Dear ,
 

With only two weeks left in this legislative session, I am working hard to get the policies I care about most over the finish line. I look forward to seeing everyone more during the summer months as I spend less time in Albany, and more time in the district. There have been several exciting updates since our last newsletter, starting with...
Office Updates

We have finally moved into our permanent district office 🎉! Our office address is:

801 2nd Avenue, Suite 303,
New York, NY 10017.

To set up an in-person appointment with the community affairs team, you can call (718) 765-6674. For casework inquiries, please fill out our intake form.

We are able to assist directly with any State Agency concerns, including:

👉Unemployment and Department of Labor inquiries;
👉Department of Health issues;
👉SNAP Benefits;
👉Taxation and Finance concerns;
👉Transportation issues;
👉Housing issues. 
Legislative Updates

In the last few weeks, there have been a LOT of exciting legislative updates. Two bills of ours passed the Senate, other bills of ours passed through relevant committees, and we introduced new legislation.

  • Our bill, S6323A, passed the Senate! This bill allows victims of identity theft to recover their accounts using proper ID at a business’s in-state location. This bill will help those whose devices have been stolen, and for victims of domestic violence whose accounts and devices may be compromised.
  • Our second bill to pass the Senate will require that information on economic abuse, an often under-looked but ever-present aspect of domestic violence, be made available through our various social service systems to ensure this information reaches those who need it most. 
  • Our bill to reduce barriers to filing a class action law suit passed the full Senate today! Class-action lawsuits are a critical means of holding the government accountable, especially for low-income communities who may not have the means to file an individual lawsuit. 
  • Finally, we recently introduced S7216 which would establish a significant noise tax on non-essential helicopter and sea plane flights. Our Manhattan constituents have routinely expressed that the noise from the hundreds of weekly flights is extremely disruptive. With that in mind, this bill would disincentivize helicopter and seaplane use while also raising revenue for the Environmental Protection Fund.
What I Have Been Up To

After the budget was voted on, I held a town hall to discuss what made it into the final budget, what we won for our district, and where the budget fell short. If you missed the town hall, but would like to see it, you can watch it here.

My proposal to protect abortion access and safeguard healthcare privacy passed in the budget. To celebrate 🎉, we held a press conference in front of the Planned Parenthood in Long Island City.

Our legislation:

🚫Bans law enforcement from obtaining your health data without a warrant
🚫Prevents telecommunication companies from complying with out-of-state warrants
🚫Limits targeted advertising and geofencing around healthcare facilities

As abortion rights are threatened elsewhere in the US, we’re making sure that New York remains a safe haven for abortion access.

In Astoria we have been organizing to urge the DOT to build protected bike lanes in our community. If you live in Astoria, there is still time to fill out the DOT’s survey about our bike infrastructure — fill out the survey here  

For more info, check out our tool kit: 
FILL OUT THE DOT SURVEY

I celebrated Mothers Day in Queens at Riis' NORC as they hosted their annual Mother's Day celebration. It included performances from their Tai Chi group and MoJazz dance!

Earlier this month, the Senate held its annual Women of Distinction Ceremony. I had the honor of recognizing Janet Handal, President of the Waterside Tenants' Association where she represents 4,000 tenants and has been instrumental in advocating for tenants rights. Janet is also the President and Co-Founder of the Transplant Recipients and Immunocompromised Advocacy Group (TRAIPAG), where she leads the charge through life-saving advocacy work. 

At Silvercup studios in Brooklyn, I joined striking workers with other elected officials. Writers have seen their wages decline, all while company have profits have grown by 500%. I will continue to support writers as they push for a fair contract!

 

Earlier this month I went to Marsha P. Johnson State Park in Williamsburg and Gantry Plaza State Park in LIC for I Love My Park Day. Between bike lanes, open streets and well maintained green space, my office is working on issues that directly impact quality of life issues in our district.

At Newtown Creek, I joined federal, state and city partners to strategize about  increasing transparency and accountability into the EPA's efforts for cleaning up the Superfund site. 

 

 As always, please don't hesitate to get in touch with my office! You can do so by simply replying to this email, filling out this form, or calling (718) 765-6674. We hope to hear from you!

Sincerely,

Kristen Gonzalez

ALBANY OFFICE
Legislative Office Building, Room 817
198 State St
Albany, NY 12247
Phone: 518-455-3250A

DISTRICT OFFICE
Phone: (718) 765-6674