By Melanie Lekocevic
Capital Region Independent Media
RAVENA — A Main Street building that has been vacant for more than a decade is scheduled to be demolished this summer, Mayor Bill Misuraca said.
The building, a mixed-use structure located at 136 Main St., has had a black-and-yellow sign posted in the window for years identifying it as a property to be sold at auction.
The structure was supposed to be razed a couple of years ago, but the COVID-19 pandemic delayed the process.
“It was supposed to be done two years ago and it was delayed because of coronavirus,” Misuraca said.
The building, which was built in 1950, according to online property records, has been in poor condition for years.
Over the years, the building has housed a business on the ground floor and apartments above, but has been vacant for well over a decade, the mayor said.
“There was a bar there many, many years ago that was Sandy’s Tavern,” Misuraca said. “Then it was Wingnuts, The Lighthouse — it was always a restaurant or bar of some sort.”
Demolition of the two-story vacant building is expected to take place sometime this summer and the cost will be incurred by Albany County, the mayor said. A specific date has not yet been set for the building’s removal.
“They told us it will be done this summer,” Misuraca said.
The building includes a store and apartments on 0.06 acres on Main Street, and has a full market value of $63,158, according to Albany County property tax records.
It is not yet known what will be done with the property after the structure is demolished.
The “auction building,” as it is known locally, is one of several Main Street buildings that have been vacant in the village for years. Misuraca addressed the issue at the May 17 meeting of the village board, though he did not identify specific addresses or property owners.
The village has been in talks with the county to address the vacant properties, he said.
“We had a conversation with Albany County today where they explained to us they are still — I am not going to name exact property names because I don’t want to single them out — but they are still trying to get official foreclosures on the three properties that are an issue — that’s all we have left,” Misuraca said at the meeting. “They are still in the foreclosure process. Until foreclosure happens, you can’t make any more moves towards the removal of certain properties.”
State regulations were put into place during the pandemic to protect property owners during the public health emergency, and evictions and foreclosures were stalled.
“Because of corona and some legislation that was passed, it impedes the foreclosure process and really slows it down a lot,” Misuraca said. “I hate to use it for an excuse, but it’s a fact. It’s a slow process.”
