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I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

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So, welcome to tonight's February 27th council meeting. Last day of February, winter's coming to an end, hopefully, even though some snow is predicted for later in the week.

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Tonight, we have three public hearings, which we will be taking care of first.

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And if we can have the roll call, Madam Clerk.

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Here.

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Here.

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Here.

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And the first public hearing is hearing comments about a local law amending

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Article 2, which is referred to as towing vehicles of Chapter 548, Vehicles

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and Traffic of the Code of the City of Peaks scale.

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And, Madam Clerk, if we could have the reading of the notice of public hearing and affidavit of publication.

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The copy of the legal notice is un-punished.

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It's published in the NERDA's open report.

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Okay.

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And so, for this public hearing, the city officials will be describing these amendments.

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Will be our police chief.

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Chief Tumalo.

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Mayor and council, this amendment to the ordinance, the towing ordinance,

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This is one component that was part of a number of changes that had been made previously, and

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the last one was an issue of extending the geographical area surrounding peak scale from

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one mile to two miles to include going companies within that radius that wishes, that would

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wish to be included on our toll list for the various needs when they arise.

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And that is in substance what this aspect of the towing ordinance will include.

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And so I know that we have had public comment over the last year as we've been revising our code on towing.

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So if anybody wants to speak on this final revision to our towing law, they can do so at this time.

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There's been no comment on this matter.

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I move to close the public hearing.

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Second.

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Go all in favor.

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Aye.

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Okay.

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Okay, so our next public hearing will be to hear comments amending Section 283 of 283, Section 9A, IH of Part 283 of the regulations of the city of peak scale entitled taxicabs.

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And Madam Clerk, if you could read the notice of public hearing and affidavit of publication.

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Okay. And both our police chief and our corporation counsel will be describing this.

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And this is the first public hearing that we're having on this section if I'm correct, right?

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And so we're expecting that we will get public comment.

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And so, Chief, if you could describe the changes in the ordinance and then a corporation counsel,

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if you could add in as necessary.

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Yes, Mayor, this was a discussion regarding taxi ordinance and the required liability insurance,

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which currently is $25.50 for the limits of coverage that is required by all taxi owners

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in the city.

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Discussion was to raise this to $100,000 to $300,000.

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People who were using the taxis in the city of Peakskill,

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in the event that there was some sort of a mishap and subsequent injuries or damage.

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Okay, and have there been any other changes that have been made to our taxi ordinance,

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or is this the only change?

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We had, there were other changes that had been made.

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This was the last of those substantive changes.

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Okay, and on the other changes we made, did we have a public hearing on those?

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I believe we did. This was the last of the, of the, of those, of those changes that were

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proposed isn't the last that is remaining.

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Okay. That's fine.

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And Corporation Counsel.

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I'd just like to speak. There have been a few questions which have been raised

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regarding this insurance coverage. We are recommending this increase in insurance

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coverage, which is in line with what New York City is currently requiring, has been

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requiring for almost 20 years.

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Also, the Westchester County Taxi and Limousine Commission

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requires higher limits, not for small cabs such as this,

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but for larger vehicles of eight passengers and up.

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They have exceeded their requirements

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that are the minimums that are in state law.

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We're recommending to exceed more than the minimums

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in state law because when an accident does occur,

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The coverage of 25,000 per occurrence is often not sufficient to cover the injuries that may occur to the passengers and there could be pedestrians and other people who are affected by an accident.

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We believe that this would protect the passengers and pedestrians who are in the area.

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There is case law to support what we're doing.

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In 1971, there was a case in the city of Newburgh which upheld 100,000, 300,000 insurance.

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That case has never been overruled.

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And there are numerous other cases which have upheld the right of a municipality to

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enact legislation for its local needs pursuant to the state constitution and also under

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the municipal home rule law.

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We have reviewed current regulations of the insurance department and have not determined

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that there is anything which would prevent us from doing this at this time.

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So we're recommending that this is a policy decision in order to lessen risk for passengers

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and pedestrians who would be in the area of an accident.

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Okay.

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And so Corporation Council, were you saying then that the City of Newburgh also has the

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100, 300?

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No.

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The City of Newburgh currently does not have it.

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There was a case, this case upheld their right to do it, and at some point in time

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they reduced the amount.

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I see.

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Okay.

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Okay.

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If there's no further comment from you, the Corporation Council or the Chief will

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open this up to those who want to come and speak on this topic at this time.

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If we speak on this, are we able to speak again? Normally you limit us to one.

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Yes, public hearings. There are no time limits on public hearings,

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and when you speak on a public hearing, that is different than you can speak later

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at Citizens Desiring to be heard at our regular council session.

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George On Deck 31 Winchester Avenue, Pete's Hill.

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It's so good to see the entire council here.

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Three of you were missing at the last meeting, including you, Miss Mayer.

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I was ill.

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I know.

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I was ill too, but I came to the meeting.

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But Ronnie Reagan once said, a tax is a fine is a fee,

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and now I think you're starting to see you've gone too far.

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The taxi cab drivers in Pete's Gill,

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you want to up their insurance to $100,000 to $300,000

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and it will cost anywhere from $1,800 to $8,000,

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what I heard on your workshop. And you know what that would do? It would put many of them out of business.

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It also would make an undue hardship on the taxi riders of Pete's Guild.

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You haven't learned your lesson yet. You want to put an unfair fee on condo owners.

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You want to put a $250 fee on people who feed Canadian geese.

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You're wrong, Ms. Mayor and Ms. Council, and Council, you've got to stop this tax-finding

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and feeing people in P-Scale.

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I'll be back to speak more later.

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Thank you.

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Just to be clear, the insurance premiums are not anything that comes to the city.

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It's what a cab driver negotiates with his insurance carrier.

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Good evening, Council.

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Mayor.

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My name is Kevin Tui. I am a small business owner, taxi cab driver.

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I'm a citizen of Cortland Manor. I'm also an electrical contractor for over 20 years.

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Never in my business of 20 years have I experienced such a hardship like this cast upon me.

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I really feel that this is very unfair.

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As a business owner, not just a taxi cab driver, but as a small business owner, if everyone

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would just take a step back and do the math, they will see that it just doesn't work.

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I understand it's your duty as council members and as the mayor to protect the citizens,

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but it's also your duty to make sure you're ultra fair to small business.

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because the small business in this community is just important as the citizens.

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And that's all I have to say. Thank you.

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I just want to be clear. Your small business is a cap company or electrical contract?

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Both. Both. Thank you.

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I agree to some part of what you're trying to do because I've seen some very careless taxi drivers.

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However, as this gentleman just said, it is a hardship.

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My only question to the council is, did you do a study on how many accidents have been

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caused by taxi drivers and, you know, what did you base all this on?

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What did you base trying to increase their insurance coverage on?

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I like that explained.

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I mean, did you actually have someone come out, did you hire consultants to do an investigation

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to determine that, yes, it is necessary to raise the insurance on these taxi drivers?

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Thank you.

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I will say that the police have been talking with the cab companies for the past year.

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We have had reports and testimony from people who have been injured in cabs in the city.

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And we have been looking at what other jurisdictions are doing,

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and these are the recommendations that are coming from the staff to the council.

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And one of the items that we had asked the staff to go back and explore with the cab companies

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was if the insurance amounts were raised, what is the cost in the premium?

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And as you can imagine that is a moving target and it depends on everybody's individual driving records.

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But this is why we're here having the public hearing.

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So it wasn't recommended by the staff arbitrarily, but that's why we're here having a public comment

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because we have no desire to put small businesses out of business,

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but we are trying to balance everybody's interest. That's all.

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Good evening.

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My name is Ramon Fernandez.

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I am one taxi car owner so this means we do it like a really like another person says we

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are small small business and everybody know how is this is the economy in this moment

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And we got in the last inspiration, December, a lot of change from the city.

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And we tried to work every day too hard, many, many hours.

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And now we don't have a piece in our house.

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Our kids don't have a piece because we don't know what we're going to do.

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We don't know. Everybody and the driver is asking what the city wants to fall.

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They don't want to touch and then piss you because in December we start to do the inspection

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like for the second day of the month.

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We cannot do it until January because every day they give it to us one new change.

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And I don't know if you – I live out of the country, and I know that happened outside

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of America in the Third World.

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But here it's supposed to – you have to clear, clear business, regulation.

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And we don't know that.

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We don't have a piece in the house.

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The keys that – or why everyone is scared because we don't know if we're going

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to keep working. If you're doing like that, we're going to pay a lot of money. The city

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ingress a lot of things that we have to pay now. The license for the drivers, the license

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for the car, the inspection. Many, many small business, they have like a two or three cars,

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they had to pay more now, $7,000 more per year.

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That's not the city requirement.

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It's for the worker compensation.

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But that means they had to pay that.

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And now probably they had to pay another 3,000

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or maybe more, 2,000, 1,000.

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I don't know, whatever, only 100 now

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is two months for us.

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And another thing, that's my personal opinion.

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I don't know if you approve all the change that we're talking before in the police and

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couple meetings.

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But I remember they say something about the 3G approach.

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Forgive the license driver. Trigia, the license, USA license, experienced before that. And the

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comment the officers say, I feel really, really discriminated for that, like the Latin people

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that I am. And many old drivers, Latin drivers, they feel the same thing. Because the comment

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it was because they don't know if the people buy the license in another country.

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And I told that, and I want to say this in Korean, in front of everybody, because when

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I went to vote last November, I feel like it's a freedom in democracy for everybody.

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When I see a couple of months ago in New Jersey, they sell, they cast, the police

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got to some group, they sell lysing, I remember that, and I said, oh, maybe they

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They don't want to set the license for New Jersey because they set a license over there.

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And I feel that's not another point for the young people.

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They need to three-year for start doing any job, driving.

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And there's another point is many people, when they lose their job, they go to drive

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a taxi driver.

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You know that.

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Everybody knows that.

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When the people, they lose their job, they start to drive it.

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If you don't have a license for three years, it doesn't matter if you're American, resident, whatever, you cannot do that.

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And I think that's another point maybe there's none.

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But I don't know if you approve that before you have to do, and I want to express that.

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But at the first point, we want to keep working and doing everything under the law like we do it.

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Thank you.

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Thank you.

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Hi, my name is Roy D'Archival, a taxi owner and operator in Peekskill.

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As I sat on this in the Corporation Council, she compared us to our different municipalities

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where the demographics are totally different.

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In Peekskill, we have working class people and these are the people who pay the tax

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fees.

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Who are we going to pass these new...

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When we raise the insurance premiums, are we going to pass it off to the citizens of

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Picskelu right taxis every day?

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With the cost as we just incurred over the last couple of months, in these recessionary

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times, are you going to look at me as a small business owner and tell me that you're going

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to increase fees on me again, $7,000 for a little cap, owner who own three caps of

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workers' compensation.

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The fees went up for the licensing.

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The fees went up for the inspections.

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The fees went up for the HACA license.

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How are we supposed to survive in this kind of climate?

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You know, just food for thought.

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My name is John Mason, owner of John's Taxi Service.

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I've been in business for 20 years serving for the City of Peace Scale.

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When I first started in 1992, the license for a taxi, you know, a hack license was 125.

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After five years, your grandfather went in for only $25 a year.

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In 2002, the increase went to 125.

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In 2012, it went to 175.

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The registration of the city of Peace Hill went from 250 to 375.

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serve in the city of Peace Hill benefit for me. But since there's a policy that you want to inherit on us,

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it's going to make me close my business. I can't afford these rates. $8,000 more, which I'm paying already $5,000.

229
00:19:21,490 --> 00:19:24,070
I mean, come on. Give us a break. Thank you.

230
00:19:24,930 --> 00:19:25,330
Thank you.

231
00:19:25,730 --> 00:19:26,030
Thank you.

232
00:19:26,030 --> 00:19:26,970
My

233
00:19:32,350 --> 00:19:38,410
name is Anthony Bazzo. I think you know that. I own a taxi, part owner of a taxi company

234
00:19:38,410 --> 00:19:45,270
here in the city of Peagskill. I wrote an open letter about this issue three or four

235
00:19:45,270 --> 00:19:51,670
weeks ago. Hopefully you saw it. If you didn't, I don't know what more to do. I'll wait

236
00:19:51,670 --> 00:19:54,910
for the public hearing, but I don't want to really waste time reiterating what I've

237
00:19:54,910 --> 00:20:03,010
already said. However, listening to corporate counsel, one thing I've noticed is in the areas

238
00:20:03,010 --> 00:20:11,010
that were considered were all fleet areas, not only operator. You don't separate that.

239
00:20:11,870 --> 00:20:18,090
You treat everybody the same. So in other words, you penalize by the nature of the

240
00:20:18,090 --> 00:20:23,010
business, not the record of their driving. That is wrong.

241
00:20:25,730 --> 00:20:26,970
Also the fact that, like I

242
00:20:26,970 --> 00:20:33,790
said, you're dealing with areas that only have fleets. It's not an equal comparison.

243
00:20:36,330 --> 00:20:44,430
You have here, I've talked to a number of you people in private and I have heard one

244
00:20:44,430 --> 00:20:52,670
incident that did happen the fleet that is no longer in business because of the

245
00:20:52,670 --> 00:21:01,490
new rules that you said your new rules removed a company that was unsafe your

246
00:21:01,490 --> 00:21:08,530
new rules have already had a few drivers suspended that safety that's actual

247
00:21:08,530 --> 00:21:14,370
safety not you you can't make an unsafe driver safe by increasing the

248
00:21:14,370 --> 00:21:20,490
liability, you're not protecting the city of Pete's Hill because that money, that increase,

249
00:21:21,110 --> 00:21:23,910
because you're not going to give us a fair increase because you can't.

250
00:21:23,950 --> 00:21:25,630
People don't want to pay you $6 now.

251
00:21:25,990 --> 00:21:29,370
And then you'll have a number of cabs that are running for five and four because there's

252
00:21:29,370 --> 00:21:30,110
so much competition.

253
00:21:30,930 --> 00:21:32,870
You're not going to get any more than six.

254
00:21:33,170 --> 00:21:34,870
So that money must come from somewhere.

255
00:21:35,470 --> 00:21:42,350
It will come most likely from a discretionary pay thing such as repairs because you

256
00:21:42,350 --> 00:21:45,890
You only have the enforcement mechanism to really check on it every six months.

257
00:21:46,630 --> 00:21:47,790
Make sure everything's up to order.

258
00:21:48,470 --> 00:21:52,190
Other than that, you take everybody's word, unless something's very glaringly visible,

259
00:21:52,890 --> 00:21:54,310
you don't have the mechanism.

260
00:21:54,910 --> 00:22:00,810
So you'll actually make things less safe, because that money must come from somewhere.

261
00:22:01,890 --> 00:22:03,010
This is real.

262
00:22:03,750 --> 00:22:04,350
It's not theoretical.

263
00:22:04,990 --> 00:22:09,730
I've heard, well, what if there's a kid that has four people in it, and it has

264
00:22:09,730 --> 00:22:13,870
accident with somebody with two people in it, that's theoretical. That's hypothetical.

265
00:22:14,190 --> 00:22:21,770
You asked me to fight ghosts. Reality is there. Those people, each one losing money as we

266
00:22:21,770 --> 00:22:29,030
speak and people at the trains standing out in the cold because we're here fighting

267
00:22:29,030 --> 00:22:37,490
for our lives, our livelihoods because you're talking a minimum of a $2,000 increase, minimum.

268
00:22:39,670 --> 00:22:44,830
and because most of us have the major, there's only a couple carriers, those

269
00:22:44,830 --> 00:22:50,790
carriers do not carry anything above 2550, so all of us would be forced into a

270
00:22:50,790 --> 00:22:56,750
signed risk, which is why you have that jump in premiums. We are forced into a

271
00:22:56,750 --> 00:23:00,790
signed risk and it's a stigma because I found out from my private insurance

272
00:23:00,790 --> 00:23:05,550
company that my private ways go up because my record will show that I'm

273
00:23:05,550 --> 00:23:14,170
that with Strider, because of your regulation based not on my record, or on most of these

274
00:23:14,170 --> 00:23:16,830
people's records, but only because of the profession,

275
00:23:19,520 --> 00:23:21,040
and it stigmatizes the profession.

276
00:23:21,240 --> 00:23:24,640
You're saying this profession, especially when I hear it's compared to New York City

277
00:23:24,640 --> 00:23:29,700
care drivers, can you really sit here with this straight face and believe that your

278
00:23:29,700 --> 00:23:35,440
piece of care drivers are anywhere near the drivers, New York City care drivers.

279
00:23:37,320 --> 00:23:43,620
To compare that with insulting, I find that personally insulting. Those drivers in

280
00:23:43,620 --> 00:23:47,680
New York City, you're in the right to have to pay a hundred, three hundred thousand

281
00:23:47,680 --> 00:23:53,680
dollars in liability. And that's the thing. You're doing this arbitrarily.

282
00:23:55,560 --> 00:24:00,720
Instead of saying, okay, like you did for suspensions, you have to meet a

283
00:24:00,720 --> 00:24:02,340
certain standard to get your license.

284
00:24:04,800 --> 00:24:06,040
You're not making any

285
00:24:06,040 --> 00:24:09,480
standard. You're saying owner operated good driver, bad driver,

286
00:24:09,760 --> 00:24:13,240
you're old garbage. You're paying one way. You're going to pay

287
00:24:13,240 --> 00:24:16,660
this whole increase regardless of anything on

288
00:24:16,660 --> 00:24:22,700
hypotheticals, not reality, on what might be or will be on

289
00:24:22,700 --> 00:24:25,640
some of those people going out of business or having to work

290
00:24:25,640 --> 00:24:34,060
longer hours. That will be. What will be is the hardship on these small businesses.

291
00:24:34,880 --> 00:24:38,800
People that have already lost jobs because of this economy looking for

292
00:24:38,800 --> 00:24:45,180
another opportunity and working hard at it. Your new rules ensured better

293
00:24:45,180 --> 00:24:51,740
drivers, better safety. This does nothing but add a burden, makes nobody

294
00:24:59,440 --> 00:25:06,620
But you've already started dealing. You put rules in that had teeth that were meant to

295
00:25:06,620 --> 00:25:14,540
be enforced and are being enforced and it's working. The reason why this was put on the

296
00:25:14,540 --> 00:25:22,800
back burner was to see the other stuff first. This is not necessary. First thing, you may

297
00:25:22,800 --> 00:25:28,360
have the right to do this. People in the industry I've talked to say you don't, for the sake

298
00:25:28,360 --> 00:25:34,280
of argument you do. But having the right to do something does not mean it's the right

299
00:25:34,280 --> 00:25:41,940
thing to do. And you should first do that old adage, do no harm. And when you think of

300
00:25:41,940 --> 00:25:47,360
the amount of calves on the street, a given day and any given hour, and the amount of

301
00:25:47,360 --> 00:25:52,960
accidents that there may have been, the amount that may have surpassed the liability.

302
00:25:53,840 --> 00:26:00,480
What you're doing is trying to deal a giant hurt for a miniscule problem.

303
00:26:01,800 --> 00:26:03,620
There's something terribly wrong about that.

304
00:26:04,540 --> 00:26:06,340
There's something just so wrong.

305
00:26:06,920 --> 00:26:16,000
And that you can seriously consider putting honest, hard-working people in financial

306
00:26:16,000 --> 00:26:26,100
jeopardy on hypotheticals, and maybe one or two realities, but not compared to the big

307
00:26:26,100 --> 00:26:26,500
picture.

308
00:26:27,560 --> 00:26:27,780
Yes.

309
00:26:29,140 --> 00:26:29,780
Go on.

310
00:26:31,440 --> 00:26:32,980
If I could ask you a question.

311
00:26:33,240 --> 00:26:33,880
No, please.

312
00:26:34,340 --> 00:26:35,060
I know the rules.

313
00:26:35,400 --> 00:26:35,800
I know the rules.

314
00:26:36,100 --> 00:26:43,080
If I could ask you a question, then, if, and I don't know the mix off hand between

315
00:26:43,080 --> 00:26:48,020
fleet operated and owner operated in the city. But if, in what you're describing,

316
00:26:48,360 --> 00:26:54,100
if an owner-operator's license was suspended or a company's was because they run

317
00:26:54,100 --> 00:27:00,340
safe, and if they were applying to get reinstated, would the higher insurance

318
00:27:00,340 --> 00:27:04,000
requirement in your mind be an unfair requirement?

319
00:27:04,440 --> 00:27:10,040
No. That's what I said. If you put standards to earn the punishment this

320
00:27:11,640 --> 00:27:18,860
way that like the insurance companies do, they punish bad drivers, make them earn their punishment.

321
00:27:19,400 --> 00:27:26,020
Even insurance companies and we know that their reputation do not punish the good, they only

322
00:27:26,020 --> 00:27:26,780
punish the bad.

323
00:27:28,060 --> 00:27:32,480
And that's always been my objection in my open letter and everything I've said is that

324
00:27:32,480 --> 00:27:38,600
you've got this one size fits all, but your city is not one size fits all because you

325
00:27:38,600 --> 00:27:46,680
allow independent operators. And in her comparisons, none of those jurisdictions she mentioned allow

326
00:27:46,680 --> 00:27:47,160
that.

327
00:27:49,280 --> 00:27:52,320
Okay. Thank you. Thank you.

328
00:28:01,820 --> 00:28:06,620
No, I'm closing. May I see no further comment on this, on this

329
00:28:06,620 --> 00:28:12,640
public hearing? I move to close this public hearing. Second. All in favor. All right. Okay. Thank you

330
00:28:12,640 --> 00:28:22,080
for your comments. And then the third public hearing is to hear public comment on a local law to

331
00:28:22,080 --> 00:28:28,860
centralize and make uniform the city's property abatement procedures. And Madam Clerk, if we could have the

332
00:28:28,860 --> 00:28:31,560
reading of public hearing and affidavit of publication.

333
00:28:36,260 --> 00:28:39,940
Okay. And just for those of you who are here

334
00:28:39,940 --> 00:28:41,860
We're on the taxi ordinance.

335
00:28:42,500 --> 00:28:47,180
The nights that we have public hearings, we do not pass resolutions to adopt any local

336
00:28:47,180 --> 00:28:49,740
laws on the matter we had the public hearing on.

337
00:28:50,100 --> 00:28:55,880
We're here just to take comment, and then we'll bring it back to our Police Chief

338
00:28:55,880 --> 00:29:01,440
Corporation Council and staff to take all the comment and finalize that.

339
00:29:02,060 --> 00:29:07,120
So there isn't any further action that will happen on the taxi ordinance tonight, just

340
00:29:07,120 --> 00:29:10,540
in case you were all afraid that there was a resolution later on where we would be adopting

341
00:29:10,540 --> 00:29:11,000
something.

342
00:29:11,300 --> 00:29:11,540
We're not.

343
00:29:11,660 --> 00:29:13,120
We're just taking public comments.

344
00:29:16,390 --> 00:29:18,930
We have public meetings every other Monday.

345
00:29:19,710 --> 00:29:27,210
We'll discuss this further next Monday at our work session, and we'll make a determination

346
00:29:27,210 --> 00:29:34,350
whether we're revising the ordinance or whether we're not, but there'll be information

347
00:29:34,350 --> 00:29:39,510
that will go out after next Monday, whether we're holding it further for discussion

348
00:29:39,510 --> 00:29:43,510
or whether we're dropping it or whether we're moving it for some other action.

349
00:29:43,830 --> 00:29:48,650
But any modification to the proposed law that we have here, that's substantive,

350
00:29:48,890 --> 00:29:50,450
comes back for another public hearing.

351
00:29:50,670 --> 00:29:54,790
And so there's notices that go out on all of that, so you'll all be informed.

352
00:29:56,670 --> 00:29:59,970
And so the matter-

353
00:30:00,000 --> 00:30:04,620
We're on the property abatement procedures. The statement by the city official is from

354
00:30:04,620 --> 00:30:06,940
our corporation council, Bernice.

355
00:30:09,470 --> 00:30:15,590
This is a local law to centralize and make uniform the city's property abatement

356
00:30:15,590 --> 00:30:22,470
procedures. Currently, in several of our ordinances, we have procedures where if a

357
00:30:22,470 --> 00:30:29,150
property owner does not correct violations in a timely manner, the city can come in

358
00:30:29,150 --> 00:30:33,990
and correct those violations and then charge them back to the property owner.

359
00:30:34,670 --> 00:30:40,150
Ultimately, if the property owner does not reimburse the city for the cost that's incurred,

360
00:30:40,830 --> 00:30:46,990
then the cost is placed as a tax lien on the next year's property tax.

361
00:30:47,410 --> 00:30:49,370
That has been in effect previously.

362
00:30:50,330 --> 00:30:57,350
What we're doing here is standardizing so each one of these codes had different language within them,

363
00:30:57,350 --> 00:31:06,870
which is slightly different and also does not import the proper due process in all cases that is needed in this kind of situation.

364
00:31:07,610 --> 00:31:16,050
There needs to be due process at the time that a notice is going out that the city is going to undertake this work to afford the property owner

365
00:31:16,050 --> 00:31:19,670
the opportunity to come forward and to speak to their situation.

366
00:31:19,670 --> 00:31:25,350
There also is a need for due process at the time that the bill is sent out if a property

367
00:31:25,350 --> 00:31:27,690
owner believes that that bill is not correct.

368
00:31:28,270 --> 00:31:33,570
So there are two hearings built into the proposed local law that would afford that process.

369
00:31:34,270 --> 00:31:41,510
After that process is concluded and a determination is made as to the correct amount, then the

370
00:31:41,510 --> 00:31:46,070
lien would go on to the property if the city has not been reimbursed for this cost.

371
00:31:46,070 --> 00:31:52,110
What we're doing is we're proposing to create a new section of the City Charter to which

372
00:31:52,110 --> 00:31:55,310
all of these ordinances would feed.

373
00:31:55,790 --> 00:32:01,230
They would funnel in so that all of these separate codes would say is, please refer

374
00:32:01,710 --> 00:32:07,190
to the City Charter for the procedures so that it does not have to be recited in each

375
00:32:07,190 --> 00:32:08,010
one of the codes.

376
00:32:08,530 --> 00:32:12,790
And there would be a new section of the City Charter in Section C205 that would

377
00:32:12,790 --> 00:32:16,730
be created that would have these uniform procedures with due process.

378
00:32:17,430 --> 00:32:24,070
The codes that would feed into that city charter section, most of which have already abatement

379
00:32:24,070 --> 00:32:30,230
language in them, are the commercial property maintenance code, the housing standards code,

380
00:32:31,890 --> 00:32:40,250
the littering code, the snow and ice removal code, soil removal and excavations code,

381
00:32:41,170 --> 00:33:00,030
And the streets and sidewalks code and abandoned vehicles code those are the codes which would all as I say be funneling into this new section of the city charter that would set forth all of the due process standards to eventually lead toward a tax lien if the city were not reimbursed the cost.

382
00:33:02,980 --> 00:33:11,040
So with that overview of our streamlining this section and making sure everybody has due process if they're sent to bill.

383
00:33:11,780 --> 00:33:15,480
Does anybody want to speak on this topic at this time?

384
00:33:30,080 --> 00:33:31,460
Tim Ball, Fremont Street.

385
00:33:33,320 --> 00:33:45,300
The list that she just has given, is that going to be, I guess, publicly made up and sent out to the city residents

386
00:33:45,300 --> 00:33:52,220
so they can keep a copy of it and they know because, I mean, reading it here in the council and knowing what it is

387
00:33:52,220 --> 00:33:56,660
does not really notify the people ahead of time.

388
00:33:56,900 --> 00:34:00,120
This way they have a chance to read that thing

389
00:34:00,120 --> 00:34:02,140
and know that they're at fault.

390
00:34:02,500 --> 00:34:04,560
So if they do get the summons or whatever,

391
00:34:05,300 --> 00:34:06,580
they have no complaint.

392
00:34:07,160 --> 00:34:11,220
Because I mean, I've been here before and said,

393
00:34:11,280 --> 00:34:14,120
where there's people, my wife went to the store

394
00:34:14,120 --> 00:34:16,380
with my grandson and one had to walk behind the other

395
00:34:16,380 --> 00:34:19,560
because these hedges take up half of the sidewalk.

396
00:34:19,560 --> 00:34:23,340
And then I know when you come to the corner properties,

397
00:34:23,560 --> 00:34:26,320
if I can remember correctly from being on the job,

398
00:34:27,160 --> 00:34:30,500
that they're supposed to be cut down to like 30 inches

399
00:34:31,360 --> 00:34:33,960
and cut back something like 30 feet

400
00:34:33,960 --> 00:34:36,620
due to children on bicycles

401
00:34:36,620 --> 00:34:39,980
or infants running away from their mothers

402
00:34:39,980 --> 00:34:41,780
that they can be seen.

403
00:34:42,220 --> 00:34:45,160
And not only hedges but stone walls

404
00:34:45,160 --> 00:34:46,580
and things of that effect.

405
00:34:46,580 --> 00:34:58,160
I just think these things, once they're passed and everything, should be sent out just like you do with your garbage pickup calendar and everything else, so the people know ahead of time, just as being fair.

406
00:34:58,660 --> 00:35:15,640
I appreciate that. And what is part of this requirement is that anybody who's getting, who isn't complying, is sent to notice that they need to trim their hedges or remove their trash from their property, pick up the litter.

407
00:35:15,640 --> 00:35:19,680
And they're given, I believe, 15 days to respond.

408
00:35:19,900 --> 00:35:21,600
And if they don't, then they're sent to notice

409
00:35:21,600 --> 00:35:24,940
that the city will send in somebody to do it

410
00:35:24,940 --> 00:35:25,960
and will send them a bill.

411
00:35:26,160 --> 00:35:28,240
So even if they wanted to claim,

412
00:35:28,340 --> 00:35:29,780
I didn't know I had to trim my hedges.

413
00:35:30,220 --> 00:35:31,980
They're given a notice asking them to do so.

414
00:35:32,040 --> 00:35:33,280
They're not necessarily given a fine.

415
00:35:33,400 --> 00:35:35,860
They're given a request to please maintain their property.

416
00:35:36,740 --> 00:35:39,440
Then they'll be handed a fine if they don't,

417
00:35:39,440 --> 00:35:40,720
or we clean it up.

418
00:35:41,460 --> 00:35:45,120
But it's all about neighbors really complaining

419
00:35:45,120 --> 00:35:49,300
about unsafe and unsanitary conditions of neighboring properties.

420
00:35:49,940 --> 00:35:54,300
And so it goes for sidewalks and the things that you've mentioned, ice that doesn't get

421
00:35:54,300 --> 00:35:55,480
removed, et cetera.

422
00:35:56,720 --> 00:35:58,300
Hi, Janina Rodriguez again.

423
00:35:59,740 --> 00:36:01,960
Question to the Corporation Counselor.

424
00:36:02,380 --> 00:36:04,740
Clarification on what you mean by housing.

425
00:36:05,420 --> 00:36:13,280
Is that homes that have volleyball courts in their yard and the house is falling

426
00:36:13,280 --> 00:36:27,680
down like a couple homes on Smith Street, like 160, 217, for years, 217 is a nice order.

427
00:36:28,000 --> 00:36:30,640
I'm telling you, I don't even know how the building is still standing.

428
00:36:31,520 --> 00:36:38,660
So if you are proposing to put a tax lien on the owners that do not maintain your property

429
00:36:38,660 --> 00:36:42,340
but have immaculate volleyball courts, I'm all for you, okay?

430
00:36:43,240 --> 00:36:47,920
However, and put a tax lien on it, because I've complained, I don't know how many years to this city,

431
00:36:47,960 --> 00:36:57,100
I've lived in my home, March will be 30 years, and I've been plagued with horrible conditions in my area,

432
00:36:57,200 --> 00:36:59,060
and you've done nothing about it, nothing.

433
00:37:00,100 --> 00:37:04,880
You just allow them to continue your rec volleyball courts and neglect their homes.

434
00:37:04,880 --> 00:37:12,000
The other thing, your resolution, J9, under the article.

435
00:37:12,160 --> 00:37:13,940
But you're still on the public hearing on abatements?

436
00:37:14,160 --> 00:37:15,760
Well, this is about sidewalks.

437
00:37:16,340 --> 00:37:17,760
You mentioned sidewalks.

438
00:37:17,880 --> 00:37:19,880
First of all, we don't own the sidewalks.

439
00:37:20,460 --> 00:37:22,260
The city owns the sidewalks.

440
00:37:22,260 --> 00:37:26,920
So why should we repair, or if we didn't do the damage,

441
00:37:27,020 --> 00:37:28,000
let me rephrase that.

442
00:37:28,160 --> 00:37:31,000
If you did not do the damage to the city-owned sidewalk,

443
00:37:31,000 --> 00:37:39,060
Why should I get a lien on my home for your sidewalk if someone else broke that sidewalk

444
00:37:39,060 --> 00:37:42,640
with a truck which has happened in front of my home years ago?

445
00:37:44,020 --> 00:37:49,780
I'm going to be responsible to repair your sidewalk, I don't think so, no.

446
00:37:50,420 --> 00:37:57,980
And in fact when that other resolution at J9 I have a problem with that because snow

447
00:37:57,980 --> 00:38:04,920
Snow and Ice, Resolution J9, it was mentioned before, we'll talk about it later, but Snow

448
00:38:04,920 --> 00:38:09,100
and Ice, that's your responsibility because it's your sidewalk.

449
00:38:10,540 --> 00:38:15,260
There is city property, I wrote you a letter, prior written notice,

450
00:38:17,300 --> 00:38:18,720
a homeowner is responsible

451
00:38:18,720 --> 00:38:25,420
for removing the Snow and Ice in front of their home, yes, yes, because then if

452
00:38:25,420 --> 00:38:28,780
If someone falls because they didn't do anything about it,

453
00:38:29,240 --> 00:38:31,280
their homeowner insurance gets sued.

454
00:38:31,820 --> 00:38:33,560
But where does your liability come in?

455
00:38:34,680 --> 00:38:36,100
What is your liability come in?

456
00:38:36,760 --> 00:38:38,860
We have terrible sidewalks in the city.

457
00:38:39,780 --> 00:38:40,380
Terrible.

458
00:38:41,040 --> 00:38:44,740
They are owned by you, not a property owner,

459
00:38:45,380 --> 00:38:47,420
where their property abuts that sidewalk.

460
00:38:47,940 --> 00:38:50,280
Now, I understand that you wanna have,

461
00:38:50,800 --> 00:38:51,980
maybe I'm speaking out of turn,

462
00:38:51,980 --> 00:38:57,360
but the grass that's part of your J9, you know, can I speak on that or no?

463
00:38:57,420 --> 00:39:00,800
No, this is really on the procedures to streamline the abatement process.

464
00:39:01,340 --> 00:39:04,720
You're talking about other resolutions we've passed in the past?

465
00:39:05,400 --> 00:39:07,560
No, you have not passed J9.

466
00:39:07,880 --> 00:39:13,480
You didn't even put it up for, you didn't even, it was supposed to be J9, Section 505.61,

467
00:39:17,120 --> 00:39:25,760
We're between the budding property, the grass on each side of the sidewalk, it has to be 10 inches in height.

468
00:39:26,360 --> 00:39:35,620
If a property owner does not keep it maintained to 10 inches according to your new laws, then they're going to have a tax lien.

469
00:39:36,200 --> 00:39:36,840
That's ridiculous.

470
00:39:39,540 --> 00:39:44,760
You don't have a tax lien unless you're not cutting it and the city needs to send somebody

471
00:39:44,760 --> 00:39:48,720
in to take care of property that is individual property.

472
00:39:49,140 --> 00:39:53,040
Listen, that is absurd, truly.

473
00:39:53,720 --> 00:39:58,900
You have a lot of senior citizens, look at me, and I cannot afford a gardener.

474
00:39:59,120 --> 00:39:59,920
I'm going to fix income.

475
00:40:00,740 --> 00:40:05,620
So if I don't cut that grass that is outside and it's above 10 inches, I'm going to

476
00:40:05,620 --> 00:40:09,180
get a ticket? And then if I don't pay that ticket, you're going to put a tax lien

477
00:40:09,180 --> 00:40:12,580
on my home? I'm so sorry. No, thank you.

478
00:40:12,780 --> 00:40:18,180
Well, no, it doesn't work that way. If you don't, if a contractor has to go in to

479
00:40:18,180 --> 00:40:22,520
clean it and you're sent to bill, if you don't pay the bill, the bill does become

480
00:40:22,520 --> 00:40:24,540
a tax lien. If you do pay the bill.

481
00:40:24,640 --> 00:40:26,460
I'm not going to remit to that, therefore.

482
00:40:26,620 --> 00:40:27,240
I understand that.

483
00:40:28,640 --> 00:40:33,520
I'm telling you, you have gone too far. You have gone too far.

484
00:40:34,480 --> 00:40:45,940
And this is not to be. You understand? It just isn't. It isn't. Because you don't even maintain your parks and cut your grass. It's your parks. Thank you.

485
00:40:58,220 --> 00:41:02,280
Let's make a signal for the comment on this matter. I move to close the public hearing.

486
00:41:03,100 --> 00:41:03,940
Well, in favor.

487
00:41:04,440 --> 00:41:04,620
Aye.

488
00:41:05,040 --> 00:41:05,300
Okay.

489
00:41:07,830 --> 00:41:09,970
So that's the end of the public hearings.

490
00:41:11,750 --> 00:41:15,930
No council members have come and gone, so we don't need to do a roll call again.

491
00:41:16,170 --> 00:41:20,490
Madam Clerk, are there any department or city manager reports?

492
00:41:22,450 --> 00:41:28,370
We're told that we do have a presentation from the American Legion Post if they would like to do that now.

493
00:41:38,940 --> 00:41:47,660
John W. Union Avenue, Pigskill, New York, and the chaplain at American Legion post 274 and Pigskill.

494
00:41:48,420 --> 00:41:51,000
I know the mayor isn't going to believe it, but I'm going to be brief.

495
00:41:52,420 --> 00:42:00,520
And I thank her. She came by dog sled to the last meeting when we tried to get the heroes to hometown program started.

496
00:42:00,960 --> 00:42:03,400
It was during the day of the freak snowstorm.

497
00:42:03,400 --> 00:42:10,220
We're trying it again Saturday on March the 3rd and we know that we're going to

498
00:42:10,220 --> 00:42:14,760
have a good showing. We've been out beating the bushes. We're having veterans

499
00:42:14,760 --> 00:42:21,340
from out of the state area. We're having veterans groups from all over the

500
00:42:21,340 --> 00:42:28,480
county. We're having local political figures and we're having Sandy Gallup

501
00:42:28,480 --> 00:42:36,040
who's always here to support us. She's here in the room tonight. And we just want to know

502
00:42:37,720 --> 00:42:45,180
rather the public understands what's happening and we want to get it across to them. It's

503
00:42:45,180 --> 00:42:52,920
happened in this village city of Pigskill in 1944 and it's happening again now. People

504
00:42:52,920 --> 00:42:57,360
have hard times. Everybody's got hard times. There's hard luck everywhere. But we've

505
00:42:57,360 --> 00:43:04,300
got a homeless population of veterans, for example. It's 20% when there's only 8% of

506
00:43:04,300 --> 00:43:10,200
the population of the homeless normally. 20% and a lot of them are women veterans and

507
00:43:10,200 --> 00:43:15,560
children and so forth. We've got that problem. We've got the problem of the cutbacks at

508
00:43:15,560 --> 00:43:21,880
the VA in so many ways. We've got the frightening aspect of the VA being pulled out from

509
00:43:21,880 --> 00:43:23,800
under us, properties and so forth.

510
00:43:24,540 --> 00:43:27,420
And we've gotten so many things that are happening

511
00:43:27,420 --> 00:43:28,720
that we can't control.

512
00:43:28,900 --> 00:43:31,840
We could say, thank God we're out of Iraq

513
00:43:31,840 --> 00:43:33,300
and we're gonna be out of Afghanistan,

514
00:43:33,300 --> 00:43:34,700
but we're all kidding ourselves

515
00:43:34,700 --> 00:43:36,580
if we don't think that five years from now

516
00:43:36,580 --> 00:43:38,120
we're gonna have wounded veterans

517
00:43:38,480 --> 00:43:41,360
and veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder

518
00:43:41,360 --> 00:43:44,860
problem, that's why heroes to hometown commit to being.

519
00:43:45,600 --> 00:43:49,360
And it started with that name by the American Legion,

520
00:43:49,360 --> 00:43:56,000
But it will fail if it doesn't have the support of veterans groups everywhere, of public and community everywhere.

521
00:43:56,660 --> 00:44:03,960
And this is not a canned speech. I was alive when I was here and I was in school when I saw it happen.

522
00:44:04,420 --> 00:44:10,980
We've had the same problems. My dad didn't own a car. He was making maybe $16 a week and other guys weren't making much more.

523
00:44:10,980 --> 00:44:16,420
at Fleishmans and places around like this and at that time we had wounded veterans come

524
00:44:16,420 --> 00:44:22,080
home like Jack Buse and like Jeanne Newman and so forth and this town put together nickels

525
00:44:22,080 --> 00:44:29,140
and dimes and volunteer workforces and businesses like Jack Flowers that his people come in

526
00:44:29,140 --> 00:44:34,660
and worked on a Saturday and they gave their wages for that day to help to build the

527
00:44:34,660 --> 00:44:36,880
house which was a special need house.

528
00:44:36,880 --> 00:44:43,720
they did these kind of things and then other people came in and gave their work, their services, they built ramps and everything.

529
00:44:44,200 --> 00:44:45,920
We're going to need that kind of thing again.

530
00:44:46,700 --> 00:44:53,840
We can't name specifics now. What we want to do is get a committee in place, ready, all of the assets of the community.

531
00:44:54,760 --> 00:44:59,980
And the mayor was very kind and followed up by names.

532
00:45:00,000 --> 00:45:06,760
Deeming people who are already in the business of servicing the people that really need help.

533
00:45:07,180 --> 00:45:09,960
They don't have to be veterans. There's people throughout the community.

534
00:45:10,380 --> 00:45:11,940
But they're all going to fold together.

535
00:45:12,180 --> 00:45:16,260
But we really want to see the leadership of the community.

536
00:45:16,480 --> 00:45:20,380
We want to see the business people and community and so forth come and at least listen

537
00:45:20,940 --> 00:45:24,240
and then decide if they want to participate in this kind of a program.

538
00:45:25,320 --> 00:45:26,360
That's what we want.

539
00:45:26,360 --> 00:45:31,920
Now, the good things that are happening is we're getting these young Iraq, Afghanistan,

540
00:45:33,040 --> 00:45:36,120
the Gulf War veterans, joining veterans groups.

541
00:45:36,280 --> 00:45:37,400
They didn't used to do this.

542
00:45:37,500 --> 00:45:41,280
They used to have to be concerned with their family, their careers and everything.

543
00:45:41,580 --> 00:45:42,320
But we're getting them.

544
00:45:42,560 --> 00:45:46,740
We've got, you know, I was a little late in the dollar short.

545
00:45:46,920 --> 00:45:53,280
I was going to recommend that we take one of the Irish ones we had and make them the grand marshal for our parade.

546
00:45:53,280 --> 00:45:57,600
I really think we should recognize the veterans coming home at every public event this year.

547
00:45:58,180 --> 00:45:59,660
Somehow recognize them.

548
00:46:00,500 --> 00:46:05,740
I really think that would help them to feel like they're really welcomed home.

549
00:46:06,560 --> 00:46:10,200
But there's so many things that have to be done, and I'm going to be very sure.

550
00:46:11,700 --> 00:46:13,440
We've been fortunate again.

551
00:46:14,020 --> 00:46:20,580
We just got a charter in the works, and we're having an auxiliary again in the American Legion and Peace Scale.

552
00:46:20,580 --> 00:46:25,340
And you don't have to be an American Legion member if you're a woman, a granddaughter,

553
00:46:25,620 --> 00:46:27,880
a daughter, a grandmother, a mother.

554
00:46:28,720 --> 00:46:33,920
You can join if your husband or father was eligible to be an American Legion

555
00:46:33,920 --> 00:46:39,240
and participated in the service during the times that the wars, declared wars and so forth.

556
00:46:39,840 --> 00:46:43,000
We're also forming a Sons of the Legion group.

557
00:46:43,600 --> 00:46:49,400
And one of our Legionnaires' sons who's 40 years old is very anxious to get off the ground with this thing.

558
00:46:49,400 --> 00:46:51,160
So that's coming to fold.

559
00:46:51,740 --> 00:46:53,940
Those people will be involved in these kind of things

560
00:46:53,940 --> 00:46:56,400
we're talking about, driving somebody to,

561
00:46:56,800 --> 00:46:59,460
you go to Castle Point, they don't have a vehicle

562
00:46:59,460 --> 00:47:01,200
going up there when somebody can work

563
00:47:01,200 --> 00:47:04,840
and go for treatment later in the evening.

564
00:47:05,400 --> 00:47:07,320
But we can get volunteers to do it.

565
00:47:07,400 --> 00:47:08,560
We can put these things together.

566
00:47:09,100 --> 00:47:11,120
And what we're doing is urging the community to

567
00:47:11,800 --> 00:47:15,260
look at it and support it if they feel

568
00:47:15,260 --> 00:47:16,260
that it should be supported.

569
00:47:16,260 --> 00:47:21,540
we're better than any country in the world taking care of our people and we've

570
00:47:21,540 --> 00:47:26,140
got an obligation to keep the covenant with the veterans and their families.

571
00:47:26,500 --> 00:47:33,760
Thank you. And so the meeting on the 3rd is to involve the community and talk

572
00:47:33,760 --> 00:47:39,960
more about these initiatives that the American Legion post is is proposing and

573
00:47:39,960 --> 00:47:44,400
so for anyone who's interested if I remember correctly the meeting is at

574
00:47:44,400 --> 00:47:48,540
one o'clock. I think it starts at one o'clock down at the American Legion post for anybody

575
00:47:48,540 --> 00:47:53,920
who's interested in going. Okay. If we move to our statements from citizens

576
00:47:53,920 --> 00:47:56,100
desiring to be heard, five minutes.

577
00:48:06,080 --> 00:48:13,820
The peace issue and the unfair fee you want to put on condo loans for garbage. But let

578
00:48:13,820 --> 00:48:18,880
me just ask you a question first. We've had one of the mildest winters in history.

579
00:48:18,880 --> 00:48:25,760
Every city of Yonkers is going to save a million dollars on their salt removal and snow removal.

580
00:48:26,080 --> 00:48:27,660
How much will peat skills save?

581
00:48:28,220 --> 00:48:30,120
Two or three hundred thousand at least?

582
00:48:31,520 --> 00:48:33,760
It'll probably be less than two hundred.

583
00:48:34,220 --> 00:48:35,840
I'll ask you one question.

584
00:48:36,080 --> 00:48:38,340
Will that come back to the taxpayers then?

585
00:48:39,780 --> 00:48:40,740
That's for salt.

586
00:48:40,960 --> 00:48:43,560
If we didn't buy the salt, then there's savings.

587
00:48:43,820 --> 00:48:46,260
If we purchase salt, there is no savings.

588
00:48:46,480 --> 00:48:47,460
We have salt for next year.

589
00:48:47,460 --> 00:48:48,460
What about the overtime?

590
00:48:48,460 --> 00:48:51,800
So we won't know. We've been using our crews.

591
00:48:52,040 --> 00:48:58,280
And so there's a whole budget update that we will get to the first quarter to see where we stand financially.

592
00:48:58,560 --> 00:49:00,140
So I can't answer those right now.

593
00:49:00,380 --> 00:49:08,060
I was going to suggest if you didn't use it for salting, that you could use it to clean up the riverfront green and our parks.

594
00:49:08,460 --> 00:49:13,800
So we wouldn't have to get rid of the Canadian geese and peat scale and I'll address that in a minute.

595
00:49:13,800 --> 00:49:20,500
But first, I want to address another one of the fine fees and taxes you want to put on

596
00:49:20,500 --> 00:49:26,680
us people, because of your egalitarian view of Pete's skill of what you want it to be.

597
00:49:28,440 --> 00:49:32,640
You think I like coming here every week, Ms. Forster, recently?

598
00:49:34,100 --> 00:49:42,060
I'm putting my house up for renegotiating of my mortgage, and I could lose my house

599
00:49:42,060 --> 00:49:47,840
in a year or two because of the continuing fees, fines, and everything else you want to

600
00:49:47,840 --> 00:49:48,820
put on people.

601
00:49:49,240 --> 00:49:55,040
But maybe one thing you will understand is the number 1400.

602
00:49:56,100 --> 00:49:58,940
You won the election by 500 votes.

603
00:49:59,500 --> 00:50:06,500
You want to charge people an extra garbage fee who live in condominiums, and the condominiums

604
00:50:06,500 --> 00:50:08,780
or Chapel Hill, Green Acres,

605
00:50:11,160 --> 00:50:19,120
Hendrick Hills, the Highlands, Society Hill 2, and Society

606
00:50:19,120 --> 00:50:27,900
Hill 1. That's 700 votes times 2, 1,400 votes. Maybe you'll understand that the next time,

607
00:50:28,240 --> 00:50:33,640
a year and 10 months when you come around to get re-elected. And you too, Ms. Deputy

608
00:50:33,640 --> 00:50:39,280
mayor. If she's going to put a fee on condo owners, you're a business owner in

609
00:50:39,280 --> 00:50:46,140
downtown Peatskill. You get six pickups, we get one. You should be feed six times

610
00:50:46,140 --> 00:50:53,140
what the condo owners are being feed. Don't you agree? Oh, you're silent

611
00:50:53,140 --> 00:50:57,400
like you were last week when the mayor and two of the council people were in

612
00:50:57,400 --> 00:51:05,740
here. I belong to a Veterans Committee in in in Cortland and if you miss 25% of your meetings

613
00:51:05,740 --> 00:51:11,280
according to the bylaws you don't get to vote after that. Maybe you should be a bard from

614
00:51:11,280 --> 00:51:16,960
voting at these elections and maybe docked paid too. If the citizens can come out here

615
00:51:16,960 --> 00:51:22,520
you can be here for the meetings. In the last three months you had two very important

616
00:51:22,520 --> 00:51:26,200
meetings to budget, Ms. Mayer, and you weren't here, but they voted.

617
00:51:26,560 --> 00:51:29,580
So you could say it's a council budget, not mine.

618
00:51:29,700 --> 00:51:33,400
Well, you know that's not true, because you know a statement was read from me saying I

619
00:51:33,400 --> 00:51:34,320
supported the budget.

620
00:51:34,620 --> 00:51:34,960
In absentia.

621
00:51:38,540 --> 00:51:45,260
So, and I'm urging all those condos, of which I'm a member of one of them, to fight

622
00:51:45,260 --> 00:51:46,100
you in court.

623
00:51:46,100 --> 00:51:54,260
not to give in, not to pay a private hauler, because will you lay off a bunch of DPW work?

624
00:51:54,520 --> 00:51:59,280
You won't, but they'll be picking up 15, 700 less pickups.

625
00:51:59,980 --> 00:52:02,360
And you're not going to lay them off? What are they going to do?

626
00:52:02,500 --> 00:52:07,860
Maybe they could clean those parks up and you wouldn't step in the goose deal when you get down there.

627
00:52:08,200 --> 00:52:14,320
And I do have some big news for you, and I'm going to give a copy to your Corporation Council tomorrow.

628
00:52:15,960 --> 00:52:26,420
The vision of migratory birds, the federal government, the Canadian geese and their eggs are a protected species.

629
00:52:27,320 --> 00:52:32,080
You cannot kill them. You cannot limit them. So that may be news to you.

630
00:52:32,720 --> 00:52:38,840
And if you find people $250 for feeding them, shame on you.

631
00:52:39,340 --> 00:52:43,200
People go there with their children to feed the waterfowl on the Hudson.

632
00:52:43,200 --> 00:52:47,840
They seniors go down there, it doesn't cost anything.

633
00:52:48,240 --> 00:52:55,120
Get your parks department to clean up the Dupieu Park and the riverfront green.

634
00:52:55,640 --> 00:52:57,620
And it should be cleaned up more often.

635
00:52:57,700 --> 00:53:01,360
There was wood on that from the storm for three or four months.

636
00:53:01,900 --> 00:53:07,680
The parks department can use that extra money you got in the snow budget to clean up our parks.

637
00:53:08,100 --> 00:53:11,920
And you don't have to kill my little friend.

638
00:53:28,500 --> 00:53:34,020
And you need to turn the bird off, George, you need to turn off the bird.

639
00:53:34,820 --> 00:53:36,900
Then take it outside in the hall, George.

640
00:53:37,880 --> 00:53:40,000
Take him outside in the hall, George.

641
00:53:46,720 --> 00:53:51,760
I live in the town of Cortland. I've lived here for 45 years. I was born and raised in

642
00:53:51,760 --> 00:53:57,400
Austin, New York. The River Front Green is a place that I take my grandchildren practically

643
00:53:57,400 --> 00:54:04,420
every day. I also have a boat on the Hudson River, which I cherish. To eliminate those

644
00:54:04,420 --> 00:54:10,780
geese and ducks may even be against the law. I'm very familiar with hunting laws

645
00:54:10,780 --> 00:54:20,960
in the state of New York. There's an open season on ducks and geese, migraery birds. You also

646
00:54:20,960 --> 00:54:28,920
have to buy a duck stamp besides your regular hunting license. They are a protected species.

647
00:54:29,640 --> 00:54:34,040
What would allow to kill these birds other than the hunting season?

648
00:54:34,260 --> 00:54:34,700
We're not sure.

649
00:54:34,720 --> 00:54:35,280
We'll destroy their eggs.

650
00:54:35,300 --> 00:54:36,140
I don't know what you're doing.

651
00:54:36,140 --> 00:54:38,580
If you did it in the field, you'd be arrested instantly.

652
00:54:39,340 --> 00:54:43,000
We're actually, I don't know where this is coming from. We're not killing the birds.

653
00:54:43,140 --> 00:54:52,560
We're not hunting the birds. The school district made a request of the city in terms of whether there were things we could do to help them in maintaining their athletic fields.

654
00:54:52,700 --> 00:55:02,720
Can someone please either answer or turn off their phone to help them maintain their athletic fields which are fenced in and are being damaged by the geese?

655
00:55:02,720 --> 00:55:10,000
We for years have had a dog chase the geese off the river front green to limit the amount of cleanup that we need to do.

656
00:55:10,460 --> 00:55:15,920
But we have not passed any ordinances. We have not put any procedures or practices in place.

657
00:55:16,300 --> 00:55:22,220
I do know that on private property there are condominium property managers who in fact do addle the geese eggs,

658
00:55:22,380 --> 00:55:26,960
whether they're allowed to or not. I don't know how you tell one goose from a Canadian geese.

659
00:55:27,380 --> 00:55:30,040
But it's not a practice that the city has undertaken.

660
00:55:30,040 --> 00:55:35,980
There was a discussion between a joint reading between the school board and the council,

661
00:55:36,340 --> 00:55:39,780
and the school board made the request, what can we do to help them?

662
00:55:40,040 --> 00:55:41,280
And we were having a discussion.

663
00:55:41,900 --> 00:55:48,880
And we have not put anything in place that is attacking or killing or geese.

664
00:55:49,440 --> 00:55:54,800
But we would like to have a lot less goose poop to have to clean up if we can manage that.

665
00:55:55,380 --> 00:56:01,660
So we invaded their territory actually by our population of being here.

666
00:56:01,780 --> 00:56:02,860
They were here first.

667
00:56:03,460 --> 00:56:05,140
I know they're on the docks down there.

668
00:56:05,220 --> 00:56:07,600
I see the docks loaded with it every day.

669
00:56:07,860 --> 00:56:09,560
But that's the way it is.

670
00:56:10,120 --> 00:56:11,740
Maybe somebody could pressure wash them.

671
00:56:11,840 --> 00:56:17,100
Sammy, I know Sammy down there who collects the doles and so on for the entrance of a boat.

672
00:56:17,740 --> 00:56:22,160
Maybe somebody could get down there and pressure wash it and teach the kids,

673
00:56:22,900 --> 00:56:27,660
that this is the right thing to let these birds hang out.

674
00:56:28,140 --> 00:56:30,500
In the FDR Park, they're there.

675
00:56:30,720 --> 00:56:32,400
They multiply in the spring.

676
00:56:32,480 --> 00:56:33,820
They're just lovely to watch.

677
00:56:34,420 --> 00:56:38,420
But let me just say, you have no plans on destroying them.

678
00:56:38,500 --> 00:56:38,940
Is that correct?

679
00:56:39,020 --> 00:56:39,320
No, we don't.

680
00:56:39,760 --> 00:56:43,520
But we've had rules in place about not feeding the waterfowl for decades.

681
00:56:44,040 --> 00:56:46,480
And so while they're beautiful to watch, they are not pets.

682
00:56:46,740 --> 00:56:49,700
So they're not here for us to feed them, to coddle them.

683
00:56:50,080 --> 00:56:50,700
They're not pets.

684
00:56:50,700 --> 00:56:53,980
They are wild animals, they may be protected, but we're not killing them.

685
00:56:54,000 --> 00:56:56,800
I don't think they'd survive without the people bringing bread down there.

686
00:56:56,800 --> 00:56:57,300
Sure they do.

687
00:56:57,680 --> 00:57:03,840
You know, some people's salivations would go down there and spend 10 minutes throwing a little food for them.

688
00:57:03,840 --> 00:57:10,660
We've gotten rid of the cattails, we've got rid of the marshes, Camp Smith, all the cattails have been destroyed, et cetera.

689
00:57:10,940 --> 00:57:16,440
And I think they wouldn't make it if people didn't hand feed them a little bit.

690
00:57:16,920 --> 00:57:18,440
Well, actually they would.

691
00:57:18,440 --> 00:57:21,520
They would. They're waterfowl. They eat the things that are in the river.

692
00:57:22,360 --> 00:57:26,780
And we're not adverse to replanting 12 grasses and things like that

693
00:57:26,780 --> 00:57:30,360
along the water's edge. But there's no plans to destroy the geese.

694
00:57:30,840 --> 00:57:33,700
What are the plans to limit the geese?

695
00:57:34,700 --> 00:57:36,220
There are no plans. No.

696
00:57:37,120 --> 00:57:42,780
We've had a door for decades that chases them. And we've had signs for decades

697
00:57:42,780 --> 00:57:45,100
that said, don't feed the waterfowl. Nothing is different.

698
00:57:45,700 --> 00:57:46,940
Sir, thank you for your time.

699
00:57:47,320 --> 00:57:47,820
Thank you.

700
00:57:48,060 --> 00:57:48,900
Thank you very much.

701
00:57:49,000 --> 00:57:54,260
I just want to say one quick thing in my view that I don't think waterfowl should be fed

702
00:57:54,260 --> 00:57:54,860
bread.

703
00:57:55,360 --> 00:58:00,660
I don't think that's a normal diet, and I don't think it's good for them to be fed bread.

704
00:58:02,160 --> 00:58:05,200
I think, you know, I'm not an expert, but that's my view.

705
00:58:05,200 --> 00:58:10,540
Since they don't have natural habitat, if they have the natural habitat, you're right.

706
00:58:10,920 --> 00:58:11,760
They shouldn't be fed.

707
00:58:11,980 --> 00:58:12,140
Okay.

708
00:58:12,720 --> 00:58:13,420
Thank you.

709
00:58:13,420 --> 00:58:15,940
but it's gone. Thank you.

710
00:58:25,770 --> 00:58:28,110
I'm about tired of coming in here and I know you're

711
00:58:28,110 --> 00:58:33,750
tired of seeing me but I'm gonna keep coming okay last time I was here I was

712
00:58:33,750 --> 00:58:39,370
very angry and I had the right to be but all that doesn't make my blood

713
00:58:39,370 --> 00:58:42,970
pressure go up so it's not worth it. I got a few things I'd just like to

714
00:58:42,970 --> 00:58:50,990
address. Same issues as always. Dumber Heights. They put cameras in, they have foot patrol

715
00:58:50,990 --> 00:58:58,730
security. Okay? They removed the foot patrol without notifying any of the residents. Now

716
00:58:58,730 --> 00:59:03,310
I live there. Nobody told us that security wasn't going to be there. So what they did

717
00:59:03,310 --> 00:59:08,450
was they took a booth and built a booth in Bowman Towers, 807 Main Street, and they

718
00:59:08,450 --> 00:59:12,370
have a man that works 12-hour shifts and his responsibilities to look at the

719
00:59:12,370 --> 00:59:18,950
cameras and Bowman and Dunbar. One man, 12-hour shift. There's something wrong with

720
00:59:18,950 --> 00:59:22,990
that. Now I live in Dunbar. For him to see something that happens down there by the

721
00:59:22,990 --> 00:59:27,690
time somebody shoots somebody else, if he sees it, if he's not asleep, by the

722
00:59:27,690 --> 00:59:30,630
time they get there, the person's going to be dead and the person who's shot

723
00:59:30,630 --> 00:59:34,230
is going to be gone. That's not a good thing. This is why my car keeps

724
00:59:34,230 --> 00:59:36,170
just getting vandalized time to time again.

725
00:59:36,750 --> 00:59:40,230
Nine times, still nobody's doing nothing, okay?

726
00:59:40,950 --> 00:59:42,610
Why is Phipps still in office?

727
00:59:43,470 --> 00:59:45,290
Why is he still there if he was not

728
00:59:45,290 --> 00:59:46,910
no longer our executive director?

729
00:59:47,390 --> 00:59:48,730
Every time I come here and speak,

730
00:59:48,930 --> 00:59:50,290
you don't even wanna know what happened to me.

731
00:59:50,550 --> 00:59:51,850
You know what happened last time I was here, Don?

732
00:59:52,730 --> 00:59:53,810
I lost my job.

733
00:59:55,490 --> 00:59:56,810
They don't wanna renew my lease.

734
00:59:57,730 --> 00:59:59,110
I got 60 days to get out.

735
01:00:00,000 --> 01:00:02,340
Because of what I said last time I was here, Don.

736
01:00:04,200 --> 01:00:05,820
Yeah, you're just shaking hands, you know.

737
01:00:07,220 --> 01:00:10,520
It's so sad and it's pathetic, oh, you heard.

738
01:00:11,020 --> 01:00:15,260
So what you going to do, Ms. Mayor, as the queen of this city?

739
01:00:15,700 --> 01:00:18,700
What are you going to do for me? I'm sick and tired of coming in here.

740
01:00:19,100 --> 01:00:22,180
I try to be nice, but see, when you give me that look like you give me right now,

741
01:00:22,460 --> 01:00:25,340
that's when I get kind of like ghetto, and I don't really want to do that.

742
01:00:25,340 --> 01:00:28,180
But it's making me angry because I've been coming here.

743
01:00:28,680 --> 01:00:30,220
I wrote letters repeatedly.

744
01:00:30,560 --> 01:00:34,960
I've done everything by the book, and nobody is helping me.

745
01:00:35,140 --> 01:00:35,560
At all.

746
01:00:36,200 --> 01:00:38,380
Y'all sit there with this blank look on your face.

747
01:00:39,080 --> 01:00:40,760
Only one person I think is sincere.

748
01:00:41,140 --> 01:00:42,280
Drew, you and I have history.

749
01:00:42,400 --> 01:00:43,180
I don't wanna go there.

750
01:00:44,100 --> 01:00:44,540
Okay?

751
01:00:44,880 --> 01:00:45,620
Nobody's perfect.

752
01:00:46,200 --> 01:00:48,440
Now you got your house and your little positions

753
01:00:48,440 --> 01:00:49,940
and you forget where you came from.

754
01:00:50,220 --> 01:00:51,060
What's going on?

755
01:00:51,520 --> 01:00:53,200
Peace scale used to be a beautiful city.

756
01:00:53,900 --> 01:00:56,980
This is ridiculous for one person to be going through what I'm going through.

757
01:00:57,460 --> 01:01:00,120
Every time I come up here and speak, this man retaliates.

758
01:01:00,160 --> 01:01:02,060
I worked for housing for six years.

759
01:01:02,580 --> 01:01:03,720
He took my job from me.

760
01:01:04,020 --> 01:01:04,420
You know what he said?

761
01:01:05,060 --> 01:01:08,640
Anybody who's on disability can't work after six years, you know, lost your mind.

762
01:01:09,300 --> 01:01:12,740
Or because I can't be told the truth about what he's doing to me.

763
01:01:13,100 --> 01:01:15,060
One person and you're allowing it.

764
01:01:15,180 --> 01:01:15,960
You have the right.

765
01:01:16,300 --> 01:01:18,200
You have the power to have him out of that office.

766
01:01:18,520 --> 01:01:19,360
You better do something.

767
01:01:20,020 --> 01:01:21,920
You better get up off your high horse.

768
01:01:21,920 --> 01:01:26,700
You want to be queen bee then do something okay channel 12? I wish they would have stayed

769
01:01:26,700 --> 01:01:28,400
I wish the God they would have stayed

770
01:01:29,240 --> 01:01:33,380
Somebody's gonna help me. I'm gonna keep coming. I'm not gonna get channels 12

771
01:01:33,380 --> 01:01:39,000
I'm gonna get channel 7 every TV station in here. So there's somebody can hear my cries

772
01:01:39,000 --> 01:01:41,580
Somebody's got to help me this I don't have money for a lawyer

773
01:01:42,140 --> 01:01:47,640
I'm gonna fix income now. They don't want to renew my lease because of what I said the last time I was here Don I

774
01:01:48,740 --> 01:01:51,900
Keep saying it because you have a lot to do with that. I already know it

775
01:01:51,920 --> 01:01:57,680
Then I also find it funny that you laughing, you got a lot of nerve, you got a lot of nerves

776
01:01:57,680 --> 01:01:58,340
sitting there laughing.

777
01:01:58,360 --> 01:01:58,860
I'm not laughing.

778
01:01:59,040 --> 01:02:00,600
You got that smirk, you got a smirk.

779
01:02:00,760 --> 01:02:00,880
That's all.

780
01:02:01,020 --> 01:02:01,700
I'm going to pray for you.

781
01:02:01,780 --> 01:02:02,880
But I'm going to say this real quick.

782
01:02:03,340 --> 01:02:07,940
The last time I was here and I spoke about my daughter's car being vandalized, the

783
01:02:07,940 --> 01:02:13,300
next day I find it kind of strange that I had a detective come to my house like

784
01:02:13,300 --> 01:02:17,700
he was investigating, promised me, oh, I'm tired of this happening to you.

785
01:02:18,140 --> 01:02:20,900
Chief sent me down here to stay on top of things, Ms. Allen.

786
01:02:20,900 --> 01:02:23,160
That was the first and last time I've seen him.

787
01:02:23,560 --> 01:02:25,000
That was the beginning of February.

788
01:02:25,160 --> 01:02:26,140
This is the end of the month.

789
01:02:26,540 --> 01:02:27,880
He did that to keep me quiet,

790
01:02:28,080 --> 01:02:30,160
so I went and come in and talk about peace care PD.

791
01:02:30,880 --> 01:02:31,340
Two below.

792
01:02:31,980 --> 01:02:33,240
What are y'all doing, man?

793
01:02:33,720 --> 01:02:34,600
I'm sick of this.

794
01:02:35,060 --> 01:02:36,580
I'm really sick and tired of it.

795
01:02:36,620 --> 01:02:38,080
Like this city is so going down,

796
01:02:38,360 --> 01:02:39,160
and then people look at me,

797
01:02:39,220 --> 01:02:41,300
oh, I feel so bad, I see you on TV.

798
01:02:41,740 --> 01:02:43,460
That ain't helping me about feeling sorry for me.

799
01:02:43,840 --> 01:02:45,180
Help fix my situation.

800
01:02:46,020 --> 01:02:46,500
That's it.

801
01:02:47,440 --> 01:02:47,980
Thank you.

802
01:02:54,320 --> 01:02:55,720
Janetta Rodriguez again.

803
01:02:57,040 --> 01:03:06,420
The last time I was here was February 14th and I made a promise, not a threat, and I'm

804
01:03:06,420 --> 01:03:11,320
going to carry that promise out and I'll explain to you, but let me get to some business.

805
01:03:12,760 --> 01:03:19,140
I know that most of you, when you decided to run for office, that you had good intentions.

806
01:03:19,760 --> 01:03:20,740
I want to believe that.

807
01:03:20,740 --> 01:03:29,420
I truly want to believe that every last official in the city of Heatskill had

808
01:03:29,420 --> 01:03:30,840
good intentions for this city.

809
01:03:33,000 --> 01:03:39,520
I don't see that now. I can tell the public and you

810
01:03:39,520 --> 01:03:46,780
need to tell the public the truth. You need to tell them why you are breaching

811
01:03:46,780 --> 01:03:54,020
contracts with condo owners over garbage fees. Because, I will tell them, do you

812
01:03:54,020 --> 01:04:00,000
mind if I tell them? I'll tell them. Because the city has pending lawsuits.

813
01:04:02,080 --> 01:04:02,600
The

814
01:04:02,600 --> 01:04:07,000
executive director, I believe, you know, you guys have a 50-H hearing or

815
01:04:07,000 --> 01:04:14,140
something like that. Okay. The director, you support him. He's an officer, the

816
01:04:14,140 --> 01:04:25,260
the city of Pete's skill, former, okay well then you're not going to defend him, okay we'll

817
01:04:25,260 --> 01:04:33,780
skip that, don't answer that, but there are lawsuits, there are lawsuits on the books,

818
01:04:34,220 --> 01:04:42,880
some will be dismissed and a lot will not, the reason that the city of Pete's skill

819
01:04:42,880 --> 01:04:50,000
has made changes to ordinance, their codes, the city codes, to get extra money.

820
01:04:51,060 --> 01:04:54,900
The taxpayers, the resident city of Pete's Guild, pays the insurance premiums.

821
01:04:55,620 --> 01:04:59,560
We pay their salaries. We pay everything.

822
01:05:00,700 --> 01:05:08,620
So if you don't have enough insurance liability to cover pending lawsuits that won't be dismissed, you're liable.

823
01:05:09,320 --> 01:05:11,240
But that's passed down to us.

824
01:05:11,240 --> 01:05:14,200
So you have to get money from somewhere.

825
01:05:15,000 --> 01:05:17,080
Tell the truth to the people.

826
01:05:17,520 --> 01:05:20,940
Many people may support you because they may love Tumelo,

827
01:05:21,380 --> 01:05:22,500
and they may love you,

828
01:05:23,280 --> 01:05:28,740
and they may donate the rich ones to help get the city out of debt

829
01:05:28,740 --> 01:05:31,360
because we're turning into a ghost town.

830
01:05:32,100 --> 01:05:33,160
Just look around.

831
01:05:33,760 --> 01:05:39,540
Years ago, I used to walk the Main Street home.

832
01:05:39,540 --> 01:05:46,900
it was filled the area that you want to buy two more parcels for imminent or get

833
01:05:46,900 --> 01:05:56,360
it imminent domain to build your firehouse Wow firehouse my goodness that

834
01:05:56,360 --> 01:06:01,860
street was lined with trees and old beautiful homes and what did the city

835
01:06:01,860 --> 01:06:07,900
do not you not you but the city you're not a fault I don't blame you for

836
01:06:07,900 --> 01:06:14,780
everything, but you can correct things now and you choose not to. That's what I'm

837
01:06:14,780 --> 01:06:20,540
I'm I'm upset because you choose not to. You change and twist and bend and amend

838
01:06:20,540 --> 01:06:28,200
laws to suit yourself and that is got to stop. The thing is you built cross

839
01:06:28,200 --> 01:06:32,740
her plaza and you took all those beautiful the city did that and they

840
01:06:32,740 --> 01:06:38,880
They took all those beautiful homes down, wow, now you propose to do the same thing on the

841
01:06:38,880 --> 01:06:39,500
other side.

842
01:06:40,000 --> 01:06:40,880
Are you serious?

843
01:06:41,200 --> 01:06:41,280
No.

844
01:06:41,480 --> 01:06:41,820
No, no, no.

845
01:06:42,280 --> 01:06:43,320
I want to allow that.

846
01:06:43,760 --> 01:06:44,800
I want to allow that.

847
01:06:45,120 --> 01:06:48,560
And I know that you have to get state approval and that's why you've been with Greg Ball.

848
01:06:49,180 --> 01:06:51,360
So let me just send that right now, okay?

849
01:06:52,560 --> 01:07:01,060
You will not be allowed to do that and I will make it where, if I have to, none

850
01:07:01,060 --> 01:07:10,520
of you will be in office because under Article 13A, the judicial proceedings for the removal

851
01:07:10,520 --> 01:07:19,940
of public officers by impeachment, all I have to do is contact the governor of New York State

852
01:07:20,300 --> 01:07:26,600
and complain. And none of you that I complain about will be allowed to work in your capacity

853
01:07:26,600 --> 01:07:55,240
as you are right now. So play me, okay? Let me tell you that. Play me. I'm going to tell you right now, there are laws to keep you in place. I realize one of you. And since you refuse to remove Tumelo, look, if I got to pay for a lawsuit, then do me the favor. I don't want to see him. He did wrong. Please do right by the people here.

854
01:07:56,300 --> 01:08:02,840
do right. Don't breach the contracts. There's got to be other ways. I sent you a letter about

855
01:08:03,320 --> 01:08:08,280
empty lots. You can turn them to parking lots. There's so many things you can do to bring in

856
01:08:08,280 --> 01:08:14,180
revenue. But you know what? I'm not supposed to address anyone in particular because that's the

857
01:08:14,180 --> 01:08:20,120
bylaw. So I like to abide by the bylaw. You always break them. But I want to say this.

858
01:08:20,120 --> 01:08:30,000
When you stopped the progress of the city with having a box store, you really did some damage here.

859
01:08:30,840 --> 01:08:33,820
You truly did. You truly, truly did.

860
01:08:35,760 --> 01:08:38,120
Okay. All right. Yes, I will. I'm sorry.

861
01:08:38,600 --> 01:08:41,760
Now, what I want to give you, and it's only a second, I have two more letters.

862
01:08:42,320 --> 01:08:48,080
One is under, of course, Article 8, Section 698,

863
01:08:48,080 --> 01:08:54,860
powers and duties with regulations of two unsafe buildings and abandoned evacuations.

864
01:08:55,720 --> 01:08:59,520
I would like to see the cove demolished and you know you can do that.

865
01:08:59,880 --> 01:09:01,800
And you give her the other letters as well.

866
01:09:01,940 --> 01:09:04,480
And this is a prior notice.

867
01:09:05,100 --> 01:09:05,340
Okay.

868
01:09:05,600 --> 01:09:05,960
Thank you.

869
01:09:05,960 --> 01:09:06,340
For defects.

870
01:09:07,160 --> 01:09:07,320
Okay.

871
01:09:07,520 --> 01:09:07,880
Thank you.

872
01:09:08,200 --> 01:09:08,360
Yeah.

873
01:09:08,660 --> 01:09:10,240
So do your job.

874
01:09:10,880 --> 01:09:11,420
Thank you.

875
01:09:20,150 --> 01:09:20,490
Hello.

876
01:09:20,650 --> 01:09:22,390
My name is Christopher Burkett from Peace Guild.

877
01:09:22,790 --> 01:09:25,930
I'm not going to take too long to say what I have to say.

878
01:09:25,930 --> 01:09:26,870
have to say.

879
01:09:30,150 --> 01:09:37,510
This, what I got to say is directly towards, he's not here right now, Chief Tumulo.

880
01:09:38,390 --> 01:09:44,610
He's not here, but Mayor Foster, you are responsible for him. I don't want to say nothing that's

881
01:09:44,610 --> 01:09:45,670
going to jeopardize my case.

882
01:09:49,000 --> 01:09:53,200
You know, you've been given these, given the police department

883
01:09:53,200 --> 01:10:05,400
too much credit for what they've been doing. And back in June 22 of last year, I was arrested

884
01:10:05,400 --> 01:10:10,920
for something that I didn't do. And I stand here before you to let you know that I am

885
01:10:10,920 --> 01:10:20,900
innocent. Now, when I go to trial with my case, and hopefully it will be in my favor,

886
01:10:22,500 --> 01:10:28,720
where these, you know, it's going to add up, you already got some lawsuits right now. It's

887
01:10:28,720 --> 01:10:35,340
going to add up, because like I said, you know, you guys been, I mean, I've been a long resident

888
01:10:35,340 --> 01:10:43,340
here, a peace scale, and where these, where these crime had picked place, I mean, it's

889
01:10:43,340 --> 01:10:48,040
ridiculous. I mean, I grew up down in Bowman Towers, you know, I grew up, I mean,

890
01:10:48,040 --> 01:10:56,780
I drove taxis too, I drove taxis and where this other crime had took place was of my orphan backers.

891
01:10:59,400 --> 01:11:04,360
Now, like I said, I don't interact with stuff like that. I never did.

892
01:11:05,060 --> 01:11:09,120
There's no record of me being out in the streets doing nothing like that.

893
01:11:12,000 --> 01:11:17,660
But, you know, you guys came to my, you know, came to my church, you know, you've been coming to my church.

894
01:11:18,340 --> 01:11:23,460
Mayor Foster and Mr. Bennett, you know, I'm a faithful member of Mount Lebanon Baptist Church.

895
01:11:24,080 --> 01:11:28,180
I sit in the choir, I do security work there, I work in the kitchen, I do all that.

896
01:11:29,700 --> 01:11:33,520
You know, you got in these courtrooms and God we trust, where's the trust at?

897
01:11:34,480 --> 01:11:36,600
There's nothing but lies being put on me.

898
01:11:37,680 --> 01:11:43,860
And, you know, I've been locked up down like the, what's just the, you know, county jail for five days was something that I did not do.

899
01:11:45,040 --> 01:11:47,980
And you don't know what the humiliation I'm going through and the embarrassment.

900
01:11:49,140 --> 01:11:53,140
I was a sub-custodian working at the Peace School, the Peace of the School District.

901
01:11:53,400 --> 01:11:56,260
I cannot work there because of these charges that saw me.

902
01:11:57,340 --> 01:11:59,760
My hack license got taken away because of these charges.

903
01:12:00,440 --> 01:12:02,320
So I've been suffering all the time.

904
01:12:03,500 --> 01:12:07,720
And if you can look into this matter, I mean, it will be grateful.

905
01:12:08,660 --> 01:12:09,160
Thank you.

906
01:12:09,560 --> 01:12:10,220
Thank you.

907
01:12:18,390 --> 01:12:20,210
Darrell Davis, Committee for Justice.

908
01:12:21,530 --> 01:12:28,550
I want to start by saying that for two years we've been coming here

909
01:12:28,550 --> 01:12:33,910
asking for your help to deal with a tyrant at the Peaksville Housing Authority.

910
01:12:35,370 --> 01:12:42,850
The man who is very abusive has no respect for the law and you turn your backs on us.

911
01:12:43,950 --> 01:12:48,170
You insulted our intelligence telling us you have nothing to do with the housing authority

912
01:12:49,590 --> 01:12:54,610
and the fact is that you make the appointments and you have a sitting council member on the

913
01:12:54,610 --> 01:12:59,630
housing authority and the courts have already ruled that you are liable for goes on

914
01:12:59,630 --> 01:13:00,530
at the housing authority.

915
01:13:00,530 --> 01:13:02,870
The Thucca Shan Lawson showed that.

916
01:13:03,770 --> 01:13:04,390
All right?

917
01:13:04,650 --> 01:13:08,250
So it's time that everybody comes clean.

918
01:13:09,250 --> 01:13:12,490
You know, I've asked you, I've told you Mr. Phipps was going to get us in trouble.

919
01:13:13,210 --> 01:13:16,630
And Mary Foster, you backed him and said, keep him there during the interim.

920
01:13:17,190 --> 01:13:19,610
And it's seven months later and the man is still there.

921
01:13:20,170 --> 01:13:24,930
You know, as if we're looking for the president of the United States instead of an executive director of the Housing Authority.

922
01:13:26,030 --> 01:13:28,270
And you don't want to point people to the board.

923
01:13:28,270 --> 01:13:33,410
And please don't get into the technicalities of the city manager makes the appointments.

924
01:13:33,590 --> 01:13:41,010
I know that game, I was appointed myself by Mayor Pataki, sworn in by the city manager.

925
01:13:41,610 --> 01:13:45,590
You guys make the appointments, you make the recommendation to the city manager who

926
01:13:45,590 --> 01:13:46,270
makes the appointments.

927
01:13:46,590 --> 01:13:47,770
And you've neglected all of that.

928
01:13:47,870 --> 01:13:54,210
You pulled back to give Harold Phipps, fired in Asbury Park, New Jersey, suspended

929
01:13:54,210 --> 01:13:59,770
it for insubordination, sued for sexual harassment, HUD said it was incompetent to give them a

930
01:13:59,770 --> 01:14:03,710
free reign to gentrify public housing and peak scale.

931
01:14:04,650 --> 01:14:11,030
And so I asked you two weeks ago, and two weeks before that, and six weeks before that,

932
01:14:11,050 --> 01:14:15,170
if you knew about the lawsuit that Harold Phipps has dragged the Housing Authority in

933
01:14:15,170 --> 01:14:22,110
again, another lawsuit, the peak scale Housing Authority is in danger of financial collapse,

934
01:14:22,110 --> 01:14:30,470
which you want. You haven't lifted a finger to help anybody, poor or of color, but you

935
01:14:30,470 --> 01:14:36,630
want to get a tax lien if their grass is too high. Is this the government of the people?

936
01:14:37,230 --> 01:14:41,350
And so I asked you if you knew anything about this new lawsuit and you all said, no, nothing.

937
01:14:42,150 --> 01:14:48,730
Notice the claim? Nope, nope, nothing. Housing Authority Board meeting, I asked Mr. Phipps

938
01:14:48,730 --> 01:14:53,830
directly. I asked Mr. Florence directly. Did you get served a notice of claim? Nope, nope,

939
01:14:53,910 --> 01:14:58,670
nope. Nobody knows anything. You know, so I'll ask you again.

940
01:15:00,000 --> 01:15:04,240
City council, are you aware of any legal action against the Peaksville Housing Authority?

941
01:15:04,440 --> 01:15:07,540
And I will say again, no. I still have not received a notice of claim.

942
01:15:07,940 --> 01:15:14,300
If I am subject to a lawsuit, if I am being called into some lawsuit, I have not received a notice of claim.

943
01:15:15,300 --> 01:15:20,260
What about, what if you're the corporate accountant, it would go to you, wouldn't it? A notice of claim?

944
01:15:20,560 --> 01:15:20,760
Yes.

945
01:15:21,240 --> 01:15:22,580
Did you receive a notice of claim?

946
01:15:23,640 --> 01:15:28,360
We received a notice of claim last year for an occurrence at the Housing Authority,

947
01:15:28,360 --> 01:15:35,440
with which the city is not involved, therefore there's been no 50-H hearing on that particular matter.

948
01:15:38,200 --> 01:15:40,440
An incident at the housing...

949
01:15:40,440 --> 01:15:44,880
Yes, and I do say it with a straight face because that's not information that's come to the council.

950
01:15:47,420 --> 01:15:52,380
Was this incident regarding a dose of claim against Harold Phipps?

951
01:15:53,260 --> 01:15:56,120
I don't remember the nature of what the claim was.

952
01:15:56,120 --> 01:15:57,580
Let me help you out, sis.

953
01:15:58,360 --> 01:15:59,120
I am not a sis.

954
01:15:59,940 --> 01:16:00,340
Okay,

955
01:16:02,840 --> 01:16:03,680
don't get touchy.

956
01:16:04,180 --> 01:16:06,740
I can see that you're not a sis.

957
01:16:08,280 --> 01:16:11,380
I have the notice of claim in my hand and it says that you were served.

958
01:16:11,580 --> 01:16:12,440
Is that inaccurate?

959
01:16:13,200 --> 01:16:16,560
I already stated that we received a notice of claim last year.

960
01:16:16,640 --> 01:16:19,180
Regarding the Peace of your Housing Authority in Harold Fipps?

961
01:16:19,860 --> 01:16:22,040
I don't remember and I'm not here to be clueless.

962
01:16:22,040 --> 01:16:23,700
Sex discrimination?

963
01:16:24,700 --> 01:16:29,140
nation, uh, inappropriate billing, pressuring tenants,

964
01:16:29,500 --> 01:16:30,440
pressuring employees.

965
01:16:31,000 --> 01:16:33,640
Is that a document, Mr. Davis?

966
01:16:33,840 --> 01:16:34,940
You're going to hand it to the city clerk?

967
01:16:35,020 --> 01:16:35,220
No, I'm not.

968
01:16:35,580 --> 01:16:35,860
OK.

969
01:16:36,060 --> 01:16:37,100
Because you have it already.

970
01:16:37,360 --> 01:16:38,180
I don't have it.

971
01:16:38,180 --> 01:16:38,680
Let's see.

972
01:16:38,800 --> 01:16:40,240
Let's see who else got served.

973
01:16:40,820 --> 01:16:42,760
Your city manager didn't tell you that served?

974
01:16:43,100 --> 01:16:43,360
No.

975
01:16:44,620 --> 01:16:48,160
What about Ron Abad, who quit a bluntly two months ago

976
01:16:48,160 --> 01:16:49,200
from the Pizza House authority?

977
01:16:49,520 --> 01:16:50,840
He didn't share this with any of you?

978
01:16:51,540 --> 01:16:51,720
Huh?

979
01:16:52,040 --> 01:16:52,260
No.

980
01:16:52,800 --> 01:17:00,820
Really? Nobody knows nothing and you're defendants. The lawsuit, let's see, are any of you familiar

981
01:17:00,820 --> 01:17:06,360
with a law firm named Sakhala Stern? Any of you guys hear of that?

982
01:17:06,840 --> 01:17:08,040
Man, I know the law firm, but.

983
01:17:08,240 --> 01:17:09,160
Why do you know them?

984
01:17:09,720 --> 01:17:10,780
Because they're a law firm.

985
01:17:11,000 --> 01:17:14,360
Okay. Well, if you go to their website, they list you as a client, City of Peaks

986
01:17:14,360 --> 01:17:14,600
Guild.

987
01:17:15,320 --> 01:17:18,460
Well, not me personally. They may represent matters with the city.

988
01:17:18,460 --> 01:17:19,680
Let's split hairs again.

989
01:17:20,300 --> 01:17:22,200
You got caught lying, all right?

990
01:17:22,400 --> 01:17:23,540
I didn't get caught lying.

991
01:17:23,960 --> 01:17:27,220
The City of Peace Guild is named on a lawsuit,

992
01:17:28,080 --> 01:17:29,680
soccer law stoner as a client.

993
01:17:30,200 --> 01:17:31,320
The City of Peace Guild is listed.

994
01:17:32,300 --> 01:17:33,540
And nobody knows nothing.

995
01:17:34,340 --> 01:17:36,380
Your corporation council here is listed

996
01:17:36,380 --> 01:17:39,300
as someone who got the notice of claim,

997
01:17:39,740 --> 01:17:41,160
Harold Fipps, William Florence,

998
01:17:41,620 --> 01:17:43,740
City of Peace Guild, City Manager, and others.

999
01:17:44,740 --> 01:17:44,920
All right?

1000
01:17:44,920 --> 01:17:52,500
So, stop the lying. That's number one. Number two, does the Housing Authority pay any bills for the City of Peaks Guild?

1001
01:17:54,730 --> 01:17:57,570
For the City of Peaks Guild or to the City of Peaks Guild?

1002
01:17:57,590 --> 01:18:04,950
On behalf of the paid any City of Peaks Guild bills. Has the Housing Authority paid any City of Peaks Guild bills? Mr. Phipps?

1003
01:18:06,890 --> 01:18:11,730
I don't know what that means, but not that I'm aware of. I mean they pay taxes to the city.

1004
01:18:11,730 --> 01:18:14,990
They say the planning department, City of Peekskill, had a bill.

1005
01:18:16,010 --> 01:18:20,850
Has the housing authority paid any City of Peekskill bills or expenses?

1006
01:18:20,910 --> 01:18:21,750
I would have no idea.

1007
01:18:22,710 --> 01:18:24,290
Would you know, Mr. City Manager?

1008
01:18:25,130 --> 01:18:26,450
If you could be specific.

1009
01:18:26,730 --> 01:18:27,890
I'm asking any bill.

1010
01:18:28,870 --> 01:18:34,050
Other than tax bills, I don't know if there's a billing arrangement between the city and the housing authority.

1011
01:18:34,410 --> 01:18:36,950
They have pilot agreements where they pay payments and

1012
01:18:37,830 --> 01:18:44,670
They have trash obligations where the city charges them for dumps or fees, so those are bills that are generated.

1013
01:18:44,970 --> 01:18:49,030
I mean, there are things like that, so if you could be more specific, I can find out.

1014
01:18:49,050 --> 01:18:57,150
No, not at this time, because I've seen some documents that are incredibly disturbing about the behavior of Mr. Phipps.

1015
01:18:57,530 --> 01:19:03,700
Some of it is invasion of privacy.

1016
01:19:06,360 --> 01:19:13,680
Some of it is women being in his office after hours with the lights down.

1017
01:19:15,000 --> 01:19:21,060
Some of it is no big contracts to a company in New Jersey where he's from

1018
01:19:21,060 --> 01:19:24,880
and his purchasing agent wouldn't sign it so he signed it.

1019
01:19:25,140 --> 01:19:27,720
And all of this is documented. You can't change it now.

1020
01:19:29,080 --> 01:19:29,920
Thank you.

1021
01:19:30,380 --> 01:19:32,580
And so I'm telling you that this is your responsibility

1022
01:19:32,580 --> 01:19:38,780
because we warned you and we told you and not only that, I found out that you're implicated in this.

1023
01:19:39,200 --> 01:19:43,880
And you can say what you want, but you're listed as a client of the law firm

1024
01:19:43,880 --> 01:19:46,760
who's defending the housing authority and apparently the city.

1025
01:19:47,380 --> 01:19:52,540
Mr. Davis, the housing authority has paid bills for the city of Peaceville.

1026
01:19:52,740 --> 01:19:53,060
All right.

1027
01:19:53,100 --> 01:19:55,180
Mr. Davis, your time is up.

1028
01:19:55,200 --> 01:19:55,680
Thank you.

1029
01:19:55,860 --> 01:19:56,180
Yeah, I bet.

1030
01:19:56,800 --> 01:19:57,600
Your time is up.

1031
01:19:58,060 --> 01:20:01,480
And if you want to hand a copy of that to the clerk, that's fine.

1032
01:20:05,120 --> 01:20:07,320
Mr. Davis, don't make it early out of water.

1033
01:20:07,520 --> 01:20:09,740
It's the third time I've said your time is up.

1034
01:20:11,020 --> 01:20:11,500
Mr.

1035
01:20:14,240 --> 01:20:17,540
Davis, you're out of order. Thank you.

1036
01:20:20,540 --> 01:20:22,540
So we're moving on to new business.

1037
01:20:23,420 --> 01:20:24,980
We're moving on to new business.

1038
01:20:25,980 --> 01:20:27,560
We're moving on to new business.

1039
01:20:28,560 --> 01:20:29,040
Yes.

1040
01:20:29,740 --> 01:20:30,980
We're moving on to new business.

1041
01:20:31,660 --> 01:20:34,800
Because you got paid and implicated in a whole lot of stuff.

1042
01:20:35,020 --> 01:20:36,340
Actually, that's not true.

1043
01:20:36,540 --> 01:20:39,720
And since Mr. Davis wouldn't relinquish the podium, we're done.

1044
01:20:40,180 --> 01:20:40,760
We're done.

1045
01:20:40,900 --> 01:20:41,900
We're done for two months.

1046
01:20:42,060 --> 01:20:42,360
Let's go.

1047
01:20:42,460 --> 01:20:43,400
Two months you lie.

1048
01:20:44,480 --> 01:20:45,640
So we're done.

1049
01:20:46,300 --> 01:20:46,780
We're done.

1050
01:20:46,780 --> 01:20:50,720
The resolution, J1, it's actually not shut down.

1051
01:20:50,960 --> 01:20:56,240
We said we called Mr. Davis out of order, asked him repeatedly to leave the podium,

1052
01:20:56,240 --> 01:21:00,420
And we are done with public comment. So Resolution J1.

1053
01:21:03,220 --> 01:21:07,900
Madam Mayor, I move to accept Resolution J1 is written.

1054
01:21:08,440 --> 01:21:10,040
Officers, please take care of the noise.

1055
01:21:12,140 --> 01:21:13,540
So do we have a second?

1056
01:21:13,940 --> 01:21:14,680
Do we have a second?

1057
01:21:15,240 --> 01:21:16,120
On the question.

1058
01:21:16,720 --> 01:21:24,080
The cross-cultural connection is applied for permission to hold a Mardi Gras Parade on Saturday, March 3rd,

1059
01:21:24,080 --> 01:21:28,180
Commencing at 5.45 and ending at 6.15.

1060
01:21:29,880 --> 01:21:30,660
All in favor?

1061
01:21:32,060 --> 01:21:32,240
Whatever.

1062
01:21:32,580 --> 01:21:32,940
All right.

1063
01:21:33,060 --> 01:21:36,540
Resolution J2, St. Patrick's Day Parade.

1064
01:21:37,200 --> 01:21:38,180
Councilman Rigger.

1065
01:21:39,920 --> 01:21:43,180
I also want to let you know, yes Madam Mayor,

1066
01:21:43,380 --> 01:21:46,080
I immediately accept Resolution J2 as presented.

1067
01:21:46,240 --> 01:21:46,540
Second.

1068
01:21:47,180 --> 01:21:51,520
Whereas the peak scale, St. Patrick's Committee has applied for permission

1069
01:21:51,520 --> 01:21:55,180
to hold a parade on Saturday, March 10th, 2012,

1070
01:21:56,060 --> 01:21:59,080
commencing at 3 p.m. and ending at 4 30 p.m.

1071
01:21:59,620 --> 01:22:02,280
And whereas the parade will begin on South Division Street,

1072
01:22:02,660 --> 01:22:05,580
proceed down 1st Street, North on Union Avenue,

1073
01:22:05,880 --> 01:22:08,060
East on Central Avenue, North on Division Street,

1074
01:22:08,220 --> 01:22:10,560
East on Main Street, South on James Street,

1075
01:22:10,740 --> 01:22:12,900
West on Brown Street, and ending at the Paramount Center,

1076
01:22:13,660 --> 01:22:16,820
resolve the city clerk, the hereby direct

1077
01:22:16,820 --> 01:22:18,260
and authorized to issue a permit

1078
01:22:18,260 --> 01:22:19,940
to the St. Patrick's Day Committee

1079
01:22:19,940 --> 01:22:25,300
to hold a parade on Saturday, March 10th, 2012, pursuant to the ordinance governing the same.

1080
01:22:25,900 --> 01:22:26,700
All in favor?

1081
01:22:27,060 --> 01:22:27,400
Aye.

1082
01:22:28,420 --> 01:22:32,460
Resolution J3, the Juneteenth Parade, Councilman Torres.

1083
01:22:33,000 --> 01:22:36,100
I accept Resolution J3 as presented.

1084
01:22:36,500 --> 01:22:37,680
On the question?

1085
01:22:37,900 --> 01:22:41,880
Whereas Juneteenth commemorates the date that the slave in Texas learned the slavery had been abolished

1086
01:22:41,880 --> 01:22:46,660
and its oldest national celebrated commemoration of the ending of slavery in the United States,

1087
01:22:46,660 --> 01:22:55,220
The Juneteenth Parade Committee has applied for permission to hold a parade in Salvation on Saturday, June 16th, commencing at 8 a.m. and ending at 8 p.m.

1088
01:22:55,940 --> 01:23:09,160
Resolve at City Clerk B, and she is at the City Clerk B, and she hereby directed to authorize issue of permit to the Juneteenth Parade Committee to hold a parade in Salvation on Saturday, June 16th, 2012, pursuant to the ordinance governing the same.

1089
01:23:09,340 --> 01:23:09,680
Madam Mayor.

1090
01:23:10,260 --> 01:23:10,880
Paul, in favor?

1091
01:23:11,340 --> 01:23:11,660
Aye.

1092
01:23:11,660 --> 01:23:20,000
And so we have a number of praise and concerts coming up. Resolution J-4, the pro-AM ensemble concert street closing.

1093
01:23:20,780 --> 01:23:21,500
Councilman Bennett.

1094
01:23:22,060 --> 01:23:24,540
Madam, may I move to accept Resolution J-4 as presented.

1095
01:23:24,860 --> 01:23:25,020
Second.

1096
01:23:25,260 --> 01:23:25,940
On the question.

1097
01:23:26,480 --> 01:23:32,340
Music students from Peaksville High School, college music students and students from other areas will have rehearsed

1098
01:23:32,340 --> 01:23:37,560
and performed with professional musicians as a member of a collective ensemble, the pro-AM ensemble.

1099
01:23:38,120 --> 01:23:44,400
The Proan Ensemble wishes to perform an open-air concert on Friday, August 24th on North Division

1100
01:23:44,400 --> 01:23:49,780
Street between Main and Park between the hours of 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. Therefore it be resolved

1101
01:23:49,780 --> 01:23:53,980
that the Chief of Police is hereby authorized to close North Division Street between Main

1102
01:23:53,980 --> 01:23:58,820
and Park on Friday, August 24th from 7 to 9 p.m., Madam Mayor.

1103
01:23:58,960 --> 01:23:59,080
Okay.

1104
01:23:59,260 --> 01:23:59,820
Fall in favor.

1105
01:24:01,840 --> 01:24:07,020
Resolution J5, the grant award from Westchester County Youth Bureau for the continued operation

1106
01:24:07,020 --> 01:24:11,880
of the 2012 Advancing Lift Program, Councilwoman Talbot.

1107
01:24:12,420 --> 01:24:18,160
Madam Mayor, I move that Resolution J5 be passed as written.

1108
01:24:18,660 --> 01:24:19,020
Second.

1109
01:24:19,220 --> 01:24:19,860
On the question.

1110
01:24:22,520 --> 01:24:26,400
Resolution J5 is authorizing the Acting City Manager

1111
01:24:26,400 --> 01:24:31,000
to accept the grant award from Westchester County Youth Bureau

1112
01:24:31,000 --> 01:24:36,160
for the continued operation of the 2012 Advancing LIFT

1113
01:24:36,160 --> 01:24:43,640
or lift program. Whereas the County Youth Bureau has awarded the city $45,000 to continue

1114
01:24:43,640 --> 01:24:50,400
this program whereas $45,000 will be allocated to the Youth Bureau for the next three years

1115
01:24:50,400 --> 01:24:57,340
depending on the county appropriation. Whereas the funding will support the continuation

1116
01:24:57,340 --> 01:25:03,500
of a comprehensive year-round program for city youth ages 11 to 14 of all economic

1117
01:25:03,500 --> 01:25:10,140
background and whereas comprehensive program services and activities will reinforce positive

1118
01:25:10,140 --> 01:25:17,380
youth development, including things like team building, positive peer development, communications,

1119
01:25:17,980 --> 01:25:22,580
verbal and written skills as well as community service projects and summer activities.

1120
01:25:23,260 --> 01:25:28,960
And whereas, I guess there's a few more warehouses, whereas other program activities will include

1121
01:25:28,960 --> 01:25:34,300
problem-solving activities, community projects, peer leadership, educational

1122
01:25:34,300 --> 01:25:40,260
enrichment, leadership training, et cetera, and the funding for each participant

1123
01:25:40,260 --> 01:25:45,100
to register for accountability for each funding source and whereas the funding

1124
01:25:45,100 --> 01:25:53,100
requires a match in the amount of $24,231 for a total contract amount of

1125
01:25:55,220 --> 01:26:04,060
$69,231 and final whereas the matched will, the matched will be realized from the youth

1126
01:26:04,060 --> 01:26:09,100
bureau's general operating budgets and now therefore let it be resolved that the city

1127
01:26:09,100 --> 01:26:15,880
manager is hereby authorized to accept the 2012 funding in the amount of $45,000 and

1128
01:26:15,880 --> 01:26:25,880
to amend the budget code 015.7143, project number 0622 to reflect this award.

1129
01:26:26,180 --> 01:26:26,600
Okay.

1130
01:26:26,880 --> 01:26:27,420
Well, in favor?

1131
01:26:27,920 --> 01:26:28,180
Aye.

1132
01:26:28,940 --> 01:26:33,820
And the Youth Bureau, our City Youth Bureau continues to work hard every year to gather

1133
01:26:33,820 --> 01:26:34,940
more grants.

1134
01:26:35,360 --> 01:26:40,240
And the match that is required under this grant is already in their operating budget.

1135
01:26:40,460 --> 01:26:45,320
So we're glad to be able to support these activities for our teens and our youth.

1136
01:26:45,320 --> 01:26:53,640
And the final resolution authorizing extra work authorization number eight for the remediation of peak scale landing councilman McGowan.

1137
01:26:53,760 --> 01:26:57,780
Yes, Madam Mayor, I move to accept resolution J6 as presented.

1138
01:26:57,900 --> 01:26:58,100
Second.

1139
01:26:58,560 --> 01:26:59,240
On the question.

1140
01:26:59,700 --> 01:27:10,820
The Department of Environmental Conservation Extension Certificate and Document Requirements necessitated that our project engineer of

1141
01:27:10,820 --> 01:27:14,320
of cloud harbor associates exceed some of the budget costs

1142
01:27:14,320 --> 01:27:17,140
for final remediation on peak scale landing.

1143
01:27:17,600 --> 01:27:20,680
These costs include construction observations,

1144
01:27:21,360 --> 01:27:24,840
project certification of soil cap thickness,

1145
01:27:25,760 --> 01:27:28,160
payment application efforts and negotiations

1146
01:27:28,320 --> 01:27:30,540
that resulted in a discontinuation

1147
01:27:30,540 --> 01:27:33,100
of groundwater monitoring requirements.

1148
01:27:33,660 --> 01:27:39,080
Overall, the total requested EWA is $23,820

1149
01:27:39,080 --> 01:27:47,500
Because there are still funds available in our state assistance contract, which provides 90% reimbursement for the project cost,

1150
01:27:48,080 --> 01:27:54,520
the total cost of the city after reimbursement is estimated to be $2,382.

1151
01:27:55,620 --> 01:28:04,860
Therefore, the Common Council hereby authorizes the acting city manager or his designee to sign extra work authorization number 8

1152
01:28:04,860 --> 01:28:12,820
in an amount not to exceed $23,820 in order to complete the remediation of peak-scale

1153
01:28:12,820 --> 01:28:13,280
landing.

1154
01:28:14,060 --> 01:28:20,040
The Common Council also authorizes the acting city manager or his designee to take any

1155
01:28:20,040 --> 01:28:24,320
and all necessary steps to effectuate the intent of this resolution.

1156
01:28:25,120 --> 01:28:26,320
I call in favor.

1157
01:28:26,960 --> 01:28:33,600
I did want to make it clear that even though the overrun by the contractor was $23,000,

1158
01:28:33,600 --> 01:28:51,540
We still have money already in our grant account and we get reimbursed under this by 90% so the only cost of the city is $2,300, not $23,000, and part of this extensive work also reduced further monitoring that would need to be done on the site.

1159
01:28:52,160 --> 01:28:58,100
So our overall operating cost will be much lower than had this extra work not been done, so it was well spent.

1160
01:28:58,780 --> 01:29:00,200
So it's funds well spent.

1161
01:29:00,860 --> 01:29:05,700
Before we adjourn, I just wanted to clarify one matter for the viewing public.

1162
01:29:06,600 --> 01:29:11,140
Just because somebody brings an action against the Housing Authority or its staff,

1163
01:29:11,280 --> 01:29:13,440
that is not an action against the city of Peakskill.

1164
01:29:14,100 --> 01:29:19,680
And so the lively debate happening here was all about the fact that if a notice of claim is filed

1165
01:29:19,980 --> 01:29:25,100
and is erroneously filed with the city, it's up to our City Corporation Council

1166
01:29:25,100 --> 01:29:28,540
to appropriately respond, not all such erroneously filed things,

1167
01:29:28,540 --> 01:29:33,240
come to the attention of the counsel, those are handled within the purview of our

1168
01:29:33,240 --> 01:29:37,960
Corporation Council, as would be the norm. The only things that come to us are things

1169
01:29:37,960 --> 01:29:43,960
that actually will result in some potential threat to the city. And so the fact that

1170
01:29:43,960 --> 01:29:47,440
somebody takes an action against the housing authority is not an action against

1171
01:29:47,440 --> 01:29:52,340
the city of Peekskill and there seems to be some substantial confusion about how

1172
01:29:52,340 --> 01:29:57,820
those matters work. So I just wanted to help clarify that over the discussion

1173
01:29:57,820 --> 01:29:58,640
that was happening.

1174
01:30:00,000 --> 01:30:01,880
Are adjourning the meeting for this evening?

1175
01:30:02,560 --> 01:30:04,020
I'd like to make a few announcements.

1176
01:30:05,920 --> 01:30:15,440
On Thursday, March 1st, from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m., the Pisco Youth Bureau and the Juneteenth

1177
01:30:15,440 --> 01:30:22,700
Parade and Celebration Committee is throwing a best gospel concert as a fundraiser for the

1178
01:30:22,700 --> 01:30:24,700
Juneteenth Parade.

1179
01:30:24,700 --> 01:30:30,180
Again, that's Thursday, March 1st, from 7 to 9 p.m. at Peaceville Middle School.

1180
01:30:31,160 --> 01:30:36,520
The Juneteenth Parade itself is Saturday, June 16th, so please save that date.

1181
01:30:37,540 --> 01:30:44,920
And then this Saturday, March—no, not this Saturday—a week from this Saturday, March 10th at 4 p.m.,

1182
01:30:45,440 --> 01:30:51,780
the Park Street AME Zion Church is holding the Life and Legacy of Harriet Tubman.

1183
01:30:51,780 --> 01:30:56,060
Again, that's Saturday, March 10th at 4 p.m. and everyone is invited.

1184
01:30:56,440 --> 01:31:01,320
There will be a musical presentation organized by Brother Doug Smith.

1185
01:31:02,180 --> 01:31:02,380
Thank you.

1186
01:31:02,740 --> 01:31:07,160
And if we, which will be interesting, it's the same day as the St. Patrick's Day Parade.

1187
01:31:07,760 --> 01:31:11,860
So we have a lot going on on the 10th on that day.

1188
01:31:14,060 --> 01:31:14,500
Right.

1189
01:31:15,980 --> 01:31:19,760
And then there will be some events coming up for Earth Day on April 22nd,

1190
01:31:19,760 --> 01:31:21,540
which we'll bring to everybody as well.

1191
01:31:21,880 --> 01:31:23,600
But the weather's been holding out,

1192
01:31:23,680 --> 01:31:25,640
so our calendars are starting to get very busy.

1193
01:31:26,320 --> 01:31:28,400
And thank you, Women Assemblywoman Gaila,

1194
01:31:28,500 --> 01:31:29,600
for being with us tonight.

1195
01:31:31,240 --> 01:31:31,980
So we'll be back in a minute.