An old, dangerous building that had been a magnet for trouble in Schenectady is gone. Geoff Redick has more from Crane Street, where demolition crews are finishing the job Friday.

SCHENECTADY, N.Y. -- The building at 1032 Crane Street has served as a corner store and a couple of different pizzerias in recent years. Now, it’s just in pieces.

The building along with its neighbor on the corner of Sixth Avenue, were torn down Friday to make way for a new county library.

But it is more than that --1032 has been a haven for drugs and crime over the past several years.

According to city statistics, last year alone it was the reason for more than 500 police calls.

The mayor says that is an outsize problem that needed to be remedied, and the county is glad to contribute a new library, to help.

There is currently a Schenectady library next door to the demolished building.  That one will remain open, until construction is complete on the new library. Then the old one will be torn down, for a parking lot.