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Historic Action Network - Goes to Court Nancy Griesau - 274-6724 Russell Ziemba - 272-1539 Local Preservation Group Goes to Court to Protect Historic Buildings in Lansingburgh The Historic Action Network has petitioned the Rensselaer County Supreme Court for an Article 78 review of the Troy Planning Commission's approval of the construction of a chain drug store at the corner of 2nd Avenue and 126th Street. The petition alleges that the Planning Commission failed to conduct an adequate review of this proposal under the New York State Environment Quality Review Act and acted capriciously and arbitrarily in assessing the impact this drug store would have on the community's historical, archeological and aesthetic resources. The Commission voted last month in favor of the project, in spite of numerous testimonies to the historical and cultural importance of these buildings by area residents, historians and preservationists. The Riverside Club, built in 1895 as a rowing and social club, is recognized as an excellent and rare example of Shingle style architecture. Stained Georgia Pine paneled walls, a second floor ballroom and a magnificent turret staircase are still intact. The Freihofer Bakery, in operation since 1913, is an interesting and structurally sound industrial building of historical significance strategically located at a major gateway to Troy. Environmentalists and planners alarmed at the rapid suburbanization of our cities' older neighborhoods have criticized the rash of demolitions now underway in Lansingburgh and oppose the "cookie-cutter" design proposed by the developers. They fear that it would inevitably trigger a domino effect up and down 2nd Avenue, transforming a peaceful neighborhood into a commercial strip similar to Central Avenue in Colonie, attracting traffic and crime, reducing property values, degrading the environment and fragmenting the community. The Historic Action Network, with the support of Troy community groups and residents, has proposed instead the adaptive re-use of the existing building, thus preserving its unique curved facade and restoring it to its original attractive condition by opening up the arched gallery of windows facing 126th Street. Other communities in the country have successfully enticed businesses to re-use existing buildings with the help of tax incentives. The group is presently working with architects to draw alternate plans identifying potential use for the structures. It is represented by Albany attorney Elmer Robert Keach, III. In cooperation with Troy United Ink Corp., a not-for-profit corporation 
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