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STATE BUDGET AN “EPIC” VICTORY FOR SENIORS AND FAMILIES

Colton Wins Full Restoration of EPIC Program

In last year’s budget, the Elderly Pharmaceutical Insurance Coverage (EPIC) program was significantly reduced in an effort to close a $10 billion deficit. At that time, Assemblyman Colton warned that this cut would have a tremendous effect on a senior’s ability to purchase life-saving prescription drugs.

Colton embarked on a community-wide petition drive, going to various senior centers to collect hundreds of signatures to send to the Governor in protest of the cuts. Once again the community’s voice was heard, and $30.6 million was restored to the program. Beginning January 1, 2013, co-payments will be reduced and the most a senior will have to pay will be $20.


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Assemblyman Colton is seen here at a Higher Education Budget Conference. As a member of the panel, Assemblyman Colton was successful in fighting for increases to SUNY and CUNY schools.
Colton Wins Increased Aid for Schools and Community Colleges

After years of cuts to education and government’s broken promises to increase aid to high-need schools, Assemblyman Colton is announcing a 4 percent increase in school aid. The total increase is $805 million, of which some $291 million will go to NYC schools.

“While our schools have weathered painful cuts over the past few years, I believe we took a step in the right direction in helping our children receive the quality education they deserve. I am also happy that we increased support to our SUNY and CUNY community colleges for the first time in five years. I stand by my conviction that public education is a right, and we should all have the opportunity to provide a quality education for all our children,” said Colton.

ASSEMBLYMAN COLTON HONORING OUR VETERANS

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Assemblyman Colton, shown congratulating community veteran Bill Naddeo, organized an event with other local leaders to honor our veterans who made great sacrifices to secure our freedoms here at home. Assemblyman Colton continues to fight for enhanced veterans’ benefits and greater employment opportunities.
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Assemblyman Colton is seen here with veteran Ronald James Sorenson, Executive Director of U.S. Citizens United. Assemblyman Colton supports Mr. Sorenson’s campaign to fly the Missing In Attack On Our Nation (MIA-OON) flag over the State Capitol to commemorate the tragedies of 9/11.


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COLTON CONTINUES FIGHT TO RESTORE B64 BUS SERVICE
Colton Rallies Community Support

Assemblyman Colton recently sent a letter to the MTA highlighting how disruptive the cut to the B64 bus line has been to seniors, the disabled, and students. He demanded that the B64 bus line south of 25th Avenue be fully restored.

Colton is redoubling his efforts and broadening the coalition of community organizations and mass transit advocates to increase the pressure on the MTA to restore the B64 line as well as the B82.

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Pictured here is constituent Iris Marcus. Colton is fighting to restore her Access-A-Ride services.
COLTON HAMMERS MTA OVER ACCESS-A-RIDE DISCRIMINATION
Fights for Cancer Survivor’s Right to Accessible Transportation

This past February a disabled senior citizen visited Assemblyman Colton’s Community Office looking for assistance in restoring her Access-A-Ride service that was arbitrarily canceled by the MTA. Colton and his staff found that the MTA’s review policies raise serious legal questions under the Americans with Disabilities Act.

The MTA decided to ignore her mobility problems and deny her eligibility despite several documented medical conditions that make walking severely painful, and notes from five different doctors confirming her condition. Assemblyman Colton sent a letter to the MTA President and another letter to the U.S. Justice Department, citing the violation of her rights.

“The MTA is supposed to be a public benefit corporation, but it continues to make cuts to services without any regard of their impact. The use of hand-picked agency consultants to determine Access-A-Ride eligibility cannot be considered a fair process. I will continue to fight injustice on behalf of all my constituents and will introduce legislation if this is not handled by the MTA,” said Assemblyman Colton.

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Assemblyman Colton is seen here being interviewed at a press conference announcing the introduction of legislation to clarify the current vague and deceptive rules regarding the use of muni-meters.
COLTON FIGHTS TO END MUNI-METER SHELL GAME

Legislation Would End Confusing Parking Ticket Policy

Last fall, Assemblyman Colton became very vocal about the NYC Department of Transportation’s vague policy regarding the transferable use of a muni-meter receipt from one parking spot to another. The Assemblyman was successful in making this a centerpiece transportation issue in the media and lighting a fire under local officials to clarify the policy.

As is often the case, Assemblyman Colton led the fight on issues that matter the most to neighborhood residents. He introduced a bill in the NYS Assembly that would allow a motorist to use their unexpired meter time at another parking location within the city, and use the receipt as evidence in traffic court. The bill has inspired the introduction of a similar bill in the City Council.

Colton’s Advocacy Spurs
City Council Action

In response to the broad media attention that Assemblyman Colton received for the muni-meter deception, the City Council is working to expedite a similar bill introduced by Transportation Chair James Vacca.

“Whether it is the State Legislature or the NYC Council, we need to pass a law ending this confusing policy. Every day the government works to protect consumers from fraud and deceptive private sector practices. Therefore, the government should have no role in writing vague policies in order to achieve more revenue at the expense of the people they are employed to serve,” said Assemblyman Colton.

COLTON FIGHTS FOR JOBS AND MIDDLE-CLASS TAX RELIEF

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Colton Wins Tax Cut for Working Families

Assemblyman Colton fought for and won a fair tax code that will lower income taxes for some 4.4 million New Yorkers. The fight to reduce tax rates for middle-income families has been a priority for Colton.

“The creation of fair income tax rates is just the beginning to reducing the tax burden on working families and ensuring that all New Yorkers are paying their fair share,” said Colton.

Colton Slashes Taxes for Small Businesses

This year’s budget eliminates or significantly reduces the MTA payroll tax for some 290,000 small businesses. Colton hailed this cut as a victory and believes that self-employed individuals and small business owners should not have to pay for the MTA’s bloated bureaucracy and fiscal mismanagement.

The budget also includes tax cuts that will save manufacturers in New York State some $25 million and encourage increased hiring.

Colton Votes for Job Creation Package

In addition to the targeted tax relief and job creation incentives, Colton approved the New York Works Program. This program will restore or replace 115 bridges and over 2,000 miles of roadways, creating tens-of-thousands of jobs, and making our transportation infrastructure safer for your family.

“New York State is emerging from the pack as a leader in innovation and job creation. We are showing the country that this state can deliver real solutions to fixing our economy, and providing an increased quality-of-life for generations to come,” said Colton.

COLTON WINS SALES TAX BREAK

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Eliminating sales tax from clothing under $110 was a priority in Colton’s “Speak-Up Campaign.” The exemption will help working families afford necessities, as well as energize the local economy by giving consumers more incentive to shop.

“This sales tax break is a commendable follow-up to the middle-class tax cuts I supported in the Assembly. A new day is dawning in this state and I am happy to see real relief reach working families,” said Colton.

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Assemblyman Colton is seen here at a press conference in Albany advocating against placing an unfair tax burden on our neighborhood families. Colton has been leading the way in calling attention to tax fairness issues and fighting to make sure that the burdens of the recession do not fall squarely on middle-class families.
COLTON FIGHTS FOR TAX FAIRNESS

Building upon his success in working with the NYS Department of Taxation & Finance (DTF) to create the state’s first online database of the 250 top individual income and business tax delinquents, Colton is turning his focus to investigating real estate partnership tax shelters, and solutions to closing corporate tax loopholes.

“It’s outrageous that minor offenders face liens on their homes and wage garnishment, yet large corporate offenders get to operate business as usual. This uneven enforcement of the law is unfair, and shifts the tax burden onto hardworking middle income taxpayers,” said Colton.

Colton is calling on DTF to work with the Attorney General’s Office to identify misreported corporate real estate gains, which costs the state between $300-700 million a year.

COLTON PAYS TRIBUTE TO VICTIMS OF HATE AND INTOLERANCE

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Assemblyman Colton is seen here attending the 70th remembrance of the horrific genocide of millions of Jews during World War II. The event was held at Holocaust Memorial Park.

Colton Condemns Anti-Semitic Violence in Midwood

Last November, Assemblyman Colton condemned a brazen attack in which cars were set on fire and swastikas drawn on park benches in the Orthodox Jewish neighborhood of Midwood. The attack was a blatant act of violence and may have been used to commemorate the 73rd anniversary of Kristallnacht, an infamous night in which members of the Nazi party vandalized Jewish businesses and battered them in the streets.

Colton Law Strengthens Hate Crime Prosecution

“The horrific and despicable hate crime scene discovered in Midwood was nothing short of intentional intimidation not only of Jewish members of our community, but all peace loving people who reject intolerance, anti-Semitism, and violence. It is the same rage and intolerance we witnessed that morning, that compelled me to introduce legislation back in 2006 to increase the penalty for swastika scrawling and burning crosses, with the intent to intimidate. The penalty was upgraded to a Class E felony, up from a misdemeanor,” said Assemblyman Colton.

He added “My bill was signed into law and provides district attorney offices throughout New York additional teeth in the law to vigorously prosecute hate crime perpetrators and send them to jail.”

COLTON’S “CLEAN SWEEP” CAMPAIGN 2012

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Assemblyman Colton is seen here with special assistant Priscilla Consolo and neighborhood youths. The youths came from various groups including: Midwood High School Key Club, Brooklyn Technical High School Key Club, United Chinese Association of Brooklyn, Midwood High School Environmental Club, Brooklyn Technical High School Honor Society-Beta Club, Young Action Team, Brooklyn Technical High School Red Cross Club, District 9 High School Key Club, Our Lady of Grace Teen Group, Our Lady of Grace Boy Scouts Troop, and Our Lady of Grace Girl Scouts Troop.


TIPS TO KEEP OUR NEIGHBORHOOD CLEAN!
  • Sweep in front of your home

  • Put garbage out only for scheduled pick-up

  • Don’t open your neighbor’s recycle bin looking for bottles

  • Sweep catch basin area

  • Don’t litter

  • Clean up after your dog ($250 violation)*

*Assemblyman Colton has worked with the NYC Department of Sanitation to increase enforcement of areas where dog owners are being irresponsible. Please respect the cleanliness of our streets and sidewalks.

Follow these six suggestions on a daily basis and our neighborhood will remain beautiful!

Campaign Kicks Off on Earth Day Weekend

Assemblyman Colton continued his “Clean Sweep” campaign on April 21st, just in time to celebrate Earth Day. With the help of his young staffer Priscilla Consolo, Colton was able to rally hundreds of neighborhood youths to help clean along 86th St. from 18th Ave. to 23rd Ave., and along 18th Ave. to 82nd St. The cleanup was the fourth of its kind undertaken by Assemblyman Colton’s youth group coalition. The Department of Sanitation and Home Depot were gracious enough to supply the volunteers with the cleanup tools.

Colton Lauds Youths’ Volunteer Spirit

“I continue to be proud and amazed by the commitment of our neighborhood’s young people. They understand that keeping our neighborhood clean improves the quality of life for all the neighborhood’s residents,” stated Colton. “It continues to be my pleasure to work with community leader Priscilla Consolo in bringing all of these youth groups together to commit to participating in an excellent and beneficial community service,” Colton added.


ASSEMBLYMAN COLTON’S
COMMUNITY OFFICE SERVING YOU

155 Kings Highway (Between West 12th and West 13th Street) • 718-236-1598
Email: coltonw@assembly.state.ny.us