Yonkers Insider: Statement from New York State Assemblyman Nader Sayegh Representing Yonkers.

 

Friends,

New York State has come through two challenging pandemic years, and we have seen that New Yorkers are resilient, supportive, and want to see our City and State moving forward. Late Thursday Governor Kathy Hochul announced we have an agreement with the Assembly, Senate and Governor's office on the major items in the budget that will affect Yonkers residents. This includes real income tax cuts for those earning under $400,000 a years, and tax rebate checks, a major push to provide child care so more people can go to work and provide for their families and the approval of 3 full scale casino licenses for downstate. I hope and pray we will see a full scale casino at Empire City Casino by MGM Resorts right here in Yonkers, creating thousands more good paying jobs in hospitality and construction. That's what this legislation leads to. The agreement also includes changes to the State's bail law giving Judges more discretion in setting bail for repeatedly arrested individuals, gun charges, hate crimes and more. I supported the Governor's call for these changes from the start, and believe her when she says they will fight crime, without undoing the equitable treatment of ALL New Yorkers in the criminal justice system, which bail reform set out to accomplish. We have to have public safety, period. We can do this without changing the rules for 95% of those residents who are issued an appearance ticket for an alleged minor violation. Among my priorities which are in the details of the budget are additional State financial support for Yonkers Schools, additional State support for the City of Yonkers through a long overdue increase of Aid to Municipality (AIM Funding), and a number of specific funding initiatives such as bolstering our local healthcare workforce, and supporting our non-profit organizations like the Afya Foundation here in Yonkers. The grant will help the Afya Foundation and its volunteers to continue to collect, pack and send surplus medical supplies to Ukraine and other nations. I will be providing a full update on the budget in the coming weeks, as we will be hosting a Town Hall Meeting on April 19th at Sarah Lawrence College with my colleague State Senator Shelley Mayer. I believe it is important to let you know what we have accomplished, what we are still advocating for, and to listen to your questions and concerns. As we firm up details for this event I will share them with you in the coming days. Best,

Nader J. Sayegh NYS Assemblyman 90th District-Yonkers