple shelters to enhance the market at, say, the parking lot of the old Department of Motor Vehicles eyesore — something akin to the Jean-talon Market in Montreal, perhaps.
Speed bumps
Racing traffic is endemic in Albany, a significant qualityof-life issue in a city where the ability to easily walk from place to place should be an advantage over suburbia. Speed bumps, or tables, are a way to address the problem, particularly for narrow residential streets.
There are others — including, for busier roads, expanded
“bump-out” curbs, raised medians and narrower lanes. If the city really wanted to be ambitious, it could turn Central Avenue into the pedestrian-friendly boulevard it deserves to be, although that project might gobble up much of the $85 million.
Tax cuts
Unlike with the stimulus money states are receiving, there appears to be no rule against cities using the funding for tax cuts, and one Albany councilman, Owusu Anane, has raised the idea. Certainly, the suggestion has merit in a city where property taxes are a hardship for many residents, but only if the cuts are sustainable. In other words, it won’t do much good to cut taxes now if they’ll go up again as soon as the $85 million is gone.
Ideally, Albany will find ways to spend the money that have a lasting impact on the city’s quality of life, particularly in its poorest neighborhoods. Anything less than that will be an opportunity wasted.
Have ideas for how Albany, Troy, Schenectady or your hometown should spend its stimulus money? Send them to me at the email address below.