Grand Street Update 

All of us at HAF are deeply saddened by the devastating fire on Grand Street this week, just on the heels of the loss of Kenwood two weeks ago. We want to commend the City of Albany’s Office of General Services employees who spotted the fire and through their efforts got everyone out of the buildings, the Albany Fire Department for battling the blaze, and the Code Enforcement Department for finding a resident’s cat before the remaining building came down. We are extremely thankful that no residents were injured and cannot begin to understand how devastating it must be for the 20 displaced individuals who have lost all their belongings, and their homes. 

Holly Katz, a member of HAF’s Advisory Board and Chair of the Mansion Neighborhood Association states:

“We are extremely concerned about the neighbors and owners who lost everything in this week’s fire on Grand Street.  The loss of these four buildings to fire plus one on Park Avenue to demolition by neglect impacts the streetscape of historic buildings, many existing since 1860.  And that was just within a month.  In the past 10 years, the Mansion neighborhood has lost four buildings on Myrtle, four on Park, another on Grand, and one on Madison Place to fire, as well as two on Eagle Street to neglect.  These gaps are constant reminders of history and memories lost. While we can’t pinpoint the exact cause of all these fires, a contributing factor may be the wooden decks and stairs on the back of the buildings.  Perhaps a drive to replace these with metal would be appropriate, as well as a constant refrain: renewed enforcement of codes.”

As stated in previous newsletters and updates, HAF is working to create a task force with the City of Albany to identify, improve, and implement proactive solutions to stop buildings from getting into a vacant and/or deteriorated condition. We are also looking at the current vacant buildings to see what approaches can be effective in the many different situations that exist among them. 

Click Here to view the Historic Albany Foundation Weekly Newsletter - April 7, 2023.