Albany Gets A Boost To Battle Blight

WAMC Northeast Public Radio | By Dave Lucas

Published September 15, 2021 at 2:53 PM EDT

Love Your Block is a grant program that brings city leaders and residents together to build stronger neighborhoods, one block at a time. Through the program, cities award mini-grants to residents and community partners to reduce blight and spur neighborhood-driven change.

Mayor Kathy Sheehan announced Wednesday that Albany is one of eight cities chosen to participate in the Cities of Service “Love Your Block” Grant Program. Albany will receive $100,000 over two years to support resident-led efforts to combat blight and fund a "Love Your Block" fellow selected from the community, as well as one AmeriCorps VISTA member. The funding allocation will also allow the city to award mini-grants to residents and “community partners” to reduce blight and spur neighborhood-driven change. The Westchester County city of White Plains also appears on the list of participants.

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Dave Lucas

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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