John J. Flanagan's Press releases

Continuing their effort to protect property taxpayers, Senators Kenneth P. LaValle (1st Senate District), John Flanagan (2nd Senate District), Lee Zeldin (3rd Senate District) and Owen H. Johnson (4th Senate District) are pushing forward to get restoration of building aid to four Suffolk County school districts.  Today, they took the first step in that process by gaining Senate Education Committee approval of legislation that would restore funding that was vetoed last year by Governor Andrew Cuomo for Central Islip, Smithtown, Rocky Point and Babylon.

    To help keep the residents of the 2nd Senate District informed, Senator Flanagan is highlighting some new state laws are in effect as of January 1, 2012.  Of particular importance to many in our area, Senator Flanagan is proud that both the middle class tax cut that will reduce tax rates for millions of hardworking taxpayers and the two-percent property tax cap will go into effect and start providing taxpayers with much needed tax relief.

    In a recent letter to Governor Andrew Cuomo, Senators Kenneth P. LaValle (1st Senate District), John Flanagan (2nd Senate District), Lee Zeldin (3rd Senate District) and Owen H. Johnson (4th Senate District) formally called for the restoration of building aid to four Suffolk County school districts to be included as part of the Governor’s upcoming budget proposal.    The State Education Department originally denied this funding to the districts because they inadvertently failed to file paperwork on time for certain capital construction projects.

Senator John Flanagan (2nd Senate District) recently participated in the Parents as Reading Partners (PARP) program at North Ridge Primary School to read to the children.  Reading “Duck for President” by Doreen Cronin to Mrs. Rosanne Wilson’s ABA class, Mrs. Cyndi Nichols’ Kindergarten class, and Mrs. Jen Ryan’s 2nd grade class, Senator Flanagan joined parents and other community members in bringing the joy of reading to the students of the Commack school.

The Business Council of New York State has announced that Senator John Flanagan (2nd Senate District) has received the highest score of all New York State Senators in their 2011 Voters’ Guide.  The guide measures New York State legislators’ commitment to improving the state’s economic climate and performance by scoring their support for key business legislation during the 2011 session.

            Senator John Flanagan (2nd Senate District) was proud to take part in two-day economic conference, entitled “Unidad Latina,” that the New York State Senate and the Hispanic Federation recently held in New York City.  The conference was an opportunity to discuss ways to increase economic opportunities for the growing Hispanic community in New York.

Governor Cuomo was wrong to veto my legislation restoring $3.5 million in building aid to Smithtown School District.  The veto would have been expected and understood if the aid had been based upon some act of fraud, abuse or malicious intent.  But, nothing could be further from the truth in this case.

The New York State Police has issued the following warning regarding an e-mail hoax which can impair your computer:

UTT Hoax E-mail Returns

(August 17, 2011 - Albany, NY) - The New York State Police Computer Crime Unit is issuing a warning about the new release of a hoax e-mail that purports to be a Uniform Traffic Ticket from the New York State Department of Motor Vehicles issued by the New York State Police. This e-mail is not from the State Police or the Department of Motor Vehicles.

Senator John Flanagan (2nd Senate District) recently had the honor of throwing out the first pitch at a Long Island Ducks game before the team took on the Bridgeport Blue Fish at Bethpage Ballpark in Central Islip.  Senator Flanagan delivered the pitch to former New York Met player Bud Harrelson, who is an owner of t