<body><div><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=445TDo_1B1so1cV00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=445TDo_1B1so1cV00" width="1159" height="869" ><figcaption>This lot at 503 Ninth Ave. SE, shown Saturday, is one of three surplus lots the city council has not sold.&nbsp;</figcaption></figure>Last July the Albany City Council rejected an offer of $125,o00 for three blighted lots at the corner of Ninth Avenue and Jackson Street. The properties seem to have been forgotten since.Neither the lots themselves nor the parking strip on the street, normally the responsibility of the property owner, has been mowed lately. Weeds up to shoulder height cover part of the corner lot at 503 Ninth.The sign on the fence still says the property is for sale and invites bids by a date in June — last year.The lots at issue are at 817 Jackson St. SE and 503 and 519 Ninth Ave. SE. On two of the lots, the city allowed homeless people to camp until that arrangement resulted in too many safety problems and was canceled in July 2024.The lots, owned by the city since 1990, were declared surplus.Last summer, Van Vleet Meat and Food Services submitted the highest of three bids for the properties at $125,000. Councilors Ramycia McGhee and Marilyn Smith voted to accept the offer, but Steph Newton, Carolyn McLeod, Chris Van Drimmelen and Michael Thomson voted “no.”The council majority wanted at least $145,000, which an appraiser hired by the city said the vacant lots were worth.Van Vleet wanted the city lots for parking so it could expand its business building, which is across Jackson Street.Almost a year later, the lots still belong to the city. They are still zoned for industrial use. They are still off the tax rolls. And they are not being mowed. (hh)<figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=44Zvie_1B1so1cV00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=44Zvie_1B1so1cV00" width="1159" height="869" ><figcaption>Signs on the back fence stem from when this lot was a designated camping area for homeless people.</figcaption></figure></div></body>

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Last July the Albany City Council rejected an offer of $125,o00 for three blighted lots at the corner of Ninth Avenue and Jackson Street. The properties seem to have been forgotten since. Neither the lots themselves nor the parking strip on the street, normally the responsibility of the property owner,...

Look at those city-owned lots now

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Last July the Albany City Council rejected an offer of $125,o00 for three blighted lots at the corner of Ninth Avenue and Jackson Street. The properties se

Look at those city-owned lots now

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