There is hereby established a commission of the City of Albany
to be known as the "Commission on Monuments and Public Art."
The Commission shall have the following powers and duties:
A. To catalog and keep an inventory of existing monuments, markers,
and works of public art on City-owned property;
B. To propose new monuments, markers, and works of public art to be
placed on City-owned property, to develop a procedure for accepting
applications for new monuments, markers, or works of public art on
public property, and to receive such applications from members of
the public;
C. To afford the public an opportunity to provide comment on proposed
actions and, having provided such an opportunity to the public, to
approve or deny those proposed actions. The Commission shall then
communicate its decision to the Mayor who shall then respond within
six weeks of the decision what action, if any, the City shall take
with regard to its proposal and the reasoning behind it;
D. To work in coordination with the Mayor's office and any necessary
municipal departments and commissions to supervise the establishment,
erection, or installation of any approved monument, marker, or work
of public art, in accordance with all applicable laws;
E. To review the appropriateness of existing monuments, both overall
and in the particular context and location of a given monument. If
the Commission finds that a particular monument, marker, or work of
public art is not appropriate, the Commission shall have the power
to re-contextualize such monument, marker, or work of public art,
or to direct its renovation or removal in accordance with all applicable
laws;
F. To serve as a forum for residents of the City to engage in civic
dialogue regarding monuments, markers, and public art in the City;
G. To establish online resources through which Albany residents and
others may submit information regarding existing public monuments,
comments and recommendations;
H. To develop various communication tools that are publicly accessible
which will provide background information on the monuments, including
such information as the Albany history connected to each monument,
the purpose of the monument as originally intended, its relevance
in current times, and other information as the commission determines
appropriate; and
I. To conduct community educational events as needed for the purpose
of educating the public about the public monuments currently located
in the City of Albany.
The Commission shall provide an initial report within one calendar
year from the date when the full committee has been sworn in. Such
report shall list and briefly describe all public buildings, historical
monuments, statues, historical markers and other physical structures
or representations (collectively referred to here as public monuments)
that are named for or otherwise honor any individual or group and
are located on property within the City of Albany that is owned by
the City of Albany, the City School District of Albany, Albany County,
the State of New York, the United States Government or other public
entities. The committee shall thereafter annually provide a report
to the Mayor and Common Council by January 31 of each year, summarizing
its activities during the preceding calendar year as well as listing
any changes to public monuments within the City, including monuments
that have been created, taken down, or moved. The Common Council may,
by resolution, extend the deadline of the report by up to two months.
The Mayor or their designee will coordinate with the Commission
to provide access to City owned property and information relevant
to public monuments or the work of the Commission.