Regular Session - February 3, 1997
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8 ALBANY, NEW YORK
9 February 3, 1997
10 3:07 p.m.
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13 REGULAR SESSION
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17 LT. GOVERNOR BETSY McCAUGHEY ROSS, President
18 STEPHEN F. SLOAN, Secretary
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1 P R O C E E D I N G S
2 THE PRESIDENT: The Senate will
3 come to order. Would you please rise and join
4 with me in repeating the Pledge of Allegiance.
5 (The assemblage repeated the
6 Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag.)
7 The invocation today will be
8 given by the Reverend Peter G. Young from the
9 Blessed Sacrament Church in Bolton Landing.
10 Reverend Young.
11 REVEREND PETER G. YOUNG: Let us
12 pray. Father of the poor, God of love, You
13 made us all Your people. We praise and we
14 thank You. Fill us with a sense of justice.
15 Help us in Your work to take the side of the
16 lonely, to defend the newcomer, to welcome the
17 stranger. Help us now to befriend the
18 friendless, protect the weak and work for the
19 rights for all. On our journey home, bring us
20 together in peace and in justice and in love.
21 Amen.
22 THE PRESIDENT: Amen.
23 The reading of the Journal,
24 please.
25 THE SECRETARY: In Senate,
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1 Sunday, February 2nd. The Senate met pursuant
2 to adjournment. The Journal of Saturday,
3 February 1, was read and approved. On motion,
4 the Senate adjourned.
5 THE PRESIDENT: Without
6 objection, the Journal stands approved as read.
7 Presentation of petitions.
8 Messages from the Assembly.
9 Messages from the Governor.
10 Report of standing committees.
11 Report of select committees.
12 The Secretary will read.
13 THE SECRETARY: Senator Velella,
14 from the Committee on Insurance, reports the
15 following bills: Senate Print 17, by Senator
16 Velella, an act to amend the Insurance Law, in
17 relation to the reduction of homeowners
18 insurance rates;
19 19, by Senator Velella, an act
20 to amend the Insurance Law, in relation to
21 increasing the line on the amount of credit
22 life insurance;
23 114, by Senator DeFrancisco, an
24 act to amend the Insurance Law, in relation to
25 the premium or compensation for giving bail
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1 bond; and
2 133, by Senator Velella, an act
3 to amend the Insurance Law, in relation to
4 expanding other expenses.
5 All bills ordered directly for
6 third reading.
7 THE PRESIDENT: All bills direct
8 to third reading.
9 Communications and reports from
10 state officers.
11 Motions and resolutions.
12 Senator Bruno.
13 SENATOR BRUNO: Madam President,
14 I believe there is a privileged resolution at
15 the desk. I would ask that it be read in its
16 entirety and move for its immediate adoption.
17 THE PRESIDENT: The Secretary
18 will read.
19 THE SECRETARY: By Senator
20 Bruno, Legislative Resolution congratulating
21 the Troy High School football team and Coach
22 Jack Burger upon the occasion of capturing the
23 New York State Class A championship.
24 WHEREAS, excellence and success
25 in competitive sports can be achieved only
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1 through strenuous practice, team play and team
2 spirit, nurtured by dedicated coaching and
3 strategic planning; and
4 WHEREAS, athletic competition
5 enhances the moral and physical development of
6 the young people of this state, preparing them
7 for the future by instilling in them the value
8 of teamwork, encouraging a standard of healthy
9 living, imparting a desire for success and
10 developing a sense of fair play and
11 competition; and
12 WHEREAS, the Troy High School
13 football team are the New York State Class A
14 Champions. The Flying Horses defeated
15 Whitesboro High School 27-13 at the Carrier
16 Dome in Syracuse, New York on Sunday, December
17 1, 1996; and
18 WHEREAS, the athletic talent
19 displayed by this team is due in great part to
20 the efforts of Coach Jack Burger, a skilled and
21 inspirational tutor, respected for his ability
22 to develop potential into excellence.
23 The team's overall record, 11
24 and 2, is outstanding, and the team members
25 were loyally and enthusiastically supported by
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1 family, friends, fans and the community at
2 large.
3 The hallmarks of the Troy High
4 School football team, from the opening game of
5 the season to participation in the
6 championship, were a brotherhood of athletic
7 ability, of good sportsmanship, of honor and of
8 scholarship, demonstrating that these team
9 players are second to none.
10 Athletically and academically,
11 the team members have proven themselves to be
12 of unbeatable combination of talent, reflecting
13 favorably on their school; and
14 WHEREAS, Coach Jack Burger has
15 done a superb job in guiding, molding and
16 inspiring the team members toward their goals.
17 Sports competition instills the
18 values of teamwork, pride and accomplishment,
19 and Coach Jack Burger and his 40 outstanding
20 athletes have clearly made a contribution to
21 the spirit of excellence which is a tradition
22 of their school; now, therefore, be it
23 RESOLVED, that this legislative
24 body pause in its deliberations to congratulate
25 the Troy High School football team and its
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1 members, D. Senior, D. Marble, B. Reo, T.
2 Renga, J. Canfield, R. Peterson, J. Mawad, J.
3 Halse, J. Kirkman, G. Osganian, G. Getbehead,
4 M. Hurteau, L. Senior, K. Carley, C. Breen, T.
5 DeWolfe, G. Halse, M. Gaunay, T. Ward, B.
6 Bocketti, J. Casale, A. Dipietro, G. Remarchuk,
7 P. Naimo, A. Lord, E. Rouleau, K. Graber, A.
8 Kirkman, M. Stockwell, B. Martone, N. Romeo, D.
9 Testo, K. Mitchell, M. Fosmire, A. Harbour, E.
10 Muellecker, M. Gutierrez, J. Tedesco, M.
11 Milanese, L. Battiste; Coach Jack Burger and
12 Assistant Coaches Jeff Sitterly, Jim Canfield,
13 Mark Galuski, Bill Mitchell and Charles Walker,
14 on their outstanding season and overall team
15 record; and, therefore, be it
16 RESOLVED, that copies of this
17 resolution, suitably engrossed, be transmitted
18 to Donald Hepp, Superintendent; Armand Reo,
19 Principal; James Bongo, Athletic Director; Jack
20 Burger, Head Coach and to the members of the
21 Troy High School football team.
22 THE PRESIDENT: Senator Bruno.
23 SENATOR BRUNO: Madam President,
24 thank you very much.
25 I am extremely pleased to
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1 welcome the Troy High football team to this
2 chamber. They are the Class A Champions of New
3 York State in the football season ending in
4 '96. So I am proud of them as constituents,
5 as athletes and as young citizens who know what
6 it is to compete and to excel.
7 Congratulations to you and to
8 Coach Jack Burger -- I think Jack is here -
9 and to the administrators -- there's Jack -
10 and they, in Syracuse, defeated Whitesboro 27
11 to 13 in what was their "Super Bowl". So they
12 are our -- the point spread -- they are our
13 "Super Bowl". That was their "Super Bowl".
14 They are our Green Bay Packers and they happen
15 to be in the 43rd Senatorial District, so they
16 make us very, very proud.
17 We're happy to have them here.
18 We congratulate them, and you just keep up that
19 good work as you go on with all of the things
20 that you do in your lives.
21 Congratulations and thank you
22 for representing the 43rd in New York State
23 with such, such distinction.
24 Thank you.
25 Thank you, Madam President.
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1 (Applause)
2 THE PRESIDENT: Senator Cook.
3 SENATOR COOK: Madam President,
4 I just wanted to say that a member of my staff
5 is a close relative of one of the members of
6 the team. We weren't able to suspend the rules
7 so that she could come here and make the speech
8 herself, but her pride is evident in having her
9 son as a member of this distinguished team, and
10 so in her behalf and in behalf of all of her
11 co-workers, we want to express our admiration
12 for your success as well.
13 THE PRESIDENT: On the
14 resolution, all in favor signify by saying
15 aye.
16 (Response of "Aye".)
17 Opposed, nay.
18 (There was no response.)
19 The resolution is adopted.
20 There is another privileged
21 resolution at the desk.
22 The Secretary will read.
23 THE SECRETARY: By Senator
24 Breslin, a Legislative Resolution
25 congratulating the Watervliet High School
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1 varsity football team and Coach Dan Reinfurt
2 upon the occasion of capturing the New York
3 State Class C Championship.
4 WHEREAS, excellence and success
5 in competitive sports can be achieved only
6 through strenuous practice, team play and team
7 spirit, nurtured by dedicated coaching and
8 strategic planning; and
9 WHEREAS, athletic competition
10 enhances the moral and physical development of
11 the young people of this state, preparing them
12 for the future by instilling in them the value
13 of teamwork, encouraging a standard of healthy
14 living, imparting a desire for success and
15 developing a sense of fair play and
16 competition; and
17 WHEREAS, the Watervliet High
18 School varsity football team are the New York
19 State Class C Champions. The Cannoneers
20 defeated LeRoy 20 to 19 at the Carrier Dome in
21 Syracuse, New York on Friday, November 29,
22 1996; and
23 WHEREAS, additionally,
24 quarterback Don Kehn was named New York State
25 Class C Co-Player of the Year; Lou Horan, 1st
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1 team all-state offensive tackle; Scott Heid,
2 1st team wide receiver and Greg Krikorian, 2nd
3 team running back; and
4 WHEREAS, the athletic talent
5 displayed by this team is due, in part, to the
6 efforts of Coach Dan Reinfurt, a skilled and
7 inspirational tutor, respected for his ability
8 to develop potential into excellence; and
9 WHEREAS, the team's overall
10 perfect record, 13 and 0, is outstanding and
11 the team members were loyally and
12 enthusiastically supported by family, fans,
13 friends and the community at large; and
14 WHEREAS, sports competition
15 instills the values of teamwork, pride and
16 accomplishment, and Coach Dan Reinfurt and his
17 34 outstanding athletes have clearly made a
18 contribution to the spirit of excellence which
19 is a tradition of their school; now, therefore,
20 be it
21 RESOLVED, that this legislative
22 body pause in its deliberations to congratulate
23 the Watervliet High School varsity football
24 team, its members, Don Kehn, John Postulka,
25 Bill VanPatten, Chris Lee, Scott Heid,
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1 co-captain, Gary Simmons, co-captain, Dave
2 DeCenzo, Tim Murphy, Bill Oliver, Greg
3 Kirkorian, Dom Romano, Josh Green, Brian Hyra,
4 Chad Carrozza, Brian Doyle, T.J. Testa,
5 co-captain, Shane Sportman, Aaron Sorell,
6 Jonathan Moffre, Brian Hoefer, Scott
7 Houseworth, Tim Pelech, Pat Doyle, Dan Gorr,
8 Robert Beston, Jeff Phillips, Mike Lee, Vince
9 Bagnardi, Jeremy Smith, co-captain, Joe Ryan,
10 Lou Horan, John Madison, John Daniele, Matt
11 Rymanoski, Coach Dan Reinfurt, Offensive Coach
12 Mike Manning and Defensive Coach Nick
13 Fitzgerald, on their outstanding season and
14 overall team record; and be it further
15 RESOLVED, that copies of this
16 resolution, suitably engrossed, be transmitted
17 to the Watervliet High School varsity football
18 team and Coach Dan Reinfurt.
19 THE PRESIDENT: Senator Breslin.
20 SENATOR BRESLIN: Thank you.
21 I would like to take this
22 opportunity to commend not only the wonderful
23 players from Watervliet High School, but their
24 coach, Coach Reinfurt and the entire city of
25 Watervliet, which has a way of coming together
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1 to support you as high school football players
2 but it has a way of supporting the entire
3 community as it has in the past when it's won
4 other state championships and, as Senator Bruno
5 so aptly stated for the Troy players, they won
6 their "Super Bowl". Well, you also won your
7 "Super Bowl", and you can be commended by
8 everyone in this chamber, the entire city of
9 Watervliet, the entire county of Albany and the
10 people of the state of New York.
11 We salute you.
12 THE PRESIDENT: Thank you,
13 Senator.
14 Senator Stachowski.
15 SENATOR STACHOWSKI: I just
16 wanted to rise to congratulate both teams, but
17 also I'm going to leave this with a question.
18 I was wondering if the coach,
19 maybe when he comes down, could tell me if Ed
20 Reinfurt really gave him as much advice as he
21 claims he did, particularly through the
22 playoffs. He said without his help, none of
23 this would have been possible, and I just
24 wanted to know if that was true or not.
25 THE PRESIDENT: This resolution
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1 was previously adopted. Congratulations.
2 (Applause)
3 Senator Bruno.
4 SENATOR BRUNO: Madam President,
5 can we now move to the non-controversial
6 calendar.
7 THE PRESIDENT: The Secretary
8 will read.
9 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
10 4, by Senator Levy, Senate Print 64, an act to
11 amend the Criminal Procedure Law, in relation
12 to providing that commission of the traffic
13 infraction.
14 THE PRESIDENT: Read the last
15 section, please.
16 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
17 act shall take effect on the first day of
18 November.
19 THE PRESIDENT: Call the roll.
20 (The Secretary called the roll.)
21 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 59.
22 THE PRESIDENT: The bill is
23 passed.
24 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
25 16, by Senator Tully, Senate Print 184, an act
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1 to amend the Vehicle and Traffic Law, in
2 relation to revoking or prohibiting the
3 issuance of a driver's license.
4 SENATOR PATERSON: Lay it aside.
5 THE PRESIDENT: Lay it aside,
6 please.
7 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
8 18, by Senator Levy, Senate Print 203-A -
9 SENATOR BRUNO: Lay it aside,
10 please.
11 THE PRESIDENT: Lay it aside,
12 please.
13 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
14 31, by Senator LaValle, Senate Print 35, an act
15 to amend the Education Law and the Public
16 Officers Law, in relation to the Board of
17 Regents.
18 SENATOR PATERSON: Lay it aside.
19 THE PRESIDENT: Lay it aside,
20 please.
21 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
22 32, by Senator Holland, Senate Print 205 -
23 THE PRESIDENT: Go ahead. I'm
24 sorry.
25 THE SECRETARY: -- an act to
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1 authorize the Salvation Army Eastern Territory
2 School for Officers' Training to change its
3 name to the Salvation Army Training College.
4 THE PRESIDENT: Read the last
5 section, please.
6 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
7 act shall take effect immediately.
8 THE PRESIDENT: Call the roll.
9 (The Secretary called the roll.)
10 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 59.
11 THE PRESIDENT: The bill is
12 passed.
13 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
14 37, by Senator Goodman, Senate Print 570, an
15 act to amend the Administrative Code of the
16 city of New York, in relation to the treatment
17 of thrift reserves.
18 THE PRESIDENT: Call the roll -
19 oh, sorry. Read the last section.
20 THE SECRETARY: Section 4. This
21 act shall take effect immediately.
22 THE PRESIDENT: Call the roll.
23 (The Secretary called the roll.)
24 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 59.
25 THE PRESIDENT: The bill is
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1 passed.
2 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
3 46, by Senator DeFrancisco, Senate Print 485,
4 an act to amend the Penal Law, in relation to
5 the payment of reparation or restitution in
6 certain cases.
7 THE PRESIDENT: Read the last
8 section, please.
9 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
10 act shall take effect immediately.
11 THE PRESIDENT: Call the roll.
12 (The Secretary called the roll.)
13 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 59.
14 THE PRESIDENT: The bill is
15 passed.
16 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
17 59, by Senator Larkin, Senate Print 459, an act
18 to amend the General Municipal Law, the State
19 Finance Law and the Municipal Home Rule Law.
20 THE PRESIDENT: Read the last
21 section, please.
22 THE SECRETARY: Section 4. This
23 act shall take effect on the 120th day.
24 THE PRESIDENT: Call the roll.
25 (The Secretary called the roll.)
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1 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 59.
2 THE PRESIDENT: The bill is
3 passed.
4 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
5 63, by Senator Present, Senate Print 528, an
6 act to amend the General Municipal Law, in
7 relation to municipal contingency.
8 THE PRESIDENT: Read the last
9 section, please.
10 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
11 act shall take effect immediately.
12 THE PRESIDENT: Call the roll.
13 (The Secretary called the roll.)
14 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 59.
15 THE PRESIDENT: The bill is
16 passed.
17 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
18 65, by Senator Stafford, Senate Print 121, an
19 act to amend the Environmental Conservation
20 Law, in relation to non-hazardous municipal
21 landfill closure.
22 THE PRESIDENT: Read the last
23 section, please.
24 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
25 act shall take effect immediately.
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1 THE PRESIDENT: Call the roll.
2 (The Secretary called the roll.)
3 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 59.
4 THE PRESIDENT: The bill is
5 passed.
6 Senator Bruno, that completes
7 the reading of the non-controversial calendar.
8 SENATOR SKELOS: Madam
9 President, at this time, if you could take up
10 Calendar Number 18 by Senator Levy.
11 THE PRESIDENT: The Secretary
12 will read.
13 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
14 18, by Senator Levy, Senate Print 203-A, an act
15 to amend the Highway Law, in relation to
16 designating the Bethpage State Parkway as the
17 Assemblyman Philip B. Healey Memorial Parkway.
18 SENATOR LEVY: Madam President.
19 THE PRESIDENT: Senator.
20 SENATOR LEVY: Yes, thank you
21 very much.
22 This is really a bittersweet
23 occasion. I'm pleased, and I know my
24 colleagues are, that Phil Healey's wife, Geneva
25 Healey, her daughter Laurette, her son Philip,
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1 Jr. and his lovely wife Betsy, their children
2 and that their son Ralph are with us this
3 afternoon for the occasion of the Legislature's
4 memorial and testimonial to our dear friend and
5 colleague, Assemblyman Philip Healey, and for
6 the passage of this bill, soon to be law,
7 renaming the Bethpage State Parkway.
8 Phil Healey was my friend for
9 more than 25 years. He was my legislative
10 partner since his Assembly District was located
11 within my Senatorial District. Phil always
12 reversed it when we talked about it.
13 Phil Healey was a uniquely
14 dedicated and successful legislator who
15 literally moved heaven and earth and mountains
16 to respond to his constituents' problems and/or
17 concerns at any level of government. He was a
18 genuine legislator, and the children are
19 saying, "Aye, aye."
20 There were few people that could
21 say that they got the late Governor Nelson
22 Rockefeller to say yes when he really wanted to
23 say no. Phil Healey was that legislator.
24 Back in the early 1970s, right
25 after Phil had come to Albany, the Governor
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1 rightfully wanted to eliminate the great
2 crossings on the south shore of Long Island,
3 and though Phil was for the eliminations, he
4 was opposed to the way it was proposed for
5 Massapequa Park, and I have to tell you that he
6 held up the appropriation. He held up the line
7 item to get Governor Rockefeller to agree to an
8 aesthetically pleasing and, believe me, one of
9 its kind, low stonewall -- designer stonewall
10 and granite wall with permanent landscaping
11 above it, and that wall, one of its kind in
12 this country and probably any place in the
13 world, stretches the length of Massapequa Park,
14 and the only way Phil -- the only way that Phil
15 would go along with that elimination project
16 moving forward is if Governor Rockefeller
17 agreed to it.
18 There are countless other
19 similar stories about Phil's special advocacy
20 and his concern, but it is suffice to say, when
21 Phil Healey wanted to achieve something for his
22 constituents, he would go around you, he would
23 go over you, he would go under you until he
24 achieved what he started out to do.
25 Phil Healey was the ultimate
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1 legislator, blending his warmth, his sense of
2 humor, his ability and his tenacity to get the
3 job done and to get the job done
4 extraordinarily for more than 30 years, first
5 as a town of Oyster Bay councilperson and then
6 as a New York State Assemblyman.
7 Phil Healey was loved by the
8 residents of his Assembly District who knew
9 that he was genuinely committed to serving them
10 and to the belief that government can and
11 should be a positive force for helping and
12 improving people's lives.
13 I'm so pleased that Geneva is
14 with us this afternoon as we take up this
15 special legislation and testimonial to Phil's
16 legacy, his achievements and his
17 accomplishments.
18 Phil was totally devoted to
19 Geneva and their loving children and their
20 family. When we were at an event on a Saturday
21 or Sunday, I would always ask him the same
22 question, "What are you going to do this
23 afternoon, Phil?" -- and I see Bob Woertz
24 smiling -- and he would always look at me and
25 he would say to me, "I'm going to spend it with
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1 the family." I know I speak for so many when I
2 say that we miss Phil more than words can ever
3 convey.
4 By designating the Bethpage
5 State Parkway which accesses a jewel of the New
6 York State park system and will be home to the
7 first public course in the country ever to host
8 the U.S. Open in the year 2000, we will be
9 establishing a living memorial which will keep
10 the memory of Phil Healey alive and provide an
11 ongoing tribute to his accomplishments.
12 I know that Phil's looking down
13 upon us today. He is the speaker of the
14 "chamber of angels" and I know, and certainly
15 those of you who were his friends, you know
16 he's trying to figure out how he can get the
17 chapter for this bill.
18 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
19 Chair recognizes Senator Waldon on the bill.
20 SENATOR WALDON: Thank you very
21 much, Mr. President.
22 To the Healey family, I had the
23 good fortune of meeting Phil when I arrived in
24 the Assembly in 1983, and though I cannot speak
25 as definitively as my colleague has, nor as I'm
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1 sure Bob Woertz would if he were given this
2 opportunity in this chamber, I can tell you
3 that he was one of the good guys.
4 I loved Phil not only because of
5 his sense of humor -- and he could really tell
6 a story. He was the raconteur's raconteur. He
7 had a kind of wit that was quick, that was
8 sharp, and if you sometimes tried to be smarter
9 than he he could cut you down to size, and in
10 this kind of business, meaning politics, you
11 admire and respect someone who can come back at
12 you with a quick turn of a phrase.
13 But I had more fun with Phil
14 than just telling jokes. We played softball
15 together, and those of you who knew him as the
16 great athlete that he was, we had a lot of fun
17 playing softball at that time against the
18 Senate, and I want to tell you, Mrs. Healey,
19 that when I was in the Assembly, the Senate
20 didn't stand a chance in terms of winning
21 games. Although they had great players like
22 Billy Stachowski and Manny Gold and a couple
23 other guys on that side, our secret weapon was
24 Phil Healey on the mound.
25 So I rise today out of
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1 friendship and out admiration and respect for
2 one of the icons who passed through these
3 chambers and who is somewhere looking down on
4 us now.
5 May God ever keep you in His
6 hands.
7 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Senator
8 Farley.
9 SENATOR FARLEY: Thank you, Mr.
10 President.
11 I rise to say what a great guy
12 Phil Healey was and to offer my sympathy to the
13 sudden, and I think untimely, departing.
14 You know, this was a guy that
15 was beloved by everybody, legislators not only
16 from this state but as Bob Woertz, the former
17 national chairman of the Council of State
18 Governments could tell you, that Phil was
19 active in the Council of State Governments, and
20 everybody that knew him from around the
21 country, and so forth, also loved him.
22 You know, he was always taking
23 part in everything. Senator Waldon, you
24 mentioned playing softball. He played tennis.
25 He did whatever it took to participate and,
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1 incidentally, he was one of the most loyal and
2 active members of the Irish Legislators, and I
3 got a kick out of hearing one of -- I'm sure
4 one of his offspring, a grandchild there,
5 saying "aye" to everything that Senator Levy
6 was saying.
7 Phil Healey was a great
8 colleague, a tremendous, devoted legislator,
9 somebody that looked out for his district
10 constantly, never let up on that issue. On an
11 issue, he was like a dog on your pants leg. He
12 just kept there until he got it resolved, and
13 Phil was -- he made everybody feel good just
14 being around him and we'll all miss him
15 greatly, and I'll tell you, he leaves a legacy
16 not only here in the Legislature but with the
17 magnificent family that is in this chamber now.
18 I wish you well.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Senator
20 Marcellino.
21 SENATOR MARCELLINO: Thank you,
22 Mr. President.
23 I didn't know Phil as long as
24 many people in this chamber. I first met him
25 when I became the town clerk of the town of
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1 Oyster Bay and I needed some information on
2 state issues, and I called Phil's office and I
3 got the information mailed to me the next day,
4 and then following that I got about 17 phone
5 calls from Phil asking me if I got the
6 information and if it was correct, and each
7 time I said yes, he said, "Are you sure,
8 because if it isn't correct, I'll make sure it
9 is correct," and he wasn't kidding. It was
10 Phil's way. He just wanted to make sure you
11 got what you needed and it didn't make any
12 difference if it was a state issue you needed
13 the information on.
14 I found if I needed facts or if
15 I needed information on any level of
16 government, on any bill, on any piece of
17 legislation, I could call Phil's office because
18 Phil's philosophy was: Take care of your
19 constituents, take care of your neighbors.
20 They're the people that put you in office.
21 They're the people that keep you there and if
22 you respond to their needs and their concerns,
23 they'll never forget and they'll always
24 remember you on Election Day, but even more
25 importantly, they'll remember you year round,
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1 and Phil's philosophy of service, is one that
2 we all should take to heart because he
3 exemplified the best of us all.
4 He always remembered where he
5 came from. He always remembered that his
6 family was the key to it all, that his family
7 was his support, that his family was his base.
8 He never betrayed a friend. He would go out of
9 his way to protect a friend. There are many
10 stories that many of us know about Phil's
11 relationships with friends here and how we
12 defended them regardless of who was on the
13 other side.
14 He was a great person who was
15 willing to take on issues that were not always
16 popular but were important to his
17 constituents. He took them on. He was
18 fearless in a political sense. He would take
19 on anybody. It didn't make any difference if
20 it meant that it was doing the right thing as
21 he saw it.
22 So, ladies and gentlemen, I rise
23 on this bill and on this legislation, and I'm
24 grateful to vote yes to it and I'm grateful for
25 the period of time that I had to know Phil
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1 Healey because he was a fine man, and I hope I
2 become a small portion of the legislator that
3 he was.
4 God bless him.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Senator
6 Gold.
7 SENATOR GOLD: Thank you, Mr.
8 President.
9 I am sitting here a little
10 bewildered. I'm only a little Democrat. I
11 loved Phil Healey. I never exactly thought of
12 him as a dog on my pants leg, but I want you to
13 know that he was a terrific guy and whenever I
14 saw him, it would bring a smile to my face
15 except -- Mrs. Healey, I don't lie -- I didn't
16 exactly smile every time I was finished hitting
17 against him in the softball games. That was
18 one day which was not always so great, but
19 there is one thing with this particular piece
20 of legislation, Senator Levy, which is flawed,
21 because I take a look and my name isn't on it
22 and I feel badly, and I'm sending this over
23 because I'd appreciate it if you would sign me
24 on.
25 Phil, as everybody knows, was
493
1 just a wonderful, decent man. He was a
2 delightful fellow, and it's incredible in this
3 day and age, those words ought to say it all
4 and, unfortunately, somehow in this day and age
5 words like that get belittled, but the people
6 who understand it most are the people who got
7 the benefit of it most, and so the Healey
8 family is very lucky because you lived with a
9 man who was wonderfully decent and you lived
10 with a man who was wonderfully delightful. So
11 you've had that blessing, and for all of us who
12 had the opportunity to deal with him in Albany,
13 I guess we were blessed a little too.
14 We really miss him.
15 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Senator
16 Goodman.
17 SENATOR GOODMAN: Mr. President,
18 I can add a slightly different perspective to
19 these very appropriate remarks by pointing out
20 to the house that not too long ago, one among
21 us, Senator Tarky Lombardi, would organize
22 periodic trips to Europe on a bipartisan basis
23 strictly paid for out of the pocketbooks of the
24 participants -- not a junket in any sense, just
25 to set the record quite straight on that point
494
1 -- and these trips to Europe would give one an
2 opportunity to get to know one's colleagues in
3 a manner that was quite unique.
4 Phil and Geneva were a wonderful
5 couple, and I can recall quite distinctly being
6 with them in Paris, seeing some of the sights
7 and sharing in their delight and our own with
8 the unique new experiences that we were all
9 having and enjoying immensely the sheer warmth
10 of their personalities. Not only would we
11 sightsee together, we would drink together, we
12 would eat together and we would have what I can
13 only describe as continental good fellowship in
14 its best sense.
15 Geneva Healey was a tremendous
16 help to Phil. With her glorious perspective
17 and her rare charm and beauty, she added just
18 what Phil needed to complete the picture of an
19 altogether wonderful Renaissance man.
20 Phil and Geneva and I spent some
21 time in the area surrounding Paris and we had
22 an opportunity to be together on many occasions
23 and then, whenever I would meet Phil in the
24 chambers in Albany, we would always stop
25 unfailingly to reminisce about some of the good
495
1 times we'd had together. That was punctuated,
2 however, by some serious legislative business
3 because when Phil did, indeed, have matters
4 that required attention and action by the
5 house, he never hesitated to outline his views
6 and enlist one's support in the most genial and
7 effective manner.
8 This was a wonderful leprechaun
9 of a man, a man of terrific personality and
10 warmth, whose very presence in this chamber
11 always lit it up and always made us all feel a
12 little better for his presence.
13 We shall miss him greatly, and I
14 just want to extend a personal salute and wish
15 of condolence to Geneva and to his family. You
16 had a wonderful husband and a wonderful father,
17 and we all love you.
18 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Senator
19 Johnson.
20 SENATOR JOHNSON: Yes.
21 Certainly I'm pleased to be associated with
22 this measure. It's this very slight tribute to
23 Phil, nevertheless the greatest tribute that we
24 can give to him.
25 We were acquainted many years.
496
1 Phil and I and his wife and some of his
2 children went campaigning together in my first
3 campaign. We've been together through the
4 years at ALEC meetings and legislation.
5 We recently passed a bill just
6 last year providing a special institute at the
7 State University in Farmingdale to study the
8 needs of disabled people. Phil brought that
9 legislation to me. I helped to get it
10 adopted. I helped to get money in the budget
11 to get that going, and that's a nice tribute to
12 Phil too, I think, but his entire life is
13 really a tribute to himself and to his family,
14 to all who knew him.
15 You never were without a friend
16 if Phil was around. He would back you up every
17 time. He would fight for you. He made you
18 feel comfortable when you spoke with him. Just
19 a wonderful man, and I really lost a lot, as
20 the family did, when Phil departed, and
21 certainly my sympathies and my compassion go to
22 them because we all suffered a great loss but
23 we all have wonderful memories of a great man.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Senator
25 Volker.
497
1 SENATOR VOLKER: Mr. President,
2 very briefly.
3 It's ironic. When I came to the
4 State of the State this year, one of the things
5 I said to one of my colleagues in Long Island,
6 I said, "You know, it just won't quite seem the
7 same without Phil Healey."
8 I, of course, came to the
9 Assembly with Phil many years ago, came over to
10 the Senate and, frankly, primarily had a lot of
11 dealings with Phil as regards to the
12 American-Irish Legislators but, of course,
13 dealt with Phil on criminal justice issues and
14 many other things. In fact, every once in a
15 while he would run into my office and talk
16 about our death penalty bill and various other
17 pieces of legislation when something came to
18 his head that he thought he ought to come in
19 and tell me about in some way, that he was sure
20 that he could sell it to the rest of the state.
21 I was just telling one of my
22 colleagues on Long Island that one of the
23 things that I think we really need around here
24 is more people like Phil Healey. He not only
25 was bright and tenacious but he also had a
498
1 sense of humor and an ability to turn something
2 really stressful into something really
3 comical.
4 What I used to say about Phil
5 is, the worst thing you could do is ask him a
6 question because most of the time the answer
7 that he gave you, you had no idea what he was
8 talking about, if he didn't want you to know
9 what he was talking about, and he was a master
10 at it, he really was, but in that answer,
11 though, was his version of how he believed that
12 issue should go, because Phil Healey went
13 directly to the point in a way -- even though
14 he went around it in a rather roundabout way.
15 He was a good man. He was a
16 good legislator, as Norman said, and I commend
17 Norman for the bill because I think he
18 certainly is somebody who Long Island should
19 honor, and this Legislature should honor
20 because I think he was a man who typified the
21 kind of legislator that I think all of us would
22 like to be.
23 My hat's off to him and to his
24 family, and we will all say a prayer for him
25 because I'm sure that he's looking down on us
499
1 and sort of laughing at us and trying to figure
2 out what we're trying to do here.
3 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Senator
4 Skelos.
5 SENATOR SKELOS: Thank you, Mr.
6 President.
7 I'm delighted, Norman, that you
8 have passed this legislation -- or about to
9 pass this legislation, naming this parkway
10 after Phil.
11 One thing will be certain,
12 because Phil was truly a "pothole" Assemblyman,
13 and the best word that that parkway will be -
14 never will there ever be a pothole on it and,
15 Norman, it's going to be your responsibility as
16 long as you're a legislator, and all of us from
17 the Island will make sure, that that parkway is
18 a fitting tribute to Phil.
19 When I arrived here in 1981
20 elected to the Assembly, Phil told me, "Make
21 sure that you tend to your constituents. What
22 occurs in Albany is important, whether it's
23 legislation, whether it's the budget, but the
24 most important thing that you can do is stay in
25 touch with your constituents," and those of us
500
1 who are in office -- we can be in a parade, we
2 can be walking door to door, we can just be
3 walking down the street -- will run into
4 constituents. Some of them will agree with us;
5 some of them will disagree with us. Some of
6 them will respect us; some of them may not
7 respect us, but when you were with Phil Healey
8 in his Assembly District, they loved him. They
9 respected him and loved him and they loved his
10 entire family because it was a family ethic
11 representing that Assembly District.
12 I know I'm personally going to
13 miss Phil a great deal. All of us from the
14 Nassau County delegation, Senate, Assembly -
15 and I know Bob Woertz is here from Suffolk
16 County. The entire Long Island delegation is
17 going to miss Phil because he represented the
18 best in government. Nobody was too small. No
19 issue was too small for Phil to deal with, and
20 that's why he was loved and that's why he is
21 the type of legislator -- was the type of
22 legislator we should all look to be.
23 So, to the family, your loss
24 obviously is so much more than ours, but all we
25 can say as a legislative body, the Senate -
501
1 and he told me I should have stayed in the
2 Assembly. It was a lot more fun and active
3 over there, but I love the Senate. But you
4 know what? We love Phil Healey. He was a good
5 man.
6 God bless you all.
7 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Senator
8 Hannon.
9 SENATOR HANNON: Mr. President,
10 one of the types of speeches I have really
11 never given in either chamber is a speech
12 remembering somebody, but this is Phil Healey.
13 He's definitely an individual for whom I should
14 make a major exception to that. I have never
15 felt that I have been able to say all the right
16 things that have to be said, but I've known
17 Phil since I came to Albany as representing the
18 county of Nassau as its lobbyist and served
19 with him in the Assembly and certainly got
20 affected by all of the projects he would take
21 on here in the Senate, and I thank you, Senator
22 Levy, for this legislation.
23 As Senator Skelos was reading
24 the -- telling you about the potholes, I said,
25 I'd better check where this highway is, and I
502
1 realize it's in my district. So I'll take up
2 the cudgels that Phil would have left. I think
3 there's a few promises he has -- for sound
4 barriers, that he's made that I know we're
5 trying to still fulfill in the commitments
6 along here.
7 Phil was tenacious and he was
8 persistent, but also he had a vast
9 understanding of government. I knew that at
10 one point while we were discussing some of the
11 absolutely arcane intricacies of the government
12 of France and he demonstrated to me an
13 up-to-date, intricate knowledge of that system,
14 and I realized that what he had then been doing
15 in terms of representing so well his district
16 was trying to make sure that whatever he was
17 trying to bring forward in terms of government
18 was simple enough so that everybody would
19 understand what he was doing and they could
20 then react to it.
21 I know that he was successful in
22 that because when I had a chance to first run,
23 in where we overlapped, as I would go door to
24 door people would not even talk to me until
25 they were sure I was running for the Senate and
503
1 I would swear I was not running against Phil
2 Healey and at that point, when I pointed out we
3 would be running on the same ticket, then they
4 would allow me to talk.
5 He was just great. It's really
6 unique that we do this type of bill in the
7 Senate, but then that's what Phil Healey was, a
8 unique person who moved policy, who moved us,
9 who moved my predecessor, John Dunne, when he
10 had this seat.
11 I know that one of our old
12 friends here in Albany who also has passed
13 away, Tim McCarthy, used to tell me, "Always
14 listen to Phil Healey. If you want to find out
15 what's happening in Nassau County and what
16 people were believing and what ought to be
17 done, listen to Phil Healey."
18 I did that, and I think all of
19 our service here in Albany was the better for
20 it, and I can only finish this speech by
21 finishing the speech in a way that Phil would
22 have done by saying, thank you very much.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Senator
24 Stafford.
25 SENATOR STAFFORD: Mr.
504
1 President, I would like to join these very fine
2 remarks that have been made for a very fine
3 gentleman, a member of a very fine family.
4 As the Healeys know, Phil knew
5 the Lake Placid area very well, and I believe
6 he was elected in 1970 and, as a matter of
7 fact, in '74 we bid for the Olympics and it
8 wasn't a great thing in those days. In other
9 words, people didn't have the feeling for it
10 that we got as we won the game -- the hockey
11 game, and I needed a lot of help and Phil
12 Healey was there helping me to get the $100,000
13 that we got to bid for the Olympics to go to
14 Austria -- to put on the bid, and then we won
15 -- won the bid, and then, of course, had the
16 Olympic Games in 1980.
17 Also, he knew Whiteface. He
18 knew the area well and, as a matter of fact, we
19 have a number of other issues after the
20 Olympics. Forming the Olympic Development
21 Authority, we needed a lot of help and Phil
22 again knew the area, took an interest in it and
23 was very, very helpful to us, and he did that
24 on a number of issues.
25 We are better up in the Lake
505
1 Placid region because of Phil Healey, and we
2 thank his family for sharing him with us, and
3 the state is much better too.
4 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Senator
5 Tully.
6 SENATOR TULLY: Thank you, Mr.
7 President.
8 Phil Healey was a friend and a
9 colleague and a very fascinating softball
10 player. The times when the Senate had Warren
11 Anderson as its pitcher, the Assembly had the
12 Runyonesque "Fast Philly" as their pitcher and
13 they had some pretty good hitters on their
14 team. One of them was Billy Stachowski, and
15 sometimes even he, when he got up to bat, would
16 stand there fascinated by the pitches of Phil
17 Healey, because he had an enormous softball
18 pitch which went up in the air. By the time it
19 came down, you wondered where you were and what
20 you were doing, and I think he surprised a
21 number of us, including Billy Stachowski.
22 But, beyond that, Phil was
23 probably one of the most determined
24 bulldog-type legislators I ever met in my life
25 and on one of the first pieces of legislation
506
1 that I helped to engineer in the Senate, I
2 remember that Phil Healey was on me every day
3 about this piece of legislation and I wasn't
4 really certain that I wanted to do it, but
5 every time I turned around he was in my face
6 and he kept on me and on me and on me, and
7 finally I went along with the legislation, only
8 to subsequently run into Senator Levy, who
9 said, "He's my Assemblyman. You stay away from
10 him," and that was a tribute to Phil Healey, in
11 the sense that Senator Levy knew that that
12 which Phil Healey brought forward after much
13 deliberation was good legislation and it
14 properly belonged to Senator Levy, but in the
15 sense that we are colleagues, we shared it in
16 the Senate and the public benefited.
17 I salute you, Senator Levy, for
18 presenting this legislation, and I know Geneva
19 and the family is very pleased that it's taking
20 place, and I'm going to be very happy to vote
21 for it.
22 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Is there
23 any other Senator wishing to speak on the
24 legislation?
25 Senator Larkin.
507
1 SENATOR LARKIN: Mr. President,
2 I think I had unique relations with Phil
3 Healey. The very first day I came here over
4 from the Assembly he reminded me who my
5 predecessor was and who my predecessor's
6 predecessor was, and he said, "We're going to
7 get along great as long as you take care of the
8 Hudson Valley and listen to us people from Long
9 Island," and I thought he was joking. He was
10 as serious as a day is long.
11 I remember one time when we were
12 being real rambunctious in the Assembly about
13 adding and subtracting, and Phil Healey said,
14 "You never got the message. No, no. You can
15 take it away from the Hudson Valley, but don't
16 touch Long Island," and he said it with a very
17 sincere -- I had a problem in my district at an
18 airport that Norman remembers. Everybody was
19 getting away on a getaway day. Phil Healey
20 called me and said, you know, "I've already
21 called Gen. I'm going to be home late." He
22 came to the airport and talked to the people in
23 the town and asked them how often they would
24 use the airport and what it would do to the
25 airport, and about three or four days later I
508
1 get a call from Norman Levy, and he said, "Your
2 good friend, Phil Healey, has put together some
3 people from the Transportation Committee, some
4 of my own people, and we're going to come down
5 there and we'll hold a hearing," and my people
6 were amazed that this man from Long Island
7 would pay so much attention to another member's
8 area and, you know, if you really think about
9 it, that was Phil Healey, and I don't think,
10 even when I came to this house, there was ever
11 a day that he saw me that he didn't come by and
12 say, "How's Stewart doing?"
13 You know, when we opened
14 Stewart, Phil Healey came and it was sad that
15 he wasn't given the respect by somebody over
16 and above me, but Phil Healey didn't care. He
17 sat there and looked up, and he said, "I want
18 to see the plane go off." When American went
19 by, he put his arm around me and he said,
20 "That's progress. That's cooperation, and
21 don't you forget it. When somebody takes your
22 seat, you better be willing to help them," and
23 that was Phil Healey.
24 I remember, if you were in a
25 conference with him -- and, of course, you met
509
1 his wife the first time and 16 times later, he
2 still reminded you this was this beautiful
3 wife, and, Gen, he always spoke of you as
4 something from heaven, and his family, and, you
5 know, we're all richer. We're better off
6 because during our lifetime we met Phil Healey.
7 Thank you.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Is there
9 any other Senator wishing to speak on the
10 bill?
11 (There was no response.)
12 Hearing none, the Secretary will
13 read the last section.
14 THE SECRETARY: Section 3. This
15 act shall take effect immediately.
16 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Call the
17 roll.
18 (The Secretary called the roll.)
19 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 61.
20 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The bill
21 is passed.
22 Senator Skelos.
23 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President,
24 if we could temporarily go back to motions and
25 resolutions.
510
1 Please recognize Senator Norman
2 Levy.
3 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: We'll
4 return to the order of motions and resolutions.
5 The Chair recognizes Senator
6 Levy.
7 SENATOR LEVY: Yes, Mr.
8 President. I ask that the resolution be read.
9 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: There's
10 a privileged resolution at the desk.
11 I'll ask the Secretary to read
12 it in its entirety.
13 THE SECRETARY: By Senator Levy,
14 a Legislative Resolution memorializing the life
15 of Assemblyman Philip Healey.
16 WHEREAS, Assemblyman Philip
17 Healey, a distinguished and long-time public
18 official and resident of Massapequa, New York,
19 suddenly passed away on May 27, 1996 after
20 having just completed marching with fellow
21 veterans in the Massapequa's Memorial Day
22 Parade; and
23 WHEREAS, Assemblyman Philip
24 Healey was a tower of strength, support,
25 understanding and limitless love for his
511
1 beloved wife Geneva, his daughter Laurette, his
2 sons Philip, Jr. and Ralph, his daughter-in-law
3 Betsy and his children -- his grandchildren
4 Corinne and Philip; and
5 WHEREAS, Assemblyman Philip
6 Healey's love, devotion, commitment and
7 responsiveness to his family, friends and all
8 who knew him were his hallmark, tradition and
9 legacy; and
10 WHEREAS, the death of
11 Assemblyman Philip Healey, a highly respected
12 and regarded public servant, leaves a great
13 void in the New York State Assembly and in the
14 communities of the 12th Assembly District he
15 served with such passion and dedication for
16 more than 25 years.
17 Assemblyman Philip Healey, a
18 retired business executive, began his career in
19 public office in 1967 with his appointment to
20 the town of Oyster Bay Town Board.
21 Assemblyman Philip Healey was a
22 man of strong convictions who believed deeply
23 in the value of encouraging open debate in the
24 development of public policy and in
25 facilitating the honest exchange of diverse
512
1 viewpoints.
2 Assemblyman Philip Healey,
3 widely regarded as a gentleman who exemplified
4 all that is best about public service, was
5 deeply dedicated to his constituency and to the
6 belief that government can be a positive force
7 for improving people's lives; and
8 WHEREAS, Assemblyman Philip
9 Healey worked tirelessly throughout his
10 Assembly career to serve his constituency.
11 Assemblyman Philip Healey,
12 throughout his legislative career, held a
13 variety of important positions, including
14 Assistant Assembly Minority Whip, chair of the
15 Nassau County Republican Assembly Delegation
16 and membership on the Assembly Committees on
17 Aging, Commerce, Industry and Economic
18 Development, Rules and Governmental Operations.
19 Assemblyman Philip Healey was a
20 uniquely successful leader in both the private
21 and public sectors and left behind a myriad of
22 governmental achievements and accomplishments.
23 Assemblyman Philip Healey,
24 throughout his life, devoted his time and
25 energy to important community-related concerns,
513
1 interests and activities, thereby leaving upon
2 them his own indelible and lasting mark; and
3 WHEREAS, Assemblyman Philip
4 Healey significantly contributed to improving
5 and bettering the quality of life of the
6 residents of the Massapequas, the town of
7 Oyster Bay, Nassau County and New York State by
8 always seeking to increase community pride,
9 respect and understanding through his community
10 efforts.
11 Assemblyman Philip Healey lived
12 his life with great dignity and genuine grace,
13 always demonstrating a deep continuing concern
14 for others and in doing so, he inspired others
15 to do the same.
16 Assemblyman Philip Healey's
17 record of unimpeachable fairness will endure as
18 an inspiration and living legacy to all who had
19 the privilege and honor of knowing him; and
20 WHEREAS, Assemblyman Philip
21 Healey was recognized as a pillar within his
22 home community of Massapequa, the town of
23 Oyster Bay, Nassau County and New York State,
24 always seeking to build the firmest foundations
25 upon which the Massapequas, the town of Oyster
514
1 Bay, Nassau County, New York State and our
2 nation will continue to grow and prosper.
3 For those countless many who
4 knew and loved him, the death of Assemblyman
5 Philip Healey has most seemingly curtained the
6 world in darkness; and
7 WHEREAS, like the light at dawn
8 which so completely eclipses the brightness of
9 the night's stars, the life of Assemblyman
10 Philip Healey bears radiant testimony that the
11 ideals of honor, courage, loyalty and
12 dedication -- and of personal love -- yet
13 endure; and
14 WHEREAS, many years ago Robert
15 Ingersol wrote these words concerning the death
16 of his brother. "If everyone to whom he
17 rendered some loving service were to bring but
18 one blossom to the grave, he would sleep
19 beneath a wilderness of flowers"; and
20 WHEREAS, it is the sense of this
21 legislative body that Assemblyman Philip Healey
22 sleeps beneath a wilderness of flowers; now,
23 therefore, be it
24 RESOLVED, that this legislative
25 body pause in its deliberations in a moment of
515
1 silent tribute to Assemblyman Philip Healey, a
2 warm, caring, loving and responsive man whose
3 unselfish concern for the welfare of others
4 endowed and yet enhanced the lives of those so
5 fortunate to call him family and friend, and to
6 express its deepest condolences to his beloved
7 wife Geneva, his daughter Laurette, his sons
8 Philip, Jr. and Ralph, his daughter-in-law
9 Betsy and his grandchildren Corinne and Philip;
10 and it be further
11 RESOLVED, that copies of this
12 resolution, suitably engrossed, be transmitted
13 to Assemblyman Philip Healey's family.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Senator
15 Levy, the Chair has had an inquiry as to
16 whether or not this is open for multiple
17 sponsorship.
18 SENATOR LEVY: Certainly.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Without
20 any objection from the chamber, we'll place all
21 the members on as multiple sponsors.
22 The question is on the
23 resolution. I'll ask all the members to stand
24 to recognize their affirmation in a moment of
25 silence.
516
1 (A moment of silence was
2 observed.)
3 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
4 resolution is adopted.
5 Senator Skelos.
6 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President,
7 could you call up Calendar Number 16.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
9 Secretary will read Calendar Number 16, Senate
10 Print 184, by Senator Tully.
11 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
12 116, by Senator Tully, Senate Print 184, an act
13 to amend the Vehicle and Traffic Law, in
14 relation to revoking or prohibiting the
15 issuance of a driver's license.
16 SENATOR MONTGOMERY:
17 Explanation.
18 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Senator
19 Tully, an explanation has been requested by
20 Senator Montgomery.
21 SENATOR TULLY: Thank you, Mr.
22 President.
23 This piece of legislation, which
24 passed twice in the Senate last year, is
25 sponsored in the Assembly by Assemblyman
517
1 Lafayette and it provides for the suspension,
2 revocation or delay of the issuance of a
3 driver's license to persons for up to one year
4 for each conviction or adjudication of making
5 graffiti.
6 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Senator
7 Montgomery.
8 SENATOR MONTGOMERY: Yes, Mr.
9 President. I wonder if Senator Tully would
10 yield for a question.
11 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Senator
12 Tully, do you yield?
13 SENATOR TULLY: Yes, Mr.
14 President.
15 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
16 Senator yields.
17 SENATOR MONTGOMERY: Yes,
18 Senator Tully. I see where we have tried to
19 address this graffiti problem that you identify
20 on a couple of prior bills that we passed, one
21 of them being to make graffiti a crime
22 punishable as a Class A misdemeanor, and the
23 other one provides that if a person convicted
24 of making graffiti or possession of graffiti
25 instruments is sentenced to probation or
518
1 conditional discharge, the court shall, where
2 appropriate, participate in a program designed
3 to remove graffiti from public or private
4 property.
5 So we seem to have two distinct
6 kinds of punishments to attempt to address
7 this. I'm just wondering if either of these
8 have worked to really reduce the problem of
9 graffiti over the areas.
10 SENATOR TULLY: Thank you,
11 Senator Montgomery.
12 Mr. President, that's exactly
13 the reason for this bill. The existing law
14 does provide that the making of graffiti is a
15 misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in
16 jail but, unfortunately, the fact that that
17 penalty exists makes it far different from the
18 fact that people are convicted of making
19 graffiti and then sent to jail. The judges
20 just aren't putting them in jail for making
21 graffiti even though that punishment exists.
22 This bill came about as the
23 result of communication with my office by many,
24 many chambers of commerce which are reflected
25 in the support memos and when we initially
519
1 debated the bill when it was first introduced,
2 it did not have any provision for either
3 community service or conditional licenses.
4 As a result of the suggestions
5 of, in the one case, Senator Paterson with
6 respect to conditional licenses, we included a
7 provision for that under certain conditions of
8 medical employment and educational reasons and
9 in the case of community service, at the
10 recommendation of Senator Abate and Senator
11 Onorato, we included that as well.
12 So the bill which originally
13 passed 54 to 4 in the Senate subsequently came
14 back with those changes and passed 45 to 2, and
15 that's the bill that's before us today.
16 SENATOR MONTGOMERY: All right.
17 If the Senator would continue to yield, Mr.
18 President.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Senator
20 Tully, do you continue to yield?
21 SENATOR TULLY: Yes, Mr.
22 President.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
24 Senator continues to yield.
25 SENATOR MONTGOMERY: Thank you.
520
1 The bill that is before us which
2 requires suspension of a driver's license, it
3 is my perception that, at least for the urban
4 centers -- and I must say I'm thinking about
5 New York City in particular -- that most of the
6 people would not necessarily be driving. So
7 would this help in cities like New York where
8 we're not looking at graffiti artists who drive
9 cars?
10 SENATOR TULLY: Thank you, Mr.
11 President.
12 It's a good question, Senator,
13 and it does help in New York City. One of the
14 chambers of commerce that contacted us very
15 strongly on this was the Chamber of Commerce
16 for the borough of Queens, which is, as you
17 know, within the city of New York, and it is
18 not a mandatory situation. It's one where it
19 may be imposed and the concept is really one to
20 give the youngsters pause to think before they
21 commit such an act.
22 SENATOR MONTGOMERY: Thank you,
23 Mr. President.
24 Just briefly on the bill. I am
25 just really concerned that we're moving to
521
1 further convict, if you will, people who do
2 graffiti, and one of the programs in New York
3 City that I know that has worked and quite
4 successfully, I believe, is particularly in
5 Harlem, and I certainly would leave the example
6 to be further delineated by my Harlem Senator,
7 but I believe that what people have done is to
8 allow for artwork to be placed on public
9 buildings. A lot of that has happened
10 certainly in my district and on those
11 buildings, including the ugly gates that are
12 used to protect businesses from vandalism,
13 where there is artwork done by so-called
14 graffiti artists, we do not see the defacing by
15 graffiti vandals.
16 So I believe that's probably a
17 much more sensible and successful, workable
18 solution to graffiti vandalism, and I would
19 hope that we would allow for more of that as
20 opposed to trying to figure out other ways to
21 punish graffiti artists.
22 Thank you.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Senator
24 Paterson.
25 SENATOR PATERSON: Mr.
522
1 President, if Senator Tully would yield for a
2 question.
3 SENATOR TULLY: Yes, I will, Mr.
4 President.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
6 Senator yields.
7 SENATOR PATERSON: Thank you.
8 First, Mr. President, Senator
9 Tully was quite responsive and quite sensitive
10 to some of the issues we raised last year, and
11 I would really like to commend him.
12 I certainly can live with the
13 legislation as it stands now, but if the
14 Senator would yield for this question. It's
15 just that in my opinion, the problem with the
16 legislation inherently is its unequal
17 enforcement in the sense that once the penalty
18 relates to a driver's license, you're now
19 talking about a class of the population that
20 has driver's licenses. Why they might have
21 those licenses might be different in different
22 ways. So I just think that the penalty would
23 be enforced in different values to whoever the
24 recipients would be.
25 Now, obviously if one commits a
523
1 crime under our laws, the way that they're
2 affected may be unequal to others who would
3 similarly be convicted, but the point that I'm
4 trying to make is that in this case, we've gone
5 out of our way, Senator Tully, to write into
6 the law what is a distinction that, in my
7 opinion, doesn't even relate to the actual
8 crime. The relationship between graffiti and
9 driving is one I don't understand. I was
10 hoping you would clear that up for the record.
11 SENATOR TULLY: Yes. Thank you,
12 Mr. President.
13 The law currently, prior to the
14 passage of this bill, provides that in the
15 event you're convicted of making graffiti, that
16 a judge, in his infinite wisdom, can send you
17 away for up to one year in jail. That's
18 obviously not working, which is the reason and
19 the gravamen for the development of this bill
20 so that there would be another hook, so to
21 speak, to hang the individual on to preclude
22 them from doing this again, and that's why we
23 have this proposal which, again, is not
24 mandatory but it doesn't only include those who
25 have licenses. It includes those who might be
524
1 looking to have one in the sense that it
2 provides for the delay in the issuance of a
3 license.
4 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Senator
5 Paterson.
6 SENATOR PATERSON: Thank you,
7 Mr. President.
8 If the Senator would yield for
9 just one more question.
10 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Senator
11 Tully, do you continue to yield?
12 SENATOR TULLY: Yes, Mr.
13 President.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
15 Senator yields.
16 SENATOR TULLY: You're looking
17 better all the time, Mr. President. I want you
18 to know that.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Thank
20 you, Senator Tully.
21 SENATOR PATERSON: On that, Mr.
22 President, Senator Tully and I heartily agree.
23 SENATOR TULLY: I also meant to
24 tell Senator Paterson, Phil Healey told me he
25 loved this bill.
525
1 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Is that
2 explanation satisfactory, Senator Paterson?
3 SENATOR PATERSON: Well, now,
4 Mr. President, Senator Tully has estopped me
5 from asking any more questions. I'll just say
6 this.
7 Up in Watkins Glen, Mr.
8 President, there was once a chicken and a pig
9 drag racing on the highway. They were pulled
10 over by a couple of state troopers and they
11 were talking about how they could get the state
12 trooper to stop them from being given a very
13 major ticket and the chicken said, "Well, you
14 know, we could offer him bacon and eggs" and
15 the pig said to the chicken, "What you see as a
16 penalty, I see as a mortal sacrifice.".
17 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Thank
18 you, Senator Paterson.
19 The Secretary will read the last
20 section.
21 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
22 act shall take effect on the first day of
23 November.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Call the
25 roll.
526
1 (The Secretary called the roll.)
2 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Announce
3 the results when tabulated.
4 THE SECRETARY: Those recorded
5 in the negative on Calendar Number 16 are
6 Senators Breslin, Mendez, Montgomery and
7 Waldon. Ayes 57, nays 4.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The bill
9 is passed.
10 Senator Holland.
11 SENATOR HOLLAND: Very nice to
12 see some more county clerks in the chamber, Mr.
13 President.
14 Could we star Calendar Number 31
15 at the request of the sponsor.
16 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Calendar
17 Number 31 is starred at the request of the
18 sponsor.
19 Senator Holland.
20 SENATOR HOLLAND: And could we
21 return to motions and resolutions and recognize
22 Senator Leichter -- Senator Abate, rather, for
23 some comments on former Assemblyman
24 Passannante.
25 SENATOR ABATE: Yes. I'd like
527
1 to speak on the floor in support of Resolution
2 195. I believe it was a resolution adopted
3 last Tuesday, but we did not have an
4 opportunity. Many of you knew -
5 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: The
6 resolution was previously adopted, Senator
7 Abate, and with unanimous consent of the
8 members of the chamber -- and I don't hear any
9 objections -- you're allowed the opportunity to
10 speak on the resolution.
11 SENATOR ABATE: Thank you.
12 Assembly member Bill
13 Passannante, many of you worked with him for a
14 number of years. The resolution that was
15 adopted celebrated his life and his work.
16 I was very lucky. I knew Bill
17 as a close friend, a colleague in the
18 community. I never had the opportunity to
19 serve with him in the Legislature, but I know
20 how well thought of and how many friends he
21 earned through the years.
22 One great attribute, if you knew
23 Bill well, he made you laugh, and there are
24 stories after stories of Bill driving to Albany
25 with his eyes closed and when parts of his car
528
1 would fall off, he would put parts of his car
2 in the trunk, and he would collect these parts
3 over time.
4 So people loved Bill because he
5 made them laugh but people loved and respected
6 Bill because of his passion, his commitment to
7 issues and particularly in the community of
8 Greenwich Village, which is the community where
9 I've lived for many years, there's not a soul
10 who knew Bill that did not cherish his
11 leadership, his commitment to that community.
12 He brought dollars in support and championed
13 the institutions within Greenwich Village. If
14 ever there was someone who could call
15 themselves the mayor of Greenwich Village, it
16 would be Bill Passannante.
17 He was bigger than life. He
18 loved life. He loved food. He loved his
19 friends. He loved serving in the Legislature.
20 In many ways he was ahead of his time.
21 He was a champion of the arts
22 and of education. He talked about human rights
23 when other people were afraid about talking
24 about equal rights for all people in this
25 state, and he was someone that really cared
529
1 about other people.
2 He loved his friends. He spent
3 time with his friends and he wanted to make
4 sure everyone in society had a voice, had
5 services and had support. So not only was he a
6 great legislator, he was a great friend to so
7 many people. He was also a great and decent
8 human being.
9 I know if Bill were here today,
10 he would say, carry on. He would miss every
11 moment of the times he spent in this
12 Legislature, but he would also be so
13 appreciative of hearing from his friends and
14 the words that we have to say about him that
15 are very heartfelt.
16 So, Bill -- and as many of us do
17 -- we'll miss you, but the legacy that you
18 leave us, the legacy of all your good work will
19 remain with us for many years to come, and so I
20 hope that other young people -- because he
21 certainly was my mentor as I was in local
22 politics -- I hope that he will inspire us,
23 through his legacy and good work, will inspire
24 us to remember his good work and inspire us to
25 do better for ourselves, for each other and to
530
1 represent our communities better.
2 So thank you, Bill, for the
3 legacy you've left us, and in your name and in
4 your honor, we will try to continue your good
5 work.
6 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Senator
7 Stavisky, with unanimous consent to speak on
8 the resolution.
9 SENATOR STAVISKY: I knew Bill
10 Passannante perhaps longer than any other
11 member of this Legislature because in 1954
12 during the first year of the Wagner
13 administration, I was deputy to the president
14 of the New York City Council. As a young
15 Harvard educated man, he was able to serve in
16 the office with me.
17 He was an inspiration in terms
18 of his decency. He was a knowledgeable
19 individual who did not flaunt his Harvard
20 affiliation. He was a person whom I served
21 with only for a year and then I tried my best
22 to assist him in his race to become a member of
23 the New York State Assembly.
24 He was successful in that race,
25 and I want to recall those days when he was a
531
1 valued colleague, and then the days when we
2 served together in the Assembly, and I knew
3 that here was a committed individual who
4 deserved the support that he had received from
5 his constituents.
6 Later in life, Bill Passannante
7 was president of the National Conference of
8 State Legislators and it was a fitting tribute
9 to him that Republican and Democratic members
10 of this Legislature, as well as members from
11 legislative bodies throughout the country,
12 placed their trust in Bill Passannante.
13 I miss him as many of you also
14 do, and I would be honored if you would allow
15 me as well as others in this chamber to join in
16 the sponsorship -- or co-sponsorship of the
17 resolution that Assemblywoman -- that Senator
18 Catherine Abate has introduced.
19 Thank you.
20 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Senator
21 Lachman.
22 SENATOR LACHMAN: I never had
23 the privilege of serving with Assemblyman
24 Passannante in this body, and I never had the
25 privilege of working for him or living in the
532
1 same geographic area that he lived in, but I
2 did have the privilege of knowing him.
3 As you are probably aware, he
4 was deeply concerned about educational issues,
5 and when I was serving as a member and
6 president of the New York Board of Education 20
7 years ago, there was no one in the Assembly who
8 was more involved to better the education of
9 the public school children of the city of New
10 York, and though there might have been
11 differences of opinion between the assemblyman
12 and the members of the board, every single
13 member of the board respected his intelligence,
14 his integrity and his goals to give a superior
15 education to all of the children of the city of
16 New York, and I would be privileged and honored
17 to co-sponsor this resolution as well.
18 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Senator
19 Leichter on the resolution.
20 SENATOR LEICHTER: Thank you
21 very much, Mr. President.
22 You know, there's so many things
23 that can be said about Billy Passannante, and
24 he was so much part of the life of this
25 Legislature for so many years. I think among
533
1 -- in the whole history of the New York State
2 Legislature, very few legislators have served
3 longer than Billy Passannante did, but one
4 thing I'm sure that never has anybody served
5 with more joy, with more enthusiasm, with a
6 greater sense of collegiality than Billy
7 Passannante.
8 Billy was really so generous.
9 He was so committed to his work but never to
10 the point where he didn't see the human factor,
11 the relationship among members. He really goes
12 back to a time which I think is somewhat
13 different than what we have in the Legislature
14 now, a time certainly that Senator Marchi can
15 remember, Senator Stavisky, I guess in some
16 respects that I can, where there was a greater
17 sense of collegiality and less partisanship,
18 not that Billy wouldn't fight hard for the
19 things that he believed in. He fought very
20 strenuously and very vigorously, but I don't
21 think there was ever a member of the
22 Legislature all the years that Billy
23 Passannante served who would say, "I don't like
24 this guy. He's too partisan. He's taking
25 advantage of me", and so on.
534
1 Really, the contrary was the
2 case, and Billy was incredibly effective as a
3 legislator and as somebody who represented his
4 community. Unfortunately, I missed the
5 beginning of the comments, and I didn't hear
6 what Senator Abate said, but I hope she talked
7 somewhat -- and it deserves to be said -- the
8 fact is that he came in a district originally
9 representing a very strong Italian community,
10 as the village changed, and yet he responded so
11 well to all his constituents.
12 I got into politics in the late
13 '50s and at that time there was a strong
14 effort within New York County to depose Carmine
15 DiSapio who was then the head of the New York
16 County democratic organization known as Tammany
17 Hall, and Billy was really the Assemblyman of
18 Carmine DiSapio, but in spite of all of that,
19 Billy adjusted and not in a craven way of
20 giving in but in a sense that everyone
21 appreciated that this was a true fine public
22 servant. So as the reformers took over in the
23 village, they continued to support Billy.
24 There was one challenge to him
25 in the primary some years ago. Ed Koch, a
535
1 young, ambitious politician took on Billy
2 Passannante and Billy Passannante dispatched
3 him very effectively because Billy was loved by
4 all his constituents because they appreciated
5 this was somebody that really served them.
6 I sort of want to end by telling
7 one story about Billy Passannante because I
8 think that really captures the sort of strong,
9 wonderful human being he was.
10 I had to get down -- this was -
11 I was serving in the Assembly and session was
12 over. I had to desperately get down to New
13 York. I thought the whole fate of western
14 civilization depended upon my being in some
15 meeting and Billy said, "I'm driving down." I
16 said, "Good, but I got to be down there
17 quickly." "Come on. We'll speed down." So
18 we're moving along at a good clip and being
19 with Billy is always fun except you're nervous
20 because while he's driving, he's speaking, you
21 know, waving his hands, and so on, but we're
22 moving along. We hear the siren behind us. He
23 gets pulled over. The police officer stops
24 ahead of us. Billy gets out of the car, gets
25 into the car with the state trooper and one
536
1 minute passes, five minutes passes, ten minutes
2 passes, fifteen minutes passes, all I can see
3 is Billy's arms waving and I'm desperate to get
4 to New York and I'm ready to go out of the car
5 and say, "Billy, I'll pay the ticket." Finally
6 he comes back and he gets in the car and he
7 says, "Gee, that was a nice state trooper." I
8 said, "You talked your way out of the ticket?"
9 He said, "Oh, no. I got a ticket but he was
10 just a wonderful guy to speak to." That was
11 really Billy Passannante.
12 He loved everybody. He
13 responded to everybody, and I think one other
14 thing needs to be said, his very special
15 relationship with Father Peter Young. In fact,
16 who can fail to forget almost any evening
17 seeing Father Peter Young and Tommy Laverne, of
18 course, who served with great distinction, and
19 they had been together. They really
20 represented, I think something that was so
21 special and so good about Albany. People who
22 care deeply about the institution, who care
23 about government, who want to be part of it,
24 who want to serve, Billy Passannante did for
25 many, many years and when the history of this
537
1 Legislature is written, there has to be a
2 special note in there about Billy Passannante.
3 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Senator
4 Marchi.
5 SENATOR MARCHI: It's certainly
6 with great sadness to think of Billy
7 Passannante not being with us.
8 I knew him back to the year you
9 mentioned and perhaps you might have known,
10 Senator Abate, Joe Holska. Joe Holska was very
11 close to him and many times I participated with
12 Billy and Joe Holska, ways of being of
13 assistance to him. He's a wonderful person.
14 He and Louis DiSalvio, I think held the record
15 of 38 years in the Legislature and -- until I
16 came along, but there's not very much that
17 separate us and the quality of the service that
18 he rendered the people of this city and this
19 state and nationally was brought out so
20 eloquently, his national service.
21 This name was known from the
22 Atlantic to the Pacific. A splendid person,
23 intelligent, brilliant, warm and oh, so
24 accessible to friendship and so -- just could
25 not tolerate the type of intolerance and
538
1 nastiness that sometimes, not as often as most
2 people think, characterized public life.
3 He was certainly a wonderful
4 role model and you know that every time there
5 was a dissential census, they would shift the
6 thing around a bit in the hope of getting him,
7 but he was too strong for that and he came
8 through every time and came through well in a
9 perhaps under -- running under the most
10 difficult circumstances that I could see, just
11 shift -- because if you shift a few blocks, you
12 create some problems for the candidate in that
13 area.
14 So I certainly join completely
15 with those who have spoken to this great public
16 servant and -- well, he's in our prayers, and
17 I'm sure that if we can -- if there's some way
18 technically that we can join you, Senator
19 Abate, backwards -- your resolution passed last
20 week, didn't it -- but in any event, we're with
21 you in spirit on your initiative. It was
22 correct and appropriate.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Senator
24 Skelos.
25 SENATOR SKELOS: Thank you, Mr.
539
1 President.
2 It's fitting today that we
3 memorialize two unique individuals, earlier
4 Phil Healey and now Bill Passannante.
5 I knew obviously Phil Healey
6 more intimately coming from Nassau County, and
7 I mentioned the way his constituents loved him
8 and that's something that affected me very
9 positively.
10 Bill Passannante -- and it's
11 interesting how people affect your lives. Bill
12 Passannante I first met when I was on staff as
13 a counsel in 1976 in the Assembly and -- on the
14 8th floor and he was around the corner, and
15 what impressed me was he was the Speaker Pro
16 Tempore at the time and the senior man, but he
17 would always take the time to talk to me. He
18 would always take the time to explain the
19 legislative process.
20 You know, after I was a counsel
21 for five years -- and I never thought I would
22 have the opportunity to run for office -- you
23 know, you would go and talk to Billy and he
24 would tell you, "Be patient. You know, your
25 time will come", and he would calm you down and
540
1 give you some very sound advice.
2 You know, I probably disagreed
3 politically or philosophically with Bill on so
4 many issues, but he fought for his constituents
5 and he was always sincere in what he was doing
6 but, again, I remember him as a staff person
7 and the way he treated me.
8 He was a unique individual and
9 somebody that this Legislature should always
10 remember.
11 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Senator
12 Volker.
13 SENATOR VOLKER: Mr. President,
14 I too want to rise. I did not realize that
15 Bill's resolution passed last Tuesday, but let
16 me just say something that I have not spoken of
17 before, but -- although Phil Healey was a
18 friend of mine and, of course, a fellow
19 Republican, I knew him very well, I knew Bill
20 Passannante much better, and the reason is that
21 when I came to the Assembly in 1973, I had
22 several people who kind of sort of watched over
23 me, one legislatively, I guess that was sort of
24 a fellow by the name of DiCarlo, Dom DiCarlo,
25 who was my chairman in Codes, and I was sort of
541
1 a young firebrand, I guess, and he kind of
2 looked over me legislatively, but the fellow
3 who took care of a lot of other things and kind
4 of watched over me was Bill Passannante and
5 there was a reason for it, and it actually goes
6 back, I don't know how many years, to when my
7 father was in the Assembly with Bill and he
8 told me the story that -- he told me one night,
9 we were talking and he said that, "Your father
10 was sort of like a father to many of us in the
11 Assembly" and he said -- you got to realize
12 that in those days, when Nelson Rockefeller was
13 Governor and Republicans, of course, controlled
14 both houses -- although very few services
15 apparently were available to Democrats, and one
16 of the things that was totally unavailable,
17 apparently, was cars. At the time, I must say,
18 that there were a lot of cars around, I
19 remember that, but they weren't available to
20 Democrats. So Bill told me this story. He
21 said, "Your father" -- who was chairman of
22 Codes at the time, a very approachable man, a
23 very quiet man, he became sort of the fellow
24 who directed some of these cars to some of the
25 younger Assembly people and Bill told me the
542
1 story, he said, "He was sort of a like a father
2 figure." He would say, 'Okay. I'll get the
3 car for you but make sure you're in at a
4 reasonable hour'", and he said that he was just
5 such a wonderful man. He said, "I remember
6 that" and he said, "When I saw you come to the
7 Assembly", he said, "I thought, you know, I got
8 to sort of repay the -- repay the favor anyway
9 because I saw you. We became very good friends
10 and remained friends, by the way, long after I
11 left the Assembly and came over here to the
12 Senate, and he come striding into my office
13 every once in a while with some problem that he
14 had, and I must admit to you that I even helped
15 him a few times on some pieces of legislation
16 maybe where I could where it wasn't exactly the
17 kind of thing that I would maybe be a big
18 supporter of, shall we say.
19 In fact, one time he came to me
20 with a mission impossible. As some of you know
21 -- and I haven't talked about this -- he was a
22 big sponsor of the gay rights bill. So one
23 time -- and this must have been probably in the
24 early '80s -- he came in and there was a big
25 uproar over it, and he had said to me, "I got
543
1 to talk to you, Dale. I have got to talk to
2 you. I have got a deal for you. I got a deal
3 for you." So he came in one night and he sat
4 in my office and he said, "I have figured out
5 how we could make you a statewide figure and
6 you can be the head of the point on this issue"
7 and I said, "What issue is it, Bill", and he
8 said, "I think you should be the Senate sponsor
9 of the gay rights bill." I said, "Bill, think
10 about it. Do you know where I am from? I'm
11 from Western New York, a little conservative
12 Western New York just outside of Buffalo. That
13 might be a little difficult to sell to my
14 constituents." He said, "You know, you're
15 probably right. I was just thinking that, you
16 know, maybe if we could get an upstater to do
17 it, it would be a good idea", but he said, "You
18 know, you're absolutely right", he says, "You
19 know, Dale", he said, "I've thought about this
20 a lot", and he said, "You're my kind of guy
21 even though I know you can't do this" and he
22 said, "That's why I came to you", and that's a
23 true story and the only reason that I mention
24 it is because Bill Passannante was a tremendous
25 individual and somebody who, although he came
544
1 from Greenwich Village, he could communicate
2 with people in any part of the state and in
3 that way, in a way, I think he was typical of
4 the best of the Legislature here because he was
5 the kind of guy, although he believed in things
6 and pushed for things that obviously many of us
7 weren't in support of or many weren't
8 enthusiastic about, that didn't matter because
9 he was a wonderful individual. He was a good
10 legislator and no question he represented
11 Greenwich Village and he represented it very
12 well and yet he knew how to treat people, and
13 he knew how to deal with individuals and he was
14 a lovely, warm man, and I know many of us are
15 going to miss him.
16 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Senator
17 Skelos.
18 SENATOR SKELOS: That resolution
19 was adopted previously.
20 Is there any housekeeping at the
21 desk?
22 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Nothing
23 at the desk yet until you hand up -
24 SENATOR SKELOS: On behalf of
25 Senator Bruno, I hand up the following Majority
545
1 Leadership assignments and in consultation with
2 the Minority Leader, the Minority Leadership
3 assignments and ask that they be filed in the
4 Journal.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: They are
6 filed.
7 SENATOR SKELOS: Minority
8 Leadership and committee assignments.
9 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Thank
10 you, Senator Skelos. They are received and
11 filed.
12 Senator Skelos.
13 SENATOR SKELOS: There being no
14 further business, I move we adjourn until
15 Tuesday, February 4th, at 3:00 p.m.
16 ACTING PRESIDENT KUHL: Without
17 objection, the Senate stands adjourned until
18 tomorrow, February 4th, 3:00 p.m.
19 (Whereupon, at 4:38 p.m., the
20 Senate adjourned.)
21
22
23
24
25