Take Two: Senator Joseph Addabbo, Jr.

Addabbo: "We Need to Change the Process of Allocating Member Items, When Governor Wields Veto Pen"

Queens, NY – New York State Senator Joseph Addabbo, Jr. (D-Howard Beach), reacted strongly to the governor’s recent use of his veto power to eliminate funding for local community groups and programs.

Cuomo vetoed 126 items in total, costing $640,000.  Thirteen items were sponsored by the Assembly Democratic Majority, worth a little more than $50,000. He vetoed 12 items sponsored by the Senate Republican Majority and 99 sponsored by the Minority Senate Democrats, worth about $412,000. 

Governor Cuomo had accused state legislators of sneaking new member item allocations or “pork” into the new state budget — and used his scalpel to cut it out. But lawmakers said none of the projects were new and that the money was for old projects that never got all their previously promised cash and that the local funding allocations were a fraction of the total $132.6 billion state budget.

Noted Senator Addabbo, “The governor’s vetoed member items range from $10,000 for the Police Athletic League (PAL) citywide to benefit local youth programs, to more general grants aiding school districts with academic programs, libraries, not-for-profits and educational institutions. This was the funding that was supposed to help local people and community groups, but the governor didn’t want to allocate it. I believe that was wrong.”

Some of the other painful cuts to worthwhile projects in Addabbo’s district were community groups helping youth, working families, seniors or veterans:  $5,000 to the Greater Woodhaven Development Corp. (Economic Development/Aid to Localities); $3,000 to the Forest Hills Volunteer Ambulance Corps (State/Aid to Localities); $2,000 for the American Italian Cancer Foundation (State/Aid to Localities); $1,000 for  Elmhurst’s New Life Food Pantry (State/Aid to Localities); $3,000 for the Ridgewood Local Development Corp. (Parks/Aid to Localities); $2,000 for Maspeth Town Hall (Parks/Aid to Localities); $3,000 for Howard Beach’s Columbus Day Foundation (State/Aid to Localities); $1,000 for Ozone Park’s Zion Tabernacle Food Pantry (State/Aid to Localities); $3,500 for Ozone Park’s South Queens Boys and Girls Club (Criminal Justice Services/Aid to Localities); $3,500 for Middle Village’s Juniper Park Civic Association (Parks/Aid to Localities); $3,000 for the Greater Ridgewood Youth Council (Parks/Aid to Localities); $2,400 for the Ridgewood Seniors Community Corporation (State/Aid to Localities); and $2,000 for the Vietnam Veterans Chapter #32 (Division of Veterans’ Affairs/Aid to Localities).  

“While we appreciate the governor’s attempt to cut the fat and streamline government, we are not pork. We provide vital services to the community's working-class homeowners,” said Paul Kerzner of the Ridgewood Property Owners.

Bob Holden, President of the Juniper Park Civic Association stated, “The president, governor, mayor and most elected officials encourage volunteerism.  We have dozens of groups in the 15th Senate District willing and able to organize volunteers to work on hundreds of projects and programs.  A small amount of money is needed to keep these groups afloat. It is vital that funds to support not-for-profit groups be released immediately.”

“With major cuts to the City Budgets over the past few years, small not-for-profits are desperate for State monies to survive.  The Greater Ridgewood Youth Council has been waiting 3 years for State capital dollars to build its state-of-the art Community Center in Ridgewood without success.  It is our hope that the governor will work with the Senate and Assembly to move old, allocated monies along, and allow agencies like the GRYC to complete projects that will benefit a whole lot of families,” added Bob Monahan of the Greater Ridgewood Youth Council.

Eileen Reilly from the Maspeth Town Hall explained, “The Maspeth Town Hall would have used these much-needed dollars towards our Tutorial Program, Regents Review classes and After School Program for children in the area who need our services.  We would also use these dollars to help pay for our Senior Programs which include Tai Chi Instruction, Chair Yoga Classes and Fine Art Instruction. Maspeth Town Hall would be very grateful if the governor would let these dollars be used by our center to offer the programs that enhance the lives of the families of our community.”

 “A new process is needed to get monies to our local groups after the governor uses line-item vetoes for funding of legislators’ projects back home,” said Addabbo.

Addabbo proposes a structure where groups can apply directly to the various state agencies for money, which would cut the elected official out of the process altogether. 

For example, veterans could apply to the Division of Veterans’ Affairs; seniors to the Department for the Aging; and community or youth groups to the Department of Economic Development, Department of Parks, State, or Criminal Justice Services. Addabbo was optimistic that a process can set up with very little effort from Governor Cuomo’s office.

The senator believes that the state already has a credible vetting process that can determine if an applying group is credible and would use the funding in a proper manner.

Addabbo believes a process can be established where applications can be submitted directly to state agencies where the funding has already been allocated to their individual budgets.

He also believes that by eliminating the elected officials from the process, any concern or issue of misuse, scandal or impropriety would be addressed.

“It’s not about the photo op or press release to be issued by the elected official, it’s about getting funding to local residents, schools and community groups who provide services, but are now being ignored by our state budget,” Addabbo stated.

Addabbo Speaks Out on Proposed Closing of John Adams High School

Senator Joseph P. Addabbo, Jr. released the following statement today, which is taken from remarks he made during a public forum at John Adams High School in Ozone Park last Thursday evening.  

Addabbo is a member of both the Joint Senate Conference Committee on Education and the Senate Committee on Education:

In September of 2011, John Adams High School was one of a number of schools throughout the City of New York that was tapped to undergo a “transformation” – to take steps over three years to improve its operations, raise test scores, increase graduation rates, and ultimately provide our local children with the best possible education. 

Only a few months later, in January of this year, the rug was pulled out from under John Adams High School.  Instead of continuing on its three-year path to improvement under the “transformation” model, John Adams became one of eight Queens schools slated for closure at the end of this academic year in June under a different “turnaround” plan.   

In other words, with virtually no warning and no acknowledgement of the improvements already in place and those yet to come, John Adams is supposed to close its doors, change its name, and do away with half of its faculty. 

As a lifelong resident of Ozone Park and past supporter of John Adams HS, I disagree with that approach, because it doesn’t give John Adams the chance it deserves – and was told it had – to assess its strengths and weaknesses and to go forward with improvements. 

Since its initial designation as a “transformation” school, John Adams High School has been working hard and successfully to make improvements.  Closing this school would be a slap in the face to our entire John Adams High School community – our students, families, teachers, school administrators and everyone else who cares about this historic educational institution and who wants it to succeed.  

On its website, John Adams High School notes that it is “Celebrating 89 Years of Academic Excellence.”  Clearly, sacrificing this school to a “turnaround” scheme doesn’t leave John Adams with very much to celebrate.    

Instead of shuttering John Adams High School, why don’t we honor the original restart improvement agreement? 

There is a tremendous amount at stake here.  The academic success of our children is at stake.  Job stability for talented teachers and administration is at stake.  Funding to help John Adams and other schools that are struggling to improve is at stake.  Any decision to close John Adams High School should not be made lightly, and in my mind, should not be made at all. 

One week from today, only seven days from right now, the Panel for Educational Policy will vote on whether to close John Adams High School and 25 other schools throughout the City.  I hope they will see the wisdom of letting this school stay open.

To take a few more words from John Adams himself, he once said that “children should be educated and instructed in the principles of freedom.”  I think it would be a great lesson for our children, and it would pay respect to President John Adams, if we were to apply the principles of freedom to this high school and give it the chance – the freedom, if you will – to finish the job of improvement it has already begun.