Fire in the alley
This might rank right up there with all the jokes about changing a lightbulb. Except it’s not very funny.
How many departments in the city of Albany have to be notified that a pile of junk autos is causing a hazardous situation before something actually gets done?
Residents know the city-owned alley between Myrtle Avenue and Morris Street has long been a dumping ground for abandoned vehicles. They even tolerate one or two. But this year, when the tally grew to at least six — and one had been stuffed with trash — Brendan Digiovanni started making calls.
When he called the Department of General Services, he was told to use the city’s Seeclickfix app. Dutifully, he filed a complaint for each car. He flagged down a couple of Parking Authority supervisors. Then one of the cars caught fire, making the Fire Department aware. The cars remained.
The city lamely has suggested the cars slipped through the cracks because they were labeled as a codes issue instead of a police matter in the Seeclickfix system.
At some point, possibly right around the time Times Union reporter Steve Hughes started asking questions, the Police Department was made aware.
Soon after Mr. Hughes’ inquiries, city crews were removing the cars.
Apparently, the answer to the joke is: It takes one reporter.
Albany needs to clean up the management of its Seeclickfix app so that it works for residents a lot faster.
Milk: It does a community good
The lifeblood of numerous communities in Washington County is in peril with the news that Danone, a food company that owns Horizon Organic, has cancelled contracts with some 17 organic dairy farms in the county.
The news has sent shudders through nearly aspect of life in the region, from the veterinarians who tend the cows to the feed supply stores and the school districts that rely on tax revenue from the farms.
These farmers need relief, and they need to know it’s coming — now. Danone gave them till August 2022, but what business do you know that wouldn’t already be planning for a year from now?
The state Department of Agriculture said it is working with its federal equivalent and officials in the other states affected by Danone’s decision to find other processors and cooperatives for these farms. That’s certainly a good start. Lawmakers should follow through on promised efforts to push for financial relief.
There’s more. As Joshua Solomon reported, these farms were already facing daunting odds due to inequities in the industry. Experts noted that rules governing how livestock are transitioned to organic have been awaiting updates since 2015, and the pasture rule is inconsistently enforced. The USDA needs to act. And the politicians who represent these farms need to do more than send some terse letters to ensure this action.
When a plan comes together
Taking a deep breath after Albany Mayor Kathy Sheehan ordered the removal of the statue of Gen. Philip Schuyler 15 months ago has paid off.
Last week brought news of the smart plan the city will execute, along with the Underground Railroad Education Center and its Young Abolitionist Leadership Institute program, to lead a series of public discussions around the future of the statue.
The effort, which ensures greater transparency and a process more reflective of the community, aims to develop three to five options for the statue in front of City Hall while the city explores reconfiguring traffic there.
Both plans, expected in about a year, will include estimates of likely costs. As we said, smart.