On April 23, 2008 the Board of Zoning Appeals Meeting seemed to be filled with community members that had a lot of passion about the upcoming changes that would be taking place on the streets of Albany. The six judges, Sari O’Connor, Susie Tucker Ross, Michael Apostol, Joseph E. Ray III, Glenn Viele and Leslie Scott Moran listened to the five different cases that were presented to the court regarding various proposals to change, remodel or remove existing structures within the Albany County. The two most prominent cases that brought in the biggest crowd of citizens had to do with the Fort Orange Club and the Harriet Tubman Free School; both causing controversy within the Common Council Chambers at City Hall.
The Fort Orange Club was the fourth case presented to the board at the Wednesday night meeting. The Fort Orange Club was founded in 1880 and entertains some of the most prestigious people from Upstate New York including government officials along with prominent business and social members. The Club is located at 110 Washington Avenue, and it is at this location that many changes to the surrounding area were being proposed at last nights meeting. John Allen presented his case to the board, and displayed many visual graphics along with the building plans. Allen explained that the Club had purchased two buildings on the south side of Washington Avenue; with plans to knock them down to add 21 more parking spots for Club members, resulting in a total of 72 spots. Allen stressed the fact they were adding more than four times the amount of landscaping required in a parking lot of that size. He also explained the plan to add a two-way entrance to and from the parking lot, which would make it safer for both pedestrians and cars.
Yet, within the crowd of community members present at the meeting there were many who were there to show their strong disagreement with these building plans. The first woman to speak was Lynn Jackson, a homeowner on South Swan Street. Jackson spoke on behalf of another resident, John Willcok who had sent Jackson to read an emotion filled letter to the board. Willcok had the “utmost and absolute objection” to the building plans presented by the Fort Orange Club and called the project “anti-urban and anti-environmental.” Another community member that showed strong feelings against the project was Richard Berkley, a member of the Hudson Park Neighborhood Association. Berkley understood the desire of the club to want to add additional parking yet felt that “you can always tear down buildings and add more parking, but you can’t recreate buildings.” That seemed to be the general consensus of the community members who had come to love those two buildings that are in question of being knocked down.
The Harriet Tubman Free School is a case quite different from that of the Fort Orange Club. Over 25 students and parents came to the meeting to show the board the support they have for the proposal to leave the school at its current location of 59 Elizabeth Street. The Harriet Tubman Free School was founded two years ago and currently has 35 students, who come from both Troy and the city of Albany. The reason that this school had to make an appeal at last nights meeting was because it was in question of having to relocate again and no student or staff member felt that it was necessary to do so. Chris Mercogliano is a volunteer Algebra teacher at the school and explained how the school takes students from all income backgrounds even if that means they have an inability to pay the tuition. He views the school as “a very important place for these young people who are students there” and absolutely objected the idea of moving the school to a new location in the city. Lindsay Rowgowski is a current senior at the school and just completed her senior project, which was building a garden in the backyard of the building. Rowgowski explained “that the property is really important to me, especially the garden” and that moving to a new location would be abandoning the project she worked so hard on all year. However, the most passionate speech came from a father of one of the students. Dave Harrison spoke about how much the school had taught his son, who had struggled for so many years in the public education system. Harrison’s son has excelled in the video editing program that is taught at the Harriet Tubman Free School, that the local Pastor asked him to make a music video for the church. Harrison sees the difference this school is making in the lives of the students and knows that it is “bringing life to the community.” By the end of all the speakers the board could not resist but to agree to allow the school to stay at its present home at 59 Elizabeth Street, the room echoed with cheers as the decision was announced!
