Items tagged with 'Albany Common Council'

A proposal to tighten the grace period in Albany for clearing snowy sidewalks

unshoveled sidewalk blizzard 2017-March

Update: The Common Council passed the proposal October 2. [TU]
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Despite the recent run of warm weather, winter will eventually arrive here. And when it does, it will snow. And when it snows, some people will not shovel their sidewalks.

In the city of Albany, property owners have 24 hours after a snowfall to clear their sidewalks. But because of the way the law is written, the actual grace period is more like two days (or even longer) -- and that's even if there's a complaint.

So now the Albany Common Council is considering a change that would allow the city to crack down on the unshoveled in a shorter period of time.

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Rezone Albany gets the OK -- and a quick overview of what this was all about

Albany Common Council rezone albany vote

Ahead of Monday's vote.

After more than 2.5 years, the big Rezone Albany project reached its conclusion Monday night when the Common Council approved it by a vote of 12-3. It's the first major overhaul of the city's zoning since the 1960s. It takes effect June 1.

As we've said before, zoning might sound sleep-inducing, but it touches on a bunch of questions that regularly get people fired up, such as: What sorts of businesses can open where? How late can they be open? How can old buildings be adapted for new uses? How can neighborhoods suffering from disinvestment gain new life?

Here's a recap of some of the discussion ahead of Monday's vote, along with an overview of what the heck Rezone Albany is...

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Inclusionary zoning added to Rezone Albany -- and vote for approval delayed at the last minute

Albany Common Council meeting 2017-05-01

Mayor Kathy Sheehan delivering her remarks on the Rezone Albany plan at Monday's Common Council meeting.

There were two big things in the lead up to the Albany Common Council vote on Rezone Albany Monday night:

+ A provision for inclusionary zoning -- in which the city will require developers of some market-rate projects to include affordable units -- was added.

+ At the last moment, the vote on the major zoning overhaul -- more than two years in the making -- was delayed by two more weeks.

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Public comments about the proposed Albany "cabaret law"

cabaret law public comment dancing monkey

Occupy Albany showed up outside city hall to protest the proposed ordinance, calling it a "live music tax."

The Albany Common Council's planning committee heard public comments yesterday evening about the proposed cabaret law that's gotten people in local bar/restaurant/entertainment circles fired up. A recent revision to the proposed ordinance for licensing venues with amplified entertainment seems to have addressed a lot of concerns -- notably that the licenses were too expensive. The new version includes fees as low as $150/year for places selling alcohol, and $50 for those not selling alcohol.

But a few concerns are still bubbling...

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The Scoop

For a decade All Over Albany was a place for interested and interesting people in New York's Capital Region. It was kind of like having a smart, savvy friend who could help you find out what's up. AOA stopped publishing at the end of 2018.

Recently on All Over Albany

Thank you!

When we started AOA a decade ago we had no idea what was going to happen. And it turned out better than we could have... (more)

Let's stay in touch

This all feels like the last day of camp or something. And we're going to miss you all so much. But we'd like to stay... (more)

A few things I think about this place

Working on AOA over the past decade has been a life-changing experience for me and it's shaped the way I think about so many things.... (more)

Albany tightened its rules for shoveling snowy sidewalks last winter -- so how'd that work out?

If winter ever gets its act together and drops more snow on us, there will be sidewalks to shovel. And shortly after that, Albany will... (more)

Tea with Jack McEneny

Last week we were fortunate enough to spend a few minutes with Jack McEneny -- former state Assemblyman, unofficial Albany historian, and genuinely nice guy.... (more)

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