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The Beman Park neighborhood stretches from Hoosick
to Sage and 11th Street to Burdett.
For those of us who remember Ed Murray's Soda Shop,
the Arrow Cash Market, Cavatta's Pharmacy, later to
become the Beman Park Pharmacy, the Tailor Shop, the
Laundromat we gathered at during the weekend of Nov.
22, 1963, there are many remaining and replaced memories
scattered throughout Beman Park. As in McNamara's band,
the song echoes the names Beditz, Lodge, Sheehan, Geragoshian,
McCann, Esposito, DeRubertis, VanOrman, Flanigan, Ingalls,
Evers, DeMasi, Than, Franklin, Butler, Pepe, Hilton,
Malone, Martin, Heffernan, Vece, Padalino, Rockwell,
Donovan, Soule, Pennick, VanEpps, Vumbaco, Grimmick,
Malloy, Carhart, Piche, Mackey, Brooks, Anderson, Thompson,
Conroy, Ruff, Casale, Wagar, Brady, Nugent, Tamanian,
Campbell, Moran, Ricci, Ketchocjan, Platt, Tate, Faziolla,
Judge, McGloin, Ciraulo, Lombardo, Fredericks and Washock
a proverbial patch-work quilt of the American Dream.
Beman Park continues to be a community eager to fulfill
its potential and its dreams. Currently, there are many
projects in the works to improve our quality of life.
The Beman Park Neighborhood Association's existence
is a reflection of those families who built this neighborhood
and all those residents who have upheld their belief
in the concept of community for over a century.
In keeping with the quality of life generated by the
association, neighborhood leaders from the Beman Park
and Congress Street Neighborhoods have applied for a
Community Development Block Grant (CDBG). These two
neighborhoods will manage the project, oversee implementation,
monitor the progress and report on the production of
the project throughout both neighborhoods.
The funding will provide a full-time salaried Code Enforcement
Officer who will work with Beman Park and Congress Street
Neighborhood leaders. Neighborhood leaders will identify
and schedule block inspections; maintain computer documentation;
provide support to homeowners, particularly the elderly
and low-income, who will include information on the
many available programs currently existing; publicize
the program throughout the two neighborhoods and report
results on a quarterly basis to the city of Troy.
Rensselaer (RPI) will provide landlord and tenant training
and is offering $50,000 in matching funds to support
elderly and low-income homeowners.
The goal of this pilot project is to reverse the steady
deterioration of these two neighborhoods by the concentration
of code enforcement, thereby improving the level of
housing provided residents and ensuring an attractive
community to neighbors and businesses. This project
will show how neighborhoods can positively impact their
quality of life and become a model, which can be repeated,
neighborhood by neighborhood, throughout Troy. The result
will provide safe and engaging housing, enhance the
abilities of low-income landlords to improve their properties,
and hopefully provide a pilot for other Troy neighborhoods
to improve the quality of living in their areas.
Rensselaer (RPI) have received grants to work on the
Peoples Avenue and 15th Street Corridor. It is still
in the preliminary design stage but it will provide
for beautification at the corners of Burdett /Peoples,15th/Peoples,
and 15th/Sage. Rensselaer continues to be a good neighbor
to Beman Park.
Chief Tedesco and the Community Police have been involved
in our Neighborhood since last September. The results
have been remarkable. The problems we had have been
handled in a professional and productive manner.
Art Judge, our Councilman has asked the City Council
for money from the Park Fund to make improvements in
Beman Park. He has applied for 'period lighting' throughout
the walkways, a Bocce Court, improvements to the Tennis
Court and matching funds for a refurbishing of the water
fountain. In addition, the Friends of Beman Park are
working on signage and better maintenance of the Park
throughout the year.
The Beman Park Neighborhood Association has brought
together a Coalition of Neighborhood leaders throughout
Troy. With shared concerns and a common goal, the Coalition
of Neighborhoods has two significant concerns:
Need for Code Enforcement to proactively enforce our
City Codes thereby increasing the safety and quality
of the housing stock in our neighborhoods
Need to enlist Realtors who promote property sales to
owner occupied buyers and who understand our neighborhoods
and work with us to attract responsible owner occupants.
As Neighborhood representatives, we work to provide
the clearest and most relevant information involving
our concerns and needs. It is the small changes in a
neighborhood, which result in enormous gain for a community.
Positive actions such as upkeep and maintenance of property,
attention to yards and sidewalks, removal of litter
and debris and homes with curtained rather than plywood
windows all make an enormous difference in the look
and the feel of a neighborhood.
Beman Park is a neighborhood on the move. We have goals,
strategies, and are eager to work on the all the positives
our neighborhood has to offer. Anyone interested in
becoming a part of this adventure, contact The Beman
Park Neighborhood Association at 1516 Jacob St., Troy.
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