August 25, 2022-- The opioid, fentanyl, and drug crisis is a focus in the portfolio of Assemblyman Keith P. Brown (R,C-Northport). Since his freshman year in office in November 2020, Assemblyman Brown has been actively involved in the fight to end the drug epidemic facing our community.

Keith Brown is the Ranking Minority Member of the New York State Assembly’s Committee on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse, which is responsible for overseeing this crisis in our state. Since he took office, the Assemblyman has supported four major bills concerning the state’s opioid and fentanyl problems. Two were recently passed into law, and two have passed the state Legislature and are now awaiting Gov. Kathy Hochul’s signature.

“I want our community to remain safe and our children and constituents taken care of, which means finding better solutions to the systemic drug problems our state is facing,” said Brown. “From trafficking of illegal drugs at our borders to the accessibility and the mental health crisis of those that suffer from substance abuse, I am attacking this problem both in the Assembly and in our community by giving my best effort to find a better way to ending this crisis. It is a problem that permeates every town in America and our district, unfortunately, is not immune.”

The legislation collectively represents measures for research, education, prevention, protection, and legal action with penalties that would go back into public funding of programs and services related to substance abuse. Working with the treatment and recovery community, Assemblyman Brown created the “LI Drug Coalition,” a group comprised of many of Long Island’s providers, which has since grown to include providers in the five boroughs and even upstate.

In May 2022, Assemblyman Brown organized a conference at Wellbridge Addiction Treatment Center in Calverton, entitled “Strengthening the System and Raising Awareness to Serve the Needs of People Struggling with Co-Occurring Disorders.” This was a cooperative event sponsored, in part, by many of the area providers and hospital systems, and included advocates and speakers on recovery and treatment, elected officials and agency heads.

Keith P. Brown and his wife Barbara are raising their three children in their hometown of Northport, so a safe and thriving community is not just a priority, it’s personal. “Many of us have lost family members to this scourge of overdoses, my family was no different. My nephew, Jesse Romanasky, was a sweet boy and should be alive today. I’m working to prevent another family from suffering the same loss the way my sister did,” he said.

The Assemblyman’s District, District 12, includes the towns of Huntington, Babylon, and Islip, and his office is located at 75 Woodbine Avenue in Northport.