Regular Session - March 15, 2018
1213
1 NEW YORK STATE SENATE
2
3
4 THE STENOGRAPHIC RECORD
5
6
7
8
9 ALBANY, NEW YORK
10 March 15, 2018
11 11:23 a.m.
12
13
14 REGULAR SESSION
15
16
17
18 SENATOR TERRENCE P. MURPHY, Acting President
19 FRANCIS W. PATIENCE, Secretary
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25
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1 P R O C E E D I N G S
2 ACTING PRESIDENT MURPHY: The
3 Senate will come to order.
4 I ask everyone present to please
5 rise and repeat with me the Pledge of Allegiance.
6 (Whereupon, the assemblage recited
7 the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag.)
8 ACTING PRESIDENT MURPHY: In the
9 absence of clergy, may we please bow our heads in
10 a moment of silence.
11 (Whereupon, the assemblage respected
12 a moment of silence.)
13 ACTING PRESIDENT MURPHY: The
14 reading of the Journal.
15 THE SECRETARY: In Senate,
16 Wednesday, March 14th, the Senate met pursuant to
17 adjournment. The Journal of Tuesday, March 13th,
18 was read and approved. On motion, Senate
19 adjourned.
20 ACTING PRESIDENT MURPHY: Without
21 objection, the Journal stands approved as read.
22 Presentation of petitions.
23 Messages from the Assembly.
24 The Secretary will read.
25 THE SECRETARY: On page 41, Senator
1215
1 Lanza moves to discharge, from the Committee on
2 Cities, Assembly Bill Number 9873 and substitute
3 it for the identical Senate Bill 7734, Third
4 Reading Calendar 542.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT MURPHY:
6 Substitution ordered.
7 Messages from the Governor.
8 Reports of standing committees.
9 Reports of select committees.
10 Communications and reports from
11 state officers.
12 Motions and resolutions.
13 Floor Leader.
14 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Could we take
15 up the noncontroversial reading of the calendar,
16 please.
17 ACTING PRESIDENT MURPHY: May we
18 please have the noncontroversial reading of the
19 calendar. The Secretary will read.
20 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
21 274, by Senator Golden, Senate Print 6671, an act
22 to amend the Real Property Tax Law.
23 ACTING PRESIDENT MURPHY: Read the
24 last section.
25 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
1216
1 act shall take effect immediately.
2 ACTING PRESIDENT MURPHY: Call the
3 roll.
4 (The Secretary called the roll.)
5 ACTING PRESIDENT MURPHY: Announce
6 the results.
7 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 46. Nays, 1.
8 Senator Krueger recorded in the negative.
9 ACTING PRESIDENT MURPHY: The bill
10 is passed.
11 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
12 381, by Senator Lanza, Senate Print 2604, an act
13 to amend the Not-for-Profit Corporation Law.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT MURPHY: Read the
15 last section.
16 THE SECRETARY: Section 4. This
17 act shall take effect immediately.
18 ACTING PRESIDENT MURPHY: Call the
19 roll.
20 (The Secretary called the roll.)
21 ACTING PRESIDENT MURPHY: Announce
22 the result.
23 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 47.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT MURPHY: The bill
25 is passed.
1217
1 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
2 423, by Senator Robach, Senate Print 7549, an act
3 authorizing.
4 SENATOR GIANARIS: Lay it aside.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT MURPHY: Lay the
6 bill aside.
7 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
8 463, by Senator Golden, Senate Print 227, an act
9 to amend the Penal Law.
10 ACTING PRESIDENT MURPHY: Read the
11 last section.
12 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
13 act shall take effect on the 90th day.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT MURPHY: Call the
15 roll.
16 (The Secretary called the roll.)
17 ACTING PRESIDENT MURPHY: Announce
18 the results.
19 THE SECRETARY: In relation to
20 Calendar 463, those recorded in the negative are
21 Senators Gianaris, Hoylman, Kavanagh, Parker,
22 Peralta and Alcantara.
23 Ayes, 41. Nays, 6.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT MURPHY: The bill
25 is passed.
1218
1 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
2 542, substituted earlier by Member of the
3 Assembly Cusick, Assembly Print 9873, an act to
4 amend Chapter 306 of the Laws of 2011.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT MURPHY: Read the
6 last section.
7 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
8 act shall take effect immediately.
9 ACTING PRESIDENT MURPHY: Call the
10 roll.
11 (The Secretary called the roll.)
12 ACTING PRESIDENT MURPHY: Announce
13 the result.
14 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 47.
15 ACTING PRESIDENT MURPHY: The bill
16 is passed.
17 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
18 601, by Senator Carlucci, Senate Print 7344A, an
19 act to amend the General Business Law.
20 ACTING PRESIDENT MURPHY: Read the
21 last section.
22 THE SECRETARY: Section 3. This
23 act shall take effect on the 120th day.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT MURPHY: Call the
25 roll.
1219
1 (The Secretary called the roll.)
2 ACTING PRESIDENT MURPHY: Senator
3 Carlucci to explain his vote.
4 SENATOR CARLUCCI: Thank you,
5 Mr. President.
6 I want to thank my colleagues for
7 supporting this Toll Payer Protection Act.
8 You know, in New York State you can
9 go from the Tappan Zee Bridge, drive on 95 all
10 the way to Boston before paying another toll.
11 But if you want to drive from Rockland County
12 down to Long Island, you're going to pay toll
13 after toll after toll.
14 That's why we've got to make sure
15 that we leave no stone unturned in finding ways
16 to reduce the cost to toll payers. And the Toll
17 Payer Protection Act, that's what this does. It
18 makes it more efficient. There's been cases
19 where I've gotten so many calls in my office
20 where people were getting excessive fines because
21 of the new cashless tolling process. We're
22 talking about families with $7,000, $8,000 worth
23 of tolls that they didn't even know about. And
24 I'm sorry, not just tolls, but the fines
25 associated with them.
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1 So what we need to do is streamline
2 the process, make sure that people have an option
3 to get notified by text message or email, have a
4 deadline by which the authorities need to notify
5 the toll payer that they have an outstanding
6 bill. And make sure, when there are these
7 excessive fines in place, that the toll payer has
8 an ability to dispute it and to dispute those
9 fines online as well as review any records that
10 are in place that have shown that they have had
11 these fines in place.
12 But also we have a system now where
13 you can have your vehicle registration suspended.
14 And that's important to make sure that we're
15 going after chronic toll evaders. However, we've
16 got to make sure that people know if their
17 vehicle registration is going to be suspended.
18 What this legislation will do is
19 make sure that before someone's vehicle
20 registration is suspended, that they're notified
21 by certified mail and then given the opportunity
22 to pay that fine so they don't lose their vehicle
23 registration.
24 Look, in Rockland County, if you
25 lose the right to drive your vehicle, you could
1221
1 lose your livelihood. We don't have the mass
2 transit options that many within the MTA district
3 already have.
4 So this is an important legislation.
5 I want to thank my colleagues for supporting it.
6 And this is an effort to streamline the process
7 and make sure we're not digging deeper into the
8 pockets of hardworking New Yorkers.
9 Thank you, Mr. President.
10 ACTING PRESIDENT MURPHY: Senator
11 Tedisco.
12 SENATOR TEDISCO: On the bill.
13 ACTING PRESIDENT MURPHY: On the
14 bill.
15 SENATOR TEDISCO: I think this is a
16 pretty good bill. You need transparency, you
17 need openness, you need people to be notified.
18 But I think I remember back when the
19 Thruway was first being built that they said by
20 the end of the 1990s, there would be no tolls on
21 the Thruway, they would all be gone.
22 That really didn't happen. In fact,
23 a couple of years ago I had to have a hearing out
24 here in Albany because there was a proposed
25 45 percent trucking increase which was basically
1222
1 going to be for every orange, for every banana,
2 for every product you bought in a grocery store,
3 it was going to be a pass-on to the constituents
4 who went shopping in the grocery stores. And
5 those trucks were going to get off the Thruway
6 and travel through our streets, ruin our roads
7 and bridges -- we have infrastructure problems
8 right now, not a good thing -- and endangering a
9 lot of young people walking on our streets and
10 going to school.
11 When the government makes a promise,
12 they should follow through with it. I think this
13 is a fine bill, but I'd love to see a bill I've
14 got pending right now that says when faceless
15 bureaucrats decide to renege on a promise that's
16 made 25 or more years ago, that we take charge of
17 those Thruway tolls. That if the Thruway toll is
18 increased or a proposed increase, it comes back
19 to people who are responsible to the constituents
20 we represent. We ratify any large toll increase,
21 and we don't let the bureaucrats tell us how much
22 of our taxpayers' dollars should be taken away.
23 And above anything, we ought to have
24 hearings across the State of New York, not leave
25 out the Capital District.
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1 So I'm going to be supporting this
2 bill, but I hope at some point we can be
3 responsible ourselves, and not individuals who
4 are appointed, because when they come to us and
5 say you promised tolls -- well, I didn't promise
6 that, and now they're being increased. We should
7 have the opportunity to ratify any of those
8 increases so they can come to us and say, Why did
9 you do it, why did you need it? Maybe we did.
10 But I've got a feeling that if we live up to our
11 promises more, we'd have more respect and more
12 confidence from our constituents.
13 Thank you, Mr. President.
14 ACTING PRESIDENT MURPHY: Senator
15 Comrie.
16 SENATOR COMRIE: Thank you,
17 Mr. President.
18 I commend my colleague, the chair of
19 Consumer Protection, Senator Carlucci, for taking
20 up the case of cashless tolling reform with such
21 diligence and passion.
22 I wholeheartedly support the bill
23 before us, the Toll Payer Protection Act. I
24 would note that the Assembly passed provisions in
25 their one-house budget bill, and I hope that it
1224
1 is signed and passed quickly.
2 The cashless tolling system, while
3 it has been a benefit in terms of congestion and
4 making sure that traffic moves smoothly, has been
5 a mess. The implementation has been mishandled,
6 with serious consequences for our drivers and our
7 consumers, including those that have E-ZPass
8 currently that wind up suffering from bills and
9 fines and fees because the system is so
10 antiquated.
11 Right now many consumers first learn
12 of their toll obligation at the same time a
13 $100 fee has been imposed on them for each trip,
14 resulting in bills that can run into thousands of
15 dollars. And somehow in 2018, consumers cannot
16 effectively search for their toll obligations in
17 advance on the website. These are glaring and
18 inexcusable flaws.
19 A Toll Payer Bill of Rights is
20 exactly what we need. This bill has many
21 meritorious provisions, including text/email
22 notifications of toll charges, a formal dispute
23 resolution process, payment plan options, record
24 review rights for consumers, better display of
25 charges and fees on signage, a 30-day grace
1225
1 period and notification if one's license is to be
2 suspended for nonpayment, and banning excessive
3 fees.
4 In addition to supporting Senator
5 Carlucci's bill, I have also introduced two
6 pieces of legislation: Senate Bill 783, creating
7 a toll amnesty program and new caps for unpaid
8 toll fees; and Senate Bill 7854, which would
9 prohibit credit reporting companies from
10 factoring late payment of cashless tolls into a
11 consumer's creditworthiness.
12 I would urge all my colleagues who
13 are supporting Senator Carlucci's bill today to
14 join the effort to bring tolling amnesty to all
15 of the bridges that run throughout New York
16 State. Too many of our collective constituents
17 have been harmed by the perplexingly haphazard
18 nature of the present system. Whatever bridge
19 that they cross, they are finding out only too
20 late, and oftentimes after they've been dropped
21 by E-ZPass that they're paying thousands of
22 dollars in fees.
23 We used to have the low balance
24 alert. There's been nothing, there have been no
25 PSAs to warn people that they need to adopt a new
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1 system. Even though there is an app for E-ZPass,
2 most people don't know it. Most people don't
3 know that they are receiving these bills, as I
4 said earlier, until after fines have been imposed
5 and oftentimes they've been dropped out of the
6 E-ZPass system, and they're paying fines and not
7 fees.
8 So it's something that needs to be
9 updated. There's no reason in 2018 that you
10 can't go on the website and, if you know you've
11 gone through the toll, be able to pay the toll
12 within 72 hours.
13 So I want to thank Senator Carlucci
14 for putting this bill forward today. I hope my
15 colleagues will work on the other two bills that
16 I mentioned.
17 And I want to thank you,
18 Mr. President, also for the opportunity to speak
19 on this issue today and also to raise the fact
20 that we need to protect our consumers and our
21 residents that are trying to do the right thing
22 but they can't pay the bill within a period of
23 time.
24 Thank you.
25 ACTING PRESIDENT AKSHAR: Senator
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1 Comrie, do you vote in the affirmative?
2 SENATOR COMRIE: Affirmative, yes.
3 ACTING PRESIDENT AKSHAR: Senator
4 Comrie in the affirmative.
5 Seeing no other members wishing to
6 be heard, announce the result.
7 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 55.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT AKSHAR: The bill
9 is passed.
10 Senator Ritchie.
11 SENATOR RITCHIE: Can we lay aside
12 Calendar Number 423 for the day, please.
13 ACTING PRESIDENT AKSHAR: Calendar
14 Number 423 will be laid aside for the day.
15 Senator Ritchie.
16 SENATOR RITCHIE: I move to adopt
17 the Resolution Calendar, with the exception of
18 Resolution Number 3990.
19 ACTING PRESIDENT AKSHAR: All in
20 favor of adopting the Resolution Calendar, with
21 the exception of 3990, signify by saying aye.
22 (Response of "Aye.")
23 ACTING PRESIDENT AKSHAR: Negative,
24 nay.
25 (No response.)
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1 ACTING PRESIDENT AKSHAR: The
2 resolution Calendar is adopted, with the
3 exception of Resolution 3990.
4 Senator Ritchie.
5 SENATOR RITCHIE: Can we now take
6 up Resolution Number 3990 and call on Senator
7 Murphy.
8 ACTING PRESIDENT AKSHAR: The
9 Secretary will read the resolution in its
10 entirety.
11 THE SECRETARY: Legislative
12 Resolution Number 3990, by Senator Flanagan,
13 honoring St. Patrick and all persons of Irish
14 descent upon the occasion of the 2018 celebration
15 of St. Patrick's Day on Saturday, March 17, 2018.
16 "WHEREAS, A native of Roman Britain,
17 Patrick was the son of Calpurnius, a civil
18 servant and deacon; and
19 "WHEREAS, Tradition has it that at
20 age 16, Patrick was captured, along with all the
21 servants of his father's estate, by Irish
22 marauders, then sold to a Druid chief and taken
23 to what is now known as County Antrim, in the
24 Province of Ulster, Ireland; and
25 "WHEREAS, During his six years of
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1 captivity, Patrick's occupation as a slave was
2 the tending of flocks of swine and sheep; and
3 "WHEREAS, While in Ireland, Patrick
4 learned the Irish language and customs; and
5 "WHEREAS, During this period,
6 Patrick experienced a religious awakening, with
7 the Christian teachings of his family and pastors
8 taking hold during his captivity; and
9 "WHEREAS, Driven by visions urging
10 him to return to his native land, Patrick escaped
11 his captors, undertaking a perilous journey in
12 the process; and
13 "WHEREAS, Upon his return home,
14 Patrick dedicated his life to religion, studying
15 in France, where he was ordained a priest and
16 later consecrated a bishop; and
17 "WHEREAS, It was Pope Celestine I
18 who named him Patricius and sent him back to
19 Ireland, where he tangled with the Druids over
20 religious beliefs and where his efforts to
21 convert the Irish to the Catholic faith were
22 untiring, as seen today in the significant
23 presence of God in Irish life; and
24 "WHEREAS, It was the example and
25 fervor of Patrick's faith that inspired and
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1 rekindled the lamp of learning in Ireland which
2 shone throughout the British Isles and the rest
3 of Europe, and which sustained the people of
4 Ireland through famine, oppression and exile; and
5 "WHEREAS, As United States President
6 John Fitzgerald Kennedy observed, Ireland has
7 hemorrhaged herself to enrich the life's blood
8 of other nations around the world, where its sons
9 and daughters have risen to prominent positions
10 as pioneers, educators, military commanders and
11 government leaders, even ascending to the
12 presidency of both France and the United States;
13 and
14 "WHEREAS, It was his faith that
15 earned Patrick not only sainthood, but the
16 everlasting love and respect of the Irish people;
17 and
18 "WHEREAS, As we honor St. Patrick,
19 whose life mirrored a deep and abiding example of
20 the challenges of sainthood, we are mindful of
21 the history of the Irish people and their
22 struggle against oppression, religious
23 intolerance and political, social and economic
24 barriers; now, therefore, be it
25 "RESOLVED, That this Legislative
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1 Body pause in its deliberations to most joyously
2 commemorate the life and good works of
3 St. Patrick and to express its sincerest prayers
4 and hopes that the 1998 peace agreement, known as
5 the Good Friday Agreement, will lead to a
6 lasting reconciliation between the Christian
7 populations of Northern Ireland and bring true
8 peace and freedom for all the people of Northern
9 Ireland; and be it further
10 "RESOLVED, That copies of this
11 resolution, suitably engrossed, be transmitted to
12 Loretta Brennan Glucksman, 257th Grand Marshal of
13 the New York City St. Patrick's Day Parade, and
14 to Dr. John L. Lahey, chairman of the New York
15 City St. Patrick's Day Parade, on the 17th of
16 March 2018."
17 ACTING PRESIDENT AKSHAR: Senator
18 Murphy on the resolution.
19 SENATOR MURPHY: Thank you,
20 Mr. President.
21 It may come as a shock to some of my
22 colleagues, but I have been taught a thing or two
23 about St. Patrick during my lifetime with my
24 family. In fact, I was educated at St. Patrick's
25 Elementary School. And I've been a parishioner
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1 of St. Patrick's Church my entire life. In both
2 settings, I was taught about the history of
3 St. Patrick, his years as a slave and his clashes
4 with the Druids as he brought Catholicism to the
5 nation of Ireland.
6 The rich history of the Irish nation
7 is directly linked to St. Patrick. But it is his
8 perseverance and the strength of the Irish people
9 across the globe -- that's what we truly stand
10 for. The people of Ireland, both present and
11 past, have overcome social oppression, religious
12 intolerance, and broke through barriers on
13 social, economic and political levels.
14 I know this firsthand, not just from
15 my parents but also from people like my in-laws,
16 John and Mary O'Connell. Both John and Mary
17 emigrated here back in 1966, straight from
18 Ireland. And I was blessed -- they came here to
19 live the American dream. They've had three kids,
20 and I was blessed to marry their daughter
21 Caroline, my wife. Now we have three kids.
22 John and Mary achieved what they set
23 out for. They achieved what we all set out for,
24 the American dream. It took courage, strength
25 and perseverance, all traits of St. Patrick. And
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1 this Saturday as we cheer the memory of
2 St. Patrick, at the same time we celebrate the
3 history, the culture and the people of Ireland.
4 We will be celebrating the grit and the
5 determination of people like my in-laws and my
6 parents, and remember the sacrifices that were
7 made by so many people.
8 Happy St. Patrick's, everybody.
9 Thank you, Mr. President.
10 ACTING PRESIDENT AKSHAR: No, thank
11 you, Senator Murphy.
12 Senator Savino.
13 SENATOR SAVINO: Thank you,
14 Mr. President.
15 I want to thank Senator Murphy for
16 bringing this resolution in honor of St. Patrick
17 and in fact in honor of Irish-Americans
18 everywhere.
19 I know some of you look at me
20 sometimes and it's hard for you to realize that I
21 am as Irish as I am Italian. I am a
22 second-generation American, and my grandfather
23 and my grandmother, my mother's parents, both
24 came here as teenagers. My grandparents were all
25 Irish. And during the famine, the way the Irish
1234
1 left Ireland is if you had any money, you came to
2 America. If you had a wee bit of money, you went
3 to England -- that's where my grandmother's
4 parents went to. And if you had no money, you
5 went to Glasgow, and that's where my grandfather
6 was born and raised, an Irish Scot. And he left
7 Scotland at the age of 18, like many young
8 immigrants, searching for a way out of abject
9 poverty. Because the future for an Irishman in
10 Scotland, or an Irishman in Ireland, was that you
11 were going to work hard and die young.
12 And so he decided to leave Scotland
13 at the age of 18, and he got on a boat and he
14 came to America and he wound up working in the
15 shipyards of Brooklyn. And he built a life here.
16 My grandmother left England at the
17 age of 16 -- think about that -- 16 years old,
18 she left on her own, got on a boat, came to
19 America, and got a job first as a domestic and,
20 when she realized she wasn't well-suited for
21 that, she got a job as a hat-check girl at the
22 Hotel Astor.
23 And they managed to meet and marry
24 and raise three daughters and watch all three of
25 them marry Italians -- quite a shock to them.
1235
1 But that is the legacy of the Irish
2 immigrants. They came here seeking something
3 better, oftentimes with very little in their
4 pockets. They built a life. And quite honestly,
5 it's the same legacy of every immigrant group.
6 My Italian grandparents did the same thing. And
7 we're watching it happen today, immigrants coming
8 here with very little in their pocket, nothing
9 more than a dream and the hope that they can be
10 part of that legacy that so many immigrants have.
11 So thank you, Senator Murphy, for
12 reminding us of who we really are. And as we
13 celebrate this Saturday St. Patrick's Day,
14 whether you're Irish or not, we're all immigrants
15 under the sun.
16 Thank you.
17 ACTING PRESIDENT AKSHAR: Thank
18 you, Senator Savino.
19 Senator Bonacic.
20 SENATOR BONACIC: Thank you,
21 Mr. President.
22 I want to thank also Senator Murphy
23 for his words about family and the Irish
24 tradition.
25 You know, this past Sunday we spoke
1236
1 to a large Irish group before the St. Paddy's Day
2 Parade in Orange County. And I asked the group,
3 What do you like the best about St. Patrick's Day
4 and the parade? I said, Do you enjoy the
5 children watching the parade and the music? Do
6 you enjoy getting up dressing like green and
7 having a good time? You like the partying?
8 And I said St. Patrick's Day is an
9 exclamation point of the celebration of our
10 Christianity.
11 There is a movement in this country
12 to take away or diminish religious freedoms. And
13 just recently Vice President Pence, on the My
14 View or the Our View show, they ridiculed him
15 because he mentioned Jesus Christ and his belief
16 in Christianity, to diminish our feelings and
17 religion identified with the Irish people,
18 embracing the Lord and family values and
19 marriage.
20 And they keep America strong. We
21 should never forget that tradition. And I know
22 that St. Paddy's Day is always portrayed as a
23 time of partying and we're all Irish for a day.
24 But the Irish people are the stronghold in our
25 family values and keeping America strong from one
1237
1 generation to the next.
2 Thank you, Mr. President.
3 ACTING PRESIDENT AKSHAR: Thank
4 you, Senator Bonacic.
5 Senator Krueger.
6 SENATOR KRUEGER: Thank you,
7 Mr. President.
8 I rise also in honor of
9 St. Patrick's Day and the Irish-American
10 community. I don't think I'm Irish, although I
11 haven't taken one of those DNA tests and it will
12 probable prove that I am. At least piece of me.
13 But this day also coincides with
14 Women's History Month. And so I was doing a
15 little homework on the role of Irish women and
16 the importance they have played in our history.
17 And I just wanted to highlight a few
18 Irish-American women and what they have
19 accomplished.
20 So one of the most famous was Mother
21 Jones. Born Mary Harris Jones in County Cork,
22 moved to America after tragedies in her family,
23 got involved in the American labor movement,
24 became a prominent campaigner, labor activist and
25 community organizer, and ultimately was given the
1238
1 nickname Mother Jones because of her care for the
2 striking workers. She coordinated major strikes
3 and was a founder of the Social Democratic Party
4 and the Industrial Workers of the World.
5 Then we have Mary Lee, one of the
6 first leaders in suffrage movements and the
7 women's right to vote. Born in 1821 in County
8 Monaghan. And while not much is known about her
9 early life in Ireland, after she left Ireland she
10 became a world leader in the suffrage movement
11 and the fight for women's right to vote.
12 And then perhaps the most famous,
13 the inspiration for Wonder Woman, Margaret
14 Sanger. Born to Irish-American parents in
15 New York in 1879, and best known for founding the
16 birth control movement right here in the United
17 States.
18 So the Irish-American community have
19 been great leaders throughout the history of this
20 country. And I don't want this day to go by
21 without pointing out the women and the men of the
22 Irish-American community have so much to be proud
23 of.
24 I support the resolution. Thank
25 you, Mr. President.
1239
1 ACTING PRESIDENT AKSHAR: Thank
2 you, Senator Krueger.
3 Senator Tedisco on the resolution.
4 SENATOR TEDISCO: Thank you,
5 Mr. President.
6 I too want to commemorate this
7 special day, St. Patrick's Day coming up, and
8 wish you best wishes from someone you might be
9 familiar with, a very good friend of mine who
10 spent a little time in these chambers, and I was
11 fortunate enough to replace him. They used to
12 call us Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid in our
13 Assembly and Senate districts, respectively. And
14 he was an attorney, is an attorney, was a
15 professor, a husband, a great father. Also a
16 boxer -- I don't know if you knew that of Senator
17 Hugh Farley. And if you ever talk to him about
18 his boxing days, he would go like this and take
19 his nose and wiggle it like this. He goes, "No
20 cartilage. It got busted in the Army." Because
21 he was also a veteran. He stood up for us and
22 protected our freedom and liberty.
23 And I'm sure you want to know that
24 this year he will be celebrating the 55th
25 anniversary of his 30th birthday. And if you
1240
1 want to know what he's doing, he's very active --
2 riding his Skidoo, spending a lot of time with
3 his family, doing a lot of traveling.
4 And as I speak with him, he wanted
5 me to wish you all the very best, as I'm sure he
6 has in the past on this special day. I think we
7 can say he represents everything good about being
8 not only an Irish public servant, but about being
9 a public servant in general.
10 Forty years he spent in this august
11 body serving the people of New York State. And I
12 think that's an example of the great history and
13 the great dedication of those of Irish descent.
14 So I thank you, Mr. President, for
15 allowing me to say a few words about my
16 predecessor.
17 ACTING PRESIDENT AKSHAR: Thank
18 you, Senator Tedisco.
19 Senator Kavanagh.
20 SENATOR KAVANAGH: Thank you,
21 Mr. President.
22 I'm feeling a little under the
23 weather today -- so although I don't have a lot
24 of green on my tie, I fear I might actually be
25 looking a little bit green today.
1241
1 (Laughter.)
2 SENATOR KAVANAGH: But I just -- I
3 thought as a proud Irishman I would be remiss in
4 not standing up and thanking Senator Flanagan and
5 Senator Murphy for bringing this resolution forth
6 today.
7 My own family came from Ireland, on
8 my mother's side in the '20s, and my father
9 emigrated here in 1958. I'm a holder of an Irish
10 passport as well as an American passport, proud
11 of both.
12 And, you know, the Irish people in
13 our city and in our state and across the country
14 are very proud of our heritage, our values as
15 people who care about and support our often large
16 families. And I think as a people who came, as
17 many Americans came before us, to our cities and
18 at first experienced resistance from people who
19 had come here before us and gradually have found
20 America to be a welcome home and have worked very
21 hard to build America into what it is today, I
22 think it's great that so many of us will be
23 celebrating St. Patrick's Day.
24 The American Irish Legislators
25 Society, of which I'm a proud member and officer,
1242
1 will have a contingent marching this Saturday in
2 the St. Patrick's Day Parade on Fifth Avenue, and
3 I encourage all of you to join us.
4 Thank you, Mr. President.
5 ACTING PRESIDENT AKSHAR: Thank
6 you, Senator Kavanagh.
7 Senator Kennedy.
8 SENATOR KENNEDY: Thank you,
9 Mr. President.
10 It is with great honor that I rise
11 to acknowledge this upcoming Saturday,
12 St. Patrick's Day, March 17, 2018. I want to
13 thank my colleagues for bringing this resolution
14 forward.
15 You know, every year we have an
16 opportunity to celebrate the Irish. In South
17 Buffalo, where I reside, where I come from, it is
18 St. Patrick's Month. We celebrate St. Patrick's
19 Day year-round, actually. But this weekend
20 especially, we're looking forward to celebrating
21 everything Irish -- those that are, those that
22 wish they were, and those that just want to
23 celebrate the Irish culture.
24 And if you think about how we all
25 have gotten here to this great country and this
1243
1 great state and this tremendous and glorious,
2 magnificent chamber, we all have our own
3 histories. Mine is steeped in Irish history.
4 My grandfather, Martin Kennedy, who
5 shares the name with my father -- my
6 great-grandfather -- came here in October of
7 1892. But he had to come through Canada, because
8 during the famine or the Great Hunger, when the
9 Irish were starved out of their own country to
10 the tune of over a million that died, perished
11 through starvation, a million that emigrated
12 across the globe -- my grandfather, great-great
13 grandfather, couldn't get into this country and
14 had to go to Canada, like so many others, because
15 they would not accept him due to disease on the
16 ship.
17 Up in Montreal, Canada, in the
18 harbor there, there's 6,000 Irish immigrants that
19 perished there due to disease -- typhoid and
20 other diseases. The Grey Nuns, founded in
21 Montreal by St. Marguerite d'Youville -- that
22 bears the name of D'Youville College, my alma
23 mater -- founded the Grey Nuns in the 1700s. The
24 Grey Nuns in Montreal came to save the Irish on
25 the shores, as they came in with disease, and
1244
1 perished with them.
2 Years later, as my great-grandfather
3 came over and went to work, and then my other
4 great-grandparents, Patrick Joseph O'Brien and
5 Katherine O'Brien, came here, found work, found
6 difficulties, tried to go to work, saw signs that
7 said "No Irish Need Apply." They were oppressed
8 in their own nation, they were oppressed when
9 they came over the 3,000-mile journey in coffin
10 ships. Banded together, got involved in every
11 level of society, helped to build this country
12 from the ground up. Our buildings, our great
13 state here, from New York Harbor up the Hudson,
14 across this state to Buffalo, helped to build the
15 Erie Canal, settling in the Old First Ward, where
16 this Saturday we'll celebrate, this St. Patrick's
17 Day, the old neighborhood, the original path of
18 the old neighborhood parade. On Sunday, the big
19 parade in downtown Buffalo, down Delaware Avenue,
20 that was just recently named by a Boston paper as
21 the best parade in the nation. Coming out of
22 Boston, I think that has great credibility.
23 And so the reason I tell this story
24 is not just to celebrate the Irish, and not just
25 to celebrate St. Patrick's Day -- because us
1245
1 Irish in this room and those friends of ours that
2 know, we celebrate our culture all the time -- is
3 that this story can be related to what's
4 happening in this country today as immigrants
5 from other nations are fleeing oppression, are
6 fleeing their own genocide, are fleeing war, and
7 look upon our nation as beacon of hope on the
8 globe that the Irish did over the course of the
9 last few hundred years.
10 Now, there's so many different ways
11 that I could go on and on and on. And I won't.
12 We had a tremendous celebration this past Monday,
13 as my colleague -- and Irish citizen -- Senator
14 Kavanagh mentioned, at the American-Irish
15 Legislators Society, a bipartisan group started
16 over 30 years ago with a dear friend of mine, my
17 neighbor Buffalonian, Dick Keane, Assemblymember
18 Dick Keane, and others.
19 We had Ciarán Madden, the Irish
20 Consul General based in New York, here with us.
21 The level of cooperation between our great state
22 and our nation and the Irish nation continues,
23 and we must continue to make sure that
24 relationship flourishes.
25 With that, Mr. President, I conclude
1246
1 but just want to wish everybody the grandest,
2 happiest, healthiest, most vivacious
3 St. Patrick's Day you could ever possibly have.
4 Celebrate the day, whether you're Irish or not.
5 Celebrate your family, celebrate your friends,
6 celebrate your community and, yes, celebrate this
7 great country, the United States of America --
8 and of course, everything Irish.
9 Thank you, Mr. President.
10 ACTING PRESIDENT AKSHAR: Thank
11 you, Senator Kennedy. I'm beginning to feel
12 Irish.
13 (Laughter.)
14 ACTING PRESIDENT AKSHAR: Senator
15 Bailey on the resolution.
16 SENATOR BAILEY: Thank you,
17 Mr. President.
18 I will be very, very brief. As
19 Senator Krueger alluded to, I may be Irish in
20 resume and ancestry DNA only, but I wanted to
21 make sure that I show my respect for my friends
22 in the Irish community.
23 And especially Senator Murphy, thank
24 you for introducing this resolution, along with
25 Senator Flanagan. You met your wife in the
1247
1 Bronx, so that's something that I'll always make
2 sure I remember. And you knew where to go when
3 it was time to make sure you found a wife, back
4 in the boogie-down Bronx.
5 But I just want to make sure that I
6 recognize the accomplishments and the greatness
7 that your community has done, and I say, on
8 Saturday, Erin go Bragh!
9 ACTING PRESIDENT AKSHAR: Thank
10 you, Senator Bailey.
11 So the question is on the
12 resolution. All in favor signify by saying aye.
13 (Response of "Aye.")
14 ACTING PRESIDENT AKSHAR: Opposed,
15 nay.
16 (No response.)
17 ACTING PRESIDENT AKSHAR: The
18 resolution is adopted.
19 Senator Ritchie.
20 SENATOR RITCHIE: Senator Flanagan
21 would like to open this resolution up for
22 cosponsorship. If a member would like to be a
23 cosponsor, they should notify the desk.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT AKSHAR: This
25 resolution is open for cosponsorship. If any
1248
1 member wishes to be a cosponsor, please notify
2 the desk.
3 Senator Ritchie.
4 SENATOR RITCHIE: I believe there's
5 a previously adopted resolution by Senator
6 Stewart-Cousins, Number 4031, at the desk. I ask
7 that it be read in its entirety and call on
8 Senator Stewart-Cousins to speak.
9 ACTING PRESIDENT AKSHAR: The
10 Secretary will read.
11 THE SECRETARY: Legislative
12 Resolution Number 4031, by Senator
13 Stewart-Cousins, memorializing Governor Andrew M.
14 Cuomo to proclaim March 2018 as Women's History
15 Month in the State of New York.
16 "WHEREAS, March is Women's History
17 Month; and
18 "WHEREAS, March 8th is International
19 Women's Day; and
20 "WHEREAS, Each year New York State
21 officially sets aside time to recognize the
22 unique contributions that women have made to
23 New York State; and
24 "WHEREAS, New York State has a
25 distinguished history of monumental achievements
1249
1 in the area of women's rights; and
2 "WHEREAS, In 1826, New York State
3 opened one of the first public high schools for
4 girls, resulting in a future for women in which
5 they were no longer confined to the home, a
6 future in which they were educated and able to
7 use this education to better their social and
8 economic status; and
9 "WHEREAS, In 1848 in New York, the
10 first women's rights convention was held at
11 Seneca Falls to secure for all women the right to
12 vote; and
13 "WHEREAS, In 1903, The Women's Trade
14 Union League of New York was formed to represent
15 working women, later becoming the nucleus for the
16 International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union; and
17 "WHEREAS, In 1918, one year after
18 New York guaranteed women the right to vote in
19 all elections, the first two women, Ida Sammis
20 and Mary Lilly, were elected to the New York
21 State Legislature; and
22 "WHEREAS, In 1967, Muriel Siebert
23 became the first woman to own a seat on the
24 New York Stock Exchange, opening the door for
25 women to gain positions of greater economic
1250
1 power; and
2 "WHEREAS, In 1968, New York State
3 Assemblywoman Shirley Chisholm became the first
4 black woman elected to Congress, and in 1972 she
5 ran for president of the United States, another
6 first for black women; and
7 "WHEREAS, In 1970, New York City was
8 the site of the first Women's Strike for
9 Equality, in which 50,000 people marched for
10 equal rights; and
11 "WHEREAS, In 1983, New York State
12 women legislators established the Legislative
13 Women's Caucus to improve the participation of
14 women in all areas of government, support issues
15 that benefit women and provide a network of
16 support for women in the State Legislature; and
17 "WHEREAS, In 2009, Sonia Sotomayor
18 was the first Hispanic justice appointed to the
19 United States Supreme Court; and
20 "WHEREAS, In 2014, four women from
21 New York State participated in Olympic events
22 held in Sochi, Russia: Anneliese Cooke, Saranac
23 Lake - biathlon; Jamie Gruebel, Lake Placid -
24 bobsled, earned a Bronze medal; Erin Hamlin,
25 Remsen - luge, earned a Bronze medal; and
1251
1 Josephine Pucci, Pearl Lake - women's hockey,
2 earned a Silver medal; and
3 "WHEREAS, In 2015, Loretta Elizabeth
4 Lynch was appointed as attorney general of the
5 United States, becoming the first African-
6 American woman to serve in this esteemed
7 position; and
8 "WHEREAS, New York has been the home
9 of many extraordinary women who have led society
10 to a better future: Elizabeth Cady Stanton and
11 Susan B. Anthony led the campaign for women's
12 suffrage; Sojourner Truth spoke out for the
13 abolition of slavery and for suffrage for women;
14 and
15 "WHEREAS, Carrie Chapman Catt became
16 the first president of the League of Women
17 Voters; Emma Willard opened the first endowed
18 institution for the education of women; Civil War
19 surgeon Dr. Mary E. Walker was the only woman
20 ever awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor;
21 Harriet Tubman was an abolitionist who led slaves
22 to freedom by way of the Underground Railroad in
23 the 19th century; and
24 "WHEREAS, Elizabeth Blackwell and
25 Belva Lockwood were the first women in the fields
1252
1 of medicine and law; pioneer birth control
2 educator and advocate Margaret Sanger established
3 a research center in New York City; and
4 "WHEREAS, Emma Goldman founded the
5 Free Speech League, which led to the American
6 Civil Liberties Union; humanitarian Eleanor
7 Roosevelt served as United States delegate to the
8 United Nations; and
9 "WHEREAS, Civil rights lawyer and
10 New York State Senator Constance Baker Motley
11 became the first black woman to sit on the U.S.
12 District Court in New York; and there have been
13 so many more known and unknown women who
14 championed rights and opportunity for all; and
15 "WHEREAS, New York State has hosted
16 many conventions, campaigns and events of the
17 women's rights movement, from the 1848 convention
18 at Seneca Falls to the 1999 Berkshire Conference
19 of Women Historians, which was held to improve
20 the status of women in history and in the
21 historical professions; and
22 "WHEREAS, Today, 59 women serve in
23 the New York State Legislature, holding
24 leadership positions in both houses and bringing
25 the diverse experiences of women into law and
1253
1 public policy, the largest class of women in the
2 history of New York; now, therefore, be it
3 "RESOLVED, That this Legislative
4 Body pause in its deliberations to memorialize
5 Governor Andrew M. Cuomo to proclaim March 2018,
6 as Women's History Month in the State of
7 New York; and be it further
8 "RESOLVED, That copies of this
9 resolution, suitably engrossed, be transmitted
10 to the Honorable Andrew M. Cuomo, Governor of the
11 State of New York, and the Legislative Women's
12 Caucus of New York State."
13 ACTING PRESIDENT AKSHAR: Senator
14 Stewart-Cousins on the resolution.
15 SENATOR STEWART-COUSINS: Thank
16 you, Mr. President.
17 And again, before I start, let me
18 also wish everyone a very, very happy
19 St. Patrick's Day.
20 So in terms of women's history, you
21 know, every year there's a theme for Women's
22 History Month, and it's selected by the National
23 Women's History Project. Last year the theme was
24 "Honoring Trailblazing Women in Labor and
25 Business." And this year's theme is
1254
1 "Nevertheless, She Persisted," honoring women who
2 fight all forms of discrimination against women.
3 This year's theme is especially
4 significant given what's happening in Washington
5 with the efforts to strip women's rights and
6 what's happening nationally with sexual
7 harassment and assault survivors who are coming
8 out of the shadows to share their stories and
9 shine a light on this crisis.
10 I think of many of us in this
11 chamber, myself included, who are here because we
12 persisted. I think of my mother and her mother
13 and so many of our parents who we are here
14 because they persisted.
15 And so Women's History Month gives
16 us an opportunity to look back at women who
17 inspired us through their actions, their
18 dedication, and yes, their persistence.
19 Women who persisted like Ida
20 B. Wells, who was born enslaved, and she was
21 freed after the Civil War. She went on to become
22 an investigative reporter. And part of what she
23 did was expose the horrors of lynching, in
24 addition to being a cofounder of the NAACP and a
25 suffragette.
1255
1 Women like Dolores Huerta, who
2 fought for farmworkers, who still we must fight
3 for in this day and age. But in California she
4 cofounded the National Farmworkers Association,
5 which is now the United Farm Workers, with -- she
6 did that with Cesar Chavez. And her phrase "Si,
7 Se Puede," still resonates today. It was Dolores
8 Huerta who gave us that.
9 Women who persisted like Billie Jean
10 King, who in the face of sexism famously won the
11 "Battle of the Sexes" in 1973, showing the world
12 that women were a formidable force in sports and
13 were to be respected.
14 Even contemporary women, like the
15 Bronx's own Tarana Burke, whose compassion as it
16 related to a client of hers back in 2006 who
17 talked about sexual abuse -- in 2006, it was
18 Tarana's compassion that began the phrase
19 "Me Too." And because of her persistence, even
20 today, even more so today, #MeToo is just a
21 national, national understanding.
22 Women also like Saru Jayaraman,
23 who's leading the fight for tipped workers to get
24 fair wages. I had the honor to stand with Saru
25 many times, and it's an economic justice fight
1256
1 that I know that as we persist, we will actually
2 succeed.
3 And when I think about women -- and
4 we've talked about the persistence, but I think
5 about Helen Keller, someone who was unable to
6 see, to hear, and yet went on to graduate from
7 college, the first person with those types of
8 disabilities to actually be able to graduate from
9 college. And she became a prolific author, an
10 outspoken advocate for suffrage, for social
11 justice, and for labor rights.
12 These and the stories of so many
13 incredible women are at the heart of Women's
14 History Month.
15 So this Women's History Month, let
16 us recommit to persisting in the face of sexism
17 and in the face of injustice. We owe it to our
18 daughters and our granddaughters to show them
19 that when women refuse to back down, we can
20 accomplish so many things. And that's why "And
21 Yet She Persisted" is a good thing, because
22 invariably it moves our society forward.
23 Thank you.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT AKSHAR: Thank
25 you, Senator Stewart-Cousins.
1257
1 Senator Bailey.
2 SENATOR BAILEY: Thank you,
3 Mr. President.
4 And it's apropos and fitting that I
5 get a chance to sit in this chair and I get to
6 sit next to my leader.
7 And the theme of what I'm going to
8 say today is "Representation matters." It
9 matters that we have a woman leading our
10 conference.
11 I'm going to start out with a quote
12 from W.E.B. Du Bois: "There is no force equal to
13 a woman determined to rise." And I can say that
14 as a father of two amazing young girls, Giada and
15 Carina, and as the husband of the 99 percent
16 better -- not my better half, she's 99 percent
17 better than I am -- my wife, Giamara.
18 I understand that they say that
19 "Behind every great man is a great woman."
20 That's never been the case, because a woman
21 doesn't belong behind me; at the very least,
22 she's to my side. And most of the times she's in
23 front of me, preventing me from doing something
24 dumb.
25 Representation matters, folks.
1258
1 Representation matters because my 3-year-old,
2 Giada, she came to me one day and I told her I
3 had a doctor's appointment and I told her the
4 doctor's name. She said, "Daddy, that's a boy.
5 Boys can't be doctors." "Why, Giada?" "Well,
6 Doc McStuffins is a doctor, and my doctor,
7 Dr. Gagne, she's a doctor. So boys can't be
8 doctors. All I know is that girls are doctors."
9 And it may seem simple and silly,
10 but for a 3-year-old to understand that she can
11 be something like that is amazing to me, as a
12 father and as a public servant.
13 Representation matters because it's
14 mattered all my life. I mentioned my wife and my
15 daughters. My mom, I would not be here without
16 her. My grandmothers, I would not be here,
17 literally, without them. But not just literally,
18 but the life lessons that they've taught me about
19 how -- treat others as you would want others to
20 treat your mother and treat your grandmother, and
21 live by those rules.
22 You know, here in the Legislature
23 we -- as legislators, we have to rely on our
24 staff to do what we do. Behind every great
25 legislator is an even better staff. And the
1259
1 majority of my staff -- spoiler alert -- are
2 women. They do an amazing job making sure that
3 I'm where I'm supposed to be, that I'm doing what
4 I'm supposed to get done, and that I am able to
5 represent the residents of my district ably.
6 Representation matters. I was
7 honored a couple of weeks ago at an event with
8 somebody that I didn't even believe I should have
9 been in the same room as: Tonya Boyd, the first
10 African-American woman to be the female deputy
11 chief in the FDNY. My daughter was there with
12 me, and I told her what she did. And glass
13 ceiling things are not only being broken, they
14 are being shattered by women like Tonya Boyd.
15 They're being shattered by women
16 like Darcel Clark, the first African-American
17 woman to serve as a district attorney in the
18 State of New York.
19 But it's not just those folks who
20 serve at large positions, it's folks who are in
21 this very body with us. Not just Senator
22 Stewart-Cousins, who was our great leader, but
23 Senator Liz Krueger, Senator Toby Stavisky,
24 Senator Velmanette Montgomery, Senator Roxanne
25 Persaud, Senator Marisol Alcantara, Senator Diane
1260
1 Savino.
2 And Senator Cathy Young, who along
3 with Senator Liz Krueger and Assemblymember
4 Helene Weinstein are a new kind of
5 three-women-in-the-room. During the budget
6 hearings they sit through and sift through so
7 much testimony. And I have to make sure that
8 it's not a partisan issue, that my colleagues on
9 the other side of the aisle, you're accomplishing
10 great things as women from your communities as
11 well.
12 It's about Betty Rosa, Dr. Betty
13 Rosa, the chancellor of the Regents. It's about
14 Judge Jenny Rivera, my law school professor who
15 taught me a lot about the law but I also met my
16 wife in her seminar, so I owe her a lot more than
17 just a law degree.
18 It's about father-daughter duos.
19 And my wife was speaking about something on our
20 way home from the Somos el Futuro conference the
21 other day, and she said, "You know, there aren't
22 many father-daughter duos in the Legislature.
23 You know, I see a lot of father-son." And I
24 said, "Well, Senator Giada Bailey. If my
25 daughter has anything to do with it, she'll be up
1261
1 here soon one day."
2 John Mayer once said "Fathers, be
3 good to your daughters." But it's important to
4 be good to not just our daughters, we have to be
5 good to all of the women in our community. I
6 referenced Tupac yesterday, so I might as well do
7 it again. The same exact song, in "Keep Ya Head
8 Up," he said, you know, we have to -- you know,
9 keep your head up and, you know, it's funny, when
10 it rains it pours. But that's not the important
11 part about the piece that I'm getting to. I
12 might get back to that one in a second, because I
13 forgot that portion.
14 But my daughter Giada, she has a
15 shirt that I love, and it's amazing. She has a
16 shirt that says: "I'm a girl. What's your
17 superpower?" And the fact that that shirt exists
18 today is amazing. The fact that that shirt is
19 not only on my daughter, it's on probably a
20 hundred other people, because, you know, we
21 probably got it from a big chain store or
22 something like that. But the fact that you can
23 know what -- "I'm a girl, what's your
24 superpower," the message that that sends,
25 Mr. President, is remarkable.
1262
1 Thank you.
2 "And since we all came from a woman,
3 got our name from a woman and our game from a
4 woman, I wonder why we take from our women, why
5 we rape our women, do we hate our women? I think
6 it's time to kill for our women, time to heal our
7 women, be real to our women. And if we don't,
8 we'll have a race of babies that hate the ladies
9 that make the babies. And since a man can't make
10 one, he has no right to tell a woman when and
11 where to create one. So will the real men get
12 up? I know you're fed up, ladies, but keep your
13 head up."
14 And for some, time's up, but for
15 others, it's your time.
16 Thank you, Mr. President.
17 ACTING PRESIDENT AKSHAR: Thank
18 you, Senator Bailey.
19 Seeing and hearing no other members
20 wishing to be heard, Senator Ritchie.
21 SENATOR RITCHIE: Senator
22 Stewart-Cousins would like to open this
23 resolution up for cosponsorship. If a member
24 would like to be a cosponsor, they should notify
25 the desk.
1263
1 ACTING PRESIDENT AKSHAR: So this
2 resolution is in fact open for cosponsorship.
3 All members are going to be listed as cosponsors.
4 If you wish not to be a cosponsor, please notify
5 the desk.
6 Senator Ritchie.
7 SENATOR RITCHIE: I believe there
8 is a previously adopted resolution by Senator
9 Breslin, Number 3351, at the desk. I ask that
10 the title be read only and to call on Senator
11 Breslin to speak.
12 ACTING PRESIDENT AKSHAR: The
13 Secretary will read the title only.
14 THE SECRETARY: Legislative
15 Resolution Number 3351, by Senator Breslin,
16 congratulating the Troy Varsity Football Team and
17 Coach Bob Burns upon the occasion of capturing
18 the 2017 New York State Public High School
19 Athletic Association Class AA Football
20 Championship on November 26, 2017.
21 ACTING PRESIDENT AKSHAR: Senator
22 Breslin.
23 SENATOR BRESLIN: Thank you very
24 much, Mr. President.
25 And welcome, Troy High School
1264
1 Football Team, who waited patiently, but you've
2 heard a lot about the Irish.
3 And if you don't know, Troy has one
4 of the greatest historical parts in Irish
5 history. At one time it had more per-capita
6 Irish than any city in the country.
7 And then when we talk about women,
8 Kate Mullaney, back in the 19th century, started
9 the first union of the Troy shirt manufacturing
10 workers and now has a home in Troy named after
11 her that's on the federal landmarks.
12 But more importantly, or as
13 importantly, Troy football and what they've done.
14 Little Troy. And they were -- if we don't know,
15 there are D schools, there are B schools, C
16 schools, A schools and AA. And it really -- you
17 know, it's the size of the school.
18 And Troy last year went from an A to
19 a AA. And generally when you move up in class,
20 you move down in wins because you're competing
21 with better teams. Not Troy High School. Troy
22 High School went up to a AA last year and
23 proceeded to win all 13 games last year and be
24 the number-one ranked team in the State of
25 New York.
1265
1 So they enter this past year with a
2 mark on their back. Everybody's looking out to
3 beat Troy High School. Didn't happen. Troy High
4 School won an additional 13 games, to again be
5 the state champions -- the first team in the
6 history of New York to win consecutive state
7 titles. A pretty great accomplishment.
8 And I was joyed to be able to watch
9 several games and see the amazing cohesiveness of
10 not only your offense but your defense, and the
11 remarkable coaching job that was done. And when
12 I think of your team, led by Joey Ward, who came
13 from, I might add -- transferred from a school in
14 Albany, where I live -- and Dev Holmes is going
15 to be around here to be a great success at the
16 University at Albany. It's a phenomenal ball
17 club, led by Bob Burns, who sits up there, the
18 head coach.
19 And I'd be remiss if I didn't
20 mention others, some of whom I've known for
21 years: Mike Grasso, Jim Canfield, Mark Galuski,
22 Sam Marro, Pat Haggerty, Matt Marsh -- a
23 phenomenal combination of coaches. And I know by
24 talking to some of the players how you respect
25 what they have done for you.
1266
1 And you have now come to the
2 pinnacle of state high school football, something
3 that you can be justifiably proud of, to make a
4 difference and bring Troy to the forefront of
5 athletics in the State of New York. I salute
6 each and every one of you. And your future is
7 positive, your future is bright.
8 And if I didn't mention him before,
9 Joey Casale -- I waited, because you have
10 relationships in the State Legislature. Pat
11 Casale was a dear friend, a member of the
12 Assembly, who's retired. The Casale family name,
13 throughout Troy, is renowned. And if I looked
14 through, and I did, there are so many others who
15 have histories with Troy.
16 So I salute you for again being
17 state champions. And I worry about next year
18 only because there's the talk of going down to
19 Class A again because of size. Because you've
20 demonstrated you belong at the highest levels of
21 state football in the State of New York, and you
22 belong at that level. To go down one because of
23 your population size would be a bad situation for
24 the kids you play.
25 So keep it up. You've set the
1267
1 tradition, you've set what is important, and
2 you've done it as student-athletes who make the
3 entire Capital District and the State of New York
4 proud of you.
5 I salute you. Thank you.
6 ACTING PRESIDENT AKSHAR: Senator
7 Breslin, thank you.
8 To the Troy Football Team and Coach
9 Burns -- excuse me. I'm sorry. Senator
10 Marchione. My apologies.
11 SENATOR MARCHIONE: Thank you,
12 Mr. President.
13 I rise to salute the Troy team as
14 well. And certainly Senator Breslin has said
15 just about every wonderful thing that can be said
16 about this football team, about their coach, Bob
17 Burns.
18 But I just would like to add my
19 congratulations to all of you. This team, as
20 you've heard through Senator Breslin, is
21 talented, incredible athletes, and they exemplify
22 the dedication and determination and teamwork
23 that their school has been exhibiting.
24 Congratulations. This is the second
25 year in a row; that is an amazing feat. And I
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1 just want to add my congratulations to each and
2 every one of you. My thanks to your coach, who I
3 understand is an amazing coach and a tremendous
4 human being. So congratulations to each and
5 every one of you.
6 ACTING PRESIDENT AKSHAR: Thank
7 you, Senator Marchione.
8 To Coach Burns and the entire team,
9 on behalf of the New York State Senate, we
10 congratulate you on all of your accomplishments
11 and all of your teamwork.
12 And if everybody could please rise
13 and acknowledge the team and the coaches.
14 (Standing ovation.)
15 ACTING PRESIDENT AKSHAR: We of
16 course extend all the privileges and the
17 courtesies of this great house to all of you.
18 Thank you.
19 Senator Ritchie.
20 SENATOR RITCHIE: Senator Breslin
21 would like to open this resolution up for
22 cosponsorship. If a member would like to be a
23 cosponsor, they should notify the desk.
24 ACTING PRESIDENT AKSHAR: The
25 resolution is open for cosponsorship. If you
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1 wish to be a cosponsor, please notify the desk.
2 Senator Ritchie.
3 SENATOR RITCHIE: Is there any
4 further business at the desk?
5 ACTING PRESIDENT AKSHAR: There is
6 no further business at the desk.
7 SENATOR RITCHIE: There being no
8 further business, I move that we adjourn until
9 Monday, March 19th, at 3:00 p.m., intervening
10 days being legislative days.
11 ACTING PRESIDENT AKSHAR: On
12 motion, the Senate stands adjourned until Monday,
13 March 19th, at 3:00 p.m., intervening days being
14 legislative days.
15 (Whereupon, at 12:24 p.m., the
16 Senate adjourned.)
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