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From YouTube: Albany Common Council Caucus followed by the Law, Building, and Code Enforcement Meeting 2/16/2022
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A
A
Okay
looks
good,
so
we'll
get
started.
Welcome
to
our
february
16th
caucus
and
work
session
of
the
albany
common
council.
Just
for
the
for
the
record
members
president
keegan
hoey,
zamer
johnson
adams,
clark,
farrell
romero,
anani
myself,
mr
kimbrough
see
mr
ballerin
coming
in
staff.
We
have
is
brett
here
or
is
someone
here
for
brett
from
city
staff.
We
also
have
director
of
building
codes,
rick
or
joy.
C
B
A
E
Yes,
you
know,
the
digital
divide
has
been
an
issue
here
in
the
city
of
albany,
and
last
council
decided
to
put
a
commission
together
to
study
a
feasibility
and
logistics
of
a
city
owned
and
operated
municipal
internet.
This
commission
was
put
together
to
do
that.
Unfortunately,
the
you
know
recovered
and
others
unforeseeable
circumstances.
They
would
need
additional
time.
E
There
are
some
people
that
resign
and
it's
accent
for
additional
time,
and
I
think
the
time
is,
for
extension
until
june
15th-
and
you
know
this
is
something
that
is
really
important
to
all
of
us,
and
we
want
to
make
sure
that
as
many
people
as
possible
in
our
city
have
access
to
the
internet.
So
I
think
it's
so
important
to
have
this
commission
have
the
additional
time
that
they
need
to
do
such
a
phenomenal
work.
A
Yeah,
okay,
thank
you,
mr
nani,
and
so
I
was
asking
about
mr
williams,
because
it's
a
local
law,
but
I
was
gonna.
I
mean
it
should
be
sufficient
enough
for
us
to
allow
it
to
age
and
then
move
it.
Unless
we
have
a
law
committee
coming
committee
meeting
coming
up,
because
the
thing
is
it's
literally
a
line,
and
it's
just
changing
that
that
date
go
ahead.
Jenny,
you're
gonna,
say
something
yeah.
D
I
don't
I
mean
I
wouldn't
necessarily
feel
the
need
to.
I
will
be
scheduling
a
law
committee
because
we
do
have
local
law
a
that's
coming
to
the
law
committee
and
I
I'd
like
to
deal
with
that
sooner
rather
than
later.
But
I
don't,
I
don't
see
any
need
to
unless
council
members
disagree.
I
personally
would
not
see
any
need
to
have
it
come
to
the
committee.
A
F
Yes,
I
will
say
this:
you
know
our
people
have
been
calling
for
reform
and
and
they're
looking
for
transparency,
and
this
is
what
we
believe
that
the
commission
will
provide.
It
would
be
a
step
in
the
right
direction
to
have
some
oversight
of
you
know
some
critical
situations
that
have
been
happening
in
our
in
our
city,
and
you
know
that
leave
our
communities
forever
divided,
so
in
an
effort
to
respond
to
what
the
community
has
been
calling
for.
A
G
Yeah,
thank
you,
president.
Pro
tem,
I
didn't
have
the
zoom
login
credentials
at
first,
so
I
was
trying
to
get
those
and
trying
to
watch
on
facebook.
At
the
same
time,
I
I
think
you
asked
a
question
about
local
law
b.
I
didn't
hear
your
full
question.
So
if
you
wouldn't
mind
repeating
that
yeah
no,
it
was
just
about.
A
Allowing
it
to
aid
versus
I,
I
know
we
didn't
have
to
send
it
to
committee,
but
I
I
figured
since
it's
just
a
line
changing
the
date
that
it
would
be
fine
but
they're
the
attorneys.
So
I
just
wanted
to
ask
you
so,
but
we
got
our
answers
and
we're
just
going
to
age.
It
a
whole.
You
know
intro
hold
age
and
then
pass
it
once
it's
aged
and
long
enough.
G
H
E
Gotcha,
just
to
kind
of
give
you
a
quick
during
the
height
of
the
pandemic,
many
businesses
were
forced
to
shut
down
several
businesses
adjusted
and
were
successful
because
of
and
was
able
to
stay
open
because
of
outdoor
cafe
outdoor
dining,
and
we
have
you
know,
learned
from
those
initiatives
and
the
small
businesses
strongly
supported
their
neighbors
who
support
it.
I
feel
like
it
was
a
public
health
concern
to
have
everyone
inside
and
some
businesses
suggested
to
have
an
outside
cafe.
E
A
G
Sure
so
I
haven't
looked
at
it
in
a
few
days
to
be
perfectly
honest
with
you,
but
it's
being
made
at
the
request
of
the
albany
parking
authority
yeah
in
very
broad
strokes.
I
think
it.
Its
aim
is
to
you
know,
prevent
people
who
might
park
say
in
zone
a
for
two
hours
and
then
go
move
the
car
somewhere
else
in
zone
and
park
there
for
another
two
hours
and
keep
that
cycle
going
all
day.
You
know
which
sort
of
defeats
the
purpose
of
the
permit
parking
program.
G
A
A
K
Sure,
thank
you.
So
I
think
this
resolution
was
potentially
introduced
last
year
and
we
are
reintroducing
it
again.
Just
as
a
brief
background,
beg
buttons
are
put
at
dusty
intersections
to
specifically
request
a
walk
signal,
something
that
will
allow
someone
to
cross
the
street
and,
as
a
concept,
beg
buttons,
prioritize,
vehicular
traffic
over
pedestrians
or
cyclists
or
skateboarders
and,
as
our
city
is,
is
moving
towards
a
more
pedestrian,
friendly
and
walkable
city.
I'm
hoping
that
we
can
also
move
away
from
beg
buttons
as
a
concept
and
as
a
traffic
engineering
tool.
K
So
this
resolution
just
sends
a
signal
that
we're
prioritizing
walkability
across
our
city
and
urging
that
newly
designed
intersections
do
not
include
bed
buttons
and,
like
I
said
this
is
the
first
step,
so
I'm
hoping
to
work
with
the
council
and
with
traffic
engineering
to
figure
out
a
local
law
ordinance
that
would
effectively
preclude
the
use
of
bed
buttons
in
highly
congested
areas
of
our
city.
But
that's
just
something.
I'm
thinking
about
I'd
love
to
talk
to
people
about
that
more.
The
resolution
is
just
a
first
step.
A
E
A
L
E
E
Makes
sense
now
yeah,
I'm
glad
that
the
councilwoman
is
pushing
this
forward.
It's
the
time
is
now,
particularly
when
you
see
what
other
neighborhoods
are
going
through.
When
we
have
freeze
frozen
temperatures,
you
know
freezing
some
of
the
back
buttons
and
it's
really
unfair
to
the
pedestrians.
So
I'm
glad
that
this
is
being
brought
up
and
again,
like
the
councilwoman
said,
this
is
just
the
beginning.
L
A
G
G
This
year,
governor
hochul
also
passed
an
executive
order
doing
a
similar
thing,
but
whereas
last
year
it
was
just
a
a
blanket
order
from
the
governor
this
year,
the
governor
said
that
municipalities
have
the
option
to
do
so,
but
the
council,
in
this
case,
or
you
know,
the
governing
body
of
the
municipality,
would
have
to
decide
to
do
so
by
resolution.
So
this
resolution
accomplishes
that
goal.
G
It
directs
the
assessor
to
continue
to
apply
senior
exemptions
to
those
who
had
them
last
year
without
the
need
for
a
reapplication,
and
it
also
empowers
the
assessor
to
if
he
has.
You
know
good
cause
to
believe
that
somebody
is
no
longer
entitled
to
an
exemption
to
look
into
that
and
to
pull
that
exemption.
If,
if
there's
reason
to
do
so,
you
know
a
reason
to
do
so
would
be
if
the
property
was
sold
or
you
know,
somebody's
not
living
there
anymore,
a
few
different
reasons,
but
that's
the
general
purpose
and.
G
G
You
know
I
I
did
say
a
moment
ago
that
it
doesn't
need
to
be
done
this
week,
but
you
know
with
the
tentative
role
due
out
march
1st
if
the
council
would
be
willing
to
move
on
it
this
week.
Here
you
know
at
monday's
meeting
that
might
be
for
the
best
and
I'm
happy
to
find
out
in
the
interim
how
many
properties.
D
And
I
I
will
say
these
are:
this
is
not
a
new
exemption,
so
it
should
not
have
any
impact
on
our
budget,
and
it's
really
just
keeping
for
our
seniors.
It's
just
keeping
the
exemption
that
they've
had
without
having
them
to
reapply.
It's
personally,
something
that
I
hope
that
they
get
rid
of
that
you
that
you.
H
D
Because
for
a
lot
of
seniors,
it's
a
complicated
thing
to
go
through
that
every
single
year
and
reapply.
So
it's
wonderful
to
have
the
option
just
can
kind
of
just
continue
on,
but
so
it
it
doesn't
have
any
budget
impact,
and
it's
probably
something
that's
really
important
to
get
out
to
have
done
before
the
tax
bills
go
up.
E
E
D
I
just
wanted
to
know
I'm
gonna
double
check,
but
I
think
this
is
fantastic,
but
it
is
something
that
the
member
I
work
for
is
actually
the
sponsor
of
some
of
those,
but
so
I'm
probably
going
to
have
to
recuse
myself
from
this
vote.
But
I
deeply
appreciate,
I
think
that
it's
from
my
own
personal
stance,
I
think
it's
incredibly
important-
and
I
appreciate
my
colleagues
supporting
this,
but
I
just
wanted
to
note
that
I
might
not
be
able
to
vote
on
it
of
my
day.
Job.
E
A
F
E
Again,
this
is
a
legislation,
that's
being
introduced
on
a
state
level,
but
it
impact
all
of
us
as
residents.
Very
too
often,
many
people
in
our
city
don't
have
access
to
child
care
and
it's
becoming
less
and
less
affordable,
and
I
believe
that
with
everything
that
this
city
has
gone
through
and
our
state
is
going
through,
we
need
to
pass
a
universal
child
care.
E
Child
care
should
not
just
be
a
luxury,
it's
a
necessity,
and
everyone
needs
to
have
access
to
it
with
the
federal
dollars
that
are
coming
in
to
our
state
and
also
some
of
the
state
dollars.
I
think
this
is
prime
for
a
time
to
accomplish
that,
so
we're
just
advocating
it
on
behalf
of
residents
of
the
city,
but
to
make
sure
that
everyone
have
access
to
child
care.
We
see
the
benefits
as
an
educator
when
our
kids
have
actually
early
child
education,
so
important.
E
You
have
parents
who
want
to
get
back
into
the
workforce,
but
because
of
the
pa,
not
having
access
to
child
care,
they're
staying
home,
taking
care
of
their
little
ones.
Parents
want
to
make
sure
that
their
kids
are
safe
before
returning
back
home.
That's
the
pandemic
seemed
like
it's
going
down
with
covert
cases
going
down,
there's
been
calls
for.
You
know
employers
to
go
back
to
work.
We
want
to
make
sure
that
we
have
a
universal
child
care,
so
parents
feel
safe.
E
A
A
So
I
have
danielle
and
our
staff
looking
for
it
to
see
where
that
is
and
where
it
disappeared
too,
but
in
any
case
we're
going
to
be
having
those
discussions
with
continued
with
the
administration,
but
also
with
with
the
budget
office,
because
that
that's
really
where
you
you
have
to
be
talking
to
try
to
see
where
these
funds
are
going
to
come
from.
So
that
was
that
was
one
miss
romero.
Did
you
have
a
question
about
that?
Or
did
you
want
to
okay.
K
B
Once
his
position
was
vacated
or
around
the
time
he
provided
his
notice
of
resignation.
The
position
was
posted,
it's
been
posted
on
our
website
and
then
they've
also
been
using
linkedin
as
a
great
way
to
advertise
positions
in
the
cities
to
cast
a
very
wide
net.
To
date,
we've
had
one
applicant
that
was
fully
qualified
that
had
general
municipal
experience
apply,
but
I
continuously
check
in
to
see
if
there
have
been
any
other
candidates,
so
the
council
can
start
interviewing
as
soon
as
we
get
a
large
enough
candidate
pool.
K
B
Already
given
it
to
nikom,
that's
one
of
the
other
things
that
I
do.
I
neglected
to
share
that,
because
I
was
just
speaking
from
the
what
the
city
does
and
how
the
city
puts
their
positions
out.
I
reached
out
to
nikon
and
I'll
follow
up
with
rockefeller
too,
because
although
rockefeller
has
a
master's
program
in
public
administration,
they
may
have
other
attorneys
that
you
know
are
looking
for.
You
know,
gigs
in
municipal
law
and
to
grow
that
area
of
their
skill
sets.
K
E
E
I
think
that
is
beyond
time
for
us
to
look
at
additional
staffers,
maybe
four
or
five:
six
staffers
we're
co-equal
branches
of
government
and
it's
hard
to
deal
with
administration
that
have
you
know
multiple
staffers
and
the
council
who
have
a
few
staffers.
So
I
think
that
the
time
has
come
and
I
hope
that
we
really
are
intentional
about
increasing
our
staff,
but
we
cannot
have
staffers
leave
and
then
we're
waiting
to
see
when
are
we
gonna
do
another
hire?
E
When
are
we
gonna
do
another
high
of
the
delay?
And
you
know
right
now.
I
know
that
we
have
ethan,
but
I'm
a
little
bit
hesitant
to
send
too
much
stuff,
because
we
don't
have
a
research
council
and
I'm
pretty
sure,
other
council
members
are
feeling
the
same,
and
I
think
that
this
cannot
happen
moving
forward.
I
think
this
is
a
time
for
us
to
look
at
comprehensive
staffing
for
common
council
members.
E
H
B
M
B
Like
there
are
a
lot
of
people
that
are
entertaining
career
changes,
because
you
know
they
call
this
period
the
great
resignation,
you
have
a
lot
of
people
that
are
resigning
and
trying
to
figure
out
life.
So
I
don't
know
if
that
is
impacting
the
number
of
candidates
that
have
indicated
interest,
but
it
could
play
into
it.
A
I
Hi,
thank
you.
I
was
just
wondering
if
we've
ever
thought
about
or
considered
developing,
like
a
fellowship
program
with
albany
law
for
those
students
who
are
sort
of
just
coming
in
to
help
backfill
some
of
our
staffing,
particularly
with
research,
because
it
just
seems
like
it
would
be,
a
really
good,
fit
and
good
opportunity.
I
M
Thank
you
I
just
wanted
to
echo
councilwoman
keegan.
I
think
the
government
law
center
albany
law
would
be
a
great
resource.
I
think
it's
difficult
for
us
to
sit
here
and
talk
about
current
employees,
maybe
not
getting
a
fair
pay
and
then
to
talk
about
increasing
our
staff,
and
you
know
I'm
new
to
the
council.
M
I
haven't,
haven't
done
a
lot
of
work
yet
so
you
can't
speak
to
staffing
needs.
Everyone
feels
like
they
need,
but
you
know,
I
think
we
all
you
know
we
all
get
get
paid
to
be
in
this
position
and
I
think
it
it
would
be
beneficial
to
to
kind
of
lean
on
the
fact
that
we're
in
the
capital
of
new
york
state
and
there's
a
lot
of
people
that
would
like
to
have
experience
in
government
and
create
that
internship
and
fellowship
program
and
would
happily
be
happy
to
look
into
that
more
with
anybody.
L
But
there's
been
times
when
this
council
previous
council
has
had
disagreements
with
the
position
of
corporation
council
and
we
leaned
heavily
on
our
dedicated
legal
staff.
And
I
know
we
have
a
lot
of
great
legal
minds
in
the
room,
but
we
definitely
want
to
make
sure
we
have
someone
that
that's
their
focus
because
you
know
they're
the
ones
that
are
doing
the
research
they're,
the
ones
that
are
you
know
advocating
on
our
behalf.
L
You
know,
and
it
makes
it
so
that
we
who
are
presenting
the
legislation
feel
comfortable
that
it
is
legally
sound.
So
I
I'm
gonna
miss
jr.
I
really
am.
I
mean
he
was
a
great
advocate,
but
I'm
glad
that
it's
posted
and
hopefully
we
can
get
that
position
filled
and
I
support
the
idea
of
bringing
in
you
know.
You
know
great
young
minds
that
are
still
in
the
learning
process
of
the
field.
A
Thank
you,
mr
ballerin,
and
so
also
there
was
in
leadership.
We
discussed
the
violence
prevention
task
force
we
if
ryan
shea
was,
you
know
the
appoint
the
appointment
of
the
mayors
to
the
task
force
she
gets
to.
The
mayor
gets
a
slot
on
the
task
force
and
he
you
know,
has
left
and
and
moved
on
and
so
that
spot
is
vacant,
but
we
had
really
had.
Mr
shea
was
doing
a
lot.
A
Have
it
be
grassroots
and
you
know,
have
it
less
be
less
government
and
more
about
the
people
trying
to
sort
through
and
figure
this
thing
out.
We've
had
some
issues
we
had
some
people
resign
have,
maybe
gonna
have
some
more
but
we're
trying
to
reset
so
I'm
gonna
get
together
with
with
our
public
safety
chair,
mr
hoey
and
mr
mancini
who's,
the
chair
of
the
violence
prevention
task
force
to
try
to
do
a
reset
and
come
up
with
with
a
plan.
A
A
It
involves
trying
to
assist
the
people
that
are
doing
the
work
and
doing
it
better.
I
don't
think
recreating
the
wheel
is
going
to
work.
I
mean
it
and
if
it
were
such
a
simple
thing
to
set
to
solve
my
home
city
of
chicago
would
have
solved
it
a
long
time
ago.
The
violence
there
is
as
bad
as
it
was.
When
I
left
not
to
say
I'm
throwing
my
hands
up,
but
it's
it's
a
complicated
issue.
It's
a
multi!
It's
going
to
take
a
multi-pronged
approach
to
to
deal
with
the
issues.
A
I
Sorry,
I
forgot
to
unmute
myself
just
a
quick
question
for
you
kelly
as
we're
talking
about
the
violence
prevention
task
force.
One
of
the
things
I've
been
somewhat
interested
in
knowing
is
what
guidance
the
albany
police
department
has
with
regards
to
when
and
how
officers
would
make
a
decision
to
have.
Somebody
referred
to
cpap
for
a
psych-about,
and
that
certainly
is
something
that
I
have
pondered
in
the
jordan
young
situation.
A
A
So
the
council,
some
council
members,
could
make
it
but
again
the
police
there's
a
rep
one
or
two
representatives,
one
representative
from
the
police
department
on
there
like
a
commander,
and
so
we
have
access
and-
and
we
could
certainly
have
that
conversation
and
get
any
information
or
data
that
we
we
need
as
a
part
of
that
process.
But
I'll
remember.
D
Well,
good
evening,
everyone
thank
you
so
much
for
joining
the
law,
buildings
and
codes
committee
we
are
joined
by
and
this
evening's
committee
meeting
is
really
a
getting
to
know
you
for
the
codes
department
if
we
also
oversee
law.
So
of
course,
I
think
chris
is
here
from
the
law
department
as
well.
If
there's
anything
else
that
would
like
to
be
discussed
and
kind
of
overview,
and
we
welcome
that
as
well.
Our
committee
members
and
I
get
to
know
a
whole
new
committee
for
committee
members.
D
D
So
what
I'm
going
to
do
is
turn
it
over
to
rick.
Our
hope
tonight
is
rick
is
going
to
kind
of
go
through
a
bit
about
his
department,
different
things
that
they
do
any
questions.
I
I
know
that
rick
loves
to
well.
He
pretends
to
love
to
answer
questions,
so
I'm
gonna
just
run
that
he
loves
to
answer
questions,
but
that
way
we
can
kind
of
it's
a
really
important.
D
I
think
you'll
find
like
it's
one
of
the
most
important
departments
that
you'll
interact
with
as
a
council
member,
because
a
lot
of
that
is
the
on
the
ground,
things
that
impacts
your
constituents
across
the
board.
So
it
was.
It
was
something
that
rick
had
reached
out
about
this,
and
I
I
really
agree
that
it's
just
an
important
thing
to
go
through.
So
we
appreciate
kind
of
the
overview
and
I'll
turn
it
over
to
rick.
N
Thank
you
councilwoman,
good
evening,
everybody,
I
think,
valerie's
going
to
try
and
share
her
screen.
I
apologize
if
somebody
who's
already
seen
the
short
little
presentation,
but
we
want
to
have
the
opportunity
to
kind
of
introduce
ourselves
to
the
new
council
folks
reintroduce
ourselves
to
the
existing
council
kind
of
go
over
what
our
department
does
and
how
it
interacts
with
the
public
and
the
council
in
general,
and
then
primarily.
My
goal
was
to
spend
some
time
to
answer
some
questions,
and
you
know
have
conversations
that
some
of
you
I
talk
too
often.
N
Our
our
mission
statement
is
to
help
ensure
and
promote
health
safety
and
quality
of
life
for
city
residents
and
to
help
protect
the
public,
visitors
and
investors
through
enforcement
of
the
city
and
new
york
state
uniform
building
codes.
We
achieve
this
by
being
effective,
efficient
and
transparent.
N
Okay,
we
want
to
show
you
our
organizational
chart
and
kind
of
show
you
how
the
hierarchy
works
within
our
department.
As
you'll
see,
it
is
kind
of
broken
up
into
four
sections.
We
have
our
support
staff,
our
clerks
information,
clerics,
permit
tech
et
cetera,
and
then
our
code
inspectors
our
building
inspectors
and
then
our
neighborhood
stabilization
coordinator.
N
So
we
just
wanted
to
give
you
a
quick
brief
description
of
what
each
of
those
groups
do.
Our
support
staff
responds
daily
to
questions,
concerns
and
emergency
calls
from
residents,
contractors,
city
departments
and
the
general
public.
The
interactions
may
be
done
via
email,
phone
dispatch
or
in
person.
N
Our
support
staff
are
also
responsible
for
processing
and
maintaining
several
types
of
applications
and
registries
and
licensing
which
include
the
following.
Our
permits,
our
general
building
permits,
barricade
permits
signs
electrical
plumbing.
The
registries
that
we
also
oversee
and
maintain
are
the
public
assembly,
the
elevator
sprinklers
commercial
inspections,
rops
and
the
vacant
building
registry,
and
then
licensing.
N
F
N
Our
construction
inspectors
perform
on
average
about
900
inspections
a
month
and
review
over
400
permit
applications
a
month
in
conjunction
with
our
code
inspectors,
both
the
code
inspectors
and
our
building
inspectors
rotate
on
call
duties
that
cover
24
7..
So
we
respond
all
times
a
day.
Every
day
our
on-call
coverages
include
typically
responding
to
calls
to
assist
the
police
department,
fire
department,
water
department,
general
services,
we're
we're
the
enforcement
arm
for
these
departments
and
our
inspectors
respond
to
other
properties
that
are
deemed
an
imminent
threat
to
the
public's
health
and
safety.
N
N
N
Our
relationship
and
interactions
with
the
council
members
are
generally
in
response
to
complaints,
concerns
or
questions
on
behalf
of
the
residents.
We
also
work
very
closely
with
the
council
to
help
find
solutions
to
the
most
pressing
quality
of
life
issues.
We
work
to
enact
new
legislation
or
to
amend
current
regulations
to
better
serve
the
community.
N
And
we
like
this
slide,
you
know
who
who
should
the
council
members
contact?
Communication
is
key
and
we
strive
to
be
a
very
responsive
department.
Our
council
council
members
are
always
welcome
to
contact
our
department
during
regular
business
hours.
However,
I
I
do
can
encourage
and
prefer
members
to
contact
myself
directly.
N
You
all
should
have
my
cell
phone
number
and,
if
you
don't,
let
me
know
that
I'll
give
it
to
you
and,
in
my
absence,
my
deputy
director
or
either
of
our
senior
inspectors,
either
code
or
building,
we
find
it
much
more
useful
to
have
that
direct
conversation
and
connection
so
that
we
can
better
follow
up
with
any
issues.
It.
F
N
Allows
us
to
keep
the
council
member
updated
so
that
you
can
let
your
constituents
know
of
any
updates
as
well.
So
that's!
This
is
our
presentation
again.
You
know.
My
main
focus
was
really
to
have
the
opportunity
to
speak
to
you
and
to
hear
from
you,
especially
as
we
have
you
know
several
new
council
members.
You
know
I
understand
that
the
new
council
folks
may
have
a
different
perspective
new
set
of
eyes.
D
I
Hey
guys,
thank
you
so
much
for
for
making
the
time
outside
of
your
sort
of
quote,
unquote
regular
workday
to
meet
with
us
this
evening,
and
I
have
a
question
that
I
think
is
actually
really
helpful
for
all
of
our
new
members
to
understand
this
process.
I
still
don't
quite
understand
it,
so
we
have
unoccupied
structures
that
are
not
quite
classified
as
vacant,
and
I
I
was
hoping
that
you
could
kind
of
help
us
understand
what
actually.
N
Great
good
question.
Thank
you.
So,
a
few
years
ago
my
predecessor
actually
had
consolidated
the
definitions
of
a
vacant
building
versus
an
unoccupied
building
to
essentially
anything
that
is
not
currently
being
lived
in
is
vacant,
so
it
no
longer
had
to
be
defined
by
if
a
door
is
locked
by
normal
means
or
a
padlock
or
if
there's
a
piece
of
plywood
on
the
window.
We
needed
to
consolidate
that
and
essentially
say
if
it's
not
occupied
it's
vacant,
so
it
needs
to
be.
N
You
know
it
needs
to
be
on
the
registry
when
that
decision
was
made.
We're
also
not
naive
to
the
fact
that
we
have
several
families
that,
like
to
snowbird,
go
somewhere
else
for
a
period
of
time
or
a
house
may
be
unoccupied
because
it's
for
sale.
So
essentially,
what
we'll
do
is
inevitably
the
way
it
works
out
is
we
may
send
somebody
a
violation,
saying
your
building's,
not
occupied.
You
need
to
register
it
as
vacant.
If
the
response
is
I'm
selling
it
I'm
going
to
be
selling
it.
N
You
know
if
there's
a
an
adequate
response
about
why
it's
not
being
occupied,
so
we
know
it's
not
going
to
be
a
long-term
thing
or
there's
no
birds.
It's
our
just.
You
know
we
just
tell
them.
Okay,
fine,
we
close
the
violation
and
they
don't
need
to
register
the
building,
we're
ideally
going
after
the
buildings
that
are,
you
know,
unoccupied
no
plan
for
the
future
sitting
idle,
for
you
know
a
period
of
time,
but
the,
but
the
overall
response
is:
if
it's
not
being
lived
in,
it
is
occupied
or
it
is
unoccupied.
I
And
how
how
long
are
they
allowed
to
to
kind
of
play
that
game
of
it's
it's
for
sale?
I
guess
it's
my
question
without
really
like
actually
ensuring
that
the
property
remains
sound,
because
I
mean
I,
I
think
this
is
more
common,
probably
in
certain
areas
of
the
city,
but
it's
certainly
an
issue
for
all
of
us
across
the
city,
with
certain
sporadic
properties
around
our
districts,
that
we
get
lots
of
complaints
about.
O
Rick,
I
just
wanted
to
kind
of
expand
on
what
you
answered.
If
a
property
is
for
sale
and
it
has
code
violations,
it
is
still
subject
to
being
registered
and
correcting
those
violations.
So
I
think
that
answers
your
question.
It's
not
so
much
a
period
of
how
long
it's
a
period
of
it
can
be
for
sale
forever,
but
you
have
to
keep
it
up.
N
To
be
honest
with
you
councilwoman,
I
think
there
is
some
verbiage
in
there
as
well
that
states.
If
it's
for
sale,
it
has
to
be,
you
know,
with
a
broker
or
an
agent,
and
those
are
typically
contractually.
You
know
with
that
person
for
a
period
of
time
as
well
so
more
times
than
not.
It's
really
just
a
matter
of
you
know
getting
a
response
in
general.
If
people
are
maintaining
it,
you
know
we're
again
we're
not
looking
to
we're
not
trying
to
just
collect
fees
we'd.
N
Rather,
you
know,
my
opinion
has
been
since
I've
come
into.
The
city
is
the
building.
If
it's
going
to
sit
for
50
years
bacon,
it
just
needs
to
be
maintained,
not
be
a
nuisance.
Property
not
have
violations
and
kept
up.
There's
several
reasons
why
a
building
is
vacant
and
not
we
don't
always
have
the
quick
solution
to
get
it
back.
You
know
occupy
it
up
and
running
could
be.
D
There
there
are
guidelines
for
what
it
means
to
be
for
sale,
and
there
are
specific
timelines
too.
As
I
remember,
and
I
would
also
encourage
council
members-
I
sam
wells
will
actually
take
a
tour
of
you
with
your
ward.
For
some
words,
it
takes
several
days
to
go
through
it
and
tour
all
the
vacant
properties,
and
the
hopeful
thing
for
that
is.
You
can
also
point
out,
so
I
pointed
out
several
vacant
properties
in
my
award
that
he
did
not
know.
N
N
And
councilwoman
farrell.
That's
a
great
point.
Also.
We
highly
encourage
communication
with
us
and
having
us
do
walks,
you
know
alfredo.
You
know
we.
We
do
a
lot
of
walks,
in
particular
neighborhoods
per
the
request
of
the
council
members,
so
you
know
we're
never
too
busy.
You
know
we
will
get
it
on
the
calendar.
We
will
do
it
and
spend
as
much
time
as
you
need
us
to
do
it
with
you.
So
it
is
very,
very
helpful
on.
J
J
N
J
Well
and
again
mike
this
is
my
opinion.
I
would
love
everything
to
go
through
your
department
because
we
have
better
communication
back
and
forth,
sometimes
like
they're
digging
up
a
whole
street.
In
my
ward,
I
have
no
idea
what's
going
on,
I'm
getting
phone
calls,
you
know
it's
a
week
and
I
don't
know
who
to
get
a
hold
of,
and
I
know
if
you
were
there,
I
could
call
you
in
yourself.
N
You
know
I'm
very
happy
and
glad
to
help
you
know
any
of
you
is
even
if
it's
something
that
it
doesn't
fall
within
my
department.
I'm
always
happy
to
you
know,
find
out
what
it
is
and
get
back
to
you
as
well.
You
know,
I
know,
I
know
it
can
be
frustrating
if
you
need
something
right
away,
but
oftentimes.
I
may
have
a
quick
contact
to
somebody
and
can
get
you
that
answer,
but
thanks
rick.
I
appreciate
it.
Yes,
sir.
Thank.
O
O
O
I
D
We
still
like
to
give
you
I.
I
would
always
urge
council
members,
though,
if
it's
not
a
big
emergency
to
to
give
as
much
time
tourists
our
staff
as
possible.
You
guys
are
incredibly
hard
workers
and
every
single
council
member
appreciates
you
and
knows
that
you
go
above
and
beyond.
I
think
a
lot
of
us
wish
that
we
could
hand
all
the
departments
over
to
you
guys,
and
I
don't
I
just
wanted
to
check
in
with
our
the
law
chris
or
brett.
Do
you
want
to
say
anything?
It's
it's.
D
A
very
different
department
law
is
kind
of
self-explanatory.
It's
the
law
department,
so
it
wasn't
something.
I
said
you
really.
I
didn't
feel
like.
There
was
necessarily
any
larger
discussion
needed,
but
I
certainly
wanted
to
you're
both
here
and
we
appreciate
you
being
here.
So
if
you
wanted
to
say
anything
you're
welcome
to
you
also
there's
no
pressure.
If
you
don't
want
to.
C
No
thank
you
all
I
just
wanted
to
introduce
myself
and
rick
and
doll
are
fantastic.
I
highly
recommend
reaching
out
to
them
having
the
time
to
have
that
discussion.
I'm
also
here
as
a
resource.
If
you
ever
need
anything,
my
role
specifically
is:
whenever
someone
doesn't
comply
with
the
notice
of
violation
that
the
buildings
department
sends
out.
I
prosecute
that
case
here
in
the
city
court
right
now.
I
think
that
I'm
juggling
about
500
to
600
cases
on
my
own,
but
we're
we're
making
it
happen.
C
D
I
Sorry,
I
keep
being
the
one
to
ask
all
the
questions
we.
We
have
started
putting
some
pieces
of
legislation
together
to
help
better
enforce
code
throughout
the
city,
I'm
assuming
chris.
A
lot
of
that
falls
onto
your
shoulders
for
that
to
be
actually
effective
in
terms
of
you
know,
you're
not
responding
for
a
lot
of
our
out-of-city
absentee
landlord
type
issues,
and
I'm
just
wondering
from
your
perspective-
and
maybe
you're
not
allowed
to
answer
this
question.
I
C
No
that's
a
great
question.
I
think
that
that's
also
a
question
it's
worth
asking
the
buildings
department
in
terms
of
the
staff
and
team
that
they
have
because
they're
the
ones
that
do
all
like
the
enforcement
on
the
ground
in
terms
of
like
the
case
load
here,
this
position
used
to
be
filled.
Two
different
people
kind
of
split
their
time
between
it,
and
this
is
a
grant
funded
position.
So
I
this
is
the
first
time
we've
ever
had
someone
just
solely
working
on
code
matters
full
time.
I
don't
do
anything
else.
C
All
my
other
assistant,
corp
council
colleagues,
will
kind
of
dip
their
hands
and
feed
into
other
areas.
I
just
do
code
things.
That
being
said,
you
know,
I
would
never
say
that
you
know
more
people
wouldn't
be
helpful
because
you
know
like,
like
I
was
just
saying.
I
currently
have
between
500
and
600
cases
in
prosecution
and
at
any
given
time,
there's
200
to
300
cases
that
have
that
are
waiting
in
line
to
be
filed
by
the
buildings
department.
C
So
long
answer
to
your
question,
you
know
more
resources
always
helpful,
but
what
I'm
trying
to
do
here
before
this
grant
runs
out
in
september.
2022
is
to
really
try
to
automate
as
much
of
this
position
as
possible,
because
it's
impossible
to
give
500
cases.
You
know
the
attention
that
each
one
deserves
so
trying
to
automate
trying
to
be
as
strategic
as
possible
to
try
to
go
into
the
neighborhoods
and
areas
need
the
most
help.
First
and
you
know
prioritize
strategize
and
try
to
be
as
automatic
and
efficient
as
possible.
D
So
hyde's
son
brooks
is
very
interested
in
sharing
all
of
his
thoughts,
so
hyde.
Texted
me
a
question
to
allow
brooks
to
fully
communicate
with
his
parents
at
this
time
in
a
loud
manner
and
he's
curious
about
the
working
relationship
with
the
land
bank
and
that
how
that
kind
of
interacts
with
demoing
buildings
and
taking
over
vacant
properties.
N
Yeah,
so
we
have
a
great
relationship
with
the
land
bank.
In
fact,
while
chris
was
talking,
you
know
I
really
wanted
to
express.
You
know
how
thankful
we
are
for
chris,
but
just
our
relationship
in
general
with
you
know
all
the
departments,
no,
I'm
not
even
in
the
sense
that
I
wasn't
around
with
the
previous
administration,
so
I
don't
know
how
other
departments
kind
of
work
together.
I
can
tell
you
our
interactions
with
with
other
departments
are
really
really
close
knit,
and
I
think
that
only
benefits
you
know
the
community.
N
So
you
know
an
extension
of
that
is
our
relationship
with
the
land
bank.
Sam
wells
is
actually
on
the
board
as
well.
So
he's
got
a
nice
connection
there.
I
am
on
that
blake
to
betterment
committee,
which
is
a
through
the
county
legislature
and
land
bank
is
on
there.
We've
really
we
really
work
hand
in
hand
and
a
lot
as
they're
taking
properties.
N
They'll
reach
out,
try
to
get
information.
You
know
see
what
kinds
of
things
we
know
about
it
and
we
reach
out
to
them
as
well
with
their
buildings
and
they're
super
responsive.
So
you
know
we
were.
We
definitely
work
hand
in
hand.
The
other
part
of
your
question.
I
forget,
jenny
was
or
councilman
farrell.
N
So
so
my
my
goal
since
I've
you
know
come
to
the
department
is
to
what
I've
been
saying
to
everybody
is.
I
want
to
be
at
a
point
where
we're
not
standing
in
front
of
an
emergency
demolition
due
to
neglect
and
we're.
We
are
actually
heading
pretty
quickly
towards
that
direction.
In
doing
that,
working
with
the
land
bank
has
been
really
helpful
because
now
they
are
also
able
to
better
identify
buildings
before
they
take
them
from
the
county
and
aren't
just
forced
to
take
every
single
building.
N
You
know
they're
able
to
not
take
the
ones
that
are
ultimately
going
to.
You
know
go
towards
the
demolitions,
so
we
had
won
some
grant
money
and
we
worked
with
the
county
and
the
land
bank
to
identify
some
buildings
that
we
could
do
proactive
demolitions
because
we
knew
they
were
heading
in
that
direction
and
to
kind
of
go
through
that
entire
process,
so
that
we
could
better
articulate.
N
You
know
the
stumbling
blocks
for
anybody
trying
to
go
through
that
process,
including
us
in
the
time
frame
and
the
money
etc,
but
their
focus
on
quality
of
life
and
our
focus
on
the
quality
of
life.
You
know
really
mesh
well
and
I
think
the
fruits
are
being
born
of
you
know
just
being
at
a
position
now
where
our
proactiveness
is,
you
know
so
in
the
forefront
that
we're
you
know
we're
not
doing
nearly
as
many
of
these
emergencies
that
that
we
have
been
doing
so
hope
that
answers.
J
Yeah,
I'm
just
a
little
bit
concerned.
I'm
just
gonna
ask
but
just
eugene
with
chris
the
grant
running
out
for
chris
in
september.
Are
we
gonna
get
a
backboard
when
he
goes?
I
know
he
said
he's
trying
to
automate
it,
but
is
that
something
we're
going
to
try
to
extend
or
do
something
about?
I
don't
know
if
that
does
he
report
to
rick
or
he's
corporation
council.
D
He's
in
corps
council's
office-
I
don't
know
christina,
because
I
I
agree
I
mean
especially
chris
has
500,
you
said
over
500
cases,
and
I
know
that
one
of
them,
I'm
sure
tom
you've,
experienced
this
too
one
of
the
major
things
is
actually
having
somebody
move.
Those
cases
forward
is.
It
has
been
one
of
the
big
issues
we
have
so
I
I
agree
with
your
concern:
do
you
have
any
info
for
us
chris?
Should
we
be
like
making
some
noise.
C
F
C
C
For
those
of
you
who
haven't
heard,
we
had
a
tri-city
initiative,
which
we
teamed
up
with
schenectady
and
troy
and
instituted
a
big
zombie
law,
lawsuit
filed,
18,
coordinated
lawsuits
and
I'm
pretty
sure
the
settlement
from
that
would
be
enough
to
fund
this
position,
but
it
all
goes
into
a
general
fund.
It's
all.
O
G
J
G
One
of
his
other
initiatives
that
he's
taken
on
us
to
help
corporation
council's
office
develop
a
better
system
for
trying
to
collect
on
some
of
these
judgments
that
have
been
sitting
there
uncollected
for
a
long
time.
So
that's
that's,
helped
greatly
ramp
up
the
amount
of
money
that
we
actually
are
able
to
collect
on
the
judgments
that
the
court
renders
in
our
favor.
So.
O
D
Well,
if
not.
Thank
you
all
so
very
much.
I
we
appreciate
all
the
work
that
all
of
you
do.
Codes
is
so
important
chris.
It
was
an
absolute
thrill
to
meet
the
hammer
that
brings
everything
together
and
we
we
just.
We
really
appreciate
your
work
and
thank
you
to
all
the
council
members
that
stayed
definitely
reach
out
with
any
questions.