So if everyone could have a seat down, and I would love for someone to uh call the roll and say who is here from staff Adams Anana Ballard Burder.

Present.

Ferrell.

Here.

Here, are we present?

Johnson, Jones.

Present.

Keegan.

Here.

Lumpkin.

President.

Powell.

Here.

Robinson.

Here.

Williamson.

Here.

Zamer.

Here.

13 present.

We're also joined by Council President Kelly Kimbrough, City Clerk Shanequa Jackson, Senior Assistant Corporation Council, Martha Mahoney, Research Council, Robert Winter, Legislative Director Brian Menos, Junior Legislative Aid, Carly Johnson.

Excellent.

Thank you so much.

So we will go through the agenda.

This evening, you'll notice in the agenda, we have a section right after the Pledge of Allegiance that says communications from the mayor, department, heads, and city officials.

It's not a section of the agenda that we use that often, but tonight we will be using that, and the mayor will come to speak with us.

After that, we will be, I'll just mention we're taking it out of order so we can follow along, but we'll get to it later.

So that will come after we discuss after we hear from the mayor.

Then we will have public comment.

And then we will move on with the rest of our agenda.

So in local laws introduced, we have council councilmember Ballarin's local law D of 2026, which will be go to human rights, human resources and local laws held.

We have Councilmember Hoey's local law B of 2026.

And Councilmember Hoey, would you like to say anything on that?

Um I'll talk when we come up to it.

Thank you.

Excellent.

So we'll be voting on that tonight.

We'll also be voting on Councilmember Keegan's local law C of 2026, uh, which is the local law amending section 4263, salaries elected officers of the code of the city of Albany in relation to adding a majority whip position.

Um so we will that passed through the last finance committee meeting.

We'll be voting on that this evening.

In ordinances introduced, we have Councilmember Ballorin's ordinance 3226, uh, an ordinance amending the vehicles and good order of part two of the code of city of Albany, and that will go to planning in ordinances held.

We have council member Williamson's ordinance 2212, which is a variance to Niagara Mohawk.

Um that we will be that passed the finance committee.

Um, I believe that we got all of the necessary information on that.

Um, so we will be voting on that this evening.

Um I'm going to next talk about councilmember Williamson's resolution, but just a reminder, we'll be actually taking that out of order and voting on that after we speak with the mayor.

But um, councilmember Williamson, obviously you'll speak on the floor, but did you want to say anything briefly about the resolution now?

Good evening, um everyone.

I just this um this is an honor just uh to be here and also to recognize the men of woman of color, the New York State Basketball Hall of Fame, and just an honor.

Um I'm excited.

I'm excited for them.

So the work that they put in, you know.

So um I'm just happy to be there just to be a part of it.

Thank you very much.

Appreciate it.

And um when we do that out of order, that will be as sometimes we have people who actually come for the resolution.

We will be welcoming after we vote on the resolution, we'll welcome them in.

So anybody that's here for it, we have copies of them.

Councilmember Williamson has copies of them, and we will take a picture um so we can all share it on social media and celebrate this wonderful um the amazing people in our city and it's exciting event, and very much appreciate Councilmember Williamson bringing us forward.

Under resolutions held, um, we have from me, resolution 3126R, a resolution of the common council confirming the appointment of Miriam Dixon.

That's something we will be discharging from committee because we were they just happenstance there was some delays coming from um Baltimore.

We had some council members that were in Baltimore that got delayed out of their control.

So instead, we had people we just did the questioning at caucus.

So we still went through the same process um just with more people than we usually do.

So we'll be discharging that from committee.

That was something I think everybody was very pleased to speak with Ms.

Dixon and was very impressed with her.

And um, so we'll be voting on that tonight.

We'll also be voting on resolution 4126R, which is a resolution approving the transfer of budgeted funds and a change in the authorized positions included in the 2026 budget.

Um that passed the finance assessment taxation committee.

We did get all information on that.

That's the change in salary for the deputy mayor and the I'm forgetting it off the top of my head, the assistant to the um commissioner of administrative services, the deputy commissioner of administrative services.

Um next we have resolution 5126R.

Um a resolution of the common council approving a transfer of budgeted funds in the 2026 budget, which will affect a salary rate or salary total.

That is the I believe that is the creation separation of um workforce development and parks commissioners.

Um we have gotten all information on that, and we'll pass that this evening as well.

Um, we have a couple more minutes.

So at our next Wednesday caucus, there are a few things happening.

Um as many know, Alyssa moved on to a different position.

Um, she now works for Earth Justice, so she's doing taking her knowledge and doing some great things in the world.

But this does leave us with an opening, and we thought um in leadership that it actually would be a great idea if we had a discussion of council members on what they would like to what supports they would like to have from staff, or if there's something different that we could look for before we posted this position, we have an opportunity to kind of tweak if we want something slightly different.

We might um I can Richard Conti always wanted us to have somebody that had more uh budget experience to do more budget analysis.

Um, there's been a desire to have more communication side.

We obviously cannot fill every role that we might need, and as a council, we still need to do our own personal things, but um uh as a body to have a discussion on what we're kind of hoping for from council member or from our staff, and if we should go and have go out for the same position that um that is open, or if we should potentially look for a slightly different position.

Thought that it was a worthwhile discussion to have.

Um the request is that we have that discussion in because that is also there is an event that will be happening at City Hall that night that um I actually council member Anane, do you want to talk about that briefly?

Yeah, thank you.

Um, this is uh annual effort dinner that um typically done with in conjunction with the mayor's office.

Um we've done it previously, sometimes in the Empire Plaza, some we've done in City Hall.

Um, I know the time on a flyer is at 5:30, uh, but we're gonna start uh speaking engagements more so around 6.15 or 6:30 to allow other council members to be in attendance as well.

Thank you.

So the goal is to have um discussions, we've obviously we'll go through the agenda, but also to have discussions about staff before that time in case there are members that want to attend that dinner as well as caucus that evening.

Um so if we can all think of it ahead of time.

Um and you might not have any specific things that you're looking for from staff, you might say I I'm good with the way things are, that's fine too.

You might be hoping for more communications, more analysis, whatever it is.

Um and feel free to send it ahead of time.

Um probably Brian would be the best person to send it to if you have any feedback of something you're looking for, something you would hope to have from staff.

Um, so we can kind of work that into uh either doing the same thing or potentially maybe shaking things up a little bit.

So with that, does anybody have anything that they'd like to discuss?

Council member Hoey.

Do we have um minutes for this meeting?

I don't know.

I apologize.

Yes, I forgot to mention the minutes.

We do have minutes.

We have minutes from the February second, twenty twenty-six meeting, and we also have uh Commissioner of Deeds, which will be Councilmember Ballorin's first time doing the Commissioner of Deeds as majority leader.

So it's a very important thing.

Um so we will also have Commissioner Deeds.

Thank you, Councilmember Howie.

Anyone else?

Okay, so we have yes, yeah.

Um so we have ten minutes until the meeting begins.

Um we'll reconfirm in ten minutes.

Yeah, maybe it's what is your team.

Okay.

Okay.

I mean, that's how we gotta look at that.

I'll wait till they get started.

I think we're gonna have people just talk for a half hour if you go into uh meetings, right?

So we just have one.

There you go.

Yeah, so we have yeah, coffee just and I think that's how we drop it.

How would uh your birthday?

Right.

I was fearful, but that's an all of the cover.

Oh no, that file more just kind of some something unfortunately.

Umbody can't see nobody canceled.

We got to make that fire thirty today.

Well that was no, you can't say because uh they back all the way for fire back.

Yeah, that's what I heard.

Right.

This is how I don't know.

No, we have to go to men, right?

Yeah, we want to have to do it.

I guess the closed part of the eating order.

Yeah, meet your wall.

You are alive, you know that's a liar.

Okay, can members take their seats.

Okay, it's now uh seven p.m.

and we will begin the Thursday, February 19th meeting of the Albany Common Council.

Uh Madam Clerk, please call the role.

Adams.

Anani Ballorin.

Brody.

Present.

Farrell.

Here.

Glenn.

Here.

Howie.

Present.

Johnson.

Present.

Jones.

Present.

Keegan.

Here.

Lumpkin.

Present.

Powell.

Here.

Robinson.

Here.

Williamson.

Here.

Zamer.

Here.

Fourteen present, one absent.

Thank you.

We have a quorum present.

Okay.

Welcome everyone.

And please stand with me for the pledge of allegiance, followed by a moment of silence.

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic in which it stands.

Liberty and justice for all.

Thank you.

Are we good to go with Mayor Please?

I don't I don't see you're in the space.

Okay, with that, uh Miss Farrell.

Thank you, Mr.

President.

I move that we take uh resolution twelve twenty-two twenty-six R out of order.

All those in favor?

Aye.

Okay.

Motion passes.

Mr.

Williamson.

Just make sure.

Thank you, Mr.

President.

Notice resolution twelve to two.

Two six R.

We're asking for introduction as a passage.

Thank you, Madam Clerk.

A resolution of the common council honoring the African Americans, African American individuals from the city of Albany who have been inducted into the New York State basketball hall of fame.

Comment?

Yes, please.

As I said early, it's just an honor that's for to recognize the uh men and one of the color.

Um the the the sacrifice that they um they uh went to and one of the things that really um is really dear to me is some of the the young men and young ladies of color don't even know uh the history um for the um New York State basketball hall of fame that what they went through.

Um so I'm just I'm just honor, I'm just you know, just to see them here and also some of the ones who are not able to make it here in the ones who as uh pass, but it's just a um just an honor and you know also I think my colleagues as well.

Thank you very much.

Thank you, Mr.

Williamson.

Uh further discussion, Mr.

Robinson Thank you, Mr.

President.

Um growing up in the South then a basketball was everything to a lot of the um honorees tonight, and um growing up and watching them with a basketball, you know, it was just something that a young kid at such as myself, we would run outside and we would see, and we would see them dunk, you know, and we would see them participate, run up and down the court, and it was like a culture as a long as a young child growing up, seeing a lot of these gentlemen play basketball on the courts where I where I was raised at.

So I will I'm I'm honored, just like my colleagues said, I will also be like to um be placed as a co-sponsor on this bill and just say congratulations, and it's well overdue.

Thank you.

Thank you, Mr.

Robinson, Mr.

Johnson.

Thank you, Mr.

President.

As um young boys and girls start out in their uh pursuit of the game of basketball, everybody hopes to make it to the MBA and now the WMBA.

But you know, the the highest compliment is to make it to the Hall of Fame in Springfield.

That doesn't happen for um many people, but it is nice to be recognized for your effort.

And as my colleague said, um, growing up, basketball was a big part of the city of Albany.

Um many nights, the gym at Albany High was packed, and a lot of the um community was there supporting it.

And you know, um, it's hard when you see uh where basketball is today, but you know, staying um on tonight is um important that we um have a uh a resolution like this because it's many people that aren't here today to be a part of this celebration.

So, you know, for them, I want to say um job well done, and um it is uh an honor to be a part of a group that's being um discussed today, and hopefully one day they'll have a place where boys and girls can go and see um the stories of the individuals that you're gonna hear about.

So um it is an honor to be a part of this to um recognize um people for their accomplishments because in a blink of in a blinking of the eye, it could all be forgotten.

So history is you know, everybody's story that participated in this great game.

So thank you.

Thank you, Mr.

Johnson.

Mr.

Anani.

Uh thank you, Mr.

President.

And I arise to um congratulate um Albany uh men of color, particularly when it comes who have been inducted into the New York State basketball hall of fame, like was said, uh being an all-star, uh being uh the best in your city, being your best in your town is a great accomplishment in itself.

But going into the hall of fame is an exceptional accomplishment.

You know, I as many of you know I did grow up in Brooklyn and uh I always wanted to play basketball.

Uh but when I turned 12 and I stopped growing, I had to look that's funny, but um that's not a joke.

I um focus on other sports and my academics, but it's uh exceptional, just really from the bottom of my heart, want to thank the families who sacrifice time to make sure that these individuals go to the hall of fame, their parents, the sacrifices that their parents and the families make, whether it's helping the kid become with AU and then going to high school and then ultimately college.

The sacrifice their families and families make is unbelievable.

So I just want to thank the coaches.

I want to thank the players and the parents, and this is a great recognition.

I want to thank also Councilmember Williamson for bringing this to our attention.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Um further discussion, seeing none.

Okay.

Thank you, Mr.

President.

Also, I just wanted to uh say that um we have one female umducting New York State uh basketball of fame, Miss Cricket.

It's phenomenal.

She's the only uh woman of color um inducted to New York State Basketball Hall of Fame.

I'm so proud of her.

I just wanted to say that.

Thank you, Mr.

President.

Thank you, Mr.

Williamson.

Yes, yes.

Thank you for that, Mr.

Williamson.

Madam Clerk with that, would you please call a role?

Yes.

Adams.

Are you all Mr.

President?

I believe we're all co-sponsors on this.

Okay.

Since we're all co-sponsors on it, we'll get a voice vote.

All in favor.

Okay.

Motion passes.

Now if any of the people who are here from the basketball hall of fame want to come in, we're gonna take a picture.

And I believe Mayor Flairs will be joining us too.

Okay, back in into our agenda.

We're on to uh the portion with communications from mayor.

From the mayor, we'll we'll welcome Mayor Dr.

Dorothy Clears to the table.

Uh oh, no.

Councilman Howie was trying to test my skills.

I actually used to play basketball in middle school, which is hilarious.

Uh thank you, Council President, Kimbrough, and to the council council leadership.

Just really honored to walk in to the chambers and see so many members of the community here to honor and celebrate those who deserve honor and recognition.

I would like to acknowledge Councilmember Williamson for having the vision and the heart to do this, the insight to acknowledge.

I think some of our unsung heroes, people who have really been consistent in the community, but don't always get credit and recognition.

So thank you for honoring and seeing fit to celebrate their leadership.

It is um it's been a wonderful Black History Month for the City of Albany.

We've had the council did an amazing job with Human Rights Commission honoring so many people who do the great work, who never get recognized for all of their service to our city, and to continue the celebration tonight with honoring the members of our community, all who have been inducted into the New York State Basketball Hall of Fame.

This has been such a wonderful celebration.

And so I'll be brief, but just wanted to acknowledge the impact that each of you have had on our city, our state.

Um, in the region, your service on the court has extended beyond the court, and each of you, I'm sure have been pillars in our community, not just as figures who played basketball or dribble the ball, but figures who show our young kids what's possible when you work hard, when you sacrifice, when you exercise a level of grit and determination, you all make it look easy, you've made it look easy, but to those who understand the discipline of any sport, it's never easy.

You have to sacrifice time away from your family.

You have to sacrifice and mentally get in the zone to achieve greatness in each of you to be inducted in the basketball hall of fame demonstrates that grit, that tenacity, that dedication, that sacrifice, and it's just an honor to be able to acknowledge your efforts today.

You all are truly a part of our city's legacy.

You're embedded in the DNA of the city of Albany, and tonight we just uplift you, we uplift your families, we uplift the communities that you come from, and as the newest mayor, it's an honor to acknowledge you and celebrate you all tonight.

So thank you for allowing me the opportunity to say a few words and a hearty cheers and congratulations to all of our strong members of the community who have been inducted into the New York State Basketball Hall of Fame.

Yes, yes, hey, hey, give it up, give it up, give it up again.

This will be in the mayor's office and will remain there my entire tenure.

So thank you so much.

Okay, next on to our public comment period.

Um we will open public comment to uh we'll give folks uh three minutes to speak on any topic you wish.

Uh this is a part of the council meeting where council members receive comment from the public.

It's it's not a conversation, it's uh council members won't be able to respond to you and your comments.

They can't they can later in the meeting if they wish to, but uh typically we just receive public comment here.

So with that, I will uh madam clerk.

Will you call the first speaker?

Yes, Donna Starks Hillman.

One seated will like your name and address, and uh you may begin.

Good evening, everyone, and thank you very much.

My name is Donna Starks Tillman.

I'm here on behalf of my brother, Herb Bowen.

Uh, just a moment, please.

Herb lived his life as a companion, and today the legacy is committed and forever.

He didn't.

He didn't just play the game, he loved it, and he loved you all.

Thank you for recognizing a legend.

Good evening.

Thank you, man.

Belinda Rosa.

Good evening, everyone.

This is a special evening.

Um, congratulations to all the inductees of the New York State Basketball Hall of Fame.

Uh, it's an honor for me to be here this evening on behalf of one of my favorite cousins, Mr.

Joe Roberts Jr.

He couldn't be with us today.

He resides in Atlanta, Georgia.

So I was very honored when he called the other night and say, hey, you work at City Hall.

Can you stand in for me?

So I've been here all day, but uh it's an honor to do so.

He did ask if I could share uh some words with the council members and also to uh Madam Mayor Dr.

Dorsey of Plears.

He states honoring the New York State Basketball Hall of Fame players.

I sincerely regret that I am unable to attend the ceremony today.

However, I would like to share a few words about my experience working with the City of Albany as a youth job developer.

I also founded and directed the City of Albany Human Resource Basketball Clinic from 1973 to 1981.

Working with Albany's youth brought me tremendous gratification and a deep sense of accomplishment to this day.

So now to be recognized by the city as a member of the upstate New York Basketball Hall of Fame is truly one of the highest points of my life.

I am deeply honored and grateful for this recognition.

Thank you so much for this incredible honor and God bless.

Truly yours, Joe Roberts Jr.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Good evening, everyone.

Thank you, Councilman Nur Williamson, for doing this.

Um, this is truly truly an honor.

And thank you to Mayor Plears, who's already left.

Um this recognition for all of the African American inductees into New York Cycle Basketball Hall of Fame is something to be treasured for for years to come.

Um my name is Cricket Thomas Hodell.

I had the honor of being inducted to New York State Basketball Hall of Fame in April of 2024.

When I received the phone call from Rennie LaRue that had been selected as an inductee, my first thought was, yeah, no way.

All right, who's playing a joke on me?

This isn't funny, but um it was real, and to be told that I was being inducted because of my role as a basketball referee for the past 27 years is still truly humbling.

You see, I grew up playing basketball in the south end of Albany, played at what was called Hackett Junior High School, went on to play at Albany High, go Falcons, and then went on to play in the collegiate level at Russell Sage College.

I never in a million years thought that I would become a basketball referee.

My husband has the same basketball background as I do, and when we had our daughter, she was blessed with inheriting our basketball skills as well, and while I want to play at the collegiate level, also.

And so, for the past 27 years, whether it was a fourth grade girls' basketball game, a high school game, a boys' gym rat tournament, blowing the whistle has been a way to stay involved in a game that I love, to stay physically active, and most importantly, to promote fair play and to represent women of color on a basketball court.

I've been fortunate over the years to have mentors in this referee world to help me navigate the sometimes challenging profession.

Because let's be honest.

Referees are yelled at.

We're called names.

We're told that we're incompetent.

We're stepped to, we're cursed at, we're waiting for in the parking lot.

And in some cases, yeah, we've had water bottles thrown at us.

I'm sure each of you all of you have gone to your job and had these things happen to you as well, right?

But fortunately, my fellow referees, such as Ricky Wilcox, has helped me to provide that mentorship to get through these challenging times.

And there have been plenty of coaches, players, and families that have also made blowing the whistle as enjoyable as well.

Being a referee and official is not for the faint of heart, and it requires a certain mental toughness.

And it's also one of the most rewarding, most exciting, and most challenging things that one can do.

The number of basketball players, families, coaches who have shared with me their gratitude for my taking that little bit of time, that one moment to show them that I cared.

It's truly made a difference.

Side note, there is a significant shortage of basketball referees.

Significant shortage.

So if any of you all have ever thought about becoming a basketball referee, please see me.

Definitely.

I reminded of a quote that I heard recently by Shirley Chisholm, who in 1968 was the first black woman elected to Congress.

She's also the first black candidate for president.

Congresswoman Chisholm said, and I quote, service is a rent repay for the privilege of living on this earth.

Service is a rent repay for the privilege of living on this earth.

My life's journey, I believe, is based upon another quote by also by Dr.

Martin Luther King Jr.

Everybody can be great because everybody can serve.

Everybody can be great because everybody can serve.

So in closing, I'd like to share with you that giving back as a referee has given me countless hours of joy, satisfaction, and opportunity to be a part of service.

To have that passion recognized as being worthy of induction to the basketball hall of fame, and then to have this proclamation given tonight has truly been an unbelievable joy.

To God be the glory for all that he has given us and all that has come.

Thank you.

Ricky Wilcox.

Um for this induction.

I've had many wonderful accolades in my life.

I owe it to a lot of great mentors myself, Dr.

Eddie Meyer, Michelle St.

Pierre, just many partners on the court.

I've enjoyed mentoring cricket, but this all starts with having a wonderful family life, a home life.

I wouldn't be able to do what I have done for 30 years.

I did the women's final four division three championship game back in 2018.

Was inducted into the New York State Basketball Hall of Fame last year, and to get this honor is um mind-blowing.

I was also, my story was also published in referee magazine.

Um I owe a lot of this to my partners, but most of all, I owe this to God, and I owe it to my wonderful wife at home and my son Tyler, that without them, I could not have done what I've been doing for so many years and have loved doing for so many years.

I retired on good terms.

I retired on my own terms.

I did not want to be an observer, I did not want to be an evaluator.

I wanted to just be done with basketball, hang up my shoes, put my whistles away, and just be able to open the front door, see that white stuff coming down during the winter months, and know I can close the door because I don't have to go out and that stuff anymore.

Um I owe a lot.

It's not a matter of what I've accomplished, it's a matter of what we accomplished as referees, because like I said, on the court in college, there's three of us in striped shirts.

In high school, there's two of us.

So there's no I in refereeing.

So it takes a team to do what we have done.

So I am truly blessed with everything that I that I my life has accomplished.

And like I said, I owe a lot to my wife.

Um, she's home right now, resting from rotator cuff surgery, so she cannot be here, but she's always in my spirits when I'm traveling on the roads, going four, seven hours away, staying in hotels, eating Burger King food at night, um, and still trying to stay in the great shape that I'm in right now.

So thank you very much.

I am honored to be here and congratulations to all the uh inductees tonight.

Thank you.

Brian Hines.

Short.

Got my little nephew up here with me.

He need to be a part of this little history.

First of all, I want to say thank you to the uh to the council and um more importantly, John Williamson.

John John grew up with him.

Um none of this, none of this would be possible without him.

He made all this happen.

Um then I want to give uh another shout out to Rennie Lemie for uh creating this whole basketball hall of fame and um recognizing all the great players that we have in Albany, New York and the South and in the Arbor Hill area.

Uh it's truly an honor to be here.

Um I I really wouldn't be here with me from my Uncle Terry Marble.

You know, I always wanted to be just like him.

I wanted to follow him.

I want to do everything he did.

Um working with kids for years.

I'm also the founder of uh the Duncan Hines basketball classic that I've been doing for 25 years that I did I do in the South and Albany Lincoln Park.

Um, I'm very proud of that.

Um we produced a lot of talent, a lot of kids from the area.

We get kids from different parts of the uh eastern states, Boston, Connecticut, um, just to you know build the bridge so kids can understand that we still have the same ills here that we have over there, and um on the grace of God has been going well.

Um thank my mom, my aunt Bobby for always being here for me, guiding me.

And um, again, um I'm I'm very honored to be here, you know.

And it's crazy because whoever thought some kids from Green Street would be up here.

You understand me.

Right, right, right.

I would never have an imagined this in my life, you know.

Um Mr.

Robison, another product of 230 Green Street, uh, Mr.

Williamson.

Um it's just phenomenal, you know.

Um, I started basketball about 30 years ago in the city of Albany with a friend of mine, life Robinson, Eddie Robison.

We went to Boston one week and try to just get away.

And um, we went to play in the NBA three on three tournament.

And while we was up there, we seen another guy that spent time in Albany that he was up there with a bunch of kids.

So, you know, we're up there talking about oh man, we gotta go back home and we got to get something going for the kids.

I mean, we up all night, me and him talking.

And when we got to Boston, it hit us.

We got to bring basketball back to the to the to the hood.

We gotta do that.

So we started the the biggest tournament Albany I've ever seen was called the Summertime Love basketball tournament.

Me and Eddie Robinson and another guy named Rob McDaniel.

Um that was successful for many years, and Mr.

Robinson continued it.

And I branched off, I wanted to do something on my own, so I can show the kids downtown that it's not an uptown, downtown thing because he had it for the kids uptown, and I had it for the kids downtown, but we always collaborated, you know.

But he did a great job.

He he took it to Troy, he opened it up in Troy, he blessed the kids over there.

And um, I'm proud of him.

I just wanted to make sure I told him that I didn't want to leave my brother out because he was a major part of me, and he always will be.

And um, I just want to say thank you again, and thank you for the mayor for having us here tonight.

Um she's been phenomenal the last couple days.

And Rennie, I'm gonna look at you and tell you this, brother.

You ought to be proud, man, because this is all you and I'm grateful.

Always my brother.

Troy Turner.

How y'all doing?

Everybody good?

That's good.

This is the best word I've ever award I have ever received.

Because it comes from my city, a hometown.

When Brian first told me about this, I cried like a baby.

I don't know why I cried like that, but it just it hit me.

You know.

Um I want to thank this common counsel, the mayor for this for this opportunity.

I want to thank Rennie.

You're the man, man.

You're the man.

He developed a an entity where you're not maybe you can't go to the national hall of fame basketball, but he developed something for us for New York State.

And I'm so proud that he selected me.

I went in 2012.

I went in in 2012.

And um I was truly honored and grateful for this for that opportunity.

I just want to share a story real quick about my journey.

I used basketball as a way out of the hood.

I used to come home sometimes, and there'd no there'd be no food in the refrigerator, and I would have to you know run up to my grandmother's house to get some something to eat, but I didn't let that bother me.

I knew one day that I will have an opportunity to go buy a hamburger, basically to go buy a hamburger.

So I started playing basketball downtown, and I couldn't play.

I wasn't good at all.

And then um my friends downtown, they basically you know taught me the game, and from there, I just started practicing every night.

I just practice, practice, shooting, everything.

And then um I I moved to Boston for a short period of time, and I played high school ball with Patrick Ewan.

I was on the same team he was on, and there I learned what it is to be a student athlete, because in order for me to go to college, I had to have good grades.

So my coach, he would basically not let us in the gym unless we had all bees on a report card.

All bees.

I was like, wow, that guy cares about us, you know.

So I came back to Albany and I was I was pretty much um, I was uh I was really good.

I was really good.

I was recruited by Sienna.

That was the first college team I played for, and it was a very talented team, but we were marred with dysfunction.

Nobody got along, everybody was fighting each other.

It was just a lot of stuff going on, but we were talented.

When I left that school, and I transferred to New Paul's.

If I come up, we should win the national championship.

My first year I got up there, we went to the national championship and lost by one point.

Really good game, lost by one point.

Second year, I looked at the schedule, and I said we should win every game, except for that Albany game.

That's gonna be tough.

That's gonna be tough.

But we wind up winning that game.

Once we win that game, I knew that we would go undefeated.

Folks, I played in a national championship, NCAA team that won a national championship 32 and all.

And I at the end of that game, I just thank God.

I just thank God that he, you know, he brought me there.

He gave me that opportunity to go through something like that.

And what I mean, those two teams, and I wanted to say this to the council and city government itself.

If they're just if there's dysfunction, you're not gonna win.

Everybody has to respect each other.

My team at Potsdam.

We respected each other.

We loved each other.

Yeah, we argue, we fought, but in the end, it was always like this.

My first team, it was kind of like this.

We didn't win.

So I say to city government, because you are you guys are in the front.

Y'all have to protect us from what's going on today.

Work together, be on the same page, enjoy each other.

Fight for the good cause.

Not yourself, but for all of us.

Because we depend on y'all.

I know, I know.

I'm sorry I'm talking too long, but I I really need to say that.

This government, what's going on today?

It's scary.

So I'm just want y'all to be winners and be undefeated.

Thank you.

Thank you, Mr.

Chairman.

Renee Lerau.

Councilman Williamson, thank you so much for inviting us here tonight and for this resolution.

And thank you to all the other people that are in this room.

Um, it's special to celebrate these people for Black History Awareness Month.

And the legacy of Albany is basketball.

The first game was played around the corner in 1892, which is a fact at the YMCA.

The legacy of greatness is in the people we've inducted in this Hall of Fame.

And everyone you've heard from tonight is not only an inductee, but now a close personal friend, a friendship that I cherish, and I have so loved making the phone call to say, congratulations, you're a member of the New York State Basketball Fame.

There's a framed picture here in the front that is 1968.

Coach Ron Sands, and it said that team was rated among the best in the country.

That's the legacy of Albany basketball.

The names we've inducted so far are just amazing people, and not just in basketball, but from what they've accomplished, their work ethic, what they've done since their playing days were over.

You know, my senior board member is Brian Hines, and um we've we've talked and we're actively seeking a more permanent home for the New York State Basketball Hall of Fame, and we would really love to have it here in Albany.

And the next time Rebecca Lobo comes when Rebecca Lobo comes from the SBN and she says there's nothing to do in Albany, she'll be wrong.

Um we have a baseball hall of fame, New York State Baseball Fame that's in Gloversville.

We have a lovely building.

We'd like to replicate that here.

And I love love to replicate it downtown.

So I've asked Brian to spearhead that.

So Brian Hines will be in charge of that project.

And again, thank you so very much for this.

It means a lot to me.

And it's just wonderful to see all these people here.

Thank you.

Madeline Gallan.

Madeline Gallan.

Malia Wilson.

Malia Wilson.

Christine Hayward.

Manuel Mims.

Jessica Curat.

Miguel Curit.

Okay.

Caden Perrin.

Shekyra Shabazz.

Got one.

Good evening, everyone.

I'm my name is Lakeisha Chalmers, and I'm here representing my brother Lionel Chalmers.

I didn't realize that I had to stand.

I mean, I didn't realize I had to sign my name when I first came in.

So am I taking somebody's turn?

I'll let you leave without everything.

Okay.

Thank you.

I just noticed the names you were calling, they weren't here, so I figured I'd come up.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

So my name is Lakeisha Chalmers, and my brother Lionel Chalmers couldn't be here this evening.

Um, but thank you for honoring my brother.

So on behalf of my brother Lionel Chalmers Jr.

and our entire family, we would like to say thank you to the Albany Common Council and the Albany community for this incredible honor.

Lionel truly wishes he could be here tonight, but he is in Sacramento coaching with the Orlando Magic as an assistant coach in the MBA.

He would be the first to say that everything he became started right here in Albany.

Albany helped shape his character, his discipline, and his belief that hard work can turn dreams into reality.

From neighborhood courts, like the New Courts, Crank Park, Washington Park.

He went from that to college to Xavier University and then went to the NBA.

He never walked his journey alone.

There were coaches, teachers, mentors, friends, everyone from the Albany community.

They all poured into him.

Being recognized during Black History Month makes this especially meaningful because Lionel understands his journey is bigger than basketball.

Thank you for celebrating him and for continuing to uplift the next generation with love and gratitude from the Chalmers family.

I have something else I like to say.

I myself am from Albany, and I've been a teacher in the Albany City School District for 25 years.

And I work right here in Albany at Sheridan Preparatory Academy as a second grade teacher.

So I'm continuously pouring into the kids of our neighborhood.

So I would like to say thank you as well for helping me and our family.

Thank you, Albany.

Ashley Bruno.

Kayla Ray.

Mark, excuse me, Patrick Robinson.

All right, hello everybody.

Good evening.

I'm a basketball coach, but I don't have a basketball story today.

Williams earlier, I believe with Mr.

Lumpkin as well, too.

Um, my issue, my issue is like a quality of life issue, which is the parking down in my neighborhood.

Um I love, I love when the when the palace has event and stuff like that, but the palace is frequent with you know, people that don't live in our neighborhood.

And because I coach and stuff and I work, my days are long and I get home kind of late around showtime, and I have nowhere to park.

And I get a lot of tickets down by my house, you know, and I have a residential parking sticker in when I come down here to dispute my tickets or whatever, and it's just not me.

My whole my whole block feel the same way.

But I'm just coming down here speaking up for the residents of in my area.

So, and I get ticket after ticket, and I want to know, like, you know, you know, where can I go for help?

Because they tell me to come here and you know, talk to your common council person, whatever the case may be.

I'm just like, what do we do?

So if anybody can talk to me and tell me like what can we, what can I do?

What can the people on my block do?

I would appreciate it.

That's why I'm here.

I'm sorry, I don't have I don't have a basketball story tonight, but I am a basketball coach, I coach.

Um, so and that's my story.

Thank you for your time.

Thank you, Mr.

Robinson.

Yep.

Ums Farrell.

Uh can I get a motion to extend public comment?

Yes, Mr.

President.

I move that we extend the public comment 30 minutes.

Second.

All in favor.

Okay, motion pass.

Next speaker, madam.

Anaya A.

Anaya A.

Good evening.

My name is Anaya A, and I don't know the exact protocol of your city council, but I invited my advocate to speak with me or to stand with me because I am a little emotional.

Um, this evening, I didn't know what I was gonna talk about necessarily.

I came here to talk about the housing issues, the drug pandemic I've been seeing in this community, as well as the crimes and different things since I'm new here.

But something happened.

This basketball event literally changed my heart to speak more positively.

Growing up as a Haitian American, we are immigrants and we don't necessarily know the American culture until we are invited in.

Today I speak to you because I'm going through a crisis myself.

But interestingly enough, several people here shared how basketball saved their lives, how community saved their lives.

And instead of attacking people this evening, I want to let you guys know that there's a whole community out here that needs more advocacy, more purpose.

You can clap.

There are people that are really struggling, and I am a civil rights activist myself, former contributor under Dr.

Osho for seven years.

Otis Bird Song, Pee-Wee, Rucka Pac.

We had a whole event going on in the city to bring more young black children out to see the celebrities to show them a different way out.

And in closing, one of the most powerful things happened to me in my advocacy years.

One day I went to an event because I live in several cities, South Florida being one of them.

And as I was at this event, I heard a white gentleman from the Navy SEAL speak about how basketball is not the only way out.

The rap game is not the only way out.

And I was in the bleachers, like so upset because I'm like, does he not understand that a lot of us don't have many options?

A lot of us don't have food to eat.

A lot of us go home and we see the crime in the streets, and we don't think we can make it out.

But funny enough, the woman next to me said, Anaya, speak up.

When you see him talk to him and tell him basketball is what a lot of children know.

So I went up to him like the GIM from Brooklyn, stand up, and I was like, yo, son, let me talk to you real quick.

I said, Do you understand when you said that that a lot of people's feelings could have gotten hurt because a lot of young black boys don't have another way out.

And he said, Anaya A, I'm gonna invite you and your community to stand with me.

And if anybody wants to be a part of the Navy SEALs, we're gonna work together.

And through that partnership, we brought over 30 young black young boys and girls to the Navy SEAL event where we showed them a different way out.

But tonight, I'm not just here for me because I'm actually going through homelessness myself.

Homelessness is not what people think.

Sometimes you could be up and other times you could be down.

I'm here for myself, but I'm also here because my sister invited me tonight and said, Annaya, tell your story, and I'll be here with you.

Some people will be embarrassed to share.

I got a college degree, I studied abroad, I've worked with the NBA and all these celebrities.

I'm an activist, and now I'm going through this problem.

But if I don't speak up, who's gonna know to help other people?

And in real closing, because you know, as a minister and as a quote unquote gangster from Brooklyn, you know, we could take long, but I'm gonna finish right here.

I brought a young man with me who's facing another year of probation.

Papa John is 23 years old.

He is scared for his life because he's been put in a situation whereas there's no advocacy for a young black man with a monitor on his leg.

Tomorrow he goes back to court, and we don't know what they're gonna say.

But I'm not just here for me, I'm here for Papa John and the rest of the black boys walking around here with these little monitors on their feet, looking like slaves or something.

Can we please stand up together, family, and do something about the streets that are going wild right now?

The Papa John's, the Anaya A's, those that were here talking about they didn't have no food take, but they made it.

Please help us, and Papa John, I think might be next on the list.

And I want to thank my beautiful sister who's still with me today.

And please, guys, let's see what we can do, like others have said this evening.

Thank you.

Papa John Gadden.

Hi.

Um, the issue that I'm bringing up here today is not like basketball related.

So yes, um, as my good friend Anaya was just saying, yes, I am facing one year of probation, but I came here to see if I can get help.

Sometimes the system is a little bit unfair and adjust.

I feel like I've been doing everything that I'm supposed to.

I'm tired, I'm homeless.

I work 40 hours a week, and it's the constant stress in the hounding.

It's just like it's unbearable because unfortunately, like my homeless situation is not even something that I have been able to speak on a lot because it's really tough.

I lost my house due to domestic violence.

I lost my dad about two years ago.

I've been struggling ever since to get off the street.

So I was just wondering if there's any type of programs or help that I can kind of get into.

That's my biggest concern.

And there's a lot of other people who's also going through similar problems that I'm going through.

And it's tough out here.

Like it's really tough for the homeless community because some people like to blame the people who are homeless and stuff like that, but it's just not the case sometimes.

Unfortunate circumstances do help.

You know, and I honestly want to be in a position to where I can do better and possibly help other people that go through what I'm going through, because I don't want to see nobody else go through this.

That's just one of the concerns that I wanted to bring up here today.

Um, yeah, and I was just that was a call for help.

Thank you guys.

That's all I wanted to bring to your attention.

Thank you.

Beverly Lions.

You don't want to speak, man?

Okay, I'm okay.

Uh Sylvia Jordan.

Good evening.

My name is Sylvia Robson Jordan.

Tonight's been real powerful.

Tonight's been real powerful.

And it's all tying in together.

But I'm here because every time I look up, I see cranes in the sky all over Albany.

But when I look down on the ground, I don't see us.

While our own neighbors are left standing on the sidewalk.

Our children should not have to look up at those cranes and know their fathers and their mothers aren't allowed on the payroll.

We have skilled people right here, including those returning home from jail who are ready to work.

This isn't just about me.

This is about our community as a whole.

It comes from a paycheck.

Something got to be done.

Because they're not hiring no black and brown people on these jobs.

South End, Arbor Hill.

How many black and brown people are on them jobs?

There's none.

Thank you.

I keep this short and sweet.

Uh first of all, I would like to uh congratulate the 1962 uh basketball without them.

You know, guys like me when I had the opportunity to go to college, and uh like the lady you know who came before my sister, I just want to pivot because when you look at the game of basketball, you look at teamwork, and when I look around this room, I see history, and I'm asking each one of y'all to make history because it's very important for the young brothers and sisters to see women, men that walked in their shoes on these job sites now.

I had the opportunity about 20 years ago to be part of a program that taught you know, guys like me how to be electricians, and 20 years later, I'm a master electrician, so I was given the opportunity, and a good friend of mine tapped me on the shoulder and told me that I gotta come back story of the year, and his name is Mr.

Johnson, and Mr.

Johnson explained to me that because what role you took to get here, you use that experience, and my brother Markey, he explained to me that for those who don't know your story, share it with them because it could be inspiration, and I won't even say that to say this.

These kids, they need individuals like me, like Mr.

Hines, like Mr.

Johnson, like Mr.

Robinson, like Mr.

Williams, who and even Mr.

Kimball.

Congratulations on your appointment.

Now I'll keep it short and sweet.

This young man used to arrest me when he was almost police officer, but he was fair, and he always told me I might be arresting you today, Mr.

Robinson, but always believe in yourself, and I stand here today just to share my experience because it's important.

We need jobs, homelessness is a problem here.

It's a problem, and one thing people don't want to talk about is mental health, mental health is also a problem.

So we have to stop looking at these people and say, you know what?

Let me be part of the solution, let me take time out and offer my services, and once again, like I said, I see history here in this room.

Let's continue to make history.

Thank you, and I appreciate your time.

Let's see, shamps it up.

Good evening.

Good evening, ladies and gentlemen.

Um pretty much uh what was spoken about is um I'm gonna have to piggyback off of it because a lot of it relates to what I'm about to say.

Um my experience today when I was driving downtown in Albany on Green Street, and I was looking at all the construction, and I was like, wow, there's something told me to go up more than a so I go up more than a and I'm looking at you know the housing there.

I'm like, wow, it's gonna be a lot of money being made here, a lot of things going on.

I have a lot of I have a uh construction background, handyman as well.

I do a lot of things, and um, but right now um I'm connected to a small business, black owned business, and um, but we have to leave Albany, we have to ride to Binghamton two and a half hours to do a job that I feel as though we could be doing right here downtown on the south end, and um the small minority business are being blocked, and um, we're not given the same opportunities as business that have contracts with the city for some businesses aren't even invited to bid on contracts, and this has been happening to our business over and over again.

And um the small minority businesses are being blocked.

And um, we're not given the same opportunities as businesses that have contracts with the city.

For some businesses, aren't even a valid to bid on contracts.

And this has been happening to Albany over and over again.

Um we can do the same work.

I'm a lot older, but I love doing work.

I love getting dirty and grimy, I love that.

That's my thing.

That's my getaway.

And um, I just I just don't understand what's what's really going on.

I've been in Albany since 1996.

I've been up and down, good and bad.

I just came home from prison doing 10 years.

I've been out for seven years, seven months, excuse me.

And um I'm just trying to find some work.

That's it.

Trying to be a productive member of society and do what I need to do.

It's never too late for me to change.

That's where I'm at.

And I do remember you, Missy Kimbrough.

Congratulations on your appointment as well.

Um, and that's basically what I have to say.

You know, I just want to be given a chance.

You know, thank you.

Thank you.

Uh good evening, everyone.

I appreciate this opportunity to come here to bring up my concern in the night of basketball.

I did not expect to expect what this would be look like.

So if I knew I would dress at least dress a little bit better.

So here is I'm a uh research center at the Wadworth Center.

Uh in the Kanye Tower in the basement, we do the about uh public health related research.

We do also the uh public health related testing over there.

Therefore, I have a lot of postdoc research scientists and also a PhD student and undergraduate student volunteers come to the lab as they want to develop their uh path to their career.

And uh I want to bring to you, I come here just on behalf of them because the current reason the change for the uh parking uh uh regulation along the uh Mountain Avenue, which is next to the Lincoln Park really significantly impact uh this young uh trainees uh capability to continue their uh training uh experience in our lab.

I briefly experienced uh explained this.

I called it Ron, and I had the chance.

I appreciate Mr.

Adams called me back today, and that's the same issue.

I give a really brief explanation because I was in the middle of talking to someone at the time in a meeting.

So the thing is like this for um these trainees, they are the future our next generation of education for you know for the STEM education for the public health uh work teams.

They um they don't have a dedicated uh appointment under the New York State.

Um, and also you know, the uh Empire State Plaza, the parking had a really long waiting list.

And for me, I I had to wait for more than 10 years to get my first parking permit, even though I'm a faculty member there.

And for them, they have really no any way to find any possible parking.

And um also they you know they have steppings, they don't even have a reliable income.

This is called steppings for the uh uh some of them are volunteer undergraduate students, some of them had under the CDC uh uh fellowship, they don't have very high income, and they are not able to find some kind of commercial public uh parking uh uh uh garage over there, it's too expensive for them.

So they normally they will park, try to find a place further away, like see um because we know the Martin Avenue and on the um Lincoln Park side, those two did not have the parking uh hour restriction.

Therefore, they will park over there, and then they will work about 15 minutes to the lab.

And sometimes when there was a construction, they were parking in the Lincoln Park, Lincoln Park, it's called, I think Lincoln Park Drive inside over there, when there was a time the one and a half hours parking limit was not uh was invited for a short period of time.

So this will give them opportunity to come to the lab after they take a course and then uh do some research work for a couple hours or two, one of the something like that, and then go back to their school and take a course in the opening campus or ransom here, the RPI campus.

But right now, when we're limited to two hours of parking, they don't have this opportunity anymore.

They come to me to ask, well, what do we do?

I I have no any solution.

The only way I can tell them is you know, I I could only call the talk to the city.

And because of this kind of situation, uh I have a number of them.

I think the total number of this kind of trainees, uh young um students are probably not that many, it will be like a several thousand of them, but they they really do impact their career path.

And um, so I want to bring to your attention this issue, and I have actually three possible uh solution, uh suggestion for you guys to consider, right?

Why is because you know the poverty the park is the full public you know, the nearby neighborhood really for the street on the park side, we probably really don't need to have this of two hours of parking and limitation.

That's a while.

Two um thank you, Professor Sue.

I hate to cut folks off, but um time we're way over time.

Yeah, I uh we suggest speaking to Mr.

Idem to talk about the same.

So I have a two more solution, so I will talk to Adam later.

Thank you for that.

I'll share with you share with the council staff and yeah, the council.

Also, yeah, Ms.

Bra suggesting me this opportunity.

Thank you.

This is the first time I come to the city hall.

Thank you, guys.

Thank you, sir.

Daniel Butterworth.

Good evening, everyone.

My name is Daniel Butterworth.

I am a longtime Albany resident, and I am the executive director of RISE, refugee and immigrant support services of a Mace.

Uh, thank you for hearing me tonight and all of my fellow speakers.

Uh the city is approximately 12%, 12 to 15 percent foreign born.

It's a pretty sizable piece of our of our community.

Um, and that part of our community is under threat at the moment, and I don't really need to explain the the reasons why.

I'm very proud of the city for maintaining its sanctuary status and for being a welcoming community now and through much of our history.

But our newcomer community is very afraid right now.

Uh we have families who are being torn apart, community members and neighbors who are being abducted by federal agents.

And we've gotten to the point where the good intentions and the public statements are not enough.

It's not enough with what we anticipate is coming for our community, like many other communities around the around the country.

And as we see ICE activity increase, we need this body and the mayor and APD and other institutional partners to come to the table and help us find practical policy solutions that can provide a level of protection and support for our neighbors.

The CBO community, community-based organizations who work with the newcomers in our community.

We don't have the resources to do this on our own.

We desperately need your help.

And so during these extraordinary times, I am hoping that we can come up with some extraordinary responses.

And our community of partners who not only have been serving the refugee immigrant community for many years, um, but uh but also our neighbors who are volunteering to walk our neighborhood streets to alert neighbors about the presence of ice, to support neighbors, provide accompaniment, deliver meals, provide transportation for students.

We have a list of policy recommendations that we would like to share with you all so that we can start moving forward together and provide the safety and security that our neighbors need.

If you don't think that this issue is one that is becoming more urgent, I invite you to follow the Capital Region Sanctuary Coalition's uh social media at 518 CRSC.

This is the first thing I see in the morning and the last thing I see at night, and every single day we're seeing confirmed ice sightings, confirmed detentions, to the to the point where now we're averaging about 10 detentions of individuals or families each week.

So come to the table with us.

Remember the immigrant heroes in your lives, the family members, the friends, the co-workers, the ancestors who've sacrificed so that you and I can all be sitting here today.

And thank you for your service.

Thanks.

Thank you, sir.

So we're at technically at the end of our second uh 30 minutes, second, so uh public comment section.

So what we do uh from this point is we push the additional comment to our later public comment uh after we conduct our business.

So you want to just continue?

Four more.

Oh, you said how many are four more.

Let them go.

Okay.

Right.

Right, we were well past we're gonna have time.

We were past that time.

Yes.

I missed the time at an earlier point, so we let everyone go.

So with that vote, can we vote to extend another 30?

I would say that's just when I okay, just continue.

Okay.

All the speakers.

Sherry DeCosta.

Good evening, everyone.

Thank you for being here.

Thank you for this time.

I don't have a lot to say tonight because I feel like what I have to say pales in comparison to what we've been talking about here so far, but I do have a few concerns.

One concern is dog owners.

Is there an ordinance in the city of Albany that says that people have to clean up after their dogs?

I have contacted uh general services, OGS, whatever, um, DGS, uh, and asked for uh waste containers.

When I when those didn't come, I put um a sign and a little dispenser that I put dog poop bags in, and uh that worked for a while, but all winter long, but dogs have been the owners have been letting the dogs have got wonderful pictures of the poop that's just all over every place.

And there's just it's disgusting, there's no reason for it.

Um so if we have an ordinance, what do we do with that?

Why do we have these things on the books?

If we're if we're not enforcing, you know, I don't know, and I don't know where else to take this concern.

The second concern that I have uh is regarding our wildlife.

We have this Tivoli Nature Preserve that's really you know great.

And um for the past several years, probably three years now, I think, maybe four, no, three, uh, deer have been coming out of the preserve.

I've spoken about this before, but they've been nightly in my yard, and they've learned that so I have bushes on either side of the front steps, and over two years, the one bush has nearly completely destroyed, and now they've learned to climb the steps to get to the top of the bushes so that they can eat those.

You know, this sounds like a minor concern.

I love the deer, okay.

Um, but three years ago there were deer dead on I-90, not just on I-90 westbound lane, but also on the exit ramp uh going up into the Arbor Hill area.

Um, you know, it's it's health hazard for human beings because of there could be someone get seriously injured there.

Um, also having deer come into your yard, you know, um deer ticks and Lyme disease.

The deer have also been on Livingston Avenue in Judson.

I spoke with a neighbor today over on 2nd Street, and they've been in the in the yards there on 2nd.

Um I've contacted the executive director of Tivoli Preserve on three occasions now.

One was before the city began the planning of the changes that would take place in the preserve, because I said, please consider that you have wildlife there.

And maybe we need to think about them because they're beings too.

And I've contacted them twice again recently, and I've been told that they've reached out to the city.

Because I'm saying, you know, put some food.

If we, if you can't call in the hunters or let out the wolves to keep the deer population down, then put some food inside the preserve for the deer.

So they don't come out into the city searching for food.

They're hungry.

And thirdly, you know, I've spoken before on the issue of ice, and I'm sure there are other people who maybe want to talk more about it too.

You know, I I just stand and support this gentleman who just spoke and said, please let's find ways to work together.

Um thank you.

Thank you.

Tabora Marcus.

Good evening, common council members and council president.

My name is Tabora Marcus.

I am a member of the West Hill community.

And today I sit here before you to talk about our unhoused population.

Many people call or use the term homeless.

I choose to say unhoused because I understand that people do not want their dignities to be taken away from them by calling them homeless.

Many of you guys may know that my role within the city is to kind of understand what's happening with our unhoused population.

Um, but I take my role a little bit more serious.

I find time to house individuals, find the safe spaces for them to be.

I find shelter.

Sometimes I shelter folks outside of the city, um, Schenectady, other places that they may have come from.

We just try to find other spaces where people can be.

I stay here today because I'm here for many of those voices that you guys will never hear.

You will never hear their stories.

You will never hear the hardship that many of these individuals have faced.

Some of us have already put biases on what unhoused populations look like, and that to you guys may look like mental health.

It may even look like addiction, but I'm here to tell you that there are people who are experiencing homelessness that are in our working population that have degrees, that are human.

They have the right, it is our right to make sure that folks are housed.

We are facing a lot of different barriers where people can't obtain housing.

The federal government has said that if there's no documentation that as a birth certificate, a person can't receive an identification without an identification.

An individual can't receive a birth certificate.

Many of our populations of individuals that are within the city of Albany have been brought into the city from other municipalities.

DSS has found housing folks down at the city mission from all over the city the county.

Um heartbreaking as it is, many of us walk in these biases because we pass individuals not realizing that they're human, that they're somebody's child, maybe somebody's parent.

And we walk past them as if they don't exist.

Nor do we even take the olive branch or extend that to really really understand what is happening within our city around our unhoused population.

I've heard people say they don't want to be housed.

Oh, mental health have them bottled down, addiction is what it is, but I'm here to tell you that it's far from the truth.

You guys have recently, just last year had a gentleman come and sit before you, and he uttered my name to tell you guys that he once ran for mayor of this very city and experienced homelessness in his sickest days, going through chemo.

And yet every avenue that he reached out to, there was no one there to stand beside him.

I sit here because in my role, and as a community member, I will stand with this population of individuals.

I will fight diligently to make sure that their voices are in every room that I can get into to make sure that they are heard.

I ask you guys to make sure when you talk about budgeting and your next budget for those who are new members.

Please make sure that those individuals are at the forefront of your tongue, that you think about every parent, every child, our unhoused population.

We're experiencing unhoused population of immigrants where people are being deported, and they're leaving their children behind, and they're unhoused.

And yet many of you are sitting here and may not even know that those are things that are happening in our very community.

One of the most vulnerable communities in the city is West Hill.

Thank you.

Ernest Lattimore.

Good evening, everyone.

My name is Ernest Majestic Latimer.

I'm the owner of 217 Central Avenue, the lab multimedia recording studio, Black Line Records, LLC, independent record label.

I was asked to come here because of what I did previously, which was construction.

I'm an original member of the Minority Contractors Association.

So I'm not going to give you a long story about how things look so bad.

I'm going to give you a solution because we did it.

We did this in 2000.

The Minority Contractors Association assembled a bunch of minority contractors, plumbers, electricians, painters, framers, all my brothers and uncles, and we did this.

And what we did was what we were told we couldn't do.

We created jobs for that young man, that young man, that young man.

And the way we did it, because they told us in order to get on these jobs, like she's talking about right now, Ms.

Robinson, right?

That's your name.

You go down on Green Street and you see those projects, they're full of brown black people.

But everybody that works there don't look like them.

Right.

And same thing, you sit on Clinton Avenue.

I drive them down Clinton Avenue, watch all the work going on up and down on Clinton Avenue, and then black men is sitting on the steps watching anybody else work.

So we came up with a solution, like I said, years ago.

We created because they told us you had to be an apprentice, but they didn't let us in the apprentice program.

So my brother went to Buffalo, got the curriculum, and came back, and we created our own apprentice program.

It's called Step Up.

And there's a lot of people right now that have jobs at their own companies because of that.

We did it.

I did it along with the um Urban League.

And like I said, the Minority Contractors Association.

So my point being is all we have to do is come together and get no pun intended, like the young lady was saying, that budget that y'all talking about, it needs to include.

I got 40 years.

I'm a journeyman.

I can teach you anything.

And that's what we do.

So like I said, it can be done.

It can be done.

We just have to come together.

You understand?

We have to have the support.

And right now we got no disrespect.

This mayor, we got y'all got your job on your hand because she ain't playing.

You know what I'm saying?

She's not playing.

And you right now, this is the first time I've been in one of these council meetings in a moment.

What I'm looking at right now is change.

And I think this can be real positive.

Like I said, I am majestic.

I'm gonna be on you.

All right, thank you.

Joseph Dickinson Dixon, excuse me.

How are you doing?

My name's Joseph Dixon Jr.

Um, I've been on tour Nine Myrtle Lab for about 47 years now.

Um grew up in Albany, in and out, lived around the world.

Albany was all always been my home.

Um I want to start with 1988, these trees were put in front of the house.

Um they were about this big.

Now these trees are about this big, right?

Um 20 years ago, I got I got control of this house.

Uh Mayor Jennings was in power.

Um, they told me I needed a grant because roots were getting into my sewer line.

Um, I didn't want to get a grant because I knew how to pay it back.

We not making no money.

This is basically just family living in it, just so we can get, you know, get to the next next, you know, next place.

So I bought myself uh a sewer uh a snake.

So I uh I snake I snake drains every every year.

Um now these trees are hitting the ceiling.

I have to call DG uh the city to cut the limbs down.

I got squirrels making holes into into the ceilings, um eating in my electrical lines.

Um I got abandoned house right here, abandoned house right here, um squirrels all over the place.

Um the sidewalks up and down from the trees.

I even broke my foot August of 20 uh 2024 from stepping on one of those sidewalks.

Um I think it is you know, something needs to be done.

Um, you got people from the South End, they got to walk up the street to go to uh price chopper, they're walking in the street now.

Um I've been a local uh 80 83 journeyman uh since 1989.

Um when I got out the army, I became uh apprentice, and I'm gonna be only reason I got to get into that union because I was a minority and I was a veteran.

Um one thing I learned from being in a union, unions are family owned.

So a lot of these companies are family owned, drinking buddies second.

We're last something needs to be done with that.

Thank you, sir.

Is our last uh public comment?

So with that, we'll close the public comment period.

Okay, next on to uh approval of minutes from a previous meeting.

Uh Ms.

Farrell.

Thank you, Mr.

President.

I offer the February 2nd, 2026 meetings for approval.

Second, second.

All those in favor.

I okay.

Motion passes, meeting minutes approved.

Uh reports of standing committees.

Any reports of standing committees at this point?

Okay, Ms.

Keegan.

I'm sorry.

Thank you, Mr.

President.

The uh finance committee met on February 4th.

We managed to move a number of pieces of legislation that will be voted on this evening, including local law B, local law C and resolutions 4126R and 5126R.

Thank you.

Uh any further case.

Seeing none.

Moving on into the agenda for consideration of local laws.

Mr.

Ballarin.

Thank you, Mr.

President.

I uh asked to notice local law D and asked that if you vote for the bucket.

Thank you.

Uh Madam Clerk.

A local law amending Article 38 of the code of the city of Albany in relation to the departments of administrative services and the Office of Cultural Affairs.

Discussion, Mr.

Bower.

It should be oh, there was intro.

Uh Ms.

Farrell.

That will go to human rights human resources.

Thank you.

Next uh under local laws held, uh, Mr.

Howie.

Thank you, Mr.

President.

Uh I notice uh local law B of 2026.

Madam Clerk, please read the local law.

A local law, excuse me, a local law amending Article 3, Senior Citizens Tax Exemption of the Chapter 333 taxation of the code of the city of Albany to allow for the signing of an affidavit to replace the filing of annual renewal applications for property owners who have received the exemption for five consecutive years.

Discussion, Mr.

Holy.

Thank you, Mr.

President.

Uh I was uh assessed of this problem by her uh uh tax assessor, uh Trey Kingston.

And um, what he explained to me is a lot of senior citizens as they move up in uh years, they forget to file the yearly exemption, which can be over 60% off their property tax and their school tax.

And there is no recourse once they're past the deadline um for that year.

So they would have to come back the next year.

So trying to make things a little bit easier for people because right now you have to come down a city hall with uh tax information, receipts, and all sorts of paperwork.

Um it's very difficult for for many of our seniors to make the trip down a city hall.

So uh what this uh local law will do is after five years, if they've applied and received the exemption, all they'll have to do is sign an affidavit saying that they are still within the range of uh uh their tax uh I'm sorry, the um the amount of money that they make per year has not gone over the exemption limit, which every year it seems with the inflation that we do move up.

So this is really gonna help our seniors keep their houses um and not cause catastrophe because if they were getting 50% off last year and all of a sudden they forgot to do it, now their taxes are gonna increase.

So I do uh hope that my colleagues will support this uh local law.

Thank you.

Further discussion.

No, uh Madam Clerk, please call the roll.

Adams Anani.

Yes, co-sponsor, please.

Ballarant?

Yes, co-sponsor, please.

Brody, yes, co-sponsor, please.

Farrell.

Yes, co-sponsor, please.

Flynn.

Yes, co-sponsor.

However, yes, Johnson.

Yes, Jones.

Yes, Keegan.

Yes, co-sponsor, please.

Lumpkin, yes, co-sponsor.

Powell.

Yes, co-sponsor, please.

Robinson yes, co-sponsor, please.

Williamson.

Yes, school sponsors, please.

Same word.

Yes, co-sponsor, please.

14 in the informative.

The motion passes.

Uh on to the next um local law, Miss Keegan.

Thank you, Mr.

President.

I would like to notice local RC and ask for its passage.

Madam Clerk, please read the local law.

A local all amending section 42-263 annual salaries elected officials of the code of the city of Albany in relation to adding a majority with position to the for the common council and the salaries of elected officials.

Discussion.

Uh Madam Clerk, please.

Well, Mr.

Johnson.

Thank you.

Um I'm gonna just start right here.

I've sat in this um and listened to many discussions about um taxpayers' money.

And I'm a little bewildered at the need for a whip in a um chamber that is full of democrats.

Uh, for history, it has been the um the responsibility of the majority leader as well as the pro temp to do the things that they are um tasking the whip to do.

So at a time when every time you know, um people come and and um speak about doing things that are constructive, you hear time and time again, taxpayers' money.

And um, I just found it interesting that out of nowhere there uh became a need for a whip in this uh body.

And um I would I'm gonna hold um the mayor's office accountable and I'm gonna hold us accountable.

Um, in the past, I didn't support um us getting a raise.

Um, I just feel like at this time when um you know we're we we we listen to people talk about um struggling to have a house and and on the basic um essentials that we you know uh come up with um uh opportunity like this.

I will not be supporting this tonight.

I think that um we have to practice what we preach uh when we stand in front of um the public and we stop things that could be um beneficial.

Uh we give uh a lot of struggle to um things that um come through here that are an attempt to address things.

So uh um bothered by the the thought of this conversation, and I will not be supporting this.

Thank you.

Thank you, Mr.

Johnson.

Mr.

Flynn, uh just to stay consistent with my previous vote, I would be voting no to the uh raise.

Thank you.

Okay, thank you.

Uh Mr.

Adams.

Uh thank you, Mr.

President.

Uh, just want to share the same sentiment as uh fellow colleagues here.

Um, I think from the financial sense of the conversations that we had, which will with excuse me, the financial conversations we've had over the last year.

Um that making such decisions and um a last hour um is troublesome to not only um how I personally feel, but I think in terms of procedure as to how this council and body operates, I think that um we should be more mindful and intentional uh with the decisions that we're making, uh where the funding is coming from to be able to do these things and be honest and open about what's going on and transparent.

Um, as council member Johnson stated, um, we are responsible for the tax dollars and money in the city.

Um while I again agree with my colleagues, um, I do think that this is at a time where we should be more um more uh tensional um with what we're doing right now.

And um I don't see that this right now is a press it pressing need, um, especially to mention that again, we are a majority Democrat body uh with roles and responsibilities that are already um elected and given to the president pro temp and um majority leader.

So um I just want to make that a note on the record of my concern when it comes to this issue.

Um and you know, feel free to vote how you feel.

Thank you, Mr.

Adams.

Right, yeah, we should have we'll end with our um I saw two hands, Mr.

Robinson.

Thank you, Mr.

President.

So my concern is how this position was funded.

Um to take a very important tool that we have on our tool chest when they come to combat and balance and minority in every district throughout the city.

But you know, when we look at the police data just in the past week, you know, the armed robberies and assaults that took place in my community and the age limit.

I think by taking money from a balanced um coordinator position to fund a position that through decades was only um uh the power at the majority with in the leadership.

Uh, you know, I just think that you know that is not um a fair thing to do.

I think um it's not fair to you know, I'm saying to use money that is allocated in the budget line for a balanced prevention coordinator to even be thought about, you know, I'm saying to fund a position um that is already, you know, I'm saying the duties are already being um done between the majority with and the um and the leadership.

Uh and then um from hearing that you know, moving forward that this position is gonna be taken out of budget that leadership had these conversations.

I you know, I'm saying I was appalled because how can leadership have um conversations to take a very important tool by a very important tool from our toolbox that's gonna deal with um balance prevention in communities, um, where you know, um younger and younger ages is being caught with guns as being involved.

Uh it was told to me, oh, because the mayor is doing her own thing that what the mayor is doing.

We have this money that's already allocated in our budget.

You know, once you take this money out of our budget, what is it gonna take to put back into the budget is not gonna happen.

Uh, I just feel I gotta agree with my colleagues.

I feel there's not a need.

Um, so I'll also be voting no on this issue.

Thank you, Mr.

Robinson.

Ms.

Farrell.

Ms.

King.

I'll I'll actually I I'll go after Ms.

Keegan has not spoken yet on it.

So right.

I tried to say that.

I said I was gonna go last as the sponsor of the legislation.

That's I I just wanted to note that, and Ms.

Keegan will likely go into more detail with the funding, but this is a very small amount of funding.

And um, it was something that we have discussed with the entire body, and the entire body was comfortable moving in this direction.

The reason why we did it is not because leadership is not really about whether or not you have Democrats and Republicans, leadership is about the council as a whole, and it has nothing to do with the parties in the actual body.

The reason why those names are there for leadership is because it really comes from larger places.

But leadership is not about Democrat or Republican, it's about leadership.

And um, and we are a body that is growing when we talked about it initially.

The reason why we wanted to move in this direction is because we do feel like there are more roles, and the concept behind the majority whip position was somebody to be more outward-facing.

Um, we have a mayor's office who is doing great things, but has also grown the mayor's office a great deal, and having someone that is focused on what's happening outside communicating things more with the what the council is doing with the outside world, we haven't done that effectively because it's a lot.

Leadership is a huge amount of work, it's at least double what the normal council work is.

So it's something is an absolute privilege to serve in leadership, and it's something every single one of us appreciates.

Um, but it's also we need council should be more proactive about what's happening outside and communicating what we're doing and the thoughts of what we're doing.

Um, and the majority whip position has done that.

I will say Owusu has immediately come up with um statements, things like that, and is really coming up with an idea to do that.

And I think it is an important function for the council.

Um, I wish it's something that when we brought up initially for discussion, and everyone was comfortable with it, these different points were brought up then because we would not have gone in this direction.

Um, so I would, you know, generally when we talk about things, it would be great if people voice their opinions when we initially talked about it and not so far after the fact.

Thank you.

Before finishing, I'd like to get uh Mr.

Winter to speak because we we changed our rules procedure, and the this was all a part of that stuff.

Right, just in the interest of clarity.

So all members are on the same page.

The position of majority whip has already been created.

It was created by this body at the first meeting of the year when we passed the updated rules of procedure, which included a new member of leadership, the majority whip position.

That position was then elected on.

This position has already been filled.

The legislation in front of us tonight is strictly about um funding that position to bring it in line with all other members of leadership.

Voting this down does not uh eliminate the position.

This is strictly a matter of funding.

Okay, Miss Ms.

Brody and Mr.

Ballin.

I'm gonna try to get people to haven't spoke.

Mr.

Johnson has already spoken on this legislation.

Right.

I said Mr.

Ballard and Ms.

Brody, Mr.

Ballon.

Okay.

It it involved the meetings of all votes, also.

But also point of clarification here, um, Council President.

Uh, by all means, the the um the position was voted on, but not the funding aspect and where the money is coming from with that miss brody.

Thank you.

And I appreciate the restating of the clarification and and the points of clarification.

As a newer member of this body, I also understand that there's a lot of learning curve um and have appreciated the conversations that have gone into helping myself and my newer colleagues get up to speed, especially around the creation of of this position, which we clearly did vote on.

Uh, I myself voted on creating it at that time.

There was no discussion around the dollar amount that would be associated with it, where that money would be coming from, or how it would be paid for in forward years.

I just like that to be stated for the record.

Thank you.

Okay, thank you.

Uh Mr.

Ballard.

Thank you, Mr.

President.

Um, so I just want to make clear to members.

So the dollar amount that we're talking about is an additional three thousand dollars that we took from savings from a vacant position.

So because there's currently a vacant position, we have that savings in our overall budget to be able to fund this position for this for this calendar year.

Next calendar year, we will have to find budget money in our budget to make it work.

We have grown in in our staffing, we have grown in our responsibilities.

We have grown in the responsibilities we have taken on other entities.

I mean, we deal with the police review board.

That is a massive undertaking that we took on that we didn't have as past councils.

So having another person in the room that brings different resources that brings different perspectives when we're having this discussion is an asset for this body.

But having more people in the room when we're having these difficult conversations is an asset to the organization.

Having more perspective and resources in the room is an asset to this organization.

So I I think it was a good move to be made by uh by this body to increase our leadership so that we can have this structure long term beyond just this session, um, because the work we have is growing.

Um, you know, I I looked back at the budget from 2020, and to see the well uh to see the staffing compared to what we have now, to see the responsibilities under the council compared to we have now is night and day.

Um, and that's not a bad thing.

It's not a bad thing.

It shows that this body is is growing in its responsibilities and is having uh more of an impact uh in in our policies.

So uh I will be supporting this.

I think it's a good investment.

Uh I think it's funds that we can only have available because of savings that we have for this year, and I think we will find the resources next year to make it happen.

Um, and I also want to make it clear in 2020, it was this body that was willing to take a pay cut.

Nobody's doing this for the resource for the for the the check.

I I don't believe anyone here is doing it for that.

We're all doing it for the work that we can do in our city and our community.

So I I want to make sure that's that's brought back to the table because uh I don't believe anyone's here doing it for what for for that.

I don't.

I mean, we could all be doing uh having a lot less stress in our life uh for it.

But uh thank you.

Thank you, Mr.

Baller and Ms.

Powell.

No, uh thank you, President Kimbrough.

I think too, um I also you know I support the role.

I think uh, like my colleague uh council member Brody said, when we voted on this role, we were not aware that it would cause uh the increase um in our budget.

So I think you know it would be helpful and useful in the future if we had that information before we voted on the position.

Um maybe people realized that that was going to be the case, but I certainly did not um know that.

I do think that you know, we did go back to our mayor um and our mayor's staff and asked for them to look further into 2027 to talk about where they would find the funds for the increases that they looked for.

And I was just uh wondering and asking if maybe we should do the same so that it's not kind of a uh unfunded uh increase that we have to deal with in 2027, or if the finance committee uh evaluated that at all.

So I just wanted to ask that question and and pose that question today.

Okay, thank you.

And we'll with that shift to the finance chair, Ms.

Keegan.

Thank you.

Um, so in answer to council member Powell's question that is addressed in the um legislative intent memo, there is a clear directive in the legislative intent memo to make this a budget neutral um added expense with the caveat that we would still anticipate to see the salary line item increase as a whole in the budget because if we didn't, we would not be giving cost of living adjustments to any of our existing staff.

So there will be a modification to that that salary line item going forward.

Um, with regards to the concerns over the community violence coordinator, um, for those of you who are not with us last session and are new to this, the finance committee actually fought to create that position um in response to the previous administration being unwilling to provide staffing for the violence prevention task force, and we fought tooth and nail for the creation of that position.

The fact that we have a new incoming administration who wants to then take over that role, and traditionally those boards are staffed and operated by the mayor's office and and the administrative side of the city.

So those negotiations have not been entirely completed.

We don't know where that position necessarily is going to be, but in terms of being able to get the Office for Violence Prevention off the ground this year within the budget that we have, it does make the most sense that we would consider transferring that item over to the administration.

Um but we don't even have legislation on that.

In reality, we have to live within the salary cap that was set for the budget this year, and the reason why that item was specifically selected is because that item was vacant and the salary was available to be able to make the argument that we can be within the salary cap, considering the salary that went unspent for the month of January.

And lastly, I just would remind my colleagues that the vast majority of this body voted on legislation that is not funded for 2027.

The position that you all voted for the auditor to have creates a substantial budgetary hole for that office in terms of its staffing salary line for fiscal year 2027.

It is only allowed to be paid for this year by foregoing backfilling vacant items that they plan to have in fiscal year 2027 for over three months of this year.

So I I find it or I am slightly taken aback that we're creating drama over three thousand dollars tonight, but we're totally willing to allow for um this to occur in other areas of the city.

It just doesn't make fiscal sense to me.

Um, but we are truly committed between staff and the finance committee to making this budget neutral um in terms of the cost for fiscal year 2027, and we have other mechanisms besides the community violence prevention coordinator to make that happen.

Thank you.

Thank you, Ms.

Keegan.

So with that, we're on to roll call Adams.

No Anani?

Yes, Ballerin.

Yes, Brody, no Farrell, yes, Flynn, no Hoey, yes, Johnson, no Jones, no Keegan, yes, Lumpkin, yes, Powell Abstain Robinson.

Clarification, this vote is on the not the actual position, but the funding of the position, and it's coming out of the balance prevention coordinator salary at this town.

That's that's vacant.

We're but not only that we're vote, we're voting now, we're past the point of absolutely, but it's just the clarification that is about the funding.

Okay, no Williamson, yes, yes, Zamer, yes, eight affirmative, uh six no, one abstention.

Okay, the motion passes okay.

Uh with that moving on uh Ms.

Farrell, you want to close out uh local laws?

Local laws are closed out okay.

Uh next on to ordinances introduced.

Uh Mr.

Ballard.

Thank you.

Thank you, Mr.

President.

I uh I notice but uh ordinance to be that 22 that 26 uh and ask for it to be read.

Thank you.

Um Madam Clerk, please read the ordinance.

In ordinance amending chapter 359, vehicles in good vehicles in good order, a part two general legislation of the code of the city of Albany by adding a new clause restricting the parking of commercial vehicles to two commercial vehicles per block per household or business.

That will go to planning.

Thank you.

Okay, next on to ordinances hell, Mr.

Williamson.

Yes, thank you.

Thank you, Madam Clerk.

An ordinance authorizing and directing the grant of a permanent easement over a portion of city owned property at five mil roll tax map parcel number 75.00-2-8 to Niagara Mohawk Power Corporation for upgrades to the Normanskill Gas Regular Regulatory Station Project.

Any discussion?

Okay, seeing none.

Please call roll.

Adams.

Yes.

Anani?

Yes, close possible, please.

Ballerin.

Yes.

Brody.

Yes.

Farrell.

Yes.

Clint?

Yes.

Hoey?

Yes.

Johnson.

Yes.

Jones.

Yes.

Keegan.

Yes.

Lumpkin?

Yes.

Powell?

Please.

Yes.

Can you say something?

Okay.

Robinson.

Yes.

Williamson.

Yes.

Zamer.

Yes.

15 and informative.

Thank you.

The motion passes.

Okay.

So we are Ms.

Farrell.

Can you close out?

The rest of the res the rest of the ordinances are held.

Thank you.

On to uh resolutions held.

Uh Ms.

Farrell.

Thank you, Mr.

President.

I notice resolution 3126R and ask for its passage.

Thank you, Madam Clerk.

A resolution of the Common Council.

I apologize.

I think I believe I need to discharge that from committee first.

Oh, that's correct.

All right, Ms.

Farrell.

Uh thank you, Mr.

President.

I notice resolution 3126R and ask for it to be discharged from committee.

Second, second, Mr.

Hoey.

All in favor.

Can I get a little little enthusiasm?

I didn't hear it.

Okay, all right.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you, Mr.

President.

I notice resolution 3126R and ask for its passage.

Madam Clerk.

A resolution of the common council confirming the appointment of Merriam Dixon as the Commissioner of Administrative Services.

Discussion.

Ms.

Farrell.

Thank you, Mr.

President.

Um, I just wanted to note for the record that while this was not done in the traditional manner.

Um, we actually were able to have many more council members involved in questioning Ms.

Dixon.

Um, so we still had an opportunity to discuss, ask questions as we like to do with commissioners.

Um, and I look forward to voting on this this evening.

Uh Mr.

Howie.

Yeah, thank you, Mr.

President.

Um, I just wanted to add for the new members of the council that when the mayor makes an appointee that comes up in front of us, we have 45.

I think it's 45 days to say yes or no.

Um, if we don't say anything, it automatically goes through.

It's like a pocket view, uh it just goes through.

So um I'm glad that we're doing this tonight.

I think it's important that we give the support to the mayor for for her new staff that we're behind them.

We want to see the city move forward.

So uh I will be voting yes on this tonight.

Thank you.

Further discussion.

Okay, madam clerk, please call the roll.

Adams.

Yes, Anani.

Yes, co-sponsor, please.

Ballerin.

Yes, co-sponsor, please.

Brody, yes, Farrell, yes, Flynn, yes, Hoey.

Yes, co-sponsor, please.

Johnson, yes, Jones, yes, Keegan, yes, Lumpkin, yes, coastmaster, please.

Powell.

Yes, Robinson.

Yes, co-sponsor, please.

Williamson.

Yes, cool sponsors, please.

Zamer.

Yes.

15 in affirmative.

Motion passes.

Thank you.

Ms.

Farrell.

Thank you, Mr.

President.

I notice resolution for 1226R and ask for its passage.

Madam.

This one that we're about to intro.

Yeah, yeah.

Madam Clerk, please read that.

A resolution of the Common Council approving a transfer of budget funds in a change in the authorized position included in the 2026 city budget, which will affect a salary rate or salary total.

Discussion, Ms.

Farrell.

Okay.

Ms.

Brody.

Thank you, Ms.

President.

So as I think just confirmed by voting on the appointments of individuals into the mayor's administration, I am very much understanding and supportive of the mayor and their administration.

They're staffing their offices with the best and the brightest.

And I think as we've heard a lot about tonight from many of our speakers prior and uh since that we all share universal concerns about affordability of groceries and housing and health care, and I think we need to turn that lens on ourselves.

So let me be clear.

My concerns about this particular piece of legislation have nothing to do with the individuals or even the individual roles that we're talking about.

My concerns are very simple.

We need to know that we can afford these salary raises this year and how we are going to afford them in the future.

So in order to answer these questions, I dug into the numbers, and I'll be frank, they are not flattering.

First, I took a look at what Albany looks like compared to our peers in upstate New York.

In 2024, the average upstate New York City spent about 116 dollars per capita on administrative expenses.

Albany, however, spent 254.

Before the increases we're about to vote on, this means that Albany is literally twice as expensive as our peers.

And this bill will only deepen that burden.

For some Albany specific context, I look back in history.

Since 2019, the Office of the Mayor's spending on personnel services has increased by almost $850,000 annually.

This is a 200% increase, which is also unsustainable.

Further troubling is the fact that this bill was put forth within literal days of starting the current fiscal year.

This gives me very little confidence that these unsustainable increases will slow, or that the current administration is concerned about these as much as I am.

So let me be clear.

These are not one-time expenses.

These are not brand funded.

These are dollars coming directly from the city's taxpayer-funded general fund.

What's more concerning, there is no plan as we asked for from the mayor's office to offset these increases in 2027 and beyond.

Passing these resolutions now essentially guarantees that we'll have to either raise taxes to cover this next year or cut from other lines to cover the difference.

We have no commitment from the mayor's office to do the latter, which leads me to believe that we will be simply raising taxes to afford these 20% staff increases in the future.

The strategy of hiring and swearing in people before the budget amendment was even voted on also raises a serious question for me.

We need to decide how seriously we all take the need for a rational buddy budgeting process.

HR practices reflective of codified policy and practice and our responsibility to the taxpayers of the city.

A line that is drawn in our charter, and that is, I think, in the good in the spirit of good government, is that these decisions must remain within the annually set budget because these raises were so extraordinary in the amounts asked for, they triggered review and voting by the common council.

And I'm gonna say what will probably land me in some hot water, but I'm finding that's my comfort zone lately.

Uh, amongst some, there is a perception that this might this body may exist as a rubber stamp, and I refuse to let that be how I answer to my residence in the sixth board.

So tonight we have the opportunity to respectfully rise to the occasion, not in opposition to progress, not in in any way a comment on the talents of the individuals being proposed for these roads, but as an affirmation of good government and commitment to those we represent citywide.

I encourage my colleagues to consider the facts and the situation and vote as you see fit.

Thank you, Ms.

Brody.

Uh Mr.

Flynn.

Yes, to be consistent with my uh rationale and raises this year.

I will be voting now also.

Thank you.

Thank you, Mr.

Flynn.

Mr.

Johnson.

Yes.

So I'll say that I've been within this body and I've watched the mayor's office um bring new people into the city for the last 12 years.

And they got they were sometimes the only people that got raises in the city.

I just want to point that out.

I also want to point out that we are a city that is in need of a lot of things.

And for a long time, um, growing up here, it was a lot of uh people in official positions without education, without um true job experience.

And um when you when we're trying to get the best uh people for those positions, we have to pay some money.

Um I think they did a job study in the last eight years that showed that some of the positions were very low, and that's why they had a um they raised the pay um for a number of positions, but even then the numbers were still low.

So if we um are complaining about our talent leaving the city of Albany, um one of the ways that you address it is um through um positions like these.

These are the um most attractable um positions to city government, and um if we want talented individuals, we have to uh be willing to be um creative.

I um know that um I can trust in the um mayor's office that they're figuring out um ways to um address the the the uh stresses that they brought to the um city and um if not that's also um where we come in and those are the um difficult conversations.

So um I will be um supporting and I'm always um looking through a um clear lens at uh some of the things that we we have been doing, but um for it to be um said about a rubber stamp.

This this this um body has been a rubber stamp for the um mayor for the last three terms of um these types of acts.

So I don't encourage it, but I think that um what this mayor is doing, um she has always shown me integrity and responsibility and um a commitment to the needs of our city, and I think that um in her um campaign she heard a lot and um she's trying to address it.

So I again I will be supporting and thank you for the time.

Mr.

Nani.

Okay.

Um first I just want to thank everybody that came to finance committee meeting.

Um I think it's important, um, especially when these important votes come up, um, especially if you're in opposition to kind of send an email, share with a colleague, go to the committee meeting and express how you feel, uh, so we can have a long discussion, but it's interesting when you see people who don't show up to finance committee meetings, but come here and vote no.

Um, I know there are some new council members, and maybe this is an educational opportunity.

Uh, but I will say this if you are strongly in opposition of uh piece of legislation.

Please, please go to committee.

Please send a letter, share with your colleagues.

Um, just don't come here and surprise all of us with a no vote because um it's not being really collegial.

I think it's important that if you are really in opposition to any piece of legislation, whatever it is, please share that concern at committee.

And I want to say something that was said about us being rubber stamps.

Go ask the previous mayor if we were rubber stamps.

Um we vetoed the mayor eight times.

Um, I'm pretty sure that the previous mayor would not say we were rubber stamps.

Um, so uh I want people I will be supporting this legislation.

Uh, but let's be honest and let's stop with uh the rubber stamp of the previous council, because um we vetoed this last mayor more times than any previous mayor um in the past hundred years.

So thank you.

Mr.

Robinson, thank you, Council President.

I just uh want some clarification from council.

Uh I believe I have to excuse myself from all um discussions and votes related to um anything dealing with the mayor and her um is that is this one of the um items that is associated with the commissioner and his pay because if it is I would like to excuse myself.

That's the next piece.

That's five by twelve.

No, that's the next the next legislation.

Okay, right.

That would be five, twelve, twenty six hour that you're referring to.

So the next one is unrelated.

All right, so please note that I will be okay.

Thank you.

Okay, so Mr.

Baller.

Thank you, Mr.

President.

Um look, I I am truly understand the concerns from members we go into the budget and and the budget for future years.

I've I've said it very clearly.

I'm very concerned of where we are fiscally for 2027 and beyond uh 2026 is the last year.

We have all the funds last year.

We have uh other resources, and it's just it's gonna get tougher as we move forward, and I get that.

Um, but I also think you know we have to give this mayor the opportunity to build her team, you know.

At the finance committee, I referenced uh a book that I read many years ago, and I looked through it again recently from good to great.

And the number one thing that they say to be able to take a organization, a business, an entity from good to great, is you have to have the right people on the bus.

You've got to have the right people in your team to try to take your entity from good to great.

So I want to give this mayor the opportunity to take this city from good to great, uh, and and and bring in uh the team that you want.

Um I'm hoping that these teammates will find new creative ways to bring in new revenue, uh, that they have relationships that others don't, that they can bring us new uh new new streams of uh access to funding.

I'm hoping that uh these new teammates who have the skills and experience to be able to uh you know find out ways to be more efficient and in one in a more economic manner.

Um I'm gonna give this mayor that opportunity.

Uh and and if we come down the line to next year and we're looking to make some significant tax uh increases or increase of fees, then that's where we hold the line.

That's where we have to have those tougher conversations of that's not what we were supporting when we supported uh you building your team.

Um, but I do understand.

I think it's it's important for us to understand that this may be an issue come 10 months from now.

Uh I'm going to be optimistic that uh and I'm going to be giving this administration the opportunity to build their team to find new resources to build on those relationships that they have and hopefully put us in a better place fiscally uh so that uh we can fund these decisions and more uh and as well as give our union workers fair increases because this is not a new debate that we've had on this council.

We've had this issue before when it came to increases for uh administrative staff.

I also want to say that you know we we've you know I'm just gonna leave it at that.

Thank you.

Okay, Ms.

Keegan and then this speak also, Ms.

Powell.

Oh, so we'll we'll start with Ms.

Keegan.

I think I just want to note and in relation to everyone's comments here this evening.

Um the finance committee did not rubber stamp the two resolutions that we're voting on with relation to the changes in administrative staffing this evening.

Um these bills were discussed uh over the course of several meetings.

We made them come back with additional information.

Um, I will say on this particular resolution, I'm not comfortable um voting in favor of it because the administration was unwilling to make cuts to offset the salary increases, which is a nuanced difference between this bill and 512-26R, which did come with an actual elimination of a position in order to make um and and a commitment to maintain that cut out of corporation council for fiscal year 2027.

They did not have a plan for how they were going to actualize this in the budget for this particular bill in the budget for for fiscal year 2027, which does make me uncomfortable because we're not talking about a small amount of money, um, including FICA and all of those other pieces.

Um, it's roughly about 75,000 dollars or an entire position between these two positions.

So I I just wanted to clarify my vote between these two bills because it may seem a little confusing.

But also to clarify that the finance committee certainly put the mayor's office through the ropes before we were even willing to move these two bills through through committee.

And they did provide additional information, additional data.

So I I don't think that the body or the finance committee just did as we were asked to do without question or thought.

Thank you, Ms.

Keegan.

Ms.

Powell.

Thank you, President Kimbrough.

I just want to add, you know, I I appreciate and support our new mayor.

I think that she has chosen uh exemplary candidates for both of these positions.

Um however, this is a lot more money, like uh council member Keegan indicated um than was allotted in the budget, and I am concerned about going forward with this amount of money.

I do think that if there was an ability to find the money in some other way, like the other bill we're discussing this evening, um, that I would be totally supportive of that.

I think that the mayor um and uh other offices should be able to um you know hire staff as they need and find the talent as long as they find a way to fund those positions with the bottom line number in the budget.

So um for that reason, I will be abstaining from this vote this evening.

Again, I fully support our mayor.

Um, I think she is uh is bringing in the talent and doing a lot of good things for our city.

It's just that we just don't have the money to do this.

Um thank you.

Thank you, Ms.

Powell.

Ms.

Brody, did you want to we'll finish up with you?

For the record, I was at as a member of the finance committee.

I was an active participant in the finance committee meetings, and I was the only no vote on this resolution leaving committee as written.

Thank you, Ms.

Brodie.

So with that being said, we're moving on to the vote.

Madam Cord?

Adams.

No.

Anani?

Yes.

Ballerman.

Yes, Brody, no.

Barrell?

Yes.

Flynn?

No.

Hoey?

Yes.

Johnson?

Yes.

Jones.

Yes.

Keegan.

Present.

Lumpkin?

Yes.

Powell.

Abstain.

Robinson.

Yes.

Williamson.

Yes.

Zanger.

Present.

Nine affirmative, three no, one abstention, two present.

The motion passes.

Nine.

One, two, three.

Mr.

President, can our attorney let us know what the difference between abstention and the present is if there is any?

There is absolutely no difference.

Okay.

Can you just restate the so it's nine affirmative, three no, three abstentions.

Okay, the motion passes.

Right.

Thank you for that.

Um, moving right along, Ms.

Farrell.

Thank you, Mr.

President.

I notice resolution 5, 1226R, and ask for its passage.

Thank you, uh, Madam Clerk.

A resolution of the common council approving a transfer of budget funds in the 2026 budget, city budget, which will affect a salary rate or salary total.

Um, Ms.

Farrell.

Uh thank you, Mr.

President.

I wanted to speak on this because unlike the previous resolution, this resolution is actually about something that I think is doing an important function for the city.

I think it's actually writing a wrong that we perpetuated for a long time.

Um, we're fortunate that we had very dynamic leaders that were leading both the parks and recreation department and workforce development department.

But I think as we can see with our public comment tonight, we need somebody, a leader who is just focused on workforce development because it has to be more than what we've been doing.

What we've been doing is good.

I don't want to minimize anything that Commissioner Jones has done because he's done an incredible job.

But to have him be able to just focus on workforce development, it should be more than summer youth employment.

It should be we should be doing more with it, and uh having a leader that is just focused on that, who is able to take meetings because he's not focusing on parks and doing the important work there.

He's just able to focus on workforce development and really allow that growth in the city of Albany because we need it.

We need more jobs, we need people here doing work, and we need someone who is able to actually work through and go to the job sites, go to the businesses, do the things, and if you have a leader that is just focused on that, that's something that can happen.

That can't happen when you have one person divided between two completely different offices.

That honestly, the only reason that parks and workforce development were put together is because the summer youth and program employment program is in parks.

That's like saying that you know, buildings is in you should have buildings in the same thing as DG.

Well, that would make sense.

But you see my point, just because something is in something doesn't mean it should necessarily be different.

Um I think having a commissioner focused on parks, again, it allows an opportunity.

We've had great things.

I don't want to minimize that we haven't had great things in the past, but I think that it is an opportunity to have even better things moving forward.

And I think we need it as a city.

So it's something I don't look at this as a pay increase or anything like that.

I look at it as right and wrong and doing something that we actually need desperately for city.

Um I would add as somebody that does care a great deal about the budget, just to Councilmember Keegan's point.

If you voted for the auditor's position where there is no plan moving forward, and that change in position actually diminished his ability to do audits.

So I'm voting yes on this, and I encourage people to vote with me.

Further uh Mr.

Nani and then Mr.

Uh Thank you, Mr.

President.

Um, I just want to commend the majority President Pro Temp for our remarks.

Uh again, this is an important position.

Um I was the chair of parks and recreation, and I had a um a close look at working with uh Commissioner Jonathan Jones and working with the mayor's office.

Uh there was a lot that was accomplished, particularly when it comes to um investments that were made in our parks, investments that were made in a public spaces when it comes to separating these positions, it's right in the wrongs of the past and correcting making sure that you know if we care about our city staff morale, you know, something that we preach.

We want we support DGS staffers, we support our union workers.

We want to make sure that we're supporting people in our city so they're not getting burned out and taking flight, going to another state looking for another job.

Commissioner Johnson Jones have done a phenomenal job, but I believe it's important that these positions be separated and supported.

Um, particularly when you look at youth and workforce.

When the summer hits and the temperature gets a little bit hot, we know what happens.

And we have to look at these salary raises not as you know as a waste, but we have to look at it as an investment in our people.

Today we're talking about being fiscally responsible and fiscal discipline.

I hope that the same people who are saying that are not saying, hey, what are we gonna do about the violence in the summertime?

What are we gonna do about the jobs?

What are these kids do in the summertime?

This is an opportunity for us to put our money wild mouth is.

If we support our youth, we must support their salary because no one person should be bought it with a two position, just try to do it by one person.

So again, I urge my colleagues to really look deep, new and old to support this legislation as a step in the right direction.

It's an investment in our youth.

And while it's cold right now, the summer is around the corner, and we need our commissioners to get to work.

There are kids out there who are gonna be looking for jobs, and some of youth employment is going to start next week.

There should be some enrollments.

So again, look at this as an investment.

And again, most importantly, I support my former colleague, Jamel Robinson.

Mr.

Johnson.

Yes, thank you.

So I'm just a quick history lesson.

Um, this position was eliminated when Sherry Townsend, I believe, left the city.

And uh when the position was eliminated, a lot of services um the city lost as well.

Um, and one of the um services was gang prevention and um gang prevention um did a lot about trying to deal with some of the same issues that we're dealing with today.

So I just wanted to say that um sometimes the elimination of a position is presented to a community as a savings when this wasn't a savings at all.

It put our city at uh in a liability for many, many years.

And uh once again, if we are gonna truly address the the full needs of the city, because for so long, only parts of the cities were being addressed.

And um, as I um stated before, many raises came through this chamber and they were never questioned from the mayor's office.

We didn't veto any of the raises in the eight years that I've been in here or the four years that I've watched before.

So um I'm always um listening, and when I don't hear um the you know what actually happened, I'm gonna reiterate it.

So there is a need for this to be two different um um um uh commissioners because of the load of needs that um fall under the privilege of parks and recreation as well as youth and family um services.

Our kids are um um lost, they're looking for direction, and a lot of direction at one time came out of youth and family services.

So um I'm I will be honored to um be a part of restore um um supporting restoring that position because it's a much needed position.

Thank you.

Thank you, Mr.

Holy.

Uh thank you, uh Mr.

President.

I was at the finance committee meetings.

I'm not part of the finance committee, but I did go because I thought this was important and I did testify uh with recreation.

I worked for eight years with uh uh Reverend Jamel Robinson.

I see how he is with with with kids and children, and I he has the capability to go out there and run this recreation uh program.

We looked at tonight.

I mean, it was a perfect example, the basketball hall of fame.

I don't remember the excitement in this room.

In the night, this is gonna be my ninth year.

I never remember the excitement that we had tonight.

We had the mayor come up, we had you know, everybody here talking about Albany and basketball, and I'm sure that uh, you know, by having uh Reverend Robinson come in, that he's gonna continue that and make even go further than where we we've been as far as workforce development.

You know, we talked about the summer youth employment program.

My son went through that, and uh Jonathan Jones was he came, my son came home, he taught us this.

He taught us about putting money in the bank, he taught us about how you can go out and invest in in different types of uh financials.

I mean, it went beyond just working.

He really got these kids motivated.

And you know, with the summer youth employment program, the one criticism I have about it is the amount of paperwork that you got to do year after year.

And I will talk to uh Jonathan Jones about making it a little bit easier that if you served last year, that paperwork shouldn't have to be all redone again, and there should be more help people uh filling out these forms.

I had a hard time filling out some of the questionnaires and you know the answers and stuff.

So and this this move is beyond those summer youth employment.

This is workforce development.

This is for not just children, this is for older adults.

So this is to me all positive.

You gotta invest money to make money.

You know, nobody make becomes a millionaire by not doing anything.

You got to put something out there in order to get a return.

And if you're not getting the return, we year by year by year, we look at the budget, and things aren't working.

That's the time to bring up and say, hey, we gave you the funding to do this.

You know, what's going on?

How come you're not seceding?

And that's when we can step in as a council and say, look, we got to pull back some of the funding here because it's not paying off.

But I have optimism in this.

I think this is the right move, and thank you for your time.

Thank you, Mr.

Howie.

Uh Mr.

Ballard.

Uh thank you, Mr.

President.

Uh two things.

One, I appreciate the administration finding uh the budget savings to eliminate the position uh to make it budget neutral.

Um, so I do appreciate that.

Um I do think it's a good structural change uh for our city.

Uh I think it's important that we have people uh that are focused just uh one on recreation and our youth, but two on job development and workforce development.

Uh I think it's easily tied to uh public safety.

Um if somebody's hungry or if somebody's poor and have a lot of free time on their hand, poverty and time on your hands is a horrible prescription for horrible decisions uh to be made.

So I think uh this is a good investment, it's a good structural change to have someone that's focused on workforce development, not just K-12, not just K to 18, but that we're looking at our 24-year-olds, our 34-year-olds that need the uh and our 44-year-olds that need the uh development and the opportunity, uh the foot in the door, someone that can guide them, someone can get them their foot in the door to have those opportunities.

So uh I'm appreciative that we're making this change.

Um I uh I'm appreciative for our corporation council for who is giving up that one position uh to to make this work.

Uh so I will be voting for this tonight.

Okay, thank you.

I believe all the members of spoke.

I want to recognize Mr.

Robinson's recusal from both the discussion and the voting on this.

Um Madam Clerk, please call roll.

Adams.

Yes, Anani.

Yes, co-sponsor.

Ballorin, yes, Brody, no Farrell, yes.

Hoey, excuse me.

Flynn is a yes.

Sorry, Flynn Hoey.

Yes, co-sponsor, please.

I'm gonna start over.

I'm sorry.

Adams.

Yes, Anani.

Yes, co-sponsor, please.

Ballorin, yes, co-sponsor, please.

Brody, no.

Farrell.

Yes, Flynn.

Yes, Hoey.

Yes, co-sponsor, please.

Johnson.

Yes, co-sponsor, please.

Jones.

Yes, Keegan.

Yes, Lumpkin.

Yes, co-sponsor, please.

Powell.

Yes, co-sponsor, please, Robinson.

Oh, excuse me.

Williamson.

Yes, co-sponsors, please.

Zamer.

Yes, co-sponsor, please.

13 in the affirmative.

13.

The motion passes.

Thank you.

With that, uh closing out resolutions, Miss Farrell.

The rest of the resolutions are held.

On to miscellaneous.

Uh, we have Commissioner Deeds.

Right, Mr.

I was about to recognize Mr.

Baller.

Thank you, Mr.

President.

I offer the list of names, following names for commissioners' deeds to serve for the term that ends on December 31st, 2026, and waive the reading of the names.

Thank you.

Second.

All those in favor?

Aye.

Aye.

Okay.

Motion passes.

Okay, we're in miscellaneous.

I I just want to start real quick before we all jump in and just say that we're here this long because of my management or lack of management of the time of the speakers.

I promise strict enforcement moving forward.

So we'll work on that.

But now Mr.

Johnson.

Yes.

So I want to thank the person that came and talked about the dog poop because I've been getting a lot of concerns.

And you know, we have a lot of advocation for dogs, but we you know, um, we have really no oversight.

We have an ordinance, but nobody is enforcing it.

And um, if you I work at Giffen, I live on Trinity, you know, through my commute to my car, that's all you see to the left and to the right.

So I had a mother um come and you know, um, visibly upset about it, and um I was grateful for someone coming um tonight and speaking.

And I also want to thank Ms.

Sylvia for coming because we talked last night and she was very emotional about the subject.

And I just want to say Mayor Jennings failed us um by allowing Albany Housing um authority under the direction of Steve Longo to utilize and present the Wade Center as an effective tool that we're supposed to um get community members prepared so that they can um fill those job sites.

And it was myself who came on this um body and I asked many difficult questions.

And so um also I believe that um the map program that was on Morton Av um was set up for uh failure because it wasn't given proper funding.

So um many times we've had these opportunities for people to get certification and um for whatever uh case it doesn't matriculate into job opportunities or the uh careers.

Like we get one person that may have um benefited from and lastly, I just would like to say that Albany lost its workforce development program under Jonathan Jones leadership.

So that's something that um we should be talking about because if um that also hurt um our community if we're not um providing that um that vehicle um through the city.

So you know, um, we have some things set up and and like I said, uh it is the time is now because it's a very very valid um point that people are saying that that you know, like if you look at our corner stores, all that money that is circulating in our neighborhood is going to other countries.

If you look at construction, it's going to other counties and other cities and sometimes even other states, and for the conversation to just continue to go on, and for us to pass MWBE laws that we are never gonna be in a um position to take advantage of it is just like um insanity.

We just perpetuating the same stuff.

So I said earlier that when people come in here and they speak at uh public comment, it's a must that we um do something, you know, uh and again um people don't know how much she went through last night just to put herself in position to come here and and and um and and say and share what she said that which she did.

And uh like I said, again, we have to figure out how to address these um issues that have been a pain in the backside of you know um communities and you know, for um 200 million dollars to be um coming through.

I just will hope that the expectation that they're putting on us in regards to community benefits, you know, that conversation was introduced to the community by councilman Mark Robinson many um moves ago, and you know, I tried to follow that up, but I think um when people come in here and they see the um the the high number of minorities sitting all around this uh room, they're expecting us to be able to uh figure it out.

And you know, and I'm hoping that um, you know, she didn't leave feeling like it was just words that she um shared with us and us not having a um a path to uh really uh address it.

So I again I want to thank her and I want to thank um the young lady over here at Tabora that is also um putting truth to power to the um people that are without um housing at the moment.

Um that list is growing larger each day, and you know, um they are coming to um being um homeless due to many um different reasons.

So I um I hope that uh you know we figure this stuff out because um um dog um poop may not be a lot to you, but when you just constantly seeing it, that it's just not a good feeling.

So thank you.

Miss Keegan and then Mr.

Robinson.

I just have two sort of parts of clarification.

Um with regards to the map program, the map program is a state funded program.

That program failed because of the choice in hiring the individual who is running that program.

They pulled an individual who is not from the capital region, had no relationships with the capital region and no relationship to the community, was very successful running a similar program in Rochester, but was not the right fit for um the map program here, and that was funded through state workforce development, not our local um workforce development funds.

Um secondly, when we talk about and we pass legislation related to MWBEs, that is specific to city contracts and only those projects that are contracted by the city of Albany.

It does not extend to anything that's receiving a tax abatement program through capitalized Albany.

Um Capitalized Albany, you can get the enhanced community benefit by um participating in an apprentice program.

Very few developers go for that.

Um I don't think we have any developers that have gone for the above and beyond um community enhanced um abatement programs.

Um but we don't we as the city do not control what private developers utilize in terms of construction firms.

That's not how those tax abatements work.

We only have control over those projects that we directly bid.

We also have no control over Albany Housing Authority because they are federal.

Um, and they make their own decisions about contracting.

Mr.

Robinson and then Mr.

Howie.

Yes, I just want to um thank council leadership, right, for allowing the constituency to continue to come and even after it was time out to allow them to speak their concerns because it takes a lot for somebody to come down here after work and sit for hours just to have their voice be heard to that to say, okay, you know, I'm saying time is up.

Now you can't speak to after the I I just think that was, you know, is is nothing to be upset about, nothing to feel that you did anything wrong because in my eyes you did everything right because our constituency come first.

Thank you.

Thank you, Mr.

Holy.

Yeah, thank you, Ms.

President.

Um, as far as the dog poop, I agree it's a serious problem.

It's actually a public safety nuisance.

It can carry disease.

There's a lot of problems with it.

And I know there's fines associated if you don't pick up after your dog.

So I will contact the chief.

I'll try to find out because he's animal control falls under him.

I'll try to find out if that's maybe the way we can go.

And Jack, how is the I know going the golf course in the winter time?

There's dog poop all over the place, or it used to be.

I don't, is it still okay?

So maybe we need to start looking at that.

We're talking about revenue.

There might be a lot of revenue there.

And do people have licenses for the animals, you know, for the dogs that they're supposed to have, stuff like that.

So I will talk to the chief.

Megan, you kind of answered my question.

I was wondering, could we put something on the uh IDA where if you do get a tax break that you must have so many local people working?

But what I'm hearing you say is no, but is that something that would be a darius question?

Um the IDA can review how it assesses tax abatements periodically.

I don't believe that they've updated those rules.

But for anybody that's sat through the training, there is an enhanced, they get a certain amount of points for having certain amount of things, and then they can get an enhanced abatement by doing these community benefit programs, one of which is the apprentice apprenticeship program, one of which is affordable housing set asides in a particular project.

They never do those.

So can we force them to if there is city ID?

That's a I would ask Darius.

Okay, thank you.

Okay.

I uh thank you, Council President.

I will have to disagree on that because any council member can put forth legislation, right?

The man in the community benefits agreement.

If the developers ahere to it, that's one thing, but that's what this body is for.

We are legislative body, and there's no way that you can say that we can put legislation together demanding that any even if it's at a at a tier two, tier three development, that the developers must come into the communities.

I agree with you that we can't find ourselves involved in the conversations with the community and the developers, but we can that that's not that does not stop us from putting um legislation forward, you know.

I'm saying the man and community benefits agreements.

Thank you, Ms.

Robinson.

Ms.

Farrell.

Uh motion to adjourn.

Second, all in favor.

Aye.

Okay.

You what?