Going into the budget season, I had a number of priorities, and many of them made it into the Senate's one-house budget.

• As chair of the internet and technology committee, I was excited that we included my proposal of $500,000 to help bolster New York's cybersecurity. With cybersecurity attacks on the rise, this is a step in the right direction to protecting our data.
• We included the Building Public Renewables Act (BPRA) in the one-house budget, which will allow our state to efficiently scale up our public renewable energy production. The BPRA will have a significant impact on our district, which has had to deal with the disproportionate impact of fossil fuel infrastructure for generations.
• We included the core provisions from the Good Cause Evictions bill, which will protect New Yorkers from unjust evictions and unreasonable rent increases.
• The Senate proposed freezing the fares for MTA users and piloting two free buses per borough, proposals that directly impact the wallets of people in our district.
• The Senate included other priorities from our communities as well, such as increasing pay for home healthcare workers, rejecting tuition hikes on CUNY and SUNY, and setting $250 million for the Housing Access Voucher Program.
  

I am proud of the work we have done in the Senate to craft a budget that prioritizes the needs of people in our district and beyond. Now, we must apply pressure to make sure these bills make it into the final budget. 

In addition to the legislation we are working for in the budget, we have introduced several new bills and also held our first Internet and Tech committee meeting.

• We advanced my bill, the Secure Our Data Act (SODA), to help prepare and protect our state against cyberattacks. To hear more about the bill, you can listen to my recent interview on capitol pressroom.
• I was thrilled to advance Senator Krueger's bill, S.158, through the Internet & Technology committee. This legislation gives New Yorkers more control over what happens with their personal healthcare information. Recently, data from a menstruation cycle tracker app was sold to anti-abortion organizations. This example makes it clear that our personal healthcare information needs greater protection. 
• We are now co-sponsoring over 80 bills on issues ranging from housing, to safer streets, to climate change, to criminal justice reform. If there are any bills that you would like us to look into, please email gonzalez@nysenate.gov. 

When I'm not in Albany working on the budget, I've been making my way around our tri-borough district. In Queens, I spoke with community leaders in a listening session hosted by Congresswoman Nydia Velazquez. We discussed the leading issues affecting our communities, from affordable housing to social services and environmental justice.

• Just outside our district last month, 7-year-old Dolma Naadhum was killed by a driver at the corner of 45th street and Newtown road in Astoria. Her 11-year-old brother created this petition to demand a traffic light get installed on the corner where she was killed.  
• Following pressure from several western Queens elected officials, the DOT has begun to meet with us on additional protected bike lanes in Astoria. 
• This month, local artist and activist Suga Ray Marston went on a 14-day hunger strike to bring attention to the area's gentrification crisis and build momentum with Western Queens Community Land Trust to turn the Department of Education Building into the Queensboro People’s Space.
• The Army Corps of Engineers has released a $50+ billion-dollar waterfront resiliency plan. My office participated in a town hall last month in Brooklyn and heard from groups around the district, many of whom pointed out the shortcomings of the Army Corps plan. The deadline to comment on the plan is March 31st. To submit a comment, you can email NYNJHarbor.TribStudy@usace.army.mil. For tips on comment writing, Rebuild by design held a very useful testimony writing workshop.   
  
• My office continues to monitor the operations of multiple development sites throughout North Brooklyn. Last month, we participated in a community meeting regarding the remediation of the NuHart State Superfund Site, as well as a community meeting regarding the quality-of-life concerns that have been caused by construction occurring at 1 Java St.
• The Public Service Commission denied National Grid’s bid to build new fossil fuel gas vaporizers in Greenpoint. This is a huge victory for Greenpoint and beyond and is a testament to the years of organizing that has happened throughout the neighborhood.

Finally, please don’t hesitate to reach out to our office if we can be of assistance in any way. You can also fill out our constituent services intake form to get connected to one of our Constituent Liaisons.