Not that there is any less plywood being nailed up by people who, in general, are abandoning both residential and commercial buildings to the ravages of weather and scavengers. But, as I was again driving in and out of the main streets and side streets of the city the other day to stake out some vantage points for an architectural photography project I've been working on, I noticed more and more instances of freshly painted buildings that are perking up previously dull or neglected neighborhoods.
Large groupings of both rental and owner-occupied housing in the south end of the city, particularly on First and Second streets, are showing the effects of some basic care, with imagination. A rainbow of creams, greens, blues, grays and reds is providing a hint of the charm often seen in old residential enclaves in foreign cities. The kind of places we call quaint and take pictures of when we visit there, but often ignore as routine when we see such things back home.
Don't misunderstand. Troy isn't the Emerald City of Oz just yet. A lot more buffing, polishing and magic are necessary for that. But compared to just a few years ago, the city is cleaner, busier and far more attractive.
So, it is jarring when certain areas show zero signs of improvement despite the energies of the Tutunjian/Mirch administration's "Action Team" of public works staffers.
Take the lower part of Tenth Street, just off the bustling Hoosick Street corridor. It is -- how can I put this gently? -- a pit. And, it is not merely an annoyance for the businesses and the occasional self-respecting resident. Because it is a major commuter thoroughfare, it is representative of Troy to thousands of people who pass by there.
On most days it is impossible to miss the piles of trash and refuse piled along the curb. No matter that the City Council a few years back passed a toothless regulation about keeping trash in covered containers or that the city has a selective policy of limiting some neighborhoods to one trash can while letting others do whatever they want with impunity.
Few people on this part of the street pay attention to either of those rules. Instead, you can regularly find carpet remnants, broken furniture, plastic or paper bags spilling over with rags, trash and old clothes, the occasional shopping cart and other junk on display.
The same goes with certain parts of the city leading into Lansingburgh, especially along portions of River Street and Fifth Avenue. A little beyond the small store that advertises, with equal billing, "subs" and "bait." There, where plywood still reigns as the decorative material of choice, we often are treated to the same sorts of debris piled at curbside or visible in untended yards or alleyways.
This is not a matter of economic circumstance, ethnicity or absentee ownership. This is a matter of choice. Your income or heritage have nothing to do with whether you choose to make a mess of the place you inhabit.
It is long past time for some "Action" on this blight if Troy is truly serious about its comeback aspirations for more than selected streets.
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