Dear Friends,
In celebration of Black History Month, Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins and I have launched a social media campaign highlighting distinguished historic locations in our districts on the African American Heritage Trail. You can follow along on Facebook and Instagram by searching #WestchesterAAHT.
The Westchester Senate Delegation is hosting our budget forums on Thursday, February 10 and Tuesday, February 15, virtually. If you would like to share your views on the proposed 2022-23 NYS Budget, I encourage you to sign up to testify at one of the forums. These forums provide wonderful opportunities for local residents and advocates to speak about their budget priorities.
Tomorrow, my Youth Advisory Council will host its 2nd Annual Coat & Diaper Drive at Port Chester Village Hall, located at 222 Grace Church Street. Masked volunteers will be on-site to take donations directly from cars. I hope you will consider stopping by and donating if you are able!
Lastly, I would like to thank the Westchester County and municipal DPW crews for their quick and highly professional response to last weekend’s snowstorm. We appreciate your efforts to keep our roads clear and safe.
As always, if there is anything my office can do to assist you, please email me at smayer@nysenate.gov or call (914) 934-5250.
Warm regards,
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Shelley B. Mayer
State Senator
37th District
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Upcoming Westchester Senate Delegation
Budget Forums
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Joint Legislative Budget Hearing:
Elementary & Secondary Education
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Our Joint Legislative Budget Hearings are well under way in Albany. These are formal hearings during which legislators have the opportunity to question agency heads and others about the Governor’s proposed budget and hear from those impacted by state policies and funding decisions. On January 26, we heard nearly 12 hours of testimony from education stakeholders on Governor Hochul’s Executive Budget Proposal. In last year’s budget, in addition to fulfilling our long overdue commitment to fund Foundation Aid, we fought to deliver compensatory funds directly to schools. It is critical that we understand how those funds were used. I remain committed to ensuring school districts have the resources they need to ensure students make up any academic ground they lost during the pandemic, as well as to address the social and emotional needs of all our students, provide our special education students with the services they are entitled to, and expand Pre-Kindergarten. |
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Joint Legislative Budget Hearing:
Workforce Development
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I participated in the Joint Legislative Budget Hearing on Workforce Development during which I asked about constituents’ ongoing difficulties in getting through to the New York State Department of Labor to complete unemployment insurance claims. I remain deeply distressed about this issue.
I raised this concern with Department of Labor Commissioner Roberta Reardon and asked what is being done to address staffing shortages in the Department of Labor call center. We also discussed adopting more effective accountability measures surrounding economic development and workforce retention.
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Storm Recovery & Flooding Resiliency |
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Touring Ida-related damage
on Mamaroneck Avenue.
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I continue to push for reform based on our experiences during and after Hurricane Ida. In anticipation of furthering my initiatives on storm recovery and flooding resiliency in the adopted state budget, we have created a survey regarding storm damage, losses, reimbursement, and out-of-pocket expenditures related to Hurricane Ida. Please take a few moments to fill out the form so I am fully informed about the extent of loss suffered.
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Youth Advisory Council
2nd Annual Coat & Diaper Drive
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Homeowner Assistance Fund Information Session |
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Homeowners who were financially affected by COVID-19 and who are behind on their mortgage payments, property taxes, water or sewage bills may be eligible to receive assistance from the New York State Homeowner Assistance Fund. If you think you may be eligible, don’t hesitate to apply. Funds are limited and applications are being processed as they are received.
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Department of Public Service Broadband Survey |
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Enroll in a Qualified Health Plan |
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Residents and small businesses can continue to renew or enroll in a 2022 Qualified Health Plan with NY State of Health, the official health plan Marketplace.
Call the Westchester County Department of Health Navigator Program at
(914) 995-6350 for free help in multiple languages at no charge or email hnav@westchestergov.com. Applicants who enroll by February 15 should have health coverage starting on March 1.
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Bronxville State Champions |
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Bronxville Girls Cross Country |
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This fall, Bronxville had not one, but two, state champion teams! I was thrilled to congratulate the athletes of the Bronxville Girls Cross Country and Bronxville Girls Soccer teams, their coaches, Athletic Director Joe Haven, Principal Ann Meyer and Superintendent Roy Montesano with Bronxville Mayor Mary Marvin. |
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222 Grace Church Street, Suite 300
Port Chester, NY 10573
Phone: (914) 934-5250
Email: SMayer@nysenate.gov
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