I can go into great lengths about the fact that it's four hundred million guns in America and only three hundred million, three hundred and thirty million people, about the fact that forty thousand guns are produced every day, fourteen million guns are produced every year.

So the concept of just getting the guns off the street sounds good and I'm all for it, but I know we need other measures, other factors to come into play to disrupt and interrupt the drivers of violence in the city of Albany.

I was at a revitalization meeting last week and they were talking about how the population is decreasing.

And I believe this plan will have a positive bearing on the population decreasing because safe people feel feel more like they want to stay in that particular place.

Do open up the door to negative situations and negative interactions taking place.

Environmental and social factors that converge to create dangerous conditions.

And I used this quote here that says, Rain does not fall on one roof alone.

For us to recognize that even within this room, we have a responsibility to make the best decisions we can as a political body, but as individuals.

If you see a young person, you just saying hi to them, how you doing, could start a conversation that you may possibly be able to save their life.

I told the council people before I came in here, uh, one of my neighbors committed suicide recently, and their mother was interested in me working with them.

And by the time I found it out, it was too late.

And that's what I refuse to allow to happen in the city of Albany.

I know kids on the uptown side and the downtown side, and they in the streets.

And my worst fear is that a kid that I know will kill another kid that I know.

So this framework should hope to change that.

Climate and crime are intimately entwined.

And especially in the city.

Cities can be up to 15 to 20 degrees hotter than their rural counterparts.

And I don't know if we take this into consideration.

The scientific connection between aggression and heat.

I've seen studies where officers pulled their guns at roughly a 50 to 60% rate when it was 70 degrees, but pulled it at a 70 to 80% rate when it was 81 degrees.

So we would be fooling ourselves not to think that that has a bearing on some of the activities that's happening during the summer, especially in those areas that are urban, urban heat, urban heat islands.

The human toe, violence beyond the streets.

Well, we recognize it's not just gun violence, it's domestic violence, it's community violence, it's elder abuse.

I was actually at a meeting with some representatives from AARP last week to begin to introduce some concepts of how can we make them more aware of what domestic abuse is, how to let them know when they're being taken advantage of in a negative way.

Because that also is another form of violence that we need to address.

There's no form of violence that's acceptable in my book.

The human toll also falls into areas of alcohol inducing situations and drug-inducing situations.

And then you mix the heat, and then you wonder why you have some of the situations we have going on, and then you remove or you don't have the mental health resources, or a lot of times, not that they don't exist, but we may not know where the bridge is that'll bring us to those resources.

And I'll get to that a little bit later as well.

Our mission, the role of the violence prevention task force is to develop a comprehensive equity-rooted strategy.

Thank you to Dorsey Aplist for introducing that concept of equity, because you know, equality is great when you're dealing with maybe apples, right?

But when you're dealing with people, equity is the key.

We'll go into that on the next slide as well.

Engaging communities through forums, workshops, and events.

I'm a firm believer that the people closest to the problem are closest to the solution.

So I make it my business to engage the community members.

I make it my business to let them know that their voice is a valued and what they have to say.

That's the way I will, that's the way the plan should be laid out.

Them, the youth, the people who are most impacted should have a big voice in where these ideas will go.

That's why we, to our best ability, we try to utilize participatory budgeting, because we recognize that imposed budgeting is not recognizing the power of the people.

So with the little time we had, we did that to the best of our ability.

To collaborate with local organizations to amplify impact, which I do every day.

I meet up organizations, whether it's Ford Family, whether it's All Streets Global, Annette Brown, Boys and Girls Club, bridging the gap.

I could go on and on and on with the organizations that I interact with while I'm working and on my off hours.

Twice a month I feed people at the mission on Sundays.

So it's it's all about being closer to the problem so you can be closer to the solution.

And lastly, in terms of our mission, a focus on listening and not lecturing, I think is a lesson for all adults that think they got these kids figured out.

Or the reverse, think that these kids just is no way to figure them out.

I think we gotta recognize focusing on listening and not lecturing is what opens the doors to those kind of conversations that can create more insights.

Community engagement, that's what it's all about with me.

So about making sure that those who are most affected can be closest and more involved with the remedies that can be applied.

And that means meeting people where they at, holding community meetings and forums, transparent communication with no false promises.

They get too many promises from the city, too many promises from organizations, too many promises from preachers.

When in reality, it's not about making promises to a person, it's about giving them a choice and a chance.

And from there, great things can happen.

It's about creating safe spaces for honest dialogue and providing refreshments and structure and clear expectations.

I think it's important when we get together with the community that it's done in this in just that way.

It's a community gathering.

It's an opportunity for people to get together to express themselves, to be themselves.

Sometimes in a system or sometimes in a place where you feel repressed and suppressed.

And we know anything that's pushed back and suppressed and neglected or abandoned may act out in ways that are adverse.

Research and methodology.

A comprehensive evidence-based approach is what we took to this.

It was all about best practices.

It was all about making sure that whatever we brought to the table was something that had roots in being efficacious as well as were cutting the edge.

We were tied to trying to solve new problems with old solutions.

I think it was really incumbent upon us to try to think out the box to recognize that our young people are thinking out the box.

I wasn't raised with a smartphone.

I wasn't raised where if I had a fight, it would be on Facebook for the rest of the mouse whole school year and potentially for the rest of my life.

I wasn't raised in that environment.

So I listened to them, listening and not lecturing.

And I see where we, through education, raising awareness and caring can make an impact on some of the decisions that they're making.

I've seen kids everything from people coming to their house to hurt them because what they said online to being sexually blackmailed.

So I think it's incumbent on us to recognize we can't solve these new problems with old solutions.

Mixed methods research, we did a lot of quantitative data and qualitative insights.

As I'm speaking right now, the qualitative insights came from the people.

Community surveys, that was one of the ways we did it.

Stakeholder interviews, I interviewed everybody from McFarland, Mrs.

McFarland at the CEO of Equinox to Dan Sarudi.

You know, I I felt like any voice I could have gotten to better crafted this plan was if there was no stone to be left unturned.

And the same I was have to say for all my other task force members.

Program evaluations, national benchmarking, and best practices.

That's what we engaged ourselves in.

Sources included media analysis, NGOs, and regional crime data.

I like to thank Shakuna Lofton from the APD because she was very consistent with giving us the information that we needed to make good decisions.

Community context.

By working the streets of Albany for the last three years, only in the hot zones.

My last name isn't Cancer or Talva or Robinson.

That I was able to come here with a clean slate.

And I was able to learn and discern from that perspective of that clean slate.

And a lot of these ideas come from that space.

But systemic divestment, housing and security, and youth unemployment are big problems in Albany.

I often tell people what can 11-year-old do to earn money.

Can't get a job, can't even get working papers.

But they can be recruited by a gang.

And that gang will provide them economic mobility.

And the economic mobility will raise their social status.

And so now, what's on the other side?

You got to provide them resources that they can believe even at 11 years old.

You can start a business at 11.

You can go into business for yourself.

Or you need somebody for the legal consent.

So it's many ideas we can, and I know so many kids that are online, making money online, and if they had just a little bit more mentorship, a little bit more help, the chances of them going on to the streets to get into an argument about selling drugs when people are going over that same corner, to then now somebody get shot, to now somebody's brother and sister and cousin comes back because they could probably solve a lot of these problems by just addressing them early and giving people more resources.

And even our youngest people, they need more resources.

Overall crime is down in Albany, but hot spots persist, and like I always say, one shot is one shot too many.

And the violence is concentrated in specific wards, and not in my mind because the people who are the representative of those wards are doing a slack job or lackluster.

I believe it's historic.

And if you look at the maps, you'll see the historical disenfranchisement, divestment, and neglect that many of those areas have um have endured.

Framework for action, a social ecological model.

I'm sure we all can relate to that.

We want to have a holistic approach.

We don't want to put a we don't want to just dress it up.

We want we want to really make sustainable change that involves healing inequity.

So it's the individual, the relationship, the community, and a society that are interrelated and correlated.

And we have to utilize our resources and our ideas, and the best way to address all four of those for mental health care, the youth mentorship, family interventions, conflict resolution, safe housing, job creation, public space for violin, because that helps to reduce violence.

And the reduction of violence helps the revitalization.

It's like one hand wash the other, and both hands wash the face.

So I'm very keen on making those changes that we need so we can bring more revitalization to the city.

And lastly, uh society, equity focused policy.

Once again, not just about equality or majority rule or even the rule of law.

Let's elevate humanity.

Let's look at these children like they are our greatest natural resource.

Let's look at each other like we are partners in an effort to lift up society.

To lift up our, and we lift up ourselves through doing that.

Right?

Dr.

King said, we all came here on different ships, but we're in the same, we're all on the same boat now.

And that's how I look at us in Albany.

We all have the opportunity to make a difference, especially in the lives of children.

So that's the framework for action.

Pardon me if I'm not catching their hair.

Um I'm really intimately tied to the subject.

National models at work.

Like I said, thank you to the chair.

She did great research in terms of Baltimore, you know, they're getting a lot of positive attention right now for the reduction in crime.

Some may say it was due to the curfew, others will say it wasn't.

But I think it's about using what's was good and taking advantage of what's good.

And I'm not saying that to say that I'm against the curfew either.

Matter of fact, I like not using the word curfew and using youth safety hours, like the way that sounds.

Um people, organizations like Roker, Safer Streets, Cease Fire.

These were models that we looked into as we were developing our programs for the youth.

As well as great strides that they're making in Newark with youth mentorship, public safety, cooperating production, which I thought was very interesting.

Public safety cooperating production, I'm sure y'all may know, but it's when the community members and public safety work together to solve the problems.

Once again, and I'll probably say it a hundred times before we leave here, those closest to the problem are closest to the solution.

Finding key things, urgent need for resources.

That's what the community is telling us.

That's what we're here.

They want more collaborations.

They want to believe in their community.

That's another thing we have to keep in mind.

And this is maybe outside of just violence, but Albany is a place that you you gotta market it as a place of cohesion.

You gotta market it as a place of historical greatness.

We have to market it.

The same way in Las Vegas, they market it what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas.

We have to find the things in Albany that are beautiful and let people that are here want to be here.

Let these kids and they walk them down the street, not want to rob somebody on South Pearl, but want to engage with the beautiful things that are happening and opening up their minds to something beyond the world on first and judge.

Or second in South Pearl, which I love those areas by the way.

Also, we interview police, business leaders, service providers, as well as the youth, as well as the youth.

I interview the youth every day personally.

Anytime I'm with a young person, I'm asking them what they're listening to, what they're doing, who what kind of job they're trying to get, how how you making it getting ready for school, bring me to another point.

I'm working on some information that's gonna help parents with the cell phone, the bell of bell cell phone restriction, and gonna help kids overcome their addiction, because that's what it is.

We're gonna need equinox involved.

This is not just put away the phone and you'll be fine.

We're dealing with an addiction just like a drug addiction.

We're dealing with addiction just like sex addiction, an addiction, a whole full blown addiction.

And I think we're gonna have to approach it that way.

Uh unfortunately, I don't see it going over smoothly if we don't have at least that contingency and that safety net for those who for those who are that took in by the um by the devices.

You voices emphasize emphasize the impact on trauma, incarceration, and the lack of opportunity.

That's what our young people told us about.

They they all worried about getting shot.

They're all worried about having to shoot somebody.

And when you feel like you're gonna have to shoot somebody, incarceration is part of the course.

So these are things that they think about.

And can you imagine that?

A 14-year-old, 15-year-old going to sleep, waking up, thinking about shooting somebody or getting shot.

That's why it's so important for us to invest in the community in ways that are beyond gun violence.

Because gun violence doesn't start with a gun.

Gun violence starts with neglect, abandonment, disenfranchisement, being put down, being counted out.

That's where it starts.

And poverty, lack of food resources, lack of stable housing.

That's where it starts.

I was told they only had 15 minutes, so I won't be too much longer.

Other key challenges identified, barriers to safety and stability, fragmented service delivery and a lack of coordination.

And this is important.

It puts me in mind on like 9-11 when the police didn't know what the fire was doing and everything.

We had a uh uh chaos.

Well, that's the way we'll be in this city if we don't work together from the NGOs to the city to the clergy, because we all got the same mission, which is to keep the city safer and to see it thrive.

And one needs the other in order for the folks to exist.

Limited access to mental health and trauma recovery services, underinvestment in youth development and career pathways, distrust between communities and institutions, and inadequate infrastructure for sustained violence prevention.

And you'll find why all of these challenges were um, you'll find that these challenges didn't go unaddressed in our in our plan.

Use in the challenges, unsafe environments, lack of relevant engagement, cycle of violence, mental health barriers, and gender risks.

Our young ladies are at a pivotal place within this um paradigm of new street culture and handgun violence.

They find themselves, they don't want to be victims, so a lot of them will exude a certain kind of energy.

And then they are also the ones who are with the guys in many cases who are doing the things they're doing, which that trauma plays a role, and now we need to team dating violence.

Now we in domestic violence and babies having babies and kids killing kids, and it's gotta be a better way.

Like I said, I can go in the, I could I could talk all day about this one page.

Youth focused recommendations.

Let's talk about some solutions.

I like to be solution-oriented.

Expand relevant programs, create mentorship spaces, increase credible messages, support family stability, and positive community feedback.

Um, I think we can all agree that sports and outlets for creativity are what we want our children to be engaged in.

It's what it's what we desire for our children.

We got people that pay money for classes for their children just to be able to have that experience.

Because they know it's foundational.

It's gonna form a different kind of individual.

And that's what we're looking to do.

We gotta we gotta recognize a lot of our kids are living in assimilation.

Yeah, a lot of our kids are living in a um in like a uh uh uh a rewind or a for like a like a uh a motion that just keeps going on and like a hamster on the wheel, so to speak.

They're not even being themselves because they have to um kowtow and become this version of what society said they was, and they're not seeing enough examples of of the other way around, and that's what I hope we can make it make a um a difference in doing through these recommendations and initiatives, business and leadership challenges.

The business people were straight were quick to tell me.

I spoke to Walter Thorne, the CEO of Albany Biz, Albany Biz Journal.

Underrepresentation in the dialogue, voices rarely addressed, violence is rarely addressed and discussed in business forms.

Now, I try to make it my business to make it to those business forms because I think violence needs to be on the table.

And I'm a firm believer, if if I if I don't get a seat at the table, I bring a folding chair, you know, because it's very important to be there.

Leadership and stability, tensions among cities' leaders hinders progress.

That was something that Walter Thorne told me.

He said, I've seen times that the city could have came together and got something done, and because of bad energy or egos, whatever you want to call it, that things weren't done that could have been done.

And I'm not saying that to hold nobody accountable to say you should have did this or you should.

I don't live in the past.

And I don't know what nobody totally did.

But I know that's what he told me, and I would suggest that we begin to look within.

And we may have different visions, but we got to maintain the same mission.

You must maintain the same mission.

If you got a bunch of soldiers out and they all on a different mission, it ain't gonna work.

Okay.

And definitely youth exclusion, also going back to underrepresentation in the dialogue.

Our young people are brilliant, genius.

I talk to some kids and I'm just blown, mind-blown with the way they look at the world and the things they got to say and the hope that they got and the humor.

And a lot of that gets diminished and erased by uh incident of gun violence or a school fight or something of that nature.

I don't I don't want us to give up on our young people based off one of the two things we see.

Because that's a terrible domino effect.

Economic development recommendations, private, public and private collaborations, youth entrepreneurship, mentorship, revitalization of the South End, which I think is something that everybody agrees with and is on the on the way.

Centered lived experience, and I know that so well from 51A Snub.

It's very, very important for people to have somebody that is culturally competent if they can.

Now, obviously that's not always going to be the case.

You can't always choose your doctor or the police officer that's going to have an interaction with you.

But I think it behooves all of us to recognize that lack of cultural competence is something that sparks situations and makes things worse that didn't have to go that far.

That lack of tolerance, those that unconscious bias that we often carry can create problems that they didn't even have to exist.

A lot of our young people are sensitive.

Underdeveloped brains, trust issues.

These are things we must take into consideration when we call ourselves helping them.

Because are we really helping them, or are we just satisfying our own egos and making ourselves feel better?

Champion youth, civic engagement, allow the youth to be included in planning and policy conversations.

And I know that sounds like why would we do that?

It's a great reason to do that because we are building the next citizens of Albany.

If you want them to stay in Albany, you want them to make Albany better, you want them to grow Albany, then give them a reason.

Let them know that they're valuable now.

So now when they turn 18, they're looking for the first ticket to get out of here.

Let them know they value now.

Let them know they have a place in this society.

And if they choose to leave, that's fine, but you got a place here.

I've always believed in the public health approach to safety.

You know, you you identify the situation, you you identify who's transmitting, interrupt the transmission, and you you work to change the norms.

I've done that for the last four years with Snug, but I've done it for the last 20 years working with hybrid youth.

Law enforcement perspective.

Chief Cox had a lot of great ideas, and I like his sense of um get involved in the community.

The emphasis on prevention, community, and public trust, recognition that law enforcement alone is not enough, and that's not an insult.

That's a reality.

And we should be complimenting in positive ways.

I think I was telling somebody today, I said, I'm I'm not calling them the um the police force in my mind anymore.

Because I've met many great officers in this building that now I look at them more like the police service.

And I would love for five, ten years from now, if just 20% of our community members could look at the law as a police service and not a police force.

That would make a big difference in terms of people being vulnerable to uh interactions and open to create to crucial and courageous conversations.

I think that would go a long way.

And the need for multi-sector partnerships to address the root causes of violence, because if you don't pull it up from the root, it just it's just gonna grow somewhere else.

Localized strategy by Ward.

Uh, as I for said, the chair did a very uh in-depth investigative research on all of the wards and came up with different remedies that the different um uh representatives can check out, as well as know that we're willing to work with them 110% to address these issues in any way that we can.

Aggravated soda is the most prevalent crime, 2025.

Robbery is persistent, but at the same time, calm is going down in Albany.

Youth engagement, mental health resources, CBO partnerships are top community priorities, community-driven recommendations.

What is the community asking for?

So we know what they're looking for, and that's what they're asking for.

They want a poverty to be addressed, and I know that sounds like almost it's too big to do, but it's not investment and business mentorship for for people in a community.

It shouldn't be a thing like where all of a sudden all of the people that are in the community just deal with revolving wealth coming in and out of their community, but they're never part of it.

I think we have to make substantial gains and strides to include people in this economic revitalization that we're trying to take place there.

Expand mental health services, I probably said that 10 different times, but it's so important because it's a lack of it.

Launching teleconferencing mediation.

I'm not sure if y'all know what I'm talking about.

But I believe that it's a way to get uptown kids and downtown kids to understand each other better.

I mean, I'm looking at starting on my own, like a video game league.

Let them play video games with each other.

Because you almost have to have that distance at first before you bring people together.

You don't just take an angry person and you know put them in front of the person they're angry with.

You let that distance create an understanding.

And that's what teleconference and communicate mediation is.

Let's say I got a kid over here that got a problem with somebody from, you know, or somebody from uh uh hell got a problem with a kid from West Hill.

Well, maybe y'all can't sit down and talk together, but I can get y'all both on Facebook.

I can get y'all both on a Zoom where nobody else is watching, and we can begin to try to hash some of these things out.

First, I'll meet with each individual.

And I've done these things.

I've I've helped gang situations be mediated, and I know it works.

Support cultural identity, we gotta understand a lot of our children do not know who they are, and they're following a program that's self-destructive.

Increase social emotional learning and parenting resources and social emotional learning for the kids and for the parents.

And definitely mentorship of preteens.

We gotta start younger than teenagers.

We gotta start younger than 16.

The average age of gang recruitment is from 11 to 15.

If we're not starting there, we're not doing the best we could do.

Inclusive safety strategies, these are things I'm sure y'all are very familiar with.

Substance abuse issues we need to address.

We are working on workshops to rebuild trust between the communities and institutions, whether that's the APD or Albany Med.

Well, mental health resources, even at the end of the day, the person doesn't trust you, they may not take your resources.

Investment in grassroots organizations and also combating the harmful social media influences.

I think that's something, once again, we cannot solve new problems with old solutions.

There's really no old solution to solve the social media influence.

You gotta come up with a new solution.

You gotta look at the problem in a new kind of way.

Some of your key initiatives, the seven pillars, healing, youth, coordination, environment, awareness, education, and opportunity.

I'm sure we can agree that all of those things are very important.

The quote is pieces where you sit when you are old shows where you stood in youth.

Everybody that's in this room, I'm assuming that when you were young, you had some kind of care for the community, some kind of concern for elevation of humanity.

And I should hope that we continue on that path and not just us continue on that path, but push that forward and extend that to others.

They will take it if you give it.

Be so scared sometime to talk to these young people and engage them, that they feel that fear.

And if they feel that fear, they don't look at you then as somebody that they want to talk to you, they look at you as somebody that they want to stay away from.

Because if I see you scared of me, or I'm scared of you, the trust is broken.

Let's build up some trust in our young people.

In terms of healing, turning memorials in the gardens.

And I hope this is an idea that takes place, takes root all throughout the country.

I was actually looking up makeshift memorials, because I had a bunch on my phone, but I didn't have any on my computer for this PowerPoint.

And when I looked at makeshift memorials in Albany, they popped up in Albany, New York, Albany, Georgia, Albany, Chicago, San Francisco, Texas, thousands, thousands of people that died, maybe even more, and all that's left is a couple of broke candles and empty Hennessy bottles.

And I feel it's got to be a better way.

So transforming these makeshift memorials in the sites and sites of trauma into peace and in green spaces, I think is very important.

There are a number of organizations we'll be working with with that radicals, love your block, eating roads foundation.

But I really want to see that as something that takes root and grows.

Because can you imagine being a five or six-year-old, and you gotta walk past wet teddy bears and broken bottles of your family, of your cousin, of your brother, your father.

And I respect those people that put those things there because they did, they cared about those people that passed on.

And I'm not trying to diminish them in any kind of way.

I actually want to come to every we will go to every of those individual memorials, talk to those family members, open up that line of communication, let them know that we're here and we care and see how we can move forward to doing that in a better way.

Increase in youth funding.

I'm sure we know that kids that play sports, kids that stay in school, grow into the leaders of tomorrow.

And that's the goal.

And I'd say what was unfortunate.

When I looked up sports, I was able to find all kinds of black kids.

But then when I looked up STEM, I almost couldn't find any.

But I can think I think it's also a matter of consideration.

Who we considering is worthy of these opportunities and resources.

Who we considering is gonna be.

I mean, when I was a kid, the one thing they say, you you could be anything except president.

That's what they used to tell me.

Because I was African American, you'd be anything in this world except president.

Barack Obama changed that.

But the fact is a lot of the kids we deal with right now in Oliver Hill, a lot of the kids in the South, and a lot of these kids, they still carry and force the thoughts of what they can't be.

But at the same time, we recognize that 0.003% of high school basketball players is going to make it into the NBA.

So you gotta be we gotta be cognizant of how we're helping our youth.

Expand summer and after school STEM programs, athletic programs.

It's easy to build strong with easier to build strong children than fix broken adults.

We want a sustainable entity here that can address violence in a cohesive, comprehensive way.

These are different organizations that help fund those type of efforts.

The urban heat island infrastructure investment.

I'm not sure if y'all are familiar with urban heat islands, but urban heat island is right where we are.

But maybe not right here, but when you get down to Morton and Elizabeth, you did.

It's areas that are it's hotter on Morton and Elizabeth than it is in front of this building, and it's got a lot to do with a lack of investment in ecological environmentally friendly infrastructure that really goes back to the fact that Open is an old city, and I get that, and it would probably take a lot to do that.

But guess what?

People dying and people not being able to live up to their full um their full life is worth that investment, and these are the different entities that are willing to help us as well.

Lastly, next to last thing, centralized online resource and trauma recovery awareness.

Once again, we need new solutions for these old problems.

I want to I want us to be able to utilize social media till it's off degree in getting out the message and raising awareness.

Let the kids begin to repost and put out the messages of positivity that it can happen.

It's all about just making it happen and giving them the opportunity.

Like I say, you give a kid a choice, you give a kid a chance.

Promote digital access to prevention and recovery services, get us all on the same page.

Anti-violence workshops, the second to the last.

See, in my conceptually, the way I would see it, community members would be trained in anti-violence workshops or would have the opportunity to grow in that area, and then they become a mentor to the kid on the block or the kid on the corner, and not and not with that, you know.

Um I'm gonna talk to you like I used to talk to my son.

We don't know if what you spoke to your son about was the right way of going about it or not.

But I do know in these anti-violence workshops, we're gonna give people the tools so that they can mix that credible messenger and lived experience with therapeutic tools that that are um uh evidence-based and will create sustainable change.

And lastly, workforce development for justice involved youth.

I think justice involved youth are at some of the most pivotal crossroads.

We do understand that once you get two felonies, you run away from possibly being arrested, being incarcerated for the rest of your life.

And I'm not throwing our kids away, I'm not throwing away one of them.

And this is opportunity to make sure that they don't get thrown away or flush down a toilet ball or set aside and never live up to the greatness that they have on the inside.

We never know what one of these kids in this community could create or could build, or could bring to life.

So let's give them the best we can so they can do that.

Provide job readiness, coaching, career pathways, not just jobs, but careers.

Give these kids a chance.

And these are different entities that are very um informative and instrumental and making those type of things happen.

So I'll conclude it like this if you don't mind.

These seven principles, I would like people to think about as they live their daily lives.

Healing, youth, coordination, environment, awareness, education, and opportunity.

And those are built upon the three principles of equity, healing, and sustainability.

Thank you very much.

Thank you so much, Mr.

Thompson.

We really appreciate your work and your willingness to come in and talk to us about it.

Do we have limited time because we got delayed a delayed start because of quorum issues?

But if anybody has a quick question, we're welcome to do it.

Go ahead, Councilmember Keegan.

Um you guys don't necessarily have to answer this question today, but I noticed that you identified Baltimore as one of the models, and as a policymaker, I I do have questions and want some feedback on that because Baltimore incorporates a curfew as part of its model.

Um while it doesn't charge kids with a crime, um, I actually like their curfew model because those kids that get picked up on the curfew model get connected directly to services and are placed directly and programmed for the duration while they're picked up.

But it would just be helpful feedback because curfew programs tend to be very controversial.

Um helpful feedback from the community violence task force about their thoughts about Baltimore's implementation of the curfew because that has been one of the benchmarks for their success there.

Just feedback thought, because it's it's helpful to understand where the nuance is there for that.

Right.

Um, if that were something that we would look to to implement.

I'm a firm believer that you look for the information wherever it lies.

Me myself, I study, I study Haiti hard because it's such a tough nut to crack, so to speak, but you're dealing with historical injustice and generational trauma in terms of um the curfew, which is why I said I would like to speak for myself personally, I would like to see it as youth safety hours.

And I don't think it's something that would even need to exist for for that long.

I think done properly, and the model that I saw out of Baltimore, I felt was much less punitive than any other model I had seen prior to that.

I I would say 100% you're correct.

It's not it's not grounded in in penalizing kids.

It's really grounded in let's get you, they have 24 or nighttime operating program drop-off spots where kids are fed, they can sleep if they need to sleep, they're connected directly with services.

People try to figure out what's going on, why that kid was out past the time that they're supposed to be out, um, and try to get them connected to services, but it also ensures the kids are off the street every day, kind of by a certain period of time.

And I just wanted some feedback on that because most folks, when they hear curfew, think of that in a very negative way.

Um, and since you mentioned Baltimore in your report, I just I wanted to understand the nuance and perhaps have you take that back to the task force to maybe ask them those questions about their thoughts about that.

I I certainly will, and I'm interested in how they would um process that.

I can say for myself, a lot of kids need help, and I think it's potentially an opportunity to catch some of the kids before they slip through the cracks.

As I first said, I couldn't imagine it being anything that was sustained for any kind of time period.

I think it's a great opportunity to really see.

I mean, we we're dealing with 10% of the kids that are doing whatever they really do.

They're probably even a small percent than that.

My issue with it though is we have to make sure the supports are there in like both boo cool, you know.

I mean, I'm thinking of the C the CPS cases.

I'm thinking of the parents.

I'm thinking how are they gonna be involved when their kid is found in a so I think conceptually it has value.

I think it shouldn't be sustained because I think at that point it becomes punitive and not um therapeutic.

But I also believe you have to have the supports surrounding it, and I think Baltimore have make some good strides, but I think we need if we were to bring somebody that the opening, I think we would need even more supports and more compassion and sensitivity about how it was done.

And I tell you what, if you use more compassion and sensitivity about how that's done, you'll build relationships.

Every one of these interactions with a young person on the street could be an opportunity to build a relationship, to see what's going on in their life, to get I mean, you might have a kid that played the guitar in in six years and he couldn't find one because whatever situation they have in the parents, get them a guitar, whatever the case may be.

I think it's just a great opportunity to identify some of the um kids that are slipping through the cracks, but as I said, I think it should be done for a small amount of time to see if it's more punitive or more therapeutic.

Um councilmember love and then council member Johnson and apologies, but again, if people want to go late, we need to be here at six because we lost 20 minutes of time here.

You don't have to answer this question.

But before they slip through the cracks, we need to bring Big Mama back.

That's what they listen to.

You said bring their mama back.

Hey, hopefully, Big Mama come to the mentor workshop.

Right?

Big mama comes to that mentor workshop and get a couple of aunties together and go out there and do some great work.

So I just wanted to say thank you because you um mention a lot of um solutions.

One is spending money on kids, you know.

Um we do proactive programming, you know, uh would um everybody's talking about Waltimore in the sense of the curfew, but they're not looking at all of the money that was put in the youth proactive program, and then and it was a joint effort keeping the um schools open, like you know, it was a bunch of uh moves that were in place, and so when you put those moves in place when you open up the school, the people that are gonna get caught up in the in the curfew are probably the people that um a lot of times are the uh subject of some of these incidents that we're um talking about.

And I just think that if we provide kids with a safe place to go, you know, they say if if you know the acronym that we should think about is if they if we build it, they will come.

Because the acronym that we're living in in the time right now is our youth, and I know you heard this before, I'd rather get caught with it than without it.

And they live in that full force.

And so when you hear um people um advocating for um proactive um programming, this stuff all carries into a lot of the stuff that we are struggling with.

And so um I'm glad that New York and and and um Baltimore has had its successes because it's catching people's attention.

You know, it's been people that stood in this chamber for years saying the same things, and then they fall on deaf ears.

And you know, and I'm speaking about people other than myself, because I witnessed and listened to people advocating for youth programming, and for so long, Albany has wanted one away from proactive program, and we got to get away from feeling that um each year we have to raise the um budget for APD and not go in a different direction that what people were calling for years ago when they were um calling for police reform.

People weren't saying that we got to get rid of police officers, people were saying take some of that money and try a different approach, like they're doing in other parts of the United States.

So thank you for um pointing that out.

And I just think that um as a city, we are relying off a snug too much.

You know, if you weren't the answer to every problem, every you know, the school district's calling you, the city's calling you, the county's calling you.

If they uh created a lane where y'all could pick where you wanted to make your mark out, I think that you could be more effective.

I've said that um from day one.

I've watched the changes that's been made in it, and um, you know, we're gonna keep on bumping in each other out there doing the work.

But again, thank you.

Indeed.

I I thank you, and I just want to say briefly, I agree with with with both of y'all in terms of unfortunately uh when the success is created, it seems what is the move um draconian compliance-oriented thing, a certain segment of society likes to push as if that's the solution.

And I agree with you 100%.

It was the supports, which is why I'm even mentioning this right here.

It was the supports.

It was the um the new cutting-edge way of looking at this problem.

I think that allowed for them to see the success they had.

And I believe that with everything.

Or it's almost nothing if you're not using some new, if you use some new cutting-edge, evidence-based, thoughtful, mindful ideas, you're almost gonna see success and some progress in whatever you do.

So why would our children be any different?

Why would violence be any different?

Thank you so much.

Um, we really appreciate your work.

Just quickly before you go, would you mind um introducing any members of the violence prevention task force that are here?

Because I just so we can say thank you to them as well.

I got my I got my my right and my back right here, my left and my right.

Just if you don't mind if you're on the violence prevention task force.

That's the that's the chair and the vice chair.

We thank you.

And they didn't have to be able to do that.

We really you're um they did tremendous work.

They they they have they they were my um you know my my my light in the in the darkness when I was trying to navigate this ship to get it to a space in a place where we could be proud of our work and we can know that I said it's equitable, healing, and sustainable we really appreciate it.

There's I think a lot of things, especially with violence, it's very reactive to have such an incredible group of people who are focused on proactive work really matters because that's what we need to do.

That's what the future is.

So thank you all so much for your work and um for coming in today to talk to us about it.

We look to continue the conversation, and if there's any way any of us can be helpful, we absolutely want to.

Thank you very much.

And I'd lastly like to salute Diana Marino, she was very important, Cam Hughes, Tony uh Thomas Randall, Katrina Alexander, Alison Williams.

Don't give me any trouble.

Well no.

Yeah, so what we're gonna do is we're gonna end it like this, and I thank y'all very much.

I appreciate y'all in an amazing ways.

It was a great um endeavor to get to this point, and now I'm ready for less conversation and some more implementation.

Thank you.

Excellent.

Thank you so much.

So we'll quickly run through the agenda and then we'll start our meeting.

And apologies to the public for us being slightly delayed, but you got to enjoy an incredible presentation as well.

Uh so this evening, all local laws are held.

We'll be moving to ordinances introduced.

Ordinance 1682 25 by Councilmember Ballorin will go to planning.

Ordinance 1782 25 by Ballorin will also go to planning, and ordinance 1882 25 will also go to planning.

The fourth ordinance will not be introduced today, though it's pulled from the agenda.

In ordinances held from Councilmember Conti, ordinance 34125 will be amended.

And then moving to ordinances introduced.

Resolutions 9582 25R by Councilmember Ballarin, that will be passed this evening.

Um that's a a resolution in honor of Albany Latinfest.

Would everybody like to be a co-sponsor on that?

Okay, so Mr.

President, please note that we are all co-sponsors and that can be a voice vote.

Um we also will have um resolution 9124R by Councilmember Love.

That will be a pass.

Um resolution 6362 25R by Councilmember Farrell, myself, that will be a pass, or that will be voted on, I should say.

Um Resolution 8872 25R, that will be voted on.

Those are planning board appointments and resolution 8972 25R, and that will also be voted on this evening by Councilmember Ballarin.

Mr.

Conti.

Just a question on the two appointments, confirmation appointments to the planning board and the zoning board.

They both have passed the 45-day deadline, so they are actually de facto confirmed.

And I'm wondering what happened in that we missed the deadline to act before they automatically are confirmed.

We missed it.

No excuses.

We missed it.

Okay.

Uh we did have a planning committee meeting before the deadline.

And if the planning committee would have voted a with a negative, we would have asked the council to have a special meeting to then vote them down.

Um however, the at the planning committee, uh, they passed unanimous consent.

Um so we did not ask for that.

So we felt that it should still go to a full council meeting for uh so that the members so that the board members know that they have the full body support.

Yep as well.

That's okay.

Just I mean, I it I'm fine with doing a a vote that expresses our support, but just did want to note that for some reason that deadline was passed and that they actually are confirmed.

Yes, no, I I made that so at the planning committee meeting, I made that clear to committee members of the situation.

Okay, and I was planning to make that clear to the full body as well.

And if the planning board planning committee felt it was an issue, we would have asked for a special meeting to vote them down.

Um but they passed with unanimous consent.

And I would also just note we usually do have members that are um certainly when they're appointed for the first time, although I these might both be reappointments, um, come in and talk to the council at a caucus.

So we are at a close time they've already been appointed.

Perhaps in the future we could see if they would be willing to come into a caucus to say hi.

So we can just chat with them.

We can uh request that for the next meeting.

Thank you very much.

And with that, Mr.

President.

We'll call the order tonight's Albany Common Council meeting Monday, August 18, 2025.

Can the clerk please call the role?

Adams.

President.

Anani.

Valorant.

Here.

Clark.

Here.

Consi?

Here.

Farrell.

Here.

Blyn.

Here.

Frederick.

Here.

Howie.

Here.

Johnson.

Present.

Keegan.

Here.

Kimbrough.

Love.

Here.

Robinson.

Here.

Zamer.

Here.

Thirteen present, two absent.

Thank you.

Can you stand with me and say the pledge of allegiance and after that a moment of silence.

Thank you.

Before we move on to our agenda tonight, uh, I would like to recognize our last day, uh, Miss Keegan's intern who's been helping out the council.

Uh Maggie Maggie's last uh day with us.

She'll be going off to New Paul's College on Thursday.

Uh so I just wanted to recognize her uh for her work uh being an intern here at the council.

And thank you so much.

And Miss Keegan, thank you as well.

Good luck to you.

Have fun.

Now we'll go on to uh our our um almost our public hearing.

Uh during a public hearing, you have five minute public comment.

Oh my goodness.

Public comment.

You have five minutes to speak upon any issue you wish to speak upon.

Uh you cannot address the council members.

Uh at that time, council members cannot answer your comments or or questions if you have one.

Um if they wish to do so, they will do so at a later time in the meeting.

Um when you get to the when you get to the table, uh say your name, and you don't have to say your address, just your town or city that you live in for the record, and you green light, you will go.

Uh yellow light, you have one minute remaining, and red light means conclude your comments.

So with that being said, can a clerk please call the first speaker?

Anthony Stevens.

Anthony Stevens.

Jessica Saxton.

Yes.

Yeah, got it.

My name is Jessica Saxon.

I'm a civil rights advocate and litigator from Washington, D.C.

I'm here to provide public notice.

This is in accordance with USCS rules of civil procedure as well as Rule 17 and Rule 20 of the United States Supreme Court.

The Constitution for the United States is the overarching requirement that every state must follow.

I don't think anyone here would disagree with that.

States cannot enact their own alternative legislation and substitute that for the guarantees of the Constitution.

That would mean that your state laws would be more powerful than the Constitution, and that's simply illegal.

Clause one of Amendment 5 to the United States Constitution says that no person should be held to answer for a capital or otherwise infamous crime unless on presentment or indictment by a grand jury.

However, the state of New York has enacted in its alternative legislation a law that permits prosecuting attorneys and police officers to charge by way of information as opposed to indictment.

That is unlawful.

I'd also like to draw your attention to Roberts versus United States.

1984, this was a landmark decision where the Supreme Court held that the intimate association between that of a parent and a child is a fundamental liberty that is protected by the first and the 14th Amendment.

There is no greater form of assembly than that of a parent and a child, and when the state issues a policy or a law or financial incentive to forcibly separate children from their parents without evidence of due process and without clear and convincing justification, that is a violation of the rights that are secured and protected by the United States Constitution.

Bringing this back to your local legislation and regarding the Fifth Amendment, uh clause one, and then what I just mentioned regarding the first and the 14th Amendment.

An emolument violation is when you pay a public official to commit a crime.

There are two areas of the Constitution that reinforces this.

So Article 1, Section 10, says that no state shall create any law that shall impair the obligation of contracts.

Police officers, prosecutors, and judges are all under contract.

That's a contract to perform based on the oath of affirmation that they took to support and defend the Constitution of the United States.

So when a state enacts a law and then directs their agents to disobey that law, that is a violation of Article 1, Section 10.

The 14th Amendment is the other place that you find the reinforcement of this issue.

And that's where it says that no state shall create or enforce any law that shall abridge the privileges or immunities of the United States citizens.

Privileges and immunities of United States citizens are at a minimum those that are enumerated within the Bill of Rights and the first Ten Amendments.

So when the State of New York enacts a law in its inferior constitution that permits public officials and law enforcement officers whom you all pay to violate the Constitution of the United States, that is an emolument violation.

It is illegal.

To add to these injuries in order in paying your local law enforcement judges, prosecutors to either interfere with unlawful arrests or interfere with the parental with the parental rights.

These actions are also incentivized locally by federal funding programs like Title IV and Title IVE, which offer money in exchange for custody transfers, child support orders, foster care, keeping cases open in juvenile court under dependency and neglect.

All of these things is an emolument violation.

Mr.

Tanawa Downing is preparing to litigate this issue at the United States Supreme Court on behalf of more than 700,000 people currently incarcerated unlawfully here in America, as well as the families and the children, that our government is unlawfully removing from the care and custody of their parents.

I'm here today to notify you that you not can not continue to pay public officials to break the law.

If a law enforcement officer goes out and assists in removing a child from a parent because of an unlawful void order of a judge, that is a violation.

It is illegal and it is a crime.

So we don't want to get anybody in trouble, but we must make officials aware that paying uh paying people to disobey the law and commit crimes against us.

It is the illegal, it is unconstitutional, and it is a crime.

So I'm asking you, honorable individuals to please take a look at clause one, amendment five.

Take a look at the First Amendment, the 14th Amendment, as well as Roberts versus United States JCs, that was incorporated in 1984.

Confirm what I'm saying to be true, and then direct your public officials, your law enforcement officers, your prosecuting attorneys, and your judges to act in a lawful, constitutional manner consistent with the obligations codified in the United States Constitution.

And I do have a notice that I would like to put on the record, please.

Thank you so much.

Thank you.

My name is Tam Badalin.

I'm the civil rights litigator that Miss Saxon was just talking about.

I want to step up and provide just a little bit of clarification so we can understand what's just.

I'm from Washington, D.C., civil rights litigator from Washington D.C.

Thank you, sir.

Again, I just want to provide some clarification.

Again, I just want to provide some clarification, because I know that some of the things I just said might be a little bit foreign.

I have approximately 56,000 criminal affidavits on behalf of victims that have been charged by way of information, not by indictment from right here in the state of New York.

These are per se crimes, which means that I don't have to prove that those public officials intended to breach their constitutional obligation simply by virtue of the breach, all elements of the crime have been met because their willfulness and their knowledge derives from promise they make.

When you make a promise that you will fulfill your obligations coded by the Constitution, you must do so.

Now these affidavits, again, no state can create a law in its inferior constitution and substitute it for the guarantees constitution.

That would be an unconstitutional law.

So when your law enforcement go out and they perform an arrest and they charge by way of information because that's the way they are trained to do it, because they're relying upon an inferior state statute, despite the fact that the Constitution of the United States says that no person can be held to answer for a capital or repeat crime unless not presentment or indictment of a grand jury, that officer just committed a crime.

It's called deprivation of rights under color law.

It's Title 18 subsection 242.

What that statute says is it says that any person who, under the color of any state statute, ordinance, custom, or regulation, deprives any person of any rights secured by the Constitution, commits that crime.

Now these affidavits identify a second crime, and that's Title 18 subsection 241, which is conspiracy to deprive of rights.

What that statute says is that when two or more persons conspire for the purpose of depriving any person of any rights secured by the Constitution commits that crime.

Now the laws of criminal conspiracy for public officials, they state that any person who, having knowledge of any of the wrongs conspired to be done, and who have the power to prevent or aid in the prevention of the commission of saying neglects or refuses to do so, may be joined dispense the action.

So upon writing this notice to all of you and letting you know that the law enforcement here in the state of New York, your Albany police officers whom you pay are going out and they're performing unconstitutional arrests.

I would ask you guys to let's please step up and let's stop that.

You can stop it in a couple of different ways.

One is you stop paying them to commit a crime.

Or number two, you work with them and direct them to act in a lawful constitutional manner, consistent with the obligations that they have codified in the Constitution of the United States.

That's what your legislative body has the power to do here.

Now I understand that it's the mayor that directs agencies and departments, but you guys hold the budget.

So I'm going to ask you guys to please let's work together and let's fix this problem.

So the alternative is that we would have to start converting these criminal affidavits into criminal complaints.

I don't want to go down that path.

You guys don't want me to go down that path down that path.

But we have spoken with the director of the FBI, Mr.

Patel.

We've also talked with uh the Senate uh uh uh ranking member that uh uh Senator Kennedy of the Senate Judicial Oversight Committee, and they both agree that when public officials, including judges, police officers, and prosecutors, when they choose to abridge the obligations they have code coded by the Constitution and fail to obey federal law, they are subject to arrest.

Again, we don't want to go down that path.

So what we're here today is we're here to inform you of a situation so that we can work together to fix this problem.

Because the purpose of the grand jury is to protect the accused from hasty or malicious charges by an overzealous prosecutor.

That proceeding is there to protect the individual from the prosecutor, and yet it's the prosecutor in your law here in the state of New York that is that is deciding whether or not they get that protection.

That is not a proceeding that's there for any benefit but the accused to be protected from an overzealous prosecutor.

So I'm not saying that these are good people.

I'm not saying that these are lawful people, but what I'm saying is that these are all rightful people who all have rights that have clearly been abridged by the state of New York by agents that you pay.

And so there's a much better way to treat our people than to arrest them and put them into involuntary servitude in a for-profit business for the direct benefit of the state, and that's what we're getting ready to argue at the United States Supreme Court.

Now I know that you guys are gonna go and you're gonna ask the attorney whether or not what I'm saying is true.

And that attorney is gonna say to you, well, not really.

And they're gonna point you to a case from 1884 from the United States Supreme Court called Hurtado versus California.

And before you choose to rely upon that as the foundation, I want to remind every single one of you that the Constitution of the United States of America is the foundation, not a judge-made ruling.

Supreme Court of the United States has no constituted authority to be able to alter mend or destroy any of the provisions of guarantees of the Constitution because that must be done by an authentic act of the people in accordance with the special amending procedure of Article V.

Furthermore, the judicial branch has no authority to legislate.

Legislate judges cannot do that.

That's codified in Article 1 Clause 1 where it says all legislative powers best in Congress of the United States.

So I implore you, please step up.

Distarts the time is up.

And let's support Scotty.

Thanks for the thanks for the opportunity to speak.

This is too loud.

Okay, great.

I know you folks have probably heard a little bit of uh pushback on the uh school speeding zone.

I'm sorry, I forgot.

Jeff Wilkin, Beacon Avenue in Albany.

Thank you.

Anyways, uh sorry about that.

Um the speeding zone thing around uh the schools, which I kind of agree with.

I'm always very careful when I'm driving around the schools in my neighborhood.

Uh and as a matter of fact, sometimes I've got to worry about people that are not following the speed limit, just about rear-ending me, because they're doing 30 when I'm doing 18 or 19 or 20.

I don't know of all the schools in the city, I'm not sure there are locations, so I'm always very careful.

I did forget about the heck at Boulevard 1.

And yes, I sort of got nailed to the other day, and I understand it.

Uh I guess I'm just getting my $50 worth here tonight.

I'm just wondering, though.

It can be a little bit misleading if these signs that are posted around the speed limit say school days.

Now I thought that Haggett Boulevard, I said, nuts.

I wonder if they got me.

But it's not a school day, it's the end of summer almost, and uh it's not a school day, but uh it kind of didn't really make a difference.

So if for people that are visiting the city, and again, it's a little misleading and confusing to some.

Maybe they could take school days off those signs.

If it's gonna be pretty much every day, well, maybe school days should be taken away from that because it's not a school day now, yet you can still get kind of pinched for this.

And uh really that's all I wanted to say about that.

As long as I've got to your attention, real quickly about the Lincoln Avenue pool.

Great idea, great project.

It looks like they did really nice with it.

I know it's not open in the morning, and older folks like me.

Well, maybe they like going down there at nine or ten o'clock or eleven o'clock before all the kids show up.

Would there be an idea maybe someday in the future about setting aside some hours for the seniors who are part of the people that really paid for this project just to have a little private pool time for those folks before the school uh the other kids come in and you know do what kids do in a pool.

So those are my comments.

Thank you very much for hearing me tonight.

Thank you.

Can the clerk call next speaker?

Karen Kaniffician good evening.

Um, my name is Karen Kaniff.

I live in the city of Albany, and um I want to thank you for this opportunity to share some of my thoughts.

Not yet.

So, as I'm not familiar with the possible flow of this meeting, I'm just gonna share my concerns.

Um, first I'd like to talk about ordinance 68, 1212 to amend chapter 375 of the USDO to permit accessory dwelling units.

Um concerns were expressed on both July 4th and July 28th by public departments regarding safety, infrastructure, etc.

etc.

You can look them up also.

Um I expressed a problem with the lack of public notice.

Um, it is still insufficient, in my opinion.

Um, so many people in this city do not know about ADUs, and um I think it's your legal job to make this information available, not just by someone, you know, digging through the city website.

You need to reach out a little bit further to inform the public.

And so I'm asking you to hold off on this vote until the public is truly informed, and there are guarantees that are met for the other concerns.

I also want to speak to ordinance 238124, and that's amending the USDO to allow one, two, and three unit detached dwellings in the MUC1 zone districts.

I'm encourage you to vote against this.

Albany is a lovely city.

I want you to preserve it.

I don't want you to build it over or pave it.

We all know.

It will just build, build, build.

Another supportive legislation that's listed as ordinance 1682 25 to amend the the USDO regarding non-conformity of determination process process.

Initially, this sounds like an attempt to correct an oversight from 2017 when the USDO changed Albany zoning.

But a non-conforming building that has expanded needs more than just old records to approve its current existence.

But it gets worse.

Writing into law that there would no longer be public notice nor public input to neighbors that may be effective, stating, and I quote, notice was well intended, but introduced delays, uncertainty that hinders investment in non-conforming properties.

The current process imposes financial and administrative burdens on the applicants, delaying their real estate transactions.

This legislation seeks to streamline the process by eliminating public notice.

I want to just go over that one again.

You want to eliminate public notice.

And you cannot possibly mean this.

So you're trying to not inform and silence the public to favor business community.

So I say to you, in the name of democracy, please vote no on this ordinance when it comes up.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Can a clerk call next speaker?

Zariah Anderson.

Hi.

And I'm here to speak on youth violence and a safety plan that me and my organization have come up with.

More people than real like people realize.

They are going through adverse childhood experiences, what we like to call ACEs.

But the people in these lowercome areas, lower income areas don't know how to navigate them.

So we look to provide a safety plan so that they can learn how to and have the proper resources to.

Something that I'm very passionate about with the safety plan is the community center.

That's more geared to people's passions.

What I realize with the youth is they don't put into their passions, and that's kind of why they turn to violence because they don't have people to teach them that violence isn't the way to get rid of the emotions that you're feeling.

A lot of people in my neighborhood, they're angry because of their living uh situations.

They were infested with not only just violence, but rats, roaches, mold, things of that nature, and there's nobody there to really listen to us and help us.

Um to have a space where you can go and you can be yourself and you can really tap in and have somebody listen to you, have a healing space would be something that would benefit the community.

Um I think for the community center, it would be nice to have uh different areas and rooms, not only for therapy and healing, but also areas to just go back to being yourself.

Like let's say certain children like enjoy gaming, gaming rooms, uh, art rooms, um uh working out rooms and things of that nature, people who are really there to help and heal the community.

Right now, the youth need help, and that's one thing that we could do.

Um, there's also something that we're thinking about is victim services, um, just like support for people that are going through it, the people that who in experience the violence that are in that is in our community.

A lot of people, they have to deal with the fact that their son or their daughter just got killed, but nobody is really helping them, they have to go to work the next day.

So offering services to help those victims that are going through it, uh sexual victims as well.

Um really when these children are committing crimes, let's talk to them instead of just reprimanding them and saying, you know, you're gonna just you're going to jail immediately.

Let's talk to them and see what's actually going on depending on the crime, of course, because um kids they don't go straight into just killing people, they're smaller offenses.

Um really talking to the children and connecting with them on a basis to where you can understand where they're coming from and give them the proper resources.

Some children, they're in the streets because they don't want to be home because it's not safe.

They don't have enough resources.

Their parents, they're they grew up in the like crack epidemic um epidemic, they experienced all that and they didn't get the help that they needed, and to offer a space to where they can get the help would be very beneficial to Albany.

And um I think that's really all I have to say.

Thank you.

Yeah.

Thank you so much.

Thank you.

Can the clerk call next speaker?

Tom Ellis good evening, everybody.

Tom Ellis, I live in Albany.

I hope you're enjoying the cooler weather today.

It seems like it's a waste of time discussing water fluoridation with most of you.

And this may be the last time I do it.

It is clear you have made your decision and you are unwilling to reconsider.

What is disappointing is that none of you who voted for water fluoridation will defend your position at these meetings.

A few months ago, three of you spoke, and we responded at a subsequent meeting correcting your errors.

We have heard nothing from you since.

You obviously have the right to say nothing.

But your refusal to talk or here experts we can provide has been noticed.

The current mayor, the former county health commissioner, and the current state health commissioner, and most of you will have water fluoridation as your legacy.

Alternatives to water fluoridation have not been considered, nor has a delayed implementation of it.

The latest science from around the world shows an increasing relationship between water fluoridation and decreased human IQs.

Any of you to to defend your pro-water fluoridation vote?

Discuss any of the dozen or more issues we have raised here, including that water fluoridation is a forced medication.

That since we all drink differing quantities of water, and we may also consume fluorides elsewhere.

How can we ensure individual consumption will not be greater than the recommended dose?

If water fluoridation is such a good idea, tell us why nearly all of Western Europe does not do it.

We are listening.

I have an August 8, 2025 letter here that I mailed to the Albany Water Board, and I would like it to be included in the public record of this meeting.

Thank you.

Have a nice day and enjoy the remainder of this summer.

Thank you.

Can the clerk call next speaker?

John Lewandowski.

Good evening.

Vice Chair Lewandowski left his comment for me to read.

Do you want to provide your comment after his?

Yes, I was going to ask you if that's okay.

Also, Batman did too, but I don't know if it's a limit on that.

Say that again.

Batman also left his comment for me to read.

Would that be okay?

Yep, that's fine.

Okay.

I'm going to do Vice Chair John Lewandowski first.

Okay.

To the members of the Albany Common Council and Good Citizens of Albany.

I, John Lewandowski, Vice Chair of the Albany Community Police Board, and Chair of the Investigations Committee and Police Leaders on Committee.

I had the privilege of serving on the CPRB for approximately four years.

Over that time, the board has seen progress and obstacles, victories, and setbacks.

Through these trials, we have strived for independence and autonomy because we need these attributes in order to be truly objective in our mission.

As we have become incorporated into the City of Albany, we remain vigilant in ensuring these principles.

The City of Albany appoints the board members as it always has for saying pursuant to our charter.

Currently, we find ourselves in a situation which the city is gaining undue influence in the board's operation beyond that which is granted to them in our charter.

We are separated from our chosen independent counsel who have fought and achieved multiple court victories over the past three years.

Victories that allow us to operate as true as a true investigative body.

Further, in our new structure, the budget is negotiated with the common council by council employee and our program director, an individual who the board sees as loyal to himself and city government rather than loyal to the institution of the CPRB and the community it represents.

Further, the CPRB does not have trust in the abilities of the provisionally appointed program director.

Over the past several months, it has become evident he works for his own interest and that of the staff of City Hall rather than the CPRB in the community of Albany.

We have seen either through ignorance or purposeful misrepresentation, raw statistics used to cause harm to the representation of CPRB to weaken the resolve of the board.

These statistics have been provided to City Hall and the media with regard for neither context nor accuracy.

This was done without communication input or consultation with anyone currently on the board.

Those who have paid attention to the CPRB's past monthly meetings would know that we had staff who had full understanding of our statistics.

We always provided accurate data with context in each of our meetings during either the government law center known as the GLC report or the investigations report from the chair.

This was when we had the staff we trusted and who could accurately describe our state of affairs.

Staff who worked for the betterment of the board and acknowledged our commitment to the community.

The reckless and irresponsible weaponization of statistics and information provided without consultation not only erodes confidence of the board, but also makes makes any evaluation of the board biased and unreliable.

This breach of trust calls into question the security of other confidential data retained by the board.

Please take a moment to consider.

If it is seen that the confidentiality of information held by the board is not respected, we endanger the trust of our we endanger the trust of our community.

The community we represent will be unable to trust the board with the confidential information detailed within their complaints.

Also, the inability and unwillingness of the program director to appropriately and effectively communicate with board members, contractor consultants, CPRB independent council, and community resources, is an evident failure to effectively steward the CPRB and further isolates us from those who support us most.

Our relationship would took us years to cultivate, including that with the Albany Police Department Police Department are being endangered and eroded by the actions of the program director and his inability to properly supervise the program.

This lack of trust, along with the inconsistency in the quality of his work, execution of his duties without extensive guidance in the CPRB's lack of knowing the program director's day-to-day whereabouts cause grave concern regarding the future of CPRB.

Our charter and bylaws state that the program director should be the advocate for the board.

The facts provided above, along with the considerable list of conflicts with sitting members, illustrates a disturbing picture that needs to be addressed swiftly and directly.

Please reconsider the board's vote of no confidence submitted to the common council.

Thank you, Vice Chair Lewandowski.

This public comment is on behalf of Paul Collins Hackett, known as Batman, resides in the city of Albany.

We have remained committed to this board and our duties.

Upon joining the board, I expected that there would be hurdles and things to figure out along the way.

It is my sincere hope that our perspectives and requests as a board are respected and we are respected as an independent entity.

When issues present themselves, it is my belief we have a mutual respectful relationship that allows us to problem solve.

It's never been the board versus common council, and I don't want it to ever be that.

We all work tirelessly and give everything we have.

Thank you in advance for your thoughtful consideration and your respect for our work.

What we do defines us.

Saying to support our board is appreciated.

However, actions that demonstrate such are another matter entirely.

We appreciate everything you do for this city, so let's build.

Sincerely, Batman.

I reside in the city of Albany.

Again, my name is Vanelia Harden, Community Police Review Board member, former vice chair, police liaison, and mediation chair, and most importantly, a resident of the City of Albany.

When I submitted my application to serve on the CPRB in 2016, I came before the Common Council, interviewed and swore an oath to be objective, diplomatic, integral, and serve the community to investigate allegations of police misconduct and legitimize the work of the board.

The work of the CPRB requires trust, collaboration, communication, and most critically, integrity.

As I reflect on my tenure here, I think about the many complaints received from the community are regarding disrespect and rudeness during community and police interactions.

While these may seem minor, the relationship between police and community is rooted in respect.

The community is currently facing, the CPRB is currently facing the same issues our constituents complain about by way of our staff, which have which has never occurred, having been through four different program directors in my almost 10 years serving, who I'm have all relationships with and connect with them to this day, who I'm proud to call friends.

The last few months of the transition under the city have not been smooth, and while missteps have taken, missteps have been taken, I have not lost hope that with your support and your leadership, we can rebuild our hard-fort relationship that has recently been eroded through actions and behaviors that threaten the viability of the board.

As a long-standing member, working under direction of former Chair Ivy Morris, Nairobi Vives, and now Chair Santos, I urge you not to let what has been built by advocates of the community and work of past and present CPRB members crumble.

The late Dr.

Alice Green and other respected communities leaders warned the CPRB of dangers of moving under the city.

While the CPRB was warned was worried, we trusted the city, yet we trusted the city, but yet within months of the transition, our outside council contract has not been upheld in good faith.

Screenshots of our complaint system, our case management complaint system, and other confidential information has been leaked to the press, creating friction that has not previously existed.

If the thought is to get rid of board members and recruit new members, that will not solve the issue at hand, similarly, similarly to the issues faced by constituents we serve.

When disrespect goes unchecked, it sets a precedent to be done time and time again.

To be more clear, the work of the board is cut is a collaborative effort.

There's no one person who has moved the DAO forward, but we're willing to allow one person to take us back.

How do we go from presenting for the first time at the National Association for Civilian Oversight and Law Enforcement NACO just last year, and even more recently at regional NACOL in New York City, where CPRB received countless accolades for our work throughout the country to distinct to diminishing the work of our board.

We don't we don't have a history of causing harm.

In fact, we brought in brought mental health professionals into our meetings.

We've prioritized training for our members to cultivate an environment of inclusion, belonging, and respect.

In closing, the city of Albany is on the verge of making history with our first black mayor, and having having organized civilian oversight since 2000.

And what you may not know is that over 18,000 police agencies exist, but only 250 have codified civilian oversights, which we are one.

And it is our duty to protect to protect that.

What you vote on the resolution we put forth speaks to what side of history you're on.

Thank you.

Ms.

Farrell, we have restart 30 minute mark.

We have a couple more people.

Thank you, Mr.

President.

I move to extend public comment by 30 minutes.

Second.

All those in favor?

Aye.

Those opposed, motion passes.

Emily Sowick.

Hello.

I'm Emily Soek.

I reside in the city of Albany.

I am the newest member of the CPRB.

I was appointed by Common Council last January.

I decided about a year ago to join this body due to my work in residential care facilities.

When the New York State Justice Center was created, it gave a strict oversight, gave strict oversight to a system in need.

It made me a better provider of care to children.

It improved my practice, and I believe it weeded out bad actors.

In the time that I've had the pleasure to work with the longer standing members of the CPRB, it has been an honor to serve with them as they personify this ideal.

The group exemplifies the mission that I came to support.

They are a group that truly walks the walk with the community at the center of their practice.

It is as an advocate and a member of the community and the CPRB appointed by this council that I address you this evening.

In my brief but meaningful time on the board, I have truly seen that the board's independence is vital.

Its ability to contract with and utilize its own legal counsel is paramount.

At about eight months in the nuances, the history, the people, laws and bylaws.

The attorneys who represent the CPRB have institutional knowledge and relationships that cannot be replicated.

With ongoing litigation, officers pleading the fifth, and extremely nuanced issue issues, a change of attorneys will cause significant backsliding.

At this juncture, steps need to be immediately undertaken to either repair or move on.

This council must lead that effort either way.

This cannot be delayed as the situation continues to deteriorate and metastasize.

It is disrespectful that screenshots are taken of CPRB communications and shared with the media.

That does not create an atmosphere of respect, and I do not believe that that can be repaired.

As a new member, I have no knowledge of the CPRB under the law school, and I was excited to be an appointee of this common council, as it's a body that has a reputation for advocating for the CPRB and driving the city as a whole in both an inclusive and an equitable equitable direction.

I ask the council today to firmly stand with the CPRB on these matters and move forward with a renewed commitment and fidelity.

As an as an appointee of this council, I report to you that that is my recommendation, and I believe that it serves the long-term interests of common council and the city of Albany as well.

Thank you very much.

Can the clerk call next speaker?

Victor Person.

Good evening, Council members and the community as a whole.

And I think that we as a whole are really really struggling.

And I just want to give my feelings.

I won't take up too much of your time.

I've been a member of the board for three years.

I'm writing this letter to share my feelings regarding our newly appointed program directive because the board members are having trouble adjusting to this non-corrogatory work style.

As of today, the program director has not communicated with the board and has not held a conversation with me personally.

It appears to me he is avoiding me for some reason.

To my knowledge, he has not attended any community activity.

He hasn't asked what activities are going on in our community.

Seems to me like he's not concerned.

The community is what we are here for to serve the community.

He has not reached out to us regarding any trainings.

Thank you.

Thank you.

That concludes the last speaker for tonight's public comment period.

That concludes public comment period.

We're moving on to approval of minutes from previous meeting.

No meeting, no minutes.

Okay.

No wonder I didn't.

We have no minutes to approve.

Mr.

President.

Sorry about the delay on that, but they will be coming out probably tomorrow.

Thank you.

And there's no consideration of local law, so we're moving on to any uh present any reports of standing committees.

Mr.

Hoween and Mr.

Ballon.

Mr.

Howie.

Thank you, Mr.

President.

Uh the public safety committee uh met last week, and we looked at uh resolution 9.12.24R, and that passed out of committee uh unanimously.

We also looked at uh resolution 63.62.25R, and that also passed out of uh committee unanimously, and we'll be both will be voted on tonight.

We also interviewed um uh a couple of uh candidates for the CPRB, and one of them we have um move forward um for the full council to vote on thank you, Mr.

Ballard.

Thank you, Mr.

President.

On August 11th, uh the planning committee met and we interviewed uh Paige Burnham for the planning board and Cecilia Rowling Hop for the uh Board of Stone and Appeals.

Um very appreciative for everybody who was able to make the meeting.

Umfortunately, because of the uh time frame and because it's hard to get calm sometimes during these meetings.

Um at the at on August 15th, our time period to be able to vote on the matter has expired.

Um but we were able to have the planning meeting on the 11th, and we did the planning committee voted these two resolutions out with unanimous consent and a favorable recommendation.

If at the time the planning committee felt that any of these two members would have not been approved, would have not gone their support, uh we would have asked for a special meeting to uh vote uh these names down.

But uh both have strong backgrounds in in planning and uh in community development, and the planning committee again voted unanimously to move them forward.

So today uh they'll be in front of you for a full body vote uh mainly just so that these members know that they have the support of the full body.

We will ask for them to come into a fusion meeting for members to get to meet one-on-one.

Thank you.

Thank you.

See no other um report standing committees.

We're gonna move on to ordinance introduced.

Uh Mr.

Ballorin.

Thank you, Mr.

President.

I'd like uh to notice ordinance 16 82 25.

Thank you.

Can a clerk read the ordinance?

In ordinance amending chapter 375, unified sustainable development ordinance of the code of the city of Albany in relation to the non-conformity determination process.

Thank you, Ms.

Farrell.

That will go to planning.

Thank you.

Uh Mr.

Ballorin.

Thank you, Mr.

President.

I asked for the reading of ordinance 1782 25.

In ordinance amending chapter 375, unified sustainable development ordinance of the code of the city of Albany in relation to exceptions for vehicle fueling stations.

Uh Ms.

Farrell.

Thank you, Mr.

President.

That would go to planning.

Thank you.

Uh Mr.

Ballin.

We just cleared up a lot of stuff in planning.

You guys is dumping more on us.

Okay.

Um I asked for the reading uh notice of ordinance 1882 25.

Can the clerk please read the ordinance?

In ordinance repealing chapter 303, sidewalk and outdoor cafes of the code of the city of Albany.

Thank you, Mr.

President.

Sorry, Mr.

Ballorin, but that is also going to planning.

Yes, sir.

Thank you.

Um that is all for ordinance introduced.

Moving on to ordinances held.

Uh Mr.

Conti.

Um thank you, Mr.

President.

I move to amend ordinance 341.25 by restoring it to its July 21st, 2025 print and requested it be held.

Is there an objection?

Any objection to the amendments.

Seeing none, amendments pass.

Continuing on with uh oh, that's it for ordinances held.

Ms.

Farrell.

The rest of the ordinances are held.

Thank you.

Moving on to resolutions introduced.

Uh Mr.

Ballorin.

Thank you, Mr.

President.

I ask uh for the notice of resolution 9582 25 R and for a voice vote.

Thank you.

Can the clerk please read the resolution?

A resolution of the common council in honor of Albany's Latin Fest 2025.

Discussion on this resolution.

Mr.

Ballorin.

I'll be quick.

Uh this is one of our solutions that we do every year uh in support of uh the annual Latin Fest.

It is this weekend, August 23rd.

So if you're able to make it, uh it is a great celebration of our uh Latino community, uh their contribution, their culture, their music, uh, and more importantly, how they are a part of our city uh and how they make our city a better place to live.

So thank you everyone for supporting this resolution, and I uh look forward to seeing you this Saturday.

Any further discussion?

Since you're all co-sponsors is a voice vote, all those in favor.

Resolution passes.

Continue on with resolutions held.

Ms.

Uh Love.

Thank you, Mr.

President.

I notice resolution 9.12 24 R and asked for its passage.

Thank you.

Can the clerk please read the resolution?

Oh, it wasn't amended already.

Okay.

Uh we need uh um we need it to be amended.

Sorry, pending amendment.

I thought it was already amended.

Just call for the resolution to be amended.

Did the committee members see the amendments?

Yes.

Okay.

Thank you, Mr.

President.

I notice resolution 12 point 9.12 24R and asked for this amendment.

Thank you.

Is there any objections to the amendments?

Seeing none.

Motion passes now.

Yep.

Thank you, Mr.

President.

I notice resolution 9.12.24R and ask for its passage.

Thank you.

Can the clerk please read the resolution?

A resolution of the common council reaffirming the council's commitment on addressing increased violence and calling on the New York State Legislature to create a gun violence hotline.

Discussion on this resolution.

Seeing none, can the clerk please call the roll?

Adams.

Yes, co-sponsor.

Ballorin.

Yes, co-sponsor, please.

Clerk.

Yes, co-sponsor.

Conte?

Yes, co-sponsor.

Farrell.

Yes, co-sponsor, please.

Flynn.

Frederick.

Yes.

Howie.

Yes.

Johnson.

Yes, co-sponsor, please.

Keegan.

Yes, co-sponsor, please.

Love.

Yes.

Robinson.

Yes, co-sponsor.

Zamer.

Yes, co-sponsor, please.

12 and the affirmative.

Resolution passes.

Continue on resolutions held.

Miss Farrell.

Thank you, Mr.

President.

I notice resolution 6362 25R and ask for its passage.

Thank you.

Can the clerk please read the resolution?

A resolution of the Common Council adopting the 2025 Albany County Hazard Mitigation Plan update.

Is there any discussion on this resolution?

Seeing none, can the clerk please call the roll?

Adams.

Yes.

Ballorin.

Yes.

Clerk?

Yes.

Conte.

Yes.

Farrell.

Yes.

Frederick.

Yes.

Howie.

Yes.

Johnson.

Yes.

Keegan.

Yes.

Love.

Yes.

Robinson?

Yes.

Zamer.

Yes.

12 and the informative.

Thank you.

Continuing on.

Resolution is held.

Uh Ms.

Love.

I believe this one was for the amendment adding Sarah Curry Cobb onto the West Hill Community Center.

I have amendment only.

Is this just being amended?

It's being amended.

Yes.

That's what it says.

Okay.

Um thank you, Mr.

President.

I notice resolution 69.71.25R and ask for this amendment.

Yep.

Is there any objections to the amendment?

Okay, seeing none.

Amendment passes.

Thank you.

Moving right along.

Uh resolution is held.

Mr.

Ballorin.

Thank you, Mr.

President.

I ask for the notice and the vote of resolution 88.72 that 25 all.

Thank you.

Can the clerk please read the resolution?

A resolution of the common council consenting to the appointment of Paige Barnum to the City of Albany's planning board.

Discussion on this resolution.

Seeing none, can the clerk please call the roll?

Adams.

Yes, co-sponsor.

Ballorin.

Yes.

Clerk?

Yes.

Conte.

Yes, co-sponsor.

Farrell.

Yes, co-sponsor, please.

Frederick.

Yes, co-sponsor.

Howie.

Yes, co-sponsor, please.

Johnson?

Yes.

Keegan.

Yes, co-sponsor, please.

Love.

Yes.

Robinson.

Yes.

Zamer.

Yes, co-sponsor, please.

12 and the affirmative.

Resolution passes.

Mr.

Ballorin.

Thank you, Mr.

President.

I ask for the notice of resolution 89.72.25 R.

Can the clerk please read the resolution?

A resolution of the common council consenting to the appointment of Celeste Roller Harp to the Board of Zoning Appeals.

The discussion on this resolution.

Seeing none, can the clerk please call the roll?

Adams.

Yes.

Ballorin.

Yes.

Clerk.

Yes.

Conte?

Yes.

Farrell.

Yes, co-sponsor, please.

Frederick?

Yes, co-sponsor.

Howie.

Yes, co-sponsor, please.

Johnson?

Yes.

Keegan.

Yes, co-sponsor, please.

Love.

Robinson?

Yes.

Zamer.

Yes, co-sponsor, please.

12 in the affirmative.

Resolution passes.

Uh Ms.

Farrell.

The rest of the resolutions are held.

Thank you.

Uh any miscellaneous or unfinished business.

Mr.

Johnson.

Thank you, Mr.

President.

Because I I've I've been listening to the CPRB board and it's loud and clear.

And as I understand boards, you know, um, if they have a uh uh individual that's supposed to work with the board, if the board um doesn't feel comfortable if they make a re recommendation, generally that recommendation is is respected.

And um when I think about the board and I think about the last five or six years just watching them work through um situation after situation, you know, um some of it, the work that comes with the um opportunity of being on that board, but you know, um a lot of the um potholes that they worked around in a um diligently way, classy way, they always came um with an educated approach.

And to watch this um fall apart as fast as it has it has happened is is troublesome and bothersome for me because um it sets it opens up a precedent for um our talented individuals to not want to even consider um being on the board if um their hard work or their recommendations isn't gonna be um taken into full consideration and I I um I applaud um the effort, I applaud um their eagerness to um stand um firm on what they believe um you know and and private I have asked them not to even consider um leaving the board because this work is needed.

I'm an elected official.

I'm waiting for my um complaint to be heard by the CPRB.

If we have elected officials that are in um situations with uh APD, you know, um it just goes to show the need for um this body and for the work that they're doing.

We got a long way to go to um improve how the community feels about the day-to-day operations of law enforcement, period.

And um this the the community spoke loud and clear um when when the uh when the it was left to them if the CPRB should have investigative powers and the hurdles that you know um as I stated before, it's been unfair this process, and for a group of people that are are working for a small fee, um, they have um withstand a lot of challenges, and and some of these challenges they shouldn't even be facing.

So uh I I'm just trying to understand uh the process as I understood understand how boards and and uh program directors or you know, I just think about if the um school board didn't want the superintendent uh of the school district.

Um I don't think that um there's gonna be a uh um it's a way to get around that.

I think that um the board is put in place for a clear reason.

And um from what I'm hearing, you know, um it just seems to be not a good fit, and and uh once again I'm a little bit bewildered at how this board went from highly decorated because the things that I'm hearing, um other uh districts or municipalities were looking at the work that they were doing and they were asked to come and and and and speak to the work that they do, and like I said, in in a matter of seconds, it seemed like everything they did it was problematic.

So um the last time I spoke, I also asked a question about the law firms uh that were handling um the the city lawsuits.

Um I think that uh I hope that I can get some feedback to know if I believe it was the the Dreyfus um law firm, are they being retained or are they on a uh uh uh hourly basis?

I just would like to know because it's things that's happening in our city that are um constantly feeding into how people feel.

You know, um we have uh and I always speak to myself.

We have family members in my and the Johnsons that have um been violated um by the law by the system, and and there's no recourse.

So when we have uh opportunity for recourse, and um it's just dragged on, and it's just dragged on, and uh and I just would love if um someone sitting up there from the city could find out um an answer to my question.

Um are the people that are handling the lawsuits that are um placed against the city is the law firm being paid by a retainer or are they being paid um hourly like the same um thought process and inspection that's going to the CPRB.

I would like to see that um throughout the city.

I think that you know, oversight as we uh argued in the past is is healthy.

But let's just not have selective oversight, let's just not look and um expect things to be perfect coming from one direction.

I I would love to um get some feedback on the uh question that I proposed um about city monies, because I hear people say we shouldn't be spending um city money city monies um irresponsibly, but you know, sometimes when you take a close look at it, it's a lot of irresponsible spending going on in the city.

So I know I talked about two things, the CPRB and how um from what I think I'm hearing, every board member is standing in solidarity in in uh regards to their acts, and how does that not get uh respected uh by people that I thought we had a good working relationship with them, and then secondly uh with these lawsuits that are being placed against the city, if we can get some feedback um to something that at least I would like to know.

So thank you.

Ms.

Keegan.

Thank you, Mr.

President, and I will try to be brief so that we can all get out of here, but I just wanna just take a moment to recognize all of the work that Maggie McCallan has done um since she came on board with us in January.

She worked with me for the last six months on um legislation related to developing a council on disabilities here in the city of Albany, which is currently pending in committee.

Um through that work, she assisted me in conducting a survey of the community and various different providers in our community.

Um she filed me around, we did community listening sessions.

Um she met with uh all of our city department heads to discuss that legislation.

Um she's been by my side at almost every single meeting since January and has attended a number um of committee meetings to understand and learn the process of how legislation moves from being introduced as a bill to being passed as a bill here in the city of Albany.

And I just want to thank her as a young person, you know, most of her work week to week, she's working remotely.

Um she shows up on time to meet with me for supervision.

Um all of the things that I've ever asked her to do, she's gotten it done and done on time.

Um, and she's such a wonderful example um of a young person here in the city of Albany.

So I just wanted to take a moment to thank her for all of her hard work and to recognize um the amazing support that she provided to the council over the last six months.

Thank you.

Thank you, Ms.

Keggy.

Mr.

County.

Uh thank you.

Mr.

President.

I I just have some observations um on the on the CPRB issue.

So I was here on the council in 2000 when uh the initially the CPRB was uh local law was adopted.

I was actually the lead sponsor at the time.

One of the issues was the mechanism that could be put in place to assure um a level of independence for the board uh and then not be under the direct control, supervision of any kind of a city agency or department.

The the contract with the government law center, which was written into the local law uh was the the mechanism that was used and worked um to some extent, of course, things changed between 2000 and two 2021 when we adopted the additional local law um that expanded the authority um and independence, hopefully, of the CPRB.

Again, I was here in 2021, worked on the amendments, and again I was the lead sponsor of that local law as well.

Um and the intent then was even though we knew the government law center did not necessarily want to continue the contract that we opened up the the process uh that through an RFP or an RFQ process um and it another administrative agency outside of the city could be retained basically to handle those issues.

Um apparently that didn't work.

Um, and I wasn't here uh during the past the three years after that and the prior three years when there was this move in which the council adopted uh to quote bring the CPRB into the city.

Um I didn't follow um those discussions with all that closely, um, but I did have a little some concerns.

I mean, just again, not delving into a lot of the details, the process and the concerns about to what extent when you bring it into the city, what that really meant, and are you sacrificing somewhat the independence that I think was intended by the 2021 local law for the board to have?

And I don't know if that mechanism is working, and then to bring it under, and I know there was some discussion there to bring it under this uh you know, elected official or that one.

Um, and you know, bringing it under the council.

I'm not sure uh what other models were out there, and I'm still trying to get my head around whether or not this was the right move or not.

Um, but there seems to be some serious and uh legitimate issues and concerns right now about the level that we are allowing the CPRB to act in an independent way or not, and I'm not sure where I am, but there's there are some legitimate questions that really have to be resolved and the determination as to what was the intent and what does this body want that and what does the public want that board to have.

So it's an issue I think at some point.

Um I don't know, it it needs to be dealt with or resolved one way or the other.

Um but again the intent was through the 2021 local law was to create and provide uh the ability of the CPRB within certain parameters to act as an independent agency with their authority to take and investigate complaints and uh to render decisions.

So I'm not sure where where things kind of fell off the track, but that's just some observations.

Mr.

Gonti, Ms.

Farrell.

Thank you, Mr.

President.

I just wanted to note on uh the CPRB.

Um that we first and foremost, I think everybody on the council deeply supports the CPRB and its mission, and is deeply grateful to every single person that serves on the CPRB.

Um while they are now paid, it is incredibly minimal, so it's basically still like doing it for free.

And it is incredibly important work, and we all want them to be able to do that work.

Um there's been a lot of people on the council and in our staff that have been working very hard to do everything we can to help navigate this.

Um I just wanted to note that we have to follow all New York State employment law.

We have counseled CPRB members on the appropriate ways to make changes.

We'll continue to work with people, continue to support.

Um we also have to follow New York State contract law.

Um, again, we will continue to support, but that doesn't change the fact that we still have to follow New York State laws.

Um and then we a review is done of specific materials as requested by the CPRB, and everything that was reviewed was found to be public information that would be subject to a FOIL request.

Um, and I would also note that we are aware of screenshots of non-confidential information that were taken in the process of drafting an official internal report, which all of us actually received.

Um, and we don't we don't know how they got where they got, but all of that is public information, and when you're on a board, most of what you do is public information.

The CPRB has very specific protections when it because they deal with personnel records, there's a lot of protections as there should be around personnel records, so that is very protected.

But in terms of our work as a board, as we all know, it's whatever it is is there, um, and it's subject to FOIL, it's subject to a lot of different things.

So we have not found any public information, or we have not found any confidential information that's been shared.

We haven't found anything that has been done in any untoward way.

Um we'll continue to look at things.

We want to work with the CPRB.

We are happy to continue to meeting and talk with.

So that's it.

Thank you.

Thank you, Mr.

President.

On a serious note.

This has taken a long time, and I and I really appreciate the fact that the Richard's here today, because he he can talk about the 20 years of progress that it took us to get to 2021.

And I think the work that we did in 2023 was not to uh derail us.

It was in hopes to try to strengthen the uh the organization.

And it uh it definitely has come with some significant hiccups.

Um but I have to say I think when we have six members of a board come in one way or another uh to our meeting in in and speak to us about concerns, I think we need to hear them.

These are individuals that we have appointed to these positions, these individuals that we have given these responsibilities, as well as these consequences too.

These are individuals that we have said they have to work with individuals.

So if this was any other board, I would hope we'd be looking to meet and hear their concerns seriously.

Um so I am encouraged by what I'm hearing from my colleagues.

Um I would uh strongly would respectfully ask leadership uh to create the opportunity, an executive session for council members and the C BRB board to speak about the concerns that are being brought up so we can have an honest and confidential conversation about the concerns so we can move forward because what I fear is happening is that now this is becoming a distraction from the work that needs to get done as well as it's becoming a freeze, it's freezing the work that needs to get done.

So by having those two significant concerns, nothing is getting done that's supposed to be getting done.

If people can't work with people that they're supposed to be working with, to be able to get things moving forward, nothing gets done, which creates more distrust in our system and more distrust in what we're trying to actually change is public trust in our law enforcement, and I'm gonna push back to anybody who is staff or any staff that thinks because a member's term is ending that their voice or their concerns shouldn't be heard because just because somebody's term is ending does not mean that the work that they've done for years isn't significant and that their voice still doesn't have an impact.

I want to make sure I put that in the public record because I feel like I feel what I've been hearing is that I feel like some individuals feel that because people's terms are ending, well that's the end of the input, that's the end of their influence, and I significantly disagree.

Maybe I'm old, maybe I'm just old in my way of thinking, but I I I truly do believe that those who've paved the way before us, and those who paved the way for us, we owe our respect.

We may have our disagreements, and we don't have to pave the road the same way they did, but we do all our respect, and we owe them the minimum, the minimum is our ear and our conscience.

So I ask, I I look forward to being able to bring, I like forward to it.

I hope that it happens.

I think it's important.

I think it needs to be done confidentially, uh, but I do think it also needs to be done very openly and honestly amongst us all.

So thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you, Mr.

President.

Motion to adjourn.

Second.

Thank you.

All those in favor?

Nine.

Meeting adjourn.