Common Council - workshop

Good evening, everyone. Welcome to caucus. If everyone can quiet down, we're going to start caucus before our meeting. First, we're going to go through the agenda. For our minutes for approval, we'll be voting on the August 17th, 2026 minutes.

We can do attendance.

and um, Next, all of our local laws will be held. In ordinances held, we'll be taking up Ordinance 15-8126 from Councilmember Valloran, which passed the Law Buildings and Code Enforcement meeting. That is an ordinance amending Article 5 of Chapter 245 of the Code of the City of Albany in relation to updating the fee and documentation requirements for domestic partnerships. Councilmember Ballarin is not here yet he should be here momentarily but that passed with a positive recommendation from the Law Committee and that is just updating things slightly and including the cost so it's aligned with our cost for marriage licenses. Next in resolutions introduced from Councilmember Keegan We have Resolution 95, 91, 26R, Resolution of the Common Council celebrating September 7th as Labor Day. We are all co-sponsors on that, still into that. I'm going to take that as a yes, because that was a resounding yes last time. Next, from Councilmember Ballarin, Resolution 9691-26R, Resolution of the Common Council Recognizing Hispanic Heritage Month and Celebrating the Heritage and Culture of Latinos in the United States. We were all cosponsors on that, and I believe we will remain so. Yes. Next, from myself, Resolution 97-9126R, a resolution of the Common Council recognizing September as Suicide Awareness Month in the City of Albany. We are still all co-sponsors on that. In resolutions introduced, I'm sorry, resolutions held from Council Member Zahmer, Resolution 8881-26R, which is a resolution of the Common Council consenting to the appointment of Chester Bennett to the Albany Parking Authority Board of Directors. And I believe Mr. Bennett was supposed to come in here. If you want to come up and say hello to us, we'd welcome you up. Thank you very much council member Lumpkin.

Hello, good evening.

Thanks so much Mr. Bennett. If you don't mind telling us a little bit about yourself and we look forward to hearing about it.

Sure, absolutely. First of all, it's an honor to be considered for this appointment and this opportunity to serve the city. I really always value the opportunity to get involved on the ground level and make change in my community in ways I can see tangibly on the ground. I've lived here for six years now. moved after college for work in state government and fell in love with the area and I want to stay here and sort of, you know, put down roots and raise my family here. I've been involved in a number of local civic organizations, including nonprofits like Walkable Albany and Albany Bicycle Coalition to organizations like the Democrat Party. And I'm really excited to continue the work of making the city better.

Thank you so much. Does anybody have any questions? I would just say we truly appreciate people that are willing to step up and serve on boards and commissions. They are all important. And something as important as the parking authority, which doesn't sound overly exciting, but yet there is nothing that people talk about more in the city of Albany than parking. So it is incredibly important, and it's important for us to have people who are willing to spend their time serving on these boards and commissions and offer their expertise in it. So we really appreciate your willingness to serve and your willingness to come in and introduce yourself to us. Thank you so much.

Thank you.

Next, from Councilmember Adams, Resolution 90-8226R, which is a resolution of the Common Council reappointing Jonathan Nix as a member of the Commission on Monuments and Public Art. That passed the Planning, Economic Development, and Land Use Committee on the 18th as well. And Councilmember Zimmer, did you want to say anything about either of these?

Um, no, just that they passed out of, uh, committee with a unanimous favorable recommendation. The committee was on, was impressed with the candidates.

Thank you so much. Um, next from council member Keegan resolution 91 82 26 are a resolution of the common council reappointing Judy to shit as a member of the board of assessment review that passed the finance committee on the 19th. Um, council member Keegan, did you want to say anything about that?

Um, the only thing I would note is that, um, council member dossier did come in an interview with finance. Um, it was a unanimous, uh, approval to move her out of committee or this legislation out of committee with a positive recommendation. Um, and she unfortunately was unable to make our meeting this evening, but did make herself available to council members. Should they wish to talk to her before this evening?

That is very much appreciated. And should any council members want to reach out and ask any questions to former council member Deshaies, I recommend it. She's a fountain of information and certainly well known to our chambers. Finally, we will have Commissioner of Deeds as well. And that is everything for our agenda. Does anybody have anything? Council Member Hoey? Thank you so much for that reminder. Mr. Jimenez, would you mind calling attendance and going through everything?

Adams? Anani?

Ballarin? Brody? Farrell? Flynn? Hoey?

Johnson? Jones?

Keegan? Lumpkin? Powell?

Powell? Robinson, Williamson, Zamer?

Here.

Nine present. We're also joined by Council President Kelly Kimbrough, City Clerk Shaniqua Jackson, Senior Assistant Corporation Council Martha Mahoney, Legislative Director Brian Jimenez, and Council and Director of Policy Robert Winner.

A quick question about Council Member Flynn's Ordinance. Does that need to be amended in this? Just to be amended?

Or is it something that... Can we vote on it or can we have to amend it?

There was an amendment that was proposed at the committee meeting. I believe we have that text before us.

It does still have to go to the Albany County Planning Board, I believe, on the 17th prior to us voting on it.

Before we even vote on the we have to vote on the amendment tonight.

If we have to vote on the amendment to be able to send it to the county planning board as like a final copy of the of the ordinance.

Thank you.

And was there anything else. If there's nothing else, we have a few minutes until the meeting begins. So feel free to stretch your legs and grab a cool glass of water.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Yeah. Yeah. Thank you. All right. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Yeah. Yeah. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Yeah. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Hey, how you doing? Thank you.

Can members please return to your seats so we can get started. Okay, thank you. Welcome everyone to the Thursday, September 10th meeting of the Albany Common Council. Madam Clerk, please call the roll.

Adams. Anani. Present. Ballarin. Brody. Present. Farrell.

Here.

Lynn.

Here.

Hoey.

Present.

Johnson. Jones. Present. Keegan. Keegan is here, she's in the room. Lumpkin.

Present.

Howell.

Here.

Robinson.

Here.

Williamson. Zamer.

Here.

11 present, 4 absent. I have, oh, Ballarin is here, so 12 present, 3 absent.

Thank you. Okay, everyone, again, welcome and please join me for the pledge, followed by a moment of silence.

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America,

Thank you, be seated.

Okay, welcome. We're about to start our public comment. period for the meeting when you once you have the seat give your name and address and if you work where you work or live in the city um also a reminder be respectful we've been down this road before be nice you can talk about anything you want for five minutes and um i'd say be mindful if everyone is i know everyone wants to be heard but if we're all saying substantially the same thing maybe Yeah, but but again it's your time so it's up to you so with that we'll start public comment. Okay, yeah, so since we have a number of speakers. 3 will give a 3 minute time limit.

Our first speaker is Susan do block.

Also, if you have your phones on, please silence them.

Hello. My name is Susan Du Bois. I'm one of the co-chairs of Ukraine's Solidarity Capital District. And I'd like to thank Councilmember Hoey for initiating a proclamation in support of Ukraine. Ukraine has wide support among the public in the Capital District. The visibility actions and so forth that we've organized, some of which you may have seen in the news, have had good turnout. And it's also common to see Ukrainian flags at rallies that are on other pro-democracy issues. The Watergate City Council recently made a statement similar to what the council here is being asked to support. And we hope you'll support it as well. In view of the way that the current federal administration has decreased support for Ukraine, statements of support from the grassroots, including from local government bodies, particularly one that has a sister city in Ukraine, are particularly important. And I think these send a message to members of Congress, including to those who support Ukraine, and I think would be encouraged by seeing such statements. So I hope that you'll support the proclamation that Council Member Hoey is circulating. Thank you.

Thank you.

Just real quick, let the record reflect. We're joined by Councilmember Johnson.

Our next speaker is Olena Lake.

good afternoon my name is elena lake and thank you very much for inviting us and for putting into agenda our proclamation uh and what i want to say that we are close to the end of the fifth year of russian federation's war against ukraine the biggest war in europe since World War II and affecting the entire world. The scale of this war also needs adequate response from the world. Unfortunately, it is not that adequate. Our proclamation is very important, but to get to the adequacy, it needs to be presumed as initial step, opening the staircase ahead. Unfortunately, on the federal level, the business mentality and style of ruling prevails. To be friends with anyone is good for expanding the business, but it is not good for the government. Government is still part of political system with adherence to certain values and rejecting the others. This needs to be understood and implemented, especially now when the light in the light of the looming threat of expanding this war into Europe and further. There is a need to recognize it and remember that Russian Federation is an international terrorist and aggressor. Civilized countries need to prevent, Russian Federation's simple returning into international relations as it is a toxic embodiment of evil. We need to think about what we can do in this matter on our local level. For example, adhering to established sanctions by elaborated system of their monitoring and control. Our group, I'm part of USCD group, had an experience with Siemens machine tools in Minans, which was alerted in the news as producing the weaponry for Russian Federation. But we were not able to get to the bottom of understanding is still happening or not. because of absence of established such system. And our arms were very short in that matter. What else may be in our power? local power. I believe we can prevent city government officials from visiting RAF. Forbid greeting RAF officials, RAF is the Russian Federation, officials on the city properties and with city officials anywhere. Inhibit city vendors to have a plan of doing business To have or have a plan of doing business with Russian Federation entities, including those on the next occupied territories, require a disclosure of not having that. The same to city appointees. Restrain city appointees to have or plan of doing business with the Russian Federation's entities, including those on the next occupied territories. Thank you, ma'am. Your time is up.

Excuse me, ma'am. Your time is up.

Okay. Those steps are more declarative, but they are setting tone.

If you wish for members to have copies of that, you can give it to us. Thank you.

Our next speaker is Alex Gable.

Hi, I'm Alex Gable, and I'm from the 8th Ward. If there's one thing uniting Americans right now, it's that they don't want a data center in their backyard. This council voted in July in support of signing the New York State Legislature's Responsible Data Center Development Act. Many here are aware of the developer EKG Group and their plans for what they call the Kenwood Tech Center. which includes a data center that could draw up to 100 megawatts, according to the developer, which is enough to power over 50,000 homes. I am aware that the city of Albany does not currently have data centers listed in any of its zoning and that the site at the Kenwood Commons would need to be rezoned before any proposal would even be considered. Recent history around data centers has shown, however, that when there's enough money, there's a way. Whether it be through forcing local politicians into non-disclosure agreements or just setting up shop with temporary high polluting generators before the utility approves for connection, things can move fast. The reason I'm here is to call upon the Albany Common Council to pass a local data center moratorium similar to the Responsible Data Center Development Act, which I'll refer to as RDCDA for brevity. It's a big mouthful. This is because even with Governor Hochul's executive order back in July, a proposal such as the one from the EKG group could proceed unhindered. It has specific wording, the executive order, that states it does not apply to facilities primarily used for manufacturing, research, education, or the provision of medical care. The developer is strategically positioning itself to solicit customers from local hospitals, universities, governments, and businesses. The RDCDA does not have any such language of restrictions and thus would apply to all data centers, 20 megawatts or more, whereas the executive order only applies to data centers using 50 megawatts or more. Another major difference is that the RDCDA codifies new utility rate classes for data centers to keep the data center utility costs fully on the responsibility of the developer. It's all well and good that the multi-billion dollar investment firm promises that rate payers won't see increases, but that has been shown by many previous projects to not be the case. Additionally, the RDCDA requires a more intensive public comment period of 120 days, whereas the executive order does not prescribe a specific number of days for public comment. Public comment periods, such as the one here, are essential to a functioning democratic government. To be clear, this should be the bare minimum for any legislation the council considers passing. I am just speaking to draw attention to the fact that we are not protected from a future data center at the Kenwood Commons by the governor's executive order. The downsides of data centers are well documented, and if through inaction this council allowed for further environmental justice to occur in the south end, it would be a great disservice to the people of Albany. Thank you.

Perfect time.

Hilary Justino.

Thank you for hearing my comments tonight. I live in Loudonville, but I work in the south end, right on South Pearl Street, literally spitting distance from the proposed site of the Kenwood Data Center. So this particular proposal would affect me. The potential heat, air, noise pollution could have a serious impact on my work environment, but that's actually not the main reason that I'm against it. Not even close, actually. If I'm worried about its impact on anyone, I'm first and foremost concerned about the residents of the South End, where asthma hospitalization rates are already in the 99th percentile for New York State and 38% higher than even those of other historically redlined communities in Albany, like Arbor Hill. I'm actually furious that this site would even be contemplated for a project that would expose south end residents to environmental stressors like heat islands that can raise a land surface temperature in an area by as much as 16 degrees Fahrenheit for as many as six miles around. or the constant hum of cooling fans, which has been shown to contribute to headaches, insomnia, and risk of heart attacks and other stress-related medical concerns in neighboring residents. So I feel like these factors alone really should be enough for this council to consider a moratorium like the one that my friend just laid out, like the or better yet, a ban on any data center over 20 megawatts within the city limits. I could end my speech there, but actually, for those of us who are listening to the headlines lately, we all would be touched by a proposal like this, whether we live in Albany, elsewhere in New York State, elsewhere in the country. We need to understand that 180 megawatt data center is hyperscale. It's far more capacity than would be needed to meet any local need. We already have local data centers that meet the needs of our hospitals, our research institutions, our universities. This technology, their capacity, it would be used for things we don't have control over. Things like... maybe flock to kidnap and torture our neighbors. Open AI, ICE data, we would have no control over that, and I don't want Albany to be part and parcel of such activities. Those entities are not for us in Albany. I've seen too many scenarios unfold in my 52 years on this planet where people are not put over profit, but I think that in this case, we really need to consider our own wellbeing and the wellbeing of all Albany area residents over the developers of this egregious project. This incredibly powerful technology needs some serious guardrails in place before we can proceed. Thank you.

Peter Warren.

Thanks for the opportunity to address the Council. I'm another co-chair of Ukraine's Solidarity Capital District, and I'm here in support of Councilmember Coey's proclamation. So, why should the Albany City Council be concerned with such a matter, since it is of international importance? I would suggest that it's because of what we do right here. This is ground level for grassroots American democracy. This is where it all starts. You also have colleagues and counterparts in Ukraine who, as we speak, are doing the same work as you do. The difference is, as we speak, they're under constant bombardment and attack from forces of the Russian Federation. Their citizens are being killed on a regular daily basis. This is a civilian population. Their attempts to keep their public services running, fire, police, medical supplies, first responders, and so on, were also under constant threat. If these people are still in Russian Federation-occupied territory, they've been subject to execution, torture, imprisonment, disappearing into the Russian prison system. So they're grassroots democracies under threat. And, of course, the Russian Federation and all the various tyrants, we know who they are, and would-be tyrants want this democracy to fail, that Ukrainian grassroots democracy. Some of those same people, even some people in this country, I dare say, want American grassroots democracy to fail as well. So, council members, what can you do? This proclamation is a symbol of solidarity and support and hope for the people doing the same job in trying to stand up and maintain and make Ukrainian democracy happen and preserve it. And we know they'll appreciate that support. We're going around to every community we can to grant the same proclamations passed so that we can show that American grassroots democracy and the representatives of that support grassroots democracy there as well. I'm asking, please, for your counterparts and colleagues in Ukraine doing the same work for the same reason to support their grassroots democracy, please show them that support and please vote for our proclamation. Thanks so much.

Thank you. Lawrence Wittner.

My name is Lawrence Wittner, and I live at 78 Cakley Street in Midtown Albany. I'm also a professor of history emeritus at SUNY Albany, where I taught courses on international history and the history of U.S. foreign policy for 36 years. Additionally, I am an elected trustee of the Albany County Central Federation of Labor, the local AFL-CIO entity. I'm here today to urge you to sign the Common Council Proclamation condemning Russia's violent and repressive policies in Ukraine, a proclamation circulated by council members Hoey, Ballarin, and others. On February 24, 2022, the Russian government, in the most massive military operation in Europe since World War II, launched a full-scale military invasion of the sovereign nation of Ukraine. Although UN Security Council action was blocked by a Russian veto, the UN General Assembly, by a vote of 141 countries to five, demanded the immediate and complete withdrawal of Russian military forces from Ukraine. The International Court of Justice asked for its opinion on the legality of the Russian invasion, also voted by an overwhelming majority to condemn the Russian action and demanded that Russia immediately end it. Nevertheless, despite these and subsequent condemnations of the Russian government's contempt for national sovereignty and international law, Russia has continued its military invasion occupation and annexation of Ukrainian territory. Indeed, Russia has escalated its brutality, torturing and massacring Ukrainian civilians, bombing hospitals and schools, and even kidnapping thousands of Ukrainian children, shipping them off to Russia, educating them to reject the Ukrainian nationality and training them for service in the Russian military. Vladimir Putin, in fact, has been indicted by the International Criminal Court for this cruel and terrible mistreatment of Ukrainian children. More than four and a half years after the Russian government began its full-scale military invasion of Ukraine, Well over a million Ukrainians and Russians have died or been wounded. A third of Ukrainians have been driven from their homes and much of Ukraine's infrastructure has been destroyed. Despite the fact that Russia has a much larger population and economy, as well as much larger and better armed military forces than Ukraine, the Ukrainian people have continued their heroic resistance to the savage onslaught.

Sir, your time is up.

All right, thank you. I urge you to support this proclamation.

Irina Holden.

you

Good evening. Thank you for letting me speak to you. My name is Irina Holden. I'm a resident of 6th Ward of Albany, has been a resident of Albany since 2000. I came here from Ukraine, and the majority of my family is still there. I'm here with my friends from Capital District Ukraine Solidarity to urge the City Council to support our proclamation in support of Ukraine and condemnation of Russia. I'm from a small town, small blue-collar town of Nikopol, which is Dnipro region. It's right across the river from captured by Russians the Parisian nuclear power plant. The town has been bombarded by Russians with conventional weapons, no need of ballistics or anything special, across the river, because it's a few miles, every day since early July of 2022. My family from Nikopol, my brother, his wife, his daughter, his granddaughter left. She's seeking refuge in Europe. My sister and my niece in Kyiv, I'm afraid to call them because I don't know how the night went. And this is fifth year. I think it's important that we keep remembering about it. I cannot forget because my family is there. But we do forget. My friends, people at work, I work at the University at Albany, I'm a librarian. People do forget we have our own problems, right? Look what's going on in the country. I would like us to remember because we somehow began to normalize our relationship with Russia. Somehow in this country, some sports organizations would let Russian athletes compete. For example, the finance minister of Russia showed up at G20 summit last week. I just think we should not forget what evil this country brought and keeps bringing every day to my native country of Ukraine. Again, I, along with my friends from Capital District Ukraine Solidarity, urge you please support our proclamation. It has to be known. People should be aware of what is going on. It is the fifth year. Thank you very much.

Thank you.

Jacob Finland.

Hello, my name is Jacob Finland. I'm a member of the ninth ward. I've been a resident of Albany for three years. And I'm here to speak in support of a local moratorium or ban on data centers. The residents of the South End deserve to breathe clean air. They deserve to have some peace and quiet and not be constantly subjected to the noise pollution of a data center. They deserve not to have their electricity bills go massively up to accommodate the huge pull on the energy grid from data centers. I am a state employee. I work for New York State. I am a computer scientist, a software developer. I am a published researcher. I have published a machine learning paper. I know what AI is. And I know that the mass adoption that we are seeing in our society these days being forced and pushed by these CEOs and big tech companies is not what we as a society need. There are some things that AI can do for good, but by and large, it is really insidious the way that these companies are adding these as features that are almost impossible to opt out of or impossible and just being adopted at massive scale in our search engines, replacing our typical browser search engines, replacing our, you know, completely inundated in our social media apps. They are artificially inflating the supposed need for AI so that they can justify as much investment as possible. We don't need to be constructing data centers all over the country constantly. Any argument for short-term job creation for construction is easily debunked when you look at all of the jobs that are being lost, particularly in my sector as a computer scientist. We don't have the proper labor protections for this. We are not prepared as a society to be completely replacing working people with AI. But most importantly, the residents of the South End deserve a better quality of life, and we should be fighting as much as we can to protect the people of Albany. Thank you. Thank you.

James Giacalone.

Good evening. My name is James Giacalone. I live at 33 Trinity Place in the Second Ward, and I serve as the chapter co-chair of the Capital District Democratic Socialists of America. My father, Arthur Giacalone, served for several decades as a zoning lawyer out in Western New York where I grew up. And if there's anything I learned in his household with a parent who was constantly defending community members against huge corporations, it's that developers have no qualms about starting construction on a project that violates zoning codes under the belief that they'll be able to get the law changed later or sway a judge in their favor. So when I hear assurances that the Kenwood data center can't be built without the council's consent in the form of a zoning change, I don't feel any comfort. These billionaire developers don't believe that the law applies to them. As long as they see profits, they don't care about zoning or seeker requirements or public opinion. They expect to make enough money to eat the costs of any lawsuit that could happen if they start building too early. And by feeling secure now and not establishing a specific legal prohibition on sites of this type, it's entirely possible that this council will be leaving the final decision in the hands of a single judge, who these developers will have a far easier time pressuring than they have pressuring you. But there's an easy solution, and that's to pass an ordinance that makes abundantly clear that no, we won't be allowing them to build a behemoth data center in our city, The detriments are so great, no real benefits are to be found, and public opinion has been so unified in dissent, but our neoliberal democratic establishment leadership up the street in the capital prefers to prioritize corporate profits and GDP growth over the well-being of our communities and our shared environment, just as they've done for decades by enacting weakened safeguards in order to curry favor with industry billionaires. And for as long as our state leadership refuses to protect us, we need our local elected officials to do so. AI is being used to destroy our jobs, violate our privacy and our civil liberties, corrupt our ability to think for ourselves, and it's made it impossible to trust so many of the systems we rely on for our health and our livelihoods and information about the world. It's being used to surveil every one of us and to train fully autonomous murder drones that we've already seen put to use in Ukraine and I want you to have no doubt we will see here at home. AI must be categorically opposed. Your constituents are begging you to take action on it by taking action on this data center. We had a lot of people come out, a lot of different organizers and organizations attend our Albany stop of the New York Fights Data Centers tour that State Senator Gonzalez put on. Pat Fahey was there. Assemblymember Romero was there. The people have been clear about this. They want you to do something formal in the absence of a formal action by the state. Thank you for your time.

Good evening. My name is Al Metcalf. It seems like I've been hearing a whole different, I have a different issue than what I've been hearing. And my issue that I came here for is in regards to that traffic camera that's on Central Appalachian Sacrament School. To me, that's been an ongoing situation with residents of Albany that we all have a problem with. It seems it has got addressed numerous times, but it's always getting pushed up under the rug. And it's a real big problem in this community. Every time I come down and actually speaks to someone about it, I get spent around the block. No one really cares about the matter. Um, I tried to get to this office, talk to this when they told me to come to this council meeting and speak about my concern with it. I feel that that light should not be there. The only thing that people say is a safety matter for the kids. But at that particular light, there's no kids, no threats to kids whatsoever in that section. For me, doing research, looking at things that was on social media, the issue has been brought up before. But again, it keeps being pushed under the rug. I need to know how to address it. I can get a million signatures that says that cameras should be moved, the defense that I've been getting from City Hall saying it's in a school zone. If that's the case, it should be a camera on every corner, every block, and every school zone in Albany, not just that place there where it's not needed. My biggest concern, I'm born and raised in this town. I'm a union painter. I'm starting my own business, Bar and Grill. And to have so many tickets at this intersection It's not fair to me or a lot of people that's going through this. Again, there's a ton of people going through this. This matter should not be pushed under the rug any longer. And I would like some information on what steps to take next because I still feel that me talking now is not going to change the situation. So I left my name, my phone number, and my email address on a paper that I signed. I really need help addressing this situation, and I'm really not going to refuse to let it go because to me it looks like a money grab. Or me saying that they broke. They need money. I mean, this is not a good way to collect money from taxpaying citizens that work hard and bust a work hard for their money. I can't afford to give you $50 here. $75 there for doing 27 miles an hour and the speed zone that again, there's no threat to no kids at that school. There's not a school bus, a traffic, a crossing guard person. There's no reason it should be there. So again, I asked again, I left my number, my email address. Can someone please help me address this issue further? And I'm really not gonna sit back and just let it get pushed under the rug again. Thank you.

Thank you.

Meryl Sunderland.

My name is Meryl Sunderland. I have been a resident of the city of Albany for the past six years, but my family has lived in the capital region since before this was a country. I'm directly descended from the Van Rensselaers. One of my ancestors served in the Continental Army during the American Revolution. My grandmother was part of the Women's Army Corps and served during World War II working in Waterfleet Arsenal. We have a deep and storied history here. And please forgive me when I get nervous, I might stutter. I am here with regard to the misuse of flock cameras in the city of Albany. The headlines about Laurie Moore conducting illegal searches highlights just how easy it is to abuse the access that flock camera network provides. Additionally, Albany Police Department uses drones to surveil the streets of our city. This is not the free country that my answers fought for. These practices indicate a profound alienation of our police force from the community they claim to serve. Moreover, the continued empowerment of this network speaks to a disconnect between the residents of Albany and the leadership of this city. I hereby request the Common Council to move to take down all flock cameras within Albany city limits and decommission the database. Additionally, I encourage this council to convene an ad hoc citizen oversight committee with the goal of investigating how widespread police misconduct and abuse of surveillance technology really is. I realize this will receive pushback from Albany PD. Allow me to preempt their objections thusly. If you have nothing to hide, then you have nothing to fear. We in this room may benefit from taking a moment to reflect on the historic moment we find ourselves in. As citizens, we have two important roles that we perform. First, we must be conscientious custodians of ourselves. Second, we must be ethical stewards of our communities. Mass surveillance does not make us any safer, nor can it address the social issues that burden our neighbors the most. Rather, it is one more civil right that we have handed over in the name of security. Effective public safety measures must be developed with the participation of the people who live here. and cannot be outsourced to third parties peddling expensive technology that we pay for with our tax dollars to monitor us without our consent. We find ourselves in a position to determine the future of our beloved city. Your actions will determine whether this city takes another step towards the realization of a police state or whether we choose to turn towards humanity and connected community. I have walked these- Thank you, ma'am.

Your time is up.

Thank you.

Mariana Archuluk.

Good evening everyone. My name is Mariana Aschlug. I'm the organizing chair for Indivisible Albany and an Albany City resident living in Ward 6. If there is any doubt about my residence, I personally suggest calling in a favor to the Albany County Sheriff or the Albany City Police Department to check. They can use the flock cameras to trace my steps. After all, that seems to be the standard operating procedure for our local law enforcement. What's 3001 on authorized searches among friends? For months, the Albany city government has stayed silent and willfully uninterested in public comments and concerns surrounding automated license plate readers, specifically flock surveillance. We, the people, have shouted from the rooftops for this contract to be canceled because of its repeated documented violations of civil liberties and rights. Now, here we are with a damning report from the Times Union about a senior investigator breaching public safety by misusing this invasive technology thousands of times for personal surveillance. Because of this horrendous weaponization of invasive tech against communities, civil liberties, and more, D-Flock Albany is demanding an immediate independent audit of Albany's flock cameras combined with a mandatory public hearing. Enough is enough. The contract needs to be terminated immediately. But your willful silence and expansion of invasive technology does not stop with surveillance cameras. It extends to the proposed data center as well. How can we, the people, trust the Albany City government when you are willing to hear out, or excuse me, roll out the red carpet even, for a billionaire with direct family ties to the Epstein files? His uncle, Philip, is referenced in the Epstein files. Did we know this? Because I have the documents in email and I can show it to any of you. Indivisible Albany has already provided this council with a city-level moratorium ordinance. I am far alone when I say we are profoundly disappointed that this council has still refused to move forward with any type of ban. Your inactions speak volumes. Of course, I am equally unsurprised because of this consistent pattern that this council remains hesitant to move forward or really do anything with Rank Choice Unified Elections. Of course, I'm gonna bring that up. You are afraid of the democratic change that is coming to Albany because it will reveal the sheer volume of inaction our electeds have been turning a blind eye to. Again, I ask this council and elected body to reject trickle down politics. Thank you.

Michael Bronstein.

Good evening. Michael Bronstein. I live in Latham. And I am here to say I am against this data center. You cannot put affordable housing and force someone to live next to noise, heat, and electromagnetic pollution. That's sadistic. We have a very proven track record of other areas with this, oh, we'll sweeten the deal for our thing. Barclays Center's been done since 2010. and they're just now talking about building the affordable housing maybe. So that's all I have to say. I'm also against these automated camera surveillance, flock cameras, and traffic cameras because it's a violation of the Fourth Amendment, unlawful seizure of our private data. Thank you. Thank you.

Liz Espinoza.

Good evening, everybody. My name is Liz Espinosa. I am a resident of Ward 1. I'm a homeowner, a business owner, and I also work in the South End at 200 South Pearl. And I've lived in Albany since 1999. And I'm here to ask, to plead for us to really consider what it would mean to have a data center and the impact that it would have on the babies, on the kiddos, on the families that live in our communities. I have worked in the community for over 20 years as a clinical social worker, and I have seen the devastation of the health challenges that our families have faced, specifically in the South End. I worked at Giffin Elementary School at Whitney Young. And I see it today as a clinical social worker, the health impact that all these different social determinants have had on kiddos. You know, if we can think about what this would mean to the babies in our lives, the grandchildren, our grandparents, ourselves, the health. atrocities that have happened and what could continue to happen if a data center would be allowed into the south end, the burden on top of the burdens, and how this would impact black and brown communities specifically. I want us to think about this. We've heard from great speakers already about the statistics, the magnitude of what this would mean. Now I want us to think about what this would mean if this was one of our children, one of our grandparents, one of us. being impacted by the ramifications of what a data center could bring to our health, our mental health, our livelihood, our ability to live this American dream that we all strive for. So I'm very grateful to be here and thank you for my time.

Okay, our last speaker is Wendy, I believe it's Dia. Wendy Dwyer, there you go.

Hi, my name is Wendy Dwyer. My primary home is in Canaan, but I am a taxpayer on land where I grew up in Guilden Center. I also rent a room in Albany off Delaware Avenue as needed. And needless to say, I am profoundly saddened by the cruel, horrific, unconstitutional activity of ICE. in the area and in the country. I want to say several things. I want to support comments made by co-members of Ukraine's Solidarity Capital District in support of Ukraine, the people suffering for so long to hold on to their country, their democracy, against the ravages of the Russian war. Their bravery is admirable. They're suffering immense. My heart goes out to them. They need our support. Thank you to Council Member Hoey. Secondly, I want to voice my opposition to the 24-7 Orwellian surveillance of people across this country, this city, and this region by flock cameras. This situation is a setup for violations of the Fourth Amendment, personal safety, and privacy with opportunities for abuse by law enforcement, as we've already seen. People have a right to go about their business, to gather, to travel, and not to be treated as criminals. excuse me, and surveilled. As a young single woman living alone in a rural setting, I was stalked and remember how terrifying this was. This is already happening to women using flock data by corrupt law enforcement persons. Deflock Albany, deflock New York, deflock the U.S. Others are doing this as well as we speak. Thirdly, regarding the data centers, this fragile planet is already under massive assault by human activity and stress on resources. Further stresses on energy production, emissions, noise pollution, air, water usage, fossil fuel usage is not healthy and should not be allowed. in addition to the further cost to taxpayers. The moratorium by the governor is too weak, especially with the hospitals in the area being exempt, so to speak. Our country is under assault by authoritarians and fascists, violating our constitution, violating our rights, our reputation, our democracy. We must all stand together for our country, our neighbors, our planet, for humanity and for species that can't protect themselves from the ravages of all of these things. Thank you very much.

Thank you. Okay, and with that, our public comment period is closed. Now we're opening the floor to comments from members. Any members want to speak? Mr. Flynn.

I just want to say that the flock camera contract is something that I would, if we had the authority, I wish we could look into it and get rid of it. But unfortunately, we can't. And the one contract that I would get rid of is the speed camera contract where we only get $17 out of the $50. So that's a contract. If we had the authority to, I wish I could change the contract. But unfortunately, we don't have the authority. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Flynn.

miss Keegan I just I wanted to respond to the comments about the school speed zone cameras this is a matter that the council worked very diligently on in order to get state law changed and we did so because we have had students die during the school day as a result of being struck by cars in school zones So I think anybody who comes before this council to complain about getting a ticket when they have to not only surpass the school speed zone limits, but have to surpass the city speed zone limit, which is 10 miles per hour beyond what we have slated for our school zones, it's unconscionable to me that you would come before this body to complain about that we have we are limited by state law to 20 zones and we have 20 zones up and operational here in the city or roughly 20 zones as i know some of those changed as a result of some of our parochial schools closing over the last several years But they are here. They are not just in one specific area of the city. They are not targeted at any one specific population. And in order to get a ticket, you have to do more than 30 miles per hour. The city speed limit here in the city of Albany on every single street is 25 miles per hour. We also worked incredibly hard to get the state to change state law in order for us to be able to reduce the speed limit here in the city. This is one of the deadliest cities in the country for pedestrians, and I just find it uncomfortable to listen to people complain about getting tickets for violating the law and risking the safety of other folks who are using the roadways in our community. Thank you.

Thank you, Ms. Keegan. Mr. Ballarin and then Mr. Johnson.

Thank you, Mr. President. I just want to commend Council Member Hoey for taking the lead and organizing the proclamation in support of Ukraine. It's an issue that's been going on for too long, and I know we have limited say authority on it, but I'm glad that we're making a statement on it because these are individuals that are still going through a lot of pain today as this war continues. I also wanted to touch on the data center. I want to thank everyone who came out again and spoke on this issue, and I want to thank the council members that have been working on this issue behind the scenes. This is a difficult issue. I think we all want to be supportive of new technology, but at the same time, protect humanity. And I think that's some of the debate that we are going to be having as a human species, as how much power to give technology over us. And I think it is important for government to be the last, at this point it seems like the last barrier to put any type of safeguards on the speed that technology is advancing beyond human species. And I say that not to be melodramatic or not to be fearful, fear marketing, but I think it's important for us to realize that there are people in the tech industry. You can go on CNN today and see an article from a individual in the tech industry that resigned their job Because they were saying AI is moving so fast that there's a 10% chance it can wipe out humanity. I mean, we as humans are still top of the food chain on this planet. We're still on top of the food chain. So I share that because I think it's important that as government looks at these issues, it's critical that we make and put safeguards to keep our residents safe, to keep our neighbors safe, and to keep our next generation on top of the food chain. Now we can debate if we should be on top of this food chain, we can debate if we've done a good job taking care of our planet, but let's debate that as humans. Let's have our differences discussed as humans and not have a piece of technology tell us how we should move forward. And the last thing I'm going to say on this is any developer that wants to develop a data center, the first question we should ask is, would you put this in your neighborhood? Would you put this for your kids to have to drink the water? Would you put this for your kids to have to live in this environment? And if they're not willing to have it for their kids, it's not good enough for ours. So, and I know, you know, this is something we're going to continue to discuss, but it's also, I think, it's important for us to see and read what is out there because those who may say, well, where are you getting this information from? You can go to CNN today and read the article. You can read articles that have been being published by other people in the tech industry over the last year. And if you can Google, you can Google the Chinese Olympics, robotics Olympics, where last year was the first one. And the 100 meter dash, the winner was 25 seconds. In 12 months, technology has gone so fast that the winner this year broke the world record. So I think it's 9.2 or 9.3 seconds. So technology is advancing quickly, and we as humans have a responsibility to protect our next generations. So I think this is going to be the great debate of our time. This is going to be the great debate of our time And I look forward to it.

Thank you, Mr. Bell and Mr. Johnson.

Thank you, Mr. President. Many times I've spoken this chambers and I say I value our public speakers. People are entitled to come down and share how they feel. I happen to be a person that answered the phone when that gentleman called and he had a conversation with me about his concern. And he's not the only person that has a concern. I advocated for something to be done about how people were speeding outside of the school that I worked at. If people would have listened or I don't know if he did a good job in the time that he had the concern is that the kids don't enter from the central outside and so when you think about a camera and you think about the schools all the schools all would be reflective of the entrance entry points of the bill and so when people are getting tickets in that particular school you never see any kids and in the walk and I'm not here given a green light for people of Sweden and schools. What I am here is that people should be able to voice their concern of how they feel about the placement of the cameras that that's something that you know we could retake a look at and so when he reached out to me one of the things that I said was to come to the council meeting because I wasn't fully aware of how the placement of the cameras were selected so I just have to speak up to people that come from the inner city to this meeting and express themselves because that isn't something that we always do and I just have to champion and as far as the data center. I think that part of the confusion is the reporting by the media. And in a prior meeting, I asked if we could put out a statement because I don't know of any council person that I heard of that is supporting the data center. But when the conversation that kind of like we get attacked like we are in favor of a data center and I don't think that that's the case. But um, the way that Uh, the media, you know, if you look at the reporting on the news and you read the times union, it looks like it's moving along and that's not the case. So, uh, I welcome you to come down here and voice your opinion. And please know that we are listening to you. I hear about, I've been watching. It's a national news about flock cameras. So, um, we aren't always quick to jump and make them the moves immediately because it should be some thought. These are very hard and difficult conversations because it comes to time where sometimes that camera work comes into play and it's very valuable in situations. So, um, you know, I'm aware of what's going on. I'm paying attention. And please don't think that we don't care about the things that you come up and present because I hear everything, you know, even the stuff that I agree with and the stuff that I don't agree with. I hear you loud and clear, and I respect that you take your time to come down here and talk to us. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Robinson and Mr. Hoey.

Thank you, Mr. President. A homeowner, a business owner, and a taxpaying citizen, came before us tonight with concerns. He even left his phone number and his email address on his signing sheet. For any one of us who have any type of information regarding placement of cameras and why is it, you know what I'm saying, that where he live at, he's constantly getting speeding tickets. Public safety is very important. But when someone take the time out of their daily life and come down before us asking for help, and then for my colleague to belittle him on public record, I think that shit is, excuse my language, but I think that is wrong. I think that is totally wrong. What is that saying for us as elected officials? To go on public record and just call out someone who come down here with concerns. That was wrong. That was totally wrong by my colleague. And I'm going to apologize on her behalf. Because that's not what we're here for.

Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Robinson.

Mr. Holy. Thank you, Mr. President. I wanted to talk real fast about the flock cameras. I'm the public safety chair. Over the last two years, we've had three meetings with the police chief Cox. We've talked briefly about the Fox camera. but we understand the council leadership has approached me and we will be having a public safety meeting just dealing with the flock cameras. We'll have the chief come in. We'll talk about it. Maybe I can try to get the sheriff's department in because I did see the article in the paper, and I was very upset to see that somebody used data that they really shouldn't for personal use. Not to justify it, but this can happen in anything. Social Security numbers, we hear about it all the time. Credit card companies get hacked into. All our information is given out. It's happened to me several times. I've had to have credit cards reissued. So there is problems with technology. And as long as we're on top of it, we can do something about it. But I just want to talk to the folks tonight. We will be having a meeting about it. On the placement of the speed cameras, I hear it. and after council member Johnson spoke that the idea came in my head why don't we bring in traffic engineering and discuss that location can we get the camera moved to a better spot where the kids actually move in and out we can at least talk about it and bring that up so appreciate you coming down letting us know about it and we will look into it thank you

Thank you. Okay, before we close this out, anyone? No? Okay, moving on. Next, approval of minutes from previous meeting, Ms. Farrow.

Thank you, Mr. President. I notice the August 17th, 2026 minutes and ask for their approval.

Second. Thank you, Mr. Holy. All in favor? Aye. Okay, motion passed. Okay. Reports of standing committees.

Ms. Seymour. Thank you, Mr. President. Planning Committee met August 18th to discuss the appointment of Chester Bennett to the Parking Authority Board, which passed unanimously with a favorable recommendation. We also discussed the reappointment of Jonathan Nix to the Commission on Monument and Public Art, which passed out of committee with a unanimous favorable recommendation. We discussed creating a permitting system, legislation that would create a permitting system for battery storage systems. We passed that out of committee pending an amendment that I think we're going to be dealing with tonight. Thank you.

Thank you. Mr. Anani and Ms. Keegan.

Thank you, Mr. President. Yesterday, law building codes met to discuss more so rent choice voting and also Ordinance 158126, in relation to updating the fee and documentation requirements for domestic partnership, that ordinance was moved out of committee with a positive recommendation. During the law committee meeting, there were discussions particularly as it relates to language from petitions and also local law. And our next meeting will be on September 22nd. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Nani. Ms. Keegan?

Thank you, Mr. President. The Finance Committee met on August 19th. During that meeting, we discussed the reappointment of former Councilmember Judy Dauchet as a member of the Board of Assessment Review. That was passed out of committee with a positive recommendation unanimously. during that meeting we also discussed the mid-year budget review for those who did not attend I think one of the most important things that I would highlight is that not only are we slated to surpass the amount that the city budgeted for so this year we were our spending cap was supposed to be 228 million we are projected to actually spend closer to 249 million and it is anticipated that we will have to do a revenue anticipation note in order to cover payroll expenses through the end of the year that will mean that we will be in deficit spending starting at january of 2027. thank you thank you miss keegan any further no okay moving on to consideration of local laws uh mr anani

The amendment.

Thank you, Mr. President. Local law R, an access for his amendment. Can I get a second? Second.

All in favor? Aye. Okay. Amendment passes.

As local laws were held, sorry, I'm used to Mr. Hoey seconding things, so I was giving a little business over there.

Thank you, Mr. President. That was 14.72.26, and that's for an amendment. Second.

Aye.

Okay, Mr. Ballarin. Thank you, Mr. President. I ask that Ordinance 15.81.2026 be moved forward for a vote. Thank you.

Thank you. Madam Clerk, please read the ordinance.

In Ordinance Amending Article 5, Domestic Partnerships with the Coal, excuse me, of Chapter 245, Licenses of the Coal of the City of Albany in relation to updating the fee and documentation requirements for domestic partnerships.

Okay. Comments? Mr. Ballard. Thank you, Mr. President. So this passed committee yesterday with unanimous consent. What we're basically doing here is we're updating some language regarding requirements for proof of domestic partnership as well as increasing the fee to $40 from 35, so a $5 increase to match what we charge for marriage fees. Just to give people some numbers, in 2025 we had 68 domestic partnerships go through this process, and so far this year we've had 38. So it is something that residents are still using, and this is just updating the language as well as the fees structure so that it's equal with other fees that we charge. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Ballard. Further discussion? Seeing none, Madam Clerk, please call the roll.

Adams? Yes. Anani? Yes. Ballarin?

Yes.

Brody? Yes. Farrell? Yes. Lynn? Yes. Hoey? Yes.

Cosponsor, please.

Johnson? Yes. Jones? Yes. Keegan? Yes. Lumpkin?

Yes.

Powell? Yes. Robinson?

Yes.

Zamer? Yes. 14 in affirmative.

Thank you. The motion passes. Okay. Want to close out our ordinances?

Thank you, Mr. President. The rest of the ordinances are held.

Thank you. Okay. On the resolution introduced, Ms. Keegan.

Thank you, Mr. President. I notice Resolution 95-91-26R and ask for his introduction and passage.

Okay, everyone's co-sponsors on this. Madam Quick, please read.

A resolution, sorry, a resolution of the Common Council celebrating September 7th, 2026 as Labor Day.

Discussion, Ms. Keegan.

Thank you, Mr. President. Every year in the United States and Canada, we take time to recognize the accomplishments that organized labor has brought to every working American here in the United States and those working in Canada. For those of you who aren't aware, Labor Day is typically celebrated in May in most of the rest of the world. Organized labor has brought us so many things, the standard work week, the weekend, the right to overtime, the right to minimum wage. It has also brought us an end to child labor, which gave rise to the right of all Americans to access universal public education. The organized labor movement was pivotal in this country in the end of slavery, and it played a crucial role in developing equal pay, both across many issues for protected classes where equal pay status did not exist. But we have an incredibly long way to go. Right now we are in the longest period that the United States has ever had since minimum wage was put into federal law, where we have not increased the federal minimum wage. And nearly half this country, 20 states in total, are what we know and refer to as federal floor states, meaning that their minimum wage is set by federal law. And we are behind many, many nations when it comes to the benefits that most workers around the world receive. such as paid family leave, universal health coverage, and universal childcare. That means that workers in the United States, our total income when you account for cost of living, the United States does not come first. We rank somewhere between 17 and 23rd in global rankings when it comes to affordability and wages in this country. And despite all of that, we have these wonderful benefits that we would not have had if it had not been for hardworking men and women across this country, many of whom lost their lives in order to bring us the benefits that we have today. And that included moments and massacres where our own National Guard acted on behalf of bosses and corporations and murdered American citizens. And that is what Labor Day is about in this country, is taking time to both reflect and commemorate the hardworking people that brought us to where we are today, and to also consider where we need to go as a country to bring true economic security to all working Americans. Thank you.

Thank you, Ms. Keegan. Further discussion? Seeing none, all co-sponsors, so we'll do it by vote. All in favor, say aye.

Aye.

Okay, motion passes. Next, Mr. Ballarin.

Thank you, Mr. President. I ask that resolution 96.91.26R be moved forward for a vote.

Thank you, Mr. Ballerin. Madam Clerk, please read the resolution.

A resolution of the Common Council recognizing Hispanic Heritage Month and celebrating the heritage and culture of Latinos in the United States and the immense contribution of Latinos to the United States.

Discussion, Mr. Ballerin.

Thank you, Mr. President. I'm going to be brief. Thank you to all my colleagues for your support of this resolution, not just this year but throughout the previous years, and your continued support for our Latino community, as most of you know. September 15 to October 15 is Hispanic Heritage Month. It's time to celebrate the culture, the music, the food, and the contributions of the latino community in our city and in our country and we i've always said we're very proud that this city is a city that is a welcoming city that has made all immigrants feel welcome in our community made all newcomers feel that this is a home this is a place for them to raise their family to start their business and to move forward in their dream for prosperity so again thank you to all my colleagues for your continued support of this uh and to all the latinos who live in our city and in our country who are doing the best they can every given day thank you mr fowler and miss keegan i'm further discussion

I just wanted to add a happy Independence Day to Mexico, Nicaragua, Honduras, Costa Rica. The list goes on. Those all start next week, and that is part of the reason why we sort of start Hispanic Heritage Month in the middle of September instead of in the beginning of September, because it coincides with Independence Day for so many of our neighboring nations and their independence from Spain.

Thank you, Ms. Keegan. Further? Okay. Madam Clerk, we're all co-sponsors. Voice vote. All in favor say aye.

Aye.

Motion passes. Okay, next, Ms. Farrell.

Thank you, Mr. President. I notice resolution 97-9126R, an ask for its introduction and passage.

Thank you, Ms. Farrell. Madam Clerk, please read the resolution.

A resolution of the Common Council recognizing September as Suicide Awareness Month in the City of Albany.

Discussion? Ms. Farrell?

Thank you, Mr. President. September is Suicide Awareness Month, and the reason why September is Suicide Awareness Month is to bring awareness to the 988 lifeline. I think everyone has unfortunately been touched by this. I think unfortunately most of us know someone directly if we haven't lost someone very important to us to suicide. It's incredibly important to know the signs. Crisis and depression can impact all of us and do. And keeping an eye out for our loved ones and even for ourselves is very important. If you hear someone that you care about or if you are feeling hopelessness, despair, unbearable pain, if you hear someone talking about wanting to die, wanting to not be here, feeling like a burden, withdrawing from their friends and family, mood swings, increased anxiety, changes in sleeping or eating habits. If you yourself are feeling this despair, getting help is incredibly important. We all go through different things. Help can help you overcome this. Call or texting 988 or visiting 988

suicide 988 lifeline.org all of it's free and it's incredibly important thank you thank you miss farrell uh mr johnson yes this is one that i want to say thank you for because if we're paying attention to the you know our city um we have people jumping off bridges you know um real unfortunate stuff so you know that's that those points that you made are are valuable but i think that if we just be humans and pick up the phone and just start checking on um people that you don't hear from that you you know um and and just reacting off of what you see as i said earlier i'm an educator I've spent most of my working days just watching kids faces because just looking at them, you can sometimes know something is wrong. You know, when you look at a kid and you say hello to him, you get to see their normal states. And sometimes just by saying hello to a person in the morning, you can get a sense that something is going on. So in the times that we are living in, it's important that we if you see something, do something about it. Um, you know, say something to a person because that could be the, uh, the piece that they needed in that day. And, you know, I know I would hate to see something and not, um, take advantage of that opportunity. And then later on what you saw came to reality. So Again, thank you for putting this up, and it's important that we be mindful of people who are stressing, because sometimes you don't know what a person is going through when you look at them. Thank you.

Any further? Mr. Robinson.

Thank you, Mr. President. Let us make today the start of not just one month, but every day of our lives for the rest of our lives to be open minded with a full heart. And when we walk our path every day and we see people that's unfortunate or not doing well, We don't know what their situation can, what resorted them to be in the state that they are at. So just by even saying good morning or engaging, that may can have somebody that was on the edge decide to say, today is not my day to jump off the edge, just for the conversation I had with Mr. Johnson or Mr. Robinson. You know, I thank you Jenny, because in the words of Councilman Johnson, it's well needed and something to be thankful for.

Thank you, Mr. Robinson. I didn't see anyone else. All co-sponsors, so all in favor, say aye. Aye. Okay, motion passes. Resolution passes. Okay, moving on, Ms. Zamer.

Thank you, Mr. President. I notice Resolution 888126R and ask for its passage. Thank you, Mrs. Amer.

Madam Clerk?

A resolution of the Common Council consenting to the appointment of Chester Bennett to the Albany Parking Authority Board of Directors.

Okay, discussion. Mrs. Amer?

I just want to remind my colleagues that Mr. Bennett was approved unanimously with a favorable recommendation to be moved out of planning committee, and we think he'd be a valuable addition to the Albany Parking Authority Board of Directors. Thank you.

Okay, any further discussion? Madam Clerk, please call the roll.

Adams? Yes. Anani?

Yes, co-sponsor, please.

Ballarin?

Yes, co-sponsor please.

Brody? Yes. Farrell?

Yes, co-sponsor please.

Flynn?

Yes, co-sponsor.

Hoey?

Yes, co-sponsor please. Johnson? Yes.

Jones?

Yes.

Keegan? Yes. Lumpkin?

Yes.

Powell? Yes. Robinson?

Yes.

Zamer? Yes. 14 in the affirmative.

The motion passes. Thank you. Next, on to Mr. Adams.

Thank you, Mr. President. I'd like to notice Resolution 90.8226R and ask for his passage.

Thank you, Mr. Adams. Madam Clerk.

A resolution of the Common Council reappointing Jonathan Nix as a member of the Commission on Monuments and Public Arts.

Discussion, Mr. Adams.

Just briefly, we met a few weeks ago to interview Mr. Nix. And from our conversation and review, we found that Mr. Nix was a great fit for the Commission of Monuments with a great passion of interest to be involved. So we look forward to his work and thank him again for his willingness to serve. Thank you.

Mr. Adams.

Ms. Seymour. Thank you, Mr. President, just really briefly during the course of that interview that Councilmember Adams was talking about. We got a brief introduction to a cataloging system that Mr. Nix was trying to put together with our cataloging the public monuments and art in the city of Albany was something I just wanted to bring attention everyone's attention to because it's something we look forward to seeing when it's completed.

Thank you. Further discussion? No? Madam Clerk, please call the roll.

Adams? Yes. Bonanni? Yes. Ballarin?

Yes.

Cosponsor, please.

Brody? Yes. Cosponsor, please. Barrow?

Yes. Cosponsor, please.

Flynn?

Yes. Cosponsor.

Hoey?

Yes. Cosponsor, please. Johnson? Yes. Jones? Cosponsor, please.

Yes.

Keegan?

Yes. Cosponsor, please.

Lumpkin?

Yes. Cosponsor, please.

Powell? Yes. Robinson? please yes co-sponsor please 14 in the affirmative resolution passes thank you mr. president I noticed resolution 91 82 26 are and asked for its passage a resolution of the Common Council reappointing Judy L Doucette as a member of the Board of Assessment review discussion

Thank you, Mr. President. I just want to note that Judy Doshet is a former council member, and after she left her position here on the council, she stepped up to serve on the Board of Assessment Review. It's a very difficult job. It requires that those board members have the ability to essentially be here full time for the month of May in order to do those assessment reviews. So it's a very difficult board to fill. It also is a very technical position. And it is a position where oftentimes people are unable to make the public happy as a result of the rules under which the board has to operate. So I just want to commend former council member Doshay on continuing to serve our city. She was interviewed by the committee and it passed through with a unanimous positive recommendation.

Adams?

Yes, co-sponsor, please.

Adams?

Yes, co-sponsor, please.

Ballarin?

Yes, co-sponsor, please.

Brody? Yes, co-sponsor, please. Farrell?

Yes, co-sponsor, please. Flynn? Yes, co-sponsor.

Hoey?

Yes, co-sponsor, please. Johnson? Yes, co-sponsor, please.

Jones?

Yes, co-sponsor, please.

Keegan? Yes. Lumpkin?

Yes, co-sponsor, please.

Powell? Yes, cosponsor please.

Robinson?

Yes, cosponsor please.

Zamer? Yes, cosponsor please. 14 in the affirmative.

The rest of the resolutions are held.

Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. President. I hereby ask that the following individuals be appointed as Commissioner of Deeds in the City of Albany with their term ending on December 31st, 2026 and the waiver of the reading of their names. Second.

I'm raising my hand for miscellaneous, so I don't know if you're calling on me for that. I'm raising my hand for miscellaneous. I just wanted to note something I meant to mention in caucus. The mayor has appointed two people to different positions. Justin and I am so sorry, Justin, to butcher your name, who is now the new commissioner of the water department. pending council approval, of course. He's been with the water department for 17 years. He started there as a junior engineer and worked his way up to operations manager, so he's well known in the water department. He knows all of the different things there, and it's something, there's a lot of excitement about his leadership. Also, John Riley Jr. was appointed to Corporation Council. We will be taking up resolutions for both of those positions to go through the approval process, and we have 45 days to confirm from today, so we'll be working on that along with some other things. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. President. Today is 9-10 of 2026. Twenty-five years ago, people were getting ready to go to work in the morning, not knowing they'd never come home again. I know this is kind of last minute, but I'd ask for a moment of silence for those folks who did not survive and those folks who did survive. suffered from cancers and other ailments after the attack of 9-11. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Hawley, for that. Mr. Johnson.

And just adding to councilman, I just think that it's only right that we say and not to dishonor any other person from the capital district that was lost that day. But I know Stephen Mulder, he was a good friend of mine. And, you know, he definitely will be always missed. And if we're gonna have a moment of silence in the capital district, I would love it for his name to go on record because anybody that knew him knew that he was a lovely lovely guy and lastly I want to say we talk about finances for the city but one of the conversations that I hope that we start having is that these councils for the city start handling the legal arm on work that comes with city business and we stop paying. Outside cancels counsel to handle city business, you know if we look in that ways that we can save the city month monies those are the places that we should start with. If we have lawyers that have more degrees and they practice they should be practicing on the best interest of the city and we shouldn't be paying law firms to do the work that people are paid for so you know people have brought things to my attention it's my responsibility to bring it to this body so we can have a conversation about it but when we start looking at cuts those are the type of cuts that i would like to see discussed first and foremost thank you that's keegan

Thank you, Mr. President. I just have one quick announcement. We have an MSW student who started under my supervision in neighborhood and community services. His name is Dan Callahan, but he will also be assisting council staff and the Human Resources and Human Rights Committee on getting the Commission on Disabilities up and running, and he will be staffing that through May of this year. So you might actually see him out and about in council chambers. Thank you.

Thank you. Did I see another? Mr. Robinson.

Thank you, Mr. President. Tonight, me and other members of the bill that we have sponsored here, we did a town hall meeting at the Washington Avenue Library. It was a very pleasant meeting. The turnout was great. The conversation was great. We even had the pleasure of having the blessings of the new chair, the Office of Violence Prevention. And we're in conversations to make sure that we have another discussion in the first week of October with him being our special invited guest. Same place, so just stay tuned. And we need the support from the council. We need the council to hear how the community feel about this particular piece of legislation and how it's important for it to move forward and not to get bogged down in committee. Thank you.

Thank you for the so last time we're here, I mentioned that street we name it for Tori for George. And Helen Tori and it's going to be on October 10th at 1 o'clock in the afternoon. That's when the family wanted it. So hopefully you'll be there.

October, it's a weekday.

No, no, it's Saturday. It's the same day as the Black Nurses Cancer March.

Same day, 1 o'clock. Okay.

All right. So with that, anything else? Motion? Motion.