What’s Next?

Saturday afternoon, Sept. 8th. A concrete panel near the roofline of the building on the corner of Bridge and Margaret streets falls off, hitting the sidewalk. Fortunately no one is hurt.

The area around the building is barricaded from foot traffic and less than a week later three sections from the upper part of the building are removed. The yellow tape and wooden sawhorses blocking the area are taken away. The building is considered fixed.

But while safety issues are been addressed, the problem remains that the building has lost exterior sections, architectural detail is missing. It looks scarred.




Obviously the expense to restore the missing parts is considerable. While the city spends many thousands of taxpayer dollars putting in new stonework and fancy benches, the improvements could be overshadowed over time by deteriorating old buildings around downtown. The aesthetics have to be considered as a whole. After all, if a nearby building is falling apart, no one can sit in one of those fancy new benches.

And another point: I’m not an architect or a construction expert, but I’m wondering if not replacing missing sections to the exterior of the building affects the stability of other exterior parts. One person told me that he thought water and ice pried out the panel that fell to the sidewalk. With the sections removed, it seems that would provide more opportunity for water to leak in and then turn into ice, continuing the damage. Also – and correct me if I’m wrong – but I suspect that the exterior to some extent stays in place with all pieces reinforcing each other as a complete unit.

Even if there are no more safety issues, the building still looks damaged. It should be fully restored: its architectural features are striking, unusual. If Plattsburgh wants to spruce up its downtown, then it has to consider the state of the older buildings. Maybe grant money, low interest loans or tax breaks could be used to help out building owners.

Or will the city stumble along along, sleepwalking, until all of downtown Plattsburgh is cordoned off with yellow tape?