Albany Police officers talk to tenants of a house on Hudson Street as they hand out fliers Wednesday.
ALBANY — In an effort to raise awareness about the responsibilities of being a good neighbor after Saturday’s “kegs and eggs” melee, Albany police and representatives from the University at Albany and The College of Saint Rose knocked on doors in the city’s Pine Hills neighborhood Wednesday to speak with residents.
But those who live and work in the area said past efforts by officials have not worked.
“Something similar was done before Halloween,” said Anton Pasquill, owner of the Hudson River Coffee House on the corner of Quail Street and Hudson Avenue. School representatives and police attempted to speak with students and other residents who answered the door.
When they did not, police left notices explaining they were still seeking “students who acted inappropriately and in some cases criminally.” They were asking those with further information to step forward.
Police have been circulating pictures and video of about 27 people who they still wish to question. So far five people have been charged with felonies and about 37 were issued appearance tickets.
Tom Gebhardt, director of off-campus affairs for UAlbany, left notices reminding students that those who do not follow the school’s code of conduct would be subject to judicial action. Three students have been temporarily suspended.
Chris McKessy, a UAlbany senior who lives on Hudson Avenue, was angered by the notices, calling them “threats.”
“The university doesn’t pay for me to live in this house, I pay to live here,” he said, explaining that the colleges should not be involved in events that occurred off school property. “These notices are going in the garbage like the rest of the papers they leave us.”
McKessy said he wasn’t home at the time of the “kegs and eggs” melee. The next day he found the hood of his car had been damaged and there were footprints as if someone had been standing on top of it.
McKessy said in the past there have been parties on his street that were just as bad, and that police are so involved now because of the many videos circulating on the Internet.
“I can give you a perfect example. When the Yankees won the World Series there were shopping carts on fire in the street,” he said.
Two students who wished not to be named agreed. They said televisions were being thrown from windows into the street during last year’s “kegs and eggs” event.
UAlbany sophomore Michael Trapiano said he joined in the party on Hudson Avenue for a while but stopped when he saw people rocking cars. He eventually jumped on top of his own car and stayed the morning there to keep it safe.
“I never thought anything could get that out of hand,” he said.
But he too feels the schools should stay out of the confrontation because the incident happened off-campus. “It doesn’t affect their schoolwork, what they do on the weekend. It’s a criminal issue.”
Pasquill refused to open his coffee shop on Saturday because of the mob, even though he lost money.
The recent UAlbany graduate would like to see the students clean the neighborhood and has helped organize an event Friday to do so.
But beyond punishing the students, he said the root of the problem needs to be addressed.
Pasquill thinks landlords should be held accountable for not bringing their buildings up to code before renting them. He said it would revitalize the region and bring more people downtown. He feels if the city and the landlords don’t care about the area, students won’t either.
McKessy said every student shouldn’t be held accountable for the actions of a few and that many involved were visitors, not students.
“We understand that the neighborhood’s not in the best of conditions right now and [most students] would like to make it better,” he said. “Regular people who didn’t damage anything will hopefully make amends with the police officers and hopefully this whole situation will come to an end.”
