16 Arrested as Fed Up New Yorkers Shut Down Capitol Building's State Street Entrance; Slam Cuomo's Agenda

ALBANY, NY (03/02/2011)(readMedia)-- Sixteen New Yorkers were arrested today in the first major act of civil disobedience since Governor Cuomo took office during a protest of his corporate-backed agenda of tax cuts for millionaires and deep spending cuts to healthcare, education and social services. The group was joined by more than 100 grassroots community activists as they blocked off the State Street entrance of the Capitol Building in Albany.

Since taking office, Cuomo has allied with the biggest corporate interests in Albany to push through an austerity budget that protects Wall Street and the richest state residents while balancing the budget on the backs of poor and middle class New Yorkers. By working with The Committee to "Scam" New York, Governor Cuomo has shown an unwillingness to ask the wealthiest New Yorkers to pay their fair share.

[First VIDEO is available here. More videos will be available at: http://vimeo.com/album/1544166 and PHOTOS will be at http://www.flickr.com/photos/54456265@N06/]

The demonstrators blocked the entrance on the South side of the building, as well as the hallways connecting the entryway vestibule to the Assembly and Senate offices and the stairwell that connects the Capitol Building to the Legislative Office Building.

They called on Cuomo to "put people first," urging him to protect public services New Yorkers rely on and focus on cutting the unemployment rate instead of tax rates for the richest 3%. While acknowledging the Governor's high popularity ratings, they noted that majorities of the public are opposed to key elements of his agenda, including giving tax breaks to millionaires and cutting healthcare and education spending.

A statement endorsed by the participation community organizations is below.

Governor Cuomo's plan to pay for tax cuts for the richest New Yorkers by attacking hospitals, schools and social services is unacceptable. A cuts-only approach to our budget shortfall is a recipe for killing jobs and destroying an already frayed social safety net when people need it most. Governor Cuomo's singular focus on budget cuts is tantamount to fighting with one arm tied behind his back -- and that one arm is swinging only in the direction of those communities most in need.

New York has a revenue crisis, not a spending crisis. Let's be clear - schoolchildren and teachers, patients with chronic illnesses, public workers who fight fires or clear snow from our street, and other ordinary New Yorkers are not to blame for our budget shortfall. We refuse to be scapegoats. We have a budget shortfal because revenue plummeted when Wall Street crashed our economy, which came after decades of tax cuts at the top. The solution is to ask Wall Street and the richest New Yorkers to pay their fair share.

When big money – Wall Street banks, landlords and corporations – dominate the debate, we all lose out. New York is already the most unequal state in the nation, and Governor Cuomo's budget suggests he believes the role of state government is to help the rich get even richer by shifting the burden onto everyone else. But the value of our state government lies in its role creating vibrant communities where all New Yorkers can thrive.

We call on Governor Cuomo to show political courage by:

• Asking Wall Street and the richest New Yorkers to pay their fair share, beginning with a continuation of the millionaire's tax and a new banker's bonus tax.
• Fully funding healthcare, education, social services and jobs programs.
• Fighting for affordable housing through strengthened rent laws, protections for families facing foreclosures and policies that prevent homelessness among low-income New Yorkers.
• Taking steps to address the growing income divide in our state, including targeted policies that address the disproportionate impact on people of color, especially African Americans and Latinos, as well as LGBTQ people, women and youth.
• Ask his corporate allies, the Committee to Save New York, to invest the millions of dollars they have raised to wage a war against the poor, working and middle class into a fund to stave off budget cuts.

Groups participating in this action included CAAAV, Community Voices Heard, FUREE, Picture the Homeless, Queers for Economic Justice, and VOCAL-NY and was endorsed by Right to the City - NYC Chapter.