ALBANY — County elections officials don’t want to move the Board of Elections to the South End because it’s “a bad, dangerous neighborhood,” according to Republican Commissioner Rachel Bledi.

Bledi said Wednesday that she and Democratic Elections Commissioner Matthew Clyne are opposed to moving their offices to the soon-to-be-vacant Department of Motor Vehicles site on South Pearl Street because of safety concerns.

“The neighborhood, quite frankly, is not safe,” Bledi said. “I do understand (Executive Daniel) McCoy’s desire to relocate us to a more affordable option, but it also has to come with proper security measures.”

McCoy took offense to Bledi's remarks about the South End, a neighborhood he grew up in.

"If it's unsafe for them, maybe it's unsafe for everyone else," McCoy said. "I think it's ludicrous. Are they better than the people who live down there? Are their workers different than firefighters, police officers, teachers?"

To save the county more than $350,000 annually, McCoy wants to shift the Board of Elections — currently located at 32 North Russell Road, just off Central Avenue — to 224-260 S. Pearl St., which the county owns and has leased to the state DMV for several years. Last month, McCoy confirmed to the Times Union that the state motor vehicles office was looking to relocate. Its lease is up at the end of October.

There are no definitive plans to move the county elections office to the South Pearl Street site, and they’re considering all options – including relocating the county probation office, currently located across from the Times Union Center. McCoy says that space has attracted lucrative offers from developers who want to turn it into apartments.

McCoy also wants to enhance the South End. Any county office that may locate to the DMV building could move elsewhere if a more lucrative option – say, a grocery store – is proposed for the site, he said.

Bledi said she and Clyne are both opposed to the move, and while safety is their top concern, they also don’t think the space is functional for their needs.

“We did a tour of the facility, and it was very clear right off the bat it wasn’t going to work,” Bledi said. “It’s not what we’re looking for, and not what we need.”

Clyne did not return requests for comment.

The site shares a parking lot with the county Health and Mental Health buildings, is across the street from Giffen Memorial Elementary School, diagonal from the Albany Fire Department and around the corner from Albany Police’s South Station. It also is directly across from the Capital City Rescue Mission, and close to several drug rehabilitation and social service facilities.

Bledi said the elections office has about 1,200 people who come to their office throughout the year for evening training as poll inspectors, most of them older retirees.

“They’re not comfortable coming down for training in a neighborhood that has higher crime rates," she said. "Maybe it is a better location for the probation department. That is the reality that exists in the city of Albany. The city is controlled by the Democratic Party — it’s on them to address these issues.”

City officials, however, disputed Bledi's contention that the Board of Elections' current location is safer than the South End site.

Upper Washington Avenue has had 224 "Part 1 crimes" — which include homicides, robberies, larcenies and assaults — so far this year, while the Mansion District has had 115, Albany Police crime statistics show.

"The statistics bear something out that's different," said Mayor Kathy Sheehan, who noted that the state has never expressed concern to her about crime near the DMV office: "I would be surprised if the BOE would have a different experience."

Sheehan pointed out that with groceries stores and other retail outlets clustered around the elections board's current headquarters, there are far more police calls.

Common Council member Derek Johnson, who represents the South End, said Bledi's comments were a “smack in the face.”

“If you keep making decisions that aren’t in the betterment of the community, you’re going to reap what you sow,” Johnson said. “It’s very insensitive (for public officials) to make comments on communities that they aren’t in touch with.”

The Board of Elections is currently the only county department that occupies leased space.

More for you News Albany DMV moving to Central Avenue in 2019

McCoy said the county could have purchased the North Russell Road property years ago, but there wasn’t support.

The elections board has been there since 2005, and the building was sold in 2007 for $700,000.

The county Legislature in 2014 renewed its lease at 32 North Russell at $25,000 per month through April 2019. The building owner, Robert Baron of 14 Petra LLC, wasn’t looking to sell.

At the time, Bledi had said none of McCoy’s alternatives were viable, and suggested the price of leasing the space was comparable to other buildings in the area.

On Wednesday, Bledi said she recognizes the exorbitant cost of rent and suggested vacant buildings in Albany's warehouse district could be considered.

“The biggest mistake they ever made was not purchasing the building when it was available several years ago,” Bledi said.

The state Office of General Services plans to move the DMV from the South End to 855 Central Ave. — about a block away from the current home of the Board of Elections.