2 Church Street, Ossining, NY 10562 • E-mail: galefs@assembly.state.ny.us
Phone: 914-941-1111 • Fax: 914-941-9132
Assemblywoman Galef hosts
a discussion on
Energy Consumption and
Meeting the Demand
Wednesday, June 8th
7:00–9:00 p.m.
Croton Harmon High School Auditorium
36 Old Post Road South
Croton-on-Hudson

Speakers:

Richard P. Barlette, Sr. Manager, External Affairs
NY Independent System Operator

Frank Mace, Project Manager, NYSERDA–New York State Energy Research and Development Authority

Leo Wiegman, Mayor, Croton-on-Hudson, and Member of NWEAC–Northern Westchester Energy Action Consortium

Herb Oringel, Chair, NWEAC & Chair, Energy Advisory Panel, Town of Somers

Speakers will discuss regional and local energy distribution, growth in energy demand, the future of our energy use, and how we can reduce our energy footprint.


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My guests on “Dear Sandy,” Town Supervisors Catherine Borgia and Richard Shea, will join me on June 9th to discuss municipal cost savings.


Dear Constituent,

I am excited to report that we adopted an on-time budget for New York State for the first time in many years. While we needed to make some very difficult choices in this tough economy, we worked hard in joint conference committees to reach consensus across party lines so that all New Yorkers could benefit to the extent possible from a timely conclusion to this annual process. We got the job done expediently and followed reforms I have been suggesting for a number of years, which I believe are intrinsically related.

We needed to cut $10 billion dollars which will result in painful sacrifices in many service areas, but the Legislature was able to restore some funding to various programs, including $272 million for school aid to help ease budget cuts for local school districts. Additionally, this budget included no new taxes. As part of this budget, we were able to consolidate state agencies including the merger of the State Department of Insurance and State Department of Banking into the new Department of Financial Services, and the State Department of Correctional Services and State Division of Parole into the new Department of Corrections and Community Supervision. This will further our efforts to reduce the size of government through sharing and consolidation of services while improving efficiencies on the state level.

I continue to tackle savings opportunities at home as well. I would like to invite you to three back-to-back forums I have scheduled in early June. The first one, on Wednesday, June 8th, will be an opportunity to look at the facts of our energy consumption here in the lower Hudson Valley, and how those demands are being met. I am also eager to discuss new energy alternatives being explored that could reduce our dependence on foreign oil.

The next day, Thursday, June 9th, I have a double feature focused on service consolidation that is working. We will hear an update from schools that are starting to realize savings from measures they have taken to share services, followed by municipalities who are consolidating in such areas as courts, law enforcement, fire departments, and contracting out for services that offer cost savings. Look for more details on the front page of this newsletter.

I encourage you to be part of these conversations so you may take these ideas back to your own communities and schools and encourage them to look for savings where it does not impact services and may even improve them. On the state level, we did the same in the budget, and will work to make more changes in state operations and in mandate relief. I look forward to continuing my work with you in these important areas.

Sincerely,
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Sandy Galef


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Internship Program
I welcome interns to my office over the summer and throughout the year. As part of the program, students from my district and beyond help write press releases, promote my television shows, execute citations and proclamations, look up bills, and research issues that may result in legislation. They also assist with office organization and so much more. Interns often accompany me to events around the district. This year, some of my regular interns who were involved in the local Ossining chapter of the Junior State of America, a student-run national organization, performed my swearing-in ceremony at Ossining High School. For more information or to request an application for an internship, please contact Dana Levenberg at (914) 941-1111 or levenbergd@assembly.state.ny.us.

Closing Sing Sing
As many of you may have heard, I along with State Senator Suzi Oppenheimer, County Legislator Bill Burton, Town of Ossining Supervisor Catherine Borgia, and Village of Ossining Mayor Bill Hanauer, sent a letter to Governor Cuomo asking that he seriously consider closing Sing Sing Correctional Facility as he carefully evaluates prison closings throughout the state. This proposal has garnered much press. We did not suggest this frivolously, but as a realistic opportunity to improve taxable properties in Ossining, regain a wonderful piece of property for mixed-use space along the beautiful Hudson River, open an Historic Sing Sing museum to bring to light the prison reforms that took place and document the history of this facility, and get rid of much of the temporary housing that poses safety challenges as well as visual blight to the community. Having recently been in contact with someone very familiar with the Corrections Institution, I feel even more confident that this recommendation is a good one which would not only benefit our region, but upstate areas as well, and save the state money in costs to maintain the aging infrastructure of this very old and inefficient facility. I encourage you to share your opinions with me as we continue to offer input to the Governor’s office.
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Unfunded Mandates
In early April, a local group called R.E.A.D. (Regional Educational Advocacy Districts), representing school districts in the area, came to meet me in my district office. They have been focusing their attention on reviewing the costs of unfunded mandates for public school districts. The information they shared identifies many small unfunded mandates with big price tags for schools statewide. I have written a letter to Lawrence Schwartz, who heads the Governor’s Mandate Relief Redesign Team, asking him to consider the findings of our resident experts to help identify areas for change that can lead to reduced costs. I will also be meeting with this group again to work on legislation that would speed up these efforts. For more information, visit R.E.A.D.’s website at read1.org.

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Lincoln Depot
On February 19th, I joined in the groundbreaking of the interior work at the Lincoln Depot Museum on Water Street in Peekskill. It was also the Sesquicentennial Commemoration of President Lincoln’s whistle stop in Peekskill. In 1861, Mr. Lincoln passed through Peekskill on his historic 12-day trip from Illinois to Washington D.C. to his Inauguration, and gave a brief speech at the railroad depot. The Lincoln Society of Peekskill keeps this visit alive through events and now a museum commemorating his visit. This museum will offer the public an opportunity to learn more about Lincoln, the Civil War, and New York’s role in this part of U.S. history.

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Education Funding Forum

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In February, I hosted Assemblyman Kevin Cahill at Desmond Fish Library to discuss his proposal to shift school costs to be paid via state income taxes instead of local property taxes. Joining us on the panel were Frank Mauro from the Fiscal Policy Institute, E.J. McMahon of the Empire Center’s Manhattan Institute, and Martin Reid, from the New York State School Boards Association. Our very lively conversation offered much food for thought. Ultimately, based on my entrance and exit poll, I think people’s opinions were fairly fixed so those that came in believing in one strategy over another did not change their minds. However, this was certainly an opportunity to delve deeper into the subject and consider alternative funding paths for education.

“Speak Out” and “Dear Sandy” TV Shows
Please tune in to these local stations to learn more about local initiatives, ideas, and some of your notable neighbors, as well as to catch some of the videotaped portions of my public forums. Speak Out is an opportunity for you to see these forums in 30 minute segments on local public access TV, in case you were not able to join me in person. Dear Sandy highlights local lawmakers and interesting people in my Assembly district.
Cablevision:
Upcoming Shows:
Speak Out: “Shrinking School Budgets Through Sharing & Consolidation” (September 2010 Forum):

Part 1: 5/25, 6/15
Part 2: 6/1, 6/22
Part 3: 6/8, 6/29

Speak Out: “Alternatives to Funding Education” (February 2011 Forum):

Part 1: 7/6, 7/27, 8/17, 9/7
Part 2: 7/13, 8/3, 8/24, 9/14
Part 3: 7/20, 8/10, 8/31, 9/21

“Dear Sandy” on Fridays 9:00 p.m.
“Speak Out” on Wednesdays 8:00 p.m.

Peekskill/Ossining Channel 15
Briarcliff, Ossining, Scarborough, Buchanan, Cortlandt, Croton, Garrison,
Montrose, Peekskill, Philipstown South, Verplanck

Wappingers Falls Channel 21
Cold Spring, Philipstown North

“Dear Sandy” on Fridays 9:00 p.m.
“Speak Out” on Wednesdays 8:30 p.m.

Yorktown Channel 74
Lake Peekskill, Putnam Valley

Comcast:
Upcoming Shows:
Speak Out: “Shrinking School Budgets Through Sharing & Consolidation” (September 2010 Forum):

Part 1: 5/25
Part 2: 6/1
Part 3: 6/8

Speak Out: “Alternatives to Funding Education” (February 2011 Forum):

Part 1: 7/6, 7/27, 8/17
Part 2: 7/13, 8/3, 8/24
Part 3: 7/20, 8/10, 8/31

“Dear Sandy” on Fridays 7:30 p.m.
“Speak Out” on Wednesdays 7:30 p.m.

Channel 8
Carmel, Kent, Mahopac & Putnam Valley
Verizon FiOS
Please check your local listings for specific air times.


Assemblywoman Sandy Galef’s
January 2011 Newsletter Survey Results
Below represents the results of the 875 responses I received from you to the Constituent Questionnaire on the back of my January newsletter. I thank those of you who submitted these responses. Your input is extremely valuable to me, as it allows me to better address the pressing issues of today keeping your opinions in mind. Here are the percentage results for the responses as of April 2011.


My Comments on Your Survey Responses—May 2011

Question #1
Two proposals are currently in the legislature, one (A.4237) that would renew the current moratorium on hydrofracturing and would prohibit it from taking place near watersheds or drinking water supplies, and another (A.1265) that would prohibit certain chemicals from being used in the process of hydrofracking. I support both of these bills, as well as conducting more extensive research on the impact of this method before any additional hydrofracking is allowed in the state.

Question #5
My proposal, in bill A.6377, would create a mechanism for regional collective bargaining agreements, as recommended by the 2008 New York State Local Government Efficiency and Competitiveness Commission. There is currently no means in place for individual school districts to jointly negotiate labor contracts for public employees. This legislation would ensure equitability in negotiations between school districts and public sector unions, which often have access to more legal expertise and resources than do the individual school institutions.

Question #7
Bills A.42010/S.68010 of 2010, which called for establishing a commission on the compensation of state officers, including judges, was passed into law in December of last year. I look forward to reviewing the recommendations of this Commission as soon as they are released.

Question #8
I fervently believe that tobacco products must be kept out of the reach of underage children. Preventing initiation to smoking at a young age is the easiest way to lower the number of smokers. Research has repeatedly shown that the age group most likely to be asked to provide tobacco products to minors is 18 to 19-year-olds. I have proposed legislation, A.4863, to increase the purchasing age for tobacco products from 18 to 19, and will continue to solidly stand behind efforts that keep tobacco products away from minors.

Question #10
I have introduced legislation, A.7173, which would allow residents of school districts to elect either a continuation of school district funding by property taxes alone or by a combination of lower property taxes and a surcharge on their state income taxes. I believe this would grant new opportunities to communities to decide which funding scheme for public education works best for them and their particular needs.

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