►
Description
The Committee reviewed Resolution 1.11.21R and 2.11.21R. Resolution 1.11.21R encourages a community conversation on changes to the flag of the City of Albany. Resolution 2.11.21R that calling on the legislature to enact legislation that would allow absentee ballots to be counted earlier.
A
There
he
is
start:
okay,
we're
we'll
start
the
meeting.
So
this
is
the
january
20th
meeting
of
the
common
council
committee
on
operations
and
ethics
members
present,
in
addition
to
myself,
our
council
members,
frederick,
hoey,
igo
and
kimbrough
other
council
members
present
our
council
members
flynn,
inani
and
ballerin
and
staff.
A
We
have
research,
council,
jr,
pachardo,
legislative
aid,
michelle
andre
and
city
clerk,
danielle
gillespie.
I
think
I've
gotten
everyone.
I
believe
we
do
have
some
public
comment,
but
before
we
get
to
that,
so
the
agenda
is
consideration
of
two
resolutions
resolution.
One
point
eleven
point:
twenty
one:
r
by
council,
member
anani
in
relation
to
redesign
of
the
city
of
albany
flag
and
resolution
2.11.21r
by
councilmember
love
in
relation
to
expediting
the
counting
of
absentee
ballots.
A
B
Thank
you
chair,
so
this
resolution
is
calling
for
a
community
conversation
to
review
design
for
a
new
flag
of
the
city
of
albany,
which
incorporates
the
values
that
represent
the
city
of
albany
many
residents
in
the
city
of
albany.
In
particular.
Our
youth
have
noted
the
inherent
hypocrisy
of
being
a
city
that
celebrates
diversity
while
displaying
a
flag
that
seemly
harkens
back
into
a
time
where
the
city's
history,
where
white
supremacy,
was
an
acceptable
norm.
B
This
legislation
would
encourage
the
start
of
a
community
conversation
on
changes
to
the
flag.
The
current
flag
of
albany
has
remained
unchanged
for
the
last
111
years.
It
is
based
on
the
prince
flag
of
the
netherlands,
which
in
recent
years,
has
been
co-opted
by
white
supremacist
groups
and
share
similarities
to
the
flag
of
apartheid
in
the
era
of
south
africa.
B
A
C
Yeah
I
had
on
mute,
I'm
sorry
councilman
inani,
on
the
resolution
and
we
had
a
brief
text
back
and
forth
on
this.
Yes,
you
said:
there's
no
cost.
Now.
If
we
do
change
the
flag,
I
cannot
believe
there'd
be
no
cost
involved.
I
mean
you
have
to
replace
flags
wherever
we
have
our
city
flags,
you
have
to
produce
the
flags
I
mean.
Is
there
a
cost.
B
C
Just
let's
just
take
a
step
back,
we
have
parades
and
stuff.
I
know
the
fire
department,
the
police
department,
there's
more
places
that
the
flags
from
and
I'm
not
arguing.
I
just
want
to
know
you
know
there
is
cost
involved
in
the
course
of
the
study
and
whether
it's
done
free
or
I
don't
know.
But
I
just
you
know
there
is.
C
I
think
it
maybe
it's
something
that
we
should
definitely
talk
about,
but
I
have
a
question
about
divisiveness
and
about
you
know
the
history
of
this
city,
like
I
told
you
before
my
two
step:
children's
family,
the
schwartz's,
moved
in
here
around
1680
and
they
still
have
the
homestead
down
on
route
9j
on
storz
island,
so
the
island's
actually
named
after
and
they
see
jack
shaking
his
head
because
he's
familiar
with
the
family,
they've,
never
owned
slaves.
They
were
hard-working
farmers.
C
You
know,
and
they
they
were
very
poor
and
actually
one
of
the
sons
you
know
got
burned.
The
mother
had
to
roll
the
boat
across
the
river
to
get
him
to
a
hospital
and,
and
the
kid
died
it
was
tragic.
So
I
mean
we
do
have
a
dutch
heritage
and
you
know
when
we
start
talking
about
racism
in
a
flag.
You
know
I
brought
up
to
you
and
you
got
mad
at
me.
Why
don't
we?
Why
do
we
do
tulips?
Then?
C
C
Our
seal
is
on
the
flight,
I'm
not
saying
our
new
flag
would
have
a
seal,
but
you
know
these
are
the
type
of
conversations
and
I
welcome
when
you
change
the
resolution
to
start
the
conversation
but
albany,
which
I
didn't
realize
was
called.
I
hope
I
have
the
term.
It
was
the
fire
they
called
it,
the
fire
center
or
I
don't
have
the
exact
term
and
I
I
should
have
been
ready
for
the
meeting
with
it.
C
C
C
You
know
close
to
your
belief
in
and
all
of
a
sudden,
it's
being
challenged
it's
hard
for
people
to
accept,
and
you
know
I'll
tell
you
I'm
glad
about
all
this
because
just
hearing
from
another
you
know
culture
about
the
effects.
This
is
it's
a
big
step.
It's
not
just
changing
a
flag,
but
it
is
changing
and
you
know
something
that
a
symbol.
That's
been
there
for
a
hunt
like
you
said
111
years
and
I
think
we
need
to,
but
we
need
to
do
it
in
a
way
that
everybody
we
get
it
a
buy-in.
A
Yeah,
it
was
pretty
good.
I
just
also
you
know
if
you,
if
you
haven't
done
so,
I
highly
recommend
a
book
called
island
at
the
center
of
the
world.
The
island
is
manhattan,
but
it's
about
the
dutch
settlement
in
the
new
world
and
the
influence
of
the
dutch,
including
albany,
the
whole
new
netherlands
colony
and
the
influence
of
the
dutch
in
really
making
the
settlement
their
area
much
more
diverse,
tolerant
in
terms
of
the
the
multiplicity
of
the
people
who
settled
there:
religious
tolerance,
etc.
A
In
contrast
to
the
english
settlement
of
new
england,
which
is
much
more
puritanical
and
did
not
have
the
same
diversity.
So
some
going
back
to
looking
at
the
the
the
differences
in
the
dutch
settlement
and
influence
versus
the
english
influence
on
the
development
of
of
different
parts
of
the
the
original
colonies.
D
So
you
just
mentioned
two
things:
when
you
opened
up
the
conversation
you
said
an
albany
resident
has
been
asking
us
for
a
few
years.
I've
never
heard
of
it
until
just
recently
and-
and
I
have
a
constituent
if
anybody
wants
to
see
the
flag,
they
fly
it
every
day.
It's
on
euclid
avenue
third
block
in
off
western
avenue.
So
there
are
some
people
that
have
them.
I
don't
know.
If
schools
have
them,
they
should
have
them.
D
D
C
D
B
No,
I
was
just
going
to
say
that
I
sent
a
pdf
of
recommendations
of
what
the
process
would
look
like
if
we
were
to
go
that
route
and
it
showed
that
other
cities
have
had
contests
where
they
involve
all
every
stakeholder,
every
stakeholder
at
the
table
to
become
judges,
and
then
it
goes
out
to
the
public
for
the
public
to
actually
have
a
vote.
This
is
something
I've
seen.
B
Actually
cultural
affairs
have
done
some
voting
in
the
past
in
the
city
of
albany,
so
I
just
think
about
cultural
affairs
being
able
to
maybe
work
with
the
county
council
and
other
stakeholders
to
get
something
done.
But
again
you
said,
like
you
said:
if
we're
going
to
do
this,
let's
do
it
right.
Bring
young
people
bring
all
people
bring
right
by
everyone,
the
rich
diversity
that
exists
in
our
city
and
bring
everyone
at
the
table
to
get
it
done.
D
Okay,
I
have
no
problem
with
that.
I
have
one
question
for
tom
weiss
here.
He
did
mention
something
before
I
forget
it:
tom
holly,
I'm
listening
tom.
You
talked
to
the
mohawks
and
I
know
you
told
me
they
brought
in
the
the
mural
issue
and
then
did
they
actually
tell
you
what
the
dispute
was
over
because.
D
D
They
said
they
can't
comment
on
it.
They're
passing
up
the
line,
I
told
them
when
it
was
thursday.
They
said
they
get
back
to
me
yesterday.
I
haven't
heard
anything
so
until
that
point
in
time
I
at
least
be
recusing
myself
on
it,
because
it's
possible.
It
is
a
budget
issue
and
we
know
we're
at
a
big
hole.
So
I
don't
know
how
much
that
would
cost.
If
that
is
even
part
of
the
dispute
just
to
let
you
know
well,.
A
Okay
and
just
to
clarify
another
point
in
terms
of
the
seal,
the
the
the
flag
redesign
is
just
dealing
with
the
design
of
the
the
flag.
The
seal
is
not
required
on
the
flag
and
the
seal
is
a
different
issue
which
is
in
city
code.
So
that's
not
something
we're
talking
about
right
now
and
the
steel
itself.
F
Thank
you,
mr
kantia.
That
point
clarified
one
of
my
questions,
but
I
do
have
a
question
for
the
sponsor
and
I
did
like
where
you
were
going
with
bringing
in
everyone
across
the
city
to
collaborate
on
this
effort.
Just
a
question:
do
you
foresee
this
being
something
where
city
residents
could
initially
say
whether
or
not
they
want
to
redesign
the
flag
and
then
and
then
take
the
next
step
in
terms
of
what
that
design
would
look
like,
or
is
it
more
so
we're
going
to
redesign?
B
B
Residents
can
submit
what
they
want
the
flag
to
look
like,
and
then
we
could
have
individuals
in
government,
non-profit,
school
district
business
community
come
together
to
make
the
recommendation,
and
then
it
could
be.
It
could
go
out
to
the
public
for
a
vote.
That's
how
I
envision
it
but
yeah.
This
is.
I
believe
that
when
I
speak
to
residents,
there's
no
one
that
believe
that
if
a
flag
is
offensive
to
any
demographic
in
our
city,
that
we
should
keep
it.
So
I
like
to
look
at
our
better
angels.
B
G
A
G
Yeah,
I'm
right
next
to
my
daughter
and
there's
an
instagram
page
right
now
of
the
flags
that
kids
are
designing,
there's
314
followers,
so
there
are
a
lot
of
kids
that
are
very
are
very
involved,
especially
my
daughter
who
went
to
school
with
adam,
so
I'm
for
it.
I'm
glad
that
they're
looking
into
the
conversation.
Thank
you.
G
A
F
E
A
H
I'm
sorry
about
that
good
evening.
All
right,
my
name
is
mary
kabuat,
and
I
am
here
to
speak
on
the
matter.
Regarding
the
proposal
of
changing
the
city
of
albany's
flag,
I
have
been
inspired
by
a
well-known
peer
of
mine,
adam
alexik,
to
speak
up
on
our
mutual
desire
of
what
is
being
discussed.
As
I
have
read
about
the
history
of
albany's
current
flag,
I
have
been
personally
motivated
to
push
for
change
that
we
can
see
for
the
people
of
the
city.
H
I
am
driven
to
be
one
of
the
many
voices
advocating
for
the
change
in
its
design
to
let
it
be
known
that
we
do
not
wish
to
fly
a
flag
with
historically
racist
ties
any
longer
than
we
should.
I
am
not
fond
of
the
current
flag
as
it
was
flown
by
the
dutch
east
india
company,
where
I
learned
throughout
my
years
of
schooling
here
in
albany
that
it
was
known
for
its
widespread
use
of
slavery
and
slave
trade.
H
H
Small
businesses
can
generate
income
for
the
the
selling
of
the
flag
and
that
that
should
be
a
concern
that
could
easily
be
worked
with.
I
would
like
to
also
make
comment
about
how
he
mentioned
how
dutch
heritage
is
might
be
erased
with
the
with
the
topic
of
the
flag
change.
So,
mr
jack
flynn,
he
brought
up
how
there's
the
instagram
page
albany
flag.
H
I
follow
that
account
and
on
that
page,
adam
alexik
has
has
provide
information
about
the
current
proposed
design.
It's
not
set
in
stone
and
he
has
provide
information
about
each
part
of
the
flag
design
in
it.
There's
there
are
the
three
colors
orange
white
and
blue,
where
the
orange
illustrates
albany's
agricultural
and
fur
trading
past.
As
fort
orange,
there
there's
a
blue
line
which
is
a
fest
and
it
represents
the
hudson
river,
which
is
where
the
half
moon
would
sail
up
to
for
its
training
history.
H
H
Pardon
me
it's
just
one
design
and
I
believe
mr
alboso
a
mentioned
how
there
will
be
a
contest
held
to
see
what
anyone
in
the
city
of
albany
can.
Chip
in
this
is
not
set
in
stone
again,
and
it's
been
encouraged
by
adam
to
me,
as
I've
talked
to
him
about
the
matter
that
we
should
have
a
contest.
Again.
It's
not
7,
and
that
is
all
I
have
to
say.
E
Krasnikov
has
also
submitted
comment
and
haley's
comment
reads
as
follows:
my
name
is
hayley
krasnikov
and
I
am
a
senior
at
albany
high
school.
As
someone
who
has
grown
up
in
albany,
I
believe
albany
is
a
great
city
and
deserves
a
flag
that
represents
that.
I
never
knew
that
albany
had
a
flag
before
this
notion
to
change
the
flag
was
established.
E
However,
after
learning
about
its
history,
I'm
saddened
and
disgusted
that
we
have
adopted
such
an
unjust
flag.
The
design
behind
the
flag
is
promoting
racism
and
slavery,
and
that
alone
should
be
the
reason
we
obtain
a
new
flag,
a
new
design.
Our
current
political
climate
shows
us
that
we
need
to
be
more
self-aware
of
racial
discrimination
and
adopting
a
new
flag.
Design
is
the
first
step
in
making
this
city
more
aware.
Nevertheless,
the
flag
is
also
poorly
designed
and
we
should
have
a
flag.
E
A
I
Thank
you.
I
just
wanted
to
say
that
I
I
don't
think
we
should
be
afraid
of
looking
into
this.
I
think
you
know
I
I,
like
others,
was
not
aware
of
the
issues
or
concerns
until
this
was
brought
up,
but
when
I
did
my
research,
you
know
there
was
articles
about
this
in
2015,
so
even
way
before
any
of
this
was
was
was
brought
up.
I
So
I
think
you
know
it
had
this
tough
complication
and
I'm
actually
very
encouraged
that
it's
being
pushed
by
the
younger
generations,
you
know
by
people
who,
who
are
the
ones
that
are
gonna,
have
to
live
with
these
symbols
way
beyond
our
time.
So
you
know,
I'm
I'm
glad
to
see
that
I'm
glad
to
see
that
they
they're
speaking
here
before
us
and
they're,
taking
their
time
and
initiative
to
do
this.
You
know
a
lot
of
people
think
our
generation
is
stuck
on
their
computers
and
their
phones.
I
So
maybe
this
is
great
because
it
allows
them
to
engage
with
us
through
those
pieces
of
technology.
So
so
you
know
everything
works
out
for
a
reason.
So
my
point
being
is
I
I
don't
want
us
to
be
afraid
of
of
having
this
conversation.
I
don't
want
us
to
be
concerned
with
you
know.
You
know
it
may
be
some
tough,
tough
discussions,
but
you
know
to
have
a
symbol
for
1
and
20
years.
I
C
C
Alfredo
just
to
let
you
know
but
listen,
you
know,
I
I
listen
to
what
mary
had
to
say
and
I'm
encouraged
that
it
seems,
like
you
know,
some
of
the
design
as
long
as
we
keep
in
track,
especially
the
native
american
culture.
I
did
find
the
term
that
they
used
albany
was
the
the
fire
council,
so
when
all
the
tribes
across
new
york
state
and
actually
went
into
massachusetts
and
stuff
needed
to
get
together
and
work
out,
treaties
and
stuff
like
that,
they
came
to
albany.
C
So
albany
was
the
center
even
back.
You
know
going
back
thousands
of
years,
so
that
was
my
big
concern
that
we
lose
some
of
that
history,
but
we
need
to
move
forward
now.
A
couple
of
summers
ago
I
went
to
ireland
and
it's
a
long
story.
I
got
a
traffic
ticket
and
I
went
down
to
city
hall
in
limerick
and
I
met
a
guy
in
the
street.
I
said,
where's
city
hall
turns
out
to
be
the
mayor.
His
name
was
mayor
sheehan.
C
He
spelled
it
a
little
bit
different
than
our
mayor,
but
we
got
into
conversation.
We
became
friends
and
we
still
communicate
quite
often,
and
he
actually
invited
mayor
sheen
and
myself
down
to
the
irish
consulate
in
manhattan
last
february,
right
before
covet
hit
to
talk
about
rebranding,
so
limerick
did
a
whole
rebranding.
They
changed
their
flag,
they
did
all
sorts
of
stuff
to
try
to
show
people.
C
Limerick
is
the
place
to
go,
and
you
know
maybe
that's
something
along
with
the
flag
changing.
We
should
really
start
thinking
about
the
rebranding
of
albany
to
make
it
to
show
the
world
who
we
are
and
what
what
we
got.
So
it
could
be
just
you
know
this
could
be
the
start
of
it
and
again
councilman
nani,
it's
good
that
you
brought
it
up.
C
I
know
I
was
a
little
bit
hesitant
at
first,
but
I'm
very
much
in
favor
of
this
right
now
and
I
hope
we
can
go
beyond
just
the
flag
and
start
looking
at
a
total
rebranding
of
the
city
and
what
it
means,
because
we
got
to
change
our
reputation.
We
don't
want
to
be
known
as
the
the
gun
capital
of
of
the
state.
We
want
to
be
known
as
the
place
to
come
to
live,
work
and
and.
D
D
Okay,
some
of
them
are
pretty
ugly.
Some
of
them
are
pretty
simple,
whatever
so
they're
going
to
be
pretty
careful,
what
they
don't
copy
and
this,
and
that
I
mean
I
looked
over
quick
and
liberia's
flag.
As
you
know,
it's
stars
and
stripes,
whatever
only
with
one
star.
It
looked
just
like
the
american
with
one
star
question
for
tom.
D
D
F
C
F
A
A
The
state
senate
did
adopt
the
bill
in
this
regard
on
june
january
11th,
which
does
send
out
a
process
for
the
expedited
accounting,
and
I
just
also
want
to
note
that
the
governor
in
his
executive
budget
also
included
this
as
part
of
his
executive
budget
with
legislation
as
part
of
a
broader
election
reform
package.
But
this
is
one
of
them
and
the
language
that
he
is
proposing
in
his
legislation
also
is
pretty
much
similar
to
what
was
passed
by
the
senate.
So
it
is
a
topic
that
is
included.
A
You
know
before
the
legislature
and
in
the
in
the
both
by
the
governor
and
the
senate.
Right
now,
I
anticipate
something
will
happen
on
it.
The
resolution
itself
doesn't
endorse
a
specific
bill,
but
it's
more
general
and
I
will
turn
it
over
to
councilmember
love
for
any
to
introduce
the
issue
any
comments.
And
then
we
can
have
a
committee
discussion
on
it.
J
Okay,
so
thank
you
richard
last
year,
when
they
started
early
voting,
I
think
it
was
last
year
was
the
first
time
they
did
early
voting
so
going
down
to
the
board
of
elections
at
least
four
to
five
times
a
week.
I
noticed
that
absentee
ballots
were
all
over
the
place.
There
was
boxes
here.
There
was
boxes
here.
J
J
Again
I
was
down
there
and
absentee
ballots
were
all
over.
I'm
not
saying
any
was
missing,
I'm
just
saying
they
were
all
over.
I
just
think
again
if
they
count
them
as
they
come
in,
we
should
this
process
should
go
smoothly
and-
and
I
know
that
we
wait
until
after
the
election
for
the
ballots
to
come
from
overseas
or
whatever.
That's
that's
a
process
itself,
but
the
ballots
that's
come
from
around
here
in
the
city
of
albany
and
wherever
it
should
be
counted
right
away
and
put
it
on
a
database.
J
I
don't
know
how
other
people
feel
about
that,
but
I've
been
down
there
and
again
this
year,
absentee
ballot
boxes
were
all
over
the
place.
The
last
time
I
was
down
there
for
early
voting,
the
absentee
ballot
was
on
the
outside
of
the
door.
I'm
not
saying
that
nobody
wasn't
watching
it,
but
that's
where
the
absentee
ballot
a
box
was
outside
the
door.
I
think
that
we
should
the
board
of
elections
should
have
better
control
and
watch
over
the
ballots
a
little
bit
safer
than
that.
A
Thank
you,
and
I
said
the
resolution
doesn't
endorse
a
specific
proposal,
but
the
one
that
is
pending
basically
would
okay.
The
language
that's
pending
would
provide
that
absentee
ballots
as
they
come
in.
I
think
they'd
be
validated
and
stacked
and
then,
at
the
end
of
early
voting,
you
would
look
at
who
voted.
A
J
J
But
I
was
at
I
voted
by
absentee
and
then
I
took
somebody
to
the
polls
to
vote
so
I
checked
I
want
I
was
going
to
vote
and
they
wouldn't
allow
me
they.
The
absentee
came
up.
They
said
I
voted
by
absentee
and,
and
I
mean
I
I
didn't
care.
I
just
just
wanted
to
see
what
the
process
was.
So
I
okay.
So
again
I
took
somebody
to
the
polls.
I
decided
I
was
gonna.
I
wasn't
gonna
vote
that
day
because.
J
J
I
get
I
understand,
you
know
I
see
jack
flynn
shaking
his
head
and
richard
I.
I
definitely
understand
what
you're
saying
I
definitely
I
just
didn't
want
to
start
any
confusion
either
as
elected
official.
I
just
left,
it
alone
walked
away,
but
I
do
understand
what
you
guys
are
saying.
I
understand
yeah.
A
So,
anyway,
the
resolution
itself
is
consistent
with
the
proposals
that
are
pending
to
expedite
the
counting.
It's
the
senate's,
already
passed
a
bill.
The
governor
is
included
in
his
budget,
there's
something
he
wants
to
do
so,
I'm
anticipating
that
that
we
will
probably
have
something
in
this
in
this
regard
happening
in
any
event,
so
I
think
the
resolution
is
consistent
with
where
people
are
moving.
J
C
Yeah
and
one
of
the
things
I
was
confused
about
was
the
ballots
won't
be
counted
before
the
election.
Will
they
because
my
concern
would
be
if
somebody
at
the
boe
released?
Oh
so-and-so's
ahead
and
people
hear
that
that
could
change
the
whole
outcome
of
the
election.
I
mean
that's
the
big
problem
in
the
united
states
when
people
in
california
hear
that
the
east
coast
somebody's
overwhelming.
A
C
G
Well,
you
shouldn't
open
the
absentees
before
the
close
of
election
day,
because
that
information
could
get
out
because
you've
got
attorneys,
have
a
right
to
check
the
absentees.
So
you
can't
open
before
election
day,
and
I
hope
that's
what
you're
talking
about
choice
right.
You
don't
want
to
open
up
the
maps
and
tease
a
week
before
the
election
day.
Do
you.
J
J
F
J
D
D
A
I
remember
that
where
they
would
come
just
before
the
polls
close
with
the
the
elect
the
absentee
ballots,
give
it
to
the
clerks
and
the
clerks
would
does
before
even
before
the
polls
close,
they
would
say.
Okay,
can
we
start
counting
the
absentees
because
they
wanted
to
really
get
everything,
counted
and
done
right.
F
Yeah
more
so
a
comment,
I'm
definitely
supportive
of
this
legislation
and
I
also
know
I
think
it
would
be
helpful
for
the
members
at
the
board
of
election,
because
I
know
this
year
and
going
through
that
election
process.
They
were
also
working
for
months
along
with
the
lawyers
that
were
there
and
then
the
candidates
that
were
present
to
see
the
votes.
So
hopefully
this
will
alleviate
some
of
that
additional
burden.
G
I
A
C
A
F
A
What
we
have
on
the
agenda
for
tonight,
I
there
are
two
with
actually
I
think
there'll
be.
There
will
be
three
other
three
items.
Other
items
in
the
committee
that
I'm
going
to
want
to
you
know,
move
forward
with
and
start
scheduling.
Some
meetings
on.
One
is
a
you
know:
another,
a
local
law
by
council
member
love
that
relates
to
residency
eligibility.
A
A
So
at
some
point
I'm
going
to
want
to
introdu
schedule
a
meeting
on
that
and
then
the
other
big
piece
is
my
ethics,
local
law,
which
is,
might
have
a
lot
of
discussion,
or
maybe
you
know
more
than
one
meeting,
but
I'm
going
to
want
to
schedule
a
meeting
on
that.
So
those
are
the
three
items
that
we
have
at
this
point.