Another heartbreaking letter from TROY. NY

Lawrence White Wlarrydac@aol.com
To patrick.madden patrick.madden@troyny.gov
Cc Carmella.Mantello Carmella.Mantello@troyny.gov, mmcgrath0123 mmcgrath0123@yahoo.com, erinsullivanteta erinsullivanteta@gmail.com

Lawrence White
82 6th Ave.
Troy NY 12180
5182688166
Dear Sir:
I met with you, shortly after you took office, concerning issues in my neighborhood.. (6th Ave. between 101st & 102sd) one of the things that you told me then, was that if no laws were being broken, there was nothing the city could do.... I had already identified a majority of the laws that were BEING BROKEN, and, I assumed that one of the results of that meeting would be that you would direct the Troy Police, and the City Code Enforcement office to simply come down here, and DO THEIR JOB.. that my tax dollars are paying for. This is YET to happen... you seem to be unavailable by phone, and your Administrative Assistant, Laura Amos, doesn't appear to be very knowledgeable, or helpful..
Actually, this problem precedes your administration.. I tried unsuccessfully to get it resolved, under the prior mayor...
This issue is SO SIMPLE, it defies logic as to WHY it hasn’t been addressed and resolved.
It didn’t take me long, after I moved in here, to realize that this neighborhood was out of control.. I started petitioning the police, as well as other city officials, to bring law and order here again… living here, is like living in a frontier town in the Wild West.. the city lost control here, years ago.. the gangs and drug dealers run a good share of Lansingburg… this affects every aspect of our daily lives.. including the Mail Service… the full time, experienced, Postal employees know the neighborhoods here are out of control, and unsafe for them to enter.. that’s why the only mail carriers who work here are the temporary, or seasonal workers, who’s inexperience shows.. with late deliveries, and miss handling of the mail in a variety of ways. For the most part, they don’t leave packages, as they know (again) that the neighborhoods are out of control.. we have to visit the post office, to pick up our packages..
When I first moved in, I immediately saw that the neighbor across the street’s property was in deplorable condition.. far worse, than the Zombie properties.. but owner occupied! That property is putting every property at risk of fire, as well as signifantly devaluing every property, as well.. now, this devaluation hurts the surrounding property owners, who try to maintain their property, as well as the City, by eroding the tax base… and, who wants their property to become worth less than they paid for it? For the going on FOUR YEARS that I’ve lived here, I’ve YET to get the Code Enforcement office to do any enforcement over there.
Another problem involves the on street parking. When I first moved in, this individual had in excess of (20) vehicles stored on the public street.. in violation of Motor Vehicle law.. one sub section sets a 48 hour time limit for the use of the on street parking.. now, using simple primary math, it’s pretty obvious, that this was seriously compromising everyone else’s RIGHT to use the on street parking. Giving credit where credit is due: the city has removed (10) vehicles… 5 truck and trailer combinations… now, they need to come back and finish the job they started, and remove the rest of the stored vehicles, so that the rest of us have half a chance to use the on street parking.
Yet, Mr. Mayor, you won’t simply direct the police, who work for ME, thru your office, to get down here and enforce Motor Vehicle Law, or, direct the code enforcement office to do likewise… WHY?? This is one of the first steps necessary, for the city to regain control of the neighborhoods… ie, by enforcing both Building Code Law, and Motor vehicle law.. I have argued with Laura Amos over this, every since you took office, and I’m becoming quite annoyed! What are you doing with my tax dollars? Am I not entitled to police protection? Where is it? I would really appreciate a reply, perhaps an explanation, as to WHY you aren’t more responsive, to the taxpayers who pay your salary.
PS: on a side note: a similar situation is occurring, about 2 blocks to the south of where I live… with the same, incompetent response from the city..
Residents have complained, FOR YEARS, with no results.. perhaps many gave up…. I have no intention of doing so, as I refuse to live in a neighborhood that’s out of control.. and, there’s no reason for it… All that needs to be done, is for you to direct the police, and code enforcement, to simply do their jobs… yes, they’ve got some catching up to do… if law and order had been maintained, over the years, with enforcement of both motor vehicle law, and code violations, city officials wouldn’t be put in a positon of playing catchup.. All I desire, is the opportunity to live, in peace, in a safe neighborhood… and after paying my property taxes, I really don’t think that’s too much to expect. Thank you.