Vacant land in Knox headed back to drawing board

Photo: Lori Van Buren

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Vacant land, on right, along Hammond Ave. was sold to a political insider by the Albany County Legislature on Thursday, Dec. 7, 2017 in Delanson, N.Y. (Lori Van Buren / Times Union)

Photo: Lori Van Buren

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Map of Hammond property

• On Oct. 2, 22 Hammond Road in Knox as well as 22 other properties in Albany County were recommended for sale to the Albany County Land Bank. On Oct. 25, the county Legislature’s Audit & Finance Committee approved the recommendation.

•On Nov. 9, legislature Chairman Sean Ward received a letter from John Graziano Jr. offering $60,000 for the 65 acres at 22 Hammond.

• On Nov. 15, the Knox parcel was pulled out separately from the previously approved property sales to the Land Bank and recommended to be sold to Graziano. The Audit & Finance Committee unanimously approved the individual conveyance with no discussion.

• On Dec. 4, the Albany County Legislature votes 21-17 to sell 22 Hammond to Graziano under the limited liability corporation, Johnnick, LLC, despite concern from Knox Legislator Travis Stevens and several other representatives.

• County Executive Daniel McCoy has until Dec. 16 to veto the measure.

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Map of Hammond property

• On Oct. 2, 22 Hammond Road in Knox as well as 22 other properties in Albany County were recommended for sale to the Albany County Land Bank. On Oct. 25, the county

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Photo: Jeff Boyer/Times Union

ALBANY — No Albany lawmakers have gone public with plans to override county Executive Daniel McCoy’s recent veto of a land sale in Knox to a former Republican county legislator.

Amid calls from county as well as Knox town officials to halt the sale, McCoy on Wednesday announced his veto of the sale of a 65-acre vacant parcel to John Graziano Jr., a former Colonie Republican legislator and president of an Albany-based lobbying firm.

Sean Ward, the legislature's chairman, said Friday he recommended to Democratic legislators during a caucus the previous evening to let the veto stand, but no final determination has been made.

“We’ll start over again and see what the legislature wants to do,” Ward said, adding he asked McCoy to veto the measure after questions were raised. “It’ll be even more transparent than the transparency that happened last time.”

Concern over the sale was initially brought up by Republicans during the legislature's Dec. 4 meeting, although several Democrats also raised concern.

County legislators will meet Monday; any member could make a motion for a veto override.

The property in question runs along the right side of Hammond Road, a dead-end street, and a portion of Drumm Road. The tract surrounds two occupied homes. While part of the property has wetlands, most of it is not designated as such. It's about a mile off Route 146, a main road through the Helderbergs.

Those opposed to the $60,000 purchase — offered by Graziano through a limited liability corporation, Johnnick LLC — wanted more transparency, an appraisal to confirm the land's value, and an opportunity for adjacent property owners to make offers.

While Graziano did not respond to requests for comment Friday, he was quoted in a Dec. 14 Altamont Enterprise story saying he was no longer interested in the property. He called recent reports on the sale “a 100 percent political hit job.”

Knox Town Supervisor Vasilios Lefkaditis, a Republican, said the Town Board on Tuesday approved sending a letter expressing support for McCoy’s veto.

“It wasn’t about how things went down; it was about how they didn’t go down,” Lefkaditis said. “We wanted an open and transparent process.”

Supporters of the sale insisted the process had been transparent, the amount offered was above the $50,000 estimated market value given by the executive office, and the acreage lacked access and had wetlands.

With the sale vetoed, Lefkaditis would like to see adjacent property owners and Knox residents given the opportunity to purchase the vacant land. He said there are "a handful” who are interested.

McCoy doesn’t often veto measures approved by the Legislature because the executive and legislative branches work together.

“It’s been more of a collaboration — with legislatures as a whole and leadership — that we’ve worked over the last six years to develop,” he said.

March 2015 was the last time McCoy vetoed a resolution. That one involved a resolution that granted health insurance to a retired employee who missed a cutoff date by four months. The legislature later overrode the veto.

“I still felt it was right even though I didn’t have the votes, because I wanted to send a message,” McCoy said.

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