Weekly E-News: Sunday, February 21

Assemblymember Patricia Fahy
7 min readFeb 21, 2021

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On February 12th, I released a statement (below) in support of revisiting the Governor’s emergency powers granted to him early-on in the pandemic to restore the balance of power in our state government. It’s time.

Among some of the best news this past (in a week where there wasn’t a lot of good news) — the Governor announced new guidance to open up visitation in nursing homes and congregate care settings. This will help reunite families and provide more access to see and visit their loved ones, in particular, elderly residents.

As we continue to celebrate Black History Month, scroll down to see prominent black Americans from our local area, and complete my constituent survey to let me know your thoughts and concerns. As always, read on for more community updates!

NOTE (Updated): Please take 3–5 minutes of your time to complete our 2021 Constituent and Budget Priority Survey — your feedback helps inform my legislative work in the State Assembly: bit.ly/109nysurvey

LEGISLATIVE NEWS AND PRESS

  • Statement on Handling of Nursing Home Data by the Cuomo Administration. ❗️ New Yorkers here in the Capital Region and all over the state expect their state government to operate on basic, bedrock principles — such as transparency and openness. Although we are still in the throes of pandemic, the emergency is behind us and it is time to restore the balance of power in state government — especially between the State Legislature and the Executive. Please note over 470 executive orders have been issued over the last year and while the most of those were issued under the Governor’s current executive authority, a process is underway to review and reevaluate these to ensure a continuation of services (such as vaccine distribution and COVID-19 testing!) while legislating a number of others (such as UI access and food and drink delivery) where appropriate.
  • Below is my full statement on this week’s revelations surrounding nursing home data in New York State:

CELEBRATING BLACK HISTORY MONTH IN THE 109TH DISTRICT

  • 📜 This Black History Month we continue to highlight prominent black Americans who called the Capital Region home. Meet Dr. Thomas Elkins this week; an abolitionist, inventor, and one of the first black doctors to practice in Albany. ⤵

COMMUNITY EVENTS, RESOURCES

  • Nominate an Outstanding Woman in the 109th District: Now Accepting Applications. 👇 Know of any outstanding women in the 109th District working to make our community a better place to live and work? Nominate them for the 2021 Women of Distinction Awards by 2/26!
  • 📧 Reach out to my office at fahyp@nyassembly.gov or (518) 455–4178 to request a nomination form.
  • Free Homeowner/Foreclosure Prevention Webinar and Resources. Attend HomeSave’s Foreclosure Information Seminar on Wednesday, February 24 at 5:30 pm. Mortgage delinquency rates are at record highs — three times higher than in January 2009, the height of the great recession. Many homeowners loans are in forbearance. This does not mean that mortgage payments are forgiven, merely delayed. If you’re behind on your mortgage or in a forbearance, act now. At this orientation you’ll learn about the foreclosure process, your options, and what assistance is available to you.

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,

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Assemblymember Patricia Fahy

Member of NYS Assembly - 109th AD, representing Albany, Bethlehem, Guilderland, and New Scotland. Follows, replies ≠ endorsement.