[0:38] Good evening everyone and welcome to the Troy City Council. It is 6:30

[0:43] and it is uh

[0:46] I'd like to call this public hearing to order.

[0:50] I would ask first that you please join me

[0:52] in the Pledge of Allegiance.

[0:59] » I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the

[1:04] republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and

[1:10] justice for all.

[1:17] » Clerk, would you please call the roll? >> Council member De Lorenzo?

[1:21] » Present. >> Council member Scrubber?

[1:23] » Present. >> Council member Spain McLaren?

[1:25] » Present. >> Council member Mackey?

[1:26] » Present. >> Council member Favreau?

[1:28] » Present. >> Council member Campbell Cohen?

[1:30] » Present. >> Council President Steel?

[1:32] » Also present. >> All members are present.

[1:35] » Thank you. >> Council President, I move that the

[1:38] council resolve itself into a committee of the whole for the purpose of

[1:41] conducting a public hearing. >> Clerk, would you please read the notice?

[1:46] » Regarding proposed local law amending the charter of the city of Troy by

[1:50] repealing and replacing section C-40 public emergencies to align it with the

[1:55] state of New York Executive Law, Article 2-B regarding emergency declarations.

[2:04] » The public hearing regarding local law number four is now open.

[2:08] Uh the rules of the chair are similar to the rules that we've followed

[2:14] for the two previous public hearings. Um

[2:18] we would ask that you come forward, give your name, place of residence. Please

[2:23] keep your remarks to no longer than 5 minutes.

[2:27] And I would uh invite folks to come forward.

[2:47] » Good evening, council members. My name is Frankie and I'm a resident of Troy.

[2:51] I'm here again to express my full support for local law number four, and I

[2:56] want to thank you one more time for preserving the public's right to speak

[2:59] freely on this topic despite the mayor's attempt to silence our voices.

[3:04] In my previous comments on local law number four, I lamented all the time,

[3:09] energy, and resources that have been squandered on Mayor Montello's

[3:13] fabricated emergency while Troy residents face the real-life crisis of

[3:18] economic insecurity. I highlighted actual emergencies like

[3:23] the struggle of ordinary citizens to afford food, housing, transportation,

[3:28] and medical care. But since the last time I spoke, we now

[3:33] know much more about those real-life emergencies.

[3:37] On July 23rd, New York State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli released a report on

[3:42] homelessness that showed a stunning 55% year-over-year increase in homelessness

[3:50] in the city of Troy and Rensselaer County combined, the third highest

[3:54] increase in the entire state. In my opinion, that is a real public

[3:59] emergency. At the recent 2026 State of Hunger

[4:03] Summit in Troy, the Regional Food Bank had one clear message. Food insecurity,

[4:10] especially among children, is on the rise.

[4:13] According to their data, roughly one in six kids don't know where they're going

[4:18] to get their next meal. I don't know about you, but that also

[4:23] seems like a real public emergency to me.

[4:28] So, homelessness in our area is increasing at an astonishing rate.

[4:32] Regional Food Banks are struggling to meet unprecedented demand. Children in

[4:38] our community are going hungry. And yet, no public emergency has been declared

[4:44] for any of that. I personally think these critical issues

[4:49] should be our city's top priority. Unfortunately, the mayor appears to

[4:55] think the most urgent issue in Troy is to bypass the council and pay an

[5:00] exploitative data broker 160,000 taxpayer dollars to surveil private

[5:07] citizens 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. And even though she paid that data

[5:13] broker over 4 months ago, the mayor has chosen to keep this supposed public

[5:18] safety emergency in place, which in effect puts it at the very top of her

[5:23] priority list. I can't begin to fathom the

[5:27] justification for that, but I'm hoping that the council's Article 78 lawsuit

[5:32] will provide us all with some insight. In the meantime, I ask you please get

[5:39] local law number four passed so we can stop focusing on the mayor's fake

[5:44] emergencies and get back to the business of serving the thousands of Troy

[5:48] residents, our friends and neighbors, who are facing real-life emergencies

[5:53] every single day. Please seal the deal on this law, close

[5:58] the loopholes, and let's turn our collective attention to finding real

[6:02] solutions to the very real problems that are plaguing our community.

[6:08] Thank you for taking time to hear my comments. It's appreciated as always.

[6:12] » Thank you, Frankie.

[6:26] » Good evening, Council. My name is Callisto. I live right down on Fulton

[6:30] Street. And thank you for all of your hard work on this issue that the public

[6:34] clearly cares a lot about. Our governing institutions function at

[6:38] their best when their participating bodies have their power restricted by a

[6:42] system of checks and balances, and when those participating bodies and

[6:46] individuals are engaging with the system in a good faith effort.

[6:50] Certain circumstances, like natural disasters or other emergencies, require

[6:55] the system of checks and balances to be relaxed to allow the executive to

[6:59] navigate nimbly in the interest in preserving lives and property. We all

[7:03] recognize that there are good reasons for carve-outs to exist, which

[7:07] circumvent some aspects of our system as written.

[7:10] The world is complicated, and our institutions should be fluid.

[7:14] An issue arises when that second thing about participating bodies or

[7:18] individuals acting in good faith doesn't happen. Our mayor has repeatedly shown

[7:23] that she cannot be entrusted with the responsibility of stewarding

[7:26] boundary-pushing executive power through her abuse of the law, which allows her

[7:31] currently to declare a state of emergency basically on a whim.

[7:34] She has declared, I believe, eight state of emergencies in the past 2 and 1/2

[7:38] years, with at least three of those instances being to specifically

[7:42] circumvent the uh legislative process which the city council is supposed to

[7:46] govern. Uh this most recently happened with the flood cameras contract which

[7:50] was as plain of an instance of executive overreach and executive abuse as I can

[7:55] imagine. Um so I fully support local law number

[7:58] four and thank you for continuing to take input uh uh continue to take input

[8:02] on these matters. We really appreciate it. Thank you.

[8:05] » Thank you, Kalista.

[8:27] » All right, one sec to get my phone up. Okay.

[8:32] Uh I'm Francis. Uh sweet. I'm in D6. Um

[8:38] I support local law number four. I think that it's high time that we get that

[8:43] passed. Um I know since she vetoed even this public

[8:48] hearing that she's inevitably uh Carmella is going to veto the law

[8:54] itself, but I know that you guys have the strength

[8:59] and power to override that, so we'll be I'll be here for all of those meetings

[9:06] » [laughter] >> and supporting.

[9:08] Um I just wanted to point out some discrepancies in

[9:14] in what the the mayor has said in the past versus her actions now. Um

[9:21] she

[9:24] has absolutely usurped the power of the legislative body as the executive.

[9:31] When she was council president she argued in favor of more power and

[9:37] oversight to the legislative body. But now that she's executive, that's been

[9:41] flipped on its head. Um, Flock is not an emergency.

[9:47] Uh, when Madden declared a state of

[9:50] emergency and she was up in arms about this,

[9:53] that it was taking away power from the legislative body,

[9:57] that was about necessary for life water supply.

[10:02] This is about a fun toy that Troy PD wants.

[10:06] It's not the same. This is not an emergency.

[10:11] And she needs to not be able to do this. Any mayor needs to not be able to do

[10:16] this in the future. When she was City Council President, she

[10:21] sent a statement to Madden criticizing him for what she said was,

[10:26] quote, "An attempt to usurp the powers of the legislative branch that is

[10:30] appalling and oversteps the coequal branches of government." I think that

[10:35] perfectly is a perfect example of what she has done. So, I support this local

[10:40] law and I hope you pass it and pass it again. Thank you.

[10:46] » Thank you, Francis.

[11:01] » Hello, everyone. Name is Briana Harrington. I'm in District 4, 10th

[11:05] Street. Yeah, just want to reiterate what

[11:08] everyone's been saying. Um,

[11:10] I support Local Law number 4. Um, appreciate it being uh in existence

[11:16] to begin with. Definitely a long time coming with a lot of the um abuses of

[11:23] power that have been going on consistently.

[11:26] Uh, I wouldn't be surprised if Mayor Montello actually declared a state of

[11:31] emergency about this local law number four.

[11:34] Uh, so we'll just keep that in the back of our heads because, you know, she

[11:39] loves to throw that around. Um, once again, as we all know, Flock

[11:45] it's a tool. It is a tool that is made by a very

[11:50] un-reputable company, as we've seen time and time and time again, that we've

[11:53] discussed time and time again. Um, many communities all over the

[11:57] country are canceling their contracts, as we know.

[12:01] And so, this definitely, um, does not deserve any sort of state of emergency

[12:07] or any sort of, um, you know, uh, payment without, uh,

[12:14] permission. So, again, thank you. >> Thank you, Briana.

[12:31] Does anyone else wish to address the council as part of the public hearing?

[12:41] Well, I want to thank all of you for your comments.

[12:45] They were heard.

[12:48] Um, and at this point,

[12:52] I would entertain a motion to adjourn the public hearing.

[12:54] » Motion. >> Second.

[12:56] » Council member McLaren with a second by council member Favreau. All in

[13:00] » favor? >> I.

[13:01] » Opposed? We are adjourned.

[15:24] » Mhm.

[28:49] » Mhm.

[30:36] » Good evening, everyone. Welcome to the Troy City Council. It is

[30:41] 7:00. It is also the regular meeting regular August meeting

[30:47] of the council. Previously at our public hearing, we

[30:52] pledged allegiance and we called the roll. At this point in the evening, I

[30:56] would ask that if anyone has any comments on the agendas,

[31:02] uh which are at the back of the chambers,

[31:05] uh you're welcome to come forward. This this public forum is on agenda items

[31:11] only. There will be a public forum at the end

[31:14] of the meeting on any item, but at this point of the evening, it is

[31:18] just agenda items. Does anyone wish to address

[31:23] us on the three resolutions and one ordinance?

[31:33] Seeing none, we'll move right along with our agenda.

[31:36] Ordinances. Ordinance 32. >> Ordinance 32, an ordinance amending the

[31:41] 2026 General Fund Budget, Council President Steel, at the request of the

[31:45] administration. >> Is there a motion?

[31:48] » Motion. >> Council member McKee.

[31:50] » Second. >> By seconded by Council member Struber.

[31:54] Discussion on the ordinance.

[31:58] All in favor? >> Aye.

[32:00] » Opposed? >> Seven ayes, zero nays, the ordinance

[32:04] passes. >> Moving on to resolutions. Resolution 77.

[32:09] » Resolution 77, a resolution accepting a grant from the New York State Division

[32:13] of Criminal Justice Services under the Give Initiative and authorizing the

[32:17] mayor to enter into a contract and execute documents related to the grant

[32:21] on behalf of the city. Council President Steel, at the request of the

[32:24] administration. >> Is there a motion?

[32:27] » Motion. >> Council member McLaren, second?

[32:30] » Second. >> Council member McKee seconds.

[32:33] Discussion on the resolution.

[32:37] All in favor? >> Aye.

[32:39] » Opposed? >> Seven ayes, zero nays, the resolution

[32:43] passes. >> I just want to clarify for those who may

[32:47] be wondering why this is moving along so quickly. All of these items were

[32:51] discussed thoroughly previously in our committee meetings.

[32:56] So, we're moving along rapidly, I guess. Resolution 70A.

[33:02] » Resolution 78, a resolution accepting a state and municipalities SAM grant in

[33:07] the amount of $125,000 from the New York State Dormitory

[33:11] Authority DASNY and authorizing the mayor to enter into a grant disbursement

[33:16] agreement GDA and execute documents related to the grant on behalf of the

[33:20] city. Council President Steel at the request of the administration.

[33:24] » Is there a motion? >> Motion.

[33:26] » Councilmember DiLorenzo, second? >> Second.

[33:29] » Councilmember McLaren. Discussion on the resolution.

[33:36] All in favor? >> Aye.

[33:37] » Opposed? >> Seven ayes, zero nays, the resolution

[33:41] passes. >> Resolution 81.

[33:45] » Resolution 81, a resolution to commemorate the 30-year career and

[33:48] contributions of the band Super 400 to the Troy community by designating the

[33:53] portion of Rensselaer Street west of River Street as Super 400 Way. Council

[33:57] President Steel, Councilmember Struber at the request of the administration.

[34:01] » Is there a motion? >> Motion.

[34:03] » Councilmember Favreau, >> Second.

[34:05] » Councilmember Struber seconds. Discussion on the resolution.

[34:10] We're we're going to be making a special presentation just following this. All in

[34:14] favor? >> Aye.

[34:16] » Opposed? >> Seven ayes, zero nays, the resolution

[34:19] passes. >> I would uh ask the members of the the

[34:23] band and uh

[34:26] their followers to please come forward.

[34:56] » I'm going to go ahead and >> Okay. All right.

[34:58] » All right. I'm going to go ahead and >> Come on out.

[35:02] » I think. >> Hi everyone.

[35:04] » Hello. >> Hey guys.

[35:08] » The balance is Move over so they can get you all in

[35:12] nicely. Some here, some here. >> They're great.

[35:16] » Move over there. See you. All right. We

[35:20] We have a special guest and I want to thank the council president. I want to

[35:24] thank the council. I know we have a lot of followers who are standing behind us.

[35:30] Meet Super 400 folks. Come on. Let's give them a shout, man.

[35:38] So this iconic

[35:42] local band and they plan to hopefully do a little

[35:46] song tonight, I'm told. No, I'm kidding. I won't

[35:49] I won't put you on the spot like that, but I got to tell you, man.

[35:53] These guys, they're in the capital region Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

[35:59] Congratulations. They've been around for over 30 years

[36:04] and you know, I asked them, so why Rensselaer Street and I didn't realize

[36:10] it was the spot of your first gig, which is so so cool.

[36:17] They've been around for over 30 years. You have touched so many people's lives,

[36:22] not just through music, Um, but we all know

[36:27] uh, that Joe Mealy um, has a very special fundraiser for a

[36:32] son and I know all of you help lead the charge with Joe and I'd love to hear you

[36:38] talk about that, but suicide prevention and mental health awareness and you

[36:44] know, this band is a huge part of getting the word out for mental health

[36:50] awareness and we can't thank you more than enough from the bottom of our our

[36:55] hearts. So, thank you for that. >> Thank you.

[36:57] » And Carmella, can I also say a a personal

[37:00] » Oh, we'll we'll let you guys talk. All right.

[37:03] » the suicide prevention. Please. They've raised

[37:05] » No, here. >> They have helped my family raise at the

[37:08] Dustin Mealy Memorial Concert over $200,000

[37:12] for mental health initiatives supporting American Foundation for Suicide

[37:17] Prevention, uh, NAMI and Catholic Charities.

[37:21] Uh, you know, which has provided many

[37:24] programs and we've tried to make it as local as possible and I want to tell

[37:29] them how much I appreciate them. There's lots of other charities they've

[37:33] supported over the last 30 years. Uh, you know, but I'll let you

[37:38] » Go for it. Please. >> But thank you. Thank you. Can't tell you

[37:41] how much that has has done for this community, how much it's done for mental

[37:45] health awareness. When you have a band like this that plays year after year,

[37:50] it's not just their time for the concert. They also perform as Super 400,

[37:56] but they also allow us to have guest musicians um,

[38:00] and do backing for those bands. That takes time for them to rehearse and they

[38:06] graciously do it and I can't tell you how much I appreciate it.

[38:10] » Thank you. Thank you.

[38:14] Thank you.

[38:17] » And you know, I know many of us and many of the council um, are very connected

[38:24] not just to your music, but to your causes. Joe Mealy

[38:29] is a neighbor of many of ours over by Fair Park, and

[38:34] it's it's just something that the community comes out for not just

[38:39] annually, but all throughout the year for Joe and

[38:43] his family. I know Joe will be at the dedication,

[38:48] and we'll let's hope snow and give them a heads-up for the actual dedication

[38:53] ceremony for the sign where we're dedicating the street to Super 400 Way.

[39:01] You know, on a real positive note, I I must tell you. So, I had a real short

[39:06] stint with a band. They asked me to sing.

[39:11] And, you know, you you just hit the nail on the head. The work that went into

[39:17] that one song literally took weeks upon weeks, evening

[39:24] upon evening to get it right. And we were down at Billy's downtown. I don't

[39:30] know if you know, like that's where Oh, yeah. So, Donnas is there now.

[39:35] And Billy's from the East Side moved downtown. And so, long story short with

[39:40] the Baker brothers and a couple of other police officers, I sang a song. But the

[39:46] practice that went into that. So, to stay together for 30 years and practice

[39:53] like that and and work to that level and have that commitment really says a lot

[40:00] about all of you. So, I can only imagine the challenges, the obstacles, but just

[40:05] that reward to see people smile, to see people enjoy music. And, you know, folks

[40:12] should know we were talking about American Theater before we walked in,

[40:17] and you never know super 400 might be one of those live bands at American

[40:22] theater when it opens in February. Woohoo as not only

[40:29] a a movie theater but also live

[40:33] entertainment place things to that nature. So thank you super 400 for all

[40:39] the impact that you've had here in Troy in the capital region. Once we dedicate

[40:45] that sign and it's really going to be amazing. So we posted on social media

[40:50] and like friends from high school, you know, which is only I think like 15 20

[40:56] years ago for me. Haha. But friends from high school were messaging me and

[41:01] they're like, "Oh my gosh, super 400. They're such a great band."

[41:06] So we're just so proud of you. We have a proclamation which I'll read in a few

[41:10] minutes, but I know the council president couple councilmembers want to

[41:15] say a couple words. So congratulations. >> Thank you. Thank you, mayor. I'll do

[41:20] everyone a a service and not sing. I can tell you

[41:24] that right now. But you know, this is what makes Troy so

[41:28] very special is groups like Super 400 who go above and beyond

[41:34] and for that the council is very very grateful

[41:39] as I know many other folks are. But I'd like to turn the mic over to district

[41:45] two councilmember Strubing. >> Thank you. And thank you, Super 400. Uh

[41:53] I get to see all of you guys pretty often at the Ale House and around town

[41:58] and I'm just so grateful that you do what you do. I was introduced to Super

[42:02] 400 the first time back in 2023. I was at the Eddies Awards. And so were

[42:07] you. Uh

[42:09] they won an Eddie that year. Um and it your music is

[42:15] easy listening, but also it opens up the community. It brings

[42:20] people together, and that's one of the reasons that bands like yours are so

[42:23] incredible to have locally. So, thank you for everything you do for continuing

[42:28] this for 30 years plus, and I hope to see many more of your shows.

[42:35] » All right. Without further ado, Council President Lion, the City

[42:41] Council, would like to read this. Let me Never needed these until uh

[42:48] years ago. So, whereas in February of 1996, Joe

[42:53] Daley, Lori Friday, and Kenny Hauman first played together in a rented

[42:59] rehearsal space at the former Van Heusen and Jacob's and Company Collar and Cuff

[43:04] Factory on River Street, and became known as Super 400 after that initial

[43:10] jam session ended. And whereas Super 400 continued

[43:15] rehearsing at the former factory while building a reputation as an

[43:19] extraordinary live band, and continued writing and performing for the next

[43:25] three decades, growing their fan base not just in the

[43:29] capital region, across the United States, Europe, and Canada, releasing

[43:35] five studio albums. Super 400 in 1998, Last the Message in

[43:41] 2004, Three and the Beast in 2007,

[43:46] Sweet Fist in 2009, and Spirit in the Sound in 2026,

[43:53] this year. And whereas throughout their career, the

[43:57] members of Super 400 have also worked as studio and live session musicians in the

[44:02] US and UK, written soundtracks for top television shows, toward the northeast

[44:09] as the backing band for future Grammy winner Mike Ferris, frequently played

[44:14] local music stages, hopefully American Theater,

[44:18] uh collaborating with area musicians on a variety of projects, and appeared on

[44:23] national television. And whereas Super 400's first live album, Live 05, was

[44:30] partially recorded where else? The Ale House, one of the best wings in the

[44:35] capital region. And their second live album,

[44:39] 2024's Live from Troy, New York, was recorded where else? Across the street

[44:45] at The Hangar on the Hudson. Uh from The Ale House across the street

[44:50] with both venues located on River Street as one block north of the band's

[44:54] original factory rehearsal space. And whereas in 2011,

[45:00] Lori suffered serious injuries in an automobile accident and was unable to

[45:05] tour. So, she and Kenny co-founded the Troy Music Academy with Graham Tichy,

[45:11] where for the last 15 years, they have helped to grow and celebrate

[45:16] the local arts community by teaching students of all ages. And whereas the

[45:22] band's been recognized for their accomplishments with Super 400 Day in

[45:26] Troy, first declared on February 25th, 2006 by then Mayor Harry Tutunjian, and

[45:34] again declared on January 19th, 2024 by your current Mayor Carmella Mantello,

[45:40] and by being inducted in the Capital Region Thomas Edison Music Hall of Fame

[45:46] in 2022. And whereas the members of Super 400

[45:50] have performed at countless local benefit concerts over the years with a

[45:55] long-time connection to the annual Dustin Mealy Memorial concert at Brown's

[46:02] Revolution, and during every live performance they always proudly proclaim

[46:08] that they are from Troy, New York. And whereas the westernmost end of

[46:13] Rensselaer Street runs along the north side of the former Van Zandt Jacobs and

[46:17] company collar and cuff factory, the place where Super 400 began its musical

[46:23] journey and one block from where they recorded both of their live albums. And

[46:28] whereas the city of Troy desires to recognize and honor members of our

[46:33] community who have made extraordinary contributions to the development of the

[46:39] arts and sciences and to the culture of the city as a whole. Now, therefore, be

[46:44] it resolved that in recognition and appreciation of the musical achievements

[46:49] of this quintessentially Troy band, Rensselaer Street west of

[46:55] River Street shall bear the honorary designation of Super 400 Way

[47:01] with an official dedication ceremony to take place in the near future.

[47:06] Be it finally resolved that this honorary designation

[47:10] designation shall serve as a lasting municipal tribute to Super 400. Be it

[47:16] finally resolved again that the city of Troy on behalf of its 50,000 plus

[47:22] residents extends our sincere gratitude to the members of Super 400 for all the

[47:29] years of the great musical entertainment and we wish you well, congratulations,

[47:36] and many more years ahead. Super 400 Way.

[47:44] There you go, sir. And we would love to hear from Super

[47:48] 400. Let's hear it, folks. Let's hear it.

[47:57] » Um it's hard to know what to say really. That That was a great piece of reading

[48:01] there.

[48:03] Um, really all we ever wanted to do was

[48:07] to just make music together. And um, the fact that people started getting into

[48:12] our sound was just something that it was like

[48:16] icing on the cake for us. And um, you know, regarding the benefits and

[48:20] things it's really the least that we can do. If

[48:23] we have a a gift that we can share our music and it'll turn people on to the

[48:28] arts and a beautiful way of seeing the world, then

[48:31] we're happy to do that. And um, hopefully we'll just do it until our

[48:36] hands won't let us do it anymore.

[48:43] » I just want to thank you guys. It means a lot to us. I mean, just

[48:47] we're just a band, you know what I mean? We do the best we can.

[48:50] Um, we love the city. So, um, you know, thank you so much for

[48:54] everyone for doing something special for us.

[48:59] » [clears throat]

[49:04] » Me? >> All right, I

[49:07] » Introduce, please. Sorry. >> I didn't really plan to say anything. My

[49:10] name's Jim Meany. I've been friends with the band for

[49:15] uh, 20 years or so. Um, and so far this ceremony's been almost

[49:20] as long as a Super 400 show, if you got to see one.

[49:24] So, I'll try to keep it quick. Um, thank you so much to the city of

[49:28] Troy for doing this for the band. Um, I'm so proud of them. I love you guys so

[49:34] much. And I really appreciate the title Super 400 Way. It could have been Super

[49:40] 400 Street or Super 400 Drive, but I like I like the sound of Super 400

[49:47] Way because it kind of makes me reflect on the way

[49:51] that these three move through life. And when you learn about what they've

[49:55] done over the past 30 years and what they've been through,

[49:59] the resilience, the love they have for each other and for this community,

[50:05] it reminds me so much of Troy. I'm not from Troy, but I spent a bit of time in

[50:09] Troy some years ago and I know how it feels here.

[50:14] And people hold their friends tight and they

[50:17] love each other. And

[50:20] when things get hard, they just keep their heads straight and keep

[50:24] looking forward. And this band just

[50:28] is the epitome of that. So, Super 400 Way is the Troy way to me as an outsider

[50:35] looking in. And um I'm so proud of you all and I'm so grateful to the city of

[50:39] Troy. Thank you very much. >> Thank you.

[50:44] Let's give it up, Super 400 Way, Troy grit. That's what you represent. Troy

[50:50] grit. Thank you. Thank you.

[51:18] All right, how about on three? Super 400 Way.

[51:21] » Here we go. 1 2 3. >> Super 400 Way.

[53:38] » Thank you all.

[54:06] » As our celebrities depart, I want to invite anyone who wishes to

[54:13] address the council on any item to please come forward. We ask that you

[54:17] give your name and place of residence. And try to stay within a few minutes,

[54:24] you know. I'm sorry, Jim.

[54:29] It is Oh. >> Hello.

[54:32] I need that. Jim Mouts here, District 5.

[54:38] Oh, thank you. I am a homeowner,

[54:42] taxpayer, voter.

[54:46] Uh I turned 70 today, so as you can imagine, I'm in a kind of state of shock

[54:51] here, okay? >> Happy birthday.

[54:53] » Well, thank you. I You know, I'm not thinking that I got any wiser,

[55:00] but I'm not thinking I got any more senile.

[55:04] But what I don't believe, and I don't prescribe to,

[55:09] is that the Flock safety devices were what made Troy's crime rate go down.

[55:16] My feeling is that it may have been

[55:21] fully or nearly fully staffing the police department.

[55:25] You know, I think that might have something to do with it.

[55:29] And I also have trouble

[55:33] dealing with Troy's government being dysfunctional,

[55:39] where we don't recognize the difference between the executive branch and the

[55:44] legislature branch. I think the legis- the council

[55:50] sets the policy and the mayor, the executive,

[55:55] is deemed to enforce that policy.

[56:00] So, my feeling that we need to get our

[56:06] emergency procedures in line with New York State,

[56:11] we do not want this sort of authoritarian

[56:15] thing to happen where the mayor can say, "Hey,

[56:20] I'm going to declare the state of emergency and do what I want."

[56:25] So, that's all I have to say. It's quick. It's easy.

[56:28] » Well, thank you very much. >> Enjoy the rest of your birthday, Jim.

[56:31] Thank you. >> I'm going to Francis and Frankie tell me

[56:33] they're going to take care of me. So, >> Okay, very good.

[56:42] » A little bit shorter than you. Um my name is Sylva Menard. Good

[56:47] evening, council members. Uh thank you for taking the time to be here on a

[56:50] regular basis this year and next year. Uh last week I tried to close my street

[56:55] for one day to finish a masonry repair and I got a different answer from every

[57:00] department I asked, including one from the police telling me to do the very

[57:04] thing that several days later code later said I had no right to do.

[57:08] Every person I dealt with was very courteous. The problem is that the city

[57:12] seems to have no permit for what I was asking and we send those employees out

[57:17] to enforce a rule that has never been written down.

[57:20] They were set up to fail and so was I. I hired Andrew Bakalakis to repoint the

[57:25] peak of my building four and five stories up and that took an 86-foot

[57:29] lift. Andrew worked for 3 weeks on the east side of that wall without closing

[57:33] the street once, and we needed one day to close the street for the west side.

[57:38] The width of the street, a tree, and a large stroop stoop directly opposite my

[57:42] house meant that we could not set the lift up on the other side to allow

[57:46] traffic to pass underneath. We didn't run out of time. We ran out of

[57:50] people who could tell us what the process was.

[57:52] Andrew was in conversation with the city for over a month and pulled two

[57:56] successive barricade permits. He never hid what the job required. When the lift

[58:00] was delivered, it took hours to walk that machine into position. With traffic

[58:05] backed up mid-block shortly into this process, the police stopped. They told

[58:09] us we had a barricade permit and that with it we should we had to close the

[58:12] street at the beginning of the block so drivers wouldn't get stuck halfway up.

[58:17] So, the police told us to close the street and they cited that barricade

[58:20] permit we were holding. Scheduling no parking signs weeks later

[58:24] for the west side of that north wall, where we did need to close the street,

[58:29] Paula at DPW dispatch told Andrew, "You've got a barricade permit. The only

[58:33] thing you need to do is provide your own blockade and sign." Andrew asked,

[58:37] "Really? That's it?" He asked again, "Are you sure?" And he

[58:41] was told yes twice more. I don't think Paula was careless. She answered

[58:46] confidently three times because nobody ever gave her anything that says

[58:49] otherwise. So, then Friday, July 31st, Andrew

[58:53] walked to the fire station to tell them the street would be closed and we moved

[58:56] the lift in before 7:00 a.m. Nobody had mentioned another process. The no

[59:00] parking signs were up. DPW knew what the plan was. And here's what we were told

[59:05] after that in one day. At 11:00 a.m., TBD and Chip from code arrived and they

[59:10] had no idea why the street was closed. Chip told us, "You can't close the

[59:14] street without a 911 dispatch notification and you can't put the sign

[59:17] north of the O'Neal parking entrance. Please remember that. I've got photos."

[59:22] Andrew, my son Avi, and I then walked down to code on Chip's advice.

[59:26] Andrew at code called fire and what came back was, "The Chief says that road can

[59:31] never be closed. We require it open as the main thoroughfare."

[59:35] Not not today. The answer was never. But that road was closed for the lift

[59:40] positioning at the request of the fire police. It was closed all day on August

[59:44] 4th for National Grid. It's been closed repeatedly over the last couple years

[59:48] for King's Landing 2 construction and other construction on our block.

[59:51] I'm not going to argue traffic engineering with anyone in this room.

[59:55] I'm telling you that never turned out to mean not for me.

[59:59] So Avi and I watched the fire station having discussed this and we spoke with

[1:00:03] Chief Salucci. We told him the work left was only 4 to 6 hours and his answer,

[1:00:07] he'd spoken with he called Jared the assistant chief. He called Andrew at

[1:00:13] Code and their answer he came back and he said, "You have to go through Code.

[1:00:17] I'm sorry you won't be able to do it today. Everyone needs to be notified in

[1:00:21] advance for planning fire and police." So it can be closed with notice and

[1:00:25] that's the opposite of what we've been told 20 minutes earlier at Code. So we

[1:00:28] go back to Code. Uh

[1:00:31] fire chief had told us there's a permit. We show up, there is no permit. Billy

[1:00:36] French told us you email building permits, but Joe Maz approves these

[1:00:39] himself. He needs written sign off from fire and police. It goes through the

[1:00:42] city clerk and there's no way that it gets approved by Tuesday. So at this

[1:00:47] point we're up to five people maybe, four departments, one day and not one of

[1:00:51] them could hand me a piece of paper. Andrew, my mason, he threw up his hands.

[1:00:56] That lift had cost me $5,000 for a 1-month rental so we could get this work

[1:01:00] done and the month was running out on August 4th. He wasn't going to rent it

[1:01:05] for another week on speculation of trying to get the street closing permit.

[1:01:10] So at 6:00 a.m. on Tuesday, August 4th, instead of finishing the job, that 86-ft

[1:01:15] lift was removed. It was massive. And Skyworks done him a smaller lift,

[1:01:21] but it wasn't big enough and we didn't get another one until

[1:01:25] this morning. Um, there was another deadline blown and

[1:01:29] another rental. That was the third vehicle that showed up this morning.

[1:01:33] So, by 10:00 a.m. on Tuesday of this week, the day that we were told a

[1:01:37] closure could not possibly be arranged, we had National Grid on the south end

[1:01:43] and the north end of the block and shortly thereafter I have photo and

[1:01:47] video from 1:00 p.m. showing that that street was closed all afternoon.

[1:01:55] Their barricade actually sat exactly where ours had been on July 31st, last

[1:02:00] Friday. Um, it was north of O'Neill's entrance

[1:02:04] where it was invisible from Federal, the place that I had been told was

[1:02:07] prohibited. There was no detour, no flagger, there were no cars turning

[1:02:12] There were actually cars coming up Federal

[1:02:16] turning in and having to turn around right in front of the construction area,

[1:02:19] King's Landing. There was no notice to neighbors and all

[1:02:23] of those things that I just described to you were described to me as a hard

[1:02:27] requirement for street closure. And I understand your utility may notify

[1:02:32] the city rather than ask its permission to close the street. I'm not challenging

[1:02:36] that. My point is narrower. The street can close, it has closed, it closed this

[1:02:42] week multiple days in a row and traffic managed and the safety measures I were

[1:02:46] told were mandatory were nowhere on that.

[1:02:50] So, I started looking for the process myself. The city has two instruments and

[1:02:54] I needed a third. According to code, fire,

[1:02:58] uh, a barricade permit is too little. It lets you occupy the curb, it doesn't put

[1:03:03] fire and police in the loop. I wrote this earlier this week.

[1:03:07] I since actually got a copy of the permit and

[1:03:11] I'm going to read that now. Um,

[1:03:17] see reverse side for restrictions and regulations. Description of work

[1:03:21] barricade permit for a lift / scaffolding to be placed in the city

[1:03:24] right of way. Work in city right of way. If it is

[1:03:29] necessary to restrict pedestrian or vehicle vehicular traffic in the

[1:03:32] sidewalk or street areas, proper barricades must be erected to warn

[1:03:37] traffic and to reroute it safely. A minimum width of 4 ft must be maintained

[1:03:42] for pedestrian traffic, and if pedestrians are forced to walk in the

[1:03:45] street, adequate are to be erected in the street to define that walkway.

[1:03:50] So the things that I was told, which were

[1:03:55] detour, flagger, cars turning around, notification to fire and police, none of

[1:04:01] those are listed on that permit, but the permit talks about street closure.

[1:04:06] So the other document that's there

[1:04:11] on the city website as far as permits, cuz I was told the barricade permit was

[1:04:15] not the correct permit, is a six-page special event permit.

[1:04:21] Um to repair the wall of my own building, I would have to declare my

[1:04:25] masonry work an event, name it, check a box, is it a parade, a festival, a block

[1:04:29] party, a film shoot, estimate the crowd size, say if it's rain or shine, and

[1:04:35] then submit a background check with my social security number and 10 years of

[1:04:38] addresses. But I wasn't bringing a crowd. I was

[1:04:41] asking for the opposite of the of a crowd. I wanted a quiet empty street for

[1:04:45] one day so a machine could work and nobody would get hurt. So what appears

[1:04:49] to sit between a barricade permit and a special event permit application does

[1:04:54] not exist, and that seems to be why I got five answers. Chip was right that

[1:04:58] fire and police need to know. We actually walked over to to the fire

[1:05:02] department and notified them that the street was closing for the day.

[1:05:06] Um and the chief was right that advanced notice matters.

[1:05:10] Everyone I spoke to was right about what the city needs, but not one of them had

[1:05:13] a form to deliver it. So, I'm asking for four things, and all four things help

[1:05:17] the people behind the counter as much as they help me or the next property owner.

[1:05:22] One, create the missing form. A construction street closure permit

[1:05:26] between the barricade permit and the special event permit. Unless the

[1:05:30] barricade permit is adequate and I was not getting accurate information, but

[1:05:34] maybe people don't know. Um so, that special that different

[1:05:40] permit could put fire and police on notice in writing, which this barricade

[1:05:45] permit does not do. Um it would you know, pull off the other aspects, no

[1:05:52] crowd size, no background check. Um and section 270-20b

[1:05:59] already gives the traffic engineer authority to close the streets and set

[1:06:02] the barricades. So, two put printed copies of this additional permit next to

[1:06:06] the barricade permits and online. Nobody should have to know to ask. Three, give

[1:06:11] DPW the answer in writing. Policy should never have been in the position of

[1:06:14] guessing. Four, decide whether the safety requirements are real. I was told

[1:06:19] a detour or a flagger plus notice to neighbors are mandatory, and four days

[1:06:22] later my block was closed with none of them. And in years of construction on my

[1:06:26] street, I've never once been notified of a street closure.

[1:06:29] If those measures keep people safe, they should apply to any closure. If they

[1:06:33] don't, no resident should be turned away for lacking them. Either way, write it

[1:06:37] down so no employee has to improvise it at a curb. And I would appreciate a

[1:06:41] written answer telling me what the correct process actually was on July

[1:06:44] 31st. I still don't know, and I don't think the people I asked did either.

[1:06:49] And I just want to note that my mason called on Tuesday multiple times, and he

[1:06:54] called again on Wednesday. He got no response from DPW this week about

[1:06:59] getting the no parking signs up for today for when our equipment was

[1:07:04] delivered. And that has never happened before.

[1:07:08] Thank you. >> Thank you, Silva.

[1:07:16] » That's insane.

[1:07:20] » Does anyone else wish to address the council on any item?

[1:07:31] » My name's Leo Leo Carroll. Um

[1:07:35] I've lived in Troy uh pretty much my whole life.

[1:07:40] And uh the only thing I'm looking for is to put a little light in the city of

[1:07:45] Troy. I've been fighting this fight for well

[1:07:48] over a year. I come home. I live between Burden and

[1:07:55] 22nd. I come home every night and that

[1:08:03] » [clears throat] >> After fighting this for a while

[1:08:07] and having Emma Quinn follow up on it with Channel 6

[1:08:12] um I finally got a little result. And the mayor promised to have lights back

[1:08:18] on Hoosick Street within 2 weeks. 2 weeks went by, nothing ever happened.

[1:08:26] 3 weeks went by and finally in front of my neighbor's house one light was

[1:08:33] replaced. And down short of 15th Street one light

[1:08:39] was replaced. So, two lights out of 15 lights that

[1:08:45] don't appear on Hoosick Street where poles should be.

[1:08:52] To get any reaction, what I did was put a sign up in front of my house.

[1:08:59] That sign is still there now and I change it every month.

[1:09:04] It started out 6 months. It's now up to 10 months.

[1:09:10] Having the one light out in front of my neighbor's house

[1:09:14] was pretty good. At least we had something to see up there. Hasn't

[1:09:18] rectified the rest of the the street at all.

[1:09:22] The rectification for the rest of the street where the

[1:09:25] wires were shown where they took pictures of, which has looked ugly all

[1:09:31] these years, finally they did something.

[1:09:36] They created a wooden box, painted green,

[1:09:41] to cover up where the wires are. >> My goodness.

[1:09:45] » Now, if you go up Who's It Street now, you will see all those little green

[1:09:50] boxes. However, they are not in the place where they were put to cover the

[1:09:56] wires. Kids come along, kick them. >> Sure.

[1:10:00] » They get hit by cars. But I was a little happy

[1:10:04] that they put that one light up in front of my neighbor's house. Not the other

[1:10:10] one, but that one light.

[1:10:14] A week ago Sunday, the bell rings at 3:00 in the morning at my house.

[1:10:20] I don't know what what's happened now. I look out and there are two police cars

[1:10:24] in front of my house. So, I come down, I open the door. The

[1:10:29] policeman says, "Your Ring camera does it pick up Who's It Street?" I said,

[1:10:34] "Well, no, I can't have it pick up Who's It Street because it'll be going off all

[1:10:38] the time with the traffic going by. I only pick it up as to when they hit my

[1:10:42] sidewalk." I said, "What do you want to know that

[1:10:45] for?" He said, "A vehicle just took down the light in front of your neighbor's

[1:10:51] house." Now, this was

[1:10:55] maybe a month and a half and we have that light up.

[1:10:59] That's what the front of my house looks like. That's just the way it is.

[1:11:04] » What is that? >> It's just lace, that's it.

[1:11:05] » So, I'm kind of at a loss here. We want to be a well I I think we want

[1:11:11] to be a welcoming city. When you come in and go up I don't know

[1:11:16] has anybody driven up Hoosick Street at night?

[1:11:20] » It's dark. >> you talk to National Grid. National Grid

[1:11:23] says, "I'm sorry, we can't do anything about this. The city owns those lights."

[1:11:30] Now just common sense.

[1:11:33] They say that poles get knocked down. Okay.

[1:11:36] They say sometimes they have to do curb cuts. You don't have to do a curb cut

[1:11:40] unless that wire rots. If that wire rots, then you got to do a curb cut. So,

[1:11:45] if you knock down a pole, if you get a new pole up pretty fast

[1:11:49] you got no problem. Why doesn't the city have a contract

[1:11:54] with somebody so that when it gets knocked down they don't have 6 months to

[1:12:00] go through to get something to replace that pole?

[1:12:04] I I just can't understand the operation that way, okay?

[1:12:10] Um that's all I got to say. Please give me some lights on Hoosick Street.

[1:12:15] » Thank you, Leo. >> I shall.

[1:12:24] » I'm very sorry. I want to hand these to the city clerk so they can be passed out

[1:12:28] to the council members.

[1:12:34] » Hello, Avi Minard, District 4. So, on the Hoosick Street lack of lights and I

[1:12:40] mean they're already gone. They could be moved to the other side of the sidewalk

[1:12:45] farther away from the street so that they don't get knocked over by cars or

[1:12:49] they're less of a problem during construction so that they don't need to

[1:12:52] be replaced as often. Uh that's also a thing with the

[1:12:57] gosh What's it? King and fifth or Jacob where

[1:13:02] there's the fire hydrant that's been knocked over many times by cars

[1:13:07] and it's missing and it was previously there.

[1:13:11] So those are just two things where they if they could get inset into the

[1:13:15] sidewalk or other places it might make it better.

[1:13:19] Thank you. >> Thank you, Avi.

[1:13:24] » If I could have your undivided attention.

[1:13:26] » Mhm. >> Sure, Leo. Go ahead.

[1:13:29] » With that pole that was knocked down, I come out with all my investigative

[1:13:33] skills the next day. And I'm looking up and down the street

[1:13:38] and I look up the street and it had to be a pretty good size

[1:13:42] vehicle to hit that pole, knock that pole down, that pole had to go back up

[1:13:47] over the top of the vehicle, that vehicle came into my wall and knocked my

[1:13:51] wall down and kept going. So if you just look up my street now,

[1:13:57] you can see the oil or I don't know whether it's something from the

[1:14:01] radiator, whatever, going up. So I walk up and follow it.

[1:14:06] I go up three houses and it shows it turning around

[1:14:10] and coming down Hoosick Street. Now, I know there's been a lot of

[1:14:15] dispute regarding the Flock cameras in the city of Troy. So I inquire, are

[1:14:20] there any Flock cameras on Hoosick Street?

[1:14:23] Lo and behold, there's a Flock camera just as you go on alternate Route 7. I

[1:14:29] think, "Beautiful. They got to be able to take a picture of this car or truck

[1:14:36] with probably a missing front right headlight all smashed in."

[1:14:41] So I inquire with the police department and the police department says, "Yes, we

[1:14:46] do have a Flock camera on H Street. I said, can you see any vehicle coming

[1:14:51] down without a missing headlight and know what the vehicle is and of course

[1:14:56] pick up the license plate? The flock cameras are

[1:15:01] crap at night.

[1:15:05] All you see is glare coming from the headlight and you can't even make out

[1:15:10] the vehicle. What the hell good is a flock camera for

[1:15:14] at night if you can't even make out the vehicle license plate?

[1:15:18] That was my addendum. >> Thank you, Leo.

[1:15:25] Very good. Very good.

[1:15:31] Does anyone else wish to address? It's Leo's a hard act to follow, I I have to

[1:15:35] admit. >> [laughter]

[1:15:40] » Well, seeing none, um before I close the public forum,

[1:15:45] I would be remiss if I did not note that tonight we were supposed to have

[1:15:50] had the second quarterly financial reports.

[1:15:54] Um per section um 45-3

[1:15:59] of the code, the second quarter report from the

[1:16:04] controller is due July 31st.

[1:16:10] Um we have not

[1:16:14] seen the report. Um I gave the controller the courtesy

[1:16:20] well in advance, asked him would he be would this be a good night, we'd hold a

[1:16:25] special finance meeting and we could as you could see, we had a very short

[1:16:30] agenda. It would have been perfect. We haven't even seen the report,

[1:16:36] much less whether or not the controller has

[1:16:40] finished it, whether or not he's ready to present.

[1:16:44] And the mayor, um, when I brought this up, said, "Well,

[1:16:50] you know, the language in the code is outdated."

[1:16:55] Well, I I want to remind the mayor that in 2018,

[1:17:00] when she was council president, that section was amended.

[1:17:05] And it was amended to insert those specific dates

[1:17:10] to compel the controller to report to the council

[1:17:16] on the finances of the city. So,

[1:17:20] if they are outdated, she must be outdated because 20 2018,

[1:17:27] uh, she was council president and responsible for that legislation.

[1:17:32] Um, I have to say further that it is the council's responsib- We

[1:17:38] have a fiduciary responsibility to the citizens of Troy

[1:17:42] to monitor the finances. We adopt a city budget,

[1:17:46] and throughout the year, we are to monitor the expenditures

[1:17:51] of the city. We need to know, have we

[1:17:55] overestimated revenues? Have we underestimated? Have Are we over

[1:17:59] expending in a certain, uh, item? Should we be adjusting, uh,

[1:18:04] budget transfers? You know, it's an ongoing process, but we cannot do our

[1:18:09] job if we don't have the information. So,

[1:18:15] I am being told that we will see it

[1:18:19] on August 20th. I've asked that we have it in advance

[1:18:24] because it's only fair that the council can at least

[1:18:28] peruse it and look at it and become familiar with it so they can ask

[1:18:33] intelligent questions. I have received no guarantee that that

[1:18:39] will happen. Um I think the citizens need to know

[1:18:42] what's going on here. And and so I I I just had to share that tonight before we

[1:18:48] close the meeting.

[1:18:54] I would entertain a motion to adjourn. >> Motion.

[1:18:57] » Second. >> We have a co-motion by

[1:19:01] » [laughter] >> Councilmember McLaren seconded by

[1:19:04] Councilmember Di Lorenzo. All in favor? Opposed? We're adjourned.

Troy City Council Committee Meeting, Public Hearing, and Regular Meeting

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