Hydraulic fracturing, which is a way of drilling deep underground for natural gas, and is dangerous to the water supplies that run through New York State, has been under a moratorium in New York State since 2008. The United States Department of Energy has convened an Advisory Board which has been charged with making recommendations to make hydraulic fracturing safer in the future. While I am in doubt that hydraulic fracturing can ever be made safe, I recently joined with other New York State elected officials to demand that the Board include representation from communities affected by fracking. Right now the Board does not include any ordinary citizens and six of the seven members of the Board, including the chair John Deutch, have ties to the natural gas and oil industry. The letter we wrote insists that Mr. Deutch step down from the chairmanship and that an independent panel chair and other impartial Board members be included.

Hydraulic fracturing is a critical issue for the environmental health of our state and its citizens and I urge members of the community to become familiar with this issue. In other parts of the country, fracking has devastated communities. Fracking creates toxic and radioactive wastewater spills, industrial truck traffic, air pollution-related health problems, and tremendous damage to local businesses and property owners. New York can not afford to put the health of our water and our communities at risk for short term gains.

Each year I sponsor the New York State Assembly Summer Reading Challenge encouraging children to keep reading over the summer. Children must read at least 40 days over the summer and keep a log - when they send their log back to my office they receive a New York State certificate. Cultivating a love of reading and preventing the "summer slide," are two important concerns for all schools. If a school has a large number of students who will be receiving certificates I visit the school to present them to the students. Last year I was delighted to receive a letter from a parent of a second grader who so enjoyed completing the Summer Reading Challenge that he then started a book club with his friends! I am looking forward to receiving many reading logs and making presentations to school children this fall.

The Task Force on Demographic Research and Reapportionment was established in 1978 to aid the Legislature by providing technical plans for meeting the requirements of legislative timetables for the reapportionment of Senate, Assembly and Congressional districts. Reapportionment happens every 10 years. Next year, 2012, all elected officials excluding our city council members will run on new district lines created by gains and losses in population. Based on the most recent census I believe the 52nd A.D. gained population, so my assumption is the new 52nd AD will look very similar to the current district.

On Tuesday September 20, 2011 at 10:00am the task force will hold a public hearing at Brooklyn Borough Hall. The hearing is one of many being held throughout the state. These hearings are a great opportunity to hear first hand about the process as well as voice your opinions, comments or concerns.

Over the summer I visited the Raíces Times Plaza Senior Center on Atlantic Ave. I had the opportunity to speak with seniors and discuss the past legislative session where I fought to keep funding in place for senior centers such as Raíces. As the new Chair of the Assembly's Committee on Aging, I also had the opportunity to discuss programs for seniors, how they might be improved and how to apply for benefits and services such as Medicare, Medicaid, Food Stamps and Access-A-Ride. Currently many seniors do not know what they are eligible for which is why visits to senior centers are so important. My office is of course always open to provide assistance. Just contact me at the number below.


My first roundtable as the new Chair of the Assembly's Committee on Aging will be on Tuesday, October 25th at Borough Hall at 9:30am. The roundtable will focus on the growing problem of elder abuse. I will be joined by experts in the field to begin discussing ways in which state and local governments can partner to end elder abuse throughout New York State. Throughout our state seniors are experiencing physical or psychological neglect or financial exploration, all of which go unreported in many cases. Our seniors have worked hard their entire lives and deserve our support. We need to give elder abuse the attention that it deserves, and I intend to use this roundtable to discuss ways in which we can tackle elder abuse at every angle. I hope you will be able to join me at this important hearing.