Albany County residents raise water, nursing home and jail safety concerns during public comment

Several residents and community groups used the public-comment period at the Albany County Legislature’s June 9 meeting to press the county for greater transparency and action on environmental health and care-facility conditions.

Tom Ellis, a resident of North Pine Avenue, urged the legislature to call on the president and to press state and federal authorities about biosolids — sewage sludge — spread on farmland. Ellis cited recent news reporting and warned that contaminants such as PFAS and E. coli present long-term risks to water supplies.

Mike McGlynn, identifying himself as a local resident, linked county public-health responsibilities to environmental protections and referenced the county’s 2022 Community Health Needs Assessment and the draft 2024 county hazard mitigation plan. He urged investment in research and policies to protect air and water quality.

An unnamed resident spoke at length about alleged mistreatment and neglect experienced by a family member in a local nursing facility, describing physical and emotional abuse and saying the family relocated the person out of Albany County because of safety concerns.

Patricia Sebelia of the League of Women Voters of Albany County said she attended an information session about reported incidents in the Albany County jail and urged the county to publish incident statistics — including counts of times inmates required medical attention and the types of injuries — to determine whether the problems are isolated or systemic. Sebelia said advocates reported that Sheriff Cheryl Appel had stopped communicating with them and called the existing pending lawsuit “one too many.” She asked the legislature to address the concerns at the community roundtable on public safety hosted next Wednesday by the legislative Black caucus.

Responding to the public comments, Legislator McLaughlin (title recorded in the transcript as Dr. McLaughlin) said he researched nursing-home quality for his dissertation and acknowledged the commenter’s experience while also saying he believes leadership at Shaker Place responds to complaints. McLaughlin said he would pursue the matter and added, “we will not tolerate any mistreatment of residents at Shaker Place here in Albany County.”

Why it matters: Public-health and corrections issues raised today touch county-level responsibilities for resident safety and environmental protection, and speakers asked the legislature to provide data and direct follow-up. The League of Women Voters sought specific incident statistics that the county could provide to clarify whether patterns exist.

The meeting’s public-comment phase included no formal county action on these items; speakers asked for investigations, additional transparency, or legislative requests to state or federal bodies. The legislature’s agenda later scheduled a separate community roundtable on public safety, where some of the jail concerns are expected to be discussed further.

Clarifying details: commenters used the term “biosolids” to refer to treated sewage sludge spread on farmland; speakers named PFAS and E. coli as contaminants of concern. The nursing-home commenter said the person she represents worked for New York State for about 40 years; the commenter did not specify the facility by address when describing the removal. The League of Women Voters requested counts of incidents requiring medical attention and types of injuries; those figures were not provided during public comment.

Next steps noted in the meeting: a community roundtable on public safety hosted by the legislature’s Black caucus next Wednesday was referenced as a venue to continue jail-related discussions, and Legislator McLaughlin committed to follow up on the nursing-home concerns.