Albany pastors, business owners take stand against violence

Violence in Albany’s Pine Hills neighborhood is an ongoing problem for local businesses. In an effort to keep long time places like Paesan’s Pizza in the area, pastors are partnering with the owner to come up with solutions.

Surveillance video from the pizza shop last August captured a moment gunshots were fired and people were running.

One of the pastors attending says she’s been active in the community for years with different programs to help the youth but now she’s partnering with the owner of Paesan’s to see if they can reduce the crime affecting the area.

“I think it’s important, because we are living in a little bit of trying times and people need to know that there is still hope, and sometimes we judge and we assume that people do certain things, but we don’t know what’s really going on,” said Constance Knight, a pastor with Welcome Chapel MBC. “So until we know what’s going on in our community, that’s one of the reasons why we go outside of our church, every first Saturday.”

They’re hoping to keep the momentum going to keep Albany safe.