Evan Blum and the Central Warehouse building

Central WarehouseCarol Durant

Central Warehouse located in Albany, New York is an immense concrete building that is owned by Mr. Evan Blum. The blight ridden building has recently been in the news because crumbling bits of concrete fell off of the south facing part of the building. This debris triggered a state of emergency by the City of Albany, since the building has inactive railroad tracks adjacent to active passenger rail. Due to this action, westbound Amtrak trains were canceled traveling to Albany until a structural engineering analysis and clean up was completed. The smokestack seen in the photo was removed. https://cbs6albany.com/news/local/central-warehouse-owner-responds-after-albany-declares-state-of-emergency-evan-blum

Recently Mr. Jackson Carpenter of Two Buttons Deep, an entertainment and media outlet spoke with Mr. Blum via a recorded phone call. This phone call spawned an in person interview at Mr. Blum's office in Manhattan. Carpenter interviewed Blum last week. Blum fielded and answered ten questions which shed a spotlight on his contentious dealings with the City of Albany, Albany County and the concurrent litigation. https://www.instagram.com/reel/ChvNKfwJvyF/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

According to Blum, he purchased the building for $1000 dollars and he has a grand plan for revitalization. He wants to use it as a massive gallery space for artists, rooftop restaurant space and house his own business on two floors of the property. Prior to this recent interview by Carpenter, legacy media and city officials has made Blum seem like a willfully defiant individual who is uncooperative and myopic. This interview has definitely modified my opinion on the situation. Since there are two courts vying for jurisdiction over this situation, one of the courts needs to definitively take the wheel. This legal selection process would aid in Blum's decision making and ability to defend himself.

Albany is the Capital of New York and the city is changing. Central Warehouse is the beacon of old Albany and located in the freshly anointed Warehouse District on Broadway starting at Livingston Avenue and headed north towards Menands, New York. The edifice is ancient and in its dilapidated state definitely isn't on trend. Assemblywoman Patricia Fahy has discussed future plans for the Warehouse District in legacy and social media. https://www.news10.com/news/albany-county/assemblywoman-sees-new-future-for-warehouse-district/ Fahy and other local politicians are perseverating on uniting citizens with the Hudson River. The Albany Skyway concrete elevated park is one example of an executed plan to link constituents to the river. https://twitter.com/PatriciaFahy109/status/1554134239666475010?s=20&t=TQtr_oPxd1PzjTqfe9v4xA

The grand plans for the City of Albany and the riverfront can be found in the links below for the Albany Riverfront Collective and Albany 2030. https://www.albanyriverfrontcollaborative.com/

https://www.albanyny.gov/DocumentCenter/View/4565/Albany-2030-Comprehensive-Plan-Executive-Summary-PDF#:~:text=2.1%20THE%20VISION%20OF%20ALBANY%20IN%202030&text=and%20urban%20livability.-,The%20city%20promotes%20a%20balanced%20approach%20to%20economic%20opportunity%2C%20social,investment%2C%20and%20benefits%20all%20residents.

Mr. Blum has until the middle of September to address the building code violations with the City of Albany. Can he successfully fight City Hall? Time will certainly reveal the answer. Good luck, Mr. Blum.