Public Hearing & Regular Meeting
August 6, 2026 | Troy City Council
August 6, 2026 | Troy City Council
The third and final public hearing on Local Law No. 4 drew four speakers, all in support of the proposed charter amendment to rein in the mayor's emergency declaration power. Frankie cited a State Comptroller report showing a 55% year-over-year increase in homelessness in Troy and Rensselaer County -- the third highest in the state -- while the mayor has kept the Flock emergency in place for more than four months. Francis Sweet turned Mayor Mantello's own words against her, quoting her council president-era condemnation of Mayor Madden for using an emergency declaration to bypass the council. The Flock contract followed the same logic with none of the same justification.
The four Regular Meeting agenda items -- carried over from the July 23 Finance Committee -- passed 7-0 without new discussion. The Super 400 vote was followed by a full proclamation ceremony. Council President Steele read the proclamation and band members and supporters came forward. The band has been active since February 1996, has released five studio albums and two live albums both recorded within a block of where they started, and co-founded the Troy Music Academy after guitarist Lori Friday's recovery from a serious 2011 car accident. Joe Mealy told the council that Super 400 has helped his family raise over $200,000 at the annual Dustin Mealy Memorial Concert for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, NAMI, and Catholic Charities.
At the post-agenda public forum, residents documented two failures of city infrastructure and administration. Leo Carroll reported that 15 streetlights have been out on his block of Hoosick Street for more than 10 months. When he asked police whether the Flock camera on Hoosick Street captured a hit-and-run that knocked down a newly installed light, he was told the cameras "are crap at night -- all you see is glare coming from the headlight and you can't even make out the vehicle." Sylva Menard described more than a month of contradictory guidance from four city departments over a one-day street closure permit for building repair work, while National Grid closed the same block four days later with none of the requirements she had been told were mandatory.
Council President Steele closed by noting that the Q2 financial report was due July 31 under section 45-3 of the city code. The mayor called the code language "outdated." Steele pointed out that Mantello herself amended section 45-3 in 2018 as council president and inserted those specific dates. The report is now expected August 20.
Public Hearing called to order at 6:30 p.m. All seven members present: DiLorenzo, Struber, Spain-McLaren, McKee, Favreau, Campbell-Cohen, and Council President Steele. Public Hearing clerk's minutes not yet published; proceedings from transcript.
Four speakers addressed the third public hearing on Local Law No. 4, a charter amendment that would replace Troy's emergency declaration standard with language aligned with New York State Executive Law Article 2-B. All four supported it.
Frankie cited State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli's July 23 report: a 55% year-over-year increase in homelessness in Troy and Rensselaer County combined, the third highest in the state. At the 2026 State of Hunger Summit in Troy, the Regional Food Bank reported one in six children don't know where their next meal will come from. The mayor paid Flock $160,000 more than four months ago and has kept the emergency declaration in place since. "Please seal the deal on this law, close the loopholes, and let's turn our collective attention to finding real solutions to the very real problems that are plaguing our community."
Callisto of Fulton Street counted eight emergencies declared in the past two and a half years, at least three of them to circumvent the legislative process. The Flock contract was "as plain of an instance of executive overreach and executive abuse as I can imagine."
Francis Sweet of District 6 quoted Mayor Mantello from her council president days. When Mayor Madden declared an emergency over water supply, Mantello called it "an attempt to usurp the powers of the legislative branch that is appalling and oversteps the coequal branches of government." The Flock contract followed the same logic with none of the same justification.
Briana Harrington of District 4 (10th Street) said Flock "is a tool that is made by a very un-reputable company, as we've seen time and time and time again." Many communities are canceling their contracts.
Regular Meeting called to order at 7:00 p.m. All seven members present. In attendance: Mayor Mantello, Deputy Mayor Seamus Donnelly, Corporation Counsel Richard Morrissey, Communications Director Alex Horton. Approximately 20 members of the public attended. Meeting adjourned at 7:48 p.m.
All four agenda items passed 7-0 without new discussion. Council President Steele told the room they had been "thoroughly discussed" at the July 23 Finance Committee. The Super 400 vote was followed by a full proclamation ceremony; band members and supporters came forward.
Super 400 formed in February 1996 when Joe Daley, Lori Friday, and Kenny Hauman first played together in a rented space at the former Van Heusen and Jacob's and Company Collar and Cuff Factory on River Street. The band has released five studio albums: Super 400 (1998), Last the Message (2004), Three and the Beast (2007), Sweet Fist (2009), and Spirit in the Sound (2026). Both live albums were recorded within a block of where they started: Live 05 at the Ale House and Live from Troy, New York (2024) at the Hangar on the Hudson. After Lori suffered serious injuries in a 2011 car accident, she and Kenny co-founded the Troy Music Academy with Graham Tichy. The academy has been running for 15 years. Super 400 entered the Capital Region Thomas Edison Music Hall of Fame in 2022. Super 400 Day was first declared by Mayor Tutunjian on February 25, 2006, and again by Mayor Mantello on January 19, 2024.
Joe Mealy told the council that Super 400 has helped his family raise over $200,000 at the annual Dustin Mealy Memorial Concert at Brown's Revolution for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, NAMI, and Catholic Charities. Council President Steele read the full proclamation. Council Member Struber, who first heard the band when they won an Eddie at the 2023 Eddies Awards, said their music "opens up the community" and brings people together.
The honorary designation covers the portion of Rensselaer Street west of River Street, one block from the Ale House and Hangar where the band's live albums were recorded and adjacent to the factory where they began. A formal dedication ceremony will follow.
Jim Mouts of District 5 turned 70 that day. He said full police staffing, not Flock, is what brought crime down. "My feeling is that it may have been fully or nearly fully staffing the police department."
Sylva Menard tried to close her street for one day to finish an 86-foot lift repair on a building four to five stories up. She and her mason, Andrew Bakalakis, spent over a month getting conflicting answers from four departments. Police told them to close the street under a barricade permit. DPW dispatch confirmed that was sufficient. A code inspector arrived on the day of the closure and said it wasn't. A fire official told them the street could never be closed. The city then closed the same block on August 4 for National Grid with no flagger, no detour, and no neighbor notification -- the same requirements she had been told were mandatory for her closure.
Menard made four requests: create a construction street closure permit that sits between the barricade permit (which doesn't notify fire and police) and the special event permit (which requires a crowd size estimate, an event name, and a social security number); print copies next to barricade permits; give DPW written guidance; and decide whether the safety requirements are real. "Either way, write it down so no employee has to improvise it at a curb."
Leo Carroll has lived between Burden and 22nd Street on Hoosick most of his life. Fifteen streetlights have been out on that stretch for more than 10 months. After Channel 6 coverage, the mayor promised replacements within two weeks. Two of the 15 were replaced. The one installed in front of his neighbor's house was knocked down about a month later by a hit-and-run. Carroll asked police whether the Flock camera on Hoosick Street captured the vehicle. He was told the cameras "are crap at night -- all you see is glare coming from the headlight and you can't even make out the vehicle."
Avi Minard of District 4 suggested moving poles farther from the curb so cars hit them less often. He also noted a fire hydrant at King and 5th has been knocked over repeatedly and asked whether it and similar infrastructure could be repositioned.
Council President Steele closed with the Q2 financial report. Under section 45-3 of the city code, the comptroller's second-quarter report was due July 31. The council has not received it. When Steele raised the deadline, the mayor said the code language is "outdated." Steele noted that Mantello herself amended section 45-3 in 2018 as council president and inserted those specific dates. The report is now expected August 20. Steele has asked for it in advance to give council members time to review it; she has received no guarantee that will happen.
All items passed 7-0. All seven members present. Votes verified against clerk's minutes (_08062026-1858). All items carried over from July 23 Finance Committee; no new discussion.
| # | Full Title | Sponsors | Notes | Vote |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ord. 32 | Ordinance Amending the 2026 General Fund Budget | Steele (Admin.) | Final adoption; discussed at July 23 Finance | 7-0 |
| Res. 77 | Resolution Accepting a Grant From the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services Under the GIVE Initiative and Authorizing the Mayor to Enter Into a Contract and Execute Documents Related to the Grant on Behalf of the City | Steele (Admin.) | Discussed at July 23 Finance; funds four GIVE positions including Clear data tool | 7-0 |
| Res. 78 | Resolution Accepting a State and Municipalities ("SAM") Grant in the Amount of $125,000 From the New York State Dormitory Authority ("DASNY") and Authorizing the Mayor to Enter Into a Grant Disbursement Agreement ("GDA") and Execute Documents Related to the Grant on Behalf of the City | Steele (Admin.) | Amended at July 23 Finance to name Eclipse as downtown CCTV vendor | 7-0 |
| Res. 81 | A Resolution to Commemorate the 30-Year Career and Contributions of the Band "Super 400" to the Troy Community by Designating the Portion of Rensselaer Street West of River Street as "Super 400 Way" | Steele, Struber (Admin.) | Full proclamation ceremony followed the vote | 7-0 |