[1:04] Good evening. I'd like to call to order
[1:05] this Schenectady City Caucus meeting for
[1:07] Monday, April 13th, 2026.
[1:10] There are 24 items for original
[1:12] consideration. The clerk could please
[1:14] read. Item number one.
[1:16] for original
[1:17] consideration, an ordinance adding the
[1:19] definition of battery energy energy
[1:21] storage systems to section 264-2 of the
[1:25] Schenectady Zoning Code and amending
[1:27] schedule B of chapter 264 of the Zoning
[1:30] Code to allow battery energy storage
[1:32] systems per specified standards.
[1:36] Pass out of committee, non-consent. Item
[1:37] number two. Item number two for original
[1:40] consideration, a resolution declaring
[1:41] the battery energy storage system as a
[1:44] type two action and is not subject to
[1:46] the Environmental State Quality Review
[1:48] Act.
[1:49] Pass out of committee, non-consent. Item
[1:51] number three. Item number three for
[1:53] original consideration, a resolution
[1:54] calling for a public hearing to amend
[1:56] section 9-6 of the Schenectady City Code
[1:59] to increase the membership of the
[2:00] Downtown Special Assessment District
[2:02] Board from nine to 15 members and to
[2:05] amend such membership qualifications.
[2:09] Pass out of committee, non-consent. Item
[2:10] number four. Item number four for
[2:12] original consideration, a resolution
[2:14] authorizing the mayor to enter into
[2:16] intermunicipal cooperation agreement
[2:18] with Schenectady County for the
[2:20] distribution of funding awarded by the
[2:22] New York State Division of Criminal
[2:24] Justice Services to support local
[2:26] enforcement agencies. Pass out of
[2:28] committee, non-consent. Item number
[2:29] five. Item number five for original
[2:31] consideration, a resolution authorizing
[2:33] the mayor to sign a proposal with the New York State
[2:37] Empire State Development Connectivity
[2:39] Mobile Service Incentive.
[2:41] Pass out of committee, non-consent. Item
[2:43] number six.
[2:43] >> Item number six for original
[2:45] consideration, a resolution authorizing
[2:47] the mayor to sign a collective
[2:48] bargaining agreement between the City of
[2:50] Schenectady and Local 28 Schenectady
[2:52] Paid Firefighters.
[2:55] Pass out of committee, non-consent. Item
[2:56] number seven. Item number seven for
[2:58] original consideration, a resolution
[3:00] authorizing the revised green fees and
[3:02] rates at the Schenectady Municipal Golf
[3:04] Course.
[3:05] Pass out of committee, non-consent. Item
[3:06] number eight. Item number eight for
[3:08] original consideration, a resolution
[3:10] amending resolution 2022-009
[3:13] and 2022-224
[3:16] to recapture American Funding
[3:19] Rescue Plan Act funds from the
[3:22] Duryee Foundation Self-Sufficiency
[3:24] Project Transitional Housing Initiative.
[3:27] Pass out of committee, non-consent. Item
[3:28] number nine. Item number nine for
[3:31] original consideration, a resolution
[3:32] confirming the appointments to the CPRB.
[3:35] This item is being removed and returned
[3:37] back to committee for further
[3:38] discussion. Item number 10. Item number
[3:41] 10 for original consideration, a
[3:42] resolution reappointing Richard E.
[3:44] Yeager to the Board of Assessment
[3:46] Review. Discuss out of committee,
[3:47] non-consent. Item number 11. Item number
[3:50] 11 for original consideration, a
[3:51] resolution authorizing the mayor to
[3:53] appoint two individuals to the Downtown
[3:56] Schenectady Improvement Corporation.
[3:58] Discuss out of committee, non-consent.
[3:59] Item number 12. Item number 12 for
[4:01] original consideration, a resolution
[4:03] authorizing the sale of vacant lot on 22
[4:05] McClellan Street for $11,300.
[4:08] Discuss out of committee, non-consent.
[4:10] Item number 13. Item number 13 for
[4:12] original consideration, a resolution
[4:14] authorizing the sale of vacant lot on
[4:16] 376 Hoosick Street for $2,000.
[4:19] Discuss out of committee, non-consent.
[4:20] Item number 14. Item number 14 for
[4:22] original consideration, a resolution
[4:25] rescinding resolution 2026-018.
[4:28] Discuss out of committee, non-consent.
[4:30] Item number 15. Item number 15 for
[4:32] original consideration, a resolution
[4:34] authorizing the sale of 814 Bedford Road
[4:36] for $60,000.
[4:38] Discuss out of committee, non-consent.
[4:40] Item number 16. Item number 16 for
[4:42] original consideration, a resolution
[4:43] authorizing the sale of a vacant lot on
[4:45] 1080 Helderberg Avenue for $3,000.
[4:49] Discuss out of committee, non-consent.
[4:51] Item number 17. Item number 17 for
[4:53] original consideration, a resolution
[4:55] authorizing the redemption and
[4:56] withdrawal of 1333 6th Avenue from
[5:00] foreclosure. Discuss out of committee,
[5:01] non-consent. Item number 18. Item number
[5:04] 18 for original consideration, a
[5:05] resolution authorizing the settlement of
[5:07] a claim by Long Pond Village Apartments
[5:09] LLC.
[5:10] Discuss out of committee, non-consent.
[5:12] Item number 19. Item number 19 for
[5:14] original consideration, a resolution
[5:16] recognizing Friday, April 24th, 2026 as
[5:19] Arbor Day in the City of Schenectady.
[5:22] Discuss out of committee and
[5:23] non-consent. This item will be presented
[5:25] at a later date.
[5:26] Item number 20. Item number 20th for
[5:29] original consideration, a resolution
[5:31] recognizing April 22nd, 2026 as Earth
[5:34] Day in the City of Schenectady. Discuss
[5:36] out of committee, non-consent. This item
[5:37] also will be delivered at another date.
[5:39] Item number 21. Item number 21 for
[5:42] original consideration, a resolution
[5:43] recognizing April 2026 as National
[5:46] Poetry Month in the City of Schenectady.
[5:49] Discuss out of committee, non-consent
[5:50] and this item as well will be delivered
[5:52] at a later date. Item number 22. Item
[5:55] number 22 for original consideration, a
[5:56] resolution honoring the Ladies Ancient
[5:58] Order of Hibernians.
[6:00] And this item as well will be delivered
[6:02] at a later date. Discuss out of
[6:03] committee, non-consent. Item number 23.
[6:05] under contract and
[6:07] supply, a resolution awarding the bid
[6:09] and contract for the purchase of Globe
[6:11] Firefighting Jackets and Pants.
[6:14] Discuss out of committee, non-consent.
[6:15] Item number 24. Item number 24 under
[6:17] contract and supply, a resolution
[6:19] awarding the bid and contract for the
[6:21] signage and wayfinding rebid base bid
[6:23] and alternate one to Grafton Data
[6:25] Systems Incorporated in the total amount
[6:27] of $218,482.50.
[6:31] Discuss out of committee, non-consent.
[6:33] There are no further items to come
[6:34] before the City Caucus. May I have a
[6:35] motion to adjourn? Moved by Mr. Toro,
[6:37] seconded by Mr. Mutuviaran. All those in
[6:39] favor? Aye. We are adjourned.
[6:43] I'd like to call to order this
[6:44] Schenectady City Council meeting for
[6:45] Monday, April 13th, 2026. At this time,
[6:48] I would like to ask
[6:50] Council Member Chairs to deliver the
[6:51] invocation followed by Councilman
[6:54] Engert to provide the Pledge of
[6:55] Allegiance.
[7:07] Dear Lord, thank you for this day. Thank
[7:08] you for the opportunity to continue to grow as a city
[7:13] as we continue to work one another.
[7:14] Thank you for the blessings that you
[7:15] delivered to us, a safe weekend of
[7:17] people volunteering allowing the
[7:18] community to come together and to unite
[7:20] themselves as one. We pray that you
[7:22] continue to oversee us and guide us as
[7:24] we know as the legislators in this city,
[7:26] in the state, and all across the country
[7:29] fight all sorts of impunities. We we ask
[7:32] that you continue to guide us to do the
[7:33] right things. In your name we pray.
[7:35] Amen.
[7:38] I pledge allegiance
[7:39] to the flag
[7:40] of the United States of America
[7:43] and to the republic for which it stands,
[7:45] one nation
[7:47] under God,
[7:48] indivisible, with liberty and justice
[7:50] for all.
[7:57] If the clerk could please complete the
[7:58] roll.
[8:02] Mr. Chairs. Present. Mr. Toro. Present.
[8:06] Mr. Engert. Present. Mr. Mutuviaran.
[8:09] Present. Ms. Patrick is absent. Ms.
[8:11] Wiggins. Present. Mr. Williams. Present.
[8:18] I will ask for approval of the minutes
[8:20] for Monday, March 23rd, 2026. Moved by
[8:23] Mr. Chairs, seconded by almost everyone.
[8:26] Mr. Engert. All those in favor? Aye.
[8:30] If the deputy clerk Excuse me. If the
[8:32] clerk can please read any communications
[8:34] and petitions, please.
[8:44] Communications presented to the City
[8:46] Council for Monday, April 13th, 2026.
[8:49] Under official, there were none. Under
[8:51] general general, from Eric Johnson, an
[8:54] email requesting the reallocation of
[8:55] uncommitted ARPA funds up to $950,000
[8:59] to support the Electric City Community
[9:01] Grocery Build Out project due to
[9:03] increased construction costs and
[9:05] outlining the project's anticipated
[9:07] economic and community benefits
[9:08] including job creation and improved
[9:11] access to fresh food. From Maryann
[9:13] Porterfield, an email clarifying
[9:15] that a photo shared at a previous
[9:17] council committee meeting depicted a
[9:19] property clean out by a new owner, not
[9:21] typical household garbage, and
[9:23] expressing support for revising
[9:25] revisiting policies on bulk waste
[9:27] including requiring dumpsters for large
[9:29] clean outs. Under petitions, there were
[9:31] none.
[9:33] Thank you. I'd like to call on any
[9:34] council members to deliver any committee
[9:36] reports.
[9:38] Hearing none, uh we will now have
[9:40] privilege of the floor concerning
[9:41] matters of the legislative agenda.
[9:43] Currently have no one signed up to
[9:44] speak, so I declare public comment on
[9:46] the legislative agenda closed.
[9:53] At this time, I would ask for approval
[9:55] of the legislative consent agenda.
[9:57] So moved. Moved by Ruderman seconded by
[9:58] Ms. Ms. Wiggins. All those in favor I.
[10:03] We will now have privilege of the floor
[10:05] concerning general city business.
[10:08] We have seven individuals sign up to
[10:09] speak. I'd like to remind the public
[10:10] that you have three minutes to speak.
[10:12] First of which will be Ms. Farmer.
[10:20] Good evening. How's everyone?
[10:24] I'm coming today and unfortunately the
[10:26] mayor is not here but
[10:28] >> [clears throat]
[10:29] >> first of all I want to commend the ones
[10:32] that took part in the cleaning of 890
[10:35] this this past weekend.
[10:38] It's a lot of garbage and things but
[10:43] there's still a lot of
[10:46] cleaning that needs to be done in the
[10:48] city of Schenectady.
[10:51] I had called Mike in October. I had
[10:55] walked down to
[10:58] down Lottridge Hill which is by that
[11:00] goes runs into Nott Terrace Street.
[11:03] And all down that area there's couches,
[11:07] there's a toilet, there's garbage and
[11:10] some of the people homeless people live
[11:13] there's a vacant
[11:15] building there that's decayed is falling
[11:18] apart and I called OGS and told them
[11:22] about it and the person that answered
[11:24] the phone it was the guy I can't
[11:26] remember his name but he asked me all
[11:29] the information and he said that he
[11:31] would have somebody go over there and
[11:33] clean it up. To this day it has not been
[11:35] cleaned up.
[11:37] And it's just and you know I'm sure
[11:39] there's rats and everything just
[11:41] crawling all through there and then
[11:43] there's another place over on Albany
[11:46] Street. I think right the fence on the
[11:49] other side is um parent parent um
[11:56] Planned Parenthood and another business
[11:59] but it's on the on the Albany side on
[12:01] the opposite side of the fence. There's
[12:04] garbage all on that area and then if you
[12:08] go into Swan Street and you go at the
[12:13] end of Swan Street going into the
[12:15] cemetery and there's an entrance right
[12:18] there that people walk in and out and
[12:20] there's just garbage all this thrown
[12:22] garbage all over there. And I really
[12:26] think the mayor cuz I have not yet seen
[12:29] him come through any of our
[12:31] neighborhoods. I know not my
[12:32] neighborhood at any time since he's been
[12:34] reelected just to walk around and see
[12:38] all the garbage and how his city looks.
[12:41] He should be disgusted and disappointed
[12:44] about how our our neighborhoods and
[12:47] community is looking. We want people to
[12:49] come here and live and and and raise
[12:52] their children and the city is looking
[12:54] is just nasty and dirty and we really
[12:57] the city really needs to
[13:00] start cleaning up and I know it's it's
[13:03] some of the residents' fault but the
[13:05] city has to take responsibility of all
[13:08] the vacant areas because it's been there
[13:12] and people walk past it and they ride
[13:14] past it and I'm sure some of you
[13:17] probably have rode past it and walked
[13:18] past it and saw it but it needs to be
[13:21] cleaned up. Thank you.
[13:27] Mr. Vince Riggi.
[13:36] Good evening Council President, Council
[13:38] members.
[13:39] First time I've been on this side of the
[13:41] rail since 2011. It's been a while. So
[13:44] I'll remember I had the three minutes
[13:45] was programmed in my head. I'm here to
[13:48] do a little trash talking tonight.
[13:53] Uh three years ago I ran some numbers
[13:56] and I'll give you all a copy of this of
[13:59] costs and revenue out of the waste
[14:01] department.
[14:04] And the bottom line is in 2020 we had a
[14:07] surplus of 1.8 million dollars.
[14:11] In 2021 we had a surplus of 2.5 million
[14:14] dollars.
[14:15] In 2022 we had a surplus of 1.9 million
[14:19] dollars. In 2023 now this was proposed
[14:22] so this must have been for the 24 budget
[14:25] it was 3 million dollars. So just the
[14:28] three years not counting 2023 we had a
[14:31] surplus of 6.3 million dollars.
[14:34] My question is and you should be asking
[14:36] this question where did that money go?
[14:39] Obviously it didn't go for trash. It
[14:42] must have been transferred to another
[14:43] department. We can only guess what
[14:45] happened to it and that's why this fund
[14:47] should be a segregated fund like water
[14:50] and sewer so that money cannot be used
[14:53] for anything else. Right now we're
[14:55] talking about different things for
[14:56] jackpots this and that and the other
[14:58] thing. That's all well and good but the
[15:00] bottom line is about revenue. That's
[15:02] what it's about. Pick up. We have to
[15:04] pick up the trash. How many tons of
[15:06] trash are generated? It has to be picked
[15:08] up. We can't leave it in our house. We
[15:11] can't do anything else with it and why
[15:13] should the people like myself who's been
[15:15] a good citizen and
[15:17] following the rules if I have a party
[15:20] then if I'm not in tier two or tier
[15:22] three or tier four whatever it may be I
[15:25] I'm going to have to go to another tier
[15:27] in order to put out some extra garbage.
[15:30] And then we have certain times of the
[15:31] year like we had this past holiday
[15:34] season where we had about 12 days with
[15:37] no pick up. Two week that happened two
[15:39] times. So we had extra garbage. These
[15:42] are things that have to be thought
[15:43] about. We shouldn't be reinventing the
[15:45] wheel cuz when you do that we're going
[15:48] to have a square wheel that's not going
[15:49] to roll very well down the road and
[15:51] that's where we're heading. I can see
[15:53] what's happening. There's so much things
[15:55] that have to be done or are are just not
[15:58] being done and the bottom line though
[16:00] and I'm going to give you all a copy of
[16:02] this. Please look at these numbers.
[16:04] I have it all the line items out of the
[16:07] budgets. It's there so this isn't made
[16:09] up or anything and I want you to please
[16:11] look at these and we were generating
[16:15] revenue out of the waste department.
[16:17] That shouldn't be. It shouldn't be a
[16:18] money making thing. That's for sure.
[16:20] That's not what it's about and we should
[16:22] be funding other departments with money
[16:24] that should be used for trash. So now
[16:26] we're talking about maybe a capital
[16:28] expense to buy cans and cans last week
[16:31] it was windy in Bellevue. I'm going to
[16:33] tell you and I think one or two council
[16:35] members they were on it. They were
[16:37] blowing all over the road. Some people
[16:39] they're working they can't bring them in
[16:41] right away or some people don't bring
[16:43] them in anyhow. They'll leave it out
[16:44] there for two or three days. So these
[16:46] are all things to consider. Don't
[16:48] reinvent the wheel. I don't have any
[16:50] access to my backyard in the winter time
[16:52] so a can for me I have no way of getting
[16:54] it out front again. I have a can on my
[16:57] back porch. I take the bag out and I
[16:58] bring it out front. That's what I do.
[17:00] Wouldn't I'm sure I'm not the only one
[17:02] like that. I'm 80 years old. You know I
[17:04] can't keep doing this and I'm not going
[17:05] to be dragging I can't make a path to my
[17:08] backyard cuz I have no way to get back
[17:09] there. I need you to summarize.
[17:11] >> Okay. Well I'm going to hand you this
[17:13] and please I did a lot of work on it.
[17:15] Please look it over and see what you
[17:17] think. Thank you.
[17:19] for your time. Thank you.
[17:22] Ms. Kelly Horton.
[17:30] Good evening. Thank you for the
[17:31] opportunity
[17:33] to
[17:34] come before you.
[17:36] Um I am here. I was evicted from my home
[17:41] this morning
[17:42] at 8:15 they kicked my front door in.
[17:46] >> [snorts]
[17:46] >> The sheriff's department.
[17:48] Um my dog is in the car right now.
[17:51] >> [snorts]
[17:52] >> And
[17:54] it was
[17:55] for unpaid taxes. I have the funds.
[17:59] And I'd like the opportunity
[18:03] for you to review
[18:06] my situation.
[18:10] And uh
[18:12] She's been trying to pay them for the
[18:13] last three to four weeks but they said
[18:16] she had to come to the meeting
[18:18] >> [snorts]
[18:18] >> get put on I've been trying to pay them
[18:20] since May of last year. I had 12,700
[18:25] dollars in checks mailed back to me from
[18:29] the tax department. Bank checks,
[18:31] certified checks so I'd say this conversation isn't in
[18:39] order. I want my home back. I I've owned
[18:42] it for 29 years.
[18:45] I understand that. If you wouldn't mind
[18:46] waiting till the end of our meeting.
[18:48] Yes. As I imagine other council members
[18:50] would like to talk to you talk to you as
[18:52] well.
[18:53] Thank you.
[18:58] Mr. Eric Johnson.
[19:06] Uh good evening. My name is Eric
[19:07] Johnson. I'm a resident of the city city
[19:09] of Schenectady.
[19:11] Mayor, honorable Council President and
[19:13] Council esteemed Council members.
[19:16] I'm pleased to be here today to talk
[19:19] about
[19:21] a few things. First just a order of
[19:24] business if it's possible to put your
[19:25] phone numbers on your web pages. I
[19:27] wanted to invite every single one of you
[19:28] to this cleanup and only a few of you
[19:30] had your phone numbers listed on it.
[19:33] And so you missed a great time on Wiley
[19:35] Street this weekend where we had over 20
[19:37] volunteers on Saturday and Sunday and we
[19:41] uh committed around 320 volunteer hours
[19:45] cleaning up the side of 890.
[19:47] Uh it's the second year in a row that
[19:50] we've done that and we had about 300
[19:51] hours last year. So, that's about 620
[19:54] hours of volunteer work
[19:56] over the 2 years time. After that last
[19:59] um cleanup in 2025, we came
[20:02] and requested that the city, the
[20:04] executive leadership, do something to
[20:06] mitigate the illegal dumping that occurs
[20:08] over the edge of Wiley Street, which
[20:10] continues to occur.
[20:12] There was nothing done about that.
[20:15] And I would love to see something done
[20:17] about that. I think our group I I'm with
[20:21] uh organization called One Schenectady
[20:24] and we're working on a a variety of
[20:25] problems, a a group group of um
[20:28] community members
[20:29] uh and garbage is one of them. I think
[20:32] that if uh there is desire to clean up
[20:35] certain parts of the city, we're
[20:36] certainly able to help facilitate
[20:39] organize organizing and we've created a
[20:41] good dialogue with the city for that
[20:43] cleanup.
[20:44] Uh but with regards to
[20:47] um
[20:48] the Wiley Street cleanup, uh obviously
[20:51] there was nothing done. We uh talked to
[20:54] neighbors and there's continued dumping
[20:56] uh by people from outside of that
[20:59] community. They take a brunt of the
[21:02] uh
[21:03] the burden of having a messy
[21:05] neighborhood due to this illegal dumping
[21:06] and it's often perceived that they're
[21:08] the people doing it, but that
[21:10] does not seem to be the case.
[21:12] Um
[21:15] I kind of So, there's 0.3 mi There's
[21:19] basically uh five city-owned lots that
[21:22] make up the continuity of that uh land
[21:25] where people are doing the illegal
[21:27] dumping and one private lot owned by a
[21:29] gentleman named uh Lewis Welcome on
[21:32] Eastern Avenue. And if we were to be
[21:34] able to segment those three part three
[21:36] segments of uh land that's mostly owned
[21:40] by the city and provide
[21:42] uh 0.3 mi of uh some sort of
[21:46] impenetrable
[21:47] thing, whether it's um
[21:50] concrete barriers for road construction
[21:52] or boulders or a fence. Um many of the
[21:55] neighborhoods neighbors there have
[21:57] security cameras. They're frightened to
[21:59] go interact with these people that are
[22:00] coming at night and I don't think we
[22:02] should have uh
[22:05] expect for them to put that burden on
[22:07] themselves.
[22:08] Uh so, I did put together a list of um
[22:11] all the parcels that are um
[22:15] that are involved and who owns them and
[22:17] what the linear footage is for each one
[22:19] of those three segments of barrier that
[22:22] would be needed.
[22:24] Uh and then did some costing just on
[22:26] based on chain-link fence with gates.
[22:28] And I know that money's tight for the
[22:30] city, so maybe there's options that
[22:31] would just prevent the
[22:34] um
[22:36] the narrow doers from doing the deeds
[22:39] that they do. And I'll need you to
[22:41] summarize. Thank you. That is all, but I
[22:43] would like to invite each of you in this
[22:45] room and on the council to a tour of the
[22:47] Electric City Community Grocery tomorrow
[22:49] at 5:30 at the back of the Wedgeway
[22:51] building.
[22:53] Uh and that is all. I'll just leave
[22:56] Thanks very much. Have a good day.
[22:59] Thank you.
[23:01] Dean Marabito.
[23:09] Good evening, uh council members.
[23:12] Um my name's Dean Marabito. I live in
[23:14] the city of Schenectady.
[23:16] Uh during the last city council
[23:18] committee meeting, Council President
[23:20] Williams brought up the topic of
[23:22] community composting.
[23:24] Um
[23:25] The Schenectady Community Compost
[23:27] Project was launched in 2013.
[23:30] And I feel it would be a great idea to
[23:32] expand this project to include more
[23:35] uh Schenectady residents.
[23:38] Uh composting food scraps is not a new
[23:41] idea.
[23:43] Um
[23:44] Humans have been composting food scraps
[23:47] for over 12,000 years.
[23:50] It's a fundamental human agricultural
[23:52] practice.
[23:54] Uh composting reduces landfill waste and
[23:57] emissions.
[23:58] Food scraps and yard waste make up over
[24:01] 30% of what of what is thrown away.
[24:05] Food scraps in a landfill produce
[24:07] methane gas due to decomposing
[24:10] uh without oxygen.
[24:13] Composting plays a critical role in
[24:15] reducing this damage.
[24:18] Uh these are just a few of the positives
[24:20] of composting.
[24:22] And although there may be challenges to
[24:24] a community composting, uh the benefits
[24:27] far outweigh the uh the challenges. So,
[24:30] I urge the council to dig deeper into
[24:33] this situation and uh maybe come up with
[24:36] a plan for this. Thank you.
[24:41] Mr. William Rivas.
[24:52] Uh good evening, mayor and city council.
[24:54] Uh my name is William Rivas and I'm here
[24:56] tonight to talk about something that the
[24:58] city has been trying to solve for a long
[24:59] time.
[25:00] Trust between community and police.
[25:03] But I'm not here with an idea. I'm here
[25:05] with a proven model built right here in
[25:07] the city of Schenectady.
[25:08] It started years ago, not with policy,
[25:10] but with the people.
[25:12] In 2016 through Save Our Streets, my
[25:14] family and I, we launched Random Santa
[25:16] Drop-Offs, bringing gifts, food, and
[25:19] hope directly to families in our
[25:20] neighborhoods and we made a decision
[25:22] that changed everything.
[25:24] We invited the police to be a part of
[25:26] it. Not for a photo, but for proximity.
[25:29] Because for many families, the only time
[25:31] they saw police was when something went
[25:33] wrong. But during those moments,
[25:35] officers showed up differently.
[25:37] And for some children, that was the
[25:38] first time police came to their home and
[25:40] no one went to jail. That matters.
[25:44] From there, we didn't stop at moments,
[25:46] we built a movement. In 2018, we rented
[25:49] out Bowtie Cinemas for Black Panther and
[25:51] asked the police department and the fire
[25:52] department to come out and sit with us
[25:54] and they did.
[25:55] In 2022, we did it again with an even
[25:58] larger crowd.
[25:59] In 2019, we held court in the streets
[26:01] when violence was at highest in the
[26:03] city, we brought real voices together in
[26:05] real spaces for very real conversations.
[26:08] Not to argue, but to understand because
[26:11] transformation only happens when people
[26:12] are willing to see each other as humans.
[26:15] No filters, no scripts because trust is
[26:18] not built in comfort, it's built in
[26:20] truth.
[26:21] In 2020 during the pandemic when the
[26:23] world was at its tipping point, we
[26:25] focused on bringing people together. We
[26:27] marched with protesters and Chief
[26:29] Clifford, which by the way, may have
[26:31] been one of the only police chief in the
[26:32] nation to walk with members in the
[26:35] protest and support our efforts.
[26:38] We partnered with Dane Jennings and
[26:39] Catapult Games, CCJ and local law
[26:42] enforcement, Senator around police
[26:44] de-escalation software and brought about
[26:46] community conversations that lasted over
[26:48] 3 years.
[26:50] Then I asked an even bigger question
[26:52] during the reform and Chief Clifford and
[26:54] Mayor McCarthy supported.
[26:56] My question was, what if the community
[26:57] didn't just talk about policing? What if
[27:00] they helped shape it? So, the community
[27:02] police new hire panel was created, the
[27:04] first of its kind across the nation,
[27:06] which brought about national press in
[27:08] the interview with Soledad O'Brien and
[27:10] was mentioned Governor Cuomo's state of
[27:12] the state address. Also, we have an
[27:14] academic report that was done after the
[27:15] first 5 years by Finn Institute and we
[27:18] have a Union College senior thesis
[27:20] documenting this work and we're
[27:22] currently listed on the New York State
[27:23] Docs website.
[27:25] So, while I'm credited with the idea and
[27:27] implementation as its founder, it is
[27:29] only because of the trust built by
[27:30] everyone involved over the last 10 years
[27:32] that this has been successful. Mayor
[27:34] McCarthy, former Chief Clifford, current
[27:37] Chief Whipple, the entire Schenectady
[27:39] Police Department, City Council past and
[27:41] present, Jamaal Muhammad, Maritsa
[27:43] Martinez, Reverend William Hamilton, Ron
[27:45] Gardner,
[27:46] Kamau Kamali Brown, current City
[27:48] Councilman Justin Chaires, and current
[27:50] City Council President Carl Williams.
[27:53] We have given the residents a real voice
[27:56] in who gets hired to police their
[27:57] neighborhoods. Not symbolic, but real.
[28:00] That's not engagement, that's power
[28:02] sharing. And we kept building. Through
[28:04] events like the 518 Community Cup, we
[28:06] created spaces where police and
[28:07] community don't just meet in crisis.
[28:10] They connect in community as families,
[28:12] youth, officers together.
[28:15] So, what we've built over time is not
[28:16] just a series of events. It's a system,
[28:19] a step-by-step model for building trust
[28:21] from presence to conversation to courage
[28:25] to shared power to unity. I'll need you
[28:27] to summarize.
[28:29] In respect to the trust built over time,
[28:31] I believe it to be vital to have the
[28:33] voices of the individuals involved
[28:35] included in all conversations. Uh thank
[28:37] you very much. I'm thankful for your
[28:39] honoring in our work at this time.
[28:42] Thank you.
[28:46] And Ms. Maryann Porterfield.
[28:52] Good evening. Thank you.
[28:54] Uh good evening,
[28:56] Council President, council members,
[28:57] mayor. First of all, I'm going to take
[28:59] this down. I would just want to thank
[29:00] everybody that came out um for the
[29:03] cleanup on Wiley's Hill Street over 890
[29:05] uh this weekend. Thank you to One
[29:07] Schenectady for organizing it and to
[29:09] everybody that participated. It was
[29:11] quite the feat. If you drove down Wiley
[29:12] Street, the unbelievable amount of stuff
[29:15] that came from people dumping. So, it's
[29:18] This is the second year as was said by
[29:19] Mr. um
[29:21] by Eric Johnson, that this is the second
[29:23] year it happens and so it continually
[29:25] happens, but we shouldn't have to
[29:26] continue to do that. So, what he has
[29:28] presented and what I support and with
[29:31] engaging the neighborhood as well, is
[29:32] that we have a more permanent solution
[29:34] to this problem. Last year, we asked for
[29:37] um
[29:37] a fence, but that didn't happen. This
[29:40] year, I talked to neighbors, they're
[29:41] asking for fencing. They're also asking
[29:43] for um cameras to be put up so that this
[29:46] doesn't continually happen cuz yes,
[29:47] people will come and clean it up, but if
[29:49] we didn't have to do that, that would
[29:51] just be ideal and it just would make our
[29:53] community much cleaner. If you drive
[29:55] down 890 and you look,
[29:57] you can see how bad it looks just
[29:58] driving down 890, which is an entrance
[30:00] into our city. Um one of the things we
[30:02] talked about and I would certainly like
[30:04] to see happen is that we could put some
[30:06] barriers up until we come up with a
[30:08] permanent solution because what if we
[30:11] continue to do what we're doing what
[30:12] without waiting doing a permanent
[30:13] solution, then people will continue to
[30:15] dump. So, I would definitely advocate
[30:17] for that. Um so, you know, and thank you
[30:20] again for for Councilman member um
[30:22] Chairs and also Council President
[30:24] Williams for not only being there and doing the work, but also for
[30:28] listening to the other ideas of how we
[30:29] can do things things to move forward.
[30:32] I'd also like to uh just uh thank
[30:34] Councilman Wiggins for convening the
[30:36] Housing Stability Task Force meeting and
[30:39] for bringing forth information about
[30:41] what it's like for people who live in
[30:43] our community and actually consider
[30:45] hotels as their permanent housing. For
[30:47] bringing forward information on how we
[30:48] need to address this, how much money is
[30:50] actually being paid towards this, which
[30:52] really could be paid towards permanent
[30:53] housing. So, thank you for bringing that
[30:55] forward and for um convening the group
[30:58] and for looking forward to some
[30:59] solutions in this short time frame
[31:01] that's now been given um since you are
[31:03] the have been named chair. So, just
[31:05] wanted to thank you for that and also
[31:07] thank One Schenectady for already
[31:09] gathering the statistics that this
[31:11] committee needs in order to do it. So,
[31:13] um the work is being done. Thank you all
[31:15] for the work that you're doing and uh I
[31:17] think that together we can just make
[31:18] Schenectady the place we all um want to
[31:20] be here and live in. Thank you.
[31:26] I have no one else signed up to speak,
[31:27] so I'll declare public comment on
[31:28] general city business closed.
[31:32] At this time, I'll entertain any
[31:33] miscellaneous business from the council.
[31:37] Mr. Inger?
[31:41] Thank you, Mr. President. Uh I just want
[31:42] to thank everybody for coming out to
[31:43] speak tonight.
[31:45] Um I just want to highlight a couple of
[31:46] the neighborhood cleanups that are going
[31:48] to be happening across the month of
[31:50] April. So, BCNI is doing theirs
[31:53] April 18th from 10:00 to 1:00 at Jerry
[31:55] Burrell Park.
[31:57] Schenectady and the Environmental
[31:58] Clearinghouse will be doing theirs April
[32:00] 18th at 9:00 a.m.
[32:03] The Stockade Neighborhood Association
[32:05] will be meeting at Arthur's Market April
[32:07] 18th at 10:00 a.m.
[32:09] Uh BANA will be doing theirs Saturday,
[32:11] April 25th.
[32:14] And they're meeting at the Calvary
[32:15] Orthodox Church. Uh the Goose Hill
[32:18] Neighborhood Association is doing theirs
[32:19] April 25th from 8:00 a.m. to 2:00 and
[32:21] they're meeting at Steinmetz Park.
[32:23] Engine Hill, they're meeting at Main Ave
[32:25] and Chrysler Ave parking lot
[32:27] April 25th, 8:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.
[32:30] And the Upper Union Street Neighborhood
[32:31] Association is meeting at Bruegger's
[32:33] Bagel Shop on April 25th from 9:30 to
[32:35] 12:00.
[32:36] And then to wrap it up, Mohawk Hudson
[32:39] Earth Fest is happening in Central Park
[32:41] from noon to 4:00. So, I invite
[32:43] everybody to get out there and to help
[32:45] clean up their neighborhoods. Thank you
[32:46] again, Mr. President.
[32:48] Thank you.
[32:52] Mr. Mayor?
[32:53] Oh, I'm sorry. Mr. Williams.
[32:55] Good evening, everyone. Thanks for
[32:56] coming out today.
[32:58] Um I just want to say um
[33:01] our first
[33:02] Housing Stability Task Force meeting
[33:05] went very well.
[33:06] The discussions was highly informative
[33:09] and I appreciate the knowledge and the
[33:11] expertise everyone brought to the table.
[33:14] This meeting confirmed that we have the
[33:17] right people in the room to make a
[33:20] meaningful impact for our community.
[33:25] As moving forward, let me be clear about
[33:29] what will what will and will not happen
[33:32] at meetings I chair.
[33:41] We are here
[33:44] to do a serious work
[33:46] and that requires discipline, respect,
[33:48] and and professionalism for every single
[33:51] participant. Side conversations,
[33:54] pre-meetings, chatters, and any behavior
[33:58] that distracts from the purpose of the
[34:00] task force are not appropriate and will
[34:03] not be accepted. I will not tolerate
[34:05] indirect actions, gestures, signaling,
[34:08] or anything meant to discourage others
[34:11] from contributing.
[34:13] That is unacceptable.
[34:15] When we enter the space, we are to come
[34:18] prepared as I was, to stay focused, and
[34:22] we conduct ourselves with integrity.
[34:26] This task force exists to serve the
[34:28] community and I will protect the
[34:30] standards required to do that.
[34:32] Professionalism is an expectation and I
[34:36] it will be held.
[34:38] Thank you.
[34:46] Mr. Mayor?
[34:48] Thank you, Mr. President. Apologize for
[34:50] being a few minutes late. Uh want to
[34:52] thank everyone who uh came out on
[34:54] Saturday also to do the Wiley Street
[34:57] cleanup.
[34:58] Uh we opened the golf course as Mr.
[35:01] Inger has outlined, there's a whole
[35:02] series of uh neighborhood cleanups that
[35:05] are going to be happening
[35:06] over the next couple of weeks.
[35:09] Uh they're great efforts, but I would
[35:10] also ask people to just consider your
[35:14] own front yard, your own business. If
[35:16] everybody does a little bit, it makes a
[35:19] big difference across the city. And
[35:21] where we're seeing the warm weather
[35:23] today, it's uh at a little bit in the
[35:25] low 70s. I think it's going to get in
[35:27] the 80s next couple days.
[35:29] Uh
[35:30] it's good time to be out, uh pick up a
[35:32] little bit, and then make a difference
[35:34] in your own property and the city as a
[35:36] whole.
[35:37] Thank you, Mr. President.
[35:39] Thank you. I know I'm the only person
[35:40] that's standing between you and that
[35:42] nice weather outside, so I will be
[35:43] brief. Um heard a number of comments. I
[35:46] first would like to say thank you for
[35:47] everyone taking the time out of your day
[35:48] to either attend or to speak and share
[35:50] your thoughts. Um with regards to this
[35:52] trash throughout the city, I urge
[35:53] everyone to use our SeeClickFix
[35:55] platform. I know that that is often
[35:58] criticized, but sincerely that allows us
[35:59] to document. And if you are not getting
[36:01] any responses back, I urge you I heard
[36:04] uh the comment about ensuring our
[36:05] contact information is updated on the
[36:07] city website. We are your advocates and
[36:09] if you are not seeing a response, please
[36:10] reach out and use us as council members.
[36:13] Um there was also comments regarding
[36:15] trash and then our considerations or
[36:16] recommendation regarding a tiered
[36:18] system. I would have to disagree with
[36:20] not overcomplicating it. I think with
[36:22] the understanding that this is a
[36:23] historical issue that we've dealt with
[36:25] throughout the city of Schenectady and I
[36:26] don't think it's at the expense of no
[36:29] one's consideration to addressing it. I
[36:31] think with this council, we have truly
[36:33] made a number of headways and by our
[36:35] upcoming committee meeting next week,
[36:37] I'm confident that we will be well
[36:38] positioned to make a recommendation. Um
[36:41] with that,
[36:42] I'd also like to urge uh Ms. Horton and
[36:44] anyone else that has experienced uh
[36:46] foreclosures on their properties to
[36:48] please make a point to come and share
[36:49] your opinion. Uh that is not uh to
[36:52] parade you around the public. That is
[36:54] just ensure that we have an accurate
[36:55] reflection of your issues and concerns.
[36:57] I'm sincerely please uh stay after till
[36:59] the end of this meeting.
[37:01] Um and
[37:03] I would like to also say thank you. I
[37:04] know uh Mr. Rivas came and spoke
[37:06] tonight, but he is not the only
[37:07] individual throughout our city that is
[37:09] doing the work, making a difference. Uh
[37:11] truly, I'd like to give my sincerest
[37:12] appreciation. I think often times people
[37:14] discredit the work of Schenectady just
[37:16] based on how things look, but if we peel
[37:18] that layer back a little deeper, there
[37:20] is a lot of change that is happening um
[37:22] and I hope that that will continue
[37:24] forward in the future. Uh so, without
[37:25] further ado, I ask for a motion to
[37:27] adjourn. So Moved by Mr. Chair, seconded
[37:29] by Ms. Williams. All those in favor? I, we are adjourned. Enjoy the rest of
[37:32] your night.