Personal Safety and Off Campus Affairs

Frequently Asked Questions

FAQ's For Living On Campus

How do I find out about safety off-campus if I live on campus?

The University provides an “Off-Campus Guide for On-Campus Students”, to each resident student every year. You can also read these tips on line.

Have the lights on campus been lowered in wattage in order to conserve energy?

The wattage of the lights in public areas of the campus has not been lowered in order to conserve energy. In fact, the campus has a Lighting Master Plan, and is continually examining areas on campus to improve lighting. Yellow bulbs are currently being replaced with white bulbs that shed a brighter light.

Do UPD officers patrol the campus on foot or do they just patrol from the police cars?

University police emphasize community policing as a philosophy. The marked patrol cars are significantly more visible than the officers on foot patrol, but the officers are out there.

Do any areas on campus have security cameras?

There are currently 10 surveillance cameras on Alumni Quad at entrances and in other outside locations. There are no surveillance cameras in the Quad.

Can I park closer to the buildings when I have a night class?

There are 4589 student parking spaces on the uptown campus and an additional 1297 faculty/staff after 4pm. Complete information about parking is available at http://www.albany.edu/pmts/index.html. You can even type in the building you want to park by, including the time of day, and get information about closest available parking.

Does the University offer any self-defense classes?

The University police offer a course in Rape Aggression Defense (RAD) for women as well as other safety programming. See http://police.albany.edu.

FAQ's For Traveling Off-Campus

What do I do if I am a victim of a crime off campus?

The first thing you must do is report any crime to the appropriate police jurisdiction. For example, if a crime is committed in the city of Albany, you should report the crime immediately to Albany City Police by calling 911 or 438-4000. Also, if you are a victim of a serious crime off campus (i.e. physical assault or robbery), you should let UAlbany’s Victim Assistant Liaison know this, so that the University can offer you assistance if you need it. The Victim Assistant Liaison is Thomas Gebhardt and he can be reached at 442-3130 or at tgebhardt@uamail.albany.edu.

What should you do if you feel afraid to walk at night off-campus?

Students need to be very proactive about their safety off-campus and should never walk alone at night. You should take the following precautions:

  • Try to walk with at least one or more individuals as this reduces the likelihood of becoming a crime victim.
  • Stay on well-lit streets and blocks even in this means walking in the middle of the road on a dark, quiet street with no traffic.
  • Keep a cell phone handy to call authorities and program the local police emergency numbers into your cell phone.,/
  • Report any and all suspicious person(s) or activities to the Albany Police Department (911) or the University Police Department (911 or 442-3131).
    • The responsibility to be “ever vigilant” off campus resides with APD, the University AND individual students. By working together we can make the environment off campus safer and more secure.

FAQ’s For living Off Campus

How do I know what the “safe” areas are if I want to live off campus?

The University cannot recommend or endorse any living arrangements for students off campus. The best way to learn about a neighborhood is to drive around the area at different times of day before you sign a lease. It is also a good idea to talk with your parents about your intended apartment or living arrangements and let them weigh in on your decision. Getting a ‘gut feeling” for the neighborhood is a good way to get started in making a decision, but you should take this a step further. The city of Albany has a crime mapping system on its website (Go to www.Albanyny.gov and under “Quick Links” click on “Police.” Then on the left side click on “Crime Mapping” and follow the directions.). You can type in the neighborhood you are thinking about and look at the number and type of recent crimes in the area.

What do I do if I have an issue with my landlord?

If you are an undergraduate, you may contact legal services in the Student Association (if the landlord involved is not a current UAlbany student) and/or contact United Tenants, Inc. (a pro-tenant group/service in Albany) at 436-8997. Graduate students should contact United Tenants, Inc. at 436-8997, as they are not eligible to use Student Association legal services.

Should I purchase apartment insurance?

It is recommended that you have some form of “renter’s insurance.” You can check with your parents/family about getting a “rider” on their homeowner’s policy or call a local insurance agent about getting your own policy.

What is a Residential Occupancy Permit?

You have the right to a safe and secure apartment. Be sure your apartment has a “Residential Occupancy Permit” by asking your landowner to show you this document that verifies that the City of Albany has inspected your rental unit. Part of this inspection requires that landowners install specific security devices in your apartment. Questions – call the Division of Building and Codes at 434-5995.

Should my apartment be equipped with fire and Carbon Monoxide detectors?

In New York State, fire code says that smoke detectors must be installed:

  • On the ceiling or wall outside of each separate sleeping area in the immediate vicinity of bedrooms.
  • In each room used for sleeping purposes.
  • In each story within a dwelling unit, including basements and cellars but not including crawl spaces and uninhabitable attics.

In the City of Albany landlords are required to install a CO-detector in your apartment if:

  • Your apartment has forced hot air heat produced by a fossil fuel (i.e. gas, oil) burning unit in your basement.
  • Your apartment has any fossil-burning unit within the apartment itself (i.e. heater or hot water tank with oil or gas).
If you have questions – call the Albany Fire Department at 447-7879.

What if I decide to have a party?

It is your responsibility to stay in control of yourself and your guests. Also for your safety and those of your guests, avoid overcrowding which might:

  • block apartment exits in case of any emergency.
  • result in your porch or entire apartment collapsing.
  • result in vehicles blocking your street in case fire, police, and/or medical units need to respond.
  • force your guests to inappropriately use “outdoor bathroom facilities.”
Talk to your neighbors before the party. Clean up after the party both inside and outside. Avoid excessive alcohol consumption which increases the risk of personal injury and even death as well as can contribute to sexual assault and legal problems.

I really want a dog….

If you own a dog, please be aware of the so-called "pooper scooper" law. As cited in the New York State Health Law, Section 1310: "it shall be the duty of each dog owner to remove any feces left by his [her] dog on any sidewalk, gutter, street or other public area." Any violators brought to Albany City Court could be charged a civil penalty of up to $100.00.

What happens in the City of Albany if I get caught with a fake ID?

Getting caught with a fake ID (altering a NYS Driver’s License) is a Class D Felony and the police do not take it lightly. In recent years, there has been increased enforcement of this law, with penalties for arrest averaging $250 plus mandatory 40 hours of community service.

What is the Grouper Law?

In the City of Albany there exists a zoning ordinance which has come to be known as the so-called “Grouper Law.” This ordinance only permits four or more persons to live in any dwelling unit if they are members of a traditional family or the functional equivalent of a traditional family. Specifically this ordinance states (Family Definition; section 375-7 zoning ordinance):

FAMILY

  1. Shall mean
    1. one, two, or three persons occupying a dwelling unit or
    2. four or more persons occupying a dwelling unit and living as a traditional family or the functional equivalent of a traditional family
  2. It shall be presumptive evidence that four or more unrelated persons living in a single dwelling unit do not constitute the functional equivalent of a traditional "family"

Therefore, three unrelated persons occupying a dwelling unit is the maximum allowed by this ordinance.

What is the Social Host Law?

There is a “Social Host Law” now in effect in Albany County. It states that “No person having control [the authority and ability to regulate, director dominate] of any premises [any home, apartment, condominium, co-operative unit or other dwelling unit of any kind and public or private property, including yards and open areas adjacent thereto] shall knowingly host, suffer, permit, organize or allow an open house party to take place at said premises where three (3) or more minors [any persons under the age of 21] are present and any alcoholic beverage or drug is unlawfully possessed, served to or consumed by a minor at said premises.” Failure to comply is punishable by a fine which shall not exceed $500.00, or imprisonment not exceeding 15 days or a combination of such fine and imprisonment as shall be fixed by the court.

Does the University work with the City of Albany to help keep off-campus students safe?

The University makes safety a priority and works continually with the City of Albany to increase safety in the Pine Hills neighborhood, which is where many of our off-campus students live.

There are a number of programs to make the environment off campus safer and more secure. Some of these programs include:

  • The 18-year old Committee on University & Community Relations which is led by the University and has a major goal to improve safety off campus. The committee is currently composed of student leaders and professional staff from the University at Albany as well as other local colleges - specifically the College of Saint Rose, the Albany College of Pharmacy, the Albany Medical College, the Junior College of Albany/The Sage Colleges, Siena College and Hudson Valley Community College, officials from the Albany Police and Fire Departments as well as the Albany Common Council, neighborhood association representatives, community and religious leaders, tavern owners, landowners and representatives from the Empire State Restaurant and Tavern Association and the New York State Division of Alcohol Beverage Control. Membership is open to anybody who wishes to join.
  • The Midtown Neighborhood Watch program is a partnership between the University Police Department, the Albany Police Department and the College of St. Rose Safety/Security Department and involves patrols in the areas students frequent and in which they reside. These patrols serve as the “eyes and ears” for the Albany Police Department and they also regularly hand out safety tips information on their patrols.
  • Operation Safe Corridor is a partnership between the University Police Department, the Albany Police Department and the College of St. Rose Safety/Security Department that offers safer corridor streets to our students off campus as they traverse the local neighborhoods. This program’s goal is to get our students to utilize the safer corridor streets and not walk on less used streets or alleys in the local neighborhoods.
  • The WhistleWatch Safety Program offers free safety alert whistles to University students, faculty and staff as well as local long term neighbors. Since the program began in 1993, over 30,000 whistles have been handed out to individuals at the University. The College of St. Rose and the Albany Medical College and Center are also part of this safety alert program.
  • The “Albany Disabled Alert Program” offers free battery-operated emergency alarms to those individuals at the University who cannot physically use a WhistleWatch whistle.
  • A number of safety educational initiatives are conducted on a regular basis in the neighborhoods where our students reside. Among these are door-to-door apartment safety chats and late night “Safety Walk & Talks” all conducted by the University Police Department, the Albany Police Department and the College of St. Rose Safety/Security Department. In addition 6000 safety door tags and 3000 copies of “The Off-Campus Student Survival Guide – How to Be Safer and a Better Neighbor” are distributed door-to-door off campus where our students reside every academic year.
  • Additional Albany Police Department patrols are requested by the University during all University recesses and anti-burglary tips for off-campus students are posted on our campuses as well as e-mailed to all our off-campus students.