If every transparency effort is like a window pane, and you begin to layer them one on top of the other, how long until the process becomes too opaque … until the desired transparency gives way to fog?
Essentially, this is the question I posed in a letter to the Governor on state stimulus funding. Right now there is a whole menu of programs at various agencies and various levels of government. Just take a look at the online resources:
We have the Mayor’s Stimulus Tracker in New York City.
If every transparency effort is like a window pane, and you begin to layer them one on top of the other, how long until the process becomes too opaque … until the desired transparency gives way to fog?
Essentially, this is the question I posed in a letter to the Governor on state stimulus funding. Right now there is a whole menu of programs at various agencies and various levels of government. Just take a look at the online resources:
We have the Mayor’s Stimulus Tracker in New York City.
We have the Governor’s Economic Recovery website.
We have the Comptroller’s Open Book.
And of course we have the President’s main Recovery.gov.
It seems to me all of these sites are looking to track stimulus investments … without any sort of consolidated effort.
So you can map out projects on the Stimulus Tracker, you can check out some technical strokes (albeit broad strokes) of genius on the national site, you can scroll through more than 700 pages of submitted applications on the Governor’s site, but there is still no framework in place to "drill down" the most important data on projects that are ultimately approved.
How many full-time jobs are being created? How many part-time jobs? Who are the contractors? Who are the sub-contractors? Is the project meeting its stated goals?
Moreover, how exactly can I follow the money from the U.S. Treasury, down to the State, then the municipality, and right to the pothole being fixed outside my (proverbial) front door?
In the letter I sent to the Governor, co-signed by 15 colleagues in the Senate – Assemblyman Michael N. Gianaris led the effort in his chamber – I requested an independent stimulus monitor, improved online infrastructure, and a more open and participatory decision-making process.
We think the Governor has done a tremendous job helping to secure stimulus funds (more than $24 billion) for New York. Now we can take it to the next level and be on the front lines of accountability.
The foundation for this is largely in place, thanks to the NYS Stimulus Oversight Working Group. Led by Common Cause, the Working Group is an ideologically diverse body that has been able to forge an impressive list of Common Principles.
The idea for the stimulus monitor comes from California, where Governor Schwarzenegger appointed L.A. City Controller Laura Chick to focus exclusively on the federal money and make sure it’s getting exactly where it needs to go.
Now, the last thing we need is to create new bureaucracy. But I believe that an indy stimulus monitor will help to channel existing resources, energy, knowledge and experience into a single place. It means that other state administrators can remain focused on their own responsibilities – particularly in an economic crisis – without being thrown off track by the massive infusion of federal dollars.
At a time when government is expanding its role, we need to do everything we can to make sure that we inspire confidence in that role.
New York must position itself as the gold standard of stimulus accountability, especially if more funding ever materializes – be it new programs from Washington or stimulus reject funds from more conservative state governments.
It’d be a powerful message: We don’t just need the money, we know best how to spend it.
Senator José M. Serrano represents the 28th District, which includes parts of the South Bronx, Highbridge, University Heights, East Harlem, Yorkville, and Roosevelt Island.
In other words, because I’m freshly seated as Chair of the Cultural Affairs, Tourism, Parks and Recreation Committee, it’s no wonder I stand in strong opposition to proposed budget cuts that affect, well, all of the above.
In other words, because I’m freshly seated as Chair of the Cultural Affairs, Tourism, Parks and Recreation Committee, it’s no wonder I stand in strong opposition to proposed budget cuts that affect, well, all of the above.
But the evidence is hard to ignore. The arts industry generates $25.7 billion worth of economic impact in New York State. The overall multiplier is 1.98, “which means that for every dollar in direct spending, another 98 cents of value is generated in the state’s economy.”
Even Milton Friedman would get pretty comfortable in a seat like that.
Just look at capital spending. Between 2003 and 2005, cultural institutions in New York City spent $1.4 billion on capital construction. This generated “an average of 3,460 full-time equivalent jobs in each of the three years.”
Yet funding for the New York State Council on the Arts could take a $7 million hit for the current fiscal year, and another $7 million for 2009-2010.
Meanwhile, state support for zoos, botanical gardens and aquariums would disappear under the proposed executive budget. That could mean massive layoffs at a place like the Bronx Zoo, where 38% of full-time staff and 80% of part-time staff live in the borough … and don’t forget the porcupines.
The point is that museums and “living museums” have always been an incubator for real growth – not the watch-my-stock-portfolio-boom kind of growth, but rather the one that produces jobs, creates linkages with local business, and expands education for our kids.
All the more important for our kids, who keep getting squeezed out of valuable art space in their public schools.
In order to restore some of these critical investments, I stand with a large number of my legislative colleagues in support of more progressive taxation. The wealthiest households in our state have taken a vacation from reality these past few decades, and must pay their fare share.
I will also advocate more support from the federal government – first and foremost on issues like housing and public health, but also as it relates to the arts. New Deal initiatives like the Federal Art Project and Federal Writers’ Project unleashed a great deal of hope and creativity in New York – whether it was murals (like those at WNYC) or life histories (here’s one from my own district).
Cultural treasures are born out of difficult times … but it often takes political will.
On February 3rd, Assemblymember Steve Englebright and I will convene a Joint Committee Meeting to discuss the proposed budget cuts. In the spirit of legislative reform, we are counting on bipartisan engagement and participation, and – perhaps for the first time in Albany history – soliciting YouTube commentary from organizations across the state. We want to make sure that even if you can’t make the trip to Albany – though carpooling is available! – that your voice will be heard.
It’s no accident that Latinos are the top-ranked victims of hate crimes, representing 62.8 percent of cases nationwide.
But if the Lucero tragedy inspires a change in dialogue, it should also inspire a change in laws. Now more than ever we need a government that all immigrants – both documented and undocumented – can trust.
It’s no accident that Latinos are the top-ranked victims of hate crimes, representing 62.8 percent of cases nationwide.
But if the Lucero tragedy inspires a change in dialogue, it should also inspire a change in laws. Now more than ever we need a government that all immigrants – both documented and undocumented – can trust.
Earlier this year, I introduced a bill (S.6738) that would make it the policy of New York State to keep immigration status confidential when, for example, an individual wishes to report a crime to police. This is especially important for undocumented immigrants, who are forced to live in fear of deportation.
According to news reports, the group of teens that allegedly killed Mr. Lucero may have previously attacked other Latinos. We need to make sure that crime victims feel safe enough to approach police in order to prevent more heinous crimes in the future.
I did notice that the Suffolk County Police Commissioner has asked any prior victims to come forward, and that immigration status would not be an issue. But this after-the-fact empathy is clearly not enough. We need to cement it in stone. We need to make it the law of the land.
After all, lack of reporting is actually a two-fold problem. As I’ve seen here in the city, the police rely on statistical data to identify high impact zones, where they pour additional resources to reduce high crime. If the police cannot actively engage with the immigrant community, those stats are not painting an accurate portrait.
The whole irony is that the anti-immigrant crowd thinks of itself as “tough on crime.” But the opposite is true. When people live in fear – be it from their neighbor or their local police – it reduces government’s capacity to fight crime.
And in a tough economy, which can often act as an incubator for hate, now is the time to increase our crime-fighting abilities.
In short, out of tragedy comes momentum for change. My colleagues and I must draw upon that momentum to restore immigrant confidence in our government. We can do it on the legislative front (passing S.6738) and also in the budget (by protecting the New York State Citizenship Initiative from devastating cuts).
Our mission is clear. Mr. Lucero’s death must not be in vain.
Senator José M. Serrano represents the 28th District, which includes parts of the South Bronx, Highbridge, University Heights, East Harlem, Yorkville, and Roosevelt Island.
Senator McCain's recent "tax and spend" attack ad references plans by Senator Obama to levy "painful tax increases on working American families." But the McCain campaign is being disingenuous.
According to the non-partisan FactCheck.org, the Obama tax plan would lower taxes for 81.3 percent of all households and for 95.5 percent of households with children. For families bringing home between $37,595 and $66,354, the Obama plan would cut on average $1,118 from their federal tax burden.
Senator McCain's recent "tax and spend" attack ad references plans by Senator Obama to levy "painful tax increases on working American families." But the McCain campaign is being disingenuous.
According to the non-partisan FactCheck.org, the Obama tax plan would lower taxes for 81.3 percent of all households and for 95.5 percent of households with children. For families bringing home between $37,595 and $66,354, the Obama plan would cut on average $1,118 from their federal tax burden.
Under McCain's plan, the same families would save around $325, or about $793 less than Obama's proposal.
In a society that is increasingly seeing the rich get richer and everyone else fall behind, McCain wants to provide tax breaks for the rich. Worse, he's couched his argument in the broadest and most convoluted definition of "working families" I've ever seen.
The State of New York, dating back to the 1990s, makes the same mistakes. We tax working and middle class families more than we do the very rich. Let me repeat that. According to a recent report by the Center for Working Families, the top 5% of income earners pay state and local taxes at decidedly lower rates than the remaining 95% of people in the state.
In fact, over the last 30 years, the top bracket of the state personal income tax has steadily fallen from 15.375 percent to 6.85 percent. This has been accompanied by an increase in taxes for the remaining 95% of households who pay between 10 and 12 percent of their income in state and local taxes, making New York's taxes one of the most regressive in the nation.
In short, state revenues are falling, the super-rich are paying less than their fair share, and the majority of hard-working New Yorkers are left with a bill that shouldn't be theirs.
Last month we made tough cuts to the budget. I believe the focus now must turn to bolstering new revenue streams. We can hit two birds with one stone by making NY taxes more progressive.
State Republicans disagree. They've made clear they want to keep New York safe, healthy, vibrant and educated … they just don't want to tell us how they'll pay for it. Republicans claim to be the party against raising taxes. Instead, they are the party that defers taxes to other levels of government and then calls it a 'cut'.
Where do we go from here? My colleague Senator Eric Schneiderman has introduced S.8741, a revenue-neutral proposal that would help make the state's tax system more progressive, while lowering the tax burden for the majority of New Yorkers.
His legislation, which I co-sponsor, would create a "circuit breaker" to reduce the property tax burden on most New Yorkers, while simultaneously creating additional state revenue streams from the personal income tax to help fund local programs more equitably and efficiently.
A Sienna Research Institute poll finds that New Yorkers favor the 'circuit breaker' model over the property tax 'cap' when asked to choose between the two plans to limit property taxes.
Senator Schneiderman's plan also extends tax breaks to renters - New Yorkers that indirectly pay property taxes - who were given no relief under other plans. That means relief would flow to the 94% of my constituents living in rented space, in addition to New Yorkers that own their homes in my district and throughout the state.
Senator José M. Serrano represents the 28th District, which includes parts of the South Bronx, Highbridge, University Heights, East Harlem, Yorkville, and Roosevelt Island.
Same idea as the first crisis – bad bank loans, weak underwriting, and that risky practice of securitized mortgages – except this time it’s hitting large affordable apartment complexes in New York City.
From the Wall Street Journal on Aug. 15 (and also reported in Crain's): “The owners of the 1,230-unit, rent-controlled Riverton Apartments in Manhattan's Harlem neighborhood anticipate defaulting on the property's $225 million mortgage by next month, marking one of the housing bust's largest collapses of a New York City residential development.
Same idea as the first crisis – bad bank loans, weak underwriting, and that risky practice of securitized mortgages – except this time it’s hitting large affordable apartment complexes in New York City.
From the Wall Street Journal on Aug. 15 (and also reported in Crain's): “The owners of the 1,230-unit, rent-controlled Riverton Apartments in Manhattan's Harlem neighborhood anticipate defaulting on the property's $225 million mortgage by next month, marking one of the housing bust's largest collapses of a New York City residential development.
“Developers Rockpoint Group LLC and Stellar Management have told the mortgage's servicer that they made minimal progress toward their goal of converting half of the 61-year-old complex's units to market-rate housing since obtaining the mortgage in December 2006 …”
We, housing advocates and elected officials, have been talking about this for a while now. In fact, earlier this month I was out in front of 1520 Sedgwick Avenue – The Birthplace of Hip Hop – urging predatory investor Mark Karasick (and his bank lending cohorts like CIBC) to keep their hands off.
We’ve also gathered over 40 elected signatures in a letter to the State Comptroller, asking him not to invest our pension funds in these real estate deals.
My overriding concern is the tenants: low- and middle-income, hard-working residents who often face harassment every time one of these private equity firms gets its hands on a building. I know people who live at Riverton. They make up the bedrock of the Uptown community. We’re talking about community leaders, business owners and homemakers. Did Stellar expect them all to just leave under their own volition? Did Stellar try to push them out and fail?
But this is not just about a small corner of Harlem or The Bronx. These deals have ripple effects that hurt the overall economy. When the Masters of the Universe and the Smartest Guys in the Room recklessly gamble on our homes, everybody else is left holding the ball.
I can’t help but contrast this with the work we’re doing today in Albany on the State Budget. While I may not agree with everything Governor Paterson wants to cut, I give him a lot of credit for taking proactive steps to avert a financial crisis.
Meanwhile, the Stellars and Mark Karasicks of the world apparently have nothing better to do with their billions than provoke a new financial crisis.
Senator José M. Serrano represents the 28th District, which includes parts of the South Bronx, Highbridge, University Heights, East Harlem, Yorkville, and Roosevelt Island.
I think there’s a lot to be learned from the 28th Senate District – which is both a hotbed of new and innovative economic activity, but also a place with a lot of economic insecurity.
I think there’s a lot to be learned from the 28th Senate District – which is both a hotbed of new and innovative economic activity, but also a place with a lot of economic insecurity.
Here’s a preview of my testimony. Feel free to share your thoughts.
First, we are losing the businesses that matter most. As part of the Supermarket Task Force that I started earlier this year, I mapped out the closures of several East Harlem supermarkets in recent years. This represents a loss of jobs, and reduced access to nutritious and affordable food.
At the core of the crisis is rent, which is doubling and even tripling in some areas of Upper Manhattan. In the Bronx, artists are getting creative and using their own walk-up apartments as gallery space. For the most part, though, there’s no substitute for a storefront.
Meanwhile, big box stores are sprouting everywhere you look, including East River Plaza in East Harlem and the Gateway Center at (the former) Bronx Terminal Market. But for all the time and money this City has expended on a corporate future, it has barely lifted a finger to protect mom and pop.
Here's a good example: One of the finest woodworking manufacturers, William Somerville, Inc., is located right here in East Harlem. For more than 120 years, it has employed generations of local workers out of a factory on East 124th Street.
The business wants to expand into three adjoining lots on East 123rd Street, which would generate some 25 new jobs, as well as opportunities for apprenticeship. Unfortunately, the Department of Sanitation controls all eight lots and won’t sell off a single one, even though its vehicles do not fill the area to capacity.
The City has ignored support letters from community stakeholders dating back to 2001.
Elsewhere, the Brooklyn Brewery wants to expand and double its workforce, if only there were room in the condominium-laden borough. According to the article in the Times: "Manufacturing now accounts for about one of every 40 jobs in the city, down from almost a quarter of all jobs in the mid-1960s."
The cases of William Somerville, Inc. and Brooklyn Brewery demonstrate an important point: we must redouble efforts to protect small business and light manufacturing in a City that seems to think it can succeed in the 21st Century with everyone sitting behind a computer screen or cash register.
I applaud the Governor for his focus on Economic Security, and I look forward to working with him on the issue.
Senator José M. Serrano represents the 28th District, which includes parts of the South Bronx, Highbridge, University Heights, East Harlem, Yorkville, and Roosevelt Island.
Senator Obama made an astute comment last week to the nation’s mayors. He said that "change comes not from the top-down, but from the bottom-up.
The Bush corollary is that bad decisions at the federal level do go from the top on down, with local governments left to clean up the mess.
Two examples of what I mean:
• Military recruiters have developed special marketing techniques that target youth in low-income neighborhoods. Everything from parking decked-out Hummers in front of Bronx high school to recruiting users of internet role-playing war games. The efforts are not simply aggressive, but very often violate Dept. of Education guidelines. (Be sure to read this report from Borough President Stringer and NYCLU.)
Senator Obama made an astute comment last week to the nation’s mayors. He said that "change comes not from the top-down, but from the bottom-up.
The Bush corollary is that bad decisions at the federal level do go from the top on down, with local governments left to clean up the mess.
Two examples of what I mean:
• Military recruiters have developed special marketing techniques that target youth in low-income neighborhoods. Everything from parking decked-out Hummers in front of Bronx high school to recruiting users of internet role-playing war games. The efforts are not simply aggressive, but very often violate Dept. of Education guidelines. (Be sure to read this report from Borough President Stringer and NYCLU.)
Starting last month, Councilmember Mark-Viverito and I began sending letters to high school principals in our respective districts. We want to make sure that students are provided a full menu of academic and professional options, including but not limited to military service. Such a shame that President Bush does not muster up the same energy to sell kids on higher education and volunteer work as he does on war.
• President Bush has failed to address the root causes of Sub-Prime Mortgage Crisis #1. Why is it only #1? Because hedge funds and institutional investors continue to pour money into risky mortgage-backed securities. This time it's not single-family homes, but large swaths of New York City's affordable housing stock.
While we wait for greater regulation of Wall Street's dangerous appetites, state elected officials are banding together. The bills we have crafted, and intend to pass once we re-take the Majority, will strengthen state housing policy and protect renters from the whims of predatory equity. In the meantime, we're also putting pressure on housing agencies to comprehensively enforce existing statutes.
Senator Obama, in his Miami speech, was pragmatic. He acknowledged that federal support to cities would be limited due to the Bush deficit. But at the same time, he promised major infrastructure assistance, as well as a White House Director of Urban Policy.
He appreciates how much American cities need renewable energy, immigration reform, and strong public education, and he understands the local implications of foolish foreign policy. In short, he knows that bottom-up growth depends on getting the elephant (and I do mean the elephant) off your back.
Senator José M. Serrano represents the 28th District, which includes parts of the South Bronx, Highbridge, University Heights, East Harlem, Yorkville, and Roosevelt Island.
Being a Democrat dooms my legislation before it is even conceived. Once a bill of mine gets introduced, it goes to committee where it waits for a vote. And waits. And waits. And waits.
No rule exists that requires committees to take vote on a piece of legislation. Thus, it is almost a certainty that Democratic bills will go through an entire legislative session without one minute of substantive public debate or discussion. Then they die.
There does exist one small opening, called a motion to petition, which allows me to bring a bill sitting in committee to a vote before the full Senate. If the full body votes to bring the bill out of committee, then it is introduced on the floor for another round of votes. It used to be that a Senator was given 5 minutes to speak on a motion. The Senate Majority, having adopted the barest minimum of the Brennan Center’s reform proposals, gave me 10 minutes before they killed my bill. Further debate is expressly prohibited by the Senate rules.
As expected, my motion was not carried. Every Republican voted along party lines. Actually, they didn’t even vote or go on the record. They just made sure to keep their hands down or conveniently step out of the chamber. Senate rules do not require attendance during a motion.
Two days ago, motions from my colleagues Senator Eric Schneiderman and Senator Liz Krueger, which I had the pleasure of cosponsoring, were similarly rejected. In fact, a Democratic bill has never been brought out of committee by a motion to petition. What is supposed to be a safety valve against domination by leadership, just helps to further cement that control.
It is a problem that good ideas are discarded in Albany simply because they do not come from the majority party. My bill would have helped to increase parental involvement in our schools, by providing translation services to parents with a limited command of English. It is a well-documented fact that children do much better in school when their parents are involved. Senator Schneiderman’s bill would have made it harder for criminals to get guns. Senator Krueger’s bill would have helped keep our environment clean, while promoting job growth here in New York State.
Education, safety, environmental protection and job creation are only a few of the big issues that affect people in every Senate district. Effectively silencing almost half of the Senate will not help us tackle these problems any quicker.
By expanding the potential pool of information that law enforcement officials can access, more crimes will be solved and more law breakers will be brought to justice. This is a common sense measure that has worked in New York City and will work in New York State.
The bill is modeled on Mayor Bloomberg's Executive Order 41, a policy that has been embraced by every New York City since Ed Koch. My proposal goes one step further, and creates a mechanism to punish those agencies found in violation of the law.
Naysayers will tell you that such an approach contributes to rising crime rates, but crime rates have steadily declined in New York City since we've gone sanctuary.
The economic argument also strikes an incorrect chord.
The Social Security Administration receives an ever-increasing amount of W-2 earnings reports with incorrect Social Security numbers. The so-called "suspense file" generates $6 billion to $7 billion in Social Security tax revenue and $1.5 billion in Medicare taxes.
This, mind you, is money that undocumented immigrants pay into the system and will never get back. Far from being subsidized, they help to subsidize and stabilize our taxpayer funded programs.
As reported by the New York Times in 2005: "Social Security officials do not know what fraction of the suspense file corresponds to the earnings of illegal immigrants. But they suspect that the portion is significant. 'Our assumption is that about three-quarters of other-than-legal immigrants pay payroll taxes,' said Stephen C. Goss, Social Security's chief actuary, using the agency's term for illegal immigration."
My point is that undocumented immigrants don't just deserve emergency services because they are here in the country, but rather because they help to pay for them.
There is no great state-specific data for New York. But in Texas,
the state comptroller found that revenues collected by undocumented immigrants exceed what the state pays in services by $424.7 million. Removing all 1.4 million undocumented immigrants in the state would have meant a loss of $17.7 billion to the Gross State Product.
There's no question immigration is a complex issue. But first thing's first: If you treat certain people like second-class human beings, you're going to get second-class communities. If you keep certain people living in fear, you end up with a whole lot of people living in fear. And that has to end.
Senator José M. Serrano represents the 28th Senate District, which is comprised of parts of the South Bronx, Highbridge, University Heights, East Harlem, Yorkville, and Roosevelt Island. He was first elected to the State Senate in 2004.
“It’s obvious that you’re Mexican and interested only in Mexican interests,” wrote one person who saw me on CNN’s Lou Dobbs Tonight last week. (I was born in the South Bronx, to Puerto Rican parents.)
Along the same lines: “Despite your assertions, your people are bastardizing American trades … So why don’t you go to Mexico, asshole, and stay. You are a traitor to the people of America.”
“It’s obvious that you’re Mexican and interested only in Mexican interests,” wrote one person who saw me on CNN’s Lou Dobbs Tonight last week. (I was born in the South Bronx, to Puerto Rican parents.)
Along the same lines: “Despite your assertions, your people are bastardizing American trades … So why don’t you go to Mexico, asshole, and stay. You are a traitor to the people of America.”
“We will de-rail the illegal gravy train from within,” had a nice ring to it.“Hey, Asshole, I just wanted you to know your insistent ‘undocumented’ stance on Lou Dobbs Tonight is BS and these illegals you represent are truly ILLEGAL in my country, the USA, you piece of shit,” wrote another fan.
He continued, “Now you are pushing to overrun the USA with goddamn illiterate illegal aliens sucking off all the benefits they can get for free at my expense.”
My personal favorite: “I loved the way you tried to pull the wool over the eyes of Dobbs on his program, you jackass party people are such funny little liars. You need to go to Mexico to collect your pay check since you seem to be all for those undocumented, we call them illegals …”
As with most policy matters, there are legitimate concerns that straddle both sides. What makes the immigration debate so frightful is how quickly policy concerns turn into a kind of xenophobic rage.
The simple truth is that Governor Spitzer will not change the mind of a racist. But the new policy will make it safer for that racist to drive on the road, will save the racist a whole lot of money and will make our state a safer place to live.
Thanks to enhanced verification techniques, New York will have the most secure licensing system in the country. We are also going to save drivers an estimated $120 million by reducing the premium costs associated with uninsured motorist coverage.
The new policy will do nothing to increase the risk of another terrorist attack. The 9/11 Commission determined that restricting access to driver’s licenses based on immigration status would not have prevented the attacks.
In fact, in the long list of proposals to make the licensing system more secure, the Commission explicitly did not recommend denying driver’s licenses to undocumented immigrants as a measure that would prevent another attack.
The Commission did, however, recommend that states take immediate steps to increase the security of their licenses, which is an integral part of the Governor’s plan.
Critics are also claiming the new system prevents U.S. citizens from using driver’s licenses to board airplanes. Again, not true. Only in 2013, when the federal government imposes the REAL ID act will residents have to get new, federally-approved licenses.
As it stands right now, there is not a driver’s license in the country that conforms to the REAL ID guidelines. If you have a problem with the federal mandate, call your Congressman or President Bush.
But not Governor Spitzer.
He is charged with protecting the people who live in New York, and making sure that the federal government’s failure to reform our immigration laws does not spell disaster at the state level.
After all, as many as one million undocumented workers live in New York. Unless the Dobbs viewers have a plan for massive deportation – a plan that would ruin our state’s economy – then I suggest they spend more time crafting pragmatic solutions and less time with the hate-filled emails.
Senator José M. Serrano represents the 28th District, which includes parts of the South Bronx, Highbridge, University Heights, East Harlem, Yorkville, and Roosevelt Island.
The only problem: all the students were from Republican Senate districts. Click here to read the full article in the Buffalo News. This was the first I’d even heard of the contest.
It’s bad enough the Republicans don’t allow our bills to the floor, or provide equal staffing resource, or a more equitable distribution of member items and capital funds. Now they are snubbing the kids in our district.
The only problem: all the students were from Republican Senate districts. Click here to read the full article in the Buffalo News. This was the first I’d even heard of the contest.
It’s bad enough the Republicans don’t allow our bills to the floor, or provide equal staffing resource, or a more equitable distribution of member items and capital funds. Now they are snubbing the kids in our district.
The contest, according to a spokesperson in the article, is sponsored by the Senate majority. But that distinction is not always made clear. At least one Republican website simply states: "The New York State Senate has hosted this event for sixteen years."
In the end, the story in the Buffalo News speaks volumes for the Republican environmental agenda – soft and sweet on the outside, but all smoke and mirrors when you take a closer look.
• • •
I also want to respond to a comment that was made on my last blog post:
"Look at Serrano. The father and the son are both in politics. Look at the Riveras. The father, son and daughter are all in politics. These people are the reformers??? A reformer is almost by definition a newcomer or outsider. Serrano's saying the political establishment can reform itself. It won't."
There is certainly no shortage of political families in the United States. And – let’s be honest – they have produced some very good elected officials and some very bad ones. Which is all the more reason to vote on the merits of a candidate, and not his last name.
What bothers me is the notion that (1) next-generation politicians are necessarily anti-reform, and (2) some of these politicians are less legitimate than others.
Adlai Stevenson, in my mind the most respected politician of the 1950s, was the grandson of a U.S. Vice President. John Kennedy appointed his brother as Attorney General. Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the House and an immensely accomplished woman, is daughter of a former Congressman from Baltimore.
Before anyone wants to chime in with a Lloyd-Bentsen like response, please understand that I am not comparing or equating myself to any of the above politicians.
Rather I’m asking a simple question: Why are some politicians automatically considered part of anti-reform dynasties while others are celebrated as the genetic sure-bets – ingrained with the political DNA to inspire confidence and trust?
I ran against Olga Mendez as a reform candidate, and won big. I remain one of the few state legislators to publicly release my list of member item grants. And I work hard to fashion a legislative agenda that is both progressive and practical.
I think Room Eight is a fabulous place to foster a dialogue like this. In the true spirit of a blogger, I welcome all the biting wit and cynicism you can muster. Just try to keep it civil and substantive – don’t just accuse me of being against reform, but tell me why, and where you see room for improvement.
With just two seats needed to re-capture the State Senate, we received a warm welcome from leaders in Washington.
Joe Bruno beware.
Because now is the time when policy and politics collide. When common sense tasks like environmental protection and real campaign finance reform are not likely to happen without a shift in power.
Under the leadership of Senator Smith, we are putting together a formidable slate of candidates for 2008.
We showed our playbook to the likes of Howard Dean, Rahm Emanuel and the New York Congressional Delegation. They were all ears.
With just two seats needed to re-capture the State Senate, we received a warm welcome from leaders in Washington.
Joe Bruno beware.
Because now is the time when policy and politics collide. When common sense tasks like environmental protection and real campaign finance reform are not likely to happen without a shift in power.
Under the leadership of Senator Smith, we are putting together a formidable slate of candidates for 2008.
We showed our playbook to the likes of Howard Dean, Rahm Emanuel and the New York Congressional Delegation. They were all ears.
But forget, for the moment, their strategic and financial support. What’s really going to win the next election is ideas -- and the other side has just plain run out.
If they are the party of backroom deals, we are the party of advocates and experts: Senator Liz Krueger on affordable housing; Senator Tom Duane on gay marriage; Senator Eric Adams on law enforcement. Among countless other examples.
As Ranking Member of the Tourism, Recreation and Sports Development Committee, I am committed to harnessing the power of the arts industry to kickstart the Upstate economy. The model for such efforts is New York City, where the arts have an economic impact of $21.2 billion, and generate $904 million in tax revenue.
Democrats are also the new party of fiscal responsibility, with smart budgets that spend money where it matters, by restructuring our healthcare system and investing in the neediest school districts.
Our “Green Apple Initiative” -- to reduce particulate matter in the air, improve water quality and halt suburban sprawl -- will amount to massive long-term savings, while stimulating economic growth through green technology.
Look at voter registration in the state. Look at ideological trends around the country. Look at the overwhelming support for legislative and campaign finance reform. Simply put, the Republican-controlled Senate is a relic. And 2008 will prove it.
Senator José M. Serrano represents the 28th Senate District, which is comprised of parts of the South Bronx, Highbridge, University Heights, East Harlem, Yorkville, and Roosevelt Island. He was first elected to the State Senate in 2004.
One way is to reduce the pollution that contributes to global warming. Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University have found that measures to reduce climate-altering pollution from power plants could cut smog and soot levels in the New York metro area by at least 10 percent. Over a 20-year period, cleaner air in the metro area could prevent up to 8,500 deaths.
In recent years, New York State has led the way in developing the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), an effort by ten states to stabilize and cut carbon dioxide emissions from power plants. Set to begin in 2009, this market-based cap and trade program will keep greenhouse gas emissions roughly at current levels until 2015, and then mandate a 10-percent reduction by 2018.
A key piece of this climate pact involves smart utilization of the funds that it generates. New York plans to auction all of what are known as pollution “allowances," rather than give them away to power plants. This makes sense, as power plant owners should have to pay for the cost of the pollution they produce.
Investing in energy conservation will result in real reductions in consumer energy bills. The RGGI State Working Group’s analysis has shown that aggressive investment in energy-efficiency programs, when distributed across households, will reduce average electricity bills in the RGGI region by approximately $66 per year in 2015, and by up to $109 by 2021. These are significant savings that will be particularly helpful for low-income New Yorkers.
The Climate Change Solutions Act and Solutions Fund (State Senate bills 5347 and 5371) would make sure that any of the monies raised from the auction of allowances under the RGGI go back into energy-efficiency programs and clean-energy development. These bills have passed the Assembly, but are currently stuck in committee in the New York State Senate.
I urge my Senate colleagues to pass these bills before the end of this year's legislative session. The last thing we need is more hot air.
Senator José M. Serrano represents the 28th District, which includes parts of the South Bronx, Highbridge, University Heights, East Harlem, Yorkville, and Roosevelt Island.
But I question why this news has prompted yet another debate on capital punishment. The death penalty does not deter crime. Any studies that claim otherwise "fall apart under close scrutiny."
The facts speak for themselves. Across the country, over 100 people have been exonerated and released from death row. The death penalty costs tax payers more than keeping guilty convicts in jail for life.
But I question why this news has prompted yet another debate on capital punishment. The death penalty does not deter crime. Any studies that claim otherwise "fall apart under close scrutiny."
The facts speak for themselves. Across the country, over 100 people have been exonerated and released from death row. The death penalty costs tax payers more than keeping guilty convicts in jail for life.
What most concerns me is race. The death penalty is highly susceptible to institutional flaws and human bias. Though only half of all murder victims are white, 80 percent of cases resulting in execution involved white victims. And only 1 percent of chief district attorneys in death penalty states are black.
During jury selection, blacks are more likely to be excluded from the jury even when providing the same answers to key questions.
A fascinating 2006 report in the Psychological Science journal argues that, in death-eligible cases involving white victims, the physical traits of black defendants "function as a significant determinant of deathworthiness."
This is not how our criminal justice system is meant to function.
I believe the death penalty is not about "law and order," but instead serves as a politically convenient platform. In both its allure and implementation, the death penalty is more reliant on emotion than fact.
If we are going to reduce gun-related crime, then we need stronger and better-enforced gun control laws in New York State and throughout the country. Our brave law enforcement officials deserve nothing less than full protection, not just policies that sound good on cable news.
Should this issue come before the State Senate, my vote is no.