By MARK O'BRIEN

SCHENECTADY, N.Y. -- Raul Rolon moved to Schenectady’s Hamilton Hill neighborhood six years ago.

He says the overall quality of rental properties is embarrassing and getting worse.

“We have some blocks you don’t even want to walk down,” Rolon says.  “The houses are so horrible.”

It’s a similar complaint for others across the city, as well, all of whom say landlords in general are out of touch.

“There are condemned houses.  There are houses that need to be fixed.  There are houses (on the inside) that need to be repaired,” says Regina Lincoln.

So the city and Mayor Brian Stratton are launching a program to help turn things around.

GROW, an acronym for Guidance Responsible Owners Want, will give selected landlords management and financial training free of charge.

“Some of the problems we’ve had in terms of code enforcement, absentee landlords, buildings that aren’t maintained that I’ve seen over and over and over again,” Mayor Stratton says, “had this program been in place since 2004, maybe we wouldn’t have seen those things.”

There are 14,000 rental units across Schenectady, many of them owned by people who don’t even live on the property itself.  The goal of the program is to make sure owners don’t get in over their heads before it’s too late.  It’s also meant to improve the cityscape and the quality of life.

The program doesn’t just target residential owners.  It’s also available to owners of office and retail space, with the goal being to improve business districts just as much as the neighborhoods.

“Keeping up on what’s happening, learning best practices and the changes in those best practices over time is critical to the success of any investment property owner,” says Jesse Holland, President of Sunrise Management and Consulting of Latham, which is partnering with Schenectady on this endeavor.  Holland says any property owner can apply, regardless of whether they’re in it for the short- or long-haul.

The pilot program starts in January at no cost to the city, but available space is limited.  The test run only has room for 10 small property owners (four to 20 units), three retail property owners, three office property owners, and three large multi-family property owners.

Anyone interested in more information and signing up should call (518) 389-2700.