What’s in a name: A new look for the ‘student ghetto’

Students, landlords, local business owners and other community members gathered last Wednesday at the College of St. Rose to talk about ways to make the "student ghetto" less ghetto.

   The second public workshop in the Education District Enhancement Study was focused on developing ideas to improve the area of Pine Hills that lies between Madison Avenue, Partridge Street, Washington Avenue, and Lake Avenue.

   Any community members were welcome to attend the workshop to voice their concerns, suggestions and solutions for problems in the "Education District."

The study is funded by a $95,000 grant from the Capital District Transportation Committee and a small match split between the University at Albany, College of Saint Rose, and the City of Albany.

   "The rest of the media is giving a whole lot of attention to the branding/name change," said Principal Planner for the City of Albany Sarah Reginelli. "While that may be the most fun to talk about, it's not the main purpose or outcome of the study. The physical changes and improvements to safety, lighting, streetscape and property maintenance are our top priorities."

   Proposed new names for the Education District include "Albany Annex," "The Quad," "Albany Learning," "The Pulse," "NoMad," and "The Zone."

   Attendees at the workshop rated branding as the last priority for fixing the neighborhood.

   The name for the district, in plans proposed by design firm Russell Design, could be printed on banners, trash cans, ash trays, street signs, maps, and light poles.

   Planning firm BFJ Planning presented suggestions to improve the area in general, such as changing current building codes to ensure that signs of building deterioration are minimal.   

   "My biggest concern is safety in the neighborhood and developing respect for property," said landlord Jim Milstein. "I think all of this could go back to the drinking age being 21," he said, explaining that underage students, not allowed into bars, choose to attend house parties instead.

   Other ideas include "crime prevention through environmental design," which would involve building backless benches, removing large trees and planting smaller ones, and installing lights that illuminate the sidewalk rather than the street, all of which would increase visibility in the area.

   Improved sidewalks, crosswalks, and pedestrian street lights (reading "walk" or "don't walk") were also proposed ways to improve the appearance and safety.

At the first workshop in March of this year, community members gathered to identify the challenges, weaknesses, and assets of the neighborhood, while beginning to build preliminary recommendations to improve it.

   The next step is to issue a report on the study with finalized plans for the Education District.

   "Then, we start looking for grant sources," said Reginelli.