Demolition hearings finished

Troy

Mayor Lou Rosamilia and two key members of his administration said Thursday night they learned of the emergency King Street demolition when they came to work Aug. 5, 2013.

Rosamilia, Deputy Mayor Peter Ryan and Corporation Counsel Ian Silverman described the same set of events surrounding the razing of 4-6-8-10 King St.

Their nearly three hours of testimony occurred during the final hearing held by the City Council on the demolition.

They didn't address the demolition work at the King Fuels Site in South Troy as Council President Rodney Wiltshire said the council had wrapped up its questioning about that.

The emergency demolition was done privately by a contractor hired by Donald Boyajian, the owner of the King Street buildings, as well as 2 King St., which houses Bombers Burrito Bar.

The three top city officials described how they learned of the emergency minutes before they went into their Monday morning staff meeting.

They spoke how Boyajian was contacted; the razing of the building; and how the city did not have a contract with a consulting engineer to fill in for former City Engineer Russ Reeves, who was on vacation.

Wiltshire said the testimony cleared up some timeline issues.

He said there are still questions about what happened in the weeks and month before the demolition.

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Demolition hearings finished