January 13, 2022

To: Governor Kathy Hochul

Assemblymember John McDonald
Albany County Executive Dan McCoy
Albany Mayor Kathy Sheehan
Albany Common Council President Corey Ellis
Albany Planning Board Members
Albany Police Chief Eric Hawkins
Albany City School District Superintendent Kaweeda Adams
Albany City School District School Board Members
Rev. Perry Jones, Capital City Rescue Mission

We are deeply concerned about the safety and well-being of the children who attend Giffen
Elementary School. Every child deserves to be safe when they are at school or on their way to
school. Every parent deserves to know their child is safe at school. Unfortunately, this is not the
case for children and parents in the South End.

Parents and children at Giffen Elementary face street squalor, intimidation, and threats of harm
on a regular basis. The concentration of services for people in desperate need has contributed to a
homeless population walking the streets around the school, many of them clearly suffering with
mental health and substance use issues. Panhandling, public urination, people sleeping or
nodding off on the sidewalks, and a constant stream of litter including liquor bottles and drug
paraphernalia are all, unfortunately, everyday occurrences on or near the school grounds of
Giffen Elementary. Worse yet, a new family to the area reported being harassed on their walk to
school by people associated with the Capital City Rescue Mission, and this harassment led them
to stop coming to school. More recently, an adult man tried to abduct students by offering candy.
Thankfully the students ignored the person and after Giffen staff notified the police department,
officers made an arrest.

These conditions are unacceptable and must be stopped.

The talented and dedicated staff at Giffen have a big job of their own: providing the best possible
education for some of the youngest and most vulnerable members of our community. Giffen
students are struggling to meet state academic standards. As a community, we need to do
everything in our power to help them succeed. In that, we have a responsibility to create a
neighborhood around their school that nurtures students’ positive growth and development, and
provides plenty of examples of healthy, productive, and caring adults. With such a large
population of people in dire straits living within blocks of the school, that is unfortunately not the
case. Giffen staff are forced to spend valuable time and attention responding to unsafe activity on
the streets – time that they should be giving to their students.

While we recognize the need for social services and have deep respect for the nonprofit
organizations that dedicate themselves to housing and serving those in need, we also recognize
that there is an oversaturation of services in this particular neighborhood. There is a deep
inequity in the fact that multiple homeless shelters and addiction treatment centers are located
within a few block radius of an elementary school. We must acknowledge that this would never
be tolerated in a more affluent neighborhood – and that in plenty of cases, more affluent
communities from around the city, county, and region are sending their neighbors-in-need here.
We must locate services for the homeless more evenly throughout the region, and do more to
address the needs of the people using these services so that they do not disproportionately impact
Giffen Elementary School students, parents or teachers.

As elected officials, parents, and community members we are requesting a number of actions to
address this issue:
● We request that the Planning Board reject the Capital City Rescue Mission’s application
for expansion in their current location.
● We request that the Planning Board identify options outside the South End for future
expansion of social services. We acknowledge the need for homeless services but these
services must be located throughout various neighborhoods in the city, county and region.
● We request that the City Mission join the Albany County Coalition on Homelessness and
have an open conversation with Giffen and the local community about how it can better
address issues that impact safety and quality of life in the South End. In particular, we
want to hear how the Mission can do a better job facilitating productive activities for its
clients to engage in during the day.
● We request that leaders from Albany Police Department at the South End station and the
Albany Fire Department at the South End station attend these meetings and contribute to
this conversation as well.
● We request that the Albany City School District and City of Albany add significantly
more lighting on the school grounds and around the school to ensure that children and
parents feel safer at night and during early mornings.
● We request that the Albany Police Department work to build a more positive and
productive relationship with Giffen staff, especially our security personnel, and station an
officer outside the school in the morning and the afternoon during drop-off and pick-up
times.
● We request that Albany County provide additional resources for the homeless population
in the South End and throughout the county, particularly mental health services and
services for people with substance use issues. We also request a commitment from the
county to facilitate the construction of more transitional housing and provide a clear path
for our homeless population to move from shelters to permanent housing.

In closing, the South End is a culturally rich part of Albany, with hard-working, caring people,
and a rich history. We have an incredible library, beautiful parks, verdant community gardens, a
growing farmer’s market, and a dynamic array of businesses and nonprofits like the African
American Cultural Center, Youth FX, Radix, AVillage, and the South End Children’s Cafe.

Likewise, the staff and parents at Giffen are passionate, dedicated, and committed to excellence
for all the children they serve. At the meeting to discuss our concerns about City Mission, a
grandmother of a current Giffen student spoke knowledgeably about how the neighborhood and
school community opposed locating the City Mission so close to the school when her children
were students there. All her worst fears of what the Mission would bring to the doorstep of
Giffen have sadly come to pass for her grandchildren’s generation.
As a community, we must do all we can to support the students at Giffen. Rejecting the proposed
expansion of Capital City Rescue Mission is an important step in this ongoing process.

Sincerely,

Hon. Sam Fein

Albany County Legislator
6th District

Derek Johnson
Hon. Derek Johnson
Albany Common Councilmember
2nd Ward

Michelle Betts
Michelle Betts
Giffen Elementary Parent

Franchesca Serrano
Franchesca Serrano
Giffen Elementary Parent

Jasmine Boyd
Jasmine Boyd
Giffen Elementary Parent

Liz Richards
Liz Richards
Giffen Elementary Parent

Alison Hart
Alison Hart
Giffen Elementary Parent

Preem Cabey
Aprecia “Preem” Cabey
Former Giffen Elementary Parent, Member of the Giffen Community School Advisory Board
Crystal DeBouse
Crystal DeBouse
Former Giffen Parent, South End Resident

Chenille Bernard-Blount
Chenille Bernard-Blount
Former Giffen Parent, South End Resident