Fw: Biodiversity Working Group Documents to Edit and Review

[Erin Johanns]

Greetings,

I received this personal reply from Zack that I wanted to share with the group to maintain transparency and clear channels of communication. I responded to this email individually and can also forward that reply upon request. We can either discuss this during the next meeting or I'm happy to email about it until then. 

I appreciate everyone's thoughts and guidance as we continue to move forward. 

Erin Johanns 

Love Your Block Program Coordinator

She/Her/Hers 
ejoh...@albanyny.gov
518-434-5281

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From: Zack Davis <zack.davi...@gmail.com>
Sent: Friday, February 13, 2026 5:51 PM
To: Erin Johanns <ejoh...@albanyny.gov>
Subject: Re: Biodiversity Working Group Documents to Edit and Review

 

ATTENTION: This email came from an external source. Please do not open attachments or click on links from unknown senders or unexpected emails.

Thanks, Erin. 

Thank you for recognizing my position on the matter. The city has no business certifying or otherwise directing denizens toward certification. It is well within their rights, per PMC 302.4 Weeds to garden without certification. This is clearly elaborated on in the city code enforcement handbook: https://www.albanyny.gov/DocumentCenter/View/919/Code-Enforcement-Handbook-PDF . Any attempt, in my opinion, via species lists, compositional arrangements, or notions of relative abundances as "beneficial" are in my eyes entirely arbitrary and capricious. Because of this position, I will not be participating in an advisory capacity toward any endeavor which will in any way limit a resident's rights to garden, or their proclivity to start gardening in any way. As such, I will not be addressing or advising on any of the criteria in the document. As you know, I only view this as an attempt to promote policing of residences. 

On Fri, Feb 13, 2026 at 3:24 PM Erin Johanns <ejoh...@albanyny.gov> wrote:

Greetings Mr. Zack Davis, 

I've attached two documents I've worked on over the past month that I would like to get your thoughts on. 

The first are relevant excerpts from the City Charter Codes that will help us build our argument for Native Flower Gardens. The second is my general outline for the Native Flower Garden Certification. I know that you are not for certification, but again getting your knowledge and expertise on this topic will help the Working Group build our argument for this initiative. Please find both documents attached. 

I appreciate your time and dedication to our cause and look forward to hearing back from you on this before our next meeting. 

Best, 

Erin Johanns 

Love Your Block Program Coordinator

She/Her/Hers 
ejoh...@albanyny.gov
518-434-5281

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Confidentiality Notice: This fax/e-mail transmission, with accompanying records, is intended only for the use of the individual or entity to which it is addressed and may contain confidential and/or privileged information belonging to the sender, including individually identifiable health information subject to the privacy and security provisions of HIPAA. This information may be protected by pertinent privilege(s), e.g., attorney-client, doctor-patient, HIPAA etc., which will be enforced to the fullest extent of the law. If you are not the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any examination, analysis, disclosure, copying, dissemination, distribution, sharing, or use of the information in this transmission is strictly prohibited. If you have received this message and associated documents in error, please notify the sender immediately for instructions. If this message was received by e-mail, please delete the original message