City Council featured at forum
Address variety of topics at event
TROY, N.Y. » The latest Troy 100 Forum featured members of the City Council, who spoke on topics like body cameras for police and answered audience questions.
The Troy 100 Forums are events where members of local businesses and organizations can meet each other, share information, and learn from those featured in panel discussions.
Vision
Council President Carmella Mantello, a lifelong resident of Troy, has spent her professional life traveling the Hudson River Valley, often wondering why Troy seemed to lag behind other place economically.
“I would come back to Troy and say, ‘ Why can’t we do it here in my hometown?’ Forty some- odd years later I can honestly say the city is moving forward. We’re seeing a downtown revitalized…” she said.
Mantello said she wants to see Troy’s forward momentum continued, with the city improving on quality of life issues, handicap accessibility, and making the most of its waterfront. She also had praise for city police.
“I have incredible, incredible optimism for our new chief, Brian Owens, I think he’s brought great morale to the force, he’s working with our neighborhoods very closely,” she said. “We want to see body cams, not only is it protection for our police force but for the community, for our residents.
Jim Gulli, who represents Dis-
trict 1 on the council, said, “When I came to the decision to run as a councilman, I looked at the fact that our neighborhoods are not comfortable anymore. We can talk about what we want to fix, but nobody goes home comfortable, or wants to wave to their neighbors anymore, or go down the street and say hello to somebody.”
He said he’d like to see Troy’s economy develop, and for its citizens to feel safe. “We need to find ways
to raise revenue and get out city back on an even plain financially so we can do the right thing with our firefighters, our police, and create a safer city.”
Anasha Cummings, representing District 4, said there’s been tremendous progress made in making Troy a more welcoming place. Businesses and organizations are helping each other grow, and that there are many new families moving into the city, something he hopes Troy can capitalize on in the coming years. He also hopes to make the trails around Troy more connected and accessible, as well as im-
prove internet access.
David Bissember, who represents District 5, said he’d like to see the renaissance downtown Troy is currently experience spread to the city’s neighborhoods.
“We have a lot of housing stock in the city, and folks from all over are coming to invest, and that’s great, but we also have to make sure this remains an affordable city for a long time,” he said.
District 6 representative, TJ Kennedy, said that community gardens and composting have been his main focus for the past several months. “I’ve had this experience in my neighborhood
where we are working on a community garden, and I’ve always been supportive of these, I’ve always known the benefits of them, but I never truly saw the benefits beneath the surface,” he said, adding that the gardens bring people together who likely wouldn’t otherwise interact.
Questions
Asked how they’d keep Troy politics from becoming as uncivil as the national political scene, council members said it’s a matter of communication and respect, leaving their emotions at the door, and setting aside politics to do
what’s best for the city.
They were also asked what they’d do to stabilize Troy’s finances without raising taxes.
Mantello said making more use of volunteers is one way. She said that when she oversaw the New York State Canal Corporation, the group had to cut its staff by 150 people. “The institutional knowledge we lost along the canal system statewide was incredible,” she said. “We had to think differently, we had to think out of the box, we had to be more creative...”
She said there’s room for Troy to become more efficient, accountable, and
transparent.
Bissember said the city’s existing housing stock is also ripe for investment, and the city should encourage owner- occupied development.
Gulli said it’s a matter of attracting more commercial and industrial activity. He said the money is out there, Troy just has to attract it.
“Absentee landlords,” those being property owners who squeeze profit from what they own while neglecting its upkeep, are an issue, Cummings said, and that the city can encourage more responsible ownership.