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ALBANY 2030 The City of Albany Comprehensive Plan Appendix B. Public Outreach Summarized Results ---PAGE BREAK--- Albany 2030 Comprehensive Plan for the City of Albany Appendix B: Public Outreach Summarized Results ---PAGE BREAK--- The Albany 2030 Public Outreach Process 1 Overview of Results by Method 12 Stakeholder Roundtables 12 Community Forums 19 Stoop Surveys 48 Charts and Tables Community Forum 1 Polling Results 20 Community Forum 2 Polling Results 28 Community Forum 3 Polling Results 38 Stoop Survey Results 49 Maps Community (Re)Investment Areas Map 41 View of Downtown Albany from the north. ---PAGE BREAK--- Albany 2030 Comprehensive Plan for the City of Albany Appendix B: Public Outreach Summarized Results ---PAGE BREAK--- 1 The Albany 2030 Public Outreach Process Begun in 2009, the Albany 2030 process was designed to engage all members of the Albany community and regional partners in developing a vision for the city’s future. Over a two-year period, the City solicited public input on existing issues within the city and the community’s aspirations for its short- and long-term futures. Guided by a Comprehensive Plan Board that consisted of a cross-section of community representatives, the Albany 2030 process ensured that the comprehensive plan is a truly collaborative product that reflects innovative planning strategies fitted to Albany’s unique environment and the con cerns and values of its community. Broad and meaningful community engagement is critical to the success of the Albany 2030 plan and a primary goal of the Albany 2030 plan process. To achieve this goal, the City and the plan consultant team developed a detailed framework to guide public out reach. Concurrently with selecting a consultant team, staff and the Albany 2030 Board worked together to develop an Outreach Strategic Plan. This Plan began with a situa tion analysis that identified hard-to-reach populations and key messages that should be relayed throughout the Albany 2030 planning process. The team developed a series of strategies to be deployed over the course of two years that would effectively reach and engage each target population. The result was a diverse collection of digital tools, grass- roots direct address methods, and creative promotion that reached a representative sample of the City of Albany population. The Albany 2030 team focused on three phases of public engagement: visioning, priority setting, and Plan review. The goal in each case was to engage a wide-sweeping and diverse group of local stakeholders, soliciting input into the creation of the Albany 2030 plan, and then reviewing each element to verify that the community’s needs were being met. The Albany 2030 outreach process involved a variety of techniques designed to solicit ideas and aspirations for Albany’s future while keeping the process transparent, inclu sive, accessible, and fun: • Branding and Promotion: Branding and promotion is an often overlooked, but ex tremely important task in the comprehensive planning process. In addition, a con tinual and diverse promotional campaign was developed to maintain community excitement and involvement throughout the planning process, including the follow ing activities: - To initiate and capture interest in the comprehensive plan as well as sustain recognition of the project from initiation through implementation, an identifiable brand was established for the project, including a project logo, a consistent color scheme, and an enthusiastic message. Introduction Vision Statement Sustainability Building Blocks: The Comprehensive Plan System Plan Implementation Principles of the Albany 2030 Public Participation Plan • Open to All • Community Engagement • Transparency • Engaging Underrepresented Groups • Enthusiastic, Fun and Vibrant • Representative • Diverse Methods ---PAGE BREAK--- 2 Albany 2030 Comprehensive Plan for the City of Albany Appendix B: Public Outreach Summarized Results ---PAGE BREAK--- 3 – More than 10,000 fun, eye-catching, and engaging flyers/posters circulated throughout the City at a variety of locations, including coffee shops, bars, gas stations, bus shelters, buses, senior living centers, grocery stores and libraries – Flyers with information about Albany 2030 and upcoming events were sent home with all of the Albany City School District’s nearly 8,700 school children. – Opportunities for text-messaging and social media input were provided at infor mation tables, on flyers and at promotional events and public forums. – Public Service Announcements were run during every phase of public engage ment on a variety of local radio stations representing diverse music genres and talk formats. – Local high-traffic websites linked to Albany2030.org (42 percent of Albany2030. org’s traffic was referred from outside sites.) – Staff actively engaged local media outlets resulting in consistent news cover age of Albany 2030 events and progress. – Informational presentations were made to local civic and business groups. – Listserv announcements were made to more than 1,000 people. • Community Group Meetings & Local Events: City of Albany Department of Develop ment and Planning Staff and Albany 2030 Board members attended dozens of com munity group meetings and local events – from neighborhood association meetings to Alive at Five concerts to community block parties – throughout the two-year plan ning process, reaching thousands of community members in the process. These volunteers made announcements about upcoming events, handed out information about Albany 2030 and directed attendees to participation methods. • Community Forums: The City and consultant team held three community forum se ries to provide the opportunity for Albany’s citizens to openly discuss their concerns, values and aspirations, and priorities for Albany’s future. Each community forum in cluded a series of meetings located in three strategically accessible locations in the City and at different days and times to maximize participation. These forums provid ed the opportunity for Albany’s citizens to openly discuss their concerns, values and aspirations, and priorities for Albany’s future. See Page18 for an overview of results. • Interactive Website and Social Media: While reaching out to constituents of all ages, abilities, and interests is was a key component of the public engagement plan, the City recognized the importance of incorporating contemporary social media and web technology to capture the interest and participation of young professionals and anyone else who relies on access to instant communication. Incorporation of web technology and social media include the following features: ---PAGE BREAK--- 4 Albany 2030 Comprehensive Plan for the City of Albany Appendix B: Public Outreach Summarized Results The Albany 2030 Interactive Website The Albany 2030 interactive website provides a comprehensive resource for out reach, feedback, and information sharing. The site was designed for ease-of-use and transparency. Results of each round of forums were posted so that the com munity could review and verify the comments made during these participation methods. The site has three main areas: Learn, Share, and Participate. The Learn sec tion of the website includes an About section with information about the Albany 2030 process, the consultant team, the Comprehensive Plan Board members, and about comprehensive planning in general. The Participate section includes a calendar and information on all events, commenting on events, a section to sign up for email updates as well as RSS and SMS feeds [emails (RSS) and text mes sages (SMS) that are sent when updates to the site are made]. The Share section of the site includes the Citizen Journal, which allows users to upload photos, text, and video describing their opinions about Albany, and challenges, and examples of what they envision for the future. Dozens of users shared their input through this method. The Share section also includes Online Surveys to provide a quick way of entering feedback during each participation round following the Community Forum themes. Hundreds of surveys were completed throughout the two-year planning process. Since the launch of the website in November 2009, nearly 15,000 unique visits and more than 50,000 page views have been made at Albany2030.org. Of the total visits, 64 percent (9,608) have been new users, and 38% have been return visitors (5,553.) This means the Albany 2030 website has had nearly 10,000 unique visitors throughout the planning process, with a solid core of consistent followers. City Staff have been trained on the use of the website content management sys tem so that they could manage and update the site throughout the project and can continue to use the Albany2030.org site for future projects and events. Social Media The City set up a fully interactive social media presence for the Albany 2030 plan, including a Facebook page (500+ Likes reaching nearly 170,000 Friends of Fans), Twitter account (400+ Followers), and LinkedIn group (65 Members) to al low for immediate feedback and to keep a constant open line of communication. These three social media have been used regularly to announce events, send reminders, launch discussions, and, provide immediate feedback to comments and inquiries allowing the City and consultant team to take the community’s tem perature on current issues and Albany 2030 topics. ---PAGE BREAK--- 5 In addition to these well-known media, the City also utilized a variety of other digital/interactive online tools to offer new participation methods and make the Albany 2030 process and product more user-friendly. Google Docs and Survey Monkey were used extensively throughout the process to provide stakeholders who did not attend community forums a way to weigh-in on the Plan. The re sults of these surveys are discussed in more detail below. A Flikr account was created and shared with the public during the Walkshop exercises. Participants were encouraged to upload their own photos of Albany – both of things they’d like to see more of, and things they would like to see changed – and comment on others’ photos. Roughly 200 photos were uploaded. Scribd, a free online host for public documents, was also utilized so community members could read Plan documents, view presentation and share project overviews without needing to download bulky files on their personal computers. • Online Surveys The City created four content surveys and 13 general Plan section review surveys using both Surveymonkey.com and Google Docs throughout the Al bany 2030 planning process. The survey administration was broken down into two phases: Plan Creation and Plan Review. Plan Creation Three surveys were created for this phase of the process: one geared toward a SWOT Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) analysis of Albany and the development of a community Vision; one aimed at testing the Vision to verify its consistency with the general public’s views; and one to specifically dis cuss the economic climate in Albany as part of the New York State Regional Economic Development Council (REDC) local advisory effort. Hundreds of local stakeholders completed these surveys online, with nearly 200 responding to the REDC survey alone. Plan Review Fourteen surveys were developed for the five-month Plan review period. The bulk of these – 12 in all – were tailored to specific sections of the plan (e.g. “Rate the Transportation System Section,” “Rate the Albany 2030 Process and Approach,” “Rate the Draft Executive Summary.”) This gave stakeholders the option to re view the Plan section by section in order to avoid reader fatigue or inability to remember specific sections of the Plan. Rating responses averaged in the 4-5 range (where 5 indicated the highest quality.) A general comment form was also provided, so readers could make specific line-item recommendations or propose specific additions. The final online survey mirrored the final Albany 2030 Stoop Survey, and focused on recommended implementation projects. In addition to asking respondents to rate the usefulness of each proposed project in reaching ---PAGE BREAK--- 6 Albany 2030 Comprehensive Plan for the City of Albany Appendix B: Public Outreach Summarized Results the Albany 2030 Vision, this survey asked respondents to volunteer their favorite thing about Albany and the biggest change Albany needs to make. Overall, respon dents scored developing a buy local/use local program; creating a comprehensive waterfront strategy; assisting small businesses; and implementing the neighborhood revitalization strategic plan as most useful to achieving the Albany 2030 Vision. The answers to these questions were used to verify that major themes addressed by the community were included in the Plan. More than 200 online surveys were completed throughout the review period. The results from these surveys helped to revise the Plan to meet the community’s needs. • Stakeholder Roundtables: Early in the planning process, the consultant team con ducted focused interviews with members of the community, identified with the City, to represent a cross-section of government, business, nonprofit, academic, and citizen interests. These interviews provided insights into the range of perspectives regarding key issues for Albany’s future, laying the groundwork for involving potential partners in the planning process and, ultimately, plan implementation. To expand the number of persons reached and to encourage dialogue among the participants, the interviews were conducted as small focus groups. More than100 community representatives and experts participated in discussions to set the project on the right course. These groups were reconvened during the five-month Plan review period and provided with an over view of the Draft Albany 2030 Plan and asked for their feedback. Follow-up meetings were held with individual stakeholders and the communities they represent at the re quest of each organization. See page 11 for an overview of the results. Stakeholder groups included the following: • Neighborhood Association Presidents • Business Improvement Districts • Institutional Leaders • Higher Government Representatives • State Authorities • High School / Middle School Students • K-12 School Administrators • Regional Organizations • Neighboring Municipalities • City Department Heads • Albany Housing Authority • Social Service Organizations • Senior Services of Albany • Local Realtors • Environment & Energy • Albany Bicycle Coalition • Transportation • Historic Preservation Agencies • Arts & Cultural Organizations • State Agencies • Land Use Boards • College Students • County of Albany • Common Council ---PAGE BREAK--- 7 • Micro-meetings: Dozens of micro-meetings, or scaled-down versions of the Com munity Forums, were conducted by the City and consultant team to reach targeted groups who have limited access to centralized public meetings. Examples include: • City Rescue Mission • First grade public elementary school class • The Albany Housing Authority’s Westview Homes Senior Center • Dozens of individual neighborhood association meetings • Business Improvement District Board Meetings • City of Albany Youth Workforce Services Enrollees Each meeting was designed specifically for the target audience. Where a group of 40+ homeless men were engaged in a brainstorming discussion session, first graders were asked to draw and write about what made their neighborhoods “great” and “lousy” and what they would like to see in place of vacant lots and buildings. The meetings ranged from four to 60 participants and lasted between 30 minutes and three hours. Dozens of these meetings were held throughout the planning process. Total at ---PAGE BREAK--- 8 Albany 2030 Comprehensive Plan for the City of Albany Appendix B: Public Outreach Summarized Results tendance numbers and socio-demographic characteristics of attendees were not always captured at these meetings due to their varied nature, however by design these meetings targeted populations who were underrepresented at large public forums or with online methods. Because all micro meetings mirrored the intent of whichever planning phase the project was in, feedback was able to be directly incorporated. • Speed Planning: An additional event using a networking mixer format was used to engage young professionals in the planning process. Developed by City staff and sponsored by the Stakeholders Foundation, the “Speed Planning” event was based loosely on the “speed dating” concept and allowed participants to have intense con versations about all of the Albany 2030 systems at individual tables for 10 minutes each, then move on to the next table/topic. Because each participant was assigned an individualized order of topic tables to move through, they never met with the same group twice. This gave each participant an independent voice and exposed them to a variety of ideas and points of view. This fun format, which condensed the Albany 2030 three-hour workshop into an engaging and efficient one-hour event, appealed a young professional crowd that was interested in the future of Albany. The input garnered from this event was con sistent with other Albany 2030 participation methods, but succeeded in reaching a previously underrepresented group and spreading word about the Plan. This event, which had 21 attendees, allowed young professionals to meet and have conversa tions, but also quickly introduced Albany 2030 topics and allowed for input. • Stoop Surveys: The most effective method employed for engaging hard-to-reach populations low-income, minority neighborhoods) was the “Stoop Survey” ap proach developed by staff. This method was deployed in neighborhoods that had low representation at the community forums and through other methods. Compre hensive Plan Board members conducted the stoop surveys, which involved walking through underrepresented neighborhoods and engaging residents on their stoops and porches with paper surveys that asked a modified version of the Community Forum questions. The board members surveyed citizens that they encountered on their front stoops or on the sidewalk and used the quick, five minute informal survey to get input on the comprehensive plan issues, ideas, and process. Over 164 citi zens were surveyed using this method, which met with support from the citizens and appreciation that they were proactively being sought to be involved in the process. See page 47 for an overview of results from the Summer 2010 surveys. ---PAGE BREAK--- 9 • Walk-Shops: Based on a technique used by PlaceMatters, City staff developed a series of walk-shops during the Plan review phase of public outreach. Albany 2030 Walk-shops were interactive walking tours of the City’s neighborhood plan areas highlighting Plan themes. While participants learned about completed and upcom ing projects and how they relate to Albany 2030, they had the opportunity to snap photos of things they would like to see more of, and those they would like to have fixed. Once back at the meeting location, participants were given an opportunity to share their ideas related to the various systems and photos that were captured along the walk. The main purpose of the walk-shops was not only to heighten visibility of the Albany 2030 Plan in the City’s revitalization plan communities, but also to give participants concrete examples of what the Albany 2030 Plan will mean at the neighborhood scale. The Albany 2030 walk-shop had three goals: 1) Demonstrate how a planning effort moves from conception to implementation, highlighting several of the City’s active plan areas 2) Provide concrete examples of the ways that Albany 2030 strategies or projects can work in and improve the City of Albany and its neighborhoods 3) Collect feedback from the public on existing conditions, examples of Albany 2030 strategy successes, opportunities for implementation of Albany 2030 strategies. More than 50 participants joined staff for the walk-shop series, which included three neighborhood walk-shops and one bike-shop cycling tour. Roughly 200 photos from these events were uploaded to Flikr for public review and comment. ---PAGE BREAK--- 10 Albany 2030 Comprehensive Plan for the City of Albany Appendix B: Public Outreach Summarized Results • Community Drop-Ins In addition to information tabling at numerous community events, the Albany 2030 team coordinated community drop-in tables to reach out to the public about the Draft Plan. This series of three tables was hosted at three City of Albany Price Chopper grocery store locations on the Saturday before Thanksgiv ing. These tables exposed thousands of community stakeholders to Albany 2030 over a three-hour period. Each table, staffed by Albany 2030 Board members featured poster boards high lighting sections of the draft plan and asking passersby to rate their approval of each section. For those who did not stop at the table to discuss the plan or fill out a survey, Plan summary sheets and directions to the online survey were provided. Hundreds of these sheets were distributed. • Climate Conversations In June 2011, the Mayor’s Office of Energy & Sustainability held three successful Climate Conversations aiming to inform area residents and other stakeholders on climate change and what can be done to address its impacts. The City is in the early phase of preparing its first Climate Action and Adaptation plan as part of the Albany 2030 Plan. The Conversations were held at two local library branches and the College of St. Rose and were well-attended by a diverse range of roughly 60 concerned citizens, businesses, and public and private institu tional representatives. The goals for the forums were three-fold. First, the City wanted to gauge the level of understanding that citizens had regarding climate change and how it impacts Albany. Second, there was interest in finding out what residents and business own ers might be willing to do to mitigate the impacts of climate change. Third, breakout groups were convened to get input on specific issues related to climate change such as transportation, energy conservation, and waste generation. After an introduction, participants were asked a series of questions regarding their knowledge and attitude toward climate change. A keypad polling program called TurningPoint was used which allows users to answer survey questions, which are recorded and tabulated instantly on the screen. The results helped to integrate the Climate Action Plan strategies into the Albany 2030 Plan. • Capital Region Economic Development Council Local Advisory Workshop & Survey In response to Governor Cuomo’s 2011 Regional Economic Development Council initiative, the Capitalize Albany Corporation and the City’s Department of Develop ment and Planning acted swiftly to engage the public and solicit public about local economic conditions and priorities. In October 2011, these partners conducted an online survey taken by 200 local stakeholders. More than 50 local business own ers, local elected officials, non-profit representatives and real estate/development professionals followed up the survey with an intensive, interactive workshop ses ---PAGE BREAK--- 11 sion, Prioritizing Albany, to assist with the development of a report outlining issues, opportunities, and potential projects specific to the Capital District’s economy. At this meeting, participants built consensus on where economic and business devel opment funding is most critical and projects that would create the most sustainable regional benefits. Participants in on business and economic development; quality of life and neighborhood revitalization; education; arts, culture, recreation and tourism; workforce Project Prioritization training; infrastructure; and potential projects. The results of this outreach were combined with the thousands of comments pro vided to Albany 2030 to produce a local advisory report to the Capital Region Eco nomic Development Council (CREDC) to help provide local detail concerning our local business climate, economic development and neighborhood revitalization ef forts. Tying this effort to Albany 2030 and providing a mechanism for local input into this statewide program was critical to ensure that the Vision supported by Albany 2030 was integrated into the regional plan that will guide what could be billions in state resource for the next several years. • Final Town Hall Forum: The final town hall forum was the culmination of five months of public outreach to review the Albany 2030 Plan. Sixty community members at tended this final meeting, bringing the total number of active Plan reviewers to just fewer than 600. As in the summer and fall 2011 micro meetings, attendees were given an overview of the Albany 2030 process and a snapshot of recommended strategies and projects. The participants were also walked through at top-ten list of “Reasons you should care about Albany 2030” that could serve to dispel project and be used to open a conversation with neighbors, colleagues and acquain tances about Albany 2030. During the presentation, the 60 participants were asked to vote on three questions via text message polling site TexttheMob.com. Housing and Neighborhoods came out on top when the crowd was asked which system’s recommended strategies they were most excited about. More than half of the room was either “optimistic” or “extremely optimistic” that the full Plan would be able to be implemented based on the provisions set forth in the document. Everyone polled was at least somewhat optimistic – no one responded that they were not optimistic. Finally, when asked how they would help implement the Albany 2030 Plan, 96 percent of respondents said they would actively assist the City and its partners in achieving the Albany 2030 Vi sion. In fact, 74 percent said they would use numerous methods to help implement the Plan. Following the presentation, the Albany 2030 team took attendee questions and com ments about the Final Plan. Questions ranged from desiring an explanation of a specific project or strategy recommendation to clarifying the public engagement efforts made throughout the process. ---PAGE BREAK--- 12 Albany 2030 Comprehensive Plan for the City of Albany Appendix B: Public Outreach Summarized Results Overview of Results by Method STAKEHOLDER ROUNDTABLES The input from each of the stakeholder interviews represents the various perspectives of a broad constituency. The following is a summary of responses focusing on Albany’s issues, and opportunities for the future: Issues: • Albany school district – urban school district problems, charter school competition • Lack of resources, competition from suburban communities • Lack of available undeveloped land • Aging water and sewer infrastructure • High cost of addressing combined storm / sewer overflows (CSO - part of aging water and sewer infrastructure) • Aging city and housing stock, suburban competition • Aging city and housing stock, suburban competition • School district is a disincentive for people to move to, stay in Albany • High proportion of rental housing • Impacts of tax-exempt status of institutions and their expansion plans on the city’s tax rolls • High proportion of tax-exempt land, lack of revenue in exchange for services pro vided • Albany receives lesser per capita amounts of state aid, compounding the tax bur den on residents • High number of daytime workers who spend relatively little in the city • High school tax burden, including having to support what essentially is 2 school districts (charter schools, Albany public schools) • Lack of benefits from economic engines because of their tax-exempt status • Competition from retail development in surrounding communities (and at state com plexes) • Weak market support for community retail Lark Street) in surrounding neigh borhoods • Weak market, low return on investment is a disincentive to redevelopment • Isolation of regional developments such as The Foundries, Harriman Campus from the city • Real estate speculators who “sit” on properties rather than investing in them ---PAGE BREAK--- 13 • Costs of rehabbing older buildings, bringing them up to code • Lack of economic development tools TIF is not viable because school districts are exempt) • Competition for downtown from suburban locations with cheaper office rents • Funding programs threatened by current fiscal climate • Gap in population between young people living in starter homes and elderly (not attracting the 30-55 year age range) • School district / realtors who don’t even show properties in Albany • Neighborhoods are very different requiring tailored strategies • Housing stock nearing the end of its life span • Vacant building concentrations in neighborhoods like Arbor Hill, West Hill • Barriers, disincentives to acquiring and rehabilitating vacant buildings fines for buildings that don’t have water meters) • High cost of doing business in city • Lack of residential development, activity after 5:00 pm downtown • Lack of current marketing of our past, historic resources • Lack of retail development downtown (just restaurants, bars) • Lack of leadership in school district • Transient, unstable families • Inadequate code enforcement • Absentee landlords, pressures to subdivide properties based on economic hard ship • Parking throughout city • Need for a central transportation hub • Barrier created by 787 • High employment rate • Lack of regionalization • Crime • High proportion of renters / need to involve in the process • Inappropriate (state) development on Harriman Campus and its impact on the mas ter plan • Barriers to pedestrian and bicycle travel created by natural and transportation cor ridors • Need for bicycle education, enforcement (adults who don’t know the rules, kids who take risks) • Bicycle “unfriendly” corridors such as Central, Delaware Avenues ---PAGE BREAK--- 14 Albany 2030 Comprehensive Plan for the City of Albany Appendix B: Public Outreach Summarized Results • Loss of middle class families because of schools • Dysfunctional families and their impacts on kids’ attitudes towards schools and learning • Albany is disproportionately saturated with charter schools. School district, public have no voice in creation of new charter schools (done by SUNY) • School District finds it difficult to plan because of impacts of charter schools. (Char ter Schools have a similar issue because enrollments are uncertain from year to year) • Fragmentation of political jurisdictions, school districts, etc. • Neighborhood quality-of-life issues (burglaries / other quality of life crimes, park ing, absentee landlords / pressure to subdivide single-family homes, trash, vacant / rundown buildings, etc.) • Relationships between institutions and adjacent neighborhoods • Public safety and its impact on educational institutions (people outside of Albany perceive it as unsafe because of two highly publicized murders of students) • Lack of coordination between governments, commitment at policy levels to meeting needs of underserved populations • Large proportion of population pay a high proportion of their income for housing / exacerbated by the economic recession • Code enforcement / impact of substandard properties on renters • Language and cultural barriers for growing Hispanic community • Need to integrate immigrants, refugees with serious language and cultural barriers but skills to offer into the community • Relative costs of doing business, lack of greenfield development are issues for eco nomic development • Road maintenance costs borne by the city that are not imposed on suburban com munities • Winter conditions (snow and ice) implications for consolidating bus stops in stations along BRT corridors • Impact of inexpensive parking on transit use • Impacts of deteriorated neighborhoods with vacant / boarded up buildings, etc. on public school students • Difficulty of getting to Rensselaer Train Station for students • School district needs more recreational facilities • Disconnect between the school district and the city in providing recreational facili ties • Need for education on traffic safety, speeding ---PAGE BREAK--- 15 • Redevelopment of Tobin property at gateway between Albany and Colonie (need for interjurisdictional cooperation) • Programs for top students at Albany High • Progressive housing authority • Progress made in recent years in revitalizing the city • Central location within a strong capital region • Ethnic restaurants along Central Avenue • Walkable, mixed-use community • Strong infrastructure of community-based organizations • Excellent infrastructure • Colleges and universities • Neighborhoods that are walkable, livable, have good transportation access • Relatively stable real estate prices during recession • Cultural institutions Albany Institute, NYS Library) • Convenient, central locations relative to northeast metropolitan regions • Small-town feel combined with big city image (part of livability) • Status of SUNY Albany as one of only four designated research centers within over all 60-unit SUNY system • 21 colleges and universities within 100 miles • Walkable, livable neighborhoods with a mix of uses (stores, services, etc. that you can walk to) • Religious institutions are community anchors • Normanskill Farm and its educational programs • The Council of Albany Neighborhood Associations (CANA) is a great social asset of the City • College of St. Rose programs in arts, music, education / outreach to public schools • Institutions such as Maria College, Albany Law placing graduates into jobs in the region • Programs provided by educational institutions in Albany schools College of Pharmacy, College of St. Rose / Help Yourself Foundation) • Strong network of social service organizations serving Albany • Amazing history / the oldest original settlement in the 13 colonies • Very strong arts, cultural, and entertainment organizations ---PAGE BREAK--- 16 Albany 2030 Comprehensive Plan for the City of Albany Appendix B: Public Outreach Summarized Results • Contribution of the arts to the local economy First Friday Albany) • Involvement of arts institutions such as the Steamer 10 Theater, Albany in Albany public schools • National reputation of Albany • International reputation of the Capital region, in which Albany occupies a central location, as a center of high technology • Albany is in the top 10 small cities in the country in Richard Florida’s creative class rankings • Airport located nearby in Colonie Opportunities: • Public / private partnerships to promote neighborhood revitalization • Develop a plan to market the city to investors • School district / Housing Authority partnership (North Albany / YMCA example) • Define a positive image of the city’s future development that citizens understand, support • Cultural tourism to draw people into city • Entice state workers, other commuters to spend more $ in the city • Market terrific historic architecture • Aging housing stock with little historic integrity presents an opportunity for redevel opment • Aging boomers, people interested in downtown condos moving into the community • Urban homesteading program (SDAT recommendation) • Coming influx of high tech workers who might be interested in living, investing in city neighborhoods • Green economy, technology tied to state capital • Reserve future transportation corridors • Create a walkable, livable city • Attract more families to the city • Revitalize the South End as a safe, walkable, mixed-use community • Take a regional approach to revitalizing city and protecting farmland in outlying areas • Community gardens in neighborhoods (NYC’s successful program as a model) • Transform vacant lots into neighborhood resources (community gardens, stormwa ter management, greening, etc.) • Develop incentives to live, invest in city ---PAGE BREAK--- 17 • Green infrastructure • Private development on Harriman Campus that generates tax revenue, connects to surrounding neighborhoods per master plan. • Bus Rapid Transit connecting SUNY / Nanotech, Harriman campus, and downtown • Partner with SUNY to develop a research park on Harriman campus (Rochester Institute of Technology as a model) • Develop Albany County Rail Trail and connect it through the city to the Mohawk Hudson Bikeway along the river • Promote utilitarian bicycle usage in city, commuting by implementing Bicycle Master Plan • City, school administration working together to address shared issues • Strengthen schools as community resource (after-school programs, etc., commu nity activities after hours) • Create a magnet school like Bronx Science that kids from the surrounding region would want to go to. • Market city in a unified way across neighborhoods • Recreational development in Tivoli Park connecting to Patroon Creek • Capitalize on potential of Albany to be a great outdoor city • Develop more sidewalks, bicycle facilities to make Albany a truly walkable, bikable city • Improve bus service in city (routes, schedules) • There is a pending agreement between city, College of St. Rose to develop Hoffman Park as a major recreational / athletic resource • Develop better pedestrian connections serving institutions • Increase energy efficiency of institutions • Tech Valley is working to provide wireless internet service throughout entire com munity • Reverse decline in places like Arbor Hill to rebuild them as sustainable neighbor hoods where people choose to live • Create better linkages, leverage resources across institutions, social service orga nizations (SDAT report recommendation) • Promote involvement of nonprofits in decision-making planning boards) • Recognize and promote our educational, architectural, social history. • Retain a city grant writer to take advantage of opportunities for historic pres ervation) • Build a green, walkable community based on our urban assets and lifestyle (do not ---PAGE BREAK--- 18 Albany 2030 Comprehensive Plan for the City of Albany Appendix B: Public Outreach Summarized Results recreate a suburban community) • Build on Certified Local Government status to create capacity for historic preserva tion • Link affordable housing to historic preservation to promote restoration, rehabilitation of older buildings • Use the neighborhood associations and other means to promote maintenance of older properties • Promote public / private partnerships to invest in older properties • The potential of the Albany Barn artists’ initiative as a revitalization anchor for the Arbor Hill neighborhood • Tap the under 45 generation for philanthropy, volunteerism in Albany (Stakeholders Inc.) • Connect strong arts community to quality of life-based economic development (at tract companies and the creative class) • Create a pedestrian-friendly, walkable, energy efficient city to address the coming energy transition • Improve connections between downtown and the airport, train station • Develop high speed rail service to Albany • Use transit, planned BRT corridors as an opportunity for urban revitalization transit-oriented development around stations) • Potential of student populations to support alternative transportation (transit, biking, walking) • Restructure bus routes to have better cross town connections, better serve the Al bany Medical Center and other destinations • Positive impact of developing transportation/BRT corridors on mobility of public school students • Establish a walking connection across river between Rensselaer and Albany on the Livingston Avenue bridge • Regional cooperation to promote economic development that benefits all, rather than competing among ourselves • Economic development based on green jobs, green tech, energy efficiency ---PAGE BREAK--- 19 COMMUNITY FORUMS The City and consultant team held three community forum series to provide the opportunity for Albany’s citizens to openly discuss their concerns, values and aspirations, and priorities for Albany’s future. Each community forum included a series of meetings located in three strategically accessible locations in the City and at different days and times to maximize participation. The first community forum meeting series was designed to define areas of consensus on the important issues facing the City. The meeting began with a summary presentation of the find ings of the data trends analysis and stakeholder interviews to set the context for facilitated citizen discourse. The citizen participants were then asked to organize into facilitated break out groups to discuss and build consensus on Albany’s weaknesses, and vision for the future. Keypad polling allowed participants to prioritize the issues by voting on the top five weaknesses, and vision ideas and receive real-time results. The results of the keypad polling were compiled and summarized as follows: ---PAGE BREAK--- 20 Albany 2030 Comprehensive Plan for the City of Albany Appendix B: Public Outreach Summarized Results Albany’s 1. Walkable, livable, diverse neighborhoods with amenities 2. Economic stability provided by institutions (state, higher education, etc.) 3. Size and location in region 4. Natural resources with aesthetic and recreational value 5. Historic architecture 6. Cultural amenities such as libraries, arts, historical resources 7. Active, diverse population with a strong sense of community 8. Strong educational system and resources, including higher ed 9. Diverse community across many measures (people, housing, economics) 10. Affordable place to live 11. City with a rich history 12. Good transportation and mobility, including walking and bicycling 13. Strong community and social services, including City government services 14. Availability of vacant land and properties 17% 13% 12% 11% 11% 9% 9% 6% 4% 2% 2% 2% 1% 1% COMMUNITY FORUM 1 POLLING RESULTS ---PAGE BREAK--- 21 Albany’s Weaknesses 1. Neighborhood disinvestment, including vacant properties, absentee landlords , poor lighting, etc. 2. Poor education system and services for youth (actual and/or perceived) 3. Crime issues (actual and/or perceived), including gangs and policing 4. Socio-economic issues including poverty, inequitable resource access and allocation, disparity in treatment of poor 5. Transportation issues including poor public transit, lack of parking, and auto- dependency 6. City government problems, including lack of transparency and responsiveness 7. Suburbanization and disinvestment in the City core 8. Underutilized resources, including Downtown and the waterfront 9. Economic and employment issues, such as City's lack of investment desirability, and lack of diverse and high quality employment 10. Poor quality or deteriorating built environment and infrastructure 11. High taxes (property) 12. Negative self perception and self defeating mentalities 13. Revenue issues (tax free properties) 14. Lack of coordination and/or awareness of available services 15. Failure to embrace diversity 15% 14% 13% 11% 9% 8% 7% 4% 4% 3% 3% 1% 1% 1% 6% ---PAGE BREAK--- 22 Albany 2030 Comprehensive Plan for the City of Albany Appendix B: Public Outreach Summarized Results Visions for Albany’s Future 1. Vibrant, safe, mixed use, mixed income, fully occupied neighborhoods 2. Strong education system 3. Vibrant diverse downtown 4. Good, accessible, multi-modal public transportation 5. A sustainable City with "green jobs" with living wages 6. Diverse economic base 7. Albany is a destination city for work and play 8. Preserve historical character to create an inviting built environment 9. Larger, more stable population, with a high homeownership rate 10. Equal access to resources including technology and City services 11. Civic pride and identity, with improved morale and self-image 12. Maximized natural resources, including the waterfront 13. Less top-down, more responsive planning with better design standards 14. Greater connectivity (physical and social) 15. The City is a preeminent art and cultural center 16. Strong partnership between citizens, their government 17. A healthy, active City, that makes use of recreational opportunities 20% 14% 11% 10% 8% 7% 6% 4% 3% 3% 3% 3% 2% 2% 2% 1% 1% ---PAGE BREAK--- 23 Demographic Characteristics of Community Forum 1 Participants 1.Male 2.Female 53% 47% Forum Results 48% 52% Albany Actual Gender 1. 15‐19 2. 20‐34 3. 35‐44 4. 45‐54 5. 55‐64 6. 65 & better 5% 28% 17% 19% 22% 9% Forum Results Albany Actual 26% 29% 13% 11% 7% 13% Age ---PAGE BREAK--- 24 Albany 2030 Comprehensive Plan for the City of Albany Appendix B: Public Outreach Summarized Results 1. African American 2. Asian 3. Hispanic 4. White 5. A mix 6. Other 7. I’d rather not say 15% 2% 2% 71% 5% 2% 2% Forum Results Albany Actual 28% 3% 6% 63% 3% 3% Ethnicity y 12% 10% 15% 2% 1% 3% 4% 18% 17% 8% 11% 16% 17% 6% 10% 6% 2% 16% 9.5% 8.5% 9.5% (Albany Actual) Location in Albany ---PAGE BREAK--- 25 y 1. Less than 15,000 2. 15,000‐19,000 3. 20,000‐34,000 4. 35,000‐54,000 5. 55,000‐70,000 6. 70,000‐100,000 7. More than 100,000 8. I’d rather not say 1. Less than 15,000 2. 15,000‐34,900 3. 35,000‐99,999 4. 100,000 and more Forum Results Albany Actual Household Income 1. Less than 15,000 2. 15,000‐19,000 3. 20,000‐34,000 4. 35,000‐54,000 5. 55,000‐70,000 6. 70,000‐100,000 7. More than 100,000 8. I’d rather not say 1. Less than 15,000 2. 15,000‐24,999 3. 25,000‐34,999 4. 35,000‐49,999 5. 50,000‐74,999 6. 75,000‐99,999 7. More than 100,000 Forum Results Albany Actual (Note Different Categories) 26% 16% 14% 15% 15% 7% 7% 2% 6% 9% 16% 14% 15% 28% 10% ---PAGE BREAK--- 26 Albany 2030 Comprehensive Plan for the City of Albany Appendix B: Public Outreach Summarized Results 1. Elected Official 2. Volunteer 3. Service Provider 4. Resident 5. Business Owner 6. Institution Representative 7. Student 8. Other 6% 8% 4% 55% 4% 8% 8% 7% Personal Profile ---PAGE BREAK--- 27 Community Forum 2 was conducted for the purpose of obtaining public input on the Vision State ment and to build consensus on priorities for goals and objectives based on the vision compo nents. The Vision Statement is a statement that communicates a compelling vision of the future and answers the question “What do we want Albany to be in twenty years?” The Vision Statement is accompanied by a series of vision components developed based on common themes derived from the outreach process: Albany 2030 Vision Statement Albany in 2030 has built on its history and diverse natural, cultural, institutional, and human re sources to become a global model for sustainable revitalization and urban livability. The city promotes a balanced approach to economic opportunity, social equity, and environmental quality that is locally driven, encourages citizen involvement and investment, and benefits all residents. The Vision Components 1. Safe, Livable Neighborhoods Every neighborhood in Albany is a desirable place to live because of its walkable streets, historic architecture, range of housing choices, mixed-use neighborhood centers, quality schools, parks and recreation facilities, and easy access to Downtown Albany and other job centers. 2. Model Educational System Albany nurtures its most valuable resources, its children, by promoting excellence in education at all levels. The City’s institutions of higher education are valued resources and partners in initiatives to expand economic opportunities, enhance work force skills, and promote lifelong learning. 3. Vibrant Urban Center As the capital of New York and a destination for work, play, and tourism, Albany is the region’s pri mary center of government, education, health care, employment, and the arts. Downtown Albany is a vibrant mix of business, residential, educational, cultural, and entertainment uses connected to the Hudson River waterfront. 4. Multi-Modal Transportation Hub Albany’s neighborhoods and centers are connected to each other and to the rest of the region by an extensive, efficient, and safe network of complete streets, mass transit, bikeways, trails, and sidewalks. 5. Green City Albany is a model of community health and sustainability in its planning, restorative development, and conservation of energy, water, and natural resources. 6. Prosperous Economy The city is a pillar of the regional and global economies, providing good employment opportuni ties for all residents with a focus on green jobs and technology. Participants in Community Forum 2 used keypad polling to vote on the degree to which they agreed with the Vision Statement and vision components. Participants were then asked to orga nize into facilitated breakout groups based on each of the five vision components and generate goals for that component. Each group then picked their top three goals and submitted them to the technology group for computerized processing. ---PAGE BREAK--- 28 Albany 2030 Comprehensive Plan for the City of Albany Appendix B: Public Outreach Summarized Results COMMUNITY FORUM 2 POLLING RESULTS 5 Agree Strongly 4 Agree Somewhat 2 Disagree Somewhat 3 Neither agree nor disagree 1 Disagree Strongly 0 No Opinion The Vision of Albany in 2030: Albany in 2030 has built on its history and diverse natural, cultural, institutional, and human resources to become a global model for sustainable revitalization and urban livability. The city promotes a balanced approach to economic opportunity, social equity, and environmental quality that is locally driven, encourages citizen involvement and investment, and benefits all residents. A. Safe, Livable Neighborhoods Every neighborhood in Albany is a desirable place to live because of its walkable streets, historic architecture, range of housing choices, mixed-use neighborhood centers, quality schools, parks and recreation facilities, and easy access to Downtown Albany and other job centers. 5 Agree Strongly 4 Agree Somewhat 2 Disagree Somewhat 3 Neither agree nor disagree 1 Disagree Strongly 0 No Opinion Agreement with the Vision Statement and Vision Components ---PAGE BREAK--- 29 B. Model Educational System Albany nurtures its most valuable resources, its children, by promoting excellence in education at all levels. The City’s institutions of higher education are valued resources and partners in initiatives to expand economic opportunities, enhance work force skills, and promote lifelong learning. 5 Agree Strongly 4 Agree Somewhat 2 Disagree Somewhat 3 Neither agree nor disagree 1 Disagree Strongly 0 No Opinion C. Vibrant Urban Center As the capital of New York, Albany is the region’s primary center of government, education, health care, employment, and culture. Downtown Albany is a vibrant mix of business, residential, educational, arts, culture, cultural, and entertainment uses connected to the Hudson River. 5 Agree Strongly 4 Agree Somewhat 2 Disagree Somewhat 3 Neither agree nor disagree 1 Disagree Strongly 0 No Opinion ---PAGE BREAK--- 30 Albany 2030 Comprehensive Plan for the City of Albany Appendix B: Public Outreach Summarized Results D. Multi-Modal Transportation Hub Albany’s neighborhoods and centers are connected to each other and to the rest of the region by an extensive, efficient, and safe network of complete streets, mass transit, bikeways, trails, and sidewalks. 5 Agree Strongly 4 Agree Somewhat 2 Disagree Somewhat 3 Neither agree nor disagree 1 Disagree Strongly 0 No Opinion E. Sustainable City / Prosperous Economy Albany is a model of community health and sustainability in its planning, restorative development, and conservation of energy, water, and natural resources. The city is a pillar of the regional and global economies, providing quality employment opportunities for all residents with a focus on green jobs and technology. 5 Agree Strongly 4 Agree Somewhat 2 Disagree Somewhat 3 Neither agree nor disagree 1 Disagree Strongly 0 No Opinion Note: The Vision Components were revised after Community Forum 2 to divide the Sustainable City / Prosperous Economy component into two separate components: Green City and Prosperous Economy. ---PAGE BREAK--- 31 The Vision of Albany in 2030: Albany in 2030 has built on its history and diverse natural, cultural, institutional, and human resources to become a global model for sustainable revitalization and urban livability. The city promotes a balanced approach to economic opportunity, social equity, and environmental quality that is locally driven, encourages citizen involvement and investment, and benefits all residents. A. Safe, Livable Neighborhoods B. Model Educational System C. Vibrant Urban Center D. Multi-Modal Transportation Hub E. Sustainable City / Prosperous Economy 5 Agree Strongly 4 Agree Somewhat 2 Disagree Somewhat 3 Neither agree nor disagree 1 Disagree Strongly 0 No Opinion ---PAGE BREAK--- 32 Albany 2030 Comprehensive Plan for the City of Albany Appendix B: Public Outreach Summarized Results Summarized Goals 1. Safe, Livable Neighborhoods • Improved Neighborhood and Community Pride: Familiarity with neighbors, more community investment, neighborhood oriented events • Improve Pedestrian Streetscape: Safe, comfortable to walk/bike, encourage pedes trian oriented development • Neighborhood Identity: Neighborhoods have distinct identity with commercial hubs serving as community centers • Housing/Built Environment: Stabilize and restore existing housing stock, preserve historical aesthetics • Diversity: People are knowledgeable and feel safe in all neighborhoods, mixed in come housing • Local Focus: Increase locally owned business, create neighborhood specific desti nations like parks, entertainment venues • Downtown Mixed Use and Commercial Areas revitalized and reconnected to wa terfront • Reduce city-wide vehicle traffic 2. Model Educational System • No family should leave the City because they think they cannot get a good educa tion • Better integration between institutions of higher education, school district, and com munity • Better integration of schools into the community of which they are a part, includ ing more after school programs and availability of school buildings for community activities • More holistic/broad education: better mentoring, partnerships with business, voca tional training, use Normanskill farm • Encourage all children to attend college or get some higher education • Create equity in access: equal access to transportation and education for all, com munity center in every neighborhood, accessible and affordable continuing educa tion • Make educational system more efficient, use best practices • More parental support • Make class work relevant to students’ lives ---PAGE BREAK--- 33 3. Vibrant Urban Center • Improved Downtown Parking and Transportation • Encourage more residential use and development Downtown • Create a coherent Downtown District • Create better connections to the waterfront • Create a regional attraction such as a zoo, aquarium, museum that is also affordable for families • Rehabilitate existing empty properties Downtown and fill them with mixed use • Diversify businesses to serve residents and provide diverse job opportunities,including entry level • Create vibrant and active after businesses hours activity • Improve/increase arts and cultural events • Improve Image, combat perceptions of lack of parking and safety • Create more sustainable job opportunities, stronger green agenda • Create more green spaces and trails 4. Multi-Modal Transportation Hub • Create regional rail system • Increase pedestrian safety • Increased bicycle infrastructure and access: all major routes multi-modal, regional bikeway system • Increased affordable transit access and convenience in all neighborhoods • Encourage residents to live closer to Albany • Change culture to consider and create viable transportation alternatives • Encourage/require employers to have a transportation plan for employees • Explore ways to lessen the impacts of 787 • Disincentivize single-driver commuting • Increase access to river • Work with other levels of government to provide interregional transportation • City government prioritizing funding for all transportation • Safer bus stops with better maintenance ---PAGE BREAK--- 34 Albany 2030 Comprehensive Plan for the City of Albany Appendix B: Public Outreach Summarized Results 5. Sustainable City / Prosperous Economy • Create range of living wage green jobs for all skill levels • Create incentives for businesses and residents for making buildings more energy efficient • Work toward becoming a zero waste community by increasing recycling, etc. • Create strategic plan to make productive use of vacant lots, buildings • Create a green city with local power and efficient infrastructure • Create waterfront that attracts people and business, reflects balance of environ mental development and recreation • Redesign public transportation to better get inner city residents to job centers • Create denser communities, compact activities • Tie in educational institutions at every level with green technologies training • Healthy food options offered in all communities and retailers ---PAGE BREAK--- 35 Demographic Characteristics of Community Forum 2 Participants 1.Male? 2.Female? 45% 55% Forum 2 Results Albany Actual Gender 1. 19 or younger 2. 20‐34 3. 35‐44 4. 45‐54 5. 55‐64 6. 65 & beSer 0% 24% 19% 19% 24% 14% Forum 2 Results Albany Actual Age ---PAGE BREAK--- 36 Albany 2030 Comprehensive Plan for the City of Albany Appendix B: Public Outreach Summarized Results Ethnicity 1. Less than $10,000 2. $10,000‐24,999 3. $25,000‐34,999 4. $35,000‐49,999 5. $50,000‐99,999 6. $100,000‐149,999 7. $150,000 or more 8. I’d rather not say 0% 8% 11% 8% 36% 27% 8% 1% Forum 2 Results Albany Actual Household Income 1. African American 2. Asian 3. Hispanic 4. White 5. A mix 6. Other 7. I’d rather not say 4% 2% 0% 87% 6% 0% 1% Forum 2 Results Albany Actual ---PAGE BREAK--- 37 Outside the City 15% 14% 26% 2% 4% 4% 1% 7% 14% 4% 9% 16% 17% 6% 10% 6% 2% 16% 9.5% 8.5% 9.5% (Albany Actual) Location in Albany The third round of community forums focused on prioritizing investment types and con ducting a mock budget allocation exercise to ascertain community preferences for de velopment and investment in Albany based on the goals and objectives of the compre hensive plan systems. The first exercise included keypad polling where participants were asked to rank their preferences for where investment should be increased in the following categories: – Neighborhood Investment – Multi-Modal Transportation Hub – Neighborhood Commercial Centers – Regional Centers – Greenways and Open Space ---PAGE BREAK--- 38 Albany 2030 Comprehensive Plan for the City of Albany Appendix B: Public Outreach Summarized Results COMMUNITY FORUM 3 POLLING RESULTS Community Investment Priorities Beautification – Flowers, Trees, Banners Lighting Blighted Property Repair Street Repaving Litter Clean-up Street Amenities – trash cans, benches F; G; H; I; #1 J; - K; Beautification B ifi i – Flowers, Trees, Banners Fl T B Lighting Blighted Property Repair Litter Clean-up S A i i h b h Neighborhood Investment Transportation Investment Pedestrian Transit Parking Bicycling Multi-Modal Center Roadway F; G; H; I; J; K; , Pedestrian Transit Parking Bicycling Multi-Modal Center Roadway ---PAGE BREAK--- 39 Traditional Commercial Re-use Strip Mall Indoor Market Outdoor Pedestrian Mall Single convenience store Auto-oriented single use F; G; H; . I; J; K; Traditional Commercial Re-use di i l i l Strip Mall Indoor Market Outdoor Pedestrian Mall Single convenience store Auto-oriented single use Commercial Activity Type Regional Destinations Washington Park Convention Center Downtown Harriman Campus Waterfront Pine Bush Preserve F; G; , H; I; J; - ,3 K; , Washington Park Convention Center Downtown Harriman Campus Waterfront Pine Bush Preserve ---PAGE BREAK--- 40 Albany 2030 Comprehensive Plan for the City of Albany Appendix B: Public Outreach Summarized Results Active Park Field Passive Park Community Garden Children’s Park Urban Forest F; G; H; I; ( J; K; Active Park Field Passive Park Community Garden Children’s Park Urban Forest Open Space / Green Space After voting on their preferences, participants at each table were asked to place a col ored dot on a map of Albany to indicate where they would like to see each type of (re) investment occur in the city. The maps were then collected and the information was compiled and entered into a shared digital map with points that indicate desired areas for each type of (re)investment according to the colors listed below: - Neighborhood Investment - Blue - Multi-Modal Transportation Hub - Orange / Black Dot - Neighborhood Commercial Centers – Red - Regional Centers – Yellow - Greenways and Open Space – Green The Community (Re)Investment Areas Map on the following page illustrates the com piled results of the mapping exercise from the Community Forum 3 series. The dots on the map represent an integration of the preferred locations submitted by all Forum 3 participants, meaning the results were merged into groupings of preferred locations. ---PAGE BREAK--- 41 ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! RENSSELAER COUNTY Patroon Creek Hudson River Krum Kill Normans Kill COLONIE BETHLEHEM GUILDERLAND NEW SCOTLAND Menands Pine Hills No. Albany / Shaker Park West Hill Whitehall Delaware Area West End Arbor Hill Helderberg Melrose Upper Washington Ave. South End Second Avenue New Scotland / Woodlawn Washington Park Buckingham Pond / Crestwood Shaker / Bishop's Gate Park South Mansion New Albany Plymouth Hudson Park Mt. Hope Washington Square Center Square Manning Boulevard Ten Broeck Triangle (Historic District) Historic Pastures Lincoln Park 87 87 87 87 87 87 U V 155 U V 85 U V 85 U V 5 U V 20 U V 9W 90 90 90 90 90 787 787 Community (Re)Investment Areas ! Neighborhood Investment Multi-Modal Transportation Hub ! Neighborhood Commercial Centers ! Regional Centers ! Greenways & Open Space Neighborhood Boundary Existing Parks & Open Space 0 0.4 0.8 1.2 1.6 0.2 Miles $ Data Sources: U.S. Census Bureau Community (Re)Investment Areas Map ---PAGE BREAK--- 42 Albany 2030 Comprehensive Plan for the City of Albany Appendix B: Public Outreach Summarized Results Budgeting Exercise Average Systems Allocation The second exercise in Community Forum 3 allowed participants to allocate $100 dollars into each of the eight plan systems, entering the amounts into a shared spreadsheet. The average allocation for each system was quickly calculated using keypad polling. Participant groups were then assigned one system and given the average amount allocated to that system to allocate among the sub-system components. The outcomes of the third round of Forums were a prioritization of types of investment and prioritization with relative dollar amounts for each of the comprehensive plan systems. ---PAGE BREAK--- 43 Social Transportation Community Form Economy ---PAGE BREAK--- 44 Albany 2030 Comprehensive Plan for the City of Albany Appendix B: Public Outreach Summarized Results Utilities & Infrastructure Institutions Housing & Neighborhoods Natural Resources ---PAGE BREAK--- 45 Demographic Characteristics of Community Forum 3 Participants 7/ 9 Gender 7/ 8/ 8629: 9/ 9;2:: 9 Age ---PAGE BREAK--- 46 Albany 2030 Comprehensive Plan for the City of Albany Appendix B: Public Outreach Summarized Results Ethnicity 7/ 576.666 8/ 576.66628:.??? 9/ 58;.66629:.??? 59;.6662:?.??? 5;6.6662??.??? 5766.66627:?.??? 57;6.666!# 9 Household Income 7/ 8/ 9/ + 9 ---PAGE BREAK--- 47 F; F G; G H; H I; I J; J K; K L; L M; M N; N FE; FE Abstain: 14.2% 5.5% 21.3% 1.6% 1.6% 1.6% 1.6% 13.4% 18.9% 6.3% 14.2% 16% 17% 6% 10% 6% 2% 16% 9.5% 8.5% 9.5% (Albany Actual) Location in Albany ---PAGE BREAK--- 48 Albany 2030 Comprehensive Plan for the City of Albany Appendix B: Public Outreach Summarized Results STOOP SURVEYS: SUMMER 2010 Stoop survey participants were first asked to rank their priorities for the eight comprehen sive plan systems, giving each system a score of one through eight, with one being the most important. Participants were then asked what they thought were Albany’s greatest and challenges based on the five themes of the Vision Statement: • Neighborhoods • Education • Urban Center/Downtown • Transportation • Economy • Sustainability • Other Finally, participants were asked a series of questions regarding their vision for Albany’s future, including: • If you could change one thing in Albany what would it be? • If you could keep one thing in Albany the same what would it be? • What should be Albany’s biggest priority over the next 20 years? ---PAGE BREAK--- 49 STOOP SURVEY RESULTS System Priorities 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Total Points Rank Community Form 19 11 15 26 22 8 15 26 661 4 Economy 67 27 18 15 10 6 7 8 434 2 Green Infrastructure* 11 3 8 13 13 11 13 9 387 x Natural Resources 7 7 7 8 11 9 15 10 755 6 Housing & Neighborhoods 64 33 22 13 6 9 6 7 430 1 Institutional 16 11 8 19 29 21 26 24 783 8 Multi-Modal Transportation 15 8 22 21 19 27 18 25 764 7 Social 42 27 26 25 9 9 8 13 533 3 Utilities 21 25 14 30 13 12 21 24 709 5 *Note: Green Infrastructure was combined with the Utilities system after the stoop surveys were conducted Albany’s Biggest Assets and Challenges Albany's Biggest Asset/ Positive Feature Albany's Biggest Challenge/ Weakness 1. Neighborhoods 53 72 2. Education 48 43 3. Urban Center/Downtown 22 15 4. Transportation 27 11 5. Economy 13 42 6. Sustainability 8 7 7. Other 5 10 Charter Schools Lack of Opportunities for Teens Albany has the ability to be a great City Activities for Kids Small business Housing History Lack of Employment Pine Bush Public Safety Sense of history Place for kids to go Diversity More affordable housing Public Transportation Government Corrupt Politics Absentee Landlords - Code Violations Crime Quality of Life Issues Urban Blight Vacancy By far we are too dependent on Globalization Affordable Housing Absentee Landlords winter "snow emergency" extortion Diversity ---PAGE BREAK--- 50 Albany 2030 Comprehensive Plan for the City of Albany Appendix B: Public Outreach Summarized Results If you could change one thing in Albany what would it be? • Job Market • Better public transportation • Less Crime • Violence • Replace the mayor • More activities for kids • Better education for our children • Housing • Safe places for kids to play • Less Corruption in Politics • More police • Downtown Environment/Cultural Center • Green Jobs • More Downtown retail • Increased support for Arts institutions • Improve Schools (build on such as dual language programs • Potholes • City cooperates better with community groups • Get rid of Charter Schools • Cleanliness of streets • Movement from the suburbs • Make downtown more desirable • More bicycle friendly • More Shops/Restaurants • Access/use of river • Cleaning up waste in river • More community events • More citizen participation in government • Instant runoff voting • More income based rentals • Family Activities • New Playgrounds • Neighborhoods • Better access to valuable information • The way the law goes about things • Poor quality housing • More affordable housing ---PAGE BREAK--- 51 • More investment in education • Protection for local neighborhoods • More services • More recreation • More entertainment not involving drinking • More parks for kids • More entertainment • Blocks on streets • More youth advocate programs • All the fighting • Gun violence • Services to help home owners stay in homes • Better education of city programs • Neighborhoods • Politicians working against us • Lower property taxes • Abandoned buildings • More recreational centers • They way the houses look • Everything • The urban areas should be built up • Community Center • Health • Housing in low-income neighborhoods • Work Program instead of Social Services • More jobs for young black men • Drugs • Cars • Gang Violence • Large Attraction such as Aquarium/Zoo • Easier Access to Major Shopping Centers • More Public High Schools • A more “in touch” mayor • Expanded Library hours • Rent Stabilization for housing • Cable T.V. • Dependence on the rest of the nation/globe for food ---PAGE BREAK--- 52 Albany 2030 Comprehensive Plan for the City of Albany Appendix B: Public Outreach Summarized Results CHAPTER 4.0 If you could keep one thing in Albany the same what would it be? • Architecture • Education • Neighborhoods • The Parks • The downtown Area • Nothing • Diversity • Transportation • Cleanliness • People • Community Events • Historic Character • Calm • The institutions • Mayor Jennings • Alive at 5 • A place to leave • Peace • Open Parks • Boys and Girls Club • The Busline • My Neighborhood • Grassroots people who didn’t jump ship • Housing • Public Places (museums, pools) • Public Service Programs (DSS, AHA) • Police • The Restaurants • The land growth of the city • Nothing-Keep Changing • Hope • History • Preserve Historic Neighborhoods • Diverse Neighborhoods • Open Spaces ---PAGE BREAK--- 53 • Art Venues (Park Playhouse) • Dana Neighborhood • The Highway System • Pine Bush • The dedication of their people to their communities • Neighborhood Diversity (arts, music, etc) • Smaller mom+pop businesses • The people • Farmer’s Markets • Free Concerts • Community Gatherings • Culture • Delaware Ave • Infrastructure • Veterans Hospital • Programs • Low housing • Anton Konev as my rep • Drinking Water ---PAGE BREAK--- ---PAGE BREAK---