Queens Libraries Net $6M

Flushing branch of the Queens Library. Great advances in school aid and anticrime legislation marked the end of one of the most successful legislative sessions in Albany in many years.

The legislature also provided generous grants to Queens institutions and organizations, topped by a $6 million capital improvement grant to the Queens Borough Public Library system. The 17member Queens Assembly delegation amassed the $6 million grant from its discretionary funds, which are allotted to every Assemblymember and state senator. State Senator Frank Padavan added another $250,000 for the library system.

In addition, each member received funds and handed out grants to many senior, youth, education, housing and parks advocacy groups throughout the borough. The same applied to every state senator from the borough.

Assemblymember Ivan Lafayette (D-Jackson Heights), who heads the delegation, said an important consideration in making the grant was that many branches don't have cable service. "Once it's in, at least local kids will get to use the service," he said.

Other important Queens approvals pointed out by Lafayette were the renewal of rebates to the movie industry; including condo and co-op owners in the STAR property tax rebate; and the addition of 100 "red light" cameras at certain intersections throughout the city to catch motorists going through red light signals.

Legislators said it was decided to make the boroughwide library the grant recipient because the library serves the entire borough. The library comes under the jurisdiction of the Education Committee which is headed by Assemblymember Catherine Nolan (D-Ridgewood).

Assemblymember Michael Gianaris (D-Astoria) said the library, the largest in the world, was selected for the large grant because for the past several years it has taken large cuts "so they needed the help," Gianaris said.

During the session, state Senator Serphin Maltese (R-C, Middle Village) funneled a grant of $55 million to La Guardia Community College in Long Island City for the purpose of buying a building to relieve student overcrowding and to expand student services, especially child care.

Other legislative victories which had a major impact on Queens were the $13.1 billion school construction plan for New York City, which includes many new schools to be built in the borough. New York state will pay for half of this huge project.

Another win for Queens was joint sponsorship of a toughened DWI law by Assemblymembers Nettie Mayersohn and Brian McLaughlin, both Democrats from Flushing, and state Senators Toby Stavisky (D-Flushing) and Serphin Maltese (R-C, Glendale).

The law was prompted by the death of an 11-year-old youth in Kew Gardens Hills at the hands of a drunk driver, who also struck and injured another youth, in the same incident.

The DWI law was revisited at the end of the session as the lawmakers increased penalties for multiple DWI offenders and made it easier to extend temporary license revocations and impose permanent revocations.

Other major anti-crime laws passed were the elimination of the statute of limitations in rape cases, the expansion of the DNA database, adding three new crimes for unlawfully fleeing police officers and increasing the mandatory minimum sentence for illegal possession of a single loaded handgun to three and one-half years in prison. Presently a person must be carrying three or more illegal guns to be charged with a felony.

Gianaris said, "Collectively these anticrime laws will make all of our neighborhoods safer."

State Senator George Onorato (D-Astoria) commented that the session "gave us one of our best years regarding crime laws." He singled out the expansion of the DNA database as "one of the most significant pieces of legislation we ever passed."

The broadening of the DNA database was accomplished by adding all felony offenses and 18 new misdemeanors to the list of crimes in which a DNA sample is required from convicted criminals. This will raise the number of samples to be taken from 14 percent to 50 percent, Padavan said.

Another victory recorded late in the session was the creation of a Medicaid inspector general, who will consolidate responsibilities and staff from six agencies into one and make fraud detection more efficient with greater dollar savings.

Padavan, who called the 2006 session "all in all...a good one", singled out the Child Tax Credit as a hard fought victory. It was included in the legislature's budget, but was vetoed by Governor George Pataki.

"My colleagues and I felt so strongly about it that we overrode the governor's veto to bring this program to New York parents," Padavan said.

The program allows for a personal income tax credit equal to one-third of the federal tax credit, approximately $330, for children from 4 to 17 years of age.

In a similar fashion, Democrats and Republicans in the legislature persisted in pursuing a property tax rebate, which the governor had also vetoed. They passed it again late in the session and Pataki relented and said he would sign it.

The benefits from the rebate go mostly to suburban homeowners, about $350 on average per homeowner. The benefit is less for New York City homeowners because it was designed to save suburbanites on their school taxes, which they pay directly, unlike their city counterparts who pay for their schools through the real estate tax.

Onorato judged the session as "some good grades in some areas, but failed miserably in the others."

The good areas were the criminal law improvements and the Medicaid reform and Mayor Bloomberg's school plan.

The poor grades were for failure to reduce prescription drug costs, no solutions for school aid difficulties and failure to reduce the ranks of those without health insurance.