Hundreds of Low-Income New Yorkers Visit Homes of Gov Cuomo & Sen. Skelos to Deliver Performance Evaluations

NEW YORK, NY (08/20/2012)(readMedia)-- Considering issues important to their communities, low-income New Yorkers with the group Community Voices Heard issued failing grades to Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos over the weekend. They delivered their evaluations on giant 5-foot tall report cards to the home of Sen. Skelos in Rockville Center, Long Island and to the home of Gov. Cuomo in Mt. Kisko, Westchester County.

[Watch video here and pictures here.]

"Cuomo and Skelos have no clue how negative an impact they have had on low-income New Yorkers," said Beatrice Pulliam, a leader with the Newburgh chapter. "I believe that if they were students in the school of government for all New Yorkers, they would fail miserably."

The politicians were reviewed on four criteria, including good jobs and access to them, real democracy and fair elections, a just safety net, and truly affordable housing. On each topic, they issued failing grades, with the exceptions of Sen Skelos getting an F- for not only being inactive on meaningful job creation for low-income communities but for actually fighting against efforts that might otherwise be helpful. Gov Cuomo also got a number of failing grades, with the exception being a D- on fair elections, for which the governor has publicly stated support for the issue, but has yet to actually advance it.

Meaningful job creation programs, increasing the minimum wage, strong support for affordable housing, and an overhaul of the way elections are run in New York State are desperately needed, but Governor Cuomo and Senator Skelos, two of the three most powerful politicians in Albany, have refused to respond to the needs of low-income New Yorkers and their communities.