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Residents praise senior programs and press board on 'Flock' license‑plate camera privacy
Summary
At the Colonie Town Board meeting, the director of senior resources reported rising participation and ride totals for the Go‑Go Colonie program; two residents praised town services and raised questions about Flock license‑plate cameras and senior transportation. The police chief said the town does not maintain Flock cameras and offered to provide more details.
Three members of the public spoke during the three‑minute comment period. Angelina Surles, identified in the meeting as the director of senior resources, gave a brief update on senior programming and transportation; two residents followed with praise and questions.
Surles told the board that the Crossings meeting house is hosting senior groups and reported program usage: 50 people attended a meeting there, some groups run weekly chair yoga, and the department’s next "lunch and learn" will be on Wednesday, July 15. She also gave updated figures for the town’s Go‑Go Colonie transportation program: 22 new registrants since the last report, for 258 total participants, and 180 new rides bringing the program to 754 rides overall.
Resident Michael Niccastro of Kendall Avenue praised the town’s public safety and fiscal management, telling the board he checked recent data and concluded Colonie’s bond rating "is now at the highest it has ever been," which he said reduces taxpayer costs and supports future investments.
Carol Hawkson of El Drive raised privacy concerns about Flock license‑plate cameras. She asked whether Flock cameras operate in Colonie and said she was worried about surveillance, cloud storage of plate data and reported breaches or abuses of the system. The supervisor offered to have the police chief and the senior resources director speak with her after the meeting. The police chief—who spoke from the back of the room during the exchange—said, "We do not have cameras. We do not have cameras in Colonie," and added that county and state agencies may maintain such systems.
Why it matters: Surles’s usage and ride figures offer a snapshot of expanding senior transportation and programming that likely affects hundreds of residents who rely on on‑demand rides. The privacy question raised by Hawkson points to a common local concern about third‑party license‑plate recognition systems and whether and how they are operated in or near municipal boundaries.
What’s next: The supervisor said department heads are available to provide further details; Surles and the police chief were offered as immediate points of contact to follow up on senior‑transportation details and camera ownership/operation.
