"Cuomo's Budget Proposal Just Won't Do"

NEW YORK, NY (02/01/2011)(readMedia)-- .

Allowing the Millionaire's Tax to Expire

Robert Tolbert, a Bronx resident and Board member of VOCAL New York (Voices of Community Activists & Leaders), offered the following statement:

"The only way New York can recover is to ask everyone to pay their fair share. That's why this budget is notable as much for what it leaves out as the cuts it contains. By not extending the millionaire's tax, Governor Cuomo is giving up one of the best tools we have to fix our state's long-term revenue crisis. Despite the Governor's rhetoric of shared sacrifice, this budget protects the Committee to Save New York and the real estate, big bank and big corporate interests they represent. Our governor is supposed to work for the entire state, not just special interests."

VOCAL is a statewide grassroots membership organization building power among low-income people who are living with and affected by HIV/AIDS drug use and incarceration, along with the organizations that serve us, to create healthy and just communities. We accomplish this through community organizing, leadership development, participatory research, public education and direct action.

Jobs for Low-Income Families

Pat Diaz, a Poughkeepsie resident and member of Community Voices Heard, offered the following statement:

"Governor Cuomo has deceived the people who voted for him - they expected him to keep New York afloat, not bring us further down. It's the wrong idea to cut programs that do work - like Transitional Jobs - that help low-income New Yorkers get training and job experience to get off public assistance. The Governor has not laid out a meaningful plan to create jobs, but instead wants to cut jobs and services low-income people rely on. How are people going to survive? All we want are want jobs and a decent place to live, to be able to take care of ourselves and our family. There are so many jobs we need done in our communities, and so many people that need jobs. Putting people to work will get us out of this crisis, unlike Cuomo's budget, which will only bring us further in."

Patricia Diaz is an active leader and Board Member with Community Voices Heard. A Poughkeepsie resident, she is currently working for minimum wage in a temporary job program for low-income seniors. Throughout her life she has worked for decades, has been on public assistance, and has been homeless. CVH is an organization of low-income people, predominantly women with experience on welfare, working to build power in New York City and State to improve the lives of our families and communities.

Rebuilding Our Neighborhoods

Jennifer Meccozzi, Boardchair PUSH Buffalo, offered the following statement:

"Instead of cutting the things government does best, we need Albany to think big about creating green jobs in our communities now. In Buffalo we have an outdated sewer system, brownfields on every corner, and an aging housing stock that is uninsulated and full of toxins. We have an obligation to rebuild our neighborhoods in a green and healthy way and put people to work doing it, but we can't do that with out leadership from our Governor in Albany."

Jen is a line cook who has been fighting for Green Jobs and Housing in Buffalo. She was instrumental in getting recognition from Gov. Patterson for PUSH Buffalo's Green Development Zone which is a model for the rest of the state of what sustainable development looks like. Jen raises three children and knows first hand the challenges of living in a home that isn't energy efficient because more than 30% of her income goes to energy bills. The mission of PUSH Buffalo is to mobilize residents to create strong neighborhoods with quality affordable housing, to expand local hiring opportunities and advance economic justice in Buffalo.

Duane Diggs, a leader of VOICE-Buffalo, offered the following statement:

"We are our brother's keeper. We are happy and excited about the Governor's administration and vision. But for our part as faith leaders we are committed to the least last and lowest among us being a part of a collective prosperous equation. We must have the faith and vision to create a new frontier, and put generations of struggling people back to work. VOICE-Buffalo is committed to this vision through a green jobs program in Buffalo, a clear public transportation plan, and infrastructure investments that are about equality for our struggling communities."

VOICE-Buffalo is a faith-based community organizing project of urban and suburban congregations. The mission of VOICE-Buffalo is to build the capacity of people to act on their concerns, create a culture of responsibility and accountability for what happens in our community, strengthen and connect our institutions to their communities, and break down the barriers that are deeply dividing our neighborhoods, city and region

Reducing the State's Workforce

Adrienne M. Z. Chevrestt, a 30-Year resident of NYCHA's Masaryk Towers on the Lower East Side of Manhattan and a GOLES Community Leader, offered the following statement:

"I couldn't believe my ears when I heard the news reporting the new Governor intends to order a reduction in the state's workforce. I've been unemployed since the stock market crash of mid-September 2008--over two years. Despite my long-standing intense and diligent job search, my experience, and skillset, there are no job prospects in sight. Are there no other options than to now throw thousands more into the already overburdened unemployment line to compete for non-existent jobs with the hundreds of thousands already long-term unemployed? Governor Cuomo's focus must be on creating a new, just economic paradigm."

GOLES (Good Old Lower East Side) is a neighborhood housing and preservation organization that has served the Lower East Side of Manhattan since 1977. We're dedicated to tenants' rights, homelessness prevention, economic development, and community revitalization. GOLES' long-term goals are to build the power of low-income residents on the Lower East Side to address displacement and gentrification, preserve and expand the low-income housing stock, assert community self-determination over the use of public space, and ensure a clean and healthy environment where people live, work, and play.