Troy stores prep ahead of protest
Troy official expects peaceful rally Sunday
Owner Danny Killion boarded up the windows on his Weathered Wood store in Troy. He said his landlord asked him to put up the plywood to protect the building. At far left, Killion works on creating a sculpture in his backyard. At left, a group of local artists have spraypainted murals on a number of the city’s boarded-up businesses.
Begrudgingly, Danny Killion drilled plywood to the windows on his Troy business Weather Wood, a home and garden decor store on Second Street.
Originally, he put a “black owned business” sign and left the windows unboarded. However, he said his landlord asked him to put up the plywood to protect the building.
Business owners across Troy are beginning to board up their windows after protests and unrest erupted in Albany over the weekend spilling into Monday evening, leaving many businesses damaged or looted.
The building owner’s request wasn’t unexpected. But Killion said it was frustrating for himself personally.
“I’m wasting my time ... and I’m very angry about this, and I don’t want to be boarding up,” Killion said. “I want people always to think ‘Why is this happening?’ This is about institutional racism on a staggering level and it’s horrifying.”
There is a protest in Troy scheduled for Sunday, and for Killion, he feels like boarding up his business sends the wrong message.
“Idon’twantittobeawar zone setup,” Killion said. “It’s like we’re setting up for a riot movement. You know what that’s going to tell (people)? To riot.”
However, he conceded that if he did end up having to replace his windows, he estimates it would cost $20,000 — which would force him to close.
“I’ve already lost $15,000 in revenue this year because of the pandemic, and now my windows are boarded up,” Killion said.
John Salka, a spokesperson for the city of Troy, said the city is hopeful the protests will remain peaceful.
“We have reached out to the organizers’ to ensure a safe and respectful opportunity to protest,” Salka said.
He added that he’s surprised to see so many buildings boarded up, but can understand given the events that have taken place in Albany.
“There is a tremendous amount of support from the entire community for this movement following George Floyd’s death, Salka said. “But there are concerns about what happens after the peaceful protests.”
Jerome Han, a manager at Nite Owl News, a convenience store on Fulton Street in downtown Troy, had a similar thought process.
Han said he doesn’t want to jump to the conclusion that people will vandalize. But after talking with Albany business owners about what happened in their stores, he hesitantly decided to cover his windows.
“What happened in Albany is just so close to home. A lot of people think ‘are you boarding up because you’re just assuming?’ I think that’s a valid point,” Han said. “But I think what happened in Albany is an indication that it’s something we have to consider.”
However, he still has some mixed feelings about covering the windows.
“We love this community and we’ve been here the last 25 years,” Han said. “A lot of the people we see come through these doors we see every day. We’re trying to be careful and respectful at the same time.”
Mark Finelli, who owns a building on Broadway with several businesses inside including Koni’s Broadway Kafe and Metro PCS, said his decision to put up plywood was a financial one. Much of the glass on the historic building is irreplaceable, and any damage the building would incur would likely not be covered by insurance, Finelli said.
“For the small amount of money it costs me to do this, it’s worth it for several thousands of damage that would be done,” Finelli said.
Some owners are writing messages of solidarity on the coverings. As more storefronts begin to get covered, a group of local artists are going around spray painting murals on the wood.
“Everyone is miserable because everything looks desolate,” said Kris Mcdermott, one of the artists leading the charge. “We want to spread love messages, and we don’t want to go with one political message or another.”
Some owners, though, are leaving their windows uncovered.
After some thought, Heidi Knoblauch, owner of Plumb Oyster Bar, only covered her windows with words. She wrote an apology on the glass for what is happening and left her phone number for anyone who wants someone to listen.
“People are saying ‘it’s a shame that they’re destroying the businesses,’ but we need to think about this very differently and flip this issue right on its head,” Knoblauch said. “We need to say it’s horrible they’re killing black people, and it’s a shame we need to board up businesses.”