11 buildings to be demolished in Schenectady

PHOTOGRAPHER: Peter R. Barber

Savanah Kovalsky, 12, left, Samuel Galluzzo and Siena Galluzzo, 8, watch as a Jackson Demolition excavator tears into 701 Congress St. in Schenectady on Tuesday.

Eleven more buildings will be demolished in the city of Schenectady this fall, the Capital Region Land Bank announced today.

The buildings will be demolished with funds from a $3 million grant from the state attorney general’s office and U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The city is using the funding to demolish 100 blighted buildings.

“Our efforts to land the largest Land Bank grant in the state last year continue to enhance Schenectady neighborhoods and improve property values by eliminating abandoned buildings,” Land Bank Chairman Richard Ruzzo said.

The buildings that will be demolished include vacant multi-family homes at 1205 and 1207 State St. at the corner of State and McClellan streets along with 746, 854 and 858 Eastern Ave., 4 Elmer Ave., 114 Porter St. and 909 Wendell Ave. in the Eastern Avenue neighborhood.

Also being demolished is 1568 Van Vranken Ave. in the Northside neighborhood, 1110-1112 Second Ave. in the Mont Pleasant neighborhood, and 1126 Albany St. to improve the entrance to the Central State Street and Woodlawn neighborhoods.

Owners of the property adjacent to 1126 Albany St. have expressed interest in purchasing the property to increase the size of their yard, according to a press release from the Land Bank.