Friend,

I hope you are staying safe and healthy. If you're like me, the days are blending together and it feels like we are in a bubble where only things related to COVID-19 seem to matter or be happening.

But that's not the case, and right now it’s important we keep our government functioning so we can continue to battle this ravaging pandemic.

That's why today I'm writing to update you on the state budget, which was passed last week. With our country ground to a halt due to COVID-19 and an estimated revenue deficit between 6 and 15 billion dollars, we were faced with a crisis budget that reflects the painful situation we are in as a state and a country. 

I want to share with you some reflections I wrote about my disappointment with the budget, and more importantly, with the budget process.

This is not a budget that anybody should be celebrating. We passed it two days late, which meant that hundreds of thousands of state workers were not paid on time. If we passed it any later, the hundreds of thousands of unemployed New Yorkers desperately waiting for an unemployment check would be left out in the cold.

This is a budget that cut state spending by $5.7 billion, including more than $1 billion in healthcare at a time when our health network is working overtime to keep people alive. This is a budget that ignores the moral imperative to tax the ultrawealthy, raising the revenue we need to stave off cuts to critical services. This is a budget that failed to invest in our public higher education system, when it was needed most.

Despite this, I believe that this is the ONLY budget we could have passed given the fact that the state constitution places nearly total control of the budget process in the hands of the Governor.

But while this budget does not rise to the moment we are in, there are also glimmers of hope within it. There are real victories that will improve the lives of all New Yorkers.

We approved $28 billion in public school funding, with no decrease in foundation aid funding for any school district. We capped out-of-pocket costs for insulin at $100 per month. We banned flavored vape products and environmentally harmful styrofoam products. And we successfully pushed back on the governor's proposal to make retirees pay more for their healthcare.

I believe our work in Albany is not done and we should go back into remote session to continue the people's work. Once we are through this moment of emergency, we have to fix our state's broken budget process and fight to ensure that we pass a state budget that does not leave any New Yorker behind. That's the New York I want to live in and I know that's the New York you want to live in, too.

Read my reflections about the budget and then let me know if you have any questions about the process, the results, or just to share what this all means for you.

In service and solidarity,

Andrew

P.S. There are STILL a lot of community organizations that are helping out in vital ways, delivering meals, doing grocery runs, and making wellness calls to the vulnerable members of our community. If you are in a position to do so, supporting local organizations is one of the best ways you can contribute to the strength and health of our neighborhoods. We will do our best to highlight local groups supporting our community.

PAID FOR BY ANDREW FOR NEW YORK

Andrew for New York
725 70th Street
Apt C1
Brooklyn, NY 11228
United States

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