High winds and heavy rain are making for a nasty commute this morning. The speed limit on the Tappan Zee Bridge has been cut to 45 miles per hour. There’s a handful of outages reported in the area, including Suffern, Valley Cottage and Nanuet. O&R had crews worked overnight to restore power to about 35-hundred customers.
Breaking News
Lawmakers to Meet in Albany to Vote on Pay Raises for State Legislators
State lawmakers are reportedly meeting today in Albany to vote on whether to give themselves raises. Stony Point and Orange County Assemblyman Colin Schmitt said Tuesday the raise would make New York lawmakers the highest paid in the nation…
Rockland State Senator Elijah Reichlin-Melnick said Tuesday he’d vote “no” on the bill unless there was a tax cut for New York residents attached to it…
A bill introduced late Monday would give members of the state legislature an annual salary of $142,000 starting next year, a boost of $32,000.
NY State Lawmakers Brace for Possible Trip to Albany to Vote on Pay Raises, Other Issues
State lawmakers may be heading back to Albany this week to give themselves a raise, or not. A bill was reportedly introduced late Monday, giving members of the state Assembly and Senate an annual salary of $142,000 starting next year, that’s a raise of $32,000. Stony Point and Orange County Assemblyman, Republican Colin Schmitt, says if they are called back to the capital, he’s going to vote “no”…
Rockland State Senator, Democrat Elijah Reichlin-Melnick, says if they have to go back to vote on pay raises, he’s also leaning “no”…
Neither State Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins nor Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie has officially said yet whether a special session of the Legislature will happen before the end of the year, though the submission of the pay raise bill could trigger the special session, during which any number of bills could come up for a vote. Assemblyman Schmitt gave up his 99th Assembly District seat and lost in his run for Congress against former Ulster County Executive, Democrat Pat Ryan. Senator Elijah Reichlin-Melnick lost in his re-election bid to Republican Bill Weber.
Hillcrest Man Arrested After Shots Fired Incident in Ramapo
A Hillcrest man was arrested yesterday in connection to incident in which shots were fired toward a residence in the area. Ramapo Police say they got calls of shots fired near Greenridge Way in Hillcrest. Police arrested a 48 year-old Hillcrest man who lived at the house. They found a loaded 9mm handgun at the scene. The unidentified suspect was arraigned in Ramapo Court, released on $5 thousand cash bail, and given a court appearance on a later date.
Two Rockland Towns Leaning Toward Signing On to Bill to Give Volunteers Tax Break
Two Rockland towns are leaning toward giving volunteers a tax break now that the governor has signed a bill giving them the ability to do so. In Clarkstown, supervisor George Hoehmann says that possibility will be presented at a public hearing in late January…
Ramapo supervisor Michael Specht says the town assessor is reviewing the bill and will be reporting his findings to the board next month…
Each municipality, including the Rockland County government, all five towns and their villages, and the school districts, can opt into the bill, which would give a tax break to volunteer and EMS workers in New York State. The bill was authored by Rockland State Senator Elijah Reichlin-Melnick and supported in the Assembly by Ken Zebrowski and Mike Lawler.