Adriano Espaillat

'Frankly, it's very scary'

By Yancey Roy

June 24, 2011

For about four hours now, rank-and-file lawmakers have just been milling around and waiting while backroom negotiations continue on the major bills at the end of the legislative session. Activists on either side of the same-sex marriage issue have been shooed out of the State Senate chamber but have taken to shouting at legislators from behind the glass doors. In general, aggravation is rising.

“You walk the hallways and I’ve been here 14 years and I haven’t seen the levels of anxiety and passion,” Sen. Adriano Espaillat (D-Manhattan) said, “and frankly, it’s very scary.”

State Lawmakers Head Back To Capitol; Same-Sex Marriage, Rent Regulations Await

By NY1 News

The waiting game continues in Albany this afternoon as several pieces of pressing legislation, including rent regulations and a possible vote on same-sex marriage, remain up in the air.

The State Senate adjourned just before 11 p.m. yesterday following a marathon session...

..."We should give New Yorkers closure on this. There should be an answer on marriage. Five extenders on rent and last night they didn't even bring up an extender. Quietly in the middle of the night, with troopers in the galleries and people passionate on both sides, they quietly scooted out of the chambers," said State Senator Adriano Espaillat.

More Police Needed to Keep Upper Manhattan Residents Safe After Rash of Sexual Attacks

By Albor Ruiz

June 15, 2011

These days a walk in the park is no walk in the park for residents of northern Manhattan, especially women.

In what seems like a throwback to the bad old days, violent crime has made a comeback, spreading fear in the Washington Heights and Inwood communities.

Three sexual assaults took place in as many days in the area, last Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Two of the women were attacked in the Bennett Ave. area, a short distance from the 34th Precinct stationhouse. The third was assaulted in Inwood Hill Park, where three other women have also been victims of sexual predators in the last 16 months.

Residents are rightfully alarmed and, along with elected officials, have mobilized to combat this crime wave in which women have become the targets of choice. They are calling on the NYPD to do whatever it takes to restore safety to their community.

"We will not simply sit back and watch crime return to northern Manhattan," said state Senator Adriano Espaillat.

"Nutcracker Bill" Takes Aim At Boozy Barbershops

June 7,2011

By Garth Johnson

With the summer heat starting to settle in, thirsty minors looking for a buzz are once again turning their attention to Nutcrackers—a sweet homemade cocktail illegally sold to legal and underage drinkers on the street, in bodegas and in barbershops—much to the chagrin of lawmakers and police. And Albany will not let that stand. Yesterday the State Senate passed a so-called "Nutcracker Bill" that will greatly increase the punishments for Nutcracker peddlers, assuming it passes in the Assembly.

State Lawmakers Argue Over Rent Laws as Deadline Looms

 By THOMAS KAPLAN

Published: June 14, 2011

 Lawmakers accused Republicans of trying the same move this year. “This is an end-around to try to skip town,” said Senator Adriano Espaillat of Manhattan, the senior Democrat on the Senate housing committee. “We’ve seen it before. We’re not going to be fooled by it. We know what it is. It’s a cheap trick.”