Ahead of the Common Council’s Vote to Support the State Bill, Assemblymember Shrestha Will Hold a Kingston Town Hall on a State Proposal to Build High Quality Not-For-Profit Homes
May 1, 2025
Kingston, NY – Assemblymember Sarahana Shrestha will hold a town hall at the Ulster County Restorative Justice Center on Friday night, May 2nd, at 6:30 PM, to present and take questions on a state proposal to build high quality and permanently affordable...
Assemblymember Shrestha Urges the PSC to Conduct an Analysis on Whether Public Ownership of Central Hudson Will Lower its Rates, and to Lower the Authorized Rate of Return on Equity that Determines How Much Profit It Can Collect
Apr 29, 2025
Kingston, NY – While Assemblymember Shrestha is in session in Albany amidst budget negotiations, a representative of her office will submit the following comment on her behalf at today’s PSC hearing in Kingston: “We give investor-owned utilities...
Assemblymember Shrestha Will Host an Online Town Hall to Provide Updates on the Ongoing Central Hudson Rate Case
Apr 22, 2025
Kingston, NY – The Office of Assemblymember Sarahana Shrestha is an intervening party to the ongoing Central Hudson rate case, which is undergoing confidential settlement negotiations. The Department of Public Service is expected to release a joint...
AM Shrestha Says Governor Hochul’s Time Would Be Better Spent Staying in Albany to Pass a Budget Than Coming to Ulster County for a Press Conference
Apr 15, 2025
Kingston, NY – Governor Hochul was in Kingston this afternoon to tout her proposed changes to the state’s discovery law, specifically Kalief’s law, a policy item with no fiscal implications that is holding up state budget negotiations. AM Shrestha...
AM Shrestha Commends the Ulster County Legislature for Withdrawing Res. No. 165, Says Its Passage Would Have Been an Endorsement of Torture
Apr 14, 2025
Kingston, NY – “I commend Ulster County legislators for reconsidering a vote on Res. No. 165, and the sponsor for withdrawing it altogether,” said Assemblymember Shrestha, “I’m cautiously optimistic that no other attempt to undo the HALT law...
Floor Speech on Assembly One-House Budget Bill
Mar 13, 2025
Despite the state having a higher GDP than entire nations like Sweden, New Yorkers have seen diminished spending power in recent years, owing to exceptional housing costs as the gap between wages and inflation widens. Meanwhile, as of 2022, the top 1.5%...
AM Shrestha Says Assembly’s Modest Proposal to Tax the Rich More Must Be Included in the Final Budget
Mar 13, 2025
Albany – The Assembly passed its “one-house” budget proposal today, which proposes a spending of $256.5 billion – $4.5 billion or 1.8 percent over the Executive proposal. This increase is largely attributed to commitments to human services, Medicaid,...
AM Shrestha Corrects False and Misleading Claims From “NY Energy Alliance” on the Hudson Valley Power Authority Act
Mar 7, 2025
“Where a community – a city or county or a district – is not satisfied with the service rendered or the rates charged by the private utility, it has the undeniable basic right, as one of its functions of Government, one of its functions of home...
Assemblymember Shrestha Introduces Solar for Schools Act
Mar 6, 2025
Albany, NY – Assemblymember Sarahana Shrestha, rallying alongside Assembly and Senate colleagues, advocacy organizations, and over 700 New York State public school students, announced the introduction of the Solar for Schools Act (A2720/S2632), which...
AM Shrestha Supports the Right of Public Sector Workers to Strike, But Says a Repeal of the HALT Act is a Non-Starter
Feb 25, 2025
KINGSTON: The Humane Alternatives to Long-Term Solitary Confinement Act (HALT) was enacted on March 31, 2021to place restrictions on the use, duration, and circumstances of solitary confinement as punishment for misbehavior. According to the State’s...
Tenant Protections in Housing Deal Garners Attention as Budget Negotiations Begin
Feb 21, 2025
Poughkeepsie – The Poughkeepsie City Council passed a memorializing resolution in support of the REST Act. “Poughkeepsie is a perfect example of a locality where an obvious housing emergency was too difficult to prove under the current law where localities...
Assemblymember Shrestha Holds Press Conference for Rent Emergency Stabilization for Tenants Act
Feb 11, 2025
Kingston, NY – The Rent Emergency Stabilization for Tenants (REST) Act (A04877/S04659), removes the requirement of a vacancy study when localities opt in to the 2019 Emergency Tenant Protections Act (ETPA), gives them the option to cover buildings with...
Kingston Speed Cameras
Oct 22, 2024
“Driving above the posted speed limit is a factor in 29% of traffic related fatalities nationwide. The danger is magnified in school zones where large numbers of students are arriving by bus or on foot and are often outside during the school day. Kingston’s...
Assemblymember Shrestha Will Host Two Town Halls on the Status of the State’s Climate Goals Next Week
Sep 12, 2024
Kingston, NY – A recent report jointly authored by the Public Service Commission (PSC) and New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) confirms that New York is not on track to meet its climate goals, enshrined in the 2019 Climate...
Assemblymember Shrestha Comments on Central Hudson’s New Rate Case Filing
Aug 2, 2024
“On the day Central Hudson’s new rates went into effect, the company filed for further increases on both electricity and gas. This shows that the corporate monopoly has no interest in evaluating the outcomes made possible by the last rate case before...
Assemblymember Shrestha Urges School Families, Teachers, and Staff to Submit a Written Testimony on What the Foundation Aid Formula Should Fund
Jul 25, 2024
Kingston, NY – This year’s State budget called for the Rockefeller Institute to study and propose potential changes to the Foundation Aid formula – a formula that determines how much funding the State should provide to each school district. The...
Assemblymember Shrestha Urges School Families, Teachers, and Staff to Submit a Written Testimony on What the Foundation Aid Formula Should Fund
Jul 25, 2024
Kingston, NY – This year’s State budget called for the Rockefeller Institute to study and propose potential changes to the Foundation Aid formula – a formula that determines how much funding the State should provide to each school district. The...
Assemblymember Shrestha Says the Approval of Rate Increases for Central Hudson Shows a For-Profit Energy Model is Unsustainable
Jul 18, 2024
Kingston, NY – Central Hudson, a corporate monopoly that delivers energy to much of Mid-Hudson Valley, submitted a rate case filing on July 31, 2023, to request an increase of delivery rates by 31.9% for electricity and 29.2% for gas. The Public Service...
Assemblymember Shrestha Awards $300,000 to YMCA Kingston to Add Elevator Access to the Third Floor
Jul 10, 2024
Kingston, NY – The Office of Assemblymember Sarahana Shrestha announced today that it is awarding a $300,000 capital grant to the YMCA of Kingston & Ulster to help fund the extension of the two-story elevator to go all the way up to the third floor....
Assemblymember Shrestha Commends Kingston Common Council for the Passage of a Strong Version of Good Cause Eviction
Jul 3, 2024
Kingston, NY – “Earlier this year, New York State passed a version of Good Cause Eviction through the state’s budget that allows municipalities outside of New York City to opt-in. While this version leaves out thousands of upstate tenants in places...