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NY Times – Another Emergency Bill Averts Albany Shutdown
By NICHOLAS CONFESSORE
Published: June 14, 2010
ALBANY — State lawmakers narrowly approved the latest in a series of emergency budget bills on Monday night, temporarily averting a government shutdown that officials said would be catastrophic for New Yorkers.
After days of bitter public debate in which Gov. David A. Patersonand state lawmakers each sought to pre-emptively cast blame for a potential shutdown, the State Assembly and Senate each approved the emergency bill, largely along party lines.
In the Democratic-controlled Assembly, the bill was approved by a wide margin, with some Democrats joining nearly all Republicans in opposition. In the Senate, where Democrats hold a 32-to-30 majority and faced an internal revolt over the emergency bill, all but one Democrat ultimately voted for the legislation. They were joined by three Republicans, despite suggestions from Republican leaders last week that all their members would withhold support until a complete budget deal was reached.
“To not pass this extender would drive New York into a state of chaos,” said Hugh T. Farley, one of the three Republicans who voted for the bill. Mr. Farley, whose district in the Schenectady area is home to thousands of state workers, called the late budget “the worst thing that I’ve seen in my 34 years in the Senate” and warned, “Don’t count on me for any more extenders.” The budget was supposed to have been approved by April 1.
Monday’s emergency bill was the 11th introduced by Mr. Paterson and approved by the Legislature since March 31, when the state’s previous fiscal year expired. As in the last such bill, the new emergency bill also incorporated a package of long-term spending cuts that advanced, in piecemeal fashion, an all-around state budget deal.
The new bill included about $326 million in cuts to programs for the mentally disabled and social services. After negotiations between the governor and the Legislature last week, the bill restored some money that Mr. Paterson had sought to cut from summer youth programs, welfare grants and programs for the elderly. Part of that spending will be offset by canceling new programs, while some will have to be made up with cuts elsewhere in the budget as talks continue.
It is difficult to gauge how much progress is being made on a budget agreement, as Mr. Paterson and the Legislature continue to describe those discussions in starkly different terms.
Meeting with reporters on Sunday, Mr. Paterson described himself as far apart from the Legislature. On Monday, however, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver said, “We are moving closer and closer on an overall budget plan, and we hope to succeed on that.” He added, “I can’t tell you whether the governor is optimistic or pessimistic.”
Because the last few emergency bills have also included some long-term budget cuts — to Medicaid, for instance — part of the new budget has in effect already been completed. In each of those areas, Mr. Paterson has inserted his proposed cuts into the emergency bills, but then allowed the Legislature to tinker with some specific programs while keeping the sizes of the cuts roughly the same.
Officials said that the three-way negotiations were now focused on about $700 million to $800 million of potential savings, including reducing the Legislature’s discretionary pork-barrel spending, known in Albany as member items, and Mr. Paterson’s proposal for a new tax on hospitals and other health care institutions.
One legislative official, who insisted on anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly about the negotiations, estimated that 50 to 60 percent of the state’s spending for the current fiscal year had been locked in. Of a projected deficit of more than $9 billion, the official said, that left a gap of about $1.7 billion to be met with further cuts, new taxes or borrowing.
In that sense, the efforts of the last week have brought the state closer to a budget deal simply by narrowing the decisions that remain. And the remaining gap could be closed using a combination of ideas, including Mr. Paterson’s proposal to tax sugared soft drinks, the Assembly’s proposal for short-term borrowing, or the Senate’s proposal to refinance New York’s share of the nationwide tobacco settlement. (Deeper cuts are also a possibility.)
But some of the most politically tough decisions have not yet been made. Mr. Paterson has not ruled out inserting sweeping school cuts into the next emergency bill, which could set off a war with Mr. Silver, who has fought to shrink those cuts by about $419 million.
“There are some difficult cuts that have to be made, and we have to work them out,” Mr. Silver said.
NYSR – Thank You!
MEMORIAL DAY AT RIVERBANK – MAY 31, 2010
June 3, 2010
Lewis Burgess
When Governor Paterson and Commissioner Ash proposed to close dozens of NYS State Parks and historic sites and reduce operating hours, classes, pools, and services at dozens of others on February 19th, no one imagined that there would be an unrelenting state-wide outcry rejecting the proposal.
On March 3rd, Senator Jose M. Serrano and Assemblyman Steve Englebright rallied Senators and Assemblymembers to the cause. From beginning to end, the two legislators were unrelenting in their efforts to restore funding to NYS parks and historic sites Kudos to them.
And once informed, citizens across the state, upstate and downstate, began to organize hold rallies and campaign to keep our parks and historic sites open and operating as usual.
Riverbankers also rallied and campaigned to save Riverbank non-stop from March 4th to May 28th. Riverbankers joined together at rallies at Riverbank, in front of the NYS Office Building, and at a vigil on May 17th at the 137th Street entrance. Riverbankers called, wrote and met with legislators, interviewed with NY1, the Daily News, El Diario, Amsterdam News, DNAInfo, manned info and petition tables, bought Save Riverbank t-shirts and swim caps, made Riverbank videos for YouTube, designed graphics, blogged, reported, researched and Facebooked. 5,297 of us signed a petition that was sent to Governor Paterson, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver and Majority Conference Leader Senator John L. Sampson. The Riverbank Community of park users spread the word to save Riverbank.
Our local legislators also responded to the call to hold Riverbank harmless in the budget crisis. Assemblymen Daniel O’Donnell, Keith L.T. Wright and Herman D. Farrell joined the fray early with their March 3rd joint letter to Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver. Senator Eric Schneiderman appealed to Governor Paterson and Senator Sampson on March 24th. Since then Herman D. Farrell carried the cause to the floor of the Assembly and fought for Riverbank. They all voted in the affirmative in the Senate and Assembly budget resolutions to restore NYS parks as well as the bills that freed the parks and historic sites from devastating budget cuts.
Quietly in the background, the Albany Office of OPRHP, the New York City Commission of the State Council of Recreation and Historic Preservation and Riverbank State Park administration and employees supported the Riverbank Community effort to restore the budget cuts from the beginning. Community Planning Board 9 sent a unanimously approved letter to Governor Paterson on May 21st.
The Riverbank Community thanks you all.
In the end, after much political brouhaha and wheeling and dealing in Albany, all NYS parks and historic parks where held harmless in the budget crisis on May 28th. The citizen’s outcry was heard, our parks were given back to us as it should be.
WBEN – Paterson Talks Parks, Dysfunction in Albany
Governor David A. Paterson
Posted: Wednesday, 26 May 2010 11:21PM
Tom Puckett Reporting
tpuckett@entercom.com
Buffalo, NY (WBEN) Governor Paterson says he’s willing to open up parks in time of the Memorial Day holiday weekend, but needs help from state lawmakers. Meantime, a spokesman for Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver says negotiations are continuing to reach a deal to open the parks.
Paterson tells WSYR in Syracuse he’s willing to open the parks, but there need to be cuts of $5-6 million. “It is a good gesture if we can reopen the parks, but I need to account for it in the books,” says Paterson, “and until they make an agreement with me where I don’t have to give up any of my savings in the deficit reduction plan, I’m not going to do it.”
Paterson claims lawmakers want to restore some of the cuts he made in the Environmental Protection Fund. “They’ve already restored so much money so they’ll subtract some of the restoration but it still leaves them plenty of room and leaves me to make the difference on my own,” says Paterson which goes back to the problem of spending money the state does not have.
Paterson says it’s yet another example of dysfunction in Albany. “They can’t come up with $5 million more than what I’ve called for in reductions. If they can’t find $5 million, how are they going to come up with the $2 billion gap between them and executive branch right now?,” he pondered.
WTEN – Deal reached on NY State Parks? Not so fast
Posted: May 26, 2010 1:27 PM
Updated: May 26, 2010 6:12 PM
ALBANY, N.Y. — One day after the State Senate voted on a plan to keep State Parks up and running, rumors swirled around Albany that lawmakers had reached a joint agreement on reopening the 55 shuttered parks and historic sites.
This proved to not be true Wednesday.
NEWS10 received word in the morning that that lawmakers had reached a “three-way” deal on the State Parks; meaning leaders from the Assembly, State Senate and Governor Paterson had all come to an agreement.
When the news first hit, it was said lawmakers would hold a press conference on the deal at 11:30 Wednesday morning. That announcement was then rumored to be pushed back to 2 p.m.
By noontime, it was revealed that any planned announcement had been cancelled.
To make matters more confusing, NEWS10 received conflicting statements from the State Senate majority and the Governor’s office.
When asked about the purported deal, State Senate Majority Spokesperson Austin Shafran said in an emailed statement, “We have a tentative agreement to keep parks open this weekend and for the remainder of the year but details are still being worked out.”
On the other hand, Morgan Hook, Governor Paterson’s Communications Director, told NEWS10, “as (sic.) an administration source – there is no deal.”
In Wednesday afternoon press conference, Gov. Paterson said no deal had been made on the parks, but was optimistic one would be made soon.
According to Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, an agreement is close but nothing is concrete yet. He believes the parks will be back open for the weekend.
State Senators unanimously voted on a plan Tuesday evening to keep State Parks up and running.
According to State Sen. José Serrano (D-Manhattan), who sponsored the bill, the plan would give New York’s parks commissioner the authority to use money already available in each weekly budget extender.
“To move forward with the summer schedule,” Sen. Serrano said, explaining what the bill would permit. “Mowing the lawns, opening up things, getting the parks ready, taking camp reservations in anticipation of a full budget being completed soon.”
But Assembly members disagreed about the effectiveness such a bill would have, pointing out the need for Governor Paterson ‘s approval and no specific funding outlined in the bill.
Assembly members did not vote on the issue Wednesday. They will return to session 1 p.m. Thursday.
WXXI – Leaders Meeting Focuses on Parks
Leaders’ Meeting – May 25, 2010
Karen DeWitt (2010-05-25)
ALBANY, NEW YORK (WXXI) – Governor Paterson met with legislative leaders to try to come to agreement on the long overdue state budget, but much of the discussion focused on a small yet important portion of the budget, how to open state parks.
There’s a yawning $9.2 billion dollar gap in the humongous $133 billion dollar state budget, yet much of the talk at the public leader’s meeting focused on what’s in comparison a tiny amount- the $5 million dollars or so it would take to open 55 of New York’s parks and historic sites in time for the Memorial Day weekend.
Legislative leaders rejected Paterson’s offer to restore the money for the parks, because the bill would also raid $67 million dollars from the state’s environmental protection fund to help close the deficit. Paterson says if the parks stay closed this summer, it’s the legislature’s fault.
“It will be a responsibility that they will have to bear,” said Paterson. “Because we have accommodated their wishes.”
Senate Democratic Leader John Sampson says he’s hopeful something can be worked out before the weekend.
“People can no longer afford to go on vacations,” said Sampson, who said many New Yorkers will be having “stay-cations”, and would like to visit the parks for “relaxation and relief”.
Lawmakers have offered some alternatives to the governor’s proposal to raid the environmental fund, saying the money could come from a tax on waste tires, for instance, but Paterson says those funds are already earmarked for something else, and he wants a new source of revenue to open the parks. The governor also chided legislative leaders for ignoring the “elephant in the room” that has lingered now for weeks. While lawmakers agree on how to close around $6 and a half billion dollars of the over $9 billion dollar debt, they still differ on how to close the remaining $2 and a half billion dollars remaining.
“At this point, it’s inexcusable for us to be that far apart,” said Paterson.
Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver proposed that the governor and legislative leaders decide on what amount to cut from each portion of the budget, health care, education, state agencies, and other areas, and then convene the long delayed legislative conference committees to hash out what exactly to cut. The Speaker says there could be enough progress to actually meet later in the week.
“It seems to make sense to everybody,” Silver said.
Afterward, Paterson said progress was made, however incremental. He says the conference committee meetings were supposed to, by law, occur in the middle of March.
“We’re closer to March than we are to May,” said Paterson, who says lawmakers have so far refused to cross a “fundamental threshold”.
“We’re going to have to reduce spending,” Paterson said.
Attorney General and now gubernatorial candidate Andrew Cuomo was as close to Albany as he’s been in recent days, appearing in nearby Troy to accept the endorsement of the Independence Party. Cuomo, who has proposed a number of reforms to state budgeting, including a spending cap and a tax freeze, was reluctant to get drawn in to the current budget controversies, though he did offer some small measure of support for Paterson when he was asked about the stalemate over the parks.
“It would be a sad notion that the parks would be closed,” said Cuomo. “I know the governor is working very hard to find was to fund the parks, and I’m hopeful.”
Lawmakers claim they will be working hard, as well, in the coming days to resolve the budget crisis. The two major parties have scheduled their nominating conventions over the next few days, but legislators say they won’t let the political events district them from the fiscal crisis.
© Copyright 2010, WXXI
Ithaca Journal – Paterson wants parks open for Memorial Day
Legislators balk at taking money from environmental funding
By Cara Matthews •Albany Bureau • May 24, 2010, 7:30 pm
Riverbank State Park Promenade - What will happen on Memorial Day? (Photo Courtesy of F. Andre Fortune)
ALBANY — After refusing to release aid for more than 50 state parks and historic sites, leading to their closure, Gov. David Paterson submitted legislation Monday that would reopen them in time for Memorial Day weekend.
But the Assembly and Senate as well as environmental groups criticized the proposal, which would use an additional $6 million from the state Environmental Protection Fund. It would require lawmakers to approve part of Gov. David Paterson’s budget proposal from January that would reduce EPF spending to $143 million, much lower than either house is aiming for.
Paterson said the Senate and Assembly have to cut elsewhere in the budget in order to open the 41 parks and 14 historic sites and maintain services at 23 other parks and one historic site.
“I have heard from my colleagues in the Legislature that funding state parks and historic sites is a top priority, but I have not heard any specific solutions as to how to pay for it,” Paterson said in a statement.
He cautioned that the bill would “require sacrifice.”
“There is a no free lunch. If legislators want to fully fund the parks, that money must come from a real source,” he said.
The public parks and historic sites have been closed while the governor and lawmakers attempt to reach a budget deal, which has been made more difficult because the state faces a $9.2 billion deficit for the current fiscal year. The governor has been proposing bare-bones emergency budget extenders each week for the current fiscal year, which began April 1, as a strategy to get lawmakers to pass a budget.
Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, D-Manhattan, said he would bring the Paterson’s proposal up with fellow Democrats, who control the Assembly, “but I would expect the members might not like his overall plan. They definitely are committed to opening the parks, and I believe alternatively they might just pass a mandate to open the parks.”
The governor shouldn’t have closed the parks in the first place, Silver told reporters Monday, and said the governor actually is “re-routing $110 million from the Environmental Protection Fund and telling all of you that it is a $6 million program.”
Silver spokeswoman Sisa Moyo said the Assembly is working with the governor on the legislation “to see what we can accomplish.”
Paterson spokesman Morgan Hook said the administration was unclear on how Silver arrived at the figures he used.
Keeping parks and historic sites open has been one of the top priorities of the Senate Democratic majority, said Travis Proulx, a spokesman for Senate Democratic Leader John Sampson, D-Brooklyn.
“The governor’s current proposal has implications far beyond parks funding. We appreciate that he has responded to our efforts to keep the parks fully operational, and are partnering with his office on language that will open the gates without devastating the EPF,” he said.
Paterson’s bill would reduce funding levels for nearly all programs funded by the EPF by 4.5 percent to obtain the $6 million needed for the parks, several of which have remained open with private or local-government funding. The budget the governor proposed in January already includes $5 million from the EPF for personnel expenses associated with capital projects for parks and historic sites.
“Given this opportunity to vote up or down on this particular issue, I now expect that the Legislature will return its focus to passing a responsible budget,” he said.
The governor’s budget proposes reducing appropriations from the Environmental Protection Fund from $212 million to $143 million. The Assembly’s resolution restored the amount to $168 million while the Senate’s would put the total at $222 million, said Alison Jenkins, Environmental Advocates of New York State’s fiscal policy program director.
The EPF fund was $255 million in 2008-09 and was supposed to jump to $287 million in the current year, but it was only funded at $222 million and was cut during the year to $212 million, Jenkins said.
Jenkins said the governor is playing a game of “political chicken” and “picking the Environmental Protection Fund’s pocket to keep the parks open.”
EPL/Environmental Advocates, the New York League of Conservation Voters and the Long Island Environmental Voters Forum issued a statement Monday that said the governor’s bill would “inflict long-term damage on every facet of New York’s environment: capital spending on water quality, farmland protection, forestry, community recycling programs, zoos, aquariums and much more.”
“He’s putting a gun to the head of the Environmental Protection Fund and threatening to pull the trigger if the Legislature doesn’t correct his past mistake of closing state parks,” said Robert Moore, executive director of EPL/Environmental Advocates.
The Buffalo News – Paterson’s plan to reopen parks hits snag in Legislature
The shutdown of 55 state parks affects a number of Western New York facilities, including Woodlawn Beach in the Town of Hamburg. Robert Kirkham / Buffalo News
By Tom Precious
News Albany Bureau
Updated: May 24, 2010, 2:54 pm
Published: May 24, 2010, 2:41 pm
ALBANY — A plan to reopen 55 state parks and historic sites is suddenly in trouble, with lawmakers criticizing the way Gov. David A. Paterson is trying to steer money to have the facilities open in time for the Memorial Day weekend.
The governor’s office on Sunday billed the solution as a $6 million transfer from the state’s Environmental Protection Fund to the state parks agency. But this afternoon, in introducing the bill, Paterson broadened the effort, saying it would involve more than $100 million and reach far beyond just the affected parks.
While lawmakers had been expecting to quickly pass legislation this afternoon to get the parks back open, that is now growing doubtful.
Leading the criticism was Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, a Manhattan Democrat, who predicted his house will not go for the Paterson approach.
“We believe that parks are very important. We should open the parks. There’s no reason to hold the parks hostage,” Silver told reporters.
But Silver called Paterson’s plan “inappropriate” because it seeks to push the Legislature to accept his broader plan for the Environmental Protection Fund or risk keeping the parks closed.
The shutdown of the parks, seen as a bargaining chip for Paterson to try to put pressure on lawmakers to pass the delayed 2010 state budget, affects a number of Western New York facilities, including Woodlawn Beach, Wilson Tuscarora and Knox Farm.
“This is not a parks bill. This is an entire appropriations bill,” said Austin Shafran, a spokesman for Senate Democrats.
“It sets a very dangerous precedent,” added Shafran, who said it would lead to lawmakers having to take up parts of the state budget on a piecemeal basis.
Earlier in the day, before the new bill was introduced by Paterson, some environmental groups were critical of raiding the Environmental Protection Fund, which supports a wide range of environmental efforts, to reopen the parks.
“It isn’t a solution. It’s really a pathetic political ploy,” Robert Moore, executive director of Environmental Advocates, an umbrella lobbying group, said of the Paterson plan.
Moore said his group opposes using the Environmental Protection Fund, which is supposed to support capital efforts, to fund the parks agency’s operating budget.
tprecious@buffnews.com
Governor Paterson’s Leaders Meeting Highlights and Post-Leaders Meeting Q&A – Where are we now?
May 19, 2010
Lewis Burgess
SEE ENTIRE LEADERS’ MEETING VIDEO HERE: http://pointers.audiovideoweb.com/stcasx/1c2win1559/GOV_05182010edit.wmv/play.asx
LEADERS’ MEETING HIGHLIGHTS – MAY 18. 2010
A leaders’ meeting was held on May 18, 2010 to jump start the passing of the budget. Though nothing much was accomplished besides agreeing to have have joint conference committees, we can see what goes on in Albany, understand where leaders stand and how our political leaders relate to each other. In the highlights we have Governor David A. Paterson, Democratic Majority Conference Leader John L. Sampson, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, Republican Minority Conference Leader Senator Dean G. Skelos and Minority Assembly Leader Assemblyman Brian M. Kolb.
POST-LEADERS’ MEETING QUESTION AND ANSWER
Governor Paterson and Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver take questions after the Leaders’ Meeting. The tall man talking into Paterson’s ear is Robert L. Megna, Director of Division of the Budget. In this video, we can hear Governor Paterson’s and Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver’s opinions on the budget and budget crisis and what the next steps will be.
WHERE ARE WE NOW?
1. The 49th day has passed without a budget and Legislators went home yesterday on May 18, 2010.
2. As seen in the video above, the Senate and Assembly have not yet agreed on their reductions or eliminations of amounts to items in Governor Paterson’s Executive Budget or to additions made to it – there is no mutually agreed on fiscal plan to discuss or debate in joint conference committees composed of rank and file legislators.
3. The budget is at an impasse because of fundamental disagreements between the Governor and the Senate and Assembly leadership and between the Senate and Assembly themselves.
4. The Governor does not want to borrow money to reduce the $9.2 billion deficit. Both the Senate and Assembly want to borrow up to $2 billion to reduce the deficit. The Senate and Assembly disagree over the school aid cuts. The Assembly wants to restore $600 million in school aid and $126 million in health care cuts. The Senate does not. The Senate wants to refinance tobacco bonds and use the money obtained to give away property tax rebates to seniors. The Assembly and Governor do not. Also, the Democratic Senate has a one seat majority over the Republican minority and so one or two Democratic Assemblymembers can alter a Democratic vote by going against the Democratic majority. The result of these disagreements, the slim margins in the Senate balance of power and other issues is that the Leadership find it difficult to come to agreements between and among themselves. Therefore, a three way (Governor, Senate and Assembly) budget has not been made and therefore not passed.
4. Since there is no budget, it has become necessary to run state government operations on a week by week basis. Every week since April 1, Governor Paterson has issued an emergency appropriations bill that must be approved by the Senate and Assembly. The emergency extender bills contains billions of mandated funds and Governor deemed “essential” monies. For example in the 6th extender bill, nearly $3.6 billion in state and federal monies for support of the executive, legislative and judicial branches of government, health insurance, medical assistance and medicaid for children and adults, unemployment insurance, capital projects in transportation and the failed furlough measure were included. However, it left out certain construction monies due on 500 contracts, school aid, etc.
The 7th extender bill passed Monday and included more of the same and also a portion ($7.4 million) of the previously denied 4 percent raise ($26 million) to union workers. 20,000 workers will receive up to a 7 percent pay hike. A furlough measure was not included as per Lawrence Kahn’s court order.
The governor will add $2.1 billion in school aid as a separate bill to be paid before June 30th, though remarks have been made for a June 1st date. And additional $1.5 billion will be paid on or before June 30th, if the bill amending the June 1st date is approved by the Legislature. The current bill (see below) seeks a schedule change – The Governor wants to move all school aid payments to June 30th. Source of the school aid figures is from Robert L. Megna, Director of the Division of the Budget.
Links to Appropriation Bills #7 and related memos
Emergency #7 Appropriation>> – Memo >>
Emergency #7 School Aid Payments>> – Memo >>
5. NYS Parks (OPRHP) is an executive agency and its employees are funded in the extender bills. Therefore, all of NYS Parks personnel, including Riverbank’s personnel are being paid without exception. At Riverbank, there have been no layoffs or reduction in employee/worker hours. Overtime is now not permitted (See this memo to agency commissioners). Paterson says there will be no funds for the parks until the state budget is settled.
6. Even so, 37 parks and 14 historic sites were closed state-wide on Monday. Park employees are being transferred with full pay to other parks that are not closed or reduced in operating hours with pay. Riverbank now has reduced operating hours: 11:00 am to 9:00 pm, Monday to Friday and 9:00 am to 7:00 pm on Saturday and Sunday. 20 seasonal workers have been moved to the following State Parks: Roberto Clemente, Gantry Plaza, East River and Clay Pit Ponds. They will work there and be paid for 32 hours of works as contracted.
Why not work at Riverbank and keep the normal 6:00 AM to 11:00 AM hours?
7. The reduction in operating hours at Riverbank is not due to proposed budget cuts since the budget has not been passed. The reduction in operating hours at Riverbank is not due to a lack of funds since all employees are receiving salaries and wages without interruption. There are no layoffs. The reduced operating hours are not in effect to gain overall savings since nothing overall is being saved. All spring classes and programs were canceled in April so the main or perhaps sole cost to operate at full hours is labor time. One can say that on the books Riverbank saves because 20 seasonal workers will no longer there though it has been said that Riverbank is footing the wage bill while they work at other parks. If not, there is no budget for Riverbank, so saving must be calculated at the Regional level and no substantial savings are being made there as well. Workers are being shifted and paid the same as before with no savings overall obtained.
8. Since there are no real savings being made with reducing the operating hours and the same is perhaps elsewhere, this can only be seen as a political move by the Governor to raise the ire of New Yorkers state-wide by unnecessarily closing NYS State Parks and historic sites and reducing operating hours and services.
But for what purpose? To motivate the Senate and Assembly Leadership to accept the Governor’s budget?
Click here to listen to another view from Assemblywoman Francine DelMonte, who say the closings are “unfair and unwise.”
9. Whatever purpose the Governor and the Division of Budget have, the result makes no fiscal sense and is inhumane – millions of people state wide are forced to sacrifice using their parks for what appears to be no fiscal gain.
10. Governor Paterson is the primary source of these directives and he is the one responsible for the reduction of hours. Rank and file Senators and Assemblymembers are helpless to do anything directly but make appeals. Only Sheldon Silver and John Sampson can make a difference by negotiating with the Governor.
The Senate and Assembly resolution of March 22nd and 24th restored all cuts made to the NYS Parks.
On May 7th, Senator Serrano and Assemblyman Steve Englebright have sponsored bills (S7776A , A11013A) that if approved will give authority to OPRHP to operate and maintain all parks as before:
“AN ACT in relation to requiring the office of parks, recreation and historic preservation to operate and maintain all state parks and historic sites under its jurisdiction during the fiscal year that ends March 31, 2011 pursuant to the same seasons of operation, hours of operation, service levels, and public access to facilities as were implemented at the beginning of the fiscal year that ended March 31, 2010.”
On May 11th and May 17th, Assemblyman Herman “Denny” Farrell, Chairman of the Assembly Ways and Means Committee appealed in the Assembly to restore the Riverbank cuts and expressed outrage at obvious disparities.
In the May 18th Leaders’ meeting, Senator John Sampson, Democratic Majority Conference Leader, directly asked Governor Paterson for money to be placed in the next extender bill to open NYS State Parks.
Our voices are being heard. Our calls are bringing result. Now is the time to increase our efforts.
WHAT CAN I DO?
Demand the passing of a balanced budget that restores all cuts to NYS Parks and Riverbank!
Call – Call Governor Paterson, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver and Senate Majority Leader John L. Sampson and your local legislators to ask what they are doing for Riverbank and how their work is going. Help your family, relatives and friends to make calls to them – Contact info is below for local electeds – Click here to find your Elected Official if not listed below.
Sign – sign the petition at Riverbank and online – have others do the same
Buy – Buy a “Save Riverbank” t-shirt and wear it – spread the word.
Become a Facebook Fan – http://tinyurl.com/yhmlbb8
VOLUNTEER! – save.riverbank@yahoo.com
GOVERNOR DAVID A. PATERSON
Email/web contact page: http://www.state.ny.us/governor/contact/GovernorContactForm.php
Mailing Address:
State Capital
Albany, New York 12224
518-474-8390
ASSEMBLYMAN SHELDON SILVER
Speaker of the New York State Assembly
Email address:speaker@assembly.state.ny.us
web contact page: http://assembly.state.ny.us/mem/?ad=064&sh=contact
District Office
250 Broadway
Suite 2307
New York, NY 10007
Tel: 212-312-1420
Albany Office
Legislative Office Building 932
Albany, NY 12248
Tel: 518-455-3791
SENATOR JOHN L. SAMPSON
Democratic Conference Leader
Email address: sampson@senate.state.ny.us
web contact page: http://www.nysenate.gov/senator/john-l-sampson/contact
District Office:
1222 East 96th Street
Brooklyn, NY 11236
Tel: 718-649-7653
Fax: 718-649-7661
Albany Office:
409 Legislative Office Building
Albany, NY 12247
Tel: 518-455-2788
Fax: 518-426-6806
Contact the state legislators at their NYC and Albany offices listed below. Urge them to reject the proposed cuts to Riverbank and to restore all Riverbank funding, hours and programming.
Senator Bill Perkins
212 222-7315
518-455-2795
perkins@senate.state.ny.us
Senator Eric Schneiderman
212 544-0173
518-455-2041
schneide@senate.state.ny.us
Senator José Serrano
212 828-5829
518-455-2795
serrano@senate.state.ny.us
Assemblymember Adriano Espaillat
212-544-2278
518-455-5807
espaila@assembly.state.ny.us
Assemblymember Herman “Denny” Farrell
212 568-2828
518-455-5491
farrelh@assembly.state.ny.us
Assemblymember Daniel O’Donnell
212 866-3970
518-455-5603
odonned@assembly.state.ny.us
Assemblymember Keith Wright
212 866-5809
518-455-4793
WrightK@assembly.state.ny.us
NYSR – Riverbank scheduled to be hit hard, again.
May 7, 2010
Lewis Burgess
If the budget does not pass by May 17th, Riverbank State Park will be hit hard once again.
Last month, we lost all of the spring classes.
This time 49 hours per week will be lopped off Riverbank’s operating schedule reducing operating hours by 41%. Instead of the normal operating hours of 6 am to 11 pm, Monday to Sunday, the new operating hours will be:
Monday to Friday – 11:00 am to 9:00 pm
Saturday and Sunday – 9:00 am to 7:00 pm
Riverbank's gates will open at 11:00, Monday to Friday and at 9:00 am on Saturday and Sunday if the budget is still pending on May 17th.
Park gates will be shut.
Pedestrians, MTA buses (BX19 and M11) and non-state vehicles will not be able to enter Riverbank State Park before 11:00 am on weekdays and 9:00 AM on weekends. Opening and closing times for the indoor pool, gymnasium, exercise room, game room, rink and athletics fields and courts (basketball, handball, tennis) also will follow the new schedule.
Early morning and late evening lap swimmers, joggers, exercisers, community gardeners and basketball, soccer, football, baseball and handball players using the fields and facilities will have to adjust their schedules.
Riverbank teams and the summer camps also recently lost the use of yellow school buses to travel to games and to go on bus trips. The contract expired and was not renewed.
These changes are due to Governor Paterson not releasing funds to the NYS Parks because the state budget is still pending. 55 state parks and historic sites across New York will close and 22 will experience reduced services if the budget is not passed by May 17th.
If the one day a week furlough measure passes next Monday on May 10th, there may be a loss of more hours or an entire day for the fields and facilities depending on how the NYC region manages state employee schedules to fulfill the furlough mandate.
It is more than likely that the one day a week furlough for state employees will be approved rather than having a limited government shutdown. If the Government is shutdown, the park will most likely close completely.
If the unions file an injunction against the furlough on May 10th, legal battles will ensue with no clear forseeable outcome. The furlough may be delayed or permitted by judicial decision or denied and then delayed by a union appeal.
Governor Paterson is considering keeping the Legislature in session for five days instead of the usual three next week. Paterson said on WHAM 1108 am:
“What I wanted was to give them the opportunity to do this without me having to keep them there like some teacher keeping students, you know, that haven’t completed assignments. But it looks like we’re going to wind up in the same place…… “I want to come in on Monday and talk to legislative leaders, so I won’t say that prematurely, but that’s on the table. I’ve said that before, and I will do it if necessary.”
Once a week or more Governor Paterson goes on radio to chide the Senate and Assembly for not getting it together. Assembly Sheldon Silver and Senator John L. Sampson typically do not respond and remain nearly silent on what their views are regarding the Governor’s role in holding up the negotiations. What difference will this make? Why keep 212 legislators in session when fewer than 10 seem to be required.
How long will this go on?
Until Governor Paterson, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver and Majority Conference Leader Senator John L. Sampson resolve the differences between the Senate and Assembly budget resolutions for spending cuts and revenue generation and reconcile the differences both houses have with the Governor over borrowing, the budget will not pass.
As long as there is no budget, the Governor will submit only weekly emergency extender bills with one day a week furloughs within them. Only necessary emergency state funds and federal monies will be released.
This plan, however, will stop dead in June when the state will run out of funds for the third time.
1. Let’s raise our voices to demand the end of political gamesmanship.
2. Demand the passing of a balanced budget now that restores all funds to NYS Parks and Riverbank or fund the NYS Parks and Riverbank now!
Call – Call Governor Paterson, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver and Senate Majority Leader John L. Sampson and your local legislators to ask what they are doing for Riverbank and how their work is going. Help your family, relatives and friends to make calls to them – Contact info is below for local electeds – Click here to find your Elected Official if not listed below.
Sign – sign the petition at Riverbank and online – have others do the same
Buy – Buy a “Save Riverbank” t-shirt and wear it – spread the word.
Become a Facebook Fan – http://tinyurl.com/yhmlbb8
VOLUNTEER! – save.riverbank@yahoo.com
GOVERNOR DAVID A. PATERSON
Email/web contact page: http://www.state.ny.us/governor/contact/GovernorContactForm.php
Mailing Address:
State Capital
Albany, New York 12224
518-474-8390
ASSEMBLYMAN SHELDON SILVER
Speaker of the New York State Assembly
Email address:speaker@assembly.state.ny.us
web contact page: http://assembly.state.ny.us/mem/?ad=064&sh=contact
District Office
250 Broadway
Suite 2307
New York, NY 10007
Tel: 212-312-1420
Albany Office
Legislative Office Building 932
Albany, NY 12248
Tel: 518-455-3791
SENATOR JOHN L. SAMPSON
Democratic Conference Leader
Email address: sampson@senate.state.ny.us
web contact page: http://www.nysenate.gov/senator/john-l-sampson/contact
District Office:
1222 East 96th Street
Brooklyn, NY 11236
Tel: 718-649-7653
Fax: 718-649-7661
Albany Office:
409 Legislative Office Building
Albany, NY 12247
Tel: 518-455-2788
Fax: 518-426-6806
Contact the state legislators at their NYC and Albany offices listed below. Urge them to reject the proposed cuts to Riverbank and to restore all Riverbank funding, hours and programming.
Senator Bill Perkins
212 222-7315
518-455-2795
perkins@senate.state.ny.us
Senator Eric Schneiderman
212 544-0173
518-455-2041
schneide@senate.state.ny.us
Senator José Serrano
212 828-5829
518-455-2795
serrano@senate.state.ny.us
Assemblymember Adriano Espaillat
212-544-2278
518-455-5807
espaila@assembly.state.ny.us
Assemblymember Herman “Denny” Farrell
212 568-2828
518-455-5491
farrelh@assembly.state.ny.us
Assemblymember Daniel O’Donnell
212 866-3970
518-455-5603
odonned@assembly.state.ny.us
Assemblymember Keith Wright
212 866-5809
518-455-4793
WrightK@assembly.state.ny.us
NYSR – Paterson seeks to speed up budget negotioations and to squeeze millions from state employees with mandatory furloughs
Governor David A. Paterson
May 4, 2010
Lewis Burgess
1. Governor Paterson’s Executive Budget proposed to extract $250 million in savings from the state workforce as one part of a plan to close the $9.2 billion dollar deficit. To achieve that goal the Governor will include a one day a week furlough measure for 100,000 State employees in the sixth emergency extender bill this Friday and continue with furloughs until the budget passes.
The Senate and the Assembly will vote on the emergency extender on Monday, May 10th. If the furlough measure is passed with the next extender bill it is estimated that $30 million dollars a week can be saved. At that rate it will take at least 9 weeks to reach $250 million dollars. Does this plan make fiscal sense? Or is it mainly a means to strongly goad the Senate and Assembly to balance a budget and to extract money from State union workers who refuse to give up a contracted 4% raise?
The Legislature cannot amend the Governor’s extender bill. The next extender bill will create a forced choice: approve it with the one day a week furlough measure attached or deny it and shut down a part of government operations for a week.
What would the impact be on New Yorkers?
Regardless of which way Albany votes, hundreds of thousands of people will be directly affected
If the temporary spending bill with the mandatory furlough measure is voted down, unemployment checks, Medicaid and school aid payments and federal monies will be delayed for at least a week and the normal operations of hospitals, schools, construction projects and office operations requiring that money will experience some level of disruption. Not all state workers would be furloughed. The plan would exclude political appointees, career civil servants, federally funded positions, management/confidential employees and employees in the legislative or judicial branches. “Essential” jobs involving public safety (state troopers, prison guards) and certain health positions (nurses at mental health facilities, etc.) would not be affected.
If the temporary spending bill with the mandatory furlough goes through, 100,000 workers and their families will be directly affected. State employees working in executive agencies such as the State Parks, DMV, Environmental Conservation, etc. will not be allowed to work one day a week as directed by agency commissioners. Offices and operations where to be furloughed employees work will experience work stoppages and closings and millions of New Yorker more will be affected with a slow down or absence of services. The loss of income will reverberate in negative ways throughout local economies. Financial stress will increase and cash strapped families will suffer even more.
In either case, whatever the outcome of Monday’s vote, New Yorkers lose.
Here is what the main players have said:
Governor Paterson: “I have been trying to get them (unionized state employees) to move for the last four months. They haven’t done it and so we’re taking an extreme effort now to make sure that we reach a resolution because we are more and more sinking into a deficit situation that we may not be able to ameliorate, and I’m not just going to sit around and let this situation overwhelm the taxpayers of New York.”
“I have repeatedly called upon the state public employee unions to work with me to achieve critical workforce savings.. “Because unions have not accepted any proposals to achieve necessary savings, I am left with no other choice but to move forward with this plan. I do not take this action lightly, but it is necessary given the unions’ unwillingness to make any sacrifices and I will do whatever is necessary to protect New York’s finances.”
CSEA President Danny Donohue
Danny Donohue, the president of the Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA): “Governor David Paterson is mistaken in his belief that creating more chaos and crisis is leadership.”
“CSEA is prepared to respond to the governor’s actions, but believes he should be focused on resolving the state’s budget mess not bashing his own state employees in the media.”
Ken Brynien, president of Public Employees Federation (PEF):
PEF President Ken Brynien
“We understand the state is facing a severe fiscal crisis. This will result in fewer services to citizens, and it will result in public employees not being able to pay their mortgages or their bills.”
“They will have less money to spend on the purchase of services from retail and restaurant outlets around the state, and everybody’s going to suffer.”
“We again remind the governor of PEF’s solutions to help close the budget deficit, including millions in savings to be realized by replacing high-cost consultants with lower-cost state employees.”
“This is shortsighted. There is a better way.”
Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver
Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver: “We haven’t seen it. So when we see it we’ll deal with it.”
“If it’s not legal, we can’t make it legal, and if it is legal, the governor does not need the Legislature to do it,”
Senator John L. Sampson, Democratic Majority Conference Leader:
Senator John L. Sampson
“I am not shutting government down.We have to continue to operate, and I think that is the bottom line. I am not going to shut government down at all. Once again, what I think the governor is doing is basically [an] illegal act, but the bottom line is I’m not going to shut government down.”
Senator Dean G. Skelos
Senator Dean Skelos, Senate Minority Leader: “Extenders are not getting the job done in terms of a result.”
“I really don’t [think furloughs are appropriate in the extender]. The governor, he should start leading. Get the speaker, get the majority leader, get the minority leaders in the room publicly and let’s get a budget done and let’s convene joint conference committees.”
“Public unions should be discussing with the governor and the legislature how to save money.”
2. Also it is very likely that Governor Paterson will force the Legislature to have a five-day Albany work week, instead of the usual three days. The Legislature cannot stop this maneuver, but they can simply hold pro forma sessions where they “gavel in and gavel out” if they desire to do so.
Given the structural pattern of the budget negotiations process in Albany, five days may not make a difference. Think about it. There are 150 Assemblymembers and 62 Senators. What specific responsibilities and daily work does each Assemblyman and Senator have in the ongoing budget negotiations? What specific work does each one actually do regarding the budget? The sad fact is most legislators do not know what is going on. It appears that budget negotiations are carried out by a few legislators in leadership positions. Who are these legislators and what are they actually doing? How can we hold anyone accountable when there is no information available?
3. One reason why there is disagreement about the Executive Budget is because the document runs rough shod over the lives of hundreds of thousands of people of all ages. Budget axes were employed by lumberjacks instead of a scalpels wielded by well trained surgeons. Instead of mainly fat, fraud and waste being cut away, good things are being cut, items that are vital and necessary for the citizens of New York were lopped off without careful consideration. The Senate and Assembly are considering the human impact of the Executive Budget and negotiating to restore cuts made to education and healthcare since these raise moral issues and political consequences for the incumbents. But, in putting back cuts without raising revenues or substituting alternative cuts, the budget gap is not closed. So the Legislature wants to borrow money to close the gap and the Governor says no and they are deadlocked. New Yorkers are being asked to make sacrifices to fix what was made broken by years of fiscal mismanagement.
The request is absurd since it is mainly our tax dollars that were overspent and manipulated by our elected officials. We did not overspend. How is it now that we have to pay for this in one way or another? We allowed ourselves to be placed in this position. We elected the Legislature and, as citizens of New York, we did not hold them fully accountable during their repeated 2 year terms. Even now by not demanding and obtaining clarity and accountability and by sitting back and wait to see what happens, we will continue to receive opaque answers and unsatisfying explanations about what is going on in Albany. It is time to stand up for change.
4. So what are we to do?
We must do what special interest lobbyists do. Get working.
Our special interest is Riverbank State Park. We continue to clamor for a few crumbs on the $135 billion dollar state budget table so that Riverbank is not decimated by the proposed $785,000 in cuts and severe reduction in operating hours for SFY 2010-2011. At stake, right now, is the future of Riverbank State Park and the Riverbank Community.
If the cuts go through, there is no guarantee that what will be cut will ever be recovered.
The Riverbank Community argues against the devastating cuts that are clearly not wise, fiscally sound or just. We promote positive, doable alternatives to the axing of classes, programs, operating hours, facilities, teams, summer camps, seasonal workers, instructors, coaches, and hundreds of thousands in revenues. And, most importantly, we serve the interests of hundreds of thousands of people of all ages and backgrounds who need Riverbank more than ever. This is not just about dollars and cents – It is about people.
WHAT CAN I DO?
Call – Call Governor Paterson, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver and Senate majority Leader John L. Sampson and your local legislators to ask what they are doing for Riverbank and how their work is going. Help your family, relatives and friends to make calls to them – Contact info is below for local electeds – Click here to find your Elected Official if not listed below.
Sign – sign the petition at Riverbank and online – have others do the same
Buy – Buy a “Save Riverbank” t-shirt and wear it – spread the word.
Become a Facebook Fan – http://tinyurl.com/yhmlbb8
VOLUNTEER! – save.riverbank@yahoo.com
GOVERNOR DAVID A. PATERSON
Email/web contact page: http://www.state.ny.us/governor/contact/GovernorContactForm.php
Mailing Address:
State Capital
Albany, New York 12224
518-474-8390
ASSEMBLYMAN SHELDON SILVER
Speaker of the New York State Assembly
Email address:speaker@assembly.state.ny.us
web contact page: http://assembly.state.ny.us/mem/?ad=064&sh=contact
District Office
250 Broadway
Suite 2307
New York, NY 10007
Tel: 212-312-1420
Albany Office
Legislative Office Building 932
Albany, NY 12248
Tel: 518-455-3791
SENATOR JOHN L. SAMPSON
Democratic Conference Leader
Email address: sampson@senate.state.ny.us
web contact page: http://www.nysenate.gov/senator/john-l-sampson/contact
District Office:
1222 East 96th Street
Brooklyn, NY 11236
Tel: 718-649-7653
Fax: 718-649-7661
Albany Office:
409 Legislative Office Building
Albany, NY 12247
Tel: 518-455-2788
Fax: 518-426-6806
Contact the state legislators at their NYC and Albany offices listed below. Urge them to reject the proposed cuts to Riverbank and to restore all Riverbank funding, hours and programming.
Senator Bill Perkins
212 222-7315
518-455-2795
perkins@senate.state.ny.us
Senator Eric Schneiderman
212 544-0173
518-455-2041
schneide@senate.state.ny.us
Senator José Serrano
212 828-5829
518-455-2795
serrano@senate.state.ny.us
Assemblymember Adriano Espaillat
212-544-2278
518-455-5807
espaila@assembly.state.ny.us
Assemblymember Herman “Denny” Farrell
212 568-2828
518-455-5491
farrelh@assembly.state.ny.us
Assemblymember Daniel O’Donnell
212 866-3970
518-455-5603
odonned@assembly.state.ny.us
Assemblymember Keith Wright
212 866-5809
518-455-4793
WrightK@assembly.state.ny.us
Sample Telephone Script 1:
Hi, my name is (your name) and I’m calling from (your address). Please say NO! to ALL of the proposed cuts to Riverbank State Park. Riverbank contributes to our mental, social and physical well-being as well as the local economy. Please know that Riverbank is a part of my way of life and my family’s and not simply a park that we occasionally visit. That’s why I urge you to restore all Riverbank funding, hours and programming. Thank you.
Sample Telephone Script 2:
Hi, my name is (your name) and I’m calling from (your address). Please say NO! to ALL of the proposed cuts to Riverbank State Park. Riverbank was built to compensate the surrounding community for the unsightly and (still sometimes) SMELLY sewage treatment plant, which cuts it off from the Hudson for half a mile. The State MUST HONOR this compact; it’s not a favor! Thanks.
Save Riverbank 