Brooklyn Lawmakers on The Move June 28, 2017

Brooklyn Lawmakers Demand MTA Immediately Resolve Subway Crisis After Derailment

State Senator Martin Malavé Dilan (D-Bushwick, East New York, Ocean Hill/Brownsville) and Assembly Member Nicole Malliotakis (R-Bay Ridge, Staten Island) are demanding that the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) resolve their subway issues immediately after an downtown A train derailed in Harlem yesterday. 

At around 9:45 a.m. yesterday, two cars of a Brooklyn-bound A train were sent jumping off the track due to  a loose piece of rail. The cars jumped the track outside the 125th Street station causing 34 people to be treated for minor injuries including a little baby.

 “Today’s MTA derailment is proof positive that we need to seriously reassess our transit priorities. Funding sweeps and cuts that I have opposed cannot continue. What has been a nuisance, costing New Yorkers’ time and money, is now a threat to the well-being of riders. The escalation of delays and system failures is nothing short of a state of emergency. We must wholly commit state and authority resources to emergency repairs and shelve any project that will not serve that immediate purpose. Beginning today, the MTA’s primary goal should be a system-wide state of repair that guarantees efficient, reliable, and safe service,” said Dilan.

 “The mayor and the governor need to get together and work toward resolving this subway crisis. Delays, service interruptions and now derailments are making life miserable for commuters. If I were mayor, I wouldn’t shrug my shoulders and blame the governor. I would pick up the phone and call him and Joe Lhota, commit more money toward making the upgrades and come to a resolution to get the job done as timely as possible to replace the current signal system that is decades beyond its life-span,” said Malliotakis.

Hamilton Speaks Out Against Arson Attack on Mitzvah Bus

State Senator Jesse Hamilton (D-Central Brooklyn) is speaking out against the arson attack on the Mitzvah Bus in Crown Heights on Monday.

The iconic bus, owned by Lev Scheiber, was torched in the early hours of June 26 while parked. The New York Police Department (NYPD) determined that the fire was intentionally set and is investigating it as a hate crime.

The bus, colorfully decorated with splashy paints and Jewish themes, is a familiar sight in the Jewish community. It is seen regularly at local festivals and was featured in singer Benny Friedman’s music video “Ivri Anochi.”

“I stand against this hateful act of arson against the Mitzvah Bus. Lev “Leviticus” Scheiber is an artist whose creativity and passion brings a sense of community spirit to our neighborhood. Anyone who would set fire to the Mitzvah Bus, an artwork itself, commits a hateful act against our entire community,” said Hamilton.

Donovan Leads Effort To Protect State & Local Tax Deductions

Congressman Dan Donovan (R-South Brooklyn, Staten Island) is urging the U.S. Secretary of Treasury,Steve Mnuchin, to reconsider the proposed elimination of the federal deduction for state and local taxes (SALT),which is included in the Administration’s proposed tax reform plan

The SALT deduction, which has been a part of the U.S. tax code since 1913, allows New Yorkers’, as well as taxpayers across the nation, to write off their state and local income tax from their federal returns to prevent double taxation.

Donovan alongside a small state Republican delegation sent a letter to Mnuchin yesterday, citing the unfair impact the elimination of the SALT deduction would have on middle-class families from high-tax states, like New York, who can least afford additional tax increases. The Tax Policy Center estimates that New York State residents claim an average of $21,038 in state and local taxes on their federal returns. The loss of this deduction would cost residents an average of $4,500 more per year, for a total tax increase of $14.8 billion.

“The SALT deduction affects filers’ taxable income, so its elimination would push some people into higher marginal tax brackets and would thus reduce incentives to work and invest. In fact, eliminating the SALT deduction would reduce long-run GDP by 0.4 percent and would lead to over 200,000 jobs lost,” said Donovan.

Donovan went on to add, “The deduction for state and local taxes matters for all Americans, but it affects New York disproportionately. The state has 3.2 million residents who claim the deduction, and New York’s itemizers make up primarily lower- and middle-income households: 85% of those who claim the SALT deduction earn less than $200,000 in annual income.”

 Squadron Continues Push For Ticket Resale Reforms

State Senator Daniel Squadron (D-Northern Brooklyn, Lower Manhattan) is urging a veto of the status-quo ticket resale law extender that is awaiting Governor Andrew Cuomo’s signature.

New York State scrapped its anti-ticket scalping laws in 2007 and allowed tickets to be resold at whatever prices the market would support. The law has been renewed annually since 2010 without any major reforms, including last year by Cuomo.

Earlier this month, Squadron introduced his Fans Against Inflated Rates for Tickets (FAIR) Act (S.5178) that would: create a more transparent marketplace by requiring face values on tickets, clear information on the number of tickets available, pricing, and other policies, and identification of secondary sellers; establish a fairer process for fans by instituting a 48-hour “cooling off period” before resale is permitted, ending speculative sales, and requiring clearer fee-disclosure; as well as stop profiteering on free or charity event tickets.