City Council

Minutes of the TROY CITY COUNCIL SPECIAL MEETING June 25, 2020 6:00 P.M. Due to the COVID-19 crisis, this meeting was held remotely via videoconference. The meeting was called to order at 6:08 p.m. by Council President Mantello. Pledge of Allegiance Roll Call: The roll being called, the following answered to their names: Council Member Gulli, Council Member Steele, Council Member Cummings, Council Member Zalewski, Council Member McDermott, Council President Mantello, Chair. Council Member Ashe-McPherson was absent. In attendance were Mayor Patrick Madden, Deputy Mayor Monica Kurzejeski, Corporation Counsel Richard T. Morrissey, and Deputy Comptroller Andrew Piotrowski. Approximately 8 members of the public attended. Public Forum - written statements were submitted by the following individuals and are appended to these minutes: 1. Raquel Velho, 4th Street 2. Dylan Rees, Linden Avenue 64. Resolution Determining That Proposed Action Is A Type Ii Action For Purposes Of The New York State Environmental Quality Review Act (Council President Mantello) (At The Request Of The Administration) Resolution passed 6 ayes, 0 nos, 0 abstentions, 1 absence (Ashe-McPherson). 65. Bond Resolution Authorizing The Issuance Of $945,000 Serial Bonds To Finance The Cost Of Sidewalk Improvements (Council President Mantello) (At The Request Of The Administration) Resolution passed 6 ayes, 0 nos, 0 abstentions, 1 absence (Ashe-McPherson). 69. Resolution of Troy City Council Recognizing Juneteenth (Council President Mantello, Council Member Steele, Council Member Zalewski, Council Member McDermott, Council Member Cummings, Council Member Gulli) Resolution passed 6 ayes, 0 nos, 0 abstentions, 1 absence (Ashe-McPherson). Adjournment The meeting adjourned at 6:26 p.m. A video recording of this meeting is on file at the City Clerk's office. 1 Public Forum for Special Meeting, June 25, 2020 3. Raquel Velho, 4th Street 4. Dylan Rees, Linden Avenue My name is Raquel Velho, I’m a resident of 4th Street in Troy. I am writing today in support of Resolution 69, wherein Troy City Council recognizes Juneteenth as an important recognition of the work that it took for freedom to reach all corners of the United States. That we are taking the time tonight to pass this resolution is a symbolic gesture that I’m hoping will not be an empty one. I hope this gesture is the first in a series of city council deliberations regarding the ways in which this City has been complicit in the marginalization of Black people in our community, including but not limited to the practices of Troy PD. Beyond Juneteenth, let the city also recognize that the Black population makes up 7% of Rensselaer County, yet Black people comprised 30% of county arrests, and 41% of county prison sentences of 2018. Black people at Rensselaer were arrested at 6 times the rate of the white population. This data is from the NY State Division of Criminal Justice Services, and the problem of compounding racial injustices in the criminal system has been shown to be real by those who have closely experienced the system, and those who have researched it. I have also searched for Troy PD numbers about this, but they are not easily available. I have requested Council Member McDermott to secure them for me, and she says she has reached out to TPD for them. I look forward to looking through those numbers more locally. The county’s numbers nevertheless illustrate the racist practices of our local prison-industrial complex. It also crystallizes the ways in which Black communities in our municipalities are continuously let down by local governance, where exponentially larger sums of money are attributed to municipal police forces than they are to community-led and community-based programs. Local Black-led groups, especially Troy for Black Lives/Justice for Dahmeek, have been making demands from the City Council and the Mayor for many years. That you’ve chosen to recognize Juneteenth rather than sit at the table with community leaders shows that there’s a high chance that this symbolic gesture will remain empty. I therefore urge you to take this opportunity to move towards something bolder. Listen, actually, truly listen, and act upon the demands of Troy for Black Lives, and develop a plan to meet their demands. Tonight, I highlight three of those demands, but they are all as important as the next:  We demand a civilian review board of police actions, with subpoena power and representation of at least 60% of people most affected by police violence in our community.  We demand a full and impartial investigation every instance of use of deadly force by a police officer, whether or not it results in a death (this includes injury) and whether or not the victim is alleged to have been armed. Where there is evidence of abuse, a vigorous grand jury presentation and prosecution.  We demand that Troy Police be defunded, and that money from the police department be redistributed. This redistribution is to be run by, determined by, and decided by communities most impacted by violent and murderous policing. This process must center 2  our local Black-led groups such as Troy for Black Lives (formerly known as Justice for Dahmeek) who have, again, been making these demands for years. I await council discussions regarding Gov. Cuomo’s executive order # 203 on police reform and reinvention and Mayor Madden’s timeline regarding this order. I also urge Council Member McDermott to finally call a Public Safety committee meeting to address Troy for Black Lives’ demands and Gov. Cuomo’s executive order. Thank you. Raquel Velho, 4th Street As a resident of Troy who stands in solidarity with Troy for Black Lives (formerly Justice for Dahmeek), I am writing to ask you to immediately freeze additional funding for the Troy Police Department and reallocate $10 million from the TPD Budget to community services, projects and people run by, decided by, and centering Black communities most impacted by violent policing. The excessive TPD Budget should be redistributed to alternative public healthy safety institutions that do not consist of law enforcement or former law enforcement. Potential models for this include the CAHOOTS program in Eugene, Oregon and the civilian public safety program recently created in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Thanks, Dylan Rees, Linden Avenue 3