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County Official: Move Residents Out Of Harm's Way

Harvey Henkelmann/Wikimedia Commons

Albany County Executive Dan McCoy  wants people moved OUT of a neighborhood bordered by railroad tracks.

Ezra Prentice Homes consists of sixteen buildings and 179 units . Federalized in the mid 1980?s, the property sits right off I-787  and backs up to a railroad storage yard.    McCoy has been pro-active in the battle against those so-called “oil trains” that carry crude and often park on rails near the buildings. He says it's not a matter of if an oil spill will happen, but rather a matter of when.

"The people that live down there in Albany housing, 80 per cent of them are minorities. They don't choose to live there, they can't pack up and move away. “

McCoy is  urging the Albany Housing Authority to move residents out of Ezra Prentice.  “Close them down, and let these people live in an area where they can have a quality of life."

Calls to Housing Authority Executive Director Stephen Longo were not immediately returned.

Dave Lucas is WAMC’s Capital Region Bureau Chief. Born and raised in Albany, he’s been involved in nearly every aspect of local radio since 1981. Before joining WAMC, Dave was a reporter and anchor at WGY in Schenectady. Prior to that he hosted talk shows on WYJB and WROW, including the 1999 series of overnight radio broadcasts tracking the JonBenet Ramsey murder case with a cast of callers and characters from all over the world via the internet. In 2012, Dave received a Communicator Award of Distinction for his WAMC news story "Fail: The NYS Flood Panel," which explores whether the damage from Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee could have been prevented or at least curbed. Dave began his radio career as a “morning personality” at WABY in Albany.
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