Senator Flanagan Visits St. James Seniors To Discuss The Issues

Senator John Flanagan (2nd Senate District) and Assemblyman Michael Fitzpatick (7th Assembly District) recently visited the Fairfield at St. James condominium complex to speak with the residents. The legislators were invited to address the residents by the Fairfield Civic Association.

The two elected officials opened up the meeting by speaking about their respective legislative houses and their feelings on the issues facing New York State. After their opening statements, they jointly took questions from the audience about the issues of the day.

During this part of the discussion, the audience members asked questions on a number of different topics including tax relief for seniors, school district spending, transportation issues and illegal immigration.

On many of the issues discussed during the meeting, Senator Flanagan was able to point to some action taken in the Senate that will help relieve some of the concerns raised. These efforts include the Senate approved plan to enhance the Rebate-NY program to drive more tax relief to seniors and the Senate’s successful efforts during budget negotiations to increase the school funding received by Long Island schools to reduce the burden faced by taxpayers.

In relation to illegal immigration, Senator Flanagan spoke about the recent Senate passage of his legislation to protect the integrity of New York State driver’s licenses and enhance the security of the state and the nation. This legislation, which has been sent to the Assembly for further action, would strengthen the DMV policy requiring additional documentation from those who are unable to secure a social security card.

"This open forum was a great opportunity to hear what is on the minds of real Long Islanders and I greatly appreciate all of the valuable input I received. Since the beginning of this year, tax relief has been the priority of the Senate and today’s meeting showed me that this remains the number one topic for the people I represent. Now we need to make sure that we continue to listen to their voice and that our focus remains on their priorities," stated Senator Flanagan.