On a revitalized block, a wave of code violations
Schenectady homeowners feel city that should appreciate them is targeting them instead
Ifrecak Miller gestured toward a bullet hole-pocked home on Lincoln Avenue.
Then she motioned to the thoroughfare next to her house, once known as “Gunshot Alley” for its role as an escape hatch, providing a speedy exit for those fleeing the police.
The block used to be a lawless, open-air drug market and not immune to fatal shootings.
“In 2006, this block was like a drug highway,” said another homeowner, James Sauers.
A lot has changed on the two-block stretch between Hulett and Craig streets since then.
Residents attribute the neighborhood’s revitalization to a wave of West Indian transplants who have purchased homes and made improvements, increasing property values and stabilizing the area in the process.
“Every summer, there’s always improvements,” Sauers said. “West Indians are coming to help and improve and develop the city.”
The enclave in the city’s Hamilton Hill neighborhood is now speckled with vibrant gardens, colorful facades and the ubiquitous soundtrack of Caribbean music wafting through the neighborhood.
Noel “John” Gomez relocated from New York City in pursuit of a slower-paced lifestyle.
“It’s like heaven,” Gomez said.
Yet the modifications have resulted in headaches. Twenty-three properties on the block have been issued citations by the city's code enforcement bureau in recent sweeps, tickets for everything from weathered facades to illegal fencing, unmaintained properties and unapproved carports.
Now the neighbors feel targeted and see their problems as more than battles with overzealous code officers. They believe the city is being culturally insensitive for failing to recognize touchstones of Guyanese and West Indian culture and say the city is repelling exactly the type of residents they’ve long courted, those in owner-occupied housing.
“The improvements have a hidden value they don’t understand,” Miller said. “It doesn’t seem like [the city] is recognizing that or supporting that.”
James and Natasha Sauers built their backyard carport in 2014 to provide their young family a refuge from crime and speeding vehicles, as well as a place to relax and celebrate everything from anniversaries to birthdays.
“This is our culture,” Natasha told a pair of cops who stopped by on Sunday to listen to their grievances.
And in a neighborhood where parking space is at a premium, the extra spot for their four-vehicle fleet was a plus, and one that helps them bypass the alternate-side parking regulations that residents feel are outdated and arbitrarily enforced.
The Sauers were ticketed recently over the carport — even though the structure didn’t require approval at the time of its construction. A new rule now requires such structures to get city approval, and owners must apply to have already-existing carports grandfathered in.
“West Indians come to help, improve and develop the neighborhood, James said. “This is the American Dream: Work hard, then enjoy.”
Miller said the street is being punished for longstanding systemic and structural inequities that are beyond their control.
For one, many in the neighborhood of twofamily homes work irregular schedules, including in the medical sector, which makes following alternate-side parking rules difficult. Residents feel the waves of parking tickets are arbitrary, a concern that's also been voiced in other neighborhoods.
The street’s narrow parcels and driveways would not be approved under contemporary zoning regulations, Miller said.
“You’re enforcing violations that you say yourself aren’t livable,” Miller said.
West Indian families also tend to have multigenerational households. More occupants means more vehicles, and there simply isn’t enough parking to accommodate everyone, particularly during heavy winter storms.
Chief Building Inspector Chris Lunn said that Lincoln Avenue is not being specifically targeted, and that the sweeps are part of a systemic citywide block-by-block approach to bring properties into compliance.
“This is one street of many we’ve gone down and done the same thing on,” Lunn said. “This is the beginning of how a city will decline if these things are not taken care of in short order.”
Roughly 95 percent of homes on the block are not in compliance with the city’s landlord registration process, he said. Even though many are owner-occupied, twofamily homes housing multigenerational families still require their owners to register as landlords.
Doing so triggers an annual visit by an inspector to examine a building’s exterior, a brief review designed to stave off deterioration.
“That hadn’t been done in quite some time,” Lunn said. “This is really trying to maintain upkeep in the city and hold standards in the city.”
Paving lawns also disrupts water runoff and can impact neighboring properties, he said.
There’s widespread sentiment in the neighborhood that ethnicity plays a factor.
“They’re targeting the Guyanese community, and that’s ridiculous,” said Marva Isaacs, president of the Hamilton Hill Neighborhood Association, who helped broker a meeting between residents and city officials earlier this month.
Lunn denied that enforcement was based on ethnicity, and noted he’s got Guyanese people on his staff who are themselves writing the tickets.
And to further exacerbate tensions, residents believe that while they’re improving the neighborhood, the city is not reciprocating the favor — and that many of the damages for which they’re being cited are the result of poor city maintenance of everything from overgrown trees to the city's chronic issues with snow removal.
Back-of-the-napkin arithmetic compiled by residents found that if each house paid $5,000 in annual property taxes, that amounts to a halfmillion dollars annually. Yet they believe they’re seeing little in the way of return and contend the city is not doing its part to help maintain and improve Lincoln Avenue, particularly when it comes to installing speed bumps, replacing sidewalks and paving the pothole-battered street, which also has drainage issues.
“Instead, we’re targeted for improving our own properties and living environment,” Miller said. “Anything we try to do to improve makes it worse.”
They’re scheduled to meet with a city delegation, including Mayor Gary Mccarthy, later this week. They'll bring a simple request:
“We want them to partner with us, not penalize us,” Miller said. “Meet us halfway.”