Op-Ed: What’s Next

By Assemblywoman Stacey Pheffer Amato

Decisions are made by those who show up – and on election day (and during the 10 days of early voting) our community, along with New Yorkers from all over our State, and citizens throughout our nation came out to cast their ballot in several races. To all that voted, thank you all for being part of the Democratic process and making your voice heard. On the local level, I would like to truly thank the residents of the 23rd Assembly District for voting to re-elect me to the State Assembly. It has been an honor to serve you and be your voice in Albany, and I am elated to have the privilege of serving you for another term and fighting for you! I have always said that the chance to serve is an incredible honor, and I am honored to have your confidence and support.

As I return to the State Assembly, I thought it might be important to give a brief refresher course on the role. As a member of the State Assembly, part of my role is to craft and design a State-wide budget that allocates funding to schools, Veterans, seniors, the disabled, along with salaries for some of our governmental employees, and so much more. I work on finding a way to ensure State programs and State agencies have the resources they need to operate correctly, while bringing certain resources directly to our community. The budget process also includes allocating State funding to the 593 municipalities in New York State, with the largest being New York City, which is used to make up a portion of their local budgets. When the City, or any City-elected, allocates any funding, a portion of that comes from State funding that my State colleagues and I worked on.

The next part of my role as your State Assemblywoman is to serve as a legislator, which means I create and vote on legislation that impacts the whole State of New York. The role of an Assemblymember is to be the voice for our community when voting on bills or policies. For example, when I passed the bill that mandated all insurance companies in New York must provide women with coverage for any post-mastectomy surgery, that coverage was extended to every woman in our State: whether you live in Buffalo, Rockaway Beach, or Great Neck. Finally, as a State elected official, my role is to focus and address State-specific concerns, such as unemployment coverage or issues with the DMV – yet as many of you know I proudly take on all issues, even City-specific ones. When people call my office about local flooding, an issue with OATH, a problem with the beach, or anything else related to a New York City agency, my team and I have always put our best foot forward to resolve that problem, and that will never change. To date, my office has resolved over 12,000 constituent cases – and we look forward to continuing to get answers to any problems or concerns you may have in the coming years.

As your Assemblywoman I am honored to be your voice in Albany and deliver State resources for the people of the 23rd Assembly District. This year in Albany, I worked to bring services to our community like:

• $13 billion in State funding for our NYC public schools
• Preventing the elimination of the IRMAA (Income-Related Monthly Adjustment) reimbursement
• Reforming Tier 6
• Increasing the salaries for our longest-serving officers in the NYPD
• Removing the co-pay for insulin
• Mandating E-bikes be registered with the DMV
• Securing a 3% increase in survivor benefits for Widows/Widowers of first responders

For the past two years I have worked and passed the most bills out of any elected official in New York City, and I’m proud to say that many of the bills came from conversations I had with members from this community. Whether we bumped into each other while riding bikes, saw each other at the grocery store, or chatted in the laundry room – I always heard what you had to say. Together, we have made legislation that impacts lives by:

• Authorizing all public schools to hold a moment of silence on September 11
• Mandating that pharmaceutical companies outline the reason for a cost increase in any prescription drug
• Generating greater protections and higher environmental standards for Jamaica Bay
• Creating a commission to prevent childhood drowning
• Guaranteeing unlimited sick leave for employees with 9/11-related illnesses
• Removing the requirement that a Veteran must have served during active wartime to be granted certain benefits

I know there will be times when we will not all agree but know that I will listen and work hard to do the best I can for you, your family and our entire community. Nastiness will not deter me, or my amazing team (thank you Jason, Maggie, Jeanette, Emma, P’nina and Greg), because we are here for the people, and will get the job done! My sleeves are rolled up, and I am eager and ready as we head into the 2025-2026 Legislative Session! As always, do not hesitate to contact my office by phone at 718-945-9550 or by email at amatos@nyassembly.gov. It is a pleasure to serve you and I look forward to representing you for many more years to come.