Public Safety Committee

ALBANY COMMON COUNCIL PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE MINUTES Thomas Hoey, Chair Meeting called by: Thomas Hoey, Chair | Date: September 11, 2023 | Time: 5:33 PM Committee Members Present: Hoey, Chair ☒ | Balarin ☒ | Flynn ☐ | Frederick ☒ | Kimbrough ☒ Council Members Present: Anane, Zamer City Personnel Present: Mayor Kathy Sheehan, Treasurer Darius Shahinfar, Chief of Staff David Galin, Assistant Corporation Counsel Christopher Cech, Jake Eisland, Bryan Jimenez, Max Thierry Minutes Topic(s) of Discussion:  Violence Prevention Activities in the City of Albany  ORDINANCE 5.21.23 AN ORDINANCE AMENDING ARTICLE I (LOITERING; DISTURBANCES; DEFACING PROPERTY) OF CHAPTER 255 (PEACE AND GOOD ORDER) OF THE CODE OF THE CITY OF ALBANY IN RELATION TO SIMPLIFYING THE ENFORCEMENT GUIDELINES FOR LOITERING  School Speed Zone Camera Demonstration Program  LOCAL LAW M of 2022 A LOCAL LAW AMENDING CHAPTER 359 (VEHICLES AND TRAFFIC) REDUCING THE SPEED LIMIT OF THE CITY OF ALBANY FROM 30 TO 25 MILES PER HOUR  Body-Worn Cameras for Albany Parking Authority and Buildings & Regulatory Compliance Code Enforcement Officers Speaker(s): Edward Brennan Naquiy McMullen Discussion  The Chair called the meeting to order and introduced Mayor Sheehan.  Mayor Sheehan thanked Council Member Hoey.  Council Member Hoey congratulated Mayor Sheehan on her election as president of the New York State Conference of Mayors (NYCOM) and asked for her remarks on both a recent United States Conference of Mayors (USCOM) summit and the meeting agenda. o Mayor Sheehan spoke on the series of public safety press conferences that she had begun holding with the Albany Police Department (APD). She gave statistics from the conferences and outlined some of APD’s enforcement strategies. She thanked APD for its impact in the City. o Mayor Sheehan said that discussions at the USCOM summit had focused on mental health, homelessness, and substance use and abuse. She spoke on increases in SeeClickFix complaints involving needles and the word “homeless.” She shared findings  from an Albany County Department of Health Report detailing poor health among individuals without permanent or stable housing as well as resistance to clinicians and case managers conducting the study, especially when accompanied by police. She spoke on ongoing conversations between the City and the County that are designed to move toward programming for unhoused people. She spoke on the need for cities to be brought into discussions around federal funding for such programming.  Council Member Hoey thanked Mayor Sheehan and introduced body-worn cameras for employees of the Albany Parking Authority and the Department of Buildings and Regulatory Compliance as the next topic of discussion. o Mayor Sheehan responded that the City needed to do all that it could to keep public servants safe. She said that should would need to know more details on the implementation and budgetary implications of a body-worn camera program.  Council Member Hoey introduced Local Law M of 2022 as the next topic of discussion and spoke on the need for a traffic study prior to the law’s passage. o Mayor Sheehan spoke on her support for 25 MPH speed limits. She then gave an update on the timeframe of a planned Vision Zero study, stating that it would take 18 months to complete. She recommended that the Council budget around $150,000 for an additional traffic study in the next 6-8 months, which would allow the City to move forward with the law sooner.  Council Member Hoey introduced the potential school zone speed camera demonstration program as the next topic of discussion. He asked Mayor Sheehan whether the City could combine the traffic study for Local Law M of 2022 and the traffic study needed for the demonstration program. o Mayor Sheehan spoke on the successes of an existing school zone speed camera program in New York City. She said that she had urged Governor Hochul to sign legislation authorizing Albany’s program and said that the City was ready to move forward with the program if the legislation is signed. She said that the City could not commit to spending the funds for the program without the enabling legislation being signed. o Council Member Hoey spoke on a potential timeframe for the legislation to be signed.  Council Member Hoey introduced Ordinance 5.21.23 as the next topic of discussion. o Mayor Sheehan spoke on potential legal challenges to language proposed in the ordinance and suggested amendments that might enhance probable cause and change the scope of enforcement instead.  Council Member Hoey introduced violence prevention activities in the City of Albany as the final topic of discussion. He spoke on the history and current state of the City’s Violence Prevention Task Force and asked Mayor Sheehan for input on managing the Task Force’s work. o Mayor Sheehan encouraged the Council to hire an individual to staff the Violence Prevention Task Force. She spoke on the potential scope of the individual’s services and contrasted the work of a coordinator and the work of APD. o Mayor Sheehan also spoke on potential changes that the Common Council might make to the hours of city parks, stating that there were no uniform park hours. She said that the changes were an example of violence prevention that the Council could address.  Council Member Hoey asked Mayor Sheehan whether she had time for questions, to which she responded.  The Chair recognized Council Member Kimbrough. o Council Member Kimbrough spoke on the budgetary implications of a coordinator. o Mayor Sheehan responded that it was budget time and stated that she was committed to giving the Council the resources to hire for the role.  Council Member Balarin thanked Mayor Sheehan and asked her whether she knew of any cities that had already adopted strategies to address drug addiction’s ties to declines in mental health. o Mayor Sheehan spoke on the possibility of a street treatment program, stating that Albany would be among the first municipalities to adopt such a program. She spoke on successes and challenges in addiction treatment in other municipalities as well as the difficulties  that individuals seeking addiction treatment services now face in Albany. She spoke on her hope that the City could become a model for other cities.  Council Member Frederick asked Mayor Sheehan whether $150,000 meant for a near-term traffic study would be included in her upcoming budget. o Mayor Sheehan said that she intends to include the money in budget. o Council Member Frederick asked whether a traffic study could show areas in which traffic speed could be reduced. o Mayor Sheehan said yes and spoke on her goals for the study. o Council Member Frederick thanked Mayor Sheehan.  The Chair recognized Council Member Anane.  Council Member Anane thanked Mayor Sheehan for her input on Ordinance 5.21.23 and spoke on the need to hire park rangers alongside other investments in city parks. o Mayor Sheehan said that APD was in the process of hiring rangers for a non-police presence in parks. She said that she had communicated an expectation that the program would be in effect by spring 2024 with APD Chief Eric Hawkins. o Council Member Anane thanked Mayor Sheehan.  Council Member Zamer spoke on the timeframe of Local Law M of 2022 and thanked the mayor for her commitment to the law. o Mayor Sheehan thanked Council Member Zamer.  Council Member Hoey spoke on hiring trends and their negative impacts on police departments across the country. o Mayor Sheehan spoke on hiring challenges in APD and gave statistics from the most recent civil service examination. She said that the Violence Prevention Task Force’s coordinator, the park ranger program, and street treatment had the potential to alleviate pressures on APD.  Mayor Sheehan spoke on Resolution 88.82.23R and encouraged people not to give money to panhandlers.  Council Member Hoey thanked Mayor Sheehan.  The Chair opened public comment period.  Public comment was heard.  Council Member Hoey thanked the speakers and spoke on the outcomes of the meeting. He also spoke on the need to reappoint members of the Community Police Review Board and asked members of the Committee whether October 3 would work for them.  Council Member Kimbrough spoke on the October deadlines for the reappointments before asking Council Member Anane whether he would like to move Ordinance 5.21.23 from committee. o Council Member Anane spoke on his support for Mayor Sheehan’s proposed amendments. o Council Member Hoey said that the Committee should wait until its next meeting to consider the amendments. o Council Member Kimbrough asked for clarification on the timeframe of moving Ordinance 5.21.23 from the Committee, to which Council Member Hoey responded.  The Chair recognized Council Member Zamer.  Council Member Zamer spoke on issues surrounding the implementation of a school zone speed camera program in the City of Buffalo and asked councilmembers to educate themselves on the program. o Council Member Hoey asked the Junior Policy Analyst to research the issues before speaking on the timeframe of the eventual legislation’s potential passage.  The Chair recognized Council Member Anane.  Council Member Anane spoke on his plan to introduce legislation that would change park hours.  Council Member Hoey spoke on the process for changing park hour and linked the legislation to the work of the Violence Prevention Task Force.  o Council Member Kimbrough spoke on the description of the Violence Prevention Coordinator position and the timing of Violence Prevention Task Force’s work. o Council Member Hoey spoke on the funds currently budgeted for Violence Prevention Activities. o Council Member Frederick spoke on plans to budget for the position. o Council Member Hoey asked about the hiring timeframe. o Council Member Kimbrough said that members could speak with the Junior Policy Analyst about the description for the position. o The Junior Policy Analyst asked whether the Committee would like to turn the Request for Proposals into a job posting for the Violence Prevention Coordinator, to which Committee Members said yes. o The Junior Policy Analyst thanked Committee Members. o Council Member Hoey thanked the Junior Policy Analyst.  The Chair thanked the attendees. Public Comment: Edward Brennan, 389 McCormack Road, Albany, NY 12208 – Local Law M of 2022 Naquiy McMullen, 88 Willett Street, Albany, NY 12210 – Local Law M of 2022 Adjourn: The Chair adjourned the meeting at 6:33 PM. Respectfully Submitted, Max Thierry Junior Policy Analyst Albany Common Council