[0:01] [Music]
[0:27] I'd like to call to order the city
[0:28] Caucus meeting
[0:33] I'd like to call to order the city
[0:34] Caucus meeting for Monday April 22nd
[0:38] 2024 we have two public hearings this
[0:40] evening if the clerk would please read
[0:43] public hearing number one regarding the
[0:44] Restore New York round 8 Grant
[0:48] application public hearing number two regarding the
[0:52] addition of Section
[0:54] 26411 3 of The Connect city code
[0:57] regarding the regulation and location of
[0:59] smoke shops vape shops hookah loues and
[1:03] vape consumption businesses we have 14
[1:06] items for original consideration if the
[1:08] clerk would please read item number one for original
[1:11] consideration resolution authorized on
[1:13] the mayor to accept a
[1:16] $3,588 trust building programming Grant
[1:19] from the New York State Department of
[1:21] Criminal Justice Services discussing
[1:23] committee with objection on consent item
[1:25] number two item number two for original
[1:27] consideration a resolution authorizing a 2024 budget reallocation related to an
[1:33] agreement between the city of skty and
[1:34] IBEW Local 236 discussed in committee
[1:38] with objection on consent item number
[1:40] three item number three for original
[1:42] consideration a resolution authorizing a
[1:44] 2024 budget reallocation related to an
[1:47] agreement between the city of skincity
[1:49] and
[1:49] NRC of carpenter Carpenters Local 51
[1:53] Union discuss in committee with
[1:55] objection on consent item number four for original
[1:59] consideration a res solution authorizing
[2:00] a 2024 budget reallocation related to an
[2:03] agreement between the city of skincity
[2:05] and Trade union dc9 painters Brook
[2:08] layers lu2 and Plum plumber
[2:11] lu7 discuss in committee without
[2:14] objection on consent item number five for original
[2:17] consideration a resolution approving
[2:19] change order number two and the increase
[2:21] of okano Electric's current contract
[2:24] with the city of skincity for the
[2:25] Central Park Pool discussed in committee
[2:28] with objection on consent item number six item number six for original
[2:31] consideration a resolution authorizing a
[2:33] contract with young parents United
[2:35] Incorporated in the amount of
[2:38] $98,000 in 2018 Community Development
[2:42] block grant funding discussed in
[2:44] committee with objection on consent item
[2:46] number seven item number seven for
[2:48] original consideration a resolution
[2:50] authorizing the mayor to amend schedu a
[2:53] of the cooperation agreement with the
[2:54] concy urban renewal agency and the land
[2:57] reutilization Corporation of the Capital
[2:59] District to list additional properties
[3:02] discussed in committee without objection
[3:03] on consent item number eight item number
[3:05] eight for original consideration a
[3:07] resolution authorizing and amending
[3:09] resolution
[3:10] 20248 authorizing the granting of a
[3:13] license for a vacant lot on 902 McCullen
[3:15] Street for
[3:16] $2,500 discussed in committee with the
[3:18] objection on consent item number nine for original
[3:22] consideration a resolution authorizing a
[3:24] settlement of a claim by duk T Ro
[3:27] discussed in committee with objection on
[3:29] consent item number 10 item number 10
[3:31] for original consideration a resolution
[3:33] authorizing settlement of a claim by
[3:34] Pamela labre discussed in committee with
[3:37] an objection on consent item number 11 for original
[3:41] consideration a resolution recognizing
[3:43] Friday April 26 20124 as Arbor Day in
[3:47] the city of
[3:49] SKC um discuss the committee without
[3:51] objection on consent this item will be
[3:53] presented at an Arbor Day celebration on
[3:55] February excuse me on April 26th at Bale
[3:58] community garden item number 12 item
[4:01] number 12 for original consideration a
[4:04] resolution recognizing John kuchu for
[4:06] his 35 years of service to the city of
[4:08] SKC discussed in committee with
[4:10] objection on consent this item will be presented at a later date item number
[4:14] 13 item number 13 under contract and
[4:17] Supply a resolution awarding the bid and
[4:19] contract for the purchase of solar
[4:22] powered radar speed signs discussed in
[4:24] committee with objection on consent item
[4:27] number 14 item number 14 under contract
[4:30] and Supply a resolution awarding the bid
[4:31] and contract for the Gulf Road water
[4:33] main replacement to Newcastle Paving LLC
[4:36] in the amount of
[4:42] $310,100 consent if there's nothing more
[4:45] to come before the city council caucus
[4:47] I'd ask for a motion to
[4:48] adjourn move by m Patrick second by Mr M
[4:51] Baron all those in favor I we are
[4:53] adjourned I'd like to call the city
[4:55] council meeting to order for Monday
[4:57] April 22nd 2024
[5:00] and I'd like to call on Pastor gnap from
[5:03] the Deeper Life Assembly to uh lead us
[5:05] in the prayer
[5:14] invocation come to you in no other name
[5:17] but the might name of Jesus and Lord
[5:20] today God we lift up our cities connect
[5:23] before you I pray God that you will make
[5:26] this city oh God the head in this are oh
[5:30] God that you have placed oh God great
[5:32] leaders our mayor our president oh God
[5:36] and those who are working diligently oh
[5:38] God to make connect a better place I
[5:42] pray my God that scnc will be a place
[5:44] that is set upon a hill Oh God that
[5:47] cannot be hidden I pray God that good
[5:50] things will come out of connect I pray
[5:53] God that Every curse that is placed upon
[5:55] connect God will be broken in the name
[5:59] of Jesus J I take authority God over
[6:02] every Spirit oh God that is ruling and
[6:05] reigning Inc and I cast it out in the
[6:09] name of Jesus uh Lord today I lift up
[6:12] our leaders before you I pray God that
[6:15] you will give our leaders wisdom
[6:18] knowledge and understanding oh God that
[6:20] they will able to rule oh God in this
[6:23] city I pray father that this city will
[6:26] be a place of Peace of joy of happiness
[6:30] Lord where people will live oh God in
[6:33] the freedom the grace and the favor of
[6:36] you Lord I speak oh God that connect
[6:40] will be a place oh God where the light
[6:43] will shine and many will come oh God to
[6:46] live in Connect Lord I pray God that
[6:49] your spirit will move you will reain oh
[6:52] God you will open up the windows of
[6:54] heaven and you will bless connect God
[6:57] Lord that great buildings oh God will be
[7:00] put up and people oh God will inherit
[7:02] the benefit of this place father I pray
[7:05] today God that your favor will fall your
[7:08] joy your happiness and your peace will
[7:11] move in the lives of your people Lord I
[7:14] pray God that you will bless our mayor
[7:16] oh God Lord that he will make right
[7:18] decisions oh God for our city I pray God
[7:22] that you will send the right people that
[7:24] will surround His Life uh that will back
[7:26] him with his vision Lord I pray that you
[7:29] will send great men and wom that will
[7:31] surround him God I pray God that you
[7:34] will cover his life under your blood
[7:36] cover every leaders our president to God
[7:39] you will cover every local member under
[7:42] your blood I give you praise and I give
[7:44] you thanks bless everyone that is
[7:46] present here God in no other name but
[7:49] the mighty name of Jesus I ask amen and
[7:52] amen praise the
[7:54] Lord amen um I would ask Chief Marino to
[7:57] please Le Us in the Pledge of Allegiance
[8:02] I pledge
[8:04] alleg United States of
[8:09] America
[8:16] stand thank
[8:19] you if the clerk could please complete
[8:22] the Roll Call
[8:30] Mr
[8:32] Soro Mr Farley is absent Mr
[8:35] manini Mr
[8:37] muon Miss
[8:39] Patrick Mr
[8:41] Williams M Porterfield here we have two
[8:45] public hearings this
[8:47] evening and just a reminder that we've
[8:49] extended the public comment period for
[8:51] the public hearing to four
[8:56] minutes want to read it number one
[9:02] public hearing number one regarding the
[9:04] Restore New York round eight Grant
[9:07] application I have eight people signed
[9:10] up to
[9:11] speak the first person is Gloria
[9:22] Kishon good evening uh my name is Gloria
[9:25] kishan I'm the chairperson of SKC
[9:29] heritage Foundation which is a historic
[9:32] preservation advocacy group that covers
[9:34] all of SKC County and we uh first of all
[9:38] want to thank all the government
[9:41] agencies that helped us to get to this
[9:44] point where we can even apply for a
[9:46] restore New York grant for the Masonic
[9:49] group of buildings at the corner of
[9:51] State in Erie uh that includes the
[9:54] historic district commission which we
[9:56] started advocating with and then it went
[9:59] on to the Planning Commission and
[10:02] finally it went on to you the city
[10:04] council and with our vast amount of
[10:07] research that was done on these
[10:11] buildings and what they represented in
[10:14] skc's history we're very happy that you
[10:17] all of those groups supported this
[10:20] initiative and um we hope that you will
[10:23] go on to support applying for a restore
[10:26] New York Grant um it's a critical part
[10:30] of getting the funding together for a
[10:32] project like this um you can see kitty
[10:35] corner from the Masonic temple building
[10:38] the wedgeway building being restored
[10:40] right now and the uh Masonic group of
[10:44] buildings will be a similar situation
[10:47] where it's a historic building um
[10:51] designed by a very important architect
[10:53] in New York state and with a a rich
[10:56] history of the Masons and SK going back
[10:59] all the way to George Washington's time
[11:03] um they have incredible archives that uh
[11:06] perhaps some of these will will come
[11:08] back to the building and be displayed so
[11:11] we're really counting on your support
[11:13] for this grant thanks so much thank
[11:17] you Sylvie
[11:23] Brier hi good evening I'm Sylvie briber
[11:27] and I just want to Simply support the
[11:29] efforts towards the restore uh grant for
[11:32] the Masonic
[11:34] buildings thank
[11:36] you Todd Todd
[11:45] garold my apologies for my
[11:48] handwriting hi I'm uh Todd Gano
[11:50] executive director for discover skty uh
[11:53] we're the County's official tourism
[11:54] promotion agency uh and you really can't
[11:57] talk about tourism without talking about skc's history so I'm very pleased
[12:01] to support this Grand application I
[12:03] think um having this really important
[12:06] Corner uh both with the wedge uh way
[12:08] building and now uh this corner as well
[12:11] restored will do so much just for the
[12:13] beautification of uh of downtown you
[12:15] probably saw recently we uh uh dino
[12:18] alive uh launched at Armory Studios just
[12:21] over five weeks ago in just those 5
[12:24] weeks uh we've had 32,000 tickets sold
[12:27] so 32,000 people coming to this downtown
[12:30] um which is incredible and you may have
[12:32] seen the story about um our current
[12:34] state of tourism in uh in skincity
[12:36] County last Sunday in The Gazette it's a
[12:38] very positive uh story there's people
[12:41] coming to SKC like never before so to
[12:44] have uh projects like this and the
[12:46] opportunity to restore and talk about
[12:47] our history is very important to us we
[12:49] hope you'll support that as well thank
[12:51] you thank
[12:53] you Ray yen
[13:00] evening Ray Gillan I'm the commissioner
[13:02] of planning and economic development in
[13:04] Sky County I also chair Metroplex and
[13:06] I'm a proud City resident want to thank
[13:09] the council for working closely with us
[13:11] in the city Development Department to
[13:13] put in an application working closely
[13:15] with the mayor for ReStore New York
[13:17] round eight Restore New York is a
[13:19] program to help renovate uh vacant
[13:22] buildings distressed properties in the
[13:25] heart of downtown to try to bring them
[13:27] back to life and as glorious said with
[13:30] your support we were really successful
[13:32] at getting the wedgeway project underway
[13:34] it's a $20 million development but you
[13:37] look across the street you've got the
[13:39] empty Masonic building got the empty
[13:41] chamber building and the one that's most
[13:44] painful because I spent a lot of time
[13:45] there shopping as a kid is the empty
[13:48] rednick building which had a terrible
[13:50] fire those three buildings are vacant
[13:53] we're blessed to have a state Grant in
[13:54] hand for the large building the Masonic
[13:57] temple it's under contract with
[13:59] developer who plans to renovate the
[14:00] building we are applying for a $600,000
[14:03] grant to renovate their former chamber
[14:06] and the former RX Building Hope to bring
[14:08] that resolution forward at the next
[14:11] Council cycle and submit the Grant
[14:13] application in uh late May so we really
[14:16] appreciate everyone's support these are
[14:18] three critical buildings downtown and
[14:20] we're really excited that we have a
[14:22] developer in hand we have an opportunity
[14:24] to compete for these State funds and um
[14:27] we are really excited to move this
[14:29] forward and appreciate everyone's time
[14:30] and attention thank you thank you Sam
[14:37] clay bu City business you would like
[14:40] that change to yes sir Moren
[14:51] [Music]
[14:52] Nel good evening I'm Mor newfeld I'm the
[14:55] executive director of the downtown concy
[14:57] Improvement Corporation uh thank you for
[14:59] the opportunity to come here and uh
[15:01] express my support of the revitalization
[15:04] of these properties and downtown
[15:06] skincity uh as we all know the dsc's
[15:09] business is to help promote downtown
[15:11] skty as a vibrant vibrant community and
[15:14] a lot of that goes into uh just how safe
[15:17] walkable presentable our city is and the
[15:20] restoration of these buildings will
[15:21] really help in that uh the situation is
[15:25] they're situated right between a very
[15:28] vibrant Community for Arts uh culture
[15:32] restaurants shops uh and also a
[15:34] Transportation Hub that is a great
[15:37] opportunity to connect the two really be
[15:39] a a vibrant part of this community for
[15:43] residents for new developments for the
[15:46] historic district uh and also to help
[15:49] boost the local economy in providing all
[15:51] of that Commerce as a as a connector
[15:54] along these busy streets so uh thank you
[15:56] for the opportunity and uh I'm voicing
[15:58] my support for this
[15:59] thank you Frank
[16:08] [Music]
[16:10] Wicks well here's the fourth time we'
[16:12] been here talking on behalf of a SE fire
[16:15] in Gaza excuse me Mr Wix th this is for
[16:19] the public hearing on the restore Grant
[16:21] okay I will move your name I'm not the
[16:22] wrong list yes I'll move your name to
[16:24] City business okay thank
[16:27] you suzan
[16:38] anger hi um my name is Suzanne anger I'm
[16:42] the former president of the stock a
[16:44] Association I'm a member of the board of
[16:47] the SKC Heritage Foundation of which
[16:49] Gloria is the president and I'm about to
[16:52] join the board of the sked County
[16:54] Historical Society so clearly I have an
[16:57] interest in history
[16:59] but um I'm very pleased to stand up here
[17:02] in favor of this proposed application
[17:05] for ReStore New York funding um that's a
[17:09] wonderful program that really makes the
[17:12] difference between success or failure
[17:15] with these older buildings this
[17:17] intersection is probably one of the most
[17:18] prominent ones in connec thousands of
[17:21] cars go by there every day and for years
[17:24] they've looked at two
[17:26] deteriorating neglected forgotten
[17:28] appearance appearing so anyway buildings
[17:32] the fact that the wedgeway building is
[17:33] now being restored is so exciting and uh
[17:37] this would just be a wonderful
[17:39] compliment to that project so um we've
[17:43] lost so much of our downtown already
[17:45] nicla building um I think it's time that
[17:48] we save what we have left thank you
[17:50] thank
[17:52] you I have no one else signed up to
[17:54] speak so I declare the public uh public
[17:56] hearing number one closed
[17:59] public hearing number
[18:00] two public hearing number two regarding
[18:03] the addition of section 264-1111 of the
[18:07] connect city code regarding the
[18:09] regulation and location of smoke shop
[18:11] vape shops hookah lounges and vape and
[18:13] consumption businesses I have one person
[18:16] signed up to see speak Robert
[18:26] Sanders good morning madam speaker good
[18:30] morning council members mayor protm I'm
[18:33] here to talk about the vape shops cigar
[18:36] shops and other places if this was
[18:39] constitutionally legal I might go along
[18:41] with it but I see you you left
[18:43] cigarettes out of here when cigarettes
[18:47] are taxed at
[18:48] 55% cigars are taxed at 75% a piece and
[18:53] marijuana smoked tax at
[18:56] 16% but the second highest offender
[18:59] there cigarettes steuarts other plac
[19:02] that Salem you're not counting that in
[19:05] okay it is illegal to do this okay just
[19:09] for the fact that it's constitutionally
[19:13] a legal substance stolen Sten in connec
[19:17] the next thing you're going to do is
[19:19] move all the bars into one section that
[19:22] you think are good for you but alcohol
[19:25] is legal it's the 18th Amendment
[19:29] now all I got to say about this is you
[19:32] know this is just going a little bit too
[19:34] far because I don't know what the
[19:35] council will do
[19:37] next okay we went down this rapit Hall
[19:39] once and then Mr muda might know with
[19:43] councilman koser when he ran for
[19:45] assembly he tried moving all sex
[19:49] offenders in one spot that was found
[19:52] illegal you cannot do that so they got
[19:55] sex offenders got spread out all
[19:58] throughout the county and the city to do
[20:02] this is illegal if you like it or don't
[20:04] like it I understand that I completely
[20:07] can understand it I understand not
[20:09] smoking in parks and things like that
[20:11] but when you go and you start affecting
[20:14] someone's personal ability their
[20:17] freedom you cannot do that okay so I ask
[20:21] you to vote no against this if you don't
[20:25] vote no and I'm not threaten you I will
[20:28] follow file a referral for judicial
[20:30] intervention in the county of conc and I
[20:33] will bring you to court thank you thank
[20:36] you I have no one else signed up to
[20:38] speak for public hearing number two so I
[20:40] declare this public hearing
[20:42] closed ask for approval of the minutes
[20:44] from April 8th
[20:47] 2024 move by Mr Williams second by Mr
[20:50] Mancini all those in favor I if the
[20:53] clerk could please read read any
[20:55] Communications and petitions
[21:06] Communications presented to the city
[21:08] council for Monday April 22nd 2024 under
[21:12] official from the Mayor Gary R McCarthy
[21:14] a list of appointments dated April 22nd
[21:16] 2024 under General from Robert S Alby of
[21:20] the concy veterans of World War 2
[21:23] Incorporated a letter dated March 24th
[21:25] 2024 thanking the city of skty for Don
[21:28] ated funds to help maintain their home
[21:31] from Teresa crane an email regarding
[21:33] parking issues at her home on Union
[21:34] Street and asked the city to place a
[21:37] sign at the end of her driveway from
[21:39] Allison Williams an email regarding the
[21:41] need of signage to prevent big trucks
[21:44] from going down her street citing safety
[21:46] reasons and concerns under petition
[21:49] there were none thank you I'll call on
[21:52] council members to provide any committee
[21:57] reports not we uh next we have privilege
[21:59] of the floor related to uh the
[22:01] legislative agenda and I have 15 people
[22:04] signed up to
[22:08] speak just a reminder it's three minutes
[22:10] for this particular portion Imam Jamal
[22:18] sha thank you Madame President honorable
[22:21] council
[22:22] members uh I was here last month was
[22:26] here two weeks ago uh guess I did make
[22:29] the call list but in any case I come to
[22:32] you tonight just to remind you guys of a
[22:34] few things over the last two months
[22:36] we've had two children small
[22:40] children die murdered in SKC for one
[22:45] baby Halo Bron 11 months old died due to
[22:48] the freezing cold temperatures on the GE
[22:51] Campus number two 5-year-old Charlotte
[22:54] buski was killed due to starvation
[23:00] don't have to ask you guys how you feel
[23:01] about that I already know because we're
[23:03] all human beings and we all have good
[23:05] intentions and we all principled these
[23:08] children died right here children are
[23:11] dying for the same reasons 7,000 Mi
[23:14] across the world just as we look at the
[23:16] children who are murdered in our own
[23:20] neighborhoods as abhorent and evil the
[23:24] actions that were taken to take their
[23:26] lives we also want our city council our
[23:31] elected officials there's no one better
[23:33] to speak on behalf of the residents of
[23:35] this city other than this body I speak
[23:38] on behalf of not just the Muslim
[23:40] Community but the general community of
[23:42] residents within this city not talking
[23:45] about Albany not talking about nkuna
[23:48] talking about the city of
[23:50] skty we would like to see the ceasefire
[23:53] resolution that was proposed be passed
[23:56] and for what it's worth
[23:59] myself I've been convening with
[24:01] Community leaders all over the city
[24:04] Faith leaders General Community Action
[24:07] leaders
[24:09] and I have yet to come across
[24:12] anyone that takes a stance against a
[24:16] simple principle upon which this
[24:18] resolution is based all life is worth
[24:23] preservation and it's a symbolic gesture
[24:26] to pass the resolution but it's been
[24:28] done in 70 cities Across America as of
[24:30] February we're now sitting in April so
[24:34] even more cities have signed on this is
[24:36] an effective tool to demonstrate to our
[24:39] federal government what the people on
[24:42] the ground myself yourselves what our
[24:46] sentiments actually are so that way they
[24:48] can act accordingly I will also mention
[24:53] that for some of
[24:54] you we've heard responses as to indicate
[24:58] that this is something not meant for the
[25:00] city council we've also heard it from
[25:02] other people speaking in the public
[25:04] forum I will say
[25:08] again it's not that we can change the
[25:10] world just by passing a resolution but
[25:13] more so to demonstrate the principles
[25:15] that we share this is a United call for
[25:18] peace and Justice and I would say I
[25:21] would
[25:23] really be difficult and dumbfounded it's
[25:26] difficult for me to to comprehend how
[25:28] any anyone can interpret it as anything
[25:30] other than that and again in this room I
[25:33] don't have to ask and I don't want to
[25:35] ask because I would like to assume
[25:37] everyone is on the same page every life
[25:40] is worth the same there is no one group
[25:43] that's worth more than the other there
[25:46] is no one body that's worth more than
[25:48] the other as human beings as residents
[25:50] of a diverse City and diverse Community
[25:53] this is our call to action to
[25:55] demonstrate that near or far this is The
[25:58] Stance of this city and its residents as
[26:01] echoed by the elected officials chosen
[26:04] by the residents of this city to speak
[26:06] on their behalf we can pray and we can pray but we do need
[26:12] something formal and symbolic from our
[26:14] elected officials to formally recognize
[26:18] a shared principle that exists within
[26:20] all of our hearts thank you very much
[26:22] thank you
[26:25] [Applause]
[26:28] ladies and gentlemen I need to step back
[26:30] um we I'm sorry we didn't have anyone
[26:32] signed up but I need to um we we have we
[26:35] should have had the legislative agenda
[26:37] but no one signed up that name was
[26:38] crossed off so I have no one signed up
[26:40] to speak for the a public comment on the
[26:42] legislative agenda so that's open and
[26:44] now closed so now I need approval of the
[26:47] legislative
[26:48] agenda moved by Mr Williams second by Mr
[26:51] mudaron all those in favor
[26:54] I okay then I will call the next person
[26:57] for General City
[26:58] business Edmund Leen
[27:02] Jr not
[27:06] here
[27:10] okay FMA
[27:14] Isa
[27:24] oh good evening good evening
[27:31] the death and destruction in Gaza have
[27:33] continued unabated the horrors are
[27:37] unprecedented Gaza is hungry and Gaza is
[27:41] thirsty and it is you and I who are
[27:44] responsible there is blood on our hands
[27:47] a great deal of blood there are those
[27:49] who say Gaza is not our problem that
[27:52] Gaza is too far away that nothing that
[27:55] we say or do is going to stop the Terror
[27:58] and the pain that is currently being
[28:01] experienced over
[28:02] there I would like you to remind you
[28:04] here
[28:05] today that there was a time when the
[28:08] same was said about South
[28:10] Africa I remember my own Uncle
[28:13] saying there is no way white South
[28:17] Africans are going to give in to the
[28:19] African National
[28:21] Congress well as we all know now
[28:25] apartate South Africa is no more this
[28:28] Saturday April 27th will be the 30th
[28:32] year of South Africa's first ever
[28:35] democratic
[28:36] election an election which resulted in
[28:39] the African National Congress coming
[28:40] into power and Nelson Mandela becoming
[28:43] the president 30 years I cannot even
[28:47] believe it myself I lived through it
[28:50] seemed like just the other day students
[28:53] at campuses all over South Africa were
[28:56] rallying protesting
[28:59] boycotting organizing and fighting to
[29:02] dismantle the aparted regime today right
[29:07] here in New York state at the University
[29:10] of Columbia in New York City American
[29:13] students are fighting for an end to the
[29:16] genocide and the
[29:18] brutality by demanding that their
[29:21] University Diest from aparted state of
[29:25] Israel this morning the university
[29:27] cancel in person classes more than 100
[29:30] students have been arrested and now
[29:33] students at other campuses across the
[29:35] country are settling are setting up
[29:38] encampments in support of the students
[29:41] of Colombia today at Yale 47 students
[29:46] were
[29:47] arrested there is no going back the
[29:50] world has not only seen the sheer
[29:53] brutality of the
[29:55] IDF but it has also seen how the
[29:58] departed state of Israel manipulates the
[30:01] media and tells outright lies to gain
[30:06] the sympathy of the
[30:08] world it took them only one Theory which
[30:12] was a false claim about rape on October
[30:16] the 7th to get immediate support from
[30:20] the world without any
[30:23] evidence in fact it was the Israeli
[30:26] forces themselves who recently raped a
[30:29] pal a pregnant Palestinian woman in
[30:33] front of her children husband and
[30:35] relatives at ashifa
[30:38] hospital they threatened the family with
[30:41] death if they closed their
[30:44] eyes then they killed the woman and her
[30:48] unborn
[30:50] child there is a great darkness that has
[30:53] overcome the world the very least that
[30:56] we can do is say please stop ceas fire
[31:01] now thank
[31:03] [Applause]
[31:08] you Maybel
[31:14] Leon Maybel
[31:21] [Music]
[31:25] Leon good evening
[31:28] my name is Mabel Leon I sent a letter to
[31:32] city council a month ago and I spoke at
[31:36] the last city council meeting two weeks
[31:39] ago to support a resolution calling for
[31:42] a ceasefire in
[31:45] Gaza now what's happened uh in Gaza
[31:49] since I was here
[31:51] last the bombs supplied by the United
[31:55] States continue to fall on Gaza
[31:58] with civilian deaths reaching more than
[32:02] 34,000
[32:05] 77,000 people are
[32:08] wounded and
[32:10] 14,000 children have died these are
[32:14] numbers but each of these numbers
[32:17] represents a human
[32:21] being the famine continues for babies
[32:26] and the most vulnerable
[32:28] while the delivery of humanitarian Aid
[32:31] continues to be limited and not
[32:34] sufficient to stem the tide of
[32:38] famine the United States is not a
[32:42] bystander in this war in this conflict
[32:47] it is implicated in this continuing
[32:51] Carnage our president asks the leaders
[32:54] of Israel to lessen civilian casualties
[32:58] increased humanitarian aid but our
[33:01] government continues to send
[33:04] bombs and offer no consequences to the
[33:08] Israeli government when they pay no
[33:13] heed there must be decisive action no
[33:17] more bombs to the Israeli government
[33:20] until humanitarian Aid increases there's
[33:23] a ceasefire and there are efforts to
[33:27] lessen civilian
[33:30] casualties the American people do not
[33:33] want to see babies and their mothers
[33:35] dying and opposition to this madness
[33:39] grows with each day is seen by spreading
[33:42] protests and unrest on college
[33:46] campuses my message to President Biden
[33:50] from his
[33:52] wife stop it now
[33:56] Joe message to city
[33:59] council do your part and pass the
[34:05] resolution for a ceasefire now thank
[34:15] you Imam Montas
[34:31] Madame
[34:32] speaker beloved
[34:34] counselors it is an honor and pleasure
[34:37] to be here this evening I'm Imam mtas
[34:40] Ali I represent the
[34:44] gyes the last count we had was
[34:48] 33,000
[34:49] and I'm no stranger to the city council
[34:54] because this city council
[34:58] believe in
[34:59] God and once we put our trust in God
[35:03] everything will go good say
[35:06] Amen I'm here this evening to represent
[35:10] the
[35:12] gyes
[35:13] and I'm no strange as I told you to this
[35:17] city council to this city because I have
[35:21] been
[35:22] presented with the from the mayor our
[35:25] beloved mayor as s
[35:28] certificate from honorable Paul tono a
[35:32] certificate and from the city council
[35:35] because they recognize me as an Imam it
[35:39] is said those who have God have
[35:44] everything those who don't have God has
[35:48] tell me
[35:50] nothing and I put my trust in this city
[35:54] council this this this is a the Beloved
[35:58] or we have one of the
[36:01] most honorable and beautiful Mia he has
[36:04] a lot of respect for elders and and the
[36:09] and so so I
[36:11] before I leave I want to make a special
[36:16] prayer for all of us and for the city of
[36:21] connected in the name of God most
[36:23] gracious most merciful oh almighty God
[36:28] I want you to
[36:31] have to people must respect one another
[36:36] I want you that we must have peace and
[36:39] love in our
[36:41] families I want we must have peace and
[36:44] love in
[36:47] Connected we want peace and love around
[36:51] the
[36:51] world amen amen thank you thank you
[37:01] Karine
[37:11] carmelli hi my name is uh Karen carmelli
[37:14] and I'm not a resident of the city of
[37:17] sked I'm a resident of Albany and so I
[37:19] didn't really think that it was
[37:20] appropriate for me to come I've been
[37:22] following the ceasefire resolution uh
[37:24] proceedings very closely but I was
[37:27] watching previous meeting where uh there
[37:29] were lots of folks here who who made a
[37:31] particular claim that um an organization
[37:34] that I belong to called Jewish voice for
[37:36] peace uh did not represent Jews and that
[37:39] in fact its members were not Jewish and
[37:41] our opinions did not uh factor into the the broader Jewish conversation so
[37:46] um I felt a particular need to come here
[37:48] tonight to talk about that um like I
[37:50] said I'm a member of the organization
[37:52] called Jewish voice for peace and um
[37:55] what we advocate for is a world where
[37:58] all people from the US to Palestine live
[38:00] in freedom justice equality and dignity
[38:02] like generation of Jewish leftists
[38:04] before us we fight for the liberation of
[38:06] all people we believe that through
[38:08] organizing we can and will dismantle the
[38:10] institutions and structures that sustain
[38:12] Injustice and grow something new joyful
[38:15] beautiful and life sustaining in their
[38:17] place um I also want to acknowledge that
[38:19] tonight is the first night of passover
[38:22] and so I I had Passover with my family
[38:25] last night so that I could be here today
[38:27] Passover is a holiday where we talk
[38:29] about un oppressed people who yearned
[38:33] for freedom and achieved their own
[38:36] Liberation um and we've also heard about
[38:39] the student protests that have been
[38:40] taking place all over the country there
[38:43] is a valedictorian at the University of
[38:45] Southern California she's a Muslim woman
[38:48] and she has been barred from speaking
[38:50] even though she is top of her class at
[38:52] USC USC also has something called the
[38:56] USC showa foundation and uh that was a
[39:00] initiative to collect the testimonies
[39:03] from Holocaust Survivors show us
[39:05] survivors one of those people that gave
[39:07] testimony was my grandfather his name is
[39:09] ysf his his given name was ysf invent he
[39:13] then changed his name to carmelli when
[39:15] he immigrated to Palestine in the
[39:17] mid-40s um I watched his testimony the
[39:20] other day and if you're interested I'm
[39:21] happy to share it's a three-hour
[39:23] testimony and it's very moving to me but
[39:25] I watched it the other day and and um I
[39:28] was so struck by the similarities of his
[39:31] experiences in the ghettos near
[39:34] Warsaw uh and the comparisons to what
[39:36] people are experiencing in Gaza right
[39:38] now and just to share one small story um
[39:40] when he was 10 years old in
[39:42] 1940 um there was a a a German uh
[39:46] dignitary who was assassinated and so
[39:48] the Nazis rounded up 200 intellectuals
[39:52] and Business Leaders and the the people
[39:54] from his community and they disappeared
[39:58] um right before he was taken away my
[40:01] grandfather's father his name was pesak
[40:03] interestingly enough which translates
[40:05] into
[40:06] Passover he came to him and kissed him
[40:08] goodbye and that was the last time my
[40:10] grandfather ever saw his father in 1984
[40:14] 40 years later he learned that his
[40:17] father was shot in the palmir forest
[40:19] outside of
[40:21] Warsaw and buried in a mass grave and
[40:24] just yesterday a mass grave on a
[40:27] additional Mass grave was discovered at
[40:29] the Nasser Hospital in um in conun in
[40:33] Gaza and they pulled up hundreds of
[40:35] bodies from this Mass grave so I want
[40:37] you to understand that there are Jews
[40:39] like myself who are advocating for
[40:42] Palestinian rights for a ceasefire
[40:45] specifically because of our experiences
[40:47] of genocide it is exactly because of my
[40:49] family story that I stand with a
[40:51] ceasefire and I think you should too
[40:53] will this make a difference no but would
[40:55] have would I have appreciated if the
[40:57] city of skty said something about the
[41:00] Nazi Holocaust while my family was being
[41:02] exterminated I would have please pass
[41:04] the ceasefire resolution thank you thank
[41:11] you Michael zephy Michael
[41:18] zephy honorary Chief city council Mrs
[41:23] pfield president good evening Mike
[41:26] Superior
[41:27] there's just a couple things I want to
[41:29] say first of all I've listened to the
[41:31] last two Council meetings I want to say
[41:35] that every person that has come up up
[41:37] here I respect for what they say they
[41:39] have they're entitled to their opinion
[41:41] they're individuals how they feel is how
[41:44] they feel I respect that I
[41:47] do my feeling and what really touched me
[41:51] was October
[41:53] 7th I stood by and I watched Hamas
[41:58] Fighters parachute into a music
[42:01] festival
[42:03] killing innocent Israelis killing
[42:07] children I watch ATV's barricade into
[42:10] that country killing innocent people
[42:13] killing innocent
[42:16] children my heart breaks
[42:19] today my heart also breaks what ha what
[42:22] is happening in
[42:23] Gaza there are so many innocent people
[42:26] in
[42:27] children out there that that are in in
[42:30] the in the midst of this that are
[42:32] getting killed and are getting hurt and
[42:34] it's
[42:35] terrible my god when is this going to
[42:37] stop our world and our country right now
[42:40] we are not in a good
[42:42] place I pray to God every day we can we
[42:45] can find some kind of peace I'm
[42:49] so sick of hearing the rhetoric on the
[42:51] news it's it's just breaking me it
[42:54] breaks so many of us that talk about it
[43:00] I'm sorry I'm lost for my words right
[43:02] now but I'm just I just want peace I
[43:04] want peace in this country in this
[43:07] world it's just a travesty that's going
[43:09] on right now it's just awful the
[43:12] innocent children both sides it's awful
[43:14] I see Iran bombs Israel Israel bombs
[43:17] Iran when's it going to stop is it ever
[43:19] going to stop we're ever going to have
[43:20] peace in this world in this
[43:22] country we need to every every day I
[43:25] pray to God and I just every day I say
[43:28] please make this stop make it stop I'm just sick of the Lost lives the
[43:33] children break my heart the innocent
[43:35] people break my
[43:36] heart I I I understand everybody's
[43:40] opinion we're all entitled to it but God
[43:42] we need peace in this country in this
[43:43] world it just got to stop I hope it
[43:46] stops soon thank you thank
[43:52] you Jamaica miles
[44:08] good evening I wasn't actually quite
[44:10] sure if I was going to speak tonight so
[44:12] I didn't write anything you're getting
[44:13] me off the
[44:15] cuff we are in a moment in
[44:18] history and I hope that at this point
[44:21] everyone's able to see
[44:22] it for those of us that actually study
[44:25] history
[44:27] Civil Rights era the fight against
[44:29] slavery there are reoccurring
[44:32] themes college campuses across the US
[44:35] are standing up and boycotting and
[44:38] protesting we saw that during the Civil
[44:40] Rights era we saw that the call to end a
[44:43] part tide in South
[44:46] Africa we are facing many challenges in
[44:49] this country and there is a
[44:51] convergence just like we've seen in the
[44:53] past we're fighting for women's rights
[44:55] again
[44:57] just like we did then we're fighting for
[44:59] an end to a part tide just in someplace
[45:02] else just like we did then we're still
[45:05] fighting for housing and workers rights
[45:08] and all of these things yet
[45:10] again so my question to each and every
[45:14] one of
[45:15] you which side are you
[45:18] on which side are you
[45:24] on because the books will be written the
[45:28] stories will be
[45:30] told and where will your name fall on
[45:32] that
[45:33] ledger thank
[45:40] you thank you Paul
[45:49] Milton Madam president I'm going to
[45:51] change topics a little bit just for a
[45:53] second I'll be brief sure um my name is
[45:56] Paul Melton I'm the president and CEO at
[45:58] Ellis medicine uh I do want to do two
[46:01] things tonight uh one I went to the
[46:04] website and looked at the committee
[46:06] agenda for last week and there was a an
[46:09] item that said encouraging St Peter's
[46:11] Health Partners and Ellis medicine
[46:13] Administration to settle a fair contract
[46:16] with uh Nisa I just want to make it
[46:20] clear for you that Ellis and St Peters
[46:25] are separate entities
[46:27] uh they're not working together on this
[46:31] topic here uh we have a management
[46:33] agreement approved by the state
[46:35] department of health of the state of New
[46:37] York uh Ellis gets a chief medical
[46:40] officer and a chief operating officer
[46:42] from that we have three things we're not
[46:44] allowed to talk about one we're not
[46:47] allow allowed to do joint programs
[46:49] together and message that to the public
[46:52] number two we're not able to talk about
[46:54] rates with insurance companies that's
[46:57] off limits and number three we're not
[46:59] allowed to talk about wages that would
[47:01] be collusion so those are three things
[47:04] that are very specific that we're not
[47:06] allowed to talk about in a management
[47:08] agreement we are two separate
[47:12] entities um so I want that to be clear
[47:15] wasn't represented correctly in the
[47:17] media as well but I wanted you to know
[47:19] that the second is and this goes back to
[47:24] co I thank you and our team thanks the
[47:28] uh Council for all of your support uh
[47:31] it's a privilege for us to take care of
[47:33] the people of skincity and try to meet
[47:35] their health needs and it's the whole
[47:38] team it's Tech it's therapists it's Food
[47:42] Service workers it's nurses and doctors
[47:45] it's the board it's the management team
[47:48] so I really appreciate your interest to
[47:51] support Ellis as we take care of people
[47:54] in this community in addition to the
[47:56] nurses I do orientation with new
[47:59] employees every two weeks and one of the
[48:02] first things I say is that the nurses
[48:05] are the backbone of Ellis they're the
[48:07] backbone of any Hospital in this country
[48:10] every every hospital in this country is
[48:13] struggling to find enough nurses we're
[48:16] very proud of the blander School of
[48:18] Nursing we have our largest class coming
[48:21] in this year 91 students we also in the
[48:26] last 8 18 months have had 50 nurses
[48:29] return to Ellis to work that had left
[48:32] we're proud of the wages we pay which
[48:35] are some of the highest in the region
[48:37] and we're very proud of the benefit
[48:39] package that we have which is also very
[48:42] competitive and highest in the region so
[48:45] I just want to clarify that for the
[48:47] record as we go forward and thank you
[48:50] for your support of Ellis as we take
[48:52] care of people in this community thank
[48:54] you thank you
[49:03] Tom
[49:19] Kennedy good
[49:21] evening Chief Marino City Council
[49:24] Members I said I would be back um to
[49:28] talk about an issue
[49:31] um of garbage along with W Street and
[49:35] Strong Street I've been meeting with the
[49:38] residents of Wy and uh they've told me
[49:42] uh quite a few stories about the ongoing
[49:45] dumping that's been going on there the
[49:47] different problems that they're having
[49:49] on their street uh interesting enough I
[49:52] received the call yesterday that uh Miss
[49:55] Porterfield you've been interested in my
[49:57] whereabouts on Wy Street and talking to
[50:00] people funny um I I thought that was
[50:04] kind of interesting you could have
[50:06] called me if you were wondering who I
[50:08] was meeting with and when but you chose
[50:10] not to and I understand that uh but one
[50:14] of the things
[50:15] that well not one there's a few things
[50:18] that would resolve this problem very
[50:20] quickly video surveillance more lighting
[50:24] and enforcement when people see people
[50:26] dumping
[50:27] on that street pretty simple stuff um
[50:32] there's been some talk and Mr Williams
[50:34] contact he's here tonight Williams
[50:36] contacted me to want to talk about this
[50:39] we haven't had finished those
[50:41] conversations yet but um one of the
[50:44] things that I disagree with this is not
[50:47] a resident issue uh we agree with mayor
[50:51] McCarthy mayor McCarthy very clear is
[50:54] that could be dangerous this garbage has
[50:57] been dumped there for years and years um I would not send any
[51:01] Resident down on that embankment or
[51:04] anywhere around there because we don't
[51:05] know what's down there um the residents
[51:08] tell me there's all kinds of huge rats
[51:09] running around uh we don't know what's
[51:12] been dumped there whether it's hasm
[51:13] material whether it's uh dangerous to
[51:16] people uh trying to pick it up so it's
[51:18] not as simple as rolling in these roll
[51:21] tops and filling them up full of crap
[51:23] you know it's it's garbage and it's it's
[51:25] dangerous some some damage carment so um
[51:28] I would say that as we advocated before
[51:32] uh you have money in the leftover from
[51:35] arpa I know you have some pet projects
[51:37] you're trying to get across the board
[51:39] however um I really believe that this
[51:43] could be money spent that would help all
[51:47] of city of skincity whether it's you
[51:49] know the the the look coming into our
[51:51] city in the winter as you as we all know
[51:54] it's going to be overgrown pretty soon
[51:55] and people aren't going to see it but
[51:56] that doesn't mean the garbage ain't
[51:58] there and not only that that um
[52:02] the the people on Wy Street deserve a
[52:05] decent place to live as well as strong
[52:08] Street and tomorrow we're going to be
[52:10] releasing some more pictures of that
[52:12] area um to the media and
[52:16] uh I just think that if there is a ways
[52:20] and means of fixing this we do it now we
[52:23] have the funding let's get it done and
[52:26] I'm calling on this city council to put
[52:29] aside their pet projects and put the
[52:31] people of sanctity first thank you thank
[52:35] you Dr
[52:47] shakima good evening um just like
[52:50] Jamaica I don't have anything uh
[52:52] pre-written uh but I would like to bring
[52:56] all the faith together and this is
[52:58] something that we believe in as Muslims
[53:00] God says and whoever Saves a Life as if
[53:04] it save the entire humanity and this was
[53:07] stated by one of our previous speakers
[53:10] who happens to be a Jew and then I'm
[53:12] going to quote Dr May who happens to be
[53:15] the executive director for the churches
[53:17] for Middle East peace she said it seems
[53:20] that we're not winning the battle of the
[53:24] hearts and she calls it the prophethood
[53:29] message meaning the clear message that
[53:32] we're all here trying to save lives some
[53:34] people
[53:35] unfortunately in the political
[53:38] Arena the heart is not there the
[53:41] conscience is not there I mentioned this
[53:43] before I said this resolution will tell
[53:45] us who are the representatives and who
[53:48] are the
[53:49] politicians and as we are here the third
[53:52] time it seems like we are getting a
[53:54] better image and I'm going to paraphrase
[53:57] what was mentioned earlier it's very
[53:59] interesting that people came here and
[54:00] spoke at the podium and refer to saving
[54:03] what we have left of
[54:05] buildings yet this is the third time
[54:08] we're coming here talking about saving
[54:11] what we have left of human lives our
[54:15] message is clear we are here asking for
[54:19] the lives to be saved and I'm going to
[54:22] mention this it's an honor to work with
[54:25] everybody from all walks of life but one
[54:28] thing that has been a little
[54:31] bit hijacked I would say but some who
[54:35] are still saying this is not our call
[54:37] and they're saying this is a one-sided
[54:40] thing let's pretend that there are no
[54:42] Palestinians in Gaza you have Israeli
[54:45] hostages who are starving you have
[54:48] Israeli hostages who are being
[54:51] bombed can you dare and stand and say
[54:53] this is not my
[54:55] business to the Jews to the Israelis and
[54:58] dare I say even to the zionists who say
[55:00] we are here more interested in the
[55:03] hostages who are being held in Gaza
[55:05] because if there's no ceasefire these
[55:08] same hostages have been and will
[55:10] continue to be sharing the same fate as
[55:13] the Palestinians who are being killed in
[55:16] the
[55:18] thousands and for anyone who is using
[55:20] the Border as an excuse that's the most
[55:24] cowardly call to say
[55:26] this is not a connected issue this is a
[55:30] very connected issue because we as
[55:33] taxpayers we are paying for the bombs
[55:36] that are being used to kill everyone in
[55:39] Gaza Palestinians and Israelis who are
[55:43] being held hostages our tax money is
[55:46] being used to blockade and Siege Gaza
[55:51] where we have Palestinians and Israelis
[55:54] sharing the same fate
[55:56] and this impacts each and every one of
[55:58] us in this same city because when we
[56:02] preach we tell people to care about
[56:04] everyone and if you say that the Border
[56:07] makes somebody
[56:08] different I don't know where Humanity
[56:10] will be thank you thank
[56:14] [Applause]
[56:17] you Melissa
[56:19] McKennon Melissa mcon
[56:26] good evening and thank you um I am here
[56:29] tonight just to offer an appreciation
[56:33] for the Arbor Day resolution and um the
[56:37] Arbor Day event that's coming up this
[56:39] Friday I work as Farms Outreach
[56:42] coordinator for the Sycamore
[56:45] collaborative uh so I'm part of veale
[56:47] urban farm and um we're happy to have
[56:51] people come by Friday between 5: and 700
[56:54] p.m. in into Veil Farm which is right
[56:57] off of Brandy Wine Avenue you turn into
[57:00] veale Cemetery so I'm we're excited the
[57:03] city will be there DEC relief will be
[57:05] there retri SKC EOS SKC Soil and Water
[57:10] SKC Master Gardeners and we'll be
[57:13] talking to people about how to take care
[57:15] of trees what to think of when planting
[57:18] trees answering people's questions will
[57:21] have people doing tree
[57:22] identification and I guess I was just
[57:24] thinking about two in light of what
[57:27] folks have been sharing
[57:29] tonight uh you know trees are important
[57:31] for so many reasons and our fruit and
[57:35] nut Orchards they're Community Orchards
[57:38] so they're fairly newly
[57:40] planted and we are an Interfaith
[57:43] organization doing this work and we've
[57:46] seen how powerfully it can be when we
[57:49] work together growing far um on these
[57:51] farms and raising fruit and nuts in The
[57:54] Orchards the opportunity ities for
[57:56] building uh
[57:58] conversations um and for providing space
[58:01] for that too so thank you and we're just
[58:04] we're looking forward to
[58:06] Friday thank
[58:08] you Robert
[58:18] Sanders good evening Madame President
[58:21] good evening council members my name is
[58:24] Robert Sanders um I just want to touch
[58:27] on a couple things one gentleman who
[58:30] spoke was very eloquent about what's
[58:32] happening over in the Middle East and
[58:34] two weeks ago you might have heard me
[58:35] speak and one gentleman who just got up
[58:39] who's talking about the Border over a
[58:41] million us people have died from drugs
[58:45] coming across that border and he said
[58:47] that's not an issue that's an American
[58:50] issue okay and then I hear about
[58:53] genocide how this is genocide okay okay
[58:56] now I know if we go into Africa and
[58:58] Sudan and to other countries we got a
[59:01] half a million people dying right now I
[59:03] don't see America pledging Aid going
[59:05] over there I'm not for aid for Russia
[59:08] for Ukraine for Israel or for Palestine
[59:10] anyone that money needs to stay here in
[59:14] the United States you know we had 20,000
[59:18] people die in one day in
[59:22] Normandy okay and I know there's
[59:25] terrible things happening and I
[59:28] understand that but I do understand that
[59:31] this is the United States of America
[59:34] people came here because they wanted to
[59:36] be free they wanted to have their right
[59:38] to speak their you know their own choice
[59:41] if you want something in Palestine if
[59:43] you want something in Israel Ukraine or
[59:45] Russia go there help them that's how a
[59:49] lot of people feel about it we have
[59:51] problems right here in this very Country
[59:55] and you
[59:57] know that that's the root to everything
[59:59] is I don't want to see anyone die nobody
[1:00:02] wants to see War I'm totally against War
[1:00:05] I don't know why people just can't live
[1:00:07] in peace and like one gentleman said you know just put this in God's hands I
[1:00:13] mean God has always helped us through
[1:00:15] things and no matter who you are what
[1:00:18] color you are race color creed or
[1:00:20] religion you know God will be the
[1:00:23] determining Factor here but it goes to
[1:00:26] the bar back to every everything here I
[1:00:28] pledge allegiance to the flag of the
[1:00:30] United States of
[1:00:33] America okay and I don't have to say the
[1:00:35] whole thing we already did that but we
[1:00:37] know what's what I do believe that
[1:00:41] everybody has the right to speak but
[1:00:44] America is and connecti needs to put
[1:00:48] itself first thank
[1:00:49] you thank
[1:00:52] you Sam clay
[1:01:00] hello city council my name is Sam CL
[1:01:03] lifelong resident skty former employee
[1:01:05] of
[1:01:06] skincity I was uh unjustly terminated
[1:01:09] back in 2003 after a cooworker struck me
[1:01:13] with a truck in 2001 I've been putting
[1:01:17] applications getting no responses from
[1:01:19] anyone
[1:01:22] um I had a u my last application I put
[1:01:25] in was
[1:01:26] in October 20 on October 20
[1:01:29] 2023 I had a brief interview with uh
[1:01:31] Chris who's the acting um commissioner I
[1:01:34] think he is we had a brief interview
[1:01:37] haven't heard anything back from him
[1:01:39] I've called the mayor I've come to the
[1:01:41] mayor's office and left messages for him
[1:01:44] to contact me no response from him
[1:01:46] either I've spoken to
[1:01:49] um I think it's his direct secretary
[1:01:52] Michelle Carr and she told me the city's
[1:01:56] not
[1:01:57] hiring and I said I put my application
[1:01:59] in last year I was here two weeks ago I
[1:02:02] didn't get a chance to speak CU I was
[1:02:03] late but I went over to the finance
[1:02:06] department they still have a posting for
[1:02:08] the position that I appli
[1:02:11] to
[1:02:13] so I would like someone to contact me
[1:02:16] and let me know what's going on why I
[1:02:17] keep getting to runaround about getting
[1:02:19] employment with the city that unjustly
[1:02:21] terminated me they also told me Carl
[1:02:25] Olen to be exact back in uh
[1:02:28] 2004 he told me I was returning back to
[1:02:31] my employment with the city never gave
[1:02:34] me a a start date back to work so what
[1:02:36] am I supposed to do just sit and wait
[1:02:38] for somebody to call me my life doesn't
[1:02:40] stop no one's life
[1:02:42] stops so I have to keep moving forward
[1:02:46] but at the same time I will keep
[1:02:47] applying because I could have retired
[1:02:50] after 20 years working for this city but
[1:02:52] I would have continued because I was not
[1:02:54] of age to retire then
[1:02:56] so all I'm asking is for someone to call
[1:02:59] me back whether it's City Council
[1:03:01] Members the mayor someone in the uh
[1:03:04] Department there and we sit down and
[1:03:06] have a meeting discuss everything thank
[1:03:08] you thank
[1:03:11] you Frank
[1:03:22] Wicks okay yeah thank you and appreciate
[1:03:26] the ability to be
[1:03:28] here uh ear October 7th could not have
[1:03:34] happened if Israel had know guarded the
[1:03:39] wall that they built to enforce the
[1:03:43] apartheid uh better security would keep
[1:03:46] it from happening again so this entire
[1:03:48] war in Gaza is a blood bath that's not
[1:03:52] necessary uh
[1:03:57] the the the the war in Gaza is is
[1:04:01] actually to steal all the
[1:04:04] territory from the uh Jordan River to
[1:04:07] the Mediterranean which requires just
[1:04:10] killing uh the Palestinians or forcing
[1:04:15] their forcing them to live somewhere
[1:04:17] else where they have nowhere to
[1:04:21] go just additional comments here uh
[1:04:25] here's the fourth time I've been here at
[1:04:27] this meeting no calling for the uh unit
[1:04:30] for concy to be on the right side of
[1:04:33] History to support a ceasefire in uh in
[1:04:37] Gaza and
[1:04:40] Palestine mean we've written four
[1:04:42] letters to The Gazette and over things
[1:04:46] keep on getting
[1:04:49] worse and note I'm I'm not Jewish I'm
[1:04:52] not Israeli I'm not Muslim I'm not
[1:04:55] Palestinian
[1:04:56] uh is more a matter of no right it's a
[1:05:00] matter of right or
[1:05:04] wrong and I I've been active in
[1:05:08] connecting for 62 years I say
[1:05:11] anti-Semitism may happen here but in my
[1:05:14] 62 years here I've never observed it
[1:05:17] know I think find people and disconnect
[1:05:18] to get along with each
[1:05:23] other okay so the opposed resolution to
[1:05:27] stop our country from supplying the
[1:05:30] weapons and support to Israel for
[1:05:33] killing and starving and forc relocation
[1:05:36] of innocent Palestinians and murdering
[1:05:38] the courageous members of the press and
[1:05:42] peacekeepers uh should be should be
[1:05:45] simple uh in fact our Jewish no
[1:05:49] secretary leader of the Senate is now
[1:05:52] noted that Israel has lost its way
[1:05:58] uh and
[1:06:01] uh so I'd say and I also say the most
[1:06:05] effective you know persons for resolving
[1:06:08] the situation are the uh members of the
[1:06:11] Jewish Community the uh Jewish voices
[1:06:14] for peace uh not in our name there a 16
[1:06:18] anti
[1:06:19] Zion
[1:06:21] uh Jewish organizations listed in
[1:06:24] Wikipedia so there the people that know
[1:06:26] best what know the situation and what
[1:06:28] they're saying and finally the the
[1:06:32] future ought to be ultimately take down
[1:06:34] the wall what is what happened in
[1:06:36] Germany and what happened in South
[1:06:38] Africa okay thank you thank
[1:06:45] you I have no one else signed up to
[1:06:47] speak so I declare the public comment of
[1:06:49] City business
[1:06:51] closed this time we'll have any
[1:06:52] miscellaneous business of the council
[1:06:55] Mr
[1:07:06] Williams thank
[1:07:08] you just for
[1:07:10] tonight
[1:07:12] statement thank you to everyone who
[1:07:14] shared their thoughts opinions and
[1:07:16] concerns tonight I'd like to take a
[1:07:18] moment to address the ongoing comments
[1:07:20] related to calls for a ceasefire within
[1:07:22] Gaza from
[1:07:23] body this is one that has deep religious
[1:07:27] and emotional connections with many
[1:07:29] residents in our community requiring
[1:07:31] attention in detail when identifying and
[1:07:33] appropriate and effective course of
[1:07:35] action from the onset divides have
[1:07:38] lengthened amongst pro-israeli and pro
[1:07:40] Palestinian supporters often
[1:07:42] categorizing opponents as antic
[1:07:46] respective there is undeniably true pain
[1:07:48] being Afflicted on innocent lives whose
[1:07:51] suffering I can't I can't
[1:07:53] capture and yet that statement alone
[1:07:56] solicits varying responses based on your
[1:07:59] personal connection and
[1:08:01] recents let me be clear I emphatically
[1:08:04] stand with the preservation of life
[1:08:06] especially those of innocent children
[1:08:08] and it's apparent that there is immense
[1:08:10] suffering on both sides in the
[1:08:12] conversations that I've had with local
[1:08:14] Advocates I've recognized that third
[1:08:16] party accounts and our inability As
[1:08:18] Leaders to move Beyond st's positions
[1:08:20] toward the point of civil discourse has
[1:08:22] not
[1:08:23] been whatever respons as a community it
[1:08:27] must the dialogue dialog crafting a true
[1:08:30] resolution persective of our diverse
[1:08:33] Community or dialogue and calling for
[1:08:35] Progressive conversations from our
[1:08:37] faith-based leaders that protects the
[1:08:39] sanctity of life for all
[1:08:41] santies the ongoing conflict within the
[1:08:43] Middle East is one of immense complexity
[1:08:46] and although my words counter resolve
[1:08:49] this International tragedy my position
[1:08:51] remains with those actively engaging to
[1:08:53] forge a path of
[1:08:57] thank
[1:08:58] [Applause]
[1:09:02] you any other council
[1:09:05] members hey chief Marino is sitting in
[1:09:08] for the mayor
[1:09:09] tonight
[1:09:11] Chief I would like to just uh talk a
[1:09:14] little bit about an event that will be
[1:09:16] happening on May 18th of this year it's
[1:09:19] called sound the alarm and sound the
[1:09:22] alarm is uh sponsored by the Red Cross
[1:09:25] red C uh the SKC fire department will be
[1:09:28] working with the Red Cross and with many
[1:09:30] volunteers on that day going to a couple
[1:09:34] of designated neighborhoods in the city
[1:09:37] to people that have signed up uh to have
[1:09:40] us go to their homes do an assessment of
[1:09:44] their home to see if they have the
[1:09:46] proper number of smoke alarms and then
[1:09:49] we will install free of charge smoke
[1:09:52] alarms to those homes and then also sit
[1:09:55] with the residents to have a little uh
[1:09:59] education of fire safety this year we'll
[1:10:03] be going to the Hamilton Hill
[1:10:05] Neighborhood and the veale neighborhood
[1:10:07] it is a great event I encourage anyone
[1:10:10] that is interested in
[1:10:11] participating either as a
[1:10:14] volunteer or someone that would like
[1:10:17] their home to be evaluated to uh uh
[1:10:21] check the connected fire department's
[1:10:24] Facebook Facebook page within the next
[1:10:26] week we'll have more information or go
[1:10:28] directly to the Red Cross page and
[1:10:32] they'll have information on sound the
[1:10:33] alarm now we are doing the two residents
[1:10:36] the two neighborhoods Hamilton Hill and
[1:10:39] Vale but that doesn't mean that other
[1:10:42] families in the city are not eligible
[1:10:45] they can contact the uh Red Cross
[1:10:48] directly and they will make an
[1:10:50] appointment to come specifically to that
[1:10:52] home
[1:10:55] so smoke alarms save lives fire doubles
[1:11:00] every minute so it is extremely
[1:11:03] important for anyone that has an issue
[1:11:06] in their home to be notified
[1:11:09] quickly you have an adequate number of
[1:11:11] smoke alarms your chances of getting out
[1:11:14] of a home that's on fire increase
[1:11:17] tremendously so
[1:11:19] please go to the Red Cross check out
[1:11:22] connected's home page or Facebook page
[1:11:25] and if you would like to volunteer
[1:11:27] please do so if you need a smoke alarm
[1:11:29] please go there and sign up thank you Chief uh first of all I have a
[1:11:35] few Community announcements as was uh
[1:11:38] previously said there's a Arbor Day
[1:11:40] celebration at the veil Farms on Fair
[1:11:42] Avenue from 5: to 7: where our
[1:11:45] resolution will be presented and also on
[1:11:48] Saturday there's multiple cleanups
[1:11:49] across the city uh there's four
[1:11:52] neighborhoods that have sent in
[1:11:53] information so I'm just going to provide
[1:11:54] you with that uh Goose Hill Neighborhood
[1:11:57] um cleanup will start at Simon's park at
[1:11:59] 8:00 a.m. for you early risers they'll
[1:12:02] be there from 8 to two the Hamilton Hill
[1:12:05] Neighborhood will be doing a cleanup as
[1:12:06] well that starts at 10: and ends at 2
[1:12:09] and the meeting place is Jerry barell
[1:12:11] Park the boulevard appreciation
[1:12:13] neighborhood association bana uh will be
[1:12:15] cleaning up the centeral alley east
[1:12:18] alley and west alley and that begin the
[1:12:20] they begin at 10:00 a.m. and their
[1:12:22] meeting place is the Cal Calvary
[1:12:24] orthodox presid larian Church on Rugby
[1:12:27] Road and then finally the Upper Union
[1:12:29] Street will also be doing a cleanup from
[1:12:31] 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. and they are
[1:12:34] going to be meeting at BR breuggers
[1:12:35] Bagels on uh Union Street and that will
[1:12:38] be rain or shine so anyone can come out
[1:12:42] to help with that that would be great
[1:12:44] and uh then I'd like to thank everyone
[1:12:46] for coming out to tonight to speak to
[1:12:48] whatever the um topic was that you came
[1:12:50] to speak about and we some of us in any
[1:12:54] case have been talking and meeting with
[1:12:56] members of the community regarding the
[1:12:59] proposed resolution and first of all I
[1:13:01] want to make one thing clear it was
[1:13:03] stated by people from uh both
[1:13:06] perspectives that we were open or I I'll
[1:13:09] speak let me speak for myself that I was
[1:13:10] open to only speaking to one group
[1:13:13] versus the other well that in fact is
[1:13:15] not true and so I am open and have been
[1:13:18] having those conversations with
[1:13:19] individuals who represent uh different
[1:13:22] viewpoints on this particular issue it's
[1:13:25] what I said from the beginning it's what
[1:13:26] I'll continue to say that I'm always
[1:13:28] open for
[1:13:30] conversation and what I will say also is
[1:13:33] I'm if you haven't already are you
[1:13:35] speaking to your federal Representatives
[1:13:36] your congressmen your two senators I
[1:13:39] believe that all of us locally don't
[1:13:41] want any more bombing we want the
[1:13:42] release of
[1:13:43] hostages and we definitely want human
[1:13:46] humanitarian Aid there was a speaker
[1:13:49] tonight that talked about President
[1:13:50] Nelson Mandela and what he was able to
[1:13:53] do and part of the reason that he was
[1:13:54] able to to do that was because he spoke
[1:13:56] to the people who would have been
[1:13:58] considered his
[1:14:00] enemies so what I am asking and
[1:14:04] imploring you to do you've asked us to
[1:14:06] sign a resolution for um for a ceasefire
[1:14:09] and just so you know I did read through
[1:14:11] the resolution entirely and a lot of it
[1:14:13] calls for humanitarian Aid every council
[1:14:15] member was sent that um was that sent
[1:14:17] that resolution it called for
[1:14:19] humanitarian Aid and many things there
[1:14:21] are some amendments to it that I would
[1:14:24] make and and um but at this point in
[1:14:26] time we're not there where uh the
[1:14:28] resolution has actually been presented
[1:14:30] as to go on the agenda of of the
[1:14:34] council more
[1:14:36] locally through the these discussions it
[1:14:38] seems to me there's a very large divide
[1:14:40] in our community something we have
[1:14:43] worked for over the years that I've been
[1:14:45] a member of the council and even a
[1:14:46] member of the community even before that
[1:14:48] when my mother was working in the
[1:14:50] community and that's went for that goes
[1:14:51] a number of years back where the
[1:14:53] community collectively were working
[1:14:55] looking for a common
[1:14:57] goal and what is what's going on right
[1:14:59] now I'm seeing a more of a divide in our
[1:15:01] community
[1:15:03] locally which is troubling because after
[1:15:06] it's all said and done we're all going
[1:15:07] to still live here and we're all going
[1:15:09] to have to start still work
[1:15:11] together so as you as I often say how
[1:15:15] you see it depends on where you sit and
[1:15:17] from where I sit I'm
[1:15:19] imploring individuals who have the
[1:15:21] different perspectives I can't I can't
[1:15:23] force you in the room together but I
[1:15:25] implore you to really try to um have
[1:15:28] those discussions there that is creating
[1:15:31] this deep divide
[1:15:33] locally I spoke to uh an individual here
[1:15:36] this this afternoon who's working with
[1:15:38] clergy against hate and I know that all
[1:15:39] of you know that group uh who said that
[1:15:42] they are trying to uh and have spoken
[1:15:45] with the Imam as well as the rabbi in in
[1:15:48] order to try to bring people together to
[1:15:50] discuss
[1:15:53] this I know that you're looking for a
[1:15:55] resolution from the city
[1:15:58] council I know that there are there is
[1:16:01] some consideration of if if the
[1:16:04] resolution spoke to ending violence and
[1:16:07] giving humanitarian Aid which is
[1:16:08] something actually that pres excuse me
[1:16:10] that Congressman tono um was asking for
[1:16:13] in a press release that he recently sent
[1:16:15] out sent out I cannot commit to you that
[1:16:18] there will be a um resolution that will
[1:16:21] specifically speak to ceasefire I cannot
[1:16:23] commit that commit um to that from this
[1:16:26] Council based on just the input all of
[1:16:29] you most most of you have spoken to
[1:16:32] someone and have made your positions
[1:16:35] clear
[1:16:37] so um we if you want to continue to come
[1:16:39] and I know that Imam Jamal said they
[1:16:41] will continue to come and we will
[1:16:42] definitely um continue to listen but
[1:16:45] again if I if there would be an opportunity and I
[1:16:50] know the city council can't convene this
[1:16:52] and I think it needs to be convened
[1:16:53] among Faith leaders to actually have
[1:16:55] this conversation so locally we can work
[1:16:59] together to come to um a common
[1:17:04] understanding and I and you know I'm not
[1:17:06] saying that
[1:17:09] um that it's going to be perfect but I
[1:17:12] definitely think we have to try to work
[1:17:14] together right now because I feel like
[1:17:16] our community is becoming more and more
[1:17:17] divided as we try
[1:17:20] to come to a place where we can
[1:17:23] understand each other's pain because
[1:17:25] there's a lot of pain right here there's
[1:17:27] a lot of pain locally there's a lot of
[1:17:29] pain overseas but I can't ask you enough
[1:17:32] that we really have to come together and
[1:17:34] have this these discussions to try to
[1:17:37] come to a a consensus of what we are
[1:17:40] willing to provide in terms of
[1:17:43] support for the for what is going on in
[1:17:46] Gaza in the Middle East so um I I had
[1:17:50] some uh remarks that they had prepared
[1:17:53] however this is from what I'm hearing
[1:17:55] today what is in my heart that we really
[1:17:57] have to work together people um I I I
[1:18:00] don't know what else to say about that I
[1:18:03] um again welcome any the continued
[1:18:05] conversations and to see what we can do
[1:18:08] to work through this as a council
[1:18:10] because I think maybe we should have
[1:18:12] discussions as well um and see you know
[1:18:16] where where it I don't want to say where
[1:18:19] it ends up because that's probably not
[1:18:20] the best use uh the best term but what
[1:18:23] we can do collectively to support our
[1:18:26] local community and support the people
[1:18:28] who live here who are feeling the pain
[1:18:31] as we are of what's going
[1:18:33] on and with that um I'll entertain a
[1:18:37] motion to adjourn move by Miss Patrick
[1:18:40] second by Mr Williams all those in favor
[1:18:42] I we are adjourned thank you