Date: March 15, 2020
(518) 434-5105
Many Non-Essential Services Will Only Be Available Remotely, Including Bill Payments, Permit Applications, and Job Applications
Albany Mayor Kathy Sheehan Declares a State of Emergency to Prohibit the General Public from Entering City Buildings Unless Expressly Stated Below and to Prohibit the Execution of Evictions Within the City of Albany During COVID-19 Outbreak
ALBANY, NY – Mayor Kathy Sheehan has announced that Albany City Hall and all City of Albany public buildings, including fire stations and police headquarters, will be closed to the public effective immediately through Friday, March 20, 2020, except in very limited circumstances as detailed below.
The Albany Police Department and Albany Fire Department will continue to respond to all emergency calls, and the Department of General Services will continue curbside waste collection pickup as scheduled.
“Following recommendations from the CDC and the Albany County Health Commissioner, we have developed procedures in an effort to prevent further spread of COVID-19,” said Albany Mayor Kathy Sheehan. “These changes will take effect immediately. We remain in constant contact with the Albany County Executive, Sheriff, and Health Commissioner, and we will implement further restrictions if the situation warrants. These temporary changes in operations are intended to help protect both our residents and our employees, especially our first responders, and ensure we are adhering to social distancing recommendations provided by public health experts.”
A department-by-department list of City services currently available and unavailable can be found below:
Albany Police Department:
- APD will continue responding to all emergency calls for service 24/7.
- Minor calls for service, such as minor property complaints, may be handled via phone or through a postponed report.
- Access to administrative reports, including police incident reports and FOIL responses, will be handled via email and/or phone. No in-person document requests will be facilitated at Police Headquarters (175 Henry Johnson Boulevard).
- Police Headquarters (175 Henry Johnson Boulevard) will be closed to the public until further notice.
- Please visit the APD webpage or call (518) 438-4000 for more information on non-emergency Police Department information. In an emergency, please dial 911.
Albany Fire Department:
- AFD will continue responding to all emergency calls for service 24/7.
- Access to administrative reports, including fire incident reports, will be handled via email and/or phone. No in-person document requests will be facilitated at Fire Headquarters (26 Broad Street).
- All fire department facilities will be closed to the public until further notice.
- Please visit the AFD webpage or call (518) 447-7879 for more information on non-emergency Fire Department information. In an emergency, please dial 911.
Department of General Services:
- All curbside waste collection and recycling pickup will continue as scheduled.
- Please visit the DGS webpage, call (518) 434-CITY (2489) or email DGS for more information.
Department of Water & Water Supply:
- Your tap water is safe to drink – the COVID-19 virus has not been detected in drinking water. Learn more about the virus and water/sewer infrastructure.
- Water bills may be paid online at https://albanyny.merchanttransact.com/ or over the phone by calling (518) 434-5300.
- If you have an emergency (back up, sink hole, water main break, flooding) contact Water Department Dispatch at (518) 434-5322.
- Please visit the Department of Water & Water Supply webpage call (518) 434-5300, or email Albany Water for more information.
City Clerk & Vital Statistics:
- Services that will continue to be accessible online include:
- Residential Parking Permit applications
- Dog License applications
- Handbills
- Special Event Permits (within Governor Cuomo’s mass gathering guidelines)
- FOIL Requests
- Filing of Death Certificates
- Obtaining certified copies of marriage records & certificates of domestic partnership
- Services that are suspended until further notice include:
- Passport applications & renewals
- License applications for Marriages & Domestic Partnerships, Cabarets, Junk Dealers, Auctioneers, Coin-op/Amusements, Taxis, Hens, and Games of Chance
- Please visit the City Clerk webpage, call (518) 434-5090, or email City Clerk for more information.
Human Resources:
- The City of Albany encourages all prospective employees to apply for City jobs online at www.jobs.albanyny.gov
- Please visit the Human Resources webpage, call (518) 434-5284, or email HR for more information.
Department of Buildings & Regulatory Compliance:
- All permit applications, payments, and other transactions will take place via phone, email, or online.
- All ROP inspections are suspended until further notice.
- Construction inspections, emergency inspections, and vacant building inspections will continue to occur.
- Please visit the Buildings and Regulatory Compliance webpage, call (518) 434-5995, or email codes@albanyny.gov for more information.
- Department of Planning & Development:
- All permit applications, payments, and other transactions will take place via phone, email, or online.
- Meetings of the Planning Board and Board of Zoning Appeals will be held via teleconference. More information will be included as part of each meeting’s public notice.
- Please visit the Department of Building and Regulatory Compliance webpage, call (518) 465-6066, or email BRC for more information.
Department of Planning & Development:
- All permit applications, payments, and other transactions will take place via phone, email, or online.
- Transactions that must be facilitated in-person may only occur by appointment. Individuals must call (518) 465-6066 to set up an in-person appointment at 200 Henry Johnson Boulevard.
- Meetings of the Planning Board and Board of Zoning Appeals will be held via teleconference. More information will be included as part of each meeting’s public notice.
- Please visit the Department of Planning and Development webpage, call (518) 465-6066, or email Planning & Development for more information.
Albany Community Development Agency (ACDA):
- ACDA will only be accepting applications for emergency assistance until further notice and in-person meetings will only be available by appointment. You must call (518) 434-5265 to set up an in-person appointment at 200 Henry Johnson Boulevard.
- Please visit the ACDA webpage, call (518) 434-5265, or email ACDA for more information.
Department of Recreation:
- Recreation facilities will be closed effective immediately to evaluate further precautions necessary to safeguard the health and wellbeing of community members and staff.
- Effective immediately, all Senior programs offered by the Department are suspended until further notice. This includes Water Yoga, Senior Fit at St. Sophia's, and Zumba Gold, and the postponing of our annual Healthy Aging Fair originally scheduled for Wednesday, April 8. A new date will be announced at a later date.
- Facility reservations will only take place through RecDesk by visiting www.albanyny.recdesk.com
- Please visit the Department of Recreation webpage, call (518) 434-5699, or email recreation@albanyny.gov for more information.
Department of Youth & Workforce Services:
- The City is suspending the Summer Youth Employment Program application process until further notice and will be extending the deadline for applications at a later date.
- Transactions that must be facilitated in-person may only occur by appointment. You must call (518) 242-8239 to set up an in-person appointment at 175 Central Avenue.
- Please visit the Department of Youth and Workforce Service web page, call (518) 242-8239, or email Youth and Workforce Services for more information.
Cultural Affairs & Special Events:
The 72nd Annual Tulip Festival and all related events including the street scrubbing, a music, arts and crafts festival, and the Royal Tulip Ball have been postponed.
Our Tulip Queen and Court serve an important function as ambassadors for the City. Their volunteer work, including their literacy program, helps a number of local non-profits and schools. Accordingly, we will continue to proceed with a virtual interview process and look forward to announcing our new Queen and Court at the appropriate time. Applications continue to be accepted through April 6th by visiting www.AlbanyTulipQueen.com/nominate.
As we move into the summer months, we will be working on other ways to celebrate our City’s history and culture. We are also exploring creative ways to share our Tulips in bloom with you on our Facebook page, @AlbanyNYEvents, and our other social media sites.
We will continue to evaluate our other summer festivals, Alive at Five and Dad Fest, in light of the COVID-19 outbreak. The City of Albany will provide more information on the status of these events at a later date.
Please visit AlbanyEvents.org web page, call (518) 434-5415, or email Ryan Murray for more information.
City Treasurer:
- All City payments must be processed online by visiting the Treasurer's webpage
- If you are unable to make a payment online, you must contact the Treasurer’s Office by calling (518) 434-5036 for more information.
Parking Violations Bureau:
As of Wednesday, March 18 Parking the Violations Bureau is temporarily closed to the public. The Parking Violations Bureau Office is still operating with limited hours to serve our customers. You may still pay or contest your ticket by mail at the below address, and pay your ticket online. Please call 518-434-5006 if you have any questions regarding your parking ticket, leave a message, and someone will get back to you as soon as possible. You may also e-mail the Bureau at parkingticketappeal@albanyny.gov if you have any questions about your ticket.
Parking Violations Bureau
All Parking Ticket payments must be processed online.
On April 14, Treasurer Darius Shahinfar authorized the Parking Violations Bureau to remove late fees from any and all delinquent parking violations in the City of Albany upon request. He also authorized and implemented the removal of the $3 online credit card payment fee. This parking ticket amnesty program is being administered in consultation with, and support of, both Mayor Sheehan and our Common Council, and will continue through May 31, 2020.
To remove late fees, individuals must first request the fee removal. Tickets may be searched and viewed online at https://albany.rmcpay.com/ using license plate, ticket or vehicle identification numbers, or by calling (518) 434-5006.
The best way to request your fee removal is by e-mail at parkingticketappeal@albanyny.gov, or completing the online form. You can also request via mail at City Hall, Rm. 203 Albany, NY 12207. When contacting the Bureau, be sure to provide your license plate number and/or your name, phone number, e-mail, or ticket number(s).
Public Meetings, including meetings of the Common Council and Public Hearings:
Effective immediately, all Common Council meetings, public hearings, and other gatherings of City of Albany public boards, authorities, and commissions that have not already been cancelled will be physically closed to the public.
Meetings that continue as previously scheduled will be available via teleconference, and public comment will be available via email and a dedicated voicemail system. All messages will be entered into meeting minutes as is already done in the normal course of business. Applicable phone numbers and email addresses will be provided as part of the updated notice for each applicable meeting.
The Public Hearing of Local Law B-2020 (As Amended) authorizing the City of Albany to join a Community Choice Aggregation program is continuing as scheduled on Monday, March 16 at 5:30 p.m. at City Hall.Only one person will be allowed in the room at a time. Should members of the public want to provide input but not attend in person, individuals may email cityclerk@albanyny.gov to either provide written comments or to provide your phone number where you can be reached at 5:30 p.m. The City Clerk will then call the individual during the hearing to provide verbal comments on the record.
Parking, Red Light Camera, Vehicle & Traffic, and Landlord/Tenant Courts:
- Effective immediately, the following changes to the City’s Civil Court schedule have taken effect as per the New York State Office of Court Administration’s memo in conjunction with the City of Albany’s Corporation Counsel:
- Parking Ticket & Red Light Camera Ticket Court
- All scheduled court dates have been adjourned
- A notice will be mailed that will include a new adjudication date
- Vehicle & Traffic Court
- Adjudication of all outstanding tickets has been suspended
- Please do not come to Court to adjudicate the applicable ticket – a notice will be mailed that will include a new adjudication date
- Landlord/Tenant Court
- Adjudication of all outstanding cases has been suspended
- Please do not come to Court to adjudicate the applicable case – a notice will be mailed that will include a new adjudication date
- Please contact the City of Albany Court Clerk at (518) 453-4640 or via email Albany City Traffic Court with any additional questions
State of Emergency Declaration:
Mayor Sheehan has declared a State of Emergency and signed an Emergency Order directing all City-owned buildings be closed to the public unless expressly provided for above. Additionally, Mayor Sheehan has signed an Emergency Order instituting a moratorium on all non-emergency evictions within the City of Albany. Copies of these executive orders can be accessed here.
COVID-19 Prevention and Symptom Information:
As a reminder, please visit the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), the New York State Department of Health and the Albany County Department of Health for the most recent guidelines regarding COVID-19 precautions and symptoms. You may also find a variety of COVID-19 response information specific to the City of Albany by visiting our COVID-19 Resource Guide.
###