SIXTY-SEVEN DEMANDS PRESENTED BY THE ALBANY BRANCH OF THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION
FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF COLORED PEOPLE TO THE CITY OF ALBANY, NEW YORK
Government
1. Public statement from Mayor Corning that all departments of city government are
to assume ‘the authority that they are normally expected to carry and that they are
to henceforth carry out their duties promptly and efficiently without. any prodding
or intervention from the Mayor's office. 3
2. The creation of an "ombudsman" position which would have an office in the inner
city and would receive, investigate, and attempt to alleviate all complaints of pri-
vate citizens against governmental agencies.
3. All public service departments of city government should havé’ an inner-city resi-
dent as a member. (Departments such as housing, welfare, public works, mental health,
urban renewal, education.) |
4, Periodic hearings of the Comnon Council held, in Arbor Hill and the South End, to
provide a direct chamel of communication between lawmakers and their constituents.
5. Voting machines made available to responsible groups wishing to instruct people
about the machine's operation. é 2
6, -Each'department chief in city government draw up and then implement a plan for
increased hiring and upgrading black employees. :
7. Lobbying by the city government to persuade the county government to repeal the
regressive and unecessary sales tax.and return the property tax to its former level;
this will more equitably distribute the cost of government on the basis of ability
to pay, and end the relative hardship that the sales tax forces on city residents.
8. Adoption of policy by the City of Albany that it will withhold all contracts from
firms practicing racial or religious discrimination.
Education
1. That public school buildings be open afternoons, evenings, and weekends, year
round, supervised by trained persormel and volunteers, for use as education, recrea-
tion, and community activities. ‘
2. That hot lunches, subsidized by the Federal Government,~be served in all city
schools, "
2, That physical education facilities be added to all schools now lacking proper
exercise EPAces -
4, That mors black administrators and more black teachers be recruited and hired,
to be placed in schools throughout the city.
there be a concerted effort by school officials to develop parent-teacher
6, The use of milti-racial textbooks dn all city schools, at every grade level, and
in as meny courses as possible. ,
7. A significant increase in| the number of trained guidance personnel, many of them
black, in all schools, : = .
8 Utilization of parents and other interested persons. as guidance aides and
teaching aides to the trained personnel. .
9. ‘Immediate negotiations with officials and professors from State University at
Albany concerning the establishment of cooperative programs of research and educa~
tion in teaching the disadvantaged student. :
10, An end to the discouragement and/or prohibition by city education officials __
of teacher participation in the sumer institutes on "Special Educational Problems
Occasioned by Desegregation,"! sponsored by State University at Albany; this atti-
tude to be replaced by encouragement of participation.
1. Increased cooperation by, school authorities with local college students and
faculty on innovative tutorial projects.
12, Modification of present plans for the new. Albany High-Scheol, to prevent its
being racially segregated the moment its doors open. (cont. )
NAACP DEMANDS, p. 2
13. Open hearings and active consultations with parents and civic groups in all
plaming for new schools. fi
ib, Enlargement of the ‘school. board to nine members, with the institution of an
elected board rather than an appointed one.
15. Adoption of regulations by the city that persons with children only attending”
non-public schools be barred from serving on the Board of Education.
16. ‘Increased efforts by the City of Albany for a modification of State law so
that there may be a separate budget for the schools, rather than education being
part of the general city ‘budget.
17. ‘Increased expenditures for. the school system, including more ordinary sup-
plies, such as paper, pencils, ‘chalk, crayons, and clay, as well as more teachers
- and support staff.
18. Required, regular training sessions conducted by outside personnel (such as
the New York State Intercultural Relations specialists) for teachers and guidance
personnel.
19, ‘mprovements in quality and speed of service to mentally disturbed children,
including the expansion of the Child Guidance Center.
20. Establishment of cooperative programs with the suburban school districts, in-
volving two-way student exchanges between dimer and outer city.
Housin;
1. Purchase by the Albany Housing Authority of single- and multiple-family units
in all areas of the city for low-income rentals.
2. Enlargement of the staff of the Bureau of Code Enforcement of the Department
of Buildings.
3. Vigorous enforcement of the Albany Housing Code.
4, Tomediate ‘survey of all vacant. buildings in the city by an advisory group: to
determine whether buildings could be repaired and put back into use, or should be
demolished; after the initial survey, it should continue on a regular basis.
5. Providing of city money, supplemented by State and Federal money, for low-
interest loans for the repair of houses with code violations.
6, Adoption of an aggressive policy by the City of Albany to promote the construc-
tion of new housing units in all areas of the city.
7. Enforcement of the law requiring vacent buildings to be securely boarded up.
8. Revision of the tax structure’ so that owers of deteriorating. or vacant buil-
dings are encouraged to repair them or demolish them.
en el
a “Employment of more trained social workers and home-maker advisors in the public
housing units.
10. Joint planning with and mutual consent from neighborhood. and civic groups in
all future urban renewal and highway projects.
11. Adoption of an open-occupancy housing ordinance for the City of Albany.
12. Removal of all political influence from the process of selecting tenants for
public housing.
Be Insistence by the Welfare Department of signed leases between tenant and land-
Ord.
Us, Adoption of a policy by the Welfare Department that it will not allow its
vecipients to live in‘ substandard housing. te
15... Placing welfare families in scattered housing throughout the city, rather
than concentrating them in small areas dowtowm.
16. Encouragement of landlords by housing authorities to make use of leased
housing and rent supplement programs. :
x (cont. )
*
NAACP DEMANDS, p. 3 !
groups
17. Special dispensations be! given wherever possible to the private, non-profit /
attempting to eliminate the current housing shortage.
Public Services
1. Immediate end to discriminatory practices in providing municipal services.
2. All streets in the inner city must be swept once per week either with machines
or with hand brooms.
\
3. City crews must maintain all playgrounds free of broken glass.
4, 11 vest-pocket playgrounds should be leveled, planted with grass, and then
maintained as a green area, rather than packed dirt with occasional patches of
thistles and weeds.
5. A vastly increased number of public trash containers placed on the streets.
6. All public trash containers should be emptied weekly or whenever full, which-
ever comes first.
7. Continual inspection of vacant lots for junked cars, with ali such cars promptly
removed at owners! expense.
8 Strict enforcement of littering and no-dumping laws in all areas of the city.
Police
1. Human relations course, conducted by trained specialists, be required on a reg-
ular basis for all city policemen.
2. More black policemen and firemen be recruited and hired,
3. Increased salaries for policemen and firemen.
4, More police protection and less harrassment in the Arbor Hill and South End
areas.
5. Enforcement of all traffic laws in the city, to promote respect for the law.
6. ‘Improvement of police and court procedures for youthful offenders.
7e Establishment of a Community Service Officer in Arbor Hill and the South End to
deal with police-citizen relationships and to promote understanding between law
enforcement men and private citizens. The officer in each area must be acceptable
to all neighborhood groups in|the area.
General
1. Immediate improvement of recreational facilities in Arbor Hill and the South
End, including building new playgrounds, installation of lights on several play
areas, the creation of numerous vest-pocket playgrounds on vacant lots, and con-
struction of a large swimming|pool in Arbor Hill.
2. Creation of many part-time jobs for teen-agers on such tasks as playground
supervision, park maintenance, street cleaning, washing of city vehicles, etc.
3. A continuation of the concept of the Job Fair, but on a smaller scale, with
recruiters actively working in the neighborhoods.
4, The establishment by September of a Human Rights Commission for Albany, with
power to enforce compliance with its findings. One half of the initial commission
must be acceptable to the Council on Community Concerns, which represents a broad
Spectrum of commumity opinion.
5, Establishment of a Senior Citizens Bureau to provide many services to the elderly
(some through volunteer workers), such as visitations, shopping, and general advice
and assistance.
6. The installation of "Walk" lights at many major intersections.
7. ‘Immediate provision of concrete or asphalt sidewalks for the west side of Green
Street, between Madison and Arch.
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Albany Branch, NAACP, 331 South Pearl Street, Albany, N.Y. 12202, 462-1823
