Weekly E-News: Sunday, December 19th, 2021

Please continue to protect yourself against the spread of COVID-19 as the Omicron variant spreads across the country. As we continue to prepare for the 2022 legislative session, I hope you find these updates useful.

Take 3–5 minutes and complete my new 2022 Constituent Survey, which can be found below.

As always, read on for community updates from around the 109th District and stay safe!

LEGISLATIVE NEWS AND PRESS

• Announcing the 109th District’s 2021 REDC Awardees! ⬇ Announcing the 109th Assembly District’s 2021 Regional Economic Development Awards! These projects will help to transform our area and community through a number of innovative projects, upgrades, and more. I’m proud to advocate for these projects and look forward to seeing them come to fruition.

• Governor Newsom Proposes Assault Weapons Legislation to Let Private Citizens Sue Gun Industry. In New York 🗽, we passed a law I drafted alongside NYS Senator Zellnor Y. Myrie 米维 to allow private citizens to sue gun manufacturers for the harm their negligible marketing and weapons cause on our streets. What California Governor Gavin Newsom is proposing is common sense and I urge California to replicate the progress we’ve made on this issue here in New York State. Read more at the link in this section!
• Gun Industry Trying to Block Landmark ‘Gun Industry Liability Law’. 🗞️ One thing is clear: New York’s tough #GunSense laws and the ‘public nuisance’ law passed by NYS Senator Zellnor Y. Myrie 米维 and I have the gun industry scrambling to defend itself. Next year, we will continue protecting New Yorkers from the carnage their negligible market practices and products cause.
• Local Guilderland High School Students Nominated to U.S. Presidential Scholars Program! Congratulations to Michael Wong of Guilderland Central School District for being nominated to the 2022 U.S. Presidential Scholars Program! I was proud to nominate Michael and I know he’ll continue to make the 109th District and New York State proud!
• Grand Street Community Arts Receives $25K State Grant. 💲 I’m pleased to announce that Grand Street Community Arts has been awarded a $25,000 state grant I helped secure for its ArtsStreet Program in partnership with the Albany Center Gallery. Initiatives like this help provide our youth with opportunity, community engagement, and help to beautify our City.

• 109th District NYSCA Funding Awards! 🎭 I’m pleased to share the recipients of 2021’s New York State Council on the Arts Awards! Awardees in the 109th District include the Albany Institute of History & Art, Capital Region Classical, Old Songs, Inc., and Steamer №10 Theatre! Congratulations!

• New York State Mask Mandate Began December 13th. Wearing your mask 😷 helps to keep our favorite Capital Region businesses and venues open, while showing respect for those around you. Unless a business has implemented a full-course vaccination requirement, you must wear a mask indoors in New York State. Let’s all do our part.
• Volunteer Fire Departments in Need of New Recruits. 🚒 Spoke with WRGB CBS 6 News, Albany’s Emma Quinn about the key role that volunteer fire departments play in Upstate’s tightly-knit communities like #Guilderland. We need to incentivize more NYers to step up and join their local VFDs.
• ‘16- and 17-Year Olds Eligible to Receive Booster Shot. 💉 16- and 17-year olds are now able to receive their booster shots. To schedule an appointment visit: ny.gov/booster | For #Albany County clinic times and to make an appointment, visit: bit.ly/albanycountyclinics

• Upstate New York’s Minimum Wage Set to Increase in 2022. 💵 Upstate New York’s minimum wage will rise to $13.20 in 2022, beginning on December 31st, as part of the state legislature’s ongoing commitment to #RaiseTheWage for all workers in our economy. Learn more and utilize the Calculate Your Wage tool by clicking here.

• Albany Riverfront Collaborative Branches Out. 🤝 Staff from my office joined the Albany Riverfront Collaborative to sit down with high school seniors who have chosen the push to reimagine I-787 as a project in their public policy class. It’s great to see young people engaged about the future of the Capital Region!
• Letter Sent Urging Rapid Federal Policy Supporting Aggressive Decarbonization. 🌎 I joined my colleagues in the state legislature State Senator Liz Krueger, NYS Senator Rachel May, Assemblymember Jessica González-Rojas, Assemblymember Anna Kelles, and Assembly Member Rebecca A. Seawright to urge that an aggressive framework for decarbonization be included in a final reconciliation deal. The climate crisis isn’t waiting, and neither can we.
• U.N. Report Highlights Impending Humanitarian Disaster in Afghanistan. Efforts to continue rescuing our Afghan allies left behind in Afghanistan have seemed to stalled completely, and reports suggest that over a million children in Afghanistan may die from hunger just this winter, with another 8–9 million Afghans at risk of famine. Please continue to contact your federal representatives and urge a humanitarian resolution to this crisis that includes rescuing Afghan allies still left behind and at risk from the Taliban.
• Guilderland Food Drive A Success! Great turnout for our food drive last week in #Guilderland with Senator Michelle Hinchey! Thanks to everyone who came out and donated!

• Important SNAP Program Changes. 🥫 New changes to NY’s #SNAP program include providing a new one-page application form, allowing older NYers to recertify their benefits for 36 months instead of 24 months, and eliminating the interview requirement for recertification. Learn more and apply for SNAP here.

2022 CONSTITUENT SURVEY

• Complete My 2022 Constituent Survey. As we approach the 2022 legislative session, it is important to hear from you on policies and issues affecting you and the communities of the 109th Assembly District. Your perspective on the complex issues facing our state and nation helps inform my work and helps prioritize what matters most to my constituency. Please take the brief 3 to 5 minute survey to provide your feedback. Your information will be confidential and not shared.

ICYMI: IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

• ICYMI: New York State Homeowners’ Assistance Fund to Launch Soon. 🏠 Homeowners who are behind on their mortgage and may be facing foreclosure due to COVID impacts will be able to access the NYS Homeowners Assistance Fund (HAF) to get help staying in their homes! Visit www.nyhomeownerfund.org or call 1–844–776–9423 to register to be notified when NYS HAF applications are open.

• ICYMI: I-787 Update from Senator Schumer’s Office. 🚨 Senator Chuck Schumer today highlighted how the new federal #InfrastructureBill allocates $1B for addressing historic inequities in our highway system — like #Albany’s I-787! Support from our federal partners like this is critical if we’re going to reclaim the Hudson River waterfront. We also still need to pass my legislation authorizing an engineering feasibility study on the long-term planning aspects of 787’s lifespan. Thank you, Senator Schumer and Senator Kirsten Gillibrand for your advocacy on behalf of the Capital Region’s future.
• ICYMI: Push to Reimagine I-787 Picking Up Steam — Feasibility Study Still Needed. One thing is clear and it’s that 787 is not part of a long-term prosperous future for Albany or the broader Capital Region. With President Joe Biden and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg leading on urban highway removal — a 787-free future is finally within reach for our community. Click on the link in this section to read more on this effort, the Albany Riverfront Collaborative, and more. More than two years ago I introduced legislation to commission a feasibility study on reimagining 787, and it remains a top priority of mine as we head into 2022 and these conversations continue to develop.

COMMUNITY EVENTS + RESOURCES

• Port of Albany Public Hearing on Offshore Wind Tower Manufacturing Plant. Join the Port of Albany, Town of Bethlehem, and more community partners for a public hearing on the proposed project below and click to register for the Zoom meeting if you cannot attend in person:

• All New Yorkers Now Able to Receive COVID-19 Booster Shot. 💉 All New Yorkers are now eligible to receive their #COVID19 booster shot. Capital Region — get yours today at Crossgates Mall in the old Lord & Taylor store or find a community clinic here: www.bit.ly/albanycountyclinics
• Applying for Heating Assistance (HEAP) This Winter. 🏠 The winter months are approaching fast, so make sure you take advantage of New York’s Home Energy Assistance Program (HEAP) application window and see if you’re eligible for financial help with heating costs. Apply here now.

• Humanities NY Launches SHARP Grant Applications. 🎨| Are you a nonprofit or tax-exempt organization that provides humanities programming in your community? Considering applying for a Humanities New York SHARP Action Grant to help with up to $10K in costs! Learn more about the grant and application process here.
• New York Small Business Recovery Grant Program Reminder. 📣 New York’s small business recovery grant program is open for applications to help cover COVID-19 pandemic-related expenditures. For more information and to apply, visit: www.nysmallbusinessrecovery.com

PODCAST: The Fahy Files: What Makes the NY Capital Work (Or Not!) — Connecting in a Time of Chaos

• To highlight some of the individuals in the Capital Region who exemplify what it means to remain connected within our community and cope with the chaos of the past year, I’ve launched a new series of my podcast The Fahy Files, ‘Connecting in a Time of Chaos’.

Listen to our first 6 (3 of these are featured below) episodes from this year so far on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, SoundCloud, or wherever you listen to your podcasts!

If you know someone who might be interested in signing up for our weekly e-newsletter, forward them this e-mail or click and copy and paste the link found here.

For more on my work in the state legislature, please visit my official Assembly website, Facebook page, Twitter, Instagram, or Medium to stay updated in 2021 and beyond! As always, please don’t hesitate to reach out to my office with any questions or concerns during this time at fahyp@nyassembly.gov or (518) 455–4178.

Sincerely,

Pat