Schenectady sweep nets violations against stores
Wednesday, April 9, 2014
By Steven Cook (Contact)
Gazette Reporter
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Photographer: Peter R. Barber
Schenectady Fire Chief Raymond Senecal, left, talks with Police Chief Brian Kilcullen, Public Safety Commissioner Wayne Bennett, and Assistant Police Chief Jack Falvo, Jr., in front of Fabio Grocery on Albany Street during a surprise code inspection on Tuesday.
SCHENECTADY — A city code enforcement sweep of several Albany Street markets resulted in code violation citations and, officials hope, the message getting across that the city is checking in.
The sweep comes as part of Mayor Gary McCarthy’s efforts to target corner stores that he says foster an environment of drug activity and have a negative impact on neighborhoods. He announced the effort in his State of the City address in January.
McCarthy has said many stores are good, but some must be scrutinized.
Tuesday’s sweep included representatives of the city police and fire departments as well as code enforcement. Four establishments were checked.
The result, Police Chief Brian Kilcullen said, were some citations for code violations, including for electrical issues and emergency exit door and lighting problems.
A full list of what citations issued was not available late Tuesday afternoon.
Inspected as part of the sweep were Lucky, both Zaid markets and Fabio Grocery. All four are on Albany Street.
The sweep is part of a continuing effort, Kilcullen said. More sweeps will be conducted in the future.
“We’ll continue to give them our attention,” Kilcullen said of the corner stores in general.
McCarthy said the goal is to have all the businesses not only compliant, but assets to the community.
“We hope they’re in compliance,” McCarthy said. “Those that aren’t, we’ll cite them and deal with them accordingly.”
One area that couldn’t be checked Tuesday was a new city law prohibiting the sale of single cigarettes.
The City Council passed that ordinance last month and the ban is in effect, McCarthy said.
Enforcement of the single-sale cigarette ban would come through organized stings, or when officers get information that sales are happening, officials have said.
“We want them to be successful,” McCarthy said of the stores. “We want the businesses to create value in the neighborhood.”
http://www.dailygazette.com/news/2014/apr/09/0409_codes/
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