Issues

What would be your top three priorities if elected?

State government must focus on many areas of vital importance to our residents. That said, my colleagues and I are working hard to make progress on these general issues.

Infrastructure/Environment: This is an issue for which I have long been an advocate. Our roads and bridges are a mess. In my first two years in the Assembly, I have secured $200 million in additional funding for local governments to repair their roads and bridges, and $2 million specifically for emergency repairs to Tarrytown and Dobbs Ferry bridges leading to their train stations and waterfronts. We are also building a coalition to make road and bridge repairs a bigger priority in the State budget. Our mass transit also needs help. As just one example, MetroNorth's Hudson Line is in peril due to climate change, experiencing mudslides after severe storms and expected to experience regular flooding by 2050. I am working with my colleagues to make the Hudson Line a major priority for the MTA. I also worked hard to pass the Climate Change Superfund bill, which will require leading carbon producers to fund a "superfund" to repair infrastructure damaged or destroyed by the effects of climate change. But to make our infrastructure less vulnerable to climate change, we also must reduce greenhouse emissions by passing the NY HEAT Act, the Bigger Better Bottle Bill, and the Packaging Reduction and Recycling Infrastructure Bill. And in order for our communities to be resilient to the effects of climate change, we must invest in ways to protect them from the flooding resulting from climate change.

Affordability: This is a broad topic that includes numerous areas, such as passing the NY HEAT Act to rein in utility costs for low and middle income New Yorkers; making progress in building more housing that is affordable for low and moderate income New Yorkers, including with next-generation Mitchell-Lama owner-occupied housing; increasing investments in childcare; building on our success in ending copayments for insulin in State-regulated insurance plans; helping our local governments control property taxes by ensuring that the upcoming school district funding formula updates work for our school districts, and increasing aid to our municipalities. In Unincorporated Greenburgh, it also means working to discourage a prospective Edgemont village incorporation, through legislative means as well as an open dialogue about the likely costs to Greenburgh and Edgemont taxpayers. We have made progress this term, with the first update to State village incorporation laws in decades; and I look forward to doing more in this area.

Fighting back against a US Supreme Court run amok: Given SCOTUS’ current make-up, too much is at risk to take abortion, contraception, maternal healthcare or gender-affirming healthcare for granted. We need to pass Equal Rights Amendment on the November ballot, so that voters can enshrine abortion and other fundamental rights in the State Constitution. We can and should expand on protections for patients and health care providers enacted in the last two years, and increase funding to insure that our health care providers can handle the increased demand from patients traveling to New York. Our gun laws need to keep pace with US Supreme Court decisions trammeling on the rights of people not to die from gun violence, most recently the Court's overturning of the bump stock ban.

What do you think would be the most beneficial policies to address climate change and the damage caused by climate change in NYS?

Last year, we enacted the Build Public Renewables Act and the transition to all-electric new buildings. This year, we passed Climate Change Superfund legislation — now awaiting the Governor’s signature — which will require the biggest greenhouse gas contributors to help pay for more resilient infrastructure. Going forward, I will be working to pass the NY HEAT Act, which includes a cap on utility rate hikes, the Bigger Better Bottle Bill and Packaging Reduction and Recycling Infrastructure Act, as well as initiatives of significance to our region, such as stopping the expansion of the Algonquin Gas Pipeline and ensuring a full cleanup of PCBs in the Hudson River.


What measures do you support to improve and secure elections and voting access in our state?

Technology has made voting in New York State much easier, perhaps most especially for people with disabilities, but it has also brought new risks. I support the concept of ensuring that New Yorkers can vote as conveniently as voters in many other states. At the same time, continual oversight and investment are required to ensure that the machines we use are secure and backed up by paper ballots, and that our cybersecurity measures are kept up to date. I am a co-sponsor of the Voting Integrity and Verification Act of New York (VIVA NY), which would require that every voter is provided with a verifiable, hand-marked paper ballot.


What policies will you pursue to promote social and racial justice in our state?

There is a great need to address inequities in education funding. In the 2024-25 budget, we allocated funds for a study of the formula that determines how Foundation Aid for our public schools is distributed. I am keenly interested in seeing that this leads to positive change for our struggling districts.

The number of elderly individuals in jails and prisons has more than doubled in the past 20 years, many of them Black and Brown people. I support the Fair & Timely and Elder Parole initiatives, enabling those who have served the bulk of their sentence and have demonstrably transformed their lives to have their cases heard by a parole board. It is common-sense legislation that my opponent/predecessor also supported during his time in the Assembly.

Lastly, we must continue to address the needs of our climate justice communities, which are too often communities of color. New York’s Environmental Bond Act has a mandate to direct 35-40% of funding to disadvantaged communities, creating new opportunities to address historic disparities at scale statewide. We must keep this as a top consideration as we implement future environmental and infrastructure programs.

What is your record on women’s reproductive health and rights?

In my first term in the Assembly, I have built a strong record of support for women and reproductive rights, by voting to:

  • Put the Equality Amendment on the ballot to enshrine abortion rights in the State Constitution

  • Secure $36 million for abortion providers to increase access to care

  • Protect care providers from out-of-state litigation

  • Require that patients have information about which facilities in their area provide the healthcare they need

  • Pass the Rape Is Rape Act, to make sure survivors have a path to justice and perpetrators are held accountable

  • Ensure insurance coverage for abortion medications

  • Provide access to abortion medications at SUNY and CUNY

  • Make the State health insurance exchange available to pregnant women at any time

  • Provide access to doulas during pregnancy and birth, including C-sections

  • Develop new standards for maternal depression screenings, diagnosis, and treatment protocols

In addition, I was a co-sponsor of the bill to close the "intoxication loophole" in State rape cases — legislation I intend to keep advocating for in the Legislature's next session.

This is a record I am especially proud of, and one that has helped earn my endorsements from Planned Parenthood of Greater New York Action Fund and Eleanor's Legacy, the leading organization for getting pro-choice women elected at all levels of government throughout New York. I am also rated 100% Pro-Choice by Choice Matters, which cited my co-sponsorship of Westchester County's Safe Clinic Access Bill in 2022, vote to pass the Rape Is Rape Act in 2023, and membership in the New York State Bipartisan Pro-Choice Legislative Caucus.

What is your position on a potential Edgemont village incorporation?

I am against an Edgemont incorporation. It would create unjustifiable costs, both anticipated and as yet unknown, for the people of the Town of Greenburgh and the Edgemont community. Voters can read a more detailed assessment of the potential risks in this March 22nd press release.

I supported two enacted bills last year that have strengthened village incorporation laws throughout New York State (A.7754, A.7761). This is legislation that Greenburgh Supervisor Paul Feiner and others urged me to support. Its provisions make the incorporation process more rigorous and transparent, and they apply equally to all communities statewide. Unfortunately, a 16-year carve-out for Edgemont — which I strongly opposed — was enacted through two amendments, introduced by other sponsors more than six months after our original legislation had passed (A.8572, A.8573). These amendments would not have been possible had my predecessor not helped to pass new district maps in 2022 that separated Edgemont from the rest of Greenburgh, effectively pitching their interests against the rest of the Town.

The prospect of Edgemont incorporation has loomed over Greenburgh for many years. My predecessor failed repeatedly at passing legislation on village incorporation during his 12 years in Albany. I am proud to have succeeded in making progress where he could not. And I pledge to work diligently to build on that progress, so that we can continue to improve our village incorporation laws and process, for the protection of taxpayers in Greenburgh and all the towns and communities of New York State.