After taking office in January, quality of life is a main focus for Troy Mayor Carmella Mantello. WAMC tagged along with the mayor and city crews to see what all the hype is about.
It’s a weekday morning and first-term Republican Mayor Carmella Mantello wants to see some potholes for herself.
Her Quality-of-Life Action Task Force is comprised of several departments including code enforcement and the Department of Public Works’ sanitation and streets crews.
“It's literally just getting our departments to communicate, coordinate, and how can we be more efficient,” Mantello said.
Mantello says she hoped to create the team during her two terms as city council president, but it never moved forward. She claims the past administration failed to provide direction for the departments, leading to delays in work and miscommunication.
The idea is to nip problems like unkempt properties in the bud.
She says having crews out every day also allows the city to keep a close eye on foreclosures and vacant houses — and it doesn’t cost the city any extra money. Mantello says that’s because crews are now working optimally.
“We've already gotten four back to work on their property, pay the back taxes,” Mantello said. “We don't want that property back. Do what you said you were going to do. So that's the goal, but we'll get properties back but the majority are stepping up to the plate.”
On this day, the crew finds a property with garbage and electronic devices littering the sidewalks.
Within minutes, a boom truck, a large truck with a dumpster and crane, arrives to pick up the trash and a Litter Patrol Officer puts a notice on the door.
Mantello says the city keeps a spreadsheet to keep track.
“This is all about educating our tenants, which is so important because we have so many throughout the city. Don't get me wrong, people that throw garbage normally, you know, they throw garbage. However, the more they see us here, hopefully it gives them a message, we are not going to tolerate garbage,” Mantello said.
DPW supervisor Joe Martin says he has noticed a shift in morale among employees. He says this is the first time in a long time that departments have worked together, making their services more efficient.
“Everybody's out in full force,” Martin said. “I mean, if it's litter, potholes, right now brush from the storm, bulk trash, we just resumed that. Our LPO's are out. Every day is a different area where we're constantly focusing on a different area Monday through Friday.”
Martin says for years, he has heard nothing but complaints from residents about city services. But he says that’s starting to change.
“You see it all over. You hear it all over,” Martin said. “It's just cleaner. They feel cleaner. It looks cleaner. And face it, when streets are cleaner, your house is cleaner, you feel better, right? You feel happier.”
Tammy Stephenson has been a part of the litter patrol crew for more than a year. Stephenson, who lives in Cohoes, says while the crew’s work is acknowledged by residents, she wishes they would pitch in.
“Take pride, you know? We all like to have a clean place to live,” Stephenson said. “So, I mean, if I see garbage outside of my house, I clean it up. So, I'm sure you do. It’s the right thing to do. So don't leave it up to the city workers to clean up your property.”
Reshaping the code department has also been a priority for Mantello. Joe Mazzariello, the city’s Commissioner of General Services, says such efforts are freeing up code enforcement officers to tackle more serious problems across the city.
“We're kind of changing a little dynamic. Anything beyond the fence line would just be strictly code but we're having LPO’S take a picture from the street view to take within the fence line of the debris of, litter, of everything like that. So, we're kind of changing things up because code has bigger fish to fry,” Mazzariello said.
Democratic City Council President Sue Steele commended the team’s efforts during her legislative address in March.
“The hard-working staff in our public works department involved with the mayor's Quality of Life Action Task Force, who are working tirelessly to clean our streets of trash and litter to provide a visibly cleaner environment,” Steele said.
Beyond trash, the crew is also working to fill pot holes, block off problem areas, and clean streets.
