A Column from the Desk of Assemblyman Karl Brabenec (R,C-Deerpark)
Readers and listeners in the Hudson Valley, I’m sad to report that this year’s legislative session was one of the most disappointing I’ve witnessed in Albany. Instead of delivering real results for working families, the majority spent more than $250 billion without addressing the core issues New Yorkers are demanding action on: public safety, affordability and accountability. There were myriad problems that plagued this year’s legislative session, so I wanted to take a moment and share with you some of the more troubling areas we have to watch out for. As with many bad work environments, the buck stops with the boss. Gov. Kathy Hochul had every opportunity to lead this state in a better direction. Instead, she stood by while the Majority refused to invest in our correctional officers or fix the growing crisis in our prison system—issues I’ve fought to bring to the forefront for years. She bemoaned strikers and had even temporarily banned them from being considered for other state jobs if they had been previously fired for remaining on strike. Today, her silence speaks volumes, and her priorities are clearly not with law enforcement or the safety of our communities.
To make matters worse, the Assembly extended session by three days—not to address these critical needs—but to ram through more job-killing, cost-inflating bills that will hit New Yorkers already struggling under the weight of inflation and sky-high taxes. The delay of time and the disinterest in meeting deadlines plagued the majority of the work done this session. Our budget was so late that the state nearly forced local school districts to optimize their own budgets off of unreliable numbers decided on months in advance of formal budget negotiations. An average person would not be expected to manage their personal income and funds on such flimsy conditions, yet this state has no problem kicking issues down the curb to be dealt with later and leaving the rest of us to fumble with the unknowns. It’s incredibly disrespectful, in my view, to treat such important public spending proposals so flippantly. It reeks of a lack of respect for the people of New York. Meanwhile, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority—another failed state entity—continues to burn through billions, asking for more handouts while offering zero relief to riders. This is an organization that has time and again put out hat and hand and asked for more from New York, yet it continues to deliver subpar services and rob the people of New York through fraud and mismanagement in the process. And yet again, Gov. Hochul offered no real oversight, no reform and no answers. The private sector would hold their management to a higher standard of service, we should be doing the same for our executive.
Albany’s dysfunction is alive and well, and Gov. Hochul has become part of the problem—not the solution. After six months of work, things aren’t improving. They’re getting worse. The people of this state deserve better. Assemblyman Brabenec represents the 98th District, which includes the city of Port Jervis, the towns of Deerpark, Greenville, Mount Hope, Wawayanda, Minisink, Warwick, Tuxedo and portions of the towns of Monroe and Ramapo. For more information, please visit his Official Website.
