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The vehicle is in fair condition and runs well.

Sayers Donates Cruiser To Pittsfield Police

By Andy McKeeveriBerkshires Staff
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Henry 'Hank' Sayers is donating the 2000 Ford to the Pittsfield Police Department.
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — After towing two of their vehicles, the owner of Sayers Auto Wrecking thought it was time the Auxiliary Police got a new vehicle.
 
Henry "Hank" Sayers recently purchased a 2000 Crown Victoria at auction and is donating it to the Pittsfield Auxiliary Police. The City Council accepted the donation two weeks ago and the vehicle is awaiting pick up.
 
"I knew they were short [a vehicle] and everybody has tight budgets. They don't have a lot to work with," Sayers said on Tuesday.
 
Sayers knew a new car was needed after towing two of auxiliary vehicles. At auction, he found a series of former Connecticut police cars and purchased them all — selling some to a local taxi company and keeping one to donate to the police.
 
"It has the whole police package," Sayers said of the car. "It is in fair condition. It runs good. It is one of the better riding ones."
 
The vehicle has some life left in it. Sayers will ultimately see it come back to him in a few years, when he'll scrap it and make a few bucks. But for now, the city doesn't have to dip into its capital borrowing to purchase a new cruiser.
 
The Auxiliary Police will use it for patrol, special events and emergencies. The vehicle needs a paint job and some "TLC" but should be fairly easy to get on the road.
 
This is the second time Sayers has donated to the Auxiliary Police. About seven years ago, he passed on a vehicle that he had donated to the town of Lanesborough. Lanesborough's first K-9 unit car was donated by Sayers in a same fashion and when the town bought a new cruiser, it came back to Sayers, who offered it to Pittsfield.
 
"They have one of ours already," Sayers said. 
 
The City Council was grateful for the donation. Vice President Christopher Connell added that it could give the city the opportunity to use the old car as a "decoy," parked in places of high speeding.

Tags: donations,   police cruiser,   

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Pittsfield Housing Project Adds 37 Supportive Units and Collective Hope

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff

PITTSFIELD, Mass.— A new chapter in local efforts to combat housing insecurity officially began as community leaders and residents gathered at The First on to celebrate a major expansion of supportive housing in the city.

The ribbon was cut on Thursday Dec. 19, on nearly 40 supportive permanent housing units; nine at The First, located within the Zion Lutheran Church, and 28 on West Housatonic Street.  The Housing Resource Center, funded by Pittsfield's American Rescue Plan Act dollars, hosted a celebration for a project that is named for its rarity: The First. 

"What got us here today is the power of community working in partnership and with a shared purpose," Hearthway CEO Eileen Peltier said. 

In addition to the 28 studio units at 111 West Housatonic Street and nine units in the rear of the church building, the Housing Resource Center will be open seven days a week with two lounges, a classroom, a laundry room, a bathroom, and lockers. 

Erin Forbush, ServiceNet's director of shelter and housing, challenged attendees to transform the space in the basement of Zion Lutheran Church into a community center.  It is planned to operate from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. year-round.

"I get calls from folks that want to help out, and our shelters just aren't the right spaces to be able to do that. The First will be that space that we can all come together and work for the betterment of our community," Forbush said. 

"…I am a true believer that things evolve, and things here will evolve with the people that are utilizing it." 

Earlier that day, Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities Secretary Ed Augustus joined Lieutenant Governor Kim Driscoll and her team in Housatonic to announce $33.5 million in federal Community Development Block Grant funding, $5.45 million to Berkshire County. 

He said it was ambitious to take on these two projects at once, but it will move the needle.  The EOHLC contributed more than $7.8 million in subsidies and $3.4 million in low-income housing tax credit equity for the West Housatonic Street build, and $1.6 million in ARPA funds for the First Street apartments.

"We're trying to get people out of shelter and off the streets, but we know there are a lot of people who are couch surfing, who are living in their cars, who are one paycheck away from being homeless themselves," Augustus said. 

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