Part of our news cycle each week is to peruse our archives, searching for headlines that were relevant during the same time frame in preceding years. In this case, our editorial from the first week of June 2007 touched on a topic updated in this week’s issue – the Luckey Platt building.
The news out of the Common Council this week is largely good. Acting Development Director Tom Aposporos told the council that final revised elevation plans from developer Alma Realty should come before the Planning Board this summer, with expected completion dates for the project to follow soon after. Considering the year-long stop-work order on the site that was lifted in March, that’s an excellent sign of progress.
It’s also in stark contrast from the events taking place at Luckey Platt a year ago at this time. From the Beat’s June 8, 2007 editorial:
“This week at a Common Council meeting, it was revealed that the state, in a letter to building inspector George McGann dated May 15 (2007), recommended that the construction site be closed to everyone but emergency services personnel, this after almost two years of work on the site. The state further called for no building permit to be issued to the developer, Alma Realty, until proper site plans for the project were submitted. Topping it off, a codes compliance specialist with the Department of State called code violations at the structure ‘egregious’ and ‘in plain view.’
… But this week’s revelation represents a very real tipping point in the future direction of the city. Even if Alma was in good standing with the city and hadn’t racked up a number of stop-work citations in addition to the lack of a building permit (which they have), the opening of the building, originally planned for last fall, has already been delayed repeatedly. And even Boyd said this week that he was giving the state’s recommendation to close the site down ‘serious consideration.’
The city must now work to correct its mistakes, get the necessary paperwork in order and prevent the project from falling off the tracks. Local business owners and residents have pinned their hopes to the rebuilt edifice and deserve nothing less than a chance for this project to keep moving forward.”
The news of this week (nearing expected completed dates) is a far cry from the pessimism of a year ago. That speaks to the amount of progress that can be made in year’s time when those involved with the project buckle down and focus on getting the work done, but it’s also a good reminder of the fragile state of ongoing progress. Luckey Platt, for so long a visual reminder of the slow decay of the City of Poughkeepsie, is now a hopeful icon of growth and progress.
Sometimes, looking to the past isn’t such a bad thing.