Tuesday, April 5, 2011

1 NEW YORK STATE SENATE 2 3 4 THE STENOGRAPHIC RECORD 5 6 7 8 9 ALBANY, NEW YORK 10 April 5, 2011 11 3:10 p.m. 12 13 14 REGULAR SESSION 15 16 17 18 LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR ROBERT J. DUFFY, President 19 FRANCIS W. PATIENCE, Secretary 20 21 22 23 24 25

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 P R O C E E D I N G S 2 THE PRESIDENT: The Senate will 3 now come to order. 4 I'd like to ask everyone to please 5 rise and repeat with me the Pledge of 6 Allegiance. 7 (Whereupon, the assemblage recited 8 the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag.) 9 THE PRESIDENT: Today's 10 invocation will be given by the Reverend Ana 11 Thomas, who is the pastor of Christ Lives in 12 Me Evangelist Church in Bronx, New York. 13 REVEREND THOMAS: Good evening. 14 God bless each one of you today. It's a 15 privilege to be here before your presence. 16 I have the privilege to start the 17 prayer, the invocation, in three languages: 18 English, Spanish, and my native Garifuna. 19 We thank You, Lord. We give You 20 the glory at this time. We thank You for each 21 one of my brothers and sisters, the Senators 22 that are here present, the men of God that 23 have come to this day, this very special day. 24 And we ask You, God, for Your glory 25 to be seen. And we ask You in a very special

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 way to put Your wisdom, God, to give them the 2 strength, both physical and spiritual, that 3 they need. 4 [In Spanish.] 5 [In Garifuna.] 6 God bless you. 7 (Applause from the gallery.) 8 THE PRESIDENT: Thank you, Pastor 9 Thomas. 10 Next, the reading of the Journal. 11 THE SECRETARY: In Senate, 12 Monday, April 4th, the Senate met pursuant to 13 adjournment. The Journal of Sunday, 14 April 3rd, was read and approved. On motion, 15 Senate adjourned. 16 THE PRESIDENT: Without 17 objection, the Journal stands approved as 18 read. 19 Next, presentation of petitions. 20 Messages from the Assembly. 21 Messages from the Governor. 22 Reports of standing committees. 23 The Secretary will read. 24 THE SECRETARY: Senator 25 DeFrancisco, from the Committee on Finance,

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 offers the following appointments. 2 As director of New York State Urban 3 Development Corporation, Kenneth G. Adams, of 4 Brooklyn. 5 As president and chief executive 6 officer of the Empire State Development 7 Corporation, Kenneth G. Adams, of Brooklyn. 8 And as commissioner of the New York 9 State Department of Economic Development, 10 Kenneth G. Adams, of Brooklyn. 11 THE PRESIDENT: Senator 12 DeFrancisco. 13 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: Thank you, 14 Mr. President. 15 I'm proud to rise in support of the 16 nomination of Ken G. Adams to the three-hatted 17 position, all for the price of one, I 18 understand. And Mr. Adams is with us today. 19 And this is a wonderful appointment 20 by the Governor. Mr. Adams has the business 21 experience and the practical knowledge of the 22 way government operates to do a wonderful job. 23 The thing that most impressed me in 24 our committee was his statement that, you 25 know, there's a limited number of dollars for

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 special programs for incentives. What's going 2 to take this state to the next level is really 3 dealing with overall economic issues, issues 4 that will help everyone, issues that will make 5 this state more attractive to all businesses 6 to stay here and to come here. 7 And to that I said amen. And I 8 wasn't praying before this body before the 9 session start, I said amen earlier today. 10 So that's the type of individual we 11 need. Another wonderful appointment by the 12 Governor. And I'm just happy that he's 13 willing to take this position at this time in 14 history. 15 I would request that you recognize 16 Senator Alesi to second the nomination. 17 THE PRESIDENT: Thank you, 18 Senator. 19 Senator Alesi. 20 SENATOR ALESI: Thank you, 21 Mr. President. 22 As the chairperson of Economic 23 Development, and more importantly as someone 24 who has had the opportunity over the last few 25 years to work directly with Ken Adams, I can

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 speak to his abilities. And I have great 2 admiration for what I think is a gentleman 3 who's going to do a terrific job. The vision 4 of Governor Cuomo is certainly stand-out when 5 it comes to this choice. 6 I know that he will have an active 7 partnership working with the Lieutenant 8 Governor as they pursue the economic 9 development of our state. I completely 10 embrace that partnership under the Governor's 11 vision. 12 Again, I applaud the Governor for 13 this nomination. And I know that when Ken 14 Adams was answering questions at various 15 committee hearings today, he said first and 16 foremost he would like to take his advocacy 17 and turn it into action to create jobs. 18 And I can tell you, my fellow 19 Senators, that he has already done that. 20 Because in just a few short minutes, he will 21 have created three jobs, as the director of 22 the New York State Urban Development 23 Corporation, the president and CEO of Empire 24 State Development Corp., and the commissioner 25 of the New York State Department of Economic

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 Development. 2 I wish Ken Adams all the best in 3 his partnership with the Lieutenant Governor 4 and with all of us. We want this Governor to 5 succeed. We want this state to be the 6 economic Empire State that it was. And I am 7 sure that we have the best person in the job 8 for that in Ken Adams. 9 THE PRESIDENT: Thank you, 10 Senator. 11 Next, Senator Adams. 12 SENATOR ADAMS: Thank you, 13 Lieutenant Governor. It's good to see you 14 back, by the way. 15 THE PRESIDENT: Thank you, sir. 16 Good to be back. 17 SENATOR ADAMS: I want to just 18 say personally how I thank Ken. You know, you 19 can see the resemble -- he's part of the Adams 20 clan. 21 (Laughter.) 22 SENATOR ADAMS: You know, he was 23 in Brooklyn with the Brooklyn Chamber of 24 Commerce and just did great things. He 25 thought outside the box. He was extremely

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 creative. The business community was just 2 blessed to have Ken there. But, you know, I 3 think the borough's loss is the state's gain. 4 And we're still part of the state, so we have 5 retained a great leader in Ken Adams. 6 And his door is open, his ideas are 7 open, he brings a new energy and a new spirit. 8 And most important, he brings a level of 9 creativity that's needed in the state to 10 figure out how do we get the state back to 11 employment. 12 So, Ken, welcome. We appreciate 13 you and your family. And I think this state 14 has a great choice, the Governor made the 15 right decision on bringing you on board. 16 Thank you. 17 THE PRESIDENT: Thank you, 18 Senator. 19 Next, Senator Ranzenhofer. 20 SENATOR RANZENHOFER: Thank you, 21 Mr. President. 22 I would also like to rise today and 23 commend Governor Cuomo for selecting Ken Adams 24 for these positions. I think it was a very 25 good selection because obviously, with his

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 experience and background with the Chamber of 2 Commerce and most recently with the Business 3 Council, what better way to send a message 4 with economic development that will bring 5 somebody who has experience with private 6 business. I think that was so much needed for 7 this particular appointment. 8 What impressed me today in 9 Corporations, Authorities and Commissions is 10 the fact that this new appointment realizes 11 that we can't afford to be last in tax climate 12 in this community. In order to bring back 13 jobs, whether it's large business or small 14 business -- and Mr. Adams testified about this 15 this morning -- we really have to lower the 16 taxes in this state to make us more 17 competitive with not only the states around 18 us, but the states in the rest of the nation. 19 So I look forward to working with 20 Ken. We had a very good relationship when he 21 was with the Business Council. And I'm sure 22 that he will do great work for the State of 23 New York in his new position. So again, 24 congratulations, and look forward to working 25 with you on a continued basis.

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 THE PRESIDENT: Thank you, 2 Senator. 3 Senator Sampson. 4 SENATOR SAMPSON: Thank you very 5 much, Mr. President. 6 I rise to commend the Governor on 7 his selection of Ken Adams as president and 8 CEO of Empire State Development Corporation. 9 As Senator Adams said, Brooklyn has done well. 10 Ken, I want to commend you on your 11 commitment, your dedication, but most of all 12 the vision that you have. You've done it in 13 Brooklyn, you've done it with the Business 14 Council, and now you will do it throughout the 15 State of New York. 16 Once again, New York will be the 17 true Empire State again. And it's individuals 18 like yourself who understand that the most 19 important things are jobs, jobs, and jobs -- 20 but at the same time understanding the people 21 who need these jobs. And this is something 22 that you always had a sixth sense, dealing 23 with individuals irrespective of parties 24 because the most important thing was giving 25 those individuals an opportunity to excel,

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 giving people the opportunity to excel. 2 So I want to commend you on being 3 the person who you are. We are lucky, and the 4 Governor made an excellent appointment by 5 appointing you as president and CEO. 6 Congratulations, and you have done Brooklyn 7 very proud. 8 THE PRESIDENT: Thank you, 9 Senator. 10 Senator Smith. 11 SENATOR SMITH: Thank you very 12 much, Mr. President. 13 I rise to second the nomination of 14 Ken Adams and to tell the Governor that he 15 could not have done any better to pick someone 16 of Ken Adams' caliber. We here in the Senate 17 passed an on-time budget that cut taxes, that 18 cut spending, and the third arm of that 19 process is to create jobs. Ken Adams is the 20 person to do that. 21 He is someone who not only hails 22 from Brooklyn, but remember, he is the head of 23 a 2500-organization group, the Business 24 Council of the State of New York, that 25 required someone to understand the importance

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 of One New York, a state where we have always 2 been the Empire State, we have always led in 3 technology, we've led in creating creative 4 jobs. And I believe Ken is the person who 5 will use his integrity and his intellect to 6 not only create jobs in the State of New York 7 but to use his international relations. 8 Where we now recognize that this 9 world and this globe has become very small, 10 it's going to require one that has the ability 11 to reach beyond the borders of New York or 12 California, but China, India and abroad. 13 So I think the Governor has done 14 well. I congratulate him and look forward to 15 us as a body, Ken, becoming part of your team 16 in creating New York and making it once again 17 the Empire State. 18 THE PRESIDENT: Thank you, 19 Senator. 20 Senator Kennedy. 21 SENATOR KENNEDY: Thank you, 22 Mr. President. 23 I too want to congratulate you, 24 Mr. Adams. I want to thank the Governor for a 25 tremendous choice in nominating Mr. Ken Adams

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 as president and CEO of the Empire State 2 Development Corporation as well as 3 commissioner of Economic Development. 4 I can tell you, as ranking member 5 of the Economic Development Committee, I look 6 forward to working with you, along with the 7 chair, Senator Alesi, and moving New York 8 State forward, creating jobs and opportunity, 9 and giving people an opportunity to stay here 10 in New York State. 11 And unfortunately, we've seen the 12 statistics once again. Even this past week 13 we've seen statistics from the census, 14 particularly from the region that I come from 15 in Western New York, thousands of people have 16 left in the last 10 years, tens of thousands 17 of people from the county where I reside, in 18 Erie County, to find jobs and opportunity 19 elsewhere. We look forward to working with 20 you to reverse those trends. 21 And, you know, your resume speaks 22 for itself. Your expertise is far and beyond 23 what is called for in order to lead this state 24 in the right direction. Your work with 25 business, the Business Council, and small

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 businesses in particular, that we're going to 2 need that expertise to move New York State in 3 the right direction. 4 Again, congratulations, Mr. Adams. 5 I thank the Governor for his choice. And I 6 will say, though, unfortunately the only flaw 7 you bring to the table is that you are a 8 New York Rangers fan. 9 (Laughter.) 10 SENATOR KENNEDY: So we won't 11 hold that against you today. 12 Thank you. 13 THE PRESIDENT: Thank you, 14 Senator. 15 With that, we'll move on to Senator 16 Liz Krueger. 17 SENATOR LIZ KRUEGER: I'll stay 18 out of the sporting disputes between upstate 19 and downstate. 20 I appreciate very much the Governor 21 giving us this fine nominee. It's quite the 22 challenge to take on economic development at 23 this time in our economy, not just in New York 24 State but throughout the country. 25 And I am confident that Mr. Adams

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 will move us forward, recognizing that an even 2 playing field for everyone in the business 3 community is one way to assure that we are 4 expanding and strengthening our opportunities 5 here in New York State. 6 I also particularly appreciated, in 7 my discussions with Mr. Adams, the importance 8 that he puts on quality data and research for 9 planning purposes. Sometimes we forget to do 10 the homework before we move forward. 11 So I am very excited that the 12 Governor and through the budget we have 13 expanded into regional councils. I'm 14 delighted to see you here, Lieutenant 15 Governor, because I know you will also be 16 playing a key role in that assignment, along 17 with Mr. Adams and the economic development 18 organizations in this state. And I look 19 forward to seeing real progress and real 20 movement with new ideas and smart planning for 21 the State of New York. 22 And so, again, I thank the Governor 23 for this fine nominee and I look forward to 24 working with him. 25 Thank you.

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 THE PRESIDENT: Thank you, 2 Senator. 3 Senator Robach. 4 SENATOR ROBACH: Yes, 5 Mr. President. Let me also applaud the 6 Governor on this great choice and congratulate 7 Ken. As my other colleagues have said, he 8 certainly does have a great track record, and 9 a very good choice. 10 Everything we do is important in 11 government. But I would say this one in 12 particular is very important, especially at 13 this point in time when, as my colleague 14 Senator Kennedy said, jobs are critically 15 important. 16 So I am very much looking forward 17 to working with Mr. Adams and others on 18 partnerships, policies that are going to help 19 private-sector job growth. Clearly I don't 20 think -- we use that term "lift all ships." 21 Any job not only impacts an individual family 22 or person who gets that, but makes our whole 23 community stronger and our state stronger. 24 So I'm glad we have a good person 25 at the helm, and I'll pledge my continued

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 support to do all we can to improve the 2 economy here in New York. 3 Thank you, Mr. President. 4 THE PRESIDENT: Thank you, 5 Senator. 6 Next, Senator Farley. 7 SENATOR FARLEY: Thank you, 8 Mr. President. 9 I rise to compliment the Governor. 10 You know, appointment after appointment has 11 been outstanding. And to get these talented 12 citizens willing to serve our government is 13 really a tremendous accomplishment. 14 And this in particular is a 15 remarkable accomplishment because, Ken, I 16 don't think there's a greater priority of this 17 house, of the Governor, of the Lieutenant 18 Governor than economic development and jobs. 19 It has been a major priority for this state, 20 and there's nobody, there is no one that I 21 know of that has a better view of the entire 22 state from Brooklyn to Niagara. The entire 23 state. 24 You have served the Business 25 Council and the economic community well.

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 You're a fantastic appointment. I look 2 forward to your tenure because you're going to 3 do a great job for us, and we're lucky to have 4 you. And congratulations. 5 THE PRESIDENT: Thank you, 6 Senator. 7 Next, Senator Perkins. 8 SENATOR PERKINS: Thank you very 9 much. I rise to join my colleagues in 10 supporting this nomination fully and 11 congratulating the Governor for his choice, 12 including congratulating Ken Adams for his 13 sterling qualifications. 14 And we've had good conversations in 15 terms of what I would like to see, what some 16 of us would like to see, particularly with 17 regard to MWBE and particularly with regard to 18 the community and getting the community 19 involved. 20 We had some conversations about 21 eminent domain, and I shared with him honestly 22 my interest in reforming eminent domain. You 23 know, we're 10 years after the Kelo case and 24 nothing has really transpired in a positive 25 way for those communities. And we're

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 concerned that we might have similar 2 circumstances in New York State, particularly 3 in the area that has come to be known as 4 Atlantic Yards, recently reported in the 5 newspapers -- particularly in the Wall Street 6 Journal and the New York Post -- in terms of 7 how that project is not moving forward as we 8 had hoped it would be. 9 But nevertheless, I think he's the 10 right one for this time, look forward to 11 working with him, and appreciate the 12 conversations that we've had. 13 Congratulations. 14 THE PRESIDENT: Thank you, 15 Senator. 16 Next, Senator Golden. 17 SENATOR GOLDEN: Thank you, 18 Mr. President. 19 There's a lot of expectations down 20 here for you, Mr. Ken Adams. And it's been a 21 privilege working with you for all these 22 years, working in Kings County and working 23 here in the state to try to bring jobs back to 24 this great state. 25 Our prayers go out to you on the

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 loss of your father last week, and our prayers 2 from all of our conference down here. But 3 I'll tell you, your father is shining right 4 now down on you. He's saying his favorite son 5 has proven not only to himself but to his 6 family and to his city and state what a great 7 contribution he's been able to make. 8 And we are very, very proud of you. 9 You've been able to bring thousands of 10 businesses together and tens of thousands of 11 people together. You've been able to improve 12 working environments in the city, especially 13 in Brooklyn and across this state. You worked 14 with the high schools and with the colleges 15 and one of them right next to you, Xaverian 16 High School, in being able to turn around and 17 get those kids the opportunity, get the right 18 training for the future jobs that are coming 19 into our city and into our state. 20 You were the head of many different 21 corporations -- the CUNY Leadership Team, for 22 one. And being able to work with you to put 23 in a health program for small business that is 24 a model of the nation today and up and down 25 the State of New York.

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 You've done a lot of great things, 2 Ken, and we're proud of you. A lot more to be 3 done. And cutting the regulations that we 4 have and the fees and the licenses that are on 5 small businesses. You get it. You understand 6 it. And that's why all of my colleagues here 7 are proud to see you where you are, because we 8 know that you will be able to bring business 9 back and increase business in the city and 10 state of New York. 11 God bless you. Godspeed to you and 12 your family. We know you'll do a great job. 13 I vote aye. 14 THE PRESIDENT: Thank you, 15 Senator. 16 Next, Senator Zeldin. 17 SENATOR ZELDIN: Thank you, 18 Mr. President. 19 I guess I can start off by saying 20 what Senator Golden said. I'm a huge personal 21 fan of you, Ken. 22 And coming off of a week last week 23 where this house, this Legislature passed an 24 on-time budget, we held the line on taxes -- 25 in fact, cut taxes, we cut spending. I come

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 from a district, we all come from districts 2 that have employment problems. It's not just 3 unemployment; for many, it's underemployment. 4 And for us to come off of that great success 5 last week, I have to commend the Governor. 6 I have to wish you the best of 7 luck. But what a great way to start this 8 post-budget season, with someone like Ken 9 Adams taking the helm in a role so important 10 at such a critical time in our state. 11 Best of luck. I look forward to 12 working with you. 13 THE PRESIDENT: Thank you, 14 Senator. 15 Next, Senator Marcellino. 16 SENATOR MARCELLINO: Thank you, 17 Mr. President. 18 I also rise to congratulate Ken 19 Adams on his appointment. I congratulate the 20 Governor for bringing us another great 21 nominee. 22 The Governor has stated that 23 New York is open for business. And I hope it 24 is. And I'm here to work with you to see that 25 it is. We talk about jobs. Everybody that

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 has spoken before has talked about jobs, jobs, 2 jobs, creation of jobs, giving employment 3 opportunities for our young people, keeping 4 people here in our state so that we can 5 maintain the great Empire State that this has 6 always been and keep it going and growing. 7 We need businesses. We need to 8 attract businesses to this state that grow 9 things, that will make things, that will do 10 something. It can't be just a slogan. It 11 can't be just "I Love New York" and we go 12 away. It's got to be a real actual campaign 13 where we go out and we compete. 14 We are in an international economy. 15 I don't have to tell you that. And I don't 16 have to repeat it for the people of this 17 state. They know it. We are in competition 18 with everyone around us. Every state around 19 us, every country around us, all looking for 20 the businesses that we have here in New York 21 or we have here in the United States, to come 22 to their country or their state. 23 We need to keep them here in 24 New York. Anything we can do, everything we 25 can do to support you, and everything you can

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 do will be appreciated by the people of this 2 state. Because we want to keep them employed. 3 We want careers -- not just jobs, not just 4 temporary construction jobs, but careers for 5 our people so that they will be here and that 6 our state will flourish. 7 So, Mr. President, I vote aye on 8 this appointment and look forward to working 9 with both of you in the future. 10 THE PRESIDENT: Thank you, 11 Senator. 12 Next, Senator Montgomery. 13 SENATOR MONTGOMERY: Thank you, 14 Mr. President. And I join my colleagues in 15 welcoming you back. We're very happy to you 16 to see you there. 17 And I want to compliment the 18 Governor on this appointment, because it is 19 someone that I'm very familiar with from 20 Brooklyn, my former fellow Brooklynite. 21 And I want to also say this is one 22 of those moments in time when one person who 23 has been nominated is being welcomed by both 24 sides of the aisle, upstate and downstate, 25 Long Island to Buffalo and all in between.

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 And I certainly want to join them. 2 And I am so happy that Mr. Adams 3 knows all about the Brooklyn Navy Yard, the 4 part of Brooklyn that we've worked together 5 on. And Red Hook, the part of the waterfront 6 that he is very familiar with. The Brooklyn 7 Army Terminal and all of those small 8 businesses, light-industry businesses as well 9 as the larger corporations that are 10 multinational and what have you. 11 So I'm really looking forward to 12 it. I'm happy to say welcome and 13 congratulations, because I know that Brooklyn 14 will now be in the house. So thank you. 15 Congratulations. 16 Thank you, Mr. President. 17 THE PRESIDENT: Thank you, 18 Senator. 19 Senator Hassell-Thompson. 20 SENATOR HASSELL-THOMPSON: Thank 21 you, Mr. President. 22 I rise to congratulate the Governor 23 on his appointment of Mr. Adams as well. 24 And while I have the same concern 25 as all of us do about this entire state, I am

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 very concerned about the landmark 2 determinations and decisions that this 3 Legislature has made around MWBE. And I am 4 very hopeful that not only did we do landmark 5 legislation, but that we will do, under your 6 leadership, landmark progress for the women 7 and minorities of the State of New York. 8 So congratulations for accepting 9 this post. And whatever our offices can do to 10 help to support and to spearhead your energy, 11 we're prepared to do so. 12 Thank you, Mr. President. 13 THE PRESIDENT: Thank you, 14 Senator. 15 Any other Senators wishing to 16 speak? 17 Senator Griffo. 18 SENATOR GRIFFO: Thank you, 19 Mr. President. 20 I also want to take this 21 opportunity to commend the Governor and the 22 Lieutenant Governor for their efforts in 23 nominating Mr. Adams. Ken has an excellent 24 resume, and he's had a very successful tenure 25 as the Business Council president.

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 I look forward to working with you. 2 This will require enormous energy and effort 3 in order to ensure that we are familiar with 4 the various concerns and needs across this 5 very diverse state. So I am hopeful that we 6 will continue to communicate, to cooperate. 7 Again, I want to commend the 8 Governor and the Lieutenant Governor, because 9 you've assembled an important team to do what 10 is the most important job, and that is to 11 recruit and retain jobs in this state. 12 So good luck. And thank you, 13 Mr. President. 14 THE PRESIDENT: Thank you, 15 Senator. 16 Senator Libous. 17 SENATOR LIBOUS: Thank you, 18 Mr. President. 19 I too want to be rise and applaud 20 the Governor for this outstanding choice. 21 And, Ken, I'm going to speak last so that I 22 make sure that we get all the jobs in my 23 district when we work on that. 24 But Ken is the right guy for the 25 job, Mr. President, because he does understand

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 the businesses of this state, he understands 2 what it takes to create job opportunities. As 3 Marty Golden said earlier, not only does he 4 understand the needs of the city, but I know 5 he understands the needs of all of New York. 6 And as my friend and colleague Senator Malcolm 7 Smith would often say, he understands the "One 8 New York" concept. 9 And, Ken, I wish you the very best. 10 I look forward to working with you. And I 11 know you'll be successful in helping New York 12 State be the state that is indeed open for 13 business again. 14 THE PRESIDENT: Senator 15 Stewart-Cousins. 16 SENATOR STEWART-COUSINS: I thank 17 you, Mr. President. 18 And Senator Libous, I'm sorry I had 19 to put my name in before you got to make your 20 statements last. But -- 21 SENATOR LIBOUS: I'm honored that 22 you would close this. 23 SENATOR STEWART-COUSINS: Well, 24 again, I want to commend the Governor as well. 25 And the reason why I felt it was

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 important to rise is because so much was said 2 about MWBE. And I did have an opportunity to 3 ask those questions, and we were assured by 4 Mr. Adams that not only the commitment is 5 there to promote MWBEs, the certification 6 process continues to go faster, and there's 7 also a commitment for the technical assistance 8 that businesses need in order to be 9 competitive. 10 And so he understands that beyond 11 certification is actually the acquisition of 12 contracts and jobs. We talked about regional 13 councils and we talked about MWBE 14 representation on those councils and how that 15 has to happen. 16 So it is a wonderful, wonderful 17 nominee. We look forward, all of us, to 18 working with Mr. Adams. Because not only does 19 he have a business acumen, but he also started 20 a not-for-profit even before that. So he 21 understands the volunteer service side, lift 22 people up, and understands that jobs are the 23 way to do it. 24 So I wish you the very best and 25 look forward to working with you.

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 THE PRESIDENT: Thank you, 2 Senator. 3 Next, the question is on the 4 nomination of Kenneth G. Adams as commissioner 5 of the New York State Department of Economic 6 Development, director of the New York State 7 Urban Development Corporation, and president 8 and CEO of the Empire State Development 9 Corporation. All those in favor signify by 10 saying aye. 11 (Response of "Aye.") 12 THE PRESIDENT: Nay? 13 (No response.) 14 THE PRESIDENT: Kenneth G. Adams 15 is hereby confirmed as Commissioner of the 16 New York State Department of Economic 17 Development, director of the New York State 18 Urban Development Corporation, and president 19 and CEO of the Empire State Development 20 Corporation. 21 Kenneth, congratulations. 22 (Standing ovation.) 23 THE PRESIDENT: The Secretary 24 will read. 25 THE SECRETARY: As commissioner

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 of the New York State Department of 2 Agriculture and Markets, Darrel J. Aubertine, 3 of Cape Vincent. 4 THE PRESIDENT: Senator 5 DeFrancisco. 6 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: I'm pleased 7 to rise to move the nomination of Darrel 8 Aubertine as the commissioner of the New York 9 State Department of Agriculture and Markets. 10 We keep repeating this on this side 11 of the aisle, that the appointments by the 12 Governor have truly been excellent 13 appointments. I mean, people that understand 14 the issues in the area to which they are being 15 appointed. 16 And this is no less true of this 17 nominee, Darrel Aubertine, who knows the 18 farming business. He's been a farmer his 19 whole life. And he also knows the political 20 process by which the issues that are important 21 to those in the agricultural community will 22 have to -- that he'll have to advocate for in 23 order to make our number-one industry even 24 better than it is now and even more productive 25 than it is now.

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 And I'm also pleased because 2 Senator Aubertine rose to the gallery and rose 3 to commissioner status because it makes a lot 4 of us happy on this side of the aisle. His 5 success is our success. 6 (Laughter.) 7 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: And we're 8 very happy for him. 9 (Laughter.) 10 SENATOR DeFRANCISCO: So I'm 11 pleased to move the nomination of Darrel 12 Aubertine. 13 THE PRESIDENT: Thank you, 14 Senator. 15 Next, Senator Ritchie. 16 SENATOR RITCHIE: Mr. President, 17 I am pleased to rise and second the nomination 18 of Darrel J. Aubertine as the commissioner of 19 Agriculture and Markets. 20 I would also like to welcome his 21 wife, who's in the gallery today. It's nice 22 to see you, Margaret. 23 Mr. Aubertine is a lifelong dairy 24 farmer from Cape Vincent and a former member 25 of this chamber. In addition, he has

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 previously served as a member of the Assembly, 2 a Jefferson County legislator, and also a Cape 3 Vincent Town Council member. 4 Over the past several days I've had 5 the opportunity to discuss with Mr. Aubertine 6 issues that will require a coordinated effort 7 between the Legislature and the Governor to 8 resolve successfully, issues that move the 9 agriculture industry forward and recognize the 10 key role that hardworking farmers play in 11 rural upstate economies. I am confident that 12 with the help of Mr. Aubertine as 13 commissioner, we will be able to achieve that 14 goal. 15 As you can imagine, Mr. Aubertine 16 and myself have had a little history between 17 us. This morning was the first time I've had 18 the opportunity to vote for you. 19 (Laughter.) 20 SENATOR RITCHIE: I will say two 21 times in one day, Commissioner, is pushing it, 22 though. Two times in one day. 23 (Laughter.) 24 SENATOR RITCHIE: In all 25 seriousness, though, I look forward to working

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 with you. I'm sure you'll do a great job as 2 commissioner. And I wish all the best to you 3 and your family. 4 Thank you. 5 THE PRESIDENT: Thank you, 6 Senator. 7 Next, Senator Sampson. 8 SENATOR SAMPSON: Thank you very 9 much, Mr. President. 10 As Senator DeFrancisco said, on 11 that side of the aisle, on this side of the 12 aisle, the Governor has made tremendous 13 appointments. And this is an excellent 14 appointment to not only a friend, a former 15 colleague, but most of all a true statesman, 16 Senator Darrel Aubertine. 17 Darrel, I want to congratulate you 18 and your wife for the phenomenal job that you 19 have been doing not only as a farmer but, most 20 of all, here in the Legislature when you were 21 here. And your commitment and your dedication 22 and your passion to the agricultural industry 23 is beyond reproach. 24 And it's very important, it's very 25 fitting today we have Ken Adams and we have

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 Darrel Aubertine, agriculture and economic 2 development working together to create jobs, 3 not only here in New York State but also in 4 the global marketplace. 5 So, Darrel, I want to congratulate 6 you. Thank you for always being a friend, a 7 true friend. And nothing but best wishes. 8 And I know you will make a phenomenal 9 agriculture commissioner. 10 Congratulations. 11 THE PRESIDENT: Thank you, 12 Senator. 13 Next, Senator Hassell-Thompson. 14 SENATOR HASSELL-THOMPSON: Thank 15 you. 16 Again, Mr. President, I rise to 17 congratulate the Governor on this appointment. 18 But certainly I want to personally 19 congratulate Darrel Aubertine for just being a 20 good guy. 21 One of the things I continue to 22 hear is that agriculture is about upstate 23 New York. But we having ag and markets down 24 on Hunts Point and some other parts of this 25 state as well. And so we look to continue to

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 develop that relationship between the markets 2 upstate and Hunts Point, which is a part of 3 the Bronx. 4 So don't get lost upstate. We'll 5 help you find your way through the city and 6 through some of our areas. 7 But again, I think Senator Sampson 8 said it best: You've always been a friend to 9 this Legislature. And I know that you will 10 continue to do so and to be so. 11 And I know that your hours will be 12 a lot more regular and stable, which Margaret 13 will love very, very much. And so from that 14 perspective, you'll be home more, with a lot 15 more regularity. Which sometimes up here gets 16 very, very crazy. 17 But thank you, Darrel, for your 18 friendship and for all that you've done for 19 the State of New York thus far, and I know 20 that you will continue to do more in your new 21 position. Congratulations. 22 THE PRESIDENT: Thank you, 23 Senator. 24 Senator Breslin. 25 SENATOR BRESLIN: Thank you,

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 Mr. President. 2 It's my honor to stand and 3 congratulate the Governor for such a wonderful 4 pick. 5 I think Darrel Aubertine is right 6 out of Norman Rockwell. And I had forgotten 7 that the nomination was up today, and then I 8 saw his tractor parked out on State Street. 9 (Laughter.) 10 SENATOR BRESLIN: You know, 11 someone who has been on a dairy farm where his 12 grandfather worked, his father worked, his 13 children worked, and he hopes his 14 grandchildren will work. But coming here to 15 this body after a stint in the county 16 legislature and a stint as a member of the 17 Assembly and as the ranker on -- or, excuse 18 me, with Bill Magee over in the Agriculture 19 Committee over in the Assembly, and then here. 20 And here, his dedication, his 21 honesty, and I really think his nonpartisan 22 ways endeared him to both sides of the aisle. 23 Because on issues, he always did what was best 24 for his district and best for the State of 25 New York. And he's a special friend to all of

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 us. 2 And, you know, I know back in 3 November it was bittersweet when we got the 4 news. But when we thought about it -- and I 5 think I'm not alone -- many of us, when we 6 thought about: Gee, Agriculture, what a 7 perspective commissioner. And wasn't the 8 Governor so correct in choosing the perfect 9 commissioner. 10 So I congratulate you, Darrel. I 11 look forward to working with you and I'm sure 12 seeing and you Margaret together for many, 13 many years to come. Congratulations. 14 THE PRESIDENT: Thank you, 15 Senator. 16 Next, Senator Smith. 17 SENATOR SMITH: Thank you very 18 much, Mr. President. 19 I also rise to join my colleagues 20 in seconding the nomination of Darrel 21 Aubertine to become the commissioner of the 22 Agriculture Department for the State of 23 New York. 24 Mr. President, one of the joys I 25 had when we were in the majority was making

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 the appointment of Darrel Aubertine to chair 2 the Agriculture Committee. That was a 3 decision that required no thought. It didn't 4 require any deliberation, with the exception 5 of Margaret. I had to think about your 6 concern of how it would be in terms of what it 7 would take his time away. But after we got 8 through that, it was clear that Darrel was the 9 right person. 10 What people do not realize and must 11 continue to give Darrel the credit for is that 12 he has raised the profile of agriculture in 13 this state, a multi-billion-dollar industry 14 that most people don't recognize in the State 15 of New York which has become recognized 16 throughout the country. 17 And so the Governor of this state 18 has continued to make wonderful appointments. 19 Senator Ritchie -- Senator Ritchie (laughing). 20 I'll just say thank you in my own special way. 21 Because as Darrel has always been a 22 trailblazer and sacrificing of his time, as he 23 did for this body and for this conference, he 24 once again is sacrificing his time for the 25 greater good in the State of New York.

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 So to my good friend Darrel 2 Aubertine -- and I consider him to be a good 3 friend -- and his wife, thank you for allowing 4 him once again to be a servant to the state. 5 Thank you once again for allowing him to serve 6 the 19 million people of this state. But most 7 importantly, thank you for allowing him to 8 share his most inner person, and that is a 9 person that says if I can do something for 10 someone to make their life better, I will do 11 so. And you have allowed him to continue to 12 do that in his life. Thank you, Margaret. 13 And, Darrel, good luck to you. But 14 your wife deserves most of the credit. 15 Thank you. 16 THE PRESIDENT: Thank you, 17 Senator. 18 Next, Senator Liz Krueger. 19 SENATOR LIZ KRUEGER: Thank you. 20 I also rise to welcome my friend 21 and previous colleague to his new position as 22 the commissioner of Ag and Markets. And some 23 people who go into politics really like the 24 politics, and some people really like the 25 policy. And I feel confident in saying that I

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 know that Darrel Aubertine really likes the 2 policy. 3 And so I think, with this 4 confirmation, we will see that a man who is 5 completely dedicated to agricultural issues in 6 this state really gets to run with it, so to 7 speak, as our commissioner, making sure that 8 we do everything we can to support and 9 strengthen agriculture in New York State. 10 And as I've said to him many times, 11 upstate New York may be growing the food we 12 eat, but my district wants to eat it. So we 13 want it grown, we want it healthy, we want it 14 local, and we want to figure out how we bring 15 more New York State agriculture right down 16 into New York City as a win/win for all of us. 17 So congratulations, Darrel. 18 THE PRESIDENT: Thank you, 19 Senator. 20 Senator Kennedy. 21 SENATOR KENNEDY: Thank you, 22 Mr. President. 23 I too want to rise to congratulate 24 you, Darrel Aubertine, on your nomination and 25 ultimately your confirmation as commissioner

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 of Agriculture and Markets. 2 You know, many of you in this 3 chamber had the opportunity to serve with 4 Commissioner Aubertine. I haven't. Yesterday 5 was the first time we actually got an 6 opportunity to meet. But I'm a pretty good 7 reader of people, typically, and it didn't 8 take me long to figure out what's already been 9 stated. 10 Darrel Aubertine is a good person. 11 But further than that, it takes more than a 12 good person to be a good commissioner. And 13 Darrel Aubertine's resume speaks for itself: 14 A seventh-generation farmer, whose 15 granddaughter will be a ninth-generation 16 farmer, whose family farm was created back in 17 1832 up in Jefferson County. 18 And I first wanted to say that, you 19 know, the family farm might just be the 20 heartbeat of New York State. Perhaps it would 21 be more fitting to refer to it as the stomach 22 of New York State. 23 Commissioner Aubertine, it's an 24 absolute pleasure to stand here in support of 25 what's already been applauded as a tremendous

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 nomination from the Governor of the State of 2 New York as the next commissioner of 3 Agriculture. 4 As the ranker on Agriculture, I 5 look forward to working with you to advance 6 the agriculture industry, to help grow jobs, 7 grow the economy throughout New York State, in 8 Western New York, in my district, from the 9 cornfields of Eden to the farms in Hamburg, 10 West Seneca, into the processing that happens 11 right in the City of Buffalo, the second 12 largest city in this state. 13 We have our work cut out for us. 14 And there's nobody better to lead this state 15 as it pertains to Agriculture and Markets. 16 And furthermore, furthermore, perhaps what is 17 even further compelling and makes it even much 18 easier to support Commissioner Aubertine today 19 is his avid love for the Buffalo Sabres. 20 Congratulations. 21 THE PRESIDENT: Thank you, 22 Senator. 23 Next, Senator Adams. 24 SENATOR ADAMS: Thank you. 25 And I hope, Lieutenant Governor,

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 you let the Governor know that there are a lot 2 more commissioners on that side of the aisle 3 that he could appoint. We would love for them 4 to be appointed as well. 5 (Laughter.) 6 SENATOR ADAMS: Let me say this. 7 I think that Darrel is representative of what 8 this body is about. I mean, we debate, we 9 argue when we're on the floor, and oftentimes 10 people who watch us on TV, YouTube or any 11 other place, they believe that we take our 12 passion outside the chamber. And when in fact 13 that's not the reality. 14 Darrel is representative. And I 15 think he personifies what's great about men 16 and women who decide to serve government, no 17 matter how much they attack us, no matter how 18 much they want to write bad things about us. 19 You don't run for government if you don't like 20 the people of the State of New York. 21 And it doesn't matter if you're a 22 Democrat or a Republican, the mere fact is we 23 spend days away from our families. Darrel 24 knows what he was here there was countless 25 number of days he's not with his family, he's

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 not with his loved ones. And that's 2 representative of what we all are. 3 So our applauding of Darrel really 4 is an acknowledgement of what we feel about 5 each other. And even when someone passes away 6 in this chamber, we mourn the death. When 7 someone rises from this chamber and becomes a 8 commissioner, we celebrate that. 9 And that's what's great about 10 Darrel. When Darrel was here as a State 11 Senator, he was welcomed by all. He served in 12 the Assembly, he served in the Senate, and it 13 was the same tone across the board of what 14 Darrel represented. 15 And we miss you, we believe that 16 the State of New York is better, and we 17 believe that all of us bring our own level of 18 expertise -- if it's social services, like 19 Senator Montgomery, or law enforcement, like 20 myself, or some of the attorneys or some of 21 the others who have other professions. There 22 are a great group of men and women who are in 23 state government. And what we learn here we 24 take out to other areas of state government. 25 And no matter how much individuals

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 attempt to tarnish who and what we represent, 2 you are an indicator of what's great about 3 serving in the state government. I'm happy, 4 after my career, I came to serve in state 5 government, and I'm glad that I had an 6 opportunity to meet you and meet other men and 7 women who are in this chamber, and to say that 8 your heart and soul is to see that the people 9 of State of New York are able to get from one 10 day to the next. And you did that as a State 11 Senator. I'm sure you're going to do it as a 12 Commissioner. 13 And there's a lot of opportunities 14 out there, if we think outside the box, of how 15 do we bring the agricultural community from 16 upstate throughout the state. This is a great 17 farm state, and we can do some great things if 18 the individual thinks outside the box. And I 19 think you're the person for the job. And I 20 thank you for your time in the State Senate, 21 and I look forward to partnering with you as 22 well in your new role as the commissioner. 23 And I'm sure your wife -- you're going to be 24 happy to have him home, you know. 25 So again, thank you, Darrel, so

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 much. 2 THE PRESIDENT: Thank you, 3 Senator. 4 Next, Senator Diaz. 5 SENATOR DIAZ: Thank you, 6 Mr. President. And welcome back. I really 7 missed you. 8 Today we are here confirming Darrel 9 Aubertine as commissioner of the Department of 10 Agriculture. We all know Darrel Aubertine. 11 He served in the Assembly, and in the Assembly 12 he was the chairman of the Agriculture 13 Committee. Then he came here, and he -- he 14 was a member of the committee there, and here 15 he was the chairman of the Agriculture 16 Committee. 17 For the last 10 years, Darrel 18 Aubertine has been involved in every issue 19 that had to do with farmers and with farms. 20 Every commissioner that has been appointed the 21 last 10 years, Darrel had something to do with 22 it. Every law, every regulation, every 23 committee overseeing, Darrel Aubertine has 24 been involved in the agricultural world. Not 25 only because he is a farmer, not only because

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 he owns a farm, not only because his family 2 has been farmers, but as a political -- as an 3 elected official, he has been involved. 4 And he's from upstate. I'm from 5 the City of New York. So what does upstate 6 and the City of New York has in common and 7 with Darrel Aubertine, Mr. President? Darrel 8 Aubertine is a farmer, and the farmers upstate 9 produce the food that we in the city eat. So 10 we need someone that really cares so we in the 11 city could have good food to eat. 12 But the City of New York does not 13 only eat, the City of New York does not only 14 eat what the upstate farmers produce, but we 15 also in the City of New York we have, 16 Mr. President, the biggest transportation 17 market in the nation. It is called the Hunts 18 Point Market. 19 And I hope, I hope that 20 Commissioner Aubertine, when he becomes -- 21 after we approve him and he becomes 22 Commissioner of Agriculture, that he does 23 everything possible in his power to protect 24 and to guarantee that the Hunts Point Market 25 and the jobs that it produces stay in the

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 State of New York -- 2 (Applause from gallery.) 3 SENATOR DIAZ: -- and don't -- 4 and don't allow New Jersey to take it from us. 5 And I hope that the Hunts Point Market 6 receives all the resources and the attention 7 needed from the Commissioner and from the 8 Governor in order to keep being what it has 9 always been, a very big economic and job 10 developer for the State of New York. 11 So, Commissioner -- 12 (Applause from gallery.) 13 SENATOR DIAZ: So, Commissioner 14 Aubertine, as you all know, me and the 15 Governor have little in common. I don't 16 support the Governor too much. Today, today I 17 am supporting the Governor on this nomination. 18 And I hope, Commissioner Aubertine, 19 to see you and have coffee with you in the 20 Hunts Point Market. 21 (Laughter.) 22 SENATOR DIAZ: Thank you. 23 (Applause from gallery.) 24 THE PRESIDENT: I would ask, 25 while the Senators are speaking, that we hold

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 the applause until our nominee is voted on at 2 the end. 3 Senator Libous. 4 SENATOR LIBOUS: Thank you, 5 Mr. President. 6 I too want to rise and congratulate 7 the Governor on this nomination. Actually, 8 Senator, I was hoping that another Governor 9 would have put this nomination up two years 10 ago, but it didn't happen. 11 (Laughter.) 12 SENATOR LIBOUS: And since you're 13 soon going to be confirmed as Commissioner, I 14 just want to set the record straight. They 15 made me do it. I had nothing to do with any 16 of that. 17 (Laughter.) 18 SENATOR LIBOUS: But, 19 Mr. President, the Governor has indeed picked 20 a former colleague of ours, someone that we 21 respect, someone that is certainly respected 22 back home in his district, and someone who 23 stood on this floor for a number of years to 24 defend the agriculture community of this state 25 and, as has been mentioned by my colleagues,

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 has the passion for the job, has the 2 commitment to the job, and I know that he will 3 not only make the Governor proud, that he'll 4 make all of us proud. 5 And, Senator Ritchie, it's okay to 6 vote a second time for Senator Aubertine 7 today. 8 (Laughter.) 9 SENATOR LIBOUS: It's the right 10 thing to do. 11 And, Darrel, I'm very proud to 12 stand here and say congratulations to you and 13 I look forward to working with you as we move 14 forward. 15 THE PRESIDENT: Thank you, 16 Senator. 17 Senator Maziarz. 18 SENATOR MAZIARZ: Thank you very 19 much, Mr. President. 20 I too want to rise to congratulate 21 Darrel and wish him well. He's done a lot, 22 including making Senator Libous the number-one 23 tourist in Jefferson County the last several 24 years. 25 (Laughter.)

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 SENATOR MAZIARZ: Darrel, you 2 chaired the Senate Energy Committee and we 3 worked on several pieces of legislation. You 4 were always very professional and above board, 5 and I really appreciated that. And I think 6 you'll do a great job. You certainly 7 understand agriculture, and you know how 8 important it is to both upstate and downstate 9 New York. 10 I agree with my colleague Senator 11 Diaz and Senator Adams when he said that it's 12 great to see somebody who's served here who 13 gets a promotion. So congratulations, and 14 good luck to you. 15 THE PRESIDENT: Thank you, 16 Senator. 17 Next, Senator Klein. 18 SENATOR KLEIN: Thank you, 19 Mr. President. 20 It's truly and an honor and a 21 pleasure to second the nomination of Darrel 22 Aubertine as our next Agriculture 23 Commissioner. 24 Over the years of his service in 25 both the Assembly and the Senate, I learned a

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 lot from Darrel. He proved to be a very close 2 friend, someone that really epitomizes public 3 service and his ability to always think of the 4 issues and work in a bipartisan fashion. 5 He taught me important lessons 6 about the importance of agriculture in 7 New York State, taught me about the disconnect 8 sometimes in some of the things that us 9 downstaters want to do that impacts the 10 agriculture industry in this state. He taught 11 me that half-and-half doesn't come out of a 12 specific cow. 13 (Laughter.) 14 SENATOR KLEIN: But he's somebody 15 who truly is a dedicated public servant. And 16 sometimes life has us training for a job all 17 our lives, and that job comes to fruition. 18 Well, I can't think of any better job for 19 Darrel Aubertine than to be the Agriculture 20 Commissioner of the great State of New York. 21 Thank you, Darrel. 22 THE PRESIDENT: Thank you, 23 Senator. 24 Senator Valesky. 25 SENATOR VALESKY: Thank you,

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 Mr. President. 2 I rise to second the nomination of 3 my friend Darrel Aubertine as Commissioner of 4 Agriculture. I also want to join my other 5 colleagues who have commended Governor Cuomo 6 for the latest in a long line of outstanding 7 nominees, Ken Adams as well, and many that 8 we've already confirmed here on the floor of 9 the Senate. 10 You know, many have spoken about 11 Darrel's legislative accomplishments both here 12 in the Senate and down the hall in the 13 Assembly. And one can look at legislative 14 records and read transcripts of his speeches 15 on the floor and look at his votes and look at 16 the laws that have resulted from the bills 17 that he has passed. 18 And while that no doubt will 19 contribute to making him an outstanding 20 commissioner, I think that what really is 21 important about Darrel and what really matters 22 is not so much what he has done here in this 23 city over the last eight or nine years of his 24 life, but what he has done each and every year 25 of his life back in Cape Vincent. And his

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 dairy farm, sixth-generation dairy farmer, and 2 what he has done with his sons, who I 3 understand now are doing far more than he is 4 back in Cape Vincent as a result of the time 5 that he's now spending on this job. 6 But he -- and maybe at this 7 department, at the Department of Agriculture 8 and Markets than any other department in the 9 state, how important it is to have someone who 10 lives that life, so that he understands 11 firsthand the challenges that farmers face, 12 particularly in these difficult economic 13 times. I think that's why Darrel Aubertine 14 will make a tremendous commissioner of the 15 Department of Agriculture and Markets. 16 Darrel, I'm very happy for you, 17 very happy for you, Margaret. But I'm very, 18 very happy for farmers in New York State 19 because of the leadership that you will 20 continue to provide. 21 Thank you. 22 THE PRESIDENT: Thank you, 23 Senator. 24 Senator Alesi. 25 SENATOR ALESI: Thank you,

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 Mr. President. 2 I had the pleasure of sitting in on 3 the Finance Committee meeting earlier today 4 when Senator DeFrancisco, who chairs that 5 committee, asked Darrel Aubertine a little bit 6 about his background. 7 And he talked about his time in 8 local government and his time in the Assembly 9 and his time in the Senate. And he just 10 paused at that point, and then Senator 11 DeFrancisco had to say: "Is there anything 12 else that you want to add to this?" And he 13 said, "Well, I'm a farmer, six generations. 14 My grandfather, my father, myself, my kids." 15 And so it was almost as if he was 16 taking for granted the fact that he was a 17 farmer and almost didn't even bring that to 18 the legislative process, focusing more on his 19 elective office. And at the same time, the 20 minute he said that, it clicked that this is 21 someone who actually brings firsthand 22 experience to the job like very few people do 23 in our world. 24 I can tell you a few years ago we 25 had our difficulties in this chamber, as

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 everybody knows that. And as we've evolved 2 from that, we all have different 3 personalities. I believe that to the extent 4 that you can maybe make a case, this is kind 5 of a family. And so it's great when you see 6 somebody that comes from this body going to 7 such a great level because of the vision of 8 our new and great Governor. Once again, a 9 tremendous pick. 10 With all the different 11 personalities around here assembled, I can say 12 this about Darrel Aubertine. The easiest way 13 for me to describe him, aside from saying that 14 he is the true genuine best pick to be the 15 Commissioner of New York State's number-one 16 industry, is simply this. He is a true 17 absolute gentleman. And I appreciate the time 18 that I've had to spend with him in the Senate 19 and looking forward to working with him as 20 time goes on. 21 And, Darrel, I wish you all the 22 best. 23 THE PRESIDENT: Thank you, 24 Senator. 25 Senator Young.

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 SENATOR YOUNG: Thank you, 2 Mr. President. 3 And I rise in strong support of 4 Darrel Aubertine as the next commissioner of 5 the Department of Agriculture and Markets in 6 New York State. 7 Darrel and I have strongly agreed 8 on some things, and we've strongly disagreed 9 on other things. But whether we strongly 10 agreed or disagreed, I never doubted Darrel 11 Aubertine's commitment to the agricultural 12 community, to the industry, his knowledge and 13 his passion for what he was doing. 14 And we had a good discussion 15 earlier during the Agriculture Committee 16 meeting. And I believe very strongly that 17 Darrel understands the importance of 18 agriculture, not only now, but how critical it 19 is to our future in New York State. That it 20 is an economic engine, it's the largest 21 industry in upstate New York, and we have 22 2 million acres of fallow farmland that we 23 need to get back into production. 24 And there's so many opportunities 25 tied to that, whether it's food processing,

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 whether it's green energy, whether it's the 2 maple industry, aquaculture, wine and grapes. 3 There are so many different opportunities out 4 there. And I know that Darrel Aubertine is 5 very familiar with these opportunities. 6 And I believe that he will work as 7 hard as he can with this body, with the 8 Governor, with the Assembly, and with the 9 farming community in order to accomplish great 10 results for our economy, for our farms, and 11 for the people of this state so that they have 12 fresh, local, and safe food. 13 So we talked a little bit about the 14 "Pride of New York." We are very proud of 15 what we produce in New York State through 16 agriculture. I look forward to continuing to 17 work with you, and I think we're going to get 18 a lot of great things done. 19 So congratulations to you. 20 THE PRESIDENT: Thank you, 21 Senator. 22 Senator Duane. 23 SENATOR DUANE: Thank you, 24 Mr. President. 25 I also agree that the Governor has

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 really made a very fine appointment in Darrel 2 Aubertine. First of all, Darrel Aubertine is 3 just a real gentleman, a good person. And I 4 can't imagine saying anything but the best 5 things about him. 6 You know, I was fortunate enough to 7 spend some time with then-Senator Aubertine in 8 his district. And not only did I see his 9 dairy farm and see where his family lived and 10 the church where he and Margaret were married, 11 but whether it was here in Albany or there in 12 the district, he was just really a great 13 educator on agricultural issues. And, you 14 know, he was even willing to use the odd terms 15 that I would bring up that I used about farm 16 policy, like "walking-around cows," as opposed 17 to the cows that aren't walking around. 18 We actually spent time, a couple of 19 hours, actually, speaking with people from 20 Clarkson about cows and methane, of which I'm 21 not going to go into great detail about it, 22 but it's actually -- it is potentially a 23 really terrific both agricultural and policy 24 which I hope that Commissioner Aubertine will 25 follow.

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 And, you know, he's just very 2 generous with his knowledge and just a 3 terrific choice. And no matter what 4 happens -- though I think we will be approving 5 him -- but no matter what happens, I can say 6 that former Senator Darrel Aubertine and 7 hopefully Commissioner Aubertine, we will 8 always have the Canton Dairy Parade together. 9 Thank you, Mr. President. 10 THE PRESIDENT: Thank you, 11 Senator. 12 Senator Perkins. 13 SENATOR PERKINS: Thank you very 14 much. 15 I did want to join my colleagues in 16 expressing my congratulations and appreciation 17 for the time that we spent together. And I'm 18 positive you're going to do a wonderful job. 19 You know, I once had the 20 opportunity to milk a cow thanks to Senator 21 Valesky. I don't think the cow appreciated 22 it. 23 (Laughter.) 24 SENATOR PERKINS: But it was an 25 enlightening experience.

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 But I say that because I understand 2 you're a dairy farmer. And a lot of folks, 3 when they think of places like Harlem, they 4 don't think of the fact that we do have some 5 great appreciation for farming. 6 And in fact, there is an urban 7 farming movement, a very significant urban 8 farming movement that I want to bring to your 9 attention again, because at some point we're 10 going to look forward to you coming down into 11 the community to talk with our urban farmers 12 and see how, through you, they can begin to 13 develop even further their visions for how 14 they can be a part of this farming experience, 15 especially for those of us that are in urban 16 areas where there is this great movement. 17 So congratulations to you. Thank 18 you for your friendship and for the wonderful 19 work you did as a Senator. I'm sure you'll do 20 equally as well, if not much better, as our 21 commissioner, and I look forward to seeing you 22 in our farm in Harlem. 23 THE PRESIDENT: Thank you, 24 Senator. 25 Senator Little.

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 SENATOR LITTLE: Thank you, 2 Mr. President. 3 I too would like to join my 4 colleagues in offering my congratulations to 5 both of our nominees today. Again, the 6 Governor has picked people who have been in 7 the business to now lead that department. And 8 I think that's important for our constituents. 9 And certainly Darrel Aubertine is 10 going to really be helpful to the North 11 Country. And we all talk about upstate and 12 downstate. I don't think you can get farther 13 upstate than Cape Vincent, other than you go 14 to Rouses Point in my district. But he 15 certainly understands the challenges that 16 North Country farmers and farm families face, 17 and agriculture in the North Country. So 18 we're going to benefit from having a 19 commissioner of Agriculture from the 20 North Country. 21 Congratulations, and thank you. 22 THE PRESIDENT: Thank you, 23 Senator. 24 Next, Senator Griffo. 25 SENATOR GRIFFO: Thank you,

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 Mr. President. 2 I feel very fortunate that the 3 regions that I represent and co-share in 4 representation have been the host communities 5 to the last three commissioners of 6 Agriculture. So we're doing something good in 7 Central and Northern New York. 8 I want to congratulate the Governor 9 on this selection. And I want to congratulate 10 Darrel on his interest in the job, but more 11 importantly on his commitment to doing the 12 job. 13 I had the opportunity to serve with 14 Darrel and to co-represent territory in the 15 North Country, and I sincerely appreciate his 16 passion, his hard work, and his advocacy on 17 behalf of agriculture. So I want to wish him 18 and Margaret well in this new endeavor. 19 And I think the greatest challenge 20 you will face, Darrel -- because Senator 21 Perkins talked about cow milking. And I know 22 that you're a cow-milking champion. But you 23 now have the opportunity to coach Senator Diaz 24 and see if you can bring him to the State Fair 25 and do something to make him become a champion

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 too in that regard. 2 So good luck, and best wishes to 3 you, Darrel, and congratulations to Margaret. 4 THE PRESIDENT: Thank you, 5 Senator. 6 Senator Parker. 7 SENATOR PARKER: Thank you, 8 Mr. President. 9 I rise to congratulate both a 10 colleague and good friend, Darrel Aubertine, 11 on his appointment to commissioner of Ag and 12 Markets. I also want to congratulate the 13 Governor on this appointment, which is really 14 one of the most important appointments in the 15 state. 16 A lot of people have talked about 17 how Darrel taught them things about 18 agriculture. He certainly taught me 19 something. As many of you know, I represent 20 Borough Park, which is -- you know, I 21 represent probably more orthodox Jews than any 22 other non-Jew in the State of New York. And 23 so it was Darryl Aubertine who kept talking 24 about the Holsteins. And the whole time I was 25 thinking about, what Jews live in the North

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 Country? But he was actually talking about 2 cows. 3 (Laughter.) 4 SENATOR PARKER: So, Darrel, 5 thank you so much. And congratulations to you 6 and your family. 7 But this is the -- really, I say 8 this is the most important appointment in the 9 state, because most of us don't realize day to 10 day, especially those of us in New York City, 11 that agriculture is our largest gross receipts 12 in the state. 13 And people don't understand -- and 14 I learned much of this from Darrel -- that we 15 are the second-largest apple producer in the 16 entire country, the second-largest maple 17 producer, the third-largest producer of 18 onions, the fourth-largest producer of dairy 19 products. You know, sweet corn, snap peas, 20 hog products, you can just go on and on about 21 the agricultural bounty that the State of 22 New York produces. 23 And that agricultural bounty 24 couldn't be in finer hands than in the hands 25 of Senator Aubertine. And so I look forward

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 to a great harvest. 2 But then something him and I have 3 been talking about for a long time is building 4 that connection between, you know, one of the 5 largest agricultural markets, which is the 6 State of New York, and the largest retail 7 market, which is New York City. And to make 8 sure that we actually do more to open up our 9 markets in New York City to buy New York State 10 products so that we all can share in the 11 economic excellence that this state has to the 12 whole. 13 Thank you. 14 THE PRESIDENT: Thank you, 15 Senator. 16 Senator Savino. 17 SENATOR SAVINO: Thank you, 18 Mr. President. I also want to rise and second 19 the nomination of my friend Darrel J. 20 Aubertine. 21 I certainly congratulate the 22 Governor on this appointment. And I want to 23 say there's nobody more qualified to be the 24 Commissioner of Agriculture than Darrel J. 25 Aubertine. I don't think anybody in this room

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 disputes that. 2 And I want to thank Senator Ritchie 3 for moving his nomination through and voting 4 for him today. But I would be lying if I 5 didn't say that I wish it were the other way 6 around. 7 However, sometimes the good Lord 8 has plans for us that we can't see coming. 9 And I think that Darrel is in the right place 10 at the right time, not just for him, not just 11 for this body, but for the people of the State 12 of New York. 13 My experience with Darrel has been 14 so amazing over the past couple of years. You 15 know, when we all come into this chamber, we 16 bring a little piece of New York State with 17 us. And we work best when we share our 18 experiences of where we come from and what 19 that part of New York State is like. And I 20 used to tease Darrel and say that he 21 represented the most northern part of the 22 state, and I represented the most southern 23 part of the state. And that's still true. 24 I found out, when Darrel took me to 25 places I never would have gone, like

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 Ogdensburg and Oswego and Watertown and 2 Jefferson, I found out that there are no 3 Italians in that part of the state. It might 4 be the only part of the state where we don't 5 have Italians. But we did have Amish people. 6 It was an amazing experience to see Darrel 7 Aubertine's part of New York State. 8 But I also know that Darrel 9 Aubertine has made New York State an amazing 10 place for all of us. And you're going to do 11 such great work in Agriculture and Markets. 12 You have been one of the most decent people I 13 have ever met in this business. And I know 14 that the future for you and for Margaret is 15 going to be wonderful, and in exchange it's 16 going to be wonderful for us. 17 Congratulations to both of you. 18 THE PRESIDENT: Thank you, 19 Senator. 20 I'll ask, anybody else like to 21 speak on behalf of this nomination? 22 Senator Montgomery. 23 SENATOR MONTGOMERY: Yes, I just 24 briefly want to say my congratulations to both 25 the Governor for this appointment and to

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 Darrel Aubertine. 2 It was a pleasure to serve with you 3 here in this chamber. And you were certainly 4 the first authentic farmer that I had known as 5 Senator, and I thank you for what you 6 represented. 7 And I am certainly aware of the 8 significance of the farming and agricultural 9 industry in our state. And it's wonderful to 10 know that a person like you who has not only 11 the history and the lineage that relates to 12 farming and respect for the land and history, 13 but I think you also understand that I also 14 have farms in my district. Although they are 15 little small farms, they're very important to 16 us. 17 And I think that you will 18 understand that we want to see you in 19 Brooklyn. I would like for you to come and 20 experience the urban farms with the little 21 farmers, some of them children, some of them 22 adults, and how much they appreciate and how 23 proud they are of their farmers and that we 24 can begin to make the connection that needs to 25 be made between young people and the value of

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 land and agriculture to all of us for this era 2 as well as into the future. 3 So I'm proud that you're there, 4 proud that you know us, and proud that we are 5 going to be able to look forward to your 6 leadership to build a "One New York" in 7 agriculture in our state. 8 So thank you, Mr. President. And 9 congratulations, Darrel. 10 THE PRESIDENT: Thank you, 11 Senator. 12 Senator Stavisky. 13 SENATOR STAVISKY: Thank you, 14 Mr. President. And I too want to add my 15 congratulations. 16 Commissioner, you've taught us that 17 milk doesn't come from a supermarket. It's 18 part of the New York tradition of nurturing 19 and growing our products. And I appreciate 20 especially the comments today about keeping 21 the agricultural and the business community in 22 New York State. 23 But let me add one point. I was 24 particularly pleased with the Commissioner's 25 response today at the Finance Committee to a

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 question that's very significant and people 2 forget about as it pertains to my district, 3 and that's the role that the state plays in 4 inspecting kosher markets. I know you are 5 sensitive to this issue. It's an important 6 issue. And especially since Senator Parker 7 mentioned the Holsteins -- it's pronounced 8 Hol-stine in my district. 9 (Laughter.) 10 SENATOR STAVISKY: But I want to 11 add one aspect. I am particularly sensitive 12 to the role that spouses play. 13 And, Margaret, I want to 14 congratulate you because I know you share 15 Darrel's commitment to service and to helping 16 the people of our state. And we certainly 17 wish you well in the days ahead. 18 Congratulations. 19 THE PRESIDENT: Thank you, 20 Senator. 21 Senator Seward. 22 SENATOR SEWARD: Thank you, 23 Mr. President. 24 One of the problems of being one of 25 the last speakers on an occasion like this is

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 it's all been said and it's all been said very 2 eloquently by my colleagues. 3 But I would be remiss if I did not 4 also stand to congratulate both the Governor 5 and Senator Aubertine on this appointment and 6 confirmation today of Darrel being our next 7 Commissioner of the Department of Agriculture 8 and Markets. 9 It's very significant that our 10 commissioner walks the walk and talks the talk 11 in terms of agriculture and farming in 12 New York State. And that experience, that 13 life experience is going to serve him and the 14 people of New York State very, very well in 15 this new capacity. 16 And I think it is significant that 17 we are today confirming both Ken Adams, who 18 will head up our economic development arm of 19 state government, and Darrel Aubertine as our 20 Agriculture Commissioner on this very same 21 day. It very clearly demonstrates that 22 agriculture and economic development are so 23 closely aligned in our state. It recognizes 24 that agriculture, even in tough times, is our 25 state's largest industry.

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 And working together, I know that 2 together with the administration and these two 3 new confirmations today, we will in fact 4 create the right environment in New York State 5 where agriculture will do well and our economy 6 will do well. They're so closely aligned. 7 So I'm delighted to stand and 8 support this confirmation. 9 THE PRESIDENT: Thank you, 10 Senator. 11 I think we have effectively covered 12 the chamber, but if no other -- Senator 13 Gallivan. 14 SENATOR GALLIVAN: Thank you, 15 Mr. President. 16 I also rise to support the 17 nomination of Darrel Aubertine. I represent a 18 district, largely rural agriculture, the most 19 important industry in the district and of 20 course so important to New York State. And it 21 is good to know that somebody that comes from 22 this background, certainly well qualified, 23 understanding the challenges facing the 24 agricultural industry, is helping to move it 25 forward.

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 I know you did share a special bond 2 with many people here -- my colleague, Senator 3 Ritchie. But I too share a special bond. As 4 I sat in my chair for the first time, I opened 5 my desk and I looked down. Inscribed inside 6 my desk is "Senator Darrel Aubertine, 48th 7 Senate District, 2/26/2008." 8 So as you move to a different 9 chair, and me into this chair, I look forward 10 to work with you and advancing the agriculture 11 industry. 12 Thank you. 13 THE PRESIDENT: Thank you, 14 Senator. 15 Any other Senators before we close? 16 Well, the question is on the 17 nomination of Darrel J. Aubertine as 18 Commissioner of the New York State Department 19 of Agriculture and Markets. All those in 20 favor signify by saying aye. 21 (Response of "Aye.") 22 THE PRESIDENT: Opposed, nay. 23 (No response.) 24 THE PRESIDENT: Therefore Darrel 25 J. Aubertine has been confirmed as the

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 Commissioner of the New York State Department 2 of Agriculture and Markets. 3 Congratulations to Darrel and also 4 to Margaret, his wife. Thank you. 5 (Standing ovation.) 6 THE PRESIDENT: Congratulations. 7 Next, reports of select committees. 8 Communications and reports from 9 state officers. 10 Motions and resolutions. 11 Senator Libous. 12 SENATOR LIBOUS: Mr. President, 13 could we please adopt the Resolution Calendar, 14 with the exception of Resolution Number 1067. 15 THE PRESIDENT: All in favor of 16 adopting the Resolution Calendar, with the 17 exception of Resolution Number 1067, signify 18 by saying aye. 19 (Response of "Aye.") 20 THE PRESIDENT: Opposed, nay. 21 (No response.) 22 THE PRESIDENT: The Resolution 23 Calendar is adopted. 24 Senator Libous. 25 SENATOR LIBOUS: Mr. President, I

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 believe at this time Senator Diaz has 2 Resolution Number 336 at the desk. It is a 3 privileged resolution. I ask that you read it 4 in its entirety and, before we adopt it, to 5 please call on Senator Diaz. 6 THE PRESIDENT: The Secretary 7 will read. 8 THE SECRETARY: Legislative 9 Resolution Number 336, by Senator Diaz, 10 memorializing Governor Andrew M. Cuomo to 11 declare March 11, 2011, to April 12, 2011, as 12 Garifuna-American Heritage Month in the State 13 of New York. 14 "WHEREAS, It is the sense of this 15 Legislative Body to recognize and pay just 16 tribute to the cultural heritage of the ethnic 17 groups which comprise and contribute to the 18 richness and diversity of the community of the 19 State of New York; and 20 "WHEREAS, Attendant to such 21 concern, and in keeping with its time-honored 22 traditions, it is the intent of this 23 Legislative Body to applaud and commemorate 24 events which foster ethnic pride and exemplify 25 the cultural diversity that represents and

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 strengthens the spirit of the people and the 2 State of New York; and 3 "WHEREAS, This Legislative Body is 4 justly proud to memorialize Governor Andrew M. 5 Cuomo to declare March 11, 2011, to April 12, 6 2011, as Garifuna-American Month in the State 7 of New York; and 8 "WHEREAS, Garifuna-American 9 Heritage Month celebrates the great 10 contributions of Garifuna-Americans to the 11 fabric of New York City, and pays tribute to 12 the common culture and bonds of friendship 13 that unite the United States and the Garifuna 14 countries; and 15 "WHEREAS, Garifuna-American 16 Heritage Month affirms the culture, identity 17 and self-esteem of a people. It celebrates a 18 rich heritage and illuminates Garifuna history 19 and tradition, as well as the spirit of an 20 indomitable people; and 21 "WHEREAS, In 1665, two Spanish 22 ships wrecked off the coast of St. Vincent; 23 and 24 "WHEREAS, The West African slaves 25 that escaped to the island eventually

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 intermarried with the Venezuelan Caribs and 2 the Arawaks; and 3 "WHEREAS, The new race of people, 4 known as the Garifuna, grew strong and 5 prosperous on the island; and 6 "WHEREAS, In 1795, the Garifuna 7 began the Second Carib War against the 8 British. Battles raged throughout St. Vincent 9 over the next year, with both sides enduring 10 heavy losses; and 11 "WHEREAS, On June 10, 1796, the 12 final battle commenced with the Garifuna and 13 British, resulting in the Garifuna's 14 surrender; and 15 "WHEREAS, The surviving Caribs were 16 exiled to the neighboring island of 17 Balliceaux; and 18 "WHEREAS, On March 11, 1797, the 19 defeated Garifuna were loaded onto a convoy of 20 eight vessels and transported to Roatan, 21 Honduras, which arrived on April 12th of that 22 year; and 23 "WHEREAS, The Garifuna began to 24 migrate to the United States during the 1930s. 25 Today, New York City is home to the largest

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 Garifuna community outside of Central America; 2 and 3 "WHEREAS, The nurturing and 4 promotion of Garifuna pride is at the center 5 of the Garifuna coalition's community 6 organizing initiative, to create awareness and 7 appreciation of the Garifuna culture and its 8 contribution to the culture and society of 9 New York; and 10 "WHEREAS, On May 18, 2001, the 11 United Nations Educational, Scientific and 12 Cultural Organization (UNESCO) proclaimed the 13 Garifuna language, dance and music as a 14 'masterpiece of the oral and intangible 15 heritage of humanity'; and 16 "WHEREAS, Garifuna-American 17 Heritage Month provides an opportunity to 18 recognize the significance of their 19 contributions to the quality and character of 20 life, and, through many events and activities 21 throughout the month, for all people to gain a 22 greater appreciation of Garifuna history and 23 traditions, and of the role Garifuna-Americans 24 have played and will continue to play in our 25 society; and

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 "WHEREAS, On September 17, 1821, 2 nearly a decade before slavery was completely 3 phased out in New York City, William Henry 4 Brown's African Theater presented its first 5 performance in Greenwich Village. Mr. Brown 6 was the first American playwright of African 7 descent and wrote 'The Drama of King 8 Shotaway,' recognized as the first Black drama 9 of the American theater, which has as its 10 subject the 1795 Black Caribs (Garifunas) 11 defense of the Island of St. Vincent against 12 colonization by the British; and 13 "WHEREAS, Today, New Yorkers of 14 Garifuna heritage such as Sara Logan, Lino 15 Solis, Rosemary Ordonez Jenkins, Eleanor 16 Cecelia Castillo-Bullock, Mirtha Colon, Jose 17 Francisco Avila, and Aurelio Martinez, 18 continue to recognize and honor the cultural 19 practices of their ancestors; now, therefore, 20 be it 21 "RESOLVED, That this Legislative 22 Body pause in its deliberations to memorialize 23 Governor Andrew M. Cuomo to declare March 11, 24 2011, to April 12, 2011, as Garifuna-American 25 Heritage Month in the State of New York; and

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 be it further 2 "RESOLVED, That a copy of this 3 resolution, suitably engrossed, be transmitted 4 to the Honorable Andrew M. Cuomo, Governor of 5 the State of New York." 6 THE PRESIDENT: Senator Diaz. 7 SENATOR DIAZ: Thank you, 8 Mr. President. 9 Today, ladies and gentlemen, today 10 is a very, very special day. And today I'm 11 honored to be the sponsor of this great 12 resolution and this historic event. This is a 13 historic event today. 14 Today I'm honored to have the 15 opportunity and privilege granted to me by the 16 distinguished Temporary President, the 17 Honorable Dean Skelos, and the members of this 18 body, to be able to introduce this resolution, 19 and to have many members of the Garifuna 20 community present to witness this historic 21 event. 22 Ladies and gentlemen, the Garifuna 23 community has been an integral part of 24 New York City and especially to the County of 25 the Bronx for more than 70 years. The

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 Garifunas has been migrating to the United 2 States of America in search of a better life 3 since 1930. Their vitality, their talent, 4 andr and their commitment constitute 5 tremendous resources for our state and our 6 city. 7 But, Mr. President and ladies and 8 gentlemen, it took a tragic incident, a fire, 9 that took the life of 87 people for the 10 government institutions to start paying 11 attention to this great community. On 12 March 25, 1990, a social club known as the 13 Happy Land was set on fire, causing the loss 14 of that many people and inflicting pain and 15 suffering to the rest of the Garifuna 16 community throughout the State of New York and 17 throughout the world. 18 Today, as the State Senator 19 representing the 32nd Senatorial District in 20 Bronx County, it is an honor and a privilege 21 for me to have a delegation of Garifuna over 22 there and here. 23 (Applause, cheers from gallery.) 24 SENATOR DIAZ: This delegation, 25 Mr. President, this delegation is led by the

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 Honorable Francisco Quezada Lobo, the general 2 consul of Honduras. 3 (Applause from gallery.) 4 SENATOR DIAZ: Mr. Jose Francisco 5 Avila, president of the Garifuna Coalition 6 USA. 7 (Applause from gallery.) 8 SENATOR DIAZ: The Reverend Marta 9 Chamorro, member of the board of directors of 10 the New York Hispanic Clergy. 11 (Applause from gallery.) 12 SENATOR DIAZ: The Reverend Ana 13 Thomas, member of the Garifuna Evangelical 14 Council. 15 (Applause from gallery.) 16 SENATOR DIAZ: And the Honorable 17 Dr. Hector A. Chiesa, the president of Radio 18 Vision Cristiana Internacional, a radio 19 station that reaches New York, New Jersey, 20 Connecticut, Puerto Rico, Santo Domingo, Cuba, 21 and the Caicos Islands. 22 (Applause from gallery.) 23 SENATOR DIAZ: In closing, 24 Mr. President, again, I would like to thank 25 Senator Skelos and the Secretary of the

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 Senate, Mr. Frank Patience, for allowing me 2 this great honor of celebrating this historic 3 event in the New York State Senate. 4 To the honorable guests, thank you 5 for accepting my invitation. And to the 6 Garifuna community: "Buiti Jachuruluni." 7 (Applause, cheers from gallery.) 8 SENATOR DIAZ: "Ceremei. 9 Binilagu Buingui." 10 (Applause from gallery.) 11 SENATOR DIAZ: And I invite all 12 of you ladies and gentlemen to join us at 5:30 13 in the Albany Room for a very, very Garifuna 14 celebration. 15 Thank you, Mr. President. 16 (Extended applause.) 17 THE PRESIDENT: Thank you, 18 Senator Diaz. 19 Next, Senator Serrano. 20 SENATOR SERRANO: Thank you very 21 much, Mr. President. 22 And I want to congratulate Senator 23 Diaz for not only honoring the Garifuna 24 community here today but also a couple of 25 weeks ago in the Bronx, where many of my

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 colleagues and Senator Sampson attended a 2 wonderful event which celebrated the rich 3 cultural history. 4 And what was so amazing about that 5 event was that we heard many speakers give a 6 historical perspective of the cultural and 7 ethnic contribution that this community has 8 made to the fabric not only of the Bronx but 9 of the entire City of New York. 10 We often talk about celebrating the 11 rich cultural diversity that we have here in 12 the State of New York. And here is a perfect 13 example of that richness. There is such an 14 interesting story and such an educational 15 story behind how the Garifuna came to be here 16 in New York City and how they came to be in 17 Honduras and throughout the Caribbean. 18 And even more important, as a 19 Latino, I think it's really important that we 20 learn about our African heritage and how that 21 plays into who we are and what we are today. 22 So I want to thank, once again, 23 Senator Diaz and all of my colleagues and all 24 of the guests who are here today in 25 celebrating this resolution and also wishing

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 well to this community, that it continues to 2 grow, that it continues to prosper, and that 3 it continues to celebrate the cultural 4 diversity that it brings to the cultural mecca 5 that is New York. 6 Thank you. 7 THE PRESIDENT: Thank you, 8 Senator. 9 (Applause from gallery.) 10 THE PRESIDENT: Thank you, 11 Senator. 12 Next, Senator Espaillat. 13 SENATOR ESPAILLAT: Thank you, 14 Mr. President. 15 I want to congratulate Senator Diaz 16 for presenting this resolution to this very 17 important community in this our State of 18 New York, which continues to be a state of 19 immigrants. And obviously New York City 20 continues to be a great city of immigrants. 21 And very often this city has the 22 ability to reinvent itself. And perhaps this 23 is one of the great qualities of our state, 24 the ability to reinvent itself. And very 25 often we take notice of the new Americans and

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 the new New Yorkers decades later. That's 2 when we begin to notice that they're around. 3 And in this particular case, the 4 Garifunas have been around since 1930. They 5 have been contributing to the well-being and 6 the welfare of this great state since the 7 1930s. But they are also part of a very 8 important African diaspora in Central America 9 and the Caribbean, an African diaspora which 10 is integrally connected to the United States 11 and the great State of New York. 12 So I want to commend Senator Diaz 13 and to welcome all of the members of the 14 Garifuna community. And I certainly will not 15 challenge Senator Diaz in his command of the 16 Garifuna dialect, but -- 17 (Laughter.) 18 SENATOR ESPAILLAT: But I will 19 say "Binilagu Buingui." 20 (Applause from gallery.) 21 THE PRESIDENT: Thank you, 22 Senator. Senator Diaz, our two other 23 Senators, thank you very much. 24 This resolution was previously 25 adopted by the Senate on March 29th.

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 Senator Libous. 2 SENATOR LIBOUS: Thank you, 3 Mr. President. 4 I just want to welcome all of you 5 to the Senate chamber today. And as my 6 colleagues -- 7 (Applause from gallery.) 8 SENATOR LIBOUS: I'm not as 9 articulate as some of my colleagues, but they 10 said it for me, and thank you. 11 It's great to have you here. And 12 God bless all of you. 13 Mr. President. Mr. President, may 14 we now -- I believe Senator Stavisky has a 15 resolution at the desk. May we have its title 16 read, and we'll move for its adoption. 17 THE PRESIDENT: The Secretary 18 will read the title only. 19 THE SECRETARY: Legislative 20 Resolution Number 1067, by Senator Stavisky, 21 honoring Jewish chaplains who have died in the 22 line of duty. 23 THE PRESIDENT: Senator Stavisky. 24 SENATOR STAVISKY: Yes, thank 25 you, Mr. President.

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 There's a section of Arlington 2 National Cemetery devoted to chaplains. It's 3 called Chaplains Hill. And there are three 4 sections in this cemetery. The first one was 5 dedicated in May of 1926 to the memory of 23 6 chaplains who were killed during World War I. 7 In October of 1981, a second memorial was 8 dedicated to 134 Protestant chaplains who were 9 killed in World War I and World War II. And 10 the third section, which was dedicated in May 11 of 1989, was to the 83 chaplains who were 12 killed in service in World War II, Korea, and 13 Vietnam. So that makes 242 chaplains killed 14 in the service of our country. 15 However, unfortunately, there's no 16 section that is dedicated to the Jewish 17 chaplains who perished during World War I, 18 World War II, Korea, and Vietnam. And we are 19 commending Congress to add another section for 20 the Jewish chaplains who served overseas and 21 were killed. There are 13 who have been 22 excluded from this Chaplains Hill. 23 And these are men and women who 24 served our Army, Navy, the service people 25 during times of war, providing spiritual and

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 emotional comfort and helping both the service 2 personnel and their families. And 3 unfortunately, they were killed during these 4 wars in service to our country. So this I 5 think is significant because tomorrow we're 6 going to be celebrating West Point Day. 7 So I thank the Lieutenant Governor, 8 Mr. President, and I thank my colleagues for 9 supporting this resolution. 10 THE PRESIDENT: Thank you, 11 Senator. 12 Senator Larkin. 13 SENATOR LARKIN: Thank you, 14 Mr. President. And I thank Senator Stavisky 15 for doing this. 16 Earlier this year we honored the 17 four chaplains who were killed in 18 February 1943 on the Dorchester, when the four 19 chaplains -- Jewish, Catholic priest, 20 Protestant, and Lutheran -- all left and gave 21 their life preservers to the service troopers, 22 and they went down with their ship. 23 I think this is a very important 24 issue. Two months ago when we were doing the 25 celebrations, the Rabbi from West Point -- who

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 may be here to visit us tomorrow -- has seen 2 combat in three or four areas in the Mideast 3 over the last three or four years. And I 4 think it's really important, as you had 5 stated, Senator, that we make sure that when 6 we're talking about combat, combat in World 7 War II, some of us older fellows like Libous 8 and Skelos, you know, we knew that when a jeep 9 pulled up, no matter what faith you were, you 10 were just glad to have somebody there that 11 could give you some expression of hope, thanks 12 for what you were doing. 13 But when we forget -- today we're 14 looking at over 5,000 Americans killed in the 15 Mideast. And those of the cloth who have 16 given service to our men and women in the 17 armed services deserve to be recognized and 18 recognized formally, not just a piece of paper 19 at any county, town, or even state. And I 20 think our federal government is responsible 21 for it. 22 And I thank you very much, Senator, 23 for doing this. 24 Thank you, Mr. President. 25 THE PRESIDENT: Thank you,

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 Senator. 2 Any other Senators wishing to speak 3 on the resolution? 4 Seeing none, the question is on the 5 resolution. All in favor signify by saying 6 aye. 7 (Response of "Aye.") 8 THE PRESIDENT: Opposed, nay. 9 (No response.) 10 THE PRESIDENT: The resolution is 11 adopted. 12 Senator Libous. 13 SENATOR LIBOUS: Mr. President, 14 Senator Perkins has a privileged resolution at 15 the desk. May we have the title read and move 16 for its immediate adoption. 17 THE PRESIDENT: The Secretary 18 will read. 19 THE SECRETARY: Legislative 20 resolution by Senator Perkins, commemorating 21 the 39th anniversary of the death of Adam 22 Clayton Powell, Jr., and paying tribute to his 23 life and accomplishments. 24 THE PRESIDENT: Senator Perkins. 25 SENATOR PERKINS: Thank you very

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 much, Mr. President. 2 You know, yesterday marked the 3 43rd anniversary of the assassination of civil 4 rights activist, leader and hero, Dr. Martin 5 Luther King. Given the magnitude of his 6 iconic legacy, we should take a moment to 7 acknowledge what he accomplished for 8 African-Americans as well as for all 9 Americans. 10 During a time when violence and 11 brutalization were used to enforce Jim Crow 12 laws, racial segregation and discrimination, 13 and to disenfranchise African-American voters 14 in the South, Dr. King espoused the civil 15 disobedience teachings of Mahatma Gandhi 16 instead of responding with violence in kind. 17 He used -- 18 Oh, this is the one on Powell? Oh, 19 sorry. Thank you. I'll start over again. 20 (Laughter.) 21 SENATOR PERKINS: Thank you for 22 the opportunity to do it twice. 23 (Laughter.) 24 THE PRESIDENT: Senator Perkins. 25 SENATOR PERKINS: Again, Adam

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 Clayton Powell, Jr. 2 Yesterday marked the anniversary of 3 the death of another great civil rights 4 activist, the first African-American 5 Congressman from New York, Adam Clayton 6 Powell, Jr. 7 Powell's activism was not limited 8 just to African-Americans. Adam Clayton 9 Powell, Jr., made great strides as a civil 10 rights activist in Harlem, most notable as an 11 advocate for affordable housing and for 12 African-American workers denied employment due 13 to racist hiring practices. 14 However, the impact of his activism 15 far exceeds the boundaries of Harlem. As a 16 Congressman for New York, Adam Clayton Powell, 17 Jr., served as chair of the Education and 18 Labor Committee, where he spearheaded numerous 19 federal programs that benefit not only 20 African-Americans but women, the deaf, the 21 poor, students and all workers and laborers. 22 Further, due in large part to his 23 efforts, federal legislation was passed to 24 penalize and remedy many of the racial 25 vestiges that remained in the South, such as

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 racial segregation in schools, voter poll tax, 2 and the horrific and deplorable crime of 3 lynching. 4 Please join me in observing a 5 moment of silence for Adam Clayton Powell, 6 Jr.'s life and great accomplishments. 7 Thank you. 8 (Whereupon, the assemblage 9 respected a brief moment of silence.) 10 THE PRESIDENT: Thank you, 11 Senator. 12 Any other Senators wishing to 13 speak? 14 Seeing none, the question is on the 15 resolution. All in favor signify by saying 16 aye. 17 (Response of "Aye.") 18 THE PRESIDENT: Opposed, nay. 19 (No response.) 20 THE PRESIDENT: The resolution is 21 adopted. 22 Senator Libous. 23 SENATOR LIBOUS: Mr. President, I 24 believe that Senator Perkins has another 25 privileged resolution at the desk, and this

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 one he would like read in its entirety. And 2 if you would then call on Senator Perkins. 3 THE PRESIDENT: The Secretary 4 will read the resolution in its entirety. 5 THE SECRETARY: Legislative 6 resolution by Senator Perkins, commemorating 7 the 43rd anniversary of the assassination of 8 the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and 9 paying tribute to his life and 10 accomplishments. 11 "WHEREAS, From time to time we take 12 note of certain individuals whom we wish to 13 recognize for their valued contributions and 14 to publicly acknowledge their endeavors which 15 have enhanced the basic humanity among us all; 16 and 17 "WHEREAS, Attendant to such 18 concern, and in full accord with its 19 long-standing traditions, it is the intent of 20 this Legislative Body to acknowledge that 21 43 years ago today, the Reverend Dr. Martin 22 Luther King, Jr., was assassinated, and to pay 23 tribute to his life and accomplishments; and 24 "WHEREAS, Martin Luther King, Jr., 25 was born January 15, 1929, in Atlanta,

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 Georgia, to Alberta and Martin Luther King, 2 Sr., whose maternal grandfather founded the 3 Ebenezer Baptist Church, which the young 4 Dr. King would be associated with for most of 5 his life; and 6 "WHEREAS, Following his graduation 7 from high school at the age of 15, Martin 8 Luther King, Jr., earned a Bachelor of Arts 9 degree from Morehouse College in 1948, a 10 Bachelor of Divinity degree from Crozer 11 Theological Seminary in 1951, and a doctorate 12 from Boston University in 1955; and 13 "WHEREAS, In 1953, Martin Luther 14 King, Jr., married Coretta Scott, who was an 15 accomplished individual in her own right as a 16 talented singer and a graduate of the 17 prestigious New England Conservatory of Music. 18 From this union came four children: Yolanda, 19 Martin III, Dexter, and Bernice; and 20 "WHEREAS, One year later, Martin 21 and Coretta King arrived in Montgomery, 22 Alabama, where he assumed leadership of the 23 Dexter Avenue Baptist Church; and 24 "WHEREAS, Martin Luther King, Jr.'s 25 leadership skills would be tested in early

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 December of 1955, when Rosa Parks' refusal to 2 remove herself from her seat in the "Whites 3 Only" section of the city bus triggered the 4 382-day Montgomery Bus Boycott, the first 5 great Negro nonviolent demonstration of 6 contemporary times in the United States; and 7 "WHEREAS, The bus boycott, which 8 ended on December 21, 1956, when the Supreme 9 Court declared unconstitutional the laws 10 requiring segregation on buses in the South, 11 propelled Martin Luther King, Jr., into the 12 national spotlight; and 13 "WHEREAS, In 1957, Martin Luther 14 King, Jr., was elected president of the 15 Southern Christian Leadership Conference 16 (SCLC), an organization formed to provide new 17 leadership for the burgeoning civil rights 18 movement, drawing their ideals from 19 Christianity and the strategy of nonviolent 20 protest from Mahatma Gandhi; and 21 "WHEREAS, At great danger to 22 themselves, Martin Luther King, Jr., and his 23 allies in the civil rights movement used 24 nonviolence to call attention to the racial 25 inequities that were pervasive throughout the

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 South, as well as to call for full voting 2 rights for African-Americans; and 3 "WHEREAS, Martin Luther King, Jr.'s 4 commitment to racial equality was laid out in 5 dramatic fashion on August 28, 1963, before 6 200,000 Americans of all races and from all 7 corners of the country in his well-known 'I 8 Have a Dream' speech, where he spoke of a 9 nation that would 'rise up and live out the 10 true meaning of its creed: We hold these 11 truths to be self-evident, that all men are 12 created equal,' and where his four little 13 children would 'one day live in a nation where 14 they will not be judged by the color of their 15 skin but by the content of their character'; 16 and 17 "WHEREAS, Because of Dr. Martin 18 Luther King, Jr.'s dedication and commitment 19 to racial equality, today, in the 20 21st century, his dream has become a reality 21 with the monumental election of Barack Obama 22 as America's first African-American president; 23 and 24 "WHEREAS, The Nobel Committee 25 recognized both Martin Luther King, Jr.'s work

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 as a civil rights leader and his moral stance 2 against racism with the 1964 Nobel Prize for 3 Peace at the age of 35, making him the 4 youngest recipient of this prestigious honor; 5 and 6 "WHEREAS, Martin Luther King also 7 saw beyond race to address important issues 8 that affected all Americans, regardless of the 9 color of their skin, including the Vietnam 10 War, economic injustice, and labor issues; and 11 "WHEREAS, By 1967, he had plans to 12 initiate a Poor People's Campaign to bring 13 much-needed attention to the issue of poverty. 14 It was on this unforgettable date, April 4, 15 1968, that Martin Luther King, Jr., was in 16 Memphis, Tennessee, to support the black 17 sanitation workers who were on strike, that he 18 was assassinated; and 19 "WHEREAS, Just as Gandhi had 20 inspired Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., so did 21 his words inspire Nelson Mandela as well as 22 hundreds of thousands of black South Africans 23 to fight against the system of apartheid until 24 it too was destroyed; and 25 "WHEREAS, Today, more than four

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 decades after his death, Dr. King's commitment 2 to racial equality and his tireless efforts to 3 make this country 'one nation ... indivisible, 4 with liberty and justice for all' is still 5 remembered, not just by young and old 6 Americans alike, but by men, women and 7 children around the world who study his work 8 and his words and are moved to action by his 9 declaration that 'injustice anywhere is a 10 threat to justice everywhere'; and 11 "WHEREAS, A moving example of the 12 high regard in which Dr. King is held globally 13 is at London's Westminster Abbey, where his 14 statue, along with those of nine other 15 20th-century martyrs, adorns the west front 16 end of this venerable cathedral; and 17 "WHEREAS, Upon the occasion of the 18 43rd anniversary of the death of the Reverend 19 Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., this Legislative 20 Body wishes to commemorate the lifelong 21 struggle of the man who gave his life for 22 racial equality; now, therefore, be it 23 "RESOLVED, That this Legislative 24 Body pause in its deliberations to commemorate 25 the 43rd anniversary of the assassination of

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and 2 to pay tribute to his life and 3 accomplishments, and be it further 4 "RESOLVED, That copies of this 5 resolution, suitably engrossed, be transmitted 6 to the New York State Black, Puerto Rican and 7 Hispanic Legislative Caucus, and to the family 8 of the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr." 9 THE PRESIDENT: Senator Perkins. 10 SENATOR PERKINS: Thank you 11 again. 12 You know, this particular 13 resolution is especially important to us at 14 this time because we see not only on the 15 national level, but in even in our own state, 16 efforts that are quite contrary to this dream. 17 We see them, especially concerning to me, as 18 attacks are being made on religious grounds 19 with regard to Muslims, who are being 20 characterized just by virtue of their faith as 21 terrorists, and different actions are being 22 taken against them that I think Dr. King would 23 find, to say the least, very objectionable. 24 And it's very concerning to me 25 because those of us who have this great

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 privilege of being a legislator, on a local 2 level or a state level or a national level, 3 very often are the ones who are in the 4 forefront of these very anti-Martin 5 Luther-King-dream activities. 6 And this is, I think, what is so 7 important to me about this, because we in this 8 legislative body have the opportunity to be 9 leaders in terms of Dr. King's dream and in 10 terms of being embracing of all people 11 regardless of their race, their color, and 12 especially regardless of their religion. 13 And so I'm very concerned when in 14 this period of time we see in New York State, 15 we see in this country, religious prejudice 16 mounting in such a way that families in my 17 district are very concerned about the 18 possibilities, as Muslims, that they may be 19 attacked or that they may be in jeopardy. 20 And so I would urge that we really 21 take this moment not just to be for a moment 22 of silence but, more importantly, for a moment 23 of recommitment to Dr. King's dream, and 24 embrace those of us that may not be exactly 25 like us but nevertheless aspire to the same

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 life, aspire to the same dreams -- including 2 those young people that very often who are 3 undocumented but nevertheless share the dream 4 through something called the Dream Act that 5 will enable them to become the kind of leaders 6 that we all would like to see young people to 7 become. 8 So I ask all my colleagues to 9 reflect on Dr. King from that perspective and, 10 if you will, to join me on this resolution. 11 THE PRESIDENT: Thank you, 12 Senator. 13 Senator Hassell-Thompson. 14 SENATOR HASSELL-THOMPSON: Thank 15 you, Mr. President. 16 I rise to thank my colleague 17 Senator Perkins for bringing the resolution 18 but, more, for helping us to continue to 19 remember a man who gave so very much of 20 himself that the world accepted his 21 leadership. And we could do no less. 22 And I think all of us somewhat 23 remember where we were when we heard the news 24 that Dr. King had been assassinated, but I'm 25 not sure that all of us remember it enough to

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 be committed to the dream. 2 I agree with much that Senator 3 Perkins had said, because on the night of his 4 death he was preparing to lead a march against 5 poverty. And in a country where we have so 6 many resources, we still have so many people 7 below the poverty level. In a country where 8 we have so many resources, we still have 9 people who are hungry, who go to bed hungry 10 every night. 11 And as I have always spoken and I 12 will continue to do so, I don't talk just 13 about the "I Have a Dream" speech, but I talk 14 about the man who was a transformer and who 15 believed that we should not be building 16 institutions for the homeless but should be 17 changing the paradigm to understand why, in a 18 country of wealth, we have homelessness. And 19 in a country where we have so much that we 20 have feeding programs as opposed to changing 21 the paradigm to make sure that there is no 22 hunger. 23 And so if we want to honor 24 Dr. King, I would hope that we would do so in 25 this moment to recommit ourselves to making

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 the realities of his dream come true. And to 2 make sure that the education that he sought 3 for all children should transpire, and that 4 the dream of having true fellowship across 5 races and ethnicity and religion shall 6 transpire. And then we will be doing our part 7 to keep the dream alive. 8 Thank you, Senator Perkins. 9 THE PRESIDENT: Thank you, 10 Senator. 11 Senator Larkin. 12 SENATOR LARKIN: Thank you, 13 Mr. President. 14 You know, it's 43 years yesterday 15 when Dr. King was killed in Memphis. He was 16 there trying to help strikers, sanitation 17 workers in the City of Memphis. You know, it 18 was a shock to some of us that this happened 19 in the manner that it did. Most of us can 20 remember where we were on certain days. I 21 asked four people today where they were on 22 April the 4th. They couldn't tell me. 23 I was at a nuclear site in Tappan, 24 New York. The next day the father of the 25 New York City district attorney, Mr. Vance,

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 had some of us called back to active duty, and 2 we were sent all over the country. I was sent 3 to Detroit. And we puzzled, in talking with 4 people of different colors, different ideas, 5 different briefs, what happened? What's going 6 on? A young African-American lady turned to 7 me and said, "Colonel, the problem is we 8 forgot what Dr. King was saying." 9 What Dr. King was trying to 10 convince us to understand one another. And we 11 thought more of ourself. And it was easier to 12 say I know Dr. King. I can tell you, in my 13 lifetime, since I first met Dr. King in 1965, 14 I don't think I've met two people who can 15 honestly say "I met and I talked to him." 16 But this was an individual that 17 tried to put something forth. I think we 18 waste a lot of time in talk and not -- he had 19 a vision. He gave it to us. And we talk 20 about this and that and the other thing. He 21 was talking about, when he made that speech, 22 when he said that all children, he was talking 23 about his, mine, yours, Lieutenant Governor, 24 and everybody in this room. He was talking 25 about doing something.

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 And we fail to realize as adults 2 our responsibilities, not just as legislators. 3 But what have we done in our schools? What 4 have we done in groups to encourage young men 5 and women to take a positive approach rather 6 than a negative approach? We don't need 7 gangs. 8 I said this earlier this year, and 9 I say it again. Dr. King was sitting next to 10 the Lord, and he said, "You know, Lord, 11 they're celebrating my birthday." And He 12 said, "Yes, Martin, I understand that." And 13 he said, "But, dear Lord, they're not paying 14 attention to what I said. Can you send me 15 back and let me try again?" He said, "Martin, 16 you did your work. It's now the 17 responsibilities of those who you left behind 18 to sit back and remember what your vision was, 19 what your hopes and dreams were for all 20 people -- not just African-Americans, not 21 brown, not blue, but individuals across the 22 world." 23 Martin Luther King spoke in honesty 24 and sincerity. I only spoke to him for 25 10 minutes, but I got his message very clear.

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 The march from Selma to Montgomery, there was 2 one killed. That person was killed because 3 she didn't obey the rules and went off the 4 beaten path and got into some trouble. The 5 rest of the march was successful. 6 What happened in Memphis and all of 7 the joggling back and forth with the law 8 enforcement people I think was a waste of 9 time. Somebody killed him. We should have 10 got them and done it then. It went on for 11 many, many years. 12 But I think we are the people that 13 better start to think about what he said. Not 14 just think of every year his anniversary for 15 his birthday or the date that he was killed. 16 Unless we're going to go back and try to work 17 with these young people and get them to pull 18 together and do something positive -- not just 19 for us, but for themselves -- we will be 20 wasting what Dr. King had hoped and prayed for 21 and gave us the vision. 22 Thank you, Mr. President. 23 THE PRESIDENT: Thank you, 24 Senator. 25 Senator Parker.

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 SENATOR PARKER: Thank you, 2 Mr. President. On the resolution. 3 Let me first thank Senator Perkins 4 for his leadership on putting this resolution 5 forward and recognizing this important 6 milestone. 7 It's actually easier to talk and to 8 celebrate Dr. King's life and legacy and his 9 birth, as we do in January, than it is to 10 think about his death. Because he died under 11 very different circumstances than which he 12 lived. 13 We like to stand in this chamber 14 and in the halls of academia and talk about 15 the great Prince of Peace, second only to 16 Jesus, as Dr. King led a nonviolent movement 17 for access to public accommodations through 18 this country. But we forget about the context 19 in which he died. That was a man who 20 internationalized the movement for human 21 equality and who in fact put the idea of 22 connecting economic justice with human rights, 23 side by side. 24 And that's what he was killed for. 25 That it was okay when you were just talking

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 about integrating a water fountain or a 2 bathroom or using the same dining room in a 3 restaurant. But the idea of making economic 4 opportunity universal was worth killing a man 5 for. 6 And so I want to associate myself 7 with Senator Perkins' remarks, particularly as 8 we talk about some of the attacks on Islam 9 that we're in fact dealing with right now. 10 But Senator Perkins has spoken about that so 11 eloquently, I need not address that, 12 Mr. President. 13 What I want to talk about that's 14 relevant to what we're dealing with right now 15 is the connection between what Dr. King was 16 doing at the moment of his death -- which was 17 working for those Memphis sanitation 18 workers -- and what we're seeing right now in 19 our America. That in fact when you see that 20 protest around better work environments and 21 better wages, how do we in fact juxtapose that 22 between that and Wisconsin and Indiana and 23 Ohio -- oh, yeah, and New York -- when we 24 every day fight back attempts to roll back 25 protections for workers. Where we go every

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 day and roll back wages for workers and in our 2 attempts to roll back healthcare access for 3 workers. That's the exact thing that Dr. King 4 stood about. 5 So as you sit here today and we 6 vote aye on this resolution, I challenge us 7 all, and I'm taking this step that Senator 8 Perkins asked us to take, which is to recommit 9 ourselves to not just the life and legacy but 10 the real work of Dr. King towards the end of 11 his life, the thing that actually got him 12 killed, which was expanding economic 13 opportunity for working men and women in this 14 country and this state. Because that was the 15 very thing that we had to deal with. 16 That it's interesting that the 17 moment that he was beginning to look 18 internationally and he started his critique of 19 Vietnam -- no one ever says that -- and the 20 impending Korean War, that we find ourselves 21 right now in the midst of war. That our 22 Vietnam may be Iraq. That our Vietnam may be 23 Afghanistan or perhaps Libya in 10 years if we 24 don't get out of there. 25 And so there's much to learn from

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 Dr. King's legacy. And we should all 2 remember, Mr. President, that those who don't 3 learn the lessons of history are doomed to 4 repeat them. 5 THE PRESIDENT: Thank you, 6 Senator. 7 Senator Liz Krueger. 8 SENATOR LIZ KRUEGER: Thank you, 9 Mr. President. I also rise to thank Senator 10 Perkins for his resolution today. 11 And it's interesting how it's 12 circled around in the discussion of my 13 colleagues, because I also was thinking of 14 Dr. King's teachings on ensuring economic 15 access and equal access under our laws. And 16 we started this day confirming someone to run 17 our economic development agencies. And 18 perhaps we don't on a normal day think about 19 ESDC or UDC being responsible for ensuring the 20 dream of Martin Luther King. 21 But in fact I would say yes, that 22 is what as a government we are asking of 23 ourselves. We want to ensure that all 24 New Yorkers have the ability to meet their 25 families' basic needs.

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 And one of my colleagues talked 2 about the realities of poverty, and the 3 numbers are scary. The numbers are scary for 4 American workers, they're scary for New York 5 workers. The wages of workers has been going 6 down over the last decade. But clearly the 7 costs of living have not. The numbers on the 8 average wages received by single mothers or 9 black versus white New Yorkers or Hispanic 10 versus white New Yorkers are 11 disproportionately lower for single mothers, 12 for African-Americans, for Latinos in our 13 state, and we're going the wrong direction. 14 And so in fact when I think about 15 the teachings of Martin Luther King and the 16 importance of his life in our lives as public 17 servants, and I circle back to our earlier 18 discussion about the importance of coming up 19 with an economic development model or models 20 in our state that ensure we're open to 21 business, to make sure that we're open to the 22 goal of all people in New York State being 23 able to go to work, have a living wage, be 24 able to come home and take care of themselves 25 and their children.

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 And unfortunately, we are going 2 backwards for the last decade. And so the 3 lesson for me of today are hopefully to remind 4 all of us on this day is what our assignment 5 is as public servants. Our assignment is to 6 make sure that those workers and families in 7 New York who are not actually participating in 8 Martin Luther King dream or the American dream 9 are provided assistance and a commitment by 10 the government of this state to make sure that 11 they can provide for themselves and their 12 families. 13 Thank you, Mr. President. 14 THE PRESIDENT: Thank you, 15 Senator. 16 Senator Espaillat. 17 SENATOR ESPAILLAT: Thank you, 18 Mr. President. 19 I also want to join the rest of my 20 colleagues in congratulating Senator Perkins 21 for this very important and historic 22 resolution. 23 And I remember that day as a young 24 immigrant youth that came here to New York 25 State from the Dominican Republic, I remember

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 the day they sent us home from school. And in 2 my broken English I was able to see on TV and 3 read in the papers and understand what had 4 occurred and the magnitude and the historic 5 implications of what had happened 43 years 6 ago. 7 And certainly it would always stay 8 in my mind. And perhaps it may have played a 9 pivotal and important role in why I'm here 10 today. 11 But just the other day I joined 12 Senator Perkins in another forum where we had 13 a number of young people. They called 14 themselves the Dreamers. They are young 15 immigrant kids that, very much like myself, 16 came here with no papers. Although perhaps 17 they came here young enough, maybe at the age 18 of 2, 4, or 5, and they never really -- or 19 their parents never really got around to 20 stabilizing their immigration status. 21 And they went through elementary 22 school here in New York State and they 23 graduated from a New York State high school or 24 they maybe got their general equivalency 25 diploma from the State Department of

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 Education, but once they did that, they found 2 it difficult to enter an institution of higher 3 education. Many roadblocks were put on their 4 way to access higher education because they 5 had not taken care of their status, their 6 immigration status. 7 And they called themselves the 8 Dreamers. Very much, I think so, because they 9 identify with Martin Luther King and his theme 10 of "I Have a Dream." 11 And these folks, these young people 12 who now want to go to college -- and they want 13 to graduate from college and become part of 14 the New York State family and pay their taxes 15 and contribute to this society -- are very 16 much connected to this legacy. Yet the 17 federal government, Congress, has not seen fit 18 to pass the Dream Act and allow them access to 19 higher education. 20 And right here in our state we see 21 folks that want to slam the door shut on them. 22 They want to keep them out. They want to shut 23 down their dream. They don't want them to 24 become New Yorkers. Some may even feel that 25 they should be deported back to a country that

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 perhaps they have very little connection with. 2 They may not even be able to speak their own 3 language. Perhaps they don't speak Spanish 4 anymore. Perhaps they don't speak Russian or 5 Chinese anymore. They may have very little 6 connection with the country that saw them 7 born. 8 And they want to be New Yorkers and 9 they want to have that dream, but we want to 10 shut down the door. And we want to call them 11 names. And we want to point the finger at 12 them and blame them for everything from global 13 warming to the bad state of the economy. 14 So I want to join Senator Perkins 15 in once again lifting the King legacy to 16 another level, and to honor his contribution 17 to this country -- our country -- and to the 18 world. And to say that 43 years later, 19 perhaps when I have a Shakespearian command of 20 the language, I could appreciate more his 21 contribution to my life and to our country. 22 Thank you, Mr. President. 23 THE PRESIDENT: Thank you, 24 Senator. 25 Any other Senators wishing to

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 speak? 2 The question is on the resolution. 3 All in favor signify by saying aye. 4 (Response of "Aye.") 5 THE PRESIDENT: Opposed, nay. 6 (No response.) 7 THE PRESIDENT: The resolution is 8 adopted. 9 Senator Maziarz. 10 SENATOR MAZIARZ: Mr. President, 11 could we at this time have the reading of the 12 noncontroversial calendar. 13 THE PRESIDENT: The Secretary 14 will read. 15 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 16 136, by Senator Ranzenhofer, Senate Print 17 3225, an act to amend the Vehicle and Traffic 18 Law. 19 THE PRESIDENT: Read the last 20 section. 21 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This 22 act shall take effect on the first of 23 November. 24 THE PRESIDENT: Call the roll. 25 (The Secretary called the roll.)

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 56. Nays, 2 2. Senators Duane and Montgomery recorded in 3 the negative. 4 THE PRESIDENT: The bill is 5 passed. 6 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 7 173, by Senator Saland, Senate Print 1416, an 8 act to amend the Penal Law. 9 THE PRESIDENT: Read the last 10 section. 11 THE SECRETARY: Section 4. This 12 act shall take effect on the first of 13 November. 14 THE PRESIDENT: Call the roll. 15 (The Secretary called the roll.) 16 THE SECRETARY: In relation to 17 Calendar Number 173, those recorded in the 18 negative are Senators Duane, Hassell-Thompson, 19 Montgomery, Parker and Perkins. 20 Ayes, 53. Nays, 5. 21 THE PRESIDENT: The bill is 22 passed. 23 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 24 177, by Senator Flanagan, Senate Print 3207, 25 an act to amend the Penal Law.

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 THE PRESIDENT: Read the last 2 section. 3 THE SECRETARY: Section 4. This 4 act shall take effect on the first of 5 November. 6 THE PRESIDENT: Call the roll. 7 (The Secretary called the roll.) 8 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 55. Nays, 9 3. Senators Montgomery, Parker and Perkins 10 recorded in the negative. 11 THE PRESIDENT: The bill is 12 passed. 13 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 14 186, by Senator Saland, Senate Print 1418, an 15 act to amend the Correction Law. 16 THE PRESIDENT: Read the last 17 section. 18 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This 19 act shall take effect immediately. 20 THE PRESIDENT: Call the roll. 21 (The Secretary called the roll.) 22 THE SECRETARY: In relation to 23 Calendar Number 186, those recorded in the 24 negative are Senators Hassell-Thompson, 25 Montgomery, Parker and Perkins.

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 Ayes, 54. Nays, 4. 2 THE PRESIDENT: The bill is 3 passed. 4 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 5 190, by Senator LaValle, Senate Print 3325, an 6 act to amend the Correction Law. 7 THE PRESIDENT: Read the last 8 section. 9 THE SECRETARY: Section 3. This 10 act shall take effect on the 60th day. 11 THE PRESIDENT: Call the roll. 12 (The Secretary called the roll.) 13 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 55. Nays, 14 3. Senators Montgomery, Parker and Perkins 15 recorded in the negative. 16 THE PRESIDENT: The bill is 17 passed. 18 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 19 227, by Senator Flanagan, Senate Print 3205, 20 an act to amend the Penal Law. 21 THE PRESIDENT: Read the last 22 section. 23 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This 24 act shall take effect on the first of 25 November.

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 THE PRESIDENT: Call the roll. 2 (The Secretary called the roll.) 3 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 55. Nays, 4 3. Senators Montgomery, Parker and Perkins 5 recorded in the negative. 6 THE PRESIDENT: The bill is 7 passed. 8 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 9 283, by Senator Griffo, Senate Print 4194, an 10 act to amend the Banking Law. 11 THE PRESIDENT: Read the last 12 section. 13 THE SECRETARY: Section 4. This 14 act shall take effect on the first of 15 November. 16 THE PRESIDENT: Call the roll. 17 (The Secretary called the roll.) 18 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 54. Nays, 19 4. Senators Duane, Montgomery, Parker and 20 Perkins recorded in the negative. 21 THE PRESIDENT: The bill is 22 passed. 23 Senator Maziarz, that completes the 24 noncontroversial reading of the calendar. 25 SENATOR MAZIARZ: Mr. President,

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 at this time can we return to motions and 2 resolutions. And if you would call on 3 Senator Klein, please. 4 THE PRESIDENT: Returning to the 5 order of motions and resolutions. 6 Senator Klein. 7 SENATOR KLEIN: Thank you, 8 Mr. President. 9 I move that the following bill be 10 discharged from its respective committee and 11 be recommitted with instructions to strike the 12 enacting clause: Senate Number 3231, on 13 behalf of Senator Carlucci. 14 THE PRESIDENT: So ordered. 15 Senator Maziarz. 16 SENATOR MAZIARZ: Mr. President, 17 is there any other business at the desk? 18 THE PRESIDENT: There is none. 19 SENATOR MAZIARZ: All right. 20 Then there being no further business, I move 21 that we adjourn until Wednesday, April 6th, at 22 11:00 a.m. 23 THE PRESIDENT: On motion, the 24 Senate stands adjourned until Wednesday, 25 April 6th, at 11:00 a.m.

Candyco Transcription Service, Inc. 1 SENATOR MAZIARZ: Mr. President. 2 THE PRESIDENT: Senator Maziarz. 3 SENATOR MAZIARZ: Mr. President, 4 I'm sorry, I just want to remind all the 5 members -- all the members -- it is mandatory 6 tomorrow that you be in the chamber for 7 West Point Day. 8 Thank you, Mr. President. 9 THE PRESIDENT: Thank you, 10 Senator. 11 Again, on motion, the Senate stands 12 adjourned until Wednesday, April 6th, at 13 11:00 a.m. 14 (Whereupon, at 5:23 p.m., the 15 Senate adjourned.) 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25

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