Neighborhood and Community Services

We are here to help you 

Welcome to the City of Albany Neighborhood Services Department. We are here to help connect you with the services you need. If you are reporting a non-emergency quality of life issue such as potholes, illegal garbage or property overgrowth, please report it directly in See Click Fix. This allows us to get your request to the correct department quickly and ensures that you’ll be updated on the issue’s progress. Please note that See Click Fix should not be used to report Emergency situations nor should it be used to report the majority of non emergency police and fire matters. 

If you don't know where to start, visit the buttons below for more information on how to best connect with the services available to you. 

You are  welcome to contact the Neighborhood Services Department via email, by calling 518-434-CITY or by visiting the City Service Desk at 200 Henry Johnson Boulevard 8:30am-4:30pm Monday - Friday.

Contact us

200 Henry Johnson Blvd.
Albany, NY 12210 (off street parking available) map
518.434-CITY


Phone Hours

Monday-Friday 8:30a-5:00p

Walk-In Hours

Monday-Friday 8:30a-4:30p

Report to SeeClickFix

qr-code for Seeclickfix bus card


SeeClickFix is an efficient online tool that empowers users to reach the right city department to report non-emergency matters. SeeClickFix is direct, transparent and trackable, and helps city government and residents work together in a timely manner to preserve and promote clean, safe, and healthy communities. SeeClickFix is used for city issues such as the following (see the full listing when you report an issue on the SeeClickFix link on your computer or the SeeClickFix app on your smartphone):

  • Street issues, including potholes, tree issues, sewer back-ups, damaged sidewalks, abandoned cars, snow removal, street cleaning, street signage and non-emergency street light repairs
  • Property maintenance, including code violations, overgrown lots, graffiti, code violations, trash issues such as illegal trash, tree issues, vacant lots and more 

DO NOT use SeeClickFix to report public safety emergencies such as the following, always call 911:

  • suspicious persons or vehicles
  • dirt bikes and ATVs (all-terrain vehicles) on streets
  • abused or attacking dogs
  • loud noises or music that can be heard outside the property boundary or vehicle
  • unlicensed door-to-door solicitors
  • the shooting of guns or illegal fireworks
  • illegal or unpermitted dumping or burning of trash 
  • illegal drug activity
NS Map - Citywide more labels

Meet our Team

  1. Ahrens, Amanda

    Amanda Ahrens

    Fair Housing Officer

    Amanda’s mission is to prevent housing discrimination and promote equity. Amanda takes in housing discrimination complaints, conducts investigations, and engages in mediation between landlords/tenants or buyers/lenders. Before joining the City of Albany, Amanda served as a paralegal for the Legal Aid Society of Northeastern New York, where she launched a pilot program to help individuals living with HIV/AIDS learn about their benefits, and conducted advocacy to help people apply and recertify for SNAP benefits. “Consistently throughout my career, my mission has been to help people” Amanda says. Outside of work, Amanda enjoys reading, crocheting, watercolors, cooking, and spending time with her daughter and her three cats.


  1. Brownell, Shane

    Shane Brownell

    Information Clerk
    Phone: 518-434-CITY (2489)

    Shane enjoys working with the public and helping to resolve problems for residents. He describes his work as “helping people get done what they need to get done.” Shane answers the phone, directs people to the right department, answers questions, and puts resident issues into SeeClickFix. Before joining the City of Albany, Shane worked for Saratoga Hospital as an imaging assistant in the MRI Department, and as an office manager in a chiropractor’s office. Outside of work, Shane watches and plays sports, particularly the little-known sport of disc golf. Shane loves animals; he runs a dog-sitting business and has four cats.


  1. Naomi Photo

    Naomi Clarke

    Community Relations Coordinator

    Naomi oversees the SeeClickFix system for the City, ensuring efficient responses and accountability to constituents. Naomi also handles social media and other communications for Neighborhood Services. She was raised in Albany, and was drawn to human services at the Sister Maureen Joyce Food Pantry and Soup Kitchen, where she gained a “deeper understanding of the struggles people face.” She previously worked for Healthy Alliance, where she connected thousands of underserved New Yorkers to over 500 community resources that provide healthcare, food, housing and more.


  1. Michelle Goodwin

    Michelle Goodwin

    Information Clerk III
    Phone: 518-434-CITY (2489)

    Before joining the Neighborhood Services, Michelle worked with the Department of General Services (DGS) for 23 years. While there, she did frontline constituent service, helping the public connect to all DGS functions, from trash issues to property maintenance. In Neighborhood Services, she provides similar services, but to staff and departments throughout the City of Albany. “In my years of government service, I gained a wide range of knowledge about city government and customer service,” Michelle says. “I enjoy working with the public and helping them receive any of the city services they need.”


  1. Ashley Hilaire Photo

    Ashley Hilaire

    Housing Services Advocate

    Ashley was hired with a grant through Cities RISE, a program through the NY State Attorney General’s Office that funds innovative housing and code enforcement programs to fight blight. Ashley’s focus is on informing and assisting tenants and landlords regarding their rights and responsibilities. Previously, Ashley dedicated 10 years towards youth and families in crisis, serving as a Youth Care Worker, a Crisis Intervention Specialist, Case Manager, and Program Administrator for the Runway and Homeless Youth Services Department. “The same problems I saw that led to youth homelessness are the same problems I see in housing across the City,” says Ashley, who believes “I was placed on this earth to serve people in need.” She is a member of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority Inc., and outside of work, she likes to listen to music, shop, travel and spend time with her loved ones.


  1. Erins Chosen Photo

    Erin Johanns

    Love Your Block Fellow

    Erin works on the Love Your Block program, which aims to address blight and also make repairs to front porches and stoops. She is passionate about environmental justice, creating community connections, and grassroots activism. She has had a wide range of employment experience from working on organic farms, to Capital Roots, the Honest Weight Co-op, as well as teaching and overseeing youth programs. Erin is a graduate of SUNY Potsdam. In her off hours, she enjoys gardening, volunteering, reading, and spending time with her cat, Buddy.


  1. Lori Kochanski

    Lori Kochanski

    Neighborhood Specialist

    Lori says her attitude toward the people she knows and meets in her life is to "treat your neighbor as you want to be treated." She believes in working alongside people to solve civic problems in their lives and in their communities. Lori is passionate about neighborhoods. She is involved in Albany's public libraries, and cares about community gardens and the arts, especially the Albany Barn, where she has a fiber arts studio.


  1. Tabora best

    Tabora Marcus

    Neighborhood Specialist

    Tabora lives in West Hill and is currently President of the West Hill Neighborhood Association. She has been both a tenant and a landlord in the City, and is committed to neighborhoods that are underserved and working to guide people into home ownership. 


  1. Folake Oyedokun

    Folake Oyedokun

    Neighborhood Specialist

    Since graduating from SUNY Albany, Folake has gained experience in her community by participating in the FOCUS Churches Breakfast Program and with Mothers Out Front, advocating there for Environmental Justice. She is committed to building more understanding and trust between community members and city officials, helping to better the quality of life in their neighborhoods.


  1. Pack, Livesey

    Livesey Pack

    Bloomberg Harvard City Hall Fellow

    Livesey is a Senior Fellow at the City of Albany, assisting with strategic projects across the Department of Neighborhood and Community Services and the Department of Administrative Services. As a recent graduate of the urban planning program at the Harvard Graduate School of Design, Livesey is interested the role of policy, planning and community engagement to create resilient and just communities. 

    Prior to graduate school, Livesey worked for the San Francisco Bay Area Planning and Urban Research Association and the City of San Francisco’s Office of Civic Innovation. She began her career working in affordable housing and homelessness services, so she is excited to return to work on these issues in her role at the City. Livesey is new to Albany and the Capital Region, and looks forward to exploring the area through hiking, biking, and eating.


  1. Maribel Ramos Rodriguez

    Maribel Ramos Rodriguez

    Neighborhood Specialist

    A graduate of SUNY Albany, Maribel has worked at Albany Medical Center connecting patients to needed community resources. And at the Albany College of Pharmacy, she worked to help students find the resources they needed to stay in school. An immigrant from Mexico, she has provided support to her family to help them succeed here, and sees herself now as extending similar support to Albany residents so that they can build neighborhoods that are thriving.


  1. Lisa Photo

    Lisa Rodriguez

    Information Clerk
    Phone: 518-434-CITY (2489)

    Before her employment with the City, Lisa worked for 20 years in various administrative services positions in the private sector. In 2017, she came to Albany, and during COVID, she launched her own business as a Virtual Assistant, providing a variety of essential administrative services for small businesses. She did everything from administrative work and customer service to media management and marketing. “I see my role as a connector,” Lisa says, “bringing Albany residents to all kinds of resources they need. Often I’m educating them about services they aren’t aware are even available, from quality of life assistance to emergency services.” 


  1. Sam Wells Headshot (Updated)

    Samuel Wells

    Neighborhood Stabilization Coordinator

    Sam leads the effort to make the City's vacant buildings habitable by preventing homes from deteriorating, as well as assisting on related housing issues. "My focus is finding solutions to vacant buildings and getting them re-occupied," Sam says. "It's a challenging task." Sam notes that the vacant building problem is multi-layered, with solutions dependent on the condition of a building, where it's located, as well as ownership and legal issues. He has a Bachelor’s Degrees in Environmental Design & Political Science, and a Master’s in Urban & Regional Planning, all from SUNY Buffalo.Sam is also a licensed drone pilot, a board member of the Albany County Land Bank, and is the City lead for the Love Your Block program. Outside of work, you will likely find Sam playing hockey, working on his old North Albany house, or spending time with family & friends.


  1. Alex Word Photo

    Alex Word

    Neighborhood Specialist

    Originally from Fort Collins, Colorado, Alex came to settle in Albany to be closer to family – and for the greenery and seasonal climate here. As far as his position, he says, “This is just what I wanted to be doing. I love working in cities -- and I enjoy meeting people and helping to build stronger urban communities.”


  1. Jackie Tibbs

    Information Clerk
    Phone: 518-434-CITY (2489)

    Before joining the Neighborhood Services Department, Jackie worked for the City of Albany’ Department of General Services. While working for eight years at the Rapp Road Landfill and then at DGS headquarters, Jackie worked in a variety of ways to address constituent issues – a service she continues to provide in her current role. “Change is good,” Jackie says. “I’m really happy here. I like to learn, and I’m now learning and growing in ways I’ll be able to take with me.”


  1. Quisqueya Witbeck

    Love Your Block AmeriCorps VISTA

    Quisqueya is the AmeriCorps VISTA member for the Love Your Block Program, whose goal is to improve physical and social infrastructure in historically underserved neighborhoods. She comes to this position with a broad range of professional and educational experience, which she uses to address the needs of constituents. She appreciates learning from the communities she is serving to help craft sustainable solutions to the needs and challenges identified.