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Press Release: 

As negotiations on a new gaming compact continue between New York State and the Seneca Nation, Sen. George Borrello has introduced legislation that would enhance the integrity of the process by authorizing the New York State Comptroller to review any tribal-state compact and recommend approval or needed changes.

Senator Borrello cited the need for this change by pointing to current negotiations between the Seneca Nation and the Hochul administration. He noted that although the Governor has recused herself from compact negotiations because of the conflict of interest presented by her husband’s position with a company in competition with the Seneca Nation, she is still the only official that can approve the contract.  

“The partnership between the Seneca Nation and New York’s executive branch has been strained for several years, largely over disagreements concerning revenue from Seneca casinos. Those tensions, combined with the Governor’s institutional role in the process which makes full recusal difficult, underscore the importance of a full and impartial review by the State Comptroller,” said Senator Borrello. “There is too much at stake, not only for the Senecas but for the state, to allow the process to be compromised by politics and conflict. This is a common-sense proposal that would improve the process and help ensure a fair outcome.”  

The original Seneca Nation Compact was authorized in 2002. The agreement cleared the way for the development of three Seneca casinos in Western New York.  The Seneca Niagara Casino opened in 2002, followed by the Salamanca location in 2004 and the Buffalo location in 2007. Terms of the compact included the Seneca Nation paying 25 percent, which is approximately $100 million a year, of the slot and video lottery machine revenues to the state, with a portion of that directed to each casino’s host city. In return, the compact grants the Nation exclusive rights to operate Class III casinos in Western New York.  

The casinos and their related businesses have an estimated $1 billion annual economic impact on Western New York and provide more than 6,000 jobs. 

“The Seneca Nation territories and residents are within the 57th District which makes this issue a priority for me. They are friends and neighbors to me and other district residents, so the delays and challenges they are encountering in the negotiating process are a significant concern,” said Senator Borrello. “Their world-class gaming facilities have transformed the economy of Western New York and they have been good partners to the state. They deserve a fair and equitable compact and my bill would help advance that goal.” 

Press Release:

Congressman Chris Jacobs (NY-27) released the following statement after it was reported the Social Security Administration (SSA) and the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) reached a deal to resume in-person services at Social Security field offices, Jacobs has been advocating consistently for this outcome. 

 

“For months my office has heard from concerned constituents who have been in desperate need of in person services, and for months I have been calling for the Social Security Commissioner and the head of the AFGE to come to a workable arrangement to restore in-person services at SSA field offices. Now, I am glad to finally say those efforts were successful. While we wait for final details on reopening plans, this is welcome and long overdue news. The fact of the matter is this shouldn’t have taken this long, and the administration has no excuse for denying in-person services to thousands of seniors for months, especially those in NY-27 and other rural communities who have very limited access to the internet. I am proud to have led the charge to get these services returned to in-person availability, and I will keep fighting to ensure the needs of my constituents are met. 

 

In October, Jacobs led 50 of his House colleagues in sending a letter to Acting SSA Commissioner Kijakazi urging the SSA to work with the AFGE to reopen in-person services as soon as possible. In November, Jacobs introduced the Having Employees Return to Duty (HERD) Act to require government workers to return to work at pre-pandemic staffing levels to provide in-person services for constituents. 

Press Release:

Statement from Assemblyman Steve Hawley:

“For all of the talk during today’s executive budget address by our governor of a bright new future for New York, the proposals discussed seemed tired and unimaginative at best. New York’s economy isn’t going to suddenly catch fire because of a few meager tax cuts or narrow tax credit programs for businesses, because at the end of the day New York will still have little to offer entrepreneurs looking across the country to open businesses and create jobs. Within a global economy that grows more competitive by the day, it will only grow harder for us to attract the best and brightest to live and work here when it’s so lucrative for them to invest their resources elsewhere. With that said, I do applaud the announced investment into education, something of vital importance in a marketplace demanding skilled, technologically-savvy workers.”

Press Release: 

Governor Kathy Hochul today announced that applications are now being accepted for the New York State Homeowner Assistance Fund (NYS HAF), a program that will provide up to $539 million in aid or other direct assistance to help eligible homeowners who are at risk of default, foreclosure, or displacement due to financial hardship caused by the pandemic. New York was the first state in the nation to receive U.S. Department of the Treasury approval to launch its program.

"For many, buying a home is the greatest source of economic and social stability, and our Homeowner Assistance Fund - the first in the nation to be approved - is a critical tool to help ease the pain of the pandemic felt disproportionately in rural communities, communities of color, and immigrant communities," Governor Hochul said."My administration will continue to stand by homeowners, renters and all New Yorkers every step of the way as part of our economic recovery."

New York State Homes and Community Renewal Commissioner RuthAnne Visnauskas said, "What we do now to help our fellow New Yorkers keep their homes will impact communities and our state for generations to come by contributing to its vitality and building future successes. We cannot and we will not stand by as homeownership and economic gains are threatened in historically disadvantaged communities. Working with our partners in legal services and community-based housing organizations, we have designed the Homeowner Assistance Fund program to help our at-risk families in every corner of the state regain financial stability."

Attorney General Letitia James said, "As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to wreak havoc on the health and wallets of New Yorkers, it is critical that homeowners are granted the relief they need," said Attorney General Letitia James. "The Homeowner Assistance Fund will go a long way in helping homeowners get through this crisis, but it's imperative that these funds are used to support not replace the mortgage industry's own efforts to help struggling homeowners. Through our new Mortgage Enforcement Unit, my office will ensure that these funds go where they are needed and can protect as many homeowners as possible."

Designed and administered by New York State Homes and Community Renewal (HCR), NYS HAF targets low- to moderate-income homeowners who are behind on mortgage payments, property taxes, and water and sewer bills. The program is also open to owners of cooperative or condo units who are behind on maintenance fees, and manufactured homeowners behind on chattel loans, retail installment contracts or lot rents. 

Applicants may receive financial assistance to catch up on missed housing payments, to reduce mortgage debt to make monthly mortgage payments more affordable, and for homeowners who are unemployed, assistance with up to six months of future housing payments.

HCR is also working in partnership with the Office of the New York State Attorney General's Mortgage Enforcement Unit to advocate with mortgage lenders and mortgage servicers to ensure homeowners are receiving all available relief under federal and state rules. This may include extended mortgage terms, deferment of missed payments or forbearance amounts, and lower interest rates to reduce monthly payments. 

The NYS HAF call center - 844-77-NYHAF (844-776-9423) - will operate Monday through Saturday from 7 a.m. until 8 p.m. to assist homeowners and provide critical information about the program and instructions on how to apply. 

The NYS HAF website - www.nyhomeownerfund.org - includes Frequently Asked Questions, a step-by-step application guide, and a document checklist so that applicants know what documentation may be needed to submit their application.

Last month, Governor Hochul announced the launch of the NYS HAF program website, an information call center, and a multilingual marketing campaign that is helping educate homeowners about the program and ensure all eligible New Yorkers, especially those in non-English speaking households, are ready and able to apply.

By examining previous assistance state programs, HCR designed a more streamlined application to ensure the process is simple and easy for homeowners to navigate. Efficiencies include: 

· Utilizing several industry-standard, third-party verification technologies that confirm applicant identification and/or ownership, and may limit the number of documents that a homeowner needs to provide as part of their application.

· Allowing the application to be started, paused, and resumed later without losing data and information already entered.

· Accepting signed attestations from applicants to minimize the number of documents they will need to submit.

To make the application process accessible for all homeowners, and to assist those with limited access to technology or limited English language fluency, HCR has made the following accommodations: 

· Applicants may authorize a relative or other surrogate to submit an application on their behalf and continue to communicate directly with program staff to track the status of that application.

· NYS HAF has partnered with a network of over 70 housing counseling and legal services providers to allow direct access to the online application portal and who will be able to submit multiple applications on behalf of their clients.

· Homeowners can contact the NYS HAF call center and apply over the phone.

· The website and supporting materials are available in English and ten additional languages: Arabic, Bengali, Haitian-Creole, Italian, Korean, Mandarin, Polish, Russian, Yiddish, and Spanish.

· The online application is available in English, Arabic, Bengali, Haitian-Creole, Italian, Korean, Mandarin, Polish, Russian, Hebrew, and Spanish.

· The Call Center will be able to assist with language translations for any application

Since announcing the program in early December, HCR mobilized an outreach and education campaign directed to vulnerable homeowners to ensure they understood the program and were prepared to apply. This included mobilizing a team of 23 community-based organizations, covering every region of the state, to work with their targeted constituencies of at-risk homeowners. Areas of particular interest are those historically subjected to housing discrimination, areas where homeowners may have limited access to the internet, and communities where there is a high level of homeownership distress.

In addition, a statewide multilingual marketing campaign was created in an effort to reach vulnerable homeowners in their own language through trusted media outlets in communities where English is not the primary language.

The NYS HAF program is administered by Sustainable Neighborhoods LLC, a non-profit community development financial institution selected through a competitive Request for Proposals. Sustainable Neighborhoods has extensive experience administering foreclosure prevention and loss mitigation programs across the state.

Sustainable Neighborhoods CEO/Executive Director Christie Peale said, "Thousands of low-income homeowners who have been struggling financially because of COVID will now get the relief they desperately need, thanks to the New York State Homeowner Assistance Fund. Whether you live in a manufactured home, a condominium, coop or a single-family home, we encourage you to apply as soon as possible to receive assistance. It is urgent that we help as many families as possible keep their homes, despite the damaging impacts of the pandemic. We thank Governor Hochul for her leadership and dedication."

Press Release:

Governor Kathy Hochul today announced Winter Surge Plan 2.0, a new targeted effort to bolster New York's fight against the winter surge. Governor Hochul's comprehensive plan focuses on five core areas: keeping students in school, doubling down on masks and testing, preventing severe illness and death, increasing access to vaccines and boosters, and working together with local leaders. Hours before the New Year begins, Governor Hochul also urged New Yorkers to celebrate New Year's Eve in a safe, responsible way.    

"As we head into the holiday weekend, New York State is mobilizing every resource at our disposal to fight the winter surge and keep New Yorkers safe," Governor Hochul said. "We can get through this surge through targeted actions, partnerships with local leaders, and by taking common sense steps to keep us all safe: get vaccinated, get boosted, and wear a mask indoors."

"We have every tool to keep our families and communities safe," Acting State Health Commissioner Dr. Mary T. Bassett said. "We must ensure we use them all. Governor Hochul's targeted plan to expand vaccination and booster access, mask and test, and increase measures to protect our health care workers is the comprehensive strategy needed to combat the fast-spreading Omicron variant. Leveraging these layered mitigation tactics is how we will protect the health of New Yorkers and effectively manage the winter surge." 

1. Keep Schools Open: After two years of remote learning and school closures, Governor Hochul is focused on keeping students in school in the upcoming year. The first plank of Governor Hochul's 5-part plan includes:    

• Providing tests to students and school districts: 5.56 million tests arrived for schools this week and between six and seven million more are expected to arrive in the coming days. New York has mobilized 40 trucks and 86 state personnel to distribute tests. Overall, New York State has secured 37 million tests for distribution.
• Working with counties to implement Test-to-Stay: Test-to-Stay policies have proven successful at keeping our kids safe and schools open. If a student tests positive, classmates can take a test kit back home with them and return to the classroom upon receiving a negative result instead of mandatory quarantining. 
• Keeping college students and faculty safe: SUNY and CUNY will be introducing a new requirement for all students to get boosters, campuses will require mandatory mask wearing in public indoor spaces, and will require all faculty to be vaccinated. Students will also be required to submit negative tests upon returning to campus.

 2. Keep Masking, Keep Testing: Governor Hochul recognizes that to stop the spread of the virus, New Yorkers must continue wearing masks and getting tested for COVID. Governor Hochul will:

• Extend the mask-or-vax requirement: the Department of Health will extend the mask-or-vaccine requirement for an additional two weeks, protecting workers and allowing businesses to remain open.
• Make masks more widely available: New York State has already distributed 5 million KN-95 masks, and more will be distributed through state legislators. Hundreds of thousands of masks will also be distributed for nursing home visitors.
• Launch new testing sites: Governor Hochul will open six new testing sites on January 4, totaling 19 state-run sites statewide. Additionally, Governor Hochul announced the launch of two new testing sites at MTA stations, in addition to previously announced MTA pop-ups.

3. Preventing Severe Illness and Death: With case counts rising, Governor Hochul is making it a priority to prevent severe illness and death by supporting our hospital system. The Winter Surge Plan 2.0 will:    

• Distribute antiviral treatments: New York is working with the Biden Administration to secure doses of the antiviral drug Pavloxid and make this treatment more widely available.
• Boost hospital capacity: Governor Hochul will continue enforcing the November 26 Executive Order to boost hospital capacity. Since it took effect, the number of hospitals with limited capacity needing to pause non-essential surgeries has declined from 32 to 21.    
• Launch National Guard EMT training: to ramp up our long-term health care workforce capacity needs, the Department of Health and the Division of Military and Naval Affairs will be launching two pilot EMT training classes on January 5th. This will cover two classes of 40 service members (80 service members in total) who will be able to be deployed by February.
• Secure additional help from Federal partners: in the coming days, we will receive federal Department of Defense (DoD) Medical Response and Disaster Medical Assistance Teams (DMATs). This will include a 35-member DMAT to SUNY Upstate in Syracuse, 23-member DoD Medical Response Team to Erie County Medical Center in Buffalo, and 50 new ambulance teams deployed to NYC.
• Protect nursing home residents and workers: the Hochul Administration is in constant contact with all 606 nursing homes in New York and will be providing them with additional PPE to ensure the safety of all patients and staff. Additionally, the Administration is coordinating with hospitals and will be deploying durable medical equipment in continued support of the care for all New Yorkers.

4. Expand Access to Vaccines and Boosters: Vaccines continue to be the best defense against COVID hospitalization and death. While 95% of adult New Yorkers have received at least one shot, there's more to do to increase vaccination and booster rates, especially among children:

• Provide boosters to nursing homes: New York will begin requiring each nursing home to demonstrate their plan to increase vaccination and booster rates among their residents.    
• Increase pediatric vaccination: the most unvaccinated eligible cohort is New Yorkers aged 5-11. New York will increase our focus on pediatric vaccination.    
• Get booster shots to teenagers: we anticipate approval of Pfizer's booster shot for children aged 12-15 and will immediately begin outreach to that population once ready.

5. Work With Local Partners: From the beginning, Governor Hochul has emphasized that the fight against COVID must take a collaborative approach. Fighting the winter surge requires close collaboration with local partners:    

• Let local leaders lead: from New York City to Erie County, local leaders are making smart choices. We will continue this surgical, targeted approach.    
• Provide resources to local partners: Governor Hochul will continue to lead a whole-of-government approach to fight COVID, making sure county emergency managers and local school boards have the tests and masks they need. 

 

Since age 12 Brad White, pictured above with his mom Marcia White, has had a passion for producing maple syrup, which started out to be something to try out and process in a small A-frame sugar house.

Sweet Time Farm grew from being their family hobby of just having a couple buckets to purchasing "Out on a Limb Maple Farm" from Shawn Dunning last year. Sweet Time is located at 5680 Webster Road, Wyoming, in Wyoming County.

Since taking ownership in 2015, Nicole and Brad White has to date 14,000 taps that cross lines between Genesee, Wyoming and Livingston counties.

This year has been a bit of a challenge with the warmer temperatures. Brad started tapping trees the first week January that took a couple weeks to produce maple syrup. It has not been a stellar year by any means, he said.

They have been running operations daily here at the farm where the sap runs to a 16,000-gallon holding tank then passes through filters, with reverse osmosis, and UV light to a another holding tank. Daily the family fires up the evaporator and boils 18,000 gallons or more per day depending on weather.

Currently he was getting 1-percent residual sugar coming from the taps. That's about half a crop in the present year, which takes 86 gallons to make a gallon of syrup.  Ideally 2 percent is the 40-1 ratio needed to be most efficient. 

The farm ships 90 percent out bulk wholesale in 55-gallon drums and the rest is sold at the store. They have a handful of farmers markets in the summer time that they supply nearby, which include Pully’s and Crnkovich's Farm Market in Le Roy, Hurd Orchards in Holley, The Farmer’s Wife in Pavillion, and Rob’s Farm market Spencerport.

When maple syrup season is done, the family moves on to pollenating fruit orchards when the apple blossoms come out. They lease out over 800 hives and use 150 hives themselves. The hives are typically stored down south in Georgia to keep them from the cold weather but they were stored up here this year. 

Two Maple Weekends are scheduled with tours hosted at maple sugar houses across New York State: March 19 and 20; and April 2 and 3. Hosting farms will be open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. those dates.

At Sweet Time Maple Farm this Saturday, planned activities will include an Easter Egg hunt for kids, coloring contest, maple candy in shapes of Easter bunnies, plus more products offered in their store.

For more information go to: http://www.sweettimefarms.com/ 

Facebook Sweet-Time-Maple and their Maple Weekend event.

A proposed redistricting plan was released by the New York State Legislature on Thursday and judging by an Associated Press story, nobody is happy.

Senate Democrats are unhappy, Assembly Republicans are unhappy, bi-partisan observers complain about gerrymandering and Gov. Andrew Cuomo may yet veto the whole thing.

For Assemblyman Steve Hawley, it looks like he can continue representing Genesee County, minus Pembroke but is picking up Darien, Alexander, Bethany and Pavilion. Hawley's district would also include York and Leister in Livingston County, all of Orleans County and three towns in Monroe County.

The primary geography of State Senator Michael Ranzenhofer's district would be Genesee County, with only Amherst, Clarence and Newstead in Erie County and Riga and Chili in Monroe County.

At least those are the lines for a proposed redrawing of the AD 139 and SD 61.

Maps for revised congressional districts were not released.

Regarding wine in the grocery store:

Who in their right mind would think that this was a good idea? Are the Powers That Be just not going to be happy until they put EVERY last Mom and Pop out of business? This proposal will KILL the small liquor retailer, more people will be unemployed, and there will be even MORE empty commercial real estate! Just what NYS needs.

Currently, liquor stores are only allowed to sell two things....wine and liquor. Why not pass a law that permits the liquor stores to sell food items instead?? That solution would most likely (gasp!) CREATE a few jobs for some folks (a fun job even), and maybe even crank up some much needed tax revenue. Imagine being able to pick up wine AND cheese AND fruit in one stop! Or even a fabulous gift basket for your wine enthusiast friend at holiday or birthday time!

I hope that the Powers That Be sit down with a cheese trolley and a robust red wine and think about the ramifications of what they are proposing!