Schenectady to demolish 10 blighted buildings

Ten blighted buildings in Schenectady will be demolished in the coming weeks, Mayor Gary McCarthy announced on Tuesday.

The demolition of houses on Crane Street, Duane Avenue and other areas will be paid for using a $3 million HUD loan, which has been leveraged by the city to demolish other vacant homes to help revitalize neighborhoods.

“In combination with the [Capital Region] Land Bank, we have or are in the process of removing over one hundred vacant and distressed properties, while also investing in renovating hundreds of other homes throughout the city,” McCarthy said.

The 10 buildings being demolished are 401 Brandywine Ave., 636, 642-44, 706 and 702 Crane St., 113, 319 and 1580 Foster Ave., 227 Furman St. and 80 Wyllie St.

Jackson Demolition submitted the lowest of three bids — $568,410 — to demolish the buildings. The City Council will vote on the demolition contract during a meeting on Monday.

Money from the HUD loan will be repaid through future Community Development Block Grant funding and from sales tax revenue, according to a release from the mayor’s office.

“The Land Bank will be announcing its next demo plans in Schenectady very shortly so that we can continue the momentum in our neighborhood revitalization efforts,” said Richard Ruzzo, chairman of the Land Bank.

The Land Bank is working on nine demolitions, many in the Eastern Avenue and Northside neighborhoods, using $3 million in funding provided by the attorney general’s Land Bank Community Revitalization Initiative.