In the face of some of the most significant and potentially damaging government budget cuts in recent memory, Jacob A. Riis Neighborhood Settlement House will hold a town hall meeting on Wednesday, March 23, 2011 from 6:30-8:00 pm at its headquarters in the Queensbridge Houses at 10-25 41st Avenue in Long Island City.
The following proposed cuts will be the main topic for discussion:
Senior Services: Cuts to Title XX funds in the Governor's Executive Budget would force the NYC Department for the Aging to close 105 senior centers. The loss of $24 million in these funds would be devastating, and affect over 8,000 seniors in New York City.
Location
Jacob A. Riis Neighborhood Settlement House
10-25 41st Avenue in Long Island City Queensbrige Houses
The Post wrote an article about Governor Cuomo's proposed legislation to give permanent property tax cuts to power companies, removing the option for the rate hikes that FERC passed, which are scheduled to start May 28. The Governor's bill is extremely similar to the bill that I have written on the issue.
ALBANY -- Gov. Cuomo is racing to the rescue of heavily burdened New York City electricity customers who face a massive and unexpected 12 percent rate hike next month, The Post has learned.
Senator Gianaris will attend a press conference held by Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney to report that thousands of jobs and other economic benefits will be created through the new $295 million federal high-speed rail grant to improve "Harold Interlocking" in the Sunnyside Yards.
Location
Sunnyside Rail Yards
NW Corner of 39th Street and Skillman Avenue (at Harold Access Bridge)
Senator Gianaris said, “It is a great day when we can announce an influx of federal money, enhancements to our rail yards and the creation of new jobs in our community all at once. As a hub for train travel, Western Queens has experienced its fair share of transportation problems, which this grant will help fix. I thank Congresswoman Maloney for working so hard to bring this area these much needed funds and I look forward to making Sunnyside Yards a more efficient junction."
Queens Gazette included Senator Gianaris' quote from Congresswoman Maloney's press conference last week announcing a new federal rail grant for Sunnyside Yards.
Queens Times Ledger quoted Senator Gianaris from Congresswoman Maloney's press conference on the new federal rail grant.
U.S. Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-Astoria) visited Sunnyside Yards last Thursday to tout not only a federal grant to fix the bottlenecking of trains at the yards and prepare the yards for high-speed rail, but also the jobs and economic boost expected to come from the construction work.
“The first high-speed rail project in America is going to be this one,” Maloney said.
Procedures for Transporting U.S. License Plates Strengthened After Inquiry from Senator
Queens, NY – Due to Senator Michael Gianaris’ concern for Americans’ safety following a serious mishandling of official United States Government license plates, the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) has revised and strengthened its procedures for transporting federal license plates.
The procedure will require official government license plates to be hand-delivered after Senator Gianaris discovered a mishap where more than 30 license plates were mailed to a wrong location in Astoria rather than their intended destination of Montrose, New York.
Queens Times Ledger wrote about our challenge of the census numbers.
Astoria and Jackson Heights officials praised Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s formal challenge to the results of the 2010 U.S. census filed last week, which singled out what he called a severe undercount in two of the borough’s fastest-growing neighborhoods.
The lawmakers said that while the challenge could not bring back the two congressional seats the state will lose, it could bring needed federal money to the state if successful.
“If the consequences were not so serious, the census numbers for Astoria would be laughable,” said state Sen. Michael Gianaris (D-Astoria).
State of Politics wrote about Senator Gianaris' comments regarding the healthcare exchange from his interview on "The Capitol Pressroom." Senator Gianaris believes that we should not refuse large amounts of federal aid that would benefit New Yorkers simply for political reasons.
Not voting on a measure that would create a health-insurance exchange in New York is “foolish” Sen. Michael Gianaris told Susan Arbetter earlier today.
Gianaris, who has increasingly become the public face of the Senate Democratic Conference, blamed Senate Republicans for obstructing the bill.
Senator Gianaris on the Senate floor discusses the importance of ensuring that New York City residents receive the proper homeland security protection.
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