Dear Neighbors and Friends – I wanted to reach out and provide a status update on the New York State Budget. As you are aware April 1, 2017, was the official start of the 2017-18 state fiscal year. As of April 4th, there is no final deal in sight. The Assembly continues to work hard to come to an agreement on the budget. We are having productive talks and will be working to resolve outstanding issues. Several issues, among others, that are still being negotiated are criminal justice “Raise the Age” reform and housing affordability with regards to the 421-a program. The Assembly passed a temporary budget extender to avoid a shutdown of government while we resolve these issues. The budget extender extends current budget provisions to May 31st. I remain optimistic that many issues of importance will be included in the final budget. As always, I will keep you updated with our progress. In Solidarity,
Rebecca