Op-ed: Reflecting on Progress and looking ahead

Thank you. Over the past two years, I have had the incredible honor of traveling throughout the 9th Senate District to meet our neighbors, to see the extraordinary work they’re doing to serve and contribute to our communities, and to hear about the challenges and struggles they face every day. As a mother and a small-business owner, I’m all too familiar with many of these challenges — inflation and the increasingly high cost of living, concerns about public safety and antisemitism, and helping our children navigate a seemingly more and more troubled world.

Despite how insurmountable these challenges appear, there is almost a sense of comfort in knowing that so many of us are facing them together. That’s why I sought to be a voice for our community two years ago, and why I am humbled and grateful for the opportunity the residents of the district have given me to continue advocating for them in Albany for the next two years.

With the 2025 state legislative session quickly approaching, I am committed to ensuring that the priorities and concerns of the residents of our communities are heard in the Capitol. I will continue to highlight the experiences my constituents share with me to help make the case for tackling the issues impacting everyday New Yorkers. It is imperative that lawmakers return to Albany with a focus on lowering costs and combating the affordability crisis head-on.

After years of control by a one-party supermajority in both chambers of the Legislature, and after two consecutive budgets that included a billion-dollar-or-more handout to New York City’s self-imposed migrant crisis, New York voters have rejected the State Senate’s supermajority. It’s clear that residents aren’t in favor of the tax-and-spend policies that have resulted from one-party control, and gimmicks like pausing the congestion pricing tax on commuters shortly before an election won’t work long-term if they ultimately decide to resume this disastrous proposal. Rather than further burdening New Yorkers with more taxes and costly mandates, we need to rein in state spending to drive down the costs of goods and utilities.

In the years since shortsighted bail reform policies went into effect in 2020, New Yorkers have been clamoring to restore common sense to our judicial system. That’s why the very first bill I introduced was intended to return judicial discretion, and allow judges to consider whether a defendant poses a threat to the community when setting bail, a common-sense practice allowed by 49 states and the federal government, but prohibited in New York.

Antisemitism, which once lurked mostly in the shadows, has reared its head in public, yet state lawmakers in the majority didn’t take action on any of the proposals laid out by my colleagues and me in the Antisemitism Working Group Report. While it may be a challenge — one that I welcome — to persuade some of my colleagues across the aisle to change course by lowering costs for New Yorkers and empowering law enforcement and our judicial system to keep our communities safe, I am optimistic about the opportunities to work with lawmakers of all stripes to combat the youth mental health crisis. Last year, bipartisan legislation I cosponsored to protect children from harmful social media algorithms was signed into law. I hope to build on this progress and bolster access to mental health services in our schools.

It is unlikely that New York’s problems will be fixed overnight, and there will no doubt be further challenges in getting our state back on the right track, but every day I am inspired by the stories from friends and neighbors who help make our communities a better place to live. It is these stories, these friends and these neighbors who motivate me to serve them. So I want to thank you not only for the support and the opportunity to continue serving as your state senator, but also for everything you do — big and small — to add to those communities to make them the best places call home. Thank you.

Patricia Canzoneri-Fitzpatrick represents the 9th Senate District.