MONDAY, JANUARY 27, 2020 2:42 P.M.

ACTING SPEAKER AUBRY: THE HOUSE WILL COME

TO ORDER.

IN THE ABSENCE OF CLERGY, LET US PAUSE FOR A MOMENT OF

SILENCE.

(WHEREUPON, A MOMENT OF SILENCE WAS OBSERVED.)

VISITORS ARE INVITED TO JOIN THE MEMBERS IN THE PLEDGE

OF ALLEGIANCE.

(WHEREUPON, ACTING SPEAKER AUBRY LED VISITORS AND

MEMBERS IN THE PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE.)

A QUORUM BEING PRESENT, THE CLERK WILL READ THE

JOURNAL OF FRIDAY, JANUARY 24TH.

MRS. PEOPLES-STOKES.

MRS. PEOPLES-STOKES: MR. SPEAKER, I MOVE TO

NYS ASSEMBLY JANUARY 27, 2020

DISPENSE WITH THE FURTHER READING OF THE JOURNAL OF FRIDAY, JANUARY

24TH AND ASK THAT THE SAME STAND APPROVED.

ACTING SPEAKER AUBRY: WITHOUT OBJECTION, SO

ORDERED.

MRS. PEOPLES-STOKES.

MRS. PEOPLES-STOKES: THANK YOU, MR.

SPEAKER. I JUST WANT TO BRING THE MEMBERS UP-TO-DATE ON WHERE WE ARE

IN TERMS OF OUR SCHEDULE. BUT PRIOR TO THAT, I WOULD LIKE TO OFFER ON THE

FIRST DAY OF THE FOURTH WEEK OF THE 243RD LEGISLATIVE SESSION A QUOTE.

THAT ONE, MR. SPEAKER, IS COMING FROM MAYA ANGELOU. MAYA WAS AN

AMERICAN POET, A SINGER AND A CIVIL RIGHTS ACTIVIST. SHE PUBLISHED

SEVEN AUTOBIOGRAPHIES, THREE BOOKS OF ESSAYS, SEVERAL BOOKS OF POETRY

AND IS CREDITED WITH A LIST OF PLAYS, MOVIES AND TELEVISION SHOWS OVER A

50-YEAR SPAN. MS. ANGELOU SAYS, "YOU MAY ENCOUNTER MANY DEFEATS,

BUT YOU MUST NOT BE DEFEATED; IN FACT, IT MAY BE NECESSARY TO ENCOUNTER

DEFEATS SO THAT YOU CAN KNOW WHO YOU ARE, KNOW WHAT YOU CAN RISE

FROM AND KNOW WHAT YOU CAN STILL BECOME."

WITH THAT, MR. SPEAKER, MEMBERS DO HAVE ON THEIR

DESK IN FRONT OF THEM A MAIN CALENDAR AND AFTER THERE ARE ANY

INTRODUCTIONS AND/OR HOUSEKEEPING, WE WILL TAKE UP RESOLUTIONS ON

PAGE 3, INCLUDING ONE FROM ASSEMBLYMEMBER NILY ROZIC, WHICH SHE

AND OTHER MEMBERS WISH TO BE HEARD. WE WILL THEN CONSENT 17 NEW

BILLS ON THE CALENDAR, AND THEN WE WILL CONTINUE OUR CONSENT OFF THE

MAIN CALENDAR FROM LAST WEEK, BEGINNING WITH CALENDAR NO. 240, IT'S

ON PAGE 47. FOR DISCLOSURE, THERE WILL BE A NEED FOR MAJORITY

NYS ASSEMBLY JANUARY 27, 2020

CONFERENCE IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWING SESSION AND AS ALWAYS, MR.

SPEAKER, WE WILL CONSULT WITH OUR COLLEAGUES ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE

AISLE TO DETERMINE WHAT THEIR NEEDS MAY BE.

THAT IS A GENERAL OUTLINE. IF THERE ARE ANY

INTRODUCTIONS OR HOUSEKEEPING, NOW WOULD BE A GREAT TIME.

ACTING SPEAKER AUBRY: WE HAVE A NUMBER OF

HOUSEKEEPING ITEMS WHICH WE WILL TAKE UP NOW.

ON A MOTION BY MR. DINOWITZ, PAGE 25, CALENDAR NO.

107, BILL NO. A02475, AMENDMENTS ARE RECEIVED AND ADOPTED.

ON A MOTION BY MR. DINOWITZ, PAGE 27, CALENDAR NO.

115, BILL NO. A02600, AMENDMENTS ARE RECEIVED AND ADOPTED.

ON A MOTION BY MR. DINOWITZ, PAGE 27, CALENDAR NO.

116, BILL NO. A02611-D, AMENDMENTS ARE RECEIVED AND ADOPTED.

ON A MOTION BY MR. DINOWITZ, PAGE 30, CALENDAR NO.

130, BILL NO. A03101, AMENDMENTS ARE RECEIVED AND ADOPTED.

ON A MOTION BY MR. DINOWITZ, PAGE 31, CALENDAR NO.

145, BILL NO. A03534, AMENDMENTS ARE RECEIVED AND ADOPTED.

ON A MOTION BY MS. BICHOTTE, PAGE 37, CALENDAR NO.

176, BILL NO. A04615, AMENDMENTS ARE RECEIVED AND ADOPTED.

ON A MOTION BY MS. LUPARDO, PAGE 41, CALENDAR NO.

204, BILL NO. A05390-A, AMENDMENTS ARE RECEIVED AND ADOPTED.

ON A MOTION BY MR. DINOWITZ, PAGE 44, CALENDAR NO.

20 -- 220, BILL NO. A05776-B, AMENDMENTS ARE RECEIVED AND ADOPTED.

ON A MOTION BY MR. DINOWITZ, PAGE 44, CALENDAR NO.

22 -- 221, EXCUSE ME, BILL NO. A05777, AMENDMENTS ARE RECEIVED AND

NYS ASSEMBLY JANUARY 27, 2020

ADOPTED.

AND FINALLY, ON A MOTION BY MS. WOERNER, PAGE 59,

CALENDAR NO. 308, BILL NO. A08078-A, AMENDMENTS ARE RECEIVED AND

ADOPTED.

WE WILL NOW GO TO INTRODUCTIONS.

MR. BRIAN MILLER FOR THE PURPOSES OF A [SIC]

INTRODUCTION. SIR.

MR. B. MILLER: THANK YOU, MR. SPEAKER. TODAY

I'M HONORED TO INTRODUCE THE NEW YORK STATE CLASS D GIRL'S

CROSS-COUNTRY CHAMPIONS, THE DELAWARE ACADEMY BULLDOGS. WITH US

TODAY: RACHEL BLOCKER, SIENNA DORR, GRETEL HILSON-SCHNEIDER, ELLIE

LEES, LUCIA MARSIGLIO, CAMILLE MUELLER, CELLA SCHNABEL, ANNA

TESSIER, LONNIE WEISS, HEAD COACH SKIP BAXTER, ASSISTANT COACH

MELISSA EMILIO AND ASSISTANT COACH LENNY MINTZ.

ON THEIR WAY TO WINNING THE STATE CHAMPIONSHIP,

THESE LADIES WON THEIR THIRD STRAIGHT SECTION 4 CLASS D TITLE, RETURNING

FOR THE THIRD STRAIGHT YEAR TO THE STATE CHAMPIONSHIP MEET. THE TEAM

PULLED TOGETHER AND RAN A COMPLETE TEAM RACE TO SECURE THE TITLE. THIS

IS THE PROGRAM'S FOURTH STATE TITLE, BUT THEIR FIRST SINCE 1981. MR.

SPEAKER, THESE YOUNG WOMEN COMPETE IN A SPORT THAT IS NOT ONLY

PHYSICALLY CHALLENGING, BUT IS ALSO MENTALLY CHALLENGING. TO COME OUT

VICTORIOUS AT A CROSS-COUNTRY STATE CHAMPIONSHIP MEET SPEAKS

VOLUMES ABOUT WHAT THESE LADIES ARE CAPABLE IS OF THE -- IS A NEED TO

EMPLOY SO MANY OF THEIR SKILLS AND TALENTS. I ASK YOU TO PLEASE

WELCOME THEM TO THE ASSEMBLY CHAMBER, RECOGNIZE THEIR CONSISTENCY

NYS ASSEMBLY JANUARY 27, 2020

OVER THE LAST SEVERAL YEARS AND CONGRATULATE THEM ON THEIR NEW YORK

STATE CHAMPIONSHIP. CONGRATULATIONS TO THE DELAWARE ACADEMY

BULLDOGS ATHLETES AND THEIR COACHES.

ACTING SPEAKER AUBRY: CERTAINLY. ON BEHALF

OF MR. BRIAN MILLER, THE SPEAKER AND ALL THE MEMBERS, WE WELCOME

YOU HERE TO THE NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY. WE COMMEND YOU FOR

YOUR ATHLETIC ACHIEVEMENTS, YOUR COACHES FOR STANDING WITH YOU, YOUR

PARENTS FOR BEING AROUND YOU. WE KNOW THAT THE ATHLETICS MEAN SO

MUCH TO SO MANY IN THIS COUNTRY. WE HOPE THAT YOU WILL TAKE THE

STRENGTH THAT IT HAS PROVIDED YOU PHYSICALLY AND USE IT FOR THE REST OF

YOUR LIVES. THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH. CONTINUE TO BE SUCCESSFUL AND

WE HOPE TO SEE YOU BACK AGAIN REAL SOON. THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH.

(APPLAUSE)

MR. ASHBY FOR AN INTRODUCTION.

MR. ASHBY: THANK YOU, MR. SPEAKER. I WOULD LIKE

TO INTRODUCE MADELINE AND ISABELLE FLINT, DAUGHTERS OF TED FLINT, WHO

WORK HERE AT THE ASSEMBLY. BOTH GIRLS ATTEND CAMBRIDGE CENTRAL

SCHOOL. THEY'RE HONOR STUDENTS, MULTI-SPORT ATHLETES AND

ACCOMPLISHED MUSICIANS, PLAYING THE PIANO AND DRUMS. BOTH GIRLS

WERE HOME SCHOOLED AT AN EARLY AGE AND ARE NOW CONTRIBUTING IN SO

MANY WONDERFUL WAYS TO CAMBRIDGE CENTRAL SCHOOLS. MR. SPEAKER,

COULD YOU PLEASE WELCOME THESE TALENTED YOUNG LADIES AND THEIR FATHER,

AND AFFORD THEM ALL THE CORDIALITIES OF THE HOUSE.

ACTING SPEAKER AUBRY: CERTAINLY. ON BEHALF

OF MR. ASHBY, THE SPEAKER AND ALL THE MEMBERS, WE WELCOME THESE

NYS ASSEMBLY JANUARY 27, 2020

YOUNG LADIES AND THEIR FATHER HERE TO THE NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY.

WE CERTAINLY COMMEND YOU ON YOUR EFFORTS BOTH ACADEMICALLY AND

ATHLETICALLY. HOPEFULLY THAT WILL SERVE YOU WELL IN YOUR FUTURE AND

MAYBE WE NEVER QUITE REALIZE HOW IMPORTANT THE BLENDING OF TWO AND

FAMILY ARE AS WE MIGHT TODAY. THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH.

(APPLAUSE)

MR. GIGLIO.

MR. GIGLIO: THANK YOU, MR. SPEAKER, FOR ALLOWING

ME TO INTERRUPT THE PROCEEDINGS. AS YOU KNOW, I ALWAYS GET EXCITED

WHEN PEOPLE COME FROM HOME, AND BECAUSE NYSAC'S IN TOWN, A LOT

OF MEMBERS OF THE CATTARAUGUS COUNTY LEGISLATURE ARE HERE TODAY.

AND I'D LIKE TO INTRODUCE THEM BY NAME IF YOU DON'T MIND, SIR. I WILL

START OUT WITH CHAIRMAN HOWARD VANRENSSELAER, HE'S OUR NEW

CHAIRMAN. AND THEN RICHARD HELMICH AND HIS WIFE, CATHY. AND THEN

WE HAVE SIX NEW LEGISLATORS: DONALD BENSON, MICHAEL BRISKY, KIP

MORROW, LAURIE HUNT, GINGER SCHRODER AND RICHARD SMITH. IF YOU

WOULD EXTEND TO THEM ALL THE CORDIAL -- CORDIALITIES OF THE HOUSE AND

YOUR USUAL WARM WELCOME, I WOULD APPRECIATE IT. THANK YOU.

ACTING SPEAKER AUBRY: CERTAINLY. ON BEHALF

OF MR. GIGLIO, THE SPEAKER AND ALL THE MEMBERS, WE WELCOME YOU

HERE, MY COLLEAGUES, TO THE NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY. WE EXTEND TO

YOU THE PRIVILEGES OF THE FLOOR. WE THANK YOU FOR THE SERVICE THAT YOU

ARE PROVIDING AND THOSE NEW MEMBERS WHO HAVE MADE THAT

COMMITMENT TO SERVE. IT IS REWARDING SOMETIMES, NOT SO OBVIOUS THE

REWARDS. WE HOPE THAT YOU WILL FEEL THAT YOU HAVE FULFILLED A PURPOSE

NYS ASSEMBLY JANUARY 27, 2020

THAT IS GOOD FOR YOUR COMMUNITY. CONTINUE TO DO THAT AND BLESS YOU.

TAKE CARE. THANK YOU.

(APPLAUSE)

MS. FAHY FOR THE PURPOSES OF AN INTRODUCTION.

MS. FAHY: THANK YOU, MR. SPEAKER, FOR ALLOWING

ME TO INTERRUPT THESE PROCEEDINGS. TODAY I'M HERE TO INTRODUCE

COMMISSIONER THOMAS SAADI, THE COMMISSIONER OF THE CONNECTICUT

DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS AND A MAJOR IN THE U.S. ARMY

RESERVE, JUDGE ADVOCATE CORPS. HE IS TEMPORARILY RESIDING IN MY

DISTRICT IN GUILDERLAND, NEW YORK, AS HE HAS VOLUNTEERED FOR ACTIVE

DUTY MOBILIZATION TO THE WATERVLIET ARSENAL AS THE SENIOR

ADMINISTRATIVE LAW ATTORNEY.

PRIOR TO HIS SERVICE IN THE CONNECTICUT DEPARTMENT OF

AFFAIRS SINCE MAY OF 2015, HE ALSO SERVED FOR 15 YEARS AS AN ASSISTANT

ATTORNEY GENERAL AND SPECIAL PROSECUTOR IN THE STATE OF CONNECTICUT,

ALSO SERVED AS A CITY COUNCIL MEMBER IN DANBURY, CONNECTICUT. HE

HAS ALSO SERVED AS THE CHIEF LEGAL OFFICER FOR THE 4 -- 411TH CIVIL

AFFAIRS BATTALION IN CONNECTICUT, AS WELL AS THE 4TH LEGAL OPERATIONS

DETACHMENT IN NEW YORK. HE'S A GRADUATE OF WESTERN CONNECTICUT

STATE UNIVERSITY, AS WELL AS HIS JURIS DOCTORATE FROM QUINNIPIAC. HE

PERMANENTLY RESIDES IN DANBURY, CONNECTICUT, BUT AGAIN, IS

TEMPORARILY IN MY DISTRICT AND, MR. SPEAKER, I WOULD VERY MUCH

APPRECIATE IF YOU WELCOME HIM AND GRANT HIM THE CORDIALITIES OF THE

HOUSE. THANK YOU.

ACTING SPEAKER AUBRY: CERTAINLY. ON BEHALF

NYS ASSEMBLY JANUARY 27, 2020

OF MS. FAHY, THE SPEAKER AND ALL THE MEMBERS, WE WELCOME YOU HERE

TO THE NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY. WE EXTEND TO YOU THE PRIVILEGES OF

THE FLOOR AND WE ARE AMAZED AT A LIFE OF SERVICE THAT YOU HAVE PROVIDED

AND CONTINUE TO PROVIDE. NOT SO SURE HOW A YOUNG MAN LIKE YOU HAS

ACCOMPLISHED ALL OF THAT, BUT CLEARLY IT'S A TRIBUTE TO YOUR ENERGY AND

YOUR EFFORT ON BEHALF OF THIS COUNTRY. THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE, SIR.

(APPLAUSE)

MS. FERNANDEZ.

MS. FERNANDEZ: THANK YOU, MR. SPEAKER, FOR

ALLOWING ME TO INTERRUPT THE PROCEEDINGS. I, ALONG WITH MY COLLEAGUES

ASSEMBLYMEMBER CRUZ, DE LA ROSA, PICHARDO AND DAVILA ARE

HONORED TO HAVE A GROUP OF 40 YOUNG LATINAS JOINING US TODAY ALL THE

WAY FROM NEW YORK CITY. THEY ARE MEMBERS OF COMUNILIFE, INC. AND

THEIR PRECIOUS PROGRAM, LIFE IS PRECIOUS. COMUNILIFE, INC.'S LIFE IS

PRECIOUS PROGRAM PROVIDES CULTURAL AND LINGUISTICALLY-APPROPRIATE

SERVICES FOR LATINA TEENS WHO ARE LIVING WITH DEPRESSION AND/OR HAVE

SERIOUSLY CONSIDERED OR ATTEMPTED SUICIDE, AND THEIR FAMILIES. WITH

PROGRAM SITES IN THE BRONX, BROOKLYN, QUEENS, MANHATTAN AND

WASHINGTON HEIGHTS, LIP PROVIDES EDUCATIONAL SUPPORT, CREATIVE ART

THERAPIES, WELLNESS ACTIVITIES AND CONCRETE FAMILY SERVICES TO MORE

THAN 190 TEENS AND THEIR FAMILIES ANNUALLY. MOST COME FROM

LOW-INCOME FAMILIES AND LIVE IN NEW YORK CITY'S POOREST

COMMUNITIES. LIP'S GOAL IS TO ELIMINATE SUICIDE BY LATINA ADOLESCENTS

BY GIVING THEM TOOLS THAT BUILD THEIR RESISTANCE AND PROVIDE SKILLS TO

SUCCEED.

NYS ASSEMBLY JANUARY 27, 2020

TO MEET THE CULTURAL AND LINGUISTIC NEEDS OF THE TEENS

AND THEIR FAMILIES, ALL PROGRAMS ARE AVAILABLE IN ENGLISH AND SPANISH.

LIFE IS PRECIOUS WAS ESTABLISHED IN 2008 BY DR. ROSA GIL AFTER GETTING

FAR TOO MANY REFERRALS FROM NEARBY EMERGENCY ROOMS RELATED TO

ATTEMPTED SUICIDES. DR. GIL RECOGNIZED THE NEED FOR A SAFE HAVEN FOR

THESE YOUNG WOMEN WHERE THEY COULD BE GIVEN THE SUPPORT AND SKILLS

NEEDED TO RECLAIM THEIR SENSE OF WORTH AND LIMITLESS POTENTIAL, ALONG

WITH A BONDING SISTERHOOD THAT FOSTERS HOPE AND A NEW-FOUND PRIDE IN

THEIR BICULTURAL BACKGROUNDS. LATINA TEENS HAVE SOME OF THE HIGHEST

SUICIDE RATES IN THE UNITED STATES. RIGHT HERE IN NEW YORK STATE,

SUICIDE IS THE SECOND LEADING CAUSE OF DEATH FOR YOUNG LATINAS. LIFE IS

PRECIOUS PROVIDES THESE FREE SERVICES AND SUPPORT TO YOUNG LATINAS

WHO OTHERWISE WOULD HAVE NOWHERE ELSE TO TURN.

MR. SPEAKERS [SIC] AND MY COLLEAGUES, PLEASE JOIN ME

IN WELCOMING THESE BEAUTIFUL RESILIENT YOUNG WOMEN.

ACTING SPEAKER AUBRY: CERTAINLY. ON BEHALF

OF MS. FERNANDEZ, MS. CRUZ, MS. DE LA ROSA, MS. DAVILA, MR.

PICHARDO, THE SPEAKER AND ALL THE MEMBERS, WE WELCOME YOU HERE TO

THE NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY, EXTEND TO YOU THE PRIVILEGES OF THE

FLOOR. OUR CONGRATULATIONS ON THE WORK THAT YOU'RE DOING TO ENSURE THAT

OTHERS ARE TAKEN CARE OF IN THEIR TIMES OF NEED. WE HOPE THAT YOU

CONTINUE THAT, THAT YOU WILL GROW STRONG AND POSITIVE IN A WORLD THAT

SOMETIMES IS NOT SO WELCOMING TO US, BUT KNOW THAT YOU ARE ALWAYS

WELCOME HERE. THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH.

(APPLAUSE)

NYS ASSEMBLY JANUARY 27, 2020

(PAUSE)

MRS. PEOPLES-STOKES, ONE MORE PIECE OF

HOUSEKEEPING, IF I CAN INDULGE YOU.

MRS. PEOPLES-STOKES: YOU HAVE HOUSEKEEPING,

MR. SPEAKER?

ACTING SPEAKER AUBRY: ONE MORE PIECE.

MRS. PEOPLES-STOKES: OKAY.

ACTING SPEAKER AUBRY: THANK YOU.

WITHOUT OBJECTION, ON A MOTION BY MS. ROZIC TO

RECONSIDER THE SUBSTITUTION OF SENATE BILL NO. S04378 FOR ASSEMBLY

BILL NO. A05661, SAID SENATE BILL IS RECOMMITTED TO THE COMMITTEE ON

WAYS AND MEANS, AND SAID ASSEMBLY BILL IS RESTORED TO ITS PLACE ON THE

ORDER OF THIRD READING.

(PAUSE)

AS WE WAIT, WE WILL TAKE CARE OF ANOTHER PIECE OF

HOUSEKEEPING, MADAM MAJORITY LEADER, IF THAT'S ALL RIGHT.

ON A MOTION BY MR. GOTTFRIED, PAGE 49, CALENDAR NO.

249, BILL NO. A06983-A, AMENDMENTS ARE RECEIVED AND ADOPTED.

(PAUSE)

MRS. PEOPLES-STOKES: MR. SPEAKER, I

UNDERSTAND YOU HAVE ADDITIONAL HOUSEKEEPING, AS WELL AS AN

INTRODUCTION?

ACTING SPEAKER AUBRY: YES, AND WE WILL TAKE

THE INTRODUCTION FIRST.

MS. ROZIC FOR THE PURPOSES OF A [SIC] INTRODUCTION.

NYS ASSEMBLY JANUARY 27, 2020

MS. ROZIC: THANK YOU, MR. SPEAKER. FOR A QUICK

INTRODUCTION, WE HAVE, JOINED WITH US IN THE BACK OF THE CHAMBER, THE

QUEENS COLLEGE INTERIM PRESIDENT, BILL TRAMONTANO. BILL HAS BEEN

WITH THE UNIVERSITY FOR A LITTLE OVER A YEAR NOW AND HE COMES TO US

FROM A LOT OF DIFFERENT CUNY SCHOOLS, INCLUDING HUNTER AND LEHMAN

AND BROOKLYN COLLEGE. SO, ON BEHALF OF MYSELF AND THE QUEENS

DELEGATION, WE'D LOVE TO WELCOME HIM HERE AND TO GIVE HIM THE

CORDIALITIES OF THE HOUSE. THANK YOU.

ACTING SPEAKER AUBRY: CERTAINLY. ON BEHALF

OF MS. ROZIC, THE SPEAKER, THE QUEENS DELEGATION, MYSELF, WE

WELCOME YOU HERE TO THE NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY, EXTEND TO YOU THE

PRIVILEGES OF THE FLOOR. CERTAINLY PLEASED TO HAVE YOU HERE IN ALBANY.

HOPE THAT YOUR TIME IN ALBANY WILL BE BENEFICIAL, AND KNOW THAT WE IN

QUEENS APPRECIATE THE SERVICE YOU'RE PROVIDING US. THANK YOU SO VERY

MUCH, AND YOU'RE ALWAYS WELCOME.

(APPLAUSE)

AND NOW BACK TO RESOLUTIONS -- I MEAN HOUSEKEEPING.

ON A MOTION BY MS. PAULIN, PAGE 16, CALENDAR NO.

49, BILL NO. A01051, AMENDMENTS ARE RECEIVED AND ADOPTED.

MRS. PEOPLES-STOKES.

MRS. PEOPLES-STOKES: MR. SPEAKER, IF I CAN ASK

OUR COLLEAGUES AND GUESTS THAT ARE IN THE CHAMBERS TO PLEASE HAVE A

SEAT. WE ARE GOING TO START WITH OUR RESOLUTIONS ON PAGE 3. WE WILL

NEED TO HAVE QUIET AND ATTENTION.

ACTING SPEAKER AUBRY: MEMBERS, WOULD YOU

NYS ASSEMBLY JANUARY 27, 2020

PLEASE TAKE YOUR SEATS. CEASE THE CONVERSATIONS. CLEAR THE AISLES.

MRS. PEOPLES-STOKES: THANK YOU, MR.

SPEAKER, MR. JACKSON, FOR GATHERING THE ATTENTION OF MEMBERS AND

FRIENDS IN THE CHAMBERS FOR THIS VERY IMPORTANT RESOLUTION BY NILY

ROZIC.

MR. SPEAKER, THIS IS A DAY THAT WE'RE GOING TO HONOR

THE HOLOCAUST. WE'RE GOING TO REMEMBER WHAT OUR BROTHERS AND SISTERS

WENT THROUGH, AND I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT THAT PEOPLE HAVE A SEAT. I STILL

DO SEE A FEW PEOPLE STANDING AND I WOULD APPRECIATE IF THEY WOULD

HAVE A SEAT SO THAT WE CAN GIVE THE DUE DILIGENCE THAT'S DUE AT THIS

TIME.

ACTING SPEAKER AUBRY: THE CLERK WILL READ.

THE CLERK: ASSEMBLY RESOLUTION NO. 700, MS.

ROZIC. LEGISLATIVE RESOLUTION MEMORIALIZING GOVERNOR ANDREW M.

CUOMO TO PROCLAIM JANUARY 27, 2020, AS HOLOCAUST REMEMBRANCE

DAY IN THE STATE OF NEW YORK.

ACTING SPEAKER AUBRY: ON THE RESOLUTION,

MS. ROZIC.

MS. ROZIC: THANK YOU, MR. SPEAKER, AND MADAM

MAJORITY LEADER. TODAY, JANUARY 27TH, MARKS THE 75TH ANNIVERSARY OF

THE DAY THAT AUSCHWITZ-BIRKENAU, THE LARGEST NAZI DEATH CAMP WHERE

1.1 MILLION PEOPLE WERE KILLED, WAS LIBERATED IN 1945. IN 2005, THIS

DATE WAS ESTABLISHED AS INTERNATIONAL HOLOCAUST REMEMBRANCE DAY, A

DAY TO RECOGNIZE AND REMEMBER THE SIX MILLION JEWS AND MILLIONS OF

OTHER MINORITY GROUPS, INCLUDING THE DISABLED AND MEMBERS OF THE

NYS ASSEMBLY JANUARY 27, 2020

LGBTQ COMMUNITY, WHO WERE MURDERED IN THE HOLOCAUST. IT IS A DAY

TO REMIND OURSELVES THAT THOSE WHO DO NOT LEARN HISTORY ARE DOOMED TO

REPEAT IT; A DAY TO SHOW OUR MORAL RESPONSIBILITY TO BEAR WITNESS AND

LEARN FROM THE PAST.

ABOUT A WEEK AGO, I, ALONG WITH SOME OF OUR

COLLEAGUES HERE, JOINED A NEW YORK DELEGATION TO POLAND. THERE, WE

WALKED THROUGH GHETTO STREETS, OLD RAIL LINES AND CONCENTRATION CAMPS

TO LEARN ABOUT THE HORRORS OF THE SHOAH, THE HOLOCAUST. WE SEE THAT AS

THE HOLOCAUST FADES FROM MEMORY, ANTI-SEMITISM AND HATE CRIMES RISE.

WITH ANTI-SEMITISM RISING AT ALARMING RATES, WE NEED TO LOOK TO THE

PAST SO WE DO NOT REPEAT IT. JUST A FEW YEARS AGO, CHANTS OF "JEWS WILL

NOT REPLACE US" REVERBERATED THROUGH CHARLOTTESVILLE. FROM PITTSBURGH

TO POWAY, WE HOLD OUR BREATH EACH TIME WE LOOK DOWN AT OUR PHONES

AND HEAR OF ANOTHER SYNAGOGUE SHOOTING OR ANTI-SEMITIC ASSAULTS IN OUR

NEIGHBORHOODS. JUST LAST MONTH, JEWS WERE KILLED LIGHTING HANUKKAH

CANDLES RIGHT HERE IN NEW YORK.

THERE'S BEEN A METEORIC RISE IN ANTI-SEMITIC INCIDENTS

ACROSS THE UNITED STATES IN RECENT YEARS. THE -- THE ANTI-DEFAMATION

LEAGUE REPORTED A 58 PERCENT INCREASE IN SUCH INCIDENTS BETWEEN 2016

AND 2017, MANY OF THEM IN OUR SCHOOLS AND ON OUR COLLEGE CAMPUSES.

AND IN NOVEMBER, 2019, THE FBI RELEASED DATA SHOWING THAT JEWS AND

JEWISH INSTITUTIONS WERE THE OVERWHELMING MAJORITY OF TARGETS OF

RELIGION-BASED HATE CRIMES. OUR NEIGHBORS FALL VICTIM EVERY DAY TO

IGNORANCE, MISINFORMATION AND CONSPIRACY THEORIES.

WE MUST CONNECT THE DOTS. AS HOLOCAUST SURVIVORS

NYS ASSEMBLY JANUARY 27, 2020

PASS ON, WE MUST SHARE THEIR BURDEN AND THEIR STORIES. I INVITE EVERY

SINGLE ONE OF MY COLLEAGUES TO JOIN ME IN BEARING WITNESS, IN TEACHING

FUTURE GENERATIONS ABOUT THIS STAIN IN HISTORY AND IN STANDING

SIDE-BY-SIDE SO THAT WE CAN ALL TRULY LIVE UP TO OUR PLEDGE OF NEVER

AGAIN. THANK YOU.

SPEAKER HEASTIE: MR. EICHENSTEIN ON THE

RESOLUTION.

MR. EICHENSTEIN: THANK YOU, MR. SPEAKER, FOR

ALLOWING ME TO VOICE MY SUPPORT ON THIS MOST SOLEMN RESOLUTION, AND I

WOULD LIKE TO TAKE A MOMENT TO THANK THE SPONSOR FOR BRINGING THIS

RESOLUTION TO THE FLOOR.

DURING THE HOLOCAUST, WHICH ENDED 75 SHORT YEARS

AGO, SIX MILLION LIVES WERE BRUTALLY TAKEN AT THE HANDS OF THE NAZIS.

SIX MILLION IS NOT JUST A NUMBER. THEY WERE SIX MILLION BROTHERS,

SISTERS, MOTHERS, FATHERS, HUSBANDS, WIVES, SONS AND DAUGHTERS LOST TO

THE MOST TERRIBLE EPIDEMIC OF HATE THAT THIS WORLD HAS EVER SEEN.

SEVENTY-FIVE YEARS AGO TO DATE, AS AUSCHWITZ WAS LIBERATED, NO ONE

COULD HAVE THOUGHT THAT WE WOULD HAVE THE FREEDOM WE DO HERE IN THE

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.

AS A GRANDCHILD OF FOUR HOLOCAUST SURVIVORS AND AS

THE ASSEMBLYMEMBER REPRESENTING THE LARGEST CONCENTRATION OF

HOLOCAUST SURVIVORS IN THIS COUNTRY, I LEARNED EARLY ON WHAT IT MEANS

TO BE HATED. I ALSO LEARNED EARLY ON NOT TO TAKE OUR FREEDOM FOR

GRANTED. WHO WOULD HAVE THOUGHT THAT IN THIS GREAT COUNTRY, IN 2020,

HATE WOULD REAR ITS UGLY HEAD ON OUR STREETS, AT OUR SHOPS, AT OUR

NYS ASSEMBLY JANUARY 27, 2020

SCHOOLS, AND EVEN AT OUR -- AT OUR HOUSES OF WORSHIPS.

WE ARE HERE TODAY VOTING ON A RESOLUTION

COMMEMORATING HOLOCAUST REMEMBRANCE DAY IN THE STATE OF NEW

YORK. LET THE LESSON OF THE HOLOCAUST TEACH US. WE MUST BE VIGILANT

AGAINST HATE, ALL HATE, AND WE MUST COME TOGETHER TO FIGHT THIS CANCER

OF HATE THAT HAS BEEN SPREADING IN OUR COUNTRY, AND APPRECIATE OUR

WONDERFUL DIVERSE COMMUNITIES THROUGHOUT THIS STATE AND LEARN TO

RESPECT EACH OTHERS' WAY OF LIVES, RELIGIONS AND CULTURES. THANK YOU,

MR. SPEAKER, FOR ALLOWING ME TO SPEAK.

SPEAKER HEASTIE: MR. CYMBROWITZ ON THE

RESOLUTION.

MR. CYMBROWITZ: THANK YOU, MR. SPEAKER. I

WANT TO THANK THE SPONSOR FOR THIS YEARLY RESOLUTION. THIS YEAR, IT'S

EVEN MORE IMPORTANT. SEVENTY-FIVE YEARS AGO, MY PARENTS WERE

LIBERATED FROM A SLAVE LABOR CAMP IN CZESTOCHOWA, POLAND. ONE WEEK

AGO, I WAS IN CZESTOCHOWA AS PART OF A TRIP I TOOK WITH SEVERAL OF MY

COLLEAGUES AND JEWISH LEADERS TO COMMEMORATE THE 75TH ANNIVERSARY

OF THE LIBERATION OF AUSCHWITZ. IN CZESTOCHOWA, I SPENT AN EMOTIONAL

DAY VISITING THE JEWISH MUSEUM, WALKING IN THE AREA OF THE GHETTO

WHERE MY PARENTS, GRANDPARENTS, AUNTS AND UNCLES SPENT THE LAST TWO

YEARS OF THE WAR. THIS AREA HOUSED THE RAKOW SLAVE LABOR CAMP AND

THE HASAG-RAKOW AMMUNITION FACTORY, WHERE MY MOTHER SPENT DAY

AFTER DAY FOR TWO LONG YEARS DIPPING HER HANDS IN ACID WITHOUT GLOVES

TO MAKE BULLETS FOR THE NAZI WAR EFFORT, WHILE MY FATHER BUILT ROADS IN

FREEZING TEMPERATURES WITH BARELY A COAT TO WEAR. I LIT A CANDLE AT THE

NYS ASSEMBLY JANUARY 27, 2020

MONUMENT LOCATED AT THE SITE OF THE CZESTOCHOWA TRAIN STATION, WHERE

40,000 JEWS WERE TRANSPORTED TO THE TREBLINKA DEATH CAMP TO FACE

SLAUGHTER BY THE NAZIS. ON THE 75TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE LIBERATION, I

THINK ABOUT THE FACT THAT THE SURVIVING MEMBERS OF MY FAMILY COULD

HAVE BEEN ONE OF THE 40,000 JEWS TRANSPORTED TO THEIR DEATHS IN

TREBLINKA. WITH LUCK AND THE GRACE OF GOD, THEY SURVIVED AND MADE A

LIFE FOR THEMSELVES, NOT JUST IN SPITE OF, BUT IN DEFIANCE OF THE

HEARTBREAKING LOSSES THEY SUFFERED.

IN MY FAMILY, AS IN ANY FAMILY, STORIES BECOME OUR

STORIES. WE TAKE ON THE ROLE OF WITNESS AFTER THEY'RE GONE, SERVING AS

THE KEEPER OF OUR FAMILY'S LEGACY AND ENSURING THAT OUR FAMILY STORIES

ARE NEVER FORGETTEN -- FORGOTTEN. WHEN YOU'RE A CHILD OF HOLOCAUST

SURVIVORS, THE ROLE IS MAGNIFIED. WE BEAR WITNESS NOT JUST FOR OUR

PARENTS, BUT FOR THE GENERATIONS THAT WERE LOST. WE TAKE ON THE

RESPONSIBILITY OF ENSURING THAT PEOPLE NOW AND IN THE FUTURE CONTINUE

TO LISTEN TO THE HORRIFIC STORIES THAT ARE A STAIN ON OUR COLLECTIVE WORLD

HISTORY.

MY PARENTS' CHILDHOOD IN DEBLIN, POLAND CAME TO AN

END WHEN THE NAZIS INVADED THE TOWN ON SEPTEMBER 1, 1939. THEY

WERE 14 AND 16 YEARS OLD WHEN THE TOWN WAS QUICKLY SEALED OFF AND

THE NAZIS TOOK CONTROL AND UPROOTED FAMILIES. FOUR YEARS LATER,

EVERYONE IN DEBLIN WAS ROUNDED UP AND PUT IN CATTLE CARS AND SENT TO

EITHER CONCENTRATION OR SLAVE LABOR CAMPS. MY GREAT-GRANDFATHER'S SON,

MEYER, MY MOTHER'S FATHER, MY GRANDFATHER, WAS TAKEN TO BUCHENWALD

DEATH CAMP AND KILLED THE NIGHT BEFORE THEY WERE LIBERATED FROM THE

NYS ASSEMBLY JANUARY 27, 2020

SLAVE LABOR CAMP ON JANUARY 15TH, 1945 BY THE RUSSIAN ARMY.

IT WAS THESE STORIES THAT SHAPED MY BEING. I PROMISED

MY PARENTS THAT I WOULD KEEP TALKING ABOUT THE HOLOCAUST AND THE

IMPORTANCE OF EDUCATING OUR CHILDREN ABOUT THE HOLOCAUST. AS AN

ASSEMBLYMAN, I HAVE TRIED TO FULFILL THAT PROMISE BY SPONSORING A

HOLOCAUST CREATIVE ART CONTEST FOR STUDENTS IN MY DISTRICT FOR THE PAST

20 YEARS. THE DRAMATIC RISE IN ANTI-SEMITIC CRIMES WE'RE SEEING

LOCALLY AND ACROSS THE WORLD, MAKE IT IMPERATIVE THAT HOLOCAUST

EDUCATION BE EXPANDED, ENRICHED AND BROUGHT TO LIFE FOR ALL OUR

CHILDREN, NOT JUST AS A HISTORY LESSON, BUT AS PART OF THEIR CIVIC AND

MORAL EDUCATION.

IN HIS NOBEL PRIZE ACCEPTANCE SPEECH, ELIE WIESEL

NOTED THAT, QUOTE, "IF ANYTHING CAN, IT IS MEMORY THAT WILL SAVE

HUMANITY," END OF QUOTE. ON THE 75TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE LIBERATION OF

AUSCHWITZ, THESE ARE IMPORTANT WORDS TO ZAKAR, REMEMBER, THE SIX

MILLION NEED US TO ENSURE THEIR FAMILY STORIES LIVE ON FOR ETERNITY.

NEVER AGAIN.

SPEAKER HEASTIE: MR. ROSENTHAL ON THE

RESOLUTION.

MR. ROSENTHAL: THANK YOU, MR. SPEAKER, AND

THANK YOU TO THE SPONSOR FOR BRINGING THIS RESOLUTION TO THE FLOOR.

TODAY WE STAND HERE AND RECOGNIZE THE 75TH

ANNIVERSARY OF THE LIBERATION OF AUSCHWITZ. WE REMEMBER THE SIX

MILLION JEWS WHO WERE SYSTEMATICALLY MURDERED DURING THE HOLOCAUST.

WE ARE LIVING AT THE EDGES OF THE HISTORY BOOKS. THE LAST GENERATION OF

NYS ASSEMBLY JANUARY 27, 2020

HOLOCAUST SURVIVORS WON'T BE AROUND MUCH LONGER. IT IS MORE

IMPORTANT THAN EVER THAT WE RECALL THE HORRORS OF THE PAST. WE ARE

APPROACHING THE POINT WHERE SIMPLY PROMISING TO NEVER FORGET IS NOT

ENOUGH. WE MUST EDUCATE, WE MUST INFORM AND WE MUST TEACH IT OVER

AND OVER.

THE HOLOCAUST DID NOT HAPPEN OVERNIGHT. IT DID NOT

HAPPEN IN A VACUUM. IT HAPPENED OVER YEARS OF NORMALIZING HATRED

AND ANTI-SEMITISM. IT HAPPENED OVER YEARS OF PEOPLE NOT STANDING UP.

IN THE LAST YEAR IN NEW YORK CITY ALONE, THERE WAS A 20 PERCENT

INCREASE IN ANTI-SEMITIC INCIDENCES. OVER 50 PERCENT OF ALL HATE CRIMES

ARE ANTI-SEMITIC IN NEW YORK. WE HAVE WITNESSED SWASTIKAS DRAWN IN

PUBLIC PLACES, SYNAGOGUES VANDALIZED, AS ESCALATED TO WHERE JEWS

WERE ASSAULTED IN THE STREETS OF BROOKLYN. AND RECENTLY, ANTI-SEMITISM

IN THIS IMMEDIATE AREA HAS A BODY COUNT. THIS IS AN UNIMAGINABLE

REALITY THE JEWISH COMMUNITY IS FACING IN NEW YORK STATE. WE ALL

MUST REMAIN VIGILANT TO MAKE SURE "NEVER AGAIN" MEANS NEVER AGAIN.

IT SEEMS EASY TO DENOUNCE SOMETHING, BUT YOU ARE NOT

COMBATTING ANTI-SEMITISM, RACISM OR HATRED IN ANY FORM IF YOU ONLY

DENOUNCE IT WHEN IT IS POLITICALLY CONVENIENT FOR YOU. IT WOULD BE A

DISSERVICE IF ALL THAT HAD HAPPENED AFTER A TRAGIC EVENT WERE WORDS.

ACTIONS ARE NEEDED THEN AND ACTIONS ARE NEEDED NOW. THE BEST THING

WE CAN DO IS TAKE THE LESSONS OF THE PAST AND THEN TURN THEM INTO A

FORCE FOR GOOD. WE MUST STAND UP TO ALL INJUSTICE. WE MUST COME

TOGETHER WITH HOPE AND UNITY AND ASPIRATIONS FOR A BETTER LIFE FOR ALL.

THAT IS HOW WE SHOULD HONOR THEIR MEMORY.

NYS ASSEMBLY JANUARY 27, 2020

SPEAKER HEASTIE: MR. RYAN ON THE RESOLUTION.

MR. RYAN: THANK YOU, MR. SPEAKER. THANK YOU TO

MY COLLEAGUE FOR SPONSORING THIS RESOLUTION. LAST WEEK, I VISITED

POLAND AND I LISTENED AND I LEARNED. I LEARNED ABOUT 1,000-YEAR-OLD

RICH JEWISH CULTURE THAT EXISTED IN POLAND FOR NEARLY A MILLENNIUM, AND

I LEARNED THAT THAT CULTURE THAT HAD MORE THAN 3.5 MILLION PEOPLE AT THE

START OF THE WAR WAS REDUCED TO ABOUT 300,000 AT THE END OF THE WAR. I

LISTENED TO HOLOCAUST SURVIVORS AND HEARD THEIR STORIES. I LISTENED AND

TALKED TO RIGHTEOUS AMONGST NATION WHO ASSISTED JEWS IN ESCAPING THE

HOLOCAUST. I WALKED THROUGH THE PEACEFUL NEIGHBORHOODS OF WARSAW

THAT WERE BUILT UPON THE WRECKAGE OF THE WARSAW GHETTO THAT

IMPRISONED NEARLY A HALF A MILLION PEOPLE. AND I VISITED AUSCHWITZ

AND I WALKED THROUGH THE BARRACKS AND WALKED THROUGH THE CAMPS

WHERE OVER A MILLION PEOPLE WALKED THROUGH WHO NEVER -- NEVER CAME

OUT. IT WAS A MOVING EXPERIENCE.

I HAD READ A LOT ABOUT THE HOLOCAUST. I THOUGHT I HAD

AN UNDERSTANDING OF IT, BUT YOU HAVE NO UNDERSTANDING OF IT UNTIL YOU

WALK THROUGH THOSE CAMPS, YOU WALK THROUGH THE NEIGHBORHOODS AND

YOU TALK TO PEOPLE WHO -- WHO SURVIVED. ON THE WAY HOME, I READ ELIE

WIESEL'S BOOK, NIGHT, AND IN IT HE SAID THAT WHOEVER LISTENS TO A

WITNESS BECOMES A WITNESS. I'M PROUD TO SAY TODAY THAT I AM A

WITNESS.

SPEAKER HEASTIE: MR. EPSTEIN ON THE RESOLUTION.

MR. EPSTEIN: THANK YOU, MR. SPEAKER. SO, I LOST

MY VOICE SO I'LL BE QUICK. THANK YOU, MR. SPEAKER, FOR LETTING ME

NYS ASSEMBLY JANUARY 27, 2020

STAND UP FOR THIS RESOLUTION, AND THANK YOU TO THE SPONSOR.

IT'S THE 37TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE FREEING OF AUSCHWITZ

AND I THINK ABOUT MY FAMILY AND OTHER PEOPLE'S FAMILIES, MY

GRANDFATHER AND HIS FATHER AND HIS BROTHER WERE ABLE TO LEAVE IN THE 20S

POLAND. UNFORTUNATELY, THE REST OF HIS FAMILY WERE NOT AS LUCKY. THIS

HISTORY OF ANTI-SEMITISM AND THE ANTI-SEMITISM WE'RE SEEING TODAY IS

NOT NEW, IT'S NOT UNIQUE. IT'S ABOUT HATE. IT'S ABOUT NOT UNDERSTANDING

AND NOT RELATING TO PEOPLE WHO ARE DIFFERENT THAN YOU ARE.

TODAY WE HAVE TO STAND UP AGAINST ALL FORMS OF

ANTI-SEMITISM, ALL FORMS OF HATRED, ALL FORMS OF INJUSTICE AND VIOLENCE

THAT ARE HAPPENING HERE IN NEW YORK AND AROUND THE WORLD. I WANT TO

ENCOURAGE MY COLLEAGUES TO DO WHAT THEY CAN, TO WORK WITH US TO NOT

FORGET ABOUT THESE HISTORIES AND THESE STRUGGLES. THE STORIES WE HEAR

TIME AND TIME AGAIN TO BE THAT PERSON WHO WILL NEVER FORGET, WHO WILL

UNDERSTAND WHAT HUMANITY IS. REACH ACROSS AISLES OF DIFFERENCE TO

UNDERSTAND SO WE DON'T FACE A SITUATION LIKE WE SAW IN GERMANY AND

THE HOLOCAUST, WHERE YOU SEE IN CHINA SOMETIMES TODAY, WHERE WE SEE

AROUND THE WORLD WHERE DIFFERENCE ALLOWS HATRED AND VIOLENCE TO

EXACERBATE THE PROBLEMS, AND MOVE FOR A MORE JUST WORLD. THANK YOU.

SPEAKER HEASTIE: MR. MOSLEY ON THE RESOLUTION.

MR. MOSLEY: THANK YOU. THANK YOU, MR.

SPEAKER. FIRST, I WANT TO THANK MY COLLEAGUE FROM QUEENS FOR

INTRODUCING THIS RESOLUTION. I WANT TO THANK YOU, MR. SPEAKER, AND

MAJORITY LEADER FOR ALLOWING US TO SPEAK ON IT.

AS SOME OF MY COLLEAGUES HAVE SO NOTED, I WAS A PART

NYS ASSEMBLY JANUARY 27, 2020

OF THAT GROUP OF COLLEAGUES WHO WENT TO POLAND LAST WEEK. IT WAS AN

ENLIGHTENING EXPERIENCE, AN EDUCATIONAL EXPERIENCE, BUT IT WAS A

SOMBER EXPERIENCE NONETHELESS, TO UNDERSTAND THAT 1.5 MILLION VICTIMS

WHO WERE TRAGICALLY TAKEN AWAY AT THIS DEATH CAMP WE CALL AUSCHWITZ,

BUT TO ALSO UNDERSTAND THE BRIGHTER SIDE IN TERMS OF THE LIBERATION OF

THAT CAMP AND THE HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE WHO WERE SAVED

DURING THAT TIME PERIOD. BUT I ALSO WANT TO HIGHLIGHT THE FACT THAT WHEN

HATE GOES UNFETTERED, WHEN HATE GOES UNCHALLENGED, THIS IS THE WORST

EXAMPLE WE CAN SEE OF MANKIND IN THIS MOST CONTEMPORARY TIME

PERIOD. TO ME, I THINK THAT IT WAS ONE OF THOSE TRIPS WERE ALTHOUGH I

WENT TO PEARL HARBOR AND I'VE BEEN TO NORMANDY AND NORTHERN FRANCE,

WE ULTIMATELY UNDERSTOOD THAT THE ULTIMATE GOAL WAS TO END THE WAR,

BUT TO LIBERATE A PEOPLE. AND TO ME, I THINK THAT THE EDUCATION THAT WE

TOOK IN DURING OUR TRIP WAS MORE SO ABOUT WHAT CAN WE DO TO TRANSFORM

THOSE MESSAGES AND LESSONS LEARNED INTO WHAT IS HAPPENING IN OUR OWN

BACKYARD, WHAT IS HAPPENING IN UPSTATE NEW YORK, WHAT IS HAPPENING

IN NEW YORK CITY AND IN BROOKLYN IN PARTICULAR AND IN MY DISTRICT.

AND NOT JUST TO LEARN FROM IT, BUT TO ACT UPON IT.

I WANT TO THANK JCC OF KRAK�W AND BLUE CARD FOR

HOSTING US, WHO CONTINUE TO SERVE AND -- AND -- AND WHO CONTINUE TO

MEET THE NEEDS OF THE DEMAND OF THOSE SURVIVORS WHO STILL LIVE IN OUR

MIDST. BUT I ALSO WANTED TO THANK PEOPLE LIKE MARSHA PEARL, A SURVIVOR

WHO STILL LIVES IN POLAND WHO CONTINUES TO EDUCATE PEOPLE LIKE MYSELF,

AND TO TRANSFORM THOSE IDEAS AND STORIES TO US NOT JUST FOR OUR OWN

PLEASURES AND EDIFICATION, BUT TO SHARE THEM WITH OTHERS.

NYS ASSEMBLY JANUARY 27, 2020

SO, AGAIN, I WANT TO THANK ALL THOSE WHO ATTENDED THAT

TRIP WITH ME. I WANT TO THANK ALL THOSE WHO SPONSORED IT, I WANT TO

THANK THE SPEAKER FOR ALLOWING THIS TO TAKE PLACE, BUT I ALSO WANT US TO

CHALLENGE OURSELVES AS NOT JUST MERELY MEMBERS OF THIS BODY, BUT AS

NEW YORKERS AND AS AMERICANS, THAT WE HAVE TO DO BETTER BECAUSE

WHEN WE DON'T DO BETTER, WE ONLY HAVE EXAMPLES OF THIS AND OTHERS

THAT WE COULD REPEAT IF WE DON'T MOVE FORWARD AND A SENSE OF DECENCY

AND HUMANITY FOR ALL. THANK YOU.

SPEAKER HEASTIE: MS. BICHOTTE ON THE

RESOLUTION.

MS. BICHOTTE: THANK YOU, MR. SPEAKER, FOR

ALLOWING ME TO SPEAK ON THIS RESOLUTION. I WANT TO THANK MY COLLEAGUE

FOR INTRODUCING THIS RESOLUTION ON THE -- ON HOLOCAUST REMEMBRANCE

DAY. I RISE TO COMMEMORATE INTERNATIONAL HOLOCAUST REMEMBRANCE

DAY WHICH COINCIDES WITH THE LIBERATION OF THE INFAMOUS AND NOTORIOUS

AUSCHWITZ CONCENTRATION CAMP, A NAME THAT CONJURES UP IMAGES AND

PURE EVIL. TO THIS DAY AND IN MY OWN DISTRICT, THERE REMAIN SURVIVORS

WITH TATTOOS LEFT IN THEIR ARMS AND THERE REMAIN HATE CRIMES OF

ANTI-SEMITISM. WE MUST PRESERVE THEIR STORIES, LEGACIES AND LESSONS

FOR POSTERITY AND STAND EVEN STRONGER AGAINST ANTI-SEMITISM AND ALL

FORMS OF HATE.

MY DISTRICT IS A VERY DIVERSE AND ECLECTIC DISTRICT IN

BROOKLYN WITH A LARGE POPULATION OF CARIBBEANS, AFRICAN-AMERICANS,

WHITES, SOUTH ASIAN, MUSLIM, CHRISTIANS AND A VERY LARGE POPULATION

OF BOTH ORTHODOX AND NON-ORTHODOX MEMBERS OF THE JEWISH

NYS ASSEMBLY JANUARY 27, 2020

COMMUNITY. TOO OFTEN, PEOPLE LIVING SIDE-BY-SIDE DID NOT INTERACT

WITH ONE ANOTHER AS THEY SEE NO COMMONALITY, NOTHING TO BIND THEM TO

EACH OTHER SEEING THE OTHERNESS, IF YOU WILL, IN THE OTHER. SOME OF US

MADE AN EFFORT TO CHANGE THAT SINCE -- THAT SINCE WHEN WE SEE

COMMONALITY, WE SEE OUR OWN COMMON HUMANITY.

AS A HAITIAN-AMERICAN AND TO THAT END, WE TRIED IN

SUCCEEDING IN BRINGING THE HAITIAN AND JEWISH POPULATIONS TOGETHER

AND I, ALONG WITH MY JEWISH BROTHER, BORIS NOBLE, WERE PRIVILEGED

TOGETHER IN OUR WORLD HAITI HOLOCAUST LEGACY PROJECT BY AN

ORGANIZATION FORMED BY HOLOCAUST SURVIVORS TO HELP HAITI AFTER THE

EARTHQUAKE IN 2010. THIS WAS AN AWARD CREATED BY BILL MOHR WHO WAS

A CHILD WHEN THE NAZIS ATTESTED HIS FATHER IN GERMANY ON THE INFAMOUS

NIGHT OF KRISTALLNACHT, OR THE NIGHT OF BROKEN GLASS. HIS FATHER WAS

ONE OF THE LUCKY ONES AS HE SUBSEQUENTLY RELEASED AND REALIZED THEY

MUST LEAVE THEIR COUNTRY OF BIRTH, GERMANY, IMMEDIATELY. BUT THERE

WAS NO WHERE TO RUN. GATES WERE CLOSING, DOORS SHUT. THEY ENDED UP

IN THE CARIBBEAN ISLAND OF HAITI AFTER A MONTH-LONG PERILOUS JOURNEY.

IT TOOK GETTING USED TO THAT CHANGE, THEY WERE SAFE FROM THE GERMAN

WAR MACHINE AND THE DREADED SS, WHICH SPECIALIZED IN MASS KILLING OF

JEWS LIKE THE MOHRS. EVENTUALLY THE MOHRS LEFT HAITI AND SETTLED IN THE

U.S. AFTER THE WAR. BUT BILL MOHR ALWAYS HATE HAKARAT HATOV, THE

JEWISH CONCEPT OF APPRECIATION AND SHOWING THANKS FOR ALL. HE

ESTABLISHED THIS AWARD SO THAT HE WANTED HAITI TO GET ITS DUE FOR

OPENING THE BORDERS OF PEOPLE WHO WERE BEING MURDERED SIMPLY FOR

WHO THEY WERE, AND SO THAT THE LESSONS OF THE HOLOCAUST ARE NOT

NYS ASSEMBLY JANUARY 27, 2020

FORGOTTEN.

I ALSO LEARNED OF THIS WHEN I VISITED YAD VASHEM IN

ISRAEL IN 2011. AND AS I WAS GOING THROUGH THE MUSEUM, I CRIED AND

CRIED AND CRIED. THIS IS THE LESSON WE MUST TAKE ON THIS DAY, JANUARY

27TH, HOLOCAUST REMEMBRANCE DAY. WORKING TOGETHER, WE BREAK

DOWN BARRIERS AND NO ONE CAN HATE SOMEONE THEY SEE AS SOMEONE LIKE

US. IT'S HARDER TO HATE THEM. NEVER AGAIN. THANK YOU.

SPEAKER HEASTIE: MR. GOTTFRIED ON THE

RESOLUTION.

MR. GOTTFRIED: MR. SPEAKER, LAST WEEK WE

HONORED MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. TODAY AS WE OBSERVE HOLOCAUST

REMEMBRANCE DAY AND ARE MINDFUL OF THE EVENTS ALL AROUND US, I

BELIEVE SOME OF THE WORDS OF MARTIN LUTHER KING ARE PARTICULARLY

APPROPRIATE TODAY WHEN HE SAID, "IN THE END, WE WILL REMEMBER NOT THE

WORDS OF OUR ENEMIES, BUT THE SILENCE OF OUR FRIENDS."

SPEAKER HEASTIE: MR. BUCHWALD ON THE

RESOLUTION.

MR. BUCHWALD: THANK YOU, MR. SPEAKER. I WANT

TO THANK THE GENTLELADY FROM QUEENS WHO INTRODUCED THIS RESOLUTION TO

RECOGNIZE HOLOCAUST REMEMBRANCE DAY ON THIS 75TH ANNIVERSARY OF

THE LIBERATION OF AUSCHWITZ. I CERTAINLY WANT TO AGREE WITH HER

NEIGHBOR, THE MEMBERS FROM QUEENS, WHO POINTS OUT THAT SIMPLY

SAYING "NEVER FORGET" IS NOT ENOUGH, AND CERTAINLY DOING SO ONCE A

YEAR IS NOT ENOUGH, BUT IT IS IMPORTANT THAT WE TAKE THIS MOMENT TO

REMIND ALL NEW YORKERS THAT WE CAN NEVER FORGET ANY DAY OF THE YEAR

NYS ASSEMBLY JANUARY 27, 2020

HOW HATRED IN ITS INCIPIENT NATURE BURROWS INTO A SOCIETY AND TEARS IT

OUT FROM THE INSIDE. WE ABSOLUTELY HAVE TO MAKE SURE THAT EACH AND

EVERY NEW YORKER AND EACH AND EVERY AMERICAN AFFIRMATIVELY STANDS

UP AGAINST HATRED. WE KNOW THAT OUR COUNTRY AND PARTICULARLY OUR

STATE, AND THE CITY OF NEW YORK IS -- IS ESPECIALLY KNOWN FOR BEING A

WELCOMING PLACE, AND WE ARE AT OUR BEST WHEN WE UPHOLD THAT BEACON

OF LIGHT TO THE WORLD.

BUT THERE HAVE BEEN TIMES IN OUR COUNTRY WHERE WE

HAVE CLOSED OUR DOORS. WE HAVE BEEN INDIFFERENT TO THE SUFFERING OF

OTHERS. THAT INCLUDES DURING THE HOLOCAUST. YOU DON'T JUST HAVE TO

HAVE BEEN FAMILIAR WITH THE STORY THE VOYAGE OF THE DAMNED, THE ST.

LOUIS, WHICH TRAVELED AROUND THE ATLANTIC SEARCHING FOR A PLACE TO

DROP OFF REFUGEES AND FINDING NO HOME AND CERTAINLY NO HOME HERE IN

THE UNITED STATES. WE ABSOLUTELY NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT WHEN WE TALK

ABOUT, FOR EXAMPLE, REFUGEES, WE RECOGNIZE THAT THERE IS A CONSTANT

NEED TO NEVER FORGET THAT OUR COUNTRY IS BEST WHEN IT IS A SHINING LIGHT

TO THE REST OF THE WORLD ON WHAT IT MEANS TO BE A PART OF HUMANITY.

AND I HOPE THAT IN ALL THAT WE DO, WE WORK TO STAMP OUT HATE IN ALL ITS

FORMS.

AND I THINK THE GENTLEMAN WHO SPOKE BEFORE ME

QUOTING MARTIN LUTHER KING IS ABSOLUTELY RIGHT. I WAS READING REMARKS

FROM ELIE WIESEL WHO SAID SOMETHING VERY SIMILAR TO THAT LETTER FROM

THE BIRMINGHAM JAIL. ELIE WIESEL, AN AUSCHWITZ SURVIVOR HIMSELF,

SAID, "THE OPPOSITE OF LOVE IS NOT HATE, IT IS INDIFFERENCE." AND MAY

WE NEVER, EVER BE INDIFFERENT TO THE SUFFERING OF OTHERS. THANK YOU,

NYS ASSEMBLY JANUARY 27, 2020

MR. SPEAKER.

SPEAKER HEASTIE: MR. RIVERA ON THE RESOLUTION.

MR. RIVERA: THANK YOU, MR. SPEAKER. MY

COLLEAGUE, IN HIS STATEMENT, HE SAID THE HOLOCAUST DID NOT HAPPEN

OVERNIGHT. HE'S RIGHT. IT DID NOT HAPPEN OVERNIGHT. EARLY ON DURING

THE SECOND WAR, JEWISH PEOPLE WOULD GET ON A SHIP, TRY TO ESCAPE

OPPRESSION IN EUROPE. GUESS WHO REJECTED THEM COMING INTO THEIR

COUNTRY? THEY WERE STOPPED AS THEY APPROACHED MIAMI. THERE IT WAS

SAID, ELSEWHERE. GUESS WHAT TO COUNTRY WELCOMED THEM WITH OPEN

ARMS? FIRST THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC, AND CUBA. THE REST IS HISTORY.

IT DID NOT HAPPEN OVERNIGHT.

SOMEHOW I ADMIRE THE JEWISH PEOPLE BECAUSE THEY

HAVE A -- A CLEAR UNDERSTANDING NEVER AGAIN SHOULD THIS HAPPEN. AND

THE UNITY, IF YOU DON'T -- IF YOU WANT TO HEAR IF YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT THE

HOLOCAUST IS, THERE'S TWO MUSEUMS, GO VISIT ISRAEL. BETTER YET, GO TO

ONE -- GO TO THE ONE IN THE LOWER PART OF MANHATTAN. AND YOU WILL SEE

WHAT THEY WENT THROUGH. RECENTLY, I GOT UP HERE AND WE SPOKE ON THE

DAY OF MARTIN LUTHER KING AND I SAID SOMETHING LIKE I RECALL TWO

YOUNGSTERS BACK IN 1964, SCHWERNER AND GOODMAN, WHO JOINED THE

AFRICAN-AMERICAN STUDENT CHANEY, AND THE THREE OF THEM WENT DOWN

SOUTH SO PEOPLE LIKE ME COULD REGISTER TO VOTE.

THE JEWISH COMMUNITY HAS BEEN AT THE FOREFRONT IN

EVERY STRUGGLE FOR JUSTICE IN THIS SOCIETY, 'CAUSE THEY UNDERSTAND WHAT

OPPRESSION WAS. THEY PLAYED A KEY ROLE IN THE MARCH OF 1963. ALL THE

LABOR MOVEMENT PLAYED A KEY ROLE IN THE MARCH OF 1963 ON

NYS ASSEMBLY JANUARY 27, 2020

WASHINGTON. YOU KNOW, WE STAND HERE TODAY, AND I BELIEVE THAT I

HAVE AN OBLIGATION TO GET UP AND SHARE MY EXPERIENCE. MY FAMILY, WE

WERE GIVEN AN OPPORTUNITY WHERE THEY CAME HERE BY (INAUDIBLE)

JEWISH, TO GET A GOOD JOB. WHEN I GOT ELECTED, ASSEMBLYMAN ALAN

HEVESI CAME TO ME AND SAID WE JUST FOUND OUT THAT RONALD REAGAN IS

GOING TO BITBURG TO LAY THE WREATH IN A CEMETERY. OF ALL PLACES,

BITBURG. SO, I AGREED TO GO WITH ALAN HEVESI AND I AGREED -- WE

AGREED NOT TO LAND IN GERMANY. WE WENT TO BITBURG. AND MY

EXPERIENCE ABOUT STORM TROOPERS, THEY DON'T HAVE THE SWASTIKA, BUT

THEY STILL DRESS AND WALK THE SAME WAY. THEN WE WENT TO AUSCHWITZ

TO PAY OUR RESPECT. I GOT GOOSE PIMPLES. I SAW LIKE MOUNDS OF -- LITTLE

HILLS, WHAT IS THAT? THEY SAID THAT'S WHERE THE HOLOCAUST VICTIM FROM

POLAND AND GERMANY AND EUROPE ARE BURIED AT. I HAVE A LITTLE BIT OF

VIDEO OF THAT. IT'S HEARTBREAKING.

SO ON A DAY LIKE TODAY, I WILL GET UP AND I SHOW MY

APPRECIATION AND MY SUPPORT, BECAUSE MY COLLEAGUE IS RIGHT. IF WE

DON'T SPEAK UP, IF WE DON'T RISE TOGETHER, THEN THEY'RE GOING TO FEEL THAT

THEY'RE ALL BY THEMSELVES. AND WHAT'S HAPPENING NOT ONLY IN BROOKLYN,

BUT WHAT'S HAPPENING ALL OVER THE CITY AND THE REST OF THE NATION. SO, I

AGREE WITH THEM. I RISE AS I JOIN THEM TO SAY NEVER AGAIN. THANK YOU,

MR. SPEAKER.

SPEAKER HEASTIE: MR. LENTOL ON THE RESOLUTION.

MR. LENTOL: THANK YOU, MR. SPEAKER. I'VE NEVER

BEEN TO AUSCHWITZ. I HAVEN'T BEEN TO BITBURG, BUT I'VE REPRESENTED

MORE JEWISH PEOPLE MAYBE THAN ANY OTHER MEMBER OF THE ASSEMBLY.

NYS ASSEMBLY JANUARY 27, 2020

AND EACH YEAR, I GO TO A HOLOCAUST REMEMBRANCE CEREMONY IN MY

DISTRICT. AND THE NUMBERS OF PEOPLE THAT ATTEND THAT CEREMONY ARE

DWINDLING AND DWINDLING. SO, PRETTY SOON THEY'RE NOT GOING TO BE ABLE

TO HOLD IT ANYMORE BECAUSE I THINK MOST OF THEM WILL BE DEAD IN A

COUPLE OF YEARS, THEY'RE PRETTY UP THERE IN AGE.

AND I HAVE TO SAY THAT EVERY YEAR THAT I GO, I BELIEVE

THAT -- I BELIEVED THAT THINGS ARE GETTING BETTER IN THE WORLD AND THINGS

ARE GETTING BETTER IN THIS COUNTRY. AND NOW ALL OF A SUDDEN IN 2019 AND

BEFORE, WE'VE SEEN A WHOLE TURN OF EVENTS, AS MANY HAVE TALKED ABOUT

TODAY, AND ANTI-SEMITISM REARING ITS UGLY HEAD NOT ONLY IN THE UNITED

STATES OF AMERICA, BUT ALL AROUND THE WORLD. AND IT SEEMS TO HAVE

REARED ITS UGLY HEAD IN BROOKLYN. AND IF IT WASN'T ENOUGH TO DO IT IN

BROOKLYN AND IN MR. EICHENSTEIN'S DISTRICT, IT HAPPENED IN MY DISTRICT

SEVERAL TIMES. AND THE YOUNG PEOPLE WHO WERE KILLED IN JERSEY CITY

CAME FROM WILLIAMSBURG, BROOKLYN. WHY DID THEY DIE? THEY DIED

OBVIOUSLY BECAUSE PEOPLE HAVE FORGOTTEN THE MESSAGE OF THE

HOLOCAUST. PEOPLE HAVE BEGUN TO CONTINUE TO HATE AGAIN. AND I'M

SORRY FOR THAT. I THINK THAT WE'RE BETTER THAN THAT, WE'RE BETTER THAN THAT

IN THIS COUNTRY, WE'RE BETTER THAN THAT IN THE WORLD.

BUT LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, IF WE DON'T DO THIS EVERY

YEAR -- AND THANK YOU, I WANT TO THANK THE SPONSOR FOR INTRODUCING THIS

RESOLUTION AND MAKING US REMEMBER AGAIN AND AGAIN AND AGAIN.

BECAUSE I SAY WITH YOU, NEVER AGAIN.

SPEAKER HEASTIE: MR. D'URSO ON THE RESOLUTION.

MR. D'URSO: THANK YOU, MR. SPEAKER. AND THANK

NYS ASSEMBLY JANUARY 27, 2020

YOU TO MY -- MY COLLEAGUE FOR SPONSORING THE RESOLUTION -- EXCUSE MY

VOICE, IT'S NOT CLEAR.

I WANTED TO TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT MY PERSONAL

EXPERIENCE AS A FIVE-YEAR-OLD BOY OF THE MOUNTAINS OF CENTRAL ITALY

WHEN THE AMERICAN GIS AND THE AIRPLANES CAME AROUND AND TRIED TO

LIBERATE US FROM THE GERMAN INVASION. THE NAZIS WERE ALL OVER THE

PLACE AND IT TOOK NINE MONTHS FOR THE AMERICANS BOMBING THE AREAS TO

PUSH THE NAZIS SOLDIERS OVER NORTHERN ITALY FROM CENTRAL ITALY, AND IT

TOOK THEM NINE MONTHS. WHAT HAPPENED DURING THOSE NINE MONTHS? I

REMEMBER FROM THE NIGHT OF SEPTEMBER THE 8TH IN 1943, THROUGH THE --

WHEN WE HAD TO RUN OVER THE MOUNTAINS BECAUSE 150 AIRPLANES FROM

THE UNITED STATES CAME AFTER THEY LIBERATED AFRICA TO LIBERATE ITALY, AND

THEY LAUNCHED SOME LEAFLETS THAT SAID LEAVE THE TOWN, GO OVER THE

MOUNTAINS BECAUSE WE'RE GOING TO BOMB. EVERYBODY THOUGHT THAT THE

BOMBING WOULD LAST A DAY OR TWO; IT LASTED NINE MONTHS.

NOW WHAT HAPPENS? EVERYBODY PACKED ANYTHING

THEY COULD CARRY OVER THE MOUNTAINS. THERE WERE NO ROADS, THERE WERE

NO -- THEY WERE JUST MULE PATHS. AND YOU SEE MOTHERS WITH CHILDREN

MOVING OVER AND SOME OF THE ANIMALS, DOMESTIC ANIMALS THAT WE HAD

GOING OVER THE MOUNTAINS, IT TOOK ABOUT OVER THREE-AND-A-HALF HOURS TO

GO FROM SEA LEVEL WHERE WE LIVED ALL THE WAY UP.

NOW, WHEN THAT HAPPENED, SEPTEMBER THE 8TH, 1943,

WHEN EVERYBODY STARTED TO LEAVE THE TOWN, WHAT HAPPENED WITH THE

TWO JEWISH FAMILIES THAT WE KNEW, THE ONLY TWO JEWISH FAMILIES IN THE

TOWN OF ABOUT 16,000 PEOPLE. WE DID NOT WANT TO LEAVE THEM ALONE,

NYS ASSEMBLY JANUARY 27, 2020

OBVIOUSLY. THEY'RE HUMAN BEINGS, THEY'RE IN DISTRESS, THEY NEED HELP.

WE DIDN'T HESITATE. MY FATHER, WE WERE SIX KIDS, MY MOTHER, MY

UNCLE, MY COUSIN, THEY THOUGHT THAT THAT WAS THE RIGHT THING TO DO TO

TAKE THE RISK AND TAKE THE FAMILIES WITH US OVER THE MOUNTAINS. THAT

LASTED NINE MONTHS. IT WAS VERY DIFFICULT. NOT ONLY THE JEWS [SIC] --

COMMITTED THOSE -- THOSE BAD THINGS, THE EXTERMINATION OF SIX MILLION

INNOCENT PEOPLE, BUT THEY ALSO WERE BAD PEOPLE WHEN THEY WOULD TAKE

CIVILIANS, BECAUSE THEY HAD -- THAT IF ONE GERMAN SOLDIER WOULD GET

KILLED BY A CIVILIAN, THEY WOULD TAKE 18 PEOPLE, YOU KNOW, RANDOMLY,

PUT THEM AGAINST THE WALL AND EXECUTED THEM. THERE WAS A STORY FROM

MY BROTHER THAT MARRIED IN A FAMILY THAT THE MOTHER AND A SON WAS

EXECUTED AMONG 18. AND THE MOTHER TOLD THE EXECUTIONER, PLEASE DON'T

SHOOT MY CHILD FIRST, SHOOT ME FIRST. THEY DID EXACTLY THE OPPOSITE.

THEY SHOT THE KID FIRST, THE CHILD FIRST, AND THEN MY -- EVENTUALLY MY

BROTHER'S MOTHER-IN-LAW SECOND.

SO, I COULD GO ON AND ON AND ON. IT WAS VERY DIFFICULT

TO FIND ANYTHING TO EAT. NOT ONLY WE HAD TO PROTECT OURSELVES AND THE

TWO JEWISH FAMILY FRIENDS, BUT -- FROM THE NAZIS, BUT ALSO FROM THE

CIVILIANS BECAUSE THE WELL-OFF, THEY WOULD TURN THEM INTO THE NAZIS FOR

MONEY. NOT ONLY THAT, WHAT DO YOU DO OVER THE MOUNTAINS? THERE

WAS -- AS I SAID IT BEFORE, THERE WERE NO ROADS, THERE WAS NOTHING. AND

THE ONLY THING THAT MY BROTHER AND MY UNCLE FOUND EASTER SUNDAY,

1944, EASTER SUNDAY IS THE HOLIEST, YOU KNOW, HOLIDAY IN THE CATHOLIC

FAITH. THE ONLY THING HE FOUND FOR US TO CHEW ON, TWO DONKEYS' EARS.

THAT'S HOW BAD IT WAS. BUT THANK TO GOD THERE WERE A LOT OF EFFORTS,

NYS ASSEMBLY JANUARY 27, 2020

LOTS OF SACRIFICES, EVERYBODY SURVIVED. MY FAMILY, MY AUNT AND UNCLE'S

FAMILY AND OUR TWO JEWISH FAMILIES THAT I HAVE CONTACTS NOW WITH THE

CHILDREN OF THE SURVIVORS. THEY LIVE IN NAPLES. I TALKED TO ONE OF THEM

RIGHT THIS MORNING AND I TOLD THEM ABOUT THERE WAS GOING TO BE A

RESOLUTION HERE AND HE SAID, WISHED LUCK AND THANK EVERYBODY THAT

NEVER FORGETS AND PRAY THAT IT NEVER HAPPENS AGAIN. SO THANK YOU.

SPEAKER HEASTIE: MR. GOODELL ON THE

RESOLUTION.

MR. GOODELL: THANK YOU, MR. SPEAKER. THANK

YOU, MY COLLEAGUES, FOR YOUR THOUGHTFUL COMMENTS. OF COURSE, THE

HOLOCAUST WAS SHOCKING IN ITS SIZE, IN ITS SYSTEMATIC APPROACH AND ITS

UNMITIGATED EVIL. BUT I WANT TO REMIND ALL MY COLLEAGUES THAT

GENOCIDE DIDN'T END 75 YEARS AGO. AND GENOCIDE IS OCCURRING TODAY IN

OTHER PARTS OF THE WORLD. WHETHER IT'S MUSLIMS OR CHRISTIANS OR JEWS

OR KURDS OR THOSE IN KASHMIR OR THOSE OF A DIFFERENT TRIBE OR RACE,

GENOCIDE IS HAPPENING TODAY. AND SO, WHILE WE REFLECT ON THE HORRIFIC,

SYSTEMATIC MURDER OF INNOCENT CIVILIANS BASED SOLELY ON THEIR RELIGIOUS

BELIEFS, LET US ALSO REDOUBLE OUR COMMITMENT TO FIGHTING AND OPPOSING

GENOCIDE WHEREVER IT OCCURS, WHATEVER THE GROUP IS, BECAUSE NO ONE

SHOULD BE FACING DEATH BASED ON WHO THEY ARE AND WHAT THEY BELIEVE IN

ANYWHERE IN A CIVILIZED WORLD. THANK YOU AGAIN, MR. SPEAKER, AND

THANK YOU TO MY COLLEAGUES.

SPEAKER HEASTIE: THANK YOU. AND AS MANY OF

OUR COLLEAGUES HAVE MENTIONED, I JUST WANTED TO TOUCH ON SOME POINTS,

SOME THAT HAVE BEEN SAID. IT WAS COMMENTED THAT -- OR MENTIONED THAT

NYS ASSEMBLY JANUARY 27, 2020

THE HOLOCAUST DID NOT HAPPEN OVERNIGHT. THE NAZI REGIME PREYED ON

LONGSTANDING FEARS, INSECURITY AND HATRED AND USED THE GOVERNMENT TO

ISOLATE GROUPS THAT THEY THOUGHT WERE INFERIOR TO THEM. THESE POLICIES

EVENTUALLY LED TO THE HOLOCAUST IN WHICH ROUGHLY 17 MILLION PEOPLE

WERE KILLED. WE DON'T EVEN KNOW ACTUALLY HOW MANY PEOPLE WERE

EXACTLY KILLED SINCE THERE WERE NO OFFICIAL LISTS KEPT.

THOSE TARGETED INCLUDED JEWS, ROMAS, PEOPLE WITH

DISABILITIES, HOMOSEXUALS AND COMMUNISTS, AMONG OTHER GROUPS, BASED

ON RACE, RELIGION, ETHNICITY AND POLITICAL VIEWS. THOSE KILLED INCLUDED

SIX MILLION JEWS, APPROXIMATELY TWO-THIRDS OR 70 PERCENT OF THE JEWISH

POPULATION IN EUROPE. OVER ONE MILLION PEOPLE WERE KILLED AT

AUSCHWITZ ALONE.

AN INTERNATIONAL HOLOCAUST REMEMBRANCE DAY WAS

DESIGNATED ON JANUARY 7TH -- 27TH, THE ANNIVERSARY OF THE LIBERATION OF

AUSCHWITZ-BIRKENAU. HOLOCAUST REMEMBRANCE DAY SERVES AS A DATE

FOR THE OFFICIAL COMMEMORATION OF THE VICTIMS OF THE HOLOCAUST, AND TO

PROMOTE HOLOCAUST EDUCATION THROUGHOUT THE WORLD AND AS A TIME TO

REMEMBER THAT THIS SHOULD NEVER HAPPEN AGAIN, WHERE PEOPLE THINK IT

IS RIGHT TO EXTERMINATE A RACE OF PEOPLE. AND LET'S LOOK BACK ON THIS

AND SAY THIS SHOULD NEVER, EVER HAPPEN AGAIN.

SO ON THE RESOLUTION, ALL THOSE IN FAVOR SIGNIFY BY

SAYING AYE; OPPOSED, NO. THE RESOLUTION IS ADOPTED.

MRS. PEOPLES-STOKES.

MRS. PEOPLES-STOKES: THANK YOU, MR.

SPEAKER. IF WE CAN NOW CONTINUE ON OUR CALENDAR, I'M GOING TO GO TO

NYS ASSEMBLY JANUARY 27, 2020

PAGE 7. WE'LL GIVE OUR SPEAKER PRO TEM AN OPPORTUNITY TO -- PAGE 7,

CALENDAR NO. 350, BY MEMBER DARLING.

ACTING SPEAKER AUBRY: THE CLERK WILL READ.

THE CLERK: ASSEMBLY NO. A09079-A, CALENDAR

NO. 350, DARLING. AN ACT TO AMEND THE REAL -- TO REPEAL A CHAPTER OF

THE LAWS OF 2019, AUTHORIZING THE COMMISSIONER OF EDUCATION AND THE

CHANCELLOR OF THE BOARD OF REGENTS, WITH THE APPROVAL OF THE BOARD OF

REGENTS, TO APPOINT MONITORS TO OVERSEE THE HEMPSTEAD UNION FREE

SCHOOL DISTRICT AS PROPOSED IN LEGISLATIVE BILLS NUMBERS S.6559 AND

A.8403; AUTHORIZING THE COMMISSIONER OF EDUCATION TO APPOINT A

MONITOR TO OVERSEE THE HEMPSTEAD UNION FREE SCHOOL DISTRICT AND

ESTABLISHING THE POWERS AND DUTIES OF SUCH MONITOR; AND PROVIDING FOR

THE REPEAL OF CERTAIN PROVISIONS UPON EXPIRATION THEREOF.

ACTING SPEAKER AUBRY: ON A MOTION BY MS.

DARLING, THE SENATE BILL IS BEFORE THE HOUSE. THE SENATE BILL IS

ADVANCED. READ THE LAST SECTION.

THE CLERK: THIS ACT SHALL TAKE EFFECT IMMEDIATELY.

ACTING SPEAKER AUBRY: THE CLERK WILL RECORD

THE VOTE.

(THE CLERK RECORDED THE VOTE.)

FIRST VOTE OF THE DAY, MEMBERS, FIRST VOTE OF THE DAY.

MRS. PEOPLES-STOKES WANTS ME TO REMIND YOU, IF YOU ARE IN YOUR SEATS,

BEFORE YOU LEAVE THE CHAMBER FOR ANY PURPOSE, PLEASE VOTE. IF YOU ARE

OUT OF THE CHAMBER, COME IN THE CHAMBER AND CAST YOUR VOTE. THANK

YOU.

NYS ASSEMBLY JANUARY 27, 2020

MRS. PEOPLES-STOKES: THANK YOU, MR.

SPEAKER. I THINK YOU MADE THAT VERY CLEAR. MEMBERS THAT ARE IN AND

AROUND THE CHAMBERS, PLEASE CAST YOUR VOTE.

ACTING SPEAKER AUBRY: MS. DARLING TO

EXPLAIN HER VOTE.

SHH.

MS. DARLING: THANK YOU, MR. SPEAKER, FOR

ALLOWING ME TO SPEAK ON THE BILL. SINCE THE FIRST VERSION OF THIS BILL

PASSED UNANIMOUSLY IN JUNE, I'VE HAD TO GIVE ALL I CAN TO ENSURE IT

BECAME LAW. THIS CURRENT VERSION OF THE LAW IS THE PRODUCT OF INTENSE

NEGOTIATIONS, AND I FIRMLY FEEL WE HAVE SOMETHING THAT WILL WORK TO

FINALLY RESTORE THE HEMPSTEAD SCHOOL DISTRICT. THIS LEGISLATION HAS

ALREADY BEEN A SUPPORT AND GUIDE FOR OTHER DISTRESSED SCHOOL DISTRICTS

ACROSS THE STATE.

I HAVE ANOTHER ASK OF ALL OF YOU AND THE STATE

EDUCATION DEPARTMENT. THIS IS THE GREATEST STATE IN THIS COUNTRY, SO LET

US LEVERAGE EVERY RESOURCE WE HAVE TO RESTRUCTURE OUR EDUCATION

SYSTEM. IT IS OUR JOB TO PROVIDE AND PROTECT THE EDUCATION OF EVERY

CHILD IN NEW YORK STATE AND IT IS NO COINCIDENCE THAT SCHOOL DISTRICTS

-- EXCUSE ME, OUR DISTRESSED SCHOOL DISTRICTS ARE IN MINORITY

COMMUNITIES. SEPARATE BUT EQUAL DOES NOT WORK. SEPARATE BUT EQUAL

DOES NOT WORK. I WOULD ALSO GREATLY APPRECIATE RECEIVING THE $215

MILLION IN EDUCATIONAL FOUNDATION AID OWED TO MY SCHOOL DISTRICTS

ALONE.

I WANT TO THANK EVERY PERSON IN THIS ROOM FOR YOUR

NYS ASSEMBLY JANUARY 27, 2020

SUPPORT IN PASSING THIS BILL. I ESPECIALLY WOULD LIKE TO THANK OUR

LEADER FOR REFUSING TO ALLOW ME TO RETURN TO MY DISTRICT WITHOUT A

SOUND PLAN TO IMPROVE IT. THANK YOU. OH, I VOTE IN THE AFFIRMATIVE.

ACTING SPEAKER AUBRY: MS. DARLING IN THE

AFFIRMATIVE.

MR. SMITH TO EXPLAIN HIS VOTE.

MR. SMITH: THANK YOU, MR. SPEAKER. I JOIN AGAIN

THIS YEAR IN SUPPORT OF MS. DARLING'S BILL. FOR ANYONE WHO, AS A FORMER

EDUCATOR ON LONG ISLAND, IT'S NO SECRET WHAT HAS GONE ON AT THE

HEMPSTEAD SCHOOL DISTRICT. IT'S REALLY A TRAVESTY WHAT HAS HAPPENED.

THIS SCHOOL DISTRICT IN THE STATE OF NEW YORK HAS ONE OF THE LOWEST

GRADUATION RATES IN THE COUNTRY. AND, UNFORTUNATELY, IT HAS GOTTEN TO

SUCH A POINT BECAUSE OF A LOT OF CONFLICTING FIGHTING AND CORRUPTION,

AND I JUST WANT TO COMMEND MY COLLEAGUE, AGAIN, FOR HER COURAGE.

YOU KNOW, ALL OF US REPRESENT DISTRICTS WITH ROUGHLY

135,000 PEOPLE, AND MY COLLEAGUE IS REALLY PUTTING HER NECK ON THE

LINE TO SUPPORT THIS BILL BECAUSE SHE KNOWS THAT THE CHILDREN IN THIS

COMMUNITY DESERVE BETTER, THEY CAN GET BETTER. AND I WOULD ALSO

ENCOURAGE MY COLLEAGUES TO PLEASE WRITE A LETTER TO THE GOVERNOR IN

SUPPORT OF THIS BILL. AS SOMEONE WHO IS A STRONG SUPPORTER OF LOCAL

CONTROL OF EDUCATION, I DO NOT MAKE THIS STATEMENT -- YOU KNOW, I DON'T

MAKE THIS STATEMENT WITHOUT REAL CAUTION AND NEED FOR THIS BILL. THIS IS

SOMETHING THAT NEEDS TO BE DONE AND THE CHILDREN OF HEMPSTEAD I

KNOW WILL BE BETTER OFF BECAUSE OF THIS IS AND I WANT TO THANK MY

COLLEAGUE AGAIN FOR HER STRONG FIGHT ON THIS. I VOTE IN THE AFFIRMATIVE.

NYS ASSEMBLY JANUARY 27, 2020

ACTING SPEAKER AUBRY: MR. SMITH IN THE

AFFIRMATIVE.

MR. MONTESANO.

MR. MONTESANO: THANK YOU, MR. SPEAKER. I JUST

WANT TO ECHO THE COMMENTS OF MY COLLEAGUE HERE FROM LONG ISLAND,

AND TO THANK THE SPONSOR FOR FOLLOWING THROUGH WITH THIS. I WAS A BIG

SUPPORTER OF THIS WHEN IT CAME THROUGH. WE KNOW THE REASON FOR IT. I

WAS QUITE DISAPPOINTED WITH THE FACT THAT THE BILL AS PASSED COULDN'T GO

THROUGH AS WE PASSED IT THE LAST TIME, BECAUSE I THINK IT WAS WHAT WAS

NEEDED, BECAUSE I THINK THE MONETARY CONTROL IS REALLY NEEDED AT THAT

SCHOOL DISTRICT TO CONTROL THEIR EXPENSES, TO CONTROL THE LEVEL OF

PATRONAGE THAT THEY HAVE. SOME OF THE THINGS THAT GO ON IN THAT DISTRICT

ARE JUST ABOUT CRIMINAL. BUT WE'LL SETTLE FOR THE AMENDMENT THAT WE

HAVE TO HAVE; IT'S BETTER THAN NOTHING. AND I JUST HOPE THAT THE MONITOR

APPOINTED IS ABLE TO BRING SOME -- SOME SEMBLANCE OF ORDER TO THIS

DISTRICT, AND I KNOW WE STAND READY TO DO WHATEVER WE HAVE TO DO AS A

FOLLOW-UP WITH THIS -- WITH STATE EDUCATION SO THESE CHILDREN GET WHAT

THEIR PARENTS ARE PAYING FOR AND FOR WHAT ALL THE TAXPAYERS ARE PAYING

FOR. SO, I'LL BE VOTING IN THE AFFIRMATIVE. THANK YOU.

ACTING SPEAKER AUBRY: MR. MONTESANO IN THE

AFFIRMATIVE.

ARE THERE ANY OTHER VOTES? ANNOUNCE THE RESULTS.

(THE CLERK ANNOUNCED THE RESULTS.)

THE BILL IS PASSED.

THE CLERK: ASSEMBLY NO. A09080, CALENDAR NO.

NYS ASSEMBLY JANUARY 27, 2020

351, JEAN-PIERRE. AN ACT TO REPEAL A CHAPTER OF THE LAWS OF 2019,

AUTHORIZING THE COMMISSIONER OF EDUCATION, IN CONSULTATION WITH THE

COMPTROLLER TO APPOINT A MONITOR TO OVERSEE THE WYANDANCH UNION

FREE SCHOOL DISTRICT AND ESTABLISHING THE POWERS AND DUTIES OF THE

MONITOR, AS PROPOSED IN LEGISLATIVE BILLS NUMBERS S.6588-A AND

A.8422-A; AUTHORIZING THE COMMISSIONER OF EDUCATION TO APPOINT A

MONITOR TO OVERSEE THE WYANDANCH UNION FREE SCHOOL DISTRICT AND

ESTABLISHING THE POWERS AND DUTIES OF SUCH MONITOR; AUTHORIZING DEFICIT

FINANCING AND AN ADVANCE OF AID PAYMENTS FOR THE WYANDANCH UNION

FREE SCHOOL DISTRICT; AND PROVIDING FOR THE REPEAL OF CERTAIN PROVISIONS

UPON EXPIRATION THEREOF.

ACTING SPEAKER AUBRY: READ THE LAST SECTION.

THE CLERK: THIS ACT SHALL TAKE EFFECT IMMEDIATELY.

ACTING SPEAKER AUBRY: I'M SORRY. ON A

MOTION BY MS. JEAN-PIERRE, THE SENATE BILL IS BEFORE THE HOUSE. THE

SENATE BILL IS ADVANCED. READ THE LAST SECTION.

THE CLERK: THIS ACT SHALL TAKE EFFECT IMMEDIATELY.

ACTING SPEAKER AUBRY: THE CLERK WILL RECORD

THE VOTE.

(THE CLERK RECORDED THE VOTE.)

MS. JEAN-PIERRE TO EXPLAIN HER VOTE.

MS. JEAN-PIERRE: THANK YOU, MR. SPEAKER. AT

THE END OF LAST SESSION, WE PASSED LEGISLATION TO ADMINISTER A FISCAL

MONITOR FOR THE WYANDANCH SCHOOL DISTRICT. I WANT TO THANK THE

SPEAKER FOR ALWAYS PUTTING CHILDREN FIRST, AND I WANT TO THANK THE STAFF

NYS ASSEMBLY JANUARY 27, 2020

AND SED AND EVERYONE INVOLVED, THE EXECUTIVE OFFICE, FOR ENSURING

THAT WE CRAFTED AMENDMENTS TO THIS LEGISLATION TO ENSURE THAT WE BEST

SERVE OUR CHILDREN. AND I WANT TO THANK ALL MY COLLEAGUES HERE FOR

VOTING ON THIS LEGISLATION AND FOR THOSE WHO HAVEN'T VOTED, TO VOTE IN

THIS LEGISLATION, BECAUSE IT'S ALL ABOUT PUTTING OUR CHILDREN FIRST. NO

MATTER WHERE YOU LIVE, NO MATTER WHAT ZIP CODE YOU COME FROM, YOU

SHOULD HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO HAVE A FAIR AND QUALITY EDUCATION. AND

WHEN THERE ARE THINGS THAT HAPPEN IN SCHOOL DISTRICTS THAT PROHIBIT THAT,

WE SHOULD TAKE -- ACT WITH POLICY TO ENSURE THAT WE'RE PROTECTING ALL

CHILDREN. AGAIN, THANK YOU AND I VOTE IN THE AFFIRMATIVE.

ACTING SPEAKER AUBRY: MS. JEAN-PIERRE IN

THE AFFIRMATIVE.

ARE THERE ANY OTHER VOTES? ANNOUNCE THE RESULTS.

(THE CLERK ANNOUNCED THE RESULTS.)

THE BILL IS PASSED.

MRS. PEOPLES-STOKES.

MRS. PEOPLES-STOKES: MR. SPEAKER, DO WE

HAVE ANY FURTHER HOUSEKEEPING OR RESOLUTIONS?

ACTING SPEAKER AUBRY: NO HOUSEKEEPING,

BUT WE DO HAVE NUMEROUS FINE RESOLUTIONS WHICH WE WILL TAKE UP WITH

ONE VOTE.

ON THE RESOLUTIONS, ALL THOSE IN FAVOR SIGNIFY BY SAYING

AYE; OPPOSED, NO. THE RESOLUTIONS ARE ADOPTED.

(WHEREUPON, ASSEMBLY RESOLUTION NOS. 719-723

WERE UNANIMOUSLY APPROVED.)

NYS ASSEMBLY JANUARY 27, 2020

MRS. PEOPLES-STOKES.

MRS. PEOPLES-STOKES: MR. SPEAKER, ON BEHALF

OF MR. OTIS, THERE IS AN IMMEDIATE DEMOCRATIC CONFERENCE IN THE

SPEAKER'S CONFERENCE ROOM.

ACTING SPEAKER AUBRY: DEMOCRATIC

CONFERENCE, SPEAKER'S CONFERENCE ROOM.

MRS. PEOPLES-STOKES.

MRS. PEOPLES-STOKES: I NOW MOVE THAT THE

ASSEMBLY STAND ADJOURNED UNTIL 2:30, TUESDAY, JANUARY THE 28TH,

TOMORROW BEING A SESSION DAY.

ACTING SPEAKER AUBRY: THE ASSEMBLY STANDS

ADJOURNED.

(WHEREUPON, AT 4:18 P.M., THE ASSEMBLY STOOD

ADJOURNED UNTIL TUESDAY, JANUARY 28TH AT 2:00 P.M., TUESDAY BEING A

SESSION DAY.)