After a “New York Times” article painting the city as struggling, Albany’s mayoral candidates say they're ready to roll up their sleeves to work for change.
The article was titled "Can $400 Million Rescue New York’s Run-Down Capital City?" and points to blight, poverty, crime and "the city's lack of appeal."
It comes after Governor Kathy Hochul proposed investing the funds in the city as part of her agenda for the legislative session.
County Legislator Carolyn McLaughlin, a candidate for mayor and a former Common Council president, notes that with 62% of city property tax-exempt, the resources aren't there to make Albany the capital city that it should be.
"We don't enforce rules that we have in the city of Albany, and we allow individuals to continue to contribute to the deterioration of our neighborhoods, including downtown. And whatever downtown may mean to you, downtown is not just what is between State Street and Clinton Avenue. The one mile radius, I don't care what direction you go in, is a part of downtown Albany. And the neglect that has been perpetuated on Albany for the last 40 years, that's what we're seeing. The result is what you see every day as you drive through Albany or as you visit Albany once a week. Those of us who live here every day have been talking about these issues for years. It is now time to put the resources well. This $400 million that is supposed to fix the museum, fix downtown, provide economic development opportunities. Is that going to change everything? No, but it's certainly a start," said McLaughlin.
Common Council President Corey Ellis, also a candidate, wonders why the governor didn’t offer the city special funding years ago.
"We have to make sure that that $400 million is going to ripple, going to have a ripple effect throughout our city. And what I say throughout our city is, when you create stable neighborhoods, you don't have the gun violence that you have. When you create economic opportunity for folks, you don't have the gun violence that you have. But you have to put a plan together with a purpose and work it and lead on that plan. And that's how people begin to, see once they see growth, then they see confidence. Once they see violence going down, then they see confidence. And that's what we have to do as a city. We can no longer keep ducking using statistics. And I said this two years ago," Ellis said.
Candidate Michael Crook says while the “Times” story made some valid points, he claims the article was far from even-handed.
"The paper made a problem much worse than it is," Crook said. "The financial damage that the article can cause is palpable. I don't think they realized the kind of damages they did to us, and it's basically scare tactics that seem to make things worse than they already are."
On Monday Albany Police reported a shooting on Yates Street and another in the neighborhood mentioned in the article.
Candidate Dan Cerutti says the "painful to read" piece is accurate.
"Our city has challenges, and what bothers me is that the people we have in power in Albany, continue to deny it," Cerutti said. "They continue to disavow any responsibility. In fact, a few of them are now running to become mayor, and we need change. These issues are real. The timing of the two latest shootings was unfortunate. It doesn't happen every day, but it does remind people that these are real issues in our city and they need to be dealt with, and if we don't acknowledge the issues, then we're not going to change them."
Cerutti says he is disappointed but remains optimistic.
Chief City Auditor Dorcey Applyrs was not available for comment. The mayoral candidate issued a statement that says in part "We just can’t complain about the past’s poor decisions. Our city needs vision, not vilification."
Candidate Marlon Anderson did not immediately reply to a request for comment.
