Troy

David Willett's deal is Duncan Crary's heartbreak.

Willett recently bought seven acres of land from the city of Troy for the can't-beat-it price of $1,000. That's right. Seven acres for $1,000.

There's no doubting that Willett, the only person to bid on the acreage, got quite a bargain. Though hilly, the land along Canal Avenue has a full market value of $114,300, according to city records.

What's more, the city sold a nearby one-acre parcel last year for $10,000.

When I talked to him on Friday, Willett sounded almost giddy about his purchase, which closed in December. He's using the land to store vehicles and equipment for his masonry business.

But here's the heartbreak part: The land, acquired by the city through tax delinquency, is a key parcel for a proposed Emerald Necklace, a network of trails that would link some of Troy's amazing but relatively unknown natural wonders.

Crary, who lives in the city, has been advocating for the trail network for about 15 years and has convinced a fair number of people, including former and current elected officials, that it's a great idea. City Hall remains unconvinced, apparently. It largely handled the sale to Willett, although the City Council gave it a final OK.

"I'm not sure they even knew what they were selling," Crary said. "I don't think they even went and looked at it."

(Mayor Patrick Madden's administration did not answer requests for comment.)

Ten years ago, Crary took former Times Union reporter Alan Wechsler on a hike of the proposed 4.5-mile trail. On Friday, after learning of the land sale, Crary dragged me out for a repeat journey.

"Bring water," he told me. "Wear long pants."

I remembered the long pants but forgot the water.

We started by entering the woods near a South Troy gas station and were quickly along the Wynants Kill where the old Burden Iron Works once stood. From there, we climbed up and up and up (or at least that's how it seemed) to the Burden Pond Environmental Park before making our way toward the Poesten Kill.

Some of Crary's proposed trail passes through land that is already owned by the city. The trails already exist, largely. And the landscape is remarkable: streams and waterfalls and the Poestenkill Gorge set among hills and woods that feel remote, though city streets are always a short distance away.

"This does not feel like you are in the middle of Troy," Crary said as we enjoyed a sweeping view of woods and hills.

"Isn't this a slice of heaven?" Crary said as we watched a fast-moving section of the Poesten Kill crash over rocks along steep cliffs.

Crary and I hiked for 90 minutes through Troy's almost-wilderness before we arrived at the seven-acre parcel that spurred our trip. As we looked down on land Willett has cleared for parked vehicles, Crary ruefully noted how the spot would be an ideal trailhead for South Troy.

"It's not like the trail can't happen because of this," he said. "But if the city had known what they were selling, they could have sold it with an easement."

The idea of an Emerald Necklace is not new. Boston has one, designed by Frederick Law Olmsted, that links its major parks.

Boston's natural landscape has nothing on Troy. In fact, there may not be a city in the country in which densely packed old neighborhoods sit in such proximity to spectacular natural attractions.

Crary, for one, thinks a Troy trail network could rival Thacher State Park, and you don't need a Ph.D. in economics to understand how an Emerald Necklace could boost the city. The trail would end at Prospect Park, near all the downtown stores and restaurants and all that remarkable architecture.

More Information Contact columnist Chris Churchill at 518-454-5442 or email cchurchill@timesunion.com See More Collapse

But Troy is forever blind to its assets and hampered by a bizarre refusal to capitalize on what it has.

Thus, the shortsighted mindset that leads City Hall to give away seven lovely acres for $1,000. The city even sweetened Willett's deal by agreeing to change the land's zoning to allow a commercial use.

"It's frustrating, obviously," said Anasha Cummings, who joined the City Council in January, after members approved selling the land to Willett. "Just blindly selling property like that for $1,000 is questionable."

Cummings is an advocate for building Troy's trail network, so he's sorry to see the Canal Avenue land slip from city hands. He also noted the need to better publicize city property sales to attract more bidders.

I should mention that late last year, the state attorney general's office launched an investigation into the sale of Troy tax-delinquent properties to city employees given an inside track on the purchases.

But there's no indication that anything untoward led to Willett's good fortune.

"I couldn't believe it," he said. "For $1,000, how do you go wrong?"