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Andrew Cuomo

Video: Gov. Andrew Cuomo's briefing for April 12, 2020

By Howard B. Owens

Press release:

  • Issues Executive Order Expanding Eligibility for More Individuals to Conduct Antibody Tests
  • Governor Joins NGA Chair Maryland Governor Hogan in a Bipartisan Effort Calling for $500 Billion in Aid to States; Reiterates Call for the Federal Government to Repeal SALT
  • Governor Returned Ventilators to Pathways Nursing Home and Rehabilitation Center in Niskayuna; Thanks Facility for Generous Contribution in Fight Against COVID-19
  • Confirms 8,236 Additional Coronavirus Cases in New York State - Bringing Statewide Total to 188,694; New Cases in 44 Counties
  • Governor Cuomo: "We need to be smart in the way we reopen. What does smart mean? It means a coordinated approach, a regional approach, and a safe approach. Nobody wants to pick between a public health strategy and an economic strategy. As Governor of this state, I'm not going to pick one over the other. ... The last thing we want to see is an uptick in that infection rate and an uptick in those numbers that we worked so hard to bring down."
  • Cuomo: "We'll also do an executive order today which directs employers to provide essential workers with a cloth or surgical face mask to their employees when they are interacting with the public. They should provide those masks cost-free."
  • Cuomo: "We have to also expand testing. ... There aren't a tremendously large number of people with anti-bodies, which is good news because we kept down the infection rate. But that is an important test and we have to get that test to scale and this executive order will help do that."
  • Cuomo: "When things are at their worst is when you will see the good, the bad, and the ugly. out of the blue a phone call came where a nursing home in upstate New York said we understand downstate may need ventilators. We want to let them borrow 35 ventilators. Unsolicited they just called and offered the 35 ventilators. we're going to find our way through this because there is an inherent goodness in people that will surprise you and they will rise to the occasion."

Video: Gov. Cuomo's briefing for April 11, 2020

By Howard B. Owens

Press  release:

  • Governor Sends Letter Calling on the U.S. Treasury to Ensure New Yorkers Do Not Have Their Stimulus Payments Frozen by Banks or Seized by Creditors as Soon as They Arrive
  • Confirms 9,946 Additional Coronavirus Cases in New York State - Bringing Statewide Total to 180,458; New Cases in 49 Counties
  • Cuomo: "Reopening is both a public health question and an economic question and I'm unwilling to divorce the two. There is no economic answer that that does not attend to public health. ... you can't ask the people of this state or this country to choose between lives lost and dollars gained. ... I understand the need to bring back the economy as quickly as possible. I understand people need to work. I also know we need to save lives and we have. One cannot be at the expense of the other."
  • Amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Governor Andrew M. Cuomo earlier today announced a new partnership with the New York State Court System to create a pro bono network of volunteer lawyers to provide New Yorkers with free legal assistance. Volunteers will begin to receive training and start offering assistance next week. Lawyers interested in volunteering can sign up at www.nysba.org/covidvolunteer
  • Governor Cuomo also issued a letter calling on the U.S. Treasury to ensure New Yorkers do not have their stimulus payments frozen by banks or seized by creditors as soon as they arrive.

Video: Gov. Cuomo's briefing for April 10, 2020

By Howard B. Owens

Press release:

Earlier today, amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Governor Andrew M. Cuomo launched a video as part of an ongoing awareness campaign to reach all New Yorkers and encourage them to follow the State's guidance to stay home. The video builds on ongoing state efforts to reach all communities in New York with lifesaving stay home message.

A rush transcript of the remarks is available below:

Melissa DeRosa: For the last six weeks, we have done a number of social media campaigns to drive home the point that the personal decisions we make today have a direct impact on the lives of other New Yorkers. And as an extension of the Who I Stay Home For campaign that we launched a few days ago, we asked New Yorkers to share with us personal private photos of how they're spending their time at home and let us see into their lives, and they were incredible. They show New York tough at its defining moment. There is a one-minute, short video that cuts them altogether if you want to play that.

Governor Cuomo: That is beautiful. The statisticians when they did their curve did not know how New Yorkers would respond and didn't know whether or not New Yorkers would comply, and they didn't know how unified New Yorkers can be and how responsible they can be and how caring they are and how they rally for one another.

That's what they did not know, and that's what they couldn't count in those models. They couldn't count the spirit of New Yorkers and the love of New Yorkers to step up and do the right thing. That's what they could not figure out on their computers.

Video: Gov. Cuomo's daily briefing for April 8, 2020

By Howard B. Owens

Press release:

  • Flags Will Remain Lowered While New York is on PAUSE;
  • Kosciuszko Bridge, Governor Mario M. Cuomo Bridge, Spire of One World Trade Center and LaGuardia Airport Parking Garages Will Be Lit Blue on Thursday, April 9th as Part of the #LightItBlue Campaign;
  • Announces SUNY Albany President Havidan Rodriguez Will Work with State Department of Health and Northwell Health to Conduct More COVID-19 Data Research and Increase Testing in Minority Communities;
  • Directs State Department of Labor to Make $600 in Additional Weekly Unemployment Benefits Available to All New Yorkers -- Extends Period Covered by Unemployment Benefits for Another 13 Weeks, for Total of 39 Weeks;
  • Governor Will Issue Executive Order to Ensure New Yorkers Can Vote Absentee in the June 23rd Primary Elections;
  • 2,400 Brand New BiPAP Machines Donated to the State by Mercury Medical, Flown to New York from Florida for Free by JetBlue and Transported on the Ground by Southern Glazer's;
  • Announces Delta, JetBlue, and United are Offering Free Travel to New York for COVID-19 Medical Workers;
  • State Has Distributed Over One Million Free Bottles of NYS Clean Hand Sanitizer Across All 62 Counties;
  • Confirms 10,453 Additional Coronavirus Cases in New York State -- Bringing Statewide Total to 149,316; New Cases in 52 Counties;
  • Governor Cuomo: "It's not a time to get complacent. It's not a time to do anything different than we've been doing. Remember what happened in Italy when the entire health care system became overrun. So we have to remain diligent, we have to remain disciplined going forward. There's no doubt that we are now bending the curve and there's no doubt that we can't stop doing what we're doing."

Video: Gov. Cuomo's briefing for April 6, 2020

By Howard B. Owens

Press release:

  • Directs Schools and Nonessential Businesses to Stay Closed for Additional Two Weeks Through April 29th
  • Increases Maximum Fine for Violations of the State's Social Distancing Protocol from $500 to $1,000
  • Requests Use of USNS Comfort Hospital Ship for Only COVID-19 Patients
  • 802 Ventilators Have Been Distributed Downstate Through the State's "Surge and Flex" System
  • Establishes First Responders Fund to Be Used for Expenses Associated with COVID-19 First Responders -- Blackstone is Making Anchor $10 Million Donation
  • State is Partnering with Headspace to Offer Free Meditation and Mindfulness Content for all New Yorkers
  • South Beach Psychiatric Center in Staten Island & Brooklyn Center Temporary Hospital at 170 Buffalo Avenue Will Open This Week Specifically for COVID-19 Patients
  • Confirms 8,658 Additional Coronavirus Cases in New York State -- Bringing Statewide Total to 130,689; New Cases in 48 Counties
  • Governor Cuomo: "One of the reasons the rate of infection is going down is because social distancing is working. We have to continue the social distancing. Schools and non-essential businesses will stay closed until April 29. I know that's a negative for many, many reasons. I know what it does to the economy. But as I said from day one I'm not going to choose between public health and economic activity because in either event public health still demands that we stay on pause with businesses closed and schools closed."
  • Cuomo: "I'm going to call the president this afternoon and ask him to shift the Comfort from non-COVID to COVID. ... That is the only way we sustain this level of intensity in the hospital system. I understand what the original plan was with the Comfort, but I understand that there is no preordained strategy here. You have to feel it out day to day and you have to adjust with the facts. We do not need the Comfort for non-COVID cases. We need it for COVID."

Earlier today, amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Governor Andrew M. Cuomo announced all NYS on Pause functions will be extended for an additional two weeks. The Governor also directed schools and nonessential businesses to stay closed for an additional two weeks through April 29th. The state will re-evaluate after this additional two-week period.

Governor Cuomo also announced the state is increasing the maximum fine for violations of the state's social distancing protocol from $500 to $1,000 to help address the lack of adherence to social distancing protocols. The Governor reminded localities that they have the authority to enforce the protocols.

The Governor today is asking the federal government to allow the USNS Comfort hospital ship to be used for COVID-19 patients. President Trump has already granted the Governor's request for the Javits temporary hospital facility to be used for only COVID-19 positive patients, and the addition of the USNS Comfort would help relieve pressure on the state's hospital system with an addition of 1,000 beds for COVID-19 patients.

The Governor also announced that 802 ventilators have been distributed downstate through the state's "surge and flex" system where all hospital systems are working together as one and sharing supplies, equipment and staff. Of the 802 ventilators, 38 were deployed to Rockland County, 36 were deployed to Westchester County, 505 were deployed to New York City and 223 were deployed to Long Island.

 Governor Cuomo also announced the creation of the First Responders Fund to assist COVID-19 health care workers and first responders with expenses and costs, including child care. The State Department of Health is accepting donations for the fund, and Blackstone is making an anchor $10 million contribution to the fund. Donations can be made electronically at or by check sent to below address. Donors should specify the donation is for "COVID-19 NYS Emergency Response."

Health Research, Inc.
150 Broadway
Suite 560
Menands, NY 12204

The Governor also announced that the state is partnering with Headspace, a global leader in mindfulness and meditation, to offer free meditation and mindfulness content for all New Yorkers as a mental health resource for residents coping with the unprecedented public health crisis. New Yorkers can access a collection of science-backed, evidence-based guided meditations, along with at-home mindful workouts, sleep and kids content to help address rising stress and anxiety at www.headspace.com/ny

The Governor also announced that the South Beach Psychiatric Center in Staten Island and the Brooklyn Center Temporary Hospital at 170 Buffalo Avenue will open this week and will be used specifically for COVID-19 patients.

State restores VLT funds to municipalities, but takes bigger bite out of county sales tax revenues

By Mike Pettinella

Word that Albany has restored Video Lottery Terminal money generated by Batavia Downs Gaming is good news to Genesee County municipalities, but a couple of other stipulations in Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s 2020-21 budget likely will result in increased financial stress beyond the uncertainty created by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Assemblyman Stephen M. Hawley confirmed today that the state budget includes the restoration of VLT funds to Genesee County ($200,392), Town of Batavia ($160,388) and City of Batavia ($440,789).

Lawmakers of the three entities previously were advised – late in their budget processes -- that VLT money would no longer be available, and that left sizeable gaps in their budgets. In the case of the City of Batavia, there was a $700,000 shortfall, causing City Council to pass a budget that includes a $7.48 percent property tax increase.

Hawley said getting the VLT money back into local hands is one of the few bright spots of the state budget.

“I worked very hard on that to get it restored from the governor’s proposed cutting,” said Hawley, who is in his 15th year as a state legislator. “Last year, he proposed cutting a percentage of it to the city, the town and the county, and this year he took the total ax to it in his executive budget. But we were able to get that restored in its entirety and that will be of great help.”

While the state could hold the VLT money depending upon revenues and expenditures during this fiscal year, Hawley and County Manager Jay Gsell believe that the local municipalities are safe for the time being.

“Technically, the governor does have the ability to withhold funds from any entity, but hopefully that won't be the case here," Hawley said. "You never know what the governor or legislature will do with the state budget, but this restores it for this year. Each January when the governor comes up with his budget, it seems to be a favorite chopping block for him. That’s why they can’t necessarily count on it from year to year.”

Gsell said it was his understanding that the VLT funding was voted on as a separate appropriation, a line item not subject to the governor’s power to incrementally reduce aid reimbursements to local governments and others, including school districts, based on revenue streams.

“We got a summary from NYSAC (New York State Association of Counties) of all the good, bad and indifferent, and VLT funding was one of the things that in the last two weeks of the budget deliberation -- before the three people in the room made the decision – that would be voted on as part of the full package,” Gsell said. “And that’s exactly what happened.”

'Unilateral power' designation raises eyebrows

The county manager said he’s a bit wary over the legislature’s granting of “somewhat unilateral power” to the governor, calling it “unchartered territory as far as local governments are concerned.”

Hawley said he voted “no” to every budget bill for the first time ever, pointing to a flawed process and the decision to give Cuomo more authority.

“For many, many, many reasons I voted for the first time ever “no” on every single budget bill, even though there were things in there like restoration of CHIPs funding (Consolidated Highway Improvement Program), extreme winter recovery, sales tax renewals for the counties I represent,” Hawley said. “Every bill always has good stuff and bad stuff in it, you just have to decide what the general impact is, but because of the way this was done and the way it was held off until the very last minute without appropriate legislative review, I had a huge problem with it.”

He said he was in favor of a “continuing resolution” that would have allowed the state to continue operating and then have the legislature return to Albany when the pandemic was under control.

“Additionally, we would have some sort of -- because this will affect us for years and years to come -- idea what the revenues actually will be and what the expenses may be and then we will be able to approach it with some knowledge,” he said.

Hawley said the “made-up figures were really catastrophic and not an appropriate way to run the state or any business.”

“How do you make up numbers when you have no idea? I thought we could have averted all of this – bringing all 213 legislators back into the buildings -- who knows who brought what with them in terms of this disease. And then we ceded power to the governor to make any changes that he wants to as the budget goes on as opposed to having legislative input on that … that’s not what the election process is all about in a democracy.”

City to use VLT funds to offset costs

City Council President Eugene Jankowski weighed in on the new VLT development, stating that he expects the restored funds to be used to offset some of the spending cuts in this year’s budget and the loss of sales tax revenue caused by the coronavirus shutdown.

“It’s too late to change anything in our 2020-21 budget,” he said. “Since it’s already been passed, we can’t do anything about the tax rate. But it’s great that we will have it to use next year.”

Gsell said having the $200,000 certainly helps the county, which has put its capital projects – including the construction of a new jail – on hold as it calculates the impact of COVID-19.

He is troubled, however, by Cuomo’s creation of a fund to skim county sales tax revenue to support “distressed hospitals and nursing homes” and continuation of a program to use county sales tax money to assist other municipalities.

“I guess you could say it’s a double-edged sword,” Gsell said. “The governor and the comptroller are establishing a $250 million fund over the next two years to help finance distressed hospitals and nursing homes, and we could be hit for about $250,000 in the first year,” Gsell said. “Previously, this had strictly been a state commitment in that regard.”

Gsell: 'Taxation without representation'

Noting that he has no idea whether United Memorial Medical Center or the local half-dozen long-term care facilities would be targeted for assistance, Gsell said this “assessment” is putting Genesee County back into a deficit funding situation – something it removed itself from when it sold the County Nursing Home three years ago.

He also bemoaned the fact that the state, for the second year, will be taking county sales tax to distribute as part of the AIM (Aid and Incentives for Municipalities) program.

“Again, in the past the state fully funded this out of their own coffers,” Gsell said. “They use a formula -- I believe it’s about a 2 percent equation in there – and last year, we saw $320,000 of county sales tax intercepted by the state so they could make those payments to the villages and towns and, in some cases, the city. This year, it could be another $250,000 hit to county sales tax before we even get the standard distribution that they’ll provide. This is taxation without representation. We had no input into how this fund was set up or what the calculation of the formula is.”

Gsell said the county “dodged a bullet” in regard to increased Medicaid funding as the governor’s proposal to remove the cap of local shares was not included in the budget.

“He had a three-pronged proposal that could have significantly changed how much we are paying on a weekly share on our present $9.6 million a year that we’re already committed to sending to the state,” he said.

VIDEO: During briefing, Cuomo was asked to address WNYers concerned about moving ventilators Downstate

By Howard B. Owens
Video Sponsor
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During today's briefing, Gov. Andrew Cuomo was asked a question by a reporter about his executive order and what he has to say to residents of WNYer who might be concerned about this order. Here's his answer.

NOTE: I didn't start a screen capture video of the governor's answer until about a minute into it and my audio wasn't very good. Thank you to the governor's press office for providing the full audio to the question and answer. So, the video starts out with a static screen but at least it's the complete question, follow-up question, and answers.

Video: Gov. Coumo's briefing for April 5, 2020

By Howard B. Owens

Press release:

A rush transcript of the Governor's remarks is available below:

Good morning. Happy Sunday. For those of you who celebrate Happy Palm Sunday. Happy Passover week for those who celebrate Passover. Thanks for taking the time to be with us today. We want to give you an update as to where we are.

The number of cases increase which is nothing new. It's happened every day since we've started this. It's been a long month. Something a little bit different in the data today. We're not really 100 percent sure yet what the significance is as we're feeling our way through this.

Number of people tested, 18,000. Positive cases are up 8,000, total of 122,000 cases. Number of patients discharged, total discharged is 12,000 - 1,700 discharged in one day. Number of deaths is up. That's the bad news. It's 44,159 and we pray for each for each and every one of them and their families and that is up and that is the worst news.

But the number of deaths over the past few days has been dropping for the first time. What is the significance of that? It's too early to tell. This is the impact by state. But as I said the interesting blip maybe in the data, or hopeful beginning of a shift in the data and the number of cases, total number of new hospitalizations is 574 which is obviously much lower than previous numbers. That's partially a function of more people being discharged but you see ICU admissions are also down. The daily intubations down slightly from where it was. Again, you can't do this day to day. You have to look at three or four days to see a pattern.

Discharge rate is way up and that's great news and the statewide balance of cases has been relatively stable for the past few days. There is a shift to Long Island. Upstate New York is basically flat and as Long Island grows the percentage of cases in New York City has reduced.

For those people who look at the data, you have all these projection models and what's been infuriating to me is the models are so different that it's very hard to plan when these models shift all the time. But there's also a difference of opinion on what happens at the apex. All the models say you go up until you go down - thank you very much. Then there's a difference of, is the apex a point or is the apex a plateau. In other words you go up, hit the high and the immediately drop, or do you go up and then there's a plateau where the number of cases stays high for a period of time and then drops? There's a difference of opinion.

So you have to think about that when you think about what you're seeing in the numbers because you could argue that you're seeing a slight plateauing in the data which obviously would be good news because it means you plateau for a period of time and then you start to come down and we're all feeling our way through this and we have the best minds in the country, literally on the globe, advising us because New York is the first. I also think it will be very helpful for the other states that follow. I was just talking to Dr. Zucker about codifying everything we're learning because when the next states start to go through this we hope that they can benefit from what we're going through.

But we're looking at this seriously now because by the data we could be either very near the apex or the apex could be a plateau and we could be on that plateau right now. We won't know until you see the next few days. Does it go up, does it go down, but that's what the statisticians will tell you today.

As we've said before, the coronavirus is truly vicious and effective at what the virus does. It's an effective killer. People who are very vulnerable must stay isolated and protected. I mean, that was the point from day one. That was the point with Matilda's Law, my mother. You have to isolate and protect those people. If a very vulnerable person gets infected with this virus, the probability of a quote unquote "cure" is very low. And that's what this has really been about from day one. That small percentage of the population that's very vulnerable. Major effort that has impacted everyone to save the lives of those people who are in the very vulnerable population. If you're not part of that vulnerable population, then you will get sick, 20 percent require hospitalization, but the hospital system is very effective and it makes a real difference. And that's why the highest number of people ever now being discharged, right.

So you're just seeing the evolution of this whole story. You're seeing the narrative unfold, right. We're all watching a movie, we're waiting to see what the next scene is, and as the movie unfolds you start to understand the story better and better. Rush of infection rate, rush of people into the hospital system, hospital system capacity explodes, more people are in, but, more people are coming out. 75 percent of those people who have now gone into the hospital system are coming out of the hospital system. It also helps with the capacity of the hospital system because obviously the more people who are coming out, it makes it easier to handle the large influx that's coming in.

Having said all of that, the operational challenge for the healthcare system is impossible. Because the system is over capacity, all across the board. It's just over capacity. So what we're basically saying to a system is you have to manage with the same resources that you have, same staff, an over-capacity situation. And that is putting a tremendous amount of stress on the healthcare system. You're asking a system to do more than it has ever done before, more than it was designed to do with less. I understand that. I get that. Day in and day out, the commissioner and everyone at this table deals with the healthcare system. I understand what they're dealing with. I understand they're being asked to do the impossible. And they are being asked to do the impossible. But, life is options and we do not have any other options. So you get to a situation and you do what you have to do in that situation. And that's where we are. The only operational plan that can work, right, because you know the system doesn't have the capacity, doesn't have the supplies, doesn't have the staff. So how do you handle this surge over capacity?

We call it, we have to surge and flex, which means you have to deal with, if you're an individual hospital or hospital network, yes, you're going to be over capacity. And the only way we can make this work is if we flex the system so that we take all hospitals, all hospital networks, some hospitals are in networks, and we work together as one system, which has never been done, right. We have public hospitals. We have private hospitals. We have Long Island hospitals. We have New York City hospitals. In totality, it's the health care system, the state manages, regulates the healthcare system, but they're all individual hospitals. And, or individual networks. And they are accustomed to just doing business and managing their own affairs. That doesn't work. We have to balance the patient load among all of these hospitals. So if one hospital starts to get high or has a protected high intake, we have to shift that patient load to other hospitals. That means some patients who show up at their neighborhood hospital may be asked, can we transport you to another hospital, which is not in your neighborhood, but actually has more capacity. So we have to adjust that patient load among all of the hospitals, which is a daily exercise and it's very, very difficult.

We're running short on supplies all across the board. Some hospitals happen to have a greater supply of one thing or another. One hospital has a greater supply of masks, one hospital has a greater supply of gowns. And when we're talking about supply, hospitals are accustomed to dealing with a 60-day supply, 90-day supply. We're talking about 2 or 3 or 4 day supply, which makes the entire hospital system uncomfortable, which I also understand because we're literally going day-to-day with our supplies, with out staff, et cetera. Which is counter-intuitive and counter-operational for the entire health care system and I understand that also.

The big operational shift will be Javits coming online if we get that up and running efficiently. That's 2,500 beds for people who test positive with the COVID virus. That is a major shift for the systems and at a time when we desperately need a relief valve for the system, Javits could do that. We're working very hard to get that up and running. That rolling deployment, that flexibility - there is no other way to do this on the state level. I can't say to a hospital, I will send you all the supplies you need. I will send you all the ventilators you need. We don't have it. We don't have them. It's not an exercise, it's not a drill. It's just a statement of reality. You're going to have to shift and deploy resources to different locations based on the need of that location. I think that's going to be true for the country. The federal government everyone says federal stockpile, federal stockpile. There's not enough in the federal stockpile to take care of New York and Illinois and Texas and Florida and California. It's not an option. The only option I see is there's a national deployment - everyone says this is wartime, it is a war and the virus is the enemy - where help New York today, thank you state of Oregon, we're dealing with this curve today and this intensity and then nationally, we shift the resources to the next place that is most impacted.

Just what we're doing in New York City and New York State on a microcosm, we shift resources from the Bronx to Brooklyn to Queens to Nassau. Shift national resources and state resources from New York to Florida to Illinois, whatever is next on the curve. We're going to do that in any event. We get through this, people have been so beautiful to us and it is the New York way. We're going to codify everything we've learned and when we get past this curve, whatever part of the country goes next, we will be there with equipment and personnel and however we can help.

Federal government is also deploying approximately 1,000 personnel to New York. That's doctors, that's nurses, that's respiratory technicians. The immediate priority is to deploy those people to help the New York City public hospitals. The New York City public hospital system, H&H, was a system that was under stress to begin with before any of this. So obviously, you add more stress to institutions that were under stress, it only makes the situation more difficult so we're going to deploy all the federal personnel who are coming in today, 325, to the New York City public hospital system.

I talk to the hospital administrators on a daily basis. We get them on a conference call and we do this shifting of supplies and balancing of patient load. I know that I'm asking them to do really difficult things, I get it. I don't enjoy being in this situation. I don't enjoy putting them in this position. I know their staff is all over burdened, but all I can say is thank you to the administration of this health care system and most importantly thank you to the frontline workers. These people, they are true heroes in the truest sense of the word, what they do day in and day out under very difficult circumstances, and we thank them all.

On a different and somewhat lighter note, there is an accompanying affliction to the coronavirus that we talked about early on. It is cabin fever. It is a real situation. Not medically diagnosed, I asked Dr. Zucker there is no medical diagnosis for cabin fever, but I believe it exists. It is a feeling of isolation. It is often accompanied by radical mood swings, resentment of people around you to varying degrees, for no reason whatsoever. Just an upwelling of resentment, especially toward people who are in apparent positions of authority in this situation which I've noticed. Irrational outbursts can come at any time, without any warning. Just an irrational outburst, frustration, anger, with no rational basis. Cabin fever, in many ways, also threatens the essence of our Constitution, which is premised on people sharing domestic tranquility and it can be disruptive to tranquility. I can attest to that. It is a real thing. Think about it. It has only been one month but it has been a long month.

Positive intervention for cabin fever, I am going to take up running again. I used to run in the normal days before this job. But I am going to start running again. My daughter Cara, we will run as a family and go out there. Cara has a head start. She is out there doing five miles every day. She thinks she can beat me. Give me a couple of weeks and I will be right there, right there. Fast like lightning. We are going to do it. We will make the dog come. The dog is also experiencing cabin fever. He's a little disrupted. The order of the pack has changed. Different people, he does not know where he fits. He has anxiety. He is going to run. Think of ways to deal with it. I don't have any great answer.

But a little perspective on the whole situation is important. I challenged my daughters, this is terrible, this is terrible, this is terrible. I have been saying this is terrible for society, the economy and personally. But, you know, let's look back at history, right? Generations have gone through terrible times. So, my challenge to them is you find me a generation that has had a better overall situation than where we are right now. Go back to World War I, World War II, Vietnam, 1918 flu pandemic, you find me a generation that has not had a challenge to deal with and we will are going to have that discussion. Keep in mind on perspective. This is going to be over. You can see the story developing. You can start to see how the story ends, right? They will have a vaccine. Will it be 12 months or 14 months or 18 months? There are a number of treatments that are being expedited and are being tested right now. Dr. Zucker of New York is working expeditiously and cooperatively with the FDA to try all new different treatments: convalescent plasma, receptor antibody treatments, we are working on the hydroxychloroquine - we are working on it aggressively. So, we are trying all these new treatments. Some of them show real promise. But, you can see where the story ends.

I think, this is opinion and not fact, I think you see the return to normalcy when we have an approved rapid testing program that can be brought to scale. We are now testing rapid testing programs. But, when you get to the point where you can do rapid testing, of scale, and people can start to go back to work because they know they are negative. We continue to protect the vulnerable population, which is what this was about, and we liberate, as my daughters would say they are seeking liberation. We liberate people who can go back to work because we know that they are not in the vulnerable category and they are negative. I think that is, it is under development now, the rapid testing, and we are part of it. That is going to be the answer, I believe. And we get through it because we are New York State tough. Thank you.

Video: Gov. Cuomo's briefing for April 1, 2020

By Howard B. Owens

Press release:

  • Governor Cuomo: "The fear that we have, the anxiety that we have, that's not just going to go away. When do we get back to normal? I don't think we get back to normal. I think we get back, or we get to a new normal. Right? Like we're seeing in so many facets of society right now. So we will be at a different place.
  • "Our challenge is to make sure that transformation and that change is positive and not negative. Let's make sure we're taking the positive lesson and not the negative lesson.
  • "The question is, how do you get up? ... We are in control of that. And we have to start to think about that. We also have to be smarter from what we went through. How do you make the economy more resilient? What happens when something like this happens again? And something like this will happen again."

A rush transcript of the Governor's remarks is below:

"As a society, beyond just this immediate situation, we should start looking forward to understanding how this experience is going to change us, or how it should change us, because this is going to be transformative. It is going to be transformative on a personal basis, on a social basis, on a systems basis. We're never going to be the same again. We're not going to forget what happened here.

"The fear that we have, the anxiety that we have, that's not just going to go away. When do we get back to normal? I don't think we get back to normal. I think we get back, or we get to a new normal. Right? Like we're seeing in so many facets of society right now. So we will be at a different place.

"Our challenge is to make sure that transformation and that change is positive and not negative. Let's make sure we're taking the positive lesson and not the negative lesson.

"You could get wary of intimacy, and contact, and density. "Social distancing, don't go near anyone." What a terrible thing to live with as a human being. What a cruel torture. "Isolate yourself from other people. Be afraid of hugging someone." Just think how emotionally and personally repugnant that concept is, right? We crave human connection, and now we're being told that could be dangerous. You can't kiss. You can't hug. You can't hold hands. So how we come out of this, and making sure that it's positive and not negative. How do we learn from this? And how do we grow from this, right?

"Society, life -- you will get knocked on your rear end. You will deal with pain. You will deal with death. You will deal with setback. You will deal with suffering. The question is, how do you get up? First, do you get up? And second, if you get up, how do you get up? Do you get up smarter? Do you get up wiser? Or do you get up bitter, and do you get up angry? And do you get up fearful? We are in control of that.

"And we have to start to think about that. We also have to be smarter from what we went through. How do you make the economy more resilient? What happens when something like this happens again? And something like this will happen again. 'Oh, no, this is a once in a lifetime, never again.' Something like this will happen again. We're seeing it in the environment. We're seeing it with floods, we're seeing it with hurricanes. Something like this will happen again. You can't just turn off the economy like a light switch.

"How do governments work together? You can't figure it out on the fly -- what the federal government does, what the state government does, what the local governments do. Figure it out before. Learn the lessons from this. Telemedicine, and tele-education. We have closed the schools. Well, why weren't we ready with a tele-education system? Why weren't we better with telemedicine? Why didn't we have the capacity to have that's lines on people coming in to give the same basic diagnosis and the same basic advice? Why don't we have medical supplies made in this country? Why are we shopping in china for basic medical supplies? Why don't we gear our medical research to these types of threats and challenges, which we know are on the horizon? We know these viruses are changing. We know they mutate. Why don't we get ahead of it?

"You still have to run society. Let's talk about first responder capacity. We now have first responders who are getting sick, and the workforce is dropping. That was inevitable, right? That was going to happen. What's the backup to that situation? And let's talk about societal stability, and engagement at times of crisis. You can't just tell everyone, "go home and lock your doors and sit on your couch and order takeout," for the foreseeable future. That's not who we are. It's not even a mental health issue. It's just, it's a personal health issue. It's how we relate to one another. We're not built to be isolated for long periods of time and not have human contact. So how do we deal with that?

"And these are the types of questions that we have to start to think through. But not today. That is the next challenge, I believe. And that is what we're going to have to think about soon. But for now, one crisis at a time, as they say. And we are planning to handle the current crisis, preparing for the battle on the mount, which is what we are doing every day. And that's what we are doing. And not only are we doing it, but we have to succeed at it. You know? Government process is very good at saying, 'well, we're trying. We're working on this. We're doing our best. We're doing our best.'

"Winston Churchill, 'it is no use saying we're doing our best. You have got to succeed in doing what is necessary.' Tad harsh goes with that expression, which I think you could say, a tad harsh. Handsome, but a tad harsh, but it's true. And that's what I say to my team every day. This is beyond best efforts. This is beyond, 'I'm working very hard.' We have to get this done. We have succeeded. We have to find a way. We have to make it happen because too much is at stake."

Gov. Andrew Cuomo's daily briefing for March 29, 2020

By Howard B. Owens

Gov. Andrew Cuomo conducted his daily briefing at noon today. This is a recording provided by his press office of a portion of it.

Governor Cuomo: "I don't even have the words to express my admiration for them. FDR always had words. Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the assessment that something else is more important than fear. To me that says it all today.

"Something is more important than their fear, which is their passion, their commitment, for public service, and helping others. That's all it is. It's just their passion and belief in helping others. And that overcomes their fear. And that makes them, in my book, just truly amazing, outstanding human beings."

A rush transcript of the Governor's remarks is available below:

"These public people, I don't even have the words to express my admiration for them. FDR always had words. Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the assessment that something else is more important than fear. To me that says it all today. Everyone is afraid. Everyone is afraid.

"Do you think these police officers are not afraid to leave their houses? You think these nurses are not afraid to go into the hospital? They're afraid. But, something is more important than their fear, which is their passion, their commitment, for public service, and helping others. That's all it is. It's just their passion and belief in helping others. And that overcomes their fear. And that makes them, in my book, just truly amazing, outstanding human beings. And I wish them and their families all the best."

Video: Gov. Cuomo's briefing for March 28, 2020

By Howard B. Owens

Video of Gov. Andrew Cuomo's daily briefing for March 28, 2020.

Press release:

Governor Cuomo: "People come up with all of these interesting ideas, you know. Who's painting their house because they never had time to paint their house before. Who's working on a project that they never got to. Who's reading a book that they never got to do. Who's writing a book. A few people say I'm writing my journals, I'm writing my life story. You know, find a way. You have the advantage of time here.

"I'm not trying to say it's not a terrible circumstance, but even in a terrible circumstance, if you look hard enough, you can find the little rays, a few rays of light, and people are doing it and I think we all should."

A rush transcript of the Governor's remarks is available below:

"My gratuitous 2 cents, see if you can't find a silver lining in all of this. People say extraordinary things to me that I just pick up anecdotally. I was going for a walk with one of my daughters and Captain, Captain's my dog. People come up with all of these interesting ideas, you know.

"Who's painting their house because they never had time to paint their house before. Who's working on a project that they never got to. Who's reading a book that they never got to do. Who's writing a book. A few people say I'm writing my journals, I'm writing my life story. You know, find a way. You have the advantage of time here.

"And you have the advantage of time for communication. I've had conversations with my daughters, hours-long conversations, where it's just us, just us talking. No place to go. She doesn't have to go to work. She doesn't have to run out. And they're priceless, they are priceless. I'll never get the opportunity in life to do that again.

"You know, we're going to get through this, and they're going to go off and find a boyfriend and do whatever they do. I've had conversations with my mother, who can't leave the house, and she's in the house, and so we sort of take turns talking to Mom. And I talked to my mother for hours. And it's special. It's special.

"So, yes, it's terrible. And I'm not trying to say it's not a terrible circumstance, but even in a terrible circumstance, if you look hard enough, you can find the little rays, a few rays of light, and people are doing it and I think we all should."

Video: Gov. Cuomo's briefing for March 26, 2020

By Howard B. Owens

Video of this morning's briefing by Gov. Andrew Cuomo.

Accompanying press release:

  • The goal is having a 1,000-Plus Patient Overflow Facility in each NYC Borough and Downstate counties.
  • An additional 12,000 health professionals have signed up to volunteer as part of the State's Surge Healthcare Force since yesterday -- bringing total number of volunteers to more than 52,000;
  • More than 8,600 mental health professionals have now signed up to provide free online mental health services;
  • Confirms 6,448 additional coronavirus cases in New York State -- bringing statewide total to 37,258; new cases in 39 counties;

Governor Cuomo: "Our goal is to have a 1,000-plus overflow facility in each of the boroughs Downstate in the counties, Queens, Brooklyn, the New York City boroughs, Bronx, Manhattan, Staten Island, and Long Island, Nassau, Suffolk and Westchester, and Rockland, so every county has a 1,000-plus-bed overflow facility and that's what we're working on at the same time, as well as increasing the capacity of the existing hospital system.

"During this difficult time let's listen to the voices of our better angels as individuals, as families, as a community, and as a society. We're going to get through this. The only question is how we get through it and when we get through it. But let's make sure at the end of the day that we can say we are the better for it and our children are the better for it -- and I believe they will be."

Earlier today, Governor Andrew M. Cuomo announced the state is scouting additional new sites for temporary hospitals, with a goal of having a 1,000-plus patient overflow facility in each NYC borough as well as Westchester, Rockland, Nassau and Suffolk counties.

These new additions, together with the temporary hospitals that are being built at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center and locations at SUNY Stony Brook, SUNY Old Westbury and the Westchester Convention Center, are aimed at building thousands of new beds to bolster existing hospital capacity, with the goal of being open to patients in early -- to mid-April. The state is also preparing college dormitories and hotels for emergency beds.

The Governor also announced that an additional 12,000 healthcare workers, including retirees and students, have signed up to volunteer to work as part of the state's surge healthcare force during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, bringing the total number of volunteers to more than 52,000.

Additionally, more than 8,600 mental health professionals, including individuals from other states, have now signed up to provide free online mental health services. New Yorkers can call the state's hotline at 1-844-863-9314 to schedule a free appointment.

A rush transcript of the Governor's remarks is available below:

Good morning. Top of the morning to you. The people with us today, to my right is James Malatras, president of the SUNY Empire College, to my left Melissa DeRosa, to her left, Robert Mujica, budget director, back of the room, my daughter Cara, who is doing a great job.

Let's talk about what's going on today. First, what I try to communicate in these briefings are the facts of the situation. Facts can be uplifting, they can be depressing at times, they can be confusing at times, but I think facts are empowering. You know, in a situation like this, not knowing the facts is worse because that's when feel out of control or when you feel that you're getting selective facts, or you're being deceived by the information you're getting. That is actually the worst situation.

So what I say to my people in every situation, just give me the facts first and then let me understand what the situation and the reality is and then we'll go from there, so that's what I try to do.

The facts on this situation are increasingly important on two levels: public health but also the economic facts. We've been focusing on the public health facts and the response of the public health system to the virus. More and more we now have to deal on two fronts. We have to deal with the public health situation but we also have to deal with the economic situation and I'll get to that in a moment.

Public health, we've had a two-prong agenda, which we've been pursuing aggressively. We still are flattening the curve so you reduce the flow into the hospital system. At the same time increase the hospital capacity. What we're looking for is not a reduction in in the number of cases. We're looking for a reduction in the rate of the increase in the number of cases. That's what comes first when you're starting to make progress. The rate of increase should reduce, as opposed to the number of absolute cases. So that's what we're looking for.

The optimum is when they talk about the apex of the curve is not to have an apex and that's what the flattening is, not to have that spike because the spike is where you would overwhelm the hospital systems that try to get down that rate of increase so you can actually handle it in the hospital system and that's what they talk about by the flattening of the curve.

Just as an aside, Dr. Anthony Fauci has been so kind and helpful to me. I speak to healthcare professionals all across the globe literally but Dr. Fauci I think is just brilliant at this and he has been so personally kind. I called him late at night. I called him in the middle of the night. I called him in the morning and he's been really a friend to me personally and the State of New York.

So this is all about getting that curve down and not overwhelming the hospital system. Almost any scenario that is realistic will overwhelm the capacity of the current health care system so little reality -- keep the curve down as low as you can but you cannot get fit curve down low enough so that you don't overwhelm the hospital capacity.

So any of these scenarios we have to increase the hospital capacity and that's why we're literally adding to the hospital capacity everywhere we can. That's what the Javits Hospital is about, that's what the Stony Brook hospital is about, that's what Westchester Convention Center, that's what the Old Westbury additional site is.

We're also scouting new sites now all across, primarily the downstate area of this state, for possible sites. Our goal is to have a 1,000-plus overflow facility in each of the boroughs downstate in the counties, Queens, Brooklyn, the New York City boroughs, Bronx, Manhattan, Staten Island and Long Island, Nassau, Suffolk and Westchester and Rockland, so every county has a 1000-plus-bed overflow facility and that's what we're working on at the same time, as well as increasing the capacity of the existing hospital system.

As we've said the hospitals have a 53,000-bed capacity. We're trying get to 140,000-bed capacity between the hospitals and the overflow facilities. We've mandated that the hospitals increased their capacity by 50 percent. We've asked them to try to increase it 100 percent but they have to increase it 50 percent. We're also scouting dorms, scouting hotels for emergency beds and that's going well.

Equipment and PPE is an ongoing issue. Right now we do have enough PPE for the immediate future. The New York City hospital system confirm that so we have enough in stock now for the immediate need. Ventilators, ventilators, ventilators. I didn't know what they were a few weeks ago besides the cursory knowledge. I know too much about ventilators now. We're still shopping for ventilators all across the country. We need more.

We have approved the technology that allows one ventilator to serve two patients -- what they call splitting. Which is when you add a second set of tubes to a ventilator to do two patients. It's not ideal, but we believe it's workable. We're also converting anesthesia machines to ventilators. We have a couple of thousand anesthesia machines in our hospitals and we're converting them to work as ventilators.

Why is there such a demand on ventilators? And where did this come from? It's a respiratory illness for a large number of people. So, they all need ventilators. Also, non-COVID patients are normally on ventilators for three to four days. COVID patients are on ventilators for 11 to 21 days. Think about that. So you don't have the same turnaround in the number of ventilators. If somebody is on ventilators for three or four days, that's one level of ventilators you need. If somebody is on for 11 to 21 days, that's a totally different equation and that's what we're dealing with. The high number of COVID patients and the long period of time that they actually need a ventilator.

We're also working on equalizing and distributing the load of patients. Right now, the number of cases is highest in Downstate New York. So we're working on a collaboration where we distribute the load between Downstate hospitals and Upstate hospitals. And we're also working on increasing the capacity for Upstate hospitals.

Shifting now to a totally different field: the economic consequences of what's going on which have just really gelled after what the federal government has done and we were waiting for the federal action to determine where we were from a point of revenues and economics.

What's happening to a state government -- any state. It's happening to a city government, is a double whammy. You have increased expenses because of the COVID virus and you have a tremendous loss of revenue because all those businesses are closed and all those people are out of work. People are out of work, they're not earning income, they're not paying income tax. Businesses are closed, they're not making money, they're not paying business revenue.

Video: Gov. Cuomo's daily briefing for March 25, 2020

By Howard B. Owens

Press release:

New Yorkers can call the COVID-19 Emotional Support Hotline at 1-844-863-9314 for mental health counseling.

Governor Cuomo: "We asked for mental health professionals to voluntarily sign up to provide online mental health services. Six thousand mental health professionals agreed to volunteer to provide mental health services for people who need it. How beautiful is that?

"God bless the 6,000 mental health professionals who are doing this 100-percent free, on top of whatever they have to do in their normal practice."

A rush transcript of the Governor's remarks is below:

 

"This is also very exciting. I don't know that anyone else has done this. We've talked about the emotional stress that this brings on people. And the mental health stress, and mental health challenges. No one's really talking about this. You know, we're all concerned about the immediate critical need. The life and death of the immediate situation, which is right. But don't underestimate the emotional trauma that people are feeling, and the emotional health issues.

"We asked for mental health professionals to voluntarily sign up to provide online mental health services. Six thousand mental health professionals agreed to volunteer to provide mental health services for people who need it. How beautiful is that?

"And the hotline, 1-844-863-9314, you can call that hotline, you can schedule an appointment with a mental health professional totally free, to talk to them about what you're feeling and what stress you're feeling. And again, God bless the 6,000 mental.health professionals who are doing this 100-percent free, on top of whatever they have to do in their normal practice. And I'm sure in their normal practice, they're busy. So this is really an extraordinary, extraordinary step by them."

Video: Gov. Cuomo's daily briefing for March 24, 2020

By Howard B. Owens

Press release:

Earlier today, Governor Andrew M. Cuomo reminded New Yorkers to thank the healthcare workers and other professionals who are doing 'God's work' during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Governor Cuomo: "Our health care workers, who are doing God's work. They are doing God's work. Can you imagine the nurses who leave their homes in the morning, who kiss their children goodbye, go to a hospital, put on gowns, deal with people who have the coronavirus? They're thinking all day long, 'oh, my God, I hope I don't get this. Oh my God, I hope I don't get this and bring it home to my children.' You want to talk about extraordinary individuals -- extraordinary.

"Most of us are in our home hunkered down, worried. They're worried and they're going out there every day despite their fear -- despite their fear. Overcoming their fear, and not for their family, they're doing it for your family. When you see them on the street, when you see them in a hospital, please, just say thank you and smile and say, 'I know what you're doing.' "

A rush transcript of the Governor's remarks is below:

"We've acquired everything on the market there is to acquire. We've had a full team purchasing from companies all across this globe, buying everything that can be purchased. And we're bringing that here to distribute to New York City, Long Island, Westchester because that is the greatest need. This number of supplies will take care of our immediate need. It does not take care of the need going forward three, four, five, six weeks. The burn rate on this equipment is very, very high. I can't find any more equipment. It's not a question of money. I don't care what you're willing to pay. You just can't find the equipment now, but this will take care of the immediate need.

"I don't want our health care workers, who are doing God's work. They are doing God's work. Can you imagine the nurses who leave their homes in the morning, who kiss their children goodbye, go to a hospital, put on gowns, deal with people who have the coronavirus? They're thinking all day long, 'oh, my God, I hope I don't get this. Oh my God, I hope I don't get this and bring it home to my children.' You want to talk about extraordinary individuals -- extraordinary. And it's the nurses and the doctors and the health care workers, it's the police officers who show up every day and go out there and walk into a situation that they don't even know what they're walking into. And it's the firefighters and it's the transportation workers, and it's the people who are running the grocery stores and the pharmacies and providing all those essential services. Most of us are in our home hunkered down, worried. They're worried and they're going out there every day despite their fear -- despite their fear. Overcoming their fear, and not for their family, they're doing it for your family. When you see them on the street, when you see them in a hospital, please, just say thank you and smile and say, 'I know what you're doing.' "

Video: Gov. Cuomo's briefing for March 23, 2020

By Howard B. Owens

This is a recording posted by the governor's office from this morning's briefing. We'll add the governor's press release below once we receive it.

Press release:

  • Governor Cuomo: "We are going to have time. And the question is how do we use this time positively?"
  • Cuomo: "Finding the silver lining, the positive. Life is going to be quieter for a matter of months. Everything will function. Life will function. Everything will normal operations, there won't be chaos There's less noise. You know what, that can be a good thing in some ways. You have more time. You have more flexibility. You can do some of those things that you haven't done, that you kept saying, 'Well I'd love to be able to, I'd love to be able to.' Well, now you can. You have more time with family."
  • Cuomo: "For myself, this young lady, Cara, is with me. She would never be here otherwise But I'm now going to be with Cara literally for a few months. What a beautiful gift that is, right? I would have never had that chance. And that is precious, and then after this is over she's gone, she's flown the nest. She's going to go do her thing, but this crazy situation is crazy as it is, came with this beautiful gift. So one door closes, another door opens. Think about that."
  • Cuomo: "Realize the timeframe we're expecting, make peace with it and find a way to help each other through this situation because it's hard for everyone. And the goal for me - socially distanced but spiritually connected. How do you achieve socially distanced but spiritually connected?"

A rush transcript of the Governor's remarks is available below:

 

I said don't be reactive, be productive, be proactive. Somebody, a few people have said to me afterwards, well what did that mean? That happens to me often. Look, this can go on for several months, okay? Nobody can tell you is it four months, six months, eight months, nine months - but it is several months.

 

We all have to now confront that that is a new reality. That is not going to change. You are not going to turn on the news tomorrow morning and they are going to say surprise, surprise this is all now resolved in two weeks. That is not going to happen. So, deal with this reality. Understand the negative effect of this, which I have spoken to personally because these are personally negative effect. You do not feel them governmentally, you feel them personally. You feel then in your own life.

 

And don't underestimate the emotional trauma and don't underestimate the pain of isolation. It is real. This is not the human condition - not to be comforted, not to be close, to be afraid and you can't hug someone. Billy and Steve walked in today. I had not seen them in months. I can't shake their hands. I can't hug them. You know this is all unnatural. My daughter came up. I can't give her the embrace and the kiss that I want to give her. This is all unnatural and disorienting. And it is not you, it is everyone. It's the condition.

 

And we are going to have time. And the question is how do we use this time positively? Also, at the same time we have to learn from this experience because we were not ready to deal with this and other situations will happen. Other situations will happen and let's at least learn from this to be prepared for the next situation as dramatic as this one has been.

 

Also finding the silver lining, the positive. Life is going to be quieter for a matter of months. Everything will function. Life will function. Everything will normal operations, there won't be chaos. The stores will have groceries. Gas stations will have gasoline. There's no reason for extraordinary anxiety. But it is going to change. You won't be at work, you can't be sitting at restaurants, you're not going to be going to birthday parties, you don't have to go to business conferences on the weekends. There's less noise. You know what, that can be a good thing in some ways: You have more time. You have more flexibility. You can do some of those things that you haven't done, that you kept saying, "Well I'd love to be able to, I'd love to be able to." Well now you can. You have more time with family.

 

And yes, I get family in cramped quarters can be difficult, but it's also the most precious commodity. For myself, this young lady, Cara, is with me. She would never be here otherwise. You know, I'm dad, right? The last thing you want to be when you're in Cara's position is hang out with the old man and hang out with dad and hear bad dad jokes, you know - they'll come with the holidays, they'll come when I give them heavy guilt, but I'm now going to be with Cara literally for a few months. What a beautiful gift that is, right? I would have never had that chance. And that is precious, and then after this is over she's gone, she's flown the nest. She's going to go do her thing, but this crazy situation is crazy as it is, came with this beautiful gift. So one door closes, another door opens. Think about that.

 

And as I said, normal operations will continue. As I said from day one, the level of anxiety is not connected to facts, there is no chaos the net effect - many people will get the virus, but few will be truly endangered. Hold both of those facts in your hands: Many will get it, up to 80 percent may get it, but few are truly endangered and we know who they are. Realize the timeframe we're expecting, make peace with it and find a way to help each other through this situation because it's hard for everyone. And the goal for me: Socially distanced but spiritually connected. How do you achieve socially distanced but spiritually connected?

County manager says Cuomo's plan to shift increased Medicaid costs on counties is a 'Ponzi scheme' based on a lie

By Howard B. Owens

Gov. Andrew Cuomo's proposal to cap increases on Medicaid spending at 3 percent at the county level could cost Genesee County another $2.3 million over the next four years.

That's just a rough guess, said County Manager Jay Gsell.

He called Cuomo's accusation that counties are spending on Medicaid with a "blank check syndrome" since the county share of Medicaid was capped in 2012 a "lie." He said the attempt to shift the burden for increases on Medicaid to counties is "voodoo economics for 2020" and using the maneuver to shift the cost of the state's deficit spending to county taxpayers a "Ponzi scheme."

“The Medicaid system has to be fiscally sustainable,” Cuomo said during his 2021 budget address. “If it is not fiscally sustainable then we accomplish nothing.”

New York State is facing a $6.1 billion budget gap due in large part to rising costs of Medicaid, a health insurance program that serves the poor, elderly and disabled.

Since the state capped county expenses, the state's share has increased $20 billion.

“That’s the blank check syndrome,” Cuomo said Tuesday. “We are signing the check and they’re filling out the amount.”

All Medicaid expenses, Gsell said today, are the result of state mandates. The county has no control over how much Medicaid costs or how much expenses increase.

The increases are a result of NY, as mandated by Albany, offering among the most generous Medicaid benefits package in the Union, and an increase in enrollment of Medicaid-eligible residents under the Affordable Care Act.

There are now 13,300 Genesee County residents enrolled in an ACA medical plan (not all are Medicaid eligible) compared to 8,800 five years ago.

"The State about eight to 10 years ago promised to takeover Medicaid administration from the local DSS districts, which still hasn’t occurred," Gsell said. "It now appears easier to pick a 'fall guy' – NYS counties – for the ongoing quagmire since 1966 that -- unlike in 48 of the other U.S. states -- New York State has bought into lock, stock, and barrel. I have yet to be told that we NYS Counties are making up our own benefit levels for this entitlement, enrolling masses of ineligible recipients, promoting fraud, waste, and abuse and essentially not doing our jobs. That is a figment of someone’s imagination in Albany. It is a lie and convenient dodge for a problem of the State government’s own making."

Photo: File photo of Gov. Andrew Cuomo.

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Gov. Andrew Cuomo's budget statement

By Howard B. Owens

Press release:

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today outlined the FY 2021 Executive Budget, advancing a clear vision and bold, nation-leading and historic actions to make progress happen in the State of New York.

The budget plan features a $33 billion five-year plan to combat climate change, including a new plan to streamline government bureaucracy to deliver renewable energy projects faster; a $25 billion expansion of New York's largest-in-the-nation building program, bringing it to $275 billion; an historic $28.5 billion investment in education while reforming funding formulas to prioritize support for poor schools, and an expanded Excelsior free college tuition program to include families making up to $150,000 per year.

The Executive Budget also includes a new proposal to protect our democracy by banning foreign-influenced corporations from making campaign contributions; the most funding in the state's history - an additional $64 million - to provide services to people who are homeless, including those with mental illness; investments to combat child poverty and $157 million to expand the Empire State Child Tax Credit, serving 400,000 families with children under 4 years old; and an additional $25 million funding to harden security infrastructure at non-public schools and cultural organizations vulnerable to hate crimes.

The budget plan will also promote public health with proposals to ban the sale of flavored e-cigarettes and cap insulin co-payments at $100 per month. It will continue New York's unprecedented economic and social progress by continuing middle-class tax cuts for 4.7 million New Yorkers making under $300,000 a year; cutting small corporate business taxes, benefiting 36,000 taxpayers and saving them $35 million; enacting the strongest Paid Sick Leave program in the nation, impacting 1.3 million New Yorkers; closing the rape intoxication loophole; expanding banking services for low-income people, and proposing an inclusive Equal Rights Amendment.

The Governor's proposal will reform the current Medicaid system with a new Medicaid Redesign Team co-chaired by Michael Dowling of Northwell Health and labor leader Dennis Rivera. The MRT II will work to reform the program and identify $2.5 billion in savings this year by finding industry efficiencies or additional industry revenue with zero impact to beneficiaries.

For the 10th consecutive year, the Executive Budget is balanced and continues the state's record of fiscal integrity.

"This budget is a roadmap for delivering progressive results for the people of this state and addressing the imminent challenges of our time by advancing social, racial and economic justice. We're proposing historic investments in climate change and infrastructure programs and fixing the school aid formula to ensure poorer schools get the funding they need," Governor Cuomo said. "We're tackling the division and hate that has spread like cancer in the body politic by funding new security measures for organizations targeted by hate crimes, protecting our democracy from foreign-influenced corporations, and addressing homelessness, child poverty and other barriers facing low-income New Yorkers. These policies build on our extensive accomplishments over the past nine years that have led to unprecedented economic growth and social progress and historically low unemployment throughout the state all while maintaining fiscal discipline and lowering taxes for middle class families."

Fiscal Highlights of the FY 2021 Executive Budget:

  • State Operating Funds spending is $105.8 billion - an increase of 1.9 percent (State Operating Funds exclude Federal funds and capital)
  • All Funds spending $178 billion for FY 2021
  • Increases School Aid by $826 million - a 3 percent increase that brings the State's total annual investment to $28.5 billion
  • Provides $7.8 billion in State support for higher education in New York - an increase of $1.8 billion or 29 percent since FY 2012
  • Continues the phase-in of the Middle Class Tax Cut for nearly five million New Yorkers - saving New Yorkers over $1.8 billion this year

2021 MAKING PROGRESS HAPPEN BUDGET HIGHLIGHTS

$33 Billion Five-Year Plan to Combat Climate Change: The FY 2021 Executive Budget continues New York's record as the most aggressive climate leader in the world through a $33 billion five-year plan to combat climate change that will include: $3 billion Restore Mother Nature Bond Act supplemented by $740 million in additional state funding; $28 billion for green energy; and $1.5 billion for carbon-free transportation. The Governor also proposes reforms to approve renewable projects faster, with the State taking the lead in getting sites shovel ready for our green energy future.

$275 Billion Infrastructure Program: Governor Cuomo has undertaken the most ambitious infrastructure plan in the nation. Starting with an initial $100 billion investment, and followed up in the FY 2020 Budget with a second $150 billion investment, this Budget begins the support for expanding the total investment by $25 billion to $275 billion with new investments in transit, roads and bridges. The second phase, newly expanded $175 billion infrastructure plan builds on the Governor's initial $100 billion plan and includes:

  • $87 billion for transportation, including mass transit, railroads, airports, highways, bridges, and tunnels across the State.
  • $35 billion for improving environmental facilities and parks, and the development of green energy.
  • $11 billion for economic and community development.
  • $9 billion to further the State's investment in the construction of high-quality, affordable housing for the people of New York.
  • $19 billion to help school districts build new and better school buildings.
  • $14 billion to improve and maintain SUNY and CUNY buildings, State health care facilities and other capital assets.

The $275 billion infrastructure program will also continue to fund $6 billion for the Long Island Rail Road Second Track, Third Track and 39 modernized stations; new LaGuardia and JFK Airports; the East Side Access project; the Javits Center expansion; four new Bronx Metro-North stations in transit deserts; the Empire State Trail; modernization of the New York State Fair; and the $1 billion New NY Broadband program, ensuring broadband internet access for all.

Housing and Services for People who are Homeless, Including Those with Mental Illness: New York's homeless community and those with mental illness are among the hardest populations to help. This year, Governor Cuomo is proposing an aggressive strategy and the most funding in the State's history to provide housing and services to these vulnerable populations. Building on the State's $20 billion affordable housing and homeless initiative, the FY 2021 Budget doubles funding from $64 million to $128 million for the Homeless Housing Assistance Program and invests $5 million for projects for homeless veterans.

Combating Child Poverty with the Empire State Child Tax Credit: The FY 2021 Budget is supporting $2.9 billion for families with children under five years old, including $157 million to expand the Empire State Child Tax Credit. Currently this critical credit for low-and moderate-income families only applies to children 4-16 years old. This proposal will eliminate this unfair distinction and expand the tax credit to families with children between the ages of 0-3 making under $50,000. This will provide an average of a $400 benefit per family to nearly 400,000 working class families with children under four years old - approximately 172,500 families with children over the age of three will get an additional benefit and 225,500 families with children three and under will receive this benefit for the first time.

Protecting Organizations Vulnerable to Hate Crimes: The FY 2021 Budget will invest an additional $25 million for religious and non-religious not-for-profit organizations that are vulnerable to hate crimes. This funding builds on the $70 million the State has already made available for these organizations to fight back against hate.

Banning Contributions from Foreign-Influenced Corporations: The FY 2021 Budget includes a proposal to ban corporations from contributing to political campaigns in New York, or from making independent expenditures to influence elections, if a single foreign entity controls 5 percent ownership. The proposal would also ban corporations with more than 10 percent ownership in aggregate by two or more foreign entities from making such contributions or expenditures. Finally, the proposal will ban campaign spending if more than 10 percent of a corporation's board members are foreign nationals, or a foreign national participates in the decision making with respect to a corporation's political activities in the United States. Our nation's campaign finance laws state that "foreign nationals" are barred from spending in any American election, city, state or federal. Since that's true for individual foreigners, it must also be true for the corporations owned or controlled by them.

Requiring Public Officials to Disclose Their Tax Returns: Governor Cuomo will propose the "Nothing to Hide" Act in the FY 2021 Executive Budget to make our government the most transparent in the nation. The law will require that the Governor, the Lieutenant Governor, the Attorney General, the Comptroller, every state commissioner, and every Assembly Member and Senator make their tax returns public. Further, any elected official in the State with a government salary over $100,000 a year will have to do the same. 

New School Aid Funding Formula: Since 2012, New York State has increased funding for education by 43 percent, and this year the Governor's main goal is to ensure educational equity. In 2019 the Governor mandated that districts disclose the amount of funding distributed to each individual school. However, wealthier school districts still spend approximately $36,000 per student as opposed to $13,000 per student at poorer school districts. To ensure State funds are used to reduce funding disparities, the FY 2021 Budget will increase School Aid by $826 million, bringing the total annual investment to a record $28.5 billion, with 85 percent of the Foundation Aid increase going to the highest-need districts. To further prioritize poorer schools and ensure education equity, the Governor is proposing a new School Aid Funding Formula to properly distribute funds and build up underserved school districts.

Continuing Middle-Class Tax Cuts: Governor Cuomo will continue to lower Personal Income Tax rates for middle-class New Yorkers. In 2020, the third year of the multi-year tax cuts enacted in 2016, income tax rates have been lowered from 6.85 percent to 6.09 percent for taxpayers in the $43,000-$161,550 income bracket, and to 6.41 percent in the $161,550-$323,200 income bracket. These cuts are expected to save 4.7 million New Yorkers over $1.8 billion this year. Furthermore, income tax rates will continue to drop to 5.5 percent for taxpayers in the $27,900-$161,550 tax bracket and 6 percent in the $161,550-$323,200 brackets. When the cuts are fully phased in, middle-class taxpayers will have received an income tax rate cut up to 20 percent, amounting to a projected $4.2 billion in annual savings for six million filers by 2025. As the new rates phase in, they will be the State's lowest middle-class tax rates in more than 70 years.

Lowering Tax Rates by 40 Percent for Small Businesses: To continue the State's robust economic growth and record of job creation, Governor Cuomo will enact comprehensive tax relief for small businesses, including reducing the corporate tax rate for small businesses from 6.5 percent to 4 percent, which will benefit 36,000 taxpayers and save them $35 million.

Establishing Paid Sick Leave for Working New Yorkers: To further empower New York's low-wage workers and protect all consumers in the State, Governor Cuomo will enact paid sick leave. Businesses with five to 99 employees will provide their employees at least five days of job-protected paid sick leave per year and businesses with 100 employees or more will provide at least seven days of paid sick leave per year. Smaller businesses, with four or fewer employees, will guarantee five days of job-protected unpaid sick leave to their employees every year. Small businesses already providing paid sick leave will be able to so.

Expanding Access to Safe and Affordable Banking Services, Credit and Financial Education: The FY 2021 Budget will invest $25 million in new funding over five years to support banking services in low-income areas and underserved communities across the state. This funding is part of the Governor's sweeping financial access and inclusion agenda that builds on the work his administration has done to expand access to safe and affordable banking services, credit and financial education. The Budget will also create a statewide Office of Financial Inclusion and Empowerment, based at the Department of Financial Services, to meet the financial services needs of low- and middle- income New Yorkers across the state.

Expanding Free College Tuition to More Middle-Class Families: To expand the transformational opportunity of the Excelsior Scholarship to more middle-class families, Governor Cuomo is proposing to raise the Excelsior eligibility threshold from $125,000 to $150,000 of adjusted gross family income for New York's families. By increasing the threshold, more than 230,000, or nearly 58 percent of New York resident students will go to a SUNY or CUNY college tuition-free.

Closing the Rape Intoxication Loophole: Governor Cuomo will advance legislation to close the archaic rape intoxication loophole because rape should not be a punishment for drinking alcohol under New York State law. This legislation will rightfully clarify that a victim's ability to consent is jeopardized whether they were voluntarily or involuntarily intoxicated, giving prosecutors the ability to ensure that sexual abusers are held accountable for their criminal acts and sexual abuse survivors are able to obtain the justice they deserve.

Passing First-in-the-Nation Inclusive Equal Rights Amendment: Governor Cuomo will seek to amend the New York State Constitution's Equal Rights Amendment so that New York sets the national standard for how states protect equal rights. The Governor will seek to add sex as a protected class to Section 11 of Article I, ensuring that all New Yorkers, regardless of their gender, are fully protected by the State Constitution. Additionally, he will push for the addition of other categories, including ethnicity, national origin, age, disability, sexual orientation or gender identity so that those critically important protections are also enshrined into the state constitution.

GREEN ECONOMY & ENVIRONMENT
This past decade was the hottest ever recorded, and the five hottest years in history have all occurred since 2015. New York will continue its record as the most aggressive climate leader in the world through a $33 billion five-year plan to combat climate change. This nation-leading first of its kind plan will transition the State to renewable power while combatting climate.

Restore Mother Nature: Centered on the Governor's $3 billion Restore Mother Nature Bond Act, New York State will reduce flood risk, invest in resilient infrastructure and revitalize critical fish and wildlife habitats by connecting streams and waterways, right-sizing culverts and dams, restoring freshwater and tidal wetlands, reclaiming natural floodplains, restocking shellfish populations and upgrading fish hatcheries, preserving open space, conserving more forest areas, replanting more trees, reducing contamination from agricultural and stormwater runoff, and expanding renewable energy. This wide-reaching environmental conservation and resiliency investment includes support from the Department of Environmental Conservation and the Environmental Protection Fund. This is a key component of the Governor's $33 billion five-year plan to combat climate change.

Green Energy: Governor Cuomo has set New York on course to achieving 70 percent of its electricity from renewable sources by 2030, and zero greenhouse gas emissions from the electricity sector by 2040. Under his leadership, the State has made substantial progress toward these goals with significant investments in energy efficiency, solar energy, wind energy and energy storage. To help achieve these goals, the Climate plan invests $28 billion through NYSERDA, New York Green Bank, NYPA and the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative to develop, support and expand carbon-free energy production, build the infrastructure such as transmission lines and energy storage that make renewable energy sources viable and work with our regional partners in driving down carbon emissions. This is a key component of the Governor's $33 billion five-year plan to combat climate change.

Carbon-Free Transportation: New York already has the second most efficient transportation sector and lowest CO2 emissions per capita of any state. New York is a leader in electric vehicles - or EVs - thanks to the Charge NY initiative launched by Governor Cuomo in 2013.  Charge NY set ambitious goals - 30,000 EVs and 3,000 EV charging stations by the end of 2018 - and exceeded them.  Over 50,000 electric vehicles have been purchased in New York since 2013 — more than 48 other states. The Climate Budget invests $370 million to continue to reduce carbon emissions in New York State. This is a key component of the Governor's $33 billion five-year plan to combat climate change.

Banning Single Use and Packaging Styrofoam Products: To build on the progress of last year's plastic bag ban, the Governor is proposing new legislation to prohibit the distribution and use of expanded polystyrene, commonly known as Styrofoam, single-use food containers and packaging materials by January 1, 2022.

Enacting Comprehensive E-Bike and E-Scooter Legislation: To get more people out of cars, the Governor is proposing comprehensive legislation to legalize and expand the e-bike and e-scooter network without compromising on public safety.

Making the Fracking Ban Permanent: The Governor will introduce a bill to permanently ban fracking by amending environmental conservation law to restrict the Department of Environmental Conservation from approving permits that would authorize an applicant to drill, deepen, plug back or convert wells that use high-volume hydraulic fracturing to complete or recomplete natural gas resources, protecting the health of New Yorkers and ensuring permanently that our environment is not harmed by this practice. This bill reflects an important step forward toward achieving New York's clean energy economy goals.

Renewing Record Funding for the Environmental Protection Fund: The Budget continues EPF funding for a second straight year at a record high $300 million. Appropriations include $39 million for solid waste programs, $89 million for parks and recreation, $152 million for open space programs and $20 million for the climate change mitigation and adaptation program.  

BUILDING A NEW NY

Economic development follows infrastructure, and while the country sits idle New York State is forging ahead with the nation's most aggressive $275 billion infrastructure program that is transforming every region of the State. Under the Governor's leadership, New York is investing more today in roads and bridges than at any period in our State's history, and the state has already completed $65 billion in construction, more than any state in the nation. Building upon these historic investments, Governor Cuomo will continue to lead the way on creating a 21st Century transportation infrastructure that moves New York's economy forward and improves quality of life for our residents and visitors.

DOT Capital Plan: The FY 2021 Budget will support $11.9 billion for the two-year DOT Capital Plan that will transform New York's highways, bridges, rail, aviation infrastructure, non-MTA transit and DOT facilities. Compared to the final two years of the last DOT Capital Plan, this is an increase of $3 billion, or 33 percent.

MTA Capital Plan Commitment: The FY 2021 Budget will continue to support the $52 billion MTA Capital Plan - the largest state investment in history. This investment includes $3 billion to make up to 70 subway stations accessible.

Upstate Airport Economic Development and Revitalization Competition Round 2: The FY 2021 Budget will invest up to $100 million to continue transforming upstate airports with Round 2 of the Upstate Airport and Economic Development Revitalization Competition. Airports across the state will be encouraged to submit proposals to enhance safety and economic development, improve airport operations and access, reduce environmental impact and create better passenger experiences.

Reimagining the Erie Canal. Building on the findings of the Reimagine the Canal Task Force, the New York Power Authority, which now oversees the Canal Corporation as a subsidiary, will invest $300 million over the next five years to integrate the Empire State Trail and Erie Canal through a new program that will stimulate tourism and economic development, address environmental challenges unknown a century ago, and create an asset that will improve the quality of life in communities along the 360-mile spine of the Erie Canal. A first phase of funding will start this year that will have two parts: a $100 million economic development fund to invest in communities along the Canal and a separate $65 million investment in solutions that will help prevent ice jams and related flooding in the Schenectady area. The remaining $135 million of the plan's funding will subsequently be allocated to research recommended by the Reimagine Task Force, as well as to solutions related to flood mitigation, invasive species prevention and ecosystem restoration.

Empire Station: The State is investing $700 million to leverage a total of $3 billion, including from private sector and Federal sources, for the transformation of the James A. Farley Post Office building into the Moynihan Train Hall. Combined with extensive renovations at the existing Penn Station, this will create a new Empire Station. In his 2020 State of the State, Governor Cuomo announced a proposal to expand Penn Station southward to create the Empire Station District. The plan creates new, larger terminals, and will increase track and train capacity by 40 percent, addressing the underlying and most critical problem at the busiest transit hub in the Western Hemisphere.

Regional Targeted Investments are Working

The Governor will continue to advance economic prosperity for all with projects that build on the state's successful regional economic development strategy.

Securing a High-Speed Electron-Ion Collider at Brookhaven: The FY 2021 Budget supports a $100 million multi-year commitment to secure a High-Speed Electron-Ion Collider at Brookhaven to build the region's research triangle. The funding will allow for the construction of new support buildings, power distribution upgrades, a new cooling system and sustainability enhancements required for the new collider.  

Modernizing Lake Placid Olympic facilities, Gore and Belleayre Mountains: The FY 2021 Budget will invest $147 million to modernize Lake Placid Olympic Facilities, Gore Mountain, and Belleayre Mountain.

Creating the State's First Comprehensive Education and Training Center in Syracuse: To meet the emerging science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics demands in Syracuse, the Executive Budget proposes the creation of the State's first regional Comprehensive Education and Workforce Training Center in Central New York. Administered by the Syracuse City School District in partnership with SUNY Empire State College and other local colleges and universities, the Center will provide specialized educational opportunities and state of the art workforce training programs in advanced technologies to students and residents throughout the region. The State will reimburse 98 percent, or $71.4 million, of the cost to renovate the building that will house the Center. The Syracuse Comprehensive Education and Workforce Training Center is scheduled to open in 2021 and will serve ultimately 1,000 students, as well as residents of the community. 

Transforming Buffalo's North Aud Block: The State will develop Buffalo Canalside's North Aud Block and improve access to the city's waterfront, featuring mixed use residential and commercial buildings and a piazza for public use, based on community and stakeholder input. This also includes the rail station that is forthcoming in Buffalo and its coordination with the new North Aud Block neighborhood.

Expanding High Technology Companies in Rochester: The Governor is supporting the expansion of three industry-leading high technology companies in the City of Rochester that will further grow the Finger Lakes regional economy as part of the Governor's continued commitment to growing the high-tech ecosystem in and around Rochester's Downtown Innovation Zone. The expansion of these companies will create more than 700 jobs in and near Rochester's Downtown Innovation Zone.

Expanding New York's Drone Corridor: The Governor is investing $9 million to establish an unmanned aerial system experimentation and test facility at Griffiss International Airport in Rome, Oneida County. This "Skydome" will be a year-round indoor research facility to support the safe experimentation of drone technology and techniques, further strengthening the Mohawk Valley and Central New York as a hub for innovation.

Phase II Capitol Courtyard Restoration: The FY 2021 Executive Budget will invest $5 million to enhance the State Capitol by renovating and refurbishing the courtyard to bring it back to its original grandeur and make it sustainable for commercial use.

Transferring Pier 76 Tow Pound to Hudson River Park for Reuse: Governor Cuomo is proposing that the Hudson River Park Trust develop a plan to effectuate the long deferred transfer of Pier 76 from its use as a tow pound for the NYPD to the control of the Hudson River Park Trust to integrate into the park complex, maximizing green space, recreation and community access and market potential. As part of the proposal, the NYPD must vacate within one year and the Hudson River Park Trust should also develop an improvement plan for Pier 40.

Vital Brooklyn Initiative: The FY 2021 Executive Budget will continue to invest in the $1.4 billion Vital Brooklyn Initiative. The funding will help build 32 healthcare centers, 4,000 new affordable homes and over 400 acres of newly opened green and recreational space.

South Bronx Transformation: The Budget will support $1.8 billion for the South Bronx transformation - the largest state investment in the South Bronx in the State's history. Projects to transform the South Bronx include the Sheridan Boulevard, Hunts Point Market and four new Metro-North stations in Bronx transit deserts. 

Launching Next Round of the Downtown Revitalization Initiative: The Downtown Revitalization Initiative is transforming downtown neighborhoods into vibrant communities where the next generation of New Yorkers will want to live, work and raise families. Participating communities are nominated by the State's ten REDCs based on the downtown's potential for transformation. Through four rounds of awards, each winning community was awarded $10 million to develop a downtown strategic investment plan and implement key catalytic projects that advance the community's vision for revitalization. The FY 2021 Executive Budget provides $100 million for a fifth round of the Downtown Revitalization Program.

Continuing the Successful Regional Economic Development Councils: In 2011, Governor Cuomo established 10 Regional Economic Development Councils to develop long-term regional strategic economic development plans. Since then, the State has invested more than $6.9 billion through the REDCs, funding more than 8,300 projects and supporting more than 240,000 jobs across the state. The FY 2021 Executive Budget includes $750 million to continue our aggressive, bottom-up regional economic development strategy through the transformative REDC initiative.

COMBATING DIVISION AND ENSURING PUBLIC SAFETY

Increasing and Modernizing Emergency Response Capacity: Over 60 percent of New York counties have been flooded twice in the past 10 years. We must be ready to handle these increasing, life-threatening, emergency situations. It is a new and growing challenge for our state operations. The FY 2021 Executive Budget sustains $12 million in capital funding to increase and update the State's emergency response capacity so our brave women and men have the right equipment to do their jobs.

Banning Repeat and High-Risk Sexual Offenders from MTA Transit Systems: The Governor will advance legislation to authorize the MTA to issue orders prohibiting individuals who commit repeat sex-related violations of the MTA code of conduct, those who are high-risk sex offenders (Level 3) or those who assault or harass MTA employees from using MTA transportation services for a period of three years. Additionally, this proposal will establish a new law for transit-related sex crime where, if convicted, a prohibition order may be imposed by a judge to ensure the safety of the pubic. Under this proposal, as a condition of pre-trial release, the judge may also issue a temporary prohibition order if good cause is shown that the prohibition is necessary to maintain public safety. Individuals who violate a prohibition order could be charged with Transit Trespass, an A misdemeanor.

 Banning Fentanyl Analogs to Further Combat the Opioid Epidemic: The Governor will introduce legislation to explicitly designate fentanyl analogs as controlled substances in New York State. This legislation will give police and law enforcement the authority to prosecute the manufacturing, sale and distribution of these drugs to the fullest extent of the law. The proposed legislation will also give the State Department of Health Commissioner the authority to add additional analogs to the list of controlled substances, enabling the State to stay in front of these deadly substances as they appear on the market.

 Preventing the Manufacture and Dissemination of Ghost Guns: To address the growing concern over ghost guns, Governor Cuomo will advance comprehensive legislation to prevent access to and use of these weapons. First, this proposal would require individuals to obtain major components of a firearm, rifle or shotgun only through an in-store transaction at a licensed gun dealer. Second, licensed dealers would be required to distribute major components only to individuals who possess valid identification and to log all transactions and would require all unfinished frames and receivers to have a serial number issued by the State Police. Third, the proposal would prohibit individuals who cannot legally possess a rifle or shotgun from possessing a major component part that could be used to build a firearm, rifle or shotgun and create new misdemeanor and felony penalties for violating these new provisions.

Closing the Out-of-State Gun Loophole: Governor Cuomo will advance legislation to prohibit individuals from obtaining a gun license who commit serious offenses out-of-state that would disqualify them from obtaining a gun license if committed in New York. This will provide greater consistency in New York's licensing scheme and ensure individuals who are prohibited from purchasing a firearm are not able to do so. The Governor is also advancing legislation to require all state and local law enforcement agencies in the state to opt in to the ATF's crime gun trace data sharing program and submit crime guns recovered through the ATF's eTrace system. Additionally, Governor Cuomo is proposing legislation to amend the Mental Hygiene Law to allow New York to share reports of individuals who are a danger to themselves or others with other states.

Legalizing Cannabis: This year Governor Cuomo is proposing a comprehensive regulatory approach to legalize cannabis, creating a new Office of Cannabis Management to specialize in cannabis regulation - overseeing the medical, adult-use and hemp programs. The proposal will administer social equity licensing opportunities, develop an egalitarian adult-use market structure and facilitate market entry through access to capital, technical assistance and incubation of equity entrepreneurs. The proposal will also correct past harms to individuals and communities that have disproportionally been impacted by prohibition. To safeguard public health, the proposal limits the sale of cannabis products to adults 21 and over and establishes stringent quality and safety controls including oversight over the packaging, labeling, advertising and testing of all cannabis products. These efforts will be done in coordination with neighboring states Connecticut, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. The Governor will also propose creating a first of its kind Global Cannabis and Hemp Center for Science, Research and Education with SUNY and other expert partners.

Passing the Hate Crime Anti-Terrorism Act: To address the disturbing number of anti-Semitic and other discriminatory attacks in New York, the Governor is proposing a first-in-the-nation domestic terrorism law to include mass violence motivated by hate, creating a new A-1 class felony punishable by up to life in prison without parole. The Governor is also proposing New York schools add a curriculum that teaches civic values and the state's rich history of diversity and religious freedom. The Battery Park City Authority will develop a plan to expand the Museum of Jewish Heritage on the Holocaust to be a learning destination for school children across the state.

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