At the corner of First and Quail streets stands a children's center. The day it opened, Victory Christian Church Pastor Charlie Muller said, there was a shooting.
"We have bullets in our walls here," he said.
Over the years, its members have become accustomed to violence that plagues the neighborhood.
"They're just so used to it," Muller said. "It's a part of life."
Wednesday morning's shooting was no different. Around 9:30 a.m., police say they got a call for a victim on Benson Street.
"When officers arrived on scene, they located a 23-year-old male with a single gunshot wound to his back," said Steve Smith of the Albany Police Department.
Police say the victim was actually shot in the driver's seat of his car on Quail -- several feet from the JC Club. He was able to make it to his home half a mile away on Benson before being taken to the hospital.
"We're so grateful he is alive," Muller said.
Muller runs the JC Club. He says the area has deeper issues leading to gun violence.
"Every morning we come in and we see the little crack bags," he said. "They're dealing drugs."
The pastor says police, city officials, and residents need to all work together to transform their neighborhood that's become a crime hot spot.
"We're always trying to stop the gun violence," Smith said, "but obviously the police can't be everywhere at once. It takes the community as a whole to stop the violence. If you know somebody involved in this activity, give us a call."
"It's a battle and the battle will go on," Muller said, "but we're not going to win unless we start enforcing some things, and we need to do it this year."