Advocacy Update - 143 Madison Ave

Some of you may know this building as the former rectory for St. Anthony's Church on the corner of Madison Avenue and Grand Street. Most of you recognize it simply as the stunning Italianate rowhouse still sporting some of its earlier Federal details like those eye-catching dormers and stepped side gable.

Old History: The building was built in 1833 as two Federal rowhouses. They were combined in the late 19th century and "modernized" in the Italianate style. The oriel, cornice, and window lintels were added at this time. The building was owned by the Barent Bleecker Family for over 100 years.

Recent History: Current owner, Shereen Khan purchased the building 2006 for $91,000 from Francis McCloskey & William Mafrici. It was previously owned by St. Anthony’s Catholic Church of Albany, who sold it to McCloskey & Mafrici for the same price less than two months before the sale to the current owner. The current owner took out a mortgage of $108,000 in 2006 from Bank of America. Following legal troubles in the early 2010s and financial issues, this property, along with nearly a dozen others owned by the current owner, faced foreclosure by Bank of America. Bank of America initiated a foreclosure on 143 Madison Avenue in May 2018. The City of Albany was planning on bringing a concurrent lawsuit against the mortgage servicer utilizing the NYS Zombie Law, but the owner recently satisfied the mortgage and paid off the debt, making her the sole person legally responsible for the building’s condition.

After eleven years of code violations, the City took Ms. Khan to court again yesterday: the City of Albany has brought code violations on this property in 2012, 2015, and 2016, 2018, and 2020. The building has been registered as vacant with the City since 2021. Presently, there are three concurrent code cases in various stages of prosecution . This case originates from violations cited in March 2022 and was initially presented to Albany City Court in August 2022. This case cited the property for issues with exterior stairs, overgrowth, exterior walls in the front and rear of the building, and accumulations of rubbish & garbage. Historic Albany Foundation joined neighbors in writing letters on this case urging the City and City Court to consider the impact of this building being kept vacant on the neighborhood neighbors, and City, and asked for the City judge to levy a strenuous judgment in holding the property owner responsible. On Thursday, Judge Rice awarded a $35,000 judgement against Ms. Khan. The letters written impacted Judge Rice's decision, showing just what can happen when we all speak up for our neighborhoods.

Historic Albany Foundation will continue to support the City of Albany’s efforts in holding this property owner responsible for the deterioration and poor conditions present at 143 Madison Avenue.

A Study into Arbor Hill: Introduction

When I began my internship earlier this year at The Historic Albany Foundation, I wasn't sure what topic my research would be focused on. Albany is full of spectacular architecture, which is one of the reasons I was drawn to the city, and to applying to intern with HAF. Keeping my social justice minor in mind and with my slight knowledge of the history of redlining in Albany, myself and my internship supervisor landed on the area of Arbor Hill. This neighborhood is located in the northeast section of Albany and dates back to the 17th Century. In more recent history, the neighborhood felt the impact of redlining - the now illegal practice of withholding services (financial/healthcare/insurance) from those who lived in ‘hazardous’ areas, often affecting those of racial and ethnic minorities the most acutely.

This brings us to “A Study of Arbor Hill”. I wanted to explore the beginnings of this neighborhood, its 200-year journey to where it is now, and where its future might lie. Arbor Hill has always been an evolving community, from its lumber industry origins to its life as a residential hub. In this series of blogs I want to delve into the wealth of history, buildings, and stories that lie between Clinton Avenue and Tivoli Street.

In my first post, I will begin with Arbor Hill’s origin - originally a sweeping wooded landscape. After the conclusion of the French and Indian War (1754-1763) and the removal of the stockade around Albany, this area’s development began. In 1815 Arbor Hill was officially annexed into Albany city limits, with the Patroon, Stephen Van Rensselaer,  granting land from the Dutch government. A prominent family (the Ten Broecks) staked their claim and left a permanent mark on the area with the construction of a mansion. Many others choose to build elaborate homes in a variety of architectural styles close by, these buildings an enduring monument that speaks to the prosperity of the time. The causes of this surge of development? Cose proximity to the prosperous lumber industry, and major water and trading route: the Erie Canal.

Photo credit: KIM PARKER

Albany from the East Side of the River, William Hart (1823-1894).
Photo credit - Albany INSTITUTE

“This brings us to “A Study of Arbor Hill”. I wanted to explore the beginnings of this neighborhood, its 200-year journey to where it is now, and where its future might lie….”

Next came the beginning of the Great Migration with thousands of African Americans moving from the rural south to cities in the North of the country to escape discrimination, followed by the Roaring 20s with all its economic prosperity. My second blog will focus on the time period following this: the global catastrophe that was the Great Depression. How would this change the course of Arbor Hill’s development and those who call it home? The steps the Government would take, both in Albany and in cities all around the country, would have a lasting impact for years to come. 

I will then discuss the effect of redlining and how it relates to the present life of Arbor Hill, delving into the history of the red and white X placards that pop up in this area and beyond.

Finally, I will explore a few of the building’s stories, ending with a post about the multitude of projects, businesses, and organizations that focus on improving the community in present day.  

Join me in my study of Arbor Hill.

By Liliana Surgent

#EndangeredAlbany 168 Clinton Avenue

“It has a Scarlett letter. It appears to be wider, higher, deeper and newer than its neighbors. There are no other like it in the area” - Gordan Mowbray

When driving past the many rowhouses in Clinton Avenue’s historic district, you might have spotted this unique Queen Anne-style building, with its beautiful projecting gabled pavilion. One of our supporters suggested adding the building to our #EndangeredAlbany list (see below for more information) and we have to agree! The building has been red Xd for a while, with no work done within the past year at least.

Let’s take look at the history of this building:

> It was built in 1880
> It is a Queen Anne-style building, one of the “popular Victorian architectural styles that emerged in the United States during the period from roughly 1880 to 1910.”
> The features of this rowhouse include a false gable and iron crest-rail, as well as a bay window, and decorative panels. It is 3 and a half stories and is 3 bays wide (see inventory sheet)
> It is part of the Clinton Avenue Historic District which was recognized in 1981. The district covers 70 acres, with 600 of the properties rowhouses of different architectural styles. This area has the “greatest concentration of such houses in the city of Albany”, with the predominant style being Italianate. Many of the building were built as speculative housing for the emerging middle class during the 19th century.

Who Called it Home?
The lot was previously owned by Martin White, a builder, who used it as a stable. Mrs Mary Van Wormer (Irish born) lived there first with her husband and child - both of whom were store clerks. Additionally, the Van Wormers also had tenants - a Mr Harlan Draper, a bookkeeper, and his wife. This property was later bought in 1900 by John Murtagh, an Irish-born junk dealer. He lived at the property with his wife and one servant. He then moved out and rented it to tenants. In 1913 to 1924, it was owned by Peter Riley, and then from 1924-1951, it was owned by a laundry pressman, Nicholas Robilatto.

Coty of Albany Assessment Rolls, Directories & Federal Census 188, 1900, NYS Census 1905

Begun in 2000 and issued every five years, Historic Albany Foundation designates an Endangered List for the City of Albany to raise awareness and guide our advocacy efforts. The Endangered List draws attention to buildings, properties, and landmarks that suffer from vacancy, disinvestment or inappropriate development pressure, and are often potential targets for emergency demolition. It takes about 10+ years from a building to go from endangered to saved IF and only if the stars align and a responsible owner with a plan and funding can be found AND that owner can obtain the building. Given this, the list doesn’t change very often.  HAF’s Endangered Historic Resources List has highlighted the same large and white elephant buildings for nearly 20 years. This year we are shaking things up a bit. WE are not issuing a list of buildings that we care about and are concerned about. YOU ARE! 

We will be using the hashtag #EndangeredAlbany to do monthly blog posts about endangered buildings that are of concern to a member of the public.  Updates to the past Endangered List buildings will be done monthly using #EndangeredAlbany as well. 

Have a building you want to highlight? Email us here >>

EndangeredAlbany: Argus Press Building

#EndangeredAlbany: Argus Press Building

As many of you have seen, the Argus Press Building in the Warehouse District has been on our Endangered list for a number of years. The building has sat vacant for over 15 years. After being foreclosed on in 2018 by the County and sold back to the owner in 2019, it looks like there will finally be a bit of movement on this building. There was an article in the Business Review on January 28th about the building having been purchased by U-haul. U-haul stated they did not have immediate plans and that they were evaluating the building.

Historic Albany sees this movement as a good thing. U-haul and self storage is typically a soft use of buildings that is often reversible and has a low impact on the building. If they decided to move later on, this use of the building does not impede different uses in the future, but will hopefully lead toward better maintenance and care of the exterior of the building. We watch this project developing with interest.

See the Business Review article here: https://www.bizjournals.com/albany/news/2021/01/28/u-haul-buys-former-argus-press-building-albany.html

More about the history of the building can be found on our 2019 Dirty Dozen page here:

https://www.historic-albany.org/2019-dirty-dozen