Pol Pushes to Keep State Office Building in Public Hands

According to the Fort Greene Association, the Office of General Services is considering selling its office building at 55 Hanson Place, which was recently renamed for former Representative Shirley Chisholm. State Senator Velmanette Montgomery has started a petition to keep the building under state ownership. If it’s sold, the a Harlem building will be the state’s only office property in the city. According to Montgomery: “This continues the wasteful pattern of selling state buildings and then renting space for state officers from private developers. It removes easy access to local government offices from the people.” The Daily News notes that the building has offices for the Department of Taxation, Office of Children and Family Services, and other agencies. Yesterday Fort Greene Patch reached out to a state spokeswoman, who denied it was for sale. According to the spokeswoman: “Our goal is to maximize the use of space, and minimize costs for New York State taxpayers.” Nevertheless, Montgomery’s office is circulating a mail-in petition about the possible sale that can be found here [PDF]. GMAP