8 THE COURIER SUN • MARCH 21, 2013 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT www.couriersun.com Cuomo announces tentative budget agreement BY TERENCE M. CULLEN [email protected] It may be on time. Governor Andrew Cuomo, Senate leaders Dean Skelos and Jeff Klein and Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver reached an agreement on Thursday, March 21 for a tentative 2013-14 state budget. Tax cuts and enhanced education are some of the highlighted outlines of the bill, released by Cuomo’s office upon the agreement. The budget includes gradually raising the minimum wage from its current $7.25/hour to $9/hour by 2015. Wages would go up to $8/ hour by the end of this year under the plan. It would also cut taxes for middle class families and small businesses. If a family makes anywhere from $40,000 to $300,000, it will be eligible for a $350 child tax credit for three years, which would start in 2014, according to Cuomo’s office. The small business cut would give almost $800 million in tax eases to merchants statewide. Workforce training, on a related note, would help fill an estimated 210,000 unfilled jobs in New York. Expanded Pre-K programs and a bar exam style test for teachers would also be covered under the budget, and would reward teachers who get high performance ratings. If approved by the April 1 deadline, this would be Cuomo’s third straight on-time budget since coming into office two years ago. “This budget symbolizes the tremendous progress that has been made in Albany and demonstrates that the new New York government is once again working for the people of this state,” Cuomo said in a statement. There are concerns that every bill in the budget will not be voted on by the deadline, as it falls just after Passover and Easter, when many members of both chambers are home. BY MELISSA CHAN [email protected] A million dollar decision is in the hands of some Queens residents. Three City Council districts in the borough have a week, starting April 1, to vote on community projects they want the city to fund. Part of an initiative called “Participatory Budgeting,” residents are allowed to develop ideas and then choose five physical infrastructure projects they want to see in their neighborhood. The total $10 million budget is composed of discretionary capital public money to be split between eight districts in the city. “Participatory Budgeting gives the community an unprecedented opportunity to make decisions on how city dollars get spent in our community,” said Councilmember Mark Weprin. Weprin and Councilmembers Dan Halloran and Eric Ulrich have each allocated $1 million to their respective districts. Project items to be voted on include upgrading technology at schools and libraries, installing police and security cameras in high crime areas, and upgrading community facilities like the Poppenhusen Institute and Queens County Farm Museum. Residents in Halloran’s district have proposed adding a dog run canopy and kayak launch at Little Bay Park and a bird watching platform at Parsons Beach. “These projects are all worthwhile, especially because they came from the people,” Halloran said. This is the second year of the city’s participatory budgeting. The process was derailed by Sandy in the 32nd District, according to Councilmember Eric Ulrich’s office, since some ballot items involving the boardwalk and parks have become ineligible after the storm. A vote was still scheduled for the first week of April as of press time. Last year, residents in Ulrich’s district voted to build a bandstand space on Shore Front Parkway, install a library vending machine in Breezy Point and upgrade technology at local schools. For ballots and voting locations in all three Queens districts, visit pbnyc.org. Photo courtesy of Governor Andrew Cuomo’s office/Flickr State Senators Jeff Klein and Dean Skelos, Governor Andrew Cuomo and Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver announcing a tentative agreement on the state budget. IT’S YOUR BUDGET Council districts can vote on funding BP candidates making the rounds State Senator Jose Peralta State Senator Tony Avella Former Deputy Borough Councilmember Leroy Comrie President Barry Grodenchik Melinda Katz Councilmember Peter Vallone Jr. BY ANTHONY O’REILLY Borough President candidates are blazing through the Queens, participating in forums and allowing the community to hear their positions. The six Democrats hoping to replace current Borough President Helen Marshall most recently gathered at the Hollis Hills Jewish Center in Fresh Meadows and attended the Ridgewood Democratic Club’s monthly meeting. State Senators Tony Avella and Jose Peralta joined City Councilmembers Peter Vallone Jr. and Leroy Comrie, former Assembly and Councilmember Melinda Katz and former Deputy Borough President Barry Grodenchik to speak to members of several Democratic clubs across Queens. In Fresh Meadows, discussion of mayoral control of the Board of Education (BOE) dominated the forum. Grodenchik said he has mixed feelings towards the issue, but he wants to “bring some measure of control back to the boroughs.” The controversy surrounding development of Flushing Meadows-Corona Park was also heavily debated. Peralta said he in favor of the proposed Major League Soccer (MLS) stadium, but would ensure that the park space used not only has to be replaced, but improved. “It has to be better,” he said, calling soccer “the sport of the world.” Despite his support for the stadium, he is opposed to the proposed plans for a shopping mall and an expansion of the United States Tennis Association (USTA) center. Vallone said that he wanted to eliminate overexpansion in the park and bring it to areas in the borough that are “yearning for that kind of development.” Avella, however, said he is the only candidate that is steadfastly against all three proposals for development. All of the candidates will continue to campaign and participate in forums across Queens until election day on Tuesday, November 5. The next forum will be held at St. John’s University on Friday, April 12.
SC03282013
To see the actual publication please follow the link above