Blog

New York — The following statement was issued today by State Senator Liz Krueger (D-Manhattan), Co-Chair of the NYS Bipartisan Legislative Pro-Choice Caucus, in response to reports that Purvi Patel was sentenced by an Indiana court to 20 years in prison on charges of feticide and felony neglect:

(more…)

Senator Krueger, Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer and several of their NYC elected colleagues sent a letter, below, to New York City Planning Commission Chair Carl Weisbrod, expressing concerns over proposed changes to contextual zoning.

(more…)

New York — Sen. Liz Krueger issued the following statement today upon the release of an analysis by Environmental Advocates of New York of the state’s Brownfield Cleanup Program, titled Ripe for Reform.  The analysis reveals that the current program pays out the vast majority of funds as “redevelopment” credits, rather than for environmental cleanup, and that some of the state’s neediest communities receive little or no benefits:
(more…)

New York – State Senator Liz Krueger and Assembly Member Daniel O’Donnell today released a letter to Governor Andrew Cuomo, urging him to follow through on a proposed email retention and transparency summit as soon as possible, and to immediately suspend his administration’s 90-day email deletion policy.  The letter also strongly recommends the inclusion of policy experts in the discussion, including Robert J. Freeman, Executive Director of the Committee on Open Government (COOG), as well as state archive staff and representatives of the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA).
(more…)

New York – State Senator Liz Krueger and Assembly Member Daniel O’Donnell today introduced a bill to regulate email retention policy for New York State officials and extend existing Freedom of Information Act requirements to the state legislature.  The legislation is based on the Federal “Capstone” email retention policy, which was adopted after extensive study of best practices for handling electronic records.  It would establish strict standards for permanent preservation of the records of policymakers, including statewide public officials, state legislators and senior agency positions, among others, and prohibit deletion of emails from other government officials for at least seven years.
(more…)

New York – Today, Council Member Jumaane D. Williams (D-Brooklyn), Deputy Leader and Chair of the Council’s Housing and Buildings Committee, and State Senator Liz Krueger (D-Manhattan), released the following statement afterManhattan Housing Court Judge Jack Stoller ruled against a Manhattan couple who rented out their rent-stabilized apartment on Airbnb for triple the price they paid. (more…)

New York – State Senator Liz Krueger released the following statement today on the passage of S.2486, Senator Kemp Hannon’s bill to delay implementation of the state’s I-STOP electronic prescribing mandate:

“I am pleased that Senator Hannon’s bill has passed in the Senate with bipartisan support. While I believe implementation of the I-STOP e-prescription system is critical to improving efficiency and avoiding further abuses, the failure of the federal government to operationalize the new system must not be allowed to prevent doctors from providing critically needed medications to their patients.  I look forward to swift action by my colleagues in the Assembly, and I urge Governor Cuomo to sign this bill into law in order to allow sufficient time for medical practitioners to prepare for these important changes.” (more…)

Albany, NY – State Senator Liz Krueger and the Senate Democratic Conference today unveiled a major legislative package to deal with the ongoing ethics crisis in State Government. This package of groundbreaking bills will cap legislators’ outside incomes, end the LLC loophole, bar elected officials from using campaign funds for criminal defense and personal use, cap contributions to party “soft money” accounts, and end the practice of taxpayer funded reimbursements of legal fees. The Senate Democrats also introduced measures to strip corrupt officials of taxpayer funded pensions and reform how campaigns are funded. Unfortunately, the Senate Majority has consistently blocked all meaningful ethics reforms initiatives.

“There is a corruption crisis in Albany that demands meaningful ethics reforms,” said Senator Krueger. “Individuals should not be able to donate unlimited amounts of soft money to political parties, and candidates should not be able to treat campaign accounts like personal ATMs. The people of New York are calling for these common sense, basic reforms, and all elected officials, regardless of party, should be able to come together to support them.” (more…)