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The Assembly Majority Response to the State of the State Address


Delivered by
Sheldon Silver Speaker of the NYS Assembly
Wednesday, January 4, 2006

The New York State Assembly congratulates the Governor on the occasion of this, his 12th and final State of the State Address.

As he concludes his tenure in elected office, we commend the Governor for his efforts on behalf of the State of New York.

We look forward to receiving the Executive Budget and we look forward to working with the Governor and with our colleagues in the Senate to enact an on-time state budget, to address the needs of the state, and to further the government reforms that were achieved in bipartisan fashion last year.

Two weeks ago, the Assembly acted on a series of bills that will make our state safer by stiffening penalties for gun traffickers and more effectively protecting our brave law enforcement officers.

When it comes to halting gun violence, the Governor and the Legislature have much more work to do.

We must remove illegal guns from our neighborhoods.

We must prohibit the sale of assault weapons.

And we must ban armor-piercing bullets once and for all.

To give police officers bullet-proof vests and allow criminals to legally purchase bullets that can penetrate those vests is foolishness, plain and simple.

This month, the Assembly will again advance its comprehensive legislation to curb gun violence.

We urge the Governor and the Senate to join us in closing down illegal gun dealers.

In the next few weeks, the Assembly will again pass legislation to better safeguard New Yorkers from sexual predators.

Our new agenda will be the toughest and most comprehensive in the history of New York State.

We are making penalties more severe.

We are providing for civil confinement.

We are enhancing victim assistance.

We are improving community notification and the monitoring of sex offenders.

Once again, I call upon the Governor and the Senate to join us in making the safest big state - New York - even safer.

As we commence our work in this legislative session, the Assembly is also preparing for the future.

We foresee a new era of optimism and opportunity;

A new era of courage and collegiality;

A new era of vision and vitality;

A new era of responsiveness and gubernatorial leadership.

We are preparing for an administration that will demand integrity, accountability, and transparency from every level of government.

We are working for a future where the health, education and welfare of the people are the moral obligation of government, and not the fodder for wasteful television ads.

We are working for the day when New York's job-creation efforts reflect each region's unique assets;

The day when economic opportunity begins in the classroom;

Extends to skills improvement and job training at our excellent community colleges;

And reaches its pinnacle in the myriad research and development projects taking place in our world-class colleges and universities.

Realizing this vision requires that we keep our promises to the future.

Like all of the mothers and fathers in our court rooms who are demanding that this state honor its constitutional obligation to educate our children, we look forward to the fast-approaching day when the school funding issue is settled once and for all.

This new era of government was defined by the distinguished historian, Barbara Tuchman, in this way:

If we can be open enough to perceive that a given policy is harming rather than serving public-interest, if we can be confident enough to acknowledge it and wise enough to reverse it, then we will reach the summit in the art of government.

Right now, that summit is still a long way off.

To the families of Corn Hill in Utica;

To the families of Dunkirk and Niagara Falls;

To those residing on the South Side of Syracuse and in Rochester's 14621 Neighborhood;

To the families in Riverhead, in Monticello, and in Newburgh City;

To those working families struggling to pay your bills in cities, towns and villages across this state, I ask you:

Have twelve years of Republican leadership improved your lives? Your schools? Your communities?

Is your faith in government stronger today? Are you hopeful for the future?

Remember the early years of the Pataki Administration?

New Yorkers were reaping the dividends of that extraordinary and history-making Clinton economy.

The state's coffers were filled to the brim.

The ability to strengthen the core elements of New York State's economy was never better.

Yet, the Pataki Administration purposefully under funded education and higher education;

Under invested in mass transit, roads and bridges;

Under financed health and mental health care;

And under capitalized housing and the other essential aspects of our infrastructure.

Then came September 11th, 2001.

New Yorkers were the target of the single most devastating act of mass murder and economic destruction ever perpetrated by a terrorist entity in this country.

Today, four-and-a-third years after the towers thundered to earth, Ground Zero remains a sad and empty space, and the Lower Manhattan economy continues to sink in a swamp of competing visions and misguided priorities.

For eleven years, through the highs and the lows, New Yorkers have endured an administration that has been defined by a reluctance to lead; an administration unable to back up its rhetoric with action, and unwilling to conduct its business in the sunlight of public scrutiny.

For eleven years, New Yorkers have watched their governor raise millions of dollars for a national political party that is shortchanging our state billions of dollars in federal aid.

For eleven years, we have endured an administration that has defined health-care reform as cuts in Medicaid funding for the elderly and disabled.

And now, after an economically crippling transit workers strike, the Governor's absence from the negotiating table proves yet again that he is reluctant to lead.

In refusing to work with the Legislature, this Administration has consistently acted in opposition to the best interests of New Yorkers.

Yes, a school-funding agreement could have been reached, but only if the Legislature sold out our school children.

We could not act so callously. We would not!

Instead, the Legislature stood together and chose to lead. The budgets we crafted are directly responsible for the recent upgrade in the state's credit rating.

I assure you that we will continue to lead this state in the direction that is best for New Yorkers and for our future.

This is the commitment of your State Assembly.

We will pass an on-time budget.

We will strengthen our education system in every part of this state.

We will target real property tax relief to our hard-pressed communities, our working families and our senior citizens.

We will strive to expand job growth in every city, county and town.

We will keep the dream of a college degree alive for every New Yorker who needs and is prepared for the challenges of higher education.

We will do all that we can to ensure that affordable, quality health care is accessible to every New Yorker.

We will work even harder to make energy less costly to businesses, homes, and especially to those New Yorkers on fixed incomes.

We will strive to make New York State a place our children want to stay, where they can afford to own a home, where they can find good jobs and build a secure career, where our schools are the finest in the nation, where our communities are free from violence, where the environment is clean, and their government is responsive to their needs.

The Governor has the opportunity in this, his final year in office, to establish this kind of legacy; a legacy of leadership, of bipartisanship, of dedication to working families and to helping them address the challenges they face every day.

This Governor has the opportunity to guide this State to that brighter future all New Yorkers are hoping for.

In a spirit of optimism, the Assembly stands ready to work with the Governor and with the Senate to help him craft the legacy New Yorkers deserve.

We are eager to begin our work. We are eager to prepare for the future. We are eager to restore the people's faith in their government.

I am Sheldon Silver, Speaker of the New York State Assembly urging all New Yorkers to get ready, brighter days are coming.

 

Old Industrial Buildings on the East River


It has happened in many of the great old cities of the world. In London, a power station along the Thames River became the Tate Modern Museum. In Paris, a train station on the Seine became the Musee d’Orsay. In San Francisco, an old chocolate factory became Ghirardelli Square, an essential tourist stop.

Finding new uses for old industrial buildings along the waterfront has a tradition in New York City as well. One success story is the transformation of the vast old National Biscuit Company plant (manufacturers of Saltines, Oreos, and Fig Newtons) on Ninth Avenue that became Chelsea Market, the bustling home to (appropriately) the Food TV Network and many food shops, as well as NY1, flower merchants and other businesses employing nearly 5,000 people.

“It can work in New York,” says Irwin Cohen, the brains behind Chelsea Market, which, he says, also revitalized the surrounding area. “You can save buildings and benefit all of us who live here.”

But current controversies dog the old industrial waterfront of the East River, pitting preservationists against developers, who don’t see the point.

Some 1,000 waterfront acres have been rezoned on the Brooklyn side, part of a building boom all over the city, which in Brooklyn is producing high-rise apartments with magnificent views of Manhattan. Schaefer Landing, on the site of the old Schaefer Brewery in Williamsburg, was the first to go up, and apartments in the first building have already sold out. Several other waterfront residential high-rise projects are in the works.

Preservationists worry. The Municipal Art Society has an exhibition Preservation on the Edge: Our Threatened East River Heritage. Kent Barwick, president of the society, says the industrial buildings along the East River preserve the river's character. "It's not like all other rivers. It's a gritty, workingman's river. That's where the energy is. That's where the action is."

Three buildings along the East River waterfront in particular are the focus of conflict.

Austin, Nichols Warehouse

If plans for the Austin, Nichols warehouse are any indication, the developers of high-end residential properties are gaining ground. The giant old building in Williamsburg is part of a hot real estate market. A developer, Moishe Kestenbaum, plans to gut the building, change the window style, add four stories, and turn the place into luxury condos.

Preservationists, including the city's Landmarks Preservation Commission, thought the 1913 building designed by Cass Gilbert (best known as the architect of the Woolworth building), should stay the same, on the outside at least. But City Councilmember David Yassky sided with the developer, and recently the council voted against landmark status. The mayor went to the unusual step of vetoing the council’s vote – and then the council overrode his veto.

"This is simply not a landmarkable building," says Yassky's chief of staff Evan Thies, who points out that the building is not listed in the city's "architectural bible," The AIA Guide to New York City. The book lists 75 significant buildings in the Greenpoint/Williamsburg area and 13 other buildings around the city by Cass Gilbert, but Austin, Nichols is not among them.

"Landmarking isn't about pretty buildings," replies Ward Dennis of the Waterfront Preservation Alliance of Greenpoint & Williamsburg. It's about the juxtaposition of old and new "Residential development should work hand in hand with preservation of host sites." Preservationists would prefer maintaining the building as it is with the current tenants of artists and young professionals whose rent generally runs less than a $1,000 month.

But Thies argues that the development of the property along with the rezoning of Greenpoint and Williamsburg will lead to the creation of 3,000 affordable apartments. "There's no way we could afford to build affordable housing unless we build significant amount of market-rate housing," he says. And the deal along with others in the neighborhood "enabled us to build a beautiful waterfront park (In PDF Format) that would have never been built if developers weren't allowed to redevelop property along that waterfront," says Thies. "Landmarking at that site would have been bad for the community."

Preservationists see a neighborhood in danger of losing its history and its soul. Despite the promise of parks and affordable housing, most of what's planned is luxury housing, and the modest businesses and industries—and the blue collar jobs they offer—are likely to be displaced along with the industrial buildings.

Domino Sugar Factory

Residential developers are snapping up other obsolete industrial buildings along the waterfront. The Domino Sugar plant north of the Williamsburg Bridge in Brooklyn was the largest sugar refinery in the world for almost 150 years. It closed in 2004 and developers bought it. They have not announced what they are planning for the building. (See "Developers Known for Residential Work Buy Domino Sugar Plant")

They may at least keep some of the building including the giant yellow sign that faces the river. Preservationists fear they will dismantle distinctive sections that no longer serve any practical use. Industrial archeologist Mary Habstritt is especially enamored of the giant angled chute that extends hundreds of feet from one building to another. It used to transport sugar to giant silos. She was allowed to see it from the inside the day before the plant closed. She climbed up the inside of the ramp, and when she came to the top and looked down into the brightly lit silos, she saw "a fairyland of sugar." No one will have that Willy Wonka moment again, and Habstritt knows the plant will have to be put to a new use. But she has hopes that the history will remain visible. "We need to preserve enough of it to tell the story to those who come after us."

Con Edison Power Plant

Another building industrial preservationists love and developers might demolish is the Con Ed power plant by the United Nations. At the turn of the 20th century, utilities put great care into the designs of their purposeful buildings, and the results are often magnificent. They also added interesting decorative elements, though later modifications, designed for function not form, take away some of the charm and often leave disheveled relics. But industrial buildings such as the Con Ed plant, even after years of changes, retain a rough grandeur.

The Con Ed plant is a worthy candidate for some cultural, residential and/or commercial use, says Frank Sanchis of the Municipal Art Society. Inside is fantastic, "a cathedral of industry." It should be preserved, even the smokestacks. The Tate Modern in London is not embarrassed about their smokestacks, says Sanchis.

The Con Ed plant could lose more than its stacks. Developers might tear it down for high-rise apartments. While it is more trouble to design around the relics of an earlier age, there should be good returns on the investment. The "gorgeous Con Ed building" could become a desirable place to live, says Sanchis. "I can't believe that people wouldn't want to live there instead of some stupid cookie-cutter high-rise building."

 

Speaker Christine Quinn's Address to the City Council


Good afternoon. Public Advocate Gotbaum, Congressmen Nadler and Rangel, Borough Presidents Carrion, Markowitz,and Stringer, Senator Duane, Assemblymen Lopez and Rivera, Congressman Manton, former Speaker Vallone, Public Advocate Green and Controller Holtzman. Former members of the Council and other distinguished guests.

Let me say thank you first to all of my colleagues. I am honored to have your support and promise that I will work as hard as I can every day to prove worthy of your trust.

Leroy, Melinda, David, Joel, Bill, and Lew, we had an honorable and spirited race, you are all a credit to your districts and to the City Council and I look forward to working closely with you in the years to come.

Let me also thank my entire family - all of the Quinns, Catullos, and Dellermos here today. To my father Lawrence and my partner Kim, your patience and unwavering support mean so much... I love you both more than words can say.

It would take too long for me to thank everyone else who played a role in making today possible but you know who you are and I will never forget your help.

Finally, I want to take a moment to thank my great friend and a great Speaker of the City Council, Gifford Miller. When Gifford took office four years ago, the scars of 9/11 were still raw, there were thirty-five new members of the City Council and everyone questioned whether this 30-something kid could do the job...whether he could fill the big shoes of the remarkable speaker before him, Peter Vallone - a man who served this City with distinction and integrity and whose presence we are honored with today. Well, for four years Gifford Miller led the Council with strength, courage and thoughtfulness... He leaves a City stronger that he found it. For that we are all grateful.

As one enters this wonderful building and sits in this remarkable chamber, you can’t help but feel awed by the responsibility that our constituents have given us.

Whether it's oversight of the Mayor's policies, passing budgets that protect vital services, or laws that protect the health of New Yorkers or helping constituents with important everyday problems, we have the power and the responsibility to improve the lives of millions of people. And we get to do this in the most vibrant, diverse and the greatest city in the world. It is truly an honor....and it's an honor that is worth reminding ourselves of, and each other of, everyday.

As Speaker I will be guided by principles that will make our government even more responsive to people's needs and more effective for all New Yorkers.

I am committed to being a five-borough Speaker. Whether you speak Spanish in the South Bronx, Chinese in Flushing, Yiddish in Borough Park, Creole in Flatbush, Bassa in Park Hill or English in Chelsea, we work for you...we serve you...our job is to make your life better.

It doesn't matter where you live, this Council and I are here to answer your needs. I know that I will only be as good a Speaker as I am a listener. So my message to my colleagues, to our constituents and to all New Yorkers is simple: My door is always open...the more people we hear from, the more good ideas we get, the more effective we will be as a legislature...the better Speaker I will be for everyone.

For eight million New Yorkers, we are the People's House. We are in every neighborhood, every day and every night.

It is our responsibility to connect our government with the needs of the people. And for many of the over one million New Yorkers who recently entered this country, we are the life line to needed services.

As Speaker I will work with all of our colleagues to make it easier to address the problems of our constituents.

And this means using technology to find patterns of problems across the City.

If multiple neighborhoods cannot get stop signs installed in a timely fashion, we should know that this is a systemic problem...and treat it as that. If some neighborhoods are saddled with higher unemployment than others, we should quantify it and then direct economic development money to help those communities that need it most.

The Mayor's job is to focus on the needs of New Yorkers on a macro-level from the top down...our job is to focus on their needs from the bottom up. To listen and learn from our constituents one neighborhood block at a time.

Yet, our goals and the mayor's goals are the same. Too often this body acts as a report card on the Mayor... he makes an announcement in the Blue Room and journalists run over to us to give it a grade.

I believe that our job, first and foremost, is to work with the Mayor - whatever his party affiliation - to make the City a better place.

That's why as Speaker I am committed to putting progress ahead of partisanship.

Yes, we will oppose the Mayor when we believe we must - I have done so in the past and I will do so in the future...but I sincerely hope - and believe - that we can agree more often than we disagree...and that both sides of City Hall can work together with a renewed sense of trust and teamwork. The truth is, the stakes are too high to do it any other way.

We must work together on a more rational budget process that improves long-term planning and fixes the annual dance over cuts and restorations.

We must work together to continue to keep to our city safe from terror attack and our streets safe from crime.

Mr. Mayor I will go anywhere you need to stop the flow of illegal guns into this City. I'll go to Washington DC or to Albany to work hand-in-hand with Speaker Shelly Silver... anywhere... to help us in the fight to keep these weapons off our streets.

And we must work together to help the millions of working class people for whom the City has become simply unaffordable. While grade schools are getting better, middle schools are simply not improving fast enough.

We face a housing crisis that is pricing too many tenants and homeowners out of their neighborhoods. It is unacceptable that people who work here and who want to live and raise a family here cannot afford to do so. It is our job to help change that.

And, most importantly, we must work together improve the lives of the least fortunate.

To give everyone the opportunity to have a job that offers dignity and respect...and that pays a living wage... to make the delivery of social services more effective... To make our public hospitals better... and to offer smarter preventive care for our children.

To accomplish these goals, the City Council must become an incubator of big ideas...the creator of innovative policies that help people across the economic spectrum and across the City. We will look to cities and states throughout the country and to neighborhoods and communities throughout New York for the smartest solutions to people's everyday problems.

Let me end on a personal note. My father was watching the local news at my office two days ago and the reporter came on to talk about my selection as Speaker. The reporter talked about my being the first woman speaker... and the first openly gay speaker.

And without missing a beat, my dad stuck out his chest and proudly yelled at the TV - you forgot Irish, you bum!

Let me say that I am incredibly proud that in the most diverse city in the world, that diversity is seen as a strength - not an impediment. For that I owe a debt of gratitude to all of you in this chamber and to all of our constituents in our districts.

Thank you for your support... thank you for your trust... I won't let you down.

 

 



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