Regular Meeting — Public Forum
January 8, 2026 — Troy City Council
January 8, 2026 — Troy City Council
No clerk's minutes were found for this meeting. All content sourced from the video transcript. No legislative items were taken up; the council held no votes.
The new council's first public-facing event was held three days after the January 5 organizational meeting. All seven members were present: DiLorenzo, Struber, Spain-McLaren, McKee, Favreau, Campbell-Cohen, and Council President Steele. Mayor Mantello and her administration did not attend.
Twenty-two speakers testified on a range of issues: sustainability grants the city had not accessed for over a year due to lack of administration sign-off; housing code failures connected to 80 apartments demolished and 120 residents displaced at Harbor Point; a sound ordinance the mayor had enacted without a council vote; an urban forestry committee that had never been reconstituted; and SEQR compliance questions about the Frear Park bond vote two weeks earlier. The session was also shaped by a killing in Minneapolis the previous day that multiple speakers connected to ICE enforcement operations.
Council President Steele closed by committing to transparency and noting the council could not accomplish its goals without genuine collaboration with the administration. Sean Collins of the Troy Area Labor Council noted the mayor's absence on the record: "indicative of what the next two years of your term will be."
Tim Fergle (Troy Public Library executive director): $1.9M HVAC project completed; $275K state grant for Lansingburgh branch roof; $95K for children's room renovation (2027 target). Union contract with Workers United expected spring 2026. Goal to return to evening hours after next year's budget cycle.
Francis Sweet (South Troy): Described city government dysfunction: agendas posted at the last minute, information provided hours before votes. Called out the city hall move and Route 2 redesign as examples of poor process. Urged the council to end the rubber-stamp dynamic and called for city police not to cooperate with ICE.
Frankie Reynolds (Troy): Called for real consequences, including administrative penalties, when the administration fails to provide mandated financial information. Proposed a youth advisory council program. Supported Good Cause Eviction, a residential occupancy program, and other tenant protections.
Sean Collins (Lansingburgh; SEIU Local 200; Troy Area Labor Council president): Noted the mayor's absence on the record. Cited the November election as a mandate driven by Good Cause. Called for a living wage ordinance, paid family leave for city employees, fair pay at AFL-CIO Musicians scale for city-sponsored events, and a workers' rights commission to hold large nonprofits (Trinity Health, RPI, Russell Sage) accountable for anti-worker practices while exempt from property taxes.
Daniel Morisy (Sycaway; Joint Task Force on Sustainability acting chair): The task force has been seeking official appointment from the Mantello administration for over a year without response. Described $837,000 in NYSERDA clean energy grants the city qualified for but couldn't access due to lack of administration sign-off. Priorities: reviving the municipal solar farm, reinstating the street tree committee, a dark sky lighting ordinance.
Ammani Olubala (Troy for Black Lives): Addressed police violence against youth. Called for a dedicated fund for a community center in North Troy, a real police review board with subpoena power, and a changed relationship with federal immigration enforcement. Combined 2026 police and fire budgets total $55 million, 62% of city revenue.
Eric Spinner (District 1): Presented a detailed housing code reform agenda covering searchable violation logs, online complaint forms, mold abatement mandates, on-premises superintendent requirements for large buildings, and pro se attorney assistance for tenants in housing court. Rensselaer County ranks second in per-capita eviction rate among all 62 NY counties outside NYC, driven by Troy.
Drea Leanza (Fifth Ave, 11-year homeowner): A proposal her neighborhood made to the city two years ago for owner-occupied homes on a city-owned lot (with TAP and Habitat for Humanity) has never received a response. Requested the council designate the lot for Habitat or the Troy Community Land Bank.
HG Warner (downtown Troy): Described downtown infrastructure failures: alternate-side parking confusion, broken cobblestones, unsafe River Street garage conditions, no proper grocery store. Confirmed ICE vehicle sightings in Troy on New Year's Day 2026 at multiple locations.
TJ Kennedy (9 Hawthorne Ave; former council member): Built on sustainability remarks; proposed designating vacant land in the Stowill neighborhood as a nature preserve and promoting ecotourism around Troy's six waterfalls.
Michael Easterbrook (Mount Ida Preservation Association): MIPA is restoring a 150+ year old former Episcopal church. Recommended mixed-use zoning, expanded historic district designation, and infrastructure cost analysis. Supported Proctor's Theater city hall investment but called for the glass-box design. Urged building trust across the aisle through competence and fairness.
Noah (downtown Troy): Focused on the benches near the Atrium on Broadway removed by the Mantello administration. Filed a FOIL request; city said it had nothing on record. "Either they lied to me or they have really bad records."
Jessica Ashley (Rensselaer County Justice Center): Called on the new council to take a proactive stance on ICE cooperation, contrasting it with the prior council's passive approach. Referenced the Minneapolis killing the previous day.
Natalie Jabau (South Central; Riverside neighborhood group): Described the Post and Kill Place mixed-income housing project, derailed in 2017 by a state salt pile and rescinded grants. The October rezoning change affected by the comprehensive plan may put existing homeowners' insurance at risk. Requested correction of the parcel's classification.
Jessica Bennett (North Lansingburgh): Supported the residential occupancy program. Raised SEQR compliance concerns about the Frear Park bond: she called the city clerk at 3:00 PM on December 30 and was told plans were not available, a potential violation of the 24-hour public availability requirement. She has a recording of the call. Also called for an urban forestry committee.
Ria Dale (Frear Park neighbor; Troy Public Library board president): Frear Park residents never asked for a pavilion. They asked for playgrounds. Called for community involvement in all future park decisions, and raised the tent installation safety incident (her family was nearly hit by a drunk driver leaving the tent venue). Also called for renegotiating university PILOT agreements and revisiting the Reimagine Troy Justice Services recommendations.
Candace (downtown; lifelong Troy resident): Described Lansingburgh's decline and lack of safe spaces for children. Her mother was pushed out of South Troy by rent increases; her grandmother can no longer afford Troy. "I would like to see the city I've grown up in... make any attempts to care for and keep the people that live in it." Supported tenant protections and restrictions on ICE cooperation.
Stephen Maples (South Troy; transportation professional): Troy has an extraordinary walkable built environment that survived urban renewal. Proposed pedestrianizing Broadway approaching Monument Square. Called for a clear citywide vision for streets, speed limit reductions, and daylighting at crosswalks.
Gigi Sweets (Lansingburgh): The mayor's unilateral sound ordinance (originally limiting music to 9 PM, now 10 PM) is killing the nighttime economy. Downtown has 180–237 bars and restaurants contributing sales tax. Musicians are migrating to Albany. Wants the council to bring the ordinance to a vote.
Mark Dvet (South Central; landlord supporting Good Cause): Proposed reinstating the planning commission (dissolved two years ago) and school zone cameras on the Hoosick Street corridor to generate revenue from commuter traffic.
Annie Borthwick (downtown homeowner since 1975; turned 80 in 2025): Helped start the Victorian Stroll. Believes Troy will attract climate refugees in coming decades and must find ways to retain current residents as that happens.
Noel (Oakwood Ave): Recalled warning the old council that their consistent betrayals would result in removal. Addressed the new council with expectations that drove the November mandate: accountability, transparency, professionalism, and fair labor contracts. "Expectations are high, but excitement and hopefulness are higher."