A portion of South Ferry Street in Albany was named Monday in honor of Father Peter Young.

For more than 50 years, Young founded several nonprofit organizations that provided housing, job training and counseling to those struggling with addiction.

“Father Young was one of the first people that helped teach me that continuing to arrest people because of addiction was the wrong answer. We needed to get people housing. We needed to get people treatment; we needed to get people employment,” said interim Albany Police Chief Brendan Cox.

“He lifted everyone up. He gave everyone a second chance, a third chance, a fourth chance because he believed that that is what we were called by God to do. And he lived that faith every day. And for that, we are a better city. And for that, we are standing here today to ensure that we remember him and that we have the ability to speak about him    to those future generations,” said Albany Mayor Kathy Sheehan.

Father Young died in 2020 at the age of 90.