Tuesday, June 17, 1997

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 ALBANY, NEW YORK 10 June 17, 1997 11 10:15 a.m. 12 13 14 REGULAR SESSION 15 16 17 18 LT. GOVERNOR BETSY McCAUGHEY ROSS, President 19 STEPHEN F. SLOAN, Secretary 20 21 22 23 24 25 1 P R O C E E D I N G S 2 THE PRESIDENT: The Senate will 3 come to order. 4 Would everyone please rise and 5 join me in saying the Pledge of Allegiance. 6 (The assemblage repeated the 7 Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag. ) 8 May we bow our heads in a moment 9 of silent prayer. 10 (A moment of silence was 11 observed. ) 12 The reading of the Journal, 13 please. 14 THE SECRETARY: In Senate, 15 Monday, June 16th. The Senate met pursuant to 16 adjournment. The Journal of Saturday, June 14, 17 was read and approved. On motion, Senate 18 adjourned. 19 THE PRESIDENT: Without 20 objection, the Journal stands approved as read. 21 Presentation of petitions. 22 Messages from the Assembly. 23 Messages from the Governor. 24 Reports of standing committees. 25 Reports of select committees. 1 Communications and reports from 2 state officers. 3 Motions and resolutions. Senator 4 Marcellino. 5 SENATOR MARCELLINO: Yes, Madam 6 President. I wish to call up Senator Cook's 7 bill, Print Number 2647, recalled from the 8 Assembly which now is at the desk. 9 THE PRESIDENT: Secretary will 10 read. 11 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 12 267, by Senator Cook, Senate Print 2647, an act 13 to amend the General City Law and others. 14 SENATOR MARCELLINO: Madam 15 President, I now move to reconsider the vote by 16 which this bill was passed. 17 THE PRESIDENT: Call the roll on 18 reconsideration, please. 19 (The Secretary called the roll on 20 reconsideration. ) 21 SENATOR MARCELLINO: Madam 22 President, I now offer the following 23 amendments. 24 THE PRESIDENT: Amendment 25 received. 1 SENATOR MARCELLINO: Thank you. 2 Madam President, on behalf of 3 Senator Cook, I wish to call up Print Number 4 2649, recalled from the Assembly which is now at 5 the desk. 6 THE PRESIDENT: Secretary will 7 read. 8 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 9 356, by Senator Cook, Senate Print 2649, an act 10 to amend the General Municipal Law, in relation 11 to intergovernmental coordination. 12 SENATOR MARCELLINO: Madam 13 President, I now move to reconsider the vote by 14 which this bill was passed. 15 THE PRESIDENT: Call the roll on 16 reconsideration, please. 17 (The Secretary called the roll on 18 reconsideration. ) 19 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 40. 20 SENATOR MARCELLINO: I now offer 21 the following amendments. 22 THE PRESIDENT: Amendments 23 received. 24 SENATOR MARCELLINO: Madam 25 President, excuse me. Madam President, I wish 1 to call up Senator Goodman's bill, Print Number 2 5367, recalled from the Assembly which is now at 3 the desk. 4 THE PRESIDENT: Secretary will 5 read. 6 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 7 1128, by Senator Goodman, Senate Print 5367, an 8 act to amend the Alcoholic Beverage Control 9 Law. 10 SENATOR MARCELLINO: I now move 11 to reconsider the vote by which this bill was 12 passed. 13 THE PRESIDENT: Call the roll on 14 reconsideration, please. 15 (The Secretary called the roll on 16 reconsideration.) 17 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 40. 18 SENATOR MARCELLINO: Madam 19 President, I now offer the following amendments. 20 THE PRESIDENT: Amendments 21 received. 22 SENATOR MARCELLINO: Thank you. 23 Senator Farley. 24 SENATOR FARLEY: Thank you, Madam 25 President. 1 On behalf of Senator Lack, on 2 page 25, I offer the amendments to Calendar 3 Number 740, Senate Print 588-A, and I ask that 4 that bill retain its place on the Third Reading 5 Calendar. 6 On behalf of our Majority Leader, 7 Senator Bruno, on page 41, I offer the following 8 amendments to Calendar Number 1154, Senate Print 9 5254-A, and I ask that that bill retain its 10 place. 11 THE PRESIDENT: Amendment 12 received. 13 Secretary will read. 14 THE SECRETARY: On page 44, 15 Senator Skelos moves to discharge from the 16 Committee on Rules Assembly Bill Number 5323-B, 17 and substitute it for the identical Third 18 Reading Calendar 1230. 19 On page 44, Senator Trunzo moves 20 to discharge from the Committee on Rules 21 Assembly Bill Number 7625 and substitute it for 22 the identical Third Reading Calendar 1233. 23 On page 45, Senator Marcellino 24 moves to discharge from the Committee on Rules 25 Assembly Bill Number 3521-B, and substitute it 1 for the identical Third Reading Calendar 1236. 2 On page 46, Senator Holland moves 3 to discharge from the Committee on Rules 4 Assembly Bill Number 7602, and substitute it for 5 the identical Third Reading Calendar 1247. 6 On page 47, Senator DeFrancisco 7 moves to discharge from the Committee on Rules 8 Assembly Bill Number 7574, and substitute it for 9 the identical Third Reading Calendar 1254. 10 On page 47, Senator Maziarz moves 11 to discharge from the Committee on Rules 12 Assembly Bill Number 5420, and substitute it for 13 the identical Third Reading Calendar 1258. 14 On page 47, Senator Trunzo moves 15 to discharge from the Committee on Rules 16 Assembly Bill Number 6557, and substitute it for 17 the identical Third Reading Calendar 1260. 18 On page 47, Senator Trunzo moves 19 to discharge from the Committee on Rules 20 Assembly Bill Number 6559, and substitute it for 21 the identical Third Reading Calendar 1261. 22 On page 32, Senator Saland moves 23 to discharge from the Committee on Rules 24 Assembly Bill Number 5682 and substitute it for 25 the identical Third Reading Calendar 881. 1 And on page 33, Senator Nozzolio 2 moves to discharge from the Committee on Rules 3 Assembly Bill Number 7548, and substitute it for 4 the identical Third Reading Calendar 896. 5 THE PRESIDENT: Substitutions 6 ordered. 7 Senator Bruno. 8 SENATOR BRUNO: Madam President, 9 can we have an immediate meeting of the Finance 10 Committee in Room 332. 11 THE PRESIDENT: There will be an 12 immediate meeting of the Finance Committee in 13 Room 332. 14 Senator Bruno. 15 SENATOR BRUNO: Madam President, 16 I think we'll move with the order of business 17 and adopt the Resolution Calendar, but at this 18 time I would like to acknowledge that this is a 19 very special day. One of our very esteemed 20 colleagues was born on this very day just a few 21 years ago: Senator Mary Lou Rath. 22 THE PRESIDENT: Oh, well, happy 23 birthday. 24 (Applause) 25 All those in favor of adopting 1 the Resolution Calendar -- Senator Paterson. 2 SENATOR PATERSON: Madam 3 President, I'd just like to ask a question about 4 the Resolution Calendar. Calendar Number 1719 5 is honoring police who have fallen in the line 6 of duty, introduced by my esteemed colleague, 7 Senator Marcellino. We'd like to know if 8 Senator Marcellino would like to open up that 9 resolution. It affects police all over the 10 state, and many of us would like to go on it, if 11 not all of us would like to go on it. 12 THE PRESIDENT: Senator 13 Marcellino. 14 SENATOR MARCELLINO: Madam 15 President, it would be my pleasure to open up 16 the resolution to all members of the chamber. 17 Unless they want not to be on it, we'll put 18 everybody on it. 19 SENATOR PATERSON: Thank you very 20 much, Madam President and Senator Marcellino. 21 THE PRESIDENT: Thank you. Yes, 22 if any member wishes not to be on the resolution 23 please notify the desk. 24 All those in favor of adopting 25 the Resolution Calendar, signify by saying aye. 1 (Response of "Aye.") 2 Opposed nay. 3 (There was no response. ) 4 The Resolution Calendar is 5 adopted. 6 Senator Kuhl. 7 SENATOR KUHL: Yes, Madam 8 President. With regard to the resolution -- I 9 have a resolution proclaiming May as the Older 10 Americans Month, and I'd be happy to open that 11 up to anybody who would wish to co-sponsor that 12 with me. It's Resolution Number 1765. 13 THE PRESIDENT: Thank you, 14 Senator Kuhl. 15 Senator Hannon. Oh, yes, anyone 16 wishing not to be on the resolution, please 17 notify the desk. 18 SENATOR BRUNO: Madam President, 19 I and all others like me in the state are 20 honored that Senator Randy Kuhl would introduce 21 such a resolution honoring me and all others 22 like me. 23 SENATOR PATERSON: Yeah, with 24 thin noses, right? 25 SENATOR BRUNO: Can we at this 1 time take up the controversial -- the 2 non-controversial calendar, Madam President. 3 THE PRESIDENT: The Secretary 4 will read. 5 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 6 358, by Senator Marcellino, Senate Print 2898-A, 7 an act to amend the General Municipal Law, in 8 relation to making certain technical 9 corrections. 10 THE PRESIDENT: Read the last 11 section, please. 12 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This 13 act shall take effect on the same date as such 14 chapter. 15 THE PRESIDENT: Call the roll. 16 (The Secretary called the roll. ) 17 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 40. 18 THE PRESIDENT: The bill is 19 passed. 20 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 21 386, by Senator LaValle, Senate Print 3173-A, an 22 act to amend the Public Authorities Law, in 23 relation to the financing and construction. 24 THE PRESIDENT: Read the last 25 section, please. 1 THE SECRETARY: Section 4. This 2 act shall take effect immediately. 3 THE PRESIDENT: Call the roll. 4 (The Secretary called the roll. ) 5 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 40. 6 THE PRESIDENT: The bill is 7 passed. 8 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 9 564, by Senator Stafford, Senate Print 3164-A, 10 an act to amend the Education Law, and Chapter 11 698 of the Laws of 1996. 12 THE PRESIDENT: Read the last 13 section, please. 14 THE SECRETARY: Section 5. This 15 act shall take effect immediately. 16 THE PRESIDENT: Call the roll. 17 (The Secretary called the roll. ) 18 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 40. 19 THE PRESIDENT: The bill is 20 passed. 21 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 22 587, by Senator Cook, Senate Print 2803-A, an 23 act to amend the Insurance Law and the General 24 Obligations Law. 25 SENATOR PATERSON: Lay that 1 aside, please. 2 THE PRESIDENT: Lay it aside, 3 please. 4 THE SECRETARY: Calendar 596, by 5 Senator Spano, Senate Print 4143, an act to 6 amend the Workers' Compensation Law, in relation 7 to exempting from coverage. 8 SENATOR PATERSON: Lay that 9 aside, please. 10 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 11 635, by Senator DeFrancisco, Senate Print 481-A, 12 an act to amend the General Municipal Law, in 13 relation to the sale of raffle tickets. 14 SENATOR PATERSON: Lay that 15 aside. 16 THE PRESIDENT: Lay that aside, 17 please. 18 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 19 741, by Senator Stafford, Senate Print 1342-B, 20 an act to amend the Family Court Act, in 21 relation to providing for a Family Court judge. 22 THE PRESIDENT: Read the last 23 section, please. 24 SENATOR PATERSON: Lay aside. 25 THE PRESIDENT: Oh, lay aside, 1 please. 2 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 3 1188, by Senator Skelos, Senate Print 306, an 4 act to amend the Criminal Procedure Law, in 5 relation to limiting plea bargaining. 6 THE PRESIDENT: Read the last 7 section, please. 8 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This 9 act shall take effect on the first day of 10 November. 11 THE PRESIDENT: Call the roll. 12 (The Secretary called the roll. ) 13 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 41. 14 THE PRESIDENT: The bill is 15 passed. 16 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 17 1197, by Senator Breslin, Senate Print 2511-A, 18 an act to amend the Public Authorities Law, in 19 relation to the financing and construction of 20 certain facilities. 21 THE PRESIDENT: Read the last 22 section, please. 23 THE SECRETARY: Section 3. This 24 act shall take effect immediately. 25 THE PRESIDENT: Call the roll. 1 (The Secretary called the roll. ) 2 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 41. 3 THE PRESIDENT: The bill is 4 passed. 5 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 6 1201, by member of the Assembly Magee, Assembly 7 Print 5361, an act to amend the Town Law, in 8 relation to the approval of the board of fire 9 commissioners. 10 THE PRESIDENT: Read the last 11 section, please. 12 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This 13 act shall take effect immediately. 14 THE PRESIDENT: Call the roll. 15 (The Secretary called the roll. ) 16 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 41. 17 THE PRESIDENT: The bill is 18 passed. 19 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 20 1203, by Senator Marchi, Senate Print 3578, an 21 act to amend the Public Authorities Law, in 22 relation to authorizing equipment. 23 THE PRESIDENT: Read the last 24 section, please. 25 THE SECRETARY: Section 4. This 1 act shall take effect immediately. 2 THE PRESIDENT: Call the roll. 3 (The Secretary called the roll. ) 4 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 41. 5 THE PRESIDENT: The bill is 6 passed. 7 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 8 1206, by Senator Volker, Senate Print 3743, an 9 act to amend the Civil Practice Law and Rules, 10 in relation to limitations. 11 THE PRESIDENT: Read the last 12 section, please. 13 THE SECRETARY: Section 4. This 14 act shall take effect immediately. 15 THE PRESIDENT: Call the roll. 16 (The Secretary called the roll. ) 17 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 41. 18 THE PRESIDENT: The bill is 19 passed. 20 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 21 1210, by Senator Kuhl, Senate Print 4199, an act 22 to amend the Cooperative Corporations Law, in 23 relation to filing requirements. 24 THE PRESIDENT: Read the last 25 section, please. 1 THE SECRETARY: Section 4. This 2 act shall take effect immediately. 3 THE PRESIDENT: Read the last 4 section, please, or call the roll. 5 (The Secretary called the roll. ) 6 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 43. 7 THE PRESIDENT: The bill is 8 passed. 9 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 10 1211, by Senator Kuhl, Senate Print 4200, an act 11 to authorize Diana W. Millard to transfer her 12 prior membership. 13 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Read 14 the last section. 15 THE SECRETARY: Section 3. This 16 act shall take effect immediately. 17 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Call 18 the roll. 19 (The Secretary called the roll. ) 20 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 43. 21 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: The 22 bill is passed. 23 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 24 1212, by member of the Assembly Tokasz, Assembly 25 Print 6795-A, an act to amend the General 1 Municipal Law, in relation to the membership of 2 the Erie County Industrial Development Agency. 3 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Read 4 the last section. 5 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This 6 act shall take effect on the 90th day. 7 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Call 8 the roll. 9 (The Secretary called the roll. ) 10 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 43. 11 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: The 12 bill is passed. 13 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 14 1214, by Senator Hannon, Senate Print 4433, an 15 act to amend the Civil Service Law, in relation 16 to authorizing the defense. 17 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Read 18 the last section. 19 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This 20 act shall take effect immediately. 21 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Call 22 the roll. 23 (The Secretary called the roll. ) 24 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 43. 25 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: The 1 bill is passed. 2 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 3 1222, by Senator Larkin, Senate Print 1346, an 4 act to amend the Vehicle and Traffic Law, in 5 relation to authorizing the city of Newburgh. 6 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: There 7 is a home rule message at the desk. Read the 8 last section. 9 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This 10 act shall take effect immediately. 11 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Call 12 the roll. 13 (The Secretary called the roll. ) 14 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 43. 15 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: The 16 bill is passed. 17 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 18 1223, by Senator Padavan, Senate Print 1854, an 19 act to amend the Public Authorities Law, in 20 relation to the composition of the Committee to 21 Review and Report. 22 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Read 23 the last section. 24 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This 25 act shall take effect immediately. 1 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Call 2 the roll. 3 (The Secretary called the roll. ) 4 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 43. 5 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: The 6 bill is passed. 7 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 8 1224, by Senator Velella, Senate Print 2334-A, 9 an act to amend the Penal Law, in relation to 10 the crime of criminal mischief. 11 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Read 12 the last section. 13 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This 14 act shall take effect on the first day of 15 November. 16 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Call 17 the roll. 18 (The Secretary called the roll. ) 19 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 43. 20 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: The 21 bill is passed. 22 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 23 1225, by Senator Kuhl, Senate Print 2340, an act 24 to amend the Environmental Conservation Law, in 25 relation to the definition of angling on 1 Canandaigua, Keuka and Seneca Lakes. 2 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Read 3 the last section. 4 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This 5 act shall take effect on the 120th day. 6 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Call 7 the roll. 8 (The Secretary called the roll. ) 9 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 45. 10 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: The 11 bill is passed. 12 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 13 1226, by Senator Lachman, Senate Print 2618-A, 14 an act to amend the Public Authorities Law, in 15 relation to prescribing penalties. 16 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Read 17 the last section. 18 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This 19 act shall take effect immediately. 20 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Call 21 the roll. 22 (The Secretary called the roll. ) 23 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 46. 24 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: The 25 bill is passed. 1 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 2 1228, by Senator Present, Senate Print 4004, an 3 act to amend the Environmental Conservation Law, 4 in relation to the powers and duties. 5 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Read 6 the last section. 7 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This 8 act shall take effect immediately. 9 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Call 10 the roll. 11 (The Secretary called the roll. ) 12 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 46. 13 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: The 14 bill is passed. 15 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 16 1229, by Senator Trunzo, Senate Print 4435, an 17 act to amend the Retirement and Social Security 18 Law, in relation to retirees' compensation. 19 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Read 20 the last section. 21 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This 22 act shall take effect immediately. 23 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Call 24 the roll. 25 (The Secretary called the roll. ) 1 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 46. 2 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: The 3 bill is passed. 4 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 5 1230, by member of the Assembly DiNapoli, 6 substituted earlier today, Assembly Print 7 5323-B, an act to amend the Real Property Tax 8 Law, in relation to excluding. 9 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Read 10 the last section. 11 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This 12 act shall take effect on the first day of 13 January. 14 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Call 15 the roll. 16 (The Secretary called the roll. ) 17 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 46. 18 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: The 19 bill is passed. 20 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 21 1231, by Senator Volker, Senate Print 4553-A, an 22 act to amend the Civil Practice Law and Rules, 23 in relation to service. 24 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Read 25 the last section. 1 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This 2 act shall take effect on the first day of 3 January. 4 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Call 5 the roll. 6 (The Secretary called the roll. ) 7 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 46. 8 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: The 9 bill is passed. 10 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 11 1232, by Senator Libous, Senate Print 4716-A, an 12 act to authorize the village of Johnson City in 13 the county of Broome, to sell certain park 14 lands. 15 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: There 16 is a home rule message at the desk. Read the 17 last section. 18 THE SECRETARY: Section 4. This 19 act shall take effect immediately. 20 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Call 21 the roll. 22 (The Secretary called the roll. ) 23 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 46. 24 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: The 25 bill is passed. 1 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 2 1233, substituted earlier today. 3 SENATOR PATERSON: Lay aside. 4 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: 5 Calendar Number 1233 is laid aside at the 6 request of the Acting Minority Leader. 7 Secretary will read. 8 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 9 1234, by Senator Farley, Senate Print 4734-A, an 10 act to amend the General Obligations Law, in 11 relation to providing. 12 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Read 13 the last section. 14 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This 15 act shall take effect immediately. 16 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Call 17 the roll. 18 (The Secretary called the roll. ) 19 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 46. 20 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: The 21 bill is passed. 22 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 23 1235, by Senator Velella, Senate Print 4839, an 24 act authorizing the city of New York to reconvey 25 its interest in certain real property. 1 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: There 2 is a home rule message at the desk for Calendar 3 Number 1235. Read the last section. 4 THE SECRETARY: Section 5. This 5 act shall take effect immediately. 6 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Call 7 the roll. 8 (The Secretary called the roll. ) 9 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 46. 10 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: The 11 bill is passed. 12 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 13 1236, by Senator Spano, Senate Print 4858, an 14 act to amend the Local Finance Law, in relation 15 to bonds and notes. 16 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: There 17 is a home rule message at the desk for Calendar 18 Number 1236. Read the last section. 19 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This 20 act shall take effect immediately. 21 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Call 22 the roll. 23 (The Secretary called the roll.) 24 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 46. 25 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: The 1 bill is passed. 2 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 3 1237, substituted earlier today, by member of 4 the Assembly McEneny, Assembly Print 3521-B, an 5 act to amend the General Business Law, in 6 relation to towed motor vehicles. 7 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Read 8 the last section. 9 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This 10 act shall take effect on the first day of 11 January. 12 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Call 13 the roll. 14 (The Secretary called the roll. ) 15 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 47. 16 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: The 17 bill is passed. 18 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 19 1238, by Senator Hannon, Senate Print 5206, an 20 act to amend the Facilities Development 21 Corporation Act, the New York State Medical Care 22 Facilities Finance Agency Act and the Public 23 Authorities Law. 24 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Read 25 the last section. 1 THE SECRETARY: Section 19. This 2 act shall take effect immediately. 3 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Call 4 the roll. 5 (The Secretary called the roll. ) 6 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 47. 7 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: The 8 bill is passed. 9 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 10 1239, by Senator Maziarz, Senate Print 5253, an 11 act to amend the State Finance Law, in relation 12 to establishing a Transportation Mobility 13 Revolving Loan Fund. 14 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Read 15 the last section. 16 THE SECRETARY: Section 3. This 17 act shall take effect immediately. 18 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Call 19 the roll. 20 (The Secretary called the roll. ) 21 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 47. 22 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: The 23 bill is passed. 24 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 25 1240, by Senator Skelos, Senate Print 5259, an 1 act to amend the Correction Law, in relation to 2 requiring inmates to make medical co-payments. 3 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Read 4 the last section. 5 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This 6 act shall take effect immediately. 7 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Call 8 the roll. 9 (The Secretary called the roll. ) 10 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 48. 11 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: The 12 bill is passed. 13 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 14 1241, by Senator Padavan. 15 SENATOR SKELOS: Lay aside. 16 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Bill 17 is laid aside. 18 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 19 1242, by Senator Stafford, Senate Print 5269-A, 20 an act authorizing the town of Schroon to 21 dissolve and discontinue. 22 SENATOR SKELOS: Lay aside. 23 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Lay 24 the bill aside at the request of the Acting 25 Majority Leader. 1 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 2 1243, by Senator Rosado, Senate Print 5270, an 3 act authorizing the city of New York to reconvey 4 its interest. 5 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: 6 Senator Skelos. 7 SENATOR SKELOS: Yes, Mr. 8 President. Would you lay aside 1243 and I 9 inadvertently laid aside 1242. 10 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: 11 Secretary will read Calendar Number 1242, by 12 Senator Stafford. 13 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 14 1242, by Senator Stafford, Senate Print 5269-A, 15 an act authorizing the town of Schroon to 16 dissolve and discontinue. 17 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Read 18 the last section. 19 THE SECRETARY: Section 3. This 20 act shall take effect immediately. 21 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Call 22 the roll. 23 (The Secretary called the roll. ) 24 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 48. 25 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: The 1 bill is passed. 2 1243 is laid aside. 3 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 4 1244, by Senator Hannon, Senate Print 5282, an 5 act to amend the New York State Medical 6 Facilities Finance Agency Act. 7 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Read 8 the last section. 9 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This 10 act shall take effect immediately. 11 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Call 12 the roll. 13 (The Secretary called the roll. ) 14 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 48. 15 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: The 16 bill is passed. 17 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 18 1246, by Senator Larkin, Senate Print 5300, an 19 act to amend the General Municipal Law, in 20 relation to eliminating certain exemptions. 21 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Read 22 the last section. 23 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This 24 act shall take effect on the first day of 25 November. 1 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Call 2 the roll. 3 (The Secretary called the roll. ) 4 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 48. 5 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: The 6 bill is passed. 7 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 8 1248, by Senator Goodman, Senate Print 5330, an 9 act to amend Chapter 587 of the Laws of 1995, 10 relating to authorizing conveyance of certain 11 lands. 12 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Read 13 the last section. 14 THE SECRETARY: Section 3. This 15 act shall take effect immediately. 16 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Call 17 the roll. 18 (The Secretary called the roll. ) 19 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 48. 20 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: The 21 bill is passed. 22 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 23 1249, by Senator Farley, Senate Print 5331, an 24 act to allow Richard C. Healy to file a 25 request. 1 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: There 2 is a home rule message at the desk for Calendar 3 Number 1249. Read the last section. 4 THE SECRETARY: Section 3. This 5 act shall take effect immediately. 6 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Call 7 the roll. 8 (The Secretary called the roll. ) 9 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 48. 10 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: The 11 bill is passed. 12 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 13 1250, by Senator Larkin, Senate Print 5347, an 14 act to amend the Navigation Law, in relation to 15 a limitation. 16 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Read 17 the last section. 18 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This 19 act shall take effect immediately. 20 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Call 21 the roll. 22 (The Secretary called the roll. ) 23 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 48. 24 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: The 25 bill is passed. 1 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 2 1251, by Senator Volker, Senate Print 5353, an 3 act to amend the Criminal Procedure Law, in 4 relation to transfer of supervision. 5 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Read 6 the last section. 7 THE SECRETARY: Section 3. This 8 act shall take effect on the first day of 9 November. 10 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Call 11 the roll. 12 (The Secretary called the roll. ) 13 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 48. 14 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: The 15 bill is passed. 16 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 17 1252, by Senator Padavan, Senate Print 5359, an 18 act to amend the Tax Law and the Administrative 19 Code of the city of New York. 20 SENATOR HANNON: Lay aside for 21 the day. 22 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: 23 Calendar Number 1252 is laid aside for the day. 24 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 25 1253, by Senator Rath, Senate Print 5386, an act 1 to amend the Penal Law, in relation to grand 2 larceny in the fourth degree. 3 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Read 4 the last section. 5 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This 6 act shall take effect on the first day of 7 November. 8 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Call 9 the roll. 10 (The Secretary called the roll. ) 11 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 48. 12 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: The 13 bill is passed. 14 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 15 1254, substituted earlier today, by the Assembly 16 Committee on Rules, Assembly Print 7574, an act 17 to amend Chapter 515 of the Laws of 1995. 18 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Read 19 the last section. 20 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This 21 act shall take effect immediately. 22 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Call 23 the roll. 24 (The Secretary called the roll. ) 25 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 48. 1 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: The 2 bill is passed. 3 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 4 1255, by Senator Nozzolio, Senate Print 5402, an 5 act to amend the Executive Law, in relation to 6 access to criminal history records. 7 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Read 8 the last section. 9 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This 10 act shall take effect in 60 days. 11 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Call 12 the roll. 13 (The Secretary called the roll. ) 14 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 48. 15 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: The 16 bill is passed. 17 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 18 1256, by Senator Spano, Senate Print 5405, an 19 act to amend the Retirement and Social Security 20 Law, in relation to verification of State Police 21 disability. 22 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Read 23 the last section. 24 SENATOR PATERSON: Would you lay 25 that aside, Mr. President? 1 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 2 1257, by Senator Meier, Senate Print 5409, an 3 act to amend the Environmental Conservation Law, 4 in relation to prohibiting the feeding of deer. 5 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Read 6 the last section. 7 THE SECRETARY: Section 3. This 8 act shall take effect on the 60th day. 9 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Call 10 the roll. 11 (The Secretary called the roll. ) 12 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 49. 13 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: The 14 bill is passed. 15 Just for everyone's information, 16 Calendar Number 1256 was laid aside. 17 Secretary will read. 18 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 19 1258, substituted earlier today, by member of 20 the Assembly Robach, Assembly Print 5420, an act 21 to amend the Town Law, in relation to 22 authorizing. 23 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Read 24 the last section. 25 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This 1 act shall take effect immediately. 2 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Call 3 the roll. 4 (The Secretary called the roll. ) 5 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 49. 6 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: The 7 bill is passed. 8 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 9 1259, by Senator Meier, Senate Print 5418, an 10 act to amend the Family Court Act, in relation 11 to increasing. 12 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Read 13 the last section. 14 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This 15 act shall take effect immediately. 16 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Call 17 the roll. 18 (The Secretary called the roll. ) 19 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 49. 20 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Bill 21 is passed. 22 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 23 1260, substituted earlier today, by member of 24 the Assembly Vitaliano, Assembly Print 6557, an 25 act to amend the Retirement and Social Security 1 Law, in relation to extension. 2 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Read 3 the last section. 4 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This 5 act shall take effect immediately. 6 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Call 7 the roll. 8 (The Secretary called the roll. ) 9 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 49. 10 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: The 11 bill is passed. 12 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 13 1261, substituted earlier today, by member of 14 the Assembly Vitaliano, Assembly Print 6559, an 15 act to amend the Retirement and Social Security 16 Law, in relation to membership. 17 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Read 18 the last section. 19 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This 20 act shall take effect immediately. 21 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Call 22 the roll. 23 (The Secretary called the roll. ) 24 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 49. 25 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: The 1 bill is passed. 2 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 3 1262, by Senator Trunzo, Senate Print 5476, an 4 act to amend the Retirement and Social Security 5 Law. 6 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Bill 7 is high. It will be laid aside. 8 Senator Skelos, that completes 9 the reading of the non-controversial calendar. 10 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President, 11 if we could take up the controversial calendar 12 at this time. 13 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: 14 Secretary will read. 15 THE SECRETARY: On page 20, 16 Calendar Number 587, by Senator Cook, Senate 17 Print 2803-A, an act to amend the Insurance Law 18 and the General Obligations Law. 19 SENATOR PATRSON: Explanation, 20 please. 21 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: 22 Senator Cook, an explanation of Calendar Number 23 587 has been requested by the Acting Minority 24 Leader. 25 SENATOR COOK: Mr. President, 1 this bill is an effort to remedy a situation 2 where increasingly open lands are not available 3 for the use of the general public because of the 4 concerned landowners over liability in case 5 there were some injury that occurred to an 6 individual who might incidentally be utilizing 7 the property. 8 The bill provides, in general 9 terms, that if a person is on a piece of private 10 land and that they are not paying a price, fee, 11 for being on that property and in the course of 12 normal use of that property, they sustain some 13 kind of injury, that the landowner does not have 14 liability. 15 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Read 16 the last section. 17 THE SECRETARY: Section 3. This 18 act shall take effect 180 days. 19 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Call 20 the roll. 21 (The Secretary called the roll. ) 22 THE SECRETARY: Ayes -- those 23 recorded in the negative on Calendar Number 587 24 are Senators Abate, Connor, Gentile, Kruger, 25 Onorato, Paterson and Sampson. Ayes 43, nays 1 7. 2 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: The 3 bill is passed. 4 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 5 596, by Senator Spano, Senate Print 4143, an act 6 to amend the Workers' Compensation Law. 7 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Read 8 the last section. 9 THE SECRETARY: Section 3. This 10 act shall take effect in 90 days. 11 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Call 12 the roll. 13 (The Secretary called the roll. ) 14 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 50. 15 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: The 16 bill is passed. 17 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 18 635, by Senator DeFrancisco, Senate Print 481-A, 19 an act to amend the General Municipal Law. 20 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Read 21 the last section. 22 Senator Paterson. 23 SENATOR PATERSON: Mr. President, 24 this bill was laid aside at the request of 25 Senator Dollinger. The bill that will 1 immediately follow was laid aside at the request 2 of Senator Gold. Both are active in the Finance 3 Committee which is meeting off the floor. With 4 the consent of the Majority, might we hold these 5 bills for a few minutes until they come out of 6 that Finance Committee meeting? 7 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: You 8 talking about Calendar Number 635 and 741? 9 SENATOR PATERSON: Those two 10 bills. 11 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: 12 Senator Skelos? 13 SENATOR SKELOS: Yes, we'll lay 14 those aside temporarily until the Senators 15 return. 16 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Yes, 17 Calendars 635 and 741 are temporarily laid aside 18 at the request of Senator Paterson. 19 Secretary will read. 20 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 21 1233, substituted earlier today, by the Assembly 22 Committee on Rules, Assembly Print 2635, an act 23 to amend the Civil Service Law. 24 SENATOR PATERSON: Explanation. 25 SENATOR MARKOWITZ: Explanation. 1 SENATOR SKELOS: Would you please 2 take up Calendar Number 1256. 3 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: 4 Calendar Number 1233 is temporarily laid aside. 5 Secretary will read. 6 THE SECRETARY: Calendar 1256, by 7 Senator Spano, Senate Print 5405, an act to 8 amend the Retirement and Social Security Law. 9 SENATOR PATERSON: Explanation. 10 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: 11 Senator Spano, an explanation of Calendar Number 12 1256 has been requested by Senator Smith. 13 Senator Spano. 14 SENATOR SPANO: Thank you, Mr. 15 President. 16 This bill coordinates the 17 termination of disability between the 18 Comptroller, the Comptroller and the State 19 Police. Right now if the Comptroller determines 20 that a State Police officer is fit to work but 21 if the Superintendent of State Police determines 22 that the officer is not fit, the officer in 23 question is unable to receive a disability 24 pension and unable to return to work, so we're 25 putting that State Police officer, therefore, in 1 a position where they're not able to earn any 2 income. 3 What this bill would do, it would 4 allow that an officer at his or her option would 5 be able to return to work after the Superin 6 tendent provides all the necessary information 7 regarding -- regarding the termination of the 8 officer's disability. 9 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: 10 Senator Paterson. 11 SENATOR PATERSON: Thank you. 12 Thank you, Mr. President. 13 If the Senator would yield for a 14 question. 15 SENATOR SPANO: Yes. 16 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: 17 Senator Spano, would you yield for a question 18 from Senator Paterson? 19 Senator Paterson. 20 SENATOR PATERSON: Senator, the 21 system as it exists now, I think, is a rather 22 good system. It creates a sort of system of 23 checks and balances. There are different 24 circumstances where someone might be determined 25 to be disabled, and I think that those who were 1 responsible for putting this into law under 2 stood that the standards might be viewed from a 3 different prism whether you were affiliated with 4 the State Police or whether it was made by the 5 Comptroller. 6 Why would we want to alter that 7 standard now and diminish what might be a 8 standard of care that would be extended to the 9 individual who, in many cases, most likely is 10 having a very serious problem in life, perhaps 11 complicated by what would occur if we passed 12 this bill? 13 SENATOR SPANO: The problem with 14 this kind of law, Senator, is that there are no 15 checks and balances in the system right now, and 16 this put -- this places the members of the State 17 Police in a position where they will be unable 18 to earn any income because the Comptroller would 19 make the determination, the State Police would 20 then make a determination that they're not fit 21 to work, and it would place them in a position 22 where there is no check and balance in the 23 system. 24 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Read 25 the last section. 1 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This 2 act shall take effect immediately. 3 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Call 4 the roll. 5 (The Secretary called the roll. ) 6 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 51. 7 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: The 8 bill is passed. 9 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 10 1241, by Senator Padavan, Senate Print 5262-A, 11 an act to amend the New York City charter. 12 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: It was 13 laid aside for the day. 14 Secretary will read. 15 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 16 1243, by Senator Rosado, Senate Print 5270, an 17 act authorizing the city of New York to reconvey 18 its interest. 19 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Read 20 the last section. There is a home rule message 21 at the desk for Calendar Number 1243. Read the 22 last section. 23 THE SECRETARY: Section 5. This 24 act shall take effect immediately. 25 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Call 1 the roll. 2 (The Secretary called the roll. ) 3 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 51. 4 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: The 5 bill is passed. 6 I'm sorry, Senator Waldon. 7 SENATOR WALDON: Thank you very 8 much, Mr. President. 9 I respectfully request unanimous 10 consent due to being out of the chamber on other 11 Senate business, to be recorded in the negative 12 on Calendar 587, Senate Bill 2873-A, and as well 13 on 1240. 14 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: 15 Without objection, so ordered. 16 Senator Skelos. 17 SENATOR SKELOS: Yes, Mr. 18 President, as we're waiting for members to come 19 from the Finance Committee, is there any 20 housekeeping at the desk? 21 Will you please recognize Senator 22 Marcellino. 23 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Yes. 24 I believe that there is. Senator Marcellino. 25 SENATOR MARCELLINO: Mr. 1 President, I wish to call up Senator Volker's 2 bill, Print Number 1587, recalled from the 3 Assembly which is now at your desk. 4 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: 5 Secretary will read. 6 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 7 473, by Senator Volker, Senate Print 1587, an 8 act to amend the Executive Law. 9 SENATOR MARCELLINO: Now move to 10 to reconsider the vote by which the bill was 11 passed. 12 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Call 13 the roll on reconsideration. 14 (The Secretary called the roll on 15 reconsideration. ) 16 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 51. 17 SENATOR MARCELLINO: I now offer 18 the following amendments. 19 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: 20 Amendments received. 21 SENATOR MARCELLINO: Mr. 22 President, I wish to call up Senator Marchi's 23 bill, Print Number 4767, recalled from the 24 Assembly which is now at the desk. 25 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: 1 Secretary will read. 2 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 3 1082, by Senator Marchi, Senate Print 4767, an 4 act to amend the Business Corporation Law. 5 SENATOR MARCELLINO: I now move 6 to reconsider the vote by which this bill was 7 passed. 8 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Call 9 the roll on reconsideration. 10 (The Secretary called the roll on 11 reconsideration. ) 12 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 51. 13 SENATOR MARCELLINO: Now offer 14 the following amendments. 15 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: 16 Senator Marcellino. Amendments received. 17 Senator Skelos. 18 SENATOR SKELOS: Would you please 19 recognize Senator Paterson for a very important 20 announcement. 21 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: 22 Senator Paterson. 23 SENATOR PATERSON: Thank you, Mr. 24 President. I wanted to join in those who 25 congratulate Senator Rath on her birthday and to 1 add to that that we have two Senators born on 2 the same day, and we're recognizing the birthday 3 of Senator Sampson -- this is Senator Sampson's 4 first year in the Senate, and I wanted to wish 5 him a happy birthday. I know Senator Breslin 6 and Senator Rosado just passed their first 7 bills, I'm sure they must be in a pretty good 8 mood. I'm sure they'd want to recognize Senator 9 Sampson's birthday as well. 10 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Well, 11 Senator Sampson, Senator Bruno and all the 12 colleagues in the chamber do wish you a happy 13 birthday. We do want to note, however, that 14 Senator Rath received flowers on her desk this 15 morning, so we think that Senator Paterson owes 16 you something. 17 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President. 18 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: 19 Senator Skelos. 20 SENATOR SKELOS: I just wanted to 21 point out that most members do not want to see 22 flowers on their desk. 23 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: 24 Particularly those as young as Senator Sampson. 25 Senator Skelos. 1 SENATOR SKELOS: Senator Trunzo 2 is back, if we could take up Calendar Number 3 1233. 4 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: 5 Secretary will read. 6 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 7 1233, substituted earlier today, by the Assembly 8 Committee on Rules, Assembly Print 7625, an act 9 to amend the Civil Service Law. 10 SENATOR PATERSON: Explanation. 11 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: 12 Senator Trunzo, an explanation of Calendar 1233 13 has been requested by Senator Onorato. 14 SENATOR TRUNZO: Well, Mr. 15 President, this bill permits an unremarried 16 spouse of a state employee who dies prior to 17 retirement to use the employee's earned but 18 unused sick leave to assist in payment of the 19 state health insurance premiums. 20 In other words, right now, if you 21 die, your health insurance premiums when you 22 retire would be paying for your health 23 insurance. This requires an unremarried spouse 24 to utilize the unused sick leave to pay for the 25 health insurance. 1 SENATOR MARKOWITZ: Mr. 2 President. 3 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: 4 Senator Markowitz. 5 SENATOR MARKOWITZ: Thank you 6 very, very much. 7 Senator Trunzo, may I ask -- I 8 understand that the teachers' union is 9 supporting this bill, is that correct? 10 SENATOR TRUNZO: Excuse me? 11 SENATOR MARKOWITZ: Are the 12 teachers' union supporting this bill? 13 SENATOR TRUNZO: Yes. 14 SENATOR MARKOWITZ: But there's 15 one thing that disturbs me. Maybe you can 16 answer the question. I read the bill, and I 17 can't seem to find whether or not this is 18 applicable to domestic partners. Does it cover 19 domestic partners? 20 SENATOR TRUNZO: My understanding 21 would be no. Just 22 SENATOR MARKOWITZ: On the bill, 23 if I may. 24 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: 25 Senator Markowitz, on the bill. 1 SENATOR MARKOWITZ: Senator 2 Trunzo, obviously the Governor's office, the 3 Assembly and a growing number of corporations 4 around the country are extending benefits to 5 domestic partners, and I don't feel it's fair, 6 certainly not fair, and in this time frame to 7 deny those benefits to -- to people who share 8 common love, and I think it's important that 9 Senator Trunzo as the chairman of the committee, 10 I had offered a bill which is 1287 which really 11 encompasses your efforts and just adds domestic 12 partners, and I'd be eager for you to accept 13 that, and I would join in with your assurance 14 that the bill would be amended to include 15 domestic partners which exist throughout the 16 country now and certainly in New York State. 17 So that's a very easy request I 18 have of you and, if you say yes, I'll sit down 19 immediately. 20 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Well, 21 Senator Markowitz, you were speaking on the 22 bill. Are you asking Senator Trunzo to yield 23 for a question now? 24 SENATOR MARKOWITZ: Yes, I will 25 yield for a question absolutely, Mr. President. 1 Senator Trunzo 2 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: 3 Senator Trunzo, would you yield for a question 4 from Senator Markowitz? 5 SENATOR TRUNZO: Yes. 6 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: 7 Senator Markowitz, now you may ask your 8 question. 9 SENATOR MARKOWITZ: Senator 10 Trunzo, would you add -- would you consider 11 adding -- modifying, I'm sorry, or amending? 12 SENATOR TRUNZO: I'm not amending 13 the bill because it has already -- the bill has 14 already passed the Assembly. It's been 15 substituted and this question evidently did not 16 come up in the Assembly and if there is some 17 future bill to contend with these problems, 18 we'll consider that, and I also wanted to let 19 you know you ain't comin' to my house for 20 Christmas. 21 SENATOR MARKOWITZ: Senator 22 Trunzo, your arguments are tremendously 23 persuasive. Having said that, I really do hope 24 that some time very soon that the amendment can 25 be made on this legislation really. I mean the 1 legislation is good as you propose, but I still 2 feel that wherever possible domestic partners 3 should be included, and I hope that perhaps 4 very, very soon you'll accept that amendment and 5 adjust this bill accordingly. 6 Thank you very, very much. 7 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Read 8 the last section. 9 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This 10 act shall take effect immediately. 11 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Call 12 the roll. 13 (The Secretary called the roll. ) 14 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 52. 15 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: The 16 bill is passed. 17 Senator Skelos. 18 SENATOR SKELOS: Is there any 19 housekeeping at the desk? No housekeeping? 20 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: No 21 housekeeping at the desk. 22 SENATOR SKELOS: Then we'll have 23 to stand at ease pending the return of Senator 24 Dollinger from the Finance Committee and then 25 we'll take up the report of the Finance 1 Committee also. 2 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: The 3 Senate will stand at ease. Let the record show 4 that we're standing at ease awaiting Senator 5 Dollinger's return. 6 (The Senate stood at ease from 7 10:59 to 11:05 p.m.) 8 SENATOR SKELOS: With the consent 9 of the Minority, would you please call up Senate 10 635. 11 THE SECRETARY: Senate Print 635, 12 by Senator DeFrancisco, Senate Print 481-A, an 13 act to amend the General Municipal Law, in 14 relation to the sale of raffle tickets. 15 ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO: 16 Please read the last section. 17 THE SECRETARY: Section 7. This 18 act shall take effect immediately. 19 ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO: 20 Call the roll. 21 (The Secretary called the roll. ) 22 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 53. 23 ACTING PRESIDENT DeFRANCISCO: 24 The bill is passed. We'll now continue to stand 25 at ease. 1 (The Senate stood at ease from 2 11:06 a.m. to 11:08 a.m.) 3 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: 4 Senator Skelos. 5 SENATOR SKELOS: Would you please 6 recognize Senator Tully. 7 SENATOR TULLY: Mr. President, I 8 would like unanimous consent to be recorded in 9 the negative on Calendar Number 635. 10 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: 11 Without objection, so ordered. 12 The Senate will continue to stand 13 at ease awaiting the return of Senator 14 Dollinger. 15 (The Senate stood at ease from 16 11:08 a.m., to 11:12 a.m.) 17 SENATOR SKELOS: Would you please 18 call up Calendar Number 741. 19 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: The 20 Secretary will read. 21 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 22 741, by Senator Stafford, Senate Print Number 23 1342-B, an act to amend the Family Court Act. 24 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Read 25 the last section. 1 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This 2 act shall take effect immediately. 3 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Call 4 the roll. 5 (The Secretary called the roll. ) 6 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 53. 7 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: The 8 bill is passed. 9 Senator Skelos. 10 SENATOR SKELOS: We'll continue 11 to stand at ease pending the report of the 12 Finance Committee. 13 ACTING PRESIDENT MAZIARZ: Senate 14 will stand at ease pending the report of the 15 Finance Committee. 16 (The Senate stood at ease from 17 11:14 a.m. until 12:03 p.m.) 18 ACTING PRESIDENT HOLLAND: The 19 Senate at will come to order. 20 Senator Skelos. 21 SENATOR SKELOS: Mr. President, 22 there will be an immediate meeting of the Rules 23 Committee in the Majority Conference Room, and 24 if we could return to reports of standing 25 committees, I believe there's a report of the 1 Finance Committee at the desk. I ask that it be 2 read. 3 ACTING PRESIDENT HOLLAND: There 4 will be an immediate meeting of the Rules 5 Committee in Room 332. 6 Secretary will read. 7 THE SECRETARY: Senator Stafford, 8 from the Committee on Finance, reports the 9 following nomination: Member of the Board of 10 Trustees of the State University of New York 11 Kenneth E. Cook, of Brooklyn. 12 SENATOR KUHL: Move the 13 nomination. 14 ACTING PRESIDENT HOLLAND: 15 Question arises on the nomination of Kenneth E. 16 Cook. All in favor, say aye. 17 SENATOR MONTGOMERY: I'd like to 18 have any name called. 19 ACTING PRESIDENT HOLLAND: Excuse 20 me. I defer to the Deputy Minority Leader. 21 Senator Paterson. 22 SENATOR PATERSON: Mr. President, 23 we don't have anyone in the chamber. There were 24 a number of votes and questions on this 25 nomination and people would like to express 1 themselves on this issue. I thought we were 2 I thought we would do that with sufficient 3 notice. 4 ACTING PRESIDENT HOLLAND: 5 Senator, would you like to lay this one aside 6 and move on to the rest of them? Is that what 7 your suggestion is? 8 SENATOR PATERSON: Thank you. 9 ACTING PRESIDENT HOLLAND: Is 10 that O.K. with you, Senator Kuhl? 11 SENATOR STAFFORD: No, no, 12 absolutely not. 13 ACTING PRESIDENT HOLLAND: The 14 question is on the confirmation of Kenneth E. 15 Cook, member CUNY Board of Trustees. All in 16 favor signify by saying aye. 17 Senator Paterson. 18 SENATOR PATERSON: I will -- I 19 will have to call a slow roll call on this 20 then. 21 SENATOR LEICHTER: Are we to 22 debate on this? 23 ACTING PRESIDENT HOLLAND: Wait a 24 minute. Senator Paterson has the floor, 25 please. 1 SENATOR PATERSON: We haven't had 2 a nomination, Mr. President. 3 SENATOR STAFFORD: Well, let me 4 just speak to the nomination, maybe we can 5 gather our people and gather ourselves, which we 6 all have to do. 7 ACTING PRESIDENT HOLLAND: 8 Senator Stafford. 9 SENATOR STAFFORD: It takes a bit 10 -- I went and looked up a word that Senator 11 Marchi used this morning, "gamut," and I'm going 12 to have to use that myself. 13 Let me start out by saying, Mr. 14 President, as everyone is enjoying their 15 luncheon, I hope they have it tuned in over 16 there and save me just a bite, as I always enjoy 17 it. These people from the west know how to put 18 on a good luncheon. 19 Let me share with you that I can 20 recall, and I say this with -- speaking with the 21 experience of having the Higher Education 22 Committee for 13 years and Senator LaValle 23 reminds me that I'm no longer chairman of that 24 committee, and I'm very aware of that. I'm very 25 aware of that, but I want to share with you that 1 I can remember when I was in school and in law 2 school and we ran into someone who was from the 3 City University, and I've said this a number of 4 times, and I say it often, and I think it's a 5 compliment to the system in the City. 6 Automatically, you knew, and I 7 say this and I just mean this -- they were 8 brilliant and they, almost without exception 9 could have been at the top of the class in any 10 university and, as a matter of fact, someone can 11 help me, how many Nobel Laureates does the City 12 University have? Now, come on! Somebody must 13 have that. There are many. There are many. 14 Believe me, there are many, and I think without 15 reservation -- without exception, I think you'll 16 find that there are not too many schools that 17 have more, including -- including, well, we 18 won't mention that school during this discussion 19 or we won't mention any schools in New York City 20 other than the City University. 21 Now, I was part of it. Senator 22 Marchi, who will speak here today much more 23 eloquently than I can and who has a better feel 24 for the City University than I do and who has 25 done more for the City University probably than 1 anybody in this chamber, but he will point out 2 that again in the early '60s, we changed 3 direction. 4 Now, many of us felt this was 5 necessary, and I was part of the SEEK, working 6 for the SEEK program, remember the late Tim 7 Healy, who was vice-president of the City 8 University at that time. I believe he had come 9 from Boston College, was then at Fordham and 10 from Fordham went to Georgetown or, excuse me, 11 to the City University, and then the president 12 of Georgetown, and then back to the public 13 library taking the place of Dr. Zagorian, who I 14 believe went to Brown, just trying to put this 15 all into perspective here as they enjoy their 16 lunch, and I'm sure they'll be back in a few 17 minutes. 18 Now, obviously the direction was 19 changed, but I was part of it, many people are 20 part of it. I think the direction of the City 21 University, probably the change was necessary 22 but my friends -- and I use that word because I 23 think it's important on a day like this to 24 continue to remember we are friends and we have 25 some very, very deep philosophical differences, 1 deep philosophical differences. It's one of the 2 great things about this country, we can have 3 them. I think we fought wars, so we could. 4 I think we have to remember that 5 we, in some areas in the City University we 6 certainly did change it, but I'm including 7 myself. I think some of us were a part of a 8 change that in some areas were overdone and 9 there were some disservices. 10 I think this nominee is an 11 example of the Governor putting us back on the 12 track, and I support the nomination and again 13 I'll be a little too simplistic here, but it's 14 easy for me to be simple. My parents found that 15 early on. 16 We have a person who -- and again 17 I don't have exactly, but I believe is a 18 graduate of Brooklyn College, a graduate of a 19 great university in Belgium. Wrong on Belgium? 20 SENATOR SMITH: Wrong on both. 21 He lived in Belgium but 22 SENATOR STAFFORD: Master of 23 Science in Biochemistry from Catholic University 24 of Louvain -- Louvain, Belgium, one of the 25 premier universities in the world. Brooklyn 1 College, I believe, is part of the City 2 University, and I also realize people are going 3 to speak with as much direction as I am, and if 4 not more, and again I apologize for that but I'm 5 trying to make a point here. 6 We have some very deep philosoph 7 ical differences. However, Mr. President, I 8 want to explain as best I can that I think we 9 need someone who has taught in the educational 10 system in New York City, has worked with 11 children who were going to drop out, who I 12 believe has common sense, and there's no 13 question, I'm sure, differs from many of us, 14 differs with many of us on philosophy. 15 So, Mr. President, let me also 16 share that in my 32 years here I've often found 17 that those who had the good sense not to talk in 18 detail in nominations said much more than some 19 of us do when we're trying to speak. 20 Let me say that once again so 21 everyone will sink in, excuse me. 22 SENATOR KUHL: Mr. President. 23 Mr. President. May I interrupt to call or 24 announce that there will be an immediate meeting 25 of the Social Services Committee, immediate 1 meeting of Social Services Committee in the 2 Majority Conference Room, Room 332. 3 ACTING PRESIDENT HOLLAND: 4 Immediate meeting of the Social Services 5 Committee in Room 332. 6 Senator Stafford. 7 SENATOR STAFFORD: Now, some of 8 my friends smiled at what I said, so I'll leave 9 it. I'll leave it. If it made an impression, 10 I'll leave it. But again there will be many 11 speakers. Statements will be made with 12 conviction. I might add that it very often is 13 not necessarily the person too -- I've said this 14 ever so many that have come up here or come down 15 here -- with me, it's come down here but in this 16 instance today it's come up here. Very often 17 they end up in a situation where it often is not 18 necessarily the person but it's some differences 19 of opinion, philosophy, then there's no question 20 that we often have. 21 I think this is healthy. I'll be 22 very candid. I think we have had one of the 23 better meetings today. Now, look, I'm not 24 putting you to sleep, am I? He was yawning, Mr. 25 President. He said, Almost. 1 I think -- I think we had one of 2 the better meetings. I think it was civil, 3 which I think is common to all of us, and every 4 one had an opportunity to speak who wanted to, 5 even those who were not members of the committee 6 and I stand criticized for that. I know there 7 is a rule that, if you're not a member of a 8 committee, you're not supposed to speak at the 9 committee, but I myself made the decision that a 10 person who I think can speak concerning the 11 educational establishment in this state as well 12 as anyone, I think he should have had the right 13 to speak today, and I -- I asked him to. I 14 think he was going to maybe not say anything. 15 I'm sure he'll say something on the floor and, 16 if they don't come in to the meeting, from their 17 sandwich in a few minutes, I guess, Mr. 18 President, we'll be moving on, but again I see 19 some who will speak and I'm sure by the time we 20 get to the vote we'll have them in here. 21 I would ask everyone on this 22 issue, speak with as deep feeling as you have, 23 which there's nothing wrong with doing, but I 24 want to say, Mr. President, that again I think 25 we have two nominees for the -- as Trustee for 1 the City University -- of the City University. 2 I think we have excellent nominees. 3 I think that the nominee, Mr. 4 Kenneth E. Cook, I think he has the common 5 sense, I think he's shown his concern. I think, 6 yes, I think he is going to learn. We all do, 7 and one of the few things I've learned here in 8 32 years is what I don't know, and, believe me, 9 that's a lot. But I think the Governor is to be 10 complimented, and I think common sense and a 11 sense of conviction is most important, and I 12 think Mr. Cook has this. 13 I know there'll be a discussion 14 here. I would only say this, that it is my 15 perception as one who, as I say, was back over 16 30 years ago when we were changing direction in 17 this University, one who feels that mistakes 18 have been made. I think it all hasn't been 19 bad. I think there has been a great deal of 20 good, but I think the Governor is getting us 21 back on the track here. I commend him, I 22 commend his people, and I think that it's really 23 good when all of us can stand here and speak our 24 minds, stand for something, and I think after 25 today, I think the City University will be 1 better for our discussion and our input, and 2 with that, Mr. President, I would yield to the 3 Senator from -- excuse me, yes, excuse me, the 4 Senator 5 ACTING PRESIDENT WRIGHT: Thank 6 you, Senator Stafford. 7 SENATOR STAFFORD: The Higher 8 Education Committee, Senator LaValle. 9 ACTING PRESIDENT WRIGHT: Senator 10 LaValle, on the nomination. 11 SENATOR LAVALLE: Thank you, Mr. 12 President. Thank you, Senator Stafford. 13 Mr. Cook came before the Higher 14 Education Committee a week ago, as does nearly 15 every nominee from the Governor or mayoral 16 appointment to the CUNY Board. Mr. Cook, a week 17 ago, answered committee members' questions, very 18 forthrightly and quite well. 19 Again today in the Finance 20 Committee he came before Finance, and a lot of 21 questions were asked of Mr. Cook, and I think he 22 tried, to the best of his ability, to answer 23 questions in a very forthright way. I would say 24 that, having been chair for quite some time and 25 having seen many, many nominees come before the 1 committee, that not everyone leaves the 2 impression that they might make an All-Star 3 team, and I talked about in Finance Trustee 4 Charles Inniss, who Mr. Cook is replacing. 5 Mr. Inniss is deceased. Well, 6 when Mr. Inniss came before the Higher Education 7 Committee, I remember he was very shy, didn't 8 have a whole lot of answers. He had a 9 background as a community member and also an 10 officer of the Brooklyn Union Gas Company. 11 However, Mr. Inniss, once he got on the board, 12 gained knowledge, became an outstanding member 13 of the CUNY board, and I could name many other 14 members who have come before the committee and, 15 because they were intimidated by the questions 16 because the nominees, when they come do not come 17 with the knowledge that one would have after 18 sitting on a board for a year, and I would say, 19 Mr. Cook a year from now would be able to answer 20 some of the questions that were asked because he 21 would have knowledge, would have a comfort level 22 and probably would not be as intimidated by the 23 process. 24 We sometimes, as members, forget 25 that not everyone waxes eloquently and 1 philosophically on the issues of the day as 2 sometimes we like to believe that we do on this 3 floor or at a community meeting. This is 4 something that we have chosen to do and maybe 5 feel comfortable doing. 6 It is important for a board to be 7 a mosaic, a reflection of the community. The 8 CUNY board has many who are attorneys and many 9 who have backgrounds from the financial 10 community. Mr. Cook brings probably a great 11 credential and that is 25 years of experience 12 dealing with young people, and that's what 13 higher education is all about, students and 14 young people. 15 Mr. Cook, I am hoping and know, 16 will bring to the discussions of the CUNY board 17 what is important in preparing students for 18 their careers and also to continue what 19 Chancellor Reynolds has started with the 20 Partnership and preparatory -- college 21 preparatory program, so that our students coming 22 from the secondary level are adequately prepared 23 to meet the challenges of their post-secondary 24 education. 25 I am confident Mr. Cook will be 1 able to contribute and ensure that our students 2 will be prepared. 3 SENATOR WALDON: Mr. President 4 SENATOR LAVALLE: I think the 5 Governor should be complimented for this 6 appointment and also for looking at the board 7 and trying to balance it in terms of the 8 backgrounds and the experiences that people will 9 bring to the deliberation before the City Board 10 of Education. 11 SENATOR WALDON: Will the 12 gentleman yield? 13 ACTING PRESIDENT WRIGHT: Senator 14 Waldon, why do you rise? 15 SENATOR LAVALLE: I don't think 16 it's appropriate. We're making seconding 17 comments. It's not -- this is not a forum to 18 yield. Normally I would but I 19 SENATOR WALDON: Mr. President, 20 I'll stand corrected if the gentleman is 21 accurate in his analysis of the rules of the 22 house. 23 ACTING PRESIDENT WRIGHT: He is 24 correct in his interpretation of the rules, 25 Senator Waldon, and we have you on the list, 1 sir. 2 SENATOR WALDON: Thank you. 3 ACTING PRESIDENT WRIGHT: Senator 4 Farley. 5 SENATOR FARLEY: Were you 6 finished, Senator? Yes? Thank you, Mr. 7 President. 8 I rise in support of this 9 nomination. Let me just say that I have spent 10 my entire adult life in academia at a public 11 university as a law professor and, in my 12 judgment, if there's anything that any board of 13 trustees needs it's someone who knows something 14 about secondary education, particularly public 15 secondary education, and Kenneth Cook knows 16 that, having spent a number of years in the 17 academic classroom of public education in New 18 York City. 19 I think that brings a perspective 20 that is not only unique. It's something that is 21 truly needed. I think the Governor is to be 22 commended for nominating this candidate. Let me 23 just say this. I was in the Finance Committee 24 meeting and I was kind of impressed that he 25 would not answer, if you will, how he would vote 1 on an issue. I am constantly asked how would I 2 vote on a particular issue, yes or no, 3 particularly when you do not have all the facts, 4 when you haven't heard the debate, and so forth, 5 and often I have refused to give an answer 6 specifically as to how I would vote, yes or no. 7 Also let me just say this, if 8 you're familiar with a particular issue, if you 9 have a feeling on that issue or have known about 10 it as so many of us, most of us, the issues have 11 been around for a long time. I was impressed 12 with his -- the substantive way that he 13 approached an answer. I -- I think this is a 14 job that -- for one of the great public 15 universities in the country, the CUNY, and let 16 me just say this: I appreciate the fact that 17 he's willing to serve. I think he'll bring a 18 unique perspective that is needed on this board 19 and I compliment the Governor for making this 20 nomination, and I think it's kind of unfair to 21 expect any nominee to be fully knowledgeable 22 about every issue facing a board that he's never 23 served on, facing issues that he's familiar with 24 only in the newspaper or something like that, 25 and I think that Mr. Cook will make an 1 outstanding member of the Board of Trustees of 2 CUNY, and I support him with enthusiasm. 3 ACTING PRESIDENT WRIGHT: Thank 4 you, Senator. 5 Senator Waldon, on the 6 nomination. 7 SENATOR WALDON: Thank you very 8 much, Mr. President. 9 This is a very painful experience 10 for me, simply because today we're considering 11 two nominees who happen to be African-American 12 like myself. So many weeks ago Senator Seabrook 13 and others and I met in the City to voice and 14 express ourselves in regard to the absence of 15 African-Americans on the board, both of CUNY and 16 SUNY, and I thought that was very timely. 17 The issues discussed during that 18 press conference were very substantive, and we 19 were crying out to the Mayor and to the governor 20 to correct a wrong that too long had existed. I 21 notice that Senator LaValle compared this 22 nominee to Charles Inniss. Charles Inniss was a 23 personal friend of mine. Charles Inniss was a 24 giant of a man who had worked in the highest 25 levels of corporate structures before he was 1 proposed for the board. 2 He was from Brooklyn. He had a 3 real sense of what Brooklyn was about, but more 4 importantly what Bed-Stuy and Greenpoint and 5 Fort Greeley and Brownsville were all about. He 6 was truly immersed in the Afro-centricity, the 7 Caribbean centricity of that borough. 8 There is a large city in New York 9 City. Brooklyn is its name. It's the ninth 10 largest city in this country. It has two or 11 more, almost three million people. You cannot 12 compare the African community there with that of 13 Staten Island. It is impossible to compare a 14 few numbers with a great number. 15 I don't want to denigrate Mr. 16 Cook. I'm sure that he is a decent gentleman. 17 I was there at the Higher Ed meeting when he 18 spoke. I don't think that he's qualified for 19 this post but that's my personal analysis. But 20 I think that when the Governor and the Mayor get 21 together and decide that they're going to submit 22 someone for consideration for the Board of 23 Trustees, that person should reflect the 24 interests and needs of the community from which 25 they are chosen. 1 I don't think this has happened 2 here. I don't think that this gentleman can 3 really speak for the masses of African-Americans 4 and Caribbean-Americans in the city of New York 5 and that's unfortunate because, in my opinion, 6 that's the role that he's supposed to play. 7 He's supposed to come to the board and say, 8 these are our needs, please make efforts to 9 satisfy them. I don't believe that this choice 10 is the right choice. 11 I'm also concerned that this may 12 be a knee-jerk reaction because at the board 13 meetings, the committee meetings for Higher Ed, 14 I asked when did you find out that you were 15 going to be considered for this post, and from 16 both the statements of Mr. Curtis and Mr. Cook, 17 it seemed to me that they were notified after we 18 had the meeting on the steps of City Hall. This 19 is a knee-jerk reaction. 20 I also asked Mr. Curtis at that 21 time, had he come through the mayor's committee 22 where a number of very qualified African 23 Americans, Caribbean-Americans were submitted to 24 Mayor Giuliani for consideration. And he said 25 he could not. The Mayor rejected most of those 1 that could have been acceptable to those of us 2 of color in this chamber. 3 I want Mr. Cook to know that this 4 is not personal. I have not had a chance to 5 break bread with him or raise a glass of bubbly 6 with him. I have not walked in his shoes, but 7 in this process at this time in this chamber he 8 is not my candidate, and I believe he is the 9 wrong candidate and, for all of the reasons I 10 have expressed, I sincerely hope that those who 11 are right-thinking and interested in the needs 12 of my community and sensitive to the needs of my 13 community -- when you come to me and say, "Al, I 14 need something done upstate or in this part of 15 the state; it is my community; we have a home 16 rule; I need your help," I give that help almost 17 without any reservation, and I don't know of any 18 time recently where I've not responded to that 19 call. 20 This is a similar situation. 21 This is merely a nomination. It's not a bill, 22 it's not the budget, but it is just as important 23 to me and to the people I serve as those bigger, 24 bigger issues. So I would hope at this time 25 that someone would listen to this voice 1 originally from Brooklyn, Patchen Avenue, now 2 out of Queens, who has some sensitivity to our 3 community, and I would hope that you would 4 listen and say, Well, maybe Al is right on this 5 one, and that you might vote with me on this one 6 and I will remember those who made commitments, 7 not that I can do anything to you, but I will 8 remember those who, off the side, made 9 commitments to me that they would stand with me 10 on this issue and now are backing up. 11 I sincerely hope we defeat this 12 nomination. Thank you, Mr. President. 13 ACTING PRESIDENT WRIGHT: Senator 14 Rath, on the nomination. 15 SENATOR RATH: Thank you, Mr. 16 President. 17 I rise also to second the 18 nomination of Kenneth Cook for the position of 19 member of the Board of Trustees of the City 20 University of New York. I was in the committee 21 meeting last week when Mr. Cook appeared, and I 22 looked at his resume then as he started to speak 23 and I was reminded of another time when a resume 24 -- and this was someone I happened to know very 25 well and the resume came upon the floor of the 1 Legislature and people looked at me and they 2 said, Is she talking about the same person as 3 this resume? That was because I knew that 4 person very well. I knew they had been too busy 5 to write down everything that they had done over 6 the last 30 years, and this person is serving 7 admirably in Western New York on a board, with 8 great distinction. 9 And Mr. Cook's resume reminded me 10 of that because I looked at the resume and I 11 thought, what can I expect to see or what can I 12 expect to hear? Well, Mr. Cook didn't put down 13 everything that day that he did or that he had 14 done because that was the measure of the man 15 because what was left unsaid was more important 16 than what was said. Mr. Cook would not allow 17 himself to be painted into a corner, as it were, 18 giving answers to questions that he had never 19 heard before nor had little information about. 20 I identify readily with that 21 because I find myself very often saying to 22 constituents, I don't know. I haven't heard all 23 of the answers or all of the questions. I 24 haven't heard all of the debate on a particular 25 issue, and so I don't know how I'm going to vote 1 on something until I've had a chance to review 2 it thoroughly. I heard him say that. I could 3 identify very clearly with that. 4 I can identify also with the need 5 for higher education in New York to change 6 dramatically in the next few years because we 7 have a changing New York, changing New York. 8 The welfare-to-work efforts that are going to go 9 on in this state are going to need new kinds of 10 education, new kinds of interaction, and what I 11 saw in Mr. Cook as a candidate for this position 12 was someone who doesn't come with a preconceived 13 notion of what it should be. No preconceived 14 notions. He's willing to look at it all and 15 make his best decision. I don't think we can 16 ask much more. 17 Is he qualified? Of course. 18 You've heard eloquently persons talking about 19 the qualifications he's had. Of course, he's 20 qualified to serve in that position and to make 21 his best decision and best judgment. It kind of 22 reminds me of a turtle who has been in a 23 particular shell for a long time. The turtle 24 moves on, grows a new shell or maybe it's 25 another crustacean animal I'm thinking of that 1 grows a new shell, but you know what I'm trying 2 to say. When does the old shell -- when do we 3 outgrow that shell and when is the shell going 4 to start functioning because the new shell is 5 going to look very different as it's recreated 6 in the next several years. 7 I support his nomination. 8 ACTING PRESIDENT WRIGHT: The 9 Chair recognizes Senator Marchi. 10 SENATOR MARCHI: Mr. President, I 11 believe that the Governor has provided us with a 12 unique opportunity to bring on the board of the 13 City University an individual whose commitment 14 to education is total -- total. Master in four 15 different disciplines, degrees including the 16 University of Louvain and, as Senator Stafford 17 pointed out, with the approbation -- this is an 18 experience he also shared with my committee, 19 standing committee -- the approbation of those 20 who were with him attending those classes in 21 Louvain. 22 We are bringing an international 23 dimension to the educational process with an 24 individual who has as his extracurricular 25 activity helping students who need help. It's a 1 lot easier to make heroic and herculean 2 observations on the passing scene. It's another 3 one to get down and work with children and 4 students and help them realize their dream on a 5 one-to-one basis. 6 This is the quality of the man, 7 the commitment that he brings to the educational 8 process, and I believe it was Senator Kenneth 9 LaValle who raised the question of a collegial 10 body, a collegial body, many members all, we are 11 bringing uniqueness and quality that enure to 12 the benefit of the totality of the effect and 13 his -- there's a man, Kenneth Cook, without 14 pretentiousness, without braggadocio, emphasize 15 the purpose that brought him into education, 16 enriching the experience of the individual 17 student. 18 Why was he accepting this? 19 There's no pay involved and, as someone 20 observed, well, sometimes that's not -- need not 21 be a reason of necessity, and I must point out 22 that everybody that spoke for and against did it 23 with the utmost sincerity and from points of 24 view that I could respect, but let's not 25 overlook the setting that we're speaking about 1 and his feeling. 2 He expressed his feeling. "I 3 felt I had an obligation to pay back the good 4 things, the opportunity to teach," in the 5 circumstances that he did. This is a noble 6 individual, an educator's educator because he 7 does it and if he has something to do and he has 8 the time, he goes out and helps young men and 9 women to improve that potential so that they 10 deliver. 11 I feel very comfortable that the 12 Governor has selected him, a very unique member 13 who brings a special kind of experience, an 14 openness of mind, a refusal to make easy 15 commitments that ring pleasantly in an audience 16 because he said, I want to see all the facts and 17 I guess all of us in a way sometimes have that 18 same feeling, but he activates that. 19 This is a wonderful nomination. 20 I'm very proud to stand before you because I've 21 had the opportunity of intimate discussion with 22 him in the standing committee hearing and at the 23 same time participating in the process that we 24 went through this morning. 25 So, Mr. President, I really place 1 the highest esteem and respect that I possibly 2 can on this candidate who most certainly is the 3 educator's educator, and hope that the abundance 4 of support that he receives here will encourage 5 him. I believe he will survive the process and 6 when he does, he's going to bring full and total 7 effort as he has all his life in forwarding the 8 shared objectives that every one of us in this 9 chamber has. 10 ACTING PRESIDENT WRIGHT: Senator 11 Smith, on the nomination. 12 SENATOR SMITH: Thank you, Mr. 13 President. 14 I, too, as an African-American, 15 is greatly troubled today by this nomination and 16 as I sit here and hear all of these eloquent 17 phrases about this gentleman, Kenneth Cook, I 18 wonder if we're in the same meeting and if we're 19 talking about the same individual. 20 I've lived in the county of Kings 21 for almost 50 years and I've had the pleasure of 22 representing at least a part of Kings County for 23 the nine years that I've been here and prior to 24 that, I was very much involved in practically 25 every aspect of the African-American, Latino and 1 Caribbean communities of Kings County and until 2 last Thursday, I had never laid eyes on Kenneth 3 Cook. 4 Checking with individuals in both 5 the education community and in other aspects of 6 the Kings County community, Queens, and 7 Manhattan and the Bronx, no one knew of him, had 8 met him, and I talked to educators who had 9 taught at the same school. We're talking about 10 someone who holds, who wil be responsible for 11 the children of the city of New York and their 12 higher education and I certainly feel that there 13 should have been some commitment prior to being 14 nominated. 15 Furthermore, we talk of this long 16 background of volunteerism. On his resume there 17 is not one indication of volunteerism. 18 Everything that was ever done was a paid 19 position. 20 We talk about community involve 21 ment. There was no community involvement. So 22 please, gentlemen, tell me how you represent a 23 community that you know nothing of. And it 24 saddens me that I am forced to vote against 25 someone who is supposedly representative of a 1 community that I have been immersed in all of my 2 entire being. 3 This man is clearly not 4 representative of the educational community or 5 of the African-American, Latino or Caribbean 6 American communities. 7 ACTING PRESIDENT WRIGHT: Senator 8 Gold, on the nomination. 9 SENATOR GOLD: Thank you, Mr. 10 President. 11 First of all, Mr. President, I 12 would like to congratulate the Governor on the 13 loyalty which he gets from the Republicans in 14 this house, no matter how embarrassing it might 15 be. 16 Mr. President, when Senator Rath 17 said that it's refreshing to have somebody 18 appointed who has no preconceived ideas, it 19 reminds me of advice I used to give to 20 gubernatorial appointments when our governor was 21 a Democrat, and I would say to people, The only 22 danger is knowledge. If you walk in and tell 23 these people you don't know but you'll look into 24 it, they don't have a follow-up question and 25 you're going to walk out of there and if your 1 interview takes ten minutes, it's better than 2 twelve minutes, and if it takes five minutes 3 it's better than six minutes. 4 The fact of the matter is that we 5 have a lot of jobs in this state that we ask 6 people to do for no salary. These jobs are not 7 to be taken in a cavalier manner because some of 8 the most significant jobs that we ask people to 9 do are without compensation and have a very, 10 very dramatic effect upon the future of the 11 state. 12 This is a Legislature that 13 debates at budget time, and apparently in 1997 14 budget time is still a few months away 15 somebody ought to give the Governor a better 16 clock -- but at budget time, we discuss what 17 will happen to City and State University, what 18 will happen to educational opportunity, whether 19 welfare/social services should continue, should 20 be cut, should be expanded, whether day care 21 should be cut, expanded, and so many of these 22 issues are intertwined with the educational 23 opportunities that we give people. So there's 24 nothing more significant, I believe, among the 25 chores that we have than putting together a CUNY 1 Board. 2 In my years up here, I've dealt 3 with various members of the CUNY Board from time 4 to time. I've dealt with the administration 5 from time to time and you get mixed results and 6 you don't expect people to agree with you all of 7 the time but, I will tell you in all candor, 8 about a week ago I had a telephone conversation 9 with the new chairman of the CUNY Board, and it 10 was the most unsatisfactory telephone 11 conversation I've ever had. I was speaking to 12 an aloof, snobby, arrogant woman who did not, in 13 my opinion, deserve to be the chair of that 14 board. 15 Now, we are faced with some more 16 nominees to this board and it is our 17 responsibility as much as the Governor's as to 18 whether or not that board is effective in what 19 it does. The concept that someone has no idea, 20 I think, is unsatisfactory. Someone ought to be 21 appointed to that CUNY Board who has the drive 22 to want to do things. But what things? But 23 what things? Things that other members of the 24 board will suggest or say and he'll get an 25 education from those who already have a 1 prejudice? 2 So where, Senator Rath, are the 3 new ideas? If your education comes from people 4 on the board who tell you the way things are and 5 the way things go, where are the new ideas? All 6 you have now is a carbon copy of what you've got 7 on the board. 8 The comment was made that this 9 gentleman has taught biology and he's taught 10 science in the junior high schools, and I want 11 the record to be perfectly clear, I am not 12 questioning the man's intellect, but every 13 person is not right for every job and we all 14 know that. The Almighty didn't make some people 15 universally brilliant and other people 16 universally stupid. We have a society where 17 people have different talents and different 18 experiences. 19 But I think the part of this 20 which bothers me the most was referred to 21 partially by my colleague, Senator Waldon, and I 22 think Senator Smith alluded to it. There is a 23 grave misunderstanding, I believe, of what 24 affirmative action is all about. My 25 understanding -- and I can only speak for myself 1 -- is that affirmative action should open doors 2 for people who otherwise have a door shut, and 3 give them an opportunity. There are members of 4 this conference who lobbied very hard to have 5 the doors opened so that there could be 6 Afro-American representation on the CUNY Board, 7 but it is an insult to the Afro-American 8 community to say that we'll put somebody on the 9 board that has a dark face regardless of 10 intellect and that ought to shut up the 11 community. 12 There are people in the Afro 13 American community who would do better in this 14 job than Kenneth Cook, and I want to say for the 15 record, that from the little I saw from -- about 16 Kenneth Cook, he looks like a fine decent 17 gentleman, and I -- and I think he probably is 18 that, a fine decent gentleman. But that's not 19 the issue here. It just isn't. 20 The issue is that the Afro 21 American community not only has a right to be 22 represented but to be represented by people from 23 their community whom they know, who have grown 24 in stature within their community. 25 I was asked by a newspaper 1 reporter, if this is my view, who then would I 2 suggest as candidates from the Afro-American 3 community, and I said, if I gave you the names, 4 it would be as offensive as the Governor picking 5 those names without consulting with the 6 community either. But these people do exist and 7 there are people in that community who we could 8 all be very, very proud of and who would be true 9 representatives of that community. 10 So I don't relish the thought of 11 voting against this man or anybody. I 12 particularly don't want to -- and that's why I'm 13 very careful that the record indicate that this 14 is nothing personal and that this gentleman is 15 probably that, he is probably a gentleman who 16 has lived a decent life and, by the way, I think 17 that anybody who spends their career teaching in 18 junior high school should be respected by me and 19 by every member of the Senate, but that doesn't 20 mean that you then take that level of respect 21 and make them a member of the Board of City 22 University. 23 In closing, let me point out, 24 this gentleman went to Kings -- Kings College? 25 Brooklyn College. Brooklyn college is itself a 1 university. Queens College is a university. 2 You take the CUNY system and put it together and 3 you have an overwhelming educational machine, 4 and it is not an embarrassment if a particular 5 individual should not be one of the managers of 6 that machine. On the other hand, there are 7 people who are qualified who happen to be 8 Afro-American. There are some who are qualified 9 who are Italians, who are of Polish ancestry, 10 who are of Jewish background, whatever. But you 11 don't want a mosaic simply to have a mosaic; you 12 have to have a rationale deeper than that and, 13 in my opinion, the Governor who has given us 14 some really great judicial nominees -- and I've 15 said that before -- has really dropped the ball 16 with this one. He's dropped the ball. 17 The way to go would be to deal 18 with the Afro-American community and to find 19 somebody with the stature and background to be 20 able to handle this job. So I intend to vote 21 with my colleagues in the negative. 22 ACTING PRESIDENT WRIGHT: Senator 23 Velella on the nomination. 24 SENATOR VELELLA: Mr. President, I 25 listened very carefully as we sat in the Finance 1 Committee and the qualifications of the candi 2 dates were discussed. I've listened to what's 3 been said on the floor here, and I think we have 4 a couple of people in this chamber who are 5 talking out of both sides of their mouth. We 6 hear that we want people from the community, not 7 a bunch of eggheads on a body that runs the City 8 University, people who have real life 9 experience. 10 How much more experience do you 11 need than helping young people who are in danger 12 of being drop-outs? That's hands-on experience. 13 That's dealing with the problems at their root 14 level. That's the kind of experience we need at 15 City University, to deal with the students who 16 have these problems. Somebody who's taught at 17 the junior high school level, somebody who's 18 taught at the community college level, somebody 19 who has a degree in counseling, a Master's 20 degree, those are the things that I hear the 21 other side of the aisle always talking about 22 that we're not sensitive enough to the needs of 23 people. 24 Now that we're sensitive to the 25 needs of people, that we bring people in that 1 are -- have been involved in counseling, in 2 dealing with students who have problems, they 3 say not enough academic background. He's no 4 Herman Badillo; he's no Stanley Fink. Well, we 5 had Herman Badillo, and we've had Stanley Fink 6 and we still have problems in City University. 7 Maybe it's time we got someone who knows what 8 young people in our society are thinking about. 9 Maybe it's time we had somebody who's dealt with 10 their problems, who knows what it means to deal 11 with young people who have not been successful 12 in the educational system and maybe that will 13 start to turn around City University. 14 I am proud to second this 15 nomination, not because of the race or color of 16 the candidate, because of the experience, hands 17 on experience that he brings to City 18 University. 19 ACTING PRESIDENT WRIGHT: Senator 20 Dollinger, on the nomination. Senator Leichter, 21 we're maintaining a list. Thank you. 22 Senator Dollinger. 23 SENATOR DOLLINGER: Thank you, 24 Mr. President. I listened in the Finance 25 Committee as well and I've listened to my 1 colleagues. I won't elaborate at great length. 2 Simply to say that I think what unfortunately 3 this nominee failed to do is what I'm sure he 4 lectured his junior high school students to do 5 all 25 years that he taught them, and that is to 6 do their home work. 7 It seems to me that a nominee who 8 wanted to be on the board of the most 9 prestigious city university in the world would 10 have somehow asked the questions, the kind of 11 inquiry, the spirit of inquiry that the 12 education gives birth to, would have asked some 13 questions about what he was getting into, would 14 have asked how big is the budget of CUNY, how 15 many students are there, how many campuses do 16 they have, what is the tuition cost, the most 17 controversial issue, I think in the last ten 18 years in the CUNY and SUNY system, that is 19 what's the tuition. All those questions would 20 have been asked, he would have gotten answers 21 and he would have walked into the Finance 22 Committee and said, I know the answer to all 23 those questions. I've studied, I'm ready for 24 this exam. I'm ready to be a member of the CUNY 25 board. I've got the knowledge and information; 1 I'm now going to demonstrate it just as I'm sure 2 he did as a teacher and just as I'm sure he en 3 couraged his students to do. He didn't do 4 that. He didn't know the answers to those 5 questions and, from my perspective, when you 6 look at somebody's ability, you judge it by 7 their past experience. What have they done in 8 their past, what are their community 9 activities? He was a progressive Republican. 10 Wonderful thing; I wish there were more 11 progressive Republicans like Mr. Cook, but 12 that's the one thing he mentioned. 13 He did talk about vaguely having 14 done some clean-up in his neighborhood. I give 15 him credit for that, but if you look at the 16 other resume's that are in the committee packet, 17 the people that are applying for jobs that are 18 far less prestigious than the City University 19 you'll see they have endless activities, with 20 the broad range of leadership potential 21 demonstrating those community activiies. 22 Mr. Cook has none. The other 23 area that you'd look is in his educational 24 attainment. I have taught in junior high 25 school. I agree with Senator Velella, that's a 1 qualifying circumstance for some jobs. However, 2 I don't believe it alone qualifies you for a 3 position on the City University of New York. 4 With all due respect to Mr. 5 Candidate, someone on the second floor should 6 have helped him get ready for this exam. I'm 7 judging him on the basis of what I've seen in 8 the Finance Committee, what I've heard on the 9 floor in the Finance Committee and today and, 10 quite frankly, as discouraging as it is for me 11 to say to this candidate, I don't believe he 12 made the grade, not for this Senator and under 13 those circumstances, I'm voting no. 14 ACTING PRESIDENT WRIGHT: Senator 15 Goodman, on the nomination. 16 SENATOR GOODMAN: Mr. President, 17 I think in considering this nomination for CUNY 18 we should keep a few fundamental facts about 19 CUNY in mind. This is a deeply troubled 20 institution being asked to shoulder a burden of 21 enormous significance to our society with a 22 student body which unfortunately in many 23 respects has been ill prepared to do college 24 work. 25 The result is that CUNY and 1 particularly in its community college segments, 2 is having grave difficulties keeping its chin 3 above water and attempting to do the things 4 which should have been done for many youngsters 5 in high school. As a result, we have to ask 6 ourselves the questions, should all CUNY 7 trustees be eminent business people, should they 8 be scholars, should they be statisticians? 9 Senator, I'm not sure that, if I 10 asked you to yield to a question you could 11 answer the question that you expected your 12 nominee to respond to, but I'll tell you I don't 13 think there's a single member of the Higher 14 Education Committee on either side of the aisle 15 who has those facts at his fingertips. I'd be 16 very much surprised and, therefore, I don't 17 think that's a proper criterion. 18 Now, I would like to suggest, 19 however, that there may be some fundamental 20 awareness factors that we've overlooked in this 21 discussion. The question is what is it that 22 causes a kid to want to go to college when he's 23 lagging three years behind the achievement 24 levels needed in high school? Why are youngsters 25 going on to higher education? What is it that's 1 motivating them? The answer is that many of our 2 kids are looking for the keys to the ghetto 3 gate; they want to find a window of opportunity, 4 and they want to find a way out of the 5 encapsulating prison which they find themselves 6 in economically and sociologically, and that's 7 the promise that CUNY must hold forth in the 8 future. 9 Now, I suggest to you that having 10 a trustee of the caliber of a Mr. Cook who has 11 dealt with troubled kids and particularly with 12 dropouts from high school gives him insights 13 which could be very valuable. I'm not prepared 14 to stand here and tell you that this man is 15 going to be a valuable trustee because that's 16 something you can never predict in advance. We 17 can only try to extrapolate out of available 18 data what he's likely to be able to do and, in 19 my judgment, what he's likely to be able to do 20 is to give kids some incentive to carry on with 21 their higher education despite the enormous 22 obstacles which they have to overcome in this 23 system. 24 Remember CUNY is a troubled 25 institution. I repeat that because this is not 1 a cushy job in which a trustee sits back and 2 pontificates over a system that's working like a 3 fine Swiss watch. Quite the contrary, the 4 trustees in CUNY -- and I'm in touch with 5 several of them regularly and only last week had 6 a lengthy meeting with Ann Reynolds, the 7 Chancellor of CUNY -- this is an institution 8 that needs every bit of help and back-up the 9 Legislature can give it, not just in terms of 10 selecting good trustees but financially where 11 the cuts to CUNY have been debilitating. 12 So keep this in mind and consider 13 carefully the potential that someone has worked 14 with dropouts can have in enriching the 15 opportunities for youngsters in this institution 16 to reach a brighter future. 17 ACTING PRESIDENT WRIGHT: Senator 18 -- thank you, Senator. 19 Senator Maltese, on the 20 nomination. 21 SENATOR MALTESE: I'd like to 22 begin, Mr. President, by bemoaning the fact that 23 apparently Senator Gold has left the chamber for 24 a moment. I found very uncomfortable his attack 25 on our president of CUNY, Ann Paolucci, Dr. Ann 1 Paolucci. Certainly his description of her as 2 aloof, arrogant and snobby is -- is very 3 inappropriate, and certainly not true. 4 I would rise to defend my 5 colleague, Senator Gold, from the very same 6 charges that have been leveled against him in 7 his district and in Queens County. 8 We find that -- we find that Ann 9 Paolucci is brought into this controversy and 10 she very much is in this controversy because 11 that's at the root of many of the remarks that 12 have been made today. The mantle of leadership 13 in CUNY is in the process of changing hands, and 14 that seems to stick in the craw of many of the 15 people in this chamber and throughout the 16 education establishment. We see Ann Paolucci 17 attacked despite the fact that she has brought 18 to the CUNY board probably, undoubtedly, more 19 education qualifications than anybody in the 20 history of CUNY: A 48-page resume, as was 21 indicated at the time of her confirmation in 22 this house, a scholar in Dante, Pirandello, a 23 playwright, an author, a teacher, an academic, 24 an initiator, and Senator Gold finds fault with 25 her. Probably too much education. 1 Does that prevent him from 2 finding fault in this nominee, Kenneth Cook? No, 3 we find this nominee does not have a sufficient 4 amount of education or this nominee is lacking 5 in other qualifications as far as his 6 background, his awareness of the political and 7 education system in Brooklyn and depending on 8 the part -- the geography of where the speaker 9 resides he is not aware of this area or that 10 area. 11 I think the problem here is what 12 I've indicated that the Governor is entitled to 13 pick his own nominees to chart a direction for 14 CUNY and, if we in this chamber and we in 15 government have -- find fault with that, we can 16 continue to find fault with that, but the 17 Governor's entitled to have his own nominees who 18 he is satisfied with the direction that they 19 will take education in this state. 20 Now, we say, or some in this 21 chamber say Kenneth Cook is not qualified. I'm 22 looking at his resume just as everyone else is, 23 and I find a man that despite deprivation, 24 despite many of the problems that his race and 25 background I'm sure caused him, managed to rise 1 above them, raise himself by the bootstraps, the 2 typical American way, the Horatio Alger story of 3 Brooklyn, a Korean War vet, four years in the 4 United States Air Force. From grad... from 5 getting out of the Air Force in '55 he obviously 6 went on to secure his Bachelor's Degree and his 7 Bachelor's degree not in some simple course and 8 I don't want to cause problems for anybody else 9 in any course, I'll simply say to get a B. S. in 10 Biochemistry is not something that can be easily 11 attained by anybody, and he got that in 1958. 12 Then he went on to get his M.S. in Biochemistry 13 at the Catholic University in Belgium and from 14 there he went into education and not education 15 in some ivory tower, not education in some Ivy 16 League school. No, he went into the heart of 17 Brooklyn, into the heart of the ghetto, and he 18 taught problem youngsters. He knows from the 19 ground up the problem that many of these 20 youngsters are faced with on a daily basis. 21 26 years -- 26 years as a science 22 teacher in a junior high school dealing with 23 youngsters, and we can stand in this chamber and 24 say he's unqualified to decide on the futures of 25 our young people in college? Hogwash! He was a 1 student counselor at the borough of Manhattan 2 Community College. He taught at Prospect 3 Heights High School. And what did he teach for 4 11 years? A GED program, people that were trying 5 to get out of poverty and out of menial jobs and 6 attain a GED, who were unable to do it in high 7 school, the very people that form the majority 8 of the students at CUNY, the very people that 9 many of us in this chamber claim to want to help 10 and assist and now oppose this candidate who has 11 a hands-on awareness of their problems, their 12 motivation, their background and can identify 13 with them on every respect. 14 I submit to my colleagues that if 15 they don't like the direction that CUNY is going 16 into, they can continue to criticize but in a 17 constructive manner, not criticizing people by 18 name and allegations as aloof or arrogant or 19 unqualified. This man is eminently qualified 20 for this post. I wholeheartedly endorse his 21 candidacy and am proud to second his 22 nomination. 23 ACTING PRESIDENT WRIGHT: Senator 24 Leichter, on the nomination. 25 SENATOR LEICHTER: Thank you very 1 much, Mr. President. 2 Let me -- let me -- let me just 3 start off by saying I don't know Mr. Cook, but I 4 honor and respect the fact that he has been a 5 teacher in our public educational system. My 6 late wife was, and I know what dedication it 7 takes to hold that job, and if I say anything 8 negative about Mr. Cook, it's certainly not as 9 an individual or out of respect for what he's 10 done but solely in reference to the position 11 that he's appointed to by the Governor. 12 Let me say, as I listen to this 13 debate, particularly my good friends from the 14 other side, it's Alice in Wonderland. It's 15 wonderful. The strongest arguments that are put 16 forward for him, Senator Rath says it's 17 wonderful he has no preconception. The fact of 18 the matter is, and I'm sorry to put it so 19 bluntly, both in the Higher Education Committee 20 and in the Finance, he was utterly clueless, 21 clueless about this institution. 22 Senator Marchi says he made no 23 commitments, made no commitments because, 24 frankly, every question that he was asked basic 25 questions that we should have had an answer to 1 about his policy, his vision, his views, he 2 said, "I don't have the facts, I wasn't -- I 3 wasn't on there." Questions as important as on 4 Hostos College, do you agree with the decision 5 that was made by the Board of Trustees to 6 require the taking of an English exam before you 7 graduate? "I don't know. I wasn't on the 8 board." 9 I mean I think we're entitled to 10 get some answers, and I must say my good friend, 11 Senator Maltese, I think the more the decibels 12 of your voice rose, the more I think you were 13 struggling to find a justification. This man 14 has a wonderful background. He's been a credit, 15 absolutely to this society, he's contributed. 16 But that doesn't make you qualified to be on the 17 board of trustees. 18 Does he have a fine educational 19 background? Absolutely. There are thousands, 20 tens of thousands of people in the city of New 21 York who have Master's degrees. There are 22 80,000 people who teach in our schools. There 23 are -- I don't know how many thousands who have 24 done counseling but that doesn't make you 25 qualified for the Board of Trustees. I think 1 we're missing the real issue here. I think the 2 only one that got up and said, I think some of 3 the things that needed to be said was Senator 4 Goodman when he said this is a very troubled 5 institution, and it requires great leadership 6 and I think what's important for a board of 7 trustees is people who bring not only a breadth 8 of background and public service and involvement 9 but who have a distinction, not to say that Mr. 10 Cook hasn't distinguished himself by his 11 commitment to public education, but a public 12 distinction. 13 Yes, I'm the one who said there 14 ought to be somebody of the -- of the 15 qualification or the background or of the nature 16 of the achievement of a Herman Badillo, Stanley 17 Fink. These are the people you put on the 18 institution, on an institution, because they 19 have that background in public policy. They can 20 command attention. We need advocates for the 21 system, people that will be listened to, that 22 will be heard, that have the know-how, the 23 connections that can fight for the students who 24 desperately need help and resources. 25 One of the great, great 1 contributions that New York City made really to 2 the whole country was by providing the education 3 for people in the City and some outside the City 4 through the City University. They went 5 throughout the country and you find them now. 6 They're CEOs, they're in politics. They're 7 leaders in their communities in so many 8 different ways, and it was a major path for 9 people, many of whom came as immigrants to move 10 on to the middle class, and that was what that 11 institution provided. 12 Now, it still does some of those 13 things, but I think we appreciate that it 14 doesn't do it in the way that it did before. 15 Many of the students, as we know, are not 16 qualified when they enter the school, they're 17 not qualified when they leave the school. This 18 was unheard of. 19 Senator Stafford said that when 20 he and I were in law school years and years ago 21 you always knew who the smartest kids were 22 because they came from City College or Hunter or 23 Brooklyn, and so on. I don't know whether we're 24 giving that sort of education so we really need 25 to examine what the City University is about 1 now. We need to chart new directions for it 2 and, frankly, I don't think Mr. Cook has that 3 degree of experience, of leadership, of standing 4 in the community that will allow him to do 5 that. 6 I'm concerned that a nomination 7 of this sort, to me, shows a callous in 8 difference, callous indifference on the part of 9 the Governor to the City University. Last year 10 he appointed a nice young lawyer who's main 11 qualification seemed to be that he was running 12 for the Assembly. He bore a distinguished name, 13 I think I was maybe the only one who opposed 14 him, and I opposed on the same reason I'm 15 opposing Mr. Cook, because that's not the 16 leadership, that's not the standing that we need 17 to bring for somebody to be a member of the 18 board of trustees. 19 The City University Board of 20 Trustees is not a patronage pot. It deserves 21 people of the highest achievement, and I think 22 the Governor has not treated it with the 23 significance and the importance that it 24 demands. So I disagree with Senator Maltese 25 when he says the Governor's entitled to have his 1 person. The Governor is entitled to have his 2 person if the person meets basic 3 qualifications. 4 We have a function here, Senator 5 Maltese, advice and consent of the Senate, and I 6 cannot give my consent to a nomination that I 7 think was made for very crass political 8 purposes, was not made with the good of the 9 system in mind. I don't think it honors the 10 Governor who makes this nomination. It would 11 not honor this body to confirm this nomination. 12 ACTING PRESIDENT WRIGHT: Senator 13 Johnson, on the nomination. 14 SENATOR JOHNSON: Mr. President, 15 certainly heard a lot of rhetoric here today 16 about a man who volunteered to serve as a 17 trustee of the City University. There's no 18 question about his background. He's got several 19 Master's degrees, he's been a teacher; it's all 20 been said before. Led some of the most troubled 21 kids in the most troubled schools, drop out 22 prevention programs, helped people get their 23 GEDs. 24 I think he most definitely 25 understands the problems those students face in 1 the schools and that they face when they go to 2 college. He has impressed me as a thoughtful 3 and deliberate gentleman. Perhaps that's not 4 the problem. He didn't have any snappy answers, 5 any preconceived answers, to problems with which 6 he admitted he was not familiar, not familiar 7 enough to make a decision. 8 He's flagellated because he's not 9 part of academia when there's academics and the 10 allies they've had in the past on the City Board 11 of Trustees who have brought us to the present 12 condition in which the City University certainly 13 is in trouble. Because he didn't have an 14 answer, snappy answer, about whether or not 15 students should be competent in English before 16 they graduate from the City University, I think 17 was the question, begs the answer. The question 18 should not even be asked. 19 The fact that there's a 20 university in New York City where people have 21 graduated without competency in the English 22 language proves that there's something 23 definitely and drastically wrong with the 24 administration of the City University system. I 25 think he knows the schools. He knows about high 1 schools. He knows the students aren't getting 2 out with competency. He thinks they have to 3 stay in high school until they have some 4 reasonable competency in their 3 Rs, I suppose 5 before you send them on to college to take years 6 of remedial language, remedial studies. He 7 knows that. 8 I think the suggestion that no 9 one can represent minorities or African 10 Americans unless they are African-Americans is 11 really reprehensible to me personally. It's a 12 slur and a slander on every one of us that we're 13 only here to represent our group, our race or 14 our religion or whatever and that nobody could 15 represent you well unless they're your race. I 16 think that's certainly an un-American attitude 17 and I know people hold it, but I think it's 18 demeaning to all of the questions, to imply that 19 they are to serve a provincial role that 20 represent their part of the community but no one 21 has a responsibility to represent the overall 22 society or the good or the benefit of the entire 23 student body of that University. 24 I think everyone there certainly 25 is capable and should be capable of having a 1 broad overview, and representing the best 2 interests of the students at the University, the 3 City University and indeed the city and state 4 itself. 5 So now I understand that now to 6 some people he's the right race but they don't 7 like his philosophy. Well, that's another point 8 of view, I suppose, and I think it's about time 9 that this society and this Senate stood up and 10 got above racial and provincial considerations 11 when they consider a trustee for this 12 prestigious position. 13 This man should be approved. 14 This is a man who we said has lived in the City, 15 learned in the City, taught in the City, raised 16 a family in the City, cared for and participated 17 in the growth of his neighborhood in the city of 18 New York, served his nation in time of war. 19 This is a very admirable person 20 that we should all be very proud that he has 21 volunteered to serve in this situation, in this 22 position. He wants to give back to the City 23 some things that the City has done for him and 24 for his family. That's very nice of him to do 25 that. 1 I think certainly, Mr. President 2 and my colleagues here, this is a man who wants 3 to serve. He desires to serve, he's got the 4 background to serve. He should be given that 5 opportunity, and I'd like to second the 6 nomination of Mr. Cook. 7 ACTING PRESIDENT WRIGHT: Senator 8 Seward, on the nomination. 9 SENATOR SEWARD: Yes, Mr. 10 President. Many of my thoughts have been 11 expressed by other -- other members already this 12 afternoon, but Mr. President, I'd be remiss if I 13 did not also stand to congratulate the Governor 14 for this nomination as well as congratulating 15 Kenneth Cook for stepping forward willing to 16 serve as a member of the Board of Trustees of 17 the CUNY system. 18 You know, we spend a great deal 19 of time here in the Legislature and obviously 20 the CUNY board spends a great deal of time and 21 other similar boards throughout the state of New 22 York, wrestling when it comes to higher 23 education issues, with the budget, with 24 policies, labor contracts, all of those 25 administrative type functions. 1 Far too often, it seems to me 2 that something's missing in those discussions 3 and that is looking out for the best interests 4 of the students. After all, that's what CUNY 5 has been established to benefit, students, 6 helping people get a higher education, helping 7 people move out of -- in many cases low economic 8 standing through education, raising their 9 standards, providing hope and opportunity, 10 people able to pursue careers caring for 11 themselves and their families. That's what it's 12 all about. 13 That's really where the focus 14 ought to be, and that's where I believe Kenneth 15 Cook will add a great deal to the CUNY board, 16 bringing to that board the unique perspective of 17 the students because of his background of 18 working with young people, helping young people 19 rise up, giving young people hope, giving them 20 opportunities, by giving them a better life. 21 That's his whole life. That's been his career, 22 and as he moves forward to become a member of 23 the CUNY Board of Trustees, I believe that he 24 will very well continue that -- that life work 25 in this new capacity. Keep the focus on the 1 students throughout the discussions. Help 2 students to help themselves. That's the Kenneth 3 Cook legacy, and I believe he will perform that 4 function very, very well for the CUNY system. 5 I rise to support his 6 nomination. I look forward to his service on 7 the CUNY board. I know that countless young 8 people and others will benefit greatly because 9 of his service as countless others have 10 benefited from all of his service over the 11 years. 12 ACTING PRESIDENT WRIGHT: Senator 13 Paterson, on the nomination. 14 SENATOR PATERSON: Thank you, Mr. 15 President. 16 I have never met Mr. Cook. I 17 don't think that I'm really in a position to say 18 that he is or is not qualified. Upon 19 reflection, I think there were some very 20 sensitive remarks made earlier by Senator Gold 21 about the relationship between a nominee and 22 their community. I don't think that that 23 relationship must be that way for every 24 appointment. I do not think that anyone 25 regardless of their age or their religion or 1 their race or their national origin should be 2 the by-product of consultation with any 3 community before they are nominated. I would 4 not want to put any individual through a double 5 screening because of some characteristic that is 6 symbolic. 7 But there are some issues that 8 have really not been raised in this discussion 9 and when Senator Rath was saying that the -- not 10 all the questions were answered by the nominee 11 and it wasn't necessarily what wasn't said but 12 what would come later, made me think of Keats, 13 and those melodies unheard. Heard melodies are 14 sweet, but those unheard are sweeter. 15 So if that's going to be our 16 direction today, we should discuss the fact that 17 on March 31st of this year, Senator Seabrook 18 along with Senator Waldon, Senator Montgomery, 19 with the great consultation and assistance from 20 Senator Seymour Lachman, with representation 21 from all communities, held a press conference in 22 New York City where they addressed the fact that 23 there were no African-Americans, men or women, 24 on the SUNY board, and in view of the fact that 25 the Governor's term was now coming up on two and 1 a half years, there had never even been a 2 suggestion from the African-American community. 3 What's unheard is that there's 4 been a pretty significant discussion which very 5 few people in this chamber could say that they 6 had not been aware of about placing individuals 7 who would have the requisite training and talent 8 on the CUNY board who were indigenous to the 9 African-American community. 10 And so when these nominations 11 come out, two nominations, interestingly enough, 12 it strikes me as being rather simultaneous and 13 rather coincidental, but there seem to be a lot 14 of coincidences that occur around here that are 15 responses to what might be more of a social 16 pressure rather than merit or qualifications and 17 so that in -- in the haste to make sure that the 18 expedient political problem was resolved, 19 nominations were made. 20 Now, how much more foresighted 21 would it have been if the nominees in this 22 particular case, in these cases, had, because of 23 the social pressure that had been established, 24 made an attempt to reach out to some of the 25 Minority legislators or really anybody who 1 speaks to many of those issues? 2 Now, the other nominee, Mr. 3 Curtis, apparently did have some contact to that 4 end, but the current nominee that we're speaking 5 on unless I'm corrected did not make any of 6 those attempts at liaison either with members of 7 the Senate or members of the Assembly or anyone 8 else who was arguing and lobbying, no matter 9 what color they were, that there be equal 10 inclusion of talented people on the CUNY board. 11 So that's what sets this nomination apart, and I 12 agree with Senator Leichter, no matter how 13 verbose or passionate the arguments have been 14 from the other side, they strike me as being 15 defensive and in many ways not responsive to the 16 actual issue. 17 The actual issue is that this is 18 something that this had been fought for by 19 individuals who went very far to try to make 20 sure that the Governor would see that there are 21 qualified people of African decent who can serve 22 on the CUNY board and the response now that 23 there shouldn't be any discussion of race, well, 24 that's very interesting. We could have not 25 discussed race on January 1st when the Governor 1 took office in 1995 and could have appointed 2 qualified people at that time, but did not. 3 Now, as far as the questions and 4 answers in the Finance Committee went, I wasn't 5 in the Finance Committee, I didn't hear them. 6 Upon information and belief and listening to 7 Senator Gold and Senator Leichter and Senator 8 Waldon, I get the impression that there weren't 9 particularly good answers to the questions. I 10 got the same impression when I listened to the 11 remarks made by members of the Majority. There 12 seemed to be almost an interest in demeaning the 13 whole process just to get this nomination 14 through. There seemed to be a complete 15 dismantling of the qualifications that would 16 make a person a worthy nominee. 17 It doesn't matter whether or not 18 we get answers to questions, so why do we ask 19 them? If it doesn't matter what performance 20 someone gives in a committee, then why do we 21 hold committee meetings? Certainly there have 22 been nominees who came before who may not have 23 been as good in the procedure of questioning as 24 they inevitably serve on the board, but there's 25 got to be some criteria for putting people on 1 the board. 2 Now, I get the impression that a 3 lot of people in this chamber will say that they 4 are opposed to affirmative action. They see it 5 as almost an assault on our quota and 6 qualification system in this country, but what 7 happens when there are no valid or particularly 8 qualifying reasons which you can cite for 9 putting a person before a committee to nominate 10 them for the CUNY board other than the fact that 11 they work, as we all had worked for a number of 12 years. To me, that's affirmative action. 13 So here we have an individual who 14 represents approximately what will be three to 15 five percent of the public opinion in a 16 community benefiting from a process not because 17 this individual's qualified but because there is 18 a symbolism involved or a need to fill the 19 position with an African-American. 20 That's what I had always heard 21 was affirmative action, but suddenly in this 22 situation there is something that is different, 23 there is something that is a new reason why 24 there should be consideration. I only wish that 25 some of the people that got up to speak today 1 would be as sensitive and would be as thorough 2 and would be as interested in what goes on in 3 the inner cities because the same kids who come 4 through the colleges, who go back and work in 5 GED programs, who go back and work in these same 6 areas that Mr. Cook did, will be denied if they 7 came before committees in this Legislature to 8 try to be appointed to boards or try to serve 9 the entire state because it would be said that 10 they didn't have qualifications and then you'd 11 start hearing about a lot of academic 12 credentials and why they're so important. 13 I'm not saying that this person 14 is unqualified. He may be very qualified, but 15 what I'm pointing out today as what's 16 unqualified is the standard by which we consider 17 nominees, and we didn't use a standard in this 18 case, and we're not using a standard for the 19 many African-Americans, both men and women, who 20 come before this committee and what we did today 21 is to make sure that there will be no press 22 around after this nomination to pronounce any 23 harmonious celebration and what a great thing it 24 is to now have African-Americans on the CUNY 25 board. 1 In commenting about the late Mr. 2 Inniss, Senator Waldon, who knew him well, 3 talked about his qualifications. He had 4 credentials even when he came before the board, 5 but when we're talking about filling a position, 6 we wish to keep alive the dreams of those 7 African-Americans and whites and Asians and 8 Latinos who throughout this century have tried 9 to build a national movement that would be 10 directed in the area of achieving economic, 11 political and social justice. 12 There is no social justice that 13 is achieved by the movement of this nomination 14 because there is no criteria that shows that 15 this individual would be any -- would be 16 considered along with other individuals of equal 17 qualifications other than the fact that there 18 was a need to fill a place. There was a 19 political need to find someone to answer this 20 question, to answer this appeal that was made at 21 a press conference by some Senators earlier this 22 year, and so that is why I strongly recommend, 23 my colleagues, that this nomination be defeated, 24 not necessarily because we even know, one way or 25 the other, about the qualifications, but because 1 of the process that brought the individual 2 before us today, and it's unfortunate that if 3 this gentleman is qualified and since he is 4 probably going to be approved, I wish him well. 5 We need him to be very effective 6 on that board. The CUNY needs him to succeed. 7 I'm going to vote against him, but I will work 8 with him because I would like to feel that I'm 9 wrong, but the process too often has 10 demonstrated that I'm right, that there wasn't 11 any consideration for many people who had 12 requisite qualifications and it only became 13 interesting and it only became available when a 14 political need arose to consider it. 15 ACTING PRESIDENT WRIGHT: Senator 16 Montgomery, on the nomination. 17 SENATOR MONTGOMERY: Thank you, 18 Mr. President. I rise to join some of my 19 colleagues who have raised issues regarding this 20 nomination. 21 I find this a very difficult 22 moment because we are, on the one hand, those of 23 us who are of color in this chamber have made a 24 specific point and particularly myself, to ask 25 what the Governor was doing about the fact that 1 there were no African-Americans coming before us 2 in his appointments to various state commissions 3 and boards. So to rise in opposition to this 4 nomination is very, very difficult, and I feel I 5 must explain why. 6 I have a particular interest in 7 higher education because, one, I have a number 8 of institutions in my district, including New 9 York City Tech, Long Island University, St. 10 Joseph's College, Pratt Institute, Brooklyn 11 Polytech, and I have a very close relationship 12 with -- working relationship with Medgar Evers 13 College; and two, I view the question of higher 14 education and access to it as the number one way 15 that we can change and uplift the lives of 16 people who are citizens in our state, especially 17 young people. And so this appointment is not 18 just an appointment to a commission or a board 19 that does not have any particular significance 20 to every single citizen that I represent in New 21 York. This board is the answer, represents to 22 me the possibility for people for whom, without 23 this institution there is no future, and so this 24 is a major -- a major appointment. 25 So while I thank the Governor for 1 attempting to look at this and make an appoint 2 ment based on diversity and representation as it 3 should be, there should be more African 4 Americans and Latinos on that board given the 5 make-up of CUNY, but nonetheless, this is an 6 attempt to do that. 7 But, on the other hand, what the 8 Governor has done is really used the issue or 9 the notion of affirmative action against our 10 interests, against us, against what African 11 Americans need in terms of representation on 12 that board. 13 Here is a person who has not 14 does not have a relationship with any of the 15 institutions of higher education that I have 16 mentioned, despite the fact that we have two 17 institutions that are leading higher education 18 al institutions in the area of sciences and 19 engineering and other related careers. There is 20 no connection with those, Brooklyn Polytech and 21 Pratt Institute. 22 Here is a gentleman who lives 23 within walking distance of Medgar Evers College 24 and he does not have a relationship with one of 25 the premier African-American educators in this 1 nation who happens to run Medgar Evers College, 2 Dr. Edison O. Jackson, does not have a 3 relationship with the students in that building, 4 and Medgar Evers is, in fact, through the work 5 of Dr. Jackson, has become part of the community 6 in a very significant and meaningful way. Dr. 7 Jackson has taken the initiative to reach out to 8 the community and bring us in to work with him, 9 and he has also brought in other institutions to 10 link up with Medgar Evers, i.e., State 11 University Downstate Medical School, and I can 12 go on and on. 13 There is not this kind of 14 relationship, there is no knowledge base, there 15 is no understanding, there is no involvement by 16 Mr. Cook with any of this that has been going 17 on, not in Manhattan, not in Queens but in 18 Brooklyn in his own neighborhood. 19 Mr. Cook talks about the fact 20 that he is a -- quote/end quote -- progressive 21 Republican and that he has done voter 22 registration. I certainly appreciate that. He 23 has been a teacher in a school for 26 years. I 24 certainly appreciate that, but what I'm looking 25 for is vision, and without vision the people 1 perish and won't be in a position to support 2 someone who does not have the vision, who has 3 not demonstrated the interest and commitment and 4 involvement in a community to the point where 5 there is at least some understanding of the 6 needs of those people for whom he is going to be 7 speaking for their future, for what we are going 8 to invest in young people though they are poor, 9 though they speak another language, though they 10 have not had adequate preparation at the other 11 level. He was there to represent those in 12 particular, and I am not convinced that he 13 understands or has any connections with his own 14 community, with our community, that will give 15 him the knowledge base and the understanding and 16 the sensitivity to reflect that in whatever he 17 is going to say as a member of that board. 18 So I am very, very pained with 19 the fact that I'm going to oppose this 20 nomination, Mr. President. 21 Thank you. 22 ACTING PRESIDENT WRIGHT: Senator 23 Leibell, on the nomination. 24 SENATOR LEIBELL: Thank you, Mr. 25 President. 1 I rise after having listened for 2 some period of time now to this discussion and 3 dialogue. I'm certain that over the course of 4 years, the Senate Minority has had many fine 5 hours. This certainly has not been one of 6 them. 7 I do not know Mr. Cook, but I 8 think he has clearly been held to a different 9 standard. I rise because even though I now live 10 in Putnam County, New York, my family has had 11 deep roots in New York City and, in fact, my 12 family's way, like I'm sure is true of many of 13 you, my family's way out of poverty and out of 14 our ghetto was through the City University 15 system. 16 I owe a great deal to that City 17 University system. I owe a great deal to those 18 who preceded me in my family. I take this 19 university system quite seriously because it 20 offers the hope and the possibilities for this 21 generation and future generations that was 22 offered to my family, and certainly to serve on 23 a board as a trustee of that institution, 24 challenged as it is, is a most important 25 position. 1 I've had a chance to review Mr. 2 Cook's qualifications, and over the course of 3 years, I'm certain this Senate body has seen 4 many other resume's that have come through 5 similar to this, but without this sort of 6 vindictive debate. 7 We are asking someone to serve on 8 the board of an educational institution, 9 certainly one that in past history has been one 10 of the great universities of our nation and will 11 again be. He brings to this position a career 12 of teaching in a classroom. He brings to this 13 position great academic achievement, and he also 14 brings, as Senator Maltese noted, a personal 15 history. For those of you who have served in 16 the military and for those of you who have not, 17 you should understand the period of time in 18 which this man served, there was a great deal of 19 racial discrimination in the military, and he 20 served and clearly served honorably and he rose 21 above that. 22 He comes today and presents 23 himself for this position and offers to continue 24 to serve. I think we should applaud him. I 25 think we should say to him, you reflect not just 1 the needs of the African-American community, but 2 you reflect the needs of all New Yorkers. 3 He will serve on that board 4 honorably. He will serve on that board well, 5 and he will serve on that board reflecting all 6 of us, regardless of the color of our skin. 7 Mr. President, I'm very pleased 8 to rise to second this nomination. 9 Thank you. 10 ACTING PRESIDENT WRIGHT: Senator 11 Stavisky, on the nomination. 12 SENATOR STAVISKY: Mr. President, 13 I would have been very pleased to have been 14 consulted. I would have been very pleased to 15 have met with this nominee, as would my 16 colleagues on this side of the aisle, none of 17 whom met Mr. Cook prior to his appearance before 18 the Higher Education Committee. I don't know 19 how many of the people who spoke on that side of 20 the aisle had an opportunity to meet with him in 21 advance. 22 Is it solely on the basis of a 23 sheet of paper presented to us at the last 24 minute without any opportunity to know and to 25 question the individual, that we should just 1 rubber stamp what the Governor wants? If the 2 Governor wants our cooperation, let the Governor 3 send us an outstanding candidate who meets the 4 qualifications, who knows a little bit. We're 5 not asking him to be an expert on all aspects of 6 the City University, but to know a little bit 7 about some of the problems. 8 I rise on the question, not of 9 race, but opportunity which for this generation 10 includes many minority Latinos, African 11 Americans, Asians and others, and I think that 12 the opportunity of anyone to rise in the career 13 ladder is predicated on the ability to afford to 14 go to college. Families struggle to send their 15 children to college, and so on that issue alone, 16 the issue of opportunity and upward mobility, 17 not on the basis of race, I asked Mr. Cook, what 18 is your view on the increase in tuition at the 19 City University of New York and the State 20 University, and what would you do, not on the 21 basis of information that is needed, what would 22 you do if there's a request to increase the 23 tuition still more? He didn't know, and I think 24 it's very telling he did not know what he would 25 do if there was a request made to increase the 1 tuition. 2 I maintain that that is the most 3 serious deficiency that we could encounter 4 because it means that no one will have the 5 opportunity unless they have the dollars, to 6 afford college, and so, on that basis alone, we 7 should seriously consider and review the 8 qualifications. 9 Mr. Cook is a nice man. Mr. Cook 10 has served for many years at a junior high 11 school. He has not risen since 1946 to any 12 supervisory position. Doesn't that tell us 13 something about the leadershhip qualities and 14 the ability of an individual where he could 15 remain for 25 years and not rise to any 16 supervisory position? 17 This doesn't mean that 18 supervision is necessary, but -- and it doesn't 19 mean that he was anticipating an opportunity to 20 serve on the trustees, but it's an opportunity 21 to evaluate the qualification. If I were to 22 draw forth candidates, a list of candidates, I 23 would seek someone who has an outstanding record 24 in the field. He is not a lawyer, thank God. 25 We've got enough lawyers serving government, and 1 I apologize to our counsels here and our 2 members. We've got more than enough lawyers, 3 and I am happy that this is not a lawyer, but 4 even in the legal profession there are some who 5 excel and others who just get along and make 6 money. Mr. Cook has not made money from the 7 teaching, but he has also not risen in the 8 ranks. 9 So what do we ask? We ask a 10 question, not based on fantastic knowledge, but 11 what would you do if there is a request to 12 increase the tuition for the City University of 13 New York? What would you do? He didn't know. He 14 didn't know what side of the question he should 15 be on because he hadn't been told by his 16 sponsor, the Governor of New York, or anyone 17 else who will claim paternity on this issue. 18 I think that that is a mistake. 19 At least he should have an understanding of the 20 upward mobility process. When I attended City 21 College there was free tuition. I wish there 22 was still free tuition now. When I taught at 23 City College, I taught when there was no tuition 24 requirement and when City College and other 25 institutions had a marvelous reputation, which 1 they still do, through the efforts of the 2 faculty and the students and the administra 3 tion. I would not -- I would not be expecting a 4 financial analysis of the -- of the economic 5 situation at City College or the City University 6 from the candidates, but I expected at least a 7 sense of where are we going, and he had no sense 8 of where he will go except to say that he will 9 study it, he will look into it. 10 I said, what would you do if 11 confronted with a request to increase the 12 tuition? He had no answer, and that's the most 13 telling situation. He had no answer even on the 14 philosophical issue of access to higher 15 education and access to this opportunity for up 16 ward mobility. 17 Nice man! I know many nice men 18 and nice women, who are not necessarily going to 19 become trustees of the City University of New 20 York and, as an alumnus of the City University, 21 and there are others in both houses of the 22 Legislature who are graduates of the City 23 Colleges, we have a right to know that there is 24 someone there who has at least an understanding 25 and has a philosophy and has an ability to seek 1 -- to seek the opportunity to get an 2 education. 3 I look at his other 4 qualifications. Fine. But not for this 5 position. Not for this position. For some 6 Educator of the Year maybe. That would have to 7 be determined by his colleagues at Junior High 8 School 232. But that has been the epitome of 9 his experience. Nothing even in that indicates 10 that he was an outstanding teacher or an 11 outstanding educator or that he had a breadth 12 and a vision beyond being a classroom teacher. 13 So I'm saying on the issue of the 14 affordability and the access to higher 15 education, when someone coming before the Higher 16 Education Committee does not know what he would 17 say or do on that issue, then I say I have no 18 sympathy with his qualification and his 19 candidacy. 20 I ask you to exercise some degree 21 of intelligence as you vote for a nominee, not 22 because the Governor has sent the name in but 23 because you are truly convinced that this is the 24 best that could be offered to us and I am not 25 sure that anyone in this chamber could say that 1 this is the best that could be offered to us. 2 For these reasons and a number of 3 others which I will not go into now because 4 they've already been stated, I intend to vote 5 against this nominee. We wish him well, hope 6 that he finds a way of serving but not on the 7 trustees of the City University of New York 8 board. 9 ACTING PRESIDENT WRIGHT: Senator 10 Cook, on the nomination. 11 SENATOR COOK: Mr. President, 12 thank you. 13 Just to dispel any concept there 14 might be a conflict of interest here, I would 15 indicate that while, I'd be very honored to be 16 related to Mr. Cook, I'm not. At least I don't 17 believe I am, the most obvious reason being that 18 to the best of my knowledge, I have no ancestors 19 who came from Brooklyn. 20 But nevertheless I think there's 21 an issue here that really hasn't been discussed 22 and that is we are entering not just a new 23 century but we're entering a time when the whole 24 concept of education is changing. The concept 25 of lifetime education is going to cause our 1 educational institutions, whether they be 2 primary, secondary or higher education, during 3 the coming few years to change the way in which 4 we look at the educational system per se and we 5 are going to be talking about moving towards 6 seamless education, education where there will 7 not be those sharp demarcations between high 8 school and college, but in fact where students 9 will move from one level into another level and 10 they will do it at different speeds, under 11 different types of programs, and what this is 12 going to require is flexibility, leadershhip 13 which has a flexibility to look at 14 possibilities, not people who are ingrained in 15 all of what has been or have been ingrained in 16 the administration of colleges as they have been 17 or high schools as they have been, but people 18 who have a vision of what can be and that vision 19 of what can be is wrapped up in the students. 20 So what we need more than 21 anything else in our colleges and in our high 22 schools as well, are people who can look at 23 students and say, How is the best way in which 24 we can devise a system so that people can move 25 forward at their own rate of ability, their own 1 rate of need, and can get the kind of 2 educational opportunities that they need, and it 3 may be that they will get that high school 4 education in two years, and merge into a 5 community college two years after that and on 6 toward a four-year college after that. It may 7 be that it will take them six years in high 8 school and -- before they move into the junior 9 high level, but it will be different from what 10 we have today and so what I am saying is that I 11 think that this candidate, because of his 12 experience in dealing with students, in dealing 13 with students of different ages, different 14 abilities and in different situations in their 15 pre... their primary, secondary school 16 experience is uniquely qualified to understand 17 how students would function in that kind of a 18 system and, for that reason, I'm enthusiastic 19 that he's going onto the board. I just think 20 that we really ought to seek more people going 21 onto our college trustees and our high school 22 boards who have that kind of background and that 23 kind of knowledge, not simply people who are 24 academically qualified because of past 25 experience but who have a vision as to where we 1 ought to be going in the future. 2 ACTING PRESIDENT WRIGHT: Senator 3 Seabrook, on the nomination. 4 SENATOR SEABROOK: Yes, Mr. 5 President, on the nomination. 6 While I don't know Mr. Cook but I 7 just think that there are a few things that I'd 8 like to say in reference to this nomination. A 9 couple of months ago, when the individual who 10 was on the board was being replaced, Mr. Inniss 11 who had passed away, a person who had served 12 with a lot of distinction on the board, and the 13 Governor of this state and the Mayor of the city 14 of New York, in their term, had never appointed 15 an African-American to the board and there was a 16 tremendous amount of opportunities to do that in 17 the couple of years that the mayor had and the 18 few years that the governor had, but they never 19 appointed an African-American to the board, and 20 so myself and a number of colleagues felt that 21 this board should have had representation by a 22 number of African-Americans who make up 23 basically the population and held positions in 24 the City University system, and so we had had 25 press conferences and said, isn't there a need 1 to have an African-American on the board. 2 There had been committees that 3 had been set up by the Governor, the Mayor, I 4 would assume in terms of putting appointees to 5 the board, and it had never happened and so 6 finally there was a number of news stories and 7 articles, and so today we find ourselves with 8 two African-Americans that's going to be placed 9 on the board, and I wonder, had we been silent, 10 saying there had not been any African-Americans 11 on the board, now you have two African-Americans 12 today and the attitudes of people on the 13 opposite side seem to be rather strange. 14 I've often felt that, as my 15 father would say, you should never judge a 16 person on how they look but how they behave, and 17 what I think we're saying is we haven't really 18 seen how this gentleman has behaved, and that 19 behavior has something to do within our 20 community and the community in which he lived, 21 and listening to Senator Montgomery talked about 22 Medgar Evers College and the particular 23 involvement there and the opportunity to see his 24 information that was really provided and no real 25 involvement with the community and the community 1 in which he lived, and I've had the opportunity 2 to see all the other candidates that have been 3 nominated by the Governor and nominated by the 4 Mayor in which -- in my short tenure here, and 5 they all had some involvement and some 6 connection with the community which they were 7 selected from. They had some relationship and 8 some connection with the individuals that would 9 probably be a part of this legislative body, but 10 here today we're actually placing someone on the 11 board that has no relationship with anyone here, 12 it would seem to me, because everyone says, 13 well, he seems to be a nice man but I really 14 don't know him, but I think he should be given a 15 chance, but it seems that no one knows this 16 individual who is going to be making decisions 17 over a number of individuals, setting the policy 18 and we're talking about a sense of a new 19 direction of what the City University is to be 20 about. 21 I think that there is a sense of 22 disappointment in this appointee, but there 23 could not be a sense of disappointment if there 24 was no great love and the love for the City 25 University system. A number of us are products 1 of the City University system. We've gone 2 through it, and had it not been the opportunity 3 to have access to the City University system, 4 maybe we would never have gone to college, and 5 what Leonard talked about, the opportunity of 6 even having it free and we certainly benefited 7 from that, but to sit here today and to just 8 talk about the sense of diversity, this sense of 9 the appointees -- now, the governor does have a 10 right to make his appointee because I will never 11 challenge his right to be wrong, so when this 12 appointee with his lack of having a sense of 13 connection within the community, that particular 14 involvement, I have seen a sense of candidates 15 who are of a different hue and ethnicity and at 16 least they're members of the NAACP. At least 17 they're members of some local organization 18 within their community, some sense of 19 involvement, but when we look at this appointee, 20 and what he presented to us, I guess he was just 21 a man with a job. Went to work and went home, 22 but I think it's far greater than that when 23 we're talking about a university that we believe 24 should continue, that we believe should be 25 moving in an innovative and creative direction. 1 I don't see the creativity of this individual. 2 I don't see the innovations of this individual. 3 I don't see the community response to this 4 individual. 5 Here's a person that's going to 6 make decisions on the basis of dealing with 7 community colleges and that particular 8 involvement with no relationship in the 9 community in which he serves, no community 10 boards, no involvement, so I think that the 11 Governor had a tremendous opportunity and even 12 if he wanted to give people of different 13 political persuasions and understanding, there 14 are a tremendous amount of individuals who are 15 just as competent, just as capable, and we 16 talked to and said they would have loved to have 17 served. Reverend Calvin Butts, Reverend Johnny 18 Youngblood, Richard Parsons, number of people 19 eminently qualified who would have loved to 20 serve on the board. Even the district attorney 21 of the Bronx said, if the Governor appointed him 22 he'd love to serve, so there's a tremendous 23 amount of people who had a lot of wealth in 24 terms of education, commitment and concern, was 25 willing to do that and based upon Charlie 1 Inniss' background that here's an individual 2 that gave so much to the community and while 3 Charlie was a representative of Brooklyn, but we 4 all knew him and his involvement in the Bronx 5 and other places because he was committed to 6 serving the young people of the City University 7 system, because he believed in the City 8 University system, he believed in access, he 9 believed that the City University system was for 10 those who were not financially able but wanted 11 access for higher education and opportunity. He 12 believed in that and he worked diligently at Con 13 Edison or Brooklyn Union, but he gave back to 14 the community, and that's what this is about. 15 So we're not judging him on how 16 he looks, we're judging him on how he behaves. 17 Now, he will probably be nominated here today 18 but this will probably be a challenge for him. 19 This will probably be a challenge, and I think 20 the message needs to be sent clear to prove you 21 was wrong here today because it's sad that there 22 ain't that many black people in the world that I 23 don't know them, and I don't even know this guy 24 and I grew -- grew up in Brooklyn, little bit of 25 it, but he has to prove to us, this body, that 1 the commitment and the will that we will be able 2 to say that, yes, we were wrong in our judgment 3 and he was right in his activity and action 4 because that's not what we're seeing here today, 5 activity and action. 6 There was a couple of people 7 voted against a guy who was nominated to the 8 board here a couple of months ago maybe, they 9 said he just did it because it was on his 10 daddy's name and he didn't know nothin' about 11 the State University, and I voted for him on the 12 basis of feeling that here was a young man that 13 he was a part of some community at least, I do 14 know that. We weren't of the same party but I 15 do know he was involved in community activity, 16 so that's what this should be about and that's 17 what we're saying. 18 Now, it could be well, what are 19 you complaining about? We gave you a black. 20 That's just not the case, because the issue 21 should be that I gave you someone that's 22 competent and, oh, by the way, he happens to be 23 black. That's the issue, that's the issue. 24 So I will say that I would hope 25 that the challenge is upon Mr. Cook that he 1 would begin to look and see that we are 2 disappointed and there could be no great 3 disappointment without great love and that we 4 truly understand that the mission of the City 5 University is about access and it's about 6 allowing individuals who would not have the 7 opportunity to go in to the mainstream and the 8 middle class of this state. 9 So I would hope that Mr. Cook 10 would take under consideration what we're 11 talking about because he will be there 'til the 12 year 2004 and he will go into a new millennium 13 and it is our hope that he can come back and 14 talk about something creative, something 15 innovative, talk about where could the City 16 University go and not say, Well, I'll look and 17 study it. 18 We've been studied enough, and 19 the time for action is now, and I would hope 20 that Mr. Cook would understand our displeasure. 21 He would understand our concern and that he will 22 prove us wrong, and I think that all of us will 23 be capable enough to stand up and say, you know, 24 we didn't know Mr. Cook, we didn't pretend to 25 know Mr. Cook, and we didn't just give Mr. Cook 1 carte blanche, but Mr. Cook came back and he 2 excelled. He did us proud and did us well 3 because we did a mistake like that once before 4 just to have one -- his name is Clarence Thomas, 5 and I would hope that we don't even think about 6 steppin' in that direction, but with the sense 7 of a commitment and understanding that the 8 challenge of those with which he serves, that he 9 have a mission and this is not just an 10 appointment, this is a mission, and if he 11 doesn't understand this mission then I think he 12 should get out of the ship and allow someone 13 else who understands the mission, role and 14 responsibility and move ahead. 15 So I would hope that we take 16 under consideration this challenge for Mr. 17 Cook. 18 ACTING PRESIDENT WRIGHT: Senator 19 Marcellino, on the nomination. 20 SENATOR MARCELLINO: Yes. Thank 21 you, Mr. President. 22 I've been sitting here. I came 23 into the chamber and the discussion was ongoing 24 and I hadn't originally intended to speak, but 25 I've been hearing some things that kind of 1 disturbed me a little bit. 2 I've heard a man criticized 3 because he was "only a teacher." For goodness 4 sake, only a teacher. That's a crime now, O.K.? 5 Well, I'm only a teacher. He was 6 only a teacher. He didn't aspire to be a 7 principal. He didn't aspire to be the 8 superintendent of the school district. He was 9 only a teacher. That's a criminal act, I 10 guess. He only wants to teach his students, 11 give them the best he can give them, do the best 12 for them he possibly can and that somehow 13 disqualifies him from serving on the board of 14 CUNY, whose whole function is to teach young 15 people and to give them a quality education. 16 I guess we would take a man whose 17 name escapes me, but the Mexican-American from 18 California who took the young people out there, 19 minority youngsters, and taught them advanced 20 place mathematics and give them the chance to 21 achieve and prove to the world that minority 22 students could achieve and could do it if they 23 had good educators and people who cared. 24 Mr. Cook is a person who cares. 25 He teaches for a living. To me, that doesn't 1 disqualify him for anything. Apparently it 2 does. He didn't belong to the right clubs, 3 didn't know the right people. He didn't 4 associate with the right organizations. That's 5 another criminal act. All he did was go to work 6 every day, pay his taxes, be a good citizen, 7 that doesn't represent your community well. 8 He's not an activist. 9 For heaven's sakes. It's 10 ridiculous. It's absolutely ridiculous that we 11 say that good people, honest people, caring 12 people cannot serve. We have to have academia. 13 We have to have people from ivory towers. We 14 have to have people who are never in the 15 classroom in CUNY. That's why we have people 16 coming out of CUNY today who can't read and 17 write, who can't pass an English test, only he 18 didn't have enough warning we're told. 19 They weren't told that we knew 20 they had to read and write and speak English 21 when they graduate from City University. What 22 the heck have we gotten to? I don't understand 23 this any more. What is the standard that we 24 need now? We expect people with super genius 25 qualifications. If that was a qualification, 1 myself included, very few of us would be here. 2 Stafford would be here. Senator 3 Stafford definitely would be; the rest of us 4 would probably have a hard time makin' it. 5 Senator Marchi would be as well. Take that 6 back. 7 Ladies and gentlemen, I've heard 8 things here that really, I don't understand. I 9 just don't understand them. This man is going 10 to be -- was willing to serve, is willing to 11 give back to his community. It's not an easy 12 job. He's said he wants to give some time to 13 it. He will give some time to it. Everybody I 14 hear says he's a good person. Nobody's said 15 he's dishonest. Nobody's said he's a crook. 16 Nobody's said he's immoral. 17 What more do you want? Good, 18 honest, caring people, a good, honest, caring 19 person should have a right to serve if nominated 20 and if they desire to. God bless him. Mr. 21 Cook, we wish you well. Serve well, represent 22 us all well, and we'll all be proud of you. 23 ACTING PRESIDENT WRIGHT: The 24 question is on the confirmation of Kenneth E. 25 Cook as a member of the CUNY Board of Trustees. 1 All in favor signify 2 SENATOR OPPENHEIMER: We request 3 a slow roll call, please. 4 ACTING PRESIDENT WRIGHT: Senator 5 Oppenheimer requests a slow roll. Are there 6 five members standing? I count three, four, 7 five. Ring the bells, and we will have a slow 8 and accurate roll call. 9 THE SECRETARY: Senator Abate. 10 SENATOR ABATE: No. 11 THE SECRETARY: Senator Alesi. 12 SENATOR ALESI: Yes. 13 THE SECRETARY: Senator Breslin. 14 SENATOR BRESLIN: No. 15 SENATOR SMITH: How did Senator 16 Breslin vote? 17 SENATOR BRESLIN: No. 18 SENATOR SMITH: Couldn't hear. 19 THE SECRETARY: Senator Bruno. 20 (Affirmative indication. ) 21 THE SECRETARY: Senator Connor. 22 (Negative indication). 23 THE SECRETARY: No. 24 Senator Cook. 25 SENATOR COOK: Yes. 1 THE SECRETARY: Senator 2 DeFrancisco. 3 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Yes. 4 THE SECRETARY: Senator 5 Dollinger. 6 SENATOR DOLLINGER: No. 7 THE SECRETARY: Senator Farley. 8 SENATOR FARLEY: Aye. 9 THE SECRETARY: Senator Gentile. 10 SENATOR GENTILE: No. 11 THE SECRETARY: Senator Gold. 12 SENATOR GOLD: Noooo. 13 THE SECRETARY: Senator 14 Gonzalez. 15 SENATOR GONZALEZ: No. 16 THE SECRETARY: Senator Goodman. 17 SENATOR GOODMAN: Yes. 18 THE SECRETARY: Senator Hannon. 19 (There was no response. ) 20 Senator Hoffmann. 21 (There was no response. ) 22 Senator Holland. 23 (There was no response. ) 24 Senator Johnson. 25 (There was no response. ) 1 Senator Kruger. 2 SENATOR KRUGER: No. 3 THE SECRETARY: Senator Kuhl. 4 SENATOR KUHL: Aye. 5 THE SECRETARY: Senator Lachman. 6 SENATOR LACHMAN: No. 7 THE SECRETARY: Senator Lack. 8 SENATOR LACK: Aye. 9 THE SECRETARY: Senator Larkin. 10 SENATOR LARKIN: (Affirmative 11 indication.) 12 THE SECRETARY: Yes. 13 Senator LaValle. 14 SENATOR LAVALLE: Aye. 15 THE SECRETARY: Senator Leibell. 16 SENATOR LEIBELL: Aye. 17 THE SECRETARY: Senator 18 Leichter. 19 SENATOR LEICHTER: No. 20 THE SECRETARY: Senator Levy 21 excused. 22 Senator Libous. 23 (There was no response. ) 24 Senator Maltese. 25 SENATOR MALTESE: Aye. 1 THE SECRETARY: Senator 2 Marcellino. 3 SENATOR MARCELLINO: Aye. 4 THE SECRETARY: Senator Marchi. 5 SENATOR MARCHI: Aye. 6 THE SECRETARY: Senator 7 Markowitz. 8 SENATOR MARKOWITZ: Explain my 9 vote. 10 ACTING PRESIDENT WRIGHT: Senator 11 Markowitz, to explain his vote. 12 SENATOR MARKOWITZ: Thank you 13 very much. 14 As luck would have it, the 15 nominee lives in my Senatorial District. I have 16 rarely, if ever, voted against a nominee of the 17 Governor's that I have been in service with or 18 during my career here in the Senate, and the 19 arguments presented by my colleagues are -- are 20 very persuasive. 21 Senator LaValle, I knew Charlie 22 Inniss very, very well. Your remarks were on 23 target. However, Charlie Inniss had a 24 tremendously long history of service to the 25 residents of New York City, especially in 1 communities of color, and while his knowledge 2 about issues concerning the City University 3 certainly could not be as much as full-time 4 professionals that were at CUNY at that time, 5 nonetheless we all knew that Charlie Inniss of 6 blessed memory absolutely reflected and was 7 responsible for the needs of all the City 8 community and the aspirations of students, 9 particularly those of African-American and 10 Caribbean-American, he understood that and 11 reflected and acted on that. 12 There's no doubt that Mr. Cook 13 will be confirmed, and so I hope that the 14 arguments that he heard today will be taken to 15 heart as he serves, and it is my hope that he 16 proves all of us wrong that have voted against 17 his confirmation today and that he becomes a 18 fighter because God knows we need a fighter in 19 the City University so that the hope of 20 obtaining higher education for all in our 21 society is a goal that can be reached and that 22 every effort must be made to make sure that 23 every one of our kids has that chance to fulfill 24 their dreams. 25 I will vote no on this nomination 1 with the hope that in a very short period of 2 time, I will say to Mr. Cook, My dear 3 constituent, God bless you, you did a great 4 job. 5 ACTING PRESIDENT WRIGHT: 6 Continue the roll. 7 THE SECRETARY: Senator Maziarz. 8 SENATOR MAZIARZ: Yes. 9 THE SECRETARY: Senator Meier. 10 SENATOR MEIER: Yes. 11 THE SECRETARY: Senator Mendez. 12 SENATOR MENDEZ: Yes. 13 THE SECRETARY: Senator 14 Montgomery. 15 SENATOR MONTGOMERY: No. 16 THE SECRETARY: Senator Nanula. 17 SENATOR NANULA: No. 18 THE SECRETARY: Senator 19 Nozzolio. 20 (There was no response. ) 21 Senator Onorato. 22 SENATOR ONORATO: No. 23 THE SECRETARY: Senator 24 Oppenheimer. 25 SENATOR OPPENHEIMER: Explain my 1 vote. 2 ACTING PRESIDENT WRIGHT: Senator 3 Oppenheimer, to explain her vote. 4 SENATOR OPPENHEIMER: I've been 5 sitting on Finance for many years now and we've 6 had an awful lot of people come before us and 7 for the most part whether they had extraordinary 8 resume's or simple resume's they did come with 9 curiosity about the positions they were going to 10 be appointed to and had done a little bit of 11 research as most all of us would if we're going 12 to be interviewed for a position. We'd try and 13 learn a little bit about it, at least a little 14 bit. 15 In this case, I found it rather 16 surprising that very simple questions could not 17 be answered by this candidate. It makes you 18 wonder a bit why he did not prepare even a few 19 minutes for -- for this interview, and causes 20 you to question what kind of commitment and 21 involvement and study would be done by this 22 person once on the -- in the job. 23 I, like some of my colleagues, 24 feel that there is a big opportunity for him to 25 expand and to serve the community which we hope 1 he will serve due to his ethnicity. However, it 2 hasn't been demonstrated so far. I hope that 3 that this will not be the way we feel a year 4 from now, but at this time I would have to vote 5 against this appointment. 6 No. 7 ACTING PRESIDENT WRIGHT: Senator 8 Oppenheimer in the negative. 9 Continue the roll. 10 THE SECRETARY: Senator Padavan. 11 SENATOR PADAVAN: Yes. 12 ACTING PRESIDENT WRIGHT: Senator 13 Padavan is recorded in the affirmative. 14 THE SECRETARY: Senator 15 Paterson. 16 SENATOR PATERSON: No. 17 THE SECRETARY: Senator Present. 18 SENATOR PRESENT: Yes. 19 THE SECRETARY: Senator Rath. 20 SENATOR RATH: Aye. 21 THE SECRETARY: Senator Rosado. 22 SENATOR ROSADO: No. 23 THE SECRETARY: Senator Saland 24 excused. 25 Senator Sampson. 1 SENATOR SAMPSON: No. 2 THE SECRETARY: Senator 3 Santiago. 4 SENATOR SANTIAGO: No. 5 THE SECRETARY: Senator 6 Seabrook. 7 SENATOR SEABROOK: No. 8 THE SECRETARY: Senator Seward. 9 SENATOR SEWARD: Yes. 10 THE SECRETARY: Senator Skelos. 11 SENATOR SKELOS: Yes. 12 THE SECRETARY: Senator Smith. 13 SENATOR SMITH: No. 14 THE SECRETARY: Senator Spano. 15 SENATOR SPANO: Aye. 16 THE SECRETARY: Senator 17 Stachowski. 18 SENATOR STACHOWSKI: No. 19 THE SECRETARY: Senator 20 Stafford. 21 SENATOR STAFFORD: Aye. 22 THE SECRETARY: Senator 23 Stavisky. 24 (There was no response. ) 25 Senator Trunzo. 1 SENATOR TRUNZO: Yes. 2 THE SECRETARY: Senator Tully. 3 SENATOR TULLY: Aye. 4 THE SECRETARY: Senator Velella. 5 SENATOR VELELLA: Yes. 6 THE SECRETARY: Senator Volker. 7 SENATOR VOLKER: Yes. 8 THE SECRETARY: Senator Waldon. 9 SENATOR WALDON: (Negative 10 indication.) 11 THE SECRETARY: No. 12 Senator Wright. 13 SENATOR WRIGHT: Aye. 14 ACTING PRESIDENT WRIGHT: Call 15 the absentees. 16 THE SECRETARY: Senator Hannon. 17 SENATOR HANNON: Yes. 18 THE SECRETARY: Senator 19 Hoffmann. 20 (There was no response. ) 21 Senator Holland. 22 SENATOR HOLLAND: Yes. 23 THE SECRETARY: Senator Johnson. 24 SENATOR JOHNSON: Aye. 25 THE SECRETARY: Senator Libous. 1 SENATOR LIBOUS: Aye. 2 THE SECRETARY: Senator 3 Nozzolio. 4 (There was no response. ) 5 Senator Stavisky. 6 SENATOR GOLD: Mr. President. 7 ACTING PRESIDENT WRIGHT: Senator 8 Stavisky is recorded in the negative. 9 Senator Paterson, why do you 10 rise? 11 SENATOR PATERSON: Mr. President, 12 I was wondering about the outcome of the vote. 13 ACTING PRESIDENT WRIGHT: We're 14 working on the results, Senator Paterson. 15 SENATOR PATERSON: We haven't 16 finished the roll call, Mr. President? 17 ACTING PRESIDENT WRIGHT: 18 Complete the roll. 19 THE SECRETARY: Senator 20 Nozzolio. 21 SENATOR NOZZOLIO: Aye. 22 ACTING PRESIDENT WRIGHT: 23 Results. 24 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 34, nays 25 24. 1 ACTING PRESIDENT WRIGHT: Kenneth 2 E. Cook is hereby confirmed as a member of the 3 CUNY Board of Trustees. 4 The Secretary will read. 5 THE SECRETARY: Senator Stafford, 6 from the Committee on Finance, reports the 7 following nomination: 8 Member of the Board of Trustees 9 of the City University of New York, Alfred B. 10 Curtis, Jr., of Staten Island. 11 ACTING PRESIDENT WRIGHT: Senator 12 Stafford. 13 SENATOR STAFFORD: Mr. President, 14 it's a pleasure to yield as I mentioned earlier, 15 to the Senator who has been a staunch advocate 16 and protagonist for the City University who will 17 move the confirmation of an excellent candidate, 18 Alfred B. Curtis, Jr., Senator Marchi. 19 ACTING PRESIDENT WRIGHT: Senator 20 Marchi. 21 SENATOR MARCHI: Mr. President, 22 it's with evident pride that I -- and I have to 23 admit to a tinge of parochialism, 24 notwithstanding I will try to be as objective 25 and as faithful to the record as I possibly can 1 because the record speaks so eloquently for the 2 approbation and nomination of this candidate. 3 He was named by the Mayor of the 4 city of New York, one of his nominees, but I 5 believe that in my community irrespective of 6 where the nomination came from, that there is 7 widespread approval and understanding of why we 8 have this candidate before us now for 9 consideration. He graduated from the City 10 University, actually from Richmond College. He 11 and his wife Aurelia who teaches mathematics and 12 computer science, and their children are part of 13 the warp and woof of the community of Staten 14 Island, and there is widespread admiration that 15 knows no boundary from the northern tip right 16 down to Tottenville and across the broad areas 17 of Staten Island, on the identity of this 18 individual, and the qualities that he brings to 19 the nomination. 20 He was -- before he entered 21 public service, he was assistant vice-president 22 and operations manager at Chemical Bank and then 23 he was followed by his appointment to public 24 service as assistant vice-president and 25 operations manager in -- as the Commissioner of 1 the New York Department of Youth Services, by 2 the Mayor in 1994, and also served as executive 3 director of inter-agency coordinating council of 4 the youth of the city of New York. 5 Then he was named president and 6 CEO of the United Nations Development 7 Corporation, a $280 million city-state 8 non-profit corporation established by the state 9 Legislature to provide facilities for the United 10 Nations community. 11 This is a man of broad 12 experience, a man who was elected to an 13 honorable long-standing committee, agency on 14 Staten Island, the NAACP, and within the tenure 15 of his term of office he tripled -- and lest you 16 believe that there are only a few people, there 17 was a large number by the time that Mr. Curtis 18 had brought in so many new appointees 19 tripling the membership and earning national 20 honors in the NAACP for the innovative 21 initiatives undertaken by the Staten Island 22 Chapter. 23 Staten Island is very proud to 24 have him as one of our own, with all of the 25 excellent qualities that he brings and I must 1 compliment certainly the entire membership here 2 for uniformly avoiding vituperative remarks in 3 their comments, but I do feel that a study and 4 an accurate examination of that record will 5 elicit from each and every one of you a positive 6 response. 7 He's that kind of a candidate. 8 We in Staten Island are very, very proud of the 9 fact that this name is before you, but it's a 10 presence that will enure to the benefit of the 11 City University given all of the circumstances, 12 given all of the remarks that have been made and 13 expressed in desiring the fulfillment of many 14 points of view. 15 So that I couldn't think of a 16 more felicitous moment for me to make this 17 presentation. Both Senator Seabrook and Senator 18 Cook mentioned the next millenium. That's what 19 we're thinking about. That's what this 20 candidate represents: Solid preparation, family 21 wise, personally, by his accomplishments and by 22 the very superior qualities that he brings to 23 the City University Board of Trustees. 24 I don't know how much I can 25 belabor the obvious except to guarantee to you 1 that people from Staten Island, regardless of 2 party, regardless of sex, regardless of creed or 3 color have great respect and esteem for this 4 individual. He enjoys that kind of broad 5 community support, and we're very proud to have 6 his name advanced for your consideration. 7 I hope that he emerges from this 8 process with your encouragement. It means an 9 awful lot because I have the feeling that he's 10 going to make a very marked positive impact on 11 the developments that take place in the City 12 University. 13 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: 14 Senator Waldon, on the nomination. 15 SENATOR WALDON: Thank you very 16 much, Mr. President. 17 A number of people in this 18 chamber had committed to me that they would 19 follow my lead on this nomination, and the 20 reason that it's important for me to speak at 21 this time is to let them know that I've changed 22 my position and so they are free to do what 23 their conscience dictates, not that they 24 wouldn't anyway. I would hope that they were 25 voting in conscience when they agreed to go with 1 me. 2 I have some serious reservations 3 about the candidate, and one of our esteemed 4 colleagues, Senator Smith, suggested that we 5 have a conversation and we had -- meaning the 6 candidate and I, and we had a rather lengthy 7 conversation outside of the chamber and he was 8 persuasive and he made his case and I think that 9 when someone can make a case as well as Mr. 10 Curtis did, that if I reasonably should listen 11 to his statements. 12 There was one area of concern 13 that I won't get into, but I shared it with him 14 and I would urge him to please make sure that as 15 he continues his travels in government onwards 16 and upward that he should at least make sure 17 that that does not arise again or come back to 18 be of concern for him. 19 I am a life member of the NAACP. 20 I still have great respect for someone who makes 21 a commitment to that organization and to the 22 needs of the people the NAACP has served since 23 the early 1900s. That's one of the reasons I 24 feel that he will make a good member of the 25 board. 1 But most important the aspect of 2 his personality, his character, his intelligence 3 and his credentials, is that he has the smarts 4 and the vision, the smarts to know what should 5 happen and the vision, I believe now that we've 6 met, to ensure that all people but especially 7 African-Americans, Caribbean-Americans or other 8 people of color who have traditionally been 9 disenfranchised will have an opportunity to 10 realize their fullest potential as students iin 11 the City University system. 12 I, too, graduated from the City 13 University. When I entered, the only cost to my 14 mother was $35 for the student admissions fee 15 and the tokens. They weren't tokens at that 16 time. I think I paid a dime each day for the 17 subway. In fact, as some of you may recall, I 18 served, not served, I was in the same ROTC class 19 with Colin Powell. He chose to stay in class; I 20 chose to play Big Whisk. Therefore, he had a 21 better career than serving with you guys, and, 22 how to get rich, remember that, all of which 23 says I hope that Mr. Curtis will serve his 24 greatest potential in serving the children. It 25 is my hope that his vision will not falter in 1 serving the children. It is my hope that the 2 sense of commitment that Senator Montgomery, 3 Senator Sampson, Senator Smith, Senator Paterson 4 have brought to my attention in regard to this 5 gentleman will prove to be the case and that he 6 will be one of the great assets to the trustee 7 board of CUNY. We sorely need someone like 8 that. We sorely need someone who has a vision 9 and a commitment to right the wrongs facing the 10 children who otherwise would not have an 11 opportunity to extricate themselves from the 12 same bowels of the ghetto that I know I came 13 from and perhaps some others in this chamber 14 came from. 15 So I wish him well. I sincerely 16 wish him well, but I'd like to leave him with 17 this word, that I expect for him to do the job. 18 I changed my position based on what I thought 19 was good reason. I am hopeful that he will 20 ensure that my change was well worth the 21 effort. 22 Good luck to you. 23 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: 24 Senator Lachman. 25 SENATOR LACHMAN: Mr. President, 1 I also rise to speak on behalf of Mr. Curtis for 2 membership on the New York -- CUNY New York 3 Board of Trustees, but I would like to explain 4 my position in greater detail. 5 Three months ago, one of my 6 colleagues in this chamber, Senator Seabrook, 7 who is the chairman of the Black and Puerto 8 Rican Association and former chair of the Black 9 and Puerto Rican Caucus, when he served in the 10 Assembly, approached me, and asked me if I would 11 join with him at a press conference on the steps 12 of City Hall, and at the press conference he 13 said -- dealt with the CUNY Board of Trustees 14 not being as diverse as it could and should be. 15 He also asked if I could bring 16 along some other people and with me was the New 17 York Director of the American Jewish Committee 18 as well as the New York Director of the Jewish 19 Community Relations Council, and Senator 20 Seabrook was kind enough to allow me to speak 21 first. I believe Senator Waldon was also there 22 on this very cold, rainy downpour of a day, and 23 what I said at -- on the steps of City Hall I am 24 going to say again. 25 I am unalterably opposed to the 1 concept of racial ratios and quotas as being the 2 criteria, the criteria for the selection of any 3 member to any university board of trustees. How 4 -- and this was echoed by Senator Seabrook when 5 I finished my statement. At the same time when 6 one looks at a board of 15 members and sees 7 obviously that there is a lack of diversity then 8 one has to ask questions of equity and we 9 together, black and white, standing on the steps 10 of City Hall appealed to the Mayor and to the 11 Governor to change the situation, and I commend 12 the Mayor and the Governor of the state for 13 listening. I'm sure they probably would have 14 done this perhaps without this news conference 15 and I'm authorized to state that the New York 16 Chapter of the American Jewish Committee will be 17 sending both the Mayor and the Governor a letter 18 commending them for the appointment of Trustee 19 Cook as well as soon to be I hope Trustee 20 Curtis. 21 Now, gentlemen, you are going 22 into the eye of the whirlwind. Many of us in 23 this chamber have been part of the eye of the 24 whirlwind; but you have a wonderful 25 opportunity. I had a wonderful opportunity. I 1 also came from the bowels of poverty. I was 2 also a kid from East New York who was on 3 welfare. Welfare is color blind, and CUNY gave 4 me the opportunity for the education that I 5 needed to thrive. It gave me something, someone 6 much more important, it also gave me my beloved 7 wife Susan. 8 The opportunity you have is a 9 reflection of what Andrew Carnegie said one 10 hundred years ago. The greatness of America 11 rests upon three words: Education, education, 12 education. Those are the three most important 13 words, and we have two crown jewels in the state 14 of New York that exemplify those words: The 15 State University of New York which is the 16 largest state university in the United States, 17 and the City University of New York which is the 18 largest urban public university in the United 19 States. 20 Now, sitting up there in the 21 chambers, the two of you might have heard that 22 there are some problems today in CUNY and no one 23 can deny that, but as Henry Kaiser once said, a 24 problem is only an opportunity in work clothes, 25 and I honestly believe that there is a wonderful 1 opportunity here for Democrats and Republicans, 2 gubernatorial and mayoral appointments of prev 3 ious administrations and this administration, to 4 work together to maintain the glory of CUNY and 5 the glory of SUNY, to the benefit of the entire 6 population of the state of New York. 7 Having said that, I would also be 8 remiss if I did not acknowledge the outstanding 9 work done as members of the CUNY Board of 10 Trustees by the late Charles Inniss, whom you've 11 all heard about, and by the current member of 12 the CUNY Board of Trustees who you will succeed, 13 Mr. Curtis, if we vote as I hope we will vote, 14 in your favor, the Honorable Jerome Bird of 15 Staten Island: Two men of different parties 16 working together for the good of all. 17 You are a policymaker and a 18 policymaker sets policies. Administrators ad 19 minister that policy and I hope and pray that 20 policymakers and administrators of the City 21 University of the city of New York will bring it 22 to even greater heights than it has in the 23 past. 24 Thank you. 25 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: 1 Senator Smith. 2 SENATOR SMITH: Thank you, Mr. 3 President. 4 I, too, rise to support the 5 nomination of Alfred Curtis as a trustee to the 6 board of CUNY. I am also a product of CUNY, and 7 contrary to what Senator Maltese said, I 8 graduated with an academic diploma. Maybe it 9 was years ago in ancient times, and I care a 10 great deal about what happens to CUNY because I 11 believe it is the foundation for the future of 12 our children. 13 Al Curtis is known throughout the 14 city of New York. He is a family man with 15 children whom he cares about and he cares about 16 their education. As you've heard his wife is an 17 educator. Al Curtis made a commitment to the 18 people of Staten Island. Not only does he serve 19 as the president of the NAACP, but he's 20 intimately involved in other activities on 21 Staten Island and throughout the five boroughs, 22 and in our conference Senator Gentile went on 23 and on about the merits of Al Curtis, but I 24 didn't have to hear them from Senator Gentile 25 because I knew who Al Curtis was, and I think 1 that that's the difference, because the people 2 of his community and other communities are well 3 aware of his fine work and they have great 4 expectations for him as he will emerge as a 5 member of this board, and I'm certain that even 6 though him and I are of different political 7 parties, and we don't always agree, we can sit 8 down and have a conversation and come to a 9 conclusion that will be the best one for the 10 people of the city of New York, and I know that 11 he will be a fine representative on this board. 12 Thank you. 13 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: 14 Senator Montgomery. 15 SENATOR MONTGOMERY: Thank you, 16 Mr. President. I would be terribly remiss if I 17 did not join my colleagues in -- in speaking 18 very positively and supportive of this 19 nomination. I was in the Finance Committee 20 meeting this morning when we interviewed Mr. 21 Curtis, and I was certainly impressed, one, 22 because of the fact that he does have what is 23 obviously a particular connection with his 24 community as well as with the communities 25 throughout New York City, especially African 1 Americans. He has served as chair of the Staten 2 Island NAACP branch, but he also very 3 specifically talked about the fact that he has 4 worked with Dr. Edison O. Jackson, who, as I 5 have stated in my last statement, is one of the 6 premier African-American educators in this 7 nation and certainly in New York City. 8 Mr. Curtis knows him, has worked 9 with him, both in his capacity as head of the 10 youth agency, as well as in an effort to join 11 with other professionals and people of stature 12 trying to design ways of making it more possible 13 and developing more support systems for young 14 people in the city of New York. 15 He also talked this morning about 16 his view of what we need to be doing to 17 strengthen the capacity of CUNY to address the 18 needs of the current population which is more 19 diverse and makes greater demands on the system 20 in different ways than were made 20 years ago. 21 He talked about the fact that he is interested 22 in looking at linking all of the different 23 levels of education, both secondary and post 24 secondary so that we can begin to address the 25 issue of remediation before we have to spend the 1 money at the upper end but certainly not at the 2 expense of maintaining that diversity, but at 3 the same time improving the quality and the 4 outcome of City University. 5 So I am impressed with this young 6 man. I am only sorry that he has to refer to 7 himself as a Republican, but in my mind, I am 8 forgiving him for that. That's one -- one area 9 in which he didn't see the light or the right 10 light. He's looking at the other light, the 11 Republican light, but I forgive him for that 12 because he has so much to offer, and this -- in 13 this appointment, and I believe that he will 14 speak for all of the students in CUNY because I 15 believe that he understands some of the issues 16 that are very difficult and very serious. 17 I hope that he recalls this 18 moment as a significant moment where we are all 19 speaking to him to say, so many lives depend on 20 you, we need a voice, we don't need a whisper. 21 We need some courage, we don't need someone who 22 is willing to follow no matter where the people 23 in charge are going, because it's politically 24 correct. We need someone to be politically 25 incorrect when it comes to representing and 1 defending the needs of students in that 2 university and by all means we want to make sure 3 that that university continues to be the force 4 and the institution that levels the playing 5 field for people who otherwise would not have an 6 opportunity to advance in this society. 7 So I'm pleased to -- to second 8 the nomination, to support the nomination, Mr. 9 President, and will be certainly voting for it. 10 Thank you. 11 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: 12 Senator Seabrook. 13 SENATOR SEABROOK: Mr. President, 14 I just rise for -- to really thank the Mayor and 15 the the Governor for their appointees although I 16 didn't agree with one and agree with the other, 17 but I would like to thank them for having the 18 opportunity to appoint the two gentlemen and 19 which they did because I agreed with my 20 colleague, Senator Leichter, when -- when he 21 said, and I don't believe in quotas either, but 22 I also told him and I said, but remember zero is 23 a quota, so when there was no African-Americans 24 on the board it served as a quota. 25 So the opportunity, and the 1 Governor and the Mayor rose to the occasion to 2 do this. They should be commended and that 3 these appointees should be encouraged to take on 4 the challenge, but I would say that on behalf of 5 Mr. Curtis, who we have had the opportunity to 6 see him in action, I've had the opportunity to 7 see him before he was appointed to the position 8 in city government, but I saw him in his 9 involvement in Staten Island as well, and that's 10 a tremendous task because it is easier probably 11 to go to Staten Island and go to work and just 12 do nothing. 13 But here is an individual that 14 lived in Staten Island, went to work every day 15 and came back and was involved in Staten 16 Island. So he wasn't just a somebody. So he 17 was involved where he lived, where he felt a 18 need for that particular involvement and we know 19 about it. So I think that that's the issue in 20 terms of the involvement and the sense of having 21 insight, creativity and involvement with young 22 people, and I think that he will excel to the 23 potential, and his involvement with the local 24 elected officials as well says something about 25 this individual, and I think that that's 1 important because normally people wouldn't have 2 people presented here if there was no 3 involvement in some capacity. 4 So I will say that it is our hope 5 that the challenges upon these two individuals 6 to do what has to be done for a system that we 7 truly love and we truly feel that it has to be 8 energized, and the mission is theirs, and again 9 straight ahead and I vote for this nominee. 10 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: Are 11 there any other Senators wishing to be heard on 12 the question? The question is on the 13 confirmation of Alfred B. Curtis, Jr., as a 14 member of the CUNY Board of Trustees. All in 15 favor signify by saying aye. 16 (Response of "Aye.") 17 Opposed nay. 18 (There was no response.) 19 Alfred B. Curtis is hereby 20 confirmed as a member of the CUNY Board of 21 Trustees. Mr. Curtis is in the balcony. Mr. 22 Curtis, we wish you good luck, Godspeed and 23 congratulations. 24 (Applause) 25 SENATOR GOLD: Mr. President, Mr. 1 President. 2 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: 3 Senator Gold, why do you rise? 4 SENATOR GOLD: Thank you, Mr. 5 President. 6 Mr. President, I was at the 7 Finance Committee meeting earlier and I'd ask 8 unanimous consent to be recorded in the negative 9 on Calendar Number 587, Senate Bill 2803-A, and 10 also on Calendar Number 741, Senate Bill 11 1342-B. 12 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: 13 Senator Gold, you will be recorded in the 14 negative on Senate 2803-A and 1342-B. 15 SENATOR GOLD: Thank you, Mr. 16 President. 17 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: 18 You're welcome. 19 The Secretary will read. 20 THE SECRETARY: Senator Stafford, 21 from the Committee on Finance, reports the 22 following nominations: 23 Banking members of the State 24 Banking Board, John D. Garrison, of Wallkill and 25 John B. Robinson, of Loudonville. 1 SENATOR STAFFORD: Move 2 confirmation. 3 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: 4 Question is on the confirmation of John D. 5 Garrison, of Wallkill and John B. Robinson, of 6 Loudonville, as banking members of the State 7 Banking Board. All those in favor signify by 8 saying aye. 9 (Response of "Aye.") 10 Opposed nay. 11 (There was no response. ) 12 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: 13 John D. Garrison, of Wallkill and John B. 14 Robinson, of Loudonville are hereby confirmed as 15 banking members of the State Banking Board. 16 THE SECRETARY: Senator Stafford, 17 from the Committee on Finance, reports the 18 following nomination: Member of the Board of 19 Trustees of the State University of New York 20 College of Environmental Science and Forestry: 21 Robert E. Moses, Esq., of Marietta. 22 SENATOR GOLD: Can you hold up 23 one second, please, the confirmation of Robert 24 E. Moses. 25 SENATOR STAFFORD: Move the 1 confirmation, please. 2 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: The 3 question is on the confirmation of Robert E. 4 Moses as a member of the Board of Trustees of 5 the State University of New York College of 6 Environmental Science and Forestry. All in 7 favor signify by saying aye. 8 (Response of "Aye".) 9 Opposed, nay. 10 (There was no response.) 11 Robert E. Moses, SUNY College of 12 Environmental Science and Forestry, is hereby 13 confirmed. 14 The Secretary will read. 15 SENATOR PATERSON: Mr. President. 16 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: 17 Senator Paterson. 18 SENATOR PATERSON: Our last 19 nomination, Mr. Moses, I would like to be 20 recorded in the negative and Senator Connor 21 would also like to be recorded in the negative. 22 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: The 23 record will so indicate. 24 THE SECRETARY: Senator Stafford, 25 from the Committee on Finance, reports the 1 following nomination: 2 Member of the Capital District 3 Transportation Authority: Anthony S. Esposito, 4 of Guilderland. 5 SENATOR STAFFORD: Move the 6 nomination. 7 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: The 8 question is on the confirmation of Anthony S. 9 Esposito as a member of the CDTA. All in favor 10 signify by saying aye. 11 (Response of "Aye".) 12 Opposed, nay. 13 (There was no response.) 14 Anthony S. Esposito is hereby 15 confirmed as a member of the CDTA. 16 The Secretary will read. 17 THE SECRETARY: Senator Stafford, 18 from the Committee on Finance, reports the 19 following nomination: 20 Member of the Ogdensburg Bridge 21 and Port Authority: Roger Leland McBath, of 22 Lisbon. 23 SENATOR STAFFORD: Move the 24 nomination, please. 25 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: 1 Thank you. 2 The question is on the 3 confirmation of Roger Leland McBath as a member 4 of the Ogdensburg Bridge and Port Authority. 5 All in favor signify by saying aye. 6 (Response of "Aye".) 7 Opposed, nay. 8 (There was no response.) 9 Robert Leland McBath is hereby 10 confirmed as a member of the Ogdensburg Port 11 Authority. 12 The Secretary will read. 13 THE SECRETARY: Senator Stafford, 14 from the Committee on Finance, reports the 15 following nominations: 16 Members of the Empire State Plaza 17 Art Commission: Kate Johns, of Old Chatham and 18 Barbara W. Thuesen, of Ithaca. 19 SENATOR STAFFORD: Move the 20 confirmation, please. 21 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: The 22 question is on the confirmation of Kate Johns 23 and Barbara Thuesen as members of the Empire 24 State Plaza Art Commission. All in favor 25 signify by saying aye. 1 (Response of "Aye".) 2 Opposed, nay. 3 (There was no response.) 4 The nominees are confirmed. 5 THE SECRETARY: Senator Stafford, 6 from the Committee on Finance, reports the 7 following nominations: 8 Members of the Genesee State 9 Park, Recreation and Historic Preservation 10 Commission: Frank X. Alkofer, of Rochester and 11 Franklin D'Aurizio, Esq., of Rochester. 12 SENATOR STAFFORD: Move the 13 nomination. 14 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: The 15 question is on the confirmation of Frank X. 16 Alkofer and Franklin D'Aurizio as members of the 17 Genesee State Park, Recreation and Historic 18 Preservation Commission. All in favor signify 19 by saying aye. 20 (Response of "Aye".) 21 Opposed, nay. 22 (There was no response.) 23 Frank X. Alkofer and Franklin 24 D'Aurizio are hereby confirmed as members of the 25 Genesee State Park, Recreation and Historic 1 Preservation Commission. 2 The Secretary will read. 3 THE SECRETARY: Senator Stafford, 4 from the Committee on Finance, reports the 5 following nomination: 6 Member of the Taconic State Park 7 Recreation and Historic Preservation 8 Commission: Richard Koskey, of Claverack. 9 SENATOR STAFFORD: Move the 10 nomination. 11 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: The 12 question is on the confirmation of Richard 13 Koskey as a member of the Taconic State Park, 14 Recreation and Historic Preservation 15 Commission. All in favor of the nomination of 16 Richard Koskey as a member of the Taconic State 17 Park, Recreation and Historic Preservation 18 signify by saying aye. 19 (Response of "Aye".) 20 Opposed, nay. 21 (There was no response.) 22 The nominee is confirmed. 23 The Secretary will read. 24 THE SECRETARY: Senator Stafford, 25 from the Committee on Finance, reports the 1 following nomination: 2 Member of the Advisory Council on 3 Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services: Eugene 4 J. O'Brien, Esq., of Ronkonkoma. 5 SENATOR STAFFORD: Move the 6 nomination. 7 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: The 8 question is on the confirmation of Eugene J. 9 O'Brien as a member of the Advisory Council on 10 Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Service. All in 11 favor signify by saying aye. 12 (Response of "Aye".) 13 Opposed, nay. 14 (There was no response.) 15 Eugene J. O'Brien is hereby 16 confirmed as a member of the Advisory Council on 17 Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services. 18 The Secretary will read. 19 THE SECRETARY: Senator Stafford, 20 from the Committee on Finance, reports the 21 following nomination: 22 Member of the Advisory Council to 23 the Commission on the Quality of Care for the 24 Mentally Disabled: Martin H. Von Holden, of 25 Rochester. 1 SENATOR STAFFORD: Move the 2 confirmation. 3 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: The 4 question is on the confirmation of Marvin Von 5 Holden as a member of the Advisory Council to 6 the Commission on Quality of Care for the 7 Mentally Disabled. All in favor signify by 8 saying aye. 9 (Response of "Aye"). 10 Opposed, nay. 11 (There was no response.) 12 Martin H. Von Holden is hereby 13 confirmed as a member of the Advisory Council to 14 the Commission on the Quality of Care for the 15 Mentally Disabled. 16 The Secretary will read. 17 THE SECRETARY: Senator Stafford, 18 from the Committee on Finance, reports the 19 following nominations: 20 Members of the Mental Health 21 Services Council: Pinny Cooke, of Rochester and 22 William Pollard, Ph.D., of Syracuse. 23 SENATOR STAFFORD: Move the 24 confirmation. 25 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: The 1 question is on the confirmation of Pinny Cooke 2 and William Pollard as members of the Mental 3 Health Services Council. All in favor signify 4 by saying aye. 5 (Response of "Aye".) 6 Opposed, nay. 7 (There was no response.) 8 Pinny Cooke and William Pollard 9 are hereby confirmed as members of the Mental 10 Health Services Council. 11 The Secretary will read. 12 THE SECRETARY: Senator Stafford, 13 from the Committee on Finance, reports the 14 following nominations: 15 Members of the Passenger Tramway 16 Advisory Council: Russell R. Coloton, Jr., of 17 Hunter and Bernard P. McGarry, of Albany. 18 SENATOR STAFFORD: Move the 19 confirmation. 20 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: The 21 question is on the confirmations of Russell R. 22 Coloton, Jr. and Bernard P. McGarry as members 23 of the Passenger Tramway Advisory Council. All 24 in favor signify by saying aye. 25 (Response of "Aye".) 1 Opposed, nay. 2 (There was no response.) 3 Russell R. Coloton, Jr. and Mr. 4 McGarry are hereby confirmed as members of the 5 Passenger Tramway Advisory Council. 6 The Secretary will read. 7 THE SECRETARY: Senator Stafford, 8 from the Committee on Finance, reports the 9 following nominations: 10 Directors of the Municipal 11 Assistance Corporation for the city of New 12 York: Kenneth J. Bialkin, Esq., of New York 13 City and Thomas J. Tisch, of New York City. 14 SENATOR STAFFORD: Move the 15 confirmation. 16 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: The 17 question is on the confirmation of Kenneth J. 18 Bialkin and Thomas S. Tisch as directors of the 19 Municipal Assistance Corporation for the city of 20 Albany. 21 Senator Goodman. 22 SENATOR GOODMAN: Just a brief 23 remark with respect to each of these 24 nominations. 25 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: I 1 apologize for not recognizing you, Senator. 2 SENATOR GOODMAN: They're both 3 constituents of mine and I would like it to be 4 known that they represent the highest tradition 5 of both public and private service. They are 6 men of extraordinary capacity, each having risen 7 to the top of his chosen profession. 8 Mr. Bialkin is a lawyer with one 9 of the largest law firms of New York, Wilkie 10 Farr. 11 Mr. Tisch is an investment banker 12 of demonstrated skill and a corporate director. 13 They're both men deeply interested in the future 14 of the city of New York and will, I'm certain, 15 perform their duties in an admirable and 16 trustworthy fashion. 17 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: Any 18 other Senators wishing to be heard? 19 (There was no response.) 20 Senator Stafford, may we move the 21 nominations. 22 SENATOR STAFFORD: Move the 23 confirmations, please. 24 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: The 25 question is on the confirmations of Kenneth J. 1 Bialkin and Thomas J. Tisch as directors of the 2 Municipal Assistance Corporation for the city of 3 New York. All in favor signify by saying aye. 4 (Response of "Aye".) 5 Opposed, nay. 6 (There was no response.) 7 Kenneth Bialkin and Thomas J. 8 Tisch are hereby confirmed. 9 The Secretary will read. 10 THE SECRETARY: Senator Stafford, 11 from the Committee on Finance, reports the 12 following nominations: 13 Members of the Board of Visitors 14 of the Agricultural and Industrial School at 15 Industry: Robert J. Burns, of Rochester; Daniel 16 Michael Delaus, Jr., Esq., of Webster; Joan M. 17 Mitchell, of Rochester; Lucy L. Parsons, of 18 Honeoye Falls; Joseph C. Pilato, of Penfield and 19 John R. Rosati, of Rochester. 20 SENATOR STAFFORD: Move the 21 confirmations. 22 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: The 23 question is on the confirmation of Robert J. 24 Burns, Michael Delaus, Jr., Joan M. Mitchell, 25 Lucy L. Parsons, Joseph C. Pilato, John R. 1 Rosati as members of the Board of Visitors of 2 the Agricultural and Industrial School at 3 Industry. All in favor signify by saying aye. 4 (Response of "Aye".) 5 Opposed, nay. 6 (There was no response.) 7 The aforementioned persons are 8 hereby confirmed. 9 The Secretary will read. 10 THE SECRETARY: Senator Stafford, 11 from the Committee on Finance, reports the 12 following nominations: 13 Members of the Board of Visitors 14 of the Bronx Psychiatric Center: Sylvia 15 Hershkowitz-Lask, of the Bronx and Samuel Lopez, 16 of the Bronx. 17 SENATOR STAFFORD: Move the 18 confirmation. 19 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: The 20 question is on the confirmation of Sylvia 21 Hershkowitz-Lask and Samuel Lopez as members of 22 the Board of Visitors of the Bronx Psychiatric 23 Center. All in favor signify by saying aye. 24 Senator Seabrook. 25 SENATOR SEABROOK: I would like 1 to be recorded in the negative on Sylvia 2 Hershkowitz-Lask, the nominee. 3 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: 4 First let us reach that point. All in favor 5 signify by saying aye. 6 (Response of "Aye".) 7 Opposed, nay. 8 Senator Seabrook in the negative. 9 Sylvia Hershkowitz-Lask and 10 Samuel Lopez are hereby confirmed as members of 11 the Board of Visitors of the Bronx Psychiatric 12 Center. 13 The Secretary will read. 14 THE SECRETARY: Senator Stafford, 15 from the Committee on Finance, reports the 16 following nominations: 17 Members of the Board of Visitors 18 of the Bronx Children's Psychiatric Center: 19 Raquel C. Coca, of the Bronx and H. Madrue 20 Wright, of the Bronx. 21 SENATOR STAFFORD: Move the 22 confirmation. 23 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: The 24 question is on the confirmations of Raquel C. 25 Coca and H. Madrue Wright as members of the 1 Board of Visitors of the Bronx Children's 2 Psychiatric Center. All in favor signify by 3 saying aye. 4 (Response of "Aye".) 5 Opposed, nay. 6 (There was no response.) 7 Raquel C. Coca and H. Madrue 8 Wright are hereby confirmed as members of the 9 Board of Visitors of the Bronx Psychiatric 10 Center. 11 The Secretary will read. 12 THE SECRETARY: Senator Stafford, 13 from the Committee on Finance, reports the 14 following nomination: 15 Member of the Board of Visitors 16 of the Brooklyn Developmental Disabilities 17 Services Office: John Witkowski, of Brooklyn. 18 SENATOR STAFFORD: Move the 19 confirmation. 20 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: The 21 question is on the confirmation of John 22 Witkowski as a member of the Board of Visitors 23 of the Brooklyn Developmental Disabilities 24 Services Office. All in favor signify by saying 25 aye. 1 (Response of "Aye".) 2 Opposed, nay. 3 (There was no response.) 4 John Witkowski is hereby 5 confirmed as a member of the Board of Visitors 6 of the Brooklyn Developmental Disabilities 7 Services Office. 8 The Secretary will read. 9 THE SECRETARY: Senator Stafford, 10 from the Committee on Finance, reports the 11 following nomination: 12 Member of the Board of Visitors 13 of the Buffalo Psychiatric Center: Barbara 14 Nevergold, Ph.D., of Buffalo. 15 SENATOR STAFFORD: Move the 16 confirmation. 17 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: The 18 question is on the confirmation of Barbara 19 Nevergold as a member of the Board of Visitors 20 of the Buffalo Psychiatric Center. All in favor 21 signify by saying aye. 22 (Response of "Aye".) 23 Opposed, nay. 24 (There was no response.) 25 Ms. Nevergold is hereby confirmed 1 as a member of the Board of Visitors of the 2 Buffalo Psychiatric Center. 3 The Secretary will read. 4 THE SECRETARY: Senator Stafford, 5 from the Committee on Finance, reports the 6 following nomination: 7 Member of the Board of Visitors 8 of the Capital District Developmental 9 Disabilities Services Office: Eleanor C. 10 Pattison, of West Sand Lake. 11 SENATOR STAFFORD: Move the 12 confirmation. 13 ACFTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: 14 The question is on the confirmation of Eleanor 15 C. Pattison as a member of the Board of Visitors 16 of the Capital District Developmental Disability 17 Services Office. All in favor signify by saying 18 aye. 19 (Response of "Aye".) 20 Opposed, nay. 21 (There was no response.) 22 Ms. Pattison is hereby confirmed. 23 The Secretary will read. 24 THE SECRETARY: Senator Stafford, 25 from the Committee on Finance, reports the 1 following nomination: 2 Member of the Board of Visitors 3 of the Capital District Psychiatric Center: 4 Angelo T. Muccigrosso, of Schenectady. 5 SENATOR STAFFORD: Move the 6 confirmation. 7 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: The 8 question is on the confirmation of Angelo 9 Muccigrosso as a member of the Board of Visitors 10 of the Capital District Psychiatric Center. All 11 in favor signify by saying aye. 12 (Response of "Aye".) 13 Opposed, nay. 14 (There was no response.) 15 Angelo T. Muccigrosso is hereby 16 confirmed. 17 The Secretary will read. 18 THE SECRETARY: Senator Stafford, 19 from the Committee on Finance, reports the 20 following nomination: 21 Member of the Board of Visitors 22 of the Elmira Psychiatric Center: James J. 23 Norton, M.D., of Montour Falls. 24 SENATOR STAFFORD: Move the 25 confirmation. 1 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: The 2 question is on the confirmation of James J. 3 Norton as a member of the Board of Visitors of 4 the Elmira Psychiatric Center. All in favor 5 signify by saying aye. 6 (Response of "Aye".) 7 Opposed, nay. 8 (There was no response.) 9 James J. Norton is hereby 10 confirmed. 11 The Secretary will read. 12 THE SECRETARY: Senator Stafford, 13 from the Committee on Finance, reports the 14 following nomination: 15 Member of the Board of Visitors 16 of the Finger Lakes Developmental Disabilities 17 Services Office: M. Richard Rose, of Geneva. 18 SENATOR STAFFORD: Move the 19 confirmation. 20 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: The 21 question is on the confirmation of M. Richard 22 Rose as a member of the Board of Visitors of the 23 Finger Lakes Developmental Disabilities Services 24 Office. All in favor signify by saying aye. 25 (Response of "Aye".) 1 Opposed, nay. 2 (There was no response.) 3 M. Richard Rose is hereby 4 confirmed as a member of the Board of Visitors 5 of the Finger Lakes Developmental Disabilities 6 Services Office. 7 The Secretary will read. 8 THE SECRETARY: Senator Stafford, 9 from the Committee on Finance, reports the 10 following nomination: 11 Member of the Board of Visitors 12 of the Hudson River Psychiatric Center: Marion 13 Ostrander, of Kingston. 14 SENATOR STAFFORD: Move the 15 confirmation. 16 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: The 17 question is on the confirmation of Marion 18 Ostrander as a member of the Board of Visitors 19 of the Hudson River Psychiatric Center. All in 20 favor signify by saying aye. 21 (Response of "Aye".) 22 Opposed, nay. 23 (There was no response.) 24 Marion Ostrander is hereby 25 confirmed as a member of the Board of Visitors. 1 The Secretary will read. 2 THE SECRETARY: Senator Stafford, 3 from the Committee on Finance, reports the 4 following nomination: 5 Member of the Board of Visitors 6 of the Kingsboro Psychiatric Center: Robert 7 Mayo, D.D.S., of Brooklyn. 8 SENATOR STAFFORD: Move the 9 confirmation. 10 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: The 11 question is on the confirmation of Robert Mayo 12 as a member of the Board of Visitors of the 13 Kingsboro Psychiatric Center. All in favor 14 signify by saying aye. 15 (Response of "Aye".) 16 Opposed, nay. 17 (There was no response.) 18 Robert Mayo is hereby confirmed 19 as a member of the Board of Visitors of the 20 Kingsboro Psychiatric Center. 21 THE SECRETARY: Senator Stafford, 22 from the Committee on Finance, reports the 23 following nomination: 24 Member of the Board of Visitors 25 of the Middletown Psychiatric Center: Robert W. 1 Hoag, of Middletown. 2 SENATOR STAFFORD: Move the 3 confirmation. 4 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: The 5 question is on the confirmation of Robert W. 6 Hoag as a member of the Board of Visitors of the 7 Middletown Psychiatric Center. All in favor 8 signify by saying aye. 9 (Response of "Aye".) 10 Opposed, nay. 11 (There was no response.) 12 Mr. Hoag is hereby confirmed. 13 The Secretary will read. 14 THE SECRETARY: Senator Stafford, 15 from the Committee on Finance 16 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: I'm 17 sorry. Senator Dollinger. 18 SENATOR DOLLINGER: Mr. 19 President, before we close today's session, can 20 I have unanimous consent to be recorded in the 21 negative on Calendar Number 88 -- 587. I 22 believe I was attending a very instructional and 23 educational meeting of the Finance Committee 24 when the vote was taken. 25 SENATOR STAFFORD: No objection. 1 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: 2 Your vote will be recorded in the negative. 3 SENATOR DOLLINGER: Thank you. 4 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: The 5 Secretary will continue to read. 6 THE SECRETARY: Senator Stafford, 7 from the Committee on Finance, reports the 8 following nomination: 9 Member of the Board of Visitors 10 of the Mohawk Valley Psychiatric Center: Marry 11 Skorulski, of New Hartford. 12 SENATOR STAFFORD: Move the 13 confirmation. 14 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: The 15 question is on the confirmation of Mary 16 Skorulski as a member of the Board of Visitors 17 of the Mohawk Valley Psychiatric Center. All in 18 favor signify by saying aye. 19 (Response of "Aye".) 20 Opposed, nay. 21 (There was no response.) 22 Mary Skorulski is hereby 23 confirmed. 24 The Secretary will read. 25 THE SECRETARY: Senator Stafford, 1 from the Committee on Finance, reports the 2 following nomination: 3 Member of the Board of Visitors 4 of the Rockland Psychiatric Center: Glory W. 5 Katz, of Yonkers. 6 SENATOR STAFFORD: Move the 7 confirmation. 8 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: The 9 question is on the confirmation of Glory W. Katz 10 as a member of the Board of Visitors of the 11 Rockland Psychiatric Center. All in favor 12 signify by saying aye. 13 (Response of "Aye." 14 Opposed, nay. 15 (There was no response.) 16 Glory W. Katz is hereby 17 confirmed. 18 The Secretary will read. 19 THE SECRETARY: Senator Stafford, 20 from the Committee on Finance, reports the 21 following nomination: 22 Member of the Board of Visitors 23 of the South Beach Psychiatric Center: Stephen 24 Maresca, of Brooklyn. 25 SENATOR STAFFORD: Move the 1 confirmation. 2 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: The 3 question is on the confirmation of Stephen 4 Maresca as a member of the South Beach 5 Psychiatric Center. All in favor signify by 6 saying aye. 7 (Response of "Aye".) 8 Opposed, nay. 9 (There was no response.) 10 Mr. Maresca is hereby confirmed. 11 The Secretary will read. 12 THE SECRETARY: Senator Stafford, 13 from the Committee on Finance, reports the 14 following nomination: 15 Member of the Board of Visitors 16 of the St. Lawrence Psychiatric Center: Patrick 17 R. Rourk, of Norwood. 18 SENATOR STAFFORD: Move the 19 confirmation. 20 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: The 21 question is on the confirmation of Patrick R. 22 Rourk as a member of the Board of Visitors of 23 the St. Lawrence Psychiatric Center. All in 24 favor signify by saying aye. 25 (Response of "Aye".) 1 Opposed, nay. 2 (There was no response.) 3 Patrick R. Rourk is hereby 4 confirmed. 5 The Secretary will read. 6 THE SECRETARY: Senator Stafford, 7 from the Committee on Finance, reports the 8 following nomination: 9 Member of the Board of Visitors 10 of the Sunmount Developmental Disabilities 11 Services Office: Jane Dumoulin, of Tupper Lake. 12 SENATOR STAFFORD: Move the 13 confirmation. 14 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: The 15 question is on the confirmation of Jane Dumoulin 16 as a member of the Board of Visitors of the 17 Sunmount Developmental Disabilities Services 18 Office. All in favor signify by saying aye. 19 (Response of "Aye".) 20 Opposed, nay. 21 (There was no response.) 22 Jane Dumoulin is hereby 23 confirmed. 24 The Secretary will read. 25 THE SECRETARY: Senator Stafford, 1 from the Committee on Finance, reports the 2 following nomination: 3 Member of the Board of Visitors 4 of the Taconic Developmental Disabilities 5 Services Office: Ronald S. Lehrer, of 6 Poughkeepsie. 7 SENATOR STAFFORD: Move the 8 confirmation. 9 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: The 10 question is on the confirmation of Ronald S. 11 Lehrer as a member of the Board of Visitors of 12 the Taconic Developmental Disabilities Services 13 Office. All in favor signify by saying aye. 14 (Response of "Aye".) 15 Opposed, nay. 16 (There was no response.) 17 Ronald S. Lehrer is hereby 18 confirmed. 19 The Secretary will read. 20 THE SECRETARY: Senator Stafford, 21 from the Committee on Finance, reports the 22 following nomination: 23 Member of the Board of Visitors 24 of the Western New York Children's Psychiatric 25 Center: Bertha Skinner Laury, of Buffalo. 1 SENATOR STAFFORD: Move the 2 confirmation. 3 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: The 4 question is on the confirmation of Bertha 5 Skinner Laury as a member of the Board of 6 Visitors of the Western New York Children's 7 Psychiatric Center. All in favor signify by 8 saying aye. 9 (Response of "Aye".) 10 Opposed, nay. 11 (There was no response.) 12 Bertha Skinner Laury is hereby 13 confirmed. 14 Senator Kuhl. 15 SENATOR KUHL: Mr. President, 16 would you recognize Senator Goodman, please. 17 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: I 18 recognize Senator Goodman. He's over there. 19 SENATOR GOODMAN: Mr. President, 20 I have the great pleasure of announcing that 21 tonight is the Saratoga Performing Arts Center 22 night for the New York State Legislature. 23 This evening at 6:45 p.m., those 24 who have signed up to join us at a dinner will 25 be fed at a lovely dinner reception and 1 following that at 8:15 sharp will be Madame 2 Butterfly presented by the New York City Opera. 3 This will be the eighth 4 consecutive Legislative Night at SPAC which I 5 hardly need remind this chamber, which is so 6 culturally oriented, is the crown jewel of the 7 cultural scene in the upper New York State 8 region. 9 SPAC has gained justifiable fame 10 for its remarkable presentations of classical 11 and popular music and the Legislature usually 12 finds it a highlight of any season to journey up 13 to Saratoga, which takes approximately one hour 14 of traffic time to be on time for the dinner. 15 We very much hope that all of 16 those who have signed up will remember to come 17 and I promise you a refreshing, delightful and 18 memorable experience as the lovely Madame 19 Butterfly is betrayed by the outrageously 20 miscreant behavior of the naval helmsman who 21 imposes upon her his will, has her bear his 22 child and then evaporates and suddenly returns 23 with his American wife. A depressing 24 phenomenon, indeed, but one clothed in such 25 beauteous music that we forget the sociological 1 implications of this catastrophe and rise to the 2 greater heights of a wonderful cultural 3 experience. 4 Thank you, Mr. President. 5 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: 6 Senator Goodman, your description is almost 7 X-rated. 8 SENATOR ONORATO: Explanation 9 satisfactory. 10 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: 11 Senator Kuhl, we have a report of the Rules 12 Committee at the desk. 13 SENATOR KUHL: Will you read the 14 report of the Rules Committee at the desk. 15 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: 16 Thank you. 17 The Secretary will read. 18 THE SECRETARY: Senator Bruno, 19 from the Committee on Rules, reports the 20 following bills: 21 Senate Print 180, by Senator 22 Skelos, an act to amend the Civil Practice Law 23 and Rules and the Family Court Act; 24 787-A, by Senator Holland, an act 25 to amend Chapter 672 of the Laws of 1993; 1 948-A, by Senator Alesi, an act 2 to amend the Penal Law; 3 1341, by Senator Kruger, an act 4 to amend the Military Law; 5 1616-A, by Senator Velella, an 6 act to amend the Insurance Law; 7 1840, by Senator Onorato, an act 8 to amend the Education Law; 9 2783, by Senator Maziarz, an act 10 to reopen the special retirement plan; 11 3276-A, by Senator Trunzo, an act 12 to amend the Public Officers Law; 13 3579-A, by Senator Marchi, an act 14 to amend the Not-for-Profit Corporation Law; 15 3642, by Senator Trunzo, an act 16 to amend Chapter 695 of the Laws of 1994; 17 3926, by Senator Tully, an act to 18 amend the General Municipal Law; 19 4118-A, by Senator Skelos, an act 20 to amend the Civil Practice Law and Rules; 21 4503, by Senator Tully, an act to 22 amend the Family Court Act; 23 4843, by Senator Goodman, an act 24 to amend the Penal Law; 25 5218-A, by Senator Volker, an act 1 to amend the Penal Law; 2 5292, by Senator Wright, an act 3 to amend the Education Law; 4 5299, by Senator Volker, an act 5 to permit the reopening; 6 5335, by Senator Marcellino, an 7 act authorizing the town of Oyster Bay; 8 5421, by Senator Velella, an act 9 to amend the Criminal Procedure Law; 10 5425, by Senator Libous, an act 11 to amend the Tax Law. 12 All bills ordered direct for 13 third reading. 14 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: 15 Senator Kuhl. 16 SENATOR KUHL: Mr. President, I 17 move we accept the report of the Rules 18 Committee. 19 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: All 20 those in favor of accepting the report of the 21 Rules Committee signify by saying aye. 22 (Response of "Aye".) 23 Opposed, nay. 24 (There was no response.) 25 The report is accepted. 1 Senator Kuhl. 2 SENATOR KUHL: May we return to 3 the order of motions and resolutions, and I ask 4 that you recognize Senator Present for some 5 motions. 6 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: 7 It's my pleasure to recognize Senator Present. 8 SENATOR PRESENT: Thank you, Mr. 9 President. 10 Mr. President, on behalf of 11 Senator Meier, I wish to call up his bill, print 12 3937, recalled from the Assembly which is now at 13 the desk. 14 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: The 15 Secretary will read. 16 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 17 604, by Senator Meier, Senate Print 3937, an act 18 to authorize the town of Paris. 19 SENATOR PRESENT: Mr. President, 20 I now move to reconsider the vote by which this 21 bill was passed. 22 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: 23 Call the roll on reconsideration. 24 (The Secretary called the roll on 25 reconsideration.) 1 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 58. 2 SENATOR PRESENT: I now offer the 3 following amendments. 4 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: The 5 amendments are accepted. 6 Senator Present. 7 SENATOR PRESENT: Mr. President, 8 on behalf of Senator Marchi, I wish to call up 9 Calendar Number 454, Assembly Print 2101. 10 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: The 11 Secretary will read. 12 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 13 454, by Senator Marchi, Senate Print 2921-A, an 14 act to amend Chapter 395 of the Laws of 1978. 15 SENATOR PRESENT: Mr. President, 16 I now move to reconsider the vote by which this 17 Assembly bill was substituted for Senator 18 Marchi's bill, Senate Print 2921-A, on 3/25. 19 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: 20 Call the roll on reconsideration. 21 (The Secretary called the roll on 22 reconsideration.) 23 THE SECRETARY: Ayes 58. 24 SENATOR PRESENT: Mr. President, 25 I now move that the Assembly Bill Number 2101 be 1 committed to the Committee on Rules and Senator 2 Marchi's bill -- Senate bill be restored to the 3 order of third reading. 4 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: The 5 Assembly Bill is recommitted. The Senate bill 6 is restored. 7 Senator Present. 8 SENATOR PRESENT: Mr. President, 9 on behalf of Senator Skelos, on page 42, I offer 10 the following amendments to Calendar 1159, 11 Senate Print 317, and ask that it retain its 12 place on the Third Reading Calendar. 13 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: The 14 amendments are accepted and the bill will retain 15 its place on the Third Reading Calendar. 16 SENATOR PRESENT: Mr. President, 17 on behalf of Senator Goodman, on page 44, I 18 offer the following amendments to Calendar 1227, 19 Assembly Print 3658, and ask that it retain its 20 place on the Third Reading Calendar. 21 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: It 22 will be done, sir. 23 SENATOR PRESENT: Mr. President, 24 on behalf of Senator Levy, on page 38, I offer 25 the following amendments to Calendar Number 1 1017, Senate Print 5051, and ask that it retain 2 its place. 3 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: It 4 will be done. The amendments are received and 5 the bill will retain its place. 6 SENATOR PRESENT: Finally, Mr. 7 President, on behalf of Senator Cook, on page 8 42, I offer the following amendments to Calendar 9 Number 866, Senate Print 4644, and ask that it 10 retain its place on the Third Reading Calendar. 11 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: The 12 amendments are accepted and the bill will retain 13 its place on the Third Reading Calendar. 14 Senator Paterson. 15 SENATOR PATERSON: Thank you, Mr. 16 President. 17 I would like to give notice, as 18 is required under Rule XI of the Senate, that 19 tomorrow Senator Connor moves to discharge 20 Senate Bill 5493 and Senate Bill 5494 from the 21 Senate Rules Committee. We move to suspend the 22 rules and discharge those bills. 23 Thank you, Mr. President. 24 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: It 25 is our notice that these motions are untimely 1 and, therefore, cannot be accepted. 2 Senator Kuhl. 3 SENATOR KUHL: Is there any other 4 housekeeping? 5 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: 6 Senator Paterson, I'm sorry. 7 SENATOR PATERSON: Just to 8 respond. We returned to motions and 9 resolutions, which is what I was informed 10 earlier today is the seasonable period to file 11 these motions. 12 Being no further business, I move 13 we adjourn until tomorrow. 14 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: 15 Just let me get the clarification on this one. 16 Hold on a minute, Senator. 17 SENATOR KUHL: Mr. President. 18 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: The 19 motions are received, Senator Paterson. 20 Senator Kuhl. 21 SENATOR KUHL: There being no 22 further business, I will move that the Senate 23 stand adjourned subject -- get this -- subject 24 to the call of the Majority Leader. If there is 25 no call from the Majority Leader before 10:00 1 a.m. tomorrow, June 18th, we will convene the 2 next session of the Senate tomorrow morning at 3 10:00 a.m. 4 ACTING PRESIDENT MARCELLINO: The 5 Senate will stand adjourned subject to the call 6 of the Majority Leader. If there is no call 7 prior to 10:00 a.m., the Senate will convene 8 or reconvene at 10:00 a.m., June 18th. 9 (Whereupon, at 3:40 p.m., the 10 Senate adjourned.) 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25