Schenectady City Council passes fireworks-related resolutions

The City Council passed resolutions during a meeting Monday evening calling for the county to opt out of a state law allowing small fireworks and urging the state to strengthen its crackdown on illegal fireworks.

After the Schenectady County Legislature opted into a state law allowing the sale of sparklers and other small pyrotechnics last year, council members say they have fielded a significant number of noise complaints and concerns about safety from residents.

Under the state law, certain types of small fireworks could be sold between June 1 and July 5 and again from Dec. 26 to Jan 2.

Council President Leesa Perazzo said because of that there is time for the city and the county to explore its options. She said the county has been open-minded.

“I have had several discussions with [Legislator] Karen Johnson and had email exchanges with [Legislator] Gary Hughes,” she said. “They asked me to forward all of my emails and calls that I received.”

Councilman John Polimeni introduced the second legislation requesting that the state impose stringent enforcement of fireworks laws, specifically regarding people bringing illegal fireworks across state lines.

Polimeni abstained from voting on the resolution calling on the county to repeal the law, saying he believes the issue in Schenectady is illegal fireworks and not the legal ones.

He said the goal of his resolution is to push the governor, attorney general and superintendent of the state police to crack down on illegal fireworks with the hope that other municipalities would pass similar resolutions.

Several council members agree that the fireworks complaints have increased since the county legalized certain kinds last year and that it’s possible the sale of some is blurring the lines for residents regarding what is legal and what is illegal.

Taxi freeze

Also during the meeting, the council extended the moratorium on new taxis in the city another 30 days as council members continue to discuss possible changes to the city code regarding regulations.

The council is calling for a public hearing on July 25 to hear from residents about the issue.

During a committee meeting last Monday, the council agreed on several changes to the code:

– Raising cab fares from $3.50 to $3.75 for the first half mile, or two minutes of waiting time, and increasing the subsequent eighth of a mile, or 30 seconds of waiting time, from 25 cents to 30 cents.

– Increasing the cost of medallions for a new cab from $250 to $500. By comparison Albany charges $650 per medallion.

– Fingerprint taxi drivers and require a background check every two years. Drivers are now only fingerprinted and have a background check done when they first apply for a license.

– Tweaking the language of monthly taxi inspections to enforce stricter rules and increase oversight. Specific changes are unclear at this time.

The council still has a freeze on the number of medallions given out in the city at this time, Perazzo said.

She said the council is considering putting a clause into the code that says the council could change the total number of medallions by resolution.

The council also plans to continue to discuss possible changes to medical cabs, which do not have meters and are not regulated by the city.

The proposed changes come as the police department’s traffic services division is being overwhelmed by applications for new taxis ahead of the opening of the Rivers Casino and Resort at Mohawk Harbor in March.

The state Legislature passed a bill at the end of legislative session that would allow municipalities to partner with the Capital District Transportation Authority to regulate the registration and licensing of taxis. The council and the mayor have expressed interest in opting into that option.

A previous version of this story gave the wrong increase of taxi tax rates. Cab fares will rise to $3.75 for the first half mile.

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