Albany Common Council Meeting: August 3, 2026
Albany Common Council Meeting: August 3, 2026
The Monday, August 3, 2026 meeting of the Albany Common Council began with a Planning, Economic Development, and Land Use Committee session, followed by a caucus and the regular council meeting. The committee reviewed two Board of Zoning Appeals appointments, both receiving unanimous favorable recommendations. During public comment, several residents advocated for a ranked choice voting ballot initiative and addressed neighborhood concerns. The full council passed multiple resolutions, including reappointments, street renamings, and a request for 2027 budget documents.
Consent Calendar
- The minutes from the July 25, 2026 meeting were approved without objection.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Daniel Platt (Chair, Albany County Green Party) spoke in support of the ranked choice voting (RCV) ballot initiative, noting he gathered approximately 200 signatures. He urged the council to allow voters to decide on the proposal, arguing that RCV and a unified general election would expand voter participation and break partisan control.
- Annette Brown (Parents of Angel Children) requested city recognition for her organization, which provides grief support, senior programs, free haircuts, and meals for the homeless. She emphasized that the group has operated for over two years without being listed on city calendars.
- Irene Gallagher criticized the council for not addressing violence, police in schools, and city fiscal management. She voiced frustration with the mayor’s handling of a $20 million loss and warned she would consider voting Republican if reforms did not occur.
- Mariana Archelou (Indivisible Albany) expressed strong support for the RCV petition, stating that over 2,600 residents signed it. She accused the council of stifling democracy and urged them to respect constituents’ right to vote on the measure. She also criticized the council for focusing on RCV rather than addressing invasive technology like Flock cameras and Waymo.
- Nora (First Ward homeowner) reported witnessing sanitation workers leaving trash that spills during collection and requested consistent street sweeping services across all neighborhoods.
- Lee Newberg (14th Ward) cited examples of RCV from Berkeley, Sacramento, and Honolulu to support the petition. He asked the council to honor the request to put the measure on the ballot.
- Michael Becker (4th Ward) supported the RCV ballot initiative, noting that 26% of Albany voters are unaffiliated and that turnout in the last local election was below 30%. He argued that allowing a vote on the proposal is a matter of democratic principle.
Discussion Items
- Board of Zoning Appeals Appointments (Committee):
- Serena White Lake (incumbent) provided testimony on her service since 2017. She emphasized her growing confidence in asking drilling questions and praised BZA staff. Her reappointment (Resolution 78726R) advanced unanimously.
- Celeste Knight, a lifelong Albany resident and New York State Senate employee, expressed interest in serving, citing her long community involvement and desire for fair, law-bound decision-making. Her appointment (Resolution 79726R) also advanced unanimously.
- Caucus Discussion:
- Councilmember Keegan introduced Resolution 878126R, requesting that the City’s budget office provide key documents by the end of September for a sound review of the 2027 proposed budget. This was discussed in the Finance committee and then forwarded for a roll call vote.
- The mayor’s office reported on the hiring freeze (still in effect except for essential positions), the mid-year report timeline (after August 15), and the budget’s three-phase approach (operational, staffing, capital). Speed humps were not being installed this year due to fiscal constraints, but a broader discussion would be scheduled in General Services.
- Full Council:
- Multiple resolutions were introduced and assigned to committees: Resolution 848126R (rename portion of Henry Johnson Boulevard for Nathaniel Pulliam) and Resolution 858126R (rename portion of Ten Brook Place for George and Helen Torion) both went to General Services; Resolution 868126R (salary and position for Registrar of Vital Statistics) went to Finance; Resolution 888126R (appointment of Chester Bennett to Parking Authority) went to Planning.
Key Outcomes
- Unanimous Committee Recommendations: Resolution 78726R (reappointment of Serena White Lake to BZA) and Resolution 79726R (appointment of Celeste Knight to BZA) both passed with unanimous favorable votes in committee.
- Full Council Votes:
- Resolution 828126R (recognizing Myanmar/Thingyan Festival on August 15, 2026) – passed by voice vote.
- Resolution 838126R (celebrating 61st anniversary of Medicaid and Medicare) – passed by voice vote with all councilmembers as co-sponsors.
- Resolution 878126R (requesting 2027 budget documents) – passed with a roll call vote of 14-0.
- Resolutions 78726R and 79726R (BZA appointments) – each passed with all 14 councilmembers voting yes, with several adding co-sponsorship.
- Referrals: Three resolutions (street renamings, salary change, and Parking Authority appointment) were assigned to appropriate committees for further review.
- Public Input: The council acknowledged the ranked choice voting petition but took no immediate action; councilmember Johnson indicated he would follow the consensus of his ward.
Meeting Transcript
Did you have your hand raised? Oh, okay, okay, gotcha. Okay, hello everyone. Good evening. Welcome to the Monday, August 3rd Planning, Economic Development, and Land Use Meeting. I'm Deborah Zamer, the chair. We are joined by committee members Tom Howie, Alfredo Ballorin, Lomenzo Jones, Arthur Lumpkin, our staff, Brian Jimenez, Carly Johnson, Robert Wenner. And we have two items on the agenda tonight. First, is there any public comment, Carly? Okay. So our first item we're going to take up is resolution. I got everybody introduced. Okay. Our first item is resolution 78726R, a resolution of the common council consenting to the reappointment of Serena White Lake to the Board of Zoning Appeals. We are joined by Miss White Lake. Would you mind coming up and having a seat? If you wouldn't mind just giving us sort of a brief introduction, how your time has been on the Board of Zoning Appeals and why you would like to continue with your work. Okay. Hi, I'm Serena Joyce White Lake from City of Albany. I've been a member of the Board of Zoning Appeals since 2017. And I enjoy serving on the board because we make important decisions about giving variances to different businesses or entrepreneurs or homeowners who want to build in the area, or they need a variance for very many different reasons, and we as a board have been able to work together collegially and effectively. And so those are the main reasons why I want to continue to serve the city as a member of the Board of Zoning Appeals. Councilmember Howie. Thank you. Thank you very much. Any other questions? I'll just ask you briefly if you don't mind. What in for your next term? Do you do you have a is there a challenge or a goal or something that you are hoping to accomplish that either hasn't been wasn't finished yet in your first term or might possibly in the future require some policy change, some law change. I don't mean to put you on the spot. But if there is anything, I'd be curious to hear. Well, I feel as though the board has been operating very effectively. So I would say in terms of going forward, I now that I've been on for several years, I'm definitely more confident when it comes to asking drilling questions of the applicants who come before us because they do submit their presentation beforehand and then we review it beforehand. But sometimes when they're in the hot seat, right, they can they can kind of clam up a little bit. Um I think it's important to, while the public is in attendance and while we're live streaming and all of that, to make them explain, even if they're explaining it again in the public forum why they need this variance and making them go through each of the considerations that they take. Because in the past, I've kind of just um hearkened to my previous analysis of the project, but I think it is important to make them say it again in the public forum. And so I think that going forward I will continue to have our or do more in terms of asking more of those specific drilling questions for our applicants during our um meetings, our BZA meetings. Thank you. No, that's a great answer. I mean, it's a it's basically what you're saying is um you need the experience of a term in order to know sort of what direction to go and the and the and the right things to ask and how to ask them. So thank you. Um we appreciate your service, and um thank you very much for your time. Thank you. We're also joined by council member Sergio Adams. Sergio, I know you're just coming in, but do you have a question at this point from Ms. White Lake? Uh good evening, thank you, Ms. Lake, for joining us. Um thank you for your continued service on serving on the Board of Zoning Appeals. Uh my question refers to the um upcoming meetings for the BZA and the meeting minutes.
openpublica.com