14 APRIL 12, 2018 RIDGEWOOD TIMES WWW.QNS.COM
Senator talks ‘budget of lost opportunities’ in Ridgewood
BY RYAN KELLEY
RKELLEY@RIDGEWODTIMES.COM
TWITTER @R_KELLEY6
Even though years of infi ghting
within the Democratic Party in
the state Senate came to an end
in 2018, that didn’t help any diffi cult
decisions get made before sealing the
state budget on the last day of March,
according to one Democratic senator
who represents Queens.
State Senator Michael Gianaris paid
a visit to the Ridgewood Property
Owners and Civic Association meeting
on April 5, where he described the
2018-19 fi nancial plan as “a budget of
lost opportunities,” and broke down
the factors that will aff ect Queens
residents the most.
The problem, as Gianaris explained,
is that the Democrats are in charge of
the Assembly, but the Republicans are
in charge of the Senate.
“All of the diffi cult decisions, they
just kick them out,” Gianaris said of the
party leaders. “They’re like, ‘Let’s not
deal with this now. Let’s not shut down
government because we disagree.’ You
end up getting, more or less, what’s
called a bare bones budget: enough to
keep the government running, but not
addressing some of the meatier issues
that are important.”
Gianaris further explained that this
division used to be driven by the fact
that eight Democratic senators had
broken away from the party to run the
Independent Democratic Conference
(IDC) for the past seven years. Those
Senator Michael Gianaris speaks at the Ridgewood Property Owners and Civic Association meeting on April 5.
senators fi nally agreed to end the IDC
in 2018, but the Democrats are still
left with a slight minority in the Senate
pending a few upcoming special
elections.
Chief among the important issues
left out of the budget that will aff ect
Queens is the lack of a “real fi x to the
MTA,” Gianaris said. There were a
number of ideas on the fl oor to raise
more funds to improve the deteriorating
subway system and gridlocked
roadways, and a surcharge on yellow
cab and for-hire cab rides in Manhattan
was the only change made.
“That’s going to raise some money
that’s going to the MTA, but it’s a fraction
of what they need,” Gianaris said.
“If you’ve been on the trains you know
how bad they are, or the buses for that
matter, and we’re trying very hard to
get that fi xed.”
The other main issue is aff ordability
in Queens and the rest of the city,
where the new federal tax law will
cap the deductible amount of property
taxes at $10,000. For most New
Yorkers who own a home, that means
they will see a signifi cant increase in
tax liability.
Photo by Ryan Kelley/QNS
To deal with that, Gianaris said,
the state budget set up a couple of
charitable accounts that residents
can donate to and claim charitable
contributions as deductions, but
there is some concern that the Internal
Revenue Service (IRS) will reject
that. There is also a voluntary option
for employers to switch to a payroll
tax system instead of an income tax
because payroll taxes are deductible.
Gianaris described both of those options
as “very experimental.”
Other proposals backed by Gianaris
that got kicked out of the
budget include early election voting,
criminal justice reforms, the
Child Victims Act and a change to
the background check system for
purchasing guns.
“We’re hopeful that if we are
able to solve the political problem
and secure the majority that we’re
trying to get, we can make progress
on a whole host of these issues,” Gianaris
said. “The Senate is better than
a reality show. It’s crazy what goes
on up there.”
Also at the meeting was Assemblyman
Mike Miller, who was in Albany
along with Gianaris for the budget
negotiations. Miller added that the
$50 million earmarked for MTA
improvements in Queens from the
taxi cab surcharge will mostly go to
the bus system.
Miller also explained that most
of the issues he deals with are local,
such as the SBS lane on Woodhaven
Boulevard, but he also said he is
meeting with the governor’s office
to talk about the Montauk line of the
Long Island Rail Road in the near future.
He described that plan as “very
expensive,” but he hopes to get some
help to move it forward.
Heartshare leader visits Glendale Kiwanis
The Kiwanis Club of Glendale
reconnected with a long-time friend
of their club during their March 29
meeting at Zum Stammtisch restaurant
in Glendale. Carol Verde, a past
president of the Lefferts-Liberty
Kiwanis Club, is senior vice president
of Heartshare, specializing
in education for children with disabilities.
She gave an informative
program about her organization
and the challenges they face from
the City and State of New York. They
serve children from age three up
to 21 years. They also have adults
with disabilities that are nurtured
in residence to hopefully become
self-sufficient and live in private
homes. It is similar to IRI, which is
the parent organization of our Forest
Park Aktion Club. Heartshare also
sponsors an Aktion Club. Pictured at
the meeting are Verde and Glendale
Kiwanis President Kerrie Hansen.
Photo courtesy of Kerrie Hansen
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