Yesterday was a historic day for the State of New York as we elected the first African American Speaker of the New York State Assembly, Carl Heastie.

I join my colleagues in congratulating the new Speaker on his election and have faith that he will execute his responsibilities as the Assembly's leader in a way to benefit all New Yorkers.

In the coming months as we settle in to the new term, I look forward to working with Speaker Heastie to address some of the challenges that lie ahead of us, including:

• Increasing the entire State's minimum wage, with an emphasis on making sure the cost of living for downstate residents is appropriately accounted for;
• Ensuring that housing rules and regulations do not undermine the necessary goal of creating a more affordable New York for everyone; and
• Reforming how we conduct ourselves and the people's business in Albany to increase transparency in our government's decision-making processes, participation by elected representatives and our constituencies in how our governance is carried out, and regrowing the trust in state government that New Yorkers once had when our legislature was an example for the country in how it functioned.