Senate Resolution No. 609

BY: Senator BRESLIN

COMMENDING Rezsin Adams for her many years of
dedicated involvement and selfless service to her
community

WHEREAS, From time to time this Legislative Body takes note of
certain extraordinary individuals it wishes to recognize for their
valued contributions to the success and progress of society and publicly
acknowledge their endeavors which have enhanced the basic humanity among
us all; and

WHEREAS, This Legislative Body is justly proud to commend Rezsin
Adams for her many years of dedicated involvement and selfless service
to her community, and to wish her a very Happy 90th Birthday to be
celebrated at a party on Wednesday, February 15, 2017, at the
Westminster Presbyterian Church, in Albany, New York; and

WHEREAS, Known as the "Grande dame of the local peace and
environmental movements," Rezsin Adams has been the heart of Albany's
peace and justice movement since she moved there in 1958; and

WHEREAS, For numerous decades, Rezsin Adams has been an outspoken
advocate for many causes including the environment, civil rights, and
the Vietnam War; and

WHEREAS, Born in the Bronx, Rezsin Adams was a headstrong girl who
often wandered through the streets of New York City looking for new and
exciting adventures; as a teenager, she met other young liberals in a
loft in Greenwich Village and talked about how they would change the
world; and

WHEREAS, After high school, Rezsin Adams majored in biology at the
University of Rochester in the late 1940s; while a student, she worked
at the Marine Biology Laboratory at Woods Hole, where she studied with a
young teacher named Rachel Carson, who published Silent Spring, an
influential book on environmentalism; and

WHEREAS, Rezsin Adams met her future husband, Ted Adams, a fellow
student, on her 18th birthday in Rochester; the couple married two years
later, and together they raised two children; and

WHEREAS, Beginning in the early 1960s, Rezsin Adams has protested
the Vietnam War, and every war since, was jailed for civil disobedience
while protesting the Persian Gulf War, worked for civil rights, fought
with the anti-nuclear movement, advocated on behalf of striking farm
workers, helped protect a unique ecosystem by being one of the forces
behind the creation of the Pine Bush Preserve, and has for years fought
the City of Albany in a largely successful attempt to keep the city from
building a dump in the endangered Karner Blue butterfly's habitat; and

WHEREAS, Interested in increasing public awareness of, and
appreciation for, the natural resources of New York, Rezsin Adams
founded Save the Pine Bush; this vital organization's efforts resulted

in the creation of the Albany Pine Bush Preserve Management Commission,
and the preservation of a couple of thousand acres of Pine Bush; and

WHEREAS, As President of Save the Pine Bush, Rezsin Adams has been
instrumental in raising awareness and garnering interest from the
community; through their advocacy and education efforts, students and
the public come to study and explore this unique ecosystem; and

WHEREAS, Rezsin Adams has donated much of her time and energy to
saving the Pine Bush; she cooks and serves lasagna for their monthly
meetings, attends public hearings, and donates the money she has made
watching neighborhood children; and

WHEREAS, In addition to her invaluable service to the Albany Pine
Bush, Rezsin Adams helped found the Social Justice Center in Albany in
1981; she helped manage and worked in its store; and

WHEREAS, Rezsin Adams was also involved in the US Peoples China
Friendship Association where she helped with their annual China Bazaar;
volunteered for years at the WAMC fund drive, and at the Tulip Fest;
fought against unfair re-assessment of properties in Center Square; and
protested against the death penalty; and

WHEREAS, This feisty and compassionate woman helped prepare and
serve both breakfast and lunch for the needy at the Westminster
Presbyterian Church; and

WHEREAS, A fixture on the streets of Albany's Center Square, Rezsin
Adams truly believes that we have to do everything we can to bring about
change; with a warm smile, she gets up, shows up and makes a difference
every day of her life; and

WHEREAS, It is the sense of this Legislative Body that those who
enhance the well-being and vitality of their community and have shown a
long and sustained commitment to excellence certainly have earned the
recognition and applause of all the citizens of this great Empire State;
now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED, That this Legislative Body pause in its deliberations to
commend Rezsin Adams for her many years of dedicated involvement and
selfless service to her community; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution, suitably engrossed, be
transmitted to Rezsin Adams.