Hello, Collar City! This is Issue 16, dated Jan. 4, 2018.



Good morning, everyone! I hope your return to work or school or whatever, if you've had to return, hasn't been too dreadful.



This issue features a scoop on a new property deal, a transcription of a recent interview with Mayor Madden, and an ICYMI on the council president's DWAI. Without further ado...



Rosenblum's Next Move?

Madden's WOOC Interview

Late last month, WOOC 105.3 FM Hudson Mohawk Magazine volunteer-correspondent Corinne Carey sat down with Mayor Patrick Madden for an end-of-year interview. I've just transcribed the first part, which was edited, below. (FYI: I appear regularly as a guest on WOOC's Hudson Mohawk Magazine, have guest-hosted a few times, and suggested two questions to Carey in advance of this interview that she ended up asking—the first one, about working with the new council, and the one about what he'd do if the sanctuary city resolution passed in its current form.)

WOOC: Can you reflect on what it’s been like working with the new-ish city council—and by new-ish I mean there’s a Democratic majority, all of whom were new to the body this year. Four Democrats were new, and the three Republicans were holdovers from years past. What’s that been like?

MAYOR PATRICK MADDEN: Well, you know, I think every council presents its own set of challenges—and I don’t mean challenges in a bad way, but people come into the office, regardless of the party, wanting to change the world. And, you know, there’s this push and pull between the executive and legislative branches—and it’s not unique to Troy, I think that’s the nature of our government—’til you figure out your respective areas of responsibility.

But this has been a very interesting council because we have a number of young members, and they bring in exciting levels of energy and different ways of looking at things than I might hold or some of the other councilmembers who might be more of my vintage. So it’s been fun to be challenged by them and the things they want to do. I like working with them.

WOOC: I want to talk about the sanctuary city resolution. Troy isn’t the first city to be roiled by equally passionate sides of this debate, and you’ve said of the resolution that both sides are misinformed and incorrect about what the proposal would do and not do. What do you want each side to understand about the sanctuary city resolution?

MPM: Let me just put a finer point on that statement. It’s not that everybody is misinformed, but large portions on both sides of the argument are, I think, not clear on what the resolution does and doesn’t do, and that’s problematic for me because it creates these divisions that are false and unnecessary. I think we need to spend more time educating the public, hearing what their concerns are on both sides of the issue and trying to address those concerns.

I think if you listened to the comments at both of the city council committee meetings where this was discussed, or if you read social media, there’s a lot of people who have very strong opinions that are just wrong. They’re not wrong in the sense of it’s a wrong opinion to have, but they’re wrong about the underlying facts. I think there’s an education process that was lacking in this situation. There are many things that we do in city government on the executive and legislative level that are pretty bland, and, you know, people don’t get worked up over it. But there are certain things that you know people are going to have a strong response to, and on those sorts of things we need, as leaders, to take the time to make sure that the public understands the facts, and this is a good example of that. We need to know what exactly the legislation does and what it doesn’t do, and what existing policies are, and what the consequences of legislation like this may be. That’s my chief issue. I have had very decent human beings come up to me in numerous places—at the supermarket, the farmers market, walking on the street, at the gym—who are, like I say, they’re good, decent people, and they are frightened by this. Because we have not as government done a good job educating them as to what this is.

So I’ve asked the council to delay moving forward on this until they can get out and do some public meetings. And when I ask them to do that, I don’t mean go to your friends and have a meeting. I mean: Go to the other side and have a meeting. I told them, “Walk into the buzzsaw. Go where it’s not comfortable going and talk about it and develop some common understandings around it.”

I know there will be people on both sides of the issue that don’t want to be budged, that they are happy in not fully understanding it, happy in their preconceived notions—and we’re not gonna change their minds. We can’t get everybody to see everything the same way. But there are a lot of people who have open minds who just don’t understand what it means, and I think we need to spend some time with them.

WOOC: Do you feel comfortable sharing what you think proponents of the resolution are getting wrong?

MPM: I think that it’s become too much of a moral issue around immigration. And this really has nothing to do with immigration. The people that would be addressed by this legislation are already here. This is not whether they can come over the border or whether they can bring their kids with them or, you know, they’re fighting for a better life. They’re here. So it has nothing to with immigration; it has everything to do with how we treat people who are here. And I think we have to make the focus on that issue itself.

WOOC: Seems like that’s something that both sides might be getting wrong.

MPM: Absolutely. I agree.

WOOC: How would you act on the sanctuary city resolution if it passed in its current form?

MPM: It depends on the process leading up to it. I’ve made it clear that I don’t want it passed right now. Again, going back to what we just spoke about, I want to see more community dialogue on it. I want more people to understand what it is we’re doing.

The legislation itself isn’t what has driven the wedge in our community, it’s how it’s been rolled out, and I think we can correct that.

WOOC: So you’re not comfortable saying right now where you stand on the proposal were it to pass in the beginning of the year in 2019?

MPM: No, I don’t want to say right now. I really want the process to go forward.

WOOC: The folks I know are impressed by the grants the city has recently gotten and in particular the funding that your budget provides for the pools in the upcoming year [TL note: As the mayor notes in his response, the city has not (yet, at least) won grants for the pools, though the city council did recently authorize bonding for construction related to both the Knickerbacker and South Troy pools]. And this is one of the things that you promised when you campaigned—that you were someone who knew how to manage the city competently and to procure necessary funds. How’s it looking from your end and what big things have you been able to accomplish in terms of grant procurement? And have there been any disappointments this year?

MPM: Yes, there’s always disappointments. We don’t get 100 percent of the grants that we write. But I am—I will say, I will take the mantle of fiscal conservative. I’m very concerned about the finances of this city. Troy is a wonderful community. There’s a lot going on in Troy right now. There’s a real buzz about it. But it’s built on a shaky financial foundation, and we’ve put a lot of emphasis on righting the financial ship. And that sends a message to homeowners who might be looking to buy in Troy or businesses looking to invest in Troy or investors looking to develop in Troy that we’ll do what is necessary to ensure the finances of the city [are sound], so that their investment is safe, so that if they buy a home here, they can expect reasonable appreciation and a return and some growth in equity so that they have options in their later years.

So, one of the problems with the pools is that we haven’t yet gotten grants for those. So if we’re going to rehab the pools or rebuild the pools, that’s going to be on our dime, and it’s gonna be on borrowed dollars. One of the things that has been problematic for the city of Troy over the past two and a half decades is the amount of debt that the city is carrying. Debt for all the wrong reasons. Debt is not in and of itself bad, but the underlying reason for the debt makes it good or bad. If you’re borrowing money, for example, to pay for your groceries today, that’s bad debt. Because you’re gonna need groceries tomorrow. And that’s what we did in the late ’80s, early ‘90s: We borrowed money for operating expenses that would recur every year. Well, you can’t continue borrowing every year. If you’re borrowing money for something like a pool, that’s a different story because you’re going to get a 30-year life out of that, and you can pay it back over that 30-year lifespan, and that makes sense. We haven’t had the ability to do that because we have so much old debt. But we’re moving into a phase now where that old debt from 25 years ago is beginning to be paid down, and we’re looking at opportunities to fund some of the capital projects that have been so long neglected in the city. So the pools, the ice rink, some of our streets, some of our infrastructure—these things have been neglected for two and a half decades, and the result is the pools became too dangerous to run and the ice rink just went kaput.

And, you know, if you look at some of our other assets as well, some of our firehouses are just dreadful. We’ve neglected a lot over the past 25 years because we had this old debt. We’re coming out from under that. We can begin thinking about investing in our capital assets again. So we did put the pools in our budget for 2019 and 2020, but it’s borrowed funds. We will, in the interim, try to raise some dollars through grant writing, but the lion’s share will fall on the taxpayers’ back. But it falls on the back of the taxpayer as other debt slides off, so hopefully it won’t be noticeable.

WOOC: Speaking of grants, can you give us an update on One Monument Square? Have you been able to extend the deadline for the grant to start construction, and what’s the timeline?

MPM: We’re in conversations with the state as we speak, and we’re hopeful that they will look at the process that we’ve put ourselves through and say, “Okay, the city of Troy is making a real, concerted effort here.” We’re no longer dragging our feet but we’ve engaged the community in a dialogue around how that site should be used. We’ve taken their comments, come up with some preliminary visuals, some ideas on it, and now we’re going out to the marketplace to see who would be an interested developer.

WOOC: Any idea of a time frame?

MPM: I don’t, at this point in time. We’re just beginning those conversations.

WOOC: At the end of the summer, I spoke with a young man who works at the bodega across from the Sanctuary in North Troy. I was interviewing, I think, Jake Ashby, who was a candidate and then ultimately won the seat for the 107th assembly district, and I walked in to buy batteries, and the kid said, “What are you doing?” I told him and he said, “I have a story for you. Come back.” And so I went back. He told me the story about waiting outside after he had closed up the bodega. He’d worked there for quite a while and he was waiting for a ride. And he was picked up by two police officers and held in the back of the police car. It was sweltering. It was August. And they held him for two hours because they suspected him of a crime that had taken place a couple blocks away. They ultimately released him. He didn’t even really fit the description of the guy, according to his account of the event. But I wondered if I should do a story on what his recourse would’ve been, and I spoke with a number of lawyers who told me that there really wasn’t much that he could do. Troy doesn’t have a civilian complaint review board. What are your thoughts about creating one? Is it something that you think we ought to have?

MPM: There’s a civilian complaint review board, or something along those lines, authorized in the city code. When I came into office, it had been defunct for a couple of years. I sought out the people who served on that most recently—it was several years ago—and they just stopped coming to meetings. They didn’t feel they had anything to do. And it could be because of the design of the board itself. Civilian review boards come in more flavors than Ben & Jerry’s offers. And I think it’s a mistake—I think what we did some years ago in the city of Troy is we just adopted one that somebody had that looked good. And it obviously didn’t work. People didn’t participate in it, it felt apart, the volunteers who served on it stopped coming. And I think what that says to me is that it wasn’t designed for what the city of Troy needs.

I’ve been working, since I came into office, with a group of African-American ministers. It’s called the African-American Pastoral Alliance. And we’ve had a number of conversations around this. In fact, we brought in people from [the] Department of Justice to work with us on this issue. And our thinking is that we would form, initially, a community board that could have discussions with the police department and then as we understood where the tensions point were and what the stressors were, then we could design a civilian review board that would be more in line with what it is that our community needs. Not just copy one from Albany or from Boston or somebody else because it got rave reviews. It’s really gotta be tailor-made to the community that it serves. Ours wasn’t, and it failed.

So, we’re in that process now. We have new leadership in the police department. I didn’t want to push too hard on this because I knew there was going to be turnover in the leadership there. I really want it to be a product of the police department leadership, the administration, and the community. So, we are having those conversations now. We’re having meetings between the police department and the ministers and putting that community board together for discussions. And then from there we’ll evolve into a discussion around what’s the appropriate type of review board for the city of Troy.



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Mantello's DWAI

[Mantello's] arrest came after troopers received a call from a terrified motorist who told dispatchers an unknown driver was tailgating him and driving erratically, despite numerous attempts to get the driver to pass or move on, according to the man's statement to police. The incident ended on Route 146A, where troopers caught up with the motorists and pulled Mantello over. She denied following the man and claimed she was the one being followed -- statements troopers said were inconsistent with their observations, according to court documents.

Links

Events

At minimum (this is Luke again), I'll include a link in a future TL to the second part of the interview when it is posted online. If you're not a regular Hudson Mohawk Magazine listener, it's worth scanning the Sanctuary's Soundcloud periodically for interesting, Troy-related segments (there are more than I could ever hope to transcribe).As you're likely aware by now: City Council President Carmella Mantello was arrested the night of Dec. 26 by State Police for driving while intoxicated . Her blood alcohol level, tested at the Clifton Park barracks, was 0.13 percent, according to State Police. In a statement to media, Mantello apologized and said she accepts "full responsibility."Yesterday, Mantello pleaded guilty to driving while ability impaired, multiple outlets reported. Her license will be suspended for three months, and she'll pay a $753 fine. Per the TU, "Mantello declined to discuss the details of her Dec. 26 arrest, which concluded what police had described as an aggressive driving incident."Stories published online on Dec. 31 by the Daily Gazette and Times Union , which cite court documents, offer more details on the incident. From the DG:Mantello apparently does not intend to resign from office. But will she still run for council president this year? Or for mayor? She did not mention the incident or her political future during a brief, regular council meeting on Thursday night. Nor did any member of the public, during the meeting's public comment period. Troy fined over environmental violations at drinking water plant (TU, 12/24) Troy cop charged with assaulting man at Little League game (TU, 12/24) Community continues to mourn and remember slain Troy family a year later (TU, 12/26) Some animals in Troy hoarding case find new homes (TU, 12/26) Incoming DA 'cannot wait' to take office in Troy (TU, 12/28) Lansingburgh voters consider school repairs (TU, 12/31) Murder charges dismissed for 3rd time in Rensselaer County double-homicide (TU, 1/2) Troy officer in Little League fight resigns (TU, 1/3). A disciplinary hearing regarding Comitale had been scheduled for Thursday, according to WTEN's Anya Tucker Rensselaer County DA rivals miss campaign finance deadline (TU, 1/3)On Saturday at 12:30 PM at the Pawling Avenue United Methodist Church, there's an informational meeting on the sanctuary city resolution—but it's for Eastside neighborhood group members and other Eastside residents only. Members of the city council majority will be there, as will law enforcement leaders. Saturday night, celebrate Elvis at the Hangar . On Sunday: Enjoy Troy at McAddy's Monday night, discuss There There by Tommy Orange one of Obama's favorite books of the year ) at the downtown Troy library and/or, at another book-related event, show off your Harry Potter knowledge at Rare Form . At lunchtime on Tuesday: see a bassoon ensemble perform , for free, at the Troy Savings Bank Music Hall. Wednesday night, mingle with members of the creative economy at the same place.The end! Thank you for reading. Reply to this email to share thoughts, questions, etc. Read the TL archive here . Expect TL17 next Friday.