Speakers at Albany County public forum urge legislature to cut ties with Avelo, declare homelessness emergency

At the Albany County Legislature’s public forum on Dec. 8, residents and advocates pressed legislators to take immediate action on two overlapping issues: what several speakers described as Avelo Airlines’ role in transporting people detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and an urgent homelessness crisis they said the county can address with existing property. "Albany airport must cancel their contract with Avelo," said Tara Molloy Brophy, a Gildolin resident and member of Gildolin Indivisible, who recounted a local family separation and asked legislators to use their leverage over airport contracts.

The forum featured multiple first‑person accounts and policy appeals. Mary Panzetta, a retired psychiatrist who said she worked as a flight attendant, described a medical emergency on an Avelo‑operated deportation flight and said detainees were shackled and de‑prioritized during evacuations: "They didn't tell us these people were going to be shackled" and "It was as if the detainees' lives were worthless." Reverend Joe Paparon of the National Union of the Homeless asked the legislature to "declare a state of emergency," and Matthew Collins, also with that organization, said a young person recently found dead in an airport parking garage demonstrates the urgency.

Organizers and residents urged paths the county could take. Leila Keyos (operational lead, Indivisible Albany) noted that a small fraction of legislators had previously signed a letter opposing Avelo at the airport and said that public statements or local procurement and travel policies were proven tools elsewhere. Louis Wittig pointed to local governments that changed employee travel rules or procurement to pressure Avelo to withdraw from airports.

Speakers also focused heavily on homelessness and immediate housing options. Several urged the county to repurpose the former College of Saint Rose campus, which multiple participants said the county now controls, as emergency housing with on‑site services: "We already own what we need," Bevin Francis told the chamber. Advocates said the campus’ dormitories and buildings could be used to house people immediately while providing mental health, case management and job training supports.

The public forum concluded without a formal vote on the requests. Multiple speakers urged the legislature to use public pressure, resolutions or local policy to compel the airport authority and to speed county action on homelessness. The forum then shifted to the legislature’s regular agenda, where members took up a wide range of resolutions and budget items.

Ending: The public forum produced sustained public pressure calling for concrete steps from the legislature — withdrawal of county support for Avelo, an emergency homelessness declaration and use of the Saint Rose campus — but no formal legislative vote on those demands was recorded during the meeting.