Commission on Human Rights

CITY OF ALBANY COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS Meeting Minutes September 23, 2021 Opening: The September 23, 2021, meeting was called to order at 6:00 PM EST, via Zoom, by Chairperson Aaron Moore. Present: Chairperson Aaron Moore; Vice Chairperson Rosie Love; Commissioner Valerie Alexander-Moseley; Commissioner Natisha Alexander; Commissioner Celia Evers; Commissioner Kate Shelly, Esq. Chief Diversity Officer Angelica Kang, Esq.; and Assistant Corporation Counsel Laura M. Gulfo, Esq. Absent: Secretary Thomas Richards, Esq. Quorum: Yes Approval of Prior Meeting Minutes: Yes. Correction to minutes: Commissioner Alexander not “Esq.”, all minor amendments that do not impact intent of minutes also included in this correction. Motion made by Alexander, seconded by Alexander-Moseley; passed unanimously. Business from the Prior Meeting: The Commissioners discussed their respective nominations for the Annual Awards ceremony. Chairperson Moore nominated Paul Collins-Hackett, executive director of the RED Bookshelf nonprofit (https://www.linkedin.com/in/paul-collins-hackett-50546393/), and Jamila [fill in name from Aaron]. Vice Chairperson Love nominated Tabitha Wilson, a civil rights activist and member of the City of Albany School Board (https://about.me/tabetha_wilson); Commissioner Natisha Alexander nominated AVillage, a nonprofit dedicated to transformational change in Albany’s South End (https://avillageworks.org/). Motion unanimously approved at the May meeting to honor all nominees at the 2021 Ceremony, and to return to honoring no more than three nominees at future ceremonies. New Business: For the Annual Awards ceremony, an ad hoc subcommittee’s creation was suggested, which will invite speakers and designate the form of awards given. Commissioner Shelly and Chairperson Moore discussed serving on this committee, and will meet ad hoc and report at the next meeting. 1 It is probable that the Awards ceremony will be virtual, owing to the continuing COVID-19 pandemic. Motion made by Chairperson Moore; seconded by Vice Chairperson Love. Passed unanimously. Vice Chairperson Love updated the Commission on efforts related to preparing the 2021 Equity Agenda Annual Report, which is a mandated activity of the Commission, together with an accompanying speaker series. The goal of the Equity Agenda is to achieve equity across all communities and end the blight of discrimination and systematic racism within the City. Executive Director Kang noted that the Common Council has not yet gotten to the data required for the Annual Report, but that the September 21 deadline has passed. Vice Chairperson Love noted that the Equity Subcommittee would need two months to construct a report, despite the deadline of December 31, 2021, and requested to have two months regardless of the agreed-upon submission date. Discussion was had about a specific template for the Annual Report data. Chairperson Love requested it in aggregate form so that the data would begin in January 2020 and end in December 2020. A more formalized template should include budgetary considerations, data for key indicators, specific types of reports. This template is not practicable for this year’s report, but was tabled for next year’s. Contained within this report is the ad hoc Equity Agenda Subcommittee meeting. Executive Director Kang provided an update on the Commission’s budget, asking the Budget Office for a total of $2,500. This has been referred to the Budget Department. The budget’s drop- dead date is Friday, October 1, 2021, and a decision should be reached by then. Executive Director Kang noted that no public comments were submitted for the meeting. Adjournment: This meeting was adjourned at approximately 6:40 PM. Minutes submitted by: Commissioner Kate Shelly. Minutes approved by: These minutes were approved by the Commission on October 21, 2021. 2 Addendum: Equity Agenda Ad Hoc Committee Notes Thank you for your response. The Human Rights Commissions Equity Agenda ad hoc committee met on 7/27 to discuss a plan for moving forward so that we do not run into this issue in the future. Here are our takeaways based on page two of the 2020 equity agenda report:  The Department of Administrative Services should collect and share all data with the Commission.  The Commission can request additional information, if necessary, but the Department should be sharing all core data (any data submitted in previous iterations of the report) without prompt.  All core data should be shared with the Commission at least 45 days before the report due date (which is currently 9/21)  The Department is ultimately responsible for drafting and submitting the report, subject to review and input and approval from the Commission. Please confirm that our interpretation is correct. Additionally, we have the following data needs:  Equitable budgeting is a key element of this legislation. The Commission requests that all data is presented in the format of a complete fiscal year to track outcomes in a uniform manner.  The City’s current fiscal year is from January 1 - December 31, as such the Commission requests that data reflect the same time frame. The data provided to the Commission for the current iteration of the report should reflect the period of January 1, 2020 to December 31, 2020.  The Human Rights Commission is responsible for reviewing, enhancing, and providing recommendations on the City of Albany’s Equity Agenda, including policy recommendations to ensure equitable growth among key indicators of success that were not addressed in the previous report.  As such, the Commission is requesting data related to the following areas: 1. Economic development a. Per Section 183-2(A)(1) of the Equity Agenda, the City’s Department of General Services and Division of Engineering are to annually provide both the Common Council and the Commission on Human Rights a ward map identifying the rating of each street, together with the annual proposed list of street and sidewalk reconstruction or enhancement. (see page 3 of 2020 Equity Report). In 2020, this report was provided to the Common Council but not to the Commission as mandated by the Equity Agenda. The 2021 report and ward map are requested, together with the annual In-house Street Paving 3  Report. Information on scheduled and anticipated Water Department and National Grid projects should also be shared with the Commission, as reference against the broader street condition improvements. b. A copy of the electronic record of requests made for the enhancement of existing streets and sidewalks and the installment of new sidewalks and walking paths, together with 2019 and 2020 data to properly monitor trends and any changes in the use of sidewalks and walking paths during and after the COVID-19 crisis. c. A copy of the City-wide asset map on parks, together with summary on use of restrooms and other park facilities, with any accompanying data useful to monitor trends and any changes in the use and demand for parks and related facilities during and after the COVID-19 crisis. d. A map of City-wide streetlight conversions to LED, together with the comparable maps for 2019 and 2020, and a copy of the Planning Department’s annual assessment of lighting and any related narrative updates on the streetlight conversion project. e. An accurate map and chart of the location of City of Albany trash receptacles by address and ward, together with the comparable maps for 2019 and 2020 and the City’s trash receptacle emptying schedule. f. List of any proposed qualified capital improvements by ward together with a list and names of previous capital projects completed by ward in a four- year period. g. Any data and information on the proposed use of the $80 million in federal American Rescue Plan stimulus funding for the City of Albany, with emphasis on intended usage by ward. 2. Health 2. Housing 2. Criminal justice 2. Service equity 2. Arts and culture 4