Biography

Lou Tobacco was elected to the New York State Assembly on March 27, 2007. Lou is a graduate of Public School 35, St. Joseph Hill Academy, Monsignor Farrell High School and the Rockefeller College of Politics at State University of New York at Albany.

Over his short tenure as the South Shore’s representative in Albany, Lou has worked tirelessly to improve the lives of all the residents he serves while fighting to reduce the burden state government places on local families and businesses.

Lou believes that providing a first-class education for all of Staten Island’s children is the key to laying a strong foundation for the region’s future success. To this end, Lou has fought to provide the state education funding necessary to provide teachers and students with the tools they need.

Lou also has worked extensively with children and families living with developmental disabilities. Lou hosted the first ever Autism Awareness Forum on Staten Island as a way to get input from parents regarding what type of state assistance they feel would best help children with developmental disabilities.

Lou is also a yearly contributor to Barnes & Noble Developmental Disability Awareness Month and secured funding for possibili-tees, which provides meaningful employment to youths with developmental disabilities.

Recently, Lou was instrumental in the hiring of Saidi Clemente M.D., a certified Pediatrics and Neuro-Developmental Disabilities physician. Dr. Clemente was hired by Staten Island University Hospital to help diagnose and evaluate the growing number of Staten Island children who have, or may develop, a developmental disability.

The health of Staten Island’s children is a major concern for Lou. To make Staten Island a healthier place to live, Lou has taken his Tobacco against tobacco campaign to schools across Staten Island, which urges students and their family members to kick the habit or never start smoking. Working with the Staten Island chapter of the American Cancer Society and the Richmond County Medical Society, Lou is behind Staten Island’s Smoke-Free parks campaign. He is a major ally in Mayor Bloomberg’s campaign to lower smoking rates throughout the city. Lou is now fighting for the passage of legislation that would make it illegal to smoke around the outdoor perimeter of school buildings.

In addition to providing for the educational and health needs of the region’s youth, Lou has been a vocal advocate for the area’s transportation needs. In 2009, Lou voted against the MTA bailout. He challenged Albany Politics and offered a hostile amendment that would exempt Staten Island EZ Pass users from paying a toll on the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge.

Lou has been a vocal critic of the MTA and has repeatedly called for Staten Island’s fair share in transportation funding. To publicize his opposition, Lou started a grassroots ‘No Taxation without Transportation’ campaign and distributed over 10,000 bumper stickers bearing the movement’s logo.

As a member of the Assembly Transportation Committee, Lou continues to work to provide Staten Island with the resources and transportation projects the borough needs and helped see to the construction of the 3rd and fighting for the 4th bus depot on Staten Island.

Lou also has been instrumental in the remediation of the Brookfield Landfill and ensuring that the cleanup happens in a safe and timely manner. Since being elected, Lou has held monthly meetings with officials from DEC and DEP regarding the site’s cleanup, and last year, working with the Brookfield Civic Association and Earth Justice, they filed a Federal lawsuit demanding action at the site. Furthermore, he helped to secure $100 million in State DEC Funding to help clean up the site. Lou called upon and worked with the NY State Attorney General to ensure that funds set aside for remediation were used in a diligent manner.

Lou is a life-long outdoor enthusiast who is committed to enacting policies that preserve the state’s natural resources for future generations. That’s why Lou is supportive of measures that will reduce New York’s impact on the environment by investing in alternative fuels and energy sources. Recently, Lou is fighting to save Pouch Camp and preserve the area as open space.

Lou also is working on legislation that would increase fluke fishing rights on Staten Island, ensuring a fair distribution of the catch and enabling Staten Island’s fluke fishermen to remain competitive with other states. When it comes to the environment and the rights of outdoor enthusiasts, Lou is working to protect New York’s natural resources for future generations.

Lou is the Ranking Minority Member of the Social Services Committee and serves on the Transportation, Health, Higher Education, Veterans’ Affairs and Codes committees. He is also the vice chair of the Assembly Minority Sex Offender Watch Task Force and is a member of the MTA Capital Program Review Board.

Lou resides in the Tottenville area of Staten Island with his wife, Jennifer, and their children, Madison, Christian,and twins, Ella and Luke. He enjoys spending time with family and friends, reading to his children, and playing with them at the Conference House Park where they can occasionally be seen flying a kite, hiking and riding bikes.