[0:02] foreign

[0:30] [Music]

[0:52] thank you

[1:35] [Music]

[1:47] thank you

[1:54] [Music]

[2:24] foreign

[2:25] [Music]

[3:25] thank you

[3:36] foreign

[3:45] [Music]

[4:48] thank you

[4:49] [Music]

[4:51] foreign

[4:58] [Music]

[5:44] thank you

[5:46] [Music]

[5:59] foreign

[6:00] [Music]

[7:03] thank you

[7:11] [Music]

[7:13] foreign

[8:04] [Music]

[8:11] foreign

[8:13] [Music]

[8:25] foreign

[8:34] [Music]

[9:10] foreign

[9:11] [Music]

[9:28] foreign

[10:15] [Music]

[10:17] thank you

[10:26] [Music]

[10:50] foreign

[11:19] [Music]

[11:21] thank you

[11:27] [Music]

[11:55] everybody

[12:05] like to call to order the city council

[12:07] Caucus meeting for Monday April 10 2023

[12:12] we have two public hearings this evening

[12:14] if the clerk would please read public

[12:16] hearing number one public hearing number

[12:18] one

[12:19] the 2023-2024 proposed HUD annual action

[12:22] plan

[12:24] public hearing number two amending the

[12:28] city the Schenectady city code to add

[12:30] Provisions related to the use of school

[12:31] bus stop armed cameras

[12:33] we have nine items for original

[12:35] consideration if the clerk would please

[12:37] read item number one item number one

[12:39] under final consideration an ordinance

[12:41] to amend section 186 6-16 of the code of

[12:45] the city of Schenectady discussed in

[12:47] committee without objection on consent

[12:48] item number two item number two for

[12:51] original consideration a resolution

[12:52] calling for a public hearing on the

[12:54] abandonment of a portion of Amelia

[12:56] Street discussed and committed with

[12:58] objection on consent item number three for original

[13:01] consideration a resolution calling for a

[13:03] public hearing on the abandonment of a

[13:05] portion of Larch Street

[13:07] discussing committee with objection on

[13:09] consent item number four item number

[13:11] four for original consideration a

[13:13] resolution calling for a public hearing

[13:14] amending sections 248-18 of the

[13:18] Schenectady city code to designate Fuller street from South

[13:22] Church Street to South Ferry Street a

[13:23] one-way Street discussed in committee

[13:25] with the objection on consent item

[13:27] number five item number five for

[13:28] original consideration a resolution

[13:30] requesting State legislation requiring

[13:32] compliance with the city code related to

[13:35] residential

[13:36] rental residential property registration

[13:39] for eviction proceedings discussed and

[13:41] committed without objection on consent

[13:43] item number six item number six for

[13:45] original consideration a resolution

[13:48] confirming the reappointments of Father

[13:49] Dominic isopo Lawrence dalke and

[13:52] Lawrence DeAngelis and confirming the

[13:54] appointment of Michael Michael Dalton to

[13:57] the city of Schenectady Board of Ethics

[14:00] discussed and committed with objection

[14:01] on consent item number seven item number

[14:04] seven for original consideration a

[14:06] resolution approving the increase of the

[14:08] Schenectady Municipal Golf Course rates

[14:10] for the golf cart use discussed and

[14:12] committed with objection on consent item

[14:14] number eight item number eight for

[14:16] original consideration a resolution

[14:18] authorizing the mayor or his designee to

[14:20] enter into supplemental agreement number

[14:22] three with New York State Department of

[14:24] Transportation for the implementation

[14:25] and funding in the first instant 100 of

[14:28] the federal aid and state marchaselli

[14:31] program eight eligible costs

[14:33] of a Transportation federal aid project

[14:36] and appropriating funds for replacement

[14:38] of Kings Road Bridge over CSX New York

[14:42] State DOT pin number

[14:44] 1758.95 discussed in committee with

[14:46] objection on consent item number nine under contract and

[14:50] Supply a resolution awarding the bid and

[14:52] contract for crack ceiling of city

[14:54] streets 2023 to Sealcoat USA

[14:57] Incorporated in the amount of 157 380

[15:01] dollars

[15:02] discussed the committee with objection

[15:04] non-consent if there's nothing more to

[15:06] come before the city council caucus I'd

[15:07] ask for a motion to adjourn

[15:09] my Ms Patrick second by Mr mcvering all

[15:12] those in favor

[15:13] aye we are adjourned I'd like to call

[15:15] the city council meeting to order for

[15:17] Monday April 10 2023.

[15:20] and I'd like to call on Pastor Gene

[15:22] Nicole Simone two for the

[15:24] prayer invocation

[15:30] let us pray

[15:33] Lord we thank you for this day and for

[15:37] now for allowing us to come together for

[15:39] the business of the city

[15:41] Lord as we are coming out of this High

[15:44] holy season in many Faith traditions

[15:47] Lord help us to hold on to our faith our

[15:51] compassion our hope our integrity our

[15:54] morals the things that we were taught as

[15:56] kids growing up Lord help us to hold on

[15:59] to our heart of service

[16:02] Lord as the council members and others

[16:05] are serving the community serving this

[16:08] city Lord may we be guided by you may we

[16:12] be guided by our compassion and our love

[16:14] for our fellow brothers and sisters in

[16:16] the name of Jesus I pray amen amen and

[16:19] as councilmember Williams who lives in

[16:21] the Pledge of Allegiance

[16:26] States of America

[16:28] and to the Republic which it stands one

[16:31] nation under God indivisible and with

[16:34] liberty and justice for all thank you

[16:40] if the clerk would please complete the

[16:42] Roll Call

[16:45] Mr motiveran

[16:47] Mr Taurus absent

[16:50] Mr Farley is absent Mr Williams

[16:55] Miss Patrick

[16:56] Mr palomini Miss Porterfield here thank

[17:00] you

[17:03] we have one out of order resolution recognizing Saint Albert's on

[17:09] 20th anniversary and I'd like council

[17:10] member palominium to please present this

[17:12] resolution

[17:49] may I have the floor you have the floor

[17:52] this is a resolution recognizing Saint

[17:54] adelbert's 120th anniversary

[17:57] whereas the church of Saint Adalbert

[17:59] Schenectady New York is proudly

[18:01] celebrating its 120th anniversary on

[18:04] Sunday April 23 2023 and whereas In 1902

[18:09] 70 Polish immigrant families who had

[18:12] been drawn by the promise of political

[18:13] Liberty economic prosperity and

[18:16] religious freedom to the United States

[18:18] determined that they needed a place to

[18:20] worship God in the Roman Catholic

[18:22] tradition educate their children to be

[18:24] contributing members of the American

[18:26] society and maintain their cherished

[18:28] polish culture and whereas two

[18:31] committees were formed one was to select

[18:34] the site for the church while the other

[18:36] was to seek approval to establish the

[18:38] parish on December 1st the first

[18:41] committee placed the deposit on seven

[18:43] Lots between Crane and Lansing streets

[18:46] when Spring weather allowed it they

[18:48] began clearing trees and preparing the

[18:50] site for Three Wooden buildings a church

[18:53] a school and the rectory and whereas in

[18:56] the meantime this second committee

[18:58] approached Bishop Burke who gave his

[19:00] approval and suggested that the parish

[19:02] be named for Saint adelbert and whereas

[19:05] on March 30th 1903 the first mass was

[19:09] celebrated in the parish on the newly

[19:11] completed Foundation of a parishioner's

[19:13] house on June 4th 1903 the certificate

[19:17] of incorporation of the church of Saint

[19:19] Adalbert was signed

[19:21] uh where whereas on July 4th 1903 the

[19:26] foundation of the wooden church was

[19:28] completed in a temporary floor installed

[19:30] by Autumn the church school and rectory

[19:33] were completed and whereas on October 9

[19:36] 1909

[19:37] the wooden church was destroyed by fire

[19:40] arrangements for a new Brick Church

[19:42] building were being planned and the

[19:44] Cornerstone was laid in the spring of

[19:47] 1910 and whereas on April 7 1911 the

[19:52] completed

[19:53] brick structure was dedicated

[19:58] it's long and whereas created on a hill

[20:02] stands the church of Saint adilbert its

[20:04] magnificent steeple spiraling heavenward

[20:06] a reminder of the shrine of Our Lady of

[20:09] chenstahova

[20:11] I practiced the spiritual and cultural

[20:14] focal point of Poland thus located it

[20:17] offered a panoramic view of the city of

[20:19] Schenectady and whereas Saint Alberts is

[20:22] today under the spiritual guidance of

[20:25] Father Matthew h forzoni and whereas

[20:28] Saint adelbert stands stand stand stands

[20:31] prepared to meet the challenges of the

[20:34] coming decades while retaining the

[20:36] spiritual resolve which characterizes

[20:38] its past now therefore be it resolved

[20:41] that the Schenectady city council and

[20:43] the Mayor Gary R McCarthy do hereby

[20:46] pause in her deliberations to call on

[20:49] all schenectadians to celebrate the

[20:50] 120th anniversary of Saint adalberts and

[20:54] learn more about the church's enormous

[20:55] contributions to the city of Schenectady

[20:58] this was previously moat passed so we

[21:01] don't have to do that again no prairies

[21:02] congratulations

[21:07] thank you

[21:13] and would you like to introduce your

[21:16] colleagues

[21:18] okay first John I want to thank you

[21:20] because he was my contact person thank

[21:22] you so much

[21:23] I do want to thank the city of

[21:25] Schenectady and everybody for being here

[21:29] mayor McCarthy thank you Gary the

[21:33] president of the city council Miss

[21:35] Porterfield thank you Marion and all the

[21:37] city council people over here I think I

[21:39] know most of you not everybody here I do

[21:41] want to thank all our parishioners we

[21:43] have we have more but we you know they

[21:45] wanted like two or three hundred people

[21:46] wanted to come here I said no we we're

[21:48] not going to do that that's that's way

[21:49] too much you know father for Sony

[21:51] couldn't make it he had other things

[21:53] going on he's got a lot of things on his

[21:54] plate anyway

[21:57] um

[21:58] our church is not hard to believe I've

[22:00] been going to church there for 70 years

[22:03] you know I haven't been going there for

[22:04] 120 just 70 years but unbelievable our

[22:08] church I also I always want to say I

[22:10] think it's one of the best looking

[22:12] structurally in the city of Schenectady

[22:15] and I also think it's one of the best

[22:18] looking Churches in the Capital District

[22:20] but that's my own personal point of view

[22:23] you know for sure no it's a beautiful

[22:24] church if you ever get a chance if

[22:27] you've never been in Santa Barbara's you

[22:29] should come over there come over for the

[22:31] mass and if you can make it to the mass

[22:33] you should just come over and look to

[22:34] see what you are missing and it's always

[22:37] we always have great greeters here and

[22:38] things like that everybody's always

[22:41] smiling look at that you know it's

[22:42] always like that okay listen I'm gonna

[22:44] stop talking thank you so much and your

[22:46] father for his only viewers here he

[22:48] would say God bless you and God bless

[22:49] America

[22:50] okay thank you thank you

[22:56] yeah in Polish you would be saying

[23:41] thank you everybody thank you have a

[23:47] good evening

[23:54] Philadelphia

[23:55] thank you

[24:05] we have two public we have two public

[24:08] hearings this evening and I just want to

[24:10] remind you that we've extended the

[24:12] comment a public comment for the public

[24:13] hearing to four minutes and they also

[24:15] respectfully ask that you only make your

[24:17] comments relevant to the public hearing number one the 2023-24

[24:23] proposed HUD annual action plan

[24:28] and I see that

[24:30] I have no one signed up to speak

[24:34] so I declare the public hearing closed

[24:38] um

[24:40] is there anyone here that has signed up

[24:42] to speak to the public hearing regarding

[24:44] the Schenectady city code to add

[24:45] Provisions to relating to the use of the

[24:48] school bus code camera

[24:50] okay so that's public hearing number two

[24:53] so I have no one else no one signed up

[24:55] to speak so I declare that public

[24:56] hearing closed

[24:58] I'll ask for approval of the minutes

[25:00] from March 27 2023.

[25:03] so

[25:04] um second by Miss Patrick all those in

[25:07] favor

[25:08] aye

[25:09] ask for the clerk to please read any

[25:11] Communications and petitions

[25:17] Communications presented to city council

[25:19] for Monday April 10 2023 under official

[25:22] there were none under General

[25:24] from members of American Legion Post 21

[25:27] a thank you note for the much needed

[25:29] donation under petitions there were none

[25:34] call on City Council Members to provide

[25:36] any committee reports

[25:40] this time we'll have privilege of the

[25:41] floor related to the legislative agenda

[25:47] I have no one signed up to speak

[25:50] so

[25:51] for the legislative agenda for things

[25:53] that are on the agenda you you signed up

[25:55] on an on City business sir

[25:59] we we have no one on that sheet so if

[26:02] there's something on the agenda that

[26:03] someone like to speak to this is the

[26:04] opportunity

[26:06] is it on the legislative agenda

[26:14] yes yes then you can come at this time

[26:17] you're welcome

[26:21] I apologize

[26:25] say okay

[26:35] and again I have four minutes is that

[26:38] you have three three okay good evening

[26:44] um I'm Reverend Nicole John Simone

[26:46] president of the Schenectady NAACP and

[26:49] as president of the local branch of the

[26:50] NAACP I often hear the concerns of the

[26:53] people of this community

[26:55] both black and white young and old these

[26:57] concerns don't always come in the form

[26:59] of rank complaints sometimes people stop

[27:01] me in the grocery store stopped by my

[27:03] church call me on the phone to voice

[27:05] their concerns and they trust me to

[27:07] bring those concerns to you so I want to

[27:09] bring to your attention this evening

[27:10] something that I have now received

[27:12] several complaints about the community

[27:14] is greatly concerned with the way that

[27:17] the board of Ethics is being used by

[27:19] members of this Council

[27:20] in 1971 the Schenectady city council

[27:23] recognized the fundamental principle

[27:25] that officers and employees of the city

[27:27] hold their positions to serve and

[27:28] benefit the public and not for obtaining

[27:31] unwarranted personal and private gain in

[27:33] the exercise and performance of their

[27:35] official powers and duties with that

[27:37] principle in mind clear and reasonable

[27:40] standards of ethical conduct were

[27:42] established with the City Board of

[27:45] Ethics being charged with the obligation

[27:47] to review issues and render opinions

[27:49] relative to the administration of these

[27:51] standards this is the overview as stated

[27:54] on the city's websites website the board

[27:57] was formed for this reason in 1971.

[28:01] it was not formed to be used as a weapon

[28:03] against your colleagues

[28:05] and that is what people are seeing right

[28:07] now that is the complaint that they're

[28:09] bringing forward

[28:11] and that concern is further affirmed

[28:14] when you go to the city's website and

[28:16] the only other complaint to be found is

[28:18] one made against another

[28:19] African-American council member 10 years

[28:22] ago

[28:23] so

[28:24] is it correct

[28:26] that although the ethics board has been

[28:28] in existence for 52 years the only time

[28:31] it's been used to make complaints was

[28:33] against two African-American city

[28:36] council members of which there have only

[28:37] been four

[28:40] maybe I'm missing something

[28:43] perhaps older complaints have been

[28:45] removed from the website but the truth

[28:46] remains is that the last time the board

[28:48] was used was to bring a complaint

[28:50] against an African-American council

[28:52] member

[28:54] no wonder why people are stopping me in

[28:56] the stores calling me on my phone

[29:00] I'm taking their concerns seriously and

[29:02] I hope you will do the same

[29:04] I hope you will take a close look at how

[29:07] this board is used who serves on this

[29:09] board the diversity of this board the

[29:12] mission of this board

[29:13] and view the original intent of this

[29:16] board

[29:18] thank you for your time and attention to

[29:20] this matter

[29:21] thank you

[29:25] I have no one else signed it to speak on

[29:27] the legislative agenda so I declare the

[29:29] public comment close

[29:33] ask for approval of the legislative

[29:40] agenda

[29:41] movement second by Mr Williams all those

[29:44] in favor

[29:46] aye

[29:48] this time oops one second

[29:51] is metal sheet okay as for privilege of

[29:54] the floor regarding General City

[29:55] business

[29:57] I have eight people that are signed up

[30:00] and the first person is Bailey Gardner

[30:08] and I just want to remind you it is

[30:10] three minutes for this part of it okay

[30:11] thank you you're welcome good evening I

[30:14] am Bailey Gardner I am from Schenectady

[30:16] County connects which many of you may

[30:18] know has connected a job training agency

[30:20] so we operate the Summer Youth

[30:22] Employment Program and last year believe

[30:24] it or not for the 2022 program we

[30:26] received 479 applications of Youth who

[30:30] are eager to work throughout the county

[30:32] and from that 479 applications we have

[30:36] the ability to fund 190 positions and

[30:39] that was until just before the program

[30:40] when the city and the school district

[30:42] came together and we just need to thank

[30:44] you for your support of an additional 75

[30:47] youth last year it was tremendous that

[30:49] we were able to then take on those 75

[30:52] youth individually interview them place

[30:54] them at work sites throughout the county

[30:56] and they got their six weeks of work

[30:58] experience through the county and City

[31:00] partnership with the school district

[31:02] support on the administration in the

[31:04] school district has been tremendously

[31:06] supportive of our programming we now

[31:08] have an inter internship partnership

[31:09] that is also a part of the city

[31:11] partnership and we thank you for that as

[31:13] well we have some of our youth here

[31:15] tonight to speak to you about their

[31:16] experiences and just to share with you

[31:18] how impactful this has been not only for

[31:20] the summer experience where some of

[31:22] these youth get their first jobs some

[31:24] have the job coaching that they need to

[31:25] be successful and learn the foundational

[31:27] skills that they may not have learned

[31:28] had they just started a job showed up

[31:31] late and then got fired so we're there

[31:33] to be that intermediary where we really

[31:35] support the youth and teach them those

[31:37] skills and really help them to learn the

[31:39] foundational skills that will help them

[31:40] on a career pathway towards

[31:42] self-sustainability which I know is a

[31:44] city school district and County priority

[31:47] for all of our citizens here so I just

[31:49] wanted to thank you again for your

[31:51] support we would love to have a

[31:52] conversation about how we may be able to

[31:54] further this partnership for the 2023

[31:56] Summer Youth Employment Program and some

[31:58] of our youth are also signed up for

[32:00] privilege of the floor so thank you so

[32:01] much and have a wonderful evening thank

[32:04] you

[32:06] Ronaldo Guerrero

[32:18] hello my name is Ray and I would like to

[32:21] start with thank you for giving me a

[32:24] chance to actually start my first job

[32:27] and now also like to thank my job coach

[32:30] for teaching me a lot of

[32:34] skills that I will need later on in my

[32:37] career

[32:43] I work at the Mount Pleasant Boys and

[32:47] Girls Club and

[32:52] hopefully

[32:59] thank you guys thank you for coming

[33:05] Mariah Jacobs

[33:10] it it says Jacob's here

[33:16] hi my name is Mariah and I'm interning

[33:19] as a media specialist for Schenectady

[33:21] County School District

[33:22] My overall experience so far in this

[33:24] internship has been very pleasant and I

[33:27] am very happy I got this opportunity I

[33:29] really enjoy working

[33:30] with the student voice and documenting

[33:32] other people's experiences likes

[33:34] dislikes and changes they would like to

[33:36] see happen in Schenectady I would

[33:37] recommend this internship to others I

[33:39] actually have there's great connections

[33:42] opportunities and experiences with the

[33:44] youth program and I would like to thank

[33:45] my job coach and my supervisor Dr Cottle

[33:51] even though he's not here but I still

[33:53] like thinking and I like thank you guys

[33:55] for listening thank you thank you

[34:01] Brian Hernandez

[34:14] hello my name is Brian Hernandez and I

[34:17] would like to start off by saying thank

[34:19] you for your contribution to this

[34:21] program and I'd also like to thank my

[34:23] job coach I speak on the behalf of me

[34:26] and many other kids that we are truly

[34:27] grateful for this opportunity

[34:30] um but more on me it I work at

[34:34] ring of Hope boxing club which some of

[34:37] you may have heard of it's on Erie

[34:40] Boulevard it's an amazing boxing program

[34:43] where we teach kids from all ages even

[34:46] adults yes

[34:48] just stop by

[34:51] um

[34:52] but

[34:53] I don't really have like a certain

[34:56] position I work as a coach sometimes I could be the janitor

[35:01] to help out but um

[35:04] my experience in the program has been

[35:06] great I've been going to this gym for

[35:09] two years and I've only been working for

[35:12] the gym for like about two months but I

[35:15] built an attachment before I started

[35:18] working so it's been great I got to I've

[35:20] been my coach is my boss so

[35:24] sometimes sometimes he get uh

[35:28] ordered me to do something in like a

[35:30] coach way

[35:31] but it's it's been great

[35:35] I get to basically work with my second

[35:37] family and get paid for it and um it

[35:41] feels very rewarding

[35:43] and

[35:44] at the current moment I I just turned 16

[35:48] like last month so

[35:52] um I just got my permit and soon enough

[35:54] I'll get my license so this program

[35:57] and hopefully I get a car but this

[35:59] program is could eventually help me fund

[36:02] for that car

[36:04] and any suggestions no

[36:08] um

[36:11] and I recommend that kids join it it's a

[36:14] it's they're they take care of you and

[36:18] yeah we're taken care of if we need

[36:21] anything we could ask them they make

[36:24] sure that we are doing what we are

[36:26] supposed to and

[36:29] um

[36:30] and they work very well with our

[36:32] supervisors my supervisors Kenneth

[36:34] Brooks which some of you may know so and

[36:37] he tells me that it's super easy for him

[36:42] it's very and it's super easy for me too

[36:44] and I think it's super easy for anyone

[36:46] who wants to join but um that's all for

[36:50] today and uh thank you for hearing me

[36:53] thank you for coming thank you

[36:57] and I have heard of Ring of Hope and

[36:58] I've been there

[37:00] Ed laven Jr

[37:09] I'm sure you all remember me from the

[37:11] March meeting prior to St Patrick's Day

[37:14] that's where you told me the mayor

[37:16] doesn't deal with judges

[37:18] I just would like to read you the statue

[37:20] the mayor also signs all commissions and

[37:23] appointments and approves all official

[37:25] bonds unless an ordinance otherwise

[37:27] prescribes at 79.90 statutes direct the

[37:31] mayor to be active and Vigilant in

[37:33] enforcing all laws and ordinances for

[37:35] the government of the city and to

[37:37] properly deal with any neglect or

[37:39] violation of Duty by a subordinate that

[37:41] statute 79.200

[37:45] so now I would like to ask that question

[37:46] again what do you intend to do about

[37:49] these three corrupt judges and city

[37:51] clerk's office that deprive me of my

[37:52] civil rights the due process and a fair

[37:55] hearing

[37:59] as I explained before sir this is your

[38:02] opportunity for public to come and to

[38:04] speak but this is not where we there

[38:06] will be a dialogue you would have to

[38:07] make an appointment to speak with the

[38:09] mayor if that's your desire

[38:12] will be about both of you

[38:15] thank you

[38:18] Mariah Lopez

[38:24] hello

[38:28] um I had plans to read notes

[38:32] um but I'm not

[38:34] um my name is Mariah Lopez I am the

[38:37] volunteer executive director of the

[38:39] oldest trans Rights group in the nation

[38:41] I understand that I have three minutes

[38:44] uh

[38:46] I'm gonna try to keep it within that but

[38:48] I'm not sure a trans woman of color has

[38:50] ever addressed this body and I want to

[38:52] give you a little bit of my background

[38:54] that's going to inform hopefully my

[38:55] brief comments that we can all follow up

[38:57] during normal business hours I have

[39:00] brought some of the most meaningful and

[39:02] important landmark cases for Trans

[39:04] rights in the state of New York

[39:06] I have been bringing litigation against

[39:09] the city of New York which has

[39:11] considerable more resources than the

[39:12] city of Schenectady since at least 1999

[39:16] the most recent Landmark case I settled

[39:19] was in 2021 because of that the city of

[39:22] New York is now committed to opening

[39:24] trans and disability-friendly shelters

[39:26] in every Borough

[39:27] on the way over here I had a friend in

[39:29] the Comptroller's office do a little

[39:31] back of the envelope math and we believe

[39:33] that I have cost the city more than 20

[39:36] million dollars

[39:39] so I'm going to ask that this Council be

[39:41] responsive I am now a local resident of

[39:43] the city of Schenectady

[39:45] that gentleman and I come from entirely

[39:47] different backgrounds but I will say

[39:49] unlike that gentleman my organization

[39:51] and myself have access to some of the

[39:53] best constitutional lawyers in the

[39:55] country

[39:57] I do not believe a lot of what I have

[39:59] observed here on the city level

[40:03] on the local city government level is

[40:05] entirely ethical as it pertains to poor

[40:08] and disabled people and so I will be

[40:10] following up with my city council folk

[40:12] here about bringing local legislation to

[40:15] fill the gaps to protect poor and

[40:18] vulnerable people

[40:20] I can guarantee you though that if I

[40:22] decide to start making noise oh and

[40:25] vocal and why and hrx send their regards

[40:28] I guarantee you if we decide to make

[40:30] noise here

[40:32] it will be a noise that can drive the

[40:34] Democracy I hope

[40:37] that is someone that has been as

[40:39] consequential as I've been

[40:40] with the expertise in human and civil

[40:43] rights that I have that will be easy to

[40:45] plug some of the sort of holes and gaps

[40:48] and with that I'll give several examples

[40:50] and then see my time

[40:54] New York State's change to the scoff law

[40:57] s are allowing local the local

[41:00] Schenectady traffic division and SPD to

[41:03] Target certain groups or to recklessly

[41:05] enforce in a way that disproportionately

[41:07] negatively impacts poor and minority

[41:10] communities

[41:11] the city council knows that the city has

[41:13] a surplus financially you do not need to

[41:16] be going after poor people with a gotcha

[41:19] game so that they're forced to move

[41:22] their cars to the other side of the

[41:24] street and by the way this is hyper

[41:26] local government I get it but living

[41:30] here coming from New York City

[41:34] it is apparent that one of the sort of

[41:37] one of the one of the draws is that

[41:40] government is local and small and it

[41:43] should be more responsive I have raised

[41:45] issues about I hear my time ma'am uh

[41:49] with regard to some of the executive

[41:51] agencies and SPD and I haven't got that

[41:54] much of a response from the mayor's

[41:56] office and Corporation Council Perhaps

[41:58] it is

[41:59] time for city council to act and finally

[42:03] I'm going to ask that city council

[42:05] consider legislation for right to

[42:07] counsel for poor minority folk here

[42:10] facing landlord tenant court some people

[42:12] can't even read

[42:13] those people should not be expected when

[42:16] it's one of the most consequential

[42:18] decisions in their life to stand at Pro

[42:20] Se and landlord tenant Corps thank you

[42:22] for being considerate and allowing me to

[42:24] go over ma'am and rest you enjoy the

[42:27] rest of your evening thank you

[42:30] Wayne Harper

[42:33] yeah

[42:35] you know you can be poor minority

[42:38] but you could get someone to read to you

[42:40] if you can't read sick and tired of

[42:42] hearing people that can't follow the law

[42:44] and then when you try to enforce the law

[42:46] it's about race and I'm getting sick and

[42:49] tired of hearing about race everything's

[42:50] racial today and it's mainly

[42:53] Marion black on white now

[42:57] uh it's a Reverse Racism

[43:00] and let me just say right now call Wayne

[43:02] Harper racist call me anything you want

[43:05] but I'm getting fed up with it and uh

[43:08] and it seems like we just keep taking it

[43:11] and taking it and taking it and um

[43:15] if you're not a law breaker you have

[43:18] nothing to fear you can't read and write

[43:20] my father couldn't read and write

[43:23] but he knew what the law was you get you

[43:25] learn it from other people now

[43:27] I don't know if you could rescind that

[43:29] 10.1 million it'll probably go above

[43:31] that for that swimming pool

[43:34] that to me is sickening when I read that

[43:37] kind of stuff that makes my blood boil

[43:39] and I noticed at that committee meeting

[43:41] I happen to catch it on TV

[43:44] Carmel and Doreen they sat across from

[43:46] one another in the commit in their heads

[43:48] as the two salesmen for this pool their

[43:51] heads were going in unison

[43:53] uh we could better spend that 10.1

[43:56] million on sidewalks curbs roads

[43:58] bellevue's a mess a National Grid tour

[44:01] up Bellevue to put in gas lines as a lot

[44:04] of the other the rest of the city

[44:06] uh there's so many area lead pipe we

[44:09] have lead pipes going into homes people

[44:11] are bathing drinking water that may be

[44:14] contaminated that money could be spent

[44:16] better someplace else

[44:18] the other thing they said that that pool

[44:20] is going to be a destination oh how

[44:23] laughable I can hear people now I was

[44:25] going to go to Lake George or sagin dog

[44:27] or maybe Saratoga Lake but you know what

[44:29] I think I'm going to go to Schenectady

[44:31] pool so who's going to pay for the

[44:34] additional policing the upkeep of the

[44:37] grounds you know there's a lot of

[44:39] expense that's going to go with that and

[44:40] I didn't see and are we going to charge

[44:42] a fee

[44:43] and then I'm telling I'm thinking we

[44:46] could probably smell the chlorine up in

[44:48] Bellevue to counteract the urine that

[44:51] goes in the swimming pool I mean I

[44:53] wouldn't swim in a swimming pool today

[44:54] I'm too conscious of disease and I think

[44:58] we lost sight that covet is still alive

[45:01] and well

[45:02] and it may be coming back around with

[45:04] other illnesses and here we're going to

[45:06] congregate people in pools so that's my

[45:08] two cents worth if you could rescind it

[45:10] because I didn't know there was a I

[45:12] didn't get the comment period on that

[45:14] maybe I was in the hospital

[45:16] now lastly

[45:19] City ethics board repairs Farley probe

[45:23] I watched I happen to catch that

[45:25] committee meeting

[45:28] when um

[45:30] Mr palmetti raised that issue

[45:33] you Marion went after him like you were

[45:36] damani's attorney

[45:39] and I think it's more than reasonable

[45:41] based on what was said in the paper and

[45:43] if it's not true I'm sure you're going

[45:45] to ask for a retraction

[45:47] but when you come to the receipts

[45:50] and you owe back taxes you don't qualify

[45:53] you've got to be squeaky clean to sit in

[45:56] these or you should be

[45:58] and then to see that you're double

[45:59] dipping

[46:00] with the school system which are joined

[46:03] at the hip by the way to teachers union

[46:04] with you folks

[46:06] so that needs to be looked at and not by

[46:09] a an Ethics board I don't trust that

[46:12] ethics board the people and I see where

[46:14] Michael Dalton was just your time has

[46:17] expired what's that your time has you're

[46:19] over your time oh okay so lastly then to

[46:22] close I think

[46:25] um I think Damani you should have

[46:28] resigned quite frankly and we're going

[46:31] to have 86 000 new according to the

[46:33] National Democrats IRS agents maybe one

[46:37] of them should be assigned here let's

[46:39] find out what's really went on okay

[46:42] thanks

[46:43] thank you

[46:45] I have no one else signed up to speak

[46:47] for public comment in the city business

[46:49] so I declare it close

[46:51] this time any miscellaneous business of

[46:53] the council

[46:56] Mr Williams

[47:02] thank you

[47:04] I definitely want to start off by

[47:06] thanking the youth that were present

[47:07] here tonight I hope they understand that

[47:09] the power of their voices is something

[47:11] that they're learning to express and

[47:13] hone definitely these obstacles that you

[47:15] are learning are going to absolutely

[47:16] follow you for the rest of your life and

[47:18] it is a an amazing opportunity for

[47:22] Schenectady to be such a pivorable

[47:23] experience for them as they go down that

[47:26] journey I wanted to take a moment to

[47:28] thank a few agencies that hosted a

[47:31] housing form a few weeks ago I would

[47:34] like to thank the New York state

[47:35] division of Human Rights the Schenectady

[47:37] County Human Rights Commission The Legal

[47:39] Aid Society and all of us Community

[47:40] ethic group for hosting a successful

[47:43] conversation for housing protections on

[47:46] March 30th one of the underlying tenets

[47:50] that we addressed was knowing your

[47:53] rights and understanding the resources

[47:55] that are available for you

[47:57] it's important that you either take down

[47:59] this address this website or pass along

[48:02] to someone that you think might be best

[48:04] uh in in use of this but

[48:08] dhr.ny.gov is your way to be able to

[48:10] submit complaints against discrimination

[48:12] uh in respect to renting or purchasing

[48:15] of a home and this agency will

[48:17] investigate and potentially present your

[48:19] case in court now I know we're talking

[48:21] or heard a lot about uh funds or being

[48:24] able to understand or have the

[48:26] wherewithal to recognize what is

[48:28] available to you and honestly it begins

[48:30] with understanding what your rights are

[48:32] so please get smart again I would like

[48:35] to respond that website is

[48:38] dhr.ny.gov second I would like to to

[48:41] thank for the continuous work of the

[48:43] Schenectady any inner city Ministry for

[48:46] hosting this form I'd like to

[48:47] acknowledge that their food program is

[48:49] doing the Abundant work of making sure

[48:52] that everyone has access to healthy and

[48:54] nutritious meals in Schenectady if you

[48:57] are looking for an opportunity to

[48:59] dedicate your time or monetary

[49:01] contributions this is an excellent

[49:03] opportunity again this agency is doing

[49:06] the good and tough work of making sure

[49:08] that food is accessible to scantalians

[49:11] whether you've been here your entire

[49:12] life or you just arrived this is

[49:15] available to you uh second I wanted to

[49:17] take an opportunity to announce that in

[49:19] partnership with braver angels we will

[49:21] be hosting a workshop at Union College

[49:23] to address skills for Bridging the

[49:26] Divide which is a workshop to provide

[49:29] resources we're talking about political

[49:30] issues in a constructive and empathetic

[49:33] way there will be more information to

[49:35] come but that event will take place on

[49:37] May 18th from 6 to 8 30. there will be

[49:40] more information again and flyers and

[49:42] sign ups that will be presented to the

[49:43] community

[49:45] next I'd like to acknowledge that as we

[49:47] look forward to warmer climate please enjoy your time in your backyard

[49:53] or in the park in a considerable manner

[49:55] definitely music and excess noise is

[49:57] something that we continuously deal with

[49:59] please be respectful of your neighbors

[50:01] and also individuals that are sharing

[50:03] those safe spaces because as much as we

[50:05] pride ourselves on the benefits of this

[50:07] community we cannot over enjoy at the

[50:10] expense of others and I thought it was

[50:13] important to just address The Continuous

[50:16] conversations and topics that have been

[50:18] directed at my Council Peter Damani Farley at this

[50:24] present time these are allegations

[50:26] and there have been other

[50:28] well-positioned bodies that have looked

[50:29] into these matters for myself I've

[50:32] respected and appreciate the

[50:34] contributions councilman Farley has made

[50:36] not only to the Schenectady city council

[50:38] but also to the work he continuously

[50:39] does at the Schenectady City School

[50:41] District I think it is more than

[50:43] appropriate to have defenses in place to

[50:45] ensure that he is not taking on this

[50:48] conversation alone I understand that the

[50:51] work of the board of exit the the ethics

[50:54] board is important but as we have heard

[50:57] um

[50:58] if something Walks Like A Duck

[51:00] quacks like a duck

[51:03] what is it

[51:04] so I'm confident that as this

[51:07] investigation in whatever manner it

[51:08] conducts itself I know that the

[51:11] respectable and ethical manner that Mr

[51:13] Farley conducts himself will be present

[51:15] and I look forward to a retraction being

[51:17] issued to the paper and I hope that he

[51:20] continues to do this positive work in a

[51:22] manner that is most befitting of his his

[51:24] uh his his ethics thank you

[51:34] Mr Farley

[51:38] I guess it's only right so

[51:40] um

[51:41] you know politics a lot of politics is

[51:43] about managing Optics and you know I'm

[51:46] not the best at that

[51:48] um and

[51:50] it's not lost on me that um you know

[51:52] when you take strong positions and you

[51:55] call out things like you know bias

[51:57] discrimination and systemic racism and

[51:59] you call them exactly what they are you

[52:01] know

[52:02] um and you do so explicitly

[52:05] um and on record you make enemies

[52:08] and that's okay with me because I didn't

[52:09] come here to make friends I came here to

[52:11] make change

[52:12] and that's what I'm going to continue to

[52:14] do

[52:15] um it's also not lost in the public that

[52:17] this ethics board that has not convened

[52:20] and

[52:21] um to to deal with the issue in 10 years

[52:24] uh was last brought together

[52:27] to investigate

[52:31] another

[52:32] person of color

[52:34] um on on the city council and none of

[52:37] this happened until I sat here and

[52:40] called out a certain pattern of behavior

[52:43] and not my opinion just a pattern a fact

[52:46] pattern or behavior that um

[52:49] really just cause things what they are

[52:51] and I'm going to continue to do that if

[52:55] you know people of color have been used

[52:57] to historically systems being weaponized

[53:00] against them as a way to buy their

[53:01] silence you know I know it just burns

[53:04] your biscuits that you can't keep this

[53:05] boy in this place

[53:07] um I didn't come here

[53:09] um to dance to whatever music that you

[53:12] guys been playing for years and years Schenectady is not a great

[53:17] place for everyone it is a great place

[53:20] for some it's a good place for some and

[53:23] it's full of great people however we

[53:26] cannot be afraid of better and if as

[53:28] politicians or elected officials when

[53:31] someone who tries to reach out to you

[53:32] privately to bring things to your

[53:34] attention and say let's fix this if you

[53:37] won't engage in those conversations and

[53:39] then you have to bring it on the floor I

[53:41] am who I say I am I'm like everybody

[53:43] else as far as my state taxes that's the

[53:48] real thing that's not the only bill that

[53:50] I have that I have to pay that I'm

[53:52] working on uh after uh a financial

[53:55] hardship that so many people have

[53:57] explained and have experience

[53:59] um but outside of that

[54:01] you know I'm so proud of the work that

[54:03] I've done in the community and the large

[54:05] team of people that I've done and done

[54:07] that work with it speaks for itself and

[54:09] so I there's I I don't scare that easy

[54:14] um my I don't have that type of brittle

[54:16] spirit I am who I say I am we're going

[54:18] to continue to work we're going to

[54:20] continue to call out systemic racism and

[54:22] until we as a city take a hard look at

[54:25] who we are and not and and start to

[54:28] allocate funds in a way that's aligned

[54:30] with Equity not just saying it like

[54:32] saying like we're not just going to give

[54:35] the money to the people

[54:37] um of this big box agency because they

[54:39] play golf with us and they've been

[54:40] getting money for 20 years and so we

[54:42] take it a step further to say let's talk

[54:44] to the people that the services are

[54:46] being provided to let's talk to the

[54:48] people that are the line workers the

[54:50] people that are engaging in the

[54:51] community in this work

[54:52] and when we start to ask ourselves those

[54:54] hard questions we might not always like

[54:56] to answer but that's okay it's about

[54:58] asking the right questions so I'm here

[55:00] for it and I'm gonna continue to do it

[55:02] what I do and I'm going to continue to

[55:04] fight and advocate for the people and

[55:05] you don't have to be perfect through

[55:06] that thank God because I wouldn't be

[55:08] here if that was the case thank you

[55:11] Mr palamini

[55:15] yeah there's a systemic pattern here

[55:18] every time something

[55:21] happens that

[55:22] someone makes a mistake somebody screws

[55:25] up

[55:26] here comes the racism charges

[55:31] yes the Ethics Committee hasn't been

[55:34] in in play in 10 years

[55:37] probably should have

[55:39] been if there was something

[55:40] but here we have a situation where we

[55:44] have contracts that are nearly identical

[55:47] six hundred thousand dollars of money

[55:49] that could have gone to Children went to

[55:53] an individual and employees the school

[55:56] district says well it looks like it's

[55:59] probably not illegal where to trust the

[56:02] school district who's had cover-up after cover-up who are just

[56:06] covering up for themselves

[56:09] we have unpaid taxes we don't know about

[56:12] that's for 16 17. we don't know about

[56:14] any years after that we don't know about

[56:17] workers compensation we don't know about

[56:19] disability

[56:21] Insurance there's a lot of questions

[56:23] that aren't answered and for ethics

[56:25] board to look at this and say nothing

[56:29] wrong or something wrong or to have a

[56:32] district attorney or the the attorney

[56:34] general or the Comptroller look at it

[56:36] and say hey there's nothing here

[56:41] is a legitimate question hundreds upon

[56:44] hundreds of people have asked me about

[56:46] this and say stand up

[56:50] so I will continue to stand up and try

[56:54] to do the right thing

[56:56] and if that means calling out

[56:58] individuals who have done something

[57:02] as I expect I will stand up

[57:06] but this every time something happens

[57:10] it's you can play the record over and

[57:12] over again

[57:13] and that's what it is

[57:16] so I'm going to stand up

[57:18] you can compare yourself to whoever

[57:22] compare yourself to more like George

[57:24] Santos or to Donald Trump tactics that

[57:27] you're using

[57:29] that's what's going on here

[57:32] and I will continue to stand up for

[57:34] taxpayers they've constantly said

[57:37] keep up

[57:38] and I will continue to do so

[57:41] mayor

[57:43] you madam president

[57:45] and we're starting to see the weather

[57:47] shift for hopefully we'll be warmer

[57:50] weather going forward

[57:52] there are still some potholes that will

[57:55] be appearing I would encourage people to

[57:58] use c-click fix so that we can get them

[58:00] identified get them on a schedule to get

[58:04] them filled it's the batch plants open

[58:06] up that will be able to respond in a

[58:09] more timely manner and again appreciate

[58:10] the council approving the cracked

[58:13] ceiling contract tonight for roads

[58:15] because that's one of the cheaper ways

[58:17] to maintain Street surface and to

[58:21] prevent some of the more expensive

[58:23] maintenance

[58:24] Mr Farley will be opening the golf

[58:27] course

[58:29] this Saturday I don't get to play with

[58:32] those big bucks vendors

[58:36] hopefully get out once or twice this

[58:38] year and hope other council members

[58:39] would get the opportunity to enjoy the

[58:43] golf course it's one of the things that

[58:45] we learn from covid that more and more

[58:48] courses are using now is that when the

[58:50] course opens on Saturday we will not

[58:52] allow the carts to go out

[58:55] in the superintendental make that

[58:57] decision like a week or 10 days out and

[59:00] what we found is by allowing that brief

[59:03] period of time for the grass to get

[59:05] better established

[59:07] it allows the course to go through the

[59:10] summer in a much higher quality it's

[59:14] Greener you don't have the brown spots

[59:16] and the overall visual aspect of the

[59:19] course is much better and so it was a

[59:21] learning experience one of the odd

[59:22] things from covid that we picked up and

[59:26] are now using as a standard practice

[59:29] thank you madam president thank you

[59:31] mayor I'd also like to thank everyone

[59:33] that came out tonight to speak and to

[59:36] the young people we're appreciative at

[59:38] least I am and that this Council was

[59:40] able to be able to fund the program and we can see some of the benefits and

[59:45] I'm sure there's more so it was really

[59:46] great it's always great to hear that

[59:48] something that you did with had a

[59:49] positive impact and for people to come

[59:51] back and tell you because God knows that

[59:52] we hear enough of other things

[59:55] so I just you know I just can't ignore

[59:58] the elephant in the room the

[59:59] conversation about the ethics board and

[1:00:02] um it was spoken of tonight and it's

[1:00:05] clear that the ethics board has said

[1:00:07] that it refers to employees or officers

[1:00:10] of the city at the time the things that

[1:00:13] we're talking about about council member

[1:00:14] Farley occurred prior to that so I just

[1:00:17] want to make that clear for everyone so

[1:00:20] that there's no mistake about my comments regarding whether or

[1:00:25] not it should be coped before the ethics

[1:00:27] board and

[1:00:28] let's just State the facts it is a fact

[1:00:31] that the last time the ethnic ethics

[1:00:33] board was called it was about against an

[1:00:35] African-American person that's not

[1:00:37] racism that's a fact you can look it up

[1:00:39] you can go see it it's a fact so uh I am

[1:00:42] very clear because of the climate that

[1:00:45] we're in not to call things racism when

[1:00:47] they're when it's a possibility that

[1:00:48] they're not but you can't argue with the

[1:00:51] facts

[1:00:51] and if we want to talk about it I want

[1:00:53] to just mention what happened in

[1:00:55] Tennessee where there were lawmakers who

[1:00:57] stood up for children getting killed and

[1:00:59] talking against guns and two of those

[1:01:02] lawmakers were African-American and the

[1:01:04] third was not and the two

[1:01:06] African-Americans were expelled and the

[1:01:08] third was not so you can come to your

[1:01:10] own conclusion on that

[1:01:12] so it's not sometimes and it's racism

[1:01:16] and I one of the speakers said that

[1:01:18] they're getting tired of it I think we

[1:01:19] are all getting tired of it and those of

[1:01:21] us who have lived with it for years are

[1:01:23] tired of it as well and I think that if

[1:01:25] we just we can try to work together and

[1:01:27] overcome it but recognize other people's

[1:01:30] situations if you've never walked in

[1:01:31] their shoes

[1:01:33] and respect that and have conversations

[1:01:35] about it and I'm hoping that this is our

[1:01:38] last debate on the floor

[1:01:40] um against and between two council

[1:01:41] members because as people say that I'm

[1:01:44] hearing from the public I hear as well

[1:01:45] about the in those particular

[1:01:48] interactions maybe it's time for a

[1:01:50] private conversation gentlemen

[1:01:53] if there's nothing to come before the

[1:01:55] city council

[1:01:56] tonight I'd like to ask for a motion to

[1:01:58] adjourn

[1:02:00] second my move by Mr Farley move second

[1:02:03] by Mr all those in favor

[1:02:05] have a good evening

Schenectady City Council Meeting, April 10, 2023

Transcript