Council
of
Albany
Neighborhood Associations
December 1, 2004
Albany
Public Library
- Introductions
- Minutes
Minutes
of the November 2004 meeting were approved.
- Guest
Speaker:
Jesse
Day, Executive Director of the
New York
State
Bicycling Coalition
The
New York Bicycling Association is a state-wide, non-profit organization whose
mission is to increase education, safety and access for bicycle riders in
New York
State
.
They have recently launched an initiative to promote ideas that assist
communities becoming bicycle-friendly.
The
benefits to riders of making
Albany
streets more accessible for bicycles were presented.
They include personal health, economy, freedom of mobility, increase of
home values. Rewards the city would
receive are a decrease in traffic, noise, pollution and energy.
The city would also realize economic benefits and better quality of life
for residents and businesses. It
could alleviate
Albany
’s pressing need for
parking spaces.
Although
the weather conditions and distance a resident has to travel are considerations,
40 percent of urban trips are 2 miles are less and take 12-15 minutes by bike.
However, for several reasons they do not use bicycles for those
trips. They include crashes as a
result of riding the wrong way, poorly paved sidewalks, inadequate street
lighting, the lack of signs, and motorists.
In one recent year, 200,000 deaths were attributed to lack of physical
activity, only 700 people died in accidents related to bicycle riding.
There
are four considerations for municipalities to make to institute successful
solutions for bike riders; they are education, engineering, enforcement, and
encouragement.
Albany
has already taken
some steps toward the transformation from a car-dominated community to a one
that encourages bicycling. The
necessary requirements for this transition are attitude, demand, and good
facilities.
NYBC
is working with the city as it renovates streets and roads.
For the most part, the width of
Albany
’s major streets is
conducive to bicycle riding. As the
repaving of other streets is under taken, some concessions are being made.
CDTA has placed bike racks on some busses permitting residents to make
multi-modal trips. Additional
actions the City might consider include designating and painting additional
lanes for riders which is relatively inexpensive.
Turn lanes and “cut throughs” could be designated.
NYBC is working with the city planner as revitalization plans are
implemented. They are aware that
some
Albany
neighborhoods simply
do not have the capacity to accommodate bicycle lanes and may never be bike
friendly because they are made from cobblestone or are extremely narrow.
Members
of the NYBC are available to address individual neighborhood associations.
Their office is located at
5 New Scotland Avenue
, telephone 436-0889.
The website address is www.nybc.net.
- Committee
Reports
·
Cable Committee
There
has been no activity on the City’s part. Verizon
is now offering cable service and Time Warner is evening out rates.
The committee members are considering organizing to form the public
access channel themselves.
·
Budget Committee
The
Budget Committee prepared and delivered a statement to the Common Council.
The point was made that the mayor’s salary is double that of
neighboring cities. This committee
needs new members and should start meeting earlier in the year.
·
Committee on University & Community Relations
The
next meeting will be held on
Wednesday, December 8, 2004
, at the Albany Police
Department,
526 Central Avenue
.
A copy of the agenda was provided. There
will be no January meeting.
·
Neighborhood Works Conference
The
Neighborhood
Resource
Center
sponsored its fifth
annual Neighborhood Works Conference on
Saturday, November 20,
2004
, from
8:45 AM
to
1:00 PM
at the
First
Lutheran
Church
,
646 State Street
,
Albany
.
The event was very successful with 86 people attending.
Organizers believe that the shorter length of workshops on the subjects
of zoning and code enforcement as well as the availability of food contributed
to its success. Guest presenters
were impressed and gave credibility to the event.
The attendees who are members of the Common Council as well as those
representing the City of
Albany
commented that they gained knowledge from the event.
Eight or nine participants volunteered to serve on a task force to study
zoning and code enforcement issues. The
committee will meet only for three months and will report to
CANA
.
Colin McKnight and David Phaff will organize.
The first meeting of the zoning group will be On December 13 at
6:30 PM
at the Pine Hills
Library,
817 Western Avenue
.
The first meeting of the codes task force will be on
December 15, 2004
, at
7 PM
in meeting room 1 at
the main library. The Neighborhood
Works Committee was recognized and praised for their contribution.
·
Nominating Committee
The
committee presented the following nominations for
CANA
executive officers for 2005-2006.
They will be brought to a vote at the January 5 meeting.
Chair
Howard Stoller,
Melrose
NA
Vice Chair Holly
Katz, Mansion, NA
Treasurer
Stephen Winters,
Second Ave.
NA
At Large
Mary
Connair
,
Delaware
Area NA
Andrew Harvey, Park South NA
Patricia Maxon,
Upper Washington Ave.
NA
Fred Perkins, New Scotland/Woodlawn NA
Marggie Skinner,
Pine Hills
, NA
Past Chair Harold
Rubin,
Center Square
Assoc
- Communications,
Announcements & New Business
·
The Chairman has received a call
from Sarah Fawcett of “The Gazette Newspaper “ asking for comment on
reducing the size of the Albany Common Council.
CANA
’s
response will be that members place value on the council as it is.
The subject will be placed on the agenda for a future meeting.
·
The draft of
CANA
’s
vision statement was discussed. Suggestions
included the point that
CANA
needs to be take more activist role in defining issues define issues and
developing a common vision. Basic
philosophies that members agree upon should be identified and leaders selected
to pursue them. A statement that
input is welcome from everyone should be included as well as reference to civic
engagement and community consensus. A
reference to the desirability of neighborhoods working together and a suggestion
for ways for neighborhood associations to welcome new residents need to be
added. The concepts of quality of
life and safety should be incorporated. Time
at the February CANA meeting will be devoted to the revision of the vision
statement. Prior to that, a revised
draft will be e-mailed to members.
·
The suggestion was made that a
delegation of three or four
CANA
members meet with staff of “The Times Union” to encourage reporting on
neighborhood issues and events. Mark
Yolles with meet with editors and suggest that a section be developed that is
devoted to such events as CANA meetings, neighborhood association meetings,
Common Council meetings, school events, etc.
·
Although the developers of the
school facilities plan committed to completing new buildings and renovations
without increases in funding, it is now running short of money.
In fact, the facilities plan changes weekly.
As a result, one of the revisions to the plan includes deleting items
from the
Giffen
Memorial
School
infrastructure that may affect the safety and health of students.
GIffen is seen as having the greatest need.
CANA
adopted a resolution to be presented at the Albany School Board meeting on
December 7 demanding that no cuts be made that will affect the health and safety
of students attending Giffen.
·
The number of charter schools being
approved for
Albany
is a growing concern in large part due to the funds these facilities draw away
from the city’s public schools. The
common Council has called for a moratorium on the development of any additional
charter schools and
CANA
members were urged to do so as well.
6.
The meeting adjourned at
8:50 PM
.
CANA
Meeting Attendees
December 1, 2004
