Today the Legislature will come together and make the right choices for Suffolk County and New York State. Many of the working families in my district struggle to make ends meet. The governor’s wrong choices would make that struggle impossible to overcome.

His vetoes would have resulted in the largest property tax hike in the history of New York State. The Legislature’s bipartisan budget restores nearly $17.9 million to the schools of my community, which already suffer from overcrowded classrooms and too few resources. This restoration enables schools to minimize the governor’s double digit property tax increase. His vetoes would have wiped out the nearly $5 million restored by the Legislature to the Neighborhood Preservation Program, which helps families find affordable housing. His vetoes would have cut over $13 million in aid to libraries resulting in major cuts to services in Suffolk County Libraries, including: reducing public access to computers; eliminating literacy programs; and leaving communities without Inter-Library Loan services.

I stand with the Legislature today to mend governor’s wrong choices and failed leadership by voting to override his vetoes.